I made this one as the more literal cousin of Firebird. There are many stories of the firebird, but the first one -I- ever heard was of a young man with a talking horse who is much wiser than he is. He is set several tasks, one of which is to fetch the firebird from the giant's castle; his horse tells him to grab the bird in the wooden cage in which is resides, and to not touch the golden cage nearby, but when the youth sees the beauty of the bird he thinks the wooden cage to banal and grabs the golden cage, and, well, the horse was right. This bird, in an honestly fairly fancy cage, is based on the illustrations from one of my old folklore books.
The wonder of a copper mask is in the strength and give of the material. Because it is so strong, the mask can be very thin- this makes it both very light, and makes it possible to fit as a second skin. These won't block your peripheral vision the way a leather. paper maiche, or plastic mask would. They can be very comfortably worn all day and night- no worries about sweat or rain causing them to soften and lose their shape. Rinse it with clean water at the end of the night before putting it away. All colours are created by carefully controlling heat and the metal's access to oxygen throughout the process and are both durable and archival. They can stand up to anything you throw at them. As for packing? Throw it in your bag. If you're checking the bag, maybe stuff a balled up pair of socks where your forehead would go. Easy.
Not planning to wear your mask? They won't mind. They can hang flat against a wall, or sit on a shelf.
