After 13 queens, this pattern collapsed. The fourteenth ruling daughter was a
woman named Elvanna, said to be the most cruel of a long line of cruel queens. As
the time of Baba Yaga’s return drew near, Elvanna grew more and more convinced
that she deserved to remain Irrisen’s ruler forever. When her mother arrived, Elvanna
triggered a devious trap and captured Baba Yaga, then turned her magic toward
spreading the curse of winter to other lands. Only the timely intervention of a band
of heroes halted her plot, freed Baba Yaga, and saw Elvanna’s defeat. Today, for the
first time since its founding, Irrisen is ruled by someone other than a winter witch,
yet this should not necessarily be taken as a hopeful sign. Queen Anastasia may be
young, but as an exile of the same world her ancient grandmother Baba Yaga hailed
from, she has the potential to wield great power. Just how she will choose to exert
this power in her stewardship over Irrisen has yet to be unveiled. Certainly, Irrisen is
no safer a place today than it has been for centuries, and with rumbles of embittered
witches who regard Queen Anastasia as the “Fraud Queen,” it remains to be seen if
her rule will match the century-long reigns of her 14 aunts.
Today, Irrisen remains in the grip of unending ice and snow. Even Baba Yaga
herself seems unable, or at least unwilling, to end the reign of winter within the land.
As such, the land remains eternally frozen, with frost goblins, winter wolves, ice
trolls, and all manner of rime-coated fey posing common threats to those who have
little other choice but to keep their heads low and their minds focused on simply
making it one day at a time. That the first few years of Queen Anastasia’s rule have
resulted in less agony for the land’s citizens is not taken as indication of a blissful
future. Life in Irrisen has always been tough, and many still feel that the new queen’s
kindness is a cruel trick intended to grant hope only to rip it away just as the citizens
start to trust again. And beyond the dissidents and spurned witch relations of the
prior ruling castes plotting intrigue and fomenting rebellion, there is always the
threat to the west of the Linnorm Kingdoms—memories of defeat still linger there,
and with an untested queen on the throne, it may be only a matter of a few months
before a new invasion begins
