crowned High Anthem just as those of Avuckka had their talons' grip on Low. It had been this way since before even the Tragic War, and -- unlike other inhabitants of High, who would on occasion drift down to Low, those of Ckorassackea feather remained above the dark.

Superficially, there were many similarities between those of Ckrossackea and Avucckakea passerine; most limbs and sensory organs were in symmetrical pairs, they bore beaks and bladed feet, fingered, thumbed hands, and so on -- but no passerine would ever call them the same as they. It was said and believed of them, with some wonder and some fear, that they were beings of a different sort, something part feather and part condensation, beings spun from bone and cloud, closer to skybeasts and precipitation than mere blood-and-flesh passerine. They were fairies. They spoke with eloquence, only the truth, and bore strange powers of foresight concerning the weather and the stars; they glistened with a color which could not be seen in Low.

Should any passerine come into contact with any Ckrossackea, that passerine would know (it was said) because those of Ckrossackea were generally of shorter stature than a passerine. Ckrossackea might not know manners or the accepted social behaviors of the time or place, they might not know the language. If they were in Low at all, it meant they wanted something which would fulfill their ambiguous pleasure, and they would likely pursue this thing until they possessed it to their liking.

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