In ancient times there lived two sisters – two little orphans that were taken in by their grandmother. The older sister, Isae (eye-S), was plain and quiet while her younger sister, Enea (A –nah), just a few years younger, was a pretty, little girl that was warm and outgoing. The pretty Enea was admired and adored by all, everyone wanted her around, whereas the plain Isae was picked on and ridiculed by the other children and ignored by most adults.
As the sisters grew up the grandmother saw the distress Isae felt, so the grandmother talked to her one day. The grandmother told Isae that she herself had been a plain girl, but she too found happiness, and had, obviously, found someone to love and build a family and happy life with, and so would Isae one day. This gave Isae some bit of solace, as did the fact that she and Enea had a close and loving relationship. Enea never made fun of her or ignored Isae, and they truly loved one another and were good friends.
In their mid-teens, the sisters’ grandmother died and so Isae became both sibling and parent to Enea. As they grew into young adulthood, Enea grew more lovely and more adored, while Isae became even more ignored.
To find some relief from the treatment by those in the village, Isae went to a small clearing in the forest not far from the family’s farmstead and there she would have her lunch each day. While in this small clearing all thoughts of the people from the village that ignored her or distressed her, and thoughts of her loneliness, drifted away and for at least a little while she could have some peace.
One day while having her lunch a man stumbled out of the trees before her and into the clearing. A plain man, a man that was as plain as Isae was as plain for a woman. To her surprise, the man started talking with her. Most men had never spent any time on her so Isae was caught off guard as to what to do. But they chatted in a most pleasant fashion. She shared a bit of her lunch with the plain man and they parted ways.
The next day the plain man came back and they had lunch and they chatted some more. And this continued for a few months. Isae was first enamored with the plain man, then fell in true love with him, and he with her. Both being plain they had never really known affection or attention from anyone in this way. These two plain people had accidentally found one another, come together, and fell in love. Isae hoped that they would marry on the night of the harvest festival, as was their peoples’ tradition.
It is at this point in the story where the tale splits in two, even though both versions lead us to a similar end.
In one version of the story it is said that Isae, never having been in a romantic relationship, never having known the attentions of a man, did not how to act and became, or showed, just how emotionally needful she was and this pushed the plain man away. And there went her dreams of being married.
The day of the harvest festival Isae went to the clearing to set out lunch for her and the plain man and then she waited. But he was late this day. Isae began to worry. “Has he fallen? Has he had an accident? It had rained the night before, the ground could be treacherous.” Isae left the clearing and headed towards the direction the plain man would be coming from. She carefully made her way thru the woods for a ways and then started to hear some noise. She quickly headed towards the noise that sounded like some sort of moaning and as she came out of the woods she saw the source of the moaning sounds – there, next to a stream, was the plain man on the ground, lying on his back . . . with Enea astride him making love to him. Isae starred in disbelief and could barely get the word out, “Why?” Enea, still engaged in her work, turned to look at her plain, older sister and said, “Should not I, that am more fair than thee, have at least what thee has,” then turned back to what she was doing. The plain man not noticing or acknowledging his bride-to-be was even there. It was in that instant that Isae felt the anger and pain cause the surge of power to go thru her, nearly killing the plain man and Enea. As the plain man and Enea lie on the ground almost dead but still conscious, Isae took them, one at a time, to a small pool of water in the stream and in the pool she drowned them both. Then Isae went to the village and every place in the region where anyone had ever mocked her or ignored her and she killed those people, and only those that had mocked her or ignored her. When her killing was done she went back to her home and fell upon her grandmother’s grave and cursed the old woman for being a fool, and then cursed herself and wept.
She went thru the village and killed every person, every animal, every plant, every living thing. She went to every place in the regions where anyone had ever mocked her or ignored her and she killed them all. After all the killing, she went back to her home and fell upon her grandmother’s grave and cursed the old woman for being a fool, and then cursed herself and wept.
Some time went by and it was the day before the harvest festival. That night there was a knock at the sisters’ door. Isae opened it and there was the plain man. Isae thought that he had come back to her and she gladly let him in. But the plain man was not there for Isae – he was there for her younger sister. The plain man and the Enea sat Isae down and asked her for permission and blessing for their marriage. They told Isae some time after the plain man and she had parted that the plain man happened upon Enea, not knowing that she was related to Isae. The plain man had been working in the fields one day while Enea was walking by. It was a hot, dry day and the plain man called out to Enea and asked if she had any water that he could have a drink of as his water skin was dry. Enea went over to the plain man and gave him drink from her water skin and the two started chatting. The plain man was surprised that a woman as beautiful as Enea was so kind and would talk to him. And Enea was surprised that unlike most men, this man, this plain man, spoke to her in a simple, gentle, and kindly fashion like she was a person, rather than treating her as though she was some lovely object to have and behold. The plain man and Enea began to have a relationship and in time fell in love. And now, the night before the harvest festival, they were asking Isae for her blessing so they could be wed. At first Isae was hurt and taken aback, but she knew that her younger sister would never do anything to hurt her. And as Isae had never told Enea or the plain man about the other, only telling the plain man that she had a sister, Isae did not think that she had been betrayed by either the plain man or her sister. And Isae knew that she had driven the plain man away due to her own behavior. Isae was good-hearted and not the kind to begrudge another their happiness and so she gave her permission and blessing to her younger sister and the plain man.
The next night was harvest festival where all the couples to be wed that year, a couple at a time, would get married. The couples would line up, grooms to the right, brides to the left, with the wife’s sponsor, or person that was to give her away, to the bride’s left. The three would wait for the priest to call just the couple forward, marry them, and then they would walk to the right and assemble off to the side with the other newly married couples, the sponsor would walk to the left and assemble with the other sponsors, and the next couples and sponsors in line would step forward.
It was Enea and plain man’s turn to be wed, so they walked forward the several steps to the priest, and Isae, as her sister’s sponsor, waited at the head of the line as all sponsors did. Then something odd happened. Rather than waiting in their place in line, the next couple with their sponsor stepped around and in front of Isae. They stepped around and in front of her as though she was a tent post or fixture that happened to be in their way. And with this simple act Isae became enraged. She looked at her younger sister and the plain man about to be wed and said, “That should have been me. I should be wed tonight.” She felt this rage that had been growing inside her for years well up and this power came forth out of her. In an instant she had killed all those at the harvest festival. She would not be ignored this time.
From this point on the stories of “Lady Isae”, who quickly became renamed “Lady Ire”, differ. Sometimes Lady Isae would go after lovers of any kind. They would be near some body of water – a river, a pond, even a small pool of water, and Lady Isae would come up out of the water and grab one of the lovers and drag them down into the depths below, drowning them. Even if they were by only a small, shallow stream, Lady Isae would magically create a deep, dark pool and drag her victim down. Some say the pool of water can appear anywhere.
This is one version of the story. The version more sympathetic to Isae goes as follows:
Isae and the plain man had indeed fallen in love and planned that on the day of the harvest festival they would have their lunch in the clearing as always and then in the evening go to the festival to be wed with all the other couples as was their people’s custom.
Sometimes Lady Isae would go after someone who had betrayed a lover, or had broken someone’s heart. Some said if the person had “maliciously” broken another’s heart, some said simply for breaking someone’s heart. It was said that sometimes Lady Isae would drown someone who was deeply in love and had done no wrong at all but would kill them just the same so as to spare them from the pain of possibly having their heart broken. Some said it was in part due the murderous activities of Lady Isae that marriage changed from being about love to being about property, relations in society, and power. This way, perhaps those that married would be spared an attack by Lady Isae.
Lady Ire, the Maid of Lamentation, the Daughter of Monsters (for she was made by monsters or a monstrous act), and Mistress of the Brokenhearted has traveled all over the mortal world and across the Demi Plane where she has long since resided. If ever you are in the Demi Plane and see a young, dark haired, pale skinned woman wearing a crown of autumn flowers run if you can. Especially if you’ve broken someone’s heart.
How to incorporate for gameplay:
Lady Isae resides in the Demi Plane, but may be summoned to the Mortal Plane for exceptional cases.
She moves very fast, especially in water.
Lady Isae never speaks or makes any sound.
Anyone getting near her may get caught up in an area of lamentation/sorrow where they fall to their knees and weep uncontrollably.
Lady Isae can stun with a look.
Lady Isae is tougher, stronger than she looks.
Lady Isae is not ugly. She’s about 5’6”; lean farm girl; pale skin/fair not ghostly or sickly pale; long, dark hair; dark, brown eyes. Lady Isae wears the clothes from the night of the harvest festival ceremony – a white, sleeveless dress, somewhat low cut but not too revealing; no shoes; a crown or wreath of autumn flowers; no jewelry. Lady Isae has no tattoos or scars or otherwise distinguishing physical features.
Some may wish to think of her as the god or demigod of Broken Hearts that those that have been jilted pray to for vengeance and/or comfort.
Lady Isae may hunt down any in your party that have broken someone’s heart – in general, or if they broke someone’s heart in a careless or purposefully hurtful way.
Lady Isae may come to someone in your party that is in love and try to mercy kill them, or come to someone that has recently had their heart broken and is still very much pained by it and she tries to mercy kill them.
Perhaps you can reason with Lady Isae, that somehow your party has learned of how she was betrayed and you empathize with her.
Maybe Lady Isae isn’t this terrible murderer and she exists to soothe the brokenhearted peacefully.
Maybe Lady Isae is an agent of vengeance, but is not bloodthirsty.
Maybe Lady Isae is both there to soothe the brokenhearted and be an agent of vengeance/justice.
Lady Isae can bestow gifts on select individuals: sorrow spells that cause the enemy/target to become prone; stunning glances; ability to breath underwater; control water to some extent; move quickly underwater; survive easier in forest settings; extra strength; less likely/not be charmed – especially by anything to do with love; ability to teleport thru water – be it a puddle, stream, bathtub, pool, river, lake – freshwater only; conjure a pool of water and teleport thru it; move silently Maybe Lady Isae, after countless centuries, will fall in love with one of your party members – if they are true of heart, or they too were done wrong in love and/or killed or did some significant type of damage to those that wronged them.
