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Mòrag Ladair: Do you actually have a plan, or is that too much to expect? | |
| APP HMD Paladin GS |
Character name: Mòrag Ladair
Age: 25 (Assumed; Canon age unspecified)
Canon: Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Canon point: During freefall after the collapse of the World Tree
History: Wiki link
Three key adjectives: Disciplined; Proud; Stubborn.
Influential Events:
*A note: Xenoblade's terminology can be very dense. Blades are vital to understanding the setting; they are sentient non-human entities that can be awakened from a rock known as a core crystal. The core crystal is basically the heart of their being, and is embedded in their manifested body. As long as the crystal is intact, Blades are effectively immortal. Blades can only be awakened by Drivers, or humans (or any non-Blade lifeform, really) with the rare ability to resonate with cores. This bond is basically permanent; when the Driver dies, the Blade returns to their core and loses their memories. When a Blade is awakened, they also come with a weapon linked to their powers that the Driver fights with. It's kind of like Pokemon, except where the trainer does most of the fighting. Blades are tightly regulated by a nation called the Indoline Praetorium; every active Driver must be registered with their Blades. There are two exceptionally powerful Blades that do not lose their memories, each bearing the title of Aegis.
Pre-game:
Sometime when Mòrag was young, she was orphaned. Her uncle, the Emperor of Mor Ardain adopted her as his own, and raised her as if she were to be the next ruler of the Empire, even though Mor Ardain's throne passes along patrilinear lines. These events formed the core of who Mòrag came to be: she carries herself with a cool confidance, conducts herself diplomatically, and bears a fierce pride and sense of duty towards her nation; Mor Ardain above everything else. A number of years later, Mòrag's younger brother was born, and she loses her inheritance. Years down the line Mòrag remarks that she knew losing the throne was inevitable, and displays no bitterness towards her brother for it.
Mòrag's adoption had one other major effect on her life; she was permitted the chance the resonate with the treasured Jewel of Mor Ardain, a core crystal passed down only through the Imperial line. Brighid, the Blade of that crystal, grew to be a trusted companion of hers, and Mòrag is rarely seen in canon without Brighid at her side.
"I speak naught but historical fact."
When Mòrag first encounters the party in Gormott, she enters the scene as a powerful foe determined to put a stop to the chaos caused by Rex and his associates. From her perspective, they're a dangerous lot with an unregistered Blade and a wanted criminal in their midst. They resisted arrest, infiltrated a major battleship to break out said criminal, and wounded countless soldiers in the process. To top it all off, they have a long-lost Blade of legendary power with them, and one that was responsible for the destruction of three entire continents 500 years ago. For the good of her country, and the world as a whole, that kind of destructive power needed to be kept out of the hands of criminals at all costs; she would rather see the Aegis destroyed than gamble on someone being responsible with her power. Or so Mòrag thought, anyway.
Instead, Rex spends the whole fight preaching about Pyra's (the Aegis) rights as an individual, in contrast to the common attitude of the ambitious that see Blades only as tools and weapons. This, combined with Rex and Pyra diverting their final strike once they outmaneuvered Mòrag, instills doubt and curiosity into the original assumptions she made about their character. She opts not to pursue the fleeing party on a hunch that Rex might do something significant in the future, and that the powerful Aegis might not be in such bad hands; you know, under the stinging indignation of a bunch children holding back against her and Brighid, the most formidable Driver and Blade duo in Mor Ardain.
"The second you're under Imperial control..."
Some time after Mòrag begins escorting the Aegis along her journey, Pyra questions Mòrag's change of attitude, especially given her uncompromising attitude and reasoning in their first encounter. For the first time around the party, Mòrag answers more as the woman instead of the Special Inquisitor. She admits to curiosity being a driving force; this was a chance to see the Aegis, a legend, and Rex, the heir of the Aegis and her previous Driver's heroic legacy, in action with her own eyes. If Mòrag captured Rex, who might be the world's next great hero, he wouldn't be a true hero if he was controlled by the interests of any one nation.
This explanation carries with it a shadow of implication; it somewhat parallels Mòrag herself. She's a war hero of Mor Ardain, its exemplar citizen and soldier, and Driver of the Empire's most powerful and treasured Blade; she also exists mostly as the Special Inquisitor, not Mòrag Ladair, a hero only to her own people and a hovering threat to other nations. Her rank and responsibilities restrict her options. If the Aegis was controlled by the Empire, it would do exactly the same thing. Mòrag quickly shuts down the conversation when Zeke demands that she admit everything she's not directly saying and storms off, the moment of honesty over.
"Mòrag, power like yours exists to be used."
When tensions are at their peak after Jin's false flag operation framing Mor Ardain, Mòrag very, very reluctantly asks the party for help investigating once rumors of an assassination plot start circulation. She can't freely investigate while shadowing the Emperor, and is visibly frustrated by her inability to put stop the spiraling events. That she requests their help is both a gesture of desperation and begrudging trust.
Fast forward to the assassination; Emperor Niall sacrifices himself both in an attempt to shield the group and to thwart the assassins' last ditch effort. Mòrag's composure shatters when her last living blood, her little brother, drops lifelessly to the ground. Everything she does, all her dedication to her duties, are to support Niall and his rule; he is the reason Mòrag throws every bit of her being into her duties as Special Inquisitor.
While her opinion of Nia had already reshaped during prior events, it completely reforms with eternal gratitude after Nia manages to resuscitate Niall. Mòrag spends the next day refusing to leave Niall's side, and the siblings have their first true heart-to-heart in a while. Niall leads the conversation to draw honest answers from under Mòrag's stubborn and distant professionalism, affectionately calling her out once Mòrag starts to express her true feelings. He commands her to escort the Aegis and Rex on their journey, and urges her to follow her heart, for once, to use her power to enact the change the world needs—and freeing Mòrag from her implied shackles of duty from earlier. While Mòrag finds great joy and pride in serving her brother and nation, deep down Mòrag wishes for something else she's yet to discover, and they both know she won't find that chained to the side of the throne. After a moment of stunned and grateful silence, Mòrag accepts; from this point onward, while Mòrag remains a reserved person, she's freer with her personal opinions around the party.
"Will it leave a scar?":
After Zeke points out his, Nia's, and Rex's "deep Blade connections" (Nia being a Blade herself, and Rex and Zeke bearing a piece of their Blades' crystals embedded in their chest; all practically unheard of to most people), leaving Mòrag as the only regular human in the group, the normally reserved soldier tentatively expresses her envy of their closeness with their Blades. She earns herself surprised looks, particularly from her own Blade, Brighid. When Mòrag backs away from the idea of sharing Brighid's core crystal at the cost of a horrible scar, she flusters under Brighid's teasing glare. Mòrag's significantly freer with expressing herself in front of the party than she'd been when they first started, and more honest; before, she wouldn't have aired any personal thoughts not related to her work, let alone show embarrassment.
Purpose: "Looks like he finally found it... a meaning to his life. Frankly, I'm a little jealous. After all, most people... go their whole lives without finding theirs. I wonder if I'll find mine?"
Upon Malos' final defeat, Mòrag wonders this aloud. The stalwart soldier, retainer to the Emperor, Mor Ardain's finest, and once-heir to the Empire questions the meaning to her life. It's surprising coming from someone with such intense dedication and drive; she whole-heartedly embraces her duties, and takes fierce pride in her accomplishments, but still after all this time, feels it isn't her life's purpose. Since departing upon her journey to aid Rex and the Aegis, Mòrag shows increasing curiosity and interest in her own agency and simply being Mòrag for a time.
Her duties to her country are important to her, but the responsibility is a heavy, difficult burden, and the chains of that responsibility chafe after a while. Her freedom to follow the party under Emperor Niall's leave have exposed her to far more of Alrest than she would have had a chance to see normally, and many fantastical things among it—or above it, in the orbital station's case. Rex's endless optimism and the long journey expanded her worldview, and given her much to think about in regards to the direction of her own life beyond being the right hand of the Emperor. She's spend all her life having her role handed to her on a silver platter to the point where her station has become a large part of her identity; subtract that, and Mòrag has a lot to figure out for herself.
Link to Samples: Link to Sample 1; Link to Sample 2;
Chosen path: Paladin
3 Abilities: Flaming Sword; Insight; Aura of Courage.
Why this path?: Mòrag is so Lawful Good it hurts. As Special Inquisitor, she already spends much of her time enforcing her country's laws, hunting down internal and external threats, acting as the Emperor's (her brother's) retainer, and doing her best to secure a peaceful and promising future for her people. The oath of a Paladin would come naturally to her.
...except the whole "patronage of the divine" thing. In canon, Alrest's god has been silent for centuries, and when Mòrag and the party finally encountered said god, he was basically on his deathbed. I think it would be interesting to explore her thoughts on drawing her power from an active deity. I'll likely choose Torm for her; duty, loyalty, courage, and self-sacrifice are all right up Mòrag's alley, considering she's dedicated her adult life to serving in Mor Ardain's military, and supporting and protecting the young Emperor in place of pursuing her own interests.
blurb code by photosynthesis