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"I am the ultimate warlord. I do not fear death, oblivion or the terror of the enemy. I am without mercy to my enemies. I bloodied my hands in the chaining of Loki and hunt his misbegotten children. That I suffer his curse is inconsequential, as are my detractors opinions of me. My shout brings war, and storms to sweep away corruption in its flood. I build Asgard for those brave souls who will follow me and survive Ragnarok. I prepare a table for them to feast on the Sanguinary’s remains!" Morrigan sanctuaries are always located atop high places, such as mountain peaks or penthouses of skyscrapers. Those with high name who are members in good standing in the group are granted sanctuaries in the floating city Magonia
The Morrigan’s chief fortress is a vast city, some call it a ship, floating in the sky. It is known as Magonia. Built for the Morrigan by the Peri, the lofty minarets rise around a vast well which looks down on the earth below, a yawning hole serving as a gate for those exiled to the earth below. The jeweled beauty and splendor of this garden-fortress is beyond compare and humbles all who walk its precincts. Magonia is itself only part of a network of flying fortresses around the world, collectively known as Asgard. Within the vault’s of Magonia lies Bifrost, the "bridge" into the Morrigan’s vast mantle of Valhalla and across which only the Valkyries and Odin may travel in preparation for Ragnarok---the end of the world. The Morrigan have little terrestrial holdings. Because they are the Scepter Pride, they come and go as they please, and when they do arrive force themselves upon the hospitality of the Prides in control. The quiet cultures of the Morrigan hold the power for their Lords on earth. Scandinavia and Iceland are the chosen territory of the Morrigan, and they tolerate no competition here. Their mortal servants hold the same status here that immortals of other Prides hold in other regions. In the view of the Morrigan, even the majesty of their mere mortal servants is the equal to those immortals they rule. The Morrigan recruit their quiet cultures from those who seek after the sky, especially pilots and other thrill-seekers. They loathe all humans who do not show a heroic demeanor.
Himsati: Morrigan Himsatis are always winged. The vast majority of the Pride is comprised of birds of every imaginable species. Ravens and crows, the most ancient of the breeds, dominate the Pride. Predatory birds such as hawks, eagles, ospreys and falcons are highly honored as warriors while songbirds support the Pride endeavors in variety of other ways, including Emissaries, Jugglers and Probes. The bird form of a Morrigan is always of the giant variety. It’s plumage shimmers with color and majesty. More rare and considered to be blessed by nature are those Morrigan’s whose Himsati form is air or cloud itself. These Himsatis are encouraged to enter the elite Aesir, warriors who do battle with the Silhouette wherever it manifests. Rarer still are winged creatures from other Prides who have proven themselves loyal and courageous to the Morrigan. They are recruited as the companions and mounts of the Valkyries, the handmaidens of Odin whose Himsatis are lightning itself. The renegade Sons of Loki have Himsatis of elemental winter, twisting bands of frost glittering like diamonds in great winged shapes.
Terrene: The Morrigan’s Terrene form tends toward the pale beauty of Scandinavia---pale skin, sky-hued eyes (including the hues of a sunset), fair hair of red or gold except for the Ravens and crows, whose hair and eyes are the brooding hues of a stormy sky. Valkyrie have electric blue eyes which flicker when they are angry. Morrigan attire consists of armor over brilliant clothing (though the Ravens and Crows always dress in subdued shades of black and gray and the Valkyries always pure white.) The style of their armor encompasses every conceivable cultures, although Nordic style predominates. Certain groups within the Morrigan wear the samurai armor as they did in the days when they were the Shoguns of medieval Japan. The splendor of the armor is always hidden under illusions for Morrigan who have to walk the streets of the ground. Feathers adorn the Morrigan’s attire. The Sons of Loki wear black with armor of enchanted bluish glass. Circlets are the distinguishing attire that binds the Morrigan as one. The circlets are each unique and set with a gems according to the rank of each individual. The circlets of the Valkyrie are always silver, the Ravens and Crows always iron, those of the Aesir platinum and for all leaders of the Morrigan houses, including the Paragon, gold. All others wear bronze. Newly uplifted members of the pride are granted circles of leather and only earn metal after proving themselves in battle. The Sons of Loki wear circlets of glass in defiance of the exile. All Morrigan under Loki’s Curse wear gloves to minimize the chance of their bare skin touching anything on the ground. Morrigan are always beautiful to behold and their vanity is legendary, even more so than the that of the Anopheles.
Male: About 60% Female: About 40%
The Morrigan are first and foremost, warriors. Even their Rooks and Sleepers are competent soldiers. While the Morrigan take their leadership over the rest of Perpetual Society seriously, they reserve their fury for the Droves. As a Pride, they have slain more Droves than any other. This hunting record no doubt keeps them in their current position as the Scepter Pride. The Morrigan are allies and friends to other immortals. Whereas most Prides are concerned with the state and destiny of mankind, the Morrigan are concerned almost solely with the fate of the undying races. A Morrigan will lend aid to another immortal before a human every time, unless the human shows himself heroic and impresses the Morrigan. When this happens, the Morrigan elevates the esteem of the mortal, training him in the art of warfare with promises to make him an immortal warrior against the Beast in Ragnarok. Rarely, a twilight is chosen for immortality by a Morrigan if, in addition to her heroism, her beauty or personality causes the Morrigan to fall in love with her. This is always done in strictest secrecy. These individuals are trained specially in the Calalo quiet culture, eventually to become immortals and liaisons between the Morrigan and humanity. Like the Dracul, the Morrigan scrupulously maintain obedience to their superiors. Disobedience of a superior, unless it directly restricts the personal plans of an individual in the stratagem, is harshly punished. Morrigan maintain a code of chivalry adopted by many of their quiet cultures. Their code requires that they only accept battle from immortals of equal or higher status than themselves (excluding Droves, of course.) This code often becomes a blind spot for the Pride, who often ignore lesser targets who come back later to haunt them. Whenever the Morrigan travel to the ground, he is always clothed to minimize any skin contact with anything directly touching the ground. As such, he will always wear gloves, boots and long sleeves. Generally, only his head and face is revealed, and these are often hidden under helms. Morrigan under Loki’s Curse are well aware of this weakness, but pass it off as simple distaste for all things bound by chains of gravity. Many Morrigan appear in bizarre life-support suits while visiting the courts of other Prides. See Loki’s Curse under Morrigan Disadvantages Morrigan rarely allow immortals from other Prides to join them. Those who wish to join face a number of obstacles and tests of their prowess as warriors. They are hounded without mercy by the human warrior cults of the Pride to help prepare them for their uplifting. All Morrigan are singley dedicated to destroying the Misbegotten, Loki’s monstrous children. To destroy any one of these three obscenities would bring great status to the Morrigan who did so, or a place for non-Morrigan in the Pride. Along the same lines, the Morrigan seek out the Silhouette. Most young Morrigan invariably hear, after their uplift, of a plan devised by the Morrigan which is soon to destroy the Silhouette forever. Those who wish to share in this glory are encouraged to join the Aesir, an elite hunting force dedicated to the Silhouette’s destruction. Life as Morrigan is a life of political intrigue, even within the Pride. Factions continually vie for influence with Odin. Morrigan often wager their own visage with others within their Pride on outcomes of political rivalries. This shifts power around the Pride constantly without losing it to outsiders. One of the primary responsibilities of a Morrigan is to hoard conundrum shards. Other Prides often joke that all Morrigan are magpies attracted to sparkling things, but the Morrigan’s use of voxes and conundrum increases their already extreme power. Odin and his Valkyries used the conundrum to create Valhalla, their battlefield for the last confrontation with the Sanguinary. Voxes enchant Morrigan armor.
The Regine One of the most famous members of the Morrigan is Morgana (also known as Morgan Le Fey.) Past rivalry with the Morrigan, who believed her too close to Odin, led her to leave the Pride (although the Pride itself does not acknowledge that Morgana has left them.) As a defacto member of the Pride, Morgana and her sisters Sebille, Camille, and Annowyr believe that a battle with the Sanguinary---Ragnarok---need never come. Rather, the immortals should most all their resources to expunging the Droves from existence. Now known as the Regine, the sisters still continue to pursue their own genocidal policy, instead of the plan of Odin to prepare for Ragnarok. Despite this thorn in their side, the Morrigan are restrained by Odin from dealing harshly with Morgana. Though he does not allow her and her sisters any support, he ostensibly would like the dread battle to be circumvented by the efforts of her and the other Regine. Morgana is said to maintain an number of castles around the world. Her primary holding is believed to exist in a mantle within Bryce Canyon, Utah. She strikes out against Droves from this fortress with a frightening ferocity. Rumor has it that Morrigan, Macha and Babd, the three founding sisters of the Morrigan, invisibly support the cause of the Regine.
The Sons Of Loki Held in awe and fear normally reserved only for the Regine are the powerful Sons of Loki. Shunned by the Pride for their devotion to their ancient enemy Loki, these immortals still maintain their identities as Morrigan under the laws of the Stratagem. Most Morrigan believe the Sons wish to raise their powerful lord back into rulership of the Pride although the group patently denies this. It is their intention to create a Pride of their own. Because the Sons of Loki do not show themselves to serve the Droves, the Morrigan are forced to accept their presence among the Perpetual Society. Morrigan Probes constantly search for proof of their collaboration with darkness, but have thus far been able to find a link. Still, the Morrigan Regency cites the Sons as being secret allies to the Misbegotten the progeny of Loki---the wolf-thing Fenris, the serpent-thing Jormundgard and the half-corpse daughter Hela. The Sons deny this, of course. The Sons of Loki have a reputation of being dark, frosty ravens who walk the street of the mortal world, dealing death and searching for Loki wherever they walk. Unlike the majority of the Pride, they are immune to Loki’s curse. In fact, the Sons possess the power to renounce the Curse of Loki on any Morrigan they wish. They use this Perk as a major bargaining chip with their Pride. Anyone playing a Son of Loki must remember that their character will be distrusted by the rest of the Pride. Although members of every calling, the Sons hang together in perfect loyalty to one another. As such, they resemble more a large single cadre. Infiltrating the Sons of Loki is difficult in the extreme. Their bond is absolute.
The Valkyrie and Their Sons
Composed entirely of the sisters of Odin, these warriors are the daughters of the Lightning Man, one of the earth spirits created in the second Bloom. Because they were not present on earth with the rest of the Morrigan, Loki’s Curse never reached them. Thus, they walk about on the earth freely and without reservation. In fact, the Valkyrie do not share the typical disdain of the earth common through the rest of the Pride. Only the Sons of Loki share this trait with them. The Valkyrie where white to symbolize the purity of their ideal to the Lightning Man’s plan---to take the battle of the Rapture away from the innocent earth and place it on the great plains surrounding the mantle of Valhalla. They are the caretakers of the mantle. They make certain it is maintained by a number of trysts. These trysts, trained by the wise and enigmatic Odin, are always the children of the Valkyrie by heroic mortals. These maidens constantly search battlefields of the earth where immortals battle other immortals. Mostly this occurs when immortals clash with Droves. Valkyrie are sworn to destroy any Drove they can find and use their voxes to make mortal humans immortal for the final battle, which Odin has named Ragnarok. Although the other Morrigan do not like this practice, they do not challenge the might and determination of these fierce women. In addition, Valkyrie keep their eyes open for mortals who prove themselves to be heroes, and as such generally observe firefighters, police, and other rescue personnel. When one seems to be about to die, the Valkyrie will save his life, place him in a deep sleep and take him to Valhalla. Here he will sleep with other heroes from the ages for the day when he will be awakened against the dark forces of the Sanguinary. Valkyrie characters are almost always women. A small number of male children sired by Odin himself exist, making up a distinguished group of warrior princes in service to their father. They carry themselves as somewhat aloof from the rest of the Pride, being more concerned with their own purposes than with Pride politics. All Valkyrie have sworn to obey and protect Odin with their own lives. Valkyrie are present in all callings. Because of their long and positive association with the Tautha, they are allowed to travel to and from Tautha holdings at will. Through their alliance, they hope to purify the voxes of Droves they have collected in the Well of Mimir, preparing them for human warrior hosts.
Valhalla The mantle of Valhalla is constantly being fortified by conundrum shards. It is the intention of Odin and the Valkyrie to extend this mantle to cover the entire earth and the heavens above it, protecting the Habitat for the time when the Sanguinary rises, when it’s minions boil out from the underworld and the dreams of man. Only the Valkyrie and those escorted by the Valkyrie are allowed across the rainbow bridge Bifrost into the mantle. The mantle consists of a large battle plain surrounding the fortress of Valhalla and it’s soaring walls studded with a glowing mosaic of conundrum shards. Here Odin and his Valkyrie sisters dwell. Any Morrigan who enters Valhalla enters holy ground and is required to render total respect. It is an awe-inspiring honor to be brought across the rainbow bridge and to stand in the presence of such majesty as radiated by the fortress, plain and Odin himself.
The Misbegotten Loki sired three powerful children during his alliance with the Rime. Each child grew to become a hideous monster devoted to the Sanguinary. Jormundgard is a huge serpent creature, Fenris a vast wolf-thing, and Hela a corpse-like queen augmented with the limbs and organs of other powerful victims. Each of these beasts sired an entire dynasty of Droves, the first droves brought into the world and form the three most powerful cells of the Beast today. The Morrigan despise and constantly search for means to destroy these creatures and their offspring.
Legacies: Morrigan gain the first rank of the following legacies at no cost:The Loop, Prophylaxis, Wantonness Serenades: Morrigan gain the first rank of any three of the following serenades at no cost. All other serenades on this list are at a complexity rank of 4 for Morrigan characters.Allure, Boon, Brio, Cacophony, Chaos, Charm, Clarion, Incantation, Mistral, Omen, Surge, Talaria, Welkin Morrigan Secret Serenades: Valkyrie and Vanquish. See Serenades, the First Book of Powers, pages 113-115.
Carnals Obeisance This carnal is granted to the Scepter Pride, and thus is currently possessed by the Morrigan. Morrigan are always able to speak first in any meeting in which they are present. Other immortals will feel a great discomfort fall on them if they attempt to speak first. This anxiety makes them speak ineloquently, stutter, blush and a variety of other uncomfortable obstacles. Once any Morrigan present at the gathering has spoken, others may freely speak without this power hindering them. The Morrigan have known to keep a counsel in silence for long periods to unnerve other Immortals and gain cooperation. War Cry The Morrigan gives a war cry, giving all of his allies a +1 to their initiative roll for every 3 FI he possesses. War Cries are not cumulative---the cries of several Morrigan cannot raise the bonus unless the cry of a more powerful Morrigan (FI of 9 instead of 6, 7 or 8) is heard. Then, the bonus is elevated. It therefor takes a Morrigan with 15 FI to allow a +5 initiative bonus. The Morrigan rolls a ten-sided die. If he rolls anything but a null, the war cry is successfully applied. If he rolls a null, he gains +1 ennui and demoralizes his own allies, applying an opposite penalty to their initiative instead. Taunt Morrigan can fling insults with supernatural intensity. If he rolls a 9, he causes his target to berserk and attack with a -1 for every 3 FI of the Morrigan. This penalty affects attack rolls of all kinds, including serenades. Trophy Morrigan take voxes as trophies of combat, like all other Immortals. They, however, gain a special benefit if they work the voxes into their own armor. For every 3 voxes a Morrigan imbeds in his own armor, he gains +1 armor value while he wears the armor. Once the bonus reaches 15, 3 voxes from immortals with a 15 FI are required to raise the bonus further.
Loki’s Curse Most Morrigan, excepting the Sons of Loki (who suffer social stigma) and the Valkyrie (who must never ask for aid from another creature) are under Loki’s Curse. During moments when their bare skin touches anything sitting on the ground (buildings, vehicles, the ground itself) cause them to lose 1 violet halo mote for every 3 FI they possess. This loss remains for the duration of the episode, even if the Morrigan takes to the sky again. Only one penalty per episode is levied, they are not cumulative. At the end of the episode (or at the Narrator’s discretion if the curse strikes near the end of the current episode) the halo is regained. Plants and other forms of life do not cause the curse to afflict the Morrigan, only the earth element. The tops of buildings, open to the sky, are also immune. . The following are taboos which, selected for your character, grants you +5 starting memory motes per rank instead of the normal +3. The Morrigan is afraid of mortal cats and will flee them as soon as possible. (rank 4) The Morrigan must bathe several times a day or feel filthy (rank 2 Glittering objects fascinate the Morrigan, causing her to be distracted with a hostile whose rank is equal to the taboo’s. A fluttering of wings is constantly heard in the Morrigan’s presence. (rank 3) The Morrigan must sleep during the night hours, awakening only at dawn (rank 4) Feathers are left in the area where the Immortal is present. (rank 1) The Morrigan is compelled to migrate to a certain place during the warm months. He must remain in residence there until spring (rank 4) The Morrigan is terrified of heights. (rank 5) Eggs hatch with strange objects inside when touched by the Morrigan. (rank 3) The Morrigan is aroused by certain colors or patterns of color worn by members of his preferred sex. (rank 4)
Amaranth :They are kin to us, although they are bound to the earth. While we search for heroes, they make them. There has always been a harmony between birds and the green life of the world. We watch them with interest and aid them in their endeavors. Under our wing they are protected by those who would damage their works. Anopheles : Dangerously sensual and ancient, yet we have been their allies in the past. They are competent warriors and far more clever than many give them credit for. We must remain diligent to defend our high seat from their political machinations. Beautiful creatures. Make love to them, and admire them, but never fall in love with one! Arachne: Like all insects, they are bound in their logic and fail to understand passion. It is the age-old argument. Their collective nature is much like our flock mentality, yet short-sighted. When all of them think alike, what benefit, outside moving as one, can they gain? Perhaps that is enough to make them fearful warriors in the end. We shall see. Banjax: Rabble-rousers who have no respect for authority. Hierarchy is everything, something they cannot understand. When those beneath us falter, we all suffer. Would chaos make it easier for all of us to defeat the Sanguinary, or make the Beast’s guerrilla tactics all the more effective? Their study of death is, however, their saving grace. If their One Soul exists, what a power it could bear against the darkness! Cur : The possibility for a truly powerful and noble breed of immortal lies in this Gentry. We have given them time to win their right to coexist with us. Yes, it is a short measure of time, but they will not require longer, such is their potential. We will welcome them at the end of the century and reap great visage for our foresight. Dracul :Competitive under their veneer of balance. Do not trust in the harmonious nature of these immortals. They have an agenda and prosecute it with the same fever as all other Prides. Their tranquil faces and soft words only causes their rivals to feel secure before the coup falls. Even so, they are a brave people. Who else in our society would seek to redeem the unredeemable Sanguinary? Eremites: Proficient soldiers who we respect with utmost sincerity. After all, did they not take the Scepter from us, even for a short time? We watch them with admiration and fierce rivalry. Most intriguing too this belief in God and Heaven. We hope that they are right! But they must be careful not to place hope higher than common sense, for if God does not save them, their lack of preparation for the end will lead only to Hell. Infernum :Demons who play too close to the their own hell-fires. They had better take care that the Religarum they seek out does not plunge them into the same inferno others of our kind still endure. The consequences of their actions are watched by our Probes, balancing them all on the precipice. If they should endanger other immortals with their "show" they will pay an awful price in blood. Magdalen: Powerful, learned and wise, yet their lust for power exceeds even the Anopheles. They have created weapons out of mankind against us, a crime for which they can never truly be forgiven. Until the last of the Apocrypha are stamped out on the dust that gave birth to them, the Magdalen will endure the fury of all Prides, including us. If they deviate from their current road to make right their past mistakes, we will have them destroyed. Nimrod: Our allies and enforcers on the ground. We listen to their counsel and support their endeavors. Past transgressions against us are forgotten, for the Nimrod’s harsh treatment of us all was nothing compared to the war we fought against one another. We would have destroyed this world if not for their stopping us. This balancing factor continues to this day. Peri: Our closest allies at one time, but for the poison words of Loki and the corruption of the Ivaldi line of their own people. A great rift now exists between us all. We do what we can to repair it, but we cannot give up our leadership to do so. It seems we must forever remain indifferent to one another’s pain. Phoenix : Hunters supreme. We cannot help but admire their fierce spirit. Unfortunately, they are a young pride and have much to learn about their place in the grand scheme of things. Fire is useful only when controlled, and we will be certain they Phoenix do not rage our of control until the proper time comes. Roane: Evil. Nothing more, nothing less. We oppose them in every way, even if we must remain within the law. They should never have been allowed to return. Saturna: We suspect they may be influenced by the enemy more than others. Shonelkidar: Strange and too dangerous to allow to flourish. We will tolerate them no longer than necessary. We watch for a chance to exterminate them. Tautha: Faithful to us, we bow to their purpose to heal the wounds of the world suffered by our eternal struggles with the Beast. No one commands such nobility as the Tautha. We welcome them to our cities among the clouds, but curb their ambition when it becomes necessary. How amusing that most immortals do not realize how deeply clever they are within the stratagem. They burn you and you end up thanking them for it! Terat: Admirable for their passionate hatred for the beast. They can teach younger breeds the true evil of the Sanguinary as few others can, having lived in the madness of the Beast. They are all mad, of course. We have to watch and direct them and hope their dream-works do not become a danger to us all. Otherwise, Man will have to be destroyed and the Terat rendered inert.
Sanguinary: We battle the Sanguinary in the air where it’s avatar eats a whole in the blanket of the clouds. Only in our supremacy can the Beast be slain. Silence: Preserve it at all costs! We’ve witnessed its effectiveness, the diminishing of the Sanguinary’s overt manifestations during recent centuries. One day it will be so deeply asleep it will forget about us all. Then we can kill it while it lolls in ignorance. Habitat: No better a place than the Dominions were. Barbaric and full of fools. Only the sky is clean. We regret that the evil of the world, mankind, was not washed away in the flood we sent so long ago. Dominions: They are gone behind us. No loss. We have made a place far superior. Crucible: Oblivion. We laugh at the foolishness of those who seek after it. Morpheum: The place of dreams is no place for our kind. We enter the Morpheum only to keep track of campaigns underway to eradicate the Sanguinary’s influences. Stratagem: We are proof that the Stratagem is integral to immortal survival. We will surely punish any who try to undermine it. Profane: They are the playthings of the Sanguinary. Whenever they impede us in the slightest, we must destroy them. Ingenue: Doomed, like the mortals they live among. Do they think they are more clever than the Sanguinary or immune to its subtle influence? We need to find them and wake them to the Stratagem as quickly as possible lest we lose some history’s greatest heroes. Conundrum: Obscenities. We’d shun them entirely but for the power they have to keep us aloft. Sinning: We do whatever is required to survive, just as mortals do. That the act is named sin is only an attempt by our enemies to discourage us from maintaining our full strength. Himsati: Our Himsatis never touch the ground. We’ve learned the ultimate control of ourselves in all forms. Humanity: At first, merely our competition, but now our sworn enemies. We preserve them only to preserve ourselves, just as they care for their cattle. OTHER INFORMATION The Morrigan have a wonderful article about them in a past issue of the Vox if you are willing to go looking around the back issues from 1996/97/98. It was written by Ran Ackels himself and put out by him when he wrote the Vox on his own personal web pages. It is rumored that the Sons of Loki can cure those Morrigan who are affected by the curse that Loki and the Zuzog tree levied against them that keeps them from touching those things of the ground. They are Loki's Immortal Cult if you will. Loki's curse affects morrigan who make skin
contact with landbound people and objects. It afflicts the majority of the Pride, but not
everyone. The Valkyries and Sons of Loki are immune. As far as mortal lovers go, yes---a
Morrigan will suffer for his contact with a mortal as long as they are both landbound.
Those who a Morrigan truly falls in love with are eventually taken |
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The Morrigan (