A common raven
The Raven is one of the antagonists (later protagonist) of the Stoneheart Trilogy. It acts as a spy and messenger for the Walker. The Raven is frequently seen spying on George and Edie and listening in on their conversations. This activity continually aggravates the Gunner, as well as other characters throughout the series.
History[]
.jpg){kind=link}
Odin, seen with his two ravens (Huginn and Muninn) and his two wolves (Geri and Freki)
The Raven is an immortal bird, similar to a phoenix, and has been in existence much longer than any of the other characters. The Raven is a nickname for the actual bird name, Memory, one of the mythical ravens that belonged to the Norse god Odin. It has watched civilizations grow and change over the span of thousands of years.
Personality[]
The Raven thinks in a sarcastic and nonchalant manner. It does not care when it is killed, as it knows that it will come back soon. Being around for so long, the Raven has developed an interest in acting stylish and skillful. It appears to care about its pride. It typically seems uninterested or unimpressed with things, such as language and architecture. This is because the bird is immortal, and it has seen the progress of humankind since its beginning; therefore, any amount of human time, whether in days or years, seems short and unimportant to the Raven.
Despite its partnership with the Walker, the Raven does not like several things about him: the Walker never stops moving and makes for a bad perch; also, the Raven hates the jokes and puns that the Walker makes. The bird appears to have developed its own unique sense of humor as well, though it can never voice its thoughts to others.
Abilities[]
Even though it just appears as an ordinary bird, the Raven is much smarter than an average bird. The Walker seems to understand what it says to him, and vice versa. The Raven is an immortal bird, so when it is killed it returns back to the Walker after a short time. (This ability frequently annoys the spits.) It can also communicate with other taints and give them orders on behalf of the Walker. While it normally serves as a messenger, it has proven itself as a capable nuisance and a potential threat; for example, it nearly pulled George from the top of the Monument to the Great Fire of London.
The Raven is able to remember everything that it has seen over its lifetime.
Role In Plot[]
Stoneheart[]
The Raven is seen in several parts of Stoneheart carrying out the Walker's orders. The bird provides the Walker with information about George in the beginning of the book, leading the Walker to George's apartment. It is sent to recruit several taints to hunt George such as Spout, the Grid Man, and finally the Minotaur.
The Raven is spotted when George, Edie and the Gunner are speaking to Dictionary Johnson. Upon seeing the bird, Dictionary says that it is a bad omen; this proves to be true, as the Raven's arrival is shortly followed by the group's running into the Temple Bar Dragon.
The Raven is present when George enters the taxi to return to his apartment. It listens to George and Edie's conversation, but the children pay the bird no attention. It then joins the Walker when he enters George's apartment. While there, it flies onto the bronze bust of George's mother and lets droppings fall onto it.
When George and Edie move north from the Black Friar's pub, the Raven follows them overhead. It then lands on the shoulder of the Grid Man to alert the taint of the children headed to the area. Following the fight with the Grid Man, the Fusilier pins the Raven to a wall with his bayonet and then shoots the bird, temporarily killing it. The Fusilier tells George and Edie that it will not take long for the bird to return.
The Raven is sent back to the Walker as the latter is pacing near St. Pancras station. The bird is returned in a frozen package, and its arrival causes the Walker to trip over the package. The Raven is let out, and the two of them go to the Grid Man. Seeing that the taint has been killed, the Walker gives the Raven a scrap of George's shirt and tells the bird to summon the Minotaur.
George encounters the Raven on the top of the Monument to the Great Fire of London. The bird tries to steal Edie's heart stone from George and, after George sees a vision of the London Stone inside the heart stone, the Raven grabs George by the leg and begins to pull him from the tower. The bird is aided by the cat gargoyle, who arrives and tries to attack George. Before George falls, however, both the Raven and the gargoyle are shot by the Gunner. The Raven is killed, and it does not return in this book.
When Walker later asks the Gunner if he had seen the Raven, the Gunner replies by saying that the bird was getting on his nerves.
Ironhand []
The Raven flies over the city at the beginning of Ironhand. It notices that it cannot find the Walker, who had brought the Gunner beneath the city. It then flies to a homeless person and clacks into the man's ear, and in doing so opens all of the eyes of the Tallyman across the city. This is so that the Raven can find George and Edie.
The Raven accompanies the Walker to the British Museum, and it follows him as he steals his obsidian mirror from the museum.
(Awaiting completion)
The Raven has been cursed by The Walker since he was a mage. Edie broke this curse by cutting the red string around The Raven's neck with her teeth, and The Raven needed to repay her. The Raven helped Edie during the war by guiding her.
Trivia[]
- Along with being smarter than typical city birds, the Raven thinks it has a "sense of style" that ordinary birds do not share. Examples of this are when it flies under an arch towards its destination instead of simply flying over it, when it swoops down from a balcony and lands on the Walker's shoulder with a "stylish touch", and when it follows George and Edie north. It is stated in Stoneheart that the Raven does not know why it does these things, but it may be because the bird has been around for so many years, and earning style points is the only thing it can do to stay entertained.
- In Greek mythology, ravens are messenger birds to the god Apollo. The raven is often a symbol of death and war in European culture. The Raven is partially based off of the myth of the two ravens that belonged to the Norse god Odin.