For narrative speculation on this item, see Historia Aetherium: Feathered Horrors.
Item
Image | ![]() |
Description | Fashion shows will display cloaks or shawls like this sometimes, with layers of manufactured feathers. Few of them bother to restrict themselves to the soft tones of actual feathers, though. Actually, on closer inspection, they might be actual feathers and the whole thing is definitely hand made. It's hard to say how many of the species represented are extinct, but the smart bet is on "most of them." The whole thing seems fragile, like feathers might just fall out for no reason. So unless some corporate nutjob has been playing around in a cloning lab, this cloak has been very well taken care of. |
Type | Shirt (Usable when equipped) |
Hidden Flags | Bird Suit Part |
Use | (see below) |
Effects | +2 Etheric Power +2 Evasion Power Slightly Increases Chance of Choice Encounters |
Sources
Zack's House of Coins, originally released on March 29, 2010 (2 unearthly coins)
Uses
Adventuring with this item equipped causes you to have special feathered cloak encounters. These will either give you a genuine feather of some kind (see Feather Drops, below), give you an effect (see Chains and Crystal Feathers, below), or lead to other special outcomes (see Chains, below). This item is also required to obtain the Tamer of Secrets avatar.
General Mechanics
Adventuring with this item equipped triggers special events at certain intervals. There seems to be a minimum amount of Energy that you must spend between cloak-related events. It is unclear whether only Energy spent in choice encounters counts, or if other activities also count (and, if not all of them do, which ones do and don't). Similarly, there is an maximum interval between chain-related cloak encounters, but the precise duration of this interval is unknown.
None of the special cloak-related encounters cost Energy.
Adventuring with this item equipped increments hidden counters, one for each feather type (owl, raven, and hawk.) Options you pick from choice encounters increment the counters.
Counter | Incremented By |
---|---|
Owl | Energy spent walking away from choice encounters (1 energy/5 walk-aways) |
Raven | Choosing options in choice encounters that do not lead to a combat or walk-away |
Hawk | Choosing options in choice encounters that lead to a combat |
Each counter seems to have a maximum value (20?). Having a counter max out triggers a crystal feather effect if you have a crystal feather of the appropriate type equipped. Otherwise, you will receive a feather drop. If only one counter is maxed out, you will get a genuine feather of the corresponding type. If more than one counter is maxed out, Owl takes precedence over Raven, and both take precedence over Hawk. When a counter triggers, it resets to zero.
Counter (Owl > Raven > Hawk) | Encounter | Result |
---|---|---|
Owl | Drifting Owl Feather | Item: genuine owl feather |
Raven | Drifting Raven Feather | Item: genuine raven feather |
Hawk | Drifting Hawk Feather | Item: genuine hawk feather |
Chains
Adventuring with both the cloak and a genuine feather equipped allows you to initiate chains. (Crystal feathers cannot be substituted for genuine feathers in chains.) Unequipping the cloak at any time, or not having a genuine feather equipped to continue the chain, will immediately terminate your chain. After spending enough energy (see above) with the cloak and a genuine feather equipped, you will receive a special encounter (determined by your chain state—see below). In all cases, you will lose your equipped feather upon receiving this encounter.
Counters do not seem to have any effect on chains. Adventuring with the appropriate type of feather should lead to the same special encounter no matter what options you pick in choice encounters. (This probably means that completing a chain is a good way to max out your counters to receive quick feather drops when you are done.)
Using the cloak while it is equipped will give you a message about your current chain state. The first sentence of the message is always:
You run your fingers through the cloak, straightening stray feathers.
If you do not currently have a chain in progress, the next sentence will be:
It's so soft you can easily imagine the real elites wearing them.
Other messages that can follow the first sentence are listed below.
Note that in chains with three or more steps, the first two feathers may be used in either order. In other words, hawk > raven and raven > hawk may yield different special encounters, but they are equivalent for purposes of determining your ultimate chain result. This is indicated below by putting the first two feathers in a long chain in curved brackets.
NOTE: Beginning a chain with two of the same feathers acts the same as beginning with one, except the third feather will terminate the chain. (E.g. if you go "Owl, Owl", the third feather will act as though it were preceded by a single Owl, but the fourth feather will start a new chain.) There is no benefit to doing this.
ALSO: If you perform a 2-feather chain with feathers of different types, the third feather will trigger the same result and end the chain. (E.g. "Hawk Raven Raven" will trigger the technique-learning encounter a second time.)
Chain | Encounter | Cloak Use Text | Results |
---|---|---|---|
Owl | Owl Feather (Floats Away) | The owl feathers at your shoulders are arranged in strange patterns, but you get them back in order. | 50 Energy of Soft Wind |
Owl Owl |
Owl Feather (Floats Away) | The owl feathers around your shoulders point in a dozen strange directions, refusing to point where you want. | 50 Energy of Soft Wind |
Raven | Raven Feather (Crumbles) | The raven feathers down towards the bottom feel a bit damp, but you wipe the moisture away. | 50 Energy of Dark Wind |
Raven Raven |
Raven Feather (Crumbles) | The raven feathers at the trim of the cloak feel slick, almost slimy, and won't wipe clean. | 50 Energy of Dark Wind |
Hawk | Hawk Feather (Muscle Spasm) | The hawk feathers in the middle of your back seem drawn together by static, but you manage to sort them out. | 50 Energy of Guiding Wind |
Hawk Hawk |
Hawk Feather (Muscle Spasm) | You run your fingers through the cloak, straightening stray feathers. The hawk feathers in the middle of your back cling to each other with an annoying static electricity, refusing to get in line. | 50 Energy of Guiding Wind |
Owl Raven |
Raven Feather (Black Stain Sinks Into Skin) | The owl and raven feathers seem strangely energized, refusing to fall back into place. | [None] Or, if Etheric: learn Cloak of Feathers |
Owl Hawk |
Hawk Feather (Marathon) | The hawk and owl feathers seem strangely energized, refusing to fall back into place. | 3 XP* in Strength |
Raven Owl |
Owl Feather (Long-Asked Question) | The owl and raven feathers seem strangely energized, refusing to fall back into place. | 3 XP* in Will |
Raven Hawk |
Hawk Feather (Another Master) | The hawk and raven feathers seem strangely energized, refusing to fall back into place. | 3 XP* in Reflexes |
Hawk Owl |
Owl Feather (In Focus) | The hawk and owl feathers seem strangely energized, refusing to fall back into place. | 3 XP* in Perception |
Hawk Raven |
Raven Feather (Greasy Black Mist) | The hawk and raven feathers seem strangely energized, refusing to fall back into place. | [None] Or, if Etheric with raven's eyes equipped: learn Raven's Eyes technique Or, if Etheric with a jagged hawk talon equipped: learn Hawk's Talon technique Or, if Etheric with an owl's mask equipped: learn Owl's Mask technique |
{Owl, Raven} Hawk |
Hawk Feather (Fireworks) | The whole thing is crackling with energy, like the crackle of electricity the moment before you're struck by lightning. You can almost feel the hawk's eyes glaring down at you. | Unlock avian boss fights |
{Raven, Hawk} Owl |
Owl Feather (Lonely) | The feathers are whorled in fascinating patterns. You almost feel bad straightening them out. | Unlocks 8 XP gain encounters. |
{Hawk, Owl} Raven |
Raven Feather (Diamond Dust) | The feathers feel oily, almost slimy. Maybe it's just succumbing to the smells of Metroplex, but it's a bit more… earthen than that. |
Unlocks Feather Freezes for your next feather |
{Raven, Hawk} Owl Owl |
Owl Feather (Terror) | [Terminates chain] | 4 XP* each in Perception and Will |
{Raven, Hawk} Owl Raven |
Raven Feather (Emptiness) | [Terminates chain] | 4 XP* each in Perception and Reflexes |
{Raven, Hawk} Owl Hawk |
Hawk Feather (Rage) | [Terminates chain] | 4 XP* each in Perception and Strength |
{Owl, Raven} Hawk Owl |
Owl Feather (Fight) | [Terminates chain] | Fight a Masked Owl Drops owl's mask if you have a Myers Sampling Kit equipped |
{Owl, Raven} Hawk Raven |
Raven Feather (Fight) | [Terminates chain] | Fight a Twisted Raven Drops raven's eyes if you have a Myers Sampling Kit equipped |
{Owl, Raven} Hawk Hawk |
Hawk Feather (Fight) | [Terminates chain] | Fight a Storm Hawk Drops jagged hawk talon if you have a Myers Sampling Kit equipped |
{Hawk, Owl} Raven Owl |
Feather Freezes | [Terminates chain] | crystal owl feather |
{Hawk, Owl} Raven Raven |
Feather Freezes | [Terminates chain] | crystal raven feather |
{Hawk, Owl} Raven Hawk |
Feather Freezes | [Terminates chain] | crystal hawk feather |
* Each piece of the Ornithological Outfit (owl's mask, jagged hawk talon, raven's eyes) that you have equipped when receiving this encounter adds +1 to each type of XP gained
Crystal Feathers
Adventuring with a crystal feather equipped will result in a normal feather drop (see above) if the triggered counter does not match the equipped feather. If it doesn't match and you are in the middle of one of the chains above, it does not ruin the chain, and you can continue on from where you left off. If it does match, you will receive the following special encounter/effect:
Feather | Encounter | Result | Effect |
---|---|---|---|
crystal hawk feather | Hawk Feather Sparks | Guiding Wind (30) | +20% Ranged Power Slightly Increases Chance of Choice Encounters |
crystal raven feather | Raven Feather Darkens | Dark Wind (30) | +20% Etheric Power Slightly Increases Chance of Choice Encounters |
crystal owl feather | Owl Feather Chimes | Soft Wind (30) | +20% Stealth Power Slightly Increases Chance of Choice Encounters |
Avatar
If you are entering or active in Gang Warfare, and have equipped:
- owl's mask
- jagged hawk talon
- crystal raven feather (not tested with other crystal feathers or normal feathers)
- cloak of feathers
- raven's eyes
Then you can get the Tamer of Secrets avatar by using the Raven's Eyes technique four times in any order:
- following 2 etheric techniques
- following 2 ranged techniques
- following 2 fire techniques
- following 2 stealth techniques
These do not have to be against a gang warfare opponent, or in the same combat. They probably do have to all be in your current gang warfare clone deck, meaning you must perform them within a certain number of combat rounds.


(The image name for the avatar is "Hrafnagud', which means "Raven God" and was one of the names of the Norse god Odin.)
Techniques
Chain | Technique | Type | Attribute | Base Dam/Def | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Hawk's Talon | Melee | Perception | 4 | enhanced vs. Electric opponents; unfound goodness |
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Cloak of Feathers | Evasion (M, F) | Reflexes | 4 | enhanced when Etheric or with the cloak equipped |
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Owl's Mask | Etheric | Will | 10 | enhanced and defends vs. Etheric techniques when your Will > opponent's |
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Raven's Eyes | Etheric | Will | 7 | enhanced and can change type following other techniques |
Other Uses
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This item is not a component for any kind of crafting. |
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This item cannot be salvaged. |
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This item cannot be added to a gang stash. |
Notes
If you have one sort of wind effect active and gain a different one, the remaining energy from the original effect will be turned into energy of the new effect. For instance, using a genuine hawk feather from inventory with 12 turns of Dark Wind active will remove all energy of Dark Wind but give you 32 energy of Guiding Wind, instead of 20.
Remaining Mysteries
From Podcast 27:
I'm guessing there's probably something interesting that you're missing [with the Hawk's Talon technique]. [evil laugh] Yeah, there's some cool stuff there.