Mist-borne Fleet

The Mist-borne Fleet was a phantom trio of lake-boats carrying as passengers a dozen Dunadan knights in full battle array. They were the Essence-image,a semi-solid illusion, of a party of warriors who had once attempted to sail down the Fornthor and across Nenuial to join High King Elendil at Annuminas in preparation for the War of the Last Alliance. They were had been warned by wiser folk that Werewinds, magically summoned by the Dark Lord to plague his gathering enemies, were expected and could do them less harm if they went south by road. Foolishly taunting the powers of the world, they set off anyway and were set upon by a sorcery-spawned waterspout in mid-lake. All were lost, their last screams of rage and defiance heard through an unnatural, howling mist by watchmen on the shore.

The phantom, a gaunt and tattered image of the fleet on its last voyage, was seen only on misty nights when there was just enough moonlight to illuminate the fog. The fleet, its noises of hull and rigging strangely dampened, thus appeared mainly to people dangerously late to port. The figures in the prows of the three vessels—their piercing white eyes staring out of gaunt faces—keen and lament and calling the names of those observing, giving dire tidings and predicting perils that might soon afflict the lake. Legend was unclear as to whether the apparition caused or just predicted trouble, but it had been instrumental in causing several drunks and smugglers to convert to a more rightous life style.

The Mist-flees prophesies were cryptic, but often quite accurate. It was attracted to evil deeds and intense personal quarrels. The fleet materialized no more then once per night, somewhere near the eastern shore of Nenuial, in the interval as fog was gathering or clearing under a bright moon. The boats coalesced from the fog or moonlight, passed within 30'of the person or persons who attracted it at a brisk sailing speed regardless of the wind conditions, and then disappeared in the same fashion. Anyone seeing the Mist-fleet aged 2-20 years and paniced or cowered in a mild fashion, but did not forget what he had heard. Anyone who tried to board or fight the Mist-fleet found it more or less solid until it disappeared. All the phantoms on board repelled boarders. The Mist-fleet was vulnerable to spells that affect undead and magic, but could not be permanently destroyed until someone dredged up the remains of the ships. Their location could be laboriously discerned through study of ancient accounts of the tragedy. The dredger found a number of useful Dunadan weapons.