#le crows

Alright, I have had this post in the drafts for…a very long time and after the incessant and now prehistoric prodding of a very persistent mutual (you know who you are), I finally finished this points of interest note-pile on Eileen the Crow. This is just a series of observations on some of the in-game and datamined details on these characters.

I also consider the autumn solstice to be Eileen’s birthday, so happy birthday crow mama!

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Hunter of Hunters

Ok, first off, look at this design for Bloodborne’s beloved poster child and tell me it isn’t hearkening directly to a dashing “Jack the Ripper” vibe? Yeah, they couldn’t skimp out on one of the most popular Gothic Victorian horror references could they? That does make for a good starting point though. Let’s take a look at Eileen’s external design.

From Fextralife:

The plague doctor set is based on the outfit worn by plague doctors during the Black Death, a pandemic that killed millions of people in Europe and the Mediterranean in the 14th century. These doctors were "specialists" in treating the disease. Since it was believed that the disease spread through smells and odours from the corpses of the sick, the doctor's costume featured long beaks holding different substances and powders that gave off scents that protected them from catching the plague while caring for their patients.

The beak is said to be filled with incense, but could it be the bone dust of the lanterns? Or is it a classic herbal mix like the typical plague doctor mask? The answer is found in the original Japanese text of Bloodborne, which claims that it is herbs!

Eileen wears a dark, black-blue trenchcoat with a hood and somewhat of a military aesthetic. Her gloves are called “Manchettes” in English, which are normally worn by fencers.

Eileen wears buttoned up gaiters over her boots, which are usually used for hiking and trekking to prevent rain/mud/snow moisture from ruining the material. Perhaps this is extra defense against the moisture of blood?

The beak-mask is wood-carved, likely crafted by Eileen herself. Perhaps Eileen could whittle?

The plague doctor tribute suggests Eileen may have been a traveling doctor in her earlier days. Perhaps to treat patients inflicted with the beast plague.

Eileen wears a silver bell necklace. May be symbolic, may be a suggestion that crows used bells to signal each other. Bloody Crow has one as well.

Eileen’s hat somewhat resembles the cliche scarecrow cap.

Eileen’s mask has the highest frenzy resistance, but the rest of the garb is surpassed by Djura’s ashen hunter set, whereas Djura’s headpiece is surpassed by Eileen’s. Both Eileen and Djura are notably sane compared to other characters in Yharnam. This is further explained by the fact that they both once were dream hunters! Eileen even remembers the Doll.

Eileen’s set was called the “Set of Brandon” at one point in internal data. “Brandon” means “crow” or “raven” in Welsh.

Eileen’s beak is strapped to her head. She carries water bottles? Blood vials? Medicinal bottles? And a surgerical/first aid kit. Her gloves are bloody and loosely tied on with ropes, adding to the surgeon’s aesthetic.

Eileen’s internal data name for her unused bloody set was “Jack the Ripper,” which gives her a darker edge.

Alright, now let’s look at some interesting characteristics of this crow lady.

• Eileen’s name is Gaelic and can mean “little bird.” Her Gaelic name also implies she is not from Yharnam, where the majority of characters have Czech names. Eileen can also be a form of Helen, which means “light.” Either way, this name stands out.

• Eileen is not the only “Hunter-hunter,” as it is stated that the first of these hunters came before and carried out their work for “generations.”

• Eileen is likely a foreigner from the lands beyond Yharnam, as it states that the crow-hunters were from the “Hinterlands.” See the translations below for the Japanese text!

• Eileen is first found near the sewer entrance in Central Yharnam.

• Eileen dreamt at one point, which we know from her dialogue regarding the question about how we still dream, and the reference to the Doll in her more obscure dialogue.

• Eileen no longer uses blood vials in-game. Even when attacked, she cannot heal. Suggests that her statement about having taken blood in her mangled state may have been a lie to comfort us.

• She uses throwing knives, which were favorite weapons of Henryk. Ironically, she uses them in the battle against Henryk himself. Perhaps she stole some from him, or else they had been friends previously, thus sharing the affinity.

• Seems to know Henryk and Gascoigne well enough to have known that both were struggling even before they actually went mad. Also does not refer to Gascoigne by his formal title of “Father.”

• Gives the “shake of cape” and “approval” gestures to use, as well as the “shh” and “wait” gestures. Eileen seems very expressive.

• Refers to her opponents as her prey, including the Bloody Crow. He is referenced as such in the original Japanese text, rather than “that thing.” (See above).

• Eileen uses the Blades of Mercy, one of the oldest *workshop* weapons. Considering the blades are made from siderite, or a star, literally the metal of a fallen meteor, the blades themselves may be way older, but the transforming version is the workshop’s doing.

• Eileen sometimes uses the Hunter Pistol in combat.

• Eileen denies help from the hunter repeatedly throughout the game, but if we don’t help her, she will go mad.

• Eileen uses poison throwings knives in a manner similar to Henryk, which suggests she collected some from him, perhaps

• Eileen is curiously one of the npcs that can die via the Choir Bell.

• Eileen is draped in crow symbolism that extends beyond the plague doctor and carrion crow themes. She arrives and warns us of danger ahead when Henryk looms, which is a common trait of crow “heralds” in mythology and folklore.

• Eileen’s Mercy blades resemble the Pthumerian elder weapons, which suggests that the Pthumerians MAY have had crow-hunters of their own, carried out a similar ritual, or were the inspirations for the later crow-hunters

• Wet Nurse also has blades similar to the siderite weapons of both Eileen and Gehrman. Wet Nurse is connected to Pthumeru, which further suggests that the star weapons were part of ancient tradition. Could Wet Nurse even have been a type of “crow” hunter once?

Reference photo by @katyahina

• In Soulsborne, blood is often found in Souls, so when Eileen strings up the bodies of fallen hunters for crows to consume and carry away to heaven, it is like she is sending them to a better place. Eileen may have been the main hunter-hunter to embrace the crowfeather symbolism as well.

• And finally, that brings us to Sky Burial, which is what Eileen and the crow-hunters practice. This is a Tibetan practice of leaving corpses to be consumed by birds and thus offered to the sky. This may suggest that Eileen and her fellow hunters were from a place like Tibet or adjacent to it, hence the “foreigner status.” These hunters consider the “bury and burn” funeral methods of Yharnam to be blasphemous.

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And those are just some cool highlights for our favorite crow hunter!! 🖤

Thsi is just something that crows do, they stand on each other (or other large birds) liek fucking dicks XD

IDK what a crow does when another crow stands on it but i guess they just deal with it cause they probably would have done the same thing

anyways this is my crow/peacock OC MrCrolock and @fishcrow OC, just FIshcrow XD

(This is a barebones headcanon post for my idea of who the crow-hunters up to Eileen and Bloody Crow were! I will make a more detailed post with art later).

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Daya, the Heaven Crow

The tradition of crow-hunters and mercy killers dated far back into ancient Pthumerian culture, even finding its way into the beginnings of Cainhurst’s history. But the practice was revived for a more modern world of plague in the Hinterlands, (which we may consider Tibet due to the connection with sky burial).

Daya, a native of the alpine regions of the Hinterlands discovered traces of lost Pthumerian outposts in the hidden tunnels and caves near her homeland. In the crevices of one of the tombs, she uncovered the fabled Blades of Mercy, crafted from the flesh of a fallen star.

Daya was a witch and seer, able to foresee the plagues to come and to discern the end of the world. Aware of the inevitable carnage that would follow in her time, she took up the role of a mercy-killer for the warriors that would attempt to halt the loss of life.

She donned a raven skull over her face and wove a cloak from the feathers of a blood-drunk crow to further symbolize her role in sky burial. She was called the Sky-Raven/Heaven-Crow, the Silver Crow, and the Astral Crow by some.

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Brandon, the Dragon’s Crow

Daya took an apprentice from the slums of a city located in Bloodborne’s equivalent of England. (Yharnam itself is different and has a strong canon link with Prague). The fiery-haired Brandon was the second carrier of the Blades of Mercy. He was chosen among several other “fledgelings” that trained under Daya to be the one true successor.

Brandon had been a soldier in his youth, fighting on the frontlines of a distant war alongside the men who would later form the League itself. This included Valtr. Brandon was known for his pyromania and unstable personality. For a long time he made a good crow-hunter, but his story ended in massacre.

Brandon wore a pyro-technician’s mask, a leather trench-coat, and a copper-dusted cape woven from the feathers of slum hooded crows. He was known as the Copper-Crow, the Dragon-Crow, and the Ruddy Crow.

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Felix, the Hinterland’s Scarecrow

Felix was the nephew of Daya, raised between the Hinterlands and Yharnam with a family of mixed heritage. Though he had eagerly trained under Daya for years, he was snubbed as her heir and initially envied Brandon for it.

However, the two men became friends over time, with Felix fighting as a common hunter and Brandon watching over him. Felix eventually became Brandon’s own heir, chosen over other fledgelings. Their close bond ended in tragedy when Brandon willingly went berserk and engaged in acts of terrorism. Felix was the one to mercy-kill him.

This act of “kinslaying” earned Felix the moniker of “scarecrow amongst his own,” and he embraced it as a marker that he would not hesitate to slay his own brethren if needed. He also revamped the crow-hunter order, eliminating the practice of training and selecting heirs from among fledgelings.

Every crow-hunter would carefully select one apprentice to train, and there would be no others.

Felix wore a cloak of tattered straw and blue-black feathers, a scarecrow mask, and traditional beaded jewelry from the Hinterlands. He was called the Scarecrow, the Blue Crow, and the Brother Crow.

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Eileen, the Pathologic Crow

The heir chosen by Felix was a girl from the Hinterlands that he had known in his youth. Her name was Eileen, and for a long while she had been a wandering pathologist in her ancestral homeland.

Eileen and Felix traveled to Yharnam, where the plague of beasts was most foul. It was this cursed city where they became the deadliest and most efficient crow-hunters of their time. It was around this time that Eileen also had Gehrman transform the Blades of Mercy into a trick weapon.

After Felix’s death, Eileen carried the mantle and blades for longer than any other in her line, even carrying out the duty in her old age. Her ultimate fate was unknown, and while she did not pass the mantle to her original heir, another worthy successor came along to become the next Crow in her place.

Eileen wore a cloak of Carrion Crow feathers, a plague doctor’s mask, and bore the soothing scents of lavender and rosemary on her person. She was called the Pathologic Crow, the Lavender Crow, and the Mother Crow.

- Luther, the Bloodshed Crow

Eileen’s original heir was a boy from Cainhurst that had been lost to his own kingdom and left to die. He was unlike any of his predecessors and bore abnormal strength and durability. His heightened senses, unusual features, and secret blood-ties marked him as an omen and curse of the crow-hunters.

Luther later succumbed to violent madness and revived the ancient tradition of “Cainhurst crows,” who were mercy-killers of hunters, but with a twisted, blasphemous purpose. Luther sought to aid Annalise, his Queen, in bringing forth a Child of Blood. He believed this child would rekindle the Vileblood dominion and erase mankind’s bestial influence from the world for good.

But to the hateful traitor, men and beasts were the same even from birth. He showed them no mercy, thus earning Eileen’s scorn. The two became life-long rivals.

Luther wore a cloak modeled after Eileen’s, with the same woven carrion feathers, but he wore the armor of a Cainhurst royal guard in proud defiance of the crow-hunting order. He was called the Bloodshed Crow of Cainhurst, the Ripper Crow, and the Vileblood Crow.

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Eileen calling to check up on her adopted son and not yet knowing the trouble he’s cawsing:

HAPPY BEST MONTH OF THE YEAR!! 🍂🐦‍⬛🕯️👻

Here are some October spooky season doodles for Eileen and smol (but also pumpkin) Bloody Crow 🎃

They would sit on the Yharnam rooftops and spend literal hours on their matches. Eileen was the winner 89% of the time. She was just that good and Crow could never totally figure out how she did it.

Little did he know that Eileen’s former years as a plague doctor had led to her studying under a few well-known surgeons who taught her to develop the skillset, albeit a more crude version than what we have in the modern world.

Eileen’s development of the skill absolutely was half of why her mind was so sharp in a game of chess, and in fact, she had used the game to hone her mind for medicine. Unfortunately, Crow’s mind was simply too wayward at that time.