So, I was going through Knights of the Grail to track down something. So I've mentioned before that Mousillon was an Elven city at one point, and that I think it used to be a nexus, much to Mathilde's dismay since she was hoping it wasn't the case. I think I've found an interesting pattern. For it to make sense, a map is needed. Winds of Chaos has me covered:
We have a decent idea of some focal points in Bretonnia's network. Couronne, L'Anguille, Gisoreux, Parravon, Quenelles, and Brionne. But there are more points of interest, particularly once you notice a pattern regarding certain locations in Western Bretonnia having... odd occurences.
First is the Dragon's Maw, close to L'Anguille, from page 46 of Knights of the Grail:
The Dragon's Maw is an area of the L'Anguille coast a day's travel from the border with Lyonesse. Dozens of sharp rocks rise from the water, and the tides and currents raise a constant spray from them, so that they look like teeth wreathed in smoke. This is also the area most often hit by storms, with at least one major storm striking every week. Sailors believe entering the area is certain death, but they have no superstitions: the natural features are quite dangerous enough.
However, traders have noticed that people travelling by land within a few miles of the area also disappear. Indeed, no one reliable has seen the area at all for over three years, and those who have gone to look have not come back. The Duke will do nothing, as it is on the coast, and the local lord is (now) a tenyear-old boy. He will offer almost anything to adventurers who can bring his father back.
This is the first, but not the only case of disappearances that is to be mentioned.
We then head further west to the Barley Motte in Lyonesse from Page 76 of Knights of the Grail 2E:
Barley Motte is in the north of Lyonesse, close to the border with L'Anguille. Two centuries ago it was the home of the D'ayvle lords, who cooperated with the Ruinous Powers and plotted to bring down the nation. They were defeated by a group of bold adventurers, one of whom was rewarded with the fief.
He was driven mad by the spirits of the D'ayvles, and another group of adventurers defeated the Undead. Once again, the Bretonnian knight among them was rewarded with the fief. A few years later, the knight was revealed to be trafficking with a Dark God, butchering his peasants to keep the fiend happy. The neighbouring lords drove him out, and the Garlonds put a steward in place. The steward betrayed his lords to their deaths a few years later but was himself killed in the ensuing battles.
This time, no one wanted the place, so it was abandoned. Over the following years bandits, Necromancers, and Chaos cults have all taken up residence there. They have been driven out, but anyone who takes possession of the place seems to fall to evil. Most people now believe it to be cursed.
This is the first of many curses that are going to be referenced.
After that, there's the city of Lyonesse itself, notable because of it being built close to a sunken city:
The ducal seat is on an island off the northwest coast of Lyonesse. The walls of the castle, built centuries ago, are washed by the sea at high tide, and small boats can sail right in to the outer courtyard. The inner courtyard is higher up and always completely dry, whilst the Great Keep stands on the very peak of the island, commanding a fine view of the bay. Duke Adlahard's feasts can be heard across the whole island.
When the tide falls, the top of the island can be seen to resemble a motte. What is more, a causeway leads down from the main gate, disappearing into the sea. Legend states Lyonesse was originally set on a hill in the middle of the finest city in the Old World, but the sins of the city's inhabitants drew the wrath of Mannan, and the whole area was sunk beneath the waves. Only the Duke's citadel was spared, because only the Duke had remained virtuous.
Some adventurers have worked out ways to explore the seabed and claim that there are ruins down there, but that they are protected by strange creatures. A few golden items have been brought back; not enough to make an expedition worthwhile, but enough to keep people trying.
Further south of Lyonesse is Mousillon, except we're defying expectations here and we're going to be mentioning a place that's not cursed, despite being in Mousillon. This is the Guerac Circle from Page 83:
Mousillon was not always a cursed land, though the blight does date back centuries. Guerac Circle is one of the few places remaining from before the horror. A stone circle sacred to Taal and Rhya, it stands in the hills of northern Mousillon, surrounded by an area of healthy vegetation and wholesome wildlife.
Maintaining this requires constant effort by the Priests of the nature Gods and their assistants. The Priests say the Gods provide for them, and certainly, the hunting in the area is very good. Nevertheless, the guardians are hard-pressed and readily welcome further aid.
The Circle is also renowned as the site of the Oak of Prophecy. This tree grows just outside the stone circle and bears acorns all year round. If you eat one of the acorns, you suffer terrible stomach cramps (treat as The Galloping Trots), but you also see a vision of the future. This vision is always easy to interpret in broad terms and reveals roughly what you must do to avert some disaster that would affect you personally. It doesn't give details. The guardians rely heavily on the Oak to warn them of attacks by the creatures of Mousillon.
Not gonna lie, it sounds like a Belthani holdout, inherited by the Cults of Taal and Rhya.
Then there's the city of Mousillon. Here I move to another source, but trust me when I say that there is almost a dozen mentions of "Elven Foundations" when it comes to Mousillon:
"The Castle Oisement is a small castle built on Elven foundations, which was shunned in spite of its beauty after its mistress was walled up inside as punishment for witchcraft. While some of Mousillon's keeps are formidable fortifications or beautiful fairytale castles, most are in poor repair, and a few are even completely abandoned, left for the beasts and weeds to consume." Page 12 Barony of the Damned
"Built on the site of a handsome Elven city and now fallen into ruin and lawlessness, the city of Mousillon is a battlescarred sinkhole of poverty, crime, and depravity." Page 12 BoD
"The Ducal Palace is the grandest and oldest building in Mousillon. Built around a single tower evidently of original Elven architecture, even the newer parts of the palace probably date from before Landuin." Page 17 BoD
"During the Affair of the False Grail, Maldred, aided by Malfleur's magic, imprisoned the Fay Enchantress. There are few places where the Fay could be held prisoner, but unfortunately for her, Maldred took her to the forbidding Donjon of Dol, a lonely, little-known tower that rises from the sea just off the north-western coast of Mousillon. The Donjon is a tower of sea-sprayed black granite, perhaps of ancient Elven design now eroded into a gnarled finger of rock pointing angrily at the sky." Page 23 BoD
As can be seen, Mousillon has plenty of Elven archeticture. It would also be easier to list the sort of things that aren't wrong with the place than what is.
Now we go south of Mousillon to another blessed location in Bordelaux. This time, blessed by Verena. Turris Vigilans from Page 60 of Knights of the Grail:
Turris Vigilans is a temple of Verena that stands on an isolated headland in the north of the dukedom. It serves as a lighthouse and has a reputation of one of the most reliable in the world. Its primary purpose, however, is to keep a watch on Mousillon. The priests of the temple are rumoured to use powerful magic, granted by their Goddess, to scry on the whole of the cursed dukedom. They refuse to say what they are looking for or what they will do if they find it. The priests are similarly insistent that they must not enter Mousillon personally.
Prophetesses of the Lady and the Fay Enchantress herself have been known to visit Turris Vigilans, but the purpose of the visits remains a secret. It is widely known that the priests offer advice to those who seek their counsel, and that the advice is very good. Anyone purchasing one of their many books gets an automatic hearing; others put their names into a lottery, which the clergy draws from every day. The priests sometimes offer unsolicited advice, as well, particularly advice that recommends that adventurers should venture into Mousillon.
It might not have anything to do with Waystones, but it might. It's a point of interest either way.
Anyways, now we're going to the southern edge of Bordelaux. The City of Bordelaux itself is mildly notable as it is greatly prosperous and in an excellent position, and the foundation of the city is described as "ancient". Still, what might be of more interest is the Silent Isle from page 59-60:
A couple of miles off the central coast of Bordeleaux there is an island. A century ago, it was the seat of a noble fief, and fishing and trading vessels departed from its harbour in large numbers.
And then, one day, there were none. Overnight, all of the boats and islanders vanished. What is more, it now seems to be impossible to make any noise on the island. A few groups of adventurers have investigated and fell into two groups. Some were spooked by the silence within a few hours and came back with little information. Others never returned.
Since nothing has come off the island to bother the Bordelens, most are content to leave it to the peace and quiet it seems to desire.[/SPOILER]
Another mysterious incident. A pattern starts to establish itself.
Now we move down to Aquitaine. Specifically Chateau D'Epee from Page 50:
This castle is the epitome of Aquitainian fortification and is located almost exactly in the centre of the dukedom. The current Lord D'Epee's great-grandfather was a highly successful adventuring knight, involved in many feuds. He used his wealth to build a nigh-impregnable castle with several moats, curtain walls that formed a maze of killing grounds, mighty gatehouses, and three great keeps, each of which could hold out against a siege for months.
The current Lord D'Epee lives in the outermost gatehouse, along with his whole household. No one has reached one of the great keeps and returned alive in ten years; it is fifteen years since anyone came back sane. That was the current Lord D'Epee, and he never speaks of what he saw.
He does, however, hire adventurers, asking them to bring him a particular stuffed stag's head from the closest keep. He offers a significant amount of money and the right to keep any other treasure that they find, as long as they bring the head. Several groups have gone in, but none have yet returned.
This sounds familiar. I'm sure you get the point I'm trying to make.
Then we go down to Brionne, specifically Castle Gransette on Page 63:
A few decades ago, Castle Gransette was the setting for a tragedy worthy of any song (and now, of course, the subject of several). The lady Isolde had accepted the knight Sir Gaseric as her lover, but her husband, Lord Gransette, was not willing to take the role of the superfluous husband. He confined Isolde in the highest tower of his castle and challenged Sir Gaseric to a duel. Sir Gaseric agreed, on the condition that the duel took place in the courtyard of Castle Gransette, under the eye of Isolde.
The songs all tell different stories of what happened in the duel because no one knows. At sunset, a horde of zombies descended on the village of Gransette and was only defeated by the intervention of a group of adventurers. The zombies were soon identified as the castle staff, but there was no sign of the lord, lady, or knight. The adventurers resolved to enter the castle and destroy the source of the evil. They did not come out and neither did any of the groups who went to investigate afterwards.
The village and castle are being administered by the Duke until someone can determine what happened. The castle is still in remarkably good repair, but the village is inhabited only by a handful of hardy souls who refused to leave their ancestral home, even if it was cursed and haunted. There are stories of hauntings and other strange events, but investigators who stayed outside the castle have found nothing, whilst those who entered never had the chance to say what they found.
Yet another haunting.
That's basically the end of the line, because you can then transition from Gransette to Brionne and that's supposed to be the end of the Bretonnian network.
Now, you might be saying that this is all a coincidence, because the creator of this book wanted some sort of conflict in practically every location in Bretonnia. Perhaps the author wanted to shove Bretonnia full of adventure hooks in every place so it's interesting and grim and whatever. This is very true, and I won't deny that the familiar pattern between all these incidents is likely a coincidence. It doesn't matter that if you track their locations you could make a rough line between some of them. I mean, clearly, they weren't thinking of "there's a metaphysical waystone corruption thing going on in the west coast of Bretonnia which is causing these conflicts". However, within the context of DL, this information COULD be interpreted that way, which is still interesting.
Either way, this is just food for thought.
