Historical Record #
It was around the year 2400 AR when the sky ripped open. Not with thunder, but with a streak of white fire—a comet—that carved a smoking, impossibly deep chasm right between the mountains of The Airspire. The raw, unseen energy of that star-stuff flooded the peaks, changing every living creature it touched. The birds, the beautiful flocks of the region, were the first to feel it. Those who were too close to the blast didn’t just feel the heat; they were remade. They shed their instinctual calls for the hard, crisp sounds of language. Their bodies shifted from feathered beasts to something upright, something that could reason and build. These were the first of the Aarakocra.
On the very edges of that strange event, the change was more subtle, and maybe more tragic. The birds there also learned to stand tall, their wings growing clumsy, turning into things more like arms. But their voices—their trills and whistles—never became their own. The magical shock only let them keep their knack for mimicry, the clever trick of echoing every sound they heard. They could repeat the world but never truly speak for themselves. These clever, silent survivors became the Kenku.
For years, they were simply separate tribes, the winged speakers and the grounded craftsmen. That changed in 2458 AR when an ancient Aarakocra, a visionary named Raa’shuk of the Azure Apex, saw a truth in his dreams. He saw a shared home. He didn’t just talk to his own kind; he reached out to a famous Kenku builder whose name was Anvilsong. The two leaders gathered their people and led them to a high valley right near the scar the comet had left. Their goal was a single city that could hold everyone.
The city they began to carve from the rock was a defiant monument to the sky itself. It wasn’t spread out; it was built straight up. The Aarakocra could land easily on the high, tiered platforms they carved, but the Kenku were the ones who truly built the place. They used their cunning and craftsmanship to weave a dizzying web of ropes, bridges, and pulleys, making the vertical city navigable. They named their incredible work Skyhaven. In the early days, rule was simple—a council of wise elders from both groups they respectfully called The Ponderous Plenum. But as the numbers swelled, that loose system failed. By 2598 AR, the leaders knew they needed more. They created The Feathered Parliament, an elected body with representatives from every corner of the sky-city. Their first great show of power was the building of The Rachis, a central market where the Kenku’s amazing crafted goods could meet the Aarakocra’s long-distance trade. It felt like a golden age, a partnership cemented forever in the stone of The Temple of the Mistral Wind.
But the dream had a crack in it. Around 3100 AR, a bitter jealousy started to spread. The Aarakocra, with their gift of effortless flight, were bringing in all the real money, controlling the valuable, far-reaching trade. The Kenku saw their amazing building skills and clever justice systems valued less than the growing wealth of the winged merchants. A powerful Aarakocra merchant, A’shar of the Unbroken Sky, started to whisper dangerous ideas, shouting that his people were the sky’s true owners and deserved all the power. Standing against him was Cadence, a Kenku who was a master of mimicry. Cadence used his unique voice to echo the most persuasive, emotionally charged speeches he had ever heard, rallying his people against what felt like a creeping, unfair tyranny. The tension grew thick enough to choke on, threatening to shatter the peace they had literally built into the mountain. This growing conflict would come to be known only as The Silent Echoes.
War never fully broke out. The only reason it didn’t was the enduring respect for The Ponderous Plenum. That ancient council of the city’s oldest and most revered figures met to stop the inevitable blood-feud. In 3150 AR, they gave the ultimate decree to re-balance the entire system. The Aarakocra were given final say on the powerful issues of global trade and city defense. But the Kenku were granted greater, undeniable authority over all internal infrastructure and city justice. It was a difficult compromise that restored only a fragile peace, but it drove home the truth: Skyhaven could only live if both halves survived. This new arrangement turned The Feathered Parliament into a place of intense argument and brilliant collaboration. It was a true reflection of the city’s necessary dual nature. Soon after, as a symbol of their renewed financial trust, a group of rich Aarakocra and cunning Kenku investors jointly built The Aeerie, a magnificent inn that celebrated their shared success. The following centuries were a time of steady, powerful growth. The Kenku, finally given the authority they earned, perfected the rope and lift systems, making the sheer verticality of the city an engineering marvel. The Aarakocra, using their unique advantage, made Skyhaven the unquestioned hub for information and trade that moved faster than any ship or caravan on the land below.
Present Day Details #
Founded: 2598 AR
Capitol City: Skyhaven
Citizen Population: 1,085,054
Government Type: Parliamentary
Leadership: The Feathered Parliament and The Ponderous Plenum
Language/Name influences:
- Aarakocra: Sanskrit, Incan, Ancient Egyptian
- Kenku: N/A
