Selene Cliffs

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 are 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.

Community and Family

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 multigenerational 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.

Cliff Dwellings

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 wind chimes 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.

Dialect

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 birds 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.

Art

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.

Holidays

The four holidays celebrated in most regions of Mycorzha share the names of the four wind gods 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.

Common Activities and Interests

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.