Legends of Year's End Lady Yseult tells tales of the Year's End.

"As you are aware, the origins of the legend of Year's End are shrouded in mystery and myth. Most -- including, until recently, myself -- doubted that there any veracity to the tale. And even among those of the educated who felt there was some seed of truth at its heart, almost all considered the threat long ago vanquished.

"However, given the new evidence reportedly presented by those letters, not to mention the attacks you witnessed by what appear to have been jruuh, we have had new reason to review the old myths. At Lord October's request, this is what I have uncovered.

"There are three possible origins given by legend, as to how the Year's End came to menace us. One states that he was part of Mirari before the Fae ever came unto it -- a great evil that slumbered until the coming of the Houses wakened him. The prophet Mavis, ancestress to our own Lady Raven, once spoke that 'The Destroyer is a part of the Land, and to it he will always return, no matter how many times he is defeated.' Beyond that, the people of the Wild Lands have stories of a Destroyer, too, which appear to pre-date our own legends of the Year's End."

Yseult pauses for breath before continuing. "Another states that, when Bram and Angelique led the Houses to Mirari, they came not merely in search of a new land, but because they were fleeing the Year's End. By this argument, the Year's End had already destroyed their old world. This might explain the total lack of information or history that we have on the Houses prior to their arrival in Mirari. It is known that we came from elsewhere, and that we have lived in this land for 53 Years. It is further well-established that the first King, Riordan, did not rule until the Third Year of Mirari, and that during the first two Years, there was no single ruler of Mirari. Apparently, at that time, the Houses were still carving out places for themselves. Lord Bram and Lady Angelique, based on old tales and corroborated by what I gather was in those letters you found -- " Here, the antlered woman nods to the two girls. " -- felt the need for a ruler above all the Houses. How exactly King Riordan was selected, or even what house he was from -- if any -- is another mystery shrouded by time. But I digress.

"In any event, in accordance with this version, the Houses fled the ruins of their old world to come to Mirari, and for a time they thought to have escaped the shadow of the Year's End. But the Destroyer followed them, or found them, at last, and his specter haunted the very first coronation of King Riordan at the end of Year 2." The lady reaches forward to take her goblet of water from the flat rock before them, drinking a few sips before continuing.

"In the final and perhaps most intriguing version, the Year's End is, in fact, one of the Lords of the Houses when Lord Bram and Lady Angelique led the Houses to Mirari. He was allied with them, perhaps even a close friend. The precise identity is not, of course, clear, but most such tales attribute to him the name 'Lord Eoin of January.'" She pronounces the name with a "y" sound at the beginning, so that it sounds like "Yon," or perhaps, "e-yon." "That particular Lord reportedly came to Mirari with the twelve Houses, but at the coronation of Riordan, 'Lady Eldrida of January' is listed as the leader of that House. That's not too unusual -- legends offer us several names of Lords and Ladies who are not given as the leaders of the House at the records of King Riordan's coronation, which is the oldest reliable document of Mirari's history." Yseult pauses. "Or, at least, was the oldest. If the letters you found can be authenticated ... but I ramble again, forgive me.

"Some stories do not give the name that the Year's End went by, but the most likely goes like this: Lord Eoin of January was a man of considerable ambition who had been of especial assistance to October and April, in helping them divide the territories for the various Houses, tame the land, and clear it of monsters. However, when they turned their eye towards who would rule the new country, Lord Eoin put himself forward. Lord Bram and Lady Angelique told him they would consider his claim, but he was not content with 'consideration.' He approached Lady Angelique in private, demanding that she support his bid to the throne. When she refused, he threatened her. At this time, her knight, Sir Theodore, heard raised voices, and he rushed to his lady's defense. When he saw Lord January raising sword against his mistress, he interposed his own body. They fought, and Sir Theodore was slain, but not before April's other forces rallied to her defense. Lord Eoin fled the scene, swearing, 'I would have been a good King, wise, and just. But because you and Bram have refused me -- I shall rule Mirari, anyway, but only so that I may destroy it utterly, it and all you have labored to create.'

After taking another drink, and verifying that her audience has not nodded off during the tale, Yseult continues. "Since that time, there are many stories of the Destroyer, some of which are consistent and can be considered the most reliable. For example, at the end of the Second Year, the Year's End attempted to kill Riordan before he could ascend the throne. By legend, Lady Ariel, the winged unicorn and wife to Lord Melchizedek, gave her life at that time to stop him." October's handmaiden looks saddened by this thought. "Lord Melchizedek and the Lady Sorceress Nymuae are the only two people who are known to be alive today and who have battled the Destroyer, by legend. Alas, the Sorceress has become a figure of legend herself, and though she is recently returned to us, her memory ... is not what it was. The Lord Protector has walked among us these many Years, but he has always been distant to most, and he has always refused to speak of the Year's End. His silence on the matter has been interpreted, in recent times, to mean that the tale is but a myth.

"However, in the last tale that touched on the Year's End -- when Lord Explorer Thomas stated that he believed Jack of Hearts to be the Year's End himself -- Lord Melchizedek agreed -- at least, if one is to believe the stories as told in the Chronicle of the Golden Hawkes, which is not, admittedly, known for its strict veracity. However, there is no doubt that the Lord Protector did leave the court of Queen Panelea at the same time Lord Thomas went West to search for Jack of Hearts. Further, Lord Melchizedek returned from the West some months later. In truth, I believe now, in light of all else that I have learned, that the Lord Protector believed -- correctly -- that the Year's End had been, still was, and remains now, a threat to Mirari." Lady Yseult folds her hands in her lap and bows her head.

"As for the powers the Year's End possesses, by legend they are many and varied. All agree that he is a Warlock -- some say, the greatest Warlock ever to walk in Mirari. Warlocks and Witches are masters of illusions, deceptions, and lies. They can lay traps for the unwary, disguising that which is dangerous, and making what is harmless appear terrifying. By legend, the Year's End can disguise himself so well that none, not even Lord Melchizedek, can recognize him. It is said he never wears the same face twice, and that when he comes to menace the land, it is always in some new guise. In the oldest tales, from the time of Bram and Angelique, he often menaced the land through minions, great and small, and with treachery and trickery, turning House against House until no one knows whom may be trusted."

At these words from Yseult, Lord October bows his own head. "In all Mirari's long history," he says, "it has, sadly, never been difficult to stir trouble among the Houses. We have never stood as united as we should have been -- as Lord Bram and Lady Angelique would have liked us to be. But in these dark times, that has become more true than ever. I fear to blame what may be our own, unaided, follies upon an outsider -- but the time is indeed ripe for this ancient nemesis to strike. if you have heard the tale of Jack of Hearts, my ladies -- where first one heir, then another fell in the 38th Year of Mirari -- you would see the similarities even more strikingly."

Yseult nods to October's statement. "There has not been a time of such trouble in Mirari's history and stories of the Year's End were not associated with it. Still, as my lord says, it is tempting to blame one's own follies on a faceless villain. But, as to the other capabilities of the Year's End...

"The location of his stronghold has varied by legend. There are ruins in the southwest, a few miles from the House of January, that are reputed to have once been a fortress of the Year's End. Beyond that, legends vary. The most recent tales, including but not limited to that of Jack of Hearts, place his home somewhere in the mountains of the west.

"The least, but most common, of his minions are the jruuh -- cowardly creatures that spy for him, skulking in shadows and hiding from all eyes. There are no reliable pictures of them, but they are said to be the size of small dogs, or badgers, with long, flat tails. But you are more familiar with them than I," Yseult says, leafing through a book before her, then turning it about to show them a woodcut picture of what might be a jruuh.

"Also said to serve him are wraiths -- reportedly, the spirits of his most powerful enemies, who were lured into traps by him, then raised by dark arts to serve him." Yseult's normally calm tone wavers at this. "Only a being not given a proper burial can have their soul twisted in such a way; this is one of the most horrible things of which the Year's End has been accused. The powers and appearances ascribed to his wraiths vary wildly -- in some tales, they are monsters of incredible strength and fighting prowess, while in others, they are little more than silent observers, ferreting out information for their master." She shows a pair of contrasting illustrations -- one of an almost shapeless form, robed and hooded. The other image wears similar garb, but the hood is cast back, revealing a ghastly visage with a jagged hole for mouth and eyes, and wielding a pair of swords in two of its four arms.

"His most powerful servants are said to be the vyglari." Turning to a new page, the handmaiden shows them another woodcut, this one of a creature that looks like a cross between a man and a scorpion -- a scorpion's body raised on eight spindly legs, stinger lashing at the end of a long tail, and the torso and body of human rising from where the scorpion's head might be. In its right hand, the vyglari holds a polearm like a toy, while its left arm ends in a long, lobster-like claw. It is locked in combat with a mounted, armored figure. Either the knight is meant to be one of the wee folk, or the vyglari is a giant, looming over both knight and steed. "Their sting can paralyze a horse, and their claw can shred one apart. Tales tell of the Year's End using his illusions to lure his enemies into the arms of the vyglari. Frightful as they are, however, there are no reliable sources to prove that they do, or have, existed. If they are real, I much doubt there are very many of them. Legends of the Year's End -- especially the most probable of them -- say that he works through deception and treachery, not through brute force or the strength of his personal army.

"In truth, some legend or other ascribes just about every monster Mirari knows or has ever known to the service of the Year's End, be they bugbears, trolls, bearcats, dragons, or what-have-you. The vyglari and jruuh are special, in that neither have been seen in Mirari for many Years, and there are few tales told of them that do not involve the Year's End," Yseult explains. "Like the Year's End, both have been largely dismissed as mere myths by the scholarly."

Closing the book and laying it on the flat rock before her, the antlered woman says, "I have prepared three copies of this volume, collecting the most credible stories of the Year's End -- one for Lord October, one for the Lady Sorceress, and one for the two of you, should you wish it. This should give you more details, should you desire them. I will tell you now, that most of the stories go back to the time of Bram and October, but there have been a handful of more recent occurrences -- three tales where coup attempts were ascribed to the machinations of the Year's End, and four where some person, or collection of persons, foiled plots by the Year's End before they could come to the attention of the general populace. I would further note that the Lady Sorceress and the Lord Protector feature in many of these tales -- as well as in others I rated too vague or improbable for inclusion.

"Of particular concern, perhaps, to you: Jack of Hearts was the last person known to have attempted a coup against the throne, when he appeared in the thirty-eighth Year of Mirari to menace the rightful heir, Lady Panelea of May. You may also have heard that, in the Autumn of the 39th Year, an army of trolls invaded Mirari. What you have, perhaps, not heard is another tale of that time." Yseult puts aside the book she's been leafing through to turn to a smaller, but likewise hand-bound leather volume. "In late Summer of 39, the Lady Knight Redmane had her own encounter with people who were likely working with those trolls ... and who may have been working for the Year's End."

"That story you may wish to read on your own, Lady R -- Agatha," Lord October says. "For now, the afternoon draws on, and I am sure you are both hungry for a little food to go with your knowledge. We may speak more after lunch, if you wish."

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This site serves as a chronicle of sessions in an online roleplaying campaign moderated by Conrad "Lynx" Wong and May "Rowan" Wasserman. The contents of this site are (c) 2001, 2002 by Conrad Wong and May Wasserman except where stated otherwise. Despite the "children's fantasy" theme of this campaign, this site is not intended for young readership, due to mild language and violence.