Orphen
Active Member
"A male Tyhonian Sun-bird in Flight"
Image owned by Kagaya Yutaka.
Name: Deep Core Sun-Bird
Designation: Semi-Sentient
Home-world: Sun-Birds can be found anywhere within the Deep Core due to attempts at reintegration in an attempt to bolster their numbers in other habitats in 121 ABY, but their numbers seem to lessen and they flourish less the further they get from Tython, though through acclimatization these distanced birds on other worlds can bare different colour features.
Language: N/A though like all animals they can be trained and can perhaps sense the intentions behind it on some instinctual perhaps empathic level, much how a canine smells fea
Average height of adults: 1m
Skin color: They have a very dark grey almost scaled skin on their legs which progresses to a marble grey over their body.
Hair color: These birds can have feathers of every vibrant colour possibly imaginable, depending on the planet they were found on, though one thing remains in common with them, their near glittering feathers are always bright and luminescent, but the most common Tython breed (the pic) are blues and reds. Others have changed some colour due to acclimatization
Breathes: Type 1 and 2
Strengths:
- Sun Birds are exceedingly intelligent, combined with keen eyes, sharp claws and beak make the Sun-Bird a prominent hunter, striking from on high during the daylight hours silhouetted by the sun.
- Being slightly force sensitive they are incredibly sensitive to the areas around them, feeling comfort when in the presence and the aura of the light side of the force, and uncomfortable with areas which have been tainted by the dark side, combined with their ability to create force bonds with living entities making excellent pets and familiars for Jedi, parallel to a Sith Familiar. (The Force bonded Jedi is able to use some force abilities through the familiar remotely, Ie, channeling a force push through the familiar so the familiar seems to display the ability to use force push or mental-ism, though it drains the energy of both the familiar, and the jedi who is bound to it. More powerful abilities put too much stress onf the familair, potentially causing its death )
- The glittering dust produced from their skin which falls from their wings is a natural disinfectant which promotes natural healing, one which primitive cultures hold in high regard as a healing agent with mystical powers, though this is untrue with no evidence to support it, while the product does assist in promoting natural healing, it does not do so in any supernatural capacity. It's widely thought that this function is part of its immune system and promotes health when nurturing its young, ensuring they are not sick and that wounds they receive will not get infected.
Weaknesses:
- Sun Birds, like any bird, have a Weak, hollow, Avian Bone Structures, making them easy to break
- They are often Very territorial, to the point of even attacking others.
- They are very conspicuous, and have many natural predators.
Distinctions: Sun-Birds, having a wingspan of approximately three meters and a tail length to match, each which bear colourful feathers of potentially every colour of the rainbow, most commonly of beautiful royal blues and purples with rich pinks on the Tythonian breed. Greens and golds being some of the rarer colours seen on these magnificent creatures, though they are possible. Males are known to have two long extended pinions coming from their tails while females have long crown pinions from their head trailing own their back, much like a pheasant. These pinions are by far the most elegant, often having patterns similar to the eyes on peacock pinions, and are by far the most prized by hunters. Sun-Birds have talons, much in the same sense as an eagle and have a sharp beak capable of ripping flesh from smaller animals. As sunbirds fly they produce a chemical dust on their feathers which is a natural antiseptic, though at the touch of light it glimmers much in the same brilliant method as their feathers.
Average Lifespan: 27 years
Races: N/A
Estimated Population: Several Thousand on Tython, though rarer on other planets in the Deep Core.
Diet: Sun Birds are primarily Insectivores, but can eat meat, able to swoop down at incredible speeds and snatching small flying insects, smaller birds, or even small land animals in their beaks or claws.
Communication: They Caw, Cry and Murmur much like an Eagle or a Hawk.
Culture: Sun-Birds are a very proud bird of prey, and can bond with Jedi and other force users so long as they do not teeter on the dark side. Though much of their mating rituals are shrouded in mystery to non force sensitives, they tend to bond over light side force nexuses, finding areas rich in the force energy is seemingly magnetic to the birds, as, through courtship they create force bonds with their mates, so they are always able to find one another. This spectacle is often replicated between a Sun-Bird and its trainer to allow it to be used as a familiar, but has been the topic of some ethical debate among the Jedi.
Technology level: As inquisitive creatures with some intelligence they are able to, through trial and error learn how to operate / pull apart base machinery, much in the way one could teach an animal to open a door or press a button, though, unlike said animals, Sun-Birds will actively look for a how on their own volition, as curious entities. But they are unable to deduce any form of complex machinery.
General behavior: Sun-Birds are loyal creatures which take a shine to beings who are confident and have strong ties to the light side of the force, being able to sense it biologically with their very light levels of natural force sensitivity, often straying from corrupted areas and dark energies. They take time to trust, but one of them choosing to build a bond with a Jedi is usually taken as a sign that the Jedi is far from being corruptible, while if the Sun-Birds shy away from a force user, it usually means they may be feeling inner conflict or doubt with their personal alignment. Sun-Birds can be trained to hunt, scout, or perform many deeds under a talented trainer and have been doing so for some time, though rarely are they used to fight in a battle, but, such things are not unheard of... similar to falconers, the claws or beak of a Sun-Bird forced to defend itself has left many people blind, though, unless they execute a full high speed dive, they pose little lethal threat to a humanoid.
History: Sun Birds have been on Tython since the Je-daii in the earliest days, though as the planet's wildlife grew more wild and developed the numbers of the Sun-Bird began to drop, especially when times of war came to the planet, desecrating their natural mating grounds. Though, enough have always survived with their natural force affinity, giving them the edge in the wild to be able to find one another, and eventually re-propagate, though, sometimes with the help of the Jedi and other conservationists on the planets themselves. Their history as familiars however is more recent, after revelations, discovering the deeper intricacies of their mating patterns and discerning how the Sun-Birds create bonds through the force with their mates, Sun-Bird Falconers have managed to replicate such imprinting so that the noble avians bond with them, usually through the use of the force skill 'animal friendship.' Allowing the Jedi to use the bird as a remote channel for certain force abilities, though such is a complex matter, of which there is some debate to the ethical nature of using the birds in such a manner as more powerful abilities or abilities used too often are known to harm the familiar.
Notable Player-Characters: N/A
Intent: To introduce a cool piece of ecology into the forests of Tython and some of the core worlds, I also intend to use one as a familiar myself for my Jedi, which one could rather assume. I think a bird like this is very well within the bounds of existing, and i think it's rather majestic.
