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This, is Liara. She’s a falling stars phoenix, a rare subspecies of phoenix. The birth of a falling stars phoenix is said to be an omen of great change; for good or for ill. Wherever these birds fly, you can be sure change is to follow. Add this to the fact that, according to legend, a falling stars phoenix can bless or curse an individual with a shift in fortunes, and it was inevitable that this subspecies of phoenix was given the moniker “harbinger of change”. If you happen to find a falling stars phoenix feather and you’re willing to take a gamble, burning it is said to guarantee a change in your life in the near future; though whether it’s for better or worse is entirely up in the air.
Falling stars phoenixes are unique in the way they are reborn. First of all, instead of being individual, an entire flock will all pass on at the same time. On their burning day, they are instinctually drawn to the very upper atmosphere of the planet. There, they die, and burst into flames, burning down to ash, which each compact into a tight little ball as the birds fall faster and faster toward the ground; the flock of phoenixes painting the skies as a meteor shower. And wherever they strike the ground, the ashy rock explodes, coating their new impact crater nest with the ash they will be reborn from. There, the birds rest and recover, until they grow old enough to have flight feathers again, and take to the skies as a flock.
While some falling star phoenixes prefer solitude, the majority of them are found in flocks of all sizes. These birds mate for life, and once paired, never leave the other’s side. Life after life they will follow each other, their love eternal, even if the birds are not. Because of this, some phoenixes can go thousands of years before choosing a mate.
When these phoenixes lay eggs, they only do so once in their lifetime. The birds always produce only two eggs, which are gray in color, flecked with lighter and darker grays in a remarkable resemblance to a rock. These eggshells are in fact just as hard, and extremely difficult to crack. While the vast majority of falling stars phoenixes hatch without issue, some get stuck, and experience their very first burning day within the shell, the extreme heat quite literally causing the egg to explode. Luckily, the parents can sense when this is about to occur, and wisely relocate themselves and the chick who has already hatched behind some cover so as not to get injured or even killed by the flying eggshell shrapnel. If their sibling hasn’t hatched yet, this can also trigger a burning day for them as well if the shrapnel pierces their egg, prompting yet another explosion that can also potentially off the first chick a second time.
At any burning day, the falling stars phoenix can choose to die the Final Death, and instead of compacting into an ashy rock upon their death as usual, their ash will instead scatter and disperse. Mated phoenixes will always die the Final Death together, passing on into the afterlife as one. However, there is a way for these birds to be forcibly killed for the final time. If they are in a situation where they physically cannot burst into flame (in the water, in a vacuum, etc.) then that death will be their final one. As phoenix ash is in general an extremely rare and valued commodity in the black market, people will illegally hunt down these birds and kill them for their ash, which can be used in rituals involving change of any sort, from shapeshifting to changing one’s destiny to changing sex. But what makes falling stars phoenix ash especially valuable is the fact that unlike normal phoenix ash, it can be used to resurrect more than just the recently dead.
However, obtaining this ash comes at a cost: should the murdered falling stars phoenix be mated, their partner will stop at nothing to avenge them, calling upon all the powers at their disposal to do so. And nothing ruins your day more than to be bombarded by a summoned meteor shower from an utterly enraged, vengeful bird absolutely bent on murder-suicide.
Thankfully, phoenixes as a whole are both rare and extremely difficult to find, and this subspecies is even rarer. Unfortunately, this only makes their ash that much more valuable. But with as rare as falling stars phoenixes are, there have only been three recorded instances of someone finding and killing one - two of whom were murdered shortly after by their mates, while the third had stolen an egg to be raised for the slaughter. There was a fourth who attempted to do the same, only their egg happened to be one of the ones where the hatchling got stuck and exploded. Needless to say, that poacher did not survive the attempt, and the falling stars phoenix was eventually found and moved to a wildlife rehabilitation center, where she was safely raised and released.
Yes, she. Guess who’s egg that happened to be? Yup, that’s right. Liara’s. And when it came time for her to leave, she made sure to bless the sanctuary before she did; that the place would always inspire change for the better, for every being that passed through their doors. A blessing that still lasts to this day.
And every once in a while, Liara will visit, affectionately interacting with the workers and animals there. And even though she misses those who have gone, she can’t help but feel right at home in poking around to discover just how much the place has changed since last she visited.
