Megaera

*Megaera, Tisiphone, Alecto, and Tilphousia. Few names strike fear into the hearts of the Elysian people more than these names, for these are the names of the Erinyes — the Furies, the enforcers of the Stygian Court and the punishers of the truly wicked.*

 Divine Lore

### 15 Olympian Calendar - 40 OC

Megaera is the daughter of Charon and Minthe, born from a sacred heart-pact cementing the alliance of the Cocytus Tribe of nymphs and the Lord of the Stygian Court.

### 40 OC - 50 OC

Shortly after turning twenty-five, half-sisters Megaera, Tisiphone, and Alecto formed the Erinyes, and pledging their service to Hades. Their brothers were given other positions at the Stygian Court at this time.

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The Erinyes made their first public appearance at the First Olympic Games in order to provide security for Hades' attendance at the games. Following this, the Furies were soon accompanying Hades on his Wild Hunts.

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To allow for a Wild Hunt composed entirely of Furies, the sisters began looking for a fourth addition to their ranks. The recently expelled Harpy Arce was chosen to fulfill this role.

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After the sacrifice of Iphigenia by her father Agamemnon as part of an unholy spell to ensure good wind for the Greeks' ship in that invasion of Troy, Iphigenia's mother Queen Clytemnestra prays for the gods to avenge her death. As a queen whose daughter was victim of familial murder, Hades feels he cannot ignore this request and promptly tasks the Furies to fulfill this vengeance.

Shortly after, the four Furies arrive in Troy to carry out the order. However, after the first few battles of the Trojan War saw many gods' interference, Zeus places a restriction on all gods' involvement in the war, thus forbidding the Furies from making any moves against Agamemnon.

The Furies continued to carry on other tasks, but made periodic trips to Troy to observe the war or make their presence known to Agamemnon, making sure he knew he was living on borrowed time.

During the first first years of the Trojan War, Arce disappeared.

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The Erinyes returned to functioning as a trio, recruiting the services of other Stygian gods or goddesses to assist them in official Wild Hunts. They continued to harass Agamemnon until the war's end.

They were briefly detained from dealing with Agamemnon at the war's immediate end as they had to see to the revelation that Oedipus had killed his father and fathered children with his mother — unknowingly, on both counts. Ultimately, they decide Oedipus has been punished enough when his wife Jocasta kills herself and Oedipus blinds himself and abdicates his kingdom to his sons.

With Agamemnon surviving the war and coming home with a war-bride, the Trojan princess Cassandra, Clytemnestra goes crazy and stabs Agamemnon. The accomplished general wrestles the dagger from his wife and nearly turns the tables on her, but the arrival of the Furies sees Agamemnon's hand stayed before he is dragged away from his bloodthirsty wife and choked to death by the Tisiphone's whip.

Seven years later, Agamemnon's son, Orestes returns home and kills Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus to avenge his father's death. When Hades hears of this, he dispatches the Furies to kill Orestes for claiming the murder of his mother was just vengeance when the Furies' execution of Agamemnon was done on the authority of the divine. Unknown to the Stygian Court, Orestes is the lover of several nymphs who warn him of the Furies' intent and shelter him from them.

As the Furies close in on Orestes, they learn he has gone mad — his mind unraveling from the pursuit and his own guilt following his mother's murder. When the Erinyes find Orestes, they find he has taken refuge in the Temple of Delphi where he claims sanctuary. Uncertain of how to proceed, the Furies call for Hades' intervention.

The God of the Dead speaks with Pythia, the Grand Oracle, and learns that she had told Orestes that it was his destiny to slay his mother. She argues that this gives Orestes an absolution from the sin of matricide. Hades disagrees and summons Athena, Goddess of Justice, to rule on the matter. However, as the doctrine is not clear, Athena is forced to put this matter before the Twelve Olympians with Apollo acting as Orestes' defendant and Hades acting as prosecutor.

The final vote was a tie. With no clear majority, Zeus and Hera agree that the matter should be decided by the Goddess of Justice herself. Athena settles on a compromise. She acquits Orestes of the murder and offers the Erinyes the new title of Semnei, granting them extra veneration as minor goddesses of justice within Athens. Hades is less than pleased with this, and so warns the Moirae not to give out such divine mandates as part of heroic fates.

Eighteen years after his acquittal, Orestes would die from an injury that was ascribed to a snakebite. Upon Orestes' arrival in the Underworld, the Furies were there to greet his spirit as it arrived on Charon's yacht. The Furies took custody of Orestes and showed him the way to his cage in Tartarus. When Athena heard of this, she challenged the justice in this, to which Hades sternly told her that he respected her judgment on the surface, but she cannot dictate his sense of justice in the Underworld. Hades then had the Furies show Athena the way back to the surface.

The Furies are present for Oedipus' final moments, when he succumbs to old age at a grove sacred to the Furies. His final prayer was to thank the Furies for sparing him, and allowing him more time to atone for his sins.

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Tilphousia, daughter of the Graeae Pemphredo and the god Arion, attends the Stygian Court to pledge her devotion to Lord Hades and Lady Persephone. As the niece of Persephone, Tilphousia is named as Persephone's personal Fury. Tilphousia carries out duties with Megaera, Tisiphone, and Alecto — essentially filling Arce's vacated spot, but also performing specific tasks as requested by Persephone, usually related to punishments specified for violators of oaths undertaken in Demeter's cult.

## Role in NeOlympus

Appearances of Megaera

 Abilities

### Ichoric Doctrine

* **Divine Physicality:** Deities possess the following abilities, though the exact levels may fluctuate or cease to function due to lack of Nektar and Ambrosia in their system. Generally speaking, Nektar is processed by the deity's body and converted into ichor which is required for replenishing lost ichor due to injury and channeling essence; while Ambrosia is processed by the body to heal injuries and sustain immortality. Deities do require some level of mundane food and drink, though a diet strictly made of Nektar and Ambrosia can sustain them (though they may become increasingly disconnected and 'inhuman' as a result).
	+ ***Enhanced Agility:*** Deities are more agile, coordinated, and dexterous than their physique alone may otherwise suggest.
	+ ***Enhanced Awareness:*** Deities are more closely attuned to the esoteric, arcane, and mystical than mortals. They can perceive ghosts, unmanifested nymphs, and other passively invisible patterns at work in the environment.
	+ ***Enhanced Durability:*** Deities are more durable, resilient, and resistant than their physique alone may otherwise suggest. Mystical weaponry, magic, concentrated essence weaponry, the natural attacks of other gods or divine creatures, and weapons forged of magical metals such as adamantine or orichalcum are the exceptions to this nigh-invulnerability. Most mortal weaponry cannot pierce divine flesh, though bladed attacks from incredibly strong mortals have left bruises or slight cuts on them and repeated blows can weaken them over time as their body burns through its consumed Ambrosia.
	+ ***Enhanced Might:*** Deities are stronger than their physique would otherwise suggest. Their punches are often dealt harder than a mule can kick. In conjunction with their enhanced durability, most deities can barehandedly punch through a brick and mortar wall without concern for harming their body.
	+ ***Enhanced Speed:*** Deities are faster, more reflexive, and all-around quicker than their physique would otherwise suggest. They can usually dodge arrows or even gunfire if they are aware of the attack and prepared to move.

### Inheritance and Birthright

* **Inheritance and Birthright:** Gods of Olympus will inherit three abilities: One Inheritance from their mother (or matron), one Inheritance from their father (or patron), and one unique ability called the Birthright.
	+ ***Maternal Inheritance: Environmental Affinity:*** As the daughter of Minthe, Megaera has an affinity for the ambient essence of her environment, giving her environmental protections and a higher affinity for manipulating raw essence.
	+ ***Paternal Inheritance: Necrotic Affinity:*** As the daughter of Charon, Megaera has an affinity for the essence of death. She is a natural psychopomp, able to compel souls to follow her, smite shades with snap of her fingers, or even command the dead to speak. She also has a heightened affinity for the manipulation of necrotic and chthonic essence.
	+ ***Personal Birthright: Arete of Conflict:*** Megaera has a natural aptitude for conflict and war. Because of this, she has an innate aptitude for armor, weaponry, combat, and tactics of all kinds. Upon handling any weapon or instrument of war not previously encountered, Megaera will quickly develop a practical proficiency with it.

### Doctrine

* **Erinyes:** Known by many names, including the Furiae, Dirae, Semnai, and Eumenides, but the enforcers of the Stygian Court are most commonly known as Erinyes or Furies. With their authority, the Erinyes are able to act as messengers of the Lord and Lady of the Underworld, sentence wicked souls or wayward shades, and can carry out Wild Hunts on Hades' behalf.

### Essential Doctrine

* **Cantrips**
	+ **Essence Types:** *Environment* - Megaera can absorb specific types of essence from her current environment. She can store this essence to engage in minor magical tricks at that time or at a later date. Essence not native to her current environment dissipates over time becoming less potent.
* **Spells**
	+ **Essence Types:** *Death, Entropy, Environment, War:* - As a nymphatic goddess, Megaera can cast spells using any essence in her immediate environment or which she has absorbed from environmental osmosis. Megaera has a greater affinity for these types of essence, and she can accomplish more significant effects related to that essence type. Such essence does not dissipate when stored in her ichor.

### Theological Relics

* **Oismastix:** The Furies wield special whips with adamant barbs, orichalcum handles, and a gossamer lash. These weapons were created by Hephaestus at the behest of Hades and were later enchanted by Hecate. These whips can work on mortals, gods, and spirits alike. Their lash cannot be broken, not even by a Titan, and anyone ensnared by the whip will find their strength quickly depleted. The barb at the end can secrete a poison or sedative and the lash carries an enchantment making any injury dealt by this whip to be immeasurably more painful than it should.
* **Talaria:** All members of the Erinyes wear talaria which allow them to fly and manipulate the essence of wind more easily than on their own. While running with the talaria activated, the Furies can outrun any mortal or any craft yet built by mortal hands. They can fly even faster still, particularly after entering higher elevations where wind essence is more potent, though they may need to follow air currents to maintain peak speeds.