Mullenkamp

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Also known as the Dark Lady, Mullenkamp is the ancient Kildean Goddess of Mysteries and the Dark, and one of the Five Ladies of Kildean Elementalism. She is an ascended Sorceress who in ancient times was a mortal priestess and dancer in the ancient city of Lea Monde. Legend states that She was the first Sayadina of the Dark, the first to unlock and uncover its mysteries. Mullenkamp ascended to godhood when She was burned alive for witchcraft by Iocan witch-hunters. Even among those Kildeans who did not devote themselves to Her, She was seen as a great spiritual leader and a national heroine, and remains to this day.

The Dark Lady has many epithets: among them Sihaya Mullenkamp, Her aspect as a Goddess of Beauty and Hedonistic Pleasure, Osana Mullenkamp, Lady of Outcasts, and Shatriya Mullenkamp, the Battle Sorceress. She is associated with fire (She is often portrayed in Kildean art as dancing through it, as in the depiction above), black doves, and black gemstones (polished obsidian in particular). Her primary symbol is the inverted Holy Rood of the Iocan church, known to Her followers as the Blood Sin or Sayadina's Cross (among the Kindred).

Today, Mullenkamp's cult is small, but intensely loyal and devoted. Sydney Losstarot, Her sole Disciple and the current Sayadin of the Dark, founded a modern politico-magical cult around Her, naming it in Her honor. The Kindred of the Hallowed Bastion believe that they are descended from Her, and that it was She who led them to the safety of the Bastion in the wake of the Iocan purges. Considering they share some of the same spheres of influence (albeit approaching them from very different angles), there is a healthy respect if not rivalry between Mullenkamp and Chrystalis. With Chrystalis' disappearance from the Bastion and the faltering of the Light, Mullenkamp's worship is gaining ground and there is some growing tension between the two camps.

It should be noted that, much like The Dark She represents, Mullenkamp is not inherently evil, per se. While many have sought to claim her power with evil intent, Mullenkamp is one of a very few deities who is beyond most people's conceptions of good or evil. There are no admonitions among Her followers to "first, do no harm" as among Chrystalis' followers; She does not place moral judgments on use of the Dark. However, She does not stand for blind pursuit of power for its own sake, unlike deities such as Thanatos or Tyr. The most common words of wisdom attributed to Her are, "those who seek the Dark, cannot control the Dark". This seems to be borne out by the many would-be seekers who wantonly abuse the Dark and end up consumed by it.