Morrigan

This page is about Fearne's grandmother. For the lagomore rogue, see Morrighan Ferus.

Morrigan
Fan art of Morrigan the Fatestitcher, by Adrián Ibarra Lugo.
Type	NPC
Character Information
Name	Morrigan
Pronouns	she/her/it/we
Titles	The Fatestitcher
Also known as	Morri Morrigan Calloway or Morri Calloway (by Fearne) Nana or Nana Morri (by Fearne and her friends)
Creature type	Fey
Race	Hag
Age	More than two centuries (in 843 PD)
Languages	Common, Sylvan[presumed]
Place	Ligament Manor, Feywild
Family	Calloway family (honorarily) Birdie Calloway (close friend, daughter-like figure) Oleander Calloway (honorary son-in-law) Fearne Calloway (foster granddaughter) Other unnamed children
Status
Status	Alive (as of 843 PD)
Appearances
First seen	"Axiom Shaken" (3x43) (via Sending)
Last seen	"The Eve of the Red Moon" (3x81)
Stream	Campaign Three (7 episodes)

“

I can help... always.

”

– 

Morri

[!h]

Morrigan, also known by her title the Fatestitcher, is Fearne Calloway's foster grandmother, and a powerful hag who manipulates people's fates. She is the keeper of her own fane in the Fey Realm, and lives at Ligament Manor. Fearne refers to Morrigan as Morri Calloway or Nana, and refers to her second head as Tummy Nana.

Description

Fan art of Morrigan the Fatestitcher, by Robert Kemp.

Appearance

Morri is an incredibly old woman, even by fey standards. She has a barrel-like torso and a long retractable neck craning like a giraffe; long thin arms and big hands; long, tangled white hair, like a horse's mane; a wrinkled face with two nostril holes (without a nose), a wide mouth of jagged teeth, and a golden glow coming out of her eyeless sockets. She wears a blue-green robe-like dress with patches, ropes and branches, as well as hanging trinkets and a mantle made of dark linen and chiffon. Her clothes hide the second bigger face that she has in her torso, with the same shining eyes (although later described as fish-like and with a bluish hue) and wide smile. Her two faces can talk and act independently, and take turns to sleep. She's extremely tall, if she were standing her height would reach 10 feet, although according to Fearne, she is about fifteen feet tall.

Morri can modify her own hands and fingers, mixing them or making more of them appear.

Personality

According to Fearne, Morri is "wonderful", an amazing painter, and extremely intelligent. She cooks very often, and her meals include meat pies and candy.

According to Morrighan Ferus, Morri Calloway is incredibly kind.

Birdie considered Morri a trustworthy person, although she also describes her as intense, somewhat selfish and obsessive, hyperfocusing on things (or people) that she likes. According to the faun rogue, Morri has a reputation that prevents people from approaching her fane for no reason. She's also known for doing favors to others, usually asking in return stuff she likes to collect.

Morrigan describes herself as an "observer", who likes to watch people and slightly alter their destinies whenever she could. Other than that, she said her primary occupation was crafting, such as taxidermy and strange acid-burned paintings. She is also a collector.

Morri's main head seems to be more friendly and active during the day, while the one on her belly is more nocturnal and strict.

Biography

Fan art of Morrigan the Fatestitcher, by Sam "Qelric" Spencer.

Morri has lived in the Feywild for centuries, being a distant but known figure who lives outside the structure of the Courts as the guardian of her own fane. She was powerful enough to manipulate "the skeins of fate", adding "a tangle or two" and watching the consequences.

She became known in Exandrian folklore as a stalker of dreams, a voyeur of insecurity, a promiser of many things and robber of others, an entity of balance or a reaper of sadness, depending on the nature of the stories in which she appeared.

At some point in the last half century, she met Birdie Calloway, who helped her keep her home clean as payment for an old family debt incurred by another member; while the faun was working for her, the Fatestitcher offered guidance and helped her discover her calling, becoming a friend to her.

She also took care of a young lagomore that was called Morrighan in her honor, and in 817 PD she helped her enter the Material Plane, so she could grow up there.

Because of her established connection with the Calloways, when Birdie and her husband had to travel to Exandria, they left their young daughter with Morrigan. The old faerie devoted herself to caring for Fearne, treating her like her granddaughter and keeping her safe for nearly a century (in which Birdie suspects Morrigan may have influenced the flow of time). The prolonged absence of Fearne's parents made Morri, in order to protect the girl's feelings, create postcards that the parents were supposedly sending to their daughter from different places in the Material Plane. On a few occasions Unseelie agents looking for the Calloways managed to access Ligament Manor, but the hag transformed them all into terrifying decorations for her garden, keeping her protegee safe.

Fan art of Morrigan the Fatestitcher, by seasalt_fam.

At some point (probably in 842 PD), Ira Wendagoth contacted Morri, asking for her help to get a piece needed for a device that he and Fearne's parents were building in the Hellcatch Valley. Morrigan told the party the Weave Lens was created as the repayment of a favor she owed to Ira. She gave it to Fearne when she was about to leave the Feywild, telling her to give it to her parents if she found them. In Quen'pillar or Cuersaar 842 PD, Morri led Fearne from the Feywild to Exandria by way of a gate that transported the druid to a point near Syngorn, in Tal'Dorei.

By 843 PD, when Fearne reunited with both of her parents in their layaway in the Hellcatch Valley she learned a little bit more about the nature of her grandmother and the favors she did for other people, and the Calloways came to the realization that there was a possibility that Morri considered Fearne herself her payment in exchange for creating the Weave Lens.

A few weeks later, after Bells Hells decided to help the Grim Verity stop the plans involving Ruidus and the apogee solstice, they considered traveling to the Fey Realm to sabotage the machine built by the Unseelie Court. Fearne supported the idea, saying that her grandmother would definitely help them, and stating that she still trusted and loved her. Imogen cast Sending to Morri, and the powerful fey woman answered with an ominous voice, excited at the idea that they and her granddaughter were going to visit her, and assuring them that she could help them.

Fan art of Morri and Fearne reunited, by Lap Pun Cheung.

That very same day, after the adventurers returned to Yios, reunited with Ashton Greymoore and two of them had an intimidating encounter with Ludinus Da'leth, Planerider Ryn sent them to the Harrowcall Fens in the Fey Realm. Guided by Fearne, Bells Hells reached Ligament Manor, where the druid was finally reunited with her terrifying caretaker, who, after hugging her, offered her and her friends some cocktails. The group stayed at the mansion for the rest of the day, and Fearne caught up with her grandmother, who, despite her sinister appearance, was very welcoming. The hag showed interest in different aspects of the group, including Ashton's damaged head, and later, when she was showing them her collection, she inspected it again was surprised when the magic within reacted to her. The genasi decided to show her their strange abilities by raging, manifesting powers that surprised her again; in order to gain Morri's favor, the barbarian took a magical bust out of their portable hole and gave it to the old fey, who was pleased by this, and even managed to crack it by forcing the object to mimic her eerie appearance (although she then promised she would fix it). The next day the adventurers said goodbye to Morri, who gave them two treasures taken from her collection: Harrowcall Veils (which would hide them once a day as long as they remained motionless) and the Gloomscale Breastplate (which originally belonged to a princess who died in battle), judging that Fearne was now old enough to wear it. She also gave them a substance to ensure their return to Exandria without suffering from the time warp, and reminded the druid that she could return to Ligament Manor whenever she wanted.

Fan art of Morri facing Gloamglut, by Sam Rusk.

Later that same day a desperate Imogen contacted Morri again, asking for help, since Bells Hells were being chased by Sorrowlord Zathuda, Gloamglut and their forces. The hag didn't answer through the Sending spell; instead, not long after, she appeared in person, on the back of (or transformed into) a gigantic bird with dark feathers, with crow and hawk features, and long and strange talons. The Fatestitcher attacked the Unseelie captain and his fey dragon in the air, giving Bells Hells time to put their pursuers at a distance. However, at one point Gloamglut managed to shoot down its winged enemy with its Dark Fire Gaze, so the bird was lost to sight in the forest; despite that, Morri managed to return to Ligament Manor successfully.

When Imogen, already in Exandria with her friends, cast Sending again to thank the old fey woman and check if she was okay, Morri confirmed that she was, explaining that now she had to "make amends" for her intervention, but adding that the Unseelie would have to be "bold enough" to visit her. Days later, the sorcerer contacted Nana Morri again to check if she would be able to help them fight against the Ruby Vanguard, and to ask her if she knew if petrified people could be healed; the hag informed her that, while she was recovering from an injury, she felt stronger in Ligament Manor and was following their progress, stating that she would do what she could and confirming that there were, indeed, ways to reverse petrification.

Weeks later, after having a huge fight, Bells Hells decided that they needed to reconnect with each other before continuing with their missions against Ludinus Da'leth and the Ruby Vanguard, so accompanied by Allura Vysoren they traveled to Ligament Manor. Morri was there, still recovering from her wounds, watching her crystal ball (where Vitoren, an eladrin she knew, had just discovered his notes had been erased in the middle of a public presentation) while assisted by Birdie and Ollie, who had come visit after the later predicted their Layaway would be sieged. Both the Fatestitcher and the Calloways were elated when they saw Fearne again, and Morri welcomed her friends, as well as Lady Allura, of whom she already knew. When Bells Hells explained they wanted to stay for a while without losing too much time in the Material Plane the hag agreed, overly excited when she realized that was some sort of retreat, agreeing to colaborate with Fresh Cut Grass designing activities for them. The Fatestitcher spoke to her granddaughter, talking to her about her fate and potential, as well as secrets she should ask her mother about; she also used her power to grow a new provisional chamber in her tree-house for her guests. Morri spent some time watching her crystal ball and planning activities with FCG (erasing their memory of it), but after that, when Fearne spoke to her mother and learned about her biological father (Sorrowlord Zathuda), the hag provided useful information about both him and the Unseelie Court. She also inspected the spark of Rau'shan and the Quintessence Array when Bells Hells showed them to her (being so interested in the former that she worried the adventurers).

When Bells Hells were ready for the scavenger hunt, Morri offered them tea and brought them to different spaces to work on honesty (leaving a ravine by sharing truths), communication (guiding friends through narrow paths), and trust (exploring ruins while dealing with two doppelgangers), influencing the different scenarios and sending creatures to intervene in the activities, and also using her magic to blind or mute members of the party when necessary. As a motivation, she offered three magical items for her personal collection for the hunt: the Monocle of True Essence, the Scarf of Intrusive Intent and an ivory branch with healing properties. During the whole process Morri observed, very interested, intervening only between trials to give impressions and instructions, or when she needed to inforce some rules; by the end of it she manifested her satisfaction, and was very happy knowing the adventurers (and especially Fearne) had enjoyed it. After that, when her granddaughter said she wanted to take the power of Rau'shan, Morri offered her garden as the place to use the Quintessence Array; she also took the chance to explain that Fresh Cut Grass had come with the original ideas for each of the exercises, and she had developed them all in her own way. In front of a critter audience, the faun began the process of absorbing the elemental shard, and the Fatestitcher watched with excitement, reassuring her when she felt insecure, Silencing FCG when his stress made them say hurtful things, and congratulating Fearne when she successfully assimilated the titan's fire.

That last day Bells Hells were in Ligament Manor, Morrigan was visited twice. The first one was while she was checking her Collection, and Chetney went to talk to her (doing some conversation with the sentient door before, and naming it "Sir Push-Pull", a name the hag herself approved); the old gnome wanted his youth back, and Morri mentioned it was a common request, but her interests were more focused on people's passions, so they made a deal: she would influence fate to ensure Chetney would become a notorious toymaker, and in exchange, he would bring her a piece of Predathos. The second visit happened later at night, when Orym went looking for Nana Morri while the rest of his party were sleeping; the hag approached him very stealthily (surprising the extremely perceptive halfling), and they also made a deal: Orym would become the servant and companion of the Fatestitcher, now that Fearne was pursuing her own destiny elsewhere, but only on the condition that every single member of Bells Hells would return from their mission to Ruidus alive (for which the hag would offer help to Orym in times of need).

The following morning Nana Morri was present during breakfast, and provided a heavy and beautifully carved piece of silver (that may or may have not contained souls) to FCG, since she remembered that the aeormaton liked that metal better than copper. She then said goodbye to her beloved granddaughter and her friends, and as she had promised, used her magic to summon fireflies that altered Allura's spell and allowed the party to return safely to the Material Plane of Exandria the same day they had left. A few days later, while the adventurers were in Vaterra Kreviris on Ruidus, they encountered manifestations of the five members of the Weave Mind, rulers of the Imperium, who spoke to them and invited them to join them. Orym called for Nana Morri's aid, and although it wasn't clear if the hag intervened or not, the Reiloran mystics left shortly afterwards.

Relationships

Matron of Ravens

Morrigan described her relationship with the goddess of fate as "complicated". Morri dislikes certain things about the ascended mortal, regarding her as the pinnacle of ambition, and the Matron dislikes people interfering with her divine duties (more specifically the threads of fate). Despite this, since the Fatestitcher is out of the Raven Queen's reach, they have a mutual understanding, and the Prime Deity is, in the hag's own words, "fine".

Ira Wendagoth

The Fatestitcher and the Nightmare King had known each other for many years, and they've even shared a certain level of flirtation that never came to anything. Morri thought it would never have worked, and that she was too much of a woman for "a spindly thing" like Ira; he, for his part, considered Morrigan had standards and would never date him. Despite everything, Morri was still interested in Ira and his activities, creating the Weave Lens for him as part of the favor she owed him, and asking Bells Hells to "tell him he's an ass" if they saw him again.

Fearne Calloway

Fan art of Morri and Fearne in their garden, by Adrián Ibarra Lugo.

Morri loves Fearne very much, making sure she is safe, albeit in the same obsessive way that she protects her inanimate treasures. Although the hag initially cared for her as a favor because of the friendship she shared with Birdie (the girl's mother), she ended up loving her as her own granddaughter, giving her companions during her childhood. Fearne later realized Morri might have altered her memories on occasion so that she would meet "new friends" for the first time several times, and destroyed anyone who tried to harm the little faun. She enjoyed the girl's company to the point of stretching time by a century to lengthen her stay in Ligament Manor, but she nevertheless respected Fearne's wishes whenever she desired to leave. Moreover, she was willing to risk her own life and her relationship with the Unseelie Court if that meant that the faun would be safe.

Some time later the hag revealed part of the reason why she had decided to keep Fearne with her was that when she met her as a child, she had noticed that Fearne was a "beautiful paradox", so she decided to keep the faun safe and protected in order to keep watch on her threads of destiny.

Vitoren

This fey elf reneged on a deal with her once, so Morri now tortures him whenever she feels like it and watches him through a crystal ball, as an entertaining form of revenge.

Character information

Notable items

• Crystal ball that she uses to keep up on her "stories"
• Several treasures that are part of her collection, including:
  • Multiple containers of unknown content.
  • Dead and dried faeries pinned to corkboard.
  • The still-beating heart of the still-living champion of the Lion Guard, given to Morri as payment for a favor.
  • A magical bust that imitates someone else's visage, gifted by Bells Hells to Morri, who promised to fix it after her eerie appearance cracked the magical object.

Abilities

• Bird Form: Morri is able to transform into an dark avian creature of monstrous proportions.
• Deals: The Fatestitcher can grant boons or do favors for people who seek her help, in exchange for a form of payment both parts have agreed. When she makes a deal, everything around the conversation goes dark, with the exception of a colorless flame in a lantern, that the hag uses to seal the deal. If someone does not keep their word, Morrigan has the power and the right to punish them as she sees fit.
• Fate Manipulation: Although she can't influence the greater skein of destiny that is the Raven Queen's domain or reliably predict the future through it, Morri is able to make "suggestions" to fate, add tangles to the skein, and pluck a tune on the thinner strings.
• Instant Reading: Whenever the Fatestitcher meets someone for the first time she is able to magically "read" some of their history in an instant, in a way that allows her to know them in advance.
• Magic item creation: Morri can craft and enchant objects with wondrous properties.
• Powers in her domain:
  • Time Manipulation: Morri is able to alter the passage of time in her domain, as well as influence how the Feywild Time Warp affect travelers leaving the plane.
  • Supernatural Movement: Despite her size, the hag can move quickly and stealthily in Ligament Manor when she wants to, not being detected even by the most perceptive of warriors.
• Spellcasting
  • Silence
  • Modify Memory (possibly)

Appearances and mentions

• Exandria Unlimited
  • "The Oh No Plateau" (E1x02), mentioned only
  • "By the Road" (E1x04), mentioned only
  • "Exandria Unlimited: Kymal, Part 2" (E2x02), mentioned only
• Campaign Three
  • "Growing Bonds and Teasing Threads" (3x06), mentioned only
  • "Ghosts, Dates, and Darker Fates" (3x10), mentioned only
  • "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11), mentioned only
  • "Make It Fashion" (3x12), mentioned only
  • "Heart-to-Heartmoor" (3x17), mentioned only
  • "A Taste of Tal'Dorei" (3x25), mentioned only
  • "Hidden Truths" (3x26), mentioned only
  • "A Race for the Prize" (3x27), mentioned only
  • "Dark Portents" (3x29), mentioned only
  • "Reunion & Revelation" (3x30), mentioned only
  • "Breaking Point" (3x31), mentioned only
  • "What Dreams May Come" (3x34), mentioned only
  • "Axiom Shaken" (3x43), via Sending
  • "Ominous Lectures" (3x45) (first appearance)
  • "Night at the Ligament Manor" (3x46)
  • "An Exit Most Fraught" (3x48)
  • "The Aurora Grows" (3x49), via Sending
  • "Red Moon Rising" (3x50), mentioned only
  • "Ripples" (3x53), mentioned only
  • "By Goat or By Boat" (3x56), mentioned only
  • "Escape From The Past" (3x58), mentioned only
  • "Aid of the Tempest" (3x66), mentioned only
  • "Embattled in Bassuras" (3x70), mentioned only
  • "The Promise and the Price" (3x77), mentioned only
  • "Fractures" (3x78)
  • "To Hurt Is to Heal" (3x79)
  • "A Test of Trust" (3x80)
  • "The Eve of the Red Moon" (3x81)
  • "True Heroism" (3x91), mentioned only

Quotations

• Birdie: (about Morri) She's an odd duck in her own right. [...] Her fane is her domain, and she can tweak and stretch things out as she wills. [...] People know better than to go in her domain.
• Morri: Please tell my little bear-banana-baby to come visit. I can help... always.
• (about Fearne) "I always knew she was meant for greatness."

Trivia

• The nickname "Morri" came from a massively large cat Ashley Johnson had growing up. Morri's full name, Morrigan, was influenced by fairy tales and folklore. It might be a reference to the Mórrígan, a prominent Irish-Celtic goddess. The commonly accepted interpretation for the meaning of the name Mórrígan is "Great Queen" or "Phantom Queen". In Irish-Celtic mythology, the Mórrígan is the goddess of war, fate, and death.
  • She shares her name (although with a slight variation) with Morrighan Ferus.
• Although Fearne wasn't certain, she believed Morri was her maternal grandmother, the mother of Birdie. While they turned out not to be related by blood, Morri has served as a mother (or grandmother) figure to Birdie, and has raised Fearne as her granddaughter.
  • Birdie means "little bird", and the Mórrígan is often associated with crows, following a family pattern with the meaning of the Calloway names.
    • Another element connected to birds is the form that Morrigan takes into for battle: a gigantic dark bird that looks like a mix of hawk and crow with strange, long talons. It is possible that this bird was the creature that Bells Hells heard when they arrived at the Harrowcall Fens.
  • When Bells Hells met Morri in person she, despite having been called a Calloway by Fearne in the past, confirmed that she didn't have a surname, making her connection with the Calloway family based solely on affection for Birdie and Fearne.
• Although the character itself was created long before the release of The Book of Many Things, Morrigan's connection with fate make her somewhat similar to one of the creatures of that book, the fate hag.
• The section of the Feywild were she lives is considered a fane, and Birdie refers to it as her "domain", where Morri has a beautiful garden, and apparently many interesting books. This, as well as her political influence and Birdie's suspicion that Morrigan might have manipulated the passage of time in her domain, seem to indicate that she has a power equal to that of an archfey, although according to Planerider Ryn she wouldn't be an archfey herself; she, in fact, isn't present in the list of known archfey of the Arcana Pansophical, even though both Ryn and Allura Vysoren (both members of this circle) knew about her. Since she's also a hag, her being an archfey-like figure would make her similar to other fey characters outside Critical Role canon, like Baba Yaga. When Fearne was talking about her grandmother's house the players joked asking if said house had legs and walked (a reference to Baba Yaga's Dancing Hut, since they have pointed out the parallelisms with her on more than one occasion).
  • It is currently unclear if Morri's domain encompasses only Ligament Manor (her house), the surrounding area, or the entirety of the Hallowcall Fens.
• Morrigan is a relatively well-known figure of folklore, and people can learn about her in places such as the Alabaster Lyceum.
• While it is unknown how much of it applies to Exandrian hags, it is known that those of great age and power call themselves "grandmother" or "granny". The fact that Morrigan is seen as a grandmother figure for both Birdie and Fearne could be an indicative of how old and powerful she is.
• Morri knows how to prepare a cocktail called Moonlight Glycerin, very sweet, that causes a warm burn when someone drinks it and grants Darkvision for eight hours.
• She doesn't have a coven.
• Apparently Morri's magical influence made Fearne grow in height more than expected, being now taller than both of her parents.
• According to the forlarren sent by Lady Elmenore to retrieve Fearne, Morri was the one who sent the letters and gave the gifts that the faun thought were from her parents. Fearne was convinced she was lying, but eventually learned the forlarren was telling the truth.
• According to Fearne, her grandmother is an influential figure that has dated all types of people, even insinuating that she and Ira Wendagoth could have been lovers at some point. When Fearne asked Ira about it, the Nightmare King denied it, although when Bells Hells talked about it with Morri she admitted that they had some history together.

The inspiration for Ligament Manor.

• In the cosmic and magical domain that is fate in Exandria, there are three entities connected to it and aware of each other: the Matron of Ravens is considered the weaver of its threads, with the Great Tree of Atrophy growing in the middle of them in a way that allows them to watch destiny very closely, and the Fatestitcher being an observer that likes to touch and change small details of the skein whenever she pleases.
• Ashley Johnson partially based Morri on her own mother, her mischievous personality and her way of behaving as a grandmother.
  • Ashley's mom, in fact, built her own version of Morrigan's house on her own.
• While it is not confirmed, it is possible that the favor Ira did for Morri (that she paid creating the Weave Lens) was for him to make the Calloways not to worry about their time away from their daughter, so that the Fatestitcher could spend even more time with Fearne.
  • This theory is strengthened by the fact that Fresh Cut Grass and Imogen Temult discovered that Oleander Calloway's mind had been tampered with and that at some point he and his wife had attempted to abandon their project in the Hellcatch Valley.
• According to Fearne Morri has successfully defeated creatures larger than Gloamglut in the past.
• When Chetney Pock O'Pea used his Hunter's Bane, he detected Morri as a fey, although somewhat "dirty" in essence.
• Due to the wording it is unclear if her deal with Orym of the Air Ashari still stands, has been completed, or been made impossible to fulfill. The halfling asked for power to keep his friends alive, and the Fatestitcher's confirmation that "Every one of Bells Hells makes it back, and we see it through." Thus, the deal could technically have been completed when Bells Hells returned to Exandria for a few hours through a portal connected to Lake Umamu. However,Fresh Cut Grass died before the party's mission on Ruidus was fully completed.

References

Art: