#this happened while she was in ravenloft

[baellielurk]

conversations between ireena and strahd

[anantplayingdnd]

In honor of pride month I want to hear about how queer you made Barovia please and thank you.

For my game:

Strahd is a bisexual king right out of the book, which is awesome.

Rahadin is asexual, but not in like, an ace kind of way. Like in a single-celled organism kind of way.

Ireena is aroace! A decision partly inspired by a certain pool of water (iykyk), and also because she’s a little bit my self-insert. A PC hit on her in like session four and was immediately told, “Do not ever speak to me that way again.” She’s iconic and I adore her.

IZMARK. IZ. GAY. And madly in love with the druid. Unfortunately Izmark does not know he is gay. He believes it is very normal to lovingly stare into your homie's eyes and look down at his lips and imagine what it would be like to kiss him. And it is very normal to comment on how attractive your homie is, cause that's just what bros do.

Vollenta is a beautiful lesbian who refuses to let the fact that she is married to Strahd change the fact that she is a lesbian and nobody will tell her or her pile of bodies otherwise.

Ludmilla is on the ace spectrum. I mean, come on. She's with the guy for power and grant money. She says she loves him, and they're definitely intimate, but she's the kind of girly to take notes before during and after, you know?

Escher. What even needs to be said about Escher. He's Ravenloft's resident twink and proud of it. He's a little lonely and can't stop thinking about the boy he was in love with when he was young, who is now old and grizzled from age, while Escher himself remains the same age he was when he betrayed his lover and chose Strahd instead, but like... he's also pretty and immortal, so who cares?

(Escher Bonus Content: Two moms! They loved him very much and were upsettingly supportive of his decision to become Strahd's newest consort)

Anastrasya: idk she's dead pre-campaign in mine so if you came here looking for commentary on her you will not get it.

Ezmerelda is a trans lesbian! She's gorgeous and I adore her. She's just so confident that she can kill Strahd on her own and I think she's right for that. I knew I wanted her to be a love interest for one of my PCs, and it just so happens that the player in question has a type.

Danika is also bi, and she's very happily married to her wonderful little husband. This hasn't come up in the campaign at all it's just something I know to be true in my heart.

The Abbot: Gender! Fluid! Call them whatever you want. He/him when you want to play on ideas of masculinity in religious circles, they/them when you want to make them seem undefinable, she/her when you want your PCs to reflect on how much mom trauma they all have :)

Sergei is straight but that man loves the queer community so much and he deserves an honorable mention.

Arrigal is gay and very pissed that the party keeps knocking on his wagon door at 3am. His ex-husband/current boyfriend has been coerced into co-parenting a child with the cleric.

Edit: FORGOT ABOUT THE RESIDENT SPOOKY SPECTRAL LADS BUT TO BE FAIR THEY ARE CANON AND MY PARTY ISN’T THERE YET

There's definitely others but these are my versions of the little guys. I am so interested to hear other people's takes on them.

[deceitful-jester]

{!!Short angel in two of the pictures is a man and uses He/Him, curly haired vamp in third pic uses She/Her!!} I was briefly in a Curse of Strahd. . . Thing, it wasn't really a campaign, my partner just wanted to see if she could handle running a module and doing text based stuff, it was really more of a test run for a potential polycule campaign than anything else, and when I actually liked Strahd instead of hating him, she was not prepared to progress, since the options were either homebrew a lot of stuff or say 'Bad ending, you go in the basement forever', but I drew all of this while we were playing. The second to last one is the first attempt I made at drawing Strahd and I do not like it, but I'm throwing it in the pile anyway. The curly haired vampire on the purple background is "Doru". You see, my secondary character, Michael, has been a fully-fledged vampire for about a thousand years, so when we found her in her father's basement, instead of killing her, Michael fully turned her so she could have autonomy, and then Michael helped her figure out her gender and she stayed with the party. The other character that isn't Strahd is, of course, Eddie, who took an immediate liking to the count, particularly because Strahd has a very similar demeanor to a plush wolf with ruby eyes that Eddie treasures and that already had a backstory before I knew anything about CoS and so Strahd, wolf boy that he is, decided to start trying to lure Eddie away from the party by invading his dreams wearing a wolf mask and encouraging the association. I have devoured every Ravenloft book that features Strahd since this happened, and I am going sort of crazy now that I am out of them, especially since I was really enjoying where this campaign was going and I seriously doubt I will ever have a chance to play the module again with a DM who is even slightly compassionate towards me or my stance that the blurb at the beginning of the module that serves as a vague-post about Stephanie Myer is cringe and that Mormons in general {Strahd's original creator is a Mormon just like Myer} have bad takes on vampires and that actually it is deeply bigoted that her opinion is that sympathetic vampires are entirely antithetical to the original morals behind vampires {I think it's great when a monster portrayed as representing 'the other', usually the queer or racialized other, is allowed to be portrayed as cool, fun, romantic, sexy, or at the very least, complex and worthy of being empathized with}, and so I shall have to content myself with daydreaming and being filled with melancholy until the special interest passes, just as the mists themselves would have wanted. Oh well. Maybe I'll have the energy to run it eventually and I'll make Strahd the most deliciously problematic trans and bisexual representation ever and then let all of the PCs kiss him, because that's what we all deserve. Good God I love problematic bisexual vampires

[myinconnelly1]

Van Richten's Guide to Damsels and Distress - Pt 1 - Through the Mist

Pairings: Steve Harrington x OFC; Eddie Munson x OFC

Warnings: High Fantasy, Dark Gothic Themes, Other warnings to come

Word Count: 1,379

Masterlist

People are disappearing into the fog, and with some of Nancy's insight Dustin gets a warning to Steve, Eddie and Robin just as they are engulfed by the Mist and transported to an unknown and dangerous place.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Steve asks as Dustin comes skuttling down to where he, Eddie, and Robin were standing. 

“Hey guys?”  Robin says, something behind her grabbing her attention and she reaches out to start tapping Eddie on his shoulder.

“Nancy just radio’d in.  She said she figured out what happened to those missing people.  It’s been happening all over the place.”  Dustin gasped as he tried to catch his breath.  “Basically it’s some weird ass Ravenloft shit.”  He bent over and rested his hands on his knees.

“I don’t know what this means,”  Steve said throwing his hands up in the air and turning away in annoyance.

“Ravenloft, like Strahd?”  Eddie asked doing some kind of mental math while ignoring Robin’s insistent tapping.  “Like run if you see some weird mist!  That kind of Ravenloft shit?”  Eddie’s voice hitting some kind of new high pitch.

“Mist?”  Steve asked quietly.

“Guys?!”  Robin almost squealed.

“Yea, that kind of Ravenloft.  But I’ve got Van Richten’s guide, don’t worry,”  Dustin grinned as he handed a Dungeons and Dragon’s book out to Eddie.

“What Robin?” Eddie shouted as he grabbed the book and turned to look at her.

“Fog!”  She screamed as something seemed to grab her and pull her into the thick mist.

“Robin!”  Steve shouted as he turned and shoved Dustin as hard as he could to get him away from the misty tendrils.  Eddie tripped as he went to run and was dragged into the wet coalescence.  “Eddie!”  Steve jumped to try to grab the metalhead and was absorbed into the mist as it dispersed.

“Steve! Eddie?”  Dustin cried as he looked where the vapors were once thick.  The rest of the kids running down to him, looking around horrified.

“Ow…”  Robin moaned as she looked up at the dreary sky.  She was laying on her back in a field that she didn’t recognize.

“I second that,” Eddie’s voice was muffled as he lay with his face in the grass.  His chest hurt from being dragged through the mist.  “Dustin?”

“No, I pushed him,”  Steve said from nearby as he started to stand.  “What the hell just happened?”

“There was a fog and then darkness and then a field where it’s about to rain,”  Robin was rambling as she sat up.

“I think we just got pulled into the same place as those other people that went missing.”  Eddie was still clutching the book that Dustin had given his as he rolled over.

“That place from your nerdy game?”  Robin asked.  Nothing looked familiar as she looked around.  There were no buildings near and no roads that she could see.

“Yeah,” Eddie moved to his feet, brushing grass from his curls. 

“It doesn’t look like Hawkins,” Steve said as he looked around.  There was no sign of the fog that had brought them here, and that filled him with relief for some reason that he couldn’t put a finger on.

“It’s not, but we should try to find out as much as we can quickly.  Each realm has its own rules, to keep the dark lord under lock and key,”  Eddie grimaced as he looked at Steve and Robin.

“We should try to keep a low profile here.  Nancy and the others are working on getting us back and they know where we are.  Shouldn’t be too hard,”  Steve shrugged before realizing that Eddie was laughing nervously and shaking his head.

“You can’t just get people out of Ravenloft.  We’re stuck here until the Mist says we can go,”  Eddie’s tone was dark as he spoke.

“You kids lost?”  A woman on the front of a wagon had come up near them.  She was older with dark hair and a kindly but troubled disposition.

“She’s a Vistani,”  Eddie whispered over his shoulder to his friends like they were supposed to know what that meant.  “Actually yeah,  could we get a ride to town?”  Eddie asked hoping to seem inoffensive.  Steve and Robin shared a concerned look but let Eddie take the lead as he seemed to be in his element here.

“Your clothing is strange,”  The woman said casually.  “I will give you a ride.  The town is a small distance, but I will not go through the gate with you.”

“We’re traveling from afar,” Robin blurted out nervously and Eddie’s head dropped dramatically.

“I have many wares in the back, strangers from the Mist are more common as of late,” She said knowingly.

“You’ve seen others?”  Steve asked, his interest piqued.

“Some, heard of others.  Best not to mention the fog before you draw the wrong kind of attention.”  She looked around as if expecting something to show up out of nowhere.

“Thank you for your kindness,” Eddie said graciously as he hopped into the back of the wagon.  Steve and Robin were quick to follow, and the wagon started up at a slow pace as the horse pulled it.

The boys politely turned their backs to Robin as they all changed into clothes they found in the Vistani wagon.  Items were in various states of disrepair but were at least more likely to blend in with the current crowd.  Trousers and tunics with belts were donned by all, after some fiddling with the ties to keep them in place they thought they could pass for an everyday joe.

“This is where we part, strangers,” The Vistani woman said from the front of the cart some significant time later.

“Thank you,” Robin said as they all got down from her wagon.

“Fair warning, Strangers,” She said to them as they walked to the front of the wagon and saw the city gates.  “Magic may not be real where you are from, but it is here.  And the lord of this realm undoubtedly knows that you are here already.  Stay out of his sight and press no one.”

The kids shared a look before looking back to the woman.

“Thanks, any other insight that might help us?”  Eddie asked.  He realized at that moment they had no money or anything that might be considered valuable here.  She reached underneath her seat and grabbed a bag and a box.

“The bag is on the house, but the card comes with a price,”  She said mysteriously as she handed the leather satchel to Eddie.  “Van Ritchen is known to us, you should keep that out of sight as well,”  She said with a nod at the book that Eddie was still holding.

“What is the price?”  Robin asked uneasily as she looked at the box of cards.  They looked like Tarot cards.

“That I can’t tell you.  It is not a price you pay to me.  Know that the card will help you in some way and the price is equal to the help you receive.”

Eddie reached out without a second thought and took a card from the deck.

“What are you doing?”  Robin cried but it was too late, Eddie had the card in his hand.

“Well, shit,” Steve said realizing that he needed to take a card in case something bad happened to Eddie.  “Don’t take one Robin. We can’t afford it,” he reached out to the deck and closed his eyes as he grabbed a card.

“The trade is done,” The woman said closing the box as Robin shook her head emphatically.  “Good luck, children.”  She instructed her horse to pull the wagon away from them.

“Why the fuck did you take that card?”  Robin could have smacked Eddie.

“You always take the items the NPC offers you at the beginning of the quest.  Besides we have literally nothing, we needed a leg up.”

“What do these cards even mean?”  Steve asked looking at his card.  A young woman or girl was shown like a portrait on the card.  She looked scared or hurt and the bottom of card said Innocent in scrawling print.

“They usually provide insight into the future.  I’m not sure exactly what we should be expecting from these.  Best to put them away until we can look at the guide.  Maybe there is a reference chart.”  Eddie said.  The Raven on his card looked almost life-like with the iridescence of its feathers, but something about it made him uncomfortable.

Next

[eliotbaum]

As a DM running two different CoS games, I'm so curious about yours. How did Things happen with Lydia? Is Victor around? It all sounds very very different from how I portray both her and Wachter.

Sorry for letting this sit so long! Finally had time to write stuff down. All the infos about our game's Lydia, the Vallakovich and Wachter family under the cut. Spoilers!

[CW for emotional (spousal) abuse, miscarriages, birth trauma]

So here's some general infos about Lydia and Fiona's backstories. We got to know Lydia as we were welcomed in the Vallakovich home by the oh so happy couple. In the middle of the night, no less, after just having been hunted through the woods by Morganta. My cleric PC spent a lot of time in the St. Andral church Lydia frequented, as he helped out Lucian. Through his time with the Vallakovichs, who took a liking to him, he learned more about how deeply unhappy and sadly, emotionally abused Lydia was in her marriage. What started out in a mutually loving relationship ended tragically onesided, as Vargas lost himself to his madness and paranoia over the years, while Lydia held onto hope that tomorrow, maybe another chance for them will come.

Viktor was almost a miracle to the couple. With miscarriages and stillbirths, Lydia grew more strained and anxious to provide an heir. When Viktor was finally born then, and survived, it was supposed to be a joyous occasion — but Lydia fell into postpartum depression and Vargas, already tilting towards his ideology, was no support to her. Or Viktor, as Vargas was afraid to repeat the mistakes of his own abusive father's past. Viktor was practically raised by his nanny, who ended up as his first victim in his teleportation experiments. Lydia and Vargas never knew.

Fiona Wachter staged a coup, assassinated Vargas and almost Lydia and Viktor as well. So Lydia was there on the stage when everything escalated. She was saved, and Viktor teleported away — now caught in a teleportation loop after aiming for magic too powerful.

Lydia was completely broken after this, but embraced a second chance and a new chapter in life.

Fiona's storyline is similar as to the one in canon I believe, though some things were toned down. Ties to Ravenloft, cultist, though one centered around a prophecy of the sun coming back to Barovia. Our DM linked Lydia's and Fiona's stories, so that they grew up as childhood friends, though the relationship strained more and more during Vargas' reign. Viktor drove Stella insane, Lydia, due to the All Will Be Well! ideology was a terrible friend during Fiona's time of grief. Stella's madness was Fiona's breaking point, and she aimed to eradicate all of the Vallakovichs.

[catmemer]

If you'd like to infodump about Valerie she's been on my mind 👀

Yeah for sure!

I made Valerie back in like 2019. She's basically a witch that escaped a strict puritan-like town so she could study magic and continue her parents research on immortality. During her studies and research, she summoned a demon (named Jasper/Jazz), fell in love with him, and eventually became a demon herself.

In 2020, our previous dnd group started a gothic horror campaign called Curse of Strahd, and I decided to turn her into a dnd character so I could play her! She's a Hexblade Warlock who has pretty much the same backstory, with some minor differences. She makes a pact with an entity that tells her where she can find immortality, and she goes out to travel and find it (and ends up being stuck in Barovia).

She meets the other party members, travels with them, does some adventuring, etc etc dnd stuff. Our campaign didn't finish unfortunately and we left off at the Amber Temple (fucked up ancient place with dark powers), the place where she would've found her patron and talked about how she would be able to earn the immortality she sought out.

A few years ago our current DM (who was a player in our previous game) started a new CoS game and decided to take a few of the previous party members and make them NPCS in our current game. In this version, Valerie and her previous group were at the Amber Temple and something happened (which may or may not have been her fault?) that caused all of them to split. Since Valerie's whole thing was to be at the Amber Temple that's where she resided and slowly went mad over time, forgetting what happened and why she went there in the first place.

Our current party went there a while ago and we found her there. She basically just hosted bingo nights for the creatures that lived there lol. After some exploring and some combat, she decided to follow us so she could try and clear her mind a bit. So now my DM and I take turns playing her as she's with the party lol.

Other facts and info (that I can think of rn lol):

Likes magic (especially dark magic), ancient knowledge, and anything spooky and forbidden. Typical witch stuff.

She magically dyes her hair purple (her favorite color). Her natural hair color is black. 

Favorite animal: bats.

Loves to read gothic romance novels.

Loves to dress in fancy clothes, especially gothic clothing.

Likes drinking wine

Afraid of large bodies of water

And some fun stuff from the campaigns:

In our first playthrough, Valerie got to eldritch blast and smack Strahd in the face. In both campaigns, she is an enemy of Strahd.

Bffs with Escher. Hasn't seen him in forever though and totally wants to have a night on the town with him at some point lol.

In our first playthrough, Valerie got to rip out the soul of the werewolf boss we were fighting and turned it into a specter that obeyed her commands for a short amount of time. Hoping to use this feature again in our current game lol.

Definitely wants to hangout with the Abbot again. I need to see their deranged energies together lol.

In our current game, she was a temporary "caretaker" of Neferon at the Amber Temple. Would always carry hard candies to get him to cooperate.

In our current game, while the party was fighting Baba Lysaga, Valerie went off to the village of Barovia to do her own thing. Went shopping and slept with Ismark while the party was dying lol.

Banned from Castle Ravenloft, Krezk, and Vallaki due to shenanigans with previous party.

She so badly wants to find her previous party members. We met one so far, a deranged and wild gnome (named Briz) that lives in the forest, but she hasn't seen him yet.

[tea-with-eleni]

This week in Barovia Darkon....

Compiled from like four maps, including the VRGTR one. I had a proper think, read three of the Ravenloft books that detail information on Darkon/Azalin, read the VRGTR chapter on the topic and discarded most of it, and read part of an AD&D adventure set in Darkon/Barovia and discarded a lot of that, too.

Anyway. A few towns have flipped which side of the river they're on and I'm not 100% sure I have ALL small settlements, but if you want a high resolution map of Darkon for your adventures, hit me up?

But I digress.

This week, my players headed to Tempe Falls and were shocked to find a relatively normal town. Like. Okay, it's boring, but that seemed to be the worst of it. There was way more racial diversity than they're used to (Barovia being almost entirely humans with the odd dusk elf for variety). The innkeeper cheerily sold them four rooms and they settled in to enjoy some decent dwarven alcohol.

(Their was a funny moment when everyone collectively realized that a: they have a TON of gold and jewels from the amber temple and b: they probably can't use the gold because it all has Strahd's face on it and all they know about Darkon is that it went to war with Barovia at some point in the past.)

There were some people in the inn: assorted traders, a clerk who appeared to be staying in town while doing some audits or paperwork or something, and a couple of guard/soldier types with some kind of chain denoting rank as part of their uniform. They also had a chat with a somewhat disoriented sorcerer, one Firan Zal'honen. He claims to have only emerged from the mists himself a few weeks ago. I'm sure he's nothing to worry about. It's fine.

Anyway.

The party traded gold for a carriage and two draft horses, on the grounds that they now have

the cleric

the rogue

the fighter

the artificer

the wizard

the bard

Ireena Kolyana

Ludmilla Vilisevic

Volenta Popofsky

and of those, the wizard, the artificer, and the two vampires have issues with sunlight. Oh, and Darkon has an excess of suns. It's fine.

They then decided that they ought to try and find a larger town. The innkeeper gave them the skinny and said that Corvia is a decently big place, but Il Aluk is an actual city. She also warned them to please, fucking PLEASE follow the laws or else they're likely to end up in a world of trouble. The party did briefly lose their minds when they noticed a piebald raven flying around town that headed back to the inn where they're staying. Again, it's fine.

Then they headed out of the Balinok mountains and into the foothills and the town of Mayvin. It's a gnomish town with a massive clocktower and patent hall; the artificer is delighted.

The local scuttlebut is that something really fucking bad happened in Il Aluk and the golden star in the sky overhead appeared shortly thereafter. So naturally my players are like, "WELL WE GOTTA GO THERE!" They also heard the name "Castle Avernus" and the fighter (originally and quite recently from the Forgotten Realms) started freaking out about Elturel. The players also noticed something really off about the (as yet unnamed) Kargat stationed in Mayvin. I ruled that they have no good way of knowing exactly what the Kargat are, though, since the concept of ghouled mortals is basically nonexistent in DnD. (I saw a sidebar in the Ravenloft Gazetteer and thought it was interesting enough to include it...)

My reading list for this week is the first half of The Neverending Story, because I feel like The Nothing is a decent analogue for what's happening, slowly, to Avernus while Firan is swanning about near the borders.

[curseofthebloodcountess]

Ez/Lucian and Theo

It's the funniest thing to me that Ez and Lucian are amicable exes in my game because it started out as a "Haha, I can do a nod to Remix and maybe give the PCs a reason to talk to Ez!"

Now it recontextualizes so much random crap that's happened in the last year.

Ez rescuing Victor from Ravenloft? Yeah, sure, it's because she's a nice person who also happened to be fleeing Ravenloft, but also it's because that's her (on-and-off-again) boyfriend's shithead nephew and Lucian would be pretty sad and/or pissed if he died. Better rescue him!

Victor tells Ez that he's in a polycule with his cousin, Theo? Nice! Back in our day, your uncle and I- What do you mean cousin? Your father has a sibling? No? Oh, it's that daughter Lucian said he had but wasn't allowed legal rights to. Oof. That's... That's kinda fucked, buddy. (Wait, what do you mean she's a reborn from Krezk, too? That sounds like something you've said is a lie. Hmm.)

Doru (the vampire spawn) tells Ez he's engaged to Theo, Victor's cousin? How did they even meet? He's not allowed in the walls of Vallaki and even if he got in, the church's holy relics should have killed him?? Lucian, what happened to your church while I was gone? Also, I am 100% on your side: Theo needs to raise her standards.

Theo tells EVERYONE that her celebrity crush is Rictavio. LUCIAN, WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING???? YOU KNOW THAT'S MY DAD???? DID YOU EVEN TELL HER ABOUT US???? Well. I stand by it: Theo should raise her standards.

Alastor fucking hates Ez's guts but Ez won't go away? OF COURSE SHE WON'T. Someone has to look out for her boyfriend's weird kid and it looks like the poor girl spends all her time with grumpy, dangerous older men.

Wait a minute.

I know Theo doesn't have a mother, but can we think of anyone else who gets in trouble at Ravenloft (and everywhere else she goes), loves the Petroviches devotedly, and hangs out almost exclusively with a grumpy old man who refuses to tell anyone his real name?

Theo... are you sure you don't have a mother? I might have just found you one.

Anyway, I'm tickled by the image of Ez and Lucian, post-coital wearing each other's clothes in the kitchen at the rectory and discussing Theo over breakfast and Theo, Tam, and Ireena walk in and are like, "EUGH NO????" (My warlock and I are scheming. We'll see if I can make it a reality.)

Alastor, meanwhile, is sleeping blissfully in Ismark's arms across town, for now.

[darklordazalin]

Azalin Reviews: Darklord Eli van Hassan

Domain: The Endless Road Domain Formation: 690 BC Power Level: 💀⚫⚫⚫⚫ Source: Dungeon Magazine #174 (4e) In 4e the Headless Horseman became the victim of Eli van Hassen who in turn became the Darklord of the Endless Road, a more developed version of the Winding Road. 

Eli was your classic big fish in a little pond type who wanted to be a large whale in the ocean. Though, he wasn’t much more than a minnow in a puddle. He had no titles, no legacy and the only reason he lorded over the hamlet of Tranquility was because he happened to have the most wealth and property in the area. That isn’t saying much, considering his “rule” was over a handful of people with next to nothing to their name.

Eli spent many days looking down on “his” people in disdain, believing he was meant for more. He hated those that courted Talitha, his only daughter. He saw them as attempting to take the one person he cared for away from him. 

Tranquility came under the siege of a hydra and the small village could not handle it on their own, so Eli sent people out to find help. Help came in the form of “the Horseman” and his soldiers whom, after weeks of battle, slayed the beast. 

Talitha became quite smitten with the Horseman and he returned her feelings. Eli, however, looked upon the couple with rage. This so-called hero did not deserve his daughter’s affections and so, being a very obedient child, Eli convinced Talitha to bring forth false accusations against the Horseman. Talitha’s love for the Horseman must not have been too great for her to go along with this plan. Regardless, she followed through with her father's plan and convinced the villagers that the Horseman had assaulted her. Akin to modern day research into political issues on social media, her accusations resulted in mod mentality and the villagers descended upon the Horseman and chopped of his head without considering a formal trial.

That night the Mist surrounded Eli’s estate and took him, Talitha, and a number of their servants into Ravenloft, making Eli the Darklord of the Endless Road. Eli’s estate changed. Buildings stood in different locations or were gone completely, his garden was wilted, and the property’s fence that was once wooden was now made of wrought iron. And most noticeable of all, Tranquility was gone. 

If Eli leaves his estate to explore the Endless Road, he loses all the powers so kindly gifted to him by our Tormentors and is hunted by the Headless Horseman. The Endless Road expands ever on. It is similar to the Winding Road in that it can appear almost anywhere. The main difference is there are actual towns and sites associated with the Endless Road and not all who find themselves upon it are beheaded by the Horseman, instead many become lost upon the road and seek shelter among what few settlements there are upon it. These people are called “The Lost”. 

The Endless Road contains the open grave of the Headless Horseman, where he is said to rise from once more if he is defeated. He is much the same as he was before (though now with an actual history that makes him a victim), a man seeking vengeance upon the road while an entourage of heads from his past victims follow in his wake.

Eli is one of the most pathetic Darklords. He cannot leave his estate because the Horseman is far more powerful than he. This is his so-called torment - to rule a single estate instead of a grand empire as he once dreamed. Talitha is there with him, but she is a mere shadow of what she once was.

Eli’s “powers” essentially all equate to being able to make people trip (e.g., slow them down while they're on the Endless Road). So, he cowers in his estate and trips people once in a while. Pathetic. The Horseman is the real power here and the only thing anyone fears. Eli..just exists in the Horseman’s world. This little lordling is not even worth the cost of a blade that could easily cut him down. 0.5 skulls.

[anantplayingdnd]

hey you guys want the fucked up little story i wrote regarding how our beloved PC Gemina got turned into a vampire?

awesome here you go.

tw // death, violence, sexual content, disease, claustrophobia, ableism, manipulation

“I want a nice boy whom I could bring up as a Prince and who would be King of Narnia when I am gone. While he was Prince he would wear a gold crown and eat Turkish Delight all day long; and you are much the cleverest and handsomest young man I’ve ever met…”

1.1

My mouth is full of dirt. Try to open my eyes. Can’t. Maybe I do. Either way, it’s dark. I can barely breathe, and I don’t know if it’s because of the four feet of dirt pressing down on my chest or because of the black bile in my lungs. Maybe it was the magic. The spell they put on me to make it seem like I was dead.

The Devil was right: they hadn’t suspected a thing. Aisha, my sweet Aisha, buried me. I could hear her crying when they ran away from Castle Ravenloft. I wanted to wake up from the fugue state I was in, but I was powerless against the arcane non-death. Every time the spell seemed to weaken, somebody tightened the ropes on me.

The dirt, suddenly, gets lighter. I feel my diaphragm push up, and take as full of a breath as I can. The next thing I know, lightning flashes bright above me, and rain is making mud on my face. I can hear the panting of wolves.

1.2

A beautiful, dark-skinned woman stands outside my grave. She is tall like Aisha was, her hair is beautiful. Her deep orange dress is obscured at the edges. At first I think it’s rain in my eyes, but when I blink the water away, I can see it’s a cloak of invisibility. Her expression is stern and I immediately know I will do whatever she demands.

“I see the spell has worn off,” she says. The rain doesn’t even look like it’s touching her. She has an accent I haven’t heard yet in Barovia. “How do you—”

A bad cough and me doubling over interrupts her. Not intentionally, but I can’t help it. My body aches. I am not dead, but I am still dying. The next breath I take never leaves my chest, as the magic descends on me again and traps me mid-breath.

2.1

I wake next in a dark room. Seven figures surround me. I try to push myself up from whatever bed I’m laying in, but there is too much pain. I don’t have my armor or my arm. My leg is missing. I am not tied up, but I’m trapped by my own disability.

“Ah, Gemina, I am glad to see you awake…” The Devil’s voice comes to me out of the darkness. I turn my head in search of him, and eventually am able to find him standing above my bed. Or maybe it’s a table. It doesn’t feel soft. His black hair and clothes blend in with the room, but I can see his pale skin. The bright fangs in his smile. His ruby broach. The ticking pocket watch I made for him. He wipes a handkerchief over my face, and I see the black blood come away on the fabric. His touch is cold, his nails scrape the side of my cheek. I lean closer to it.

“I am so very excited to have you join my company, Mx. Sivan-Hafgrey,” he said. “Ordinarily, this would be a much more involved process, but given your condition…” He chuckles and takes my head into his hand. It is cold and large. I probably wouldn’t be able to resist him if I wanted to. Maybe not even if I had my strength still. I don’t think I want to though. “We will be proceeding much faster.”

I want to ask him what ‘this process’ is and what all will happen, but I don’t get the chance.

Strahd kisses my neck, his lips as cold as his hands. It’s been too long since I’ve been kissed like this. My heart starts beating faster, and I feel the acrid plague spreading faster through my body. How much of me has it corrupted now? More than it corrupted Aisha, surely. I stopped it before it got this close to killing her.

He bites at my skin, and I start to smile at the familiar feeling. But then he breaks through the skin, fangs penetrating my vein. I shout, and it echoes around us. None of the figures move to help. Blood rapidly spills out, covering my neck and the bed and my clothes. He moans as he drinks it. I am light-headed, and only partly because of the blood loss.

The room gets darker and darker. Soon all I can feel is my new master making me his own.

3.1

I wake up mad and starving. Caged. I beat at the bars. My nails are bloody. I’ve been doing this for hours. I can barely move. I have one hand and with it I try to grab anything I can. A man comes in front of my cell and he smells like food. I try to grab him. He kicks me and crushes my fingers under his boot. I scream and he laughs. He throws a rat into my cage and I chase it. Catch it. I am on the wall and the rat is between my teeth. Its hot blood calms my ravenous hunger, until it churns in my stomach and I vomit it up. I am hungry again.

3.2

I am chained and dragged out of my cell. He says the Master wants me. The Master wants me. It is the only thought I have all the way upstairs. The Master wants me.

A woman bathes me. She is pretty and tells me how pretty I am. Or handsome. She says the Master will enjoy me. She says she wants to kiss me, but that she can’t until the Master’s done. She kisses me anyways, on the collarbone. She talks and talks about the Master. I hang on her every word about him. She carries me in her arms and leaves me at his door. The Master speaks and tells me that he wants me to come inside.

4.1

My mouth tastes like iron and Strahd is fucking me. Gods it feels good. We are in his bedroom, in his bed, lost in his blankets. It occurs to me that he must not sleep here: we don’t need to sleep at all. He tells me to cry like it hurts and I do because it does. He is happy to be given my body, and I am happy to give him everything. It’s already his, after all. Even though I can feel my mind again, that thought still fills it. The Master wants me.

When he finishes, he settles onto the pillows and closes his eyes. I curl up at his side and rub my hand on his chest. Our bodies are so cold, but his is at least a little warmer than mine, and it is more comfortable with him than without him.

My voice breaks as I ask what he wants me to do. For a long time, he stays silent. We’re in the dark, but my eyes don’t have any problem watching him lay there, thinking.

“I see much of myself reflected in you, Gemina,” Strahd eventually says, tracing his finger over my shoulder. “You know what it is to be in love with someone that seems unattainable right now. You understand the pain I have endured these past centuries.”

I smile and hope he can’t see it. Being like him is such a wonderful thought. I gratefully kiss his chest and look up at him.

“Before I can help you recover what you want,” he continues, “I’ll need a few things from you. I’d like you to tell me everything you know about your friends.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course. So, ohm, Aisha is—”

Strahd chuckles and presses a finger to my lips. I shiver and obediently go silent. “Not now. Write it all down and give it to Rahadin. And while you do that, make up a list of what you’ll need to start building me weapons and more useful… gadgets.” He smiles like it’s a joke, and so I smile back at him. “Once you’ve built something for me and shown off your clever little mind, we’ll talk again.”

Before I have the chance to promise that I will, I’m pushed onto the bed and he’s standing. His clothes come to him with a snap of his fingers. I wait for him to offer me his hand so I can get dressed too, but as he pulls his cape on and starts walking to the door, he doesn’t even look back.

“W-Wait, my… leg.”

“Your…” My Master turns over his shoulder, black brows furrowed. His cold eyes land on the stump that is my right thigh. He smiles and waves a hand to dismiss any worry I have. “Right. I’m certain Cyrus or someone will bring it to you before too long. Good evening.”

Then he is gone, and I am laying there, all alone in his bed. I sigh and sink into the rich pillows and blankets. It’s by far the most comfortable thing I’ve laid in in years. The gears of my mind are already spinning with ideas and schematics for what I’ll design for him. I don’t have my notebook, so I close my eyes and begin the sketches mentally.

I don’t even notice that hours pass before someone knocks on the door.

[mx-lamour]

5 - Dinner

[The sucessor to #2 - Charmed]

Alek's hunger ravaged him while Sasha Ivliskova walked the halls of Castle Ravenloft. He felt the need to eat both more and more often, to steel himself for the time he spent with her.

He had gotten Strahd positively blood-drunk, too. The blood had to go somewhere. It didn't keep half as well as the meat would have—if there had been any left to store. Better that it went into Strahd than to puddles congealing thickly on the floor.

This meant that they were consistently eating more meals together. Strahd bristled, at first, from the frequent interruptions—frequent still only meaning nightly—but it became difficult to argue against the intrusion once he was well fed. It almost seemed that the thirst had ceased to plague him altogether. He found that his focus on other projects, when Alek wasn't knocking on his door to eat, was much improved.

It did mean that their larder was quickly dwindling, and that Sasha was regularly left unattended, and that there were more opportunities for her to stumble too early upon their true nature, if she thought to go looking for them. But it was the only way that Alek could bear to be near her, and he delighted in her company.

Strahd noticed how Alek was becoming attached to the girl—had been, from the moment he returned with her. It placed a new variable on his experiment that he had not expected, which came in the form of a dark, prickling sensation behind his eyes.

Strahd and Alek began to watch over the girl in shifts, until she became more acclimated to their usual late schedule and would sleep as Strahd did for most of the day.

The daylight… Strahd envied Alek his ability to walk about whenever he pleased, without consequence. Sleep itself seemed to be optional for him; although Alek indulged himself with it often enough, he was not beholden to the pattern of waxing and waning hours to which Strahd was forced to adhere. His limbs did not grow heavy and sluggish as Strahd’s did when the sun rose too high in the Barovian sky, despite the darkness of his rooms inside the castle.

The sun had barely ducked below the horizon, drawing the curtain on a serene day in late summer—Sasha’s first sunset at the castle had not been her last, after all—when Strahd walked briskly into the garden to stake his claim on the night.

Alek and Sasha were strolling together through the weeds, her hands tucked into the crook of his elbow. She gazed up at his handsome, mustached face with rapt attention. Alek smiled warmly down at her, a glimmer of mischief in his gray eyes as he spoke low and conspiratorially about something that had once happened to him, or some rumor he had heard long ago. He leaned in to murmur closer to her ear, his soft smile growing into a suggestive grin.

Sasha’s eyebrows lifted high. A hand flew up to cover a wide smile, which pushed a pinprick dimple into her cheek when she laughed.

A dark shroud seemed to bind itself around Strahd's chest.

Sasha's eyes met Alek's, and her fingers curled absently away from the space between them, their faces hovering so close to one another’s…

Strahd cleared his throat, startling them both. Neither had noticed his approach. “Good evening,” he said smoothly. “I trust you had a pleasant afternoon.”

“Oh, yes.” Sasha's gaze darted briefly from Strahd back to Alek, before falling to the toes of her shoes. Bashfully, she added, “Thank you,” that welt of a dimple still marring her cheek.

The corners of Strahd's eyes tightened as he forced an amiable expression. “Wonderful. But perhaps we should let the good Captain return to his duties.” He said pointedly, “The keep won't mind itself, you know,” but that was hardly true. Sasha took his proffered hand.

Strahd's peaceable facade vanished when the girl was not looking. He all but glared at Alek, as his hand slipped around the girl's shoulders to guide her away. Alek caught the red glint in Strahd's eyes, like hot coals. His brow furrowed slightly. Was something wrong?

That night was not the first time that Strahd had tasted Sasha’s blood, but it was the first time he took so much of her life essence at once, pulling harder and deeper from her veins, just to see how much she would endure. Merely a rational progression of his experiment.

Alek was furious. “Would you have been satisfied if you had killed her?” he accused. “Will you do the same with Tatyana when she comes along—if she does? You’ve hardly been this rough with those who have deserved it.”

“Are you finished?”

Alek’s hand went instinctively to the dagger on his hip. Neither of the men bothered to carry a full sword and scabbard within the comfort of their own abode, but Alek was never without at least a small blade somewhere on his person.

Strahd fixed him with a mute stare tantamount to heckling.

A tense moment passed.

Alek relaxed his grip on the hilt. “Fine,” he said brusquely. “I suppose you won’t be needing dinner, then.”

“No.”

“Wonderful.” Alek swept his arm out, eyes like flint, and stepped aside with militant precision to gesture down the hall he knew very well led to Strahd’s library.

Strahd hesitated, stiffly reeling against Alek’s blatant dismissal. Of course that was where he was headed. In the end, he squared his shoulders and strode forward, past his own second in command. It would be far more humiliating to turn on his heel and slither past Alek another way. Strahd would not rout.

Alek sat on the edge of Sasha’s bed, watching the soft rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. There was nothing much he could do for her, apart from checking that she was comfortable and allowing her to rest. Given enough time, her blood should eventually replenish itself.

He wasn’t sure why Strahd had waited so long to test her like this, and maybe that was why Alek had been angry with him. Strahd’s choices seemed erratic, his mood increasingly hostile. He could only guess at the reasons. Could it be that the girl was too similar to Tatyana? That he had been too afraid of failure? If that was what had stalled Strahd before, then what had changed?

Sasha moaned softly and shifted in her sleep. “Ay, bach,” Alek whispered absently, adjusting the blanket around her. He patted her hand. “Rest easy now.”

Had he only been too well-fed? It seemed ridiculous.

. . .

“How long will it take for her to change?” Alek asked early the following evening, while Strahd carefully sucked the last dregs from the limp body held sensuously in his arms.

“It may have already begun,” Strahd noted, licking his lips. He scooped up the knees of the fresh corpse and laid it down bride-like upon the table.

“Already?”

“What did you imagine would happen?”

Alek stood. “Have you looked in on her?”

“She’s your pet,” Strahd said tersely.

Honestly, the man was becoming more petulant by the day. What were these Barovians putting in their blood?

Alek fled their modest dining room to visit Sasha again. Strahd should be more concerned about her, he thought. This was his experiment. What did he plan to do if the change wasn’t successful? Or—and this had been Alek’s concern all along—what did he plan to do if it was? If Sasha did become like Strahd, what would he do with her then? He seemed equally possessive and dismissive of the girl; it was impossible to read his intentions toward her. Alek had thought he was better at reading his old friend.

Sasha was awake when Alek opened the door to her bedroom. There was a distinct pallor to her complexion, but she smiled at Alek when he entered. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

“A little tired, that’s all.”

Alek resumed his place on the edge of the bed. Sasha touched his hand. Hers was colder than he remembered.

“Yesterday, in the garden,” she said wistfully, “were you going to kiss me?”

Alek chuckled softly, taken aback. “I would have liked to.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Well… I thought it might be impolite, in front of Lord Strahd.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Sasha said, with growing enthusiasm. She squeezed his hand tighter. “I must tell you, Lord Strahd has also kissed me…” Pulling aside the neckline of her shift, she touched her throat. “...here.”

“Yes, I know,” Alek assured her.

“And you’re not upset?”

“No… Not about that, anyway.”

An exaggerated look of concern came over her. She seemed entirely too lucid, but her gaze had a far away quality to it. “You are upset!” she cried.

“I’m not upset with you,” Alek said. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“Oh, Alek,” she sighed. “Will you kiss me now? I would very much like it if you did.”

There was something odd about her request. An uncanniness which tingled at the back of Alek’s mind, setting him on edge. It felt like a trap.

But the request itself was innocuous enough. And he did want to kiss her. She was a lovely young woman, even in her present state. She posed no threat to him, even if she was becoming a vampire, as Strahd was. Alek himself was no mortal man.

He leaned down to kiss her.

Alek realized, as he bent closer to her, that Sasha still smelled entirely human. His empty stomach roiled, even as his mouth pressed over hers.

A new energy seized the girl, and she grasped his face in her hands, pulling him deeper into the kiss. Alek groaned. His insides coiled in angry knots as he fought back the urge to bite the tongue out of her mouth. With effort, he broke free of her lips.

“I want you, Alek,” she whined, tugging the front of his shirt, trying to draw him nearer again. “Be my husband. Share your love with me.”

Alek swallowed thickly. “I would,” he said, petting her hair, pushing it back from her forehead. “Believe me, I would. But I would eat you up, and not in the most pleasant sense.”

“It can’t be so bad,” Sasha pleaded with him.

“It can.” Alek gently extracted himself from her cloying hands.

The girl’s face contorted in frustration. “Don’t go, Alek, please!”

Her fury was nothing compared to the gnashing maw deep within his gut. “Sasha, you need to rest. Everything will be all right if you rest now.”

“No!” she shrieked. “I can’t stand it!”

Alek did not know what to do. His instinct, really, was to knock her unconscious. But he was already struggling not to hurt her. Hitting her would certainly not have eased the suffering for either of them. “Shall I call Lord Strahd?” he asked instead. “Would you like to see him?”

This calmed her somewhat, though she seemed conflicted. “I want you,” she moaned.

“I know, Sasha. And I’m flattered. Let me call Lord Strahd for you.”

Sasha sighed heavily in defeat. She made no move toward him. “All right,” she agreed mournfully.

“Thank you.” Alek dared to kiss her lightly on the forehead.

Strahd was entirely too smug when Alek returned to the dining room and found him still there, sitting with his long legs propped up on the table. “Go on,” Alek muttered.

“So it has begun, then.”

“I think you should go to her. She is… hungry.” It was the only word that came to mind. Alek eyed the corpse still lying on the table. His stomach seized. “I am hungry,” he amended.

“You did fail to dine with me,” Strahd observed unhelpfully. His mood seemed to have improved, at least. He had apparently retrieved a book from his library and returned with it to the dining room while Alek was away. He opened it now. It was not a spellbook, but instead seemed to be a volume of folklore. “There is no need for me to see her now,” he said. “Let her rest for a few days. It will clear her head—and yours.”

* * * EDIT - Part 2: #6 - Corpse [Ao3 Collection] [prompt list by @syrips]

[acecasinova]

Hi there!! :D fear, secret and wound for the ask meme for Lazarus + another OC who you want to talk about? :D

My scrungy boy!!! I'll also answer some for Fion, another scrungy boy currently in my head lol~

fear: What is your OC's greatest fear? What do they do when confronted with it? Are they open with their fear, or do they hide it away?

Lazarus: His greatest fear is being weak and powerless- feeling small and ineffectual (Like when Strahd forced him to turn into a newborn kitten, or when he couldn't hurt Kindness at all, even when he knew he landed a blow). It freaks him the F-CK out when it happens but his base instinct is always survival, so he'll bend to whatever force seems to be on top. (It's very fun when the loud, abrasive, and aggressive guy goes still and quiet~ but laying low and NOT fighting back when the odds are garbage have gotten him a lot farther than insulting someone much stronger to their face) ....And on that note it's not THAT hard to see when he's afraid- he's a terrible liar and you can definitely see the deference in his posture.

Fion: His biggest fear is rejection! Fion wants to please and be accepted sooooo so bad and he definitely ends up fawning when faced with people who are mad at him. He'll test the waters a little, but if he gets pushback, he'll retreat and agree and probably walk on eggshells around that person for a while. He doesn't openly talk about it, but it's behavioral so it's not impossible to pick up on.

secret: What's one secret your OC never wants anyone to know about them?

Lazarus: Ohhhhhh he does NOT want people to find out the extent of what Strahd did to him before leaving him out for the party to find. It wasn't even anything physical, but he's still got the looming threat to the orphanage if anyone gets it out of him. (I'll say a lil more under a readmore so that it doesn't cut off the next one but people in the game don't read it if they're not butts)

Fion: HMMM well his biggest current secret that he'd die if people found out about is very topical to where they are right now story-wise.... Some of the group have found out he uses taboo magics, but no one knows he's a bit of a serial killer. Not that he'd phrase it like that- he goes after people who've been cruel to changelings and other species that are looked down on, and got.... maybe a little idea that the church and wizards might fall under fair game now too...

wound: How does your OC handle being wounded? Are their wounds mostly physical? Mental? Emotional? What's the worst wound your OC has ever experienced? Lazarus: He usually grits his teeth and deals with it- Laz is kinda just an overgrown feral cat, if a cat could turn into vermin or a red wolf lmao~ He'll usually sulk a little, maybe b-tch about it if the party is in a dungeon and he wants to bite somebody but they haven't fought anything alive in a while, but he tends to try and hide emotional or mental wounds and just not talk about them at all ever. (Which has just resulted in Laz being VERY emotionally stunted and bad at verbalizing things) Worst physical wound was probably when he tried to grab a little statuette for our party wizard, and whoops! Uh oh! Turns out evil and/or undead things can't touch it and it nuked him with radiant damage that ALMOST killed him on the spot, but it was just shy of twice his HP total, so he was only knocked out and fried his left arm to a crisp. The mental/emotional wounds really take the cake, though- the three days he spent arrested and chained up in that too-bright room with Kindness coming in just to repeatedly near-crush his windpipe and rip his fear of her wide open again, FOLLOWED by the humiliation of the carriage ride with her to Castle Ravenloft while she just raked what remained of his self worth over the coals was definitely a doozie. He REALLY hasn't recovered from that one yet but he also haven't tALKED about it to anyone because he's a prideful piece of sh-t who can't articulate his feelings.

Fion: His magical training really just put him through the wringer,,,, His mentor believed in "show don't tell" so he has first hand experience with all the spells he knows, like having maggots summoned in his stomach to eat their way out, or having his autonomy taken away. He's pretty accustomed to taking blow after blow, and usually takes them without complaint. His worst wound was probably when he was attacked while selling healing salves. Someone tried to rob him and ended up cutting him up. He lost his left eye in the attack and the shock of it nearly killed him, but he managed to stabilize himself after getting away.

So Laz's secret.....

He's a high enough leveled monk by 5e standards to be able to use "Stillness of Mind" and shake charms and such, and Strahd has underestimated him a few times before after dismissing him as a spawn. BUT Strahd found out Lazarus ISN'T a spawn, and is actually a full vampire in his own right, but he's a weird type that feeds on OTHER vampires and.... Strahd wants that under his thumb.

So after Laz got arrested (Long story of shenanigans but he f-cked up and his prey drive kicked in on a guard while reps from all three towns AND an entourage from Ravenloft were in town) and mentally beat to all sh-t by Kindness, Strahd showed up and offered him a "deal".

Lazarus could accept the charm Strahd was going to place on him. Or, he could try to resist it (historically something Laz has NEVER done successfully) and Strahd would go burn the Valaki orphanage to the ground and kill everyone here. That's Dissy's orphanage. That's where HE 'grew' up. So obviously he accepted the charm and now Strahd has a sleeper agent in the party. He STILL DOES. Lazarus cannot attack any sentient creature FIRST- they must attack him first. If no one has, he has to simply defend himself, but he's gotten to a point where he can assist others or use things like the "Cause Fear" effect on his mace. He can't let anyone try to help get rid of the charm or try to remove it himself. He also is forbidden from SPEAKING about the charm- he can't tell anyone why he can't attack or what Strahd did, and he can't tell them what might happen if he or someone else tries to remove the charm. (What might happen is Strahd burning the orphanage) ...And last but oh so certainly not least: He MUST obey if Strahd gives him a command with the trigger "would you kindly". (He hasn't tested if someone ELSE who isn't Strahd can also force him to do things with that phrase, but it's bad enough that Strahd can, and it isn't like Charm Person where it feels like they're your friend. Laz KNOWS what's happening but he can't do anything to stop himself from obeying and that, quite frankly, is the worst part for him)

[anae-art]

Hello!!!

I love your take on the consorts design!!! it's close to the original design, yet brought to a perfection!!! in my upcoming game I will be using your art as their tokens (with creddit abviously XD)

Since you are DM-ing, what is your take on Sasha Ivliskova?

In 5e she is only described in her crypt being locked away, while in D&D 3.5, journey Expedition to Castle Ravenloft. she has a story and an image of her.

I was curious if you're going to use her in your campaign.

In any case thank you for your time!!!

Hi! Thank you very much! It means a lot to me that you like them! (Now I'm asking my players not to read this) As for Sasha, to be honest, I didn't even know that her story was written down in more detail in the previous edition! Thank you for the information, I will be able to learn more about it now. My other game master and I are mainly relying on the 5e manual for the Curse of Strahd only adding and subtracting things as we happen to be more suited to the players. At this point I wasn't planning to use her (In my previous campaign we didn't even manage to get to her crypt) but if the players manage to get to her and express interest in her I think the theme of strahd brides and how they are perceived by him can be further developed. Thank you again and have a nice day!

[iamjucie]

A History in Lessons

Chapter 9: "Your Most Prized Spawn" (final pt.)

(final pt. of the “Your Most Prized Spawn” part of the story, not the entire fic A History in Lessons)

“What?! Were you not hysterical?” Astarion stands up and follows you, standing close to your back.

You whip around and put a finger into his chest. “Did it not occur to you to even ask why I was in hysterics?! Why was I so utterly ravaged?! That man you were chumming it up with while I was forced into submission fucking assaulted me. R*ped me and drained me of my blood.”

His eyes grow cold, and he is looking away from you at the ground. He stands with his arms crossed and doesn’t respond.

“Did you hear me?! He fucking r*ped me Astarion.” You are in his face now, screaming. Still nothing.

You and Astarion leave the Ravenloft castle and talked about everything that happened.

CW: Domestic Violence Word count: 1.9k AO3 Link

“I suppose one more drink couldn’t hurt.” 

----

“Six Hundred and ten, six hundred and eleven, six hundred and twelve…”

It’s been around twenty minutes and one and a half drinks since the “one more drink” that Astarion insisted he should stay for. It’s been a little over ten minutes since you’ve decided to count the seconds to pass the time. 

You’ve been tuning in and out of the world outside your mind. The world where your body is present, standing politely at Astarion’s side. This party was a nightmare even with full bodily autonomy, now that it’s stripped from you it’s even more unbearable. Whenever you pay attention to your surroundings, you despise what you see. 

When your counting was at around two hundred, you heard the other vampire lords praising Astarion for managing to obtain such a “valuable spawn” as yourself. Impressed by him having the “Hero of Baldur’s Gate'' succumb to his every will.

So, you’ve decided it’s best to stay in your mind. And count.

----

“One thousand one hundred and ninety five, one thousand one hundred and ninety six, one thousand one hundred and ninety seven…”

The next time you tuned into your surroundings, you saw an elegant vampire woman sitting upon Astarion’s lap feeding him the grapes that were only meant for decoration. She pops them into his mouth and asks him to describe the taste to her. She hasn’t eaten any fruit for centuries. 

His devilish gaze leaves the woman on his lap and enters yours for a moment. After he looked at you, your vision went dark. You couldn’t see your surroundings and were forced into your mind. 

When your counting reached around two thousand is when your vision began to return to you slowly. There is an ache behind your eyes after vision is taken and returned, akin to a migraine. 

You can feel your muscles aching, stiffening up as you’ve been in the same position for thirty minutes. Can’t he compel you to just bend your knee or something? You don’t even care if he is still compelling you to be calm and quiet, you just want to move.

----

 “Five thousand four hundred and twenty two, five thousand four hundred and twenty three, five thousand four hundred and twenty four…”

Most guests have left by now. The celebrations have finished and now it appears to only be the most powerful lords left. It looks more like a business meeting than a party now. Men sitting around the head table discussing plans, arguing and debating different strategies for world domination.

Your vision is glazed by the exhaustion of standing completely still. Or, it may be the effects of being under such strong compulsion for a long period of time. You don’t know for sure, you find it difficult to formulate a full thought. It feels as though your ability to use your mind has dulled.

The men stand up, bringing your focus out of the mind palace you’ve cultivated for yourself for a moment. There’s five people left; Zarovich, Astarion, two lords you don’t know, and the monster that almost killed you. 

They push in their chairs and begin to give farewells to one another, cordially shaking hands and providing contact information. Astarion is shaking hands with the monster and he pulls your lover into his chest and whispers something in his ear. You can’t hear what he said. The world has a filter over it as if it were an abstract oil painting. And your mind is unable to interpret your own thoughts properly, let alone attempt to read his lips.

Gods finally, it’s time to leave. You wait for Astarion to drop his compulsion on you, surely he knows you can handle your own now. Surely he knows that you’ve learned your lesson. 

He doesn’t. 

Instead, he takes control of your movements once again. Your legs begin to move to walk out of the ballroom. The first movements are accompanied with loud popping of your joints, Astarion looks at your legs startled by the sound. He laughs slightly to himself. Surely the eight goblets of wine are giving him the giggles. He isn’t laughing at you, you reassure yourself.

You both walk out of the hall and the carriage is waiting on the road at the bottom of the stairs. Every step you take down the stairs is unbearably painful. Standing and not moving for so long had made your muscles and ligaments rigor. 

Being under compulsion is strangely exhausting, you are finding it difficult to be present. You glimpse in and out of reality, as if what your eyes are showing your mind is but a slideshow of photographs. Completely separate from yourself.

You approach the carriage door, Astarion opens it for you and simultaneously has you climb into the cabin. You move over to the opposing seat and Astarion sits to your right, closing the cabin door behind him.

You are sitting, back straight and your hands placed politely on your lap; the way he has set you up to be. He’s going to drop the compulsion any second now. There’s no vampire lords around to judge you anymore, so there’s no need to force you to submit now. Right?

The carriage begins to move and his hold on your body and mind isn’t let go yet. What is he waiting for? Who is this for? 

Several minutes pass and you are in the thick of the Shadowfell, far away from the castle. Suddenly, he drops the hold and gives you back full control of your body.

You scream as loud as you are able to. Every muscle in your body aches and stings, your head is pounding, your vision is swirling. You look over to Astarion. He is not looking at you. His legs are crossed and he is looking out the window, biting his thumb nail.

You continue to wail, you mind reeling. Recollecting everything that happened, it’s too much. 

Your screams and sobs continue uninterrupted for the entire ride back to Baldur’s Gate.

----

By the time the carriage pulls up to the Crimson Palace, you’ve exhausted yourself. You’ve expelled every ounce of energy you had in your crying and begging to whatever God would listen to make sense of what happened to you. No Gods answered. You only received a cold shoulder from your lover.

You walk silently into the entrance of your home, eyes vacant of life. Your face is sore from crying. Your head is pounding from both Astarion’s extended hold on your mind and from sobbing.

Following Astarion, you end up in the den. He sits down onto the couch with a loud sigh and leans back, arms against the top of the cushions and a hand over the top of his face. He knows a conversation he doesn’t want to have is bound to happen, you can tell.

You walk up to him, hovering over him. You pause for a beat, waiting to see if he will start the conversation first. He doesn’t. “We need to talk about what happened.” you state plainly. 

He scoffs and looks up at you. “Oh? Is that so? Whatever do we need to talk about, my dearest?” he asks you, patronizingly.

Rage fills your body, you can feel the pressure of the little blood in your body rise. “You saw me having a fucking panic attack and took control of me. For hours, while you had the grandest of times. Does that ring a fucking bell?!” You are in his face, voice stern and volume rising.

“Tav you were in hysterics,” he responds with the same intonation as you. “You left me no other choice!”

You stand up straight and turn around and laugh to yourself. If you don’t indulge in the ridiculousness of it all, you’re not sure what you would do. 

“What?! Were you not hysterical?” Astarion stands up and follows you, standing close to your back. 

You whip around and put a finger into his chest.  “Did it not occur to you to even ask why I was in hysterics?! Why was I so utterly ravaged?! That man you were chumming it up with while I was forced into submission fucking assaulted me. Raped me and drained me of my blood.” 

His eyes grow cold, and he is looking away from you at the ground. He stands with his arms crossed and doesn’t respond.

“Did you hear me?! He fucking raped me Astarion.” You are in his face now, screaming. Still nothing. 

You lift your hand, about to slap him across his face. Without even looking at you, he grabs it before it makes contact with his cheek. His grip grows in strength, your hand cracking as he turns his gaze to you. You’re curling into his grip, the pain agonizing. Every bone in your hand is shattered before he lets go, throwing you to the ground. Your breath wavers as you stare at your hand, horrified at its disfigured shape. 

“I heard you, you wench.” He put a finger in your face. “Don’t you dare think you can lay a hand on me.” 

You hold your hurt hand with the other and look up at him. His eyebrows are furrowed and there's something in his eyes you’ve never seen before. You don’t recognize this man. It’s the same stranger you saw at the ball, the man impressing vampire lords with his charm. This isn’t your lover.

He turns away from you to look out the window of the den. It overlooks the garden. He places a hand on his chin as he gazes, pondering something. 

A few minutes pass before he interrupts the pregnant silence in the room. “He’s a very powerful ally to have, you know. We will remain in his good graces.” he says facing away from you.

You look from your mangled hand to him, horrified. Trying to think of a response is impossible. You have nothing to say, until your thoughts leak from your lips.

“Who are you?” you whimper.

He closes his eyes with a slight chuckle coming from his lips. Still not facing you, he walks up to a cabinet and sifts through various potions and elixirs until he finds a healing potion. He takes it in his hand and walks over to where you are collapsed on the ground. 

“I am your eternity, darling.” he says as he holds the potion out to you. “Drink this.” you take it from him, shaking.

He begins to walk out of the den into the hallway that leads to your shared chambers. He stops and turns his head over his shoulder slightly. “I am heading off to bed now, I will see you there when you are ready.” he says before continuing to the bedroom.

You stare at the potion in your hand before drinking it dry. You watch as your hand cracks and bends back into place from the effects of both your vampiric healing abilities and the potion. 

A few minutes pass, your hand is back to normal as if nothing happened. Your eyes glaze over with a feeling of numbness. A sigh escapes your lips as you stand up and head to the chambers to join Astarion in bed.

[silasinbarovia]

Gods, I haven’t had the motivation to write since leaving The Amber Temple. So much has happened since then, and I think we’re finally ready as we’ll ever be to face the horrors of Ravenloft. With the best people I can think of by our side, I am trying to stay positive that we have a chance at ending all of this. A chance at freeing Barovia from the devil’s reign of terror.

Brandy wants everyone to stay positive and if she can convince Rudolph to calm down, then I must as well.

Speaking of Rudolph, something happened between us tonight, and I haven’t quite processed it and don’t really know what to make of it. Maybe it’s nothing beyond what it was. Maybe there’s more to be discovered. All I know is that tonight is the happiest I have been in a long time. Even before being trapped in the mists.

Honestly my mind kind of blanked, but we kissed, we actually kissed, and it felt so right. And now here he is sleeping in the chair next to me and while I’d maybe hoped he’d fill the empty space in my bed, I couldn’t be more content.

Tomorrow brings so much uncertainty, but one thing I am certain of is that I love this man dearly and will do everything I can to protect him. I will protect all of them. I’ll die before I see any of them get hurt.

[lycantripuwu]

Legends of Barovia updates!

Vistani party, Hopping into the etheral plane with Victor and Fiona to save Stella.

-Fiona states the Vistani are allowed to enter Vallaki as they wish by recommendation of Strahd before they head out.

-We head to the vistani party! something spooked Arabella and Richten so they went into hiding. (most likely Strahd or Escher)

-some heavy story telling at the Doroq, fun dancing and drinking after. After an intimate dance, Mirre and Ez head back to Blue Water early to have some "alone time" with each other.

-Rhil finds out that Ireena had a crush on Mirre and is working out some feelings regarding his new relationship(Mirre is completely oblivious to this)

-Mirre and Ez come across a slain large black wolf on their way back. Ez determines its a scout from the Loup Garou she is tracking and states she needs to get back on the hunt bright and early after their night.

-Arringal pulls Rhil aside to dance, offering to trade secrets depending on who wins the ability check. Rhil can tell hes being cautious of someone there and is being secretive about what he tells her. They trade some secrets back and forth, Rhil with a high af insight check can tell these are genuine warnings from Arringal in payment for saving Arabella.

-Theres a vague warning about one about the stockyard, one about Rhil's armor, one about lighting on high peaks and one regarding Reek and us running out of time.

-Eliza dances with Jace and brings up the horrors of the abbey and how Jace has been lied to about his faith regarding the morning lord.

-Zintori dances and flirts with Ireena.

-We head out after a bit and rest for the night.

-After some heavy activities, Mirre gets caught trying to sneak a care package(snacks and potions) and note into Ez's bag. Ez gets to read the note and Mirre with a nat 20 perception catches her tearing up. they hug and head to bed.

-after eating breakfast and stocking up on supplies, Mirre putting a spirit to rest in an abandoned house, we head to Fiona's to start the ritual.

-we successfully jump to the ethereal plane and fight off a bunch of spirits while Victor is focused on completing the ritual. a spirit named Erasmas showed up to help fight and protect Stella.

-A larger spirit shows up named Leo who wants to end the Wachter bloodline and attacks us.

-Mirre really shined this fight and upfront since he wasn't able to get frightened due to his form of dread. We fight him off and successfully complete the ritual, returning Stella's spirit to her body.

-A cute reunion with Stella, Fiona and Victor happen.

-Rhil states that since we are still in good condition, we should check out the stockyard warning and we head that way

-we spot Zintori and a group of vistani clearing out the warehouse of the Markitov's wine and loading it into a wagon.

-With some careful stealth and Mirre's horn of haunting, he scares them into fleeing. Rhil with an eldrich blast, shoots off the wheels of the wagon.

-the group of vistani flees, leaving majority of the wine behind. the party chases them to help the guards.

-after some fights, we restrain and lock up all except one, Zintori, who fled on horse and got away.

-after some healing and even a revivify of the guards from Rhil. we head back and update the Markitovs on what happened. They pull Rhil and Mirre into the back to ask for help with checking on the winery since there hasnt been any shipments and the tavern is running dry. Muriel offers to come with to help us.

-Mirre wanting to head to Argynvostholt after Ravenlofts dinner wants to check a lead on his dead mentor/adoptive father suggests we wait until after the full moon when they get back. (mostly cause this will be Rhil's fullmoon and we don't want to put anyone in danger)

-we eat and head to bed, with plans on investigating Theodor tomarrow because we believe hes connected to the weird cult that Fiona, Vasili and Vargas were worried about.