Mircalla
“Girls are caterpillars while they live in the world, to be finally butterflies when the summer comes; but in the meantime they are grubs and larvae, don’t you see…” -- Carmilla
Mircalla was born with a caul, in Austria, in the middle of the 11th century; the exact year is unknown. By the time she was 15, she was already displaying supernatural abilities: she could see spirits (Second Sight), magic (Magical Sensitivity), and holy and profane things (Sense Holiness/Unholiness). Somehow she came to the attention of a young Criamon maga named La, who took Mircalla with her to the regional tribunal of the Greater Alps, held at the covenant of Icy North. La didn’t know if Mircalla was Gifted or not, but she saw an opportunity to get some information about the magi of the Greater Alps, so she told everyone at tribunal that Mircalla was her apprentice, and ordered Mircalla to relay to her everything she saw with her powers of magical sight. At tribunal, where dozens of magi were in attendance with their custos, grogs, and familiars, there was a lot to see. La’s deception was uncovered and Mircalla captured. Guilty of a High Crime according to the Code of Hermes, La was ordered to kill Mircalla. But La did not do this thing herself; she ordered a few of her grogs to take Mircalla out into the snow and chop off her head. But as Mircalla stood there, surrounded by soldiers and seeing the last moments of her life, she called out for help, and something heard her. These were the Malandanti, mysterious forces of Magic which work harm on villagers and their crops throughout Mythic Europe. The Malandanti sustained Mircalla with a kind of half-life and made her a Nightwalker. Although her body was dead and buried, so long as her caul was in contact with it, she would be able to project a phantasticum, a kind of ectoplasmic form. When La learned that the Malandanti had come to Mircalla’s rescue, she called on their natural enemies – the Benandanti – for aid. The Benandati bound Mircalla to the valley of Icy North, but warned La that the binding would last only as long as La lived. After that, Mircalla would be free to project her phantasticum anywhere in the world. For the next century and a half, Mircalla haunted Icy North. She took a special interest in apprentices, especially young girls, warning them away from magi who meant them no good will and wished only to exploit them. Indeed, she became such a hindrance to the intstruction of apprentices that for over a century, whenever a magus of Icy North wanted an apprentice, he left Icy North for fifteen years to do the training at a chapterhouse. No one was able to figure out how the ghostly Mircalla could ignore Icy North’s potent Aegis, or why she seemed to be immune to Hermetic magic. In fact, the magi were burdened by false assumptions; Mircalla was not a ghost. She was projecting her phantasticum, a phenomenon of “natural magic” that is not blocked by an Aegis. Likewise, she was not immune to magic, but she was able to dispel and recreate her phantasticum at will, in moments, so that whenever magic was used on her, she simply vanished and reappeared somewhere else. Meanwhile, La went on to become Prima of Hosue Criamon.
In 1205 the Alpine Apprentice project began, and twenty apprentices were trained together at covenants around the tribunal. They first met Mircalla in 1206 when she lured a group of them away from their masters, through the tribunal’s portal network, to a remote tower where a giant had taken over. But the apprentices escaped the giant and fled home. Over the years, Mircalla would continue to associate with the apprentices, especially those like Akakios, who had Second Sight and could see her more easily.
But Mircalla’s special favor eventually fell upon “Garcette,” a Saxon girl from the eastern shore of Britain. Mircalla was possessed of unnatural desires, a “strange ardour” for pretty girls, especially those her own age. In 1217 she seduced Garcette, slowly feeding on her spirit over many nights. Garcette pleaded for help from her fellow apprentices, who were able to deduce that Mircalla’s powers were similar to those of a Nightwalker. Tribunal records revealed Mircalla’s attendance at the tribunal so long ago, and connected her to Prima La. The apprentices traveled to the Cave of Twisting Shadows, where La was preparing for own ritual murder as part of the selection process for a new Prima of House Criamon.
The apprentices were permitted to join in this ritual, and La confessed to them what she had done to Mircalla, that Mircalla was protected by the Malandanti, and that as soon as La perished, Mircalla would be free to roam the earth. She told them where Mircalla’s corpse was buried, and instructed them to remove her caul. La perished at the hands of Akakios – who had since taken his Hermetic name of Innocentius -- and Mircalla instantly staged an attack on Garcette, whom they had brought with them, but she was repelled by the Cave of Twisting Shadows many ghostly defenders.
The apprentices hurriedly returned through the Portal network, found Mircalla’s grave, and were confronted by Mircalla herself. But together they were able to uncover the body and remove the caul, severing Mircalla’s link to her body and her ability to form a phantasticum. She perished at last. Innocentius and Brandon of Tremere argued over the fate of her body; in the end, Innocentius took her caul and Brandon took her skull, before returning that night to turn the rest of Mircalla’s body to dust.
Years passed; Brandon became Victor Autolycus, Garcette became Alfeva of House Guernicus, and they, Innocentius, and their fellow Alpine Apprentices traveled to Hibernia, where they founded the covenant of Cor Draconis. They attracted other magi, including Lucien Caduceus of House Criamon, Sander of Bonisagus, and Nuala Ex Miscellanea. Innocentius, who had long hated his Tytalus master, Sebastien, and had tried twice to kill him, tried again in 1226. To do this, he was forced to work with Caterina of Bonisagus, a known Infernalist and enemy of the Order. To cover his tracks, Innocentius used a small army of spirits and framed a hedge magician, a necromancer named Muirgen. The assassination attempt failed, Muirgen was killed, but Caterina’s involvement was noticed and Alfeva, now a Quaesitor, began to investigate.
Over three months in 1226, Alfeva questioned those close to Innocentius and traveled to Muirgen’s haunts. She reconstructed Innocentius’s crimes, but her activity was noticed by Innocentius’s familiar – the spirit of his long-dead mother, Kallisto. Kallisto, now an infernal spirit, convinced Innocentius that he faced certain death if Alfeva were allowed to reveal the evidence she had collected. If Innocentius was to live, Alfeva must die. Using the caul he had taken from her grave nine years before, Innocentius summoned up Mircalla’s spirit and commanded her to kill Alfeva. But Mircalla was no longer a Nightwalker; she was now a demon and could not ignore the Aegis. Innocentius was forced to give her a casting token. Mircalla went to Alfeva’s chambers to fulfill Innocentius’s commands; her magical powers put Alfeva’s servant and guards to sleep, and she awaited Alfeva in her sanctum. Meanwhile, Innocentius fled. If Alfeva died and no one knew how, he could return and carry on more or less as he had before. But if Alfeva lived, he would need to be far away, beyond the reach of Hermetic justice.
Mircalla caught Alfeva as soon as the Quaesitor returned from her investigation of Muirgen’s activities elsewhere in Ireland. Alfeva was helpless before the strange ardour of her former lover, and was her victim for hours before Sir Blane, a knight of Cor Draconis, discovered the sleeping servant and guard and disturbed Mircalla in the act of “feeding.” Other magi arrived, but Mircalla managed to escape. Her current whereabouts are unknown, but Victor, now Princeps of Cor Draconis, still has her skull: an arcane connection to her.
Mircalla was once a Nightwalker given eternal life so long as her caul remained in contact with her corpse. She is almost 170 years old and possessed a host of supernatural powers, including supernatural strength and speed, the ability to paralyze with a touch, or turn her phantasticum into a cloud of mist or a giant black cat. She sustained herself by stealing the breath of others, especially young girls, in a manner not unlike that of a vampire. But when her body was finally destroyed in 1217, her spirit went to Hell, where she suffered torment and damnation until 1226, when Innocentius summoned her spirit back into the world. Now she is a demon, still possessed of most of the same powers as before, but altered by her demonic nature. She has Infernal Might and all the powers of a demon, but also a demon’s weaknesses.
A Note on Sources
The character of Mircalla is inspired by the vampire Carmilla Karnstein, who appears in the short story “Carmilla” by the author Le Fanu. Mircalla first appeared in Sanctuary of Ice: the Greater Alps Tribunal by Timothy Ferguson, where her true nature is left a mystery and there is no explanation for her ability to enter an Aegis at will. I made Mircalla a kind of Nightwalker because Nightwalkers have no Might and therefore ignore the Aegis. The rules for Nightwalkers appear in Hedge Magic Revised Edition and are also written by Ferguson.
Mircalla
Infernal Might ?
Size -1
Confidence 1 (3)
Personality Traits Langorous +3, Strange Ardour +2, Hatred of the Order +2
Int +1, Per 0, Pre +2, Com -2, Str +6, Sta +3, Dex +3, Qik +6
Virtues Magic Sensitivity, Powers (Aura of Sleep, Body of Mist, Numbing Touch, Panther Form, Steal Breath), Second Sight, Sense Holiness/Unholiness, Venus’s Blessing
Flaws Languor (Mircalla does not naturally recover Fatigue levels; she must take them with Steal Breath), Lecherous (Major), Wrathful (Minor)
Abilities
Powers
Aura of Sleep: Wherever Mircalla goes, those near her are made drowsy and are inclined to sleep. This is a constant effect, but not overwhelming, and it can be resisted. It is subtle enough to go unnoticed by the ignorant. The more time she spends with someone, the more likely they will simply fall asleep in their chair, leaning against a wall, or even standing up.
Body of Mist: Mircalla can change shape into a mist form. In this shape, she can fly (slowly), is immune to most weapon attacks, and can seep through the tiniest cracks.
Numbing Touch: When Mircalla touches a mortal, she can paralyze them. She attacks arms and legs at -5 and the head at -10. If she touches the head, the target falls Unconscious. The effect lasts for one hour. Mircalla can strike with her fist and use Numbing Touch at the same time, but she often simply touches her enemy. This can be resisted only with Evasion, but she does no physical damage.
Panther Form: Mircalla can change her shape into that of a Size 0 black cat.
Steal Breath: Mircalla can replenish Fatigue levels from a victim by stealing the individual’s breath. This requires the same amount of time normally required for recovering a Fatigue level, she just spends it in the presence of her victim, who becomes increasingly tired.
Appearance: Mircalla is extraordinarily beautiful, with large dark eyes, lustrous and thick brown hair, a sweet voice, and a dark mole on her throat; she appears to be in her late teens. She has none of the paleness so often seen in ghosts.
Mircalla’s Panther Form
Int +1, Per +2, Pre -6 or +3, Com -2, Str +6, Sta +3, Dex +4, Qik +6
Qualities Ambush Predator, Large Claws, Loathsome Appearance, Perfect Balance, Skilled Climber
Abilities