Sheer cliff faces end the Crescent Mountains and join Luna Valley below, the Selene Cliffs are home to graceful birds and winds that carry whispered songs of the skies. This collection captures the regal beauty of their world with sepia-brown tones, gleaming gold accents, and intricate, flowing motifs that echo the majesty of feathered wings in flight. While treacherous for most the cliffs the perfect home for the many birds in the Luna Valley region, along with some other fun creatures like mountain goats that can traverse the difficult terrain.
The Selene Cliffs are known for their strict and traditional ways that are reinforced by their tight knit community. Birds do not tend to "leave the nest" unless it is to build a family roost of their own, leading to multi generational homes as the norm of the cliffs. Parents tend to be deeply involved in their kids lives, seeing it as their personal duty to ensure their child's place in the community and their future success. Sometimes this can become overbearing as the parents chatter amongst themselves to keep all the hatchlings in line leaving little room for mistakes without a witness and an inevitable flight back home with your mother cawing into your ears.
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The Selene Cliffs are known for their strict and traditional ways that are reinforced by their tight knit community. Birds do not tend to "leave the nest" unless it is to build a family roost of their own, leading to multi generational homes as the norm of the cliffs. Parents tend to be deeply involved in their kids lives, seeing it as their personal duty to ensure their child's place in the community and their future success. Sometimes this can become overbearing as the parents chatter amongst themselves to keep all the hatchlings in line leaving little room for mistakes without a witness and an inevitable flight back home with your mother cawing into your ears.The birds of the Isles are a heavily spiritual people and each home holds a dedicated shrine to whomever they declare the family deity that watches over them. These shrines are often hand carved into the cliff faces inside their homes and are always adorned with various "bird gifts" that were found from that day. Bits of string, flowers, fruits, maybe a really shiny rock or three, all diligently organized and cleaned as needed with a few careful pecks. The birds worship more than just the Mysts and the Isles, believing there are many more gods that bless their homes and dictate their fate.Others such as mountain goats and bighorn sheep may also live on the cliff, often following the bird pantheon as well to adapt to a culture primarily run by morning bird song and nosy neighbors.
Carved into the side of all of the cliff faces of Luna Valley are the cave dweller homes of the Selene Cliffs. Nearly all belong to bird families that enjoy it for its central location and year round views with great winds. Like most "permanent" settlements in the Luna Valley many carved homes are generational, while others are transient nests by default used by migratory families or travelers. Many ladders and pulleys stretch along the cliffs for visitors. Often the homes are adorned with windchimes or colorful nest decor (as birds tend to do). During the fall holidays everyone hangs silver bells outside, making a magical sound through the whole valley. It is said that when the bells chime from the winds outside, your loved one is visiting home once more.
As the birds of Mycorzha live naturally a mix of both nomadic and permanent residential life many roost their home here and travel as they wish by flight. It is not uncommon for nests to be empty for a seasonal harvest when the tea leaves ripen in the southern Hazelmoss woods. The different perspective of the Isles allows the bird to travel past the Crescent Mountain range while other cannot, so many have ventured far enough north to see the Frostfire forest and have witnessed some of the strange things that live in those woods (although never up close, everyone knows landing to the north is a death wish). Distant views of strange monsters gave way to stories over time and the birds gossiped amongst themselves until the stories became an extensive religious pantheon that nearly all birds of the Isles follow. Carvings of the many gods the birds pray to are found throughout the cliff faces, and nearly every home has a dedicated shrine to the deity of their given house that is adorned with fruit and flowers.
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Regional Differences
Each region of Mycorzha has many shared beliefs and values, but all the same each have aspects that make them unique.
The Selene Cliffs speak fast and often in metaphors. References to the gods of the bird pantheon are common. "May Liora (Goddess of Fate) be kind to you" might be something said to someone who is venturing into a risky plan. A bird that does not enjoy the light of dawn might mumble curses to Elanna (Goddess of Light). If a new baby is born the bird's would say "Nimmireth (Goddess of Fertility) has blessed your home and Brigha (Goddess of Family) has warmed your fires." Those not from the cliffs often don't understand who these gods particularly are, but still smile at the blessings all the same.
The Selene Cliffs have such an extensive Pantheon filled with lore and magic that it has been put onto its own section found below!
Taking to the strong winds of the cliffside, most art here intertwines with the air itself: wind chimes sing in the breeze, colorful flags flutter with messages of wanderers past, and intricate hanging mobiles sway gracefully as if in a dance with the sky. Just like the birds in our own world, the Selene Cliffs are drawn to bright colors and shimmering objects that glimmer under the sunlight. These treasures are often adorned with elaborate, gold-dusted motifs with intricate patterns.
The four holidays celebrated in most regions of Mycorzha share the names of the four wind god's within the bird pantheon. The Selene Cliffs see these four holidays as celebration of the winds, adorning the cliffs each major holiday with images of the given god and creating miniature shrines in their honor for the day. If the roost sees one of the four winds as their family deity they tend to go all out and see it as the most important day of the year. Those who celebrate Lumeanar will create beautiful displays of glowing mushrooms so large that those in the valley below often travel to go see the displays, while those who celebrate Arda make so much tea to share the cliffs smell of drying leaves and flowers for a month.
Unsurprisingly most that live here enjoy evening flights watching the sunset, kites, and a hearty afternoon of gossip with the neighbors. Many also enjoy being part of "finder's clubs" where they create mini scavenger hunts of things to find on the Isles.
spirituality
Bird Pantheon of the Selene Cliffs
For the denizens of the Selene cliffs and most birds of the isles, the mystical lands of Mycorzha are believed to be ruled by an intricate pantheon of gods and goddesses, all interwoven with the forces of nature and the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. At its heart are the father figure of the Isles and the mother Mysts, whose ethereal union gave birth to the Four Winds, the foundation of balance across the land. From the Four Winds sprang the rest of the pantheon, each deity embodying different elements of nature, magic, and life within this enchanted, fungal world.
The Isles of Mycorzha share the climate of the Northern Americas. While they have some unique plants or mushrooms that only grow on the Isles you might know a few of these plants. Maybe you can find them where you live?
If you find some share your photots with us on Instagram by tagging us @morelitea! Remember to take nothing but photos and leave nothing but footprints.
✦ Scaly Pholiota (Pholiota squarrosa) – Grows at the base of trees or on deadwood along rocky, exposed areas.
✦ Orange Mycena (Mycena leaiana) – Bright orange mushrooms that thrive in damp, shaded areas of cliff edges.
✦ Aspicilia cinerea – Gray, patchy fungus that thrives on dry, exposed rocks, commonly found along high cliff edges.
✦ Umbilicaria americana (Rock Tripe) – Leathery, dark brown patches of fungi found on steep rock faces in exposed areas, surviving in extreme conditions.
✦ Endocarpon pusillum – Black, flat crust that inhabits the cracks and small depressions in cliff surfaces, often in dry areas.
✦ Stereocaulon saxatile – Whitish-gray, shrubby fungi that grow on rocky slopes and cliffs, especially in alpine or cold environments.
✦ Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) – Often grows in rocky outcrops and cliff faces, known for its delicate, nodding red and yellow flowers.
✦ Cliff Goldenrod (Solidago sciaphila) – A hardy, yellow-flowering plant found on cliffs and rocky outcrops.
✦ Eastern Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) – Another columbine species known for growing in crevices of rocky cliffs.
✦ Fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium) – Vibrant pink flowers that grow in disturbed, rocky areas.
✦ Wild Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia) – Prefers rocky, shaded slopes, often found on cliffsides.
✦ Hairy Beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus) – A native flower with purple blooms, growing in rocky and dry environments.
✦ Cliff Maiden (Leptodactylon pungens) – Small white-pink flowers found in rocky, cliff environments.
✦ Rockcress (Arabis lyrata) – White flowers that cling to rock faces and cliffsides.
✦ Serviceberries (Amelanchier alnifolia) – Small trees or shrubs that grow in rocky areas and produce sweet, edible berries.
✦ Gooseberries (Ribes missouriense) – A resilient shrub that can cling to rocky slopes and cliffs, producing tart berries.
✦ Wild Strawberries (Fragaria virginiana) – Hardy ground plants that grow in rocky crevices and produce small, flavorful berries.
✦ Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia humifusa) – Though more commonly associated with deserts, this cactus can also thrive on rocky, sun-exposed cliffs and produces edible fruit.
✦ Sumac (Rhus typhina) – Found growing along rocky slopes, producing clusters of red, edible berries.
✦ Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) – A drought-tolerant, native grass that thrives in rocky, dry conditions.
✦ Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans) – Hardy grass with deep roots, often found in rocky, exposed areas.
✦ Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) – Grows well on rocky slopes and helps stabilize cliffside soils.
✦ Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) – A low-growing shrub found in rocky areas, with small red berries and tough evergreen leaves.
✦ Cliff Fendlerbush (Fendlera rupicola) – A shrub found clinging to rocky cliff sides with white blooms and tough leaves.
✦ Yucca (Yucca filamentosa) – Adapted to rocky and sandy soils, this plant thrives on exposed cliffs with poor nutrients.
✦ Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) – A climbing vine that clings to cliff faces with its tendrils.