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Itsumade — Description

When it comes to traveling to foreign lands, I found that there are often categories that the local flora, fauna and fungi fall into. There are, of course, the famous/infamous species, the ones everyone outside of these regions have heard about. The creatures whose tales or imagery has reached far beyond their own territories, so that folks who have never even been close to these places know them by name. If you are visiting this area, you are counting on seeing at least one! Then, sadly, there are many that outsiders don't know about and frankly wouldn't even care if they did see one. Species that blend into the background, of no real fame or interest to the masses. If a guide pointed them out, it would only gain a polite nod and a half-hearted "mhmm" from tourists before they quickly forgot about it. Fools to ignore such wonderful things, even if they seem mundane! But then, you run into an interesting category, which is the species that people are more unknowing of and less talked about, but garner a shocked "what the hell is that?!" from travelers who encounter them. Creatures that you never knew existed but now have a hard time believing people never told you about. Sure, they may not be as crazy or cool as the iconic critters of the land, but one look gets you wondering why more people aren't spreading the word! This can be in a good or bad way, but at the very least they grab your attention! And the itsumade is certainly one of those species!
Honestly, I hadn't heard much about them before my trip to this land, but the second I saw one flying overhead, I demanded to know everything about them! What is that thing?! What kind of bird is that?! Oh how I must have filled my guide with regret for taking this job when I bombarded him with a hundred questions. He did his best to tell me that this big ol bird was an "itsumade," probably struggling to even understand my excited rambling. Indeed, the itsumade is a pretty large bird but size isn't the only thing that makes it striking! Bright colors on its neck and wings draw the eye, and then the other features really catch your attention! A long serpentine tail that trails behind it, and then that strange naked head that unsettles many viewers. While the neck has a pretty fabulous mane, the head itself is bare of feathers, save for a mighty crest on the males. The skin is surprisingly pale, and the features give it an almost human-like look. You kinda have to squint to see it, but it seems to stand out more to humans, who really don't like the image of this freaky avian.
It seems one of the big reasons the itsumade isn't talked about a lot outside of its natural range is because people seem to find it ugly. Or more so unsettling and strange. Most folk would prefer to never see one, and that is especially true for locals who know what the appearance of an itsumade means. Despite their "scary" appearance and pointy bits, these birds aren't really predators. Instead, they are scavengers, with their diet mostly being carrion. Their flight through the skies is them searching for dead things to feed upon, their serrated beak easily tearing through rotted flesh. Their scaly barbed tails are used to ward off predators, but also to swat away other scavengers that try to muscle their way in. Itsumade, however, are quite large, and thus need a hefty amount of food to fill their bellies. This means they typically don't waste their time with tiny morsels, only going after them if food is truly scarce. No, what they are searching for is a proper feast! So that means when you see an itsumade hurrying its way across the sky, you know that death is nearby. And lots of it.
These birds have gained a foul reputation due to being the first arrivals at scenes of great carnage. Like a plague killing an entire herd of livestock, or a deadly battle leaving many slain soldiers behind. Spotting an itsumade is seen as a terrible omen, as their presence means that something horrible has gone down. So good are they at sniffing out these banquets, that these birds have occasionally been responsible for alerting locals that something terrible has indeed happened. I recall one such tale where after a nasty storm, the appearance of an itsumade made people cautiously curious of why it had come. Following its flight, they discovered a tree that had been uprooted by the weather, and the bird scratching away at the churned up hole. After a little digging through the exposed mud, a mass grave was found. The tale claims it was the secret of a long revered lord, whose beloved status came from him quietly killing off any dissidents and disappearing their bodies. The itsumade have also alerted folks to plagues or hidden bandits, where death claimed many in silence. This would be seen as a good thing, but it is all dependent on who you ask. Some would say that the itsumade is merely a sign of these events, while others claim the itsumade is the perpetrator of these tragedies. An omen of things to come, or what has already happened.
As you can see, it doesn't make these birds all that popular with the people, as some see them as causers of evil, while others know them as a symbol of bad things to come. The sight of one garners a real "oh no, what happened?" in whoever spots it. Hearing their call, which sounds like their name, sends chills down peoples spines. They are avoided, especially by those who think the itsumade themselves bring about these disasters. Stories of these birds carrying misery and plagues with them, which probably isn't helped by the fact that they often eject their stomach contents at those who disturb them. Getting blasted with a bunch of half digested rotting flesh really does give the impression that it is spewing disease and death at you. Or I guess a little more than an impression because that is kind of literally what it is doing. But not in a bad way! Not the "I am vomiting a thousand plagues upon you, your family and this entire land" and more of "I am puking dead putrid flesh on you because you are bothering me" Like, you can see the difference, right? Or maybe not. What I am saying is that one is bad and the other one is....less bad. Hmmmmm, maybe I should be talking less about the itsumade....
Chlora Myron
Dryad Natural Historian