Fereshteh

The Creature:

The Fereshteh is said to be able to take any shape, and its original form is thought by the Jin to be ultimately unknowable. The constant between its forms is a multitude of eyes all over its body, which are said to help the Fereshteh to see not the shadow of a recent death, like the Jin's death eye, but instead to see the shadow of an imminent death. It requires the hundreds of eyes because it keeps track of the impending deaths of everyone everywhere. Although no one knows for sure what it looks like in its true form, its original form is thought to be winged, which explains why it tends to favor the form of a black bird.

The Tale:

The Fereshteh is said to come to Jin in their weakest, most vulnerable moment, the minute death approaches and fear and doubt enter their mind. It extends a hand to the dying and asks if they want to live. Jin, who value an honorable death above all else, are terrified of saying yes in a moment of weakness and fear, both failing to honor T'rath as well as facing overwhelming shame for the rest of their lives, knowing that the fault of missing a good death lies entirely on them. It is said to mark those that choose life over honor so that everyone else will know their shame as well.

Legend has it that the Fereshteh was once a confederate of T'rath, but that during the moment of their death (the story of how T'rath died varies wildly), the Fereshteh chose eternal life over an honorable death and now roams in haughty spite trying to deprive its dear departed comrade of those honorable souls that follow him. Any deformity is said by the superstitious to be 'the mark of Fereshteh' and Jin that are born with deformities are sometimes thought to have been marked while in the womb, the child having struck a deal with Fereshteh to cling to life when it should have died. This superstition only adds to the likelihood of such children being killed outright at birth.