Melkorka

**Melkorka** is a mender and the mother to Nikolas. She was also an advisor to the Governor of Strand before her betrayal was exposed.

## Background

Melkorka graduated as a gifted mender decades before the Third Great War and eventually had a relationship with Helvir, the brother of the current Governor of Strand. Her son Nikolas was born out of this union, but Helvir passed away at a young age and she kept their child's existence hidden from others, hoping to make him the governor someday. Due to her prowess as a mender, she also became an advisor to the governor at the Great Hall, and had many menders under her tutelage.

Nikolas grew up to become a handsome man, and desired to become the Governor of Strand, by toppling the current governor and his son Ragnar. To achieve this goal, he set up his own criminal gang called the Aetla Hilmir which allied with the other gangs of Vak'auga and Mársmidr. His mother assisted him in this venture, agreeing to help the Mársmidr leader Kjallak, who wanted to become the King of Varls, in fooling the varl warlord Vilmundr into believing that they could resurrect the dead varls using the amulet called the "Gift of Hadrborg".

## Recent events

After stealing one half of the Gift of Hadrborg, Kjallak tried to steal the other half about two months before the Third Great War. Melkorka meanwhile started playing her part in his plans and had some materials necessary for it smuggled in. However, the Governor's Guardsmen Eirik and Valgard, who were deployed at the gates to be on the lookout for carts evading taxes, marked it and had it impounded, not knowing who or what it was for. She became furious at them after finding it out, and the Governor's Steward Olvir had to convince her to have her menders heal Valgard when he was wounded after a fight with the Mársmidr.

When Eirik learnt about the triumvirate of gangs trying to take over Strand, he eventually hatched a plan to lure one of their lieutenants out by holding a tournament where Olaf and Ulfvalgr, who possessed the other half of the Gift of Hadrborg, would be in the open. He also had the City Watch of Strand march there at a scheduled time to prevent any surprise attacks by the Aetla Hilmir. Melkorka however gave false orders to the Watch's Captain Dylan, telling him that the governor had delayed their time of arrival. This allowed Nikolas and the Aetla Hilmir to attack Eirik's team, but they succeeded in escaping with the Mársmidr lieutenant Ottar.

Melkorka fled the Great Hall soon after misleading Dylan, knowing her betrayal would be discovered. Kjallak however finished acquiring the other half of the Gift of Hadrborg after a short while by capturing Eirik's ally Stefnir, and also finished assembling the goods as well as the skeletons needed to host and fool Vilmundr. At the temple of Hadrborg in northern Strand, she performed the magic Kjallak had asked to before the warlord, which in actual was nothing more than her producing colorful lights, while Kjallak's men hidden inside the skeletons moved them using various contraptions.

Melkorka lied to Vilmundr that they had still more to learn about the amulet, which is why they could not create flesh and blood as of yet. This was enough to convince him that they could indeed resurrect the dead Varl. The escaped Stefnir however exposed their ruse by jumping on one of the skeletons from the catwalk above, and Eirik soon burst into the prayer hall with his allies, after discovering the mead trail Stefnir left for them to the temple. As the warriors fought, Eirik fatally wounded Nikolas in a duel, and Melkorka in anger hurled a fire spell at him. Olvir and the gangsters he was fighting however bore the brunt of the blast, saving Eirik.

Runa tried capturing Melkorka, but the mender escaped the temple with a spell. The building was soon destroyed due to the fire started by her spell, while Kjallak and her son Nikolas died soon after. She was however able to elude Strand's guards when they tried finding her after bringing down the triumvirate of gangs.