The Tragedy of Eryshale

In 1022 EP, the village of Eryshale in the Reach was a prosperous and peaceful community of 150 souls, known for its fertile fields and vibrant traditions. Among its residents was Jareth Fayn, a humble schoolteacher with a reputation for patience and kindness. Unbeknownst to his neighbors, Jareth was a Psychomancer who had hidden his gift for nearly twenty years, fearing the loss of his freedom if his secret were to be discovered.
For years, Jareth managed to suppress his powers, but Psychomancy is a demanding and insidious current. Over time, the strain began to take its toll. He suffered from headaches, confusion, and an increasing inability to distinguish his thoughts from those of others. The people of Eryshale began to notice strange occurrences: a farmer who dug for hours in his fields with no explanation, children crying out in the night for reasons they couldn’t explain, and an unease that seemed to settle over the entire village.
The breaking point came during the Festival of Lanterns, a celebration of harvest and community. On that fateful winter night, Jareth’s powers finally overwhelmed him. Survivors described an abrupt and suffocating shift in the atmosphere before chaos erupted. Villagers turned on one another in mindless violence, friends and families tearing each other apart under Jareth’s influence. He drove his students, mere children, to slit their own throats, claiming he needed their silence to think. He compelled others to burn their homes and fields, reducing Eryshale to ash and blood.
When enforcers of the High Magus Council arrived days later, summoned by a passing trader, only four survivors remained. The rest of the village lay in ruins, corpses strewn across the charred earth. Jareth himself was found seated atop a throne of bodies he had willed the survivors, their minds now broken, to construct. Jareth's mind was completely fractured. He was neutralized swiftly, but not before warning the enforcers with his last breath: “It’s never quiet. Not here. Not anywhere.”
The Council declared the area a forbidden zone, abandoning the site to the wild. A simple stone marker was placed at the village’s center, inscribed: “Here lies Eryshale. A lesson carved in blood and flame. May we never forget the price of silence.” The name Eryshale serves as a dire warning to all who would defy the Covenant of the Wisdoms.

Purpose

This is an account of the Tragedy of Eryshale, which serves the purpose of showing the public the dangers of allowing Psychomancers to retain their personal autonomy.

Type

Record, Historical

Location

Eryshale