I am sorely behind on my reading of the Glorantha digest ... I am over two weeks behind (leave on holiday for two weeks and look what happens!). But I just read Sandy's post on phoenixes, and am compelled to post (in the spirit of posting "useful" things, rather than esoterica).
While the erudite sage listed the four most common species of phoenix in Glorantha, there are two more that my researches have found. Both are very rare, yet very ancient. I do not know of a reported sighting in the last century or more.
The Dragonseye
The dragonseye is (was?) a very big bird, maybe two to three times the size of the largest Yelmalian Vrok hawk. Its appearance is quite draconic, and was often seen before actions of a true dragon. For this reason, people believe these birds to be the eyes of a dragon. I cannot confirm if this is so, but many were reported in the seasons prior to the Dragonkill Wars. It is known that when the dragonseye bird dies, it is reborn just as a dragonnewt is.
In fact, the bird cannot, to my knowledge, be truly killed. If one "kills" its physical body, it immolates itself in bright green flames, leaving only ashes behind. I have no record of anyone's ever capturing one of these birds or even gaining any part of its body. And no eggs have ever been found. There are hints that the Kralorelan emperors may have relationships with the birds, but I do not wish to report rumour as fact.
These birds have been observed to be intelligent and to use magic.
The Krjalk bird
This bird is a chaos beast. It looks similar to the dragonseye bird, and is usually mistaken for the dragonseye bird, but the Krjalk bird is smaller. Unlike the dragonseye bird, this bird can be killed, if one is careful. When its physical form is killed, it too bursts into flames, but it leaves a charred body behind. This body, if left alone, will resurrect itself within one week. To prevent this resurrection, one must dismember the charred remains and spread them to the five corners of the world, or apply the Holy Flame. Only two eggs of this bird have been found; thankfully, they were destroyed.
These birds are not reported to be as intelligent as the dragonseye, but are craftier than normal birds. It also has a clear hatred for all creatures with arms, and a greater hatred for winged creatures with arms. They have not been reported to use magic, but they often use the horrid powers of chaos.
Michael
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael C. Morrison IMS Information Development Tieline 8-543-4706 Santa Teresa Lab, San Jose, California (SWS) Phone (408)463-4706 Bitnet ID: MCM at VNET Fax (408)463-4101 IBM Mail Exchange ID: USIB47H4 at IBMMAIL or USIB4MCM at IBMMAIL X.400 Address: G=mcmgm; S=morrison; P=ibmmail; A=ibmx400; C=us - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
Powered by hypermail