Dahlia

"In the shadows of her wrath, a dark garden blooms. I will nurture it in gratitude." -The Burnt Witch, Morrigan Nestled within a concealed grove on the fringes of what is now Nordshire Cemetery, flourished flora of mystical grandeur. These enchanted plants were revered by an ancient coven of witches, caretakers who delved into realms unseen by mortal eyes. However, when conflict with the Mosune Empire laid the grove to waste, only a singular charred flower endured amidst the ashes of the inferno. Yet the coven would have the last laugh, as this lone, jagged flower would undergo a second blooming, taking Tya by storm in the form of Dahlia, Death's Blossom. Those who worshipped the grove in all its splendor were known as the Witches of Nordshire, practitioners of the ancient arts who convened nightly amidst the enigmatic vegetation. In fact, the Burnt Witch, Morrigan, was named among their ranks. With hands clasped and eyes shut, they chanted ancient incantations, beseeching the grove to share its arcane secrets. For in truth, the fauna there were conduits to ethereal realms through which otherworldly forces were channeled. In the aftermath of a gruesome clash between the witches and the Mosune Empire over a misunderstanding involving a missing child, the aforementioned surviving black flower underwent a transformation more profound than any could have foreseen. As the blood of slain witches seeped into the soil, meshing with the ashes of the desecrated fauna, the mixture reached the lone flower's roots. From the pistil of the char-blackened flower emerged a figure, ethereal and imposing—a demigod embodying the grove's violated magic, born of vengeance and draped in flowing garments that mimicked the hues of black petals. It bore the semblance of a woman both beautiful and terrible; her features a fusion of sorrow and wrath. Petals adorned her raven-black hair, and her eyes glowed the fury of every Nordshire Witch to perish. She moved with sinister grace, each step echoing a silent promise of retribution as new and dark enchanted flora bloomed in her wake. Though a plague incited by Morrigan in her dying moments had ravished the crusaders sent to kill the Witches of Nordshire, Dahlia desired revenge on the Mosune Empire as a whole, declaring war. And she believed Morrigan, her most loyal devotee, deserved a second chance at life. Amassing a following both great and terrifying in number, Dahlia bestowed upon her most trusted acolytes a singular black flower clipped from her figure to be used in the reincarnation of the Burnt Witch. The ritual was a success. Now united in a conquest of vengeance, Morrigan and Dahlia have set their sights on the Mosune Empire, aiming to add its borders to those of Nordshire Cemetery.