177 - Owls

Unnatural Phenomenon: Owls

Owls have a widespread and varied mythology. In Japan and Mongolia they are regarded as good luck. Ancient Greece is responsible for an enduring association with wisdom. As nocturnal birds of prey, one of the more pervasive superstitions is that owls are harbingers of death and bad luck.

For those who dabble in the magick of death, whether its Thanatomancy or the incorporation of human sacrifice into gutter magick, this association has fangs. Holding charges or effects drawn from human death is a magnet for owls. At low-levels this is merely inconvenient, clusters of them roosting openly wherever you stop for long no matter the location or time of day. Creepy and perhaps inconvenient when trying to hide the source of your powers from clued-in enemies (or less bloodthirsty associates and allies).

Among those whose souls are thoroughly stained with the blood of others it becomes a risk. People report losing things and poor memory, in extreme cases they become completely non-functional for long periods of time. The reason for this is that beyond a certain fuzzy threshold the owls seem to steal things from your mind. They aren’t unnatural entities or using magick (killing and dissecting one will reveal it’s an ordinary owl) but the effect is dependent on their proximity.

If you’ve attracted the attention of owls, once you reach this threshold continuing down the path costs you the mental image of one object or concept per additional person harmed. If it takes apples from you, for example, the idea of an apple would be a blank. You might see one and not be able to register it or the concept of apple pie would never occur to you when talking about food even if it’s normally your favourite. This only lasts while in line of sight to the owl which now holds your stolen thoughts. If you lock yourself in a windowless closet you can talk about apples all day. This effect can be counteracted piecemeal by killing and eating the owl assigned a particular concept. Unfortunately for those affected the first thing owls usually take from someone is the concept of owls themselves.