HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The Valravn

A legendary bird from Librum Prodigiosum! The Valravn, from Danish mythology! They are said to be ravens who have consumed the remains of those who died on the battlefield, sometimes being described as half-wolf like creatures!

There. He . IS

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VALRAVN

In Danish folklore, a valravn is a creature originating from ravens who consume the bodies of the dead on the battlefield, and are capable of turning into the form of a knight. When a king or chieftain was killed in battle and not found and buried, ravens came and ate him. The ravens became valravne, and the valravne that ate the king’s heart gained human knowledge and superhuman powers.

I thought I had a pretty good grasp on what the mythical creature valravn from Danish folklore is but after diving deeper it’s more versatile than expected.

The version I was originally told is that a valravn (means “war raven” or more precisely “raven of the fallen” as in fallen people on the battlefield) is a normal raven that gained human intelligence by eating the flesh or brain of dead people after a battle. With the gift of intelligence also came the curse of only being able to fly at night. The only way to gain the ability to move around in daylight was to eat the heart of a young boy. Then the valravn would be able to turn into either a human or a raven/wolf beast and go wherever it wanted whenever it pleased.

But in the most well known song about valravens they’re all human men who were turned into ravens by either a witch or a female troll. A women was told her husband could only turn back if he drank her blood so she asks another valravn for help. It agrees in exchange for the life of her first son as soon as he has spoken his first three words, suggesting an infant would be too young.

In yet another version the valravn is a human who cannibalised dead people on the battlefield and turned into a raven or a human/raven/wolf monster that could only travel at night but would continue the cannibalism until it ate a young boy at which point it would be able to turn back to a human form.

So take your pick. You want a weird creepy raven that has decided it wants to be a human? Or a tragic story of someone who can only turn back by hurting their beloved? Or perhaps a wendigo style creature who became a monster after committing the taboo of cannibalism? Or maybe a mix? Because clearly Danish people in the past weren’t too worried about the valravn canon. The only generally agreed on lore is that they’re always male, can only travel at night and they eat humans or drink human blood to reach their final form or be cured.

The Nachtkrapp is a raven-like creature found in Germany. The Nachtkrapp is described as an eagle-sized raven, with either no eyes or holes where the eyes should be that if looked at will cause death and holes in its wings that if seen will cause illness. The Nachtkrapp is said to hunt for children at night and rip their limbs off and pluck out their hearts with its sharp beak. Nachtkrapp means “Night Raven” in German and there is even a kind version of this creature called the Guter Nachtkrapp or “Good Night Raven” that will sing children to sleep.

#ValravnNovel

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Happy #RavenheartFriday!

Meet Vynn, sister of Hrafen. Hrafen was the first Raven King, long before Elnar and Sagarus’ time. Vynn, the elder of the two, was a shield maiden, blessed by the Raven. Vynn is vicious in battle, and fights like a deadly dancer with her silver spear, Höggormur. Crossing her isn’t a good idea, but if you are her friend or of her clan, you can expect her to fight to the death by your side.