(no subject)

PLAYER
» HANDLE: Xander
» CONTACT: walpurgisnacht
» AGE: twenty four
» CHARACTER(S) IN-GAME: n/a

CHARACTER
» NAME: Morgana
» CANON: The House in Fata Morgana
» CANON POINT: Post side story Fragment
» AGE: 1000+ spiritually, died at 16

» SETTING:

The House in Fata Morgana lacks a wiki, so I'll be outlining Morgana's history and setting here to give a proper outline of her character!

There was once a woman in a village who became pregnant. The woman announced she had never known a man, so to speak, but had become pregnant with the child of God. During this period, the village experienced a particularly difficult drought, and did not see any rain for some time. No one heeded her words until her baby girl, Morgana, was born. When Morgana's first cries rang out, so too did the crack of thunder. It began to rain, with great, big, plump drops, and the drought ended.

From then on, she was considered the daughter of God, a Saint. Raised with this on her shoulders, Morgana was a devout follower of God's teachings as a young girl, who sought to help those in need. As a girl of only six years old, her position was questioned by a man. He asked how she truly knew she was the daughter of God, and Morgana decided that what flowed in her veins was not just blood, but holy blood. To prove she was God's daughter, a holy child, she pricked her finger and let an ill, elderly woman who could barely even walk drink her holy blood. In but three days, the woman was healed.

Whether this was the power of belief or proof of Morgana's status is up to you. Either way, she was never questioned again, but she allowed the sick and injured to partake in her blood as they wished. She didn't turn a single person away. Morgana opted to help as many people as possible, never charging for her services. She lived as she believed her Father would have wanted her to. Her own mother questioned this. Where Morgana did not wish to charge people for her services, her mother did. She questioned why it was that Morgana would do this for people and not ask for something in return, but Morgana insisted that to give yourself to worldly possessions like money was to go against her Father's teachings. Greed is, after all, a sin, and she refused to charge for her blood. Morgana's mother seemingly relented and agreed to allow Morgana to work for nothing in return.

In the morning, the girl was put into with other people sold into slavery, and watched as her mother accepted a fat sack of money from the driver. Morgana's mother watched as her daughter was whisked away into a life of slavery.

At the age of nine, Morgana was brought to a Lord. The Lord had her perform her miracles for him and his guests only, but Morgana did not do it willingly. As such, he kept her tied down, and would slice at her skin as he pleased. From there, he and his guests would gather her blood up in goblets and drink it willingly, without a single care for the state the girl was in. As Morgana lived in constant pain, the wounds in her body became numerous. The Lord had eventually cut into every inch of her body, and sliced at her face, leaving her body a scar ridden mess.

During one ghastly banquet, a guest looked upon Morgana. Trembling, he pointed to her face... and the Lord, too, looked. Aghast by what he saw, he raised his sword, proclaiming Morgana to be a "witch in the skin of a saint!" At the same time, a revolution began on the premises. The slaves fought back, allowing enough time and chaos for a young slave boy to save Morgana.

His name was Jacopo, and he took Morgana to a brothel. He worked as a bodyguard for the prostitutes there, and knew they would take care of her, too. At first, Morgana hated the place, calling it sinful and dirty. Jacopo would berate her for her thoughts, and... as time went on, Morgana began to respect and cherish the people in her life. They treated her kindly, and bought medicine for her scars. Once she came to in the brothel, she found out why, exactly, the Lord and his guests had been so frightened by her. Morgana's face was horribly scarred, with barely any flesh managing to actually stay on her face. The meat beneath her skin was exposed, revealing the red mess beneath it. While her body healed with the use of the ointments, her face never healed.

Despite her predicament, the fact she would never live a normal life, this was the happiest chapter of Morgana's life. It was the closest she ever got to normalcy, as well.

It was her twelfth birthday when it all ended. The brothel was raided during her birthday party, and Morgana was once again sold into slavery. At that point in her life, Morgana had not wept for anyone, but in the cart with the rest of the slaves, she cried. A man asked her why she was crying, and Morgana said, "I am crying because I didn't get to show the people I cared about my gratitude." During her stay with them, Morgana was quite difficult. She had a sharp tongue and kept people at a distance. As such, she never truly expressed how thankful she was to be with them all. Perplexed, the man kept to himself...

Until he killed the driver, and the rest of the slaves, leaving only himself and Morgana alive. She asked why, and he replied that he just wanted to, before simply walking into the woods. It was not the last time she saw that man.

Morgana walked for days, trying to find her way to safety... she went days without water, and stumbled upon a lake. While drinking from it, she noticed a cottage on it's shore, and decided to see if anyone was home. When no one answered upon a knock, she opened the door, and discovered an elderly woman's body. Morgana disposed of the corpse and took the cottage for herself. She discovered, then, that the woman was a witch by trade. People came to her for medicine in the form of herbs and tinctures. Morgana learned this trade, too, and it's how she made money. She lived like this for three years, never showing anyone her face.

Morgana would eventually meet Mell, a young man with a terribly ill sister. He came to her for help, explaining his sister, Nellie, was ill and he didn't know how to save her. Morgana helped to lower Nellie's fever, but it never stuck. Her symptoms never quite alleviated. Mell, entranced by Morgana's mysterious appearance and enchanting voice, got closer to her. They became friends - Morgana trusted him with the knowledge of her history: that she had holy blood, that she could heal with it, and that she could help his sister with her blood. Once Nellie drank Morgana's blood... she was healed. It worked, for a time. She fell ill again, and Morgana permitted her to drink her holy blood again. She didn't care how often she had to do it, as long as she was helping. However, this act would eventually be her downfall.

She saw that man who had murdered all those people again. He came to her door, and she turned him away, telling him to never come back. When Mell visited, she opened her door to him, and with Mell came that man. He cut her off arm, tossing it to Mell. "Here's your share," he said, and then put Morgana in a sack. She was taken to the Lord - again - where she was imprisoned. Locked up in a tower at the new church in town, Morgana's blood was drained from her and mixed with wine. From there, it was sold as a cure all elixir. The Lord's plan worked, and people drank of the Witch's blood in droves. She did, of course, try to escape, but her efforts got her locked into shackles. There were other reasons, too, like the fact she was causing herself harm whenever she tried to escape. It was only now, living her life like a bird locked in a cage, bled dry for another person's greed, that Morgana gave into her hatred. She became the Witch she would come to be known as: cruel and angry, callous and vengeful. She died, cursing them. For Mell, she cursed him to the love of his sister, and only that love. For the man who cut her arm off, she cursed him to be a beast who never knows beast. For the Lord, she cursed him to have all the power and money he wants... and no love or trust.

Her curse took hold immediately, killing the three men who had imprisoned her and the townspeople, as well as anyone involved in the distribution of her blood. Morgana bound herself to the church she had died in - it was eventually a mansion for a man named Michel. Michel woke Morgana from her slumber with his hatred, which she took to be just as strong and valid as her own. She was the only person he spoke to for ten years, until an abigail named Giselle arrived at the mansion. Their relationship took off until the mansion was attacked, and Morgana protected Giselle per Michel's last request. She then convinced Giselle to take up helm as her servant, birthing The Maid in the process. While waiting for Michel's soul to return, Giselle and Morgana spent around 800 years together.

The mansion played host to Morgana's curse, and this is where the game itself begins: in Door 1, the player witnesses the downfall of the Rhodes family as the reincarnations of Mell and Nellie lose everything. In Door 2, the bestial man is seen again as he ruins his life with his own hands, eventually being deprived of the one happiness he had in life after being branded as a monster by the neighboring village. Door 3 brings you to Jacopo, a rich mafiosio living in the industrial era whose strained relationship with his wife ends up bringing him great misfortune. Door 4 is something Morgana has fabricated, cobbling it together from what she believes Michel would have wanted and his own memories, inserting a young, mysterious woman also tied to the mansion through strange means, but who seemingly lacks a name.

The game eventually takes a trip through Morgana's past, revealing a cold truth unto her: no one involved in her death and imprisonment ultimately intended for things to go the way they did; Mell was blackmailed into helping the Swordsman, and the Lord was Jacopo all along. The revelation brings Morgana to break her curse, believing it no longer necessary. Each character is then allowed to reincarnate peacefully into the modern era, where they live with seemingly vague memories of their past lives.

Feel free to listen to Jewel's Who Will Save Your Soul for about forty hours instead of reading this for a similar experience to the visual novel.

» SHORT DESCRIPTION: Aloof, cozening, broken, sardonic, humble, lonely.
» INFLUENTIAL EVENTS:

healing powers: When she was but six years old, Morgana's position as the Daughter of God was questioned. It struck her that what made her different from everyone else was that her blood was holy... and so she visited an elderly woman who was so ill, she couldn't even walk. Pricking her finger, she allowed the woman to drink her blood, and in three days, the woman was healed. Her position was never questioned again, and this strange, morbid thought she had as a child pushed her into the situations she would be in later in life.

broken twice: Through out the course of her life, Morgana was sold out in major ways not once, but twice. Both times landed her in confinement, as men shackled her and kept her hostage for her holy blood. The first time came from her mother: The woman sold her daughter into slavery when Morgana refused to charge for her services as a holy Daughter of God. She allowed anyone and everyone to partake of her blood as they needed to. Morgana did not believe in charging for her services, whereas her mother believed she (as in, they) deserved compensation for her work. However, Morgana knows that greed is a sin, and lives her life by God - she refused. The morning after seemingly agreeing, she sold her daughter into slavery. Morgana did not cry, only lamented that her mother gave into greed. Morgana hid her sadness behind regret that the woman she knew as her mother could not resist temptation, that she was not a woman of God, despite being the mother of His child. In truth, Morgana knows it's unlikely that God is her father, and simply hides her feelings in religion, as if it is a safety blanket.
The second betrayal came from a boy she met named Mell. Though they became friends, Mell seemingly sold Morgana out to the Swordsman, the man who killed all the other slaves in that cart all those years ago, for a share of her healing blood. This betrayal led to her second and final imprisonment by the Lord. As she slowly withered away in a tower in the new church, Morgana's hatred grew and grew. She eventually became a girl who renounced her title of "Saint" and embraced her title of "Witch" - a callous, cold girl who only lived on to see the people who had caused her so much pain brought their own share of pain. In fact, it is this hatred that bound her to the mansion where the game takes place.

a bright chapter: Morgana's life was saved once. Jacopo brought her to a place he felt she would be safest: the brothel where he worked as a bodyguard for the girls who worked there. It was here, in this strange place, that Morgana experienced the warmth of people for the first time. She was shown genuine kindness, as her new friends made sure she had food, a home, and enjoyed life as a normal girl. At this point in her life, Morgana's scars began to heal. Jacopo used his spare money to buy ointment for Morgana, applying it every day to do her wounds so they might heal. While the ones on her body did heal, the skin on her face did not. Morgana lived her life during this period of time strangely peacefully; she was able to attend festivals for the first time and spent her spare time wandering graveyards, praying for lost souls that no one else had thought to pray for. This point in her life allowed her to experience a wealth of positivity: love, family, happiness, support. It served as a cold reminder when Morgana had it taken away from her. It would later be reinforced that this was the only happy period of her life when Mell would lead the Swordsman to her. While her memories of her first real home are painful for her, they are still the brightest memories Morgana has.

a kindred spirit: Years after her death, Morgana's mansion becomes home to a man exiled from his home named Michel. Michel blows up in anger and hatred, and seeing this, Morgana's slumbering soul awakens. She tries to use Michel to curse others, but he doesn't bend to her for the ten years they spend together, eight of which they spend alone. Eventually, an abigail named Giselle joins them - their tale is quite sad on it's own, but Morgana's involvement allows Giselle to exist outside of space-time, waiting for Michel's soul to return to the mansion for her. During this period, Morgana encourages Giselle to disassociate "Giselle" from "The Maid" to the point that she forgets her own history, who she is, and comes to believe she is the witch, Morgana. They travel into her history, through the final door, Morgana's past. Michel's objective is to save Morgana's life, and uncover the truth. He does only the latter, and arrives in time to cradle Morgana as she dies. She mistakes him for an angel, something he's called many times through out the series. Instead of correcting her, like he usually does, Michel proclaims himself the Archangel Michael, here to take her to her Father's side. She dies believing this, and seeing how far Michel is willing to go for her convinces Morgana that her curse is no longer necessary. By showing Morgana compassion and human kindness, making sure she sees at least one person wanted her to pass in peace, Michel gives her a push in the right direction. He breaks the curse.

» FIT:

As a young girl from the middle ages, adjustment will be unique for Morgana. However, being placed into different points in time is not new for her: the mansion existed outside time and space, floating along and plopping itself down where it would be able to lure in one of the three men easiest. As such, waking up in a different era isn't new for her. What is new for Morgana is the technology. It may take her some time to adjust to it, but she is a hardy girl. Additionally, the horror aspects of the game will not be new to her; Morgana has been drenched in blood and guts in her lifetime, used as a blood doll, and branded a Witch. She is also a natural dissenter - she can be contrary and offer different, unique ideas for proceeding forward. Finally, her work as a witch by trade means she has some knowledge of medicinal herbs and the like. She's a quick study and adapts as the situation calls for. She'll only try to exorcise the communication device like, once!

There's also really not a lot the game can throw at her to really knock her off her rocker at this point - the amount of difficulties Morgana has been through and her own cynical, jaded outlook of life make her difficult to upset in most situations.

» POWERS:

Morgana's powers are left vague in many ways, and she insists that the reader and Michel decide for themselves if she does have the powers that people associate her with. That said, it is near impossible to claim she doesn't have some manner of power - it's merely that Morgana likes to make people believe that they believe in her. It's implied that this helps her power grow, in some way - or rather, that Morgana herself believes this is the source of her power.

wish granting: Morgana's ability to curse people seems to be based in her ability to make wishes come true. If she wishes hard enough for something, it will eventually happen in some manner... with a price - tragedy will strike later. Maybe not right now, but some day, you will lose everything. At least you got what you wanted, though, right? There are several examples of her wish granting abilities throughout the games: Reincarnation is already at play in canon, so Morgana uses that to ensure that she will eventually draw the three men who had ruined her life back to the mansion. By luring them back, she watches her curse play out; Mell is only capable of receiving the love of his sister and grows up in the mansion. Yukimasa is branded a beast by the people of the neighboring village after being washed ashore on a business trip, saddled with amnesia as he retreats to and eventually indulges in his bestial urges to murder. He eventually loses his "tether" and is forced to live as a monster. Jacopo has wealth and power like he wanted, but it costs him his relationship with his wife and best friend, who eventually tries to kill him. He ends up completely alone, with no one to care for him. Giselle agrees to work for Morgana as her servant as she waits for Michel, but in turn she becomes an undead maid who is forced to watch all the tragedies play out in the mansion.

splintering: This is, admittedly, unlikely to come up, but it's noteworthy that if Morgana decides she does not need a part of herself, she can cast it off. When Michel sees Morgana shackled up in the tower, she is talking to herself as holding a conversation with someone else, but is also speaking the other person's lines for them. The "other person" is still Morgana, but it's the part of her she deemed unnecessary: all the "Saintly" qualities of herself, her ability to forgive, her ability to love, her kindness - all of it, cast off into another person she has splintered off from herself. This part of herself breaks away from her and becomes it's own person: The White Haired Girl. As it is, this part of Morgana has been returned to her soul. She is also not seen to be able to cause this in other people. She's just rude to them.

magickal knowledge: On the less supernatural side, Morgana did take up the witch's trade while she lived in the cottage. As such, she has extensive knowledge of herbs and their medicinal qualities, and can use them to heal people.

» NOTES: It's come up in her app so I'd like to clarify: at this point in time, Morgana's face is healed. However, her arm is still gone - if possible, I'd like to keep it a skeleton arm, as it is in her game sprite.

» SAMPLES: A TDM top level, and another thread, for good measure!

Network sample:

Admittedly, I'm not much of a troubadour. However, I'd like to regale you all with a story today, my dears.

There once was a traveler. Why he began his travels is not of importance to the story, but if you want to know, the man was searching for a better life. He heard wind of a village in the north that was wealthy and had room for yet more, and so he packed his things and left. He journeyed on foot from his homeland to this village, stopping only when necessary. He did not stray from the path, and crossed many bridges in his travels.

This isn't unusual in any way, of course. It's only natural that a person walking or riding along would eventually come to a bridge or two, and it wasn't uncommon in this land for there to be a bridge toll. When he approached the worker, who stood there in the hot sun, not even batting a lash at the heat, he dug out his coin purse. The man and the worker were dismayed to see that the satchel was nearly empty, nowhere near enough money in it to pay the toll. The man begged and pleaded and explained just how much it meant to him that he made it to this village. He was near the end of his journey, the worker realized, and he took pity on the traveler. Wouldn't you? A man walks up, with nothing to his name, and asks for access to your village. He tells you how far he has come, and how much trouble he has gone through... Brings a tear to your eye just thinking about it, doesn't it?

The worker made a bargain with the man. If he could solve a riddle, he'd let him through. He only had one chance, however, and if he failed, he would have to turn back.

The riddle went like this:

They try to beat me.
They try in vain.
And when I win, I end the pain.
What am I?

I know the answer, of course, because the protagonist of this tale got it right and was able to enter the village, once he was allowed onto the bridge... but do you? I'm quite curious. What do you think it is? Take your time. You only have one guess, just as the traveler did, my dears.