QUEEN
DESIPHAE
Desiphae, Queen of the
Sunless Grotto, never had any
complaints living on a rock in the middle of her big unplumbed pool
where she
would gaze at her lovely reflections in the waters. It has been said
that her
two small, transparent, slowly beating wings, created the breath of air
that supported
all life in her kingdom. She had
Flathead blood in her, although it is
uncertain as to how diluted.
As a royal virgin, the queen never had natural relations
with her husband, thus bore no children for King
Hyperenor. That did
not excuse
her from unnatural relations with
Thrag, the Dog-face God. Desiphae was
visited
by this
pseudo-god in the guise of a year’s supply of microwave
popcorn. Nine
months later, she gave birth to her son
Mirakles, as well as to a
hideous
monster known as
Smorma, the great ravenous anemone. King Hyperenor did
his
best to kill Smorma at the instant of its birth, but it slipped from
his hands
and fell into the Grotto. The king was understandably distressed and
confused
by this entire ordeal, and he picked Mirakles up and threw him into the
water
after the anemone. The queen cried out in anguish and alarm, certain
that
Mirakles would drown instantly, but a miracle occurred. A magic
creature,
Akubasimé the Loon of Truth, swam up with the child clutching its long
neck.
Akubasimé flew away with Mirakles and for many years he was raised by
laughing,
happy, joyous gypsies in a land far away.
When Mirakles returned, he was raised by both his mother and
father unaware that he was truly the son of Thrag. Desiphae knew of the
first
and second secrets of
Redthirst, but not the third. After the death of
King
Hyperenor, Desiphae revealed the first secret of Redthirst to Mirakles
before
he set off looking for fame, fortune, a kingdom to conquer and the hand
of a
beautiful princess. In his temporary absence, she was set as regent of
the
Sunless Grotto until his return.
Morgrom, who from the morning of the first fresh rainfall
that fed into the Sunless Grotto dared to boast that he would be Queen
Desiphae's ultimate husband and sought for an opportune time to despoil
her by
force. Fearing this, Mirakles ferociously sought to defeat Morgrom,
though it
was the
Control Character who finally obliterated this menace during the mid-tenth century, thus
forever freeing
Desiphae from his tyranny.
| SOURCE(S): The Zork Chronicles |