"When my father passed, a kenku from the market came to my door and spoke a few words in his voice. Just 'good night, little one,' the way he always said it. I've never been given a kinder gift." — a silk merchant of Kiyomura
Kenku were among the species The Twelve created after the first species fell. They're feathered and quick-witted, with wings that can't carry them. Many kenku feel that loss quietly, especially when they see aarakocra overhead. What they have instead is a perfect ear: a kenku can speak as plainly as anyone, but can also copy any voice or sound it has heard. That gift, along with nimble hands, has made them Ezogashima's finest artisans and its most feared spies.
Names
Kenku follow Ezogashima's naming customs, and they're often drawn to names of feathers, wind and sound. Examples:
- Kazehane ("wind feather"), a Daimyo of the Shogunate
- Kurobane ("black feather")
- Suzune ("sound of a bell")
- Kotone ("sound of the koto")
Kenku by Homeland
Ezogashima
In Kiyomura, kenku artisans weave Aetheric Silk and run the Blossom Market alongside the tabaxi. In Tsukishima, they serve as ninja and shugenja, performing shadow dances at the Storm Altar to seal Aetheric rifts. Every clan values kenku spies, and every clan fears the ones it didn't hire.
Beyond Ezogashima
Kenku are rare outside Ezogashima, but some travel with the silk trade, and a kenku merchant can be found in many foreign ports.