Imagine a world where Lenin never rose and the Russian Revolution failed Russia stays a crumbling empire, the Soviet Union never forms, and the 20th century unfolds without a communist superpower. No Cold War, no USSR, and a Europe far more vulnerable to Nazi expansion. A single failed revolution reshapes the entire world map.

So I was told by Spanish friend (Born In Spain lived in madeira) that when he was a kid his grandfather told him this story that he was told as a child. apparently its a tiny Spanish folk story barely anyone knows and apparently its gets smaller and smaller so I wanted to share it.

(the image above is what copliot generated when i told it about this)

(If you have any questions about it ask me)

Los Dodos Inversos del Diablo

A horror story whispered across oceans

When the conquistadors first sighted the island off Mauritius, they thought they’d found paradise. A lush green jewel, untouched, unclaimed, and—according to the sailors who’d passed nearby—home to the most harmless creatures God ever made.

The dodo.
Plump. Slow. Gentle.
A bird so innocent it practically begged to be eaten.

But the men who rowed ashore that morning would learn a different name for them.

Los Dodos Inversos del Diablo.
The Devil’s Reverse Dodos.

Not because they walked backwards.
Not because they looked strange.
But because everything innocent about the dodo was reversed.

They didn’t flee from humans.
They hunted them.

The Island

The first scream came from the treeline.

The men rushed toward it, expecting a wild boar or some other beast. Instead, they found Hernando lying on the ground, throat torn open, eyes wide with a terror no man should die with.

Standing over him was a dodo.

But not the kind from the stories.
This one was taller, leaner, its beak serrated like a saw. Its feathers were patchy, revealing grey, leathery skin beneath. And its eyes—its eyes were wrong. They were forward-facing, predator eyes.

It didn’t waddle.
It stalked.

The men raised their swords.

The bird lunged.

What followed wasn’t a battle. It was a slaughter. The flock emerged from the bushes—silent, coordinated, intelligent. They tore through armour as if it were cloth. They ripped men from the sand and dragged them screaming into the undergrowth.

By the time the sun set, the beach was painted red.

Only the sailors who had remained on the ship survived, watching from the deck as the birds feasted.

The Capture

The survivors wanted to flee immediately, but pride is a powerful poison. They couldn’t return to Spain with nothing but fear.

So they set traps along the shoreline—iron cages baited with salted meat.

They caught two.

The creatures didn’t rage or thrash. They simply stared at the sailors with cold, calculating hatred. One of them smiled—an expression no bird should ever make.

The sailors named them Los Dodos Inversos del Diablo, half as a joke, half as a prayer.

They should have prayed harder.

Spain

The voyage home was quiet. Too quiet. The birds never slept. They watched. They waited.

When the ship finally docked in Spain, the cages were unloaded into a holding warehouse.

That night, the bars were found peeled open like soft fruit.

The guards were found in pieces.

The city woke to screams.

The two creatures tore through the streets, ripping apart soldiers, priests, nobles—anyone unlucky enough to cross their path. Muskets barely slowed them. Swords shattered against their beaks. They moved with impossible speed, impossible strength, impossible hunger.

By dawn, the birds had vanished into the countryside.

And within weeks, the killings began.

Farmhouses torn apart. Entire villages found empty. Tracks in the mud—three-toed, birdlike, but far too large.

The king ordered hunts. None returned.

The Legend Today

They say the two originals bred in the forests of Europe.
They say their descendants spread—quietly, cleverly—across the continent.
They say they learned to hide, to stalk, to wait.

Some claim the strange disappearances in rural France are their work.
Others whisper that the “wild dogs” blamed for attacks in Germany are just a convenient lie.
A few insist they’ve heard the low, wet growl of a dodo inverso outside their window at night.

And every so often, someone walking alone in the woods feels a presence behind them.

Not a person.
Not a wolf.
Something heavier.
Something watching.

If you ever hear soft, rhythmic clucking in the dark—
If you ever feel hot breath on your neck—
If you ever sense something just out of sight—

Don’t run.

They love it when you run.

Because the harmless dodo is long extinct.

But Los Dodos Inversos del Diablo are very much alive.
And they are hungry.

I was given a suggestion on my last post of this nature by u/Successful-Prune-727 this is for you!

what do you lot think

The United Dominion of Nordoslavica — Flag Lore

Origins

The flag represents Nordoslavica, a high‑latitude federation formed after the Treaty of Veligrad unified two culturally distinct peoples:

• The Nordfolk, seafaring mountain settlers known for their rigid clan traditions and red‑cross heraldry.
• The Slavari, river‑valley industrialists whose tricolor banner of white, blue, and red symbolized purity, vigilance, and sacrifice.

For centuries, the two groups lived in uneasy proximity — trading, feuding, intermarrying, and occasionally waging brutal winter wars. The treaty ended the last of these conflicts, forging a single dominion to survive the harsh northern climate and rising geopolitical threats.

Symbolism of the Flag

The Red Nordic Cross

• Represents the Nordfolk clans and their ancient belief in the “Crossroads of Fate,” where every life path intersects with duty.
• Its placement on the hoist side shows that the Nordfolk were the initiators of unification, offering the first olive branch.

The White–Blue–Red Tricolor

• Drawn from the Slavari banner, symbolizing:
  • White — the frozen plains and the clarity of law.
  • Blue — the Great Northern Sea and the federation’s naval power.
  • Red — the blood price paid during the unification wars.

The Overlap

The cross cutting into the tricolor is intentional: it signifies that neither culture dominates. Instead, both are interwoven — a visual treaty.

Cultural Meaning

Nordoslavicans see the flag as a reminder that unity is not natural; it is maintained. Every citizen learns the phrase:

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It’s a national motto expressing the idea that survival in their unforgiving climate depends on cooperation.

Modern Context

Today, Nordoslavica is known for:

• Ice‑fortress cities carved into cliffs and fjords
• A powerful merchant navy controlling northern trade routes
• A dual‑council government where Nordfolk and Slavari representatives must agree before any law passes
• A cultural identity built on resilience, stoicism, and shared hardship

The flag flies on every cliffside watchtower, every icebreaker ship, and every border fortress — a constant reminder of the fragile but enduring pact that created the dominion.

If you want, I can expand this into:

• a full national history,
• a map,
• military branches and uniforms,
• or even mythology and holidays tied to the flag’s symbolism.

I made this flag recently and its to join my top 200 home made flags but what should it be called