TITLE | The Morrígan
FACE CLAIM | Saoirse Ronan*
NAME | Morrigan "Mor" Callaghan
SEASON (S) | S1
LOVE INTEREST |
SUMMARY |
❝I could kill cities in a night, if I wished.❞
The women in the Callaghan family had been cursed: they will turn into The Morrígan—a goddess of death—when their is too much death close to them. They are cursed to be a symbol of imminent death, and in the town of Mystic Falls, death was imminent.
For Morrigan Callaghan, it began the night her aunt died in a car crash. One moment she was watching her aunt's car bend around a tree, and the next she was back in Bonnie Bennett's house studying for their history exam. It was Sheila Bennett that told the girl what she was and what she could be—The Morrígan, either the goddess that would help in battle or the goddess that would be the one to slay.
OTHER |
In Irish mythology, The Morrígan—the phantom queen—is associated with war and fate, foretelling doom and death in battle. Her job was not to only be a symbol of imminent death, but to also influence the outcome of war.
The women of the Callaghan family had been cursed into turning into The Morrígan ever since the beginning of time. Sometimes, the goddess and form skipped a generation or two, due to not many death to occur during their time. In 1864, it was Brianna Callaghan that became The Morrígan, when vampires began to roam the town and take their liking. It was how the Callaghan family took notice of the immortal problem, how they alerted the other founding families. It was them that began The Council. Brianna Callaghan was killed by Stefan Salvatore soon after he went through the transition.
After Brianna, the women of the Callaghan family no longer became The Morrígan, considering that there wasn't that much imminent death in the town of Mystic Falls. So their curse turned into a thing of stories, a little story told from grandmother to grandchild to scare them.
Morrigan Callaghan, so graciously named by her Irish Studies professor mother, became the next Morrígan moments before her aunt's car wrapped around a tree. It was as if she were watching over the scene, watched it happened without being able to move or say anything. She stood there with no emotion and watched her aunt die. When she returns back to her body, present time, she starts panicking. It was Sheila Bennett who calmed her down from her panic attack. The old woman called Morrigan's aunt and she picked up, saying that she was still at work. It was at that moment that Sheila Bennett knew that Morrigan Callaghan became The Morrígan she had read about in the grimoires. So, she took the girl aside and allowed her to read the grimoire, so she could know what was happening to her was not a coincidence. It was around that time that Sheila Bennett told Bonnie that she was a witch. But, both girls, being modern teenagers and not believing in the supernatural, laughed it off.
Morrigan Callaghan, although she laughed it off, was still spooked about what happened. She told no one. It was days after that her mother received a call from Sheriff Forbes that Nainsí Callaghan had died in a car crash, her car wrapped around a tree. At that exact moment, a crow had flew on her window and cawed. Even though that happened, Morrigan kept what she saw to herself.
Months passed by and nothing happened, until she was at a party. She drank and joked about with her friends, until she saw Elena Gilbert and her family drown. She was in the car with them when Grayson Gilbert drove over the bridge, but just like the first time, she couldn't move or say anything—she just watched. When she returned to her body, the same girl she saw die was standing in front of her with a curious look on her face and asking her if she was okay. But just like before, Morrigan Callaghan laughed it off and said that she was drunk, but she kept her eyes on her friend, just in case of anything. Minutes after Elena Gilbert left with her parents, a crow landed on the tree she was standing under and cawed—a sign. She realized at that moment that what she saw and the crows weren't a coincidence, but signs that she could tell imminent death before it happened. Just like Sheila Bennett told her, Morrigan Callaghan has become The Morrígan.
Basically, Morrigan Callaghan is like a banshee, to put it in a simpler term. But instead of screaming as a sign of incoming death, she hears the caw of a crow.
Morrigan's family is basically her mother, her aunt (who died), and her grandmother. Her mother is an Irish Studies professor at Whitmore College, her grandmother an avid Occult teacher that gets along well with Sheila Bennett. Her father left before she was even born, but he does send child support checks and presents because he wants to see her but she doesn't want to.
In a way, Morrigan is a witch. Although she is not as strong as the Bennett's, her magic is passed down from family member to member, so she is strong. Her magic focuses on death, which is why she can see the imminent death of those she is close to, and also on earth. She enjoys nature a lot, considering that The Morrígan was considered an Earth/fertility goddess back when the Callaghan family still lived in Ireland.