The Carrion Crown

"Blood spilt atop the Iron Thorn/ Invokes that’d which cannot be born./ Arise the Tyrant now unbound,/ Bearer of the Carrion Crown!"

  The Carrion Crown appears to be a ritual or relic of some sort, as detailed in the Ciphered Poem, that can be used to free the Whispering Tyrant from his prison at Gallowspire. The force most recently driving this effort was Auren Vrood of the Whispering Way. It was Vrood's callous murder of Professor Petros Lorrimor in Ravengro that led to the Fellowship of the Sun's direct intervention. As the Fellowship pursued Vrood out of Lepidstadt, through the Shudderwood, and hurtled towards Feldgrau, they began to learn that it was not the Whispering Way cultist who was driving this cataclysmic scheme. In fact, in a series of letters from someone who simply called themselves "A", it was revealed to them that it was this mysterious other that commanded Vrood to perform these abhorrent acts. In fact "A" seemed to admire the Fellowship's efforts and cautioned them against further involvement against their plans, advice the Fellowship chose not to heed. As the Fellowship resolutely trailed after Vrood, they learned that the Carrion Crown required specific components that were necessary for the ritual's success. As they understand it so far, the ritual would need:

• the Keeper of the Damned's Soul (Lyvar Hawkran, Warden of Harrowstone Prison),
• the Packlord's Heart (Kvalca Sain, leader of the werewolves), and
• the Skull of Splintered Graves (created from the bones of innocents buried in Feldgrau).

However it has been difficult in attempting to wrest these objects away from the Way. Vrood had split the components up and sent a dark rider for each in a different direction, namely Carrion Hill and Thrushmoor. Through the Fellowship's undogged investigations, it became clear that other elements were important to the Whispering Way that could be used towards the weakening of the wards and ley lines that help to keep the Whispering Tyrant imprisoned. In Professor Lorrimor's letter to Professor Crowl, Lorrimor gives examples of ways that this could be done, including:

• the catastrophic-scale destruction of landscape, similar to what was wrought by the War Without Rivals in the Furrows,
• repeated use of reality altering magic,
• or the summoning of reality altering outsider, an Outer God or a Great Old One for certain lengths of time (the summoning of the Spawn of Yog-Sothoth in Carrion Hill is the most recent example of this).

The Whispering Way also seeks or already possesses several additional relics that can aid their plight of freeing the Tyrant. The known elements so far include:

• the Sea-Sage Effigy (an idol in the likeness of Great Cthulhu),
• the Star Moit (a piece of skymetal which is currently entrapping the Spawn of Yog-Sothoth), and
• the Pnakotic Manuscript (a forbidden tome currently in the possession of leng ghoul Yareesh who resides in the catacombs beneath Carrion Hill).

It is not immediately know at this time if these items are necessary for the ritual in addition to the Carrion Crown components or if they are part of an overarching plan to release the Tyrant. The Fellowship finally caught up to Auren Vrood in Feldgrau and was finally able to eliminate his menace, but not without experiencing its own suffering. The loss of Professor Petros Lorrimor and the senselessness of his death still weighs heavy on the Fellowship. Two of the original Fellows, Barclay Thompson and Falstaff, chose to remain behind or leave for parts unknown instead of continuing the hunt. Drago Beumhal would be lost and regained, Vanamoinen the Deathless would be gained and then lost. Neferu Sehetep and Kelath Breen would soldier on, but not without paying their own prices. Daniel Ravenborn would elect to remain in Feldgrau to purge the village of its undead scourge. The still relatively new and enigmatic Kyrrn and her shadowy counterpart Nyrrk play some pivotal role as part of The Troika in defeating the Whispering Way and the Whispering Tyrant, but even they do not fully know what that is.   Now, the Fellowship of the Sun has set its sights on Thrushmoor and the Dark Riders who have journeyed there...