"The End of the Story" by Clark Asthon Smith

9 months ago
10

Clearly this Benedictine Monastery must be different from the one in the Colossus of Ylourgne, as the ruins across from the monastery in that story of the ruins of Ylourgne, and here we have the ruins of Faussesflammes. Not the first reference we've had to Faussesflammes, but this is the first reference to a monastery being nearby to it. Of course, it is possible this monastery was built much later than the one at Ylourgne, we have no way of knowing. It is strange, though, that all these monasteries in Averoigne are built across from some evil castle ruins. Why would they do that? Hmmmm....

refectory: a room used for communal meals in an educational or religious institution

floriated: decorated with floral designs

incunabula: early printed books, especially those printed before 1501

delectation: pleasure or delight

charnel: a building or vault in which corpses or bones are piled

ineffable: too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words

beatific: blissfully happy

Apollonius of Tyana is said to have defeated the Lamia of Corinth, a feat celebrated by John Keats in a poem "Lamia"

This is the first story in which holy water actually does anything useful! It's also the latest (late 18th century) story in the series, interestingly enough. And the only story where it works, as this is the last short story in the Averoigne cycle. There's one more poem to round it out, so this is the one and only example of holy water actually working in all of the Averoigne history we are exposed to.

The picture used is "Vain Lamorna: a Study for Lamia", by John William Waterhouse

To follow along: http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/short-stories/63/the-end-of-the-story

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