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Although Winterlong Academy is but recently founded, the legend that the phantom of Lady Quave haunts the halls at night is well-established amongst the county's childlings. It is probably inevitable that, having chosen to convert the freehold formerly known as Fair Oaks Manor into a boarding school, the students should sieze upon the chilling tale of it's previous owner's fate. And wherever Glamour, legend and the belief of childlings are concentrated in one place, the Dreaming conforms to their unconsious desires and fears. The tale which students whisper to each other after the dormitory lights are turned out goes something like this: "Before Winterlong Manor was a school, it was the house of a wicked sidhe lady who hated commoners and was as cold and cruel as Winter. She kept mortal slaves and redcap guards and everybody stayed away from her home because she was a lady of House Eiluned and also a dangerous sorceress. Her name was Quave and you can tell she was really, really bad because grumps won't talk about her around us. "Lady Quave lived here for years and years, all alone except for her servants and her guards. Now the redcaps didn't like Quave at all - they knew about all the other commoners whom she had done things to with her magical Arts. They weren't very brave, but they watched and they waited, sharing their fear and sharpening their hate in secret. And one day after she had done something awful (and it is different every time the tale is told) the redcaps were finally brave enough and mad enough and scared enough to take revenge. "First they grabbed her and tied her up and killed each of her servants while she watched, peeling the skin from the bodies with their teeth. Then they took axes and knives, and they killed her, too. Not just chimerica-like, but for keeps. And then they ate her! They knew they would be in trouble if anyone found out so they ran away and no one has ever found them. But at night, if you go out of the dormitory after the teachers have all gone to bed, her ghost walks the halls of the house where she died to steal the Glamour of the living. And if she gets you, you might die too." This story, in various permutations, has become a part of the very fabric of the freehold. And because stories have real power in the Dreaming, Winterlong does indeed now have its ghost. This chimera avoids wilders and grumps, and can only show itself to childlings who leave the dormitory at night once the senior staff has retired. So far, none of the teachers have heard the legend or seen the ghost. The students are not so lucky. The Ghost Appearing as a female figure of glowing, misty form, the Ghost floats through the halls of Winterlong without a sound. When she encounters a childling, she will attempt to corner the hapless younster and siphon Glamour from them. She either cannot or will not enter the dormitory rooms, and childlings who are quick enough can flee there to safety. If an adult wakes and comes to investigate, the Ghost vanishes.
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