Corax Nation

The 5 Forms

Raven Law

These aren't laws, really, so much as they are a set of guidelines, but if you break them, rest assured, we'll find out. After all, mostof these are common sense, and if we have no use for anything in this world, it's someone without the brains to come in out of the rain. Such folks are lousy at keeping secrets, much less learning them, so we keep an eye out for ravens who constantly break these guidelines. We know who's got it down and who might be slipping a bit. Besides, Raven took the time to make them, so it's only respectful to take the time to follow them, don't you think?

There Are No Secrets Well duh! If you haven't gotten anything else out of this little pep talk, please tell me you've picked this up. We go after every secret out there, every secret, no matter how dangerous or unpleasant it may be. Anyone with a refrigerator knows that things left in the dark eventually molder into some- thing really nasty. Therefore it's our duty to uncover as many buried secrets as we can before they turn into something even nastier. That also means you'd better chase down every lead you find, even if it seems pretty ludicrous or obscure - no telling what's trash and what's treasure, you know what I mean?

Share What You Know Here's another no-brainer: If you're the only bird that knows something and you kick off for a dirt nap, that info dies with you, and then who cares what you knew? Anyway, it's a pretty safe bet that you personally won't be able to do much about a lot of the stuff you uncover, but as soon as you drop it in the lap of someone who can - whether it's a Garou raiding party or the local Attorney General's office - you've made sure that something will be done, and that's what counts. This isn't just kindly advice either, kid; the sooner you spread the word, the safer you are. Put it to you this way: Say you find out about a Pentex dumping ground and manage to pass this info on to the rather dim but perpetually ticked-off Get of Fenris sept nearby. Who do you think Pentex is going to try to take out first, you or the furry Panzer division that's rolling over their security team? Yeah, I thought so. As soon as you're not the only one who knows something, you've gone to the back of the target line.

Teach Them What They'll Learn We talk too much. Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Unfortunately, that means that quite often the very people we need to get the info to disregard our warnings, since they're used to a constant level of chatter from us. "Silence, son of Trickster," "Don't mind him, he's always saying stuff like that," even the ever-popular "Shut the fuck up, birdie!" Sure. As if we had nothing better to do than hang around and chew the fat all day. Anyway, what I'm saying is that you are hereby authorized - no, ordered - to use any and all means at your disposal to get your point across. Doesn't matter if it makes you look like a total idiot or gets an entire pack of Garou thirsty for your blood - anything's acceptable as long as you get your message across. We're at war, kid, and that means your ptide goes right down the toilet if it means you'll be able to point the other soldiers in the tight direction. Start getting ptissy and other people start getting dead, understand?

Protect the Eggs Remember how I said these weren't laws so much as guidelines? Well, I lied - you break this rule, and the best you can hope for is that we'll steal your memories and snub you at the next Parliament. Eggs are our future, and seeing as how we don't have too many to begin with, we can't afford to lose any of the next generation either. Those who swear to guard an egg and fail are deeply shamed and humiliated, no matter what the circumstances might have been. And any fools who actually sell one out to the opposition have their wings torn apart very slowly and are left somewhere where they can die a suitably painful and ignominious death, like the middle of a highway or outside a Bone Gnawer caern on Stew Night. So if you see someone going after a spirit egg, don't hesitate - cap the mofo!

Remember Why You're Here Repeat after me: I am not death from above, I am a raven. Seriously, we are not the frontline soldiers of this war. We're scouts, spies and communications officers, and forgetting that is one of the quickest paths to a permanent retirement. When you're more than human (or bird), it's tempting to think that you can just wander into battle and whup ass. Remember that there are a lot of other supernatural critters who are better-suited to that task than we are. If you pick too many fights, sooner or later you're bound to run into the pointy end of one of them. Only fight if your back is firmly up against the wall, and even then, don't get cocky - most bad guys have backup, and chances are that while you're strutting around in triumph, a whole busload of fresh nasties is speeding in your direction. This doesn't mean you turn chicken every time danger rears its head - if your friends need you, you have my permission to become death with a sharp beak and shiny feathers - but just that you have to remember what we're here for. We don't care who gets credit for the kill, nor are we likely to be the ones to score it; all we care about is that the kill is made in the first place, comprende? We recon, we retreat, we report - it's that simple.

Bear Witness Everyone has a story. Et/eryone. It's our job to make sure as many of them are recorded as possible, and that means you have to keep your eyes and ears open, no matter what. Sounds easy, right? Wait until you see your first Pentex vivisection lab, human concentration camp, serial killing or chemical warfare attack; or worse still, wait until you have to watch a friend get cut down right before your eyes. Part of Raven's deal is that you must never turn away, and it takes its toll after a while, believe me, but it has to be done. If we're the ones responsible for passing on information and we start turning away just because it makes us squeamish, what the hell good are we to anyone? So don't cut corners, don't turn up your nose, and don't et/eT think someone's story isn't important. That's why we drink the eyes of the dead, after all - not only is it a good source of information, but it makes sure the soul rests easier, knowing that someone has heard its story. No one wants to die alone.

The Truth Matters This should go without saying: Check your sources, verify your informa- tion, cross the t's and dot the i's. We have a hard enough time convincing the other Breeds to listen to us as it is; now imagine how much harder it would be if one of us starts getting a reputation for spreading less than accurate information. Don't tell anyone anything unless you have all the facts you need, otherwise imagination starts filling in the gaps and pretty soon you've got a fairy tale instead of an investigative report. And no matter what you do, never, ever give bad information to another Corax - we'll forgive you for telling lies to just about anyone else, as long as you don't make a habit of it, but you start fouling our network with falsehoods (especially on purpose) and you'll be lucky to get off with a death sentence. We have enough trouble sifting out bad data on our own to start worrying about whether others of our kind are telling us the straight dope. There's one exception to this rule, of course - don't ever hesitate to tell lies to the agents of the Wyrm, especially if those lies happen to get said agents put in jailor (better yet) killed off. Nobody said you had to play fair with the enemy.

Everything's Part of the Cycle Judge not lest ye be judged, kid. Gaia has a plan for everything, even if you don't happen to notice what it might be, so keep an open mind and don't make conclusions about things without examining them in the right context. One of the worst things about the War of Rage is that the Garou killed off all kinds of shapechangers, and I can't help but wonder what roles they were supposed to have, you know? I wouldn't be the first to wonder if the world is so out of whack because the wolves killed a bunch of critters who were supposed to play an important role in balancing it out. So the next time you feel tempted to look down on a particular human as just a polluting little monkey and not a real person, remember that the same monkey might one day see you slurping up some corpse's eyeballs and decide to put a load of shot in you for desecrating a corpse. And no amount of Gaia's sanction is going to shield your butt from a 12-gauge.

Don't Play Favorites We're lucky as Changing Breeds go; we have both Raven and Helios looking after us, and don't ever forget it. The Big H may not be the most perceptive of Celestines when it comes to trickery, but he's been good to us regardless, and well, Raven is the best, wings down. So make sure you always thank both of them equally, show proper respect to both when you open a Parliament, and otherwise don't do anything to upset this nice little dual sponsorship we have going here.

Fly! Oh, yeah, did I mention that we're the luckiest beings alive? We've got wings! Use them as often as possible, see everything you can, and talk to absolutely everyone along the way. Taking flight is fun on its own, but it's also symbolic of what we do in general- look at things from a different angle. Don't waste this potential, because it's a sure thing that no one else around has the same perspective as you do, and if you can't be bothered to look at things in a different way, why'd you bother putting on wings in the first place?

Laugh Trust me. You have to laugh from time to time, or you'll crack up. There's no two ways about it-with all the crazy, horrible stuff we're exposed to, you'll snap under the strain unless you learn how to sneak a chuckle out every now and again. Look for the humor in everything you can, and remember that a good laugh is usually enough to tide you over until things start looking brighter again. Weare of Trickster as much as any other aspect, after all, so if anyone starts giving you lip about your sense of humor, just tell 'em it's part of Gaia's plan and not to meddle in things they don't understand. Take wing while they're still trying to puzzle that out and don't forget to take a little detour over their car on the way out... Heh.heh. See what I mean?