Difference between revisions of "Strix"

Revision as of 01:48, 7 March 2013

Strix are massive massive owls which range across the northern tundra and the open forests of the East. They are truly massive, growing to possess wingspans of thirty to forty feet (though the forest Strix tend to be more compact than their tundra cousins), and are covered in feathers of pure white.

A strix can carry off a grown human, and indeed they do so regularly, humans being their primary prey, though their regular diet also includes wolves, seals, foxes, badgers, wolverines, and coyotes, as well as hares and rodents when larger game is scarce. Occasionally they will also take other birds as prey, though usually not while they are on the wing.

They are primarily nocturnal, owlfeathers allowing them to move in almost complete silence through the air, with extremely capable senses of vision and hearing. White against the night sky, they make little attempt at camouflage, for it is difficult to escape their powerful wings and talons once they have launched into the attack. As humans are their primary prey, they are very difficult to domesticate, and can never truly be trusted: if irked or peckish, they will often kill and eat their would-be tamers. Though strix are rarely willing to fly over water, ship crews (particularly airboat crews of the Haslanti League) have suffered particular troubles with strix, who find ships tempting targets: while most humans on the ground seek shelter at night, airboat crews must remain exposed in shifts all through the night on an open deck.

Human tribes within the range of the strix consider the massive birds to be bad omens and bringers of doom, hardly surprising as a sighting is usually accompanied by one or more tribespeople being eaten.

Tales filter about the northeast about the use of strix as messenger birds by the forest realm of Halta. If true, the Haltan postal service must suffer terrible issues with loss of communication: any creature with wingspan large enough to carry large packages over distance would have difficulty maneuvering between trees at speed, while smaller creatures are incapable of the lift or endurance required.

  Source: Exalted Second Edition Core pp. 350. Sort of.