Raven House

One of the four all-female houses at the Assassins' Guild school. The House Mistress is Miss Smith-Rhodes.

Pupils of Raven House may be informally identified by their nickname of The Croakers.

Annotation

There are many myths about the Raven on Roundworld. In many cultures it is a trickster and deceiver. The ancient Celts went a step further, and while the Raven is still a deceiver, she - note gender - is also Goddess of War, Chaos, Nightmare, Death and Destruction. Given what we know of the habits of Discworld ravens, the Raven as death-goddess must evidently have a Discworld analogue, as its use in this context does not seem to be accidental.

In general, in the British public school system of which the Discworld schools are a reflection, a house name is conferred as a sort of exemplar, which house members are expected to ponder the meaning and significance of and model themselves upon. It can be a person or quality or animal seen to have perceived virtues and graces which the pupils are expected to assimilate. Therefore Raven House alumni should be treated with more than usual respect and caution?