The Crow That Dooms A Village

A recent tale out of the eastern part of the Central Massif in the Frankish Empire heartlands has shown the hidden powers beyond hature. It is one of a number of instances that have occurred recently in the region all the way to the borders of Old Saxony. Whilst the young laugh at the 'superstitions' of the elderly there is, in many instances, a ring of truth. This one is part of a recent trend starting in the first couple of months of the year 801 AD.
A number of villages & hamlets have been destroyed since the new year due to the effects of a being called The Unseen Wanderer. They were rest areas for traveller & trade wagons making money from the burgeoning trade that was building up between the border areas of Old Saxony and the eastern region of the Central Massif. Each seems to be in a circle around the now growing trade town of Eshbach, and rumoured to be cutting off the town from the rest of the Empire.
What most don't say or realise is that in each village or hamlet, there was a rise of crow & raven numbers. At least one crow was killed by a local in each, and in every case by someone who didn't believe in the fact that crows are harbringers of doom. By killing one it brings destruction to the person & potentially those around them.
So, by the end of March 801 AD, at least 10 or more have suffered the same fate. The recent case involved a child of 10 years old. After killiing a crow that had landed near the cemetary of the village. There the locals looked upon the crow as being there to take the soul of the recently departed and wanted to scare it of initially. When this didn't happen,. the child grabbed the bird and wrung it's neck.
A few days later, a trade caravan arrived carrying the Unseen Wanderer. The caravan was already at each others throats by this stage. What happened is this madness soon spread quickly, with everyone blaming others for losing money or stealing, or damaging each others trade items, it soon exploded into all-out violence in a matter of a couple of days. A band of soldiers travelling in the region a few days later found the bodies strewn about. Young & old, human, nonhuman, and even the livestock & pets had been killed, and all that was left was a number of crows feasting on the remains of the bodies.
The soldiers buried the bodies in a mass grave & left, worried that they may be next to be affected, and reported that the village effectivelly didn't exist anymore. So far no-one has returned to examine the village.

"old belief that, crows are harbringer of doom. Carrion birds so that would fit in with the belief. And considering they are related to both ravens & the birds appear in many religions. Got to be careful all the same because of that."
Father Tossil advising members of his parish.