Morrigan

Morrigan the Fatestitcher, also known as Morri, is a hag and archfey living in the Feywild and caretaker of both Birdie Calloway and her daughter Fearne Calloway.

Appearance
Morri is a hag and an archfey. She is described as an incredibly old woman, even by fey standards. According to Fearne, she stands around 13-15 feet tall, but when Bells Hells met her, she was closer to 10 feet tall. Her torso is barrel-shaped, but her shoulders are broad and pointed, and her arms thin. When Bells Hells first met her, she wore a floor-length blue-green linen robe, draped with a number of branches, rope, and small objects; and a linen and chiffon mantle. Her neck is very long, and she has long, tangled white hair that grows on both her head and the back of her long, giraffe-like neck. Her mouth is wide, with jagged teeth; she has no nose, only nostrils; and her eyes are sunken and lit by small golden glows. She has a second face on her stomach that can speak independently.

Personality
According to Fearne, Morrigan is extremely intelligent, and according to Morrighan Ferus, she is incredibly kind. She is stated by the Calloways and by Ira Wendagoth to be a collector, and Fearne notes that she always asks for a gift in exchange for favors.

She described herself as an observer who enjoys watching and slightly alter fates of others: "When no one's looking, I can add a tangle or two to the skein...and I just like to see who's getting tangled."

Morri cooks meatpies, makes candy, and has fondness for craft, including taxidermy and mixology; her signature cocktail is called Moonlight Glycerin. She is not mechanically inclined.

Before Exandria Unlimited
Morrigan, known as the Fatestitcher, is the guardian of a fane in the Harrowcall Fens of the Feywild and lives at Ligament Manor. She became the caretaker of Birdie Calloway and served as an "honorary grandmother", but she is not a blood relative.

When Birdie and her husband Oleander Calloway left the Feywild for Exandria, they left their daughter Fearne Calloway with her. Morrigan was fond of Fearne, whom she affectionately calls her "little bear-cub-banana", and altered time in the Feywild so that Fearne would remain with her for ninety years in a space of six Exandrian years. Fearne remained with her for all that time, believing Morrigan to be her grandmother by blood; Morrigan wrote and illustrated Fearne multiple letters and postcards, telling Fearne that they were from her parents. Before they left, the Calloways asked Morri to protect Fearne from the Unseelie Court. Agents of the court tried to infiltrate the Ligament Manor several times, but were transformed into statues that now adorn Morri's garden.

At some point before 842 PD, Morri was contacted by Ira Wendagoth who requested an item called a Weave Lens in exchange for paying off the debt she owned Ira. It took her some time to create, but once Morri finished her project, she gave the lens to Fearne, explaining that it was very important and she needed to deliver it to her parents. She then sent Fearne to Exandria by way of Artagan's Gate, arriving near Syngorn.

Morri also sent Morrighan Ferus into Exandria from the Feywild; Morrighan only remembered Morri's name as she was sent into Exandria and apparently took the name as well.

Exandria Unlimited
When Fearne and the other members of the Crown Keepers came across Artagan's Gate, they encountered a forlarren sent by Lady Elmenore to retrieve Fearne. The forlarren told her that Morri was the one who sent the letters and gave the gifts that Fearne thought were from her parents. However, Fearne was convinced she was lying.

Campaign 3: Bells Hells
After Fearne was reunited with her parents, she learned the truth about her relationship to Morri from Birdie, and acknowledged that the letters she'd received were from Morri, not them. She and her parents also realized, with help from Ira, that Morri may have been the reason why Fearne had experienced her parents' absence as 90 years rather than six. She asked Ollie if she had been given to Morri as a gift in exchange for Morri's favor. Her parents were shocked and troubled by the possibility, but Ira evaded the question.

While brainstorming ways to interfere with the Cerberus Assembly's plans in the Feywild, Bells Hells learnt that Morri might be able to allow them safe passage into and out of the Feywild without losing time. Imogen used Sending to contact Morri, telling her that Fearne wanted to pay a visit, and Morri told her that Fearne was always welcome to visit and that she would be able to help. Later that day, the party decided to travel there, and Ryn opened a portal into the Feywild. With Fearne's navigation, the party made it to Ligament Manor, where Morri greeted them and offered them cocktails.

Fearne caught Morri up on Bells Hells' adventures over the cocktails, and in the course of conversation, Morri revealed that she had once had a fling with Ira Wendagoth, but it hadn't amounted to anything serious. Morri also told Bells Hells where they could find the Malleus Key in the Unseelie Court and indicated that the machine was what was keeping Ruidus in the Fey Realm. Later, she introduced Bells Hells to her collection, including her most prized possession, the Heart of the Lion Guard. She was intrigued and impressed by Pâté, and her touch seemed to cause strange and confusing effects in the hole in Ashton's head.

When Bells Hells set out the following morning, Morri gave them advice on how to navigate the Feywild and locate the nearest gate back to the Material Plane. She gave Fearne the Gloomscale Breastplate, and the entire party Harrowcall Veils (of her own creation) and a salve that would help reduce the potential time warp effects when they returned to Exandria.

While making their escape from the Shiver Keep, Imogen contacted Morri via Sending, telling her that the situation was dire and they needed her help. Morri did not respond, but a few minutes later a large flying figure flew out of the forest and attacked their pursuers, buying them time to escape. This figure was revealed to be Morri. When contacted the next morning, she told the party that she was fine, although she may need to make some amends. A few days later, Imogen reached out once more to ask for her assistance. Morri informed her that she was still at home recovering from her encounter with Gloamglut, but that she could help from afar.

Notable items

 * Weave Lens (formerly)

Abilities

 * Morri can "help focus the transition" between Feywild and another plane of existence.

Behind the scenes
Morrigan's nickname "Morri" is named after a massive, 35-pound cat that Ashley's family owned. Speaking on the many folklore influences on Fearne's backstory, she added, "Some of it leads somewhere, some of it does not... Morrigan could mean something or it could not." Ashley herself decided that Morrigan was a hag, and she thought that it was funny to imagine a hag acting grandmotherly (i.e., "You got to eat!").

Morrigan's character is inspired by Ashley's mother, who also inspired much of Fearne. Ashley described her as "innocently mischievous" and felt that was a good core for a fey character. She also drew on her mother's good relationship with her numerous nieces, nephews, and grandchildren. Ashley also incorporated into Morrigan her mother's eagerness to cook a wide variety of foods for the family, her "no rules" nurturing of artistic pursuits (such as painting on walls), and her tendency to stay up very late making art. She mentioned that her mother built a creepy, fairy-like birdhouse out of metal scraps that Ashley felt looked like a hag's house during the COVID-19 lockdown in Campaign 2. She and Ashley also spoke extensively about the game, which her mother did not really understand, for the first time during the lockdown.

Fearne's backstory, including her time with Morrigan, drew from various fairy tales and folklore stories, particularly Scandinavian folklore that Ashley heard growing up.

Appearances and mentions

 * Exandria Unlimited
 * Exandria Unlimited: Kymal
 * Campaign 3
 * Exandria Unlimited: Kymal
 * Campaign 3
 * Campaign 3
 * Campaign 3

Trivia

 * Her full name, Morrigan, might be a reference to the Mórrígan, a prominent Irish-Celtic goddess. The commonly accepted interpretation for the meaning of the name Mórrígan is "Great Queen" or "Phantom Queen". In Irish-Celtic mythology, the Mórrígan is the goddess of war, fate, and death.