Kyther

## Appearances

"*Pathetic! May the Goddess take you all! The World-Ender lives! He defies **destiny**! [...] Ride into the wilds! Bring me the head of the World-Ender, and a goblet filled with the She-Wolf's throat-blood!*"
—Kyther's enraged orders to the Norn, translated from her language[src]
**Madeline MacNamera**, better known as **Kyther**,is a main character and an antagonist, as well as a survivor of the outbreak in *The Fatal Frontier*. She is the leader of the Norn, a strange tribe in southern Wyoming that commits sacrificial rituals, who see her as the embodiment of the Goddess of Death. She serves as the primary antagonist of *The Fatal Frontier*. Decades after the defeat of the Norn, Kyther continues to live on as a goddess worshipped by the Dead Horses.

## Overview

### Personality

Not much is known about Kyther, but it is clear that she is a cold-hearted individual who could qualify as being pure evil, largely responsible for her clan's ritualistic sacrifices. She is the architect for all of the Norn's horrific crimes against what is left of humanity, viewed as a messiah or perhaps even a goddess by her cult of followers.

Kyther appears to derive pleasure from the slow, sadistic torture of others and is completely capable of committing unspeakable atrocities without remorse, simply for pure amusement. She revels in the merciless torture of anyone from grown men to young boys and prefers to skin them alive without putting them down afterwards. Even as a child, she appeared to enjoy inflicting suffering on others, even on those that had been born just minutes earlier.

However, it is also hinted that Kyther is not completely aware of the actions that she commits, or at least is regretful for her homicidal acts; this, coupled with the fact that she was diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder and a complete lack of empathy, may indicate that she is not fully responsible for her actions, which are instead governed by uncontrollable violent impulses brought on by her mental illness. In "*Worship*", she appears to have a true moment of regret and self-reflection, whispering to Edwards that it is "too late for her" in response to Edwards' suggestion that she can be helped, even shedding tears at the thought of it. Deep down, it is likely that Kyther believes she is beyond redemption and has accepted the fact that she is a slave to her own violent urges.

## Pre-Apocalypse

Madeline MacNamera was the daughter of a representative for the state of Wyoming. From a young age, Madeline demonstrated symptoms of anti-social personality disorder and OCD, while also possessing a macabre fascination with skin and blood. In 2011, she used a carving knife to skin her parents alive, using their skin to try and make a coat. She was admitted to the Saint Nicholas Psychiatric Correction Institute For Children, a children's mental asylum supposedly run by the Catholic church. In truth, the hospital was run by a pagan cult known as the Pale Order that worshipped "Kyther", the Goddess of Death. Over time, Madeline became obsessed with this goddess and came to believe that she was its physical reincarnation.

## Post-Apocalypse

On the night of the zombie apocalypse, Kyther led the massacre on the Pale Priests and the nuns that served them, enabling her and the other children to take over the manor. The children gathered the corpses of the priests and nuns and sewed them together into a massive walker construct which they deemed to be the physical body of their goddess Kyther. They also proclaimed Madeline as the goddess' mortal vessel and began referring to her as "Kyther".

Over time, these children became a tribe known as the Norn and spent several years turning captives into Pale Men. They emerged from the Dark Place and took over Haven from the Heathens. It was in Haven's subterranean corridors that the Norn continued their experiments, forging an army of Pale Men. One of these Pale Men demonstrated tumourous muscle growth and an inability to feel pain; this individual was further experimented on and transformed into the Champion.

One of the Heathens, Lupa, dreamed that the "Silent Voices" had told her of *Mye'Akal*, a warrior carrying an axe that would bring an end to the Norn, but also prove to be their saviour. Somehow, Kyther caught wind of this prophecy and ordered his people to find this *Mye'Akal*, believing whoever could slay the Champion was this supposed "World-Ender".

### The Fatal Frontier

#### 'Wildfire'

When Edwards is thrown into the village's arena, he witnesses a mass prayer and the sacrifice of a woman and her young child. He then witnesses as Kyther emerges, adorned with black flowers, and sits on her throne as the priests bow to her. She watches as Edwards goes toe-to-toe with the Champion, and appears to be smiling as he declares victory and throws the creature's severed head at her feet.

#### 'Bloodshot'

Kyther is seen by Lupa and Jules sat in her throne, watching Edwards fight the Champion. Later, Kyther is introduced to a badly injured Edwards, where she claims that she is the "Goddess of Death". She says that Edwards is "*Mye'Akal*": "World-Ender", destined to bring an end to the Norn, but at the same time would be their ultimate saviour. When Edwards promises to kill her, she laughs and knocks him unconscious.

When Edwards awakens, he has been stripped naked and chained to a stone altar. Kyther chokes him and injects him with a second serum before she chokes him into unconsciousness.

#### 'Sacrifice'

After Haven is set alight by Lupa, Kyther confronts the Shark-Toothed Man and Interith in their failure to kill Lupa and Edwards. She slaps the Shark-Toothed Man across the face, proving strong enough to draw blood. She then calls out to all the Norn warriors, demanding that they bring Edwards' head and Lupa's blood. She then summons the Pale Men - the Norn's best warriors - and orders them into the wilds to find the pair.

#### 'Feral'

In a flashback, in the halls of the Dark Place, a young Kyther brutally tortures two people by skinning them alive. When one of the victims answers the question - "Who am I?" - with "Death", Kyther kills him and says "I am Life". She then watches as two boys with filed teeth drag the corpses into the manor atrium, where the Shark-Toothed Man waits. In the present, Kyther leaves Haven, leaving behind the hanging bodies of three naked boys, skinned alive.

In the plains surrounding the burning Haven, Kyther watches her army as the Pale Men chant around her, matching a series of faint voices on the wind.

#### 'Worship'

Kyther and her Norn warriors ambush the Heathen troop in the atrium of the Dark Place, where Edwards, having learned her true name and past, tries to reason with her. For a few minutes, she continues proclaiming herself as the Goddess of Death and the Norn as her messengers, but Edwards then brings up that she could still be saved. Kyther pauses and even begins to tear up, before whispering to Edwards that it is too late for her. She then attacks Edwards, knocking him to the ground, before ordering the Norn to kill the troop. Seth sets fire to the "Kyther" walker construct, which spreads to the entire manor. While Seth is killed, Lupa, Jules, Edwards and Kail escape. Kyther and most of her people escape the manor, and she begins laughing as she watches it burn.

#### 'Wolves'

Kyther discovers the Shark-Toothed Man's severed head on the cliff overlook, also discovering the map that Edwards left in his mouth leading Kyther to the visitor's centre at the top of the mountain. Shaking with rage, she orders her people and the herd that they have gathered up the mountain.

Kyther manages to escape Lupa and Jules' ambush and rushes up to the visitor's centre, where she discovers Edwards waiting for her. Edwards makes a final attempt to reach out to her but she refuses to listen and attacks him with her sabres. The two of them are locked in battle for several minutes, after which Edwards gets the upper hand and starts violently beating her. As he starts to choke her out, Kyther stands him in the side with a concealed knife. As Edwards begins to bleed heavily, he retrieves his tomahawk and prepares to finally kill her. At that point, Kyther is violently sick and Edwards quickly deduces that she is pregnant, a result of her repeatedly raping him during his two weeks as the Norn's captive. Kyther then claims that the seed of the World-Ender and the womb of the Goddess of Death would produce a warrior of god-like ability: *Invictus*. Edwards tries to force himself to kill her, but cannot do it as he would be ending "an innocent life, born to a less than innocent mother". He tells her to leave and never come back, and Kyther doesn't fight, instead limping off into the wilderness. Edwards would never see her again.

Roughly fifteen years later, Kyther is seen in the forest as she finds her young son Invictus, telling him "They are coming", to which Invictus states "Then they are coming to die".

## Killed Victims

* Her mother *(Pre-apocalypse)*
* Her father *(Pre-apocalypse)*
* 2 unnamed men *(alive)*
* 3 unnamed boys *(alive)*
* 1 unnamed Pale Priest
* The Father *(alive)*
* Numerous counts of zombies and unnamed people

## Relationships

### Invictus

Not much is yet known about the relationship between Kyther and Invictus. As he is her son, it is reasonable to assume that she loves him greatly, having raised him at least into his mid-teens, despite her mental health issues.

### Shark-Toothed Man

"*Wuonikeith al rana Kyther!*"
—The man expresses his devotion to Kyther[src]
Not much is known about the relationship between Kyther and the Shark-Toothed Man. It has been shown that the Man is an incredibly loyal follower of Kyther, serving as her warlord and her second-in-command.

### Interith

Not much is known about the relationship between Kyther and her High Priest, Interith. As her High Priest, Interith is certainly loyal to her.

### Wrinkled Woman

"*You always wanted to grow old, didn't you...*"
—Kyther to the Wrinkled Woman as she finishes her follower's mutilation of the Woman's face[src]

### Harry Edwards

"*You don't have to be them, Madeline! You can be helped! We can help you!"
 "It's too late for me...*"
—Edwards and Kyther in the Dark Place[src]
Not much is known about the relationship between Edwards and Kyther, other than it is antagonistic. Kyther appears impressed with Edwards' victory over the Champion. Nonetheless, she completely despises him due to his prophesized role as *Mye'Akal* and takes great pleasure in torturing him over the course of two weeks. During the course of these two weeks, she repeatedly rapes him, and in "*Wolves*" it is revealed she is pregnant with his child. It is due to this last factor that Edwards allows Kyther to live so he doesn't kill the child.

Edwards is so far the only person to force Kyther to reveal her more innocent self, reaching out to her upon learning her true name and origins.

## Quotes

"*Now begins the reign of **Kyther**,*"
—The young Kyther on Outbreak Day[src]

## Trivia

* Kyther is the fourth female primary antagonist in the series universe, the others being Sally Neil in *Season 11*; The Governor in the '*Some Kind of Something*' series of the '*New Age*' Extension; and Eve, the primary antagonist of *Season 3* of '*Wild Rose Country*'.
* The name "Kyther" can be roughly translated into the word "Chief" or "goddess" in the Norn's language.
* Kyther's left hand is very badly burned.
* Kyther has been shown to possess above-average strength, which is even more impressive considering her relatively small frame. She has been shown to beat and choke Edwards with ease and is strong enough to draw blood from the physically-imposing Shark-Toothed Man with a single slap.

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