Barovian Calender Timeline

The Amber Temple was built high in the Balinok Mountains by a group called the Azure Paragon who sought to lock away dangerous knowledge. These Wizards believed that the Dark Powers of the Plane of Shadow could be studied without being unleashed, and they carved the temple into the stone cliffs as a hidden vault. Using incredibly powerful methods lost during the Pre-Unified Age they sealed the essences of these powerful, malevolent entities within solid blocks of amber, referred to as "sarcophagi."

The temple was focused around a main chamber, marked by a massive granite statue representing the God of Secrets. Sheets of amber lined the main hall and hallways, and most of its chambers were carved from black stone and lined with statues. Hidden doors and long hallways connected the vaults containing the sarcophagi, scholarly lecterns, wizards chambers, and a great library that contained many arcane secrets, covered in illusory magic known only to members of the Paragon. 

Amber Golems stood guard near the deeper levels, invisibly watching over an armory and the temple's treasury. However, the main guardian of the temple was bound there through an Infernal contract; in a display of power, the wizards had employed the services of an Arcanaloth named Neferon. Neferon was forbidden to attack a member of the Azure Paragon but was instructed to kill any visitors who sought to release the Dark Powers, and the Fiend performed his services with aplomb.

At some point in time, the Amber Temple was abandoned, and the wizards of the Paragon entirely disappeared. For thousands of years, the temple itself remained cold and untouched by time. The sarcophagi chambers remained undisturbed under Neferon's watch, until a few significant visitors came up from the Zarovich Valley below. 

First, Count Strahd von Zarovich came to the temple, having gained interest regarding a mythical library high in Mount Ghakis. Not bound to fight someone who had not come to seek a Dark Power, Neferon allowed Strahd access to the Temple, accompanying the Human warlord and teaching him about magics. This, however, was ultimately an error: Strahd opened a vault containing the amber sarcophogus of Vampyr, and unknown to Neferon at the time, made contact with the Dark Power. Though Strahd's witnessing of the sarcophogus would eventually result in the Wedding That Never Was, and the ousting of the valley from the Prime Material, he successfully convinced Neferon that he was uninterested in the sarcophagi.

Years later, Strahd would visit Neferon as a powerful Vampire Spellcaster, having invoked a pact with "death" to keep him eternally young. He had learned about the arcanaloth's abilities; powered by Vampyr's undead magic, he narrowly defeated Neferon in combat and made his way back to the vault he had visited years earlier. He proceeded to destroy his patron's sarcophogus, releasing Vampyr, and the Dark Power ripped Strahd's dominion from the world and into the Umbral Realms.

Vampyr's new demiplane altered the nature of magical communication, allowing Dark Powers to contact creatures within it and manipulate the land with subtle magics, though not nearly to the scale that Vampyr enjoyed. Whether out of mercy or amusement, Strahd kept Neferon alive, and the still-bound killed many adventurers in the Amber Temple over hundreds of years, called there by various Dark Powers. He collected their items over the years, one of which was Sergei von Zarovich's Bright Blade, but had little interest in a sword of sunlight.

In time, Neferon was visited by an equal match, an archmage also trapped in Barovia named Orlev ben Khazan. Khazan was the constructor of Castle Ravenloft and sought to become a Lich; Neferon allowed the wizard to roam the temple, as he was not swayed by Dark Powers, but watched somberly as the man failed his transformation. Khazan lost his soul, then his mind, becoming a sort of eternal librarian that stalked the temple halls and made dangerous traps and monsters to protect it at Strahd's behest. Patrina Velikovna followed, seeking to learn in the same manner that Khazan had, and Neferon permitted her to learn from the decaying lich for many years.

After these three visitors in the span of decades, Neferon would not find visitors he deemed worthy of access to the temple for centuries. Between his vigilant guard and Khazan's ceaseless undead creations, the temple was nearly impossible to succesfully break in for interlopers, but those drawn to it had hope they could be the ones to succeed; this tension remained, exactly how Strahd von Zarovich wished it to be.

The Landing of the Ladies Three marked the arrival of three Archfey sisters of the Summer Court into the Prime Material, and the beginning of their long dominion over the Zarovich Valley. Known to mortals as The Seeker, The Weaver, and The Huntress, they did not intentionally arrive as conquerors, but wished for worship all the same. Winds bent to the Seeker, waters answered the Weaver, and beasts were controlled at the Huntress’s will. Their influence spread through dreams, omens, and quiet bargains, and over time the Smallfolk of the valley came to see them as necessary but dangerous protectors. 

The nature and reasoning behind their entrapment was unknown, even to the Archfey themselves, but some believed it the result of planar workings undertaken by the Azure Paragon; already operating in the region after the construction of the Amber Temple and trapping of Dark Powers, their research into the Bloomtides and the Deepmists could potentially braid living realms together. These experiments distorted the borders between the Vivid Realms, the Material, and the Umbral Realms beyond. When the Paragon’s work collapsed inward, the sisters were caught, severed from their full Archfey splendor and anchored them to the valley. Their power in Barovia was real but diminished, bound to specific domains and to the attention of mortal worship. 

Each Lady cultivated her own cult and manner of rule. The Seeker, Lady of the Forest, granted visions and prophetic insight, teaching acolytes to turn inward and read the paths yet to come. Her followers saw meaning in dreams, the presence of Owls and Ravens, and the quiet language of the wind. The Weaver, Lady of the Swamp, traded in memory and will, forming covens that drew on the weight of the past and the binding of souls into time. Coin, endurance, and resolve were her offerings, and Spiders and Serpents marked her shrines. The Huntress, Lady of the Mountain, demanded strength and proof of dominance over the present moment. Her rites centered on totems, blood, and the mastery of the wild, and her followers worshipped Bears and Goats as sacred signs. Through these cults, the Ladies exercised control over their regions without ever ruling the valley as a whole.

The spread of their worship divided the valley’s Smallfolk into hill-folk, swamp-folk, and forest-folk. These groups differed in custom, magic, and allegiance, and conflict between them was common. Hill folk tied to the Huntress raided lowlands for strength and tribute. Swamp folk loyal to the Weaver undermined rivals through curses and Spellcraft. Forest folk who followed the Seeker relied on foresight and manipulation, rather than force. These rivalries hardened over generations and often erupted into open violence.

When the faith of the Morninglord began to take hold in the townships, the divisions deepened. Some groups turned on others in hopes of securing favor or survival, but the pressure of a rising, unified faith eventually redirected their violence. The old factions, exhausted and fearful, began to strike at the Morninglord’s followers instead, seeing them as a threat to all three Ladies and to the fragile balance that had sustained the valley.

The later fall of the Ladies and the Desecration Of The Forest Fane, Desecration Of The Swamp Fane, and Desecration Of The Mountain Fane would result in the dwindling of their powers. For hundreds of years, they were limited to the forms of mortals, until they coordinated with the Heralds of Dawn to enact the Slaying Of Strahd.

For many years, the Durst Windmaill was a functioning grain mill served the entire Zarovich Valley. It belonged to the Durst family and was an important source of economic power to the region, providing grain to Castle Ravenloft and many minor houses. That house would eventually fall into cult-like activities, and after the burning of Death House, the windmill fell into disrepair.

Behind the mill was a series of fanes important to the land, though its occupants never knew their historic importance to a religion that predated the Morninglord. The windmill had been built next to an ancient place of worship for ancient forest-folk that worshipped the The Seeker of the Ladies Three. These Druids and seers built a fane devoted to her worship here, where they invoked trials of magic. At some point, the Seeker herself developed a series of land-bending Portals in the megaliths that surrounded her fane, Fey Circles that led close to Vallaki and the Village of Barovia.

After the Durst's abandonment, the windmill became known as a cursed place soon after, as a coven of hags lead by Morgantha took over. With her "daughters" Bella Sunbane and Offalia Wormwriggle, she baked Dream Pastries made from children's bones, and sold them back to the local populaces using the fey crossings at the megalith. The hags were often spied on by the Keepers of the Feather, though they quickly learned to kill any Ravens they came across.

Initially established as a field hospital in the low Balinok Mountains west of Lake Baratok, the Abbey of Brilliant Worship was founded by Alizandra Markovia at the will of the Morninglord. She began to spread her gospel to the forest-folk who previously prayed to the Ladies Three, teaching them that they were not gods, merely powerful Archfey with a deep connection to the land. Even when only partially-constructed, the Abbey was a sanctuary against the mountain winters, and many former "savages" began to settle below its platau.

As the community grew, attacks from forest-folk Barbarians were prominent, and often resulted in death among the populace. Additionally, the warlord Strahd von Zarovich was taking more territory in his family's name, which threatened the sanctity of the Abbey. To protect her growing flock, Alizandra ordered that defensive walls be built around the community below. Now a small fort underneath the abbey, the village gained the name Zachodgrad, or "Westfort", and became a bastion against the gathering forces of the night after the Wedding That Never Was.

After the Sunless March Of Saint Markovia and the Siege Of Zachodgrad, the village underneath it fell at Strahd's behest. The remaining militia fled up the switchback to the Abbey, since christened the Abbey of Saint Markovia, and attempted to hold out against the Strahd's forces alongside the clergy. Lacking supply lines, the Abbey fell, its once-high walls buckling under the slow siege tactics of Strahd's forces. The fort was renamed to "Krezk" and it's new burgomaster, Ladislau Krezkov, was not a follower of the Morninglord. Eventually, the church fell into disuse, only occasionally visited by inquisitive children or wandering passers by.

The Abbey was unoccupied for three hundred years, until a Deva was summoned to reconsecrate the once-great church. The Angel named himself The Abbot and set to rebuild the structure, but found that the land had long ago been poisoned by Strahd. At the Abbey's gates, Strahd battled The Abbot, disguised as a nobleman named Vasili von Holtz. He took the deva to the Amber Temple, where his memories were altered and his personality was changed. Ever since, The Abbey has been a housing ground for experiments on dozens of Mongrelfolk from the Belview family, at the behest of Iaseka Belview.  Their howls and yips kept away the townsfolk, who were afraid to engage their guardians at the abbey's gate.

A manor in the Village of Barovia built in the year 342 by the wealthy Durst family, local nobles whos properties stretched all the way to the Durst Windmill. The family that built the house kept a secret: they were obsessed with the occult, and practiced dark arts. Through seduction and indoctrination, they expanded their cult to include a small yet nefarious circle of friends. When word got out, the rest of the village turned a blind eye to the house and the nightly debaucheries happening within it. The cultists preyed on visitors, sacrificed them in bizarre rituals, and hosted morbid banquets to feast on their corpses. When nothing came of these ritualized murders, the cultists' activities became thinly disguised excuses to indulge their lurid fantasies. 

The cultists regarded Strahd von Zarovich as a messiah sent to them by the Dark Powers. They pledged their devotion for a promise of immortality, but Strahd turned them away, deeming the cult and its leaders unworthy of his attention. Around this time, the matriarch Elizabeth Durst murdered her husband Gustav and his bastard baby Walter, leading herself and the other cultists to a terrible undeath in tunnels below the manor. The Ghosts of two children who died in the house, "Rose" and "Thorn", called from the house's perimeter for help to any passerby's; those who entered were often never seen again.

The manor was eventually given the name "Death House", and was condemned. After nearly a year of disturbances and disappearances, however, the Burgomaster of Barovia officially ordered the manor to be burned down. However, the Death House slowly and mysteriously rose from its ruins. Over centuries, it was burned to the ground many times, usually on orders from the Burgomaster or by enterprising adventurers. Each time, the manor rose from the ashes. Locals began to give the building a wide berth for fear of antagonizing the evil spirits believed to haunt it.

Searching for vestiges of the Azure Paragon, the Silver Dragon Argynvost found that the Zarovich Valley was under threat from the warlord Strahd von Zarovich. To protect the valley from the threat, charged his Captain Vladimir Horngaard to build a fortified mansion as a base with which to drive away Strahd's forces. Named Argynvostholt, the mansion was linked to the Silver Dragon's Hideout via a Teleportation Circle, and protected by a variety of magical wards of Argynvost's design, including a draconic statue that would blast a cone of cold magic towards any evil souls who would approach its front gate.

The mansion was designed to host the Order of the Silver Dragon and a small serving staff, possessing many bedrooms, two dining halls, and a well-stocked kitchen. It had a chapel dedicated to Thestus, known locally as the "Morninglord," outlined with large windows of stained glass, and a small cemetery and mausoleum behind it. Galleries with paintings and murals of the saints Lugdana Andral and Alizandra Markovia were built, and dozens of busts of Argynvost's Human appearance could be found in its halls. High above the sixty-foot mansion was a tower that extended further into the sky, intended by Argynvost to be a beacon of hope for any seeking refuge from Strahd. 

Argynovst's knights found themselves fighting Strahd's armies time and time again as they swept across the valley,  with their greatest victory being the Barovian Order. After years, they forced Strahd's armies eastward, as the warlord became focused on building the impregnable Castle Ravenloft. Strahd himself had learned that the Order was secretly commanded by an ancient dragon; rather than attack the manse and invoke the dragon's wrath, he instead focused inward. This culminated in the Wedding That Never Was, and Strahd became a Vampire Darklord, tapping into a Dark Power that could destroy even Argynvost himself.

When it became clear that Strahd could not be stopped, the knights of the Order led hundreds of refugees to Argynovst's valley, but Strahd tracked them to their sanctuary and overwhelmed them in the Attack On Argynvostholt. Strahd surrounded the mansion, and his forces eventually overwhelmed the knights; rather than cower in his lair, Argynvost emerged and battled Strahd's armies to the bitter end. His head was severed from his body, and taken as a trophy to his castle.

After this battle, Argynvostholt became a haunted place. The Captain of the Order, Vladimir Horngaard, possessed such hatred for Strahd that he became a Revenant unable to pass on, as did all the knights who had vowed their lives to him. Argynvost's headless body and possessions were taken to the mansion's mausoleum, and the bodies of the knights were put in their graves, but continually awoke. The fractured Ghost of Argynvost could also be seen throughout the manor, desperate to allow his Order to pass on, but Vladimir's will kept them in place. It became a frequent target of pillaging by thieves and adventurers, and was mostly stripped barren of its valuables.

At some point, Argynvostholt was targeted by Baba Lysaga and her coven of witches and Scarecrows, as the old woman thought that its standing was an insult to Strahd. An overwhelming number of her Constructs began disassembling the mansion's southern wall, but she and her forces were eventually beaten back by the revenant knights. Over time, the mansion became affected by a strange connection to the Ethereal Border, and its energy began affecting local flora and fauna. With the stables and southern wall destroyed, Spiders began to occupy its ballroom, but were transformed into Phase Spiders over time by the ghostly magic within.

Called into action to fight back against the conquest of a warlord, the Order of the Silver Dragon had been sent by their leader Argynvost to the Zarovich Valley, intending to halt Strahd von Zarovich's takeover. From their fortress at the newly-built Argynvostholt, Captain Vladimir Horngaard pushed back against his armies, believing they could break his strength before his authority set in as law. When opportunity struck, a small unit descended from Argynvostholt and rode to the Village of Barovia, where the von Zarovich line had long held influence. 

The greatest of their victories was a legendary battle later called the "Barovian Order." While Strahd and his soldiers were away suppressing threats west of Vallaki, the Order struck with alacrity, charging down the Old Svalich Road without resistance. The main unit led by Sir Godfrey Gwilym seized the village, broke hostile garrisons, and purged anyone believed to be collaborating with Strahd, while Captain Horngaard snuck inside with a small group. In the midst of the battle, Vladimir destroyed the von Zarovich ancestral home and killed Count Barov von Zarovich and his wife, Countess Ravenovia van Roeyen. This was thought to be an overwhelming success against some of the biggest proponents of the war.

Their true enemy, however, was still west of them. Strahd was enraged by the death of his parents and loss of his familial territory, but when he learned that his foes were commanded by a Silver Dragon, he became cautious. Rather than commit to a direct confrontation, he turned inward, focusing on the fortification of Castle Ravenloft. From there he plotted a longer, more personal vengeance.

Years later, after the Wedding That Never Was, he entered a dark pact that allowed him to crush the Order. Using new powers as a Darklord and controlling an army of Undead, he got his revenge in the Attack On Argynvostholt.

Castle Ravenloft was the seat of power of the lord of Zarovich Valley, originally built at the request of Count Strahd von Zarovich. It was located atop a large spire of rock overlooking the Village of Barovia below, where the von Zarovich ancestral home was built. The construction of Castle Ravenloft took many years, under construction of the wizard Orlev ben Khazan and a cadre of artisans and workers loyal to his family.

Named after Strahd's mother Ravenovia van Roeyen, it was made white and grey stone; at Strahd's request, the castle originally shimmered in the daylight, intending to display the nobility of von Zarovich rule to all who gazed upon it. Though undoubtedly a masterwork of stonecraft, the castle was also built to be a defensive fortress. Two reach the keep, an entrant had to pass two turrets of stone to a cliffside, where a 50-foot drawbridge acted as the only entrance to the castle; below the drawbridge was a 1000-foot drop to the cliffs below. Once across the bridge, a portcullis led to the only tunnel inside, as keep's protective walls that enclosed the courtyard were 90-feet high.

After its completion, Strahd invited his remaining family to castle, and planned to rule with them at his side for the rest of his days. However, he grew covetous of his brother Sergei von Zarovich's bride-to-be Tatyana Federovna, and killed his brother in the Wedding That Never Was. Strahd made a pact with Vampyr that changed the landscape of his home forever, trapping the valley in choking thick mist. For centuries, Strahd ruled as the Vampire Lord of Barovia, and his castle blackened.

Besides Strahd himself, Castle Ravenloft was inhabited by several of his undead servants, thralls, and occasional prisoners. They used the castle as a base of transport; a magical brazier in the catacombs allowed for travel throughout Barovia by casting a gemstone into a magical fire, opening a Portal to a specified area. The destinations could be changed by Count Strahd at will, but were generally indicated in a poem form beneath the brazier, such as:

Violet to where coffins wait 

Indigo to bridge's gate

Blue to view the cold knight's rage

Green to glimpse a bygone age

Yellow to the morning's tomb

Orange to dark magic's womb

Red to the high castle spire

Cast a stone into the fire!

The Wedding That Never Was was the single most important event in the history of the Zarovich Valley, and occurred during the union of Sergei von Zarovich and Tatyana Federovna. The two were invited to Castle Ravenloft at the behest of the Count Strahd von Zarovich himself, and had traveled from the Abbey of Brilliant Worship to the castle to live with him permanently. There, they planned to age as a family, but the Count's dark wants completely turned the fate of the valley.

The brilliant and ambitious Strahd had spent his youth re-taking the valley. Historically owned by the von Zarovich family, he renamed it to "Barovia" in honor of his late father Barov von Zarovich. Having lost both his parents during the campaign, he sought for further knowledge against death, and found it by happenstance in the Amber Temple. He had charmed his way past the temple's guardian Neferon and made contact with an ancient sarcophagus, though had chosen at the time not to invoke the power that he knew lay within.

Strahd had long harbored desire for the young Tatyana, but her love was only for his brother Sergei. On the day of their wedding, he was overcome by a secret hatred of both his brother and his own mortality. Strahd made a pact with an entity he knew as "Death", truthfully a Dark Power named Vampyr. The being completely overtook Strahd, and the Count consummated the deal with the murder of his brother, Sergei. They battled, but Strahd's newfound strength allowed him to easily defeat his brother, shattering his Bright Blade and piercing him through the heart.

Strahd professed his love to Tatyana, but she rejected him. As he chased her around the high castle gardens, she jumped from the walls of Castle Ravenloft to deny his dark desires, disappearing into the mists below. In sorrow and rage, he went on a rampage, killing High Priest Ciril Romulich, his staff, his army, and all who attended the event. He was pierced by the arrows of the guards, but Strahd did not die. Now a Vampire, he  began to rule over Barovia in a much different fashion. By using a Portal installed in the castle's catacombs, he traveled to the Amber Temple, defeated Neferon, and destroyed Vampyr's sarcophagus, releasing the Dark Power into the world.

Vampyr ousted Barovia from the Prime Material and into a mist-ridden demiplane of the Umbral Realms, only accessible at Strahd's whims. Details about the event and everything subsequent became scarce, as Strahd worked to keep the denizens of Barovia uneducated and terrified. However, at some point, he subsumed the power of the Ladies Three and drove them from the plane. In concert with Vampyr's abilities, he completely controlled the land itself. Few knew the details of the wedding, as Strahd tied up all loose ends in the coming years, save those who found it recorded in the Tome of Strahd.

For hundreds of years after the Wedding that Never Was, Barovia's history warped around the Count until the Slaying Of Strahd.

A Human born to a group of feral forest-folk south of the Wealdshield, Jaghr was taught Ranger skills as a youth. On his first solo mission as a teenager, he was bitten by a Werewolf and contracted Lycanthropy in the northern Sea of Trees. To ensure he was not a danger to his small tribe, Jaghr sought the help of the druids of the Astralwood, hearing of their abilities and acceptance. He found a home in the Astralwood Enclave, beginning as a Speaker of the Wood due to his minor skills in divination. He would spend time between his nomadic tribe and the permanent enclave, using his tracking skills to always find his way back to his family.

His love for nature and wonder of the Lake of Telyth lead him to grow close to the Archdruid Ylyana the Starseer, the oldest living member of the Astralwood Enclave. They lived together a short time and had a child, Shakti of the Wildhunt, but their love was tumultuous. Though they were attracted to each other through their mutual worship of Telyth, Ylyana was unpredictable, and her attention for Jaghr waxed and waned. Similarly, Jaghr acted the same as both a partner and father, often disappearing from his home and responsibilities for weeks at a time.

The Guardian of the Wood and leader of the Keepers of the Forest, Arbor the Woodswatcher had always been at odds with Jaghr. The lycanthrope's emotions heightened during the full moon, even when aided by druidic magic, and the two fought under the light of the moon. Rumors said that Arbor slayed Jaghr in the Vanishing Grove, but the truth of the matter was thought to be unknown to all but the Paladin himself. Jaghr was reported dead, though his body was nowhere to be found. 

In actuality, even Arbor had not known what happened to Jaghr, as encroaching mists enveloped them when they fought in the grove. Jaghr was sent to Barovia, to an area divorced from time called Yester Hill. With no idea where he was in the world, he turned to fortune. A Tarokka Deck reading from a traveling Vistani seer foretold a prophecy: he would fight a battle at the Hill and then would sire a great pack, developing a legacy as a legendary werewolf. To protect his future children, he would have to leave his only daughter behind.

This prophecy radically altered Jaghr's beliefs. He was permanently trapped in the valley, as its mists would not allow him to leave. Confined in a different world without the warm druidic magics that allayed his temperament, Jaghr embraced his feral side. He allied with the hill-folk who worshipped the Lady of the Mountain and met the leader of the people, the Blood Chief Kavan. The two developed an incredibly close kinship, and Kavan convinced Jaghr to train his people in the ways of hunting and fighting, as the forests were being overrun with the troops of Strahd von Zarovich.

The wolf-man assisted in training them to fight for the future of the valley. Their effort was ultimately for naught, however; they lost the Desecration Of The Mountain Fane, and Kavan was killed in the fight. A wounded Jaghr took his Blood Spear and retreated north to save the lives of those he could. After they were routed, he had escaped with many hill-folk, heading past Zachodgrad to the Balinok Mountains.

There, he infected others and sired many other children, developing a community of both forest-folk and native Barovians such as his subchief Ladislau Krezkov. Becoming known as the "Wolf-Father", he reintroduced widespread lycanthropy in Barovia, and his tribe would eventually establish themselves at the Werewolf Den. He also espoused the ideas of Telyth, who overlapped with the Barovian idea of "Mother Night", and created a lineage that would pass all the way down to the likes of Kiril Stoyanovich and Helwa.

Jaghr was smote by Saint Markovia at Saint Markovia's Pool, in a glorious battle that temporarily brought the sun back to Barovia. Destroyed by the light of Thestus and having lived an unfulfilled dual-life, Telyth took pity on him, shielding his spirit from Vampyr's consumption. For hundreds of years, his Ghost remained bound in the Werewolf Den, tending to the shrine of Mother Night and overlooking his descendants.

After the Wedding That Never Was, Strahd von Zarovich quelled the rebelling great houses that plagued his campaigns across Barovia. However, with noble families and towns dispatched, he heard of an unexpected gathering at Yester Hill; the hill-folk who occupied the area were looking to make a push against the Darklord. As followers of the Ladies Three, these primitive tribes made a last stand against a bulwark of Strahd's Undead forces. Led by the Blood Chief Kavan and the planar traveler Jaghr of the Longtooth, the fearsome Barbarians fought in the name of the Lady of the Mountain.

Martial might was not enough to stand against Strahd in his new incarnation, however. He invoked the magic of a Dark Power as his forces scattered the hill-folk. Kavan was lost in the growing mists around the hill, and was hunted and killed by Strahd's chamberlain Rahadin, though a small part of his spirit lingered in the Blood Spear he left behind. Jaghr, meanwhile, followed a Vistani prophecy and traveled north with as many hill-folk as he could; there, he established a religion unto his own, being named "Wolf-Father" and spreading Lycanthropy to Barovia.

The failed battle left the Lady of the Mountain without worshippers, and she recklessly attacked Strahd in physical form. The blood spilt from that battle coagulated around a lone tree that became a Gulthias Tree, which blossomed from the Archfey's corpse. It grew over her mountain fane, and Strahd hung the corpses and bones of the hill-tribes from the branches of the sprouting tree, an act that finally Desecrated the Lady's altar below. With her power tarnished, Strahd subsumed her powers over Barovia's wildlife without resistance.

He would later complete the Desecration Of The Swamp Fane and the Desecration Of The Forest Fane, gaining total control over shaping the landscape of Barovia. He would maintain this ability until the Slaying Of Strahd.

The Order of the Silver Dragon came to the Zarovich Valley for reasons its knights never fully knew. Argynvost, ancient Silver Dragon and founder of the Order, had learned fragments of forgotten lore tied to the Azure Paragon and believed its remnants still shaped the world. His search led him beyond the Crowncrests to the Balinok Mountains, where rumors spoke of the Amber Temple, a vault of sealed and malignant power. When he entered the valley in human guise, he found a land already breaking under conquest. Strahd von Zarovich had begun his campaigns, and Argynvost chose to delay his deeper purpose. He judged that the valley’s people would not survive long enough for secrets to matter unless defended first.

He established Argynvostholt as both fortress and refuge, and the Order fought openly against Strahd’s advance. Under Captain Vladimir Horngaard and Sir Godfrey Gwilym, the knights won early victories such as the Barovian Order, and gave shelter to those displaced by war. However, after his defeat near Berez and the turning point of the Wedding That Never Was, the Order withdrew with hundreds of refugees to the valley around the mansion, hoping stone and oath would hold where their knights had failed. Strahd followed, now changed, now bound to darker powers, and brought an overwhelming Undead force against the stronghold.

The attack began with encirclement and attrition. Sir Godfrey fell first at the gates, slain by Strahd in single combat, and Captain Horngaard was dragged down soon after as the defenses collapsed. When the knights were broken, Argynvost revealed himself at last and met Strahd’s host in the open. The Count, sustained by his pact with Vampyr, slew the dragon before his own walls. Argynvost’s body was hacked apart, his skull taken to Castle Ravenloft as a trophy, and his desecrated remains left in the mausoleum of the home he had built to protect others.

Argynvostholt, however, did not fall silently. Vladimir’s hatred anchored him to the world, and his oath bound many of his knights to rise with him as Revenants. Godfrey returned as well, less eroded by time, and wandered the Svalich Woods hunting servants of the Count and searching for a way to restore what Vladimir had lost. Its lingering spirits thinned the veil to the Ethereal Border, twisting beasts and stone alike as thieves stripped the once-great mansion; however, this fate was finally changed in the Lighting Of The Silver Beacon.

Alizandra Markovia was an Angelborn servant of the Morninglord, trained as a Cleric at the Church of Barovia from a young age. In adulthood, she traveled west into the Zarovich Valley and founded a hospital in the low Balinok Mountains. This hospital evolved into the Abbey of Brilliant Worship, which became the center of a growing settlement called Zachodgrad. Markovia mentored healers and warriors who served this community, such as Sergei von Zarovich, and her miracles earned her fame across the valley. When she defeated the Wolf-Father in single combat at the Pool of Zachodgrad, she was honored as a Saint of the Morninglord.

By this time, Count Strahd von Zarovich had taken full control of the valley after the Wedding That Never Was. The mists prevented escape, and attacks from the Mark of Strahd increased by the month. After building Zachodgrad into a fortified bastion, Alizandra rallied a force of local defenders to march east and destroy Strahd. This force crossed the valley with discipline, and cautiously passed the Black Carriage Crossroads. Representing the last organized attempt by mortals in the valley to confront Strahd directly before Barovia entered its long period of isolation, this action was called the Sunless March of Saint Markovia.

The battle began at the bridge leading into Castle Ravenloft. Markovia’s forces broke a first wave of defenders, reanimated Skeletons and Wights from Strahd's former army, and stormed across the bridge. However, the dead who fell during the assault rose again at Strahd’s command. The battle lines collapsed as undead enemies attacked from both sides of the bridge. The defenders of Zachodgrad fought without retreat, but they were overwhelmed as Vampire Spawn joined the battle from the castle grounds. Markovia continued forward alone, attempting to reach the inner keep to strike at Strahd directly, but she was surrounded before she could reach him.

Strahd did not face Alizandra in battle; instead, his chamberlain Rahadin executed her after her force was destroyed. The Count had believed she would make an extremely powerful minion in undeath, so sealed her body in a stone tomb beneath Castle Ravenloft. Even after passing, however, her sanctity was not extinguished. In a moment of divine inspiration, her bones were Consecrated with Celestial power, preventing Strahd from raising her as a servant or turning her corpse into a weapon. Rather, even as she turned to dust, a part of her became a weapon with holy power dedicated to fighting Strahd: Saint Markovia's Thighbone remained untouched in her crypt over centuries, awaiting one who could use it to defeat Strahd.

Zachodgrad began as a settlement beneath the Abbey of Brilliant Worship, founded by Saint Alizandra Markovia in the western Balinok Mountains. What started as a field hospital and sanctuary grew into a permanent community as forest-folk settled near the abbey for protection, healing, and worship of the Morninglord. As threats increased from mountain raiders and the expanding campaigns of Strahd von Zarovich, Alizandra ordered defensive walls raised around the dwellings below the abbey. First timber, then stone, these works transformed the settlement into a fortified commune known as Zachodgrad, or "Westfort." Its people lived communally, raised their own livestock, harvested timber from within the walls, and relied on the sacred pool for fresh water.

After the Wedding That Never Was and the sealing of Barovia, the valley grew more hostile. Werewolf packs devoted to Mother Night ranged north of the abbey, led by the Wolf-Father. Zachodgrad endured repeated attacks until Alizandra confronted Jaghr at the Pool of Zachodgrad. She slew the Wolf-Father in single combat, an event said to have held the sun in the sky for days despite the surrounding mists. The pool was consecrated by divine power, and Alizandra was thereafter named Saint Markovia. She cured those werewolves who submitted, including the Wolf-Father's second, Ladislau Krezkov, and a statue was raised showing the saint healing him at the water’s edge. This victory brought a brief and fragile peace to Zachodgrad.

The Cleric soon led her followers east in the Sunless March Of Saint Markovia, seeking to destroy Strahd at Castle Ravenloft in an effort that ultimately failed. Her forces were overwhelmed on the bridge as the dead rose against them, and she was captured and executed by Rahadin. Her body was entombed beneath the castle, beyond Strahd’s control, but her death left Zachodgrad without its protector. In the aftermath, Strahd turned his attention west. Rather than storm the fort, he laid siege in the manner he had practiced in life, surrounding Zachodgrad with Undead and starving it of relief.

The fall of Zachodgrad was decided from within. Ladislau Krezkov had never abandoned his hatred of the Morninglord or of Saint Markovia, and secretly sent Strahd knowledge of the fort’s weaknesses. As the siege tightened, the remaining militia and townsfolk withdrew up the switchback to the abbey, now called the "Abbey of Saint Markovia", and attempted a final defense with the clergy. Cut off from supplies, the abbey’s walls eventually failed. Zachodgrad was taken, renamed Krezk, and Ladislau was installed as burgomaster. The statue at the pool was removed, the Abbey fell into neglect, and over generations, the reverence for Saint Markovia faded. 

The defeat of the "Dusk" Elf tribe of the Zarovich Valley followed the betrayal of their own blood, and the closing grip of the von Zarovich conquest. Diminished by the murder of their elder council when Rahadin betrayed the elves and punished them for his exile, the elves were pressed into surrender by Strahd von Zarovich's armies. They were forbidden from returning to their sanctuaries in the Svalich Woods and stripped of alliances beyond the valley. By Strahd’s decree, the survivors were gathered and relocated to the Vistani Camp west of Vallaki, placed under Vistani watch as wards and prisoners alike. What remained of the tribe endured in exile, cut off from their lands, customs, and names.

Life beneath Vistani oversight varied with the character of its leaders. Under Velikov, the elves were given shelter and a measure of dignity, though never freedom. After his death by the hands of Zandros, the camp hardened. The dusk elves were tolerated only so long as they remained compliant and invisible. It was during this long confinement that Patrina Morvaris, once the tribe’s pride, withdrew from her people and pursued forbidden knowledge. Her return was marked by fear, as rumors of her dealings with Strahd and darker powers spread among the elders.

When Patrina was finally confronted by the elven leaders and her brother Kasimir Morvaris, she was bound by elven magic and forced to speak truth. She confessed to many acts of corruption, foremost among them the murder of an elven child in pursuit of arcane power. The act shattered what restraint remained among the leaders. Believing they needed to deny Strahd a weapon and a bride, and in rage at a second betrayal by their own kin, the council condemned Patrina to death. Once magically depleted, she was stoned to death, and her body left as proof of their defiance and their shame.

Strahd’s response to the stoning was swift and absolute. Declaring the dusk elves guilty of stealing what was his, he ordered their destruction, and ordered Rahadin to carry out their punishment. Every female elf was slaughtered, and the surviving males were mutilated as a lasting reminder of submission. Leadership fell to the broken and the grieving, and the dusk elves ceased to exist as a people in any true sense.

A manor in the Village of Barovia built in the year 342 by the wealthy Durst family, local nobles whos properties stretched all the way to the Durst Windmill. The family that built the house kept a secret: they were obsessed with the occult, and practiced dark arts. Through seduction and indoctrination, they expanded their cult to include a small yet nefarious circle of friends. When word got out, the rest of the village turned a blind eye to the house and the nightly debaucheries happening within it. The cultists preyed on visitors, sacrificed them in bizarre rituals, and hosted morbid banquets to feast on their corpses. When nothing came of these ritualized murders, the cultists' activities became thinly disguised excuses to indulge their lurid fantasies. 

The cultists regarded Strahd von Zarovich as a messiah sent to them by the Dark Powers. They pledged their devotion for a promise of immortality, but Strahd turned them away, deeming the cult and its leaders unworthy of his attention. Around this time, the matriarch Elizabeth Durst murdered her husband Gustav and his bastard baby Walter, leading herself and the other cultists to a terrible undeath in tunnels below the manor. The Ghosts of two children who died in the house, "Rose" and "Thorn", called from the house's perimeter for help to any passerby's; those who entered were often never seen again.

The manor was eventually given the name "Death House", and was condemned. After nearly a year of disturbances and disappearances, however, the Burgomaster of Barovia officially ordered the manor to be burned down. However, the Death House slowly and mysteriously rose from its ruins. Over centuries, it was burned to the ground many times, usually on orders from the Burgomaster or by enterprising adventurers. Each time, the manor rose from the ashes. Locals began to give the building a wide berth for fear of antagonizing the evil spirits believed to haunt it.

After the completion of Castle Ravenloft, the Archmage Orlev ben Khazan left the eastern Zarovich Valley, concerned at Strahd von Zarovich's increasing instability. Finding himself unable to leave the valley after Strahd made his pact with Vampyr, Khazan decided to build a remote tower in which he could protect himself from Barovia's increasing dangers. He found an ideal spot on Lake Baratok, where a small island was connected to the southeast shore by a 100-foot long marshy causeway. There, he constructed a wizard's tower, marked by statues of griffins and an internal elevator pulled by Clay Golems.

The four-story tower took time to build, as Khazan was worried about encroaching forest-folk and the nearby Werewolf Den, only growing in population. He set up a variety of spells to ward the structure, including an anti-magic field that stemmed five feet its walls and a symbol puzzle etched into Khazan's Tower Door. The symbol contained a connected series of lines with eight stick figures engraved in it, and the only way to enter was to figure out the magical lock. By standing in front of the door an imitating the arm positions of all eight stick figures in proper sequence, it would disable the trap and cause the door to swing open. If a creature attempted to circumvent this, or made the incorrect pattern, lightning would strike the tower. This caused a massive shock to anyone close to it and engulfed the tower in electricity for ten minutes. 

Its construction was stop-start, as he would delay further abjuration in between trips to the Amber Temple to learn further secrets of Spellcraft, and for most its days the tower remained abandoned. The road that led to the remote, dilapidated tower was eventually swallowed up by the Svalich Woods. However, two trails still stemmed from the Old Svalich Road to the island, and occasionally, the tower would entered or attacked by interlopers. Time and neglect hurt the tower as much as the repeated lightning bursts that shook its foundations. At some point, rickety scaffolding had been set up as an alternate entrance to the third floor, where a large hole had been blown into the wall.

Berez had once been a small riverside village of swamp-folk in the Zarovich Valley, set along the Luna River. It held little strategic value, but its people maintained old customs tied to the swamps and the nearby fane across the river. During the early von Zarovich conquests, settlers from the Village of Barovia displaced many of the local swamp-folk, and the town became an uneasy mix of traditions. By the year 400, Berez was ruled by the burgomaster Zann Ulrich, whose hoarded wealth contrasted with the village’s slow decay.

Strahd von Zarovich, traveling under the name "Vasili von Holtz", came often to Berez to purchase Ulrich's family Spellbooks. During these visits, he discovered Marina Ulrich, the burgomaster’s adopted daughter, and recognized her as an incarnation of Tatyana Federovna. He began to court her in secret, and eventually moved to seduce the obsession of his former life. When Zann learned of this, he staked Marina through the heart before Strahd could claim her, and buried her in the village graveyard. He then confronted Strahd directly, attempting to destroy him as well. Strahd easily felled the burgomaster and, in his rage over Marina’s death, turned his wrath upon the village itself.

The Luna River swelled beyond its banks at Strahd’s command; in an attempt to keep neutrality, the Lady of the Swamp, who held power over Barovia's waters, did not contest him. The swell tore through Berez, collapsing homes, drowning its people, and erasing the village in a single ruinous surge. Many swamp-folk died in the flood, including followers of the Lady; feeling horror at her inaction, she Cursed Strahd for the slaughter, an act that would ultimately result in her hunt and the Desecration Of The Swamp Fane.

In the aftermath, Berez was abandoned. Strahd did not kill Zann outright, but carried him away to years of torment before remaking him as a Vampire Spawn. The Luna River slowed and spread into bog and marsh, choking the old roads with reeds, mud, and stagnant pools. What remained became a place of witches, covens, and Scarecrows under Baba Lysaga's loose dominion, while the souls tied to Berez lingered, trapped in repetition like so many others in Barovia.

After the Wedding That Never Was, Strahd von Zarovich became a Darklord, and turned the Zarovich Valley into his domain of Barovia. Though they had been transported to the Shadowfell, the Ladies Three positioned themselves to remain neutral, as they always had. The Weaver was diplomatic in her relations with Strahd, even after the Desecration Of The Mountain Fane and killing of her sister The Huntress, and he largely paid her and her covens no mind.

However, after the Count caused the Flooding Of Berez, the swollen Luna River engulfed many of her followers. The Lady of the Swamp Cursed Strahd to never find happiness in an incarnation of Tatyana Federovna, and for this transgression, he hunted her. She attempted to avoid his wrath, but after a few years, the Vampire lord eventually the Weaver in the Ethereal Border, hiding at the standing stones where her fane was once worshipped.

Empowered by unnatural strength granted by Vampyr, Strahd skewered her, and her blood spilled in the Ghostly realm. Using knowledge of cursed magic that he gained from the Amber Temple, he performed a ritual that left her fane untethered in the Ethereal; using The Weaver's own blood for the rite, he completed the Desecration. With the Lady's control severed, Strahd subsumed her powers over Barovia's waters without resistance. 

Strahd had already desecrated the mountain fane, and would later complete the Desecration Of The Forest Fane, gaining total control over shaping the landscape of Barovia. He would maintain this ability until the Slaying Of Strahd.

For hundreds of years before the Wedding That Never Was, The Seeker of the Ladies Three had long been giving omens to her sisters about a Dark Power that would take over the land and remove them of their splendor. The Huntress and The Weaver had never trusted their sister's augury, thinking them to be generic flights of fancy. After the Wedding That Never Was, the warmongering Human Strahd von Zarovich became a Darklord, and turned the Zarovich Valley into his own domain of Barovia.

Once this happened, the Seeker seemingly disappeared; in truth, she withdrew from her fane at Old Bonegrinder and hid among the Vistani as "Madam Eva", allowing her worship to stand without her visible hand. In doing so, rumors grew that her prediction of Strahd's takeover had left her to abandon Barovia before it became closed off to the Deepmists; having given her warnings, she allowed the Desecration Of The Mountain Fane and the Desecration Of The Swamp Fane to occur despite her foresight.

After killing the Weaver, Strahd looked to finish off the Seeker, hoping to rid his domain of any challenge to control the land. However, as he had with the Lady of the Swamp, he could not locate her: instead, he found her fane, unguarded. Though he believed that the rumors of her disappearance a half-century prior were true, he still came to the forest fane with violence and terror, slaughtering hundreds of forest-folk and their Ravens, and let their blood seep through the Fey Crossing embedded in the stones. Strahd took pleasure in bending the engraved Portals to his use, even as his growing dominion over the land made such shortcuts unnecessary.

Though she had never attempted to resist his dominance over the domain, the Seeker was now unable to feel a connection to the land, and Strahd subsumed her control over Barovia's winds. Having already severed both her sister's fanes, Strahd now had total control over shaping the landscape of Barovia. He would maintain this ability until the Slaying Of Strahd.

A Deva native to the Upper Realms, Anzethiel was a low-ranking Angel tasked with ridding corrupted lands of their evil. In the year 623 of the Barovian Calendar, he was sent to Barovia to restore the defiled Abbey of Saint Markovia to its former glory, as it was 300 years prior. When in the valley, Anzethiel donned the form of a pious Human healer, helping those with both mental and physical afflictions.

Calling himself "The Abbot", he sought to investigate the cause of the demiplane's corruption, and found that it was kept separate from the Umbral Realms by the Dark Power Vampyr. He began restoring the Abbey when a stranger named Vasili von Holtz visited its ruins. It did not take long for The Abbot to recognize that Vasili was Strahd von Zarovich in disguise, and a figure of extremely powerful evil. The two engaged in an epic battle, but though the deva was strong, the Vampire Lord was stronger, with powers over death and the land itself.

After defeating The Abbot, Strahd was able to win the angel over to his side with magical charm. He promised to explain everything by taking The Abbot to the Amber Temple, where other Dark Powers lay trapped in amber. The Abbot was able to lift himself from Strahd's charm in the Amber Temple, but he was too late. Vampyr's dark forces within his broken sarcophagus struck his body, corrupted his mind, and warped his sense of reality. Though he did not lose his strong sense of justice or sympathy, he had a fractured view of the world, and his memory grew hazy. He returned to the church set on rebuilding it, as he realized that Strahd was too powerful a force to fight alone.

While rebuilding the abbey's walls, he met Iaseka Belview, a local Krezkite whos family was suffering from a variety of physical maladies. The priest felt sorry for her plight, and she pressed him, having heard rumors of his powerful magic. Iaseka demanded that The Abbot get rid of her family's "imperfections"; she not only wished to completely alter her physiology, she wanted her offspring to have the abilities of Beasts, as Lycanthropes did.

The Abbot eventually capitulated in sympathy to her demands, and began experimenting on her, as well as her offspring, using methods that he had learned in the Amber Temple. He eventually turned Iaseka into the first successful Mongrelfolk, and at her request, continued to work on generations of Belviews, changing the types of humanoids and beasts he mixed their flesh with. He felt pity and remorse to the Belviews, realizing that they were living painful and horrible lives, but felt that with enough effort, he would be able to achieve the perfect form that Iaseka sought for her family. This work kept him busy for nearly a century, as his addled brain forgot the reason he was in Barovia.

Finally, when his assistant Cyrus Belview escaped the Abbey, The Abbot realized that he had forgotten his promise to rid the valley of Strahd von Zarovich. From records in the Amber Temple, he had managed to remember that Strahd had made his pact while killing his brother Sergei over a woman named Tatyana Federovna. He sought to recreate Tatyana, believing that if the Count married his true love, he would break free of the valley's evil and Vampyr's curse. Through his foggy, memory-addled brain, continued to remember the name "Vasili" as important to Strahd, but could not remember the direct association.

A famed monster hunter and Cleric of Umera, Dr. Rudolph van Richten originally hailed from Cliffsunder in Commona, where he studied theology and magic at the Whiteharbour Academy. A devout student, he became an adventurer, and his work would often take him beyond the veil of the Prime Material. He gained a reputation as a hero of renown, a member of multiple famous adventuring parties, one of whom was the Theurge Ingrid Iskola. Rudolph and Ingrid bonded over their shared understanding life and devotion to the goddess Umyra, and eventually fell in love. They married, with Ingrid adopting van Richten's last name, and eventually had a child Erasmus van Richten.

Parenthood did not cease their desire to fight the Undead, and seeking action, the couple investigated when they heard of Dwarf Ghosts gathering around Copperbreach. After a perilous journey through the Snoutridge, tragedy fell on the van Richten family when Ingrid was overtaken by a ghost and thrown off a mountain peak; the cleric was too late to save her from possession as she fell into the mists below. Rudolph took care over Erasmus when his wife passed away, though he was unable to fully overcome his grief. Though he cared for Erasmus more than anything in the world, he became an uncompromising teacher, desperate to ensure that his boy would never make a similar mistake that Ingrid and he had made. 

However, Rudolph's life again changed dramatically after after an incident occurred with a group of traveling Vistani. The band sought aid from Dr. van Richten to save one of their own, but the cleric was unable to raise the life of the young Vistana brought to him. In retribution, the Vistani stole Erasmus and sold him to the Vampire Baron Metus Syrek of Syrek-Kas. Rudolph chased them through the forests and mists, but was beset upon by a pack of Zombies led by an unknown Lich. Rather than killing him, the lich gave Rudolph control of the zombies as well as a ward against undead. He found the Vistani caravan and set the zombies on them, but before they died, their leader bestowed a Curse onto him: "Live you always among monsters, and see everyone you love die beneath their claws!"

Rudolph continued looking for his boy, interrogating Vistani about the group who had sold him. He eventually found his answer from the parents of Ezmerelda D'Avenir's and spared their lives, learning from them an entrance into Syrek-Kas through the Deepmists. In a few short months, Rudolph found Erasmus, but the boy had been made into a Vampire Spawn by the mad Baron. Erasmus begged him to end his curse, and Rudolph destroyed his son with a silvered sword. Overcome with rage and despair, Rudolph learned all he could about the Darklord and Syrek-kas. After learning of the vampire's proclivities, weaknesses, and oversights, van Richten slaid Baron Metus, then killed him by driving a stake through his coffin.

He began to live a life of solitude, always thinking about the curse, but as he aged, he came across a lone Vistana teenager. Ezmerelda had grown up troubled by the memory of what her family had done to van Richten, and ran away from home. After many harrowing adventures, she tracked him down, but thinking she was a Vistana assassin, Rudolph put a sword to her throat and threatened to spill her blood. Ezmerelda convinced him that she genuinely wanted to help him find his missing son, whereupon van Richten told her his sad tale.

Though he hated and feared the Vistani, and was worried about the truth of his curse, he took her in and taught her to defend herself as he had Erasmus. Dr. van Richten taught Ezmerelda on-and-off for ten further years, giving her access to Ingrid's old Spellbooks and teaching her to fight with a rapier. Ezmerelda was an apt student, graceful and skilled in Spellcraft, but the two fought constantly as van Richten's gruff demeanor and pragmatism chafed against Ez's natural optimism and self-sacrificing nature. His secret fear of his Vistani curse caused him to be far harsher with her than he had Erasmus, and as Ezmerelda grew to become a fine monster slayer herself, she found she could no longer work with him.

They had a long, irreconcilable argument on the responsibility of heroes. van Richten could not be swayed, as he knew far more loss than Ezmerelda had; eventually, the Vistana left in a huff, leaving the hard-headed old man alone. Now late in life, Rudolph was still dedicated to his craft, and learned of rumors of another domain guarded by mists, similar to Syrek-Kas. Knowing that he would likely fail with his weakened body, he nonetheless willed himself to enter Barovia with the intent to kill the Vampire Lord Strahd von Zarovich. He left Ezmerelda a note of apology in their previous home, packed the last of his things, and headed for the Sea of Clouds to find his way into the Shadowfell.

van Richten entered knowing that it would likely be the death of him, and made sure to enter the domain in disguise. From Wistimere's Marvelous Menagerie, he purchased a Capuchin Monkey named Piccolo and an unnamed Saber-Toothed Tiger. He adopted fake sharp ears and the alias "Rictavio", a Half-Elf Bard and entertainer who had become lost in the mists. Their cart was towed by his loyal steed Drusilla, and for the last time, the Doctor re-entered the Plane of Shadow.

Rictavio took up residence in the Blue Water Inn in Vallaki, telling wondrous stories of adventure in exchange for coin, and made connections throughout the town. Richer than most Barovians, he bartered with Urwin Martikov to allow him to stay at the inn, and he used his daylight hours to collect information on Strahd and his domain. He paid Gunther Arasek to allow him to keep his carnival wagon at the Arasek Stockyard, and after months of unpleasant shit-slinging, gave Piccolo to the depressed toymaker Gadof Blinsky.

Born to a group of Vistani travelers in Syrek-Kas, Ezmerelda spent her childhood traveling the Deepmists of thePlane of Shadow. Her earliest memory, however, was one of shame; her extended family had sold the son of Doctor Rudolph van Richten to the Vampire Baron Metus Syrek, and the cleric had come to her parents demanding answers. In exchange for giving him information on Erasmus van Richten's whereabouts, Rudolph left Ezmerelda's parents alive, an act that stuck with her as she grew up in the ashen lands of Syrek-Kas.

She displayed talent as a rare Vistani seer, able to divine prophecy from a Tarokka Deck, but Ez was resentful of her clan's bargain with the dark lords in the mists. At the age of fifteen, Ezmerelda ran away from her home plane, which was now little more than a desolate wasteland. Still troubled by what her family had done to van Richten, she she sought to find him in the Prime Material, renouncing herself from her family and becoming a "remanio".

After many harrowing adventures, she located him in the Common League town of Avenir; thinking she was a Vistana assassin, he put a sword to her throat and threatened to spill her blood. Ezmerelda convinced him that she genuinely wanted to help him find his missing son, whereupon van Richten told her the saddest of tales. He had already found his son, who had been transformed into a Vampire Spawn by Baron Metus. When Erasmus pleaded to his father for salvation, van Richten granted his request by destroying his son, then the vampire who had taken him. 

By then a somewhat anti-social and old adventurer, Rudolph nonetheless took Ez in as a protege. He gave her access to his dead wife Ingrid van Richten's old Spellbook and taught her to fight with a rapier as they traveled together on-and-off. Ezmerelda was an apt Wizard student, with a natural gift for Spellcraft, and her easygoing nature led to her developing many connections with the townsfolk in Avenir. 

Despite this, she and van Richten fought constantly as his gruff demeanor and pragmatism chafed against Ez's natural optimism and self-sacrificing nature. His secret fear of his Vistani curse caused him to be far harsher with her than he had Erasmus, and as Ez grew to become a fine monster slayer herself, she found she could no longer work with him. They had a long, irreconcilable argument on the responsibility of heroes. van Richten could not be swayed, as he knew far more loss than Ezmerelda had; eventually, the Vistana left in a huff, leaving the hard-headed old man alone. Though she left in resentment, she still considered this period to be the best time of her life, and took the surname "D'Avenir" out of love for her town. 

For two further years, Ez made a name for herself as a powerful solo Adventurer, developing skills as a Fighter. She acquired a magical Vardo, numerous Enhanced weapons and armor, and a sizable personal fortune; however, the life of a young adventurer was not an easy one. Ezmerelda ended up losing her leg while defending a Gnome commune in Phalor-Phaeun, fighting off a Worg of unusual size as well as a band of Goblins. The gnomes had their Artificers create a Prosthetic Limb for her, but the experience was harrowing and painful.

After two years of adventuring, Ez went back to van Richten's home beside Wyrmhorn Gulf. However, after arriving in Avenir, only to find the house closed and an apology note left for her. Rudolph had left for the Sea of Clouds, searching for the dread domain of Barovia in an apparent suicide mission. With no hesitation, she followed his trail in her wagon, praying the old man was still alive; as a Vistana, she was among the few who could enter Barovia as they pleased.

Though she found little sign of Rudolph once past the mists, she learned more of the plane when she traveled to the Vistani Camp, but found that she was not very welcome as a "remanio." However, she learned of Count Strahd von Zarovich, and his rule causing division amongst the camp. Knowing she was not powerful enough to defeat Strahd head-on, she sought more secrets, but was turned away at Vallaki due to her being Vistani.

Following a self-styled tarokka reading, she headed to the Abbey of Saint Markovia to learn more about Barovia from The Abbot. Ezmerelda made her way through the fortification of Krezk and the Abbey's Mongrelfolk guards by using invisibility magic, and confronted The Abbot in his chapel. She found him to be welcoming and friendly, but obviously insane; she learned details of Strahd and the Barovian Calender Timeline, as well as his musings on Saint Alizandra Markovia. Disheartened, she planned to leave the next day.

The Pack were a party of Adventurers that formed in Barovia. Founded by Shakti of the Wildhunt, Jarmo Maulgrave, and Ghalwin Forrester, they were sent through the Deepmists to fulfill a prophecy read by Ylyana the Starseer, Archdruid of the Astralwood Enclave. Knowing only that they had to fulfill the "destiny" of Shakti and Jarmo, the trio ended up lost in Barovia.

The Riots of the Blazing Sun marked a substantial change to the history of Vallaki, as recorded in Curse Of Strahd. Under the rule of the Vallakovich house, the valley town functioned as a near-police state for hundreds of years, and the house heirs grew increasingly unstable due to a Curse placed on Vyacheslav Vallakovich. Education was not provided to those not of noble houses; the lower classes were only taught to fear their neighbours and venerate their ruling houses. The average Vallakian did not know the history of even their own town, much less of the wider valley of Barovia.

This was especially true under the rule ofBaron Vargas Vallakovich, who forbid the town mention Strahd's name and forced the residents to attend near-weekly "celebrations" to improve morale. Vistani, thought to be servants of Strahd, were banned from the town's border, and anyone entering or exiting the city was subject to a full search, with a record of their personal items. These extreme measures were justified as methods to keep away "The Devil" Strahd von Zarovich, who's name was forbidden to speak aloud. 

The town became known as a refuge from Strahd as his visits to terrorize the populace became increasingly rare. The Vallakovich family used this as a sign of their divine right to rule with impunity and oppress their people. This faith in safety, however, was shattered when a group of Vampire Spawn were unleashed in the town, razing the town square and slaying civilians and guards alike. While these creatures were slain by a group of adventurers called the Pack, Strahd von Zarovich himself was spotted riding a Nightmare in the town square, blowing up a cadre of guards and turning Jarmo Maulgrave to stone.

After the attack, Vargas pulled half the town's guard to personally protect the Vallaki Burgomaster's Mansion, and Vallaki became woefully under-patrolled. For the first time, crime began to rise in the town, and anti-Vallakovich sentiment began being expressed more openly. These sparks were fanned by Fiona Wachter, who had a vendetta against Vargas and his son, Viktor Vallakovich, and who eyed the title of Baronness for herself. She had created a cult dedicated to devil-worship, practicing fake magic below the Wachterhaus, and schemed with the cult and The Pack to take over Vallaki.

The Burgomaster, worried about dissent during the potentially precarious upcoming full moon, forced another festival, dubbed the "Festival of the Rising Sun." During the procession, children dressed as flowers lead a wicker sun ball through the Vallaki Town Square. They lead Vargas, Viktor, and the Baroness Lydia Petrovna, followed closely by the adventurers who slayed the vampire spawn. The sun was lofted as townsfolk threw oil on the wicker sun, preparing for a massive symbolic blaze; but when Baron Vargas went to ignite the wicker, a torrent of rain suddenly doused his torch. The laugh of Gadof Blinsky echoed through the silent crowd, and a furious and embarrassed Vargas demanded that the toymaker be hanged. His henchman Izek Strazni string Blinsky up at the gallows, preparing to set yet another example.

With a cry of resistance, Fiona Wachter denounced Vargas, who mustered little defense against her cutting condemnations. She ignited the people to revolt against the Vallkovich family; her cultists stabbed a guard and an innocent bystander, then screamed that the guards were attacking the civilians. Chaos broke out, and the crowd quickly turned into a murderous mob. The adventurers caught Viktor, who turned out to have been secretly a spellcaster, and protected local children from Saint Andral's Orphanage from being crushed; squawking Ravens and a Saber-Toothed Tiger escorted them from the chaos.

During the scramble, the paladin Ghalwin of the Grove openly defended the Baroness, and she escaped on the back of a magical Elk. Though he was grabbed by the mob along with the Baron Vargas, Ghalwin disappeared amidst a Swarm of Ravens as calls from Fiona and the flying cleric Atlas Atruvian echoed across the mob to take revenge on the Baron. The people gleefully impaled Vargas and Viktor with spears into the wicker sun, hoisted them aloft, and immolated them alive amidst a roar of rain and fire. Shouts to burn down the Burgomaster's Mansion rang amongst the crowd, and they moved westward with intention, upturning carts and torching indiscriminate buildings.

The crowd moved westward and burned down the Burgomaster's Mansion, and the area around the town square was consumed in an inferno. Though the rage quickly evaporated into anguish and efforts turned to stopping the spread, fires raged across south-central Vallaki for twenty-five hours. Little remained of the area besides a tainted fountain and Blinsky Toys, which was defended from the fires by the druid Shakti of the Wildhunt.

The Riots ended with a massive political shift for Vallaki. The Wachter family became the new ruling power, and Fiona Wachter set on shifting the town's mindset towards praising Strahd as an evil god. The statue of Vyacheslav Vallakovich was taken down, replaced by a monument to the Vampire Lord himself, and the town became rife with crime, cultists, and dark dealings.

The Heralds of Dawn were a party of Adventurers that formed in Barovia. Founded by Ajuni Elajoral, Tobias Villie Broadnose Cogsmith, Mormeros Fayan, and Ghalwin of the Grove, they had each been trapped in the Deepmists at the will of the Dark Power Vampyr. Each sought to end the Curse on Barovia, removing the influence of its Darklord, and return to the Material Realm.

The Lighting of the Silver Beacon marked a substantial change in the history of Barovia, as recorded in Curse Of Strahd. For hundreds of years, the valley had been under the complete sovereignty of Count Strahd von Zarovich, who controlled its lands and misty borders through the Ladies Three and Vampyr. Its skies were undercast by a permanent, dismal darkness, and even the light of the moon was obscured by heavy clouds. Horrors awaited in the mists, which would thicken without discernable pattern.

However, a dormant power waited on a mountain in the valley; an ancient Silver Dragon named Argynvost had long ago been defeated by Strahd. Before his passing, he had built a fort to stand against the von Zarovich family's darkness. His Order of the Silver Dragon had used the mansion, dubbed Argynvostholt, to strike back against Strahd's attempted conquest of the valley. These paladins were ultimately defeated after he became a Vampire; Strahd tore Argynvost's skull from his body and kept it as a trophy in Castle Ravenloft. The former knights of the Order could not pass on, becoming Revenants, and a weak Ghost of the dragon himself still stalked the mansion's halls.

At the behest of Sir Godfrey Gwilym, a revenant who had kept some of his memory, a group of adventurers investigated Argynvostholt. They found the place connected strongly to the Ethereal Border and its halls occupied by Undead paladins, unable to move on due to their vow they had sworn to their Captain, Vladimir Horngaard. All of the revenants had lost their mind, but Vladimir in particular had become completely overwhelmed by his hatred for Strahd. Believing Barovia to a be prison of Strahd's own making, he would not allow the heroes to oppose the vampire; he was content to have his retinue suffer in eternity if it meant Strahd could not escape his eternal torment.

Vladimir attempted to kill the adventurers, who barely escaped with their lives, but not before they were able to converse with Argynvost's ghost and learned how to help the Captain pass on. Mormeros Fayan, Tobias Villie Broadnose Cogsmith, and Ajuni Elajoral had come from the Prime Material searching for clues about the Silver Dragon, and wished to lay him to rest. Joined by Ghalwin of the Grove and Ezmerelda D'Avenir, they visited Castle Ravenloft to meet with Strahd; these adventurers would later be called the Heralds of Dawn.

After surviving a dinner with the Count and his spouses, then investigating the castle, they were able to overcome myriad traps and foes to find Argynvost's skull. Relying on magic to temporarily shrink his head, they used the Portal in the catacomb's brazier room and were transferred back to the mountain. Found by Sir Gwilym while in the Svalich Woods, Tobias and Ghalwin both swore vows to the Order of the Silver Dragon, ensuring that its tenets would live on. They all then carried the ancient skull back to the mansion, unaccosted by the undead knights, and reconnected it with his body in the mausoleum. 

The head reattached to its body in a shower of cold embers, and suddenly, the mansion's tower produced a spark of hope visible for forty miles. Argynvostholt became a beacon of silvery light, and the revenants of the Order finally passed on.

As recorded in Curse Of Strahd, Fiona Wachter came into power as the new Burgomaster of Vallaki following the Riots Of The Blazing Sun. Compelled by visipns of sunlight upon the town, she immediately initiated sweeping changes to its structure. As many suffered Dream Pastry withdrawals due to a lack of shipments of Dream Pastry from Old Bonegrinder, Fiona lifted many of the draconian punishments that Vargas Vallakovich had imposed on his citizens.

She had the statue of Vyacheslav Vallakovich torn down from the Vallaki Town Square's fountain, and reinstated it with a stone sculpture of Strahd von Zarovich. She also opened the gates to the Vistani and began fostering a relationship with the nearby Vistani Camp. Over time, she began to bear the Mark of Strahd herself, and assembled a large militia of black-cloaked guards loyal to a cult devoted to her. Fiona also deemed Ravens a symbol of bad luck and to be killed on sight, as were foreign adventurers.

Fiona's vision that the blood of adventurers were needed to save Vallaki led to small parties of hunters seeking to kill adventurers across Barovia in exchange for coin; however, this loyalty to the Wachters wavered somewhat after the Lighting Of The Silver Beacon. This event had been initiated by a group of foreign adventurers composed of Ghalwin of the Grove, Ajuni Elajoral, Tobias Villie Broadnose Cogsmith, Ezmerelda D'Avenir, and Mormeros Fayan.  After Mormeros was killed in a battle against Strahd, this group would travel to Vallaki, alongside former guard captain Izek Strazni, and initiate a quiet revolution.

Using Spells to make them invisible, they infiltrated the Wachterhaus and kidnapped both Fiona and Stella Wachter, while locking Karl Wachter and Nikolai Wachter II in a room alongside the family's personal guards. With evidence they gained from the raid, they called for an emergency town meeting at the burned square, and put Fiona on a trial. Public sentiment was initially firmly against the adventurers, who had only exacerbated the anti-foreigner propaganda by kidnapping the ruling family and forcing a trial; however, through the creation of magical food and acts of might, they quieted the crowd and started their case. Izek forcibly took Nikolai II and Karl into the crowd, physically ensuring they would not act out.

Despite protests by Fiona, Ajuni and Ghalwin presented damning evidence of her relationship with Strahd. They submitted land deeds given to the Wachters by Strahd's alias "Vasili von Holtz", two evil tomes related to Fiendish summoning, as well as the dead body of her slain Imp Majesto. Using this relationship, they called her character into question, which was exacerbated when they revealed that she had been sleeping with the body of her dead husband Nikolai Wachter, kept fresh with necromancy. Finally, they challenged her argument that only she could bring dawn to the people, as Ajuni lifted the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind and showed Vallaki the first sunlight it had seen in centuries.

Moved by the speech and sunlight, the crowd turned. As a mob began to bay for blood, Tobias stopped turned fate with a speech of mercy; an endless cycle of revolution would only continue to hurt Vallaki. A pardon was agreed for the Wachters, provided that they be banished from the town. With her ousted as Burgomaster, Vallaki experienced its first true moment of unity; as townsfolk hugged and cheered, the revolutionaries were thereafter dubbed the Heralds of Dawn.

In the aftermath of the trial, a mercantile republic was established, with community leaders from Saint Andral's Church, the Arasek Stockyard, the Blue Water Inn, Blinsky Toys, and other businesses representing a semi-formal town council. The Wachterhaus was designated to become the "Fayan Academy", named after the hero who perished, and a system of education was set to be implemented. The Wachters themselves were taken to the Herald's base at Argynvostholt, along with a militia of 10 guards and hunters, and the fort was established as a second base outside town walls.

Across centuries after his defeat at Strahd von Zarovich's hands, The Abbot of the Abbey of Saint Markovia experimented with ways to remove the Vampire lord from Barovia. His twisted thoughts eventually formed in the creation of a Flesh Golem who resembled Tatyana Federovna; the Deva believed that uniting Strahd with a facsimile of his long-lost obsession would end his grip over the domain. He eventually created Vasilka, unknowingly named from Strahd's alter ego "Vasili von Holtz", and guided her speech, her manners, and her every movement until he deemed her fit to walk among nobility.

The gift of Lydia Petrovna's wedding dress, brought to him by the adventurer Ghalwin of the Grove, was the final piece he believed she needed. He carefully altered the gown to fit her frame, with every tear mended and every yellowed thread replaced. Once her training was complete, the two dictated letters of invitation, each bearing the same proclamation: By decree of divine providence, you are cordially invited to witness the union of Lady Vasilka and Count Vasili von Holtz in the grand halls of Castle Ravenloft. May this sacred bond be blessed under the watchful gaze of the Morninglord, and may dawn kiss this valley once again.

He restored the old warped pine carriage that had sat in the abbey courtyard for decades, and harnessed no Horses to it, but instead dozens of Mongrelfolk and the supplies to feed them for a long journey. They carried the letters to the homes of the uneasy residents of Krezk, and emptied the Abbey, then traveled the Old Svalich Road for weeks. They stopped in Vallaki to press invitations into the hands of the townsfolk, and The Abbot healed the mind of Stella Wachter at Ghalwin's request. 

At last they reached the gates of Castle Ravenloft, where the mists curled thick around the stones. Strahd awaited them in the company of his chamberlain Rahadin and servant Cyrus Belview, who was uneasy after betraying his fellow Belview family. He welcomed the mongrelfolk inside with a manner so warm it seemed unnatural and agreed to the wedding without hesitation. The Court of the Count was prepared for the event, as the castle's audience hall was set to be the designated place. Candelabras were polished, great tapestries were rehung, and a table of wine and sweetmeats was set for the guests. The Abbot stood proud at Vasilka’s side, her expression carefully trained into serene composure as they awaited the ceremony.

The service began with the Abbot’s blessing, his voice carrying through the vaulted chamber as he blessed their union with the words of the Morninglord. Vasilka stood perfectly still in her gown, hands clasped, while Strahd listened with a faint smile. But as the Abbot prepared to finish his words, Strahd’s gaze drifted to the mongrelfolk at the edge of the hall. As he grasped the golem's hand, his smile widened, and his vampire spawn in attendance moved as one. The joyous facade collapsed in screams as the spawn fell upon the retinue, their teeth and claws flashing. The mongrelfolk broke and ran, but the Count’s children were quicker, cutting off their escape and dragging them down in a frenzy of violence.

Strahd turned to The Abbot, his face twisting with fury, as he proclaimed that he had been betrayed after showing kindness by only poisoning The Abbot's mind. He revealed that he had found Tatyana's reincarnation, Ireena Kolyana, and attacked the Angel in relentless rage. In the chaos, Vasilka ran injured, rampaging about the castle as her husband attacked her creator. Their battle tore from the great hall to the roof of Ravenloft, steel and magic flaring amidst forks of lightning. Though the Abbot fought with the strength of his Celestial heritage, Strahd matched each blow and pressed him back with even more aplomb than when they had fought centuries before. With a final, crushing strike, the Count ended the Abbot’s life, his patience with the celestial’s repeated meddling finally exhausted.

When the castle fell silent, Strahd set about making an example of his fallen foes. He summoned thick steel spikes and ordered the bodies of the mongrelfolk impaled along the road from the Black Carriage Crossroads, each grim display visible to any who traveled there. At the road’s center, the Abbot’s body was splayed face-down on the cobblestones leading to Ravenloft. Strahd tore the angel’s wings from his back and nailed them beneath his corpse. Into the cobblestones at his feet, the Count scratched the words Here Lies Anzethiel, ensuring that all who passed would know the fate, and the true name, of he who dared defy him.

Less than two months after the Silver Dawn Of Vallaki, the town's lowest moment in centuries had begun with an act of bravery, as recorded in Curse Of Strahd. The Heralds of Dawn had broken into Castle Ravenloft, rescued Ireena Kolyana from the Vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich's grasp, and slain his chamberlain, Rahadin. In their haste to protect her, they teleported to Vallaki from the castle and rallied the frightened townsfolk, believing their actions would lure Strahd from his castle.

The town council members Gunther Arasek, Yelena Arasek, and Urwin Martikov awoke the populace of Vallaki and urged them to seek refuge. Ghalwin of the Golden Hart and Father Lucian Petrovich took the sick and unable into the Consecrated ground of Saint Andral's Church. Ajuni Elajoral and Ezmerelda D'Avenir alerted Saint Andral's Orphanage to do the same, and the town militia was organized by their former Captain Izek Strazni to prepare for attack. Those who could not fit inside the church grounds were lead north to Lake Zarovich by Danika Dorakova and a gleaming Tobias Villie Broadnose Cogsmith, who rode atop his flying Steel Defender Geronimo while shouting directions. 

The townsfolk were huddled together for hours, waiting to see if the Herald's defiance would draw Strahd’s wrath. Hours passed, and their worst fears came true; the "Devil"s vengeance descended upon Vallaki. The skies blackened, the earth split open, and the streets filled with the sounds of claws and screams. Wolf packs poured from the gates, and vampire spawn leapt from rooftops as fires began to spread. Count Strahd revealed himself to the population at the edge of the consecrated land; though he could not walk its ground, he summoned a bolt of lightning that destroyed the Church of Saint Andral’s. The population spilled out of the grounds to avoid the flames and falling timber, and a feast began.

Through the chaos, some of the Heralds of Dawn fought to reach Ireena, who lay trapped beneath in the Church's hidden crypt. Others faced Strahd’s power head-on, battling wind and fire while ensuring the safety of the panicking townsfolk. Ghalwin, willing to give his life, stood before him, unprotected by consecration; but Ajuni, bearing the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, burned through the storm with sunlight and held the vampire at bay. For a brief moment, light and darkness met in balance, and the Sorceress convinced Strahd to temporarily back away. He withdrew, choosing to wait for the Symbol's sunlight to fade, and the Adventurers retreated to the ruins below, hiding in a narrow alcove.

Safe and hidden, the heroes from the Silver Dawn of Vallaki waited through the long night, listening to the screams above as the town was consumed. When dawn came, it revealed ruin. Half the guard force lay dead in the streets, and the stockyard and markets had been reduced to blackened rubble. Not all was lost; the orphanage, the Blue Water Inn, Blinsky Toys, and the Fayan Academy remained, and the Martikov family had led survivors to safety by the lake. But over half the population of Vallaki was killed, their heroes having brought ruin to the town.

Within the day, those who survived the Sanguine Dusk of Vallaki found salvation in the Slaying Of Strahd.

As recorded in Curse Of Strahd, the Sanguine Dusk Of Vallaki marked the last and most public reprisal of Strahd von Zarovich's rule over the demiplane of Barovia. Drawn out by the Heralds of Dawn after they performed the Silver Dawn Of Vallaki, rescued Ireena Kolyana, and killed his chamberlain Rahadin, the vampire descended upon the town with storm, flame, and beasts. Saint Andral's Church was destroyed by lightning, its consecration broken, and the streets became killing grounds. More than half of Vallaki's population died in a single night, and the town was, spared only in fragments through desperate acts of coordination and sacrifice.

The Heralds did not fight, for they had a single hope: their re-Consecration of the fanes of the Ladies Three was set to be convocated on the day after the slaughter. Strahd's control over his dominion dramatically reduced as the Archfey fought for control. As his bloated landmass shrunk, the Heralds knew their plan had worked, and intentionally brought on Ezmerelda D'Avenir's prophesized final battle. Moving through the chapel, catacombs, and crypts of Castle Ravenloft, they warded off guards and traps while acquiring important magical items. They convinced Strahd's prisoner Kiril Stoyanovich to join them in their prophesized confrontation, then faced Strahd in his parent's tomb on the date of their death in the Barovian Order. 

Beginning in his crypts, the battle raged through the castle all the way up through his bedroom and onto its parapets. The Vampire manipulated the Heralds throughout his castle, but his constant repositioning was repeatedly repelled by the sunlight of the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind and Sergei von Zarovich's Sunsword. Ajuni Elajoral's magic allowed them to keep up with the vampire, Izek Strazni held the Count and destroyed many bearing the Mark of Strahd. Overlooking the courtyard amidst rain and lightning, the heroes were facing death when he knocked down Ghalwin of the Golden Hart and cast his Sunsword to the mists below. However, Tobias Villie Broadnose Cogsmith appeared as the Paladin fell; the last Knight of the Order of the Silver Dragon and wielder of Saint Markovia's Thighbone struck the vampire with a final, desperate blow.

Strahd was reduced to mist and forced to rest in his tomb, where the Heralds followed and attempted to stake his heart. He resisted through the intercession of Vampyr, whose shadow rose to claim a new champion. Having experienced much loss at the whims of Dark Powers, the Heralds rejected the offer; in a united motion, they drove the stake through Strahd’s heart, shattering Vampyr’s hold over the dominion. The Dark Power was expelled from Barovia, and Strahd von Zarovich was destroyed.

As Strahd's remaining minions fled Castle Ravenloft, the effect of his destruction was immediate and unmistakable. The ever-present fog thinned and then broke apart, revealing distant horizons long unseen. Sunlight reached the valley floor without resistance, warming fields that had known only gray light for generations. With no Darklord to anchor it, Barovia stood open to the Deepmists once more, no longer sealed as a private domain of torment, and was now accessible through planar travel.

Though all welcomed the sunlight, the people of Barovia responded to Strahd's slaying in many different ways. Survivors from Vallaki spread outward, some returning to the Village of Barovia to rebuild near older root; others moving toward Krezk, whose walls and now-empty Abbey of Brilliant Worship offered stability and clean land. Vallaki itself changed as its authority decentralized, and its future turned away from rigid rule toward shared defense and slow recovery. Under the stewardship of Izek, Ireena Kolyana and Ismark Kolyanovich, the Village of Barovia grew for the first time in memory, no longer living in the castle’s shadow, while the Fortress of Silver Dawn became a regional refuge and meeting point.

In the weeks that followed, trade paths reopened, Ravens flew openly, and old borders lost their meaning as tribes once edicated to the Ladies Three were connected to townsfolk. Most of the Heralds of Dawn left with Barovia's Werewolf population, as did many Vistani, drawn by the opened mists and the chance to live beyond their long Curse. Others like Jarmo Maulgrave and Lydia Petrovna stayed, committed to rebuilding a land that they felt they belonged to. Barovia did not become gentle or safe overnight, but for the first time since the Wedding That Never Was, the land's future could be determined by its people.