Page 130 - Curse of Strahd_Neat

CHAPTER 7: ARGYNVOSTHOLT

HEN STRAHD DROVE HIS ENEMIES INTO THE ORDER OF THE
the valley long ago, determined to anni­
hilate them, the last thing he expected SILVER DRAGON
to encounter was a silver dragon. The death of Argynvost enraged the spirit of Vladimir
The dragon, who called himself Horngaard, the greatest of the dragon's knights. Horn­
Argynvost, had come to the valley gaard returned as a revenant and swore to avenge the
years earlier in the guise of a nobleman destruction of the order. His zeal was so great that it
named Lord Argynvost. The dragon also brought back the spirits of several other knights,
didn't lair in the valley solely because of its idyllic
beauty. He knew of a place called the Amber Temple-a who rose as revenants under Vladimir's command.
The vengeful revenants killed many of Strahd's sol­
repository of evil power guarded by the forces of good. diers, and whenever the undead knights were cut down,
Argynvost wanted to make sure that whatever was their spirits found new corpses to inhabit. Though the
trapped inside the Amber Temple wouldn't be allowed knights were grossly outnumbered, they waged war for
to escape, so he built his fortified mansion, Argynvost­
holt, close by. months and slew hundreds of foes.
Like many silver dragons, Argynvost was extraordi­ When Strahd died and became a vampire, Vladimir's
narily wealthy, and he was comfortable living among knights should have gone to their everlasting rest,
humans while disguised as one of them. He used his but their spirits couldn't leave Strahd's domain. They
marched to Castle Ravenloft and were confronted by
resources to attract other champions of good, and valor­ the Vistani seer Madam Eva, who told them Strahd
ous knights flocked to the valley to join Lord Argynvost's
prestigious Order of the Silver Dragon. Only those who had died, only to become a prisoner in his own land,
were initiated into the order were told of Lord Argyn­ tormented by the death of his beloved Tatyana and the
vost's true nature. murder of his brother Sergei.
During the war between Strahd and his foes, the Or­ After receiving that news, Vladimir ceased his ad­
der of the Silver Dragon drove away malefactors search­ vance and led his knights back to Argynvostholt. He
ing for the Amber Temple. It also sheltered Strahd's realized that Strahd had already died and been damned
enemies and proved more than a match for Strahd's to a hell of his own creation. With nowhere else to go
and nothing else to do, Vladimir set his knights to kill­
battle-weary soldiers. But the early victories of the order
didn't win the war. Even with Argynvost on their side, ing Strahd's agents and anyone else who might help to
the knights were ultimately overwhelmed when Strahd's ease Strahd's torment. Consumed by hatred, the knights
reinforcements swept into the valley. Those forces slew have lost their honor and nobility. Their redemption
the last of the knights and battled the dragon inside hinges on whether Vladimir can set aside that hatred.
Argynvostholt. After the dragon was slain, Strahd had The undead knight can be found brooding in the ruins
its corpse hacked to pieces, stripped to the bone, and of Argynvostholt.
transported to Castle Ravenloft as a trophy.
Since the dragon's death, Argynvostholt has become
a haunted ruin, a former bastion of nobility and light
turned into a place of desolation and unrest.

l WAS LOOKING AT DEAD MEN. BEFORE
another hour passed, I'd send them
wailing on their way to rotting hell.
All of them.
-Str�c_! von Zarovich
in I, Strahd: The Merriqirs of a Vampire