Night Hag

{{#if:VictoriaBlinding 11.11|

“	Night Hag had been a Slaughterhouse Nine member once upon a time. She had also made that choice, but more to shirk her humanity, to revel in her altered state.	”
{{#if:Victoria| —Victoria{{#if:Blinding 11.11|, Blinding 11.11}} }} }}

<infobox> <title source="name"><default>Night Hag</default></title>

<image source="Image"></image> <image source="image"></image> <group><header>Basic Information</header> <label>Civilian Name</label> <label>Aliases</label> <label>Gender</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Death</label> <label>Age</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Post-timeskip</label> <label>Ward start</label> <label>Relations</label> <label>Family</label></group> <group><header>Professional Status</header> <label>Occupation</label> <label>Classification</label> <label>Unique Features</label> <label>Alignment</label>

<label>Status</label><format>

Deceased

</format>

<label>Location</label> <label>Teams</label> <label>Previous Team(s)</label> <label>Base of Operations</label></group> <group><header>First Appearance</header> <label>Worm Debut</label> <label>Ward Debut</label></group> </infobox>Night Hag is a member of the Slaughterhouse Nine.

Personality

Night Hag decided to stay in her Breaker form, as she reveled in her altered state and thus shirked her humanity.<ref name="II11.11 e1">There were the consequence breakers. There was no limit to the time they could spend in the form, except for the penalty waiting at the end, heavy on their mind. It could be tied to any of the other drawbacks. Things like pain, of a magnitude and duration related to how long or how much power was expended while breaker, or madness, or having one’s mortal body age at a hundred times the rate while in the breaker state. Vista had just mentioned a breaker she’d been friends with, a magenta cat, that had missed her opportunity to turn human too many times, and had decided to stay in the form rather than face the consequences waiting for her.

Night Hag had been a Slaughterhouse Nine member once upon a time. She had also made that choice, but more to shirk her humanity, to revel in her altered state.

If my enemy here was a consequence breaker, then there was nothing I could do except play an extended game of chicken, seeing if she would give up out of fear the consequences had grown too heavy. - Blinding 11.11</ref> Although she formed a strong rapport with her shard,<ref name="Reddit1">Night Hag transmuted her environment into a special material by 'infecting' it. The longer she stayed still, the more the infection spread. The affected area would slowly regenerate after the fact. If she was destroyed or killed, she could reform herself from any lingering infected ground. A breaker who decided never to go back to her usual form, she formed a strong rapport with her passenger. With her secondary benefits of not needing sleep or food, she could hunt prey for days or weeks as they tried to flee. More often, she would control the area, cut off retreat and then slowly break and maim her foe, starting from the extremities and moving towards the vital functions last. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit</ref> she stayed too long in her Breaker form, which ultimately led to a form of ego death. This loss of self gave her shard more of a say, similar to Khepri or Ash Beast.<ref name="Reddit2">Many breakers can go permanent breaker. Shadow Stalker, for example, doesn't have any strict forces in play that forces her to conserve the breaker state or balance her living & breaker state.

But it's still bad times for those who go that route, because they're forced to or because they prefer life in the breaker state to their ordinary life. Breakers have a closer connection to their passenger than any cape, and in the course of diving deeper into their breaker state and not, for lack of a better phrasing, surfacing for air, they begin to lose themselves and the shard gets more of a say. This is, very obviously, not a good thing. We see this sort of mentality in Khepri, and we can assume something like it in Night Hag.
[...]
The breaker document includes some examples (the Atropos breaker, the consequences for death breakers in general) of ways the passenger might seep in or that life might suddenly get harder, when one lapses fully into a breaker state.

So just wanted to point out that this is a thing that happens - and ego death often goes hand in hand with it. By the flip side of that same coin, to finally get around to answering your question - ego death, momentary, partial, or permanent, would destroy the Self and insert more Breakerness into the void that's left behind.

Most of the time they rampage - Ash Beast and Night Hag and the like. But if the shard isn't equipped to take advantage of the opportunity (Cauldron shards, Eden shards in general), maybe the self comes back and you get a Grumman. - Wildbow on Reddit, archived on Spacebattles</ref>

She did not have to eat or sleep in her altered state, so she could hunt prey for days or weeks as they tried to flee. More often, she would control the area, cut off retreat, and then slowly break and maim her foe, starting from the extremities and moving towards the vital functions last.<ref name="Reddit1"/>

Appearance

Night Hag is described as a dark-haired woman with skin as white as chalk. She wore a black dress that seemed to spread out and merge into the surrounding landscape. When Jouster cleared away the smoke in Hyde Park to reveal the Night Hag clones, everything within 15 feet of them appeared to be covered in a crumpled-looking black cloth.<ref name="26.5 e2">The Night hags, by contrast, were women, dark haired, dressed in black, with skin as white as chalk. Their dresses seemed to bleed into the surrounding landscape, so that everything within fifteen feet of them was covered in that crumpled-looking black cloth. - Sting 26.5</ref>

She shattered into thousands of black shards when killed or destroyed. When she reformed from lingering infected material, it distorted and reconfigured itself into a new Night Hag.<ref name="26.5 e4">The women practically disintegrated as the bullets, flames and other projectiles made contact. Their bodies shattered into thousands of black shards.

Moments later, they emerged from the landscape. One park bench distorted and reconfigured into a new Night Hag. That Night Hag was summarily slain, and reformed herself out of a nearby patch of grass. - Sting 26.5</ref>

Night Hag has an ordinary human form; however, she chooses never to go back to it.<ref name="II11.11 e1" /><ref name="Reddit1"/>

Abilities and Powers

Night Hag is a Breaker who can control the landscape in a particular way. She can transmute the surrounding environment into a special material by 'infecting' it in her altered state. The longer she stays still, the more the infection will spread. However, the affected area would slowly regenerate after the fact.<ref name="Reddit1" /> This form of location possession is also shallow; she is most effective with materials that stand above the ground's surface.<ref name="26.5 e5">Location possession, in a way, but it was shallow. She was most effective with materials that stood above the ground’s surface. - Sting 26.5</ref>

If Night Hag is destroyed or killed, she could reform herself from any lingering infected ground.<ref name="Reddit1" /><ref name="26.5 e4" /> That said, it is possible to kill her permanently.<ref name="26.5 e7" />

As a consequence Breaker, she has no limit to the time she could spend in her altered state,<ref name="Reddit2" /> except for the penalty to her human form that depends on the time spent in Breaker form.<ref name="II11.11 e1" /> Night Hag did not have to eat or sleep in this form, making her a Noctis cape.<ref name="Reddit1" /> Although unused, she can return to her human form by drawing all 'infection' back into herself.<ref><Ridtom> But it also can't be moved by her power, yet she [Cinereal] can somehow cover herself with it?
<Ridtom> And also somehow draw the matter into herself in order to deactivate her Breaker power?
* ThalAI has quit (Quit: Connection closed for inactivity)
<Wildbow> Divebomb a location, spread ash in radius around impact site, bury foes, operate within radius of ash to rinse/repeat.
<Ridtom> Ah, I was overthinking it. But still, her being unable to move the ash, but still being able to draw it into herself?
<Ridtom> Isn't that kind of contradictory?
<Wildbow> More a night hag thing. - Conversation with Wildbow on IRC, archived on Spacebattles</ref>

History

Background

Presumably had a natural Breaker trigger; she left who she was behind her many years ago.

Post-Echidna

Night Hag was recruited into the Nine after the attack on Brockton Bay along with Skinslip and Damsel of Distress.<ref name="I25">The individual cases opened, and slowly but surely, the members of the current Slaughterhouse Nine stepped out. Jack, Hookwolf, Skinslip, Night Hag. - Interlude 25</ref> Despite being a living member of the Nine, she was still cloned by Bonesaw.<ref name="26.5 e1">“She’s covering the area with her smoke,” I spoke, over the channel. “You need to clear it.”

“On it. Cover your eyes!” Jouster hollered.
[...]
And in the midst of the crowd, there were the enemies, simply standing and observing. Nyxes, Psychosomas and Night Hags. - Sting 26.5</ref>

Post-Timeskip

Night Hag and several of her clones participated in the The Slaughterhouse Nine-Thousand rampage. Four of them were killed by Contessa and the Number Man.<ref name="26.5 e7">It was Contessa, accompanied by the Number Man. Both held guns.

She shot one of the afflicted, then walked past the other, ignoring him. She opened fire in the fog. One clip, each shot aimed and measured, fired with a peculiar rhythm. One, then two in rapid succession, one, then two in rapid succession. She reloaded with an almost casual ease, then slid the gun into its holster.

The Number Man had her back. He fired into the darkness three times.

It took two minutes for the smoke to clear.

Two Nyx dead. Three Psychosomas. Four Night Hags. - Sting 26.5</ref>

Gold Morning

Every copy of Night Hag was seemingly destroyed prior to Gold Morning.<ref>I found members of Bonesaw’s Slaughterhouse Nine. Clones who’d fled, or who’d been left behind, lurking in dark corners, or simply hiding. A Mannequin, two Damsels that were keeping each other company, a Night Hag-Nyx hybrid, and a Crawler-Breed hybrid. - Excerpt from Speck 30.4</ref>

Post-Goddess' Takeover

Victoria Dallon brought up Night Hag in the past tense when thinking about Consequence Breakers.<ref name="II11.11 e1" />

Fanart Gallery

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  Illustration by lonsheep on DeviantArt

References

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Site Navigation

Noctis Capes
Defiant • Doormaker {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Dragon • Gasconade • Mama Mathers • Miss Militia • Night Hag {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Noctis {{#switch: unknown	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Weld

Slaughterhouse Nine
Leaders	King {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Jack Slash {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }}
Members	Bonesaw {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Breed {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Burnscar {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Cherish {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Chuckles {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Crawler {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Crimson {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Damsel of Distress {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Gray Boy {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Harbinger {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Hatchet Face {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Hookwolf {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Mannequin {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Miasma {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Murder Rat {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Nice Guy {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Night Hag {{#switch: unknown	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Nyx {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Psychosoma {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Screamer {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Shatterbird {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • The Siberian {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Skinslip {{#switch: unknown	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Winter {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }}
Bonesaw's Hybrids	Hack Job {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Laughjob {{#switch: unknown	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Murder Rat {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Nighty Night {{#switch: unknown	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Pagoda {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Snowmann {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Spawner {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Tyrant {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }}
Clones	Damsel of Distress II {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Damsel of Distress III {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Harbinger Clones {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} (Harbinger I {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Harbinger II {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Harbinger III {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Harbinger IV {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Harbinger V {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }})