Murder
Murder is an island that is located south of Corum, it is a jurisdiction of the Confoederatio Aemilia. The island was claimed by a witches' collective called the Forest of the Eternal Mistress, founded in late 1722 AN by refugees from Sankt Ludwigshafen, following that nation's collapse after the Slight Reform Party won the elections and defunded the state. As the nation fell down with the demoness it revered, it was taken over by the kattuz who had been lurking in the south of the island.
History
Awakening of the Eternal Mistress
First to arrive on the island was Razzie Waldfürcht, who had been forced into exile by the Slight Reform Party's government when it prohibited her from maintaining her militia. Without a home, she decided to investigate an old tale from the ancient Cibolan mythology, which suggested that there was a portal to the Underworld on an island south of Corum. On the South Sea Islands she met in secret with druids and witches, who were also investigating the myth. One of the witches, Merida Vala shared stories of fishermen of magenta clouds sometimes arising over the island of Murder, a sign she associated with the South Batavian Goddess of the Underworld, Germania. With her militia, Sisera's Angels, Razzie Waldfürcht escorted Merida Vala to the island, so they could find out if there was truth to the stories. On 2.XII.1722 the group landed on the northern shore of Murder, where they had trouble keeping out of the reach of the massive magenta scorpions that crawled all over the beach. When they had left the beach behind them, they decided to establish a small base from where they could plan their expeditions further land inward. This small base was called Schwarzdorn, after the many blackthorn shrubs in the area.
On 13.XIII.1722 Razzie Waldfürcht and her group discovered an abandoned tower in the centre of the island, which had markings in the ancient Ludwiggian script, suggesting a link to Cibolan mythology. As the markings were undecipherable to Razzie, she sent for Merida, so that the learned witch could take a look at them. On the next day Merida joined them, and she expressed the suspicion that this tower could be part of the portal to the Underworld that they had been looking for. With combined efforts the group cleared the forest surrounding the tower and found several pink quartz carvings shaped like eyes, which they collected and kept near the tower for safe keeping. When they were cleaning the inside of the tower, they noticed a pink marble altar that had seen better days, as it was cracked. A druid who had worked as a stonemason for a graveyard in Sankt Ludwigshafen was asked to restore the altar, and he noticed that it once would have been decorated with precious stones. As he mentioned this to Merida, she grabbed the pink quartz eyes and placed them into the altar. While nothing that could easily be observed happened at that moment, all who were present on the site reported the same dreadful feeling, and cold shivers running up their spines. The pink quartz eyes themselves, they fitted perfectly into the altar, and seemed to lighten up even in the full dark of the night when there was no source of light available.
That night, Razzie stayed in the tower, together with Rosa, one of the angels, to guard the altar. They were speaking about the misfortunes of Sankt Ludwigshafen as Rosa noticed that the pink quartz eyes started shining more and more brightly, until they were shining like torches and the room was lit, like it was illuminated by electric light. Razzie went out towards the camp to fetch Merida, to help investigate what was happening, as she noticed that from a geyser next to the tower, magenta clouds were spreading and a giant living eye had appeared at the top of the tower. She called Rosa, unwilling to leave her behind at the tower all alone, and they ran towards the camp to meet with Merida.
At the camp Merida was already waiting for them, greatly concerned. While Rosa and Razzie had been running away from the tower, the magenta clouds had grown and grown and the entire forest seemed to be engulfed in a magenta fog. Meanwhile, the eye seemed to be looking at them specifically, and despite the circumstances, it seemed to look friendly. Merida rummaged through her bag, and uncovered a pink quartz amulet that she had brought on the trip, she put it around her neck and walked towards the eye. Razzie and Rosa followed her, even though they were unsure what Merida was planning to do. Razzie and Rosa had their hands on the hilts of their swords, as they accompanied Merida, but Merida urged them to relax their grips and tread towards the eye with respect. When they were close to it, approximately thirty meters from the base of the tower, she and the other two ladies bowed down before the eye. Merida spoke, showing great respect towards the eye.
"Eternal Mistress, thank you for showing yourself to us. We have been on a long quest to find you, as we are followers of the old religion."
From the eye, a bolt of magenta lightning was emitted and it struck Merida, who fell backwards. Razzie and Rosa helped her stand up again and asked her if she was okay. Merida only smiled and showed them the pink quartz amulet, which was glowing now like the pink quartz eyes on the altar in the tower.
A meeting with the goblin king
It was 2.XIV.1722. Merida, Razzie and Rosa were crawling through the tunnels beneath Nebelstadt, a goblin city in Erlgau, in the Shirerithian province of Gong. They were looking for the Erlkönig, a mythological king of the goblins that had been living in Gong since before the days of the Apollonian Republic. The king was extremely fond of precious metals and rare gems, and it was a particular kind of gem that they required. The pink quartz, like that they had found in the tower of the Eternal Mistress, shaped like eyes, and like was used in Merida's amulet. Not just because it looked extremely pretty, but because of its ability to be inhabited with the magic of the Eternal Mistress. They were not sure if the Erlkönig had access to it, as it only naturally occurred in the Underworld, but the Erlkönig had caves that went deep into the crust of Micras, and was also rumoured to have come back from the dead after an unfortunate accident with a nuclear submarine, so he was their only hope. It was also incredibly risky, as the king was not known to have any scruples in murdering and eating those he didn't respect.
As they left the tunnels, and entered into the throne room of the goblin king, they were awaited by goblin soldiers carrying pikes, which they pointed towards the three women. The three women stopped as the pikemen approached them, and pleaded with the soldiers to allow them an audience with the Erlkönig. The soldiers shrugged, and led them through the throne room, that was adorned with lots of gold, silver, diamonds, jade and many other precious stones. On top of a throne made of platinum and diamonds sat the Erlkönig, and he seemed to be annoyed with their arrival. The goblin king, surveyed the three women that were standing in front of them, with the pikes of the soldiers still pointed at them, the soldiers waiting for the order to bring the lives of the uninvited visitors to a swift end. The king grinned, baring his sharp, jagged teeth and exposing a forked tongue.
"Welcome to my humble domain, what a curious surprise to see three foreign women trespass here. And how more curious do I find it that neither of you three have tried to put your paws on a golden coin, on a diamond, a piece of jade, or these fine fabrics that I collect. I would have you killed and feast on your bones if you did, but your lack of greed puzzles me. What do you seek that is greater than precious metals and gems, what do you think could possibly be greater? And do not say you are looking for wisdom, because my wisdom is that gold is forever, and diamonds are a king's best friends."
Merida bowed before the king, and the two other women followed her lead. Razzie was the first to speak, she addressed the king as the mighty emperor ancient stories tell he once was, and a quick smile on his face betrayed that he appreciated that. Razzie Waldfürcht explained to the Erlkönig that they had found the ancient tower of the Eternal Mistress, and that with the help of pink quartz gems they had been able to awaken the Eternal Mistress, but that they needed more of these gems to harness the magic of the Eternal Mistress. The Erlkönig shook his head when he heard of this, because it sounded like folly to him. He tried to explain that it was an impossible task that they had set for themselves. But before the king had finished his sentence, Merida put her hand in her shirt and lifted the shining pink quartz amulet she was carrying on her chest, and the eyes of the Erlkönig became so big, they almost popped out of their sockets. The king himself put his hand in his shirt and showed his own shining pink quartz amulet.
"It's been a while since I visited the tower, a thousand years perhaps, I never expected to meet someone wearing the Mark of the Mistress after all that time. But here you are, and you want my help? Unfortunately these gems can not be found in the realm of the living, and I'm too old to go to the Underworld to help personally, but I will send my daughter with you. She is in need of her own amulet. If you help her with finding a suitable gem in the Underworld, and then with the consecration of her amulet, she will join you on your quest to the Underworld."
Into the Underworld
It was 10.XIV.1722. Merida, Razzie, Rosa and Sruissola, the daughter of the goblin king stood in front of the altar, in the tower with the eye. Merida had prepared a ritual that she thought would help them open the portal to the Underworld, and descend into the realm of the dead. She had placed her pink quartz amulet on the altar, in between two pink candles, she had a vial filled with sand from the garden of Sisera in Zijincheng and a vial of blood, taken from all four of them in equal measures, stirred together with a special concoction that would prevent clogging. While she urged the other three to hold hands, Merida lit the candles, murmuring an ancient spell. She emptied the bottle with sand over the amulet, then the bottle of blood. She rushed to the other three ladies and they formed a circle around the altar, singing praise to the Eternal Mistress. When they stopped singing there was a short moment of absolute silence, after a minute sounds from outside started returning, such as the singing of the birds and the wind through the leaves of the trees. Then a loud sound was heard, like the tower had been hit by thunder, and the four ladies fell down to the floor, unconscious.
The four women woke up, with severe headaches, and found themselves to be no longer inside the tower on the island Murder. They were in a deep underground cave, where the air felt muggy, and a thick magenta fog limited their viewing distance. The ground beneath their feet felt warm, even though it seemed to be made out of rock. From the distance they could hear the sound of many pickaxes hacking into the bedrock, as well as threatening whispers that they could not understand. They felt watch, as figures seemed to be moving in the shadows, but not clear enough to be recognised. Merida grabbed her amulet, which seemed to be shining even more brightly than normal, held it in front of her and told the other three to follow her. Merida didn't know in which direction they had to go, but she trusted that the pink quartz amulet did know where to go, so she instinctively followed it.
After hours of walking, the four ladies started to become exhausted. They crossed narrow caves, had to climb steep paths and descend from perilous paths. But finally they encountered the first human beings in in a more open part of the cave system. The men were tied together with chains, and were as pale as ivory, using their pickaxes to get quartz out of the bedrock. The men looked like they were in pain, and a demoness was standing behind them, hitting them with a scourge if they would slack in their work. The demoness looked at the four ladies, and gave them a friendly smile as she saw the amulet Merida was carrying. Between flogging the men, she pointed them towards a large gate. The gate was entirely made out of ebony, and decorated with pink quartz crystals, and guarded by two extremely muscular female soldiers in quilted tunics, brass helmets and chainmail, carrying large two-handed double-bearded axes. When the ladies approached them, the soldiers opened the gate, revealing the throne room of the Eternal Mistress.
Upon entering the room, Merida, Razzie, Rosa and Sruissola felt overwhelmed by fear and dread, the power of the Eternal Mistress was tangible in her throne room. The walls of the room were made out of shiny black obsidian, with red marbling. Tapestries on the walls depicted great mass killings from the past, such as the end of Babkha, the Obedience Killing, the War of the Lost Brothers, and many others they could not directly recognise. Their legs continued walking forwards towards the throne of the Eternal Mistress, while their minds told them to run. And in the centre of the room, they saw her sitting on the throne. The Eternal Mistress was not a tall lady, she was less than a riq tall and had a petite build. Her eyes were blue, with magenta eyelashes, she had raven black dark hair that she kept loose, a sharp nose and a small mouth that bore a friendly smile.
Establishment of the state
The next day Merida, Razzie, Rosa and Sruissola woke up again in the tower. They were sweaty, hungry, had muscle aches all over their bodies and had only a vague recollection of what had happened the previous day. They could vividly remember seeing the Eternal Mistress, but not a thing of what had happened then, they didn't know if the Eternal Mistress had even spoken a word to them. What they did realise, was that they had returned with a small chest of pink quartz gems. Rosa went back to the camp to get gold so she could make amulets for the three of them that didn't have an amulet yet, while Merida and Razzie discussed what they should do now, they both feared that if they should leave the island, the tower of the Eternal Mistress would become derelict again, and could possibly even be raided by looters. Merida asked Razzie to become the political and military leader of their group, and found a state that would protect the holy site from external and internal threats, while she, Merida, would become a priestess to the Eternal Mistress. Sruissola leaned into the conversation and said that she would send goblins to the island, to help construct fortifications on the coastline, that would help in fending off any invading forces. Rosa returned with the gold, and started to work on the amulets.
The Destruction
On 7.XI.1723, Razzie and Rosa were guarding the altar in the tower, and speaking amongst themselves about the demise of Sankt Ludwigshafen, and how much Razzie missed her wife Charlène who had returned to Hurmu, instead of joining Razzie on Murder. During their conversation the eyes on the altar started to glow more brightly, at first they didn't notice but after a while the light became so strong that it started to strain their eyes. Razzie ran away from the tower to get Merida, to have her find an explanation for what was happening. Outside, the geyser that had been slowly emitting magenta clouds since their first night on the island, had started to erupt, and massive black and magenta smoke clouds were covering the island, destroying any plants and flowers that they came in contact with. Razzie saw Merida look in horror at the clouds. Merida shouted to Razzie that she had to get back to the tower and help Rosa escape too, but as Merida said that, they heard a menacing laugh from the eye on the tower, after which the building collapsed.
While Razzie started to sob, because of the loss of her friend, Merida told her that they had no time to mourn. She had found eternal scribblings that suggested that the Eternal Mistress wasn't as benevolent as they thought, and would try to destroy all life on the island, and perhaps then the rest of Micras. Merida thought for a moment, then explained to Razzie that the only way that they could stop the Eternal Mistress, was to delve deep into the catacombs of the tower, and find an ancient relic that had been used before to vanquish the Eternal Mistress.
As they entered the tower, they came eye to eye with the body of Rosa, who had been hit on the head with a giant piece of stone and must have died instantly. Razzie fought against her tears as she slowly walked past Rosa, but Merida pushed her forwards, saying that there wasn't time now to stop. They opened a trapdoor and jumped into the darkness. They fell four meters down into a cave that was located between the roots of the trees, despite it being relatively dark, there were also plants that bore leaves, and in the distance they could see an illuminated chamber. Merida and Razzie ran towards the chamber, believing that they would find the artefact there.
As they enter the room, the journey of Merida and Razzie takes a dark turn as they notice a demoness of the Eternal Mistress. When the demoness sees the two, she laughs at them, mocking them for their naivety. She makes fun of the death of Rosa, in an obvious attempt to enrage Razzie, who already has her hand on her sword, and is boiling from anger, and ready to attack. Merida gives Razzie a slap on the hand that is holding her sword, and tells her not to be misled by the demoness. Razzie takes a deep breath, and puts her trust in Merida, who grabs her hand. Holding hands the two women walk straight through the demoness, whose presence does not appear to be physical, but more like that of a hologram. As they pass through the demoness, her laughter fades, and then when they look back, the demoness has disappeared completely.
At the end of the room, on a catafalque, lies the body of the Eternal Mistress. The body looks to be mummified, but shows no signs of decay. Merida opens her mouth to speak, and she tells Razzie the story of the Eternal Mistress. How she was born hundreds of years ago as the daughter of a small farmer, how she had been abused and turned to magic to escape the abuse. The intentions of the Eternal Mistress had not been malicious, she wanted to create a place where women could flee from their abusers and live in safety. The Eternal Mistress was proficient in magic and her powers increased, but she was not aware where her powers came from and when she realised it was demonic in nature, it was already too late, the demonic influences had corrupted her soul.
Razzie shakes her head and asks Merida why she had never told this before. But Merida points behind Razzie and says, the Eternal Mistress told me this. Her soul is standing right behind you. Razzie watches over her shoulder and faints, dropping against the catafalque. As she regains her consciousness mere seconds later Merida is offering her a few gulps of water. The Eternal Mistress looks at Razzie too, with concern, and she offers Razzie her condolences and apologies because of Rosa's fate. While the Eternal Mistress shares the story of her life with Razzie, and Razzie shares the story of her life with the Eternal Mistress, Merida is making a potion out of herbs that she has found in the cave and brought with them. As she is finished, she gives the soul of the Eternal Mistress a deep hug and tells Razzie to do the same. As Razzie obliges, she notices that the soul of Rosa has also descended into the room, and she joins them in their embrace. While the souls feels cold to the touch, it's an emotional moment for all four of them. Merida sighs, and then pours the potion she has made over the body of the Eternal Mistress. As she does so, the soul of the Eternal Mistress shrieks out in pain before vanishing.
New rule over the island
Razzie and Merida looked at each other in horror as the souls of Rosa and the Eternal Mistress had disappeared. They heard a loud cracking noise in the stone ceiling of the cave, and seconds later the first stones started to come down from the ceiling. They ran towards the exit as fast as they could, they were able to exit the tower just before it completely collapsed. They are highly surprised when they see two women in gold plated armour plating sitting on fallen tree branches, next to the collapsed tower. Without introducing themselves, the two female soldiers inquire whether the Eternal Mistress is trapped inside the tower and they are visibly relieved when they hear that she has been vanquished altogether. "That gives us some time", one of the soldiers said. Merida frowned and asked the soldiers who they were. They explained that they were part of the Palace Guard of Princess Emilia Antoinette of Taktwinkel, that there officer was Hedy von Rossmarkt and that they were on a mission to stop the demonic outbreak on the island of Murder.
Razzie and Merida looked at each other, trying to guess what the other was thinking. Finally Razzie broke the silence, "Well, we did screw up here. The Eternal Mistress might not have been an evil spirit from the beginning, she was corrupted somehow and that makes me wonder if there was something or someone who corrupted her, and if that something or someone is still around...". The soldiers nodded and explained that according to the research of the chief witch of the court of Taktwinkel, there were even darker forces, that could escape through the portal and wreak havoc on Micras. Their mission was to neutralise any resistance and then construct a magical seal to block the evil spirits from entering the realm of the living. "And to be honest, we need your help Merida, our witch specialises in green magic, not conjuration.", the most senior soldier admitted.
Merida and Razzie excused themselves for a minute, to discuss how they would respond to the request from the soldiers. Even though the Eternal Mistress seemed to be vanquished, they weren't sure that they were safe and decided to work together with the soldiers from Taktwinkel to construct a magical seal that would prevent demonic forces from the Underworld, trespassing into the rest of Micras. Merida helped the soldiers construct a magical seal on top of the site of the tower, with her incantations, and with a ritual dance. "Are you sure this will stop the demonic forces from infiltrating Micras?" one of the soldiers asked Merida, and she shook her head. "We don't know how strong the evil forces are that might still remain in the towers, and there is only one way to find out, we need to go back".
With some hesitance, they led the soldiers into the ruins of the tower, as they ventured deeper and deeper into the caves below the tower, they could feel that there was a very strong magical presence still extant in there. Merida began to sing a chant that was to offer them protection against evil spirits, and Razzie and the soldiers drew their swords. As they passed deeper and deeper, dark creatures would haunt them. These creatures didn't seem to have a physical body, but they brought with them a sense of cold, and they would only be dispelled if Merida shouted something mystical at them in an ancient language none of the other three would recognise. Other creatures that would attack would have a physical body, and sharp claws and Razzie and the soldiers tried to keep them at a distance with their swords.
In one of the caves they encountered an upright standing rock, it was made out of granite and had inscriptions in Ludwiggian script, detailing the life of the Eternal Mistress, when she was known as Anna of the Neurändern and lived in Whales in the 1500's, where she was one of the many wives of Ludwig von Blutwasser. As Merida read the words out aloud, the letters began to shine brightly and they heard a voice. It was the Eternal Mistress that spoke to them, even though they could not see her. The Eternal Mistress chastised them, saying that they had only hurt her but not the power that had once corrupted her, and that that power still posed a threat to all of Micras.
Merida shook her head, "It might have hurt you what we did, but it seems to have freed you of your corruption, and we hope that you are now willing to help us fight against the corruptive spirit." There are five minutes of silence, and the four ladies are uncertain whether the spirit of the Eternal Mistress is still there. Then they hear a sigh and pink quartz letters light up again on the wall of the cave, again in the ancient Ludwiggian script and Merida walks towards the text to read it. It is about a different location on the island of Murder, called The Pit, where a male demon was held but he escaped as the island fell into derelict and the Magenta crows that guarded him scattered over the island to find food, which was not found in abundance near the Pit, as it is an evil place. "Fuck", Merida whispered under her breath after she has finished reading the text.
As the women return from the caves and see the light of day again, Merida and Razzie see that a few hundred more female soldiers from Taktwinkel, all wearing gold-plated armour, have arrived. These have started to build a palisade fortress with the ruins of the tower at their centre. From the four towers on the corners of the palisades the flag of the Confoederatio Aemilia is flying. Without consulting with her, one of the two soldiers, who appeared to be a high ranking officer, that went into the caves with Razzie and Merida announces Razzie Waldfürcht as the consul of Murder and the leader of the army. She is too flabbergasted to object. After a ceremony in which Razzie takes over command of the small army, she sits down with the officer and learns all about the rise of Princess Emilia Antoinette in Taktwinkel, and how she has taken over so much territory that once belonged to the Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen, with just her charisma alone and without firing a single bullet.
Uncovering the demon
In the days after the arrival of the soldiers from Taktwinkel, Razzie starts learning their customs and becomes familiar with their military tactics, while Merida starts reading into the demon that must be trapped into the Pit. She reads the life story of the Eternal Mistress again and again, and the name of Ludwig von Blutwasser, known as Saint Ludwig and revered in the former Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen keeps coming back as someone who has hurt the Eternal Mistress again and again, through his infidelity, through the abuse he put her through when he had drunk too much, and Merida starts to wonder if he could be the demonic influence over the Eternal Mistress. At night, she sneaks into the ruins of the tower and finds her way towards the granite rock with the inscriptions of the life of Anna of the Neurändern. "Anna", she whispers, "can we talk?" The spirit of the Eternal Mistress appears in front of her and the two women sit down on a stone bench and start to chat, Merida asks the Eternal Mistress about Fürst Ludwig, and how he treated her. Anna responded, telling her how she struggled with the affairs and the abuse, but how she still loved the man and could not leave him, but that when she got sick and could not give him anymore children, that was the last that she had seen of him. "He's not here" she says, "I haven't seen him after the birth of Philipp in 1622. My son Karl Blutwasser took after him and treated his wives the same as his father had done, it is my greatest shame that I could not stop him from emulating his father and that shame follows me into death." Merida tries to hug the spirt of the Eternal Mistress to comfort her, but her arms go right through her body, as it has no material existence, but the Eternal Mistress sobs and thanks Merida for her good intentions. The two women sit in silence, none of them wanting to be the first one to say it, but both knowing what needs to be done.
"So, the crows..", Anna says. "The crows", Merida answers and the Eternal Mistress sobs again.
