Yor'vëo, the Aged Man of the Swamps (Ancient Ferdian: [᚛ᚐᚁᚆᚐᚏᚈᚐᚉᚆ ᚜])

Or 'How the Breaking of Taboos leads to a Dreadful Fate."

Lord of Ticks & Leeches

"My first encounter with the Crooked Man was during a small expedition into the marshlands of Thenerhion, having been asked by the local Brotherhood to investigate the mysterious disappearances of elderly men and women. After following a few suspicious persons, and tracing down the vanished folk's last steps, I had discovered that an old human fort had been left abandonned and slowly sinking into sludge and peat of the marsh. Whilst I had expected some kind of woodland critter or monstrosity to have dragged raving old men into its lair at night, I had not expected what followed. Deep in the drowning hallways of the old fort, I found mounds of the dead old elderly, gutted and fermenting like fish. After having fought back the need to spew my meager luncheon, I discovered on the walls the painted figure of a cloaked man, with eight arms and legs, and two faces. Each limb was bent so that they knotted into the other, in such a fashion that he appeared crooked. I knew then, that I had bit off far more than I could chew, but what can I say... I like a good mystery."

- Day 255, year 561 PR, 'Blooded' Helfeirch Drustan's Diary.

Summary

There once lived a young fir who had fled from her home in fear of her duties towards her tribe. She crossed the boundaries of her haven at night, and stepped into the waking world where the dark of the night blinded her vision. Enraptured by the distant lights, she followed the wispy guidance of the unknown and approached a great forest where the waters of the ocean had stilled.
Amazed by her newfound discovery, the young fir walked through the woods speaking to the trees and beasts of the land, though they did not answer her questions and wonder. As she explored further ahead, her hunger was kindled, and she failed to find the way back to her haven. She asked the flowers and trees for the road ahead, but none answered - as if afraid or silent or dead.
So she found a crooked little peat flower, who whispered to her not to follow the lights further into the swamps. Instead, she could wait for daybreak, and sit with the flower to keep her company. Yet her hunger remained unsated, and she desperately began to starve. Just when she thought the flower was fast asleep, it implored her to remain some more.
Full of sorrow for the little thing, the young fir remained until her stomach growled and she needed to forage for food. Heedless of the flower's warnings, the fir delved deeper into the woodlands where she found a large house that dug into the walls of a cliff. The house was beautiful, bigger than any the fir had laid eyes upon, and thus she knocked at the door.
Inside, she found an elderly Edel, whose face and body was cloaked. He invited her into his home, seeing that she starved, and sat her at his table. By rules of hospitality, the young fir should not have ask why the Edel would not show his facee, but prompted anyway, and thus the Edel answered: 'I was born without one. It frightens my guests.' He gifted her fruits to eat, and mead to drink, and let her sate her appetite.
Yet the food was unsightly, and although she ate she was still hungry. The fir greedily asked for more, and thus the Edel obliged, gifting her more fruits to eat, and mead to drink, and she grew to love this food, and did not notice the Edel had not eaten any of his own. He continued to feed her, and she continued to hunger, until there came a time she could no longer knew the meaning of fulfillment.
And the fir continued, and the Edel fed her, until one day - for they had spent weeks together - the Edel gave her a little peat flower to eat. And eat it she did, for she had shown neither restraint nor patience. But when the flower screamed as she was swallowed by her friend, the Fir came to her senses, and cried in horror at what she had done. The Crooked Man had tricked her, as he had many others.
He rose three fingers, bent sideways and knotted with many others, and said: 'You have sinned thrice. You have asked me a question you should not. You have feasted in my house and greedily asked for more. You have fed on the flesh of a friend.' Terrified of her crimes, the fir tore her own eyes out in horror, and tried to leave but could no longer see. The Crooked Man cackled as darkness took her sight away, and spoke thusly:
"From now on, you are my servant, and hunger shall never leave your belly. The sun will burn you, and nothing holy will ever be pleased by you, for you have broken the honour of your code." And her hunger grew so that she turned gaunt, and frothed at the mouth, and her teeth became that of a wolf or a bat.
"You tricked me!" the young Fir pleaded, but then remembered the little flower who had warned her to wait for daybreak, and realised she had given way to hunger. And the Crooked Man laughed: "I have! And so you shall trick others to sate their hunger like you have. And when you do, you will know but the briefest glimpse of satisfaction, but you will serve nonetheless."
And until this day, the young fir served the Crooked Man, and she tricked many into devouring their friends and families, and they became like her. Hunger itself. Beware the Crooked Man, for his kindness is false, and his fruit are like leeches upon the soul.

Historical Basis

Intriguingly enough, few other cultures but that of An Fir-bholg have an explanation for blood-drinking undead. That said, the tale of the Crooked Man is endemic to the lands of the Kingdom of An Arwyn., to the northwest of Aedelwynn, where many Fir Havens were built. It is to be assumed that there came a time when great famine fell upon the Havens there, and as a result some cannibalised one another.
This likely led to many tales being spoken to dissuade such dishonorable behaviour, and though the Crooked Man in this tale is victorious, many following folk tales see the heroes prevail, though the Elder of the Swamps is never truly defeated. Since 561 PR, we have confirmation that something lived in the Thenerhion marshlands albeit thanks to the hard work and endeavours of the Brotherhood of the Damned whatever it was has been destroyed.
Nevertheless, the tale of the young Fir and the Crooked Man remains popular in such a devastated land. Food is often scarce there, and living off the marshlands requires patience, restraint and sacrifice. The 'fruit' the Crooked Man gave to the young Fir was sometimes believed to be the ticks and leeches that fill themselves with the blood of poor fellows lost in the swamps, though is mostly depicted as apples or acorns when told for children.
A common practice among local Havens of An Arwyn was to burn any ticks and leeches they could find, to ward away the marshland's evil spirits. Finally, the 'crooked flower' however represents a fellow victim of the Crooked Man, who was abandonned by her newfound friend. Devouring this flower wantonly was an evident metaphor for cannibalism.

Spread

The Tale of the Crooked Man is endemic to the Kingdom of An Arwyn. It has not truly spread any further, due to the lack of necessity, as well as its origins in An Fir-bholg lore. Nonetheless, it has spread amongst many occultists, 'Helfeirch Taibhse", and people in search of the bizarre. The legend and those associated to it sometimes believe the Crooked Man to be real, though any attempt at proving such things have proven futile. Conspiracy theorists believe that the Brotherhood and the Order of the Bleeding Stone, the knightly order of An Arwyn, actively stifle and silence those who preach such drivel.

Variations & Mutation

In some more hopeful cases, the flower warns the Fir before she can eat her, and the Fir tries to run away as fast as she can. In other cases, the Crooked Man lets her go, but follows her back to her home where he causes a great famine to happen to her family and friends. In the dirests retellings, she loses herself in the marsh and dies alone after abandonning the flower in the Crooked Man's house, devoured by the ticks and leeches of the swamps. Most Fir-bholg folk tales do not have happy endings.

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"Beware, beware Yor'vëo, whose breath is death, and voice is deft,
and trick you he shall into mourning."

Legends of An Fir-bholg.

The Crooked Man of the Marsh

"'Did I kill 'im?' By th'Lord, no! I bound 'im. 'n I weren't 'lone! 't took an army o' blood knights 'n priests from th'Brotherhood tah do 't. Me chain broke 'n I lost me leg 'n hand; 'n th'foul thin' still haunts me nightmares, but we go' 'im. 'n even then he's still livin', th'old bastard. Sealed 'im in stone 'n th'stone still fockin' bleeds."

- Drustan Mac Tuorn

Date of First Recording

In 561 PR, by Drustan Mac Tuorn

Date of Setting

Believed to be older than the Fading Era.

Related Ethnicities

• Ancient An Tuana
• Wilder People

Related Species

• An Edel - The Race of the Elves.
• An Fir-bholg - The Race of Giants.
• An Tuana - The Race of Men.

Related Locations

• Thenerhion Marshlands

Related People

• Drustan Mac Tuorn

Related Organizations

• The Order of the Bleeding Stone

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The Crooked Man of the Marsh as a lesser Power:

"The Crooked Man is a folklore figure that has the powers of a lesser deity. As a Power he is subject to the sacrifices and cannibalistic tendencies of his followers. He is the God of Vampires, Cannibals and Murderers."

Domains:

• Blood, Death;

The Crooked Man of the Marsh as a warlock Patron:

"The Crooked Man is the father of vampires across Aedelwynn, as well as a powerful necromancer who has no qualms in devouring the living and the dead. There are always ways to gain power from his presence..."

Patron Pacts:

• Undead, Undying;

Alignments:

LG	NG	CG
LN	TN	CN
LE	NE	CE

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"He gave her fruit to eat, and mead to drink,
and let her sate her appetite, yet she greedily craved for more."

Credit goes to: Marcin Przybyłowicz