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Owl

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An owl familiar used by Alen the Seer[1]

Owls (including night-owls and hive owls)[2][3] are birds. They are native to Old Terra.[4a]

Physiology and habits

Owls are stocky, with claws and wide eyes.[4b][5][3][6] They perch on branches, and are known for twitching their heads, which they can tilt to one side, or swivel to look behind themselves without moving their bodies.[7][8][9][10]

They are known to hunt mice and rats.[5][9][11]

Uses

Owls have been known to be used by Astropaths as familiars.[1]

Symbolism

Banners of the Mentor Legion[14]
  • Owls are a symbol of wisdom.[12]
  • The Mentor Legion had owls as their symbol.[14]
  • They form part of the symbol of House Janiak of Obsidia: a shark circling around, with an owl in the centre gripping a lightning bolt, representing daring, wisdom, and fury.[12]
  • Owl-archetypes are a symbol of the Athanaean cult discipline, with cult member Menes Kalliston having a tattoo of it on his right temple.[13]
  • Night-owls were the totem animal of a hill clan of Cloud Runner's home world. The wrought iron gates of a mansion bore the sign of a night-owl, which made Cloud Runner wonder whether the mansion may have belonged to the clan chieftain.[2]
  • Cardinal Xereum was nicknamed "the Owl" by the community of his cathedral.[6]

Sources