Name:
Sunbird K'Shira

Age/Sex:
39/Male

Physical Description:
Sunbird stands just under six feet, and weighs around a hundred and fourty pounds. He is not skinny, but rather lean and muscular without being overly so. His hair is black, and shows the tale-tell signs of mage-Gift use. Unlike many of the scouts under his command, he enjoys having long hair – when he is due to go on patrol, a hertasi will braid it for him so it is more easily managed. Sunbird’s eyes are a light blue, bleached from a darker shade by the use of magic over three decades.

His clothing, including his “formal” costumes all tend towards earthy colors of browns, tans, golds, and greens. Sunbird is almost never without his climbing stick and his bow and arrows. These weapons are as much a part of him as his hair and height. The feathers that grace his hair are from Taln, and not from any lover.

Personality/Attitude:
Short Personality: Leader, Paternal, and Vain
Sunbird is a leader, first and foremost. He concentrates first on the well being of his scouts, and only then on himself. If there is something he can do to make their duties easier, then he would implement it in a heartbeat, or at least try to. If there is a section un-patrolled, you can be sure than Sunbird will see that it gets done, even if it means waking up in the middle of the night – or interrupting a lovers tryst. He is oddly paternal towards his scouts, but that does not mean he is lenient. Sunbird expects his scouts to do the job assigned them, and not slack off or make a half-hearted attempt.

Only after his scouts have been cared for does Sunbird devote time for himself. This, unfortunately, has lead him to have very few lovers and even fewer as anything other than a very temporary relationship. When not acting as scout-leader, Sunbird is vain – as vain as the firebird that is his namesake. He loves wearing the complex costumes made by his friends and family. While Sunbird knows how to sew, and enjoys it, his products are made for others and not himself.

Brief History:
His was a normal childhood, with his parents a scout and a crafter, and being raised by the entire community in the Vale. Many of the dyheli even had a hand (or should that be ‘a hoof’?) in raising the young Sunbird. For Sunbird was his name at birth, and he has never felt it necessary change it. The name is not silly, like many children’s names, and it fits him.

He knew from a young age that he wished to be a scout, and his leadership skills were praised by many of the older residents in the Vale. His Gifts included a strong animal mind-speech, which would make cleaning out dangerous creatures easier, and a slightly weaker mind-speech, which is useful in communicating. Having these have also granted him a small ability for the mage-Gift. Sunbird can light a fire, and the related skills, but not much else.

When Sunbird reached maturity, he elected to take his own ekele. This was the same time that he became a scout, and not just a scout-in-training. He loved being out of the Vale, into unfamiliar territories. It was during one of his first few patrols that he came upon a young peregrine falcon that had fallen while trying to fly. Sunbird helped the bird right himself and the bird, of bondbird stock, bonded to him. The birds parents did not mind, as they knew being bonded to a human would mean that Taln would have an easier life.

After close to a decade of being a scout, the scout-leader at the time had met a woman from k’Lissa near the Dhorisha Plains. She was there traveling, and studying from other blacksmiths than the one in her own Vale. It was love at first sight, and the leader’s heart was torn in two until the Vale encouraged him to find a new leader for the scouts so that he might go to k’Lissa, for the woman did not wish to live away from there.

The scouts met, and after a few days of speaking the new leader was decided upon. At the age of twenty-four, Sunbird became the new leader of the scouts. With that came the position as Elder in the Vale, so that he might speak for the scouts in the Council.

Nearly a decade and a half has passed since Sunbird became scout-leader, with nothing happening that warrants remembrance. He taught scouts, he nursed injured scouts and buried dead ones, he killed a handful or three of outlanders, he made love to many women. No major revelations, no appearance by the Star-Eyed to tell him anything of vital importance.

Goals in life:
To do well by the scouts under his command, and train new scouts to the best of his abilities. He also strives to keep injuries and fatalities as low as possible, and urges his scouts to do the same.

Bondbird:
Sunbird is bonded to a peregrine falcon by the name of Taln. The bird was hatched to wild birds of the bondbird stock, and was found by Sunbird on Taln’s first attempt to fly – the flight was not to successful, and resulted in Taln meeting the ground. Needless to say, the falcon decided that life with Sunbird would be much more interesting than striving to survive in the wild.

Taln is nearly twice the size of a crow, with his wingspan being well over five feet long, whereas a “normal” peregrine boasts a span of about three and a half feet. Like his less-intelligent counterparts, Taln has a large territory, claiming all of the k’Shira lands, and protects them diligently. However, he has no qualms with allowing other peregrines or different species live in his territory, due to the fact that he is of bondbird stock.

Gift:
He is not a mage, and has never entertained the thought. However, he does possess mind-speech as well as animal mind-speech, with the latter being the stronger of the two. Both come in handy as leader of the scouts. Minor mage-Gift, too minor to do anything other than light a fire or heat water.

Position:
Scout-leader and Elder for k’Shira