Bahrl Jay

The Bahrl jay is a sentient avian species native to Bahrl, an island region of Ionia, from which it takes its name. The birds are most lively in the early hours, and they are known for their melodic chirps, which carry close enough to song that people speak of the morning songs of the Bahrl jays. Their plumage is a vibrant blue. The species is closely tied to the Wuju swordsman Yi. In the short story Homecoming, as Yi climbed the wind-swept slopes of a fading Ionia, its trees stilled and its lilies withering, he levitated in meditation with his eyes closed and hands folded, listening to the morning songs of Bahrl jays before descending to resume his hike. In Poetry with a Blade, a Bahrl jay appears in a vision that Yi experiences. Within a hidden mountain chamber, his Wuju master, Hurong, snapped his fingers to sunder a wall and reveal the open sky, then leapt from the ledge and transformed into a vibrant blue Bahrl jay, soaring out of the mountain and into the clouds. The other elders and villagers followed, turning into birds and emptying the broken cave in a chorus of squawks, leaving only Yi and the weaponsmith Doran behind.