PRINCESS SA'TNEEN
Real Name: Sa'tneen
Identity/Class: Extradimensional / Alternate Earth (Earth-148, aka Ee'rath) human magic-user
Occupation: Witch Princess of Ee'rath
Group Membership: Sorceress Sisterhood, rebellion against Necrom
Affiliations: Kylun (Colin McKay, betrothed or husband), Zz'ria (deceased)
Enemies: Excalibur (Yeoman UK, Black Knight, Spider-Man, Thor - all deceased), Necrom (deceased) and his forces
Known Relatives: Queen Ai'sha (mother, deceased)
Aliases: "Witch Queen of Ee'rath" (term only Necrom used when referring to Sa'tneen)
Base of Operations: An unspecified kingdom (or queendom?) on Ee'rath (Alternate Earth-148)
First Appearance: Excalibur I#43 (Early November, 1991)
Powers/Abilities: Sa'tneen was the last member of the Sorceress Sisterhood of Ee'rath and possessed considerable mystical power which she could use for a number of effects. However, most of these effects were never observed since her time as a member of the rebellion against Necrom forced her to concentrate on magic that could be used in combat.
Sa'tneen had the ability to manipulate mystical energy for both offensive and defensive purposes. She could project blasts of mystical energy from her hands. At her will, those energy blasts could manifest as heat beams which burned their targets or fireballs that engulfed their targets in flames. She could also project force beams that struck their targets with powerful concussive effects which could either blast them to pieces or punch holes through them.
Sa'tneen could also manipulate mystical energy to form defensive shields around herself. These shields could protect her from harm caused by both physical assaults and mystical attacks but were generally small in size. Sa'tneen could also generate shields around her hands and arms that could enhance the strength of any blows that she chose to deliver with them, causing whatever she hit to suffer more damage than her hands would have caused if they had been unshielded.
Despite possessing considerable sorcerous abilities, Sa'tneen's power was not unlimited and she could be simply overpowered by an opponent whose abilities were inherently stronger than hers (like Necrom).
Although it seems likely that Sa'tneen would have received at least some basic training in how to use weapons in combat, she was never observed using any weapons, apparently relying entirely on her mystical abilities.
Height: 5' 7" (estimated)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Unrevealed (but presumably blonde; see comments)
History:
(Excalibur I#42 (fb) - BTS) - Ee'rath is an alternate Earth which exists in a dimension where "time flows more quickly than in our reality." As a result, Ee'rath, its solar system and everything within Reality-148 are (at least) five billion years older than their counterparts in Reality-616. Ee'rath is an ancient, icy world orbiting a Sun which has exhausted all the hydrogen in its core and expanded to become a red giant.
(Excalibur I#50 (fb)) - Long ago, the other-dimensional Sorcerer Supreme Necrom and his students Merlyn and Feron traveled to Earth-616 (which Merlyn referred to as the "prime Earth") as part of Necrom's plan to create a permanent energy matrix by aligning a series of dimensional interfaces across the Multiverse. At the moment of alignment, Feron called upon the celestial elemental now known as the Phoenix to project the essence of the tower through the multiverse, thereby causing the tower to exist on every plane of reality simultaneously. On Ee'rath this tower came to be known as the Tower That Crosses Time.
(Excalibur I#45 (fb) - BTS [or maybe conjecture]) - At some point, the Chamber of Infinity was built around the tower. Eventually, both the chamber and the tower within ended up being below ground level.
(Excalibur I#46 (fb) - BTS) - "Twenty thousand years" ago was the last time that anyone (supposedly) set foot within the Tower That Crosses Time.
(Excalibur I#43 (fb) - BTS) - Sometime in the past, a mighty "Sorceress Sisterhood" was established on Ee'rath.
(Excalibur I#43 (fb) - BTS/Excalibur I#46 (fb)) - At some point in the past, someone became the ruler of Ee'rath and founded a dynasty whose family name has never been revealed. After ruling for an unspecified number of generations, the last member of the dynasty to ascend to the throne was Queen Ai'sha.
(Excalibur I#46 ((fb) - BTS) - At some point, Queen Ai'sha gave birth to her only child, a daughter she named Sa'tneen.
(?) - The powerful evil sorcerer Necrom arrived on Ee'rath, took possession of the Tower That Crosses Time and gathered an army with which he challenged the monarchy of Queen Ai'sha. Necrom's forces prevailed and the queen was dethroned (presumably by being forced to abdicate).
(Excalibur I#1/Excalibur I#46 (fb) - BTS) - A ceremony that was part of Queen Ai'sha's dethronement by Necrom took place in the Chamber of Infinity. During the ceremony, a "blue demon" (Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner from Earth-616) emerged from the Tower That Crosses Time and seemingly spat out an alien curse before vanishing in a burst of flaming brimstone. This event was later remembered in legend as an omen that heralded the enslavement of Ee'rath.
(Excalibur I#46 (fb) - BTS) - For some reason, instead of executing Ai'sha, Necrom exiled the dethroned queen to an unspecified part of Ee'rath. The young Princess Sa'tneen went into exile with her mother, and they were both joined by Ai'sha's counselor, the mystic Zz'ria, and thousands of royal supporters.
(Excalibur I#2/Excalibur I#46 (fb)) - Via the then-mysterious Widget (later revealed as a manifestation of Reality-811's Kate Pryde), seven-year old Earth-616 native Colin McKay was transported extradimensionally to escape the crimelord Vixen.
(Excalibur I#46 (fb)) - After passing through the doorway, Colin found himself standing on the ice plains of Ee'rath where he soon encountered some of the locals. Believing that his arrival was a good omen, these natives took Colin to the exiled royal household. In the throne room, Princess Sa'tneen was peering out from behind her mother's throne when the newcomer was presented to Queen Ai'sha who placed "Kylun" in the care of Zz'ria.
(Excalibur I#46 (fb)) - For more than twenty (local) years, as Kylun was trained to be a warrior by Zz'ria, Sa'tneen received training in sorcery, presumably from her mother and/or Zz'ria (and possibly others). During this period, she and Kylun fell in love. Eventually, after Kylun had come of age and chosen the image of Widget as his totem, he and Sa'tneen pledged their hearts to each other as Queen Ai'sha, Zz'ria and others of the royal court looked on happily.
(Excalibur I#46 (fb)) - Sometime later, Necrom, having become fearful of the growing strength of Queen Ai'sha's army, had his forces launch a cowardly (surprise?) attack on the settlement where the exiles lived. Queen Ai'sha, Zz'ria and thousands of royal supporters were killed in the massacre, Kylun was badly wounded and left for dead, and hundreds of others, including Princess Sa'tneen, were taken captive and imprisoned.
(Excalibur I#43 (fb) - BTS) - Princess Sa'tneen was held prisoner in an undisclosed location for an unspecified period of time. During her imprisonment, Sa'tneen somehow learned of Necrom's true goals and the threat that his plans posed to all of creation.
(Excalibur I#42) - A Druid serving Necrom burned the homes in a small village and demanded that the villagers follow him to Necrom or die. Before they could respond, the Druid was confronted by Kylun and tried to kill him but was slain himself instead, impaled by one of Kylun's knives. When Kylun identified himself, the grateful villagers eagerly joined him in his quest for freedom and the defeat of the tyrant Necrom, and Kylun promised that Excalibur would pay for the devastation they had unleashed on the world.
(Excalibur I#43) - Two of Necrom's Druid acolytes and their armored retinue
were transporting the mystically-shackled Princess Sa'tneen across the frozen wastelands to
be sacrificed on Necrom's bloody altar when they were ambushed by a rebel horde led by Kylun.
With his fellow Druid swiftly slain by Kylun and the rebels quickly felling his guards, the
second Druid prepared to kill Sa'tneen to prevent her from being saved but the five-second
speech he gave as he powered up gave Kylun enough time to throw one of his swords. Impaled
through his back, the energy bolt that the dying Druid had meant to kill his captive went
awry and only shattered the mystical sphere that was her prison.
With the Druids and their guards all slain and Sa'tneen freed from both sphere and shackles, the princess was reunited with her beloved, Kylun, and they shared a kiss surrounded by rebels who cheered, "HURRAH!!" However, when Kylun told her that the rebel army was growing daily and it was only a matter of time before they won back her throne, Sa'tneen warned Kylun that her throne was of little importance and that time was short because Necrom was soon to attempt an insane "sorcerous coup that threatened all of creation." Kylun reassured her that Necrom would be defeated because the good guys always won and Sa'tneen replied that she prayed he was right or the whole Multiverse might perish!
(Excalibur I#44) - The rebellion against Necrom continued as the oppressed people of Ee'rath rose to challenge the massed forces of the evil tyrant. Wherever the battle was thickest, the people's princess, Sa'tneen, and their champion, Kylun, could be found fighting side-by-side.
(Excalibur I#45) - The rebel forces reached the dark citadel that was Necrom's last stronghold and overcame the resistance from the last remnants of Necrom's once-mighty army. As Necrom retreated to the Chamber of Infinity which held the Tower That Crosses Time, Kylun and Sa'tneen led the chase after him but they were separated from the other rebels when a door slid down behind them, trapping them in the Chamber of Infinity with Necrom and his slave creature. As Kylun confronted Necrom, the sorcerer reminded him how he had rallied the rebels with his promise to kill Necrom and "those you called traitor, the guardians of Ee'rath, Excalibur." Necrom then revealed that Excalibur had never betrayed Ee'rath and that he had killed them when they refused to deny their heroic ideal. Necrom then caused the corpses of Excalibur to rise from the ground within the chamber and stated that they were now going to kill Kylun and Sa'tneen.
(Excalibur I#46) - As Kylun and Sa'tneen battled the cadaverous Excalibur,
the witch princess noticed signs of strain on Necrom's face and realized that the zombies
were only mindless shells animated by Necrom's will and not obedient slaves. Having identified
the real threat, Sa'tneen dropped her guard and attacked Necrom directly with a bolt of
mystical energy from her hand. Necrom managed to erect a defensive shield but his concentration
had been broken and the Excalibur zombies crumbled to dust.
Necrom then unleashed the full force of his sorcerous might against Sa'tneen who responded with a defensive energy shield of her own, but her sorcerous abilities were not strong enough to protect her from being mortally injured. As she fell, Kylun caught her while throwing one of his mystic swords and impaling Necrom. Kylun held Sa'tneen as she lay dying, and their spirits, the essence of all they were, touched and merged, and then in a final communion they said farewell and the last vestiges of Sa'tneen's life-force faded away. \
(Excalibur I#46 - BTS) - Discovering that Necrom was still alive, Kylun was overcome with a desire for vengeance and, as Necrom and his slave creature fled into the Tower That Crosses Time, Klyun followed close behind. Necrom and his minion passed through a doorway to another world and...
(Excalibur I#43 - BTS/Excalibur I#46 (fb) - BTS) - Necrom and his slave creature materialized in the bathroom of the Excalibur lighthouse on Earth-616, transformed into energy and escaped through the window.
(Excalibur I#46 - BTS) - Following Necrom, Kylun
passed through the same doorway only seconds after Necrom, but arrived
over a month later. He eventually realized he was back in his native
England after encountering Widget.
(Excalibur I#50) - During the multiversal convergence caused by the contraction of the Otherworld energy matrix, Necrom entered the Excalibur lighthouse on Earth-616. Having been weakened by his encounters with Feron and Micromax, Necrom was afraid to face Kylun directly so he remotely animated the corpse of Princess Sa'tneen, cast an illusion that made her look and sound like she was alive, and brought her to Earth-616 in an attempt to distract Kylun so that he could attack from behind. However, Necrom's ploy failed because Kylun immediately realized that it was a trick and used one of Zz'ria's blades to impale the walking corpse while slashing at Necrom's face with the other, stating as he did so that he loved Sa'tneen more than life itself and would not permit her mortal remains to be possessed by "this diseased vermin" (Necrom). After a brief battle, their confrontation ended when Kylun pointed out that the convergence had already stopped, and Necrom departed in pursuit of the Phoenix. Unable to force Necrom to stay and continue to fight him, Kylun was left alone with Sa'tneen's now-inert body, and he could no longer suppress his grief.
(Excalibur I#50 (fb) - BTS) - Later, Roma sent a warning (as an irresistible impulse) to anyone in or near any version of the multiversal tower that compelled them to get clear of the tower. Everyone who was at the Excalibur lighthouse complied and Kylun brought Sa'tneen body, now wrapped in a sheet, with him.
(Excalibur I#50) - Very soon afterwards, when Captain Britain and Meggan used their increased power to destroy Merlyn's tower on Otherworld, all the incarnations of the multiversal tower were also destroyed, including the Excalibur lighthouse on Earth-616 and the Tower That Crosses Time on Earth-148.
(Excalibur I#50) - Following the destruction of Excalibur's lighthouse, Kylun brought Sa'tneen body with him to Braddock Manor.
(Excalibur I#55 (fb) - BTS) - Brian Braddock allowed Sa'tneen to be buried in the private cemetery on his family's estate, beside the bodies of Brian's parents. Kylun considered it to be a beautiful place.
(Excalibur I#55) - As Kylun prepared to leave Braddock Manor on a trip to seek out family members in Scotland, he first visited Sa'tneen's grave. After a brief conversation with Cerise in which he mentioned that he missed Sa'tneen more than words could say and that she was his chosen life-mate, Kylun left on his quest.
(Excalibur I#63 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Kylun began having a recurring dream, one in which he saved Sa'tneen from Necrom's blast and then killed the evil sorcerer and embraced Sa'tneen only for her to decay into a withered corpse in his arms.
(Excalibur I#68 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Kylun began a daily ritual to deal with his beloved's death. Every sunrise, Kylun would sit at Sa'tneen's grave and honor her memory with an hour's meditation on how she had enriched his life.
Comments: Princess Sa'tneen created by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer.
Queen Ai'sha and Zz'ria were (technically) created by Chris Claremont, Alan
Davis and Paul Neary but it was Alan Davis who actually designed them and who developed them
beyond being two throwaway characters.
Although Chris Claremont wrote Excalibur I#1, the issue in which Queen Ai'sha and Zz'ria first appeared, he didn't design or name them and did absolutely nothing else with them. When asked if he and Chris Claremont had had any further plans or ideas for the scene in which Nightcrawler briefly visited that the alternate Earth that later became Ee'rath, Alan Davis replied, "None at all. A lot of the time Chris would give only the vaguest descriptions for the ‘throw-away’ scenes. ‘Nightcrawler opens the door and sees some really weird alternate Earth—Have fun!’"
Some online sources spell this character's name as "Sat'neen" but in the Excalibur issues it is consistently spelled "Sa'tneen."
Although the language that Sa'tneen spoke was definitely not English, its written form used the same letters as the modern English alphabet from Earth. Other Ee'rathian languages, like that spoken by Necrom's Druids, used entirely different symbols in their written forms.
As noted in the Clarifications, Sa'tneen has a number of counterparts on alternate Earths within the Marvel Multiverse. Since all of them seen so far have had blonde hair, at least in their youth, it's reasonable to assume that Sa'tneen's hair, although always completely covered by her tall, bonnet-type headgear, was also blonde.
Kylun's official height is 5' 11" and Sa'tneen appears to have been somewhat shorter. Since Sa'tneen's nose is level with the bottom of Kylun's chin, I've taken a measurement from real life and calculated her height by deducting 4 inches from his height.
Both Princess Sa'tneen and her mother Queen Ai'sha were associated with a symbol that may have been their totem, a symbol that was identical to the pattern on the Window of the Worlds that is located on the third floor of Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum. The symbol's name is the Anomaly Rue, also known as the Seal of the Vishanti. This symbol may have been chosen and used because it provides protection from most supernatural invaders.
Sa'tneen's world was identified as "Ee'rath" in Excalibur I#42-43 and 45-46. It was first designated "Earth 148" in Excalibur I#44 but the exact phrase used was "Earth 148, known as E'erath to its inhabitants." Since the "E'erath" name was only used once, it seems that that was an error and that "Ee'rath" is its correct name.
The fact that the code-name of one of the members of the Excalibur team that was native to Ee'rath was "Yeoman U.K." suggests that the name of the territory within which the Tower That Crosses Time was located was something that could be abbreviated to "U.K." This probably means that some version of the United Kingdom existed on Earth-148 and that it may have been the kingdom ruled by Queen Ai'sha before Necrom dethroned her. However, the exact name that was abbreviated to "U.K." may have been somewhat different, like "Unified Kingdom."
When I began this profile I thought that the fact that Sa'tneen was described as both the "sole survivor of a regal dynasty" and the "last of the mighty Sorceress Sisterhood" were just two ways of saying the same thing. In other words, I assumed that this Sorceress Sisterhood was the regal dynasty that ruled on Ee'rath and that that meant that Ee'rath was governed by a matriarchy led by queens. However, I've since come to realize that this idea was never actually established in the Ee'rath storyline and that the fact that Queen Ai'sha and Princess Sa'tneen were both members of those two groups did not mean that ALL members of that dynasty had to be members of the sisterhood as well. Of course, given that having a natural ability to manipulate magical energies is a trait that has sometimes been observed to run in families, it seems likely that many of the dynasty's female members possessed sufficient magical abilities to quality them for membership in the Sorcerous Sisterhood. Having said that, one wonders if the male members of this royal family were often born with significant sorcerous potential as well or if the potential was a sex-linked trait.
Since the story of Sa'tneen's life was told in only 11 pages over four issues, Alan Davis had to make each panel count. As a result, each panel that features her seems somehow significant and more deserving of being part of her profile. I've tried to choose wisely but may have included too many images. For example, I had thought that this profile was mostly done but, when I finally got around to selecting the images for her final battle, death and zombiehood, I couldn't resist also adding the paired panels showing her reunion with Kylun in front of a cheering crowd of rebels. Adding those panels meant that I then had to spend extra time rearranging the profile's layout. Even now I can't help feeling that I may have left something important and/or interesting out.
Profile by Donald Campbell.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Princess Sa'tneen is the Earth-148 counterpart of (in order of
appearance)
Additionally, Princess Sa'tneen has no known connections to
Zz'ria has no known connections to
A mystic who served Queen Ai'sha as her counselor. Unlike
the rest of the royal court, all of whom looked like Caucasian humans, Zz'ria was clearly
non-human and has been described as being reptilian.
A short being who was about 3' tall, Zz'ria always wore red robes that covered most of his body, leaving only his head and hands visible, and he often wore a red brimless cap that fit tightly to his head . Zz'ria was hairless and had light brown skin that did not appear to be scaly (but no close-up images are available to confirm this). Each of his hands had only four digits, three fingers and an opposable thumb, and all eight digits were thin and ended in points that may have been claws. Unlike humans, whose faces (except for their small noses) are generally flat, Zz'ria had a slightly-protruding snout featuring a nose that had been reduced to two nostrils, and a wide mouth beneath them. His two forward-facing eyes were round, much larger than human eyes, and had prominent brow ridges over and on the outside edge of each eye. His sclera were usually white but sometimes pale orange, and surrounded irises that were large and round.
As a mystic, Zz'ria presumably had some personal powers of the soul/mind/body derived through developing his own psychic resources but what those powers might have been has never been revealed. The fact that he was not classified as a sorcerer meant that he was not able to manipulate ambient or extradimensional mystical energies for a wide variety of effects. However, despite these limitations, Zz'ria is known to have forged and enchanted the remarkable twin swords that Kylun later wielded.
It has not been revealed how long Zz'ria served as Queen Ai'sha's counselor but he and Yeoman UK were present to support her during her dethronement ceremony in the Chamber of Infinity, and he went into exile with his queen.
Soon afterwards, Zz'ria stood beside Queen Ai'sha's throne when a seven-year-old mutant boy named Colin McKay from Earth-616 was brought to the exiled royal household. Queen Ai'sha welcomed "Kylun" and placed him in the care of Zz'ria who soon began to train Kylun to be a warrior. Zz'ria's training of Kylun continued for an unspecified time and proved to be very effective since Kylun grew up to become an expert swordsman. It was (presumably) during these years of training that Zz'ria presented Kylun with two enchanted swords known as the "twin blades of Zz'ria." Zz'ria may (or may not) have also been involved in training Princess Sa'tneen in the mystic arts.
At some point, Zz'ria taught Kylun the proverb, "He who hesitates is surely lost."
Eventually, after more than twenty (local) years, Kylun came of age, chose an image for his totem, and pledged his heart to Princess Sa'tneen as Zz'ria, Queen Ai'sha and others of the royal court looked on happily.
Unfortunately, this happiness was to be short-lived because Necrom became fearful of the growing strength of the exiled queen's army so he had his forces launch a cowardly (surprise?) attack on the settlement where the exiles lived. Zz'ria and Queen Ai'sha were both killed in the massacre, along with thousands of royal supporters, and hundreds more (including Princess Sa'tneen) were taken captive and imprisoned. Kylun was badly wounded and left for dead but he survived and rallied a new army that rescued Sa'tneen and ultimately defeated Necrom's evil empire.
Perhaps Zz'ria's greatest accomplishment was the forging of twin single-edged swords with strong hacking and slashing capabilities. Resembling the dao type of Chinese swords, these "Blades of Zz'ria" were razor sharp and could cut through anything, including rock and metal, with ease. This cutting ability was one of the enchantments that Zz'ria had placed on the swords but a second enchantment prevented them from being used against anyone of true virtue and pure spirit by making them become intangible when in contact with the body of such a person. These enchanted swords could also dissipate magical energies, enabling them to destroy psychic projections as well as physical forms made of inanimate matter (like corpses or golems made out of rock). The swords could also deflect magical attacks.
Zz'ria may have forged these twin swords specifically to be used against Necrom but that, if true, has never been definitively established.
Note: The sword depicted in this sub-profile's image is not one of the
twin blades of Zz'ria.
They ARE shown in the image showing him stabbing Sa'tneen's reanimated corpse and slashing Necrom.
--Excalibur I#1, Excalibur I#46 (fb), Excalibur I#63 (fb) - BTS, Excalibur I#46 (fb) - BTS
images: (without ads)
Excalibur I#44, page 10, panel 3 (main image)
Excalibur I#43, page 22, panel 6 (head shot)
Excalibur I#46, page 14, panel 2 (Sa'tneen, Ai'sha and Zz'ria first meeting Colin)
page 14, panel 4 (Kylun pledges his heart to her)
Excalibur I#43, page 21, panel 2 (Sa'tneen as a prisoner being escorted to her death)
page 22, panels 3-4 (reunited with Kylun)
Excalibur I#44, page 11, panel 3 (fighting alongside Kylun during the rebellion)
Excalibur I#46, page 2, panel 4 (blasting Necrom)
page 3, panel 2 (being blasted by Necrom)
page 3, panel 3 (mortally wounded by Necrom)
Excalibur I#50, page 17, panel 6 (Necrom's puppet's real appearance)
page 18, panel 1 (Kylun using his blades)
page 18, panel 6 (dead on Earth-616)
Excalibur I#55, page 7, panel 6 (Kylun at Sa'tneen's grave on Earth-616)
Excalibur I#46, page 14, panel 3 (Zz'ria training Kylun)
Appearances:
Excalibur I#1 (October, 1988) - Chris Claremont (writer), Alan Davis (penciler), Paul Neary
(inker), Ann Nocenti & Terry Kavanagh (editors)
Excalibur I#42-46 (October, 1991 - January, 1992) - Alan Davis (writer/penciler), Mark Farmer
(inker), Terry Kavanagh (editor)
Excalibur I#50 (May, 1992) - Alan Davis (writer/penciler), Mark Farmer (inker), Terry
Kavanagh (editor)
Excalibur I#55 (October, 1992) - Alan Davis (writer/artist), Mark Farmer (inker), Terry
Kavanagh (editor)
Excalibur I#63 (March, 1993) - Alan Davis (writer/artist), Mark Farmer (inker), Terry
Kavanagh (editor)
Excalibur I#68 (August, 1993) - Scott Lobdell (plot), Dan Slott (script), Steve Buccellato
(pencils), Harry Candelario (inks), Suzanna Gaffney (editor)
First Posted: 12/17/2018
Last updated: 12/17/2018
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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