Mercy Graves

Mercy Graves, the so-called Evil Queen, was a much maligned figure in the early years of Eden’s Second Age. Though she never held the crown of The Realm in her own right, she wielded exceptional power and influence in that kingdom for over 20 years—first as Queen Consort to Jacob Winters, then as Queen Regent to her stepdaughter Sadie (from 116–133) and her son Malik (from 133–135). And during those years that she held power, she ruled with an iron fist. Only the most loyal, the most “pure,” and the most beautiful were safe from her reign of terror—and they were only safe so long as they did not threaten the Queen’s perception of herself as “the fairest of them all.”.

She was born near Pittsburgh in the year 1885 of her failed version of the universe. The oldest of two children and the only daughter, she was the favorite of her father before his death in 1901. To her distraught mother, a cruel, vain, and paranoid woman, the 16-year-old Mercy soon became little more than competition.

At 17, Mercy left home and made her way first to Philadelphia and then, eventually, to New York City. Intending to make her way in the world as a seamstress, she eventually found work in the costume departments of various Broadway theaters. And it was there, sewing dresses for the great stars of the age, that she caught the eye of a director who decided that Mercy belonged on stage and not backstage.

For the next ten years, she made a name for herself as an actress. Then, in April 1912, a universe-ending Calamity spared her and brought her to Eden.

It was there, in the city of Saltgate, that she met and began to pursue the two most powerful men in the kingdom called The Realm: King Jacob himself, and Governor Djimon Korath of Frult Üft (the Realm’s second largest city).

Unfortunately for Mercy, the more powerful of the two—King Jacob—was soon married to a certain Phillipa Turner. And so, for a time, she focused her attention exclusively on Governor Djimon. But when the aforementioned Phillipa died in childbirth in 115, Mercy—ever with an eye for a bigger role—ditched the governor and made her move on the grieving king.

Mercy married King Jacob less than six months later. His newborn daughter needed a mother, after all.

Their brief marriage was an unhappy one. Jacob was too kind, too eager to please, and too easily outraged by the hard decisions made by the rulers of neighboring kingdoms. In 116, after he called out injustices perpetrated by King Östen of Neverland, King Jacob was killed in a duel and the question of who would govern The Realm was thrown into question.

Mercy was named Queen Regent, called to serve on her stepdaughter’s behalf until the girl turned 18. But Mercy was also asked to marry her old flame, Governor Djimon, to cement an alliance with the second most powerful city in the kingdom. Soon thereafter, in an attempt to shore up the line of succession, the various governors of The Realm decreed that any children of Queen Mercy and Governor Djimon would be next in line to the throne after Sadie Winters.

Unsurprisingly, Mercy Graves announced she was pregnant shortly thereafter. And when her son Malik was born in 117, her obsessive desire to kill her stepdaughter began.

For the rest of her life, Mercy Graves—guided by a deranged magic mirror—schemed and planned to see Sadie dead and to see Malik ascend the throne. But though she succeeded in getting her son crowned, Mercy’s dastardly plans for Sadie were foiled at every turn. And in 144, during a battle at Watersmeet between the Seven Queens and the False Kings, Mercy Graves met her own end at the end of her stepdaughter’s sword.