by Lady Emily
To Monsters and Creatures Treatises
Few birds, indeed few creatures at all, evoke the strange feelings created by the Reln. To see the Reln stalking silently along an eventide riverbank, flapping over darkened waters, or to hear its haunting call are all experiences which leave us wondering if the worlds have crossed -- if life, in that very moment, has not somehow irrevocably changed.
Cousin to the heron, the Black Reln stands half again taller than the more common great heron, and its wingspan, when flying, can sometimes be nearly as wide as two men are tall. An impressive bird, then, by size alone. But there is more to the Reln.
A nighthunter, the Reln is seldom seen, but its call is often heard, for the great bird does not fear the presence of human habitations. Its long, mournful cry echoes out as if from some deep, hollow recess, playing through a strange melody of notes with an eerie clarity. The sound, it is said, can travel a league if the land is clear of trees. The call seems to mark a Reln’s territory for the night. If you sit quietly along the banks of a river or lake as eventide falls, you’ll likely as not see a gathering of four or five birds framed against the darkening sky as they come to look for hunting grounds. One by one they will drop down, spread their great wings wide, and settle into the shallows. After a moment or so, the settled bird will give out its call, long and clear, and shall not sound it again until it finds a new hunting ground.
In the shallows, the Reln hunts its favorite prey – small fish, crayfish, large, sleeping waterbugs, and even small mice that venture too near the shore. It is for the Reln’s hunting that people venture out at night, hoping to catch the elusive bird in its stalking. The movement is beautiful to watch, a study in stillness, calmness, and lightning-quick, fluid motion. The Reln moves silently through the waters, lifting one leg and then the other, almost too slowly for the eye to follow. Then, when it has spotted its prey, its sinuous, graceful neck arches up and back, holds for a moment, and then darts down to grab its meal. The Reln’s hunting has been the inspiration not only for a Jeddan unarmed martial art which utilizes linear, jabbing thrusts and kicks, but some say for the development of the rapier, as well, a weapon which copies the Reln’s long, lethal stabbing attack.
Indeed, the Reln is renowned as a warrior among birds, and will not hesitate to scare off great herons, eagles, or land-based competitors such as raccoons or otter. Of course, the Reln’s nocturnal habits make territorial disputes rare, since much of the rest of the animal world is sleeping, but if the need arises, the Reln is sure to meet it.
Much lore, as well, has collected around this black and mostly invisible bird. To see Relns flying out of the east meant that old magics were at work, and that the echoes of ancient ways and voices would be invoked throughout the lands that very night. To view a Reln catching a water snake was a foreteller of doomish tidings, and to hear the Reln’s call after sundown meant that spirits were near, while if heard during the sunlight hours, it meant that the deities themselves were, in that moment, gazing upon you.
In Aranor, the Silver River and Lake Alain, as well as the lesser waterways and ponds throughout the city, serve as the gathering places for great numbers of Relns, and their haunting songs can be heard throughout much of the city at nightfall, and then here and there as night deepens toward morn. It is for this reason, perhaps, that Queen Lillian chose the Reln as the symbol of Aranor. The bird graces the city’s flag, as well as the uniforms of her guards, and is imprinted upon official city documentation. One thing is agreed upon by all – the Reln cuts a striking, regal figure, and seems a fitting choice for Queen Lillian’s reign, which is itself steeped in mystery.
To Monsters and Creatures Treatises