Adult Male
Name: unnamed
Species: Phoenix Simurgh
Birthday: Sunday, September 27, 2020
Owner: Inari
Mother: unnamed
Father: unnamed
Element: Neutral 
Simurgh are one of the longest lived creatures that can be found at the Keep, and those who avoid the perils of living in the wild never die or even seem to age. The only thing that changes about them is the cadence and rhythm of their howls. Simurgh vocalize often, with most of the sounds they make being low growls or whines. However, their howls are the most unique thing about them. The howl of a young simurgh is a strange thing that hints at the experiences of its short life, but the howl of an ancient simurgh can induce an experience that is close to a hallucination, evoking images of ancient landscapes or creatures that no one has ever seen. Simurgh are graceful and patient, with never a wasted movement or vocalization, and it is thought that they communicate wisdom gleaned through eons of instinctive memories through their howls. Magi have spent their entire lives trying to understand a simurgh's howling song, convinced that it contains information about histories long forgotten or about the origin of magic itself. Others think that simurgh can use their strange instinctive knowledge to predict upcoming events, and there is some evidence for this in reports of simurgh howling before a catastrophe. Young simurgh, too, will listen with rapt attention when an older simurgh howls, and the more they hear it, the more their own howls begin to gain the same mysterious power.
Simurgh in many colorful varieties are found all around the world, and are beautiful, elegant creatures. The males tend to be brighter and more showy than the females, with crests and long feathered tails, in order to attract mates. Simurgh are suited more for flight than for terrestrial hunting, and when they hunt in a pack, whether it be in the tropical jungles of Raza or the cold wastes of Arkene, they never miss their intended target. Simurgh hunt in the evening and dawn, and they communicate via growls, whines and barks to organize pack hunting efforts. When the prey is caught, the pack will howl together in a hair-raising melody that evokes the flow of the recently completed hunt. This is thought to be another form of learning for the simurgh, as adults with little hunting prowess become tremendously skilled after only one kill with a pack. A lone, juvenile simurgh will sometimes join a pack for one hunt and then leave, their hunting skills having improved immeasurably from only one experience. Adult simurgh will also vocalize to their eggs, and this is thought to underlie the grace that hatchlings are born with.The only thing that will quiet a simurgh is water - they will not hunt or howl in the rain, will avoid rivers and streams, and if doused in water, the simurgh will stay silent and will appear to lose much of its instinctive grace and skill until it dries off. When this happens, they are vulnerable, and this is the only way simurgh have been observed to lose their lives in the wild. At times people will observe simurgh and attempt to unlock the key of their hunting song, but other than reports of fleeting images that the howls evoke, no one has truly understood it.
Sprite art: Tekla (adult) | Description: Raneth