Chapter 4 - Lymronia, Country of the Four Seasons

We find our heroes ready to embark on perilous adventures on the continent of Hyriel, and more specifically in the region of Lymronia. Lymronia is a land divided into four principalities named Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter because of their eternally frozen climate. These principalities are ruled by four princesses: Vera, Princess of Autumn; Féodora, Princess of Spring; Mayli, Princess of Summer; and Guenievre, Princess of Winter.
A long time ago, when Queen Mayal, mother of the four princesses, was about to decide on the succession to the throne of her kingdom, she put a curse on her daughters. The four sisters were constantly jealous of each other, plotting against each other in the hope of inheriting the crown, so Queen Mayal, who loved her daughters and loved lecturing them even more, cast a Time-Hunting curse on them. This curse locked each of them separately and forever in a region of Lymronia.
Queen Mayal was Matron of the Seasons, just as Gar'Awall, King of Itlan, has been Patron of the Seasons since the year 726. Matrons and Patrons of the Seasons are humans born with a certain affinity for the elements and the changing weather. So when Mayal stuck her daughters in one area of Lymronia, she locked them each in a different season.
The Queen's decision may seem odd, but you see, these four girls were evil: they were even nicknamed the Poison Sisters for their systematic habit of poisoning anyone who stood (or whom they imagined stood) in their way. Now, thought their mother, the princesses could no longer ravage the country with their petty wars...
And so Lymronia became the Country of the Four Seasons.

In 731, Marnordir and its initiates became so powerful that the Empire began to fear them, and devised various stratagems to bring down this "unbearable bunch of cockroaches!" The Emperor Daryen was getting on in years, thinking about the future of the Empire and the ever-growing threat that his son Maximilien would face upon the emperor’s death. Especially since Marnordir had managed to obtain Spells as powerful as those created during the DursTor war.
The Emperor Daryen was going to prove to them (those good-for-nothing magicians) that he wasn't dead yet and that he wouldn't admit defeat as long as there was a single breath of life left in him. Counting two Initiates in his ranks warmed his heart a little. Taking matters into his own hands, Daryen led several more or less successful operations, one of which involved the Country of the Four Seasons. He was too old to hunt down his enemies, and his soldiers were busy protecting his lands, so he entrusted some of his operations directly to the people. Well, mostly to the nobles.
He made an offer to the four princesses of Lymronia, who had hated each other for centuries: the first to bring him a living, fettered Initiate would be freed from the curse and could rule over the four principalities of Lymronia. What's more, she could decide the fate of her three sisters. Daryen assured them that he had found a foolproof way to lift the curse. In addition to freedom, he promised that the first person to capture an Initiate and hand them over alive would receive endless riches and immunity for all future crimes, except against the Empire itself, of course.
The four princesses of Lymronia were highly intelligent. Their strength came mainly from this fact: they were formidable, and people tended to forget that... The emperor made sure that all four sisters received his message at the same time: on the day of the Celebration of the Seasons. The Celebration of the Seasons was Lymronia's biggest festival of the year. The four principalities celebrated. Each princess received a visit from an imperial messenger, and each court was turned upside down in a different way. The princesses took the whole missive as a sign: in the midst of the Celebration of the Seasons, their luck had finally changed.
Driven by their blood ties, they met, without consulting each other, on the border of the four principalities to decide what to do next. There they talked for a day and a night. In the early hours of the following morning, they drew lots, each plucking a twig from the Tree of the Four Seasons to decide which of them would have to carry out the most difficult part of the plan they had just drawn up.
Then they returned to their respective castles and, each in their own way, hastened the decline of the great Emperor Daryen’s reign... Meanwhile, on every continent, the Alliance did its utmost to limit the damage caused by the creatures that had escaped from DursTor. Too powerful to be channeled by mere mortals, they were a real threat to everyone. What's more, Marnordir and his companions weren’t out of the woods yet, for they soon had to face the kidnapping of two Initiates...
The Poison Sisters' plan involved a lot of high-profile people. True to form, the princesses of Lymronia changed the course of history, with grand drama and in three acts.
Act One - The Bait
Mayli, Princess of Summer, did her part by organizing a rulvar hunt in the dry lands of her principality. She kidnapped Hantius, one of the four Initiates still loyal to Marnordir, and forced him to take part in this perilous entertainment. Hantius fared rather well under the clear skies and on the scorching lands of Summer, even if one of the creatures nearly ripped off his arm. Of course, the young Initiate from El-Mataq was able to enjoy the mad chase and have some childlike fun without worrying about anything, since he was unaware of the deal made between the princesses of Lymronia and the Emperor Daryen.
He wondered a little about the unorthodox way in which he had been invited to take part in this prestigious hunt (a proper kidnapping, after all), but at no time during his stay in the Summer principality did he think of a trap. And with good reason: the princess made sure he was comfortable the whole time. Two servants followed him discreetly at all times to see to his every need, and to make matters worse, Mayli herself paid him royal attention...
As for Princess Vera, she organized a spectacular joust in the more temperate principality of Autumn. She abducted Shania, another of the four Initiates still loyal to Marnordir; the moment Shania arrived in Autumn, the princess slipped her into a suit of armor, put her on a horse and threw her into the competition. The Initiate didn't fare as well as Hantius and his rulvar hunt: she broke her leg and a few ribs, only to finish seventh! Fortunately, Princess Vera took good care of Shania and, through her thoughtfulness and coaxing, succeeded in making the Marnordir initiate forget her misfortunes.
Féodora, in her great indulgence, officially offered asylum to the Initiate Aodh, who, after fleeing the ruins of DursTor half-dead, had been disowned by Marnordir. With nowhere to go and more enemies on his tail than he could count, Aodh readily accepted the Princess of Spring’s invitation.
Féodora may have had a lot to lose by forging an alliance with the dreaded Initiate, but she also had something to gain. For despite the madness that consumed him and the hatred that everyone held for him, Aodh was still an Initiate, and the deal didn't specify which inclination the Initiate had to be... To celebrate this new arrangement, the princess organized a sumptuous country feast during which she found she had more than just common ground with the dark Aodh...
The beautiful Guenievre invited the emperor and his two initiates, Mina and Piyrel, to a banquet of opulence and magnificence hitherto unmatched in the principality of Winter. The princess wanted to thank the emperor for the opportunity he had given them to free themselves. She also wanted to meet the two Initiates of the Empire to learn about their strengths and weaknesses.

Act Two - The Trap
The princesses of Lymronia now had their bait. The trap was ready to close on the victim.
Vera and Mayli had put their guests at ease enough to use their charms and legendary persuasiveness. Thus, Hantius and Shania signed a treaty with the Autumn and Summer princesses and offered them the most powerful Spells ever created in the world of Moonga: Aodh the luminous and Aodh the dark. Indeed, when Dursa and Torrece's palace collapsed, Aodh begged forgiveness and tried to appease Marnordir and the Initiates by offering them the two Spells he had made himself. Marnordir, who had seen so many others, took the Spells in question, along with all those in Aodh's possession, and sent him off forever. Marnordir then entrusted Aodh the Luminous to Shania and Aodh the Dark to Hantius.
In the principality of Spring, Aodh spent his stay being duped by Féodora. The princess promised him the best of everything. She assured him that for all these centuries, she had been waiting for him to take her out of her dreary existence. Féodora obtained from the former Initiate everything she wanted, until she led him to his ruin. One fine spring day, the beautiful princess guided Aodh, not without an ulterior motive, to the Tree of the Four Seasons...

The emperor and his two Initiates enjoyed a pleasant time in Winter, when Guenievre bolstered her hosting skills and outdid herself. The princess swore allegiance to the emperor for the second time that year - for those who don't know, all clans and authorities on the Four Continents must swear allegiance to the emperor every year. Guenievre devoted herself to entertaining her guests night and day, sometimes playful and funny, sometimes serious and receptive: the model confidante, perhaps even the daughter he'd never had.
And distinguishing herself from her sisters in Daryen's eyes couldn't hurt... The princess's efforts were not in vain: Daryen planned to make Winter Castle his main residence on the continent of Hyriel. Guenievre had set her trap and it was closing little by little, until that cold, frosty day when the princess led the emperor on a stroll along the border of the four principalities.
Act Three - The Patsy
In order for you to understand that a little can go a long way, I'd like to transcribe here a small part of the conversation that lasted a day and a night between the four princesses of Lymronia.
I refuse to lay my hands on that vile scum! He disgusts me! I refuse, too! You've got to be kidding me! We'll never get out of this if you keep squawking like hens! Somebody's got to do it. Well, let's draw lots!
That morning, the sun was rising over Lymronia and the four daughters of the great Mayal, who had not seen each other for centuries, had put aside their differences to free themselves of the curse that had weighed on them for so many years. When they drew to a close, it was Féodora who drew the short straw, and who was chosen to carry out her lengthy mission of seduction. The princesses knew right from the start who would be the weakest and most easily influenced. As I said earlier, the Poison Sisters were intelligent, although we often forgot it...
To achieve their goal, they needed a few things: a weapon, a victim and a patsy. For the weapon, Vera and Mayli took it upon themselves to buy the Aodh the Luminous and Aodh the Dark Spells from Hantius and Shania in return for full support and an assassination. Lymronia had joined the Marnordir Alliance politically and militarily, and the sisters undertook to eliminate a very troublesome enemy to prove their good faith.
The two sisters of Lymronia then arranged to give the famous Spells to the patsy. With the weapon in his pocket, the patsy made his way to the Tree of the Four Seasons without the slightest idea of the murder he was about to commit. So Guenievre, Mina, Piyrel, Féodora and Aodh found themselves at the foot of the Tree of the Four Seasons at the same time...
On the orders of his beloved princess, Aodh used Spells against the Emperor Daryen and his retinue.
Mayli and Vera, who were hiding nearby to enjoy the spectacle, were soon joined by Féodora and Guenievre, who didn't want to be in the Spells’ line of fire.
Aodh, who had long since lost his mind, carried out a massacre with the Spells. Nothing remained of the bodies of the Emperor and his Initiates but a drizzle of mushy red matter...
Daryen was dead at last, and the sisters of Lymronia turned a page in Moonga's great history together.

The Spells didn't destroy the Tree of the Four Seasons or free the sisters from the curse, which, from their point of view, was for the best, since the curse Queen Mayal had cast on her daughters was a Time-Hunting Spell which, as its name suggests, hunts time by keeping it at bay. It locks people in their current condition. And everyone knows that princesses are vain... Why would they choose to grow old and lift the curse that would keep them young and beautiful forever? And why, they might ask, would they throw themselves into the jaws of death?
And so Moonga changed, plunging into the darkest period of its history...