Satella Starlight and Morganna Fayde
Today we look at two of the founding members of Vespana who stood with [The First] from start to end; Satella Starlight and Morganna Fayde, more commonly known today as the [Founding Starlight] and the [Lord Protector of Vespana].
The pair are a controversial part of Vespana history, in small no part due to their cruelty during the early stages of the war; even though the war was ended much sooner than any of the founders anticipated, at a great human cost.
SATELLA STARLIGHT, THE FOUNDING STARLIGHT
"You are all guilty, foot-soldiers, psychophants, and cheerleaders alike!" - The Founding Starlight
EARLY LIFE
Nobody embodies the cruelty and viciousness of the [Princess Wars] more than the [Founding Starlight], Satella Starlight. Born during the tumultuous [Heroine Rebellion], some part of Satella's childhood was spent as a member of the Burlion Plateau's nobility.
The northern plains border numerous mountainous regions, making the plateau a difficult region to enter. At the heart of its rocky borders is a wide and grassy flatland, where a strong tradition of riding, horsemanship and mounted marksmanship prevailed. Most notably, the [Gunner Heroine] came from this region, causing [The Eunarchy] much distress.
The End of Burlion
In O.E 777, The Eunarchy launches a major offensive into Burlion Plateau, with plans to occupy the food-rich region and capture the Gunner Heroine alive. However, the stubborn resistance of [Burlion's Royal Family] Cavalry bog down The Eunarchy's troops, resulting in a stablemate for many years.
This stalemate was broken when The Eunarchy released cryptids into the region, overrunning entire cities, but destroying all arable land in the process.
Later records would show that The Eunarchy would rather see the region wither and rot if they were not to be in control. This double-edged move hurt Burlion far more than it hurt The Eunarchy, as most of the troops sent into the region were prisoners, slaves, or those [Marked for Death]. On the other hand, Burlion was burdened with an increasing refugee crisis as the battle lines pushed eastwards.
[he Eunarchy also practiced strict information control over the release of cryptids, most people in the Eunarchial Empire had no idea until far after the war that the force most vehemently against magickalized warfare was using it to horrific effect.
In O.E 782, cryptids had overrun the region, turning what was a prosperous and free region into a desolate hellscape, one that would come to trouble The Eunarchy much later down the road as the cryptids would start spreading to other parts of the continent.
The Last Ride
During the last days of the royal family, the [Cavalry Captain] personally made a southern breakthrough while the last of the Burlion Royal Cavalry made a final stand, holding the mess of cryptid and The Eunarchial forces in the empty capital.
"The bugs pierced (the) knight's back, with those, ya'know... spear-teeth; tens, twenties of times, yet he never stopped. Never." - The Founding Starlight
In order to lure the pursuing cryptids away from the main refugee group, the Cavalry Captain broke off from them, with Satella riding together in front. His final act is a testament to the tenacity of the Burlion Royal Cavalry, as he would have been fighting through countless hordes of cryptids with a defenseless passenger in his front.
The escape from Burlion was a traumatic episode for the young Satella Starlight, who could not understand why her homeland was being ripped to pieces, as her fleeing countrymen were ripped to shreds before her. The Cavalry Captain would eventually succumb to his wounds, leaving his white steed with Satella.
Satella herself would later recall that "everything she was (sic), she learnt from this ride". While she inherited the techniques of Burlion's cavalry in textbook display, the disappearance of her homeland and death of her white-armored protector leaves her with only bitterness and anger.
The Burlion princess Satella disappears from history at this point, and turns to a life of brigandry. In the following early years, she would lead a small warband, making minor raids on The Eunarchy's positions, having an ill-repute for brutality despite her young age. These raids would have little effect on the overall Controllist position, but only grew the infamy of a blonde-haired rider on a path of vengeance.
Heroine Hunt
During this time, her countrymen were systematically hunted down to prevent the truth of what happened in Burlion from leaking, and Satella was a prime target. Despite The Eunarchy's great efforts, they would never find the princess of Burlion and assumed her dead in all the chaos. It also helped that Satella would also call herself "Sasa" during her brigand days, well-known in the border regions for her reckless cavalry charges.
Although she was captured on multiple occasions, it seems that nobody recognized her and only valued her for her blonde hair and blue eyes, so her escape always inevitably followed the pattern of viciously killing her captor, and then reforming her warband with a new batch of die-hards.
Her luck would eventually run out, running into a North Fabrique trap in O.E 789. Her entire warband perishes, along with her inherited white steed as she is unable to escape the wire trap set specifically to cut her cavalry charges. By this point, Sasa was a notorious robber hunted in all four [Fabriques]. Rumor had it under the blood and grime she was a great beauty, attracting more desperados to hunt her down.
Bound in chains with the last vestige of her fallen country lying dead in a pool of blood, she curses the heavens as her captors surround her cautiously from all sides.
At this moment, another pivotal figure in Vespana history appears and saves Satella from her captors.
MORGANNA FAYDE, THE LORD PROTECTOR
"Vespana does not play fair." - Morganna Fayde
The Lord Protector of Vespana is an enigmatic figure, appearing and disappearing in history with obvious gaps in the record. Even her name is obscured to us, five hundred years departed from the [Princess Wars].
The name "Morganna Fayde" is obviously a fake name as it only appears in ancient Arcadian plays written after [The Schism] and is heavily influenced by Arcadian perception of the Lord Protector. Nevertheless, we shall still use it going forwards to prevent confusion with another important protector of The First.
Just as the confusion around her name would imply, Morganna valued secrecy and subtlety throughout the Princess War. Acting as an important strategist in the early days of the war, she favored using Controllist techniques against The Eunarchy, copying parts of The Eunarchy's use of secret police, deceit and propaganda to her own ends.
"... you (sic) shall emerge a flaming butterfly, or perish." - Morganna Fayde
Morganna's morality viewed through today's lens would be abhorrent, as even the vilest methods of torture were not off limits to her. Most notable is her penchant for using assassination to get her way, always leaving enough proof that her [Bladelords] did the work, yet leaving enough doubt to deny it outright.
EARLY LIFE
Very little is known about Morganna's early life, except that her outwards appearance hint she was born in Endton Domain. Her brown hair and green eyes are typical of women born in the region. To this day, the women born near the [Lightwither Path] still bear these distinctive features.
"Her long brown hair falls to the side of the rowboat, wearing a black-laced dress more at home at a mourning."
Fragmented records point to her involvement in a minor coup over Endton Domain as a young girl, with the [Heroine Alliance] losing the region to a force neither aligned with them nor The Eunarchy in O.E 782. Though this force was wiped out and its records completely cleared from history, it had to have posed a major threat to The Eunarchy to have been given this sort of attention by the Controllists.
Furthermore, her early appearance matches that of a [Graven Cultist], the predecessors of today's [Hexenhall] faction, who wore similar black-laced clothing. The close proximity of Endton to the edge of the Silveryn Mountains suggests that she might have contact with the cultists, but not as a member.
NIGHT TERRORS
Morganna's actions are defined by vengeance against The Eunarchy through calculated and methodical retaliation. Mostly working alone and in disguise, she would assassinate eunarchs and other high-ranking Controllists, often leaving a single red armor-thread behind. Morganna's oft-stated goal is to "strike fear of (((their))) own shadows into The Eunarchy".
In later stages of the war, whenever someone bad happened in The Eunarchy, the Controllists would commonly attribute it to Morganna, despite clear non-involvement.
Morganna's precise and controlled killings contrast with Satella's wanton destruction, and the two would eventually find themselves at odds over methodology. Nevertheless, as is the common understanding with the other founders, they shared the goal of eliminating the eunarchs from the continent. [2] It is extremely likely she knew about the existence of [Bugmen] independently of contact with Satella.
She would contribute to the [Fabrique Collapse] strategy greatly in early battlefields, producing miracles through the use of terrain and weather.
After the [Reunion in Argyle], Morganna would control her own secret police and institute terror against the supporters of The Eunarchy, continuing her trend of using assassinations, murder and interrogations to her ends.
THE PEOPLE DON'T MATTER
Along with "Vespana doesn't play fair.", one of Morganna's famous sayings is that "The people don't matter."
Following logic close to Controllist lines, she reasons that vast majority of the population are indifferent to Vespana's cause, and their thoughts and feelings should not matter in the grand scheme of things. Little better than animals, they will "worship whoever provides them food and trinkets". Therefore, whatever atrocities she commits against "the people" are excused, since they are all latent supports of the Controllists.
This dire ideology puts her at greats odds with The First, who always emphasized the primacy of the people and their well-being. Morganna would eventually be proven right, as The First would be betrayed at Shirohime by those she thought to be her supporters.
Morganna later falls out of favor with The First after Shirohime. Despite her many early appearances and contributions, she never appears on the battlefield until [Sanity's Deep]. It should be noted that despite apparently falling out with The First, her activities continued, albeit far more restrained when it came to wide-scale action against non-humans.
MANIFEST
The nature of Morganna's manifest is highly debated, with some suggesting she never had one at all. The reason for this is in almost every record her manifest is depicted as the impossible [Instant Teleportation].
In classical records, Morganna frequently uses her manifest to enter highly secured areas or to transport her Bladelords into ambush positions. The most dramatic use of her manifest is the porting of her airship [The Judgement] into the war theater of [Sanity's Deep].
Since teleportation of this scale has not been replicated in any magickal tradition, non-magickal explanations range from her using her knowledge of terrain to pre-empt The Eunarchy to Morganna having vast reserves of menne through some underhanded means.
Morganna's frequent appearance at the most unexpected places is the origin of the saying "The Lord Protector is no one, and everyone, nowhere but everywhere."
[1] For more information about this unknown faction, see "Notes on the Sanae Fleet"
[2] See "Who is the Enemy?"
