The Stormwing Order kept its calendar by a single bird — the firebird, whose rise on the season's first storm announced the turning of the year. This object renders that bird at the instant of ascent: feathers still folded into flame, not yet fully wings. The enamel was laid in eight strokes, one for each wind the order could name. They believed a person who wore the firebird over the heart would feel the season break a day before the sky did.