Curse of Strahd - S4 Interlude 2 - On the Nature and Environment of Barovia, notes.

  

A summary of the book which the party found on the Fanes...

On the Nature and Environment of Barovia, notes.

The valley of Barovia was long an uncivilised backwater with a population split between the nature-worshipping Forest Folk and small settlements with a few families present, both surviving against a harsh environment. There was, and still is, a dangerous tension between the townsfolk and Forest Folk which is often stirred up when the imported worship of the Morninglord and the long-held druidic worship of the Three Ladies conflict.

This conflict led to a split in the native population; there were those that tried to coexist (‘the Forest Folk’) and those that retreated to the more remote parts of Barovia (‘the Mountain Folk’) to avoid the newcomers, especially after Count Strahd’s ascendance as a Dark Lord.

When the Von Zarovich’s conquered Barovia, they brought settlers with them, and the newcomers became the majority; however, the holy places of the Forest Folk remained unmolested by the worshippers of the Morninglord. There were three holy places, each reflecting one of the Three Ladies. The term ‘Fane’ is used by the Forest Folk to refer to a specific Lady, and also to the environment over which they hold sway. It is also used to refer to the locations where they are worshipped. It is a concept not easily translated into a civilised tongue.

It is likely that the Fanes are Archfey. They are the Weaver, the Huntress and the Seeker. Their centres of worship are located at monolithic structures set in the environment each Lady controls. As far as I can ascertain, one fane is located in the stone circle in the swamp near Berez, another on the hill beside the Old Windmill, and the final one on Yesterhill near the Vineyard. The Weaver is associated with the swamp, the Huntress with the Mountain, and the Seeker with the Old Mill.

The Ladies seldom manifested directly. More typically, they would appear in dreams, omens and auguries. Sometimes they would speak through animals or their voices would be heard on the wind. Their worship was generally benign, with blood sacrifice being rare although not unheard of. Worshippers would often commune with nature in the environment that the Fane represented.

The power of the Ladies was broken when the Devil Strahd fell to Darkness. He performed rituals that desecrated the shrines in the Fanes and seized their powers for himself, making him literally ‘The Land’, indistinct from Barovia itself. Barovia and its Mists are as much the Dark Lord as Strahd himself. He has twisted the beliefs of the Forest Folk, but not the Mountain Folk, to believe he is a messenger of the Three Ladies.

It is a logical conjecture that if the shrines could be reconsecrated, and the missing Ladies somehow be found to re-manifest, Strahd would lose the aspects of power that came from them, leaving only the Dark Powers of Vampyre. He would be weakened severely.

I’m putting these notes into the library before we set off on our mission to try and reconsecrate the shrines, or at least to find out what if the Ladies are still present, in case others need them in the future.

Based on work by MandyMod and Dragnacarta on the Curse of Strahd subreddit