Lady Marilena Fidatov

Once the lover of Burgomaster Ivan Randovich, Marilena became a banshee after Ivan murdered her. She has vowed revenge upon him and the town. As in life, Marilena is a manipulator and has a black soul just as much as the burgomaster she professed to love. She haunted Fidatov Manor, bound by a curse she herself laid. By day, she appears much as a normal mortal, but by night she takes on a nightmarish transformation with the rest of the manor. It is only during the nighttime that she can be permanently destroyed.

History

Marilena and Ivan became lovers just to exploit each other. Marilena eventually grew skeptical about Ivan's faithfulness and verified her suspicions with a reading of the tarokka. She broke off their relationship, earning Ivan's wrath. During a gala ball, he employed a bribed servant to poison her food. As she died, Marilena called to the Dark Powers to ensure nobody else benefit from her estate.

The Dark Powers responded to Marilena's plea by placing a powerful and horrific curse upon Fidatov Manor and its inhabitants. By day, they would experience again their final hours just prior to death. By night, they would experience a ghoulish transformation, in which the soulless Barovians transformed into vile undead while those with souls became wererats. The manor took became warped and decayed each night. The next morning, everything revert back, nobody holding any memories of the transformation. Marilena Fidatov was the only exception. For a time, few visitors would come to Fidatov Manor, as the burgomaster forbade all travel to it. While guarding the wealth accumulated wealth, Marilena became funneling magic into a sorcery that enhanced Barovia's horrific winter, though only slightly.

Sometime before or after her death, Marilena was in contact with Costel Barbu, the barber of Orașnou, about a dangerous cannibal and murderer named Eugen Adi. Marilena sent Costel an invitation offering the Barbu family asylum at the mansion and a ring of spell-storing armed with a spell to protect him from Eugen. Sadly, it did not reach its destination in time for Costl to read it before Eugen ate him alive. Instead it fell into the hands of Costel's mentally impaired son, Luca Barbu, whom could never read it.

Eventually, the invitation fell into the hands of adventurers. Burgomaster Ivan called them to visit the manor, in the hopes they might convince Marilena to give the village supplies to get through the winter. The adventurers confronted Marilena in her undead form and ultimately destroyed her. With her death, the other unnatural inhabitants of the manor stayed deceased, and the manor no longer changed appearances. Whether Marilena's cursed treasure remained cursed to bring Marilena's former curse to greedy thieves remains to be seen.