The original question for today's topic was about mood-altering substances such as alcohol, coffee, and tobacco use. I'm expanding the topic to involve all "vices," though I'd like to point out that one bird's vice might just be another bird's essential daily need.

Religion/Spiritualism: Morality is not dictated by religious beliefs as humans did not imbue them with a sense of spirituality. Some birds wax philosophical and border on a spiritual connection with nature (Pepro, for example), but there are no churches or institutionalized spiritual leaders. I think that most birds are so practical in daily life that they would laugh at the notion that anyone knows enough of the unseen to be a spiritual leader.

Stimulants: The most common of these is waydrink. It's brewed with black tea, Labrador tea, or Yaupon and gets its name from its common use by birds that fly long distances. Waydrink is offered at most roosteries (inns) but can also be purchased prepared at wayfares (restaurants) or dried in leaf or compressed form from merchants. It's best enjoyed hot but few travelers carry embers with them for fire so they mix the drink cold or carry wads of compressed waydrink in their gullet or crop to absorb the caffeine.

Narcotics and Tobacco: I have not considered this in the canon of the Whiterock books, but I see no reason why they wouldn't exist, other than their access to plants with these properties. Kinnikinic grows throughout Volatalia and Mamyrskit, so it may be utilized as a tobacco, most commonly eaten I would suspect.

Alcoholic drinks: Various fermented brews (beer and wine) exist utilizing natural sugar sources such as honey (mead), berries (huckleberry wine), and even seaweed (seaberry wine). Distilled spirits are also made in smaller quantities. One of the most popular in Whiterock is fykalkol, or seaweed brandy.

Sex: Birds have a strong sex drive, particularly during their mating season. Photoperiod, caloric content of the diet, and sensory cues all work together to drive a strong hormonal cascade resulting in an almost irresistible urge to court, nest, and mate. Monogamy is prized among many individual couples, particularly of certain species, but it is not a sacred pillar of long-lasting relationships as it is in many human cultures. In other words, sexual infidelity will not generally break what is otherwise a strong romantic bond as sex is seen as an activity, not the foundation of a pair bond. That said, some prudish individuals still berate the practice of prostitution, yet do not offer alternatives to sate the season burning lust of those that engage in it. Most of society see the establishments as necessary to prevent an annual epidemic of sexual violence. Sexually transmitted diseases also exist, though in most cases they are considered inconveniences rather than deadly. The Whiterock Institute offers free health services to prostitutes to monitor for and treat STDs.

Addictions: These exist in the Avian Age. Perry is an alcoholic and sex-addict who plies the bordellos of Low Town. Usually his obsession ends when his gold runs out. Then he dries out and returns to the sea to fetch more treasure to spend. Despite mating drive being seasonally strong in birds, when life is good, they often carry a sex drive year-round though at an enormously reduced level outside of mating season and the fall equinox.


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