Editing Levens (section)

== Ecology ==

=== The Yarvet ===
The '''[[Yarvet]]''' are the great birds of Levens and are native to no other sphere. Unlike most birds of prey they are not solitary hunters: they hunt in groups and can only flourish as part of a flock, one flying high while the others drive prey from below. A yarvet that does not lead does not survive — not all at once, but with every wingbeat spent trying to be something smaller.

Yarvets are considerably larger than common hunting hawks, with wingspans exceeding a man's outstretched arms, and are commonly dappled in copper and stone-grey. The rarest breed is the '''ghost pullet''', whose feathers hold a pale light visible only under moonlight, never sun. Ghost pullets hatch in the cliffside hollows of southern Levens and are prized as noble gifts across the River; birds of a single brood may be recognised by their nesting signal, a slow blink of the left eye first.

Yarvets are hostile to the '''[[Ramsu]]''', the winged mounts of [[San Ema]]. A rider arriving on Levens astride one is set upon in the air, the beast torn open and devoured, its carcass left to fall to the surface.

Terms of yarvet husbandry follow the older vocabulary of the mews: ''pullet'' for a young female, ''formel'', ''tiercel'', ''eyass'', ''intermewed'', ''lure-wise''.