General Bryony and the Crystal Crown

A century and more had passed since Blessed Navarr and Thorn awoke the trods and our  peoples have walked the land to weaken the hateful Vallorn. Terrans, now known as Navarr in honour of our greatest, fought well and hard against the Spring Curse. None moreso than Bryony.

Once a student of Thorn himself and a noble Terunael general, Bryony was a skilled warrior and leader whose sole dedication was towards defeating the Vallorn. Her spear was sharp and the knowledge of the Realms was sharp in her mind. Against spawn and the orc her ways of war  were cunning and effective, but even she, with keen foresight of battle, could not see a way to  defeat the Curse of fair Terunael and reclaim the lands. 

Attacks of fire, magic, or steel, failed to failed to dampen the hold on our ancient seats. Seven cities tainted, an Empire wasted. 

With each failed strategy Bryony looked further afield until at last she drew the attention of the eternal Zakalwe, the Master Strategist. The ways and theories of war were known to him and, in return for books, scrolls, histories and stories, the Eternal granted Bryony one Boon, and one question. 

"Tell me wise Zakalwe, how may I lead a force to defeat the Vallorn that inhabits our home?”  Bryony asked, fearful of the response. 

The Eternal considered her words and answered thus.

“There are three steps to triumph in any war. First you should know your enemy, its strengths and lack thereof. Second, your forces  should be ready to counter your foe’s strengths and prey upon their weakness. Finally, absolute commitment is required. Once you walk a path of conflict, doubt should never be in  your mind… Now what boon would you have, Shieldmaiden?” 

Bryony pondered these words for a while, then answered measured in tone.

“The Vallorn's strength is not in its creatures or husks… These we can defeat with spear and venom. Its power is in the poison curse it spreads that infects our warriors. A force immune to the miasma  would surely stride to victory.” 

An idea formed in her mind; Bryony’s clarity shone through.

“An army of crystal warriors  roused by the Beacon of the Day Realm could succeed!” 

Zakalwe nodded in thoughtful agreement.

“Your mages are more than skilled in their creation, but a general must lead such a force. I grant you this boon then. Take this schemata and forge its design. The wearer of the Crystal Crown will have the will and mastery of the mana that becomes the Spear.”

With that, the eternal and his herald turned away leaving Bryony hopeful for the first time in her life.

Skilled artisans were summoned and upon the last runeforge that the Terunael could use, a  gleaming circlet of crystal was forged. The guides placed it upon Bryony’s brow.  

One by one, the mana deposits, summoned by covens of Day, and blessed by the other realms magics, were awoken, and all marched to Bryony’s call.  On the eve of Winter, when the vallorn was at its weakest, the army of crystal entered the Greenweald. Never stopping for rest the force broke husk and dryad equally.

For seven days  they carved their way to the centre of Terunael till Bryony, who stood proud at the helm of the  gleaming wrath, found herself at the Fountain of Dawn at the centre of the Empire. Blessed by  this sight, one not seen in generations, Bryony felt weak. Though her army was immune to the poison taint, the Shieldmaiden was not. Her mortal shell failing, Bryony sat upon a carved throne in a great council hall. Releasing her last messenger crow to tell of her success, but ultimate failure. Noble Bryony, Commander of the Crystal Hope, issued her final order: “I must rest now, warriors guard my sleep.”  To this day, forged of the essence of magic and filled with hope they stand guarding their  leader, the crown of light that controls them still upon her brow.’ 

Bryony and the Crystal Crown, transcript of story provided by Varushkan storyteller

Introduction

During the Summer Solstice 382YE, the Advisor on the Vallorn, Siân Eternal commissioned research into "the life and eventual final fate of the Noble Terran General Bryony. The one who wore the crystal crown, forged in the last runeforge with a schemata granted by Zakalwe, the Weapon-wise. The crown led Bryony to lead a crystal army leading to her epitaph of Commander of the Crystal Hope."

Unfortunately, that research did not turn up any facts - and indeed strongly suggested that Bryony and her deeds may well have been completely fictitious.

General Bryony

Outside of this one obscure Navarr folk tale, there are no records of a "General Bryony". There is no reference to her as a pupil of Thorn, as a Terunael general, nor as an early founder of the Navarr nation. Likewise, they could find no references to an army called "the Crystal Hope". Indeed, those few Navarr storytellers and historians consulted were familiar with the story of Bryony only as something that had begun to circulate within the last few years rather than a true piece of early Navarr history. There were numerous conflicting details in their version of the story, but with diligence the researchers from the Department of Historical Research were able to put together what they believe is the original version of the tale.

It seems likely that the purpose of the story of "Bryony and the Crystal Crown" is to warn against the dangers of being too reliant on magical resources, or about the perils of allowing ones Ambition and Pride to overwhelm one's Wisdom. At least one story uncovered by the scholars researching the tale confirmed this supposition - and suggested the tale was actually quite recent perhaps explaining why none of the Navarr approached about it seemed familiar with it. Indeed, when questioned on the matter of the crystal crown by the Archmage of Day during a recent plenipotentiary, Zakalwe himself expressed confusion. The eternal claimed no knowledge of "an ancient crystal crown lost in Brocéliande". It is possible the General of Day was lying, but it seems unlikely given his character.

The Crystal Crown of Brocéliande

Following the request by the Advisor on the Vallorn, scholars from the Department of Historical Research combed the Empire for any reliable history or details regarding general Bryony, or the Crystal Crown of Broceliande. Unfortunately, they found nothing of any notable value. There simply did not appear to be a crystal crown as described in this tale - and as near as the researchers could find there never has been. During that time, the scholars managed to find three lines of inquiry regarding the crown, none of which appears to have presented any value what-so-ever.

The first "lead" came from the colleague of one of the scholars in the form of a Kallavesi scop who was asking for information regarding the crown in a tavern near the border with Hercynia. He reported being approached by a furtive individual called Oswi Quick Hands, a notorious maggot with a particularly poor reputation. Oswi offered to sell information about the crown to the skop for the "paltry" sum of fifteen Thrones. When that failed, he lowered his offer repeatedly until he was down to a single throne. When assured him that the Department simply didn't have that kind of money assigned to support the buying of information, the maggot then offered to sell the actual crown itself for five thrones. At this point, however, the inebriated maggot wasn't clear if it was a golden crown or a crystal crown and so understandably the scholar declined to take him up on his kind offer.

Slightly more usefully, a Dawnish troubadour who had spoken with a Varushkan storyteller claimed to know a story about General Bryony and the Crystal Crown of Brocéliande. The Varushkan apparently claimed to have learned the story from a pair of Navarr story-tellers and entertainers who confirmed to him that the entire story was a parable. They made it up to teach young citizens important lessons about life and to help guide them in the Great Dance. The Varushkan was eloquent about the story, claiming it was well written and well thought through, but he was very clear on the point that it was entirely fictitious. According to him there is no Crystal Crown of Brocéliande; it is a storyteller's tale and nothing more.

Finally, the researchers discussed the matter with some heralds of the Day realm, in the hope that they might be able to offer more information - although even there the quality of the heralds involved left something to be desired. One of the researcher's cousins lived near the Marcher town of Ashill near the hamlet of Puddle-Deep. The settlement is named for the particularly deep pond on the north side of the village, which is also home to a small puckish creature the locals called Fiddlesticks that can sometimes be bargained with to provide information on missing items. To be fair, Fiddlestick's abilities have always been confined to things lost within a few miles of the village - but short of a plentipotentiary with Kimus themselves, speaking to one of their heralds was our best bet. Sadly the herald was not able to provide any information of the location of the crystal crown - it's only response was to speak its own name when asked for help on the matter and then dive back into the waters.

A herald of Zakalwe queried on the matter merely repeated the same information as the eternal themselves had delivered - that they were unaware of any "General Bryony" in relationship to the Master Strategist, a magical scheme, or a crystalline crown. That is not to say that Zakalwe is not capable of offering boons relating to the creation of crystal guardians, but the herald was reasonably certain that the Hunter of Tides had never offered a boon of such magnitude as the story described to anyone - and even if they did they would be unlikely to provide a unique schema.

The Limitations of Historical Research

The story of General Bryony and her marvellous crystal crown perhaps underlines one of the limitations of Historical research. It is impossible to categorically say that general Bryony did not exist. It is likewise impossible to say for certain that the story about her crystal crown and her invasion of Brocéliande did not happen - after all there are plenty of examples of real historical events becoming distorted over time or transforming into children's tales that nonetheless bear a fragment of truth within them. Yet at the same time, it is dangerous to assume that every such story contains an element of truth.

Unless further information comes to light, it is the opinion of the Imperial Archivist and his peers in the Department that the story of general Bryony and her crown is simply that - a story that has been told with innocent intent but has been heard as having some deeper truth which it simply does not possess. Such misunderstandings occur all too easily, and are notoriously difficult to disentangle from the facts.