Queen Marika never sought peace for the Lands Between. She sought complete, untethered sovereignty. When she discovered that her ascension had merely transformed her from a Hornsent victim into an incubator for the Greater Will's cosmic designs, she chose to burn the world down rather than remain an ornamental puppet.
Her cruelty was sweeping and deliberate. She cursed her sons, cast off her loyal husband, abandoned an entire army in the dark, and condemned millions to a centuries-long war of succession. The Tarnished who finally crosses the threshold of the fractured Erdtree does not find a radiant mother waiting to offer blessings. They find a broken stone shell, hanging in the dark, waiting for someone strong enough to finish the deicide she started.
