The Call Of The Raven
There was no moon that night but some swore on their bibles that they could see a faint mist of red surrounding where the moon should have been. Many, including the local priests, said that it was a bad omen. They called it a Blood Moon but that night it was different…so different.
The birds and animals were strangely missing or quiet that night. Even pet dogs were nowhere to be seen. The night birds usually made such a din that some found it hard to sleep were deathly still that evening. It was most disconcerting to some of the older residents who had heard their song for generation upon generation. One 75-year-old gentile said that it was the first time in his many years that he had heard such a silence from the woods. The silence though did not translate over to the humans of the town.
Most of the town’s people were in the square that night. They weren’t celebrating anything in particular. They were just drinking, dancing and going on just because they were alive. Even the youngest children were allowed to stay awake until the wee hours of the night and more than a few got their first sips of mead from their fathers, uncles and older brothers. It is said that a couple children, under the influence, painted slogans on the town’s main building. There was no proof of this but it made a nice story since no one else would ever take credit for the pranks that night.
In the morning the bodies of the intoxicated lined the square. A few of the slighted stronger spirited were walking on unsteady legs as they tried to find their way home or, in most cases, trying to find their clothes and relatives lost the night before. The children, who had for the most part remained sober, ran around the square yelling and banging pots and pans much to the dismay of the adults.
Unnoticed the birds and animals were still absent save one. A raven, black as the coal they used in their fires and as large as a good sized turkey, sat on the church’s cross. It was silent as it looked down on the square. If anyone would have been able to look into its eyes they would have seen a distain for the town and its people.
A young man of no more than 13 looked up and saw the bird. “Look,” he yelled. “Look up on the church.” Everyone stopped and looked and as they did the raven let out a screech that was unlike anything anyone in the square had ever heard before. “What does it want?”
“I do not know,” the priest answered. “Some would say that a raven that pure of blackness is a bad omen. It is said that a family or even an entire town can be cursed by just its appearance. It is never just an individual and a raven will never harm a child.”
Just then the raven let out another hideous scream as he flew down and landed on a statue in the center of the square. Some tried to scare the bird off but they were greeted with violent movements and demonic hisses. Some of the children threw rocks but the bird caught the closet to his beak and threw them to the ground.
While everyone looked at the bird a young woman asked a question. “But Father doesn’t the raven live on the islands four days travel south of here? They never come this far north. Surely, we have crows and grackles but ravens…there has never been one in our lands.”
Another voice came from the crowd. “Maybe God sent it to us,” it asked. “Maybe it is not a curse maybe it is the sign of a forthcoming miracle?” Not one other person said a word or uttered a question. They were all deathly silent.
Suddenly, without warning the raven let loose with the loudest scream yet as it opened its massive wings and launched itself from the cross. It circled the square not just once or twice but three times before it silently glided between two buildings and out of sight. However, the echoes of its final scream lasted for what seemed to be an eternity before it also left through many passages out of the town.
The people were unknowing as to the meaning of the raven’s appearance or the strange noises it was making. Some panicked and scrambled to their shops or homes. Others stood and talked trying to explain what was happening or if there was going to be the downfall of the town. The children, the most innocent of all played on the cobble stone plaza as if they were unaware of anything special happening. To them it was just another day and the raven was just another bird…loud but just another bird just the same.
During the next few hours the raven circled the square an uncounted number of times. Each time the image of the bird invoked feelings of fear and dread as well as ideals of wonder and curiosity. Finally as the sun began to set on the mountains the raven landed on the steps outside the church. Looking proud and brave it walked back and forth on the steps looking around at the growing crowd of people.
An old man, one of the town’s elders and a chancellor in the church walked to the steps and sat down, watching the raven the whole time. “What are you doing here,” he asked as the bird walked closer to him. “Are you a messenger from God or a demon sent to us by Satan?”
The raven launched himself from the steps, circled the square looking at the people who had assembled below and landed on the old man’s knee.
“I am neither from God nor from Satan,” the raven said as he looked into the old man’s eyes. “I am here to give you a sad message but it comes from me and not one of your self designed deities.”
The old man and the assembled people just stared at what they considered to be a miracle. No one spoke. They were scared to even move…scared that they may offend the bird that came to be among them.
“I bring dire news to you,” the raven said.
“What is that,” the old man asked expecting to hear that there was going to be a disaster that would affect everyone in the town or maybe the bird was a forecast of death. They didn’t know and they actually didn’t want to know but they were too amazed to walk away.
“Last night during your celebration there was a moment of sadness,” the raven replied. “You did not know of it but I am sure that some of you felt it in your hearts.”
The gathered people looked around. No one said anything but there was a look among a few of them. It was if they knew what the raven spoke of.
“Two of your young died last night on Mount Celaius,” the raven continued. “It was a male and a female. They threw themselves from the ledge, landing on sharp rocks beneath. They suffered greatly and their bodies are still untouched. I know this because I was there and watched their death. It was not pleasant to watch and less pleasant to tell you of.”
The people looked around. A few dashed to their homes to search for their relatives who were not among the crowd. Within minutes a scream of grief and then another was heard echoing through the square.
“They who lost their loved now realize their loss,” the raven said. “The young ones were in love but were forbidden to consummate their love and that was what caused their death. Nothing else could have. They were meant for each other but hatred and envy murdered their love and stole their lives.”
“What do you mean,” the old man asked.
“Ask the elders,” the raven replied as his spread his wings and lifted into the air. “Ask the elders!” The bird circled the square repeating the words, “ask the elders” over and over again until his voice was drowned out by the sobbing of those who had lost their loved ones.
“Who was it, who were those young people,” the old man asked.
One of the town elders stepped forward. He was Jacob Pakert. He was one of the founders of the town and it was said that he was not a day less than 150 years old. No one knew if it was true or not but then again no one questioned what was said by Pakert or any of the other elders. Their word was law.
“The two who died are Eliesa Togon and Joshua Longh,” he said. “They ask my permission to marry weeks ago. They told me that they had been in love since they were young children playing in a sandbox. I told them that I would approve their marriage however; I must have consul with their families. Both fathers were angry because the young people went to me before asking their permission. The fathers ordered they be ship to distant villages as a punishment. They decided to run away together and marry in the next town. Instead of that they chose to be together among the spirits. That was the only thing they could do.”
The town began a mourning period as some of the men walked the many miles to Mount Celaius. At the base of one of the many sheer cliffs they found the bodies. Eliesa was dressed in a white dress to signify her innocence while Joshua was wearing the colors of his family. The bodies were close together as if they feel together and one thing the searchers noticed…the hands of the couple were together and they were holding a pair of gold bands…the rings they were going to use to become husband and wife.
It took many hours to get back to town and when they did it was a moment of mourning and a moment of decision. The elders met with the parents. The discussions lasted through the night and well into the morning. Finally, they emerged with a decision. Pakert and the elders stood behind the parents who were strangely silent.
“Eliesa and Joshua died because of our stupidity,” Pakert said. “They came for help and were turned away, left to the judgment of parents who did not realize the true feelings of their children. It has been decided that the two young people shall be married as of this moment and they shall be buried together holding hands and wearing the rings they carried. This is our decision and it is beyond contestation. Also, in the future parents must learn of their children’s feeling and respect them. Our children must never be afraid to come to us and talk without retribution. It is our word that a tragedy such as this will never happen again.”
That afternoon Eliesa and Joshua were buried together, holding hands and wearing the rings that they died with. There were tears shed by family, friends and the elders but there was also a feeling of celebration. A new age of openness was spread across the town. Young people spoke with their parents./ Many married and others lived new and happy lives and because of the sacrifice of two young people there was never another couple whose lives were ended because of ignorance.
And the raven, it never returned to the town. It had delivered its blessing and was not needed again…and that was the real blessing
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