Lamia had never been like the other hags. From an early age, she had had dreams of grandeur and a desire to chase magic far stronger than that of the standard hag coven.

While this did put her at odds with most of her family (who thought her to be extremely narcissistic), it didn’t keep Lamia from pursuing this path of power. By the time she had reached her teens, she had been the most accomplished spellcaster in her entire bloodline.

As she had felt little connection to her brethren, she had no reason to stay behind with this so-called coven of hers, and headed out into the Runiverse in search for power that she felt was destined to be hers.

Years passed and Lamia scoured the Runiverse, learning every facet of any style of magic she could get her hands on before she finally settled in the cold northlands (often home to penguins and frozen tuna). Her home, a hidden cave tucked away in the ice, would only keep strangers at bay for so long, though.

Eventually, word of Lamia’s location spread, and soon all manner of folk would make the pilgrimage to visit the Ice Witch for any number of ailments and issues.

Lamia was pretty unhappy about being found out, but learned to rely on the offerings given by the pilgrims for her blessing, which ranged from dry goods to magical artifacts. The constant stream of pilgrims would also give her plenty of ripe sacrifices for the picking, most who’d never be missed.

This did have quite the unintended effect, as the pilgrims she did help ended up being most successful in many of their endeavors, causing her fame to rise, even in corners of the map that she’d never been!

She grew bored, as many power hungry wizards do, and eventually started down the path of blood magic. Now, blood magic in and of itself had been banned from the Runiverse, but Lamia had forged a pact with an old god…and well…you can’t really argue with the old gods can you?

A wizard of her power can only hide under the radar for so long before even bigger and more powerful entities start to notice. And ooooh, did they notice her!

One strange evening, after Lamia had tended to her last blood sacrifice, she heard a knock on her door.

“Ugh, I haven’t even finished cleaning up thi-what??” Lamia went to the door, absentmindedly wiping the blood from her hands onto her apron. When she opened the door, she expected another lost villager looking for food, or perhaps some lone pilgrim looking for a blessing.

Instead, upon opening the door, all she found was a tiny little plague rat. “What on earth…how did you knock?” Lamia said, bewildered, as she bent down to scoop up the tiny rat.

Upon further inspection, she noticed the rat had on a tiny collar, which contained a small note and an affixed tag that read “Puggums”.

The hag let out a curious grunt, as she pulled the letter free from the rat’s collar. Simple parchment, nothing too fancy, she thought to herself.

Looking over the small note, she found a tiny purple wax seal, with an image too small for her to make out. She quickly popped it off and unrolled the parchment, reading it aloud.

“Dearest Lamia,

I hope this letter finds you well. You do not know me yet, but I’m quite hoping you soon will.

I am a very interested benefactor who finds great importance in, well, the work that you’re currently conducting in the North. Not many would dare breach the ethics of blood magic, but from what I can tell, you are one of the most talented, and it would be such a waste to not give you a platform.

What I am building is a city of the greatest builders and thinkers. A place where the sky isn’t even the limit for the type of scientific and magical progress we will make!

Now, you might be asking yourself, how do you know about me and what I do? Well, Lamia, that’s quite a simple question.

It is my job to know these things, and so…I do. Please do not fret, however, your secrets are very safe with me. And as said earlier, it is of the utmost importance that you continue the work you’re doing!

Next, I must introduce you to your newest friend, Puggums. He’s a trained messenger rat, and he’s yours, in exchange for humoring my letter.

Should you wish to join us at the collective, simply cast a small glow spell on the rat’s collar, and he’ll know to bring you to me.

I do so look forward to meeting you, my precious Lamia.”

The letter is signed, in what looks to be blood. Though no written name is present, a small triangle with an eye has been smudged along the bottom.

Lamia’s mind raced with excitement and anxiety. How did some random stranger even know who she was, let alone, where she was and what she was doing??

It could be useful to have a powerful benefactor, especially one that promises safety. But there must be some catch. If there had been any one singular thing Lamia learned throughout her pursuit of power, it was that there’s always a catch.

The question would be, was it a price she was willing to pay?

Lamia had let the note’s contents sit with her for the next few days while she ruminated on all the different things that had come to light.

For better or worse, she decided it was probably time to stop sacrificing the pilgrims, at least for a little while. If this stranger happened upon what she was doing, then it’s likely others would too.

Now, no self-respecting, narcissistic, power hungry wizard would say no to someone basically handing them power, but of course she couldn’t seem that eager either.

Lamia would spend 5 days and 5 nights hemming and hawwing, wondering if it was finally time to leave the cold north. Would she be able to handle living in a city, around other people? People she couldn’t kill, eat, curse, etc?

Ugh, it would be hard. But, absolutely worth it, for the chance to exceed boundaries not only in blood magic, but also in the eldritch darkness she’s learned to control.

On the evening of the fifth night, she finally made up her mind. Standing up from her small chair by the fire, Lamia scooped up the little rat, a small packed bag, and her trusty stick, and headed outside, not looking back to the hut where she had spent so much time.

It was snowing rather hard, but this was no concern to our wizard. A quick flick of the wrist, and Puggums’ collar lit right up with a blue light that cut right through the storm.

The little rat squealed in approval, hopped down, and sped off to the south, leaving behind him a bright blue path of light that only the hag could see.

She was off to finally obtain real power, and she could not wait.

Entered by: 0xf13F…3FBF and preserved on chain (see transaction)