The Vampyre Malava, who has been a thorn in the side of Ravenholt for two years now, finally met her end in Pike-in-the-Vale, Capulus, on New Year's Eve. Malava, a very ancient, powerful and cunning vampyre was only vulnerable to permanent death for the first hour of every new year. Twice before, the forces of Ravenholt had sought to end her unnatural existence, and twice they had been foiled by the power and numbers of her minions. This third time, however, they met with more success.

Dr. Ignascious Mimbre, a retired professor from Lake Hollym whose specialties included Astrology, Vampyres, and the Planes, was able to track down Malava and send word of her location and plans to Ravenholt by way of Madam Zara. He learned that she was attempting to remove her hour of weakness in some manner, and that in order to effect her scheme, she would need to travel to the alternate world of Holmsong, which some of the folk of Ravenholt have traveled to once before.

The forces of Ravenholt gathered outside Pike-in-the-Vale, about fifty or sixty strong. It is rumored that there were some conflicts concerning the chain of command. Though Sir Delahr Greymist was the Ranking noble present, Lady Bailiwick Stormhaven reportedly claimed control. Her brother Arracor Stormhaven was named "in command" by Baron Northridge, who could not be present.

The assembled warriors passed into Pike-in-the-Vale and assaulted the cave where Malava was attempting to perform her ritual to gate to Holmsong. She was within a strange barrier that was later discovered to be a barbarian artifact. It consisted of several pillars with what looked like ward locks in them, decorated with the symbols of different barbarian clans. This barrier was resistant to destroy rituals, and it was within this barrier that Malava was performing her ritual. The gathered forces fought a fierce battle against large numbers of her minions, but since the barrier prevented them from reaching her, she was able to gate to Holmsong successfully.

The frustrated heroes then went on to the tavern building where they discovered that the tavernkeep was under Malava's control. He was later cured of the enslavement she had given to him. In the basement, they discovered Dr. Mimbre in an Earth Circle, He claimed that he thought that he could send the gathered forces after her to Holmsong with a Gate ritual, but he would need certain components. Stormwatch and others went forth to gather these components. In the process, they also found Malava's diary, which when decoded proved to hold a wealth of valuable information.

Dr. Mimbre successfully gated the assembled to Holmsong, though all had to be sleeping when the ritual occurred. The next day, they simply woke in the alternate world. Most of them found magic items upon them, as the destruction of magicks had evidently no occurred there. They awakened to discover that in Holmsong, that day was to be the Coronation if Duke Arracor Stormhaven. Arracor and several others found themselves having to play along and act like the alternate selves who had been displaced by their coming. the issue was further confused by several doubles of prominent Ravenholt citizens, who were actually their Holmsong selves, often acting as ambassadors for other lands.

It soon became clear that Holmsong, previously a largely barbarian settlement had been altered drastically as virtually all of the barbarians had been wiped out by a spirit-affecting barbarian plague. "Duke" Arracor was evidently founding a new Duchy there in place of the barbarians, and was founding five new baronies as well. For each barony, there was a key that corresponded to one of the old barbarian clans. These had to be retrieved from the quest haunts that guarded them. The people of Ravenholt quickly recognized the keys and the corresponding clan symbols as matching the locks and symbols on the barrier that Malava had used to protect herself. Ravenholt was successful in recovering all five keys, though some of the Holmsong folk sought to vie for them as well.

Those who wound up with them, (and the attached Holmsong Baronies) were Willow Treespeaker, Sir Delahr Greymist, Kai, Kyoki, and Voltreg.

Meanwhile a group consisting of Stormwatch, Anvil, some of Eastwyck, Jatrina Sartosa, Thrakkash Mirabad, and others were led to the lair of a vampyre that they believed to be a minion of Malava. It turned out that the vampyre was actually Malava's Holmsong form, a man called Eriadorian Ivanovitch. He had many powerful minions and the warriors found themselves hard pressed. After a long battle, they managed to force the door, and Bailiwick Stormhaven was successful in Warding the building to ensure that the Vampyre would not escape. An even longer and more vicious battle ensued. It soon became apparent that reinforcement would be needed, and Cynesra Arija Nosfer'vae and Bailiwick Stormhaven ran back to the inn for help. When the additional force arrived, they were able at last to slay the vampyre. It reformed in the building and was staked by Cynesra, killing it permanently.

Among the items discovered in the Vampyre's lair were an amulet in which Malava had somehow placed some of her essence and a missing page from her diary. The amulet was evidently they key to Malava's attempt to remove her once-a-year weakness. If her ritual was successful, instead of having to stay near her coffin and recharge her powers during that vulnerable period, she would simply have to be wearing the amulet., and therefore would not have to stay in one place, making her far less vulnerable. The diary described a way to destroy Malava by using her true name, Eriadorian Ivanovitch.

That evening, at the coronation ceremony for Arracor Stormhaven, groups of undead led by the Holmsong alternates of Alexa and Count Gaereth appeared to disrupt the ceremonies. Just as the battle was about to be joined, the people of Ravenholt found themselves gated back, about an hour earlier than they had expected. Dr. Mimbre was unable to explain the early return.

Armed with the keys, amulet, and Malava's true name, the forces of Ravenholt prepared for the final battle. They returned to Malava's ritual cave, fighting their way through legions of undead to the protective circle. The keys were placed and the appropriate words to drop the barrier were said. To everyone's horror, nothing happened. As the battle raged on, it was tried again and again, to no avail. Finally it was discovered that the problem stemmed from Lady Bailiwick Stormhaven's earlier decision to redistribute some of the keys from those who had earned the Holmsong baronies to people who could read, since the incantation to drop the barrier was fairly long. The correct people were switched back in, and the barrier was successfully dropped at last.

Meanwhile, Chastity Wolvestride was sitting in the middle of the battle in a ritual circle, under heavy guard, performing some kind of rite on the amulet using Malava's true name. Shortly after the barrier was dropped, this evidently interfered with Malava's ritual, causing it to fail. Malava took up her weapons and attacked, and was met ferociously by the spells and swords of Ravenholt. Sir Delahr Greymist fought toe-to-toe with the vampyre for some time until others with magical weapons arrived. Finally Malava was cut down. Her body reformed inside her coffin, as her ritual to tie herself to the amulet instead had failed. She was staked by Cynesra Nosfer'Vae, and Kestryn Ardaen, and crumbled to ash.

The heroes returned to the inn, where they celebrated their victory over the undead abomination far into the night.

Unto the noble citizens of Ravenholt: Many of you who have been involved in the hunt and final destruction of the Vampyre Malava are familiar with the name "VonSkoya".

This is the name of the family who began the task of hunting down that vile fiend many years ago. The VonSkoya family's fate was a sad one. After capturing the creature, they performed a destroy earth ritual on it, hoping to destroy it permanently. The ritual backlashed, and instead of destroying Malava, it allowed her spirit to possess the patriarch of the family. It was a curse that would be passed down through the generations to the present day. The rest of the family involved in the ritual were transformed into nightmarish creatures known as NightGaunts. Their forms were twisted into black-visaged creatures with large wings. They could travel through the shadows and acted as Malava's elite fighting force. Those citizens of Ravenholt who fought against them found them dangerous indeed, for they were exceedingly hard to kill. Over the three years that we fought Malava, we were only able to destroy a few out of the original 13 that were created.

During our last and final attempt to destroy Malava, the forces of Ravenholt discovered that Malava had hidden the keys to her warded circle in Holmsong. For those unfamiliar with that place, it is in fact an alternate reality of our world. As I have come to explain it, all of the characters are the same, but the stories are very different. While I was there, I was introduced to two gentlemen whose names were Marcus and Julian VonSkoya. They were in the protectorate of Holmsong hunting a vampyre. They claimed that it was more powerful than any they had encountered before. Intrigued, I asked them to travel with me for a time, wondering if fate had taken a hand in leading me to them. Over the course of the next few hours I was able to discover that the Holmsong VonSkoyas were identical to Ravenholt's VonSkoyas with one important exception: their family was not under the curse. In fact they had not yet done battle with their Malava. I began to suspect that the vampyre that they were presently chasing was Holmsong's version of that foul fiend. They confided in me that though their family was oddly susceptible to the control of Vampyres, each member carried a token to protect them against it. The tokens were personal items, very dear to the wearer, and they had the power to remind the VonSkoyas of their lost humanity.

It was at this point I remembered one of the portents cast by Anastasia and by Dr. Mimbre. It had spoken of redemption of a cursed family, and I knew then, that somehow, the VonSkoyas of Holmsong were the key to breaking the curse on the VonSkoyas of Ravenholt. Determined to find the answer, I asked the two men to return to me when they had found the lair that the vampyre was hiding in. I was afraid that they would take it upon themselves to attempt to destroy it, thus bringing the curse down upon themselves. When they did return, Gabriel and Nork of Stormwatch mounted a force to assault the lair. We followed the VonSkoyas to a dark cave, and found the vampyre, who was in fact one of the ambassadors of the Protectorate, with his minions. a great battle ensued. Through the efforts of those present, and the timely arrival of reinforcements, we were able to destroy the Vampyre- staking it through the heart and rendering it to dust. I returned to the Manor with my companions, the VonSkoyas promising to speak with me later that evening.

Somewhat at a loss about exactly how to save the VonSkoyas, I preyed upon the talents of Adrian of Stormwatch. He performed a vision song of such exquisite beauty that the answer came to him immediately. His vision was of a small pendant and a dagger. These were the very items that Marcus and Julian wore to protect them from losing their humanity. When the two VonSkoya men returned that night, Jatrina Sartosa and I explained to them what our true task was in Holmsong, and asked that they grant us their tokens to aid in the redemption of their Ravenholt Counterparts. As they had decided after destroying the Ambassador to give up Vampire hunting for a more quiet living, they agreed and wished us luck. I promised that if ever given the opportunity, I would return to Holmsong with the items to restore them to their proper owners.

Late that evening the forces of Ravenholt returned to our own true home. Once more, we journeyed to Malava's lair, finding her in the midst of her ritual. She was within her warded circle, guarded by the last two remaining NightGaunts. In the midst of the battle that ensued, I held on to the token given to me by Marcus while Gabriel of Stormwatch held Julian's dagger. When Malava was finally destroyed, I searched in vain for the NightGaunts. Gabriel reported that one had been slain and the other was missing. Just as I was about to give up hope, the last NightGaunt attacked out of the shadows. It came with an onslaught of undead, and the people of Ravenholt prepared to attack. Diligently guarded by Kai of the Isle, I waded through the brave warriors telling them not to attack the NightGaunt, only to defend against its claws. When I drew close enough that I was staring into it's depthless black face, I shouted the family name and held up the tokens. The creature stopped in the middle of its attack, obviously in the midst of an inner struggle. Eventually it fell to the floor, apparently dead. Then it began to change. Before my eyes the hideous form of the NightGaunt melted away to reveal the man I knew as Julian VonSkoya. He was dead, but a life spell could not restore him. I waited with the body until it dissipated, then returned with my comrades to a well deserved rest.

I though that that would be the end of the story, but when I awoke the next morning, I found Keyla waiting outside my door. She had been invested into the earth circle in Pike-in-the-Vale, and claimed that there was a spirit waiting for resurrection who was asking for me. She led me to the earth circle, and helped me to perform the resurrection. Through the dangers that lie beyond the grave, we brought the spirit back, urging it towards life once more. When we finished, Julian VonSkoya lay before us, the last of a proud line of warriors redeemed from the horrifying curse that he had suffered through fo so long. In that moment I knew that our victory against Malava was complete. Julian VonSkoya was escorted out of Pike-in-the-Vale by Malace of Eastwyck and is now a guest of the court in Coombe. May the VonSkoya name be forever remembered for its nobility and strength.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Tristemere for her insightful reading of the cards which inspired me to look beyond the blackness of the curse and see the Light of Truth.

On this day, the 8th if January 598, Lady Designate Bailiwick Stormhaven, Eastwyck

DRAGONSHIRE HOLDS WINTER FEAST
by Anabelle Drake Court Reporter for Dragonshire.

On December 20th 597, Countess Altair Lithill Ravenhurst held the annual Winter Feast in Dragonshire Hall, Dragonshire City. The Court of Dragonshire, The Court of Eastwyck, and guests were present. the evening began by quiet talk around the fire and simple refreshments.

Upon the arrival of Baroness Ganthe and Sir Victdar, the Countess called the courts to form two lines , some suspected to dance. They were surprised by the announcement of the naming of a Baron for Cumberland. Sir John Cardiff was called forward and asked to kneel. Countess Altair then named him the Baron of Cumberland and oaths were sworn to the Duchy and the Kingdom.

The Countess followed by stating that those present were not only the individual courts for their baronies, but made up together one court of Dragonshire. It is in recognition of this combined court that the Countess holds this feast to honor all who serve her and in turn serve the people of Ravenholt and Evendarr.

The dinner bell was sounded and all took their places at a sumptuous table. The Chefs were Ember, and Sarah. Toasts to the King, Prince Kevynn, Duke Roderick, and to the Countess began the festivities. The meal began with corn chowder, a specialty of Cumberland, followed by Shrimp Au Gratin, from Gadren Castle. and a Pineapple sorbet, a special gift from the Countess' Mother. A brief pause took place while guests talked at the table, and drinks were refreshed. The main course was Sirloin Roasts, Tomato and Broccoli cups, and Rosemary Potatoes with Caramelized Onions. Desserts were served on a buffet allowing everyone to socialize and relax. The evening was one of good cheer and relaxation from the trials of war and continued preparations for renewed attacks in the north. Sir Delahr sang the beginnings of a new composition, much inspired by the war, and by old favorites. Good cheer was had by all. The evening concluded with best wishes and new spirit to continue the fight against the Sessuar.

To anyone who is interested in helping build a new college of Arcane Arts, please contact Silverthorne of Capulus.

Stack and Houlie, what's this? The truest gypsy hearts in Ravenholt are declared Marhime by dead people and the other Rom are going along with it?! I will not accept this! Let the dead pass judgment on their own. Whatever others may say, you are still my brothers, and while you could not support me, I will support you. -Katya

To All the Citizens of Ravenholt: Capulus is looking for new members and is currently accepting petitions for membership. Please contact the Baron or Silverthorne for more information.

To the Court of Eastwyck:

I wish to thank you all for your efforts in the fight against Malava this January. In particular, to the newer members of the court, you held yourselves with all due grace and courtesy and performed every duty asked of you, above and beyond the call. Please know that your efforts did not go unnoticed, and you made me proud to call Eastwyck my home.

With Truest Heart,
Lady-designate
Bailiwick Stormhaven.

Fisherman: The fish you sold spoiled all too quickly. I wish to renegotiate our terms in the Spring at the Lake.
-Merchant

I would like to thank all of the people of Ravenholt who came at my call for help and destroyed the vampire Malava Von Perish. The tales of heroism and bravery about Ravenholt must be true, since I have witnessed the strength of the people first hand. I will be at your service if the need arises. Look to Aradia, where I will retire.
-Dr. Ignascious Mimbre

To Borax and Gabriel of Stormwatch: My many thanks for your Trust. It was a refreshing change. Sincerely Yours, Amra Asland Al-Quadim

In Search of: Everything! Desiring to start a Merchant's Guild in the Ravenholt area. Looking for Armor, weapons, potions, scrolls, elixirs, crystals, food, clothing, Information, etc. Kindly contact Amra Asland Al-Quadim.

The group Omega is now accepting candidates for Town Guardsmen and Guardswomen. do the right thing, work for justice! Contact Sheriff Logan in Ravenholt if interested.

Please remember to keep all public notices to 75 words or fewer!

I,Countess Altair Lithill Ravenhurst do hereby name Sir John Cardiff Baron of Cumberland. Sir John has served this Duchy since 588 as a knight of Cumberland. He was an officer in the Royal Army, and served as Brigadier of the Royal Army in Ravenholt. His service to the Duchy and the Kingdom of Evendarr has been long and true. Sir John Cardiff had been on the front working to break the siege at Longhope Castle and has been instrumental in the defenses of Cumberland and Dragonshire. It is with great pride that I name him Baron, May his service be long and may Cumberland prosper under his leadership.

Shep.

Shep served Countess Altair as Chef since 594 He temporarily left her service to work for the then Baron Winston of Eastwyck. Shep fled Eastwyck when he mistakenly believed that Eastwyck had been overrun with goblins upon the arrival of Winston who had transformed himself into a goblin to infiltrate Murdock's forces in the fall of 595. During a recent journey into Capulus, Shep fell victim to a succubus, under whose control he met his final death. The court of Dragonshire and the Countess mourn his loss. A reward is offered for information involving this succubus