Lovia

Lovia was the leader of the Frostmoon Scions and the last Archpriestess since the fall of Hyperborea, but was stricken from memory for the sin of blasphemy.

Profile

Lovia was the last leader of the Frostmoon Scions to hold the title Archpriestess of Hyperborea.^[4] She committed grave acts of blasphemy to keep the ancient rites of the Frostmoon Scions going, when the blessing of the moonlight was dwindling away and the rites were starting to lose their power. She also collaborated with outsiders Rauthvangi and caused harm to many innocent people. Thus, her identity is kept a secret, and only Frostmoon Scion priestesses are allowed to know her name.^[5]

Story

Unbeknownst to Lovia, she was an orphan from outside the Frostmoon Scions who was adopted by the previous Archpriestess. Lovia succeeded the position during a period of strife and waning faith within the Frostmoon Scions, and to unite her people, Lovia's approach was that of self-sacrifice and generosity. This completely changed after her adoptive sister was killed protecting her; from then on, her objective was to complete the Sacred Heir Project — which by then was believed would restore the glory of Hyperborea^[6] — at all cost.^[1]

Several years^[7] after her late sister's orphaned daughter,^[1] who was supposed to bear the sacred heir, eloped with an officer from Snezhnaya, Lovia asked Rotwang to help capture the errant Scion. The woman's lover died trying to protect her and she killed herself as well,^[8][9] leaving behind her son, Avrelian — who came to be better known as Reed Miller.^[7] (His existence was not mentioned in Rotwang's letter to Lovia, leaving it unclear where he was at the time.) Undeterred by the news, Lovia turned to the infant twin girls Alia and Aila, who were born to a lesser branch of her adoptive family's bloodline.^{[9][Note 1]} She took them in and raised them in seclusion as her granddaughters, severely limiting their contact with the outside world^[2] and instructing them to kill other Frostmoon Scions and drink their blood in order to increase the purity of their own.^[3]

Around the same time that Lovia contacted Rotwang about securing the sacred maiden, she told him about the Sampo Mill and of her desire to forge a paradise, an Elysium of enduring prosperity, for the people of Nod-Krai. Rotwang professed to share her goal,^[8] but he actually sought a way to open a gate to the Abyss.^[10]

Pre-Cataclysm

At some point many years later, Alia escaped Hiisi Island in an incident involving Avrelian, which Aila alleges was abduction.^[11] Aila became the sole recipient of Lovia's attention, a position which Aila deeply resented. Apparently afraid of a repeat of the last sacred maiden's fate, Lovia repeatedly stressed to Aila that she was not to marry an outlander, as she was destined to bear the sacred heir.^[3]

When Solovei came to Hiisi Island, Lovia denigrated him as a "murderer" to Aila and ordered her to kill him, while Solovei at some point informed Aila that Lovia was lying to her. Aila sided with Solovei and killed Lovia by stabbing her through the back; Lovia, who never noticed Aila's growing resentment, was taken by surprise. As Lovia bled to death, Aila pointed out how Lovia's blood was red, not silver like a Frostmoon Scion's.^[3]

Legacy

The Frostmoon Scions quickly accepted Aila as Lovia's successor, while Aila and Solovei discovered Lovia's many years of correspondence with Rotwang. In light of Lovia's atrocities, Aila decided to completely reform the Frostmoon Scions' faith,^[11] purging almost all references to the old Hyperborean rites^[12] and locking away much of the Scions' historical documents, along with evidence of Lovia's misdeeds, in the Court of the First Edict.^[13] Lovia's name was struck from public record, and only Frostmoon Scion Priestesses are allowed to learn about her — the Traveler and Paimon are exceptions due to personally witnessing Aila's recordings which mentioned Lovia by name.^[5]

Notes

Trivia

Etymology

• Louhi, also known as Loviatar is a figure from Finnish legend and folklore, such as from the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. Louhi was the unscrupulous ruler of the frigid lands of Pohjola, who stole the Sampo Mill from the great blacksmith Ilmarinen, and was later defeated by the protagonist trio of the Kalevala - the great sage Väinämöinen, the young hero Lemminkäinen, and Ilmarinen.

Other Languages

Language	Official Name
English	Lovia
Chinese (Simplified)	娄维娅 Lóuwéiyà
Chinese (Traditional)	婁維婭 Lóuwéiyà
Japanese	ルヴィア Ruvia
Korean	로비아 Robia
Spanish	Lovia
French	Lovia
Russian	Ловия Loviya
Thai	Lovia
Vietnamese	Lovia
German	Lovia
Indonesian	Lovia
Portuguese	Lovia
Turkish	Lovia
Italian	Lovia

Change History

References