Fionara Silverbane, a gray-elf woman, had appointed herself the task of cataloguing all the lawful birdlife in the multiverse. Begun when she was only 400 years old, her travels led her to the iron cubes that comprise much of Acheron.

In Avalas (the first layer of the plane), Fionara studied the achaierai. The large, flightless birds stood some 15 feet tall. Shaped like round, plump quail, the birds had four legs and tiny, atrophied wings. Their legs and beak shone with metallic glimmers. The birds' feathers were soft and came in glorious, yet curiously subdued, colors of dim teal, burnt russet, and shadowed gold.

Then one day Fionara came across an achaierai recently deceased. Eager to perform a closer examination, she began dissecting the bird. She had just opened up the breast cavity and was checking the bird's internal organs when two achaierai came through a tunnel toward her.

Unbeknownst (then) to Fionara, achaierai are extraordinarily intelligent and highly organized. These two had arrived to cremate their flockmate. The achaierai were revolted beyond measure at the sight of someone dissecting one of their own. They captured Fionara and presented her “crime” to the rest of the flock. To a bird, all demanded reparation: they condemned her to feel the same overwhelming revulsion they had felt. But Fionara was a scientist and steeled herself well. During the first few centuries of her captivity, she withstood whatever torments the birds devised.

Curiously, the achaierai let Fionara keep her journals. She wrote in them daily, recording minute details about her captors. An entire century was devoted to the relationship between the achaierai and rust dragons. The birds had long domesticated some of these large, insectoid creatures, using them to burrow tunnels through the iron cubes of Acheron. The dragons were far more than mere work animals, however. A single remark from Fionara’s journals sums up the link between these two disparate species: I have never seen such… devotion between master and animal; it rivals that between Ayla, my cooshee (elven dog), and me.

As the years progressed and the achaierai developed more and more ingenious methods of torture, there developed a contest of wills between the lone gray elf and the achaierai flock. She would not submit - and ultimately she won, though in the end that's what broke her.

Fionara escaped to Sigil and delivered her journals to the grandson of a long-ago friend, and then promptly succumbed to madness. She was convinced the birds were after her, that this was all some truly elaborate plot to break her. She spent her remaining decades in an insane asylum, where the mindsmith C. Emmet Runn interviewed Fionara, decided to become a playwright, and subsequently wrote an award-winning play about her (the first of many such plays for him).

Combat: Achaierai are skilled opponents, using two of their four legs to attack per round. Each successful hit causes 2d8 points of damage. If an opponent is 10 feet or taller (or is raised to that height), the achaierai can also bite with its exceedingly wicked beak, inflicting 3d12 points of damage.

The achaierai’s metallic legs are AC -1, whereas its soft body is AC 8. In melee combat, however, the legs are the bird’s weak point. Should a leg sustain 15 or more points of damage, the leg will break and the bird will try to flee. Its movement rate is unaffected until it loses two legs, at which point the rate is halved.

If a bird loses three legs or is otherwise seriously wounded, it will release a stink cloud of black toxic smoke, filling a cubic area approximately 10 feet square. Those opponents caught within the cloud take 2d6 points of damage automatically and must save versus poison or suffer from insanity for 3 hours. In the confusion that follows, the bird drags itself away to safety at a movement rate of 6, using its pitifully short wings to help it scramble.

As the absolutely last resort, achaierai use their domesticated rust dragons to defend their lairs. This is often a sacrificial gesture, however. The dragons create a diversion, allowing whatever remains of the flock to escape.

Habitat/Society: Achaierai are gregarious birds, forming small flocks of 1d8 members. These smaller flocks frequently congregate, particularly during their sporadic migrations. As Fionara Silverbane noted in her studies, achaierai have no set pattern for migration. They simply gather together, attach harnesses to many of their rust dragons, and fly to another cube in Avalas. In her long sojourn with the birds, Fionara recorded only 14 such migrations.

Achaierai mate for life, living some 30 years. Every year a mated pair produces a clutch of two eggs. The mortality rate among young achaierai is high - most notably because of their clutchmates. Achaierai reach adulthood at age three and can speak all bird languages and Planespeak (the planar equivalent of common).

These birds have an interesting symbiosis with the rust dragons inhabiting Acheron. Achaierai periodically gather rust cocoons and care for the metamorphosing creatures inside until they hatch into rust dragons. Fionara Silverbane noted considerable affection between the two species, much like dogs and humans. The dragons help create tunnels in the metal cubes for the achaierai to make their lairs. What the rust dragons receive in return - beside affection - not even Fionara could determine.

Ecology: Found almost exclusively in the layers of Avalas and Thuldanin on the plane of Acheron, achaierai have been spotted on the Prime Material Plane, loitering in dark caverns and tunnels. They are carnivorous birds, though they supplement their diet with a considerable amount of iron, which exudes out of their exposed flesh and accounts for the high Armor Class of their legs.