The Mother of Entrails
Divine Matron
a.k.a Divine Matron
HISTORY AND POLITICS
The Divine Matron is one of the two liches to 'ascend' after the Ma'ab exodus to Miurag. Her studies alongside The Artisan of Blood proved necessary for the integration of the Ma'ab people to the new realm. The fertility rites she created still see use today to ensure pregnancy.
The Artisan of Blood would prove the more politically active of the two, swiftly integrating herself into the role of handling the Ma'ab genealogy amongst the nobility. That is not to say the Mother was complacent, however: in many ways she has maintained an impressive cult following in the slums among the most numerous Maggot class. Were she to gain such a following amongst the nobility, it is likely she would begin to rival The Vermillion Lady. Such a turn of events would put her continued existence in peril, and perhaps her awareness of this fact is why she has remained so quiet.
The Matron has always chased the life magic of Miurag, and it is her hope to one day kindle a true and self-sustaining spark of it in her people. Such efforts put her at odds with both the Artisan and The Physician, whose machinations stymie the Matron's progress at every turn.
Most recently, when an Elf was caught, the Midwife of the Slums was beside herself with joy. Her dreams were swiftly quashed, however, when the Physician tore out the Elf's soul and bonded it with a Ma'ab male simply for the sake of creating another new breed of immortality. The Third Ascended in particular openly exalts the death magics native to their people and see no reason to foster life magic.
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
The Mother's Ascension seems strange to most, her form a fusion of life and death. Her body appears human from the waist up, though closer inspection reveals it is formed from rancid sheets and coils of fungus and slime growing in the shape of a beautiful Ma'ab woman. Gaps in the mycelium and lichen show glimpses of her actual yellowed skeleton beneath, as well as putrid organs that still appear to beat and pulse with false life. Her lower torso is a lashing mass of ropey tentacles, some of the thicker ones ending in hagfish-like maws.
A similar mass of wormy tendrils cover her scalp and constantly wriggle. Her hands end in cruel, blackened talons. Her eyes appear sunken and milky white, but glow with a faint light. Her 'flesh' is a nauseating swirl of pinks, purples, greys, blues, and blacks. Thick, bruise-colored lips part to reveal row upon row of needle teeth as her mouth stretches from ear-to-ear. A sickly sweet smell coils around her strange form cloaking an undertone of death and decay. When she speaks, her voice is thick and phlegmatic.
Some statues depicting the Mother of Entrails show her as a normal Ma'ab woman save that all the flesh below her ribcage has been removed and her intestines have been looped about her bony legs almost like a skirt. It is unclear if this image of her is simply more palatable to the general populace or if it depicts an earlier stage of her Ascended form.
Unlike the rest of the Ascended, the Matron still eats. She is quite known for her ravenous hunger for living flesh in addition to the the souls of her victims. More than one rumor suggests that that lovers have embraced her only to be devoured soon after, or servants too slow to get out of her path have been consumed in passing without a thought. Her tentacles seem to feed on any organic matter in their vicinity without hesitation unless the Mother actively suppresses this constant need to feed.
MAGIC
Some of the Divine Matron's experiments implant spores and parasites from the Greylands into native Miurag life to study the effect. These experiments seem to have some relevance to her Ascended form, though the things that make her body seem unique to her. It is a continuous and ever-evolving process as she seeks the key distinction that could grant her direct access to Miurag’s life magic. If she were ever to succeed, she would likely attempt to seize control of the Ma'ab as a whole. This is one reason why several of the other Ascended sabotage her efforts in subtle or obvious ways at any opportunity.
The Gorgon Spore is one of her unique breed of magical, living weapons. Once implanted it spreads throughout a host and lays seemingly dormant until the Mother of Entrails sends a command, at which point the fungus quickly calcifies and turns its host to 'stone'.
Vestige Worms are a blessing that she bestows upon her followers. These are large, pungent, white worms with circular maws of sharp teeth that act as living receptacles of magical might. They burrow into their host's chest and nest, imparting some form of power in turn for parasitically gorging upon its host. The worms do not feast enough to kill but do physically weaken their host.
These Worms also remain connected to the Mother, allowing her to keep track of her allies, speak to and through them, and harvest power from them. Their true purpose, however, is one of the Mother's closely held secrets: each hosted worm acts much like a lich phylactery. If the Mother's physical body were destroyed, she could reform from one of these hosts by slowly cannibalizing them from the inside as she gestates and then burst forth, fully restored.
