Transcript:Legends of the mountain
I've recently been researching local folklore around the Mynydd mountain that sits in the north-west of the region of Tirannwn. Below I've recorded the most notable legends, all of which seem to revolve around a set of similar events. I'm quite dubious of their accuracy as oral tradition has a habit of over indulging specific details - of course, anything is possible.
The Wolf of Ysbryd
A tale of a ghostly wolf that took the form of a handsome prince that fell in love with the Queen of Light who ruled in a palace atop a great mountain. The royal huntsman, distrusting of this mysterious prince, tracks him one night and discovers his true form. He ensnares the wolf in a trap and performs a ritual to banish him. When the Queen finds the prince gone and never to return, she engulfs the mountain in a harsh bright light as she cries out in grief. To this day, the Wolf of Ysbryd guards the mountain and its ruler from the eternal darkness that forever plagues the land.
The Brightpaw
Blaidd Brightpaw, clad in nothing but a wolfskin and a blinding spirit sword, returned from the Ysbryd realm. There he had faced the vicious Anghenfil in hand- to-hand combat and from its torn off arm, he forged his mighty blade. For the land had been torn asunder by a wicked dragon after it was disturbed from its slumber by Queen Tywyll as she mined the mountain dry. Once it had been awoken it destroyed the castle that had been built upon its lair in retaliation for the theft of its treasure. The Brightpaw, oft times mistaken for a prowling snow wolf, climbed the mountain to slay the dragon and save the queen. Alas, the hero was too late and the dragon had already devoured the great Queen Tywyll.
The Dark Blaidd
Tywyll gan'Draig, the Queen upon the mountain, had a dark secret. In the depths of the mines that sit beneath her throne, a jeweled chalice had been found amidst a pile of treasure. It soon became the Queen's most prized possession, but unbeknownst to her, the chalice was cursed. Upon drinking from the tainted cup, the Queen's stomach began to grow in size everyday for a week. On the seventh day she gave birth to a distorted thing; all claws and scales and hot to the touch. Her brother, Blaidd gan'Draig, feared what his sister queen was becoming as the darkness overtook her. In a vain attempt to stop her from destroying the land, he pushed her out the tallest tower and she flew to her death.
From these stories we've learned a few things; there was a wolf and a dragon and some castle upon a mountain. It may have ended in light and it may have ended in darkness. Perhaps some lovers were involved and the land was punished for their union. What we can say, however, is that we may never truly know.