Post by morgan on Jun 3, 2011 23:45:09 GMT -5
MAIN USERNAME: Mod Nascent
(character art by tattereddreams)
T H E M E __ M U S I C
I Walk Alone by Tarja
~
Somewhere Around Nothing by Apocalyptica
CHARACTER NAME: Morgan Le Fay
OTHER NAMES: Fata Morgana (or simply) Morgana
CURRENT ALIAS: Mora Wyrdsthane
ARCANE TITLE: 'Drakaina Nychta'
RACE: Witch
CLASS: Witch
ADVANCED CLASS: n/a
AGE:
Actual: Approximately 800 years*
(For all practical purposes, Morgan was only alive and well for about a hundred and fifty years prior to her "death". This means that, despite all the power she once had, her skills and knowledge ultimately pale in comparison to witches like Medusa and Mabaa -- to say nothing of how her death adversely affected her powers.)
[/ul]
GENDER: Female
APPEARANCE:
When a subtler look is called for, Morgan can adopt any number of disguises. Amongst her fellow witches she wears an unassuming charcoal-gray cloak and robe. When "out and about" in populated areas of the world she is want to don whatever the local fashion calls for -- if its in accordance to her elaborate tastes, that is -- but always at least one article on her person will bear the motif of black feathers: the pattern of her handbag, a feather-like extension over her shoulders, the trim of her coat, etc. This object is not always so easy to spot -- it can be as overt as a black feathered scarf or as subtle as a black wing emblem on her high-heeled shoes. She sees leaving this "clue" to her identity as a type of game to be played with allies and enemies alike, seeing how long it takes for someone to identify her.
Morgan's eyes are a deep-set purple-red, in hue much like a rich wine, and her hair is jet black and falls midway down her back.[/ul]
WITCH ANIMA: Raven / Antipodian
ABILITIES:
TYPE: Active
STRENGTH: Average
KEYWORDS: raven, animal, transform, fly, magic
DESCRIPTION:
Morgan's animal form is that of the common raven. While not a powerful or agile creature, the raven does possess a keen intelligence and, more importantly, tends to be easily overlooked by passers-by. This form serves Morgan well, both for travel and stealth purposes. Ravens also have a particular vocal skill that makes them adept at imitating other sounds from their environment, even human speech. Morgan occasionally uses this talent to bait an unwary foe or imitate the voice of another person for purposes of deception. She cannot, of course, cast any magic whilst in this form.
(Morgan once had another, far more powerful form... but this was lost to her when she "died". She has yet to recover enough of her power to truly live up to her self-given arcane title, 'Drakaina Nychta'.)
GHOSTWALKER
TYPE: Passive
STRENGTH: Average
KEYWORDS: high agility, silent movement, slow fall, magic
DESCRIPTION:
Morgan's every movement has an impossible grace to it; her steps are whisper-quiet, her gestures and expressions subtle, her touch like a passing breeze. When forced into a fight these qualities go to a whole new level, to the point where those watching her wonder whether the woman is even real... or a phantom of some sort. Morgan is remarkably swift on her feet, seeming more to glide over the ground than actually run on it, and her reflexes are almost peerless. While not capable of actual flight outside of her raven form, Morgan does have the power to feather-fall at will, lessening gravity's hold over her. Her steps, breathing, and even her heartbeat are utterly soundless through magical sound dampening, forcing foes to trust their eyes or noses (or Soul Perception). It is also notable that this power allows her to walk on water as if it were solid ground.
ANTIPODIAN MAGIC: Fire and Ice
TYPE: Active
STRENGTH: Average
KEYWORDS: fire, ice, fog, claws, ranged, area-of-effect, magic
DESCRIPTION:
The most basic manifestation of Morgan's Antipodal Arcana Theory can be seen in how she wields these two opposed elements harmoniously in combat. As she has lost much of the power she once had neither element is particularly destructive... but skill and strategy bring power of their own. Using these elements causes her hands to transform into large raven's claws, one glowing a fierce crimson with the other a shimmering blue. The basic attacks from each are to generate small fist-sized fireballs and foot-long ice shards to be thrown at opponents -- these are weak in power, nothing that would pose a serious threat to another witch or a skilled Meister on their own... but the elements have other surprises.
Firewall: On impacting with any solid object Morgan's small fireballs explode... and then linger at the point of contact as a free-floating inferno. This "ghost-fire" lasts for a full two minutes before being reduced to a plume of smoke -- long enough to forestall an adversary's advance or force them to fall back -- and is roughly three feet in diameter. Touching one, of course, causes serious fire burns. These flames are virtually impossible to put out with water or any non-magical / non-soul powered means.
Flash Fog: Combining magical fire and ice, Morgan unleashes a burst of super-heated steam from her hands. Though the steam can burn a person's skin slightly on contact this is not its real purpose. The steam quickly becomes a dense fog and expands to fill a wide area, rendering those within it unable to see more than a few feet in front of them at any time. Sounds and smells are faded and indistinct in this haze and a person can easily lose their sense of direction. The magical properties of the haze make Soul Perception difficult as well, with only a Strong Ability form of the skill able to overcome such concealment. Morgan, however, is adept at operating in this fog and uses it to its fullest advantage. If not forcibly removed somehow the fog will lift on its own after roughly fifteen minutes.[/ul][/size]
ANTIPODIAN MAGIC: Mirage
TYPE: Active
STRENGTH: Average
KEYWORDS: illusion, fog, magic
DESCRIPTION:
In Italy, those who take to the seas still remember the deceptive powers of Morgan Le Fay; local folklore even attributes the stunning sea mirages which appear off the coast to her, calling them 'Fata Morgana'. However, Morgan's illusory powers have greatly waned since her glory days... but are not gone altogether.
Morgan's power to create and maintain mirages relies on manipulating heat and moisture -- with a bit of magical power thrown in for improved control. As such, those two elements must either already be present in the environment naturally or as a result of Morgan's own powers, Flash Fog in specific. When conditions are right Morgan can twist what a person sees to her own purposes, creating phantom doubles of herself, others, or any image or object she wishes to conjure with which to harass and occupy her foes. This "smoke and mirrors" trick does have a downside, however: Morgan must remain standing in a single spot, focusing her magic, or the mirages will disappear. It's also possible to remove the mirages indirectly by changing the conditions used to maintain them, IE: radically changing the temperature or creating a sudden and powerful gust of wind.
This illusion power is strictly visual -- its impossible for Morgan to craft a mirage that can speak or do actual harm to anyone. Anyone with at least an Average Ability Soul Perception (or a similar power) can automatically discern a mirage from the real thing -- provided they use that ability to check, of course.
HERBALISM
TYPE: Passive
STRENGTH: Average
KEYWORDS: potion and poison crafting, herbal ingredients
DESCRIPTION:
While not true healing magic by any stretch of the imagination, Morgan's knack for creating potions, salves, and exotic remedies is nonetheless a useful talent. When in her Avalon sanctuary it isn't uncommon to see the once-great witch combing through old tomes and books on materia medicia, trying to track down old recipes lost to her when she died. Furthermore, she's made a hobby of searching for certain rare plants, bringing them back to her gardens in Avalon for later cultivation.
This "hobby", however, is far from innocent...
That which heals can also kill, a medical manifestation of contradiction which Morgan takes no small delight in. Mix ingredients properly, and what may have been a tonic of healing turns toxic with but a pinch of this and a dash of that. It doesn't even require any magic power, this twisted art of manipulating nature.
Morgan's standard 'healing potion', of which she usually carries two or three, can ease serious wounds slightly and heal minor injuries completely over the course of a few minutes (these are applied to the injury itself, not swallowed). Her poisons are all custom-made to each situation and intended victim, so she rarely ever just happens to have one on her person. With the proper samples and ingredients she can formulate various kinds of antidotes and anti-venoms, provided she at least knows the effects she's trying to counteract -- as with poisons, she rarely has one of these with her 'just because'.
(She can also make a mean herbal tea with all the kick of an energy drink. Tastes like lime mixed with garlic, honey, and peppermint -- the flavor alone is usually enough to wake people up!)
An herbalist is only as good as their ingredients, of course, so should Morgan ever get her hands on some truly rare plants it is possible she could make things much more interesting...
[/ul]
EQUIPMENT:
TYPE: Weapon
STRENGTH: Average
DESCRIPTION:
When forced to fight at close range, Morgan magically summons a pair of war fans. These fans, when unfolded, look remarkably like the wings of a raven; each black-metal "feather" has a razor's edge not unlike a dagger, and the fan as a whole can be used to block and parry both melee and thrown weapons -- however, they are simply useless against attacks such as Soul Menace (to say nothing of any Resonance attacks) or 'heavy damage' type Demon Weapons, such as Marie's hammer form or the high-powered shots of Yumi's rifle form. The fans themselves are very lightweight and made especially for parrying light projectile attacks and throwing blades.[/ul][/size]
MINIONS: n/a
VEHICLES: n/a
LOYALTY: SELF
KEY ATTRIBUTES:
Dislikes: Powerful men, Excalibur, cats, "straight-laced" and stubborn people, religion of all kinds, long-term relationships.
Strengths: Expert at deception and misdirection, remarkably swift and agile, cunning and guileful, seductive, able to heal self and allies with potions, fickle personality and belief in contradiction lends her an element of unpredictability.
Weaknesses: Must remain immobile while creating mirages, lacks any significant physical strength (lightweight), (currently) has relatively weak attack spells, (currently) cannot use Soul Protect, tends to have few allies due to fickle and intrusive personality, low defense against Soul Wavelength attacks and brute force weapons.
Hobbies: Playing devil's advocate with friends and enemies alike, performing magic experiments and making herbal potions / poisons / antidotes, shopping in high-class stores, reading trashy romance novels.[/ul]
PERSONALITY:
Morgan's most deep-seated belief is that everyone, everyone is two-faced. This goes beyond merely acknowledging the seeds of madness, darkness, fear, and betrayal which are part of human nature; Morgan honestly believes that at the core of human nature itself is a single concept: contradiction. She sees it as the driving force behind invention and innovation, the foundation on which all "moral" society is built, and a necessary component to ply the full depths of power which magic affords. To embrace contradiction, in Morgan's mind, is to be free -- both from the restraints of order and the depravity of chaos, the ultimate liberation. This comes through most clearly in her ever-developing "Antipodal Arcana" theory, which postulates that the combination of polar opposites into a single synthesized whole -- both the process itself and the study of the results -- is the key to nearly unlimited magical power.
Her theory of contradiction also extends to her interactions with other people. Morgan enjoys poking, prodding, psychoanalyzing, and playing devil's advocate with friends, enemies, and strangers alike, ever eager to elicit a response that runs contrary to a person's view of their self. This tends to leave her rather short on allies when push comes to shove, but what she may lack in companions she makes up for in "playmates" -- it seldom fails that, after getting someone to take that first open step towards self-contradiction, they come back to try and prove Morgan's ideas wrong, giving her a cadre of intellectual sparring partners to call upon anytime she feels bored.[/size][/ul]
HISTORY:
Half-sister to the legendary King Arthur of Camelot, Morgan has been many things over the years. Having her father killed by Uther Pendragon, who then proceeded to marry her mother, did little to instill in young Morgan a trust in human virtue -- nor did it help when Uther suddenly sent her away to a strict, stuffy religious convent, trying to be rid of an unpleasant nuisance. It was only through some divine irony that it was there, amid the sacred symbols, nuns, and cold beds that Morgan discovered her own power...
Discovering she'd been born a witch, Morgan quickly became adept at concealing her nature from those around her. Had the nuns found out they'd have likely driven a cross into her heart and burned her at the stake. Instead, Morgan became an avid student of human nature, studying each of the convent's inhabitants until she could guess their every thought and knew all their secrets... and then, after months of planning and setting up the scenario, she turned the entire convent in upon itself. What started as theological disagreements and simmering grievances escalated to a fever-pitch, becoming threats and brawls and murder. The convent was closed within a week, the girls sent back to their families. All the while Morgan, when no one was looking, couldn't stop herself from giggling and grinning.
Uther's next attempt to be rid of Morgan was through an arranged marriage -- something she wanted none of. In defiance of her stepfather Morgan leapt full-on into the arms of one loose lover after another... and not all of them men. By this time Camelot had become the kingdom of legends; Arthur and his young wife Guinevere sat upon its thrones, and Morgan, being a blood relative of the king, had managed to step gracefully into the role of a lady-at-court. This was a golden age, both for Brittan and for the young witch... but there was a problem: Morgan wasn't the only "magician" in King Arthur's court.
Merlin Ambrosius's gaze seldom left her once Morgan entered a room. He saw through her every layer of disguise and deception. Her distrust of the court magister was only matched by her fear of his extensive powers -- powers she vowed to master, surpass, and one day turn upon the warlock. Yet the means to do so seemed entirely out of reach...
... until the day Guinevere caught her in bed with one of the knights.
In a fit of disgust -- and to mitigate the political fallout of the affair -- the queen had Morgan branded a seductress and publicly expelled from Camelot's nobility. Cast out, Morgan's plotting for revenge quite nearly drove her insane... until an unexpected twist brought everything back into focus for her. She was approached by Merlin, who offered to take her as an apprentice. Though she didn't know it at the time, this was a gesture of mercy from her half-brother Arthur, using it as a means to restore some nobility to her and help his sister's life get back onto the right path.
Too little, too late... but Morgan still took full advantage of it.
She learned everything Merlin had to teach her, even some lessons the powerful warlock had never intended. Virtually all of Merlin's secrets were hers in no time at all, while the wizard was obliged to watch his "good little apprentice" rapidly surpass him. The night when Morgan fled, laughing, into the wilds came as no surprise to him -- he'd realized long ago the threat Morgan could become, and now Arthur's mercy had brought it all to fruition.
Little about Morgan's pursuits changed much over the years that followed. She was a constant, if shadowy, adversary to the kingdom -- she stole Excalibur's scabbard, scared Sir Gawain half to death, nearly exposed the affair between Guinevere and Lancelot, aided and created dozens of foes for Camelot to face, and all while alternately seducing and harassing the kingdom's knights. It was during this time that she established two separate hidden sanctuaries for herself: one within the fiery crater of Mount Etna in Sicily and a second on the hidden 'Isle of Apples', mythical Avalon itself. Indeed, to say that Morgan is the queen of this magic-blessed place is no exaggeration; it is not uncommon to find the raven-witch with a beautiful apple in hand, plucked from Avalon's own orchards. Secure in these remote and difficult to approach strongholds, the lady Morgan grew in power and influence, even having small cults across the British Isles who worshiped her as a goddess. Yet at no point was the time right to strike Camelot, and Guinevere, the fatal blow which would send all they had become crashing to the dust...
... not until one night when the greatest king of the age, in a moment of penultimate weakness, was drawn into a carefully planned trap of lust. From Arthur and Morgan's unholy union was the witch's first child born: the betrayer, Mordred. Try as they might, Arthur and his knights could not blot the boy out... and, when he was come of age, the dark knight began his war against his father's kingdom.
Blood flowed across the land.
In a final conflict, both father and son fell upon the battlefield. Camelot's dominion was ended. Queen Guinevere, betrayed by her husband, had fallen first into Lancelot's arms and then in desperation into Mordred's; heart in anguish, she fled into the wilds where Morgan had savage beasts waiting to tear her into tiny bloody pieces. The Arthurian legends would have ended here... if not for Merlin.
As one last intervention the wizard had crafted a powerful enchantment to protect Arthur's life; instead of death's embrace the king's soul was somehow shielded, locked away with great magic that rendered Arthur's return to life a possibility. Morgan, intrigued by what her former "master" had wrought, had the body moved to Avalon and then encased in a block of enchanted white amethyst to preserve it for study. This decision would later prove a saving grace.
Merlin and Morgan waged a war of their own for a time, but eventually both retreated to their own domains, weary of the struggle. Merlin eventually died, though the true tale of how and why has long since been lost... but not before planting the seeds of Morgan's downfall. Camelot's destruction hadn't gone unnoticed, after all. Morgan Le Fay had become a prominent and dangerous witch... one Shinigami-sama and his Eight Warriors had been seeking to destroy for quite some time. Some say Merlin cut a deal with the death-god; others say he merely pointed Shinigami in the right direction. Either way, the end result was the same: Morgan soon had a new war on her hands.
One she quickly lost.
Her volcano fortress breached and the witch-hunters closing in, Le Fay made a dangerous last-minute gambit. She had learned from studying Arthur's soul that it had somehow been bound to Excalibur's invulnerability-granting scabbard, rendering the king both "dead" and unable to die at the same time, caught in perpetual limbo until his wounds could heal -- which they never would, so long as he remained in the crystal coffin. Still, she'd learned enough about how a soul could be anchored to a material vessel to try it herself. Six pendants of sapphire were quickly retrieved, blood-runes drawn, and the magic completed... right as Death himself came crashing through the door.
Some say the pendants were carried to the far-flung corners of the earth by a flock of ravens, but the truth is much less mystical. The battle had destabilized the volcano and Morgan, anticipating this, had sealed each soul-bound amulet with protective magics. She held Shinigami off just barely long enough; he escaped the fiery explosion of Mount Etna... but Morgan did not. Her shattered fortress saved her from the lava, but not before it collapsed on top of her. The rest of the eruption buried the site entirely. The pendants were encased in volcanic rock, tossed into the sea, and should have been lost to history.
Almost seven hundred years passed.
A handful of young witches, following old records of Morgan's demise, rediscovered the site of her holdout within the slopes of Mt. Etna. There they found Morgan Le Fay's corpse, dried out to the point of practically being a mummy... yet somehow, still intact. The discovery was quite impressive -- the body still radiated a faint aura of magic, even after all that time! From this the cult of Morgan Le Fay was reborn, first as an "academic" curiosity by a small handful of secretive witches but later, with the discovery of the first soul-bound pendant, into a secret society dedicated to her resurrection. One by one the pieces fell into place, the fragments of Morgan's scattered soul reunited...
... until at last all that remained was a single ritual. The poor fools should have known that power has to come from somewhere, and bringing back the dead is no small miracle. The amulets' combined magic tore the souls of Morgan's cultists from their bodies, converted them into pure energy, and fueled a single glorious act of restoration. Up from the grave rose Morgan Le Fay... reborn. She returned to the living just barely after the dramatic battle in Arachnophobia's stronghold which resulted in Arachne's demise, stepping forth to behold a world still reeling from war. Though the bulk of her powers had yet to return, the raven-witch of lore saw opportunity... and determined to seize upon it.[/ul]
MORE INFO:
Morgan's approach to combat is a reflection of her theory of contradiction. Simply put: her style, when fighting, is to hardly fight at all.
Morgan prefers the defensive; her standard strategy is to out-maneuver and outlast an adversary until the moment they are weakest or make a critical mistake... and then strike with precision. To this end she makes heavy use of her magical skills to confuse and misdirect foes while keeping herself out of the line of fire. Truly, Morgan is a staunch believer in the old Italian proverb: "the best armor is to keep out of range". She is surprisingly swift, swooping down like a bird of prey and then fading away like a ghost before retaliation comes. Her attacks are seldom very powerful -- like the raven she has a propensity to peck at her foe, agitating them with minor but pinpoint damage until the right opportunity presents itself to cripple, and then finish, her victim.
(In Soul Eater, a witch's magic typically revolves around the theme of their animal theme; thus, Morgan's powers may seem... out of place. However, these abilities of hers have a basis in the Arthurian legends surrounding her. First there is the famed 'superior mirage' known as the Fata Morgana, attributed to her by the Italians. There is also a connection between Morgan Le Fay and the contrasting elements she wields; legends state that she found a home for herself in both the fiery volcano Mt. Etna and with the deadly seducers of the sea, the Sirens of Greek mythology. These connections lend credence to her having both strong powers of illusion and a dual elemental connection. In regards to Herbalism, Morgan is cited in early Arthurian legends as being an arcane healer, both of Arthur and his knights.)
RP Sample:
My return to the world was quite as I expected. Life is full of contrasts and juxtapositions, of things which should not be and yet ultimately are anyway. My "death" was such a thing -- after conceiving the downfall of others for over a hundred years... I hardly saw my own end coming in time.
True, the Reaper had always been a threat... but a distant one. A shadow I could easily flee from, whose movements were predictable upon the basis of his purpose. Yet when he came for me it was not the blunt, tactless aggression I'd come to expect. The Eight and the One came by nightfall and were within my sanctuary before anyone was the wiser -- I myself narrowly discovered the attack in time to act, to preserve my life and the legacy of my works.
Curse you Merlin, you cantankerous old bastard.
And yet, despite the schemes of all my foes, I remain. Eyes flicker open, seeing light for the first time in centuries. I feel the warmth of the air, the smooth surface of the altar on which they laid me for the ritual. I breathe, inhaling a world tinted with the acrid flavor of brimstone, the allure of incense and candles, the tingle of powerful magic just fading from the air... and the familiar musk of death. As I lift my head I see their bodies, lifeless, strewn about the ritual chamber.
I smile, a pleased reassurance coming over me. Even in death my name alone could seduce this many... and yet the smile is quickly replaced. There is... a hollowness, a void within. It takes me a moment to realize what's missing, and when I do it forces a saddened sigh from my lips. Power. So much of it has left me, so much I once commanded, all lost now.
My feet, bare, touch the warm stone as I rise from the arcane altar. This is Etna, my fiery home -- even with all the ages that passed and all the damage to the structure I still recognize it. The air is like a thick blanket against my skin; with a gesture and a muttered spell fabric forms round about, embracing my shape oh so softly. Everything seems as if new, the darkness of my long sleep fading from memory as sensations glide through my mind. Ah, to be alive...
I step forward, over the dead ardents who once worshiped the name of Morgan Le Fay. A new world awaits me, and I yearn to experience it... all of it.
A chuckle, soft and feminine, echoes off the walls.
The bitch is back.
(I know my version of the Arthurian legends in Morgan's history, and even Morgan herself, probably don't line up very well with the classical lores. Well... the classical lores don't even line up well with the classical lores, and my version was tailored to better fit the Soul Eater universe anyhow. So there.)[/ul]
--------------
(character art by tattereddreams)
T H E M E __ M U S I C
I Walk Alone by Tarja
~
Somewhere Around Nothing by Apocalyptica
CHARACTER NAME: Morgan Le Fay
OTHER NAMES: Fata Morgana (or simply) Morgana
CURRENT ALIAS: Mora Wyrdsthane
ARCANE TITLE: 'Drakaina Nychta'
RACE: Witch
CLASS: Witch
ADVANCED CLASS: n/a
AGE:
Actual: Approximately 800 years*
(For all practical purposes, Morgan was only alive and well for about a hundred and fifty years prior to her "death". This means that, despite all the power she once had, her skills and knowledge ultimately pale in comparison to witches like Medusa and Mabaa -- to say nothing of how her death adversely affected her powers.)
[/ul]
GENDER: Female
APPEARANCE:
When a subtler look is called for, Morgan can adopt any number of disguises. Amongst her fellow witches she wears an unassuming charcoal-gray cloak and robe. When "out and about" in populated areas of the world she is want to don whatever the local fashion calls for -- if its in accordance to her elaborate tastes, that is -- but always at least one article on her person will bear the motif of black feathers: the pattern of her handbag, a feather-like extension over her shoulders, the trim of her coat, etc. This object is not always so easy to spot -- it can be as overt as a black feathered scarf or as subtle as a black wing emblem on her high-heeled shoes. She sees leaving this "clue" to her identity as a type of game to be played with allies and enemies alike, seeing how long it takes for someone to identify her.
Morgan's eyes are a deep-set purple-red, in hue much like a rich wine, and her hair is jet black and falls midway down her back.[/ul]
- - -
WITCH ANIMA: Raven / Antipodian
- - -
ABILITIES:
TYPE: Active
STRENGTH: Average
KEYWORDS: raven, animal, transform, fly, magic
DESCRIPTION:
Morgan's animal form is that of the common raven. While not a powerful or agile creature, the raven does possess a keen intelligence and, more importantly, tends to be easily overlooked by passers-by. This form serves Morgan well, both for travel and stealth purposes. Ravens also have a particular vocal skill that makes them adept at imitating other sounds from their environment, even human speech. Morgan occasionally uses this talent to bait an unwary foe or imitate the voice of another person for purposes of deception. She cannot, of course, cast any magic whilst in this form.
(Morgan once had another, far more powerful form... but this was lost to her when she "died". She has yet to recover enough of her power to truly live up to her self-given arcane title, 'Drakaina Nychta'.)
GHOSTWALKER
TYPE: Passive
STRENGTH: Average
KEYWORDS: high agility, silent movement, slow fall, magic
DESCRIPTION:
Morgan's every movement has an impossible grace to it; her steps are whisper-quiet, her gestures and expressions subtle, her touch like a passing breeze. When forced into a fight these qualities go to a whole new level, to the point where those watching her wonder whether the woman is even real... or a phantom of some sort. Morgan is remarkably swift on her feet, seeming more to glide over the ground than actually run on it, and her reflexes are almost peerless. While not capable of actual flight outside of her raven form, Morgan does have the power to feather-fall at will, lessening gravity's hold over her. Her steps, breathing, and even her heartbeat are utterly soundless through magical sound dampening, forcing foes to trust their eyes or noses (or Soul Perception). It is also notable that this power allows her to walk on water as if it were solid ground.
ANTIPODIAN MAGIC: Fire and Ice
TYPE: Active
STRENGTH: Average
KEYWORDS: fire, ice, fog, claws, ranged, area-of-effect, magic
DESCRIPTION:
The most basic manifestation of Morgan's Antipodal Arcana Theory can be seen in how she wields these two opposed elements harmoniously in combat. As she has lost much of the power she once had neither element is particularly destructive... but skill and strategy bring power of their own. Using these elements causes her hands to transform into large raven's claws, one glowing a fierce crimson with the other a shimmering blue. The basic attacks from each are to generate small fist-sized fireballs and foot-long ice shards to be thrown at opponents -- these are weak in power, nothing that would pose a serious threat to another witch or a skilled Meister on their own... but the elements have other surprises.
Firewall: On impacting with any solid object Morgan's small fireballs explode... and then linger at the point of contact as a free-floating inferno. This "ghost-fire" lasts for a full two minutes before being reduced to a plume of smoke -- long enough to forestall an adversary's advance or force them to fall back -- and is roughly three feet in diameter. Touching one, of course, causes serious fire burns. These flames are virtually impossible to put out with water or any non-magical / non-soul powered means.
Flash Fog: Combining magical fire and ice, Morgan unleashes a burst of super-heated steam from her hands. Though the steam can burn a person's skin slightly on contact this is not its real purpose. The steam quickly becomes a dense fog and expands to fill a wide area, rendering those within it unable to see more than a few feet in front of them at any time. Sounds and smells are faded and indistinct in this haze and a person can easily lose their sense of direction. The magical properties of the haze make Soul Perception difficult as well, with only a Strong Ability form of the skill able to overcome such concealment. Morgan, however, is adept at operating in this fog and uses it to its fullest advantage. If not forcibly removed somehow the fog will lift on its own after roughly fifteen minutes.[/ul][/size]
ANTIPODIAN MAGIC: Mirage
TYPE: Active
STRENGTH: Average
KEYWORDS: illusion, fog, magic
DESCRIPTION:
In Italy, those who take to the seas still remember the deceptive powers of Morgan Le Fay; local folklore even attributes the stunning sea mirages which appear off the coast to her, calling them 'Fata Morgana'. However, Morgan's illusory powers have greatly waned since her glory days... but are not gone altogether.
Morgan's power to create and maintain mirages relies on manipulating heat and moisture -- with a bit of magical power thrown in for improved control. As such, those two elements must either already be present in the environment naturally or as a result of Morgan's own powers, Flash Fog in specific. When conditions are right Morgan can twist what a person sees to her own purposes, creating phantom doubles of herself, others, or any image or object she wishes to conjure with which to harass and occupy her foes. This "smoke and mirrors" trick does have a downside, however: Morgan must remain standing in a single spot, focusing her magic, or the mirages will disappear. It's also possible to remove the mirages indirectly by changing the conditions used to maintain them, IE: radically changing the temperature or creating a sudden and powerful gust of wind.
This illusion power is strictly visual -- its impossible for Morgan to craft a mirage that can speak or do actual harm to anyone. Anyone with at least an Average Ability Soul Perception (or a similar power) can automatically discern a mirage from the real thing -- provided they use that ability to check, of course.
HERBALISM
TYPE: Passive
STRENGTH: Average
KEYWORDS: potion and poison crafting, herbal ingredients
DESCRIPTION:
While not true healing magic by any stretch of the imagination, Morgan's knack for creating potions, salves, and exotic remedies is nonetheless a useful talent. When in her Avalon sanctuary it isn't uncommon to see the once-great witch combing through old tomes and books on materia medicia, trying to track down old recipes lost to her when she died. Furthermore, she's made a hobby of searching for certain rare plants, bringing them back to her gardens in Avalon for later cultivation.
This "hobby", however, is far from innocent...
That which heals can also kill, a medical manifestation of contradiction which Morgan takes no small delight in. Mix ingredients properly, and what may have been a tonic of healing turns toxic with but a pinch of this and a dash of that. It doesn't even require any magic power, this twisted art of manipulating nature.
Morgan's standard 'healing potion', of which she usually carries two or three, can ease serious wounds slightly and heal minor injuries completely over the course of a few minutes (these are applied to the injury itself, not swallowed). Her poisons are all custom-made to each situation and intended victim, so she rarely ever just happens to have one on her person. With the proper samples and ingredients she can formulate various kinds of antidotes and anti-venoms, provided she at least knows the effects she's trying to counteract -- as with poisons, she rarely has one of these with her 'just because'.
(She can also make a mean herbal tea with all the kick of an energy drink. Tastes like lime mixed with garlic, honey, and peppermint -- the flavor alone is usually enough to wake people up!)
An herbalist is only as good as their ingredients, of course, so should Morgan ever get her hands on some truly rare plants it is possible she could make things much more interesting...
[/ul]
EQUIPMENT:
TYPE: Weapon
STRENGTH: Average
DESCRIPTION:
When forced to fight at close range, Morgan magically summons a pair of war fans. These fans, when unfolded, look remarkably like the wings of a raven; each black-metal "feather" has a razor's edge not unlike a dagger, and the fan as a whole can be used to block and parry both melee and thrown weapons -- however, they are simply useless against attacks such as Soul Menace (to say nothing of any Resonance attacks) or 'heavy damage' type Demon Weapons, such as Marie's hammer form or the high-powered shots of Yumi's rifle form. The fans themselves are very lightweight and made especially for parrying light projectile attacks and throwing blades.[/ul][/size]
MINIONS: n/a
VEHICLES: n/a
- - -
LOYALTY: SELF
KEY ATTRIBUTES:
Dislikes: Powerful men, Excalibur, cats, "straight-laced" and stubborn people, religion of all kinds, long-term relationships.
Strengths: Expert at deception and misdirection, remarkably swift and agile, cunning and guileful, seductive, able to heal self and allies with potions, fickle personality and belief in contradiction lends her an element of unpredictability.
Weaknesses: Must remain immobile while creating mirages, lacks any significant physical strength (lightweight), (currently) has relatively weak attack spells, (currently) cannot use Soul Protect, tends to have few allies due to fickle and intrusive personality, low defense against Soul Wavelength attacks and brute force weapons.
Hobbies: Playing devil's advocate with friends and enemies alike, performing magic experiments and making herbal potions / poisons / antidotes, shopping in high-class stores, reading trashy romance novels.[/ul]
PERSONALITY:
Morgan's most deep-seated belief is that everyone, everyone is two-faced. This goes beyond merely acknowledging the seeds of madness, darkness, fear, and betrayal which are part of human nature; Morgan honestly believes that at the core of human nature itself is a single concept: contradiction. She sees it as the driving force behind invention and innovation, the foundation on which all "moral" society is built, and a necessary component to ply the full depths of power which magic affords. To embrace contradiction, in Morgan's mind, is to be free -- both from the restraints of order and the depravity of chaos, the ultimate liberation. This comes through most clearly in her ever-developing "Antipodal Arcana" theory, which postulates that the combination of polar opposites into a single synthesized whole -- both the process itself and the study of the results -- is the key to nearly unlimited magical power.
Her theory of contradiction also extends to her interactions with other people. Morgan enjoys poking, prodding, psychoanalyzing, and playing devil's advocate with friends, enemies, and strangers alike, ever eager to elicit a response that runs contrary to a person's view of their self. This tends to leave her rather short on allies when push comes to shove, but what she may lack in companions she makes up for in "playmates" -- it seldom fails that, after getting someone to take that first open step towards self-contradiction, they come back to try and prove Morgan's ideas wrong, giving her a cadre of intellectual sparring partners to call upon anytime she feels bored.[/size][/ul]
HISTORY:
Half-sister to the legendary King Arthur of Camelot, Morgan has been many things over the years. Having her father killed by Uther Pendragon, who then proceeded to marry her mother, did little to instill in young Morgan a trust in human virtue -- nor did it help when Uther suddenly sent her away to a strict, stuffy religious convent, trying to be rid of an unpleasant nuisance. It was only through some divine irony that it was there, amid the sacred symbols, nuns, and cold beds that Morgan discovered her own power...
Discovering she'd been born a witch, Morgan quickly became adept at concealing her nature from those around her. Had the nuns found out they'd have likely driven a cross into her heart and burned her at the stake. Instead, Morgan became an avid student of human nature, studying each of the convent's inhabitants until she could guess their every thought and knew all their secrets... and then, after months of planning and setting up the scenario, she turned the entire convent in upon itself. What started as theological disagreements and simmering grievances escalated to a fever-pitch, becoming threats and brawls and murder. The convent was closed within a week, the girls sent back to their families. All the while Morgan, when no one was looking, couldn't stop herself from giggling and grinning.
Uther's next attempt to be rid of Morgan was through an arranged marriage -- something she wanted none of. In defiance of her stepfather Morgan leapt full-on into the arms of one loose lover after another... and not all of them men. By this time Camelot had become the kingdom of legends; Arthur and his young wife Guinevere sat upon its thrones, and Morgan, being a blood relative of the king, had managed to step gracefully into the role of a lady-at-court. This was a golden age, both for Brittan and for the young witch... but there was a problem: Morgan wasn't the only "magician" in King Arthur's court.
Merlin Ambrosius's gaze seldom left her once Morgan entered a room. He saw through her every layer of disguise and deception. Her distrust of the court magister was only matched by her fear of his extensive powers -- powers she vowed to master, surpass, and one day turn upon the warlock. Yet the means to do so seemed entirely out of reach...
... until the day Guinevere caught her in bed with one of the knights.
In a fit of disgust -- and to mitigate the political fallout of the affair -- the queen had Morgan branded a seductress and publicly expelled from Camelot's nobility. Cast out, Morgan's plotting for revenge quite nearly drove her insane... until an unexpected twist brought everything back into focus for her. She was approached by Merlin, who offered to take her as an apprentice. Though she didn't know it at the time, this was a gesture of mercy from her half-brother Arthur, using it as a means to restore some nobility to her and help his sister's life get back onto the right path.
Too little, too late... but Morgan still took full advantage of it.
She learned everything Merlin had to teach her, even some lessons the powerful warlock had never intended. Virtually all of Merlin's secrets were hers in no time at all, while the wizard was obliged to watch his "good little apprentice" rapidly surpass him. The night when Morgan fled, laughing, into the wilds came as no surprise to him -- he'd realized long ago the threat Morgan could become, and now Arthur's mercy had brought it all to fruition.
Little about Morgan's pursuits changed much over the years that followed. She was a constant, if shadowy, adversary to the kingdom -- she stole Excalibur's scabbard, scared Sir Gawain half to death, nearly exposed the affair between Guinevere and Lancelot, aided and created dozens of foes for Camelot to face, and all while alternately seducing and harassing the kingdom's knights. It was during this time that she established two separate hidden sanctuaries for herself: one within the fiery crater of Mount Etna in Sicily and a second on the hidden 'Isle of Apples', mythical Avalon itself. Indeed, to say that Morgan is the queen of this magic-blessed place is no exaggeration; it is not uncommon to find the raven-witch with a beautiful apple in hand, plucked from Avalon's own orchards. Secure in these remote and difficult to approach strongholds, the lady Morgan grew in power and influence, even having small cults across the British Isles who worshiped her as a goddess. Yet at no point was the time right to strike Camelot, and Guinevere, the fatal blow which would send all they had become crashing to the dust...
... not until one night when the greatest king of the age, in a moment of penultimate weakness, was drawn into a carefully planned trap of lust. From Arthur and Morgan's unholy union was the witch's first child born: the betrayer, Mordred. Try as they might, Arthur and his knights could not blot the boy out... and, when he was come of age, the dark knight began his war against his father's kingdom.
Blood flowed across the land.
In a final conflict, both father and son fell upon the battlefield. Camelot's dominion was ended. Queen Guinevere, betrayed by her husband, had fallen first into Lancelot's arms and then in desperation into Mordred's; heart in anguish, she fled into the wilds where Morgan had savage beasts waiting to tear her into tiny bloody pieces. The Arthurian legends would have ended here... if not for Merlin.
As one last intervention the wizard had crafted a powerful enchantment to protect Arthur's life; instead of death's embrace the king's soul was somehow shielded, locked away with great magic that rendered Arthur's return to life a possibility. Morgan, intrigued by what her former "master" had wrought, had the body moved to Avalon and then encased in a block of enchanted white amethyst to preserve it for study. This decision would later prove a saving grace.
Merlin and Morgan waged a war of their own for a time, but eventually both retreated to their own domains, weary of the struggle. Merlin eventually died, though the true tale of how and why has long since been lost... but not before planting the seeds of Morgan's downfall. Camelot's destruction hadn't gone unnoticed, after all. Morgan Le Fay had become a prominent and dangerous witch... one Shinigami-sama and his Eight Warriors had been seeking to destroy for quite some time. Some say Merlin cut a deal with the death-god; others say he merely pointed Shinigami in the right direction. Either way, the end result was the same: Morgan soon had a new war on her hands.
One she quickly lost.
Her volcano fortress breached and the witch-hunters closing in, Le Fay made a dangerous last-minute gambit. She had learned from studying Arthur's soul that it had somehow been bound to Excalibur's invulnerability-granting scabbard, rendering the king both "dead" and unable to die at the same time, caught in perpetual limbo until his wounds could heal -- which they never would, so long as he remained in the crystal coffin. Still, she'd learned enough about how a soul could be anchored to a material vessel to try it herself. Six pendants of sapphire were quickly retrieved, blood-runes drawn, and the magic completed... right as Death himself came crashing through the door.
Some say the pendants were carried to the far-flung corners of the earth by a flock of ravens, but the truth is much less mystical. The battle had destabilized the volcano and Morgan, anticipating this, had sealed each soul-bound amulet with protective magics. She held Shinigami off just barely long enough; he escaped the fiery explosion of Mount Etna... but Morgan did not. Her shattered fortress saved her from the lava, but not before it collapsed on top of her. The rest of the eruption buried the site entirely. The pendants were encased in volcanic rock, tossed into the sea, and should have been lost to history.
Almost seven hundred years passed.
A handful of young witches, following old records of Morgan's demise, rediscovered the site of her holdout within the slopes of Mt. Etna. There they found Morgan Le Fay's corpse, dried out to the point of practically being a mummy... yet somehow, still intact. The discovery was quite impressive -- the body still radiated a faint aura of magic, even after all that time! From this the cult of Morgan Le Fay was reborn, first as an "academic" curiosity by a small handful of secretive witches but later, with the discovery of the first soul-bound pendant, into a secret society dedicated to her resurrection. One by one the pieces fell into place, the fragments of Morgan's scattered soul reunited...
... until at last all that remained was a single ritual. The poor fools should have known that power has to come from somewhere, and bringing back the dead is no small miracle. The amulets' combined magic tore the souls of Morgan's cultists from their bodies, converted them into pure energy, and fueled a single glorious act of restoration. Up from the grave rose Morgan Le Fay... reborn. She returned to the living just barely after the dramatic battle in Arachnophobia's stronghold which resulted in Arachne's demise, stepping forth to behold a world still reeling from war. Though the bulk of her powers had yet to return, the raven-witch of lore saw opportunity... and determined to seize upon it.[/ul]
MORE INFO:
Morgan's approach to combat is a reflection of her theory of contradiction. Simply put: her style, when fighting, is to hardly fight at all.
Morgan prefers the defensive; her standard strategy is to out-maneuver and outlast an adversary until the moment they are weakest or make a critical mistake... and then strike with precision. To this end she makes heavy use of her magical skills to confuse and misdirect foes while keeping herself out of the line of fire. Truly, Morgan is a staunch believer in the old Italian proverb: "the best armor is to keep out of range". She is surprisingly swift, swooping down like a bird of prey and then fading away like a ghost before retaliation comes. Her attacks are seldom very powerful -- like the raven she has a propensity to peck at her foe, agitating them with minor but pinpoint damage until the right opportunity presents itself to cripple, and then finish, her victim.
(In Soul Eater, a witch's magic typically revolves around the theme of their animal theme; thus, Morgan's powers may seem... out of place. However, these abilities of hers have a basis in the Arthurian legends surrounding her. First there is the famed 'superior mirage' known as the Fata Morgana, attributed to her by the Italians. There is also a connection between Morgan Le Fay and the contrasting elements she wields; legends state that she found a home for herself in both the fiery volcano Mt. Etna and with the deadly seducers of the sea, the Sirens of Greek mythology. These connections lend credence to her having both strong powers of illusion and a dual elemental connection. In regards to Herbalism, Morgan is cited in early Arthurian legends as being an arcane healer, both of Arthur and his knights.)
RP Sample:
My return to the world was quite as I expected. Life is full of contrasts and juxtapositions, of things which should not be and yet ultimately are anyway. My "death" was such a thing -- after conceiving the downfall of others for over a hundred years... I hardly saw my own end coming in time.
True, the Reaper had always been a threat... but a distant one. A shadow I could easily flee from, whose movements were predictable upon the basis of his purpose. Yet when he came for me it was not the blunt, tactless aggression I'd come to expect. The Eight and the One came by nightfall and were within my sanctuary before anyone was the wiser -- I myself narrowly discovered the attack in time to act, to preserve my life and the legacy of my works.
Curse you Merlin, you cantankerous old bastard.
And yet, despite the schemes of all my foes, I remain. Eyes flicker open, seeing light for the first time in centuries. I feel the warmth of the air, the smooth surface of the altar on which they laid me for the ritual. I breathe, inhaling a world tinted with the acrid flavor of brimstone, the allure of incense and candles, the tingle of powerful magic just fading from the air... and the familiar musk of death. As I lift my head I see their bodies, lifeless, strewn about the ritual chamber.
I smile, a pleased reassurance coming over me. Even in death my name alone could seduce this many... and yet the smile is quickly replaced. There is... a hollowness, a void within. It takes me a moment to realize what's missing, and when I do it forces a saddened sigh from my lips. Power. So much of it has left me, so much I once commanded, all lost now.
My feet, bare, touch the warm stone as I rise from the arcane altar. This is Etna, my fiery home -- even with all the ages that passed and all the damage to the structure I still recognize it. The air is like a thick blanket against my skin; with a gesture and a muttered spell fabric forms round about, embracing my shape oh so softly. Everything seems as if new, the darkness of my long sleep fading from memory as sensations glide through my mind. Ah, to be alive...
I step forward, over the dead ardents who once worshiped the name of Morgan Le Fay. A new world awaits me, and I yearn to experience it... all of it.
A chuckle, soft and feminine, echoes off the walls.
The bitch is back.
(I know my version of the Arthurian legends in Morgan's history, and even Morgan herself, probably don't line up very well with the classical lores. Well... the classical lores don't even line up well with the classical lores, and my version was tailored to better fit the Soul Eater universe anyhow. So there.)[/ul]