Two professions share certain aspects of specialisation with their brethren in the skies - the birds: the Druids and the Rangers. Members of these professions court empathy from a young age all across the animal kingdom and natural world and, while the flavour of their skillsets vary with the Druids pursuing the less aggressive Ornithology and the Rangers attaining the more belligerent Falconry, the method of attainment for both is the same.
The aspirant bird specialist must have reached the crowning skill level in the core professional/guild skill - Naturalism for the Animist/Druid and Forestry for the Ranger types. He/she must also have attained all other standard guild skills to the maximum level e..g. Spiritualism, Herbs, Poisons and Healing for Animists Guild or Stealth, Poisons, Herbs and Trapping for the Rangers Guild.
Once the skill requirements have been met, the aspirant specialist must be presented with one each of five "presentation" birds. The birds should be presented by five different Elders of the profession.
The five presentation birds are:
the magnifient falcon,
the black crow,
the carrier pigeon,
the sharp-eyed robin, and
the snow-white moon-owl.
Since most of the bird-related skills require a mature and healthy bird to use, this presentation serves the dual purpose of also providing the new Ornithology/Falconry specialist with bird-friends ready, willing and able to ensure abilities can be used. The bird presented should not have been used for this purpose before.
Formal presentation is straightforward in principle but less so in practice. It requires the aspirant bird specialist to be PRESENTed with one of each of the five 'specialist' birds as listed above, by five different individuals. These five individuals must be committed to the profession - be that of rank Elder within their guild, of Guildmaster/Guildmistress status, or holding the profession without break for over an Avalon decade. The presenter must be active in the land for at least an hour, over the current or previous week; no fairweather supporters! At the time of presentation you and the presenter must have mutually declared FRIEND status, personally, to affirm a mutual respect and support.
Syntax: PRESENT <bird> TO <aspirant specialist druid/ranger>.
Use this command to present the bird of your choice to the aspirant Falconry/Ornithology specialist. It must be one of the five listed above and you will need to satisfy the professional commitment criteria (high office, 10 years plus in the profession, etc).
Syntax: PRESENTATIONS or PRESENTATIONS <aspirant player>.
At the point of presentation of the fifth 'presentation bird' the aspirant will not only have a fledgling menagerie of his/her own but will also be able to type PRESENTATIONS while holding all five in his/her inventory. This will review the five symbolic birds, inform of their presentation origins, and - if appropriate in all cases - bestow Ornithology or Falconry on the new specialist. You may type PRESENTATIONS at any time to review the bird-presentation status of your inventory, to watch the tally increase as respected fellows bestow their favour upon you. You will need to have in your inventory all five presented birds, loyal to you and kept as healthy as possible.
This first specialisation, Ornithology or Falconry, brings with it a wide repertoire of abilities, partly depending on one's profession and partly depending on one's woodland affinities (see HELP FORESTS and HELP AFFINITIES). It is also the first step on the path to the broader, more powerful specialisations for both Ranger and Druid professional: Sylvanlore and Animism respectively. You will learn more about these mighty specialisations - providing you are a member of the appropriate guild - when the time is right. Exploration of the guild and city libraries can often prove quite illuminating when delving into the subtleties of bird rearing and sylvanlore/animism.
