 Holy Woman of Bel Naire, 1647 GUE
Holy Woman blesses the Sword of Zork Holy Woman Holy Woman freed from petrification Holy Woman after Morphius defeat (A) / (B) / (C) [behind the scenes] |
Since BE, the Temple of Bel Naire has been continuously occupied by an unusually high priestess called a "Holy Woman." The Sword of Zork was said to have been blessed in every generation by her.
The Holy Woman of the first half of the 1600s GUE was a relic from the past. This ascetic, a permanent residence of the temple, worn long robes and no shoes. The very serious woman was delighted when many sought to visit the temple, but as the middle of the century drew near, when the reign of darkness began, her spirits waned into a dark mood since almost no one visited the temple any longer. Once renowned as the valley's "Most Audible Celebrity" (a career of speeches that started long ago), she no longer spoke so readily (although her voice was seriously effected by a permanent sore throat).
This particular curse's origin was Morphius, an evil entity once known as the Cluster, which was enshrined at one point in the Bel Naire temple in the 1620s. This Cluster was stolen by Canuk in Dismembur of 1635. The Holy Woman quickly suspected that the Cluster had been replaced with a fake and sought IT&L for investigations.
In 1647 GUE, the Holy Woman was able to aid the unknown Sweepstakes Winner by blessing the Sword of Zork. She also gave the known history on the forging of the Flying Disc of Frobozz, especially an engima about using an orb to focus light. Before the adventurer departed, she opened up a path to the Dwarven Mines.
While this nameless adventurer raided the Citadel of Zork, the Holy Woman was turned to stone by Morphius and brought to his research laboratory. She was not freed until the Sweepstakes Winner defeated the evil force at a game of Survivor, which caused him to lose hold on the confining spells. Once de-petrified, she participated in the Second Great Diffusion by uniting her magical powers with Canuk, Trembyle, and Witch Itah to disperse the vile Morphius into the atmosphere along with the rest of his evil magic.