Keepsake Medusa

On Theros, the medusa are servants of Pharika, the god of affliction, poison, grief, and old age. The medusa, sometimes called gorgons by those who worship Pharika, were created by the god in ages long past, to serve as her acolytes on Theros. Without their influence, and thus the influence of Pharika, humans would not have poisons, and they would not have medicine.   In spite of the good that the medusa has done for humanity and the other races of Theros, they are widely feared and mostly hated. Their serpentine appearance, complete with hair made from snakes and a body that ends in the lower half of a constrictor snake, earns them few fans among the mortals. While their power over life and death is a blessing from their god, their appearance is also a curse, and the life of a medusa is a life of eternal loneliness.   Emotion in Art Where there is fear, there is always anger and violence, and Pharika and her medusa learned this lesson the hard way. Exathria, the first queen of the medusae, was the one who gave the secrets of medicine to humankind, and she paid for her kindness with her life. Following this loss, in her anger, Pharika gave to the other medusae a powerful gift, to protect them from danger. When a medusa wishes, mortals that look into their eyes are petrified- turned to stone, and unable to be cured without a medicine craftable only by the medusa themselves. To be petrified requires the will of the medusa, but mortals fear the touch of their eyes all the same.   While the gift was given by Pharika for their protection, many medusae have found a great use for it in keeping company. They trap interlopers in stone and spend decades admiring the emotions carved into their faces- feelings of fear, lust bravery, and more. For years or sometimes decades at a time, these statues are often the only company a medusa has beyond the occasional approach of her sisters and a word from the god they serve. Over time, a medusa may even come to value the statues as companions, honoring their friendship and mourning the loss of those that break, or weather away over time.