As you may know, behind Aeternum is a small business based in Brittany (specifically in the south of Finistère). It is well known that this region lives to the rhythm of legends, myths, and magical practices, some more or less known (Brocéliande, Merlin, the Fairy Viviane, the Alignments, and many others). Thus, to highlight our beautiful region, we will regularly publish lesser-known legends from Breton history.
Let’s discover together the legend of the Valley of No Return. A real place in the famous Brocéliande forest, it should be visited with caution and above all... sincerity. Also called the Perilous Valley or the Valley of the False Lovers, it is primarily the private domain of the Fairy Morgane, who watches over the purity of the heart of every visitor who enters...
The Valley of No Return is a legendary place rooted in the Arthurian cycle and Celtic legends. It is especially known for its association with the fairy Morgane, half-sister of King Arthur, a figure both fascinating and enigmatic in these tales. This magical and mysterious place carries a story of magic, loyalty, and... punishment.
According to the legend, the Fairy Morgane used to eagerly visit this valley to meet the love of her life, the knight Guyomarc'h. One day, as she arrived as usual, she caught her knight with another young woman.
Furious, and mastering Merlin’s powers, she petrified them using the elements of fire and ice. Thus appeared the Rock of the False Lovers, an eternal and raw symbol of the romantic betrayal suffered by the Fairy Morgane. It should be known that Morgane was a disciple of Merlin and recognized for her immense knowledge, especially in mastering the elements and the passage to the Otherworld. Despite her generous and kind nature, it was very risky to anger her.
However, her hatred spread throughout the valley: she decided to make it a trap for all unfaithful lovers. By her magic, she enchanted the valley so that any unfaithful man who entered would become trapped, unable to find the way back. Only a proof of sincere loyalty or the intervention of a pure love could break the enchantment and free the captives. Thus was born the Valley of No Return.
The legend says that many knights, trapped in the Valley of No Return, wandered hopelessly, confronted with their own failures and betrayals until someone brave and pure of heart came to their rescue.
The knight Lancelot du Lac, the most loyal of Arthur’s knights but also the lover of Queen Guinevere, would be their liberator. Lancelot, thanks to his pure love and unwavering loyalty to Guinevere, as well as a magical ring created by the Fairy Viviane (originator of the famous sword Excalibur), succeeded in breaking Morgane’s enchantment and freeing the prisoners of the Valley. However, the fairy Morgane did not intend to give up so easily and summoned demonic apparitions to slow Lancelot’s efforts, who continued his quest for liberation, aware that it was all just an illusion.
Morgane realized she could do nothing and finally broke her enchantment to free the knights.
Thus ends the legend... or almost. No one really knows if Morgane, out of revenge, has let her magic continue to operate over the Valley of No Return since then. So, beware hikers with a heart a little too bold, the fairy Morgane may be watching you.
[bloctwist]
