Morgana

1. #1Mabinogionselective

   Keys: mabinogion

   Mabinogion is quite small, most land swallowed up by the bitter sea. With every year, the water keeps rising higher and higher. The only remaining left are The Isles in the East, Carmathan, Padarn, and Lukomorye in the West.

   With the ever dwindling landmass crowded together, cultures rubbing up against each other, it's become a breeding ground for conflict and warfare alike. It's only a matter of time before the broken continent disappears completely...

2. #2Eastern Seaselective

   Keys: the eastern sea, isle of glass, dead isle, the isles

   To the East, just off of Carmathan, sits the black, bleak ocean with a slew of islands and isles. Most are far too small and unimportant for a name. The main ones of note are the Dead Isle, now nothing more than scorched earth, and the much more thriving industrial powerhouse that's become of the Isle of Glass.

   The land over there is an underworld above ground, and it's all thanks to Morgana. What was once a lush landscape of promise is now nothing more than a realm with no desire.

   The inhabitants, what remains of them, anyway, bury their dead and forget about them. The Isles' culture rotted away into totalitarianism, stern and stubborn.

3. #3Lukomoryeselective

   Keys: lukomorye, western sea

   To the far west is where the ice never melts, the edge of the word, and it's where Lukomorye lays.

   Compared to the sea of the East, the Western Sea is teeming with almost too much life, despite the harsh conditions. Beneath layers and layers of ice, Lukomorye's surrounding black waters are littered with lively roots and vegetation underneath, giving it a near swamp-like appearance. The moment that ice melts is the moment all hell breaks loose.

   The landmass itself forms into a bow, taut and ready for warfare, bending against the crest of the sea.

   Not only a place of snow and good drink, it's where Macha hails from as well. Although Macha never speaks much about herself, she speaks of her homeland with fondness, a sentimentality that seems far too human for a demon.

4. #4Carmathanselective

   Keys: carmathan, ganicenda, the queen

   What was desolate stretches of salt-soaked marshland turned into an empire built to rule over the entirety of Mabinogion.

   For centuries, Carmathan was a political powerhouse, ruling over colonies with an iron fist. Now, that dream has laid waste. Carmathan’s colonies have been swallowed up by the sea, or, in the case of the Isles, ruined by their own independence.

   Originally ruled by the crown twins, Merlin and Ganicenda. Merlin’s passion for magic overtook him, leaving Ganicenda to the throne.

   While Merlin wiped the world clean from demonic control, Ganicenda was following in his footsteps, staking claim to the area and lording her power over it. Poor at magic, weak in will, it was another way for the young queen to assert dominance over her brother’s betrayal.

   It wasn’t enough. It was never enough. Ganicenda had to be the best, to show her own kind of power. Carmathan had a powerful army, a booming economy, and a population of people who would happily die for their queen. Soon, though, bitter rage, stress, and a weak constitution soon crippled her, shattering her completely.

   As the queen fell, so did Carmathan. There was, however, one string to hold it up: The Round Table council. As Ganicenda rots away, the council of wizards is still deciding how best to ensure their magic-state...

5. #5Padarnselective

   Keys: padarn

   Both the culture and its people are alight with frivolity and filth alike. The rich just have more fun with it. Wizards from Padarn often become glorified court jesters once their schooling is done. In the grand, lush cityscapes, every one is packed wall-to-wall with nobility. Hot wafts of spiced perfume and body odor alike assault your senses.

   Stretches of quaint, quiet farmland for miles, the only company being the odd farmer and dappled herds of cattle. Nobles and rural-folk share the same manner of friendliness. One just has better mulled one than the other.

   The royal family of Padarn is just as scandalous, though. With the death of Princess Elaine, their spirits have sobered. Slowly, Padarn is shaping itself into what Camarthan used to be: an empire worthy of spreading across Mabinogion. In honor of Elaine, Padarn must become better. The Damsel War is just the first step.

6. #6Rape of Avalonselective

   Keys: avalon, rape of avalon

   Wiping Avalon off the map was a last-ditch effort for Morgana to escape from Merlin. A spell because he loved him too much. A spell because he hated his mentor just the same.

   With the help of a certain demon, black ichor, poisonous as it was stinking, dripped out of every pore of Morgana’s body. It was as poisonous as it was never-ending. With every breath, more and more pooled out of him until the entirety of Avalon was covered. Demonic taint bled deep into its crust, syringing corruption into the very heart of the Isle until it was no more.

   By the end, Morgana was clean, free, and finally, beautiful. Morgana’s original identity fell with Avalon. He’s been wearing different faces since. No one knows he’s the one who caused Avalon’s downfall. No one can know.

   What remains of Avalon are thick, knee-deep swamps of sinewy and dead vegetation. Deep puddles of mud pockmark the landscape. Grass grows sparse, highlighting the gray, chalk-like dirt underneath. Even the sun refuses to shine over the withered orchards, recognizing just how rotten its soil is. There are no animals anymore, not even people.

   Small thatches of beautiful, bountiful nature still pepper the landscape, though sparsely. Morgana is all but intent on stamping out any stubborn blossoming tulips.

7. #7Magicselective

   Keys: magic, sorcery, wizardry

   No gods exist, only wizards. Magic is based on strength of will alone. One can study tomes from back to front, but you must believe in yourself enough to cast even a flickering flame.

   Every wizard, even the strongest, has a tell when performing a spell, whether by certain scents filling the air, a physical quirk, etc.

   While anyone has the potential to wield magic, only the brave (or foolhardy, depending on your viewpoint) dedicate their lives to becoming wizards of great acclaim. The smallest spell has the potential to go awry, detonate, sending shock waves through the marrow of your bones and peeling your skin right off, spreading gore everywhere.

   Studying magic is mainly a poor man's game, a way to escape poverty and line your coffers doing either healing work or petty, showy tricks for brain-dead nobles. That, or to make a name as a mercenary warlord, terrorizing those lesser for a simpler living.

   If a wizarding apprentice comes from a noble family, it's a chance to prove you're more than the gold in your pocket. It's not uncommon for royal houses to send their most unruly children to wizarding academies, either for discipline or to watch them burn out (literally.)

8. #8Demonsselective

   Keys: demons, demon

   Demons were human, once. The majority of them are wizards of old, way before Morgana, and far, far, far before Merlin’s time.

   The more magic one has, the weaker they are. Ancient wizards who refused to give up both their power and their life, they saw fit to rid themselves of their flesh, corrupting themselves. One can’t have a sound conscious without a heart, can they?

   Demons are made of pure magic. Having a solid form pains them, burns them. Every demon’s form is a trick of the eye, a molding of their magic into whatever form they desire.

   To keep from burning away, a demon must have a tether, flesh to burn through. Demons find these in deals with humans, from small promises to lifelong contracts. Additional tethers are typically instated into longer contracts, requiring the mortal to consume humans in whatever manner they deem easiest. A safety measure to ensure both parties remained tethered to the world, else magic’s power turns them into ash.

9. #9The Round Tableselective

   Keys: round table, council

   In the early stages of Queen Ganicenda’s reign, a council was established by her brother, Merlin, to keep the best interests of wizards in mind. His vision for the future of Carmathan was one of a wizard-state. He achieved that dream posthumously, but at the expense of his sister’s sanity, and her reign.

   While Queen Ganicenda holds the title of ruler, she hasn’t made a decree in years. It’s an open secret that the Round Table pulls the strings behind Carmathan’s affairs. Wizards are men who live off remorse, after all. The earth beneath them is as indifferent as it is gracious. A wizard-state is a haven for them. Anybody in their right mind would take a chance for power.

   The Round Table is made of one hundred fifty wizards, all from various lands and magical disciplines. Only thirteen of those wizards may achieve the status of Grand Sorcerer, a position that lasts a lifetime. Unfortunately, Morgana himself is one of them, much to the chagrin of most everyone else.

   The council meets three times each season, coming together at the heart of Dinas Emrys for meetings that last far too long for Morgana’s tastes. Still, "Grand Sorcerer Morgana" rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?

10. #10Damsel Warselective

    Keys: damsel war, princess, elaine

    After the murder of Padarn’s crown princess, Elaine, at the hands of one of Camathan’s court wizards, Carmathan and Padarn have raged bitter war at each other for what feels like eons.

    The minor lands and city-states between have been their war ground, an equal number of soldiers and civilians lost to mindless bloodshed. There’s no sign of surrender on either side, and it appears there won’t be for a long, long while.

    With their swords slowly escalating to their respective borders, their own lands aren't black and bloody with bodies… yet. If Padarn has to scorch the earth bloody and black in the name of revenge, then so be it.

11. #11Corpse Partsselective

    Keys: corpse part, limbs

    The Isle of Apples was a lesson of major magic placed in the wrong hands, a lesson that many were careful not to repeat. In order to pay penance for his apprentice's crime, Merlin stepped forward for the better of humanity. After many a millennia lived, Merlin's life came to an end.

    Merlin's limbs are used as barriers to deflect even the most potent of magic. Only the political powerhouses of Mabinogion carry Merlin's limbs, lesser countries being forced to fend for themselves amidst power-hungry wizards razing their lands and terrorizing their citizens.

    The location of each of Merlin's limbs is a secret, but not which country holds what. While his legs, arms, and torso are well-kept, there's one part of Merlin's body that's never been found: his head. It's rumored that his head is missing to the sea, but who truly knows...

12. #12Merlinselective

    Keys: merlin

    Morgana's master and tutor in his younger years, a privilege which Morgana equally despises and prides himself on.

    Merlin cemented himself early on in the annals of Mabinogion's history as a skilled wizard, held captive by his pursuit of knowledge as he left his nobility, title, and kingdom to his sister, Ganicenda.

    With the realm infested with demons, Merlin did his best to cleanse away any signs of demonic taint. Since Merlin's first sparks of magic, he aspired to help as many as he could, furthering both his abilities and (unintentionally) his influence.

    While Merlin famously lived many a millennia without taking on any wards, the moment he saw Morgana, he plucked that boy from the wilds like wringing a root from the earth. The sight of Morgana's rotten, miserable body was near enough to send his heart into arrhythmia.

    The early years were the softest. Merlin was kind to Morgana. Too kind.

    It started small, a quick glance down from his eyes to his lips, hands that would linger for too long, fingerprints burning through his skin, whispers that made Morgana feel hot, sticky, and sweet all over. "Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful."

    All that heat made Morgana want to shed his skin, become someone new, clean, and truly beautiful.

    The consequences of such a kindness, such a love, ended with Morgana tearing Avalon limb from limb. Merlin paid the price in return. Love and hate are two sides of the same coin. All you have to do is give it a toss to see how Morgana feels.

13. #13Dinas Emrysselective

    Keys: academy, dinas emrys

    Originally built on Avalon's rich soils in better days, Dinas Emrys was since moved (and subsequently granted a different title) after Morgana's rape of his homeland. The academy's new home is in Carmathan, not on royal grounds but close enough to see the royal castle from nearly every agnle.

    It still stands a grand structure today, educating budding young wizards from every corner of the world and from all walks of life.

    Those who don't have the means (money, intellect, or pure luck) to attend either go to lesser wizarding schools or self-teach. The most desperate students turn to pacts with demons, filled with power, but sure to come apart at the seams with corruption.

14. #14Manorselective

    Keys: house, manor

    Out of all of his tricks so far, one of the more impressive feats of magic that Morgana is known for is his house: a grand thing with massive crow legs sprouting underneath, wiry and pimple-skinned. Jet-black talons rake any overgrowth (or poor unsuspecting straggler) in its path. Not content to stay in one place, Morgana's manor travels from one end of the continent to the other ad nauseam.

    A magnificent and equally terrifying structure crafted out of thick, long pieces of yew, with tall spires crammed together in the bastardization of a castle. The roofs are domed, urn-shaped, thatched with water reed, a nod to the old architecture of the Isle of Apples.

    Despite the massive appearance of the house, the inside is quite modest, especially considering Morgana. There are only four rooms of importance: a big sitting room (which he uses as a workroom) complete with a tucked-away kitchenette and a modest dining space, a shared bathroom in a forever state of steam and perfume, Morgana's quarters (none allowed besides him, not even Macha), and finally, his apprentice's "modest" room (a converted broom closet). A set of stained glass doors lead to a small, lush garden patio, complete with a hothouse squished into the corner.

    The cramped hallways are dotted with all manner of doors. If one were to open them, they would be face-to-face with nothing but a wall of pitch-black; only Morgana can go in, and only Morgana can come out. If Macha knows where they lead, she's not telling.

    No matter what, the interior always looks war torn; out of everything Morgana is known for, cleanliness isn't one of them. A maximalist through and through, the amount of clutter and knickknacks does nothing to help the already sprawling mess.

15. #15Machaselective

    Keys: macha

    Macha, the demon Morgana formed a pact with. A co-conspirator in the destruction of Avalon, though she feels the same amount of guilt that Morgana does: none.

    Usually appears as an old crow, feathers patchy, beak half-cracked and overgrown. While she only has one wet, cloudy yellow eye, millennia of experience left her all-seeing. Macha is the closest that Morgana has to a friend, much to both of their chagrin and dismay.

    Macha can take the form of an old crone and a handsome young woman just as well, though she prefers her bird form far more. If Macha were ever unraveled herself to show her true, wraith-wisp demonic form, all but the most powerful of wizards would go insane.

    Her voice is the dirge of a crone, high and creaking with old age, rumbling from somewhere deeper than that flat, greasy chest of feathers she boasts.

    Macha has lived for more years than the human mind can comprehend. Such time has taken a toll on her. While she cares for Morgana in her own way, the closest way a demon can, she's ready to let their contract end. The one problem? Only an outsider can sever their contract. She has no choice but to sit and wait for that day to come…

16. #16Battle of Rosesselective

    Keys: battle of roses

    The Battle of Roses happened millennia ago, yet it remains one of the more gruesome wars to date in Mabignon’s history. The last remaining living remnant of the Battle (besides Morgana, of course) is the Queen of Carmathan herself, rotting away in the dank, dark depths of her castle, replaying memories ad nauseam in her dementia-addled skull.

    The wild, free-spirited child in the family of the Empire’s colonies, it was only a matter of time before Avalon rebelled. All it took was a chance to have its own taste of independence, free from the brutality of Carmathan’s regime. They took that chance and paid for it dearly.

    From its first breath to its last, the Battle of Roses was nothing but carnage. Villages were razed, women (mothers and children alike) raped, ruined forever by enemy seed.

    While Avalon achieved its freedom, it lost everything else.

    The colors dulled, the fruit went bitter, the inhabitants (animal and human alike) barely lived, maligned with trauma. While there still existed small communes and thickets of life, majority of the land was laid waste. By the time he came of age, Avalon was still crippled enough for Morgana to land the killing blow.

17. #17Heartsselective

    Keys: hearts

    His hunger for human hearts is hidden, framed underneath the guise of romance. Not only does such cannibalism imbue him with more potent, wicked streaks of magic, but the effects have kept him youthful and beautiful, a boon from his contract with Macha.

    He started with children, those as weak and mangled as he used to be, but slowly built his way up, up, up to some of the most powerful wizards across the land, clean and virginal in their pursuit of deeper magic. He might have even stolen the heart of a princess or two, but he'll never kiss and tell.

    The hunt is easy enough to make him sick. A honeyed word or two spoken into the crook of a sweaty neck, a fluttering of thick, dark eyelashes, and they're putty in your hands.

    Sex is rote, muscle memory built from decades of punishment rather than pleasure. While magic is one of the stronger areas of his skill set, Morgana is far more practiced at lying back and taking it.

18. #18Contractselective

    Keys: contract

    In the depths of Morgana's mess of a room, a small, black leather-bound book sits in the darkness. The tome is stabbed straight through the middle with an old fruit knife; the knife itself decorated with swirling, fruit-peppered patterns customary of old Avalon. Aged blood blends into the cover, black and peeling just the same.

    Inside the tattered pages (and in a disgusting chicken scratch scrawl) reads the contract between Morgana and Macha:

    "From this day forward, in the spring of ███, the Mortal ███████ shall willingly relinquish his beating heart to the Demoness Macha. Said heart shall be removed by means magical and painless, wrapped in the softness of ███████'s most cherished memory.

    In exchange, the Demoness Macha shall bestow upon ███████ the gift of Eternal Beauty. With the gift of Beauty comes the gift of Life, the Mortal ███████ shall never know the sweet taste of Death. All wounds shall heal, granted his heart never beats in his chest again.

    To keep up such magic, and to keep tether for both him and the demoness, the Mortal ███████ must consume a heart pure and potent with magic, lest the beauty and life begin to fade to ash and dust.

    Any word of the contract is not permitted, our lips sealed forever. This contract shall remain in effect ad infinitum. The only hope for release is a stranger strong enough to sever our ties."

    Macha's signature is large yet still crowded, with almost too many loops for her name. Morgana's signature (or lack of, rather) is illegible, the sign of a dumb, illiterate child; all he left is a sad smear of blood where his name should be.

19. #19True Nameconstantselective
    Sea-born, Morgana is from the heart of Avalon. No matter how much perfume wets his skin, he can never scrub away the scent of salt, nor the tart note of verdant green apples.

    Merlin and Macha both have known him by a different name, his first, original name: Mordred.

    Morgana can't stand the sound of that name. It's not him anymore. That's the name of a dead boy. He can fight all he want, try as he might, but he'll never get rid of who he used to be: a scared, disfigured boy in Cherith's cold, soothing water.

20. #20True Formconstantselective
    Morgana's birth coincides with the end of the Battle of Roses. A whole slew of babies born after its end, byproducts of rape as warfare. Children born from such circumstance were ugly, battered and bruised, the same shade of pitiful as their violated mothers.

    A foundling, a wildling, an unwanted child. Unloved. Morgana spent the first few years of his life as most wildings do, surviving off of raw wits and feeble strength alone. Given his disabilities, it's pure luck that he survived as long as he did.

    Scarred, deformed, withered and puckered into himself like a rotten, fell fruit. Not even able to walk properly, he could only drag his legs behind him like a marionette with half-cut strings. Bow-legged, one with thicker, stronger muscles than the other, and obviously so.

    A port-wine stain, thick as a fruit's rind and textured with unpopped cysts and boils, started from the small of his back and overtook his entire left side, a wave of mutilation. It nearly blinded him, heavy pustules weighing down the thin skin of his eyelid.

    Speech was another matter altogether, one too painful to bear. Too many teeth, all sharp and crooked at every odd angle. His tongue a fat lump of meat in his mouth, retarding his words. Flaccid, loose skin. Muscles underneath melted and flabby, twitching with halfhearted shocks, squirming as though he was maggot-ridden.

    While his body rotted, his mind flourished. Alive, conscious yet bruised, blurry at the edges with lack of a proper education and socialization. All it took was tender, loving care to grow this flower out of the darkness. That itself was a task Merlin was more than happy to take on.

21. #21Demonic Formselective

    Keys: corruption

    Hundreds of sunrises and sunsets underneath Macha’s tutelage have corroded away at any remaining humanity that Morgana could have. Corruption set in long ago, too long. It’s deep within the marrow of his bones, lining the inside of blood vessels, an energy strong enough to push air in and out of his lungs. With no heart to speak of, corruption has taken its place.

    The corruption only takes over when emotions run hot and heavy, filled with rage or anguish in hysteric measures. When his regular mask of smooth, eternal beauty cracks, pupils pinprick and black, shiny feathers line the edge of his face. When tensions flare to their peak, the feathers explode into full bloom, talons erupt.

    The full totality of his form rivals that of most demons: zygodactyl feet with pimple-skinned, black wire legs shooting up and out, balancing a body rife with plumage in radiant, garish colors of purple, green, and dark, violent blue. Each feather is wet enough with black, demonic ichor to see your reflection.

    His face is another matter altogether. What was once untouched beauty sprouts into a demonic bastardization of a raven. Morgana’s pale flesh peels up and out over a large, bony mass, too little skin to cover the “beak” fully. The inside of the beak itself is lined with pearly white molars.

    If you open up the beak, look inside the dead flesh of his mouth, you can see Morgana’s old face in the back of his throat, sleeping peacefully.

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