Broek
| Broek | |
|---|---|
| English gloss | messenger bird (not a homing pigeon) (translation, not identification) |
| Role | Wild |
| Where found | Roedhaven lofts, garrison posts, households |
| Kept / wild | Kept |
| Used for | Carrying messages between fixed points; company, unwisely |
| Lexicon | Broek |
The Broek is a clever black bird trained to fly between fixed points. It is not a homing bird: it goes only where it was taught to go, so the route is the valuable thing rather than the bird. A Broek that knows three routes or more is worth at least a Vaelith. Training takes years, and the birds often outlive their trainers.
It learns faces. A Broek will refuse a strange face at the receiving end and wait hours for one it knows, which is the security of the system and enough for most. Routes are held by Roedhaven keepers and the garrison posts rather than by the cities, because the birds fly the roads and the roads belong to no one; see Roedskrin. Messages move at the speed of a bird between stations and at the speed of a rider everywhere else. Household Broek learn more than anyone intends and repeat it at the worst moment. People find this amusing and keep them for it.