Nyidu the Crow

Originating from Riweni folklore, Nyidu, known also as Naudu in Iksandi legends and Nithu in Northern Azohican folktales, is a large corvid that takes the role of messanger and trickster.  

In Riweni Myth

Nyidu is a large crow marked as special by her pure blue eyes that lack irises. She features as a messanger of the deities and earth. According to tradition, she is the youngest daughter of Night and Wind, and the sister of the Eagle, Hawk, and Falcon. While her siblings, especially Eagle, are remembered in folklore for being carriers of deities and storms, Nyidu is thought of as a bringer of small things, messages and magical items that seem useless at first, such as a stick or a pebble. One of her most well-known tales is in the tale of the Warrior and the Winter Storm. The legend goes that when the warrior was looking for food to provide for their family, Nyidu provided them with a pebble, that when hit against the snow, created enough food for the village to eat, and later in the legend when the warrior faced off against the winterbeast, Nyidu gave him a burning stick with which to drive back the snow.  

In Iksandi Culture

Naudu appears as an ordinary crow with a white spot on her back, associated with Saint Sadie in Avonistic beliefs. Naudu is much more of a trickster and a thief in Iksandi folktales, often appearing to mess with the status quo. In one legend, she steals the crown from a local ruler and gives it to a poor farmer. In another story, she steals the locket off a young girl's neck, leading her to find the love of her life. In Firic tradition, Naudu is an omen of death and appears alongside mages and witches in folktales, often as an accompliace in the work of a scheming witch or cursed being, sometimes even as the main villain of a folktale. A notable Firic legend puts Naudu as the thief who stole a young boy's heart while he was traveling and left him emotionless and soulless.

In Azohican Tales

Nithu, unlike her counterparts, is described as any kind of jay endemic to the region that the storyteller is from, but is often described as a white-naped jay. She is said to carry the souls of dead animals to Topec. Hunters often pray to her or offer food to jays that they see before and after a hunt to give thanks, and some hunters swear by following jays to find the perfect kill.