| Helga | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Details | |
| Race | Frogfolk |
| Birthplace | Near Three Tree City, Bloomburrow |
| Lifetime | Omenpath Era |
| Colors | |
  | |
Helga is a frogfolk hedgewitch from Bloomburrow, and a member of Mabel’s party.[1][2]
Description[ | ]
Helga is a smallish frogfolk with pale green skin tinged with gray, amber eyes with dark pupils, and a perpetual nervous smile.[1] She is a persistent pessimist.[3] She also has trouble focusing on things that don't interest her, implying that she may have ADHD.[4] Helga occasionally experiences visions, which others dismiss as an overactive imagination, but are connected to her augury ability.[5]
Helga is a minor weaver, with knowledge of some cantrips from her time learning under King Glarb.[6] She carries an etched copper orb from her grandmother and a wand from her grandfather to enhance her magic.[7] She wears her grandfather's wide-brimmed hat and carries a journal.
Helga is an artist.[1] Her journal includes abstract art, depictions of what she has seen, and depictions of her visions.
History[ | ]
Helga was born in a pond near Three Tree City.[7] When the pond dried up one summer, her family moved to the Willow. Her father's parents found the city too crowded and chose to move to Pondside, a village of almost exclusively frogfolk.[3] She followed them and was raised by her grandparents in the village. In Pondside, the expectations were clear: augury is one's path forward. Her village spared no effort in teaching her, but she didn't take to the craft like the rest of her clutch. Instead, she spent her pollywog youth in deep contemplation over the ripples of her pond.
They then sent her away, hoping the stricter, proven tutelage of King Glarb would unlock her potential, but she fared even worse there.[3] Glarb accepted no lollygagging and certainly no absent-mindedness. She was shaken by his methods and his demeanor, which only worsened as his prophetic visions shook his psyche. Her stay ended poorly when, while practicing magic, she knocked the king's staff loose, caused him to hit himself attempting to recover it, and dropped it on his head, breaking the staff and giving him a concussion.[1][2] Hoping to find peace, she returned to live in Pondside, where she inherited her grandparent's home after their passing.[1]
Helga escaped Pondside when it was attacked by Maha around 4564 AR.[1] She traveled up Pond Creek and made it to Goodhill, where she warned Mabel and the assembled townsfolk about the coming of the Calamity Beasts. When Mabel ventured to Pondside to investigate, Helga volunteered to accompany her because she wanted to see what happened to her homeland.[6] Finneas, Gev, Hugs, and Zoraline also joined the party.
When they arrived at her home, Helga was dismayed to find that it was utterly destroyed. Hugs, Mabel, and Zoraline said that the survivors probably headed south to Haymeadow.[7]
When the party encountered two squirrelfolk necromancers, Helga used one of her cantrips to make a staircase of water droplets so that Mabel could attack skeletal birdfolk.[7] She lost her concentration, ending the spell, but luckily Mabel was agile and skilled enough not to get hurt. The necromancers mentioned someone named Cruelclaw, so the party continued to Three Tree City to pursue the lead.
When Mabel’s party came to Three Tree City, Helga encountered Ral Zarek, who was turned into an otterfolk by the plane’s magic. Ral was asking if anyone had seen Jace Beleren, who he presumed was on Bloomburrow in the shape of a fox. Helga revealed that she recognized his description from one of her visions and that Jace was with a lizardfolk with green and black scales, along with a small unidentified creature.[7] Ral believed her, and in Helga’s mind, he was the first to do so other than Mabel. Shortly afterward, the city was attacked by the Flood Gar, and the party was swept downstream. After recovering from the flood, Helga located Cruelclaw with her augury,[5] performing augury for the first time intentionally. It took her two tries. She found that he had gone to Fountainport.
The party went to Fountainport and secured the audience with Glarb, but in questioning, he revealed that he was the cause of the Calamity Beasts' rampage, as he had stolen Maha's egg. His goal was to train the infant Calamity Beast and use it to repel the other Calamities. Helga was outraged at Glarb's failure to recognize the cost of his plan, but he summoned Cruelclaw and other mercenaries to fight Mabel's party off. The fight was interrupted by the appearance of Maha, whom Mabel appeased by returning her egg.
When the party returned to Goodhill, Helga decided to stay there rather than go to Haymeadow or Three Tree City. She had found herself surrounded by fast friends who could help her grow.[3] Before Ral Zarek left, she spoke a prophecy in a trance: "The kings in the dark will return, The mage in blue will bring about the end."[2]
Gallery[ | ]
Mabel and her Companions facing Dragonhawk
Youtooz Helga plush (2024)
Story appearances[ | ]
In-game references[ | ]
- Represented in:
- Depicted in:
- Mabel's Mettle
- Portent of Calamity (Bloomburrow, #66)
- Portent of Calamity (Bloomburrow, #306)
- Quoted or referred to:
References[ | ]
- ↑ a b c d e f Valerie Valdes (July 1, 2024). "Bloomburrow - Episode 1: Calamity Comes to Valley". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b c Valerie Valdes (July 8, 2024). "Bloomburrow - Episode 5: Nightfall in Fountainport". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b c d Neale LaPlante Johnson (August 12, 2024). "The Legends of Bloomburrow". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Harless Snyder and Natalie Kreider (July 15, 2024). "Bloomburrow - #95: Story Recap". The Magic Story Podcast.
- ↑ a b Valerie Valdes (July 5, 2024). "Bloomburrow - Episode 4: Soothsaying And Stormcalling". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b Valerie Valdes (July 2, 2024). "Bloomburrow - Episode 2: An Expected Party". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b c d e Valerie Valdes (July 3, 2024). "Bloomburrow Episode 3: The Lost and the Found". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.