Adult Female
Name: unnamed
Species: Red Rosa Dove
Birthday: Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Owner: Sadrel
Element: Neutral
These doves grow quickly, and with age, their elegant petal-feathers only grow brighter and more fragrant. The best way to detect a rosa dove is through smell rather than sight, for their petals blend in perfectly with wild roses and other flowers when these birds remain still. The odor they emit, however, is wonderfully fragrant and combines the scents of many different types of flowers. They are one of the few birds with a good sense of smell, and use it to find a mate by judging a potential partner’s fragrance. Wealthy Synarans are known for keeping large aviaries full of many different varieties of rosa dove, prizing them for their colors, aromas, and affection. They prefer to live in large groups for protection and are highly social animals as a result, caring for each other’s offspring and spending hours every day preening. Despite their harmless appearance, rosa doves don’t come unarmed; any would-be predator knows to stay well clear of their sharp, thorny feet.
There are many debates about the origins of these elegant birds. Although they are found most often around Synara city and the sparse woodlands near the Stream, rosa doves probably originated in distant forests. They are popular among both magi and ordinary people, often allowed to fly about gardens to keep the pest populations low, and to serve decorative purposes as well. There are many different varieties of rosa dove, some bred for their color and others for their pungent aromas which waft through the air when they fly. The scent comes from oils in their petals, which are highly prized in Synara for the aromatic perfumes they produce. The petals may be collected without harming the birds, as they constantly molt and discard any petals that are not in top condition. At the Keep, rosa doves are valued for these same oils, as they can be used to make briar water, a key ingredient in many love and sleeping potions. In Synara, they have an old tradition of being released at weddings and special celebrations. When they fly, rosa doves drop some of their petals, and when several dozen of them are released at once, fragrant petals rain down on the guests in a spectacular show of color.
Sprite art: Xenomorph (adult) | Description: PKGriffin