ACT I | A FABLE OF THORNS AND RAVENS
00. THE RAVEN AND THE CROW
LONG AGO A RAVEN WAS fascinated by a cunning crow. The Crow spun words of saccharine that were as sweet as honey. The more The Raven listened to The Crow’s silver-tongue the more they fell for the mischievous creature. Soon that admiration turned to passion and then that passion turned to love. But unfortunately some creatures were born to inhabit their abhorrent nature.
Unbeknownst to The Raven, The Crow had fallen for a Swan. The Swan was elegant, beautiful, and was of noble blood, and The Crow craved to be a king. The Crow began to see The Swan behind The Raven’s back, tempted by the world of luxury and jewels.
One fateful day in the middle of a dreadful winter, The Raven spotted The Crow with The Swan. The Raven’s heart shattered into a million pieces, and it never beat the same again. When The Raven confronted the pair, The Swan tried to stop the black bird from speaking, but The Raven blew The Swan away with a big gust of wind from their obsidian wings.
Wanting to know why The Crow preferred to be with The Swan, The Raven asked, “Why am I not enough?” to which The Crow cackled aloud at The Raven’s voice that was woeful and filled with sorrow. After the laughter died down The Crow replied, “You are but merely grass and The Swan is a rose in a bush of thorns.”
Enraged by The Crow’s words, The Raven drew back their wings and croaked, “I curse you to live up to your dark nature. The Wolf, a creature consumed by avarice, and only knows greed and how to be a beast.” With those words The Raven left, never to see The Crow or The Swan for years to come.
True to The Raven’s malediction, The Crow lived out the rest of their days trying to control the barbarous tendencies brewing in the hollow end of their dark heart from the curse that had been placed on them. On days when their eyes burned with hatred and their mouth spewed curses fueled by anger, they’d turn into a monstrous being. One with long fur that was as black as ink and rough to the touch. Teeth that were as sharp as the end of a steel blade, and hawk-like eyes which could scare even The Devil away. With each passing day The Crow tried to learn how to restrain the beast stirring inside of them, but ended up fighting a losing battle.
