Nimue. (Art by Mira Katzunova)
Nimue, also known as the Lady of the Lake, the Queen of Blood, or the Mad Queen, was the second lover of Merlin and the half-sister of Viviane. She was the first Lady of the Lake to present the sword before being replaced by her sister.
Overview[]
Nimue is perhaps best known for her presentation to King Arthur of his magical sword Excalibur, through the intervention of the King's druidic adviser, Merlin. She would act as a guardian to the sword whenever an heir of the Pendragon family, and thus the sword, would pass away with the sword given to Nimue.
Nimue was also Merlin's student who soon outgrew the mighty wizard in terms of magical power, thus making her among the most powerful witches in history. However, upon imprisoning Merlin after she learned all his secrets she grew mad without his guide. She eventually became an enemy of not just Arthur but also his kin, with the latest being Hellboy himself in the modern age.
Nimue was the catalyst behind the fabled Dagor Dagorath, an apocalyptic event where she would use Hellboy as a means of raising an untold army of monsters across the world bringing it to ruin where only the beasts would roam as she stands atop of it all as the new world's goddess.
History[]
Background[]
Nimue was said to be the secret daughter of Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt, and an unknown male; the male in question is speculated to either be a human, a fae, or even a dragon in the guise of a mortal; John Constantine believes it to be the latter and goes so far as to say that said dragon is from Tiamat's lineage which may explain Nimue's connection to monsters. Nonetheless, Nimue was gifted with divine power at birth, though her exploits in her later years is unknown. She was said to have resided in Avalon at some point but left under unknown circumstances.
Merlin had met Nimue at the Fountain of Barenton (Brittany), shortly after completing the forging of the legendary Excalibur. The sword was passed to the Lady of the Lake who bound it to the Pendragon bloodline. Sometime later, Merlin had fallen so deeply in love with Nimue that he agreed to teach her all his mystical powers. The lady became Merlin's scribe, who recorded his prophecies, as well as his lover. Nimue would also come to guard the blade whenever a member of the Pendragon family who rightfully claimed the sword departs from the world.
Downfall[]
When Morgan Le Fay's ploy to kill Arthur using Sir Accolon fails, Morgan throws Excalibur's protective scabbard into a lake but not before cursing it. The curse itself is transferred to Nimue which corrupts her in the process thereby becoming an enemy of Arthur and many centuries later Hellboy. This too would lead to a disastrous outcome for Merlin, as Nimue became so powerful that her magical skills had possibly outshone even her teacher and she imprisoned him in the Glass Tower. Nimue did so under the effects of Morgan's curse while also wanting to become the greatest sorceress in the world and did not wish to share it with another. This led her to becoming mad without Merlin's guide.
At an unspecified point in time, Nimue was approached by Cain, the Father of Murder himself, who was seeking ways to be rid of his curse and finally be embraced by death. Nimue offered her assistance but secretly for her own benefit as she knew how potent Cain's power would be. She promised to help him on one condition: to sire a child with him. Cain accepted and after sharing a night, Nimue became pregnant with his child who was none other than the monstrous Grendel and the first elioud to be born in thousands of years.
Nimue used Grendel's unique blood as a means to gain knowledge detailing the secrets of life, even peering into the "darkness before that was dark", by bathing herself in blood or submerge herself in said blood. Using the blood as a means of scrying, Nimue was thrust into a series of apocalyptic events which would culminate into the Final Conflict. Such heinous acts as well as being bombarded with such revelations, drove her to the brink of madness and earned her the titles of the "Mad Queen" or the "Queen of Blood."
Defeat[]
After her half-sister, Viviane, revealed Nimue's corruption as well as her hand in the old man's removal, thus contributed considerably to the great monarch's downfall, Viviane nominated Àstrid, Merlin's granddaughter, to take Merlin's place as Arthur's guide with Merlin himself. Despite having been imprisoned, he would project his astral self outside the tower to aid Arthur alongside his granddaughter. Oberon was unaware of Nimue's madness and had the Lake Maiden retrieve the sword when Arthur was fatally wounded at the Battle of Camlann by Mordred. However, Viviane quickly reclaimed Excalibur herself before Nimue and hurled it back to misty waters.
Due to her involvement in imprisoning Merlin thus ensuring the downfall of the kingdom, she was banished by the fae with Oberon having said to seal her powers away. Nimue hid in the shadows for a considerable amount of time and was not heard of until her activities were picked up in Scandinavia where she tormented the legendary Beowulf. After the death of her son Grendel, she sought to avenge him. Upon confronting Beowulf, she seduced the Scandinavian warrior, impressed by his strength and courage and saw in him the savagery of a beast and the glamour of a king. She swore to make him a king if he would mate with her and give her a son to replace Grendel. She seduced him and they conceived another child together. Their offspring was a perfect and mighty gold-skinned dragon, Glaurung.
She and Glaurung went on to torment him for a great portion of his life. She made her way towards Camelot, using the dragon to summon a monstrous army of night fiends to swallow Camelot and soon the world. Fortunately, Glaurung was slain by Sir Lancelot after being weakened by Derous and Nimue herself met her supposed end via decapitation by Arthur's sword, allowing the other British witches killed her by cutting her into many pieces and scattered them all over the Earth. However, the pieces would always rejoin, so the witches shut them into a wooden box and buried it deep within the earth.