Moratahn, Wytche-Queen of the Iron Woods
Summary
All across Fauverngarz stand forests both vast and small, great and ignoble. The freezing winters often herald icy storms, turning the wood ever harder and colder. Their unbreakable barks became as strong as iron, and so these iron woods turned into unyielding mazes that ancient dangers lurked within. Above all of them stands one being no native is ever eager to cross: Moratahn. No one knows where she came from, or how long she's been around, but everyone is quite willing to say 'forever'. The earliest known tales of her concern the first settlers paying for land ownership, and respecting the 'queen of woods' for the trees they would cut down. In time, as more people braved the woods, they invariably encountered Moratahn more and more. Her mistressy over magics tantalized many, and so they desired them. Those foolish to try violence vanished, but many more succeeded in doing peaceful trade. Although her demands might range from the bizarre to the untenable, no end of benefits awaited those who met them. As the lands grew, Moratahn remained aloof within her realm. It wouldn't be until the emergence of new goddesses that these peaceful relations broke apart. Boisterous, capricious, stricken by lust and greed, and so much more could be called their unsavory natures. Nonetheless they enamored many, worming their way into peoples' hearts, and so a new pantheon took hold. All came to an accord of sorts, except Moratahn–something that both angered and left them afraid. They sharpened their weapons, honed their own magics, and whether together or by their prideful selves, ventured into the woods. One after the other, Moratahn took them to task. If they came with tricks, she outwitted them. If they brought axes, she broke them over her knee. Time and again the goddesses invaded, and each time she left them beaten, stripped naked, and forced to march home in shame. The more they tried, stranger and ever harrowing did she punish them. It locked them all into a time later referred to as the stupid struggles. Despite such a name, it beget a more terrible issue. As they struggled to surmount Moratahn, the Relentless ever grew in number and ferocity. With all the goddesses busy, mortals faltered between hardship and the Relentless' assaults. When a doomtide emerged and started sweeping town-after-town away, only then did they change their attention. Having not seen such a fast growing problem before, the goddesses buckled in fighting back. Divine and mortal alike retreated and retreated, until their final city in a valley is all that remained. Only then did Moratahn finally appear, clad in dark armor, draped with furs of prized kills, and two never-before seen axes in hand. Already covered in viscera, she stood before the gates, bellowing a challenge to the goddesses within. Decrying them cowards and fools, she berated them so harshly even the stone beneath their feet became sympathetic. Moratahn commanded one simple thing: they would fight with her against the doomtide, or she would visit upon them an unspeakably worse fate. They had, after all, constantly interfered with her hunting and let the Relentless grow out of control. The resulting battle became a legend itself, and a defining point of a new age for Fauverngarz. Defeating the Relentless, and learning more of Moratahn's eternal duties, the goddesses copiously apologized. To redeem themselves, they promised to aid her more appropriately, and take to heart her brutal beratement. How exactly they chose to do so became a problem, as the more spirited among them did things in their own way. As the many peoples spread out once more, and life returned to normalcy, the goddesses remained a thorn in Moratahn's side. Instead of trying to kill her, they involved her instead in all their petty politics. It eventually culminated in her becoming the deific 'queen' of the pantheon, something she has adamantly denied time and again. Worse, the strong warrior goddesses, such as Borlken, constantly challenge her to competitions. Although he was regarded as the greatest of hunters, Borlken has ever failed to defeat Moratahn when she was serious. Their one-sided rivalry became a key underpinning from there on, something that has helped keep the goddesses in 'fighting shape'. For as much as the goddesses and people learned more of her, the less they truly knew, however. Moratahn ever remained comfortable in her realm, unseen, unobserved, and ever moving about the lands. Her tireless work is more than that of just the Relentless, but a secret buried in the frost of Fauverngarz itself. Rumors abound of her connection to unnameable ruins, and the strange works left behind within them. Although she never claims domain, few can find them without her permission. Those who are fortunate enough to return, she'll offer all kinds of rewards for whatever they've brought up. No one can say what her true game is; many are content to leave her be. After all, Moratahn remains honest in her deals, no matter their natures. She comes as a stranger, and leaves a friend, so long as one takes care to not offend her.Physical Description
Body Features
With a considerable height to her, Moratahn is a pale skinned, supremely fit human woman. Her nature as an Exalted pushes her beauty to the supernatural, giving her an eerie, ethereal air, and a deceptive soft 'glow' to her sculpture-esque muscles. Her proportions lean toward 'stretched', just on the cusp of becoming bizarre or even alien looking. In the darkness of the Iron Woods, she's as terrifying as captivating to behold.
A series of black-inked tattooes cover her from head to toe. While based in geometric design–principally sharp corners, squares, and curves–they make accommodations toward softer, circular markings particularly on the arms and legs. The 'origin' of these tattooes come from her eyes, as they simply curve and come back into themselves rather than 'ending' anywhere else. The style as a whole can be seen as flowing, constructed, but perhaps 'wrapping around the body' than something trying to form a cohesive whole.
Facial Features
A sharper, diamond-cut face and squarish-jaw accentuates her expressive eyes, giving them an altogether intimidating air. Her hair is neatly braided and looped around her head, but falls freely down her back in wild, barely held-together braids. Hints of shadowy makeup accentuate her features and heighten the monochromatic aesthetic. The tattooes on her face, seemingly coming 'out of' her eyes, bleed out across the cheeks, follow the jaw, and then descend the neck to the rest of the body.
Identifying Characteristics
Her woodswoman attire is strikingly distinct, and few willfully dare to imitate it. On the other hand, her ethereal beauty is altogether attention wrenching, though whether someone likes or fears it differs.
Special abilities
Exalted – Moratahn is a true Exalted.
Metal Ice Magic – A peculiar brand of metal magic based on the principles of ice, combining the two in a bizarre fusion almost unheard of elsewhere. Moratahn can effectively exploit properties of both magical schools, and create unimaginable combinations using them.
Supreme Huntress – An eternity refining her skill against the Relentless and people alike have sent Moratahn to the apex of hunting. She can exploit the environment, track her prey, and wield a variety of weapons to a truly unfathomable degree. It is the kind of skill unabashedly spoken of in legend.
Apparel & Accessories
Moratahn's traditional appearance is as follows:
A black iron helm crafted in the guise of a deer's skull, with actual animal bones and remains being used in the construction. It is a fully encompassing piece of armor, almost skeletal in appearance, and terribly frightening to gaze upon. The horns branch out sideways, where they break apart into two separate branches (creating four horn branches in total).
Black iron plates and leather under armor comprises most of her body armor, all the way down to her solid boots, in a fitting compromise between heavy and light armor. A mantle of animal furs woven together crown her shoulders, falling down her backside in a cape that reaches her knees. This same trend lines the rest of her armor, seemingly providing needed insulation in the cold winters. A belt with six pouches, and utility braces on her thighs and arms that carry tools/knives, add a complimentary tone of self-sufficient survivalism.
Two war-worthy axes are strapped to her thighs. They're distinct in that they seem made of a green-tinted iron, and exhibit strange colors in the stylized glyphs etched upon them. Their make and appearance are undoubtedly the same as some of the oldest ruins in the lands.
When she is not decked out for the hunt, Moratahn takes on a variety of clothes. Given Fauverngarz's cold climate, these are often insulating, sweeping dresses with heavy jackets. Layers, after all, is the name of the game, and so much of it is easy to strip off once she's inside a warm hall or other location. Her colors tend to be in the silvers and greens, with some browns to add earthly hints that aren't overpowering.
Mental characteristics
Gender Identity
Female
Sexuality
Lesbian
Education
I have studied the tomes of Arvoya, listened to the stars chatter, and walked amongst the tombs of queens. There isn't a dragon toy I haven't unmade. The spider women more than gladly took my lessons of weaving for their own. How the peoples hunt itself I first learned only to teach them. And you think some school taught me all that?Crafty, capable, and frighteningly intelligent, Moratahn's timeless knowledge is ever bent around her very eccentric notions of wisdom. She thinks on a completely different axis from all the other goddesses of Fauverngarz. To some extent it can make her obtuse or alien, especially when her differing ideas of morals or ethics come into play. What becomes exceedingly clear, however, is she does possess structured learning. Some speculate it was actually a formalized education of some kind, but whatever it may have been is cleverly hidden away.
Intellectual Characteristics
While seemingly an overly serious woman without an ounce of humour, Moratahn is fully driven by her priorities. Be whatever they are, she has a distinct time to relax, and a time to do business. She's often likened to a nebusah, which endears her to those who live in the cold climates. In such respect, those who come to do business with Moratahn find playing by her consistent, if unusual, rules leave much happier in the end.
In the times she is more relaxed and socialable, Moratahn's whimsical mannerisms show without restraint. Her particular way of speaking in calm, calculative tones belie her rampant trickery and flirtatious comments. It can be quite difficult to discern how much is her joking and being deadly serious, a not-inconsiderable skill.
Being an exceedingly curious person, while she may reserve decorum for politeness' sake, Moratahn is ever probing into matters. She naturally seeks learning and figuring out things, without being duly obsessed in said pursuit. However, as a timeless Exalted, and one from very different cultural backgrounds, her overtures are often terribly mistaken.
Morality & Philosophy
Shouldering the burden of remembrance all by herself, Moratahn tirelessly toils for the sake of something long dead and forgotten. Her unwavering loyalty has shaped the entirety of life and being, an admirable commitment even when no other is left to witness it. She neither extolls nor burdens others with it, lest its mountainous weight crush them instead. The best anyone has ever figured out is her distant relation to the many ruins that dot Fauverngarz.
While veiled in her inscrutable motives, Moratahn is rather straight-forward in her dealings. Anyone can ask of her a deal to be made, but she in turn will ask of them any price she deems fitting. It could be said her unreasonable costs are how she 'rejects' undesirable deals. But, to try and figure out any sense of morality behind them is to lead one to madness. 'Good' and 'evil' are relative ideas, after all, and she lives by her own sensibilities, regardless of anyone else's.
Hence the saying, "a deal from the wytche-queen's own hands"; meaning that despite anything else, no matter how good or horrible, it is an honest agreement.
Relationships
Ren-Ziran, the Wytche of the Wild Brew
Subject (Important)Towards Moratahn, Wytche-Queen of the Iron Woods
0
0
Honest
Moratahn, Wytche-Queen of the Iron Woods
Queen (Important)Towards Ren-Ziran, the Wytche of the Wild Brew
0
0
Honest
Nicknames & Petnames
"That fluffy brown one."
Commonalities & Shared Interests
Wytche magic and a reverance for nature.
Nivak, Lady of the Glimmering Snow
Casual Partner (Vital)Towards Moratahn, Wytche-Queen of the Iron Woods
3
3
Frank
Moratahn, Wytche-Queen of the Iron Woods
Casual Partner (Important)Towards Nivak, Lady of the Glimmering Snow
3
3
Honest
Trivia
The Wytches
Long ago, before common recorded history began in Fauverngarz, a clan of lauraume came to the Iron Woods. They bargained a deal with Moratahn to live there, for they were people of the veltron and plant–forests were their home. While the nature of the deal is a secret only known to Moratahn anymore, the lauraume settled into the depths of her realm. In time, they changed, adapting to the environment and embracing their patron's nature for their own. These so-called wytche people were the first outsiders met with before invariably encountering Moratahn herself. Hence seen as her protected people, they are respected if cautiously treated with, for the wytches are just as strange. They're anything but violent, and once one learns their culture, they can be surprisingly helpful. Their knowledge of folk medicine and magic alone is priceless, and innumerable lives have been saved thanks to it throughout the eons. Quite a lot of mages have taken to studying after their ways. So-called wytche magic emerged as a result, but it was more a method of doing magic than any one particular school. Eventually these mages through the generations diverged further from the idea of 'mage', creating the identity of 'wytche' instead. In modern vernacular it can be difficult figuring out if one is a wytche by trade or birth, a situation that ironically suits them.
Divine Classification
Current Location
Species
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Gender
Female
Eyes
Round, expressive yet recessed eyes; Gem-like clear emerald iris, black sclera
Hair
Raven Black
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale
Height
Large-small
Weight
Heavy
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