On Venatical Practices in the Empire

Gaius Apanar, 3E284

As I covered in the last chapter on the legendary hunting practices of what in Cyrod is known as the Sugar Whale, I would be remiss if I didn't speak of aqyrut, a practice found commonly in the shore-sands of Hammerfell.

While the alik'r are known for their bravery, and their tenacious sand-chants uttered upon open steel, they are often less known for more domestic practices. One of which is aqyrut, the practice of hunting game with an aqyr, or 'hawk' in the common Cyrod.

Topping out at a maximum speed just under four actus a second, the aqyr is used to hunt small game, using its excellent and superior vision to find prey and quickly swoop in for the kill. It is also believed that they are used for their superior hearing to detect still far-off intruders. In the society of the ra'ga however, they are considering sacred among all of Kynareth's creatures.

At first merely a practice of the alik'r and a few members of the old ruling class, the Crowns, it soon found favor in High Rock, where it became a contest of sport seen with much competitive spirit in both Wayrest and Daggerfall, with even legends of necromancers resurrecting hawks as choice familiars and servants, primarily for their ability to scout and detect intruders. In fact, the aqyr have a much older and revered status among the tribes of the alik'r, and not as hunters, but as scouts.

During the "warrior wave" of the ra'ga, the burdened sword-orphans escaping Yokuda's destruction had started to lose hope upon finding any sort of land to arrive upon. Only able to trust in the wind, they soon began to fear never finding a home to call to their own.

It is said that their wind-god Tava, took pity on them, and sent an aqyr to search for any sighting of land. After five days, the aqyr returned with a piece of wasabi in its beak, and upon arriving into Hammerfell, the ra'ga gave thanks to Tava and the "god-of-no-more-sailing-today."

From that point on, the aqyr became a "treasure" of the yoku people, and though the status of the hawk has diminished with the eras, some still use them to hunt, and they tend treat them as partners, rather than actual servants.

In the next chapter, I will discuss the various methods of bosmeri halieutics, where I will describe their usage of tree-roots grown off of seed-grown arbonautical vessels in the catching of a daily meal.