Morathi
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In the fictional world of Warhammer Fantasy, Morathi is the mother (and, it is hinted in the Dark Elves army book, consort) of Malekith, and the second wife of Aenarion.
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[edit] Origins
Her past has been shrouded in mystery but what is known about her comes during the time of the Great Expansion of the High Elves. It was Aenarion who rescued her from a Slaanesh warband, unaware that she had been tainted by Chaos and was secretly a Slaanesh worshipper. Afterwards, it was whispered amongst the Elves that it was her enchanting beauty and spells that made her bed with Aenarion, giving birth to Malekith.
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[edit] The Great Civil War
After Aenarion died, nothing more was said about her but the Cult of Pleasure began to take hold in Ulthuan. Originally, it was passed as a minor cult. But before long, it was whispered that animals and people began to disappear mysteriously only to turn up as if sacrificed in a painful way. It was during the time of Bel Shanaar that Malekith denouced his mother as a Chaos worshipper of the Slaanesh which caused the Great Civil War or the Sundering as the High Elves refer to it. It was unknown how she managed to survive the purge (perhaps Malekith warned her in advance) but it seemed likely that the purging was an act for Malekith to gain power by using the very thing that all of the High Elves feared the most.
After Malekith was burned by the Sacred Flame of Asuryan, it was said that she wept with tears of blood for the damage done to her son. Nursing him back to strength, it was she who taught him the lore of magic and also the lore of the Dark Art. During the Sundering, she fled with her son and his followers after the great schism which almost destroyed Ulthuan.
[edit] Exile
Morathi is the most powerful Dark Elf in all of Naggaroth, just after the Witch King himself. Born to scheming and politics, and a talented Sorceress, Morathi has spent five thousand years teaching her son all she knows of statecraft and magic, and works to maintain his grip on the throne of Naggaroth. Morathi also first perfected the Dark Art, opening up gateways to the Chaos hells to receive unimaginable powers. Combined with her beauty and intellect, it is Morathi's magical abilities which allow her to hold sway over her enemies.
It is Morathi and Morathi alone of the Witch Elves who is allowed to wield magical power; like her son, Morathi feels no shame in creating laws and traditions for the control of others, whilst ignoring them herself. Over the millennia, Morathi has struck daemonic pacts with many vile and disturbing forces, and can unleash the power of Chaos with a thought. She is capable of the most powerful magics possible, and some believe it was her plan to destroy Ulthuan's magical vortex and unleash the hells of Chaos upon the world. Morathi is totally dedicated to her son, as he is to her, and though some would say their relationship is unnatural, between them they rule Naggaroth with an iron grip and bloodied sword.
[edit] Rivalry with Hellebron
Morathi is the first Hag Queen of the Brides of Khaine, commonly known as Witch Elves. Although the sect now follows her rival, Crone Hellebron, many who worship at the Temple of Khaine owe loyalty to the Sorceress. It is also claimed that Morathi brought forth the first Cauldron of Blood, some say given to her by bloodthirsty Khaine himself. Once a year, on Death Night, she bathes in the boiling blood within the cauldron, rejuvenating her old, tired flesh and emerging from the steam as young and beautiful as the day she left Ulthuan. No other Hag Queen has lived as long as Morathi, and Hellebron, forbidden access to the true Cauldron of Blood, withers and ages with every passing year. It is a source of much bitterness between them, though Malekith keeps their rivalry in check.[1]
Indeed, part of their rivalry is also due to the widespread (and initially forbidden) worship of Slaanesh, the Chaos God of Pleasure, though the Witch Elves officially worship Kaela Mensha Khaine, the Bloody-Handed God and Lord of Murder. The Cult of Pleasure, which Morathai had originally founded, returned to Naggaroth in strength and openly displayed their status as devotees of Chaos. Because of this, and with the armies of Malekith in Ulthuan, Naggaroth currently stands on the brink of civil war. The High Priestess of the Temple of Khaine, the Hag Queen Hellebron, would certainly like nothing more.
[edit] During the Storm of Chaos
Seeing that her son was hell-bent onto directing the war on the High Elves and the cost of this, Morathi turned her attentions up north. When travelling north, she found a Chaos warband dedicated in the worship of Slaanesh. At first, the primitive barbarians were slightly afraid of her but then submitted to her after she summoned a large amount of Slaaneshi daemons to help defeat the various tribes that surrounded them. In doing so, she gained control of the warband where she proceeded to move south against the Empire of the Lizardmen in order to raid and retrieve any Lizardmen artefacts to aid the war against the hated High Elves.
[edit] Consort?
It has been hinted in the Dark Elf army book that she and her son share an incestual relationship as they co-rule Naggaroth. But some fans dismiss this as over-protective motherly love for her son and equal respect from her son. In other snippets of fiction within the White Dwarf, it has been implicated that there could be a higher relationship other than mother and son as Morathi tends to ask her son a lot of favours often, especially leading up to the Storm of Chaos worldwide campaign.
[edit] See also
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| Major Games: | Warhammer Fantasy Battle • Warmaster • Mordheim • Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay • Man O' War • Warhammer Ancient Battles |
| Nations and races: | Bretonnia • Chaos • Chaos Dwarfs • Dark Elves • Dogs of War • Dwarfs • The Empire • High Elves • Kislev • Lizardmen • Ogres • Orcs & Goblins • Skaven • Undead (Tomb Kings & Vampire Counts) • Wood Elves |
| Places: | The Old World • Araby • Cathay • Lustria • Ulthuan • Southlands • Naggaroth • Dark Lands • Albion • |
| People: | List of major characters |
| More: | List of creatures in Warhammer Fantasy • Warhammer Fantasy deities • Lores of Magic |
