Meandering along the riverbanks of Ethecorra’s forests, you may find the Duskrain Heron.
A tall, beautiful, and elegant wader that is known for his deep blue-grey plumage.
He is not just any bird though, despite his appearance. It’s said that if you catch a glimpse of him just before rainfall, his plumage will darken. The deeper the colour, the heavier the storm to come. This is when he’s seen most often, drawn by instinct to hunt just before the first drop falls.
Nocturnal by nature, the Duskrain Heron prefers the light of the moon over the light of the sun. He waits patiently at misty riverbanks for fish, frogs or crustaceans to wander too close.
Few ever see him clearly, but many have heard his haunting cry echo across the water.
Legend says that the Duskrain Heron once had pale plumage, lightly coloured. He was a bird that wandered by the light of the sun, but when the first great storm struck the earth, the rain overwhelmed him and buried him beneath the sodden riverbank soil. For days, he lay beneath the mud and water. And when he rose at last, his feathers were no longer pale. They had taken on a richness that only came from the storm-soaked earth- deep and rich.
Fish that once swam close now saw his silhouette clearly, and fled. Frogs, who saw the fallen feathers amongst the reeds, changed their paths.
His prey no longer came near.
And so, one evening, he waited until the light was fading and the water had stilled before he tried something new. He waited until dusk before beginning his hunt.
And beneath the light of the moon, he found his first full meal since he had risen from the mud.
From then on, the Duskrain Heron fed only beneath the fading light, using the moon to light his way. And ever since that first burial beneath the storm, his feathers have remembered the rain. They darken as the moisture thickens the air and the pressure shifts-as if preparing to be buried again.
~ Nerien.