The Last Ysan Worshipper

Questions are answered as the text continues, in Poul and Karen Anderson's The Dog And The Wolf (London, 1989). Nemeta, Gratillonius' daughter, self-proclaimed last worshiper of the Three of Ys, sacrifices her newly born son, the King's grandson, to the Three and curses the men who had raped her. And she must do this in secret because it breaks the Roman Christian law against infanticide.

This is indeed a dark ending but, unless something else significant happens before the end of the novel, it really does seem to be the conclusion of the vengeful story of the Ysan Triad.

There are two other items of unfinished business. Nemeta's curse includes this invocation to Lir:

" 'Let her who haunts the ruins torture their souls forever.' " (p. 181)

Having scavenged in the ruins of Ys, Nemeta knows that someone haunts them.

Secondly, former worshipers of the Three have gone over to either:

" '...the new God of the Romans or the doddering old Gods of the Gauls.' " (p. 181)

The latter include Tera who had invoked Cernunnos and Epona and threatened the wights while delivering Nemeta's son. There are always more than two alternatives. Life remains varied and diverse despite attempts to fit it into a single pattern.