The Ivsenra and the Flitraegt

The Ivsenra and the Flitraegt is an Official GemStone IV Document, and it is protected from editing.

The Ivsenra and the Flitraegt: A Coblynau Fairy Tale

With its roots in burghal gnome culture, this tale is often told by coblynau. Like the draugr recollecting The Last Wedding of Vistix Akrath, the coblynau appear to have kept some subconscious ties to their origins, and any attempts at sparking additional Elanith memories upsets them greatly. It is best to let them have their storytelling and glean what one can from that.

It is a coblynau truth universally known that a single coblynau in possession of good gears shall be in search of a partner. Long ago and faraway, where gjenganger lived and coblynau hid, our story finds one such coblynau -- Brixt. Unfortunately for Brixt's parents, our lad of four-and-twenty years showed no aptitude toward engineering and wandered the compound reading books procured from gjenganger libraries; Brixt was, much to their dismay, an ivsenra (one who perhaps spends too much time reading books and not enough time creating gears).

As Brixt approached his quarter-century mark, his parents made a final attempt and arranged a marriage with a particular woman of good property, a fine and keen sense of engineering, and miraculously, a heart smitten with our book-besotted coblynau. Pennysel did her best to woo Brixt, but his heart was impenetrable; not in a cruel way, dear ones, for Brixt had not a cruel bone in his body, but nevertheless, he was unshaken by her ministrations, his parents' exhortations, and the compound's increasingly pointed demands that he adhere to protocol.

Unfortunately, Brixt, Pennysel, and the rest of the compound were cursed to live in interesting times. Times better left to reading about than living through. Times that were rarely fair and often cruel.

This particular coblynau compound, while underground and near a gjenganger city, was far enough away as to be somewhat self-sufficient. Like so many, they also had an above ground enclave for those more inclined to farming and supplying the community with needed foodstuffs and wares. The enclave had become a bit of an oddity, with some arrachd and glaistig residents and a handful of domovoy and domania taking refuge there as well.

By far the biggest oddity, however, was the enormous mansion with its cursed master. In this time, curses were common, dear one, and transformed creatures oft held entire demesnes in sway. The lord and master of the mansion was a flitraegt, a terrifying combination of bear and predatory bird. This particular flitraegt went by Lord Casivit, and for a price, he protected the enclave and compound from the gjengangers who were constantly trying to eradicate those they felt were lesser. These were scary times, and the small coblynau reluctantly paid the flitraegt's price whenever asked. Typically, this was in goods and services, with a handful of the up-top residents working as servants in the mansion. Over the years, the price had not been very onerous, and while they were still fearful of this volatile lord, they had, perhaps, grown accustomed to what appeared to be an almost benign symbiosis with him. That was about to change.

On Brixt's 25th birthday, while everyone gathered for a celebration below ground, a wandering band of gjenganger mercenaries and thieves came upon the enclave. Those few still above ground were quickly overwhelmed, but alarms were sounded, and the mansion responded. A terrifying Lord Casivit in all his bestial glory roared through town with a clockwork army at his side. His creations made quick work of the bandits (at the expense of themselves and much of the village's crops and structures), leaving one or two to flee and remind others that the Terror of Tanglemist Woods still reigned supreme.

"Bargain upheld," Lord Casivit rasped to the coblynau who had quickly gathered to offer thanks. "At a high price. The bill will be sent."

As promised, a writ of debt was sent to the leadership, demanding more metal, gears, cogs, and other tinkering components than the compound could afford to send. "We need this to trade for food and to rebuild the village!" the compound proclaimed, "We should be the ones billing him!"

Discontent at the price grew, but approaching the lord drew nothing but wrath. "Find a payment fitting or face the consequences!" he growled at the representatives, "You have three nights."

One coblynau, who worked by day in the mansion's kitchens, piped up with, "He seems lonely. Maybe if he had a companion, he would be nicer?" While many were against this, enough agreed that offering Lord Casivit one of their own was better than reducing their tinkering stores to nothing. There was past precedent for companions, as the records showed that several hundred years before, young coblynau took turns spending three or four years serving as companion before they turned of age and went back to tinker for the compound, but it had been at least three hundred years since the last one.

A compound meeting was held, and, unfortunately for our dear Brixt, it was not favorable for him. "He's nothing but an ivsenra, an ink-stealer," was the consensus, "Barely a real coblynau. Why should we send one of our children, when he could go?" And so it was, over some vocal disagreements, Brixt was elected to be a companion for Lord Casivit.

Brixt's parents urged Brixt to go graciously, seeing as he was not contributing to the compound in other ways, but Pennysel was livid at this bartering of her friend. Brixt was alarmed by this turn of events, but seeing little way out of it save the ruin of the compound, he too agreed.

And so it was that mere days after his birthday, Brixt found himself and his meager possessions above ground and walking through the creepy, overgrown grounds and into Tanglemist Mansion.

The next several days were some of the worst in Brixt's short life. Lord Casivit was a surly living companion, and the mansion was shuttered and dusty; gears and cogs and tinkering tools cluttered every surface, mirrors were covered with moldering cloth, and most rooms were closed off permanently. It appeared Lord Casivit spent time in his own quarters, the dining hall, or the massive basement workshop and nowhere else. The few servants from the enclave allowed into the mansion did bare minimum work, mostly in the kitchens or the workshop, before fleeing home each evening. The one who had suggested the companion, feeling perhaps some measure of guilt for her words, found a small bedroom for Brixt and together, they cleaned it up. It was she who told him that Lord Casivit demanded none of the rooms be touched, and any attempt to tidy up was bound to bring his anger.

When days passed and the lord had no use for him, Brixt took to wandering the mansion, and he stumbled upon a treasure of nigh-epic proportions for an ivsenra such as himself -- the mansion's library. It was enormous, at least three stories high, with wall-to-ceiling bookshelves crammed with books and tomes peeking out behind canvas coverings. Elaborate clockwork ladder and stair systems provided moving access to each level, and dusty chandeliers dangling hundreds of arathiel beads and tiny aragless lanterns would have illuminated the entire room given the chance to shine. As it was, Brixt settled for his single candlestick and the bits of light trickling in through boarded up windows to explore.

Unfortunately, Brixt lost track of time, and it was well into the expected dinner hour when Lord Casivit came searching for his missing companion. Oddly enough, the flitraegt just marched him out to the dining room where he snarled permission for Brixt to spend time in the library if he was not needed.

In the whims of the rich and cursed, of course, Brixt was suddenly needed as a companion. His days were filled with accompanying Casivit to his workshop and… doing nothing. His ineptitude with tinkering was made quickly apparent, and his surly master learned to not expect much from Brixt. At times, he was sent away, but Casivit was given to a temper if Brixt was not immediately nearby when he wanted him.

Life at Tanglemist settled into an uneasy routine. Brixt would wait to be sent away then spend his time in the library, slowly but surely cleaning it up. He even found a small set of living quarters just off the library and moved into them so he could always be near the books. After his first visit to the library, Lord Casivit never again entered the space, and Brixt got more and more bold -- removing dust covers, oiling the movement systems to try to get them working again, and even uncovering one window, much to the horror of the servants in the house.

Brixt got better at gauging his master's moods, and he learned when to bring a book to the workshop instead of work on his library project, and eventually, he even got Lord Casivit to do more than snarl an order here and there. In short, Brixt became the companion our cursed one so desperately needed. They took tea together and spent hours discussing Casvit's tinkering plans, and eventually, they even took strolls throughout the overgrown grounds. Convinced that part of the beast's problems could be solved by having less depressing-looking surroundings, Brixt asked Casivit if he could clean up some. He used his helplessness at tinkering as an excuse, stating that he would love to be useful in some small way, and remarkably, the lord agreed.

The days were more enjoyable now for the entire household, as the house slowly but surely was rid of cobwebs and dust and clutter. Brixt even brought Casivit into the transformed library, where the lord practically pranced about with a happiness heretofore unseen. "This had always been my favorite room," he proclaimed, twirling Brixt about in unmitigated joy. "Oh look! These were my favorite books as a child!" And the two companions bent heads over favorite stories, and their bond grew.

It was the best of times at Tanglemist Mansion, but the highest of highs oft becomes the lowest of lows with nary a bit of warning, especially when dealing with the cursed. For cursed Lord Casivit still was, and while Brixt had, perhaps, let him forget it for a while, his twisted nature was just beneath the surface, waiting to appear.

The end began with the mirrors. Brixt had asked about them once, but Casivit avoided discussion of anything related to his curse, and it was quickly forgotten. The mansion's main living areas were now neat as a pin, and Brixt tackled an upper hallway next, cleaning with a fervor and uncovering statues, knick-knacks, and portraits. Unfortunately, this included a mirror just at the top of the stairs, and without thinking, Brixt cheerfully uncovered it along with the rest.

Had it been a lesser used hallway, Brixt's error may have gone undiscovered for weeks, and mayhap Brixt would have had even more time to bond with Casivit, but it was the primary hallway leading to the lord's quarters, and while they had built a stronger bond than the flitraegt had built with any, it was not strong enough to override the horror of seeing himself in a mirror for the first time in centuries.

Lord Casivit flew into a rage and threw Brixt into a dungeon below his workshop. He sent down only the weakest of weak gruels and stale breads for sustenance, and he forbade all servants from talking to Brixt under penalty of death. Those first few days, his rage was taken out upon the house itself as well. Tables were overturned, walls were deeply scored by the raking of his massive claws, and chaos and fear reigned supreme.

Still angry, he sent a message with a servant demanding extra payments from the enclave, more than double what he originally requested. Scared by Lord Casivit's anger, the messenger somewhat garbled the story of what had happened, and the coblynau were left to believe that Brixt may be dead by the flitraegt's claws. Meanwhile, in the midst of all his brooding, Lord Casivit came to a remarkable realization -- he missed Brixt greatly. With this epiphany, Casivit quickly felt other unfamiliar emotions as well, such as grief and contrition for his actions, and thus, he went to Brixt to apologize.

As all the servants had been sent home, no one witnessed Casivit's regret and Brixt's subsequent release. The pair spent hours talking, and Casivit finally admitted his deepest fear, and what sent him into the rage, his embarrassment over his cursed form. Brixt took Casivit by the hand and led him to a mirror that had miraculously escaped the earlier rampage and uncovered it.

With tenderness and love, Brixt forced Casivit to stand in front of it while he extolled Casivit's beauty. The white-speckled feathering turning to dark brown fur, the majestic, clawed paws, his piercing blue-black eyes. Brixt went through each part of the flitraegt and pointed out the strengths and power behind it, he showed Casivit what Brixt saw, forced him to see through his eyes. With each physical attribute he highlighted, Brixt also discussed Casivit's inner self, bringing up insights gleaned from each long talk the pair had shared. And at long last, Casivit realized that Brixt did not see a beast when he looked at Casivit -- he saw him.

In that moment, everything changed. And a tentative love perhaps began to grow.

But again, dear one, we are talking about interesting times. And our story is not yet done.

Casivit's curse was an unfortunately powerful one. A gjenganger mage of considerable skill was practicing forbidden magic, and Casivit, a coblynau servant in his household, discovered his secret. He was going to tell everyone, but the mage cast the curse, transforming him into a flitraegt. This new, powerful beast form managed to kill the mage during their fight, but the curse made it so no one remembered him and all thought it was either the mage himself who had been cursed or something even more powerful and terrifying. They ran in fear of him and his hideous form. For the first hundred years, he was nigh uncontrollable with his cursed rage, but as he came back to himself somewhat, he fully believed he could never convince others of who or what he had been, and thus, Lord Casivit was born, and he embraced his new role as powerful protector for a price. As the years passed, his isolation grew, warping him and shaping him until the time of our story.

Even as Casivit and Brixt were sharing their moment, as Casivit was vowing to rescind his demands and show everyone Brixt was fine, as a happy ending seemed almost in his grasp, his curse threw a final wrench in the gears.

Angered by the alleged death of Brixt, Pennysel finally shook up the gear-bound coblynau, inspiring them to take up arms and fight the flitraegt once and for all. Every member of the compound and enclave, even those not of coblynau heritage, grabbed torches and pitchforks and weapons of coblynau ingenuity to storm the mansion and kill the beast, so they could at last live freely.

When the mob arrived on Tanglemist's doorstep, Casivit knew what he should do, so he locked his newly found love in the library and went out to sacrifice himself rather than fight those who used to be his people. Fortunately, bookworms raised by gearworkers do tend to have some manual skills, and Brixt was able to free himself.

Brixt arrived at the last moment and placed himself in front of Casivit, dramatically stopping the execution that was about to occur. Pennysel threw herself in Brixt's arms, kissing him once, but he gently disentangled himself from her as he explained to her and to the crowd who Casivit was and how much he loved him. "This is no beast before you," he proclaimed, "But a person like you and me. He deserves a second chance."

Casivit, it is said, acknowledged that Brixt's words were true, but claimed he would still sacrifice himself for the terror he caused throughout the centuries. Pennysel once again stepped forward first and refused the sacrifice, speaking eloquently on behalf of her community and overriding any elders who tried to speak. "You deemed Brixt worthy of sacrifice because he was different. You gave him to a cursed beast. Now listen to him and perhaps look inside yourselves and see that you may be no different than Lord Casivit. We shall forgive him, and we should be grateful if Brixt would forgive us."

Brixt turned to Casivit then and kissed him for the first time as the coblynau, swayed by Pennysel's words, cheered in support.

Brixt and Casivit married and lived happily ever after at Tanglemist Mansion, while Pennysel became the compound's head eisgen or engineer, responsible for many coblynau inventions (including crossbow designs) we use to this day.

Ah, dear child, I can see you are hoping that the kiss of true love returned Casivit to his coblynau form, but it did not. You see, it was not that kind of enchantment. And it mattered not to anyone, for true love won out for Brixt and Casivit, and old ways were abandoned for better ways.

An Elanthian Note

Burghal gnomes, especially those in and around Ta'Illistim, may recognize the general bones of this tale. The coblynau denizens all tell it a bit differently, and that could possibly be attributed to the fact that even in Elanith, the burghal gnomes have numerous variations on this tale. For example, the genders of the protagonist and beast often vary, as does the ending. One particularly grim version ends with the beast being killed, ending his protection of the enclave; the enclave is conquered by elves who wish the land, and the gnomes are left worse off than before.

In general, this tale was thought to originate as a cautionary tale -- first and foremost to not judge those who are different, but also, perhaps, to not quite trust the elves. Now, it is just seen as a harmless fairy tale, as relations between the burghal gnomes and elves are better than ever.

OOC Notes

• Created by GM Xynwen for Ebon Gate 2024