It’s almost a rite of passage for every Skyrim player to kill a chicken in Riverwood—the small, inconspicuous village located along a river within a forest (hence the name).

However, with such a senseless violent act as killing an innocent chicken comes violent consequences. Whatever guards and residents are present nearby will begin to chase after you, seeking to avenge their now-deceased animal friend. The blood they desire you to shed, in their eyes, pays for the blood lost by the chicken.

Hilarious? Yes. Immersive? Indeed. Clever world-building? Absolutely.

In a world where nothing is sacred, the closest thing to come to it is its chickens. Why are chicken’s considered sacred? Well, they are deemed as such de facto moreso by the players themselves across the game’s twelve years in existence moreso than by the NPCs or the developers themselves.

In my mind, they are sacred because they are a subtle yet meaningful reminder that Skyrim is a living, dynamic, beautiful, expansive, depthful world. It is a world in which a person can sink days upon weeks upon months of real time into and, when looking back, feel like barely an hour has passed. It is a game whose world has such profound depth that even elements such as a simple chicken can remind us players that the region of Skyrim and the continent of Tamriel are truly alive, truly dynamic, truly living within the limitations of what a video game can accomplish. These chickens are reminders that the world around us is as much in motion as we are. They possess a silent glory, a noble simplicity, that draws players to regard them as special among all the beasts and wildlife of Skyrim (aside from the dragons, of course; they’re the real stars of the show).

While the guards and locals may get defensive about their chickens because they are both property and livestock who serve as a crucial source of food (eggs and meat), we as the players get defensive about and cherish them because they are, simply put, beautiful—beautiful in their simplicity and enduring presence.

Take my advice: don’t kill the chickens. However, if you end up taking an axe, sword, or fist to their thin feathery necks, do it in style. Wear some of your finest armor, or start recording beforehand so as to chronicle your trek over the mountain(s) and through the woods to outrun the outraged locals.

Otherwise, leave them in peace and embrace their humble beauty.