House of Crows: Philosophies & Culture

Within the House of Crows, there is no key defined set of rules laid out on a plaque anywhere for the eye to see. There is no go-to manual for what to do and what not to do as a Crow. This being said, Crows are by no means allowed to run rampant and do whatever they please. In fact, far from it. The lack of clarity is often a safeguard. How can Crows obey rules they do not know? How do they know if they are obeying something or breaking it? The uncertainty keeps them on their toes. In theory, they would not do something too drastic out of fear of angering their superiors. After all, the superiors are typically the ones that measure your worth. If they no longer find you an asset, you are disposed without second thought.

The Crows as a general whole are extremely rigid with their philosophies and ideas. Although not official, there is a general, universal (if perhaps unclear and vague) idea of an ideal member of the guild and over time the organization has developed ways of instilling these ideals indirectly, almost near to a science. For hundreds of years the House of Crows has treated it's members equivalent to that of garbage. Like prisoners they are thrown onto racks and tormented simply for the sake of training. If they want to try and make you resilient to something, the Crows will expose you to it. It may be deliberate, such as in the case of 'torture training', which all young Crows experience, or indirectly and hard-wired into the culture, behaviour and everyday lives and interactions between Crows.

Crows endure alarming amounts of abuse and cruelty within their own ranks, and are expected to deal out the same if the situation fits. If you show the slightest amount of weakness, or something that someone could possibly, in any situation, try and use against you, your fellow Crows will attempt to exploit it. Constantly Crows are competing, primarily in their younger years as agents, to secure a foothold in the guild where they are without threat of displacement. By behaving in such cruel, often borderline animalistic ways they ferret out the weakest links and the 'bad eggs' of the ranks. Even though the efforts to keep all members in line and behaving in a particular fashion, bad eggs always form. They typically do not last long in the guild. Commonly rather than outright attacking, subtle manipulation and harassment is common, hence why many Crows are seemingly 'all the same'. Showing a difference to the norm is usually asking for someone to either think of you as weak, or powerful enough to be a threat. Generally, more Crows are killed by their fellows or by themselves than out on missions.

The lack of room for a Crow to actually be unique is most definitely a flaw of the organization. A unique trait is typically either seen as a weakness or a threat, and typically attention gained from fellow Crows is a double edged sword. While you could be seen as an ally or an asset, you could also be seen as a possible threat to someone's progress. Ensuring that you have no moral compass and thus no scruples, little to no sense of individuality and uniqueness is often for both the sake of the guild just as much as it is for the Crow's life. The House of Crows has a specific job and task, in it's mind. For the same task, you need the same tool. You cannot use a hammer for the task of a scythe, and the members of the House of Crows are exactly that; tools. Some may even argue that they are glorified slaves. The Crows are tools and objects with a specific task and role, and the organization wants them to perform in a specific way, and they will ensure that it happens, no matter what it takes.