Powers
None
Magic: Margali has Mastery Level of the School of Faerie Magic. All of Margali's power originated from the mysterious wand she possessed. The wand itself was only made of a material with a Good Material Strength. When the wand is taken from Margali, she reverts to her true mortal form, that of an old woman. While possessing the wand, Margali has the ability to call on the following spells at all times:
Personal
- Alteration-Appearance: Unearthly.
- Growing: Unearthly.
- Invisibility: Unearthly.
- Shield-Individual: Unearthly.
- Shape Shifting-Unlimited: Unearthly.
- Transformation-Others: Unearthly.
Universal
- Conjure: Unearthly.
- Eldritch Beams/Bolts: Unearthly.
- Illusion: Unearthly.
- Matter Rearrangement: Unearthly.
Dimensional
- Dimensional Aperture: Unearthly.
- Pocket Dimension: Margali was the sole ruler of a small mystical pocket dimension. She could people the dimension with various beings of her making, and she could make the dimension take on any physical aspects she wished.
- Summoning: Margali had the ability to summon Doctor Strange's mystic Eye of Agamotto and to make it follow her commands, even if Doctor Strange actively resisted.
- Spell Control: Margali had the ability to warp any spell cast by anyone near her. Using this ability, she could change the general parameters of the spell's effect (range or duration, for example). This ability was Unearthly and had a one-area range.
Any other spells she casted were of Monstrous rank.
Limitation
This meant that her spells suffered a -2CS when aimed at cold iron or metallic objects, or organic beings who were partially metal in form.
Talents
Mystic Background, Occult, Scholar of Antiquities
Contacts
Amanda Sefton, Nightcrawler
History
Margali Szardos is a powerful sorceress whose origins have yet to be completely revealed. Margali had a son, Stefan, and she also took in the orphaned Kurt Wagner (who would one day become Nightcrawler of the X-Men). Margali trained her daughter, Jimaine Szardos/Amanda Sefton, in the mystical crafts.
Margali raised the children in a small Bavarian circus, where she pretended to be a simple fortune teller. While Kurt worked on becoming a circus performer, Margali trained Jimaine in magic. The brooding Stefan eventually left the circus to make his own way in life.
The small circus was taken over by a rich Texas millionaire, who ordered Kurt to be placed in the freak side show. The anguished Kurt quit the circus and headed towards Winzeldorf, West Germany, where Stefan lived. Kurt discovered that Stefan had gone mad and killed two children.
Two days after leaving the circus, Kurt tracked Stefan down and tried to capture him. During the fight, Kurt accidentally broke Stefan's back, killing him. Civilians discovered Kurt with Stefan's body, and because of Kurt's demonic appearance, they assumed that he had killed the two children. Kurt was saved from the mob by the psionic powers of Professor X, who asked Kurt to join his new team of X-Men. Kurt agreed and went to America with Professor X.
Margali blamed Kurt for Stefan's death. Jimaine, who had long ago fallen in love with Kurt, followed him to America and watched him. She became the airline stewardess Amanda Sefton, and arranged to accidentally meet Kurt. She mystically disguised herself so he would not recognize her, and they were soon dating each other regularly.
Margali eventually took her revenge on Kurt by exiling his mind and soul to a pocket dimension she had created. She did this during a birthday party held by the X-Men for Kurt. Margali magically placed a special gift among Kurt's other presents. When Kurt touched the present, a crystal likeness of himself, his mind and soul were taken out of his body. The prison dimension resembled hell as depicted in Dante's Inferno.
Amanda, pretending to be Margali, kidnapped Kurt's fellow X-Men and Doctor Strange. Amanda then sent them to the same dimension that Margali had sent Kurt, hoping that they would be able to help Kurt. Kurt finally confronted Margali in this pocket universe and convinced her of his innocence. Amanda then revealed her true identity to Kurt.
Later, Amanda Sefton heard a rumor that Dr. Strange needed a new apprentice, because Clea had left him. She went to Strange and asked to become his new apprentice (secretly compelled by Margali), as did every crackpot in the world who heard about the rumor. Strange arranged for all the petitioners to meet at one spot, where he told them that he currently had no wish to take on an apprentice.
Margali Szardos appeared and attacked Strange. Margali was angered that Strange had refused to take on her daughter as an apprentice. Strange cast a spell to force himself and Margali into the astral plane. Margali warped the spell so that all the would-be apprentices were also forced into the astral plane with them.
Strange and Margali battled with all their mystic forces. Strange soon realized that Margali's powers came from her wand. Strange tricked Margali and took the wand from her.
Margali immediately regained her true mortal form, that of an old woman. She explained to Strange that the wand was an evil entity that took over its owner's mind. Margali revealed that the wand had hoped to gain control over Strange. Upon returning everyone back to the physical plane, Strange destroyed the wand.
Thrilled to be freed of the wand's influence, Margali is currently living a quiet life.
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