Mathairealga
Life is an arms race, where as soon as you stop improving, you are killed and eaten by those who don’t.
~ Mathairealga ~
Dark Magics
The Fikfik who would come to be known as Mathairealga began her life as a hatchling named Beag. Beag had three other clutchmates, and their names were Croga, Ead, and Amadan; Beag was the eldest of the four. Each one of them were hatched within the Veins, the second layer of Fikfik comprised of numerous winding caves. The siblings had a good relationship with each other and always found time to play with one another.
One day, their play date took them away from the other dwellings of the lizardfolk. By sheer accident, the hatchlings stumbled across a hidden passage that, previously seemed to have been undiscovered. Its tunnel led into even lower sections of the Fikfik caverns. Rather than reveal the location of this new passage, the four of them decided to use it instead as a secret place only they knew about.
In their expedition down into this fractured tunnel, they happened upon a large underground lake full of plants and fungi. At the center of this lake sat a small stone pedestal, and on that pedestal sat a mysterious grimoire. And as curiosity had it, each sibling glimpsed into the pages of this tome. What they saw on these pages were confusing and complex... but also interesting.
Beag and her clutchmates spent much of their childhood sneaking off to study this tome away from prying eyes, and from it they learned a form of magic unfamiliar to the Fikfik. A kind of weaving that was not practiced or taught in the tribe.
In the time they reached adulthood, the four of them had become deftly proficient in the tome's strange magic, but the responsibility of being an adult prevented them from studying it further. The siblings settled into the routine of hunting and attending the lessons of the shamans on their god, the Great Creator. They may have forgotten all about this foreign magic if it hadn't been for a chance encounter. One of the tribe's most elderly shamans, Udaras took an interest in the young hunters, tasking them to complete a dangerous hunt against a powerful beast that had been roaming the area outside; Udaras made sure he accompanied them, keeping extra close to Beag the entire time. Desperate to impress the shaman, after tracking the beast, the clutchmates used all the magic they had learned to slay their prey. After witnessing the display, Udaras began to question them about how and where they had learned this magic. Beag mistook the interrogation, thinking the shaman was impressed with their skill, and told him everything except for the hidden lake they had first found the book. Amadan was wiser, and as they walked back to the village caves, he recognized Udaras' quiet rage. After weaving magic into the shaman's thoughts, Amadan saw it Udaras' true perception of them, and warned everyone he planned to have them killed. In a burst of action, mixed with both their magic and wile, everyone slipped away from the elder shaman and fled into hiding at their secret lake. Over the next few years, Beag and the other three hid at the lake, continuing to study the grimoire with a misguided hope that if they learned enough and became powerful enough they could convince their people to see the positive to what they wielded and take them all back in. Croga had mastered a spell to actively change her appearance, sometimes using it to return to Fikfik and report to Beag the tales Udaras was spreading of them, along with the sinister names he had given them to make them appear more nefarious. Beag became Mathairealga. Croga became Mathairfearg. Amadan became Mathairfuath. And Ead became Mathaireagna. With time, Ead desired more than any of the other’s to return to the FikFik. She delved deeper into the secrets of the Grimoir than her siblings, and in so doing, she found something that changed her. Ead no longer spoke of impressing the shamans, but instead she insisted that they must be killed and supplanted. Beag and the others were not convinced. Alone in this effort, Ead eventually took matters into her own hands, raising a small war band of undead creatures from the lake against the Fikfik. They marched on the tribe and killed many of its people before Beag, Croga, and Amadan stepped in to intervene against their youngest clutchmate. Together, the three of them were barely able to stop Ead, but not without killing him. After retreating back to their lake, the remaining three could no longer agree on a course of action. Amadan was disillusioned and bitter toward the FikFik, and wanted to leave their caverns altogether and find a new home where they could study their arts without fear. Croga agreed they should leave, but feared that the change that overcame Ead would come for them if they continued to study the grimoire. She proposed the grimoire ought to be hidden away, and only used in dire circumstances. But, Beag alone wished to stay. She thought perhaps stopping Ead may have earned them some respect among the FikFik, and if they could not rejoin the tribe, perhaps they could co-exist. Unable to agree, the siblings eventually decided that they would go their separate ways, splitting the grimoire into three pieces and each taking one to do with as they saw fit.
After her siblings had gone, Beag found that Ead’s attack had only strengthened the FikFik’s negative view of her and the others. With no purpose to remain in the lake any longer, Beag left the tribe and continued to study from her piece of the grimoire, using its magic to fight pirates and other threats who came too close to the Fikfik. Over the years, Beag began to use her real name less and less, until she adopted the villainous name the Fikfik had given her. Mathairealga. After a decade of living on the surface, Mathairealga had memorized and mastered a great amount from her portion of the book, but still had a hefty amount of it left to study. She began to consider taking on an apprentice from among the surface dwelling FikFik at the Maw to teach her dark arts to. But before she could make a decision, she began to receive visions of her siblings. One was in peril. The other was causing it. She saw Croga crying for help, sometimes submerged in a pool of blood, sometimes running from something. And she saw Amadan standing among the burning ruins of a village, whispering unusual incantations. Determined to increase her power and learn the fate of her siblings, Mathairealga began her journey as, for the first time in her life, she left Harpy Island where the home of the Fikfik stood. Finding a group of quirky allies like herself, she slowly began to uncover answers about her siblings and the grimoire they all held. Amadan had become possessed by some strange phantom, a ghost who sought to collect the pieces of the tome. And Beag learned a Fikfik named Datigen was the individual who had first created the grimoire. A man who was sealed inside the grimoire, and wanted out.
In the time they reached adulthood, the four of them had become deftly proficient in the tome's strange magic, but the responsibility of being an adult prevented them from studying it further. The siblings settled into the routine of hunting and attending the lessons of the shamans on their god, the Great Creator. They may have forgotten all about this foreign magic if it hadn't been for a chance encounter. One of the tribe's most elderly shamans, Udaras took an interest in the young hunters, tasking them to complete a dangerous hunt against a powerful beast that had been roaming the area outside; Udaras made sure he accompanied them, keeping extra close to Beag the entire time. Desperate to impress the shaman, after tracking the beast, the clutchmates used all the magic they had learned to slay their prey. After witnessing the display, Udaras began to question them about how and where they had learned this magic. Beag mistook the interrogation, thinking the shaman was impressed with their skill, and told him everything except for the hidden lake they had first found the book. Amadan was wiser, and as they walked back to the village caves, he recognized Udaras' quiet rage. After weaving magic into the shaman's thoughts, Amadan saw it Udaras' true perception of them, and warned everyone he planned to have them killed. In a burst of action, mixed with both their magic and wile, everyone slipped away from the elder shaman and fled into hiding at their secret lake. Over the next few years, Beag and the other three hid at the lake, continuing to study the grimoire with a misguided hope that if they learned enough and became powerful enough they could convince their people to see the positive to what they wielded and take them all back in. Croga had mastered a spell to actively change her appearance, sometimes using it to return to Fikfik and report to Beag the tales Udaras was spreading of them, along with the sinister names he had given them to make them appear more nefarious. Beag became Mathairealga. Croga became Mathairfearg. Amadan became Mathairfuath. And Ead became Mathaireagna. With time, Ead desired more than any of the other’s to return to the FikFik. She delved deeper into the secrets of the Grimoir than her siblings, and in so doing, she found something that changed her. Ead no longer spoke of impressing the shamans, but instead she insisted that they must be killed and supplanted. Beag and the others were not convinced. Alone in this effort, Ead eventually took matters into her own hands, raising a small war band of undead creatures from the lake against the Fikfik. They marched on the tribe and killed many of its people before Beag, Croga, and Amadan stepped in to intervene against their youngest clutchmate. Together, the three of them were barely able to stop Ead, but not without killing him. After retreating back to their lake, the remaining three could no longer agree on a course of action. Amadan was disillusioned and bitter toward the FikFik, and wanted to leave their caverns altogether and find a new home where they could study their arts without fear. Croga agreed they should leave, but feared that the change that overcame Ead would come for them if they continued to study the grimoire. She proposed the grimoire ought to be hidden away, and only used in dire circumstances. But, Beag alone wished to stay. She thought perhaps stopping Ead may have earned them some respect among the FikFik, and if they could not rejoin the tribe, perhaps they could co-exist. Unable to agree, the siblings eventually decided that they would go their separate ways, splitting the grimoire into three pieces and each taking one to do with as they saw fit.
After her siblings had gone, Beag found that Ead’s attack had only strengthened the FikFik’s negative view of her and the others. With no purpose to remain in the lake any longer, Beag left the tribe and continued to study from her piece of the grimoire, using its magic to fight pirates and other threats who came too close to the Fikfik. Over the years, Beag began to use her real name less and less, until she adopted the villainous name the Fikfik had given her. Mathairealga. After a decade of living on the surface, Mathairealga had memorized and mastered a great amount from her portion of the book, but still had a hefty amount of it left to study. She began to consider taking on an apprentice from among the surface dwelling FikFik at the Maw to teach her dark arts to. But before she could make a decision, she began to receive visions of her siblings. One was in peril. The other was causing it. She saw Croga crying for help, sometimes submerged in a pool of blood, sometimes running from something. And she saw Amadan standing among the burning ruins of a village, whispering unusual incantations. Determined to increase her power and learn the fate of her siblings, Mathairealga began her journey as, for the first time in her life, she left Harpy Island where the home of the Fikfik stood. Finding a group of quirky allies like herself, she slowly began to uncover answers about her siblings and the grimoire they all held. Amadan had become possessed by some strange phantom, a ghost who sought to collect the pieces of the tome. And Beag learned a Fikfik named Datigen was the individual who had first created the grimoire. A man who was sealed inside the grimoire, and wanted out.
Whatever that book is, it cursed our first egg mate. We were forced to kill them, and now I fear we will have to kill another.
~ Croga ~
Year of Birth
1522 AC
Children
Ruled Locations
Appearance
Mathairealga adorns herself in the tribal apparel of the Fikfik. Bracelets and necklaces hang around her wrists and neck holding various assortments of teeth and claws. It is an appearance she does not shy away from even as she travels from port to port within the more "civilized" and human societies of the collective. Then again, not many people choose to get on the bad side of someone like her anyway.
If she smiles at you, you either just made a friend, or a predator.~ Lylo
Ead the Familiar
The heartbreak at having to kill her youngest clutchmate has never left Beag. Though he had become consumed by the power of this book and needed to be stopped, Beag still remembers the time they shared when they were younger, when they were just a good brother and sister to the other. Though Beag left her home behind, she couldn't leave the memory of Ead behind either. She wished to carry Ead on with her.
Using her piece of the grimoire as a catalyst, she called upon the spirits of the far off realms, weaving to her an amorphous familiar able to assume any form she wished. To the present day, this familiar has accompanied Beag as a trustworthy companion. An ally whose name is Ead.
Mathaireagna was only the first! This is only proof the power they use will only consume and destroy us! Do not trust them.~ Udaras
Midnight Gambit
Mathairealga is one of five captains on her current ship, the Midnight Gambit. In a recent scuffle with the Silver Grins, she and her party had rescued some other allies before fleeing the harbor on a vacant ship. That ship, days later would be renamed to the Midnight Gambit, reflecting the gamble they took with the ship that late night.
I got an endless stomach. Thankfully, she do got an endless supply of food too.~ Marietta "Blunderbuss" Wheels
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