The Crane's Perch

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Out to the West of Marrull Vaar a pillar of stone rises at an angle from the swamp, one of the few landmarks that rise above the twisting saltwater mangroves. A structure of wood and rope extends out from the least precarious side of the pillar, growing larger and larger as it climbs up its side. It is called the Crane's Nest.

Once, long ago, a hermit arrived at the base of the pillar. She had been travelling a long time, and she was lost, and her supply of fresh water was running low. As she rested on the stones she spied a crane returning from its fishing trip. The bird carried with it a fish, a perch. She watched as it ate its catch, seemingly oblivious to her, before flying away and returning shortly with another perch. The hermit was overjoyed, as she knew that the perch was a freshwater fish, and she followed the crane as it took flight once more. When she reached the stand of trees she spied a man in white robes, adorned with feather patterns, moving with the grace of a crane, snatching a fish from the water. It was all she could do not to cry out when the stranger transformed into the winged form of that same crane! She filled her canteen and returned to find the bird waiting for her. Over the next few days the crane led her to many of the necessities of survival and, feeling guilty for spying on him, the hermit revealed that she had witnessed his transformation: Transforming into the man, the crane told her that he knew, that he had been testing her, and that his next gift to her would be the bird-like martial art that he practiced. They came to teach more students between them, and those taught more, and the tradition became known as The Crane's Perch - an offering of tutelage to those in need of it.

So the story goes. Nobody actually believed that the Sifu of Crane's Nest was truly a celestial crane in the guise of a man, but the small, precarious martial arts school was certainly real, its students remaining poised and elegant even in material squalor or the din of battle. Not even the students themselves believed. However, now one of their number has returned to Marrull Vaar with a strange tale - the Sifu gathered the whole school on the wind-swept top deck of Crane's Nest, declared that a time of change was upon them, bade them uphold their tradition of charity and righteousness, before shedding his human form and, as an enormous crane, flying up to the heavens.

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