Magatha "Mags" Toil | 29 | Godling
A P P E A R A N C E :
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Magatha, or “Mags” as she is often called, stands at roughly 5’6" and has a willowy, athletic physique that complements her fast, improvisational fighting style. Her skin clearly used to be pale but years of serving in the Second Legion has visibly darkened her flesh, creating a stark contrast between her skin and the black horns jutting from the top of her head. She also has hundreds of small white scars covering her wiry arms. Perhaps the most unusual traits Magatha possesses, however, are her pointed ears and vivid orange eyes. Unlike most elves, the godling’s ears have earlobes, a trait that has earned her plenty of curious looks over the years. Does she have elven blood or are the ears a gift from whatever demonic or celestial being was involved in her birth? This mystery notwithstanding, her eyes are also the source of much speculation within the Second Legion's ranks. Not only are they a few shades lighter than her fiery red hair but they don’t have irises or pupils. Still, the godling can see just fine. All in all, Mags is probably one of the more unusual-looking godlings in the Known World.
M I N D :
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Despite the mysterious circumstances surrounding her admission into the Second Legion, Mags treats her brother and sister legionnaires with respect and kindness. While she rarely seeks the company of others, it doesn’t take much to persuade the godling to spend the night carousing at a nearby alehouse or brothel. She’s nothing if not willing to follow those she deems worthy of her time and friendship. On the other hand, Magatha refuses to have anything to do with those that practice the dark arts. There have been a few occasions when she’s actually walked out of a room, in direct defiance of her superiors’ orders, because a sorcerer was present. Furthermore, none of her equipment is enchanted in any way. When pressed about her hatred for magic, Mags usually finds an excuse to end the conversation. In light of this strange behavior and her unwillingness to talk about her life prior to joining the Legion, many soldiers believe the godling is hiding some terrible secret. Curiously, one thing Mags isn’t afraid to discuss at length is Tarkus. She’s been severely punished nearly a dozen times for slandering the Voice of War’s good name in public. Lastly, Mags abandons her pleasant demeanor completely when she steps onto the battlefield. She becomes focused, driven to complete her assigned task at any cost, and utterly ruthless, carving through enemies with her dual obsidian daggers. Most of the soldiers in the Second Legion know better than to get in Mags’ way when she fights. There’s nothing the godling hates more than someone that steals a kill from her. Except sorcerers.
H I S T O R Y:
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Nurban is a land of myths, of stories that people have been telling for years. One such story is the legend of the Beast of Redstone. Redstone Village was an insignificant fishing hamlet located less than a month’s ride to the south of Azure. It was also one of the last settlements to openly oppose the Rule of Order. To the annoyance of the Undying, this pitiful village, a settlement of less than one hundred men and women, managed to repel several attacks by both the Anthem and the Legion. Finally, the Undying commanded mighty Tarkus to visit Redstone Village and impose the Rule of Order on the battered, but still defiant, villagers. When the Voice of War arrived, however, he was surprised by what he found. The village elder fell at Tarkus’ feet and begged him to save his people from a creature called the Beast of Redstone. If the elder’s sniveling was to be believed, a horned monster wielding two black daggers had visited the village every night for the last five years. The abomination was always accompanied by a squat figure dressed in hooded white robes, though nobody had ever heard the two invaders speaking to each other. Instead, the foul demon raced through the streets, cutting down anything in her path, while the figure in white sauntered along behind. But the end result was always the same. One of Redstone Village’s young maidens, none of them over the age of eighteen, would be dragged screaming into the nearby forest, the dreaded Blackwald.
Obviously, it would’ve been simpler for Tarkus to forcefully bring the inhabitants of Redstone Village to heel, but the Voice of War was a fighter born and bred. A fighter that had been corrupted by the Abyss, but a fighter nonetheless. According to most versions of the story, Tarkus took twelve of his bravest soldiers with him into the Blackwald, announcing his intent to slay the Beast of Redstone in the name of the Endless. And when he returned he expected the people of Redstone Village to fall into line. What happened next is a mystery. Some people claim Tarkus fought a vicious battle against a dragon with scales the color of an open wound. Others swear the Voice of War encountered an Old God and strangled the fallen deity with his bare hands. In the end, none of this speculation matters, because, an hour or so after sunset, Tarkus emerged from the forest alongside his stalwart legionnaires. They had a captive with them, though she was hidden beneath one of the soldiers' cloaks. There was no sign of the portly figure clad in white robes. Of course, the people of Redstone Village didn’t worry about this too much. While Tarkus had been testing his strength against the Beast of Redstone, he’d given explicit orders to the rest of his men. Raze the village and slaughter anyone that resisted. Only those that surrendered should be spared.
Now, a charred ruin marks the place where Redstone Village once stood, a gruesome testament to what happens to those that defy the Undying. Most people in Nurban barely remember the village ever existed. But two people will never forget the sight of the settlement burning in the darkness. One is a female godling with horns named Magatha Toil. A godling that was quietly inserted into the ranks of the Second Legion five years ago with little to no explanation. The other is a powerful sorceress whose current whereabouts are unknown. A powerful sorceress whose notes were recovered from a crumbling mud hut in the Blackwald by Tarkus. Notes outlining how a skilled wielder of the dark arts might use their abilities to transform ordinary mortal women into godlings.
M O D U S O P R E R A N D I:
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The godling known only as Magatha Toil isn't equipped to handle prolonged periods of combat. Clad in mismatched pieces of studded leather armor and wielding two obsidian knives, her slight figure and meager physical strength would put her at a tremendous disadvantage if she was assigned to the front lines. Thankfully, Tarkus and his underlings knows precisely where each legionnaire fits in the unstoppable machine that is the Second Legion. Due to her lack of heavy armor or dense musculature, Mags can easily weave through crowds of enemies to deliver precision strikes against important targets. Similarly, she's often called upon to transport messages from the Legion's commanders to their officers in the field. As long as she can avoid getting bogged down in places where extensive close-quarters combat is unavoidable, the godling can do amazing things on the battlefield. After all, movement is an essential part of how Mags gets things done in combat situations. Her style is unrefined yet practical, and many have tried and failed to convince the godling to reveal who taught her how to fight. Her teacher's identity notwithstanding, Magatha adjusts the way she fights to suit her current opponent. For example, the godling focuses on cutting larger, heavier enemies once or twice before darting out of their reach. Attackers built like Mags, however, are dealt with as quickly as possible, falling to a whirlwind of slashes and stabs. This technique also works beautifully against sorcerers. Since the godling is always the first one to volunteer to track down enemy spellcasters, she's become adept at slaying practitioners of the dark arts.
To aid her in battle against sorcerers and other foes, Magatha often imbibes or coats her blades with various potions and salves. While she's not nearly as skilled as a master alchemist, she can still brew several useful tinctures from plant cuttings and other reagents. The two potions she uses most often are cat's eye elixirs, which allow her to see in the dark, and magebane. Magebane, when introduced to the victim's bloodstream, causes instant paralysis that lasts roughly ten seconds. This is more than enough time for Magatha to slit her enemy's throat and move on. In the end, however, Mags derives no pleasure from the act of killing. It’s just something she does and happens to have a knack for. Of course, her pride will not allow someone to steal a kill from her without some kind of reprisal.
O P I N I O N S O N O T H E R S
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-Arthur Wick: Arthur Wick aggravates Mags. He shares Hanir’s obsession with honor, something Magatha admires but has little interest in, but the man’s incessant grumbling about the oaths he swore to Tarkus makes him a boor to deal with. Arthur is one of the few non-sorcerers in the Second Legion the godling deliberately tries to avoid. The disapproving stares, the muttering about how she shouldn’t malign the Voice of War, and the unbearable self-righteousness in his voice are enough to send Mags running for the nearest tavern. Whenever the two are forced to work together, the godling grits her teeth and tries to finish her task as quickly as possible. The sooner she can leave Arthur’s moaning behind the better.
-Myaenthar'Sul: Unbeknownst to the rank and file of the Second Legion, the main reason Magatha doesn’t talk about her past is because it’s little more than a dark, blurry haze. She can’t remember her parents’ names. She doesn’t know who she was prior to Tarkus and his men leading her out of the Blackwald. And she isn’t entirely sure why people dislike kobolds so much. Without a doubt, Myaenthar’Sul is the godling’s favorite legionnaire. She has a great deal in common with the small, furtive creature. They’ve both endured plenty of suspicious, if not outright hostile, glares from their fellow soldiers. Both of them look decidedly unnatural, though Mags finds the kobold’s ugliness endearing. Whenever she has a moment, the godling will try to find Sul, her affectionate nickname for the kobold, to see if he needs anything. She’ll bring him food, drink, and the occasional pilfered bauble from the settlements the Second Legion marches through. They make an unusual pair, the horned godling and the paranoid kobold. Nevertheless, Sul is one of the few people that makes Magatha feel completely at ease, and she can spend hours talking to him about anything and everything. However, she refuses to let him ride her.
-Reika: At first, Magatha thought Reika was an interesting, if excitable, human. He sparred well, didn’t seem interested in imposing his ideals on others, and could drink with the best of them. What wasn’t to like? And then, shortly after the barbarian was admitted into the Second Legion, the godling saw the true power of Reika’s unusual blade. Her curiosity turned to hatred in an instant. His sword, which she later learned was called Sanmeogan, could create sorcerous blades of blood capable of tearing men apart like old parchment. From that day forward, Mags refused to be in the same room as Reika, rarely speaking to or looking at him unless she had no other choice. There's nothing the godling hates more than sorcery and those that wield it. In fact, if the rumors told around the Second Legion’s campfires are true, Magatha devotes a significant portion of her day to keeping a close watch on those legionnaires with mystical abilities. Is she planning something? Or is she simply observing her prey, looking for weaknesses to exploit should the worst come to pass?
-Aeudla Vesnat: Similar to Reika, Magatha has no interest in spending time with Aeudla Vesnat. The only thing more repugnant than learning someone you thought was normal has sorcerous abilities is a person that openly flaunts their powers. The first time the godling saw the dark-haired elf using blood magic, Mags made a promise to herself. If the need arose, she would be the one to cut out Aeudla’s still beating heart. And nobody steals a kill from Magatha Toil. For the moment, however, the horned godling simply observes the long-eared monster at a distance, her orange eyes looking for any indication that her moment has come. Oddly enough, if Aeudla had the opportunity to magically examine Magatha, the elf would discover two interesting abnormalities. First, the remnants of an old blood domination spell still cling to the godling’s mind, a testament to the power and skill of whoever originally cast it. And there is something strange about Mags’ blood. Normally, godlings are born from a coupling between a mortal and a celestial or demonic entity. Therefore, their blood is half mortal and half demonic or celestial. Magatha’s blood is roughly two-thirds human and a third demonic. Could it be that this particular godling wasn’t born in the usual way?
-Saga-Hanir: For the most part, Magatha doesn’t have a problem with Hanir. She knows that she makes him uncomfortable and does her best to put the highborne warrior at ease. On the other hand, while she respects the Legion's chain of command, the godling doesn’t believe anyone deserves special treatment just because they belong to a particular family. Everyone is mostly equal in Mags’ eyes. With this in mind, whenever one of the Legion’s officers commands him to perform some menial task, the godling wastes no time in teasing Hanir. She also never passes up an opportunity to belittle the nobleman's love of wine. It’s fermented grape juice. Why anybody would drink such swill is beyond Magatha’s comprehension. Despite his poor taste in drinks, however, Mags would much rather have the stalwart Hanir leading the charge then some of the Second Legion’s less reliable soldiers.
-Andrea Albane: The Silver Champion presents a frustrating conundrum for Magatha. The human’s love of bloodshed and carnage is off-putting to say the least. The godling understands death is a necessary part of life, and she’s killed countless men and women during her time with the Second Legion. Enjoying the act of murdering someone, however, is another matter. It seems so fundamentally wrong that it’s hard for Mags to accept Andrea as a fellow legionnaire. However, a few months after the Silver Champion joined the Second Legion, the godling had to admit something to herself. She is drawn to the Silver Champion like a moth to a flame. There's something about those cold, gray eyes that makes the godling tremble in a way she's completely unfamiliar with. It isn't fear. It's something else. Since she isn’t stupid or desperate enough to throw herself at Andrea, the godling contents herself with watching. Watching and tormenting herself with thoughts of what could be. Of course, the Legion doesn't exactly encourage romances of this nature so Magatha knows, even if something were to happen, it would be difficult to keep such a relationship secret. Difficult and completely worth it.
-Verse: Contrary to popular opinion, not everyone in the Legion believes the Anthem is a disorganized horde of immoral murderers and monsters. Magatha knows what it feels like to be to be looked down on, to be reviled for what she is and the way she looks. To a certain extent, she sympathizes with the soldiers of the Anthem. That doesn’t mean she approves of their methods, however. Killing for pleasure is wrong, and the godling isn’t afraid to voice this opinion around Anthem warriors. Unsurprisingly, when Verse joined the Second Legion after a violent squabble between Anthem and Legion troops, Mags was skeptical. She’d heard rumors that the former Bloodleader was one of the Tainted, a depraved monster clothed in human flesh, but she did her best to treat Verse with the same courtesy she extended to everyone else. The godling normally gets along with the talented fighter, admiring Verse's strength and dedication while despising her bloodthirsty and domineering tendencies. In the end, Mags doesn’t waste time trying to avoid Verse. She just never seems to be in the same place as the Tainted woman.
