For some time, me and my friend have wanted to restore Bretonnia—the nation of chivalry—in AoS through our homebrew. We also wanted it to be more focused on the actual chivalrous aspect than it is in the Old World. The ghouls in AoS and their delusion made us think that could be done via actually honorable undead knights protecting people under the guidance of Morgiana le Fay, so dedicated to their virtues and mission to be willing to rise above even their nature to uphold them, and we're building homebrew FEC army with custom lore led by her.

Of course, we also love Morgiana le Fay, the Enchantress of Bretonnia (the picture is of a hand-sculpted mini that my friend made of her), and the Lady of the Lake, who protect their people and guide them along the path of virtue. We were frankly disgusted by the spiteful and incredibly low effort writing they received during the End Times: it reduced the Lady to a totally selfish and dimwitted god (and an alien from space), and Morgiana was deprived of all agency, and treated not as a character but as a literal macguffin for a plot point that she had aboslutely nothing to do with (and that was even dismissed in a couple lines offscreen)!

She was robbed of her lifelong purpose: strengthening the Bretonnians and making them thrive in spite of and against Chaos, and then standing and fighting with the warriors she had forged for ages, when the end times would come. To remedy that, we decided to make Morgiana the main catalyst for Bretonnia's return in AoS and the redemption of a number of flesh eaters, and she turned up to be the absolute best choice for it from a narrative standpoint.

**1)How did Morgiana get to AoS in first place?**

This was easy. In her lore, Morgiana is stated to reincarnate in a new body if her current one wears out or is killed. So, we had that after her body was exanguinated offscreen during the end times, she reincarnated in Bretonnia. There, even if weakened, she proceeded to unite the warring duchies of Bretonnia under a single banne once againr, and fought shoulder to shoulder with her people during the apocalypse, bringing them healing and hope til the world went dark (like she's supposed to do).

Shortly before the actual end she managed to lead as many Bretonnians and local wood elves as possible to the otherworldy haven the Lady of the Lake had created, which we know has survived the destruction of the world that was. However, the souls of those that Morgiana and the Lady couldn't save were captured in the bodies of ghouls of the Flesh-eating Courts in the new world, prisoners of a delusion that mocks all they stand for (and mockery was the intent behind the creation of ghouls with Bretonnian souls trapped within). **We're not having that all the ghouls are former Bretonnians, only some of them.** We don't want to force a single interpretation on the whole faction.

**2)Why should Morgiana be able to break the former Bretonnians out of the delusion, or even want to lead a bunch of ghouls in first place?**

The answer is in how Morgiana is characterized. For millennia, she has watched over Bretonnia and has given all of herself to make her people the best and strongest versions of themselves, capable of resisting the corruption of and fight the evil besieging their world (especially Chaos). She acts by using her gift of foresight and her insigfht into humans, to put her people on the path that she thinks will lead to their growth. She's willing to confront them with hardship, the truths they avoid, and obstacles (that she knows they can deal with) and to let them "fall" when needed, so she can teach them how to rise back up. Falling is an inevitable part of the human experience, and learning to move forward from it is key part of growing.

Morgiana gives them the tools to tackle the obstacles on their path (via the Favours of the Fay), and from the struggle, *from facing what they fear,* they learn how to deal with suffering by understanding what truly is important in their life, that made them move forward through their crucible. Something "sacred" that they value above even themselves and that they're cultivating and are responsible for: people they love, something they strive to become, a "garden" to care for, etc... If Morgiana manages to teach them that, they will always have a sense of purpose and place in the world, their north star to guide them. In times of suffering they will turn to that, be reminded of what's important, and **choose** to face the suffering and hold strong on their path, rather than fleeing it or turning to the easy (if risky) power/answers like those of Chaos. Basically, evil wins when humanity can't deal with suffering and accepts the sweet ways out it offers. So which better way to fight it, than making people recognize its lies false promises, and cultivate their own strength and purpose instead?

Morgiana has done that for the whole history of Bretonnia, with absolute certainty and with her loyalty and dedication never wavering once. Such is the faith (and, ultimately, love) she has in her people, that she's willing to gift them a part of her own being (this is what the "Favour of the Fay" is) to awaken their potential and see them succeed—even though she knows she will lose that part of herself and suffer great injury, if the person fails or quits. **It is a gift of her own self**, and it speaks volumes on how much she cares. She uses any and all tools at her disposal to lead the Bretonnians on their path of betterment, and has even worn many names and masks to do so.

Overall, Morgiana's an empowerer at heart; this is her whole life, the way she finds a sense of identity, belonging, and purpose. Something like:

*"No matter which name or mask I wear,* **one thing will always be true about me:** *I really do love my people, I really believe in what they can be and accomplish. I am the mother who will make them grow strong and filled with purpose, and flourish in spite of the evil besieging our world. And who then will fight by their side when the final battle against Chaos comes, to protect all we've built."*

Not only it makes a lot of sense for her to want to help the Bretonnian ghouls (which are also her people that she couldn't save), but that she just wouldn't be able to not do that and remain herself. And as for the reason she would be able to break the delusion, Morgiana has honed her magic with the purpose of elevating the people around her to meet their potential. She is the ultimate life caster, so much so that the power of Ghyran is intertwined with her own being, and we're speculating that her giving a part of herself to people can elevate them so much also because of that.

So, **if there's someone who can go to Shysh and fish the Bretonnian ghouls out of there, it's Morgiana**, as she'd be like a beacon of life there. If she gives a ghoul a part of her own lifeforce via the Favour of the Fay, she will awaken the soul within it, give them a taste of what they could be and used to be, which will help them see the truth. And if a ghoul were to somehow manage to bite her before being awakened, she would just give them the Favour via her blood, awakening them anyway.

**3)Why the ghouls and not other humans or whatever?**

The specific ghouls Morgiana is reaching to hold the souls of Bretonnians. They're her people, her responsibility. Moreover, Morgiana represents this motherly force who can take humanity from the depths oif degradations, and elevate them to strength and fulfilment. That's exactly the case pf a delusion that makes you think yourself honorable and just while you commit atrocities? And who's more at need of "learning to rise from the fall" than the Bretonnian ghouls? They are at their lowest, they've been turned into monsters, and living in a lie is such a sweet temptation, so comfortable if compared to confronting the horror of their current state. Morgiana is there to force the confrontation, and help them break free and regain control of their own destiny. With the Favour of the Fay, a gift of her own self, she restores clarity to her people and that throws them in a lot of pain, but at the same time she gives them the tools to overcome it. To rise above their current form and past deeds, and act like the knights they want to be—protectors of humanity (and whoever else needs it).

So, picture this band of ghoul knights on a quest of atonement, led by a resplendent fey woman: an enchantress in white and gold, her blonde hair adorned with flowers and leaves, new life sprouting from her steps. When times are dire, a dense mist materializes and they ermerge out of it (thanks to Morgiana's ability to teleport between bodies of water) to come to your aid. When they aren't fighting, hey re-learn what it is to be a person, try to recall their former lives, form bonds of camaraderie, and learn to be responsible for and care after something they choose to cultivate, to have something worth protecting.

**4)But the ghouls aren't Bretonnians...**

If some ghouls being former Bretonnians is troublesome or if you dislike it, that isn't super necessary for this narrative to work. Like I said, Morgiana's purpose, the thing she dedicates her whole life to, is to make humanity the strongest and best version of themselves, strong enough to thrive in spite of Chaos and evil, be the bulwark against them. Now, the ghouls must hold some kind of soul remnant in them, a soul that once was human. While a Bretonnian soul would make the situation even more personal to Morgiana, to her uplifting people is basically who she is, and the mockery of the Bretonnian virtues, the state of degradation of those souls she witnesses in the ghouls, could add further motivation for her to want to fix this.

**Heck, whether some ghouls actually hold souls former Bretonnians isn't as important to this narrative as Morgiana believing or hoping they do.** She could be grieving the loss of those she couldn't save, and be hoping that some ghouls do hold those souls within themselves. So she could still want to attempt to take some ghouls and try to restore some humanity in them, a form of purpose and honor, by infusing them with the life magic of a part of her own being, and gradually lead them to awaken more and more. So, this narrative would still be valid even without the Bretonnian souls.

Morgiana le Fay: the Fay Enchantress of the... Redeemed flesh-eaters?