**
Connects to: 16.16, 16.16.05, 21.12 and 28.2‘1.
The Cuckoo Count rules here. Mounts: At Castle Steadfast (20.13) the knights ride on mules. Despite the derision heaped upon them by the other lords, the mules are steady and reliable, and many are the stories of a Steadfast man who was pulled to safety by his faithful mount (07.21).
Charles was once a handsome but unremarkable chef in the kitchens of Castle Steadfast, the largest Thringish fortification after Castle Tarengael (16.16) itself. While Lord Steadfast sported at war with the Lords Sanguine, Charles took it upon himself to warm Lady Steadfast’s bed.
The follies of a bored noblewoman could have passed like snow in spring but for the capture of Lord Steadfast. His ransom took months to negotiate, by which time Charles had lain in Lady Steadfast’s bed for a year and a day.
The orthodox Magister of Castle Steadfast – a pinch-nosed man who, the washerwomen say, fancied Lady Steadfast for himself – ruled that Charles must continue to occupy the Lady’s bed in perpetuity. Lord Steadfast could either sue for divorce and lose his title or sleep elsewhere knowing he was cuckolded each night. A proud man, the once Lord Steadfast cleft his lead circlet in twain and rode away.
Charles rules well, but is not warmly regarded by the clergy – many of whom believe that the Law of a Year and a Day was wrongly applied. He has taken the cuckoo for his heraldry and is not shy in demanding the ancient rights of a Lord Steadfast.
Connections:
- This happening stems from the unique laws of the Duchy of Thring.
- The cuckolded former Lord Steadfast has died and become a vengeful spirit (21.12).
- The older sister of the Lady of Steadfast was transformed into a horrible mermaid after her younger sister sold her off into slavery (28.21).
- With the (near) extinction of horses, the knights of Steadfast have taken to riding mules (16.16.05).
Hooks:
- What was the Magister’s intention?
- What is the former Lord Steadfast doing now?
- What does the court at Castle Tarengael make of Lord Charles Steadfast?
- Along with Magisters, what other positions are there in the Church of the Green Lady?
- If the lead circlet was cleft, what does Charles wear?
- What are the ancient rights of a Lord Steadfast?
- Do Charles’ men serve him loyally?
Lord Cameron Steadfast
In pre-Thringish times the House of Stodfost was known for its staunch defense against the predations of the unseelie elves (who have since disappeared, see 29.07). Each lord of the Stodfost line was interred here, and their ghosts remain, ever watching the north for sign of invasion. After the rise of Thring, Stodfost became Steadfast, and many of the old ways were lost, but this tradition continued.
Then came Lord Cameron Steadfast, the cuckolded count. After leaving his ancestral home, he travelled far and wide before finally meeting his death in a dreary and forgotten place, at the hands of a being of purest evil. The manner of his death made of him a bodak, a vengeful spirit tainted by darkness. He returned to Castle Steadfast, intending to slay the usurper Charles and his treacherous wife. However, the power of the old foundations of the castle have prevented him from entering. Instead, he spends his time haunting the smallfolk who live around the castle (in 21.12). Some Thringmen have tried to slay it for glory or blood-debt, but they have failed, and besides they will be disappointed to learn that bodaks cannot bleed.
Charles the Cuckold knows of the bodak and is shrewdly avoiding leaving his castle. However, he is unaware that the third floor privy is in fact built out beyond the original foundations. The bodak would like to trick Charles into going to the privy, which is usually used for servants, but he knows not how.
Deep down, the bodak of Cameron Steadfast remembers his ancient calling to guard the barrow with his forefathers. The ghosts in the barrow are extremely displeased with this turn of events and will do anything in their power to bring their descendant back in line. If the bodak is forced to face up to his own betrayal, he will choose to give up his revenge and go to the barrow. For him to find true rest, however, his body must be found and interred, and the taint of evil must be cleansed from his ghostly soul.
Hooks
- Why did the unseelie elves threaten the Stodfost lands? Were they exempted from the contract with The Prince of Men, or was this before the Prince of Men was born?
- Where are the unseelie elves now?
- What terrible evil slew Cameron Steadfast, and where?
