Caral Long Sparrow Messaging Network

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he Caral Long Sparrow Messaging Network is a series of houses across the New Realm. The houses hold flocks of birds called Caral Long Sparrows. This efficient system of using Caral Long Sparrows to transport messages from one location to another location has been in use for a long time.

History

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he concept of using birds to transport messages has been in use since before the New Realm. On Old Earth, the folk used a variety of birds, depending on the area, to send messages to and from the dragon folk. The choice of bird depended on where the message was being sent to. Small birds delivered messages to nearby locations, while long-distance birds carried messages across oceans.

Unsurprisingly, folk quickly set up a messaging system using birds in the New Realm. The Caral- Supa dragon folk were the first to discover the long sparrow in its natural habitat. They noticed the sparrows mated for life, and traveled from one flock to another at long distances. The birds were easy to train, and they quickly became an essential method of communication within the New Realm.

System

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ach city and town owns a “house” which is really a tower with a large birdhouse on top. Members of the Unified Religion maintain the houses. There are “housekeepers” who maintain the house at the top of the tower and receive the messages. If the nearby population is big enough, a "towerkeeper" at the base of the tower receives messages that are to be sent out.

They train the sparrows to fly to a particular place and come back, and a tag on their ankle shows the location. The message is a small piece of papyrus which is attached to the ankle of the bird. They send the message using a bird that is trained to fly to that destination.

In large cities, they use young boys as runners to deliver messages throughout the city.

For long distance messages, birds deliver a message to a central location. They attach the message to another bird, which then delivers it to the final destination.

Controversy

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n the beginning, folk discovered the network had been undermined. Powerful members of society were paying the housekeepers to read messages of their competitors. To resolve this problem, the Unified Religion took control of the network. Although ordinary people use the network, the elite send messages using their own birds.

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Related Species

• Caral Long Sparrow