Entity: Winged Warrior

Source Howl of the Wild pg. 82 ^2.1

Nature provided wings to certain creatures to help them soar above predators or reach food hanging from tall trees or the side of a cliff. When those graced with wings no longer have to depend on flight for survival, their appendages can be turned to a different use: combat. In addition to granting strategic elevation over foes, wings provide a variety of combat advantages.

Winged warriors are found independently among several ancestries. While awakened animals seem able to use these techniques as if by instinct, tengu of the Inner Sea region are the most commonly seen practitioners of this fighting style. Naval and pirate crews in the Shackles particularly value a tengu’s skill at boarding actions. Warriors able to take flight, even temporarily, can often name their price when joining a crew on the Fever Sea. Despite the ranged armaments available on most ships, many sailors are hard-pressed to defend against skilled aerial assailants.

Even those who develop wings later in life, like certain surkis and those with grafted wings, can learn the fighting style of a winged warrior. Although it’s a long path, many of the techniques involved are reinvented, rediscovered, and even updated by individual warriors.