Chronicles of the Betrothed

Alessandro Manzoni’s masterpiece becomes a fantasy.

That peak above Slope Lake, which extends towards the south and whose menacing shadow darkens much of the valley, is known as the Dragon’s Tooth. In those desolate lands, Turno, a humble farmer, runs at breakneck speed chased by his crow. He’s over the moon: against all expectations Violanda, the prettiest and smartest girl in the whole village, has agreed to marry him! Squire Flegias di Fayman, however, has other plans. Thanks to a gnome, he has discovered that Violanda bears on her shoulder the sign of the Chosen, the spiral-shaped birthmark, and he intends to kidnap her and take her to the castle of the Unnameable. Indeed, for eighty and more seasons the Lord of Shadows has been searching for a girl who can feed him with her blood to counteract the Evil that consumes him. But if Violanda is a Chosen, she can’t marry, or she would lose her Purity. The squire has already unleashed his gargoyles to prevent her wedding with Turno: that marriage cannot happen. Under any circumstances.

• On that branch of Slope Lake, among sweethearts on the run, wandering elves, disreputable gargoyles and unnameable Evil Lords, the story of the betrothed is tinged with fantasy.