History: 

	Morgause was born the adopted daughter of the Earl of Cornwall, in the Shadow Avalon. Her 
stepfather was often busy with his own two sons and daughter, but by his command he saw to it that her 
every need was tended to. She shared many secrets with Morgana and the servant-girl, Tierza, but the 
differences in their stations held them apart with jealousy. When she was young, she spent much of her 
time alone, avoiding Morgana because of some fight they had. 

	As she grew, her relationships with Morgana and Tierza grew more civil and less affectionate. 
She was taught by strict mistresses to behave like a lady, and despite her hatred of them, the lessons 
took. Her stepmother was often around, but rarely spoke - keeping quiet as she expected her daughters 
to. She was always kind, polite, and decorative. In rebellion, Morgause spent idle hours teasing and 
flirting with the pages. Then she heard of the visiting magician, Armin, apprentice of the magus Blaise. He 
had been sent by the King to serve Igraine, Countess of Cornwall and Morgause's stepmother. Morgause 
was fifteen when he began his stay at Castle Cornwall. 

	Morgause had always been fascinated by stories of magic, especially as told by Morgana. 
Morgana had perhaps more knowledge and interest in sorcery, but Morgause had ambition - being only 
an adopted child and hence lesser in title and dowry. The very evening that Armin arrived, Morgause 
slipped in disguise to the wing where he was staying, changed into formal clothes, and boldly went to 
meet him - intent upon seeing for herself about the truth behind the tales of magic. He had no servants, 
wore simple clothes, and was suprisingly young and handsome. She greeted him as a lady of the house, 
but soon they talked on, about metaphysics and feelings, and late in the night, they loved. 

	Morgause was infatuated with Armin, but she was in love with the stories he told and the 
things he taught her. At first he only showed her his simplest illusions to impress her, but she proved such 
a quick study, and took such delight with every lesson that soon he started her on more advanced 
enchantments. He stayed for many months, and while Morgause was quite appreciative of his company 
and charms, she was becoming more and more involved in her own puzzles and questions. Her 
stepmother suspected her infatuation, although not the extent of the affair, and arranged for her to be out 
of the house more often - riding lessons, trips to nearby towns and castles, and so forth. Cut off from her 
lessons and inspiration, the young enchantress became frustrated, and determined to unmask the secrets 
of the world on her own. 

	She was riding through a forest rumored to be Fey - close to another world of strange beings, 
and looking for signs of the elusive faeries, her mind racing with dreams and images of what they might 
be like. As she rode through the wood, the trees grew taller, blocking out the sun. She left the familiar 
animals of her home behind, and faced strange new beast who resembled her wild fancies. 

	She was 18 when she began wandering into Shadow, and was quickly lost and confused, 
unable to find her way back home and unaware of how she had gotten there. For many months she rode 
desperately between weak Shadows, but in her fearful state each new Shadow conformed to her worst 
nightmares of what might be. Finally, she had lost her horse, and had slumped against a vast tree in a 
world which seemed in eternal night, weak with hunger. Then two small green eyes appeared in the 
darkness before her, and a small cat asked "What troubles you, Princess?". She answered dazedly that 
she did not know where she was. It responded, "You are in the Shadowland of Erebus, two trunks south 
of Amaranth." It did not answer any questions about itself, but it did lead her to a nearby village, then it 
vanished into the darkness. "Goodbye, Shadowcat." she whispered, "I will find you later - you still have 
much to answer for." She found Erebus to be a world wrapped in darkness and giant forests, settled by a 
breed of humanity much like her own. They were rather cliquish and closed to strangers, living in small 
villages. They had adapted well to the darkness, and cooked with the sap and tubules of the trees, the 
nuts of vines which grow on them, mushrooms, and the meat of rodents and bats. 

	Upon stumbling into the village, she was arrested by the local constable, and shortly 
thereafter leased to servitude to a local merchant - a large but slippery character who owned much of the 
town, and many servants. Those first few months were quite a shock to her, as she was forced into work 
as a maid and laborer. She was learning the langauge quickly, however, although it was much different 
from her native Anglish. Soon her sharp eye and quick mind made her helpful in preparing merchandise 
and spotting bargains. The merchant was impressed with her, and promoted her to helping tend one of 
his shops, where her looks as well as skill would be useful. 

	At this point, she was beginning to collect up enough money to buy her freedom. She 
received a commission off of the items she sold at the store, and was starting to wonder what she was 
going to do when she finally was free. Then she went with the caravan to Darkhaven. Darkhaven was the 
palace of King Edward, an enormous, multitiered castle which surrounding a tree huge even by Erebus 
standards. The palace would not be very impressive to an Amberite, but it made her remember the glories 
of Avalon, and her noble blood and birth. She was determined to get there. 

	Her chance came even earlier than she thought, actually. A week after the caravan arrived 
back home, she was staying late, keeping the books, when her owner sent for her. He was lounging in his 
bedchamber, with the smell of Erebus' syrupy wine thick in the room, and he grasped at Morgause. 
Though it seemed strange to her, she felt no fear or even hatred so much as annoyance. She grabbed his 
arm and twisted it behind his back, knocked him onto his knees, and pushed his face to the floor. What he 
tried was a crime as well as a perversion, she said, suprised at the vehemence and power she had found. 
If he wanted to keep his name, his freedom, and his life - he was going to give her her freedom, and make 
her introduction to Court. She bent his arm nearly to breaking, he screamed that he agreed. 

	Fear and shame are powerful emotions. After he recovered, the merchant kept his promise, 
and kept his mouth shut to his deathbed. Morgause was introduced to Court as a cousin to the Governor 
of Amaranth, and was accepted as a guest. Darkhaven was originally built to house an army, so in 
peacetime there was plenty of room for guests who stayed to amuse the King and Court. It was sixteen 
days before she met the King, and she spent all of it preparing. Having spent nearly four years in slavery, 
her ambition had finally kicked in, and she was determined to have the throne. The King was a man 
named Edward, a bachelor of 51 despite the urgings of those around him. Average lifespan was about 
120 on Erebus, so he still had plenty of time to produce an heir, and he apparently was not concerned. 
Certainly there were a number of courtesans who saw to his needs, and many more eligible women who 
plied for his attentions, but none of them he took seriously. He was very involved in his own plans and 
studies, and was very secretive about it. 

	When she finally did see him, it was from many yards away across the large table where 
numerous guests were eating. He was being bored to tears by a General's daughter, a sweet thing whose 
body seemed almost as soft as her head. The next day, however, the poor dear took sick, and spent 
dinnertime wretching in her room. Now Morgause was within the King's circle of conversation, but mostly 
she refrained from speaking, but rather listened attentively to the things he said, and exchanged a few shy 
glances. 

	She was immediately struck by the split between his cultured words and the attitudes he 
expressed. Here was a man with the talents of a scholar, but the temperament of a soldier. His problem 
was that he already ruled all the lands that were fit to conquer, and the only challenges he found were in 
his studies. The next few months were rather strange, as their courtship did not resemble a romance so 
much as a mystery or puzzle book. 

	She followed his movements as best she could. Most of the time he spent in his own private 
rooms, but occaisionally he would be drawn out to the libraries which Morgause could visit - to look up 
books on the history of alchemy and natural philosophy. She spent many hours reading the same books 
that she saw him do, and imagining what interest he found in it. Finally, she decided to have a chance 
meeting with him in the basement library, since she was looking for the same book he was. They 
bantered idle chatter for a while: he complimented her on her looks, and her subtlety in shadowing him; 
she complimented him on his keen observation. They had a natural rapport, it seemed. To her, the King 
was infuriatingly perceptive - he saw through her wiles and tried to turn them to his own advantage. He 
was also arrogant, cruel, and charmingly witty. It was about five hours before they were in bed. 

	Of course, it was another thing altogether convincing him to marry her. She had to convince 
him that it was the only way to keep her around, while at the same time assaying his worries that she 
would kill him off to take control of the throne. Of course she succeeded eventually, but it is difficult even 
for her to say how. Perhaps love, but even after two hundred and twenty four years of marriage, she 
would be hard pressed to say that she loves Edward more than she is simply used to his presence. Their 
relationship is one of continued fascination, more of a mystery or puzzle book than a romance novel. 

	It took two years for them to tie the knot, and many more for her to find out what his projects 
were. Secrets were another part of the game between them, and their marriage just  added a new level to 
it. Eventually she bluffed him, using the knowledge which she had collected to threaten him into telling her 
the rest. She discovered that Edward was a natural Conjuror, who made fantastic artifacts to power his 
own schemes. But living armor, steel flesh, and many more were but steps on his way to the secrets of 
immortality. On his seventieth birthday, he succeeded, and began a series of rituals which would last him 
through over their many years of marriage. 

	At the same time, between her own and Edward's magical talents, she began to piece 
together some of the nature of Shadow and her heritage. At first she was loath to travel, for fear that she 
would be carried away to yet stranger worlds. But eventually, she mastered the spell of Teleportation, 
which could return her home even from distant shadows. She began to go away for trips into fancy, only 
to return home a week later with a secret smile upon her lips. However, after nearly a century and a half 
of trying, she eventually bore a son to Edward - whom they named James. She raised and cared for him, 
but still her mind was on distant fantasies. After he was grown, he went off to his own interests, and she 
took up her search for Avalon again. She found her way into a Shadow called Prydain, which she found 
resembled her native Shadow of Avalon in many ways. In truth, Erebus is a fairly distant and chaotic 
Shadow, and Prydain is roughly between the now-mythic Avalon and Shadow Earth. She had several 
adventures in Prydain, as she instructed a young princess named Eilonwey, learning from her about the 
world while she instructed her in a taste of the black arts. 

	Perhaps drawn by the potency of Corwin's residence, she found her way to Shadow Earth 
some seventeen years later. It was the late 1870's in France. It took her some time to get used to, but 
soon she learned to fit into society there. She became a lady of society and a patron of the arts, which 
she greatly admired. With her house and home in endless night, she loved to roam the gardens she built 
in the warm sunshine, and enjoyed filling them with beautiful things. In a auction which she attended, she 
found a painting of an imaginary mountain commissioned by a mysterious poet. The place was Mount 
Kolvir, and its inspiration was the dreams of a confused immortal who did not even know that his name 
was Corwin. She kept it in a museum which she commissioned, and over the next several years she 
studied it and the ballads of its patron. Using these as her guide, over the next decade she wandered 
Shadow, strangely compelled by the image as though it were burned in her blood. Eventually she 
wandered into a city which knew of the place, and soon she had chartered passage on a ship taking her 
to Amber. 

	Once there, she worked as a lowly maidservant, but she quickly became popular for her 
charms and wit - and collected much gossip about the Court and its ways. Though eager to discover her 
heritage, she was wary of the immortals which the folk regarded as gods. She heard of the Moon-City, 
Tir'na Nogth, as an spectral mirror of the Court, a reflection in space and time. More ready to face ghosts 
and illusions than concrete fears, she walked up the steps on the next full moon. The third time she went, 
she tried to walk the Pattern there - she nearly killed herself and used her sorcery to teleport out. It was 
many fortnights before she strode those steps again, though she still watched it each time it appeared. 
She decided to learn through more traditional ways. She befriended a guard from court, who in times of 
repose, described to her the times he had seen member of the Family walk the well-guarded Pattern. 
Armed with this knowledge, she walked the Pattern in Tir'na Nogth successfully, and a fortnight thereafter, 
she made her introduction to Court. The only one there who knew her was the guard, and he disappeared 
four days before she made an appearence, killed by a knife wound and thrown in the sea. 

	She was greeted warmly, though with much suspicion. She looked forward to dealing with 
what she assumed was her family, and even their scrutiny and games. Rather auspiciously, she shortly 
discovered that she was pregnant again with another boy, whom she named Ranald. More content with 
her life now, she has devoted much attention to the boy, and often shows him around the Palace. 

	That was about 12 years ago by Morgause's way of looking, but only 10 years in Amber. Now 
she is a regular on the Court scene, good at looking decorative and keeping her eyes open for what is 
happening, peoples weaknesses and strengths, and so forth. James is now about 87 (although that may 
have changed since he walked the Pattern five years ago), and Ranald is now 14 (having spent more time 
in Erebus with his father).