All thought Morrida was destined for a servile life, but she had other plans
No one would deny the honor of being the Amatrix’s chosen and assume the role as the Queen of the Dead… Except for Morrida Umberland, the Blue Witch. She is known for enjoying the company of the dead more than the living, and some say she consorts with ancient, dangerous spirits.
About the Seeker
History
Legacy
With little affinity for the necromantic arts and too strong-willed to be of use for an arranged marriage, Morrida was seen as a burden by her family. To free themselves of any of their responsibilities towards her, they sent Morrida to the Epitaph to study amidst the honored dead. Within a library of corpses, where the secrets of the ancient dead are pried from them by necromancers, Morrida slowly came to grips with her fate, her heart hardened by her family’s betrayal. Eventually, a sweet-worded Lord by the name of Vorendal wore down her stubborn facade, winning her heart and encouraging her to explore different magical traditions with one of the awakened dead: Akriphista.
Tutored by the Fallen erisyr woman, Morrida discovered her true magical potential. Anush-Vah, the breath of life that allows the Legion to reanimate the dead, was not a power set in stone, but rather a beautiful tapestry of strings that could blend with many other traditions. Her magical growth had been stunted all along by dull, orthodox thinking.
When she told Akriphista of her wish to share this newfound power with Vorendal, her tutor’s face turned to a hateful scowl. Vorendal, an ancient, Fallen being of his own, had used Akriphista to gain forbidden knowledge, and discarded her as soon as she was no longer useful. When Morrida confronted Vorendal about these revelations, he showed his true colors, scarring her face in a fit of rage. Once more, Morrida had been betrayed, but she would not bow to a destiny imposed.
Feigning her own death to escape Vorendal, Morrida journeyed to Quinvala, where the Conclave measures one’s value by their deeds, not their lineage. There she mastered Liastrum magic and a Legacy once thought useless: the Soul-Stitcher. This Legacy was much like her: misunderstood, complex, and unfathomably powerful. In her hands, the Soul-Stitcher weaved Liastrum and the Anush-Vah together in a new technique, binding long-dead spirits into empty corpses. She returned to her homeland with this newfound power and was acknowledged by the leader of Belyos, the Queen of the Dead. Considered to be a great candidate to take on the role of Queen once the Amatrix has consumed its current host, Morrida was offered a place on the line of succession. It should have been the greatest of honors for a member of the Legion, but Morrida refused it, surprising all.
She knows that even the monarch of the Legion must answer to the court and is bound to the will of PtanRavalum. Morrida will never again be bound to someone else’s desires. Instead, she wished to be granted the spiritridden Umberlands, where she would be left alone and largely free from the machinations of her enemies.
Now, she keeps by her side only her beloved stitched creations and the few necromancers who wish to follow in her footsteps and abandon the rigid traditions of the Legion. Morrida ventures into the Malediction under the guise of serving the Legion’s best interests, but in reality, she searches for other sources of power that her Soul-Stitcher may be able to use. Freedom can only be guaranteed by power, and Morrida will have it all.
Among the many laboratories of the Conclave of the Spheres, some ancient treasures are left to gather dust, silently waiting for their true nature to be uncovered. Many secrets remain lost, hidden by the shadow of the Fall. Some of these treasures are Legacies or, at least, powerful and volatile magical artifacts that cause grievous injury to those who try to uncover their mysteries. The Soul-Stitcher was one such item, turning away burning Liastrum and sucking Soulbreath away from those who weren’t deemed worthy of its power. The touch of Morrida’s hands awakened its potential, unraveling the web of arcane possibilities within.
The Soul-Stitcher has accepted very few wielders throughout the centuries. Even before the Fall, it is said that Ptan-Ravalum sent out some of her followers into the world beyond Belyos, so they could study other magical traditions and find the missing piece that would make the Anush-Vah perfect. When those who returned began to perish under the Curse of Death, she fashioned them into Legacies so their expertise would not be lost. The Soul-Stitcher was created as one such experiment, to use Liastrum, and perhaps even other sources of power, to bind a soul to a body. The bearer of the Soul-Stitcher will bring into existence new beings, defying the Curse of Death through the power of new creation.
