Saint Markovia

Though not mentioned in any Ravenloft campaign setting products of the main 2nd Edition or Third Edition product line, Saint Markovia is a figure mentioned in the background of the standalone 3rd Edition reboot of I6 known as Expedition to Castle Ravenloft as well as the 5th Edition module Curse of Strahd. In both modules, she is associated with Saint Markovia's Thighbone.

In Expedition to Castle Ravenloft

In the Expedition to Castle Ravenloft version of Castle Ravenloft, Aurica Saint Markovia is one of the deceased persons buried in the crypts below the castle. Only Saint Markovia's Thighbone remains of her corpse and regalia.

History

Saint Markovia was a local priest said to be untouchable by evil, but she eventually disappeared regardless. The fame brought by her evangelism and good deeds won her the ire of Count Strahd von Zarovich. She met her doom inside Castle Ravenloft trying to undo his evil following an attack of vampire spawn upon her church. Her innate goodness seeped into her thighbone following her death, causing it to become a powerful weapon against the undead and vampires. Her remains were entombed in the catacombs beneath the castle

In Curse of Strahd

Much of Saint Markovia's background mirrors in Curse of Strahd that related to her story from Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, particularly in relation to Saint Markovia's Thighbone. In CoS, she was a priestess of the Morninglord. In addition, she left behind a group of followers that survived her death at The Abbey of Saint Markovia. However after her death, her followers closed off the abbey from the outside world and became corrupted only partially due to the influence of Strahd. Over time their number dwindled away to nothing, and the abbey became abandoned until a new mysterious figure came to the abbey decades later.