Eve of Harrowing

Beginning of the Harrowing

On midnight of the 29th of Winter's Morning, jet black runes inlaid into the floor of the cavern begin glowing with an ethereal light. The circle of runes that mark the veil between Káto and the Lost Paths are invisible to the normal eye, only seen through the heightened vision of Káto denizens. For most of the year, these runes do not exist, only appearing when the Harrowing is near. On this night, the ring of ancient writing glows bright, for the Harrowing has come alive.
As the circle glows brighter, a bubbling mass of black begins to come alive, boiling and splattering like heated pitch. For a day's worth of hours, the bubbling mass will grow, quickly becoming a dark and menacing figure, a castle of sickly spires and windows, round and deep-set like sunken eyes. With the haunted look of the castle, one can only imagine that instead of a haunted structure, the castle itself may be a twisted individual, struck with a powerful spell that turned them into this monstrosity.
When the castle at last pulls itself free from its earthly sleep, the ring of ancient runes goes dark, once again blending into the precarious ground of Káto. The castle of the Harrowing is shrouded in shadows, once again only visible to those of the otherworldly vision of Káto dwellers. Light is not exuded from the castle, but the heat....the heat of something that could only have a beating heart, a creature of the depths of Káto that no one has ever seen, or lived to tell about.
The round windows glow bright with heat, alighting the eyes of the castle as midnight once again comes. When the castle awakens, a bell tolls deep from within, ringing in the new year of the Harrowing, daring those of Káto and the Lost Paths to enter a place that falls neither here nor there, a place even the greatest of Warriors skirt around in hopes of saving themselves from the fate of becoming another rune in the ring of summoning.

Historical Basis

While the Eve of the Harrowing is told as a myth, most often to scare children, there are those in Káto that have survived the night and its castle to tell the story. Those survivors are few and far between, leaving their stories more to the myths and legends of ancient instead of actual fact.
The story of the castle and the Harrowing go back to the early days of the Silver Elves, long before the Huntress took her revenge on those that would hurt her dark children. The myth of the Harrowing and its odd events are said to be as old as Káto and the Lost Paths, but no one may never know the truth of the event.

Spread

This myth is known far and wide throughout Káto and the Lost Paths, but it also runs rampant in the Wandering Forest. Most creatures use the terrible myth surrounding the night and the castle to ward others away from the place, especially those that do not possess the heightened vision of Káto peoples.

Date of First Recording

Unknown

Related Ethnicities

• Silver Elf Culture

Related Species

• Silver Elves

Related Locations

• Káto
• Lost Paths