Always Gloaming

(THEY/THEM)

A long time ago, a single crow defeated a white serpent tyrant, who ruled over the land with a cold iron fang. Upon its defeat, the crow ascended, growing three heads, six-fingered hands and feet, and bearing a robe and three crowns, one above each head.

Now they rule the world, bringing life and joy.

This gave holy smells a fundamentally paradoxical nature. In a world where breathing foul-smelling air was seen as the cause of many diseases, incense was seen as a barrier against illness, and, with its holy associations, against demonic possession. But equally, powerful scents could be used to disguise a deeper decay, or to tempt the pious with worldly delights and bodies. Even bad smells had an ambiguous quality. After all, the rotting stench of a starved ascetic’s mouth was simply more proof of his profound holiness.

It’s this ambiguity about smell, […] that gives scent its power as a theological tool. In addition to its flexible moral significance, the experience of an odor often reflects our understanding of divinity. Like God, smell can surround you from an indeterminate source, filling spaces with its invisible presence. But unlike sound, which might do the same, to experience a smell it must first be taken within, in an act–breathing–that is both life-giving and volitional.

but it's also some farmer's field.