The Ghosts of Malavadia

Chapter I

Count Froalic, who built his keep from the mud of Chillwood Bog, gathered to himself any who would pledge themselves to him as their liege. Nearby tribes of fanatical warriors united as vassals to protect his lands and bloodline, and thus the Count lived out his days in the keep. He and his countess Lithra sired Kalen and Melina, the first children of Malavadia.

The boy's mother and father believed that with the enough and proper political influence, their son could certainly usurp the magisters and their enigmatic lord, the Gentleman then usher the whole land into a prosperous age. For his part, Count refused even to acknowledge his master, thinking himself and his heirs irrefutable rulers of the land.

This, of course, amused the Gentleman to no end, and so he allowed the marriage of the upstart Kalen to Light-of-Glade, daughter of an bog dweller midwife.

Light-of-Glade was as excellent an countess to Kalen as any in the land could ask for, wanting nothing but to bring pride and honor to her new family and new husband. Though there were whispers among the court members of infidelity but were engrossed by growing reports of the young bride's infertility.

Kalen was obsessively nepotistic, and distrustful of anyone with whom he shared no blood relation with including his bride. Though Light-of-Glade was said to finally bore a son by the Count named, Barbas. It is known that the two shared their bed with decreasing frequency as Kalen's paranoia grew, and he found himself in the embracing arms of his sister , which led to all sort of rumors and gossip of how in reality a incestuous affair had spawned the heir apparent, Barbas. There may be truth in that for there those of us who remember personally the reign of Barbas, and his contribution to the fall of Malavadia.

Chapter II

Violent-natured and quick of temper, Barbas sought enemies where every they could be found even when non existed. His early days on the seat of Malavadia foresaw the destruction of every tribe or village within sight of the keep, until none were left.

During his brief reign, much of the southeastern coastline of Malavadia was unsafe to travel, littered with the corpses of trespassers in the lands of Malavadia, staked to trees as territorial markers and warnings to passer byes. Beside his sadistic temper, Count Barbas was known also for his slow wit and his unnatural fascination with the supernatural and the unknown.

Indeed, even when a child, he would spend nights with his grandmother under the star littered night. As a youth, he was entertained by a myriad of self proclaimed men of magic, stargazers and even a trio of sister witches often becoming violent after they were dismissed by his father and grandfather.

Perhaps showing the influence of his father, he became quite nepotistic, allowing only a select few courtiers mostly distant relatives in his presence. He was seen in public only when organizing his vassals for yet another raid on some poor village in the countryside.

It was also at the pinnacle of his reign that did a even more sinister darkness fell over Malavadia for at the time, adhering to the desperate counsel of his advisors, Barbas had decided to take a wife and ensure the continuation of his noble bloodline. The Count chose a vibrant peasant women as his betrothed, from a commune in the neighboring wilds of Khaslya. Countess Julebell could not have been any more his opposite. Vassals, long loyal to their ancestral agreement with Count's forefathers, were displeased by this act perceiving it as a betrayal for not picking one of their children. Tensions only grew as Barbas in a feeble attempt to win his wife's love decided to gift her with her own personal wing of the keep. But by doing this he ordered the destruction and felling of a grove that was long held sacred to his vassals' ancestors. Inflamed by this heresy, the vassals were whipped into a fanatical frenzy and were prepared to lay siege to the keep. Only the careful thinking of the count's bride of saving a seedling bored from the fruit of the grove did spare both sides the bloodshed. In the weeks that followed, did something most particular occur. One night, Count Barbas's grandmother, the former countess Lithra vanished. For countless moons did the count searched in vain even forcing his own vassals, who still bored resentment towards their liege for his unwanted defilement of their sacred tree grove. Mourning the lost of his beloved grandmother, he isolated himself away and days later the health of Barbas finally failed, and his young son, Remy, ascended the throne.

Chapter III

Young Remy had scarcely been seen in public before his hasty coronation in the bowls of Malavandia Keep. Had the boy been old enough to govern, his gentle and shy demeanor may have been enough to ease the seething tension among the vassals, but his mother, Countess Julebell was forced to assume many of the duties her husband had so long ignored and neglected, along with dealing with the growing number of missing maids and other staff members that have occurred after the initially disappearance of Countess Lithra.

By all accounts, Julebell was a fine countess; beloved by her people, but the leaders of the various vassals could not contain indefinitely their personal sentiments of outrage at her Khaslya heritage. Despite her exceedingly tactful attempts at diplomacy, the animosity against her was deep-seated, and grew over the years. It is remarkable that they remained true to the oaths for so long.

When Remy finally came of age to rule, the boy tried in earnest to rule, but his fear of the world was so great that even the mere glimpse of a passing insect made his blood go ice cold, and the increasing number of people disappearing without a trace within the keep's walls only fueled his fears and that of other keep's denizens. He was all but unable to address the people publicly, and when he attempted to placate his squabbling vassals. He could scarcely contain his fright.

As the years passed and tensions worsened, very disturbing activity began to occur. In one in incident, a young maid had reported of how she had sighted a woman like figure walking the hallways that appeared to be; Countess Lithra, only for it to vanish as soon as it appeared. Not long after that more sightings of the ghostly images and figures of all those who had mysteriously gone missing within the keep began taken place.

Finally the tolerance of the vassals snapped, and their warriors encircled the keep. But when they did they found no resistance, no awaiting defenders or opponents. What they did find was two things; a silent keep utterly devoid of life with it's inhabitants missing. The other thing was a simple journal written in haste found in the Countess Julebell's wing. Apparently written by the countess herself. The note detailed in the many weeks before the vassals had prepared to attack that the abnormal on goings that increased drastically with a handful of maids had been attacked by the various spectral apparitions of those gone missing. Eventually it describes how as such many of the denizens fled and with those that stayed only to one by one be murdered by the spectros or vanishing without a trace; the last thing the countess wrote before the writing abruptly stops... was one word. Nulling...

Believing that they had been avenged with a curse had been placed on the whole keep supposedly by the Gentleman himself when the former count, Barbas destroyed the sacred grove. The vassals simply left now freed from the bonds of servitude from their former oath departed back to their homes. Back with the tales of the fall of the once pound keep of Malavadia and how it's noble bloodline had been befallen by the very vengeance of the land's true master, the Gentleman. To this day, the keep lies abandoned for no one dares set a foot into it, in fear that they may to become victim to the terrible evil that dwells within.