Goose

Description

Geese are mid-sized waterfowl, generally larger than ducks but smaller than Swans, found in a variety of colours and locales across Creation. Wherever they occur, geese are hunted or raised for their meat, and domesticated goose flocks also provide sources of eggs, and feathers for fans or to stuff pillows and coats. They also appear in some heraldry, including being used to represent the rank of Secretarial Overseer in the mandarin squares of the Thousand Scales.

There are five varieties of geese known in Creation:

Varieties

Central Goose – Goose variety found on the Blessed Isle, a large goose that has been thoroughly domesticated and is used for food, feathers, and eggs, which are considered to be finer quality than chicken equivalents in Isle cuisine, but less prized than those of ducks. The Central Goose is coloured grey-brown on back, wings, and a maroon-brown hindneck and cap. It is notable for a black bill, with a large knob at the base. Compared to other geese, this variety has a fattened rear and a more upright posture, rendering it incapable of flight.

Western Goose – Goose variety found on the islands of the Northwest and the western coast of the Blessed Isle. It has a stout gray body, subtly barred with fine barring, and a white head and hindneck, with those of Western Geese found at the mouth of the Serpentine River stained slightly orange from iron-rich waters. Certain specific feathers of the Western Goose are valued by painters as a type of brush for achieving certain marbling or wood-grain effects.

Southern Goose – Goose variety found along the southern coast of the Inner Sea. The Southern Goose is grey-white, with a mostly white head marked with a set of two black bars across the cap. The Southern Goose is the source of a delicacy in Paragon Cuisine, known as ‘foie gras’, where a goose is force-fed over time to swell its liver into a buttery delicacy beloved by the city’s populace.

Eastern Goose – Goose variety found in the East, a large rotund goose primarily amongst the waterways of the River Province and thoroughly domesticated. Its plumage is white, often streaked with grey. Domestication has left it unable to properly take flight. It is an aggressive bird, and is often used by villages as a form of guard animal, attacking intruders and making a racket to alert residents.

Northern Goose – Goose found in the tundra and coastal regions surrounding the White Sea. Its plumage features grey-blue feathers over the body, with white head and tail. Northern Geese are said to favour nesting close to Strix, whose presence may deter predators, though they are vulnerable to foxes and raptors such as White Eagles.