Myths & Legends: Crows

[Unwillingly 11178]

[!] You discover an aged booklet containing scribbles of poems and short-stories. Most are torn out, illegible and tattered, but the one that remains reads as follows in careful, clean writing.

 

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Between the marrows of human faith and reverence, some forgotten, blinkered cultures tell tales of omen and augur.

Some farmhands erect scarecrows in order to ward these avians of their fragile crops, while others do it for a much lesser, paranoid reason. In some cultures, it is said that murders of crows are signs of a shift in one’s life depending on the count. The saying goes as: One for sorrow, Two for mirth, Three for a wedding, Four for death, denoting that whoever spots the murder is to experience one of these events soon.

When I was a boy, I witnessed the violent, bloody death of a treacherous tax collector at the hands of the people on the streets of Dobrov. Before he died, while the people strung his body by the rope and gallows, I noticed a gathering of crows along the peaked rooftops.

I asked them, “Why are you perched up there?”

One of them looked at me, and said: “The trees whisper something cruel, but mankind is something crueler. When they splatter you with blood, cover your eyes and keep walking.”
 

Kingdoms with a history of reverence for the crow are said to draw misery and death for its people. Valdev, formerly Karosgrad of Haense, can attest to the attraction of devil, demon, and their scourges: a prophecy made true by virtue of their sigil, the bad omen. However, consider the opposite, in which we bear witness to their multiple victories in the face of the Inferis legion: a prophecy made true by virtue of their sigil, the good omen.

If a crow drops you a dead mouse, it means that you are being hunted by hellhounds. Should this happen, your first step should be to enter a building or small room, and pour raw salt along entrances. Miss not a grain, for these salt lines will prevent these phantom devils from reaching you until help arrives. Do not leave the room. Ensure there are no drafts that would brush away the salt. Re-enforce the saltlines until you run out.

Even when all seems calm and days have passed, do not leave the room. Outside, they wait in hiding with glistening teeth and growing hunger. Your only hope is to expect the arrival of a priest. If that cannot happen, then pray.

It’s a common misconception that crows are forebringers of these omens, that it is their presence that summons death and misfortune in their wake, hence why their flocks are oft called murders. They are far from such. Instead, they arrive to warn us of misdeeds and good fortune, for they soar with the gales of the ever-churning woods. 
 

[Turbo_Dog 1435]

Spoiler

Ughhhh Crow posting!

 

[TreeSmoothie 4898]

An old hag polishes a statue of a bronze crow, gnarled hands heaving the idol up to sit beside four others of its kind as salt was poured beneath them. 

[UnBaed 8956]

In the dawn, when the waves brushed most softly against the sandy beach, a fatigued elf emerged from her shack.  Today was the day to freshen the seed she'd often leave out for the local birds, many often having rather colorful plumes and unique song.

 

Many were yet to awaken in this new day, so all was quiet in the dim hues of the pale morning--save for one sound.  A throaty croak, sharp and small; the song of a dark-feathered omen.

 

The Crow was perched upon one of the boards propped up in the sands, its head tilted to eye the startled elf.  She stood there for a moment, a breath puffed out of her to reduce her tension and mutter to herself of delusions needing to be dismissed.

 

She carried on in laying out the seed, and pouring out fresh water--unable to shrug off the weight of the Crow's watchful gaze.  Within her, much conflict stirred; grief and fear, anger and softness.  It was gnawing, nagging, itching, and prickling.

 

It was all until she abruptly sought to storm off into her home and rid herself of the bird's presence.  Though, something caught the rays of the morning sun, and glimmered in that Crow's eye; a small coin, intended as a token for its habit of collecting.