Meta Salmhofer

"My children are nowhere to be found!"

- Meta Salmhofer

Meta Salmhofer, also known as The Witch of Merigod, was one of the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse and the mother of Hänsel and Gretel. She was selected as the second test subject for Project 'Ma' under the direction of Seth Twiright.

Early Life
Meta was created in the Magic Kingdom Levianta via artificial means. Since she had no parents, she was left on her own to survive. When she was 20, she met Pale Noël, a murderer and the leader of the Apocalypse organization, and fell in love with him. Eventually, Meta became his lover and joined Apocalypse as "The Witch of Merigod". As a member of the organization, she became involved in multiple raids staged throughout Levianta, causing bloodshed and murder in her wake.

Project 'Ma'
One day she crossed paths with Eve Moonlit, finding her covered in blood screaming and lamenting over the loss of her children. As Meta looked down on the witch, she was suddenly captured and bound in chains. Imprisoned and condemned to death, she awaited her execution when the scientist Seth Twiright entered her prison cell, seeing that he resembled Pale. The scientist offered her exoneration if she submitted herself as a candidate for Project 'Ma'. Seeing the opportunity to escape her hopeless situation, Meta accepted.

Now in the Levianta Royal Institute, Meta was inoculated with god's seed and later gave birth to twins, Hänsel and Gretel, who continued their development in vitro conditions. Looking at her children in their tanks, she remembered how she too was an artificial being, a Ghoul Child. Not wanting her children to be test subjects, unloved and without a family, Meta stole them from the laboratory and escaped from Levianta, fleeing through the forest to Elphegort. Living in the foreign country, the fugitive mother hid with her children away from people's eyes.

Original Sin
A year later, in EC 001, Meta took her children out on a moonlit night to Held's Forest. After putting them on the ground and leaving them for a moment, she returned to find them gone. Shortly afterward, she discovered that Eve had run off with her twins and began chasing her through the forest. Crying as Eve continued fleeing from her, Meta finally caught up with the witch in front of her home and reached out to grab her. However, the terrified Eve lashed out and killed Meta, dying with only the witch's cloak in her hand.

Legacy
Shortly after Meta's death, the dillusioned Eve realized her sin, having believed that Meta was a bear the entire time. With Meta dead, Eve and her husband, Adam, raised her children in her place and would later be killed by them. Afterward, the twins decided to go find their "real mother and father". Ma speculated that the reason Hänsel and Gretel's reincarnations, Arte and Pollo, were so loyal to Banica Conchita was because of her resemblance to Meta.

Personality and Traits
Meta was a lonely woman who searched for love her entire life. Born without any parents to adore and take care of her, Meta learned to survive on her own and was constantly desiring affection, willing to even become a murderer for her lover's affection. However, after being captured, Meta was left heartbroken and lost all hope in her future. She felt that her life was filled with running and, in the end, it amounted to nothing. Because of this, she felt sympathy for her children who shared her similar circumstances of birth and desired to love them in a way that she was never loved, hoping to give them a better life than being experiments in a laboratory.

Skills and Abilities
Meta was a powerful sorceress with a rare magical power that caught the attention of Seth Twiright, allowing her to be the second candidate for Project 'Ma' and the first to successfully give birth to the twins for the Project. She was also capable of fleeing from the Magic Kingdom without being recaptured or knowingly pursued and was able to successfully hide out with her children for about a year.

Character Connections
Eve Moonlit: Meta's predecessor. Meta was shocked by Eve's bloodstained appearance at their first meeting, which is what caused her to be caught and arrested. When meeting her again, Meta viewed Eve only as the thief that was stealing her children as she pursued her.

Pale Noël: Meta's lover. Meta was madly in love with Pale, this love prompting her to join the Apocalypse organization despite the many crimes it perpetrated. At some point, however, she became disillusioned with her love for him, recognizing that he did not reciprocate her feelings.

Seth Twiright: Meta's partner. Meta was at first astonished by Seth's resemblance to Pale, but saw him only as a last chance to escape her execution. Although she went along with Project 'Ma' at his request, she did not share his goals or ambitions and did not spare him another thought once she'd resolved to run away with the children.

Hänsel: Meta's son. After his birth, Meta grew to love him as she realized the depth of their connection. She became greatly concerned for Hänsel's emotional and physical well-being, taking him from Project 'Ma' to live a normal life and pursuing his abductor until her death.

Gretel: Meta's daughter. After her birth, Meta grew to love her as she realized the depth of their connection. She became greatly concerned for Gretel's emotional and physical well-being, taking her from Project 'Ma' to live a normal life and pursuing her abductor until her death.

Conceptualization and Origin

 * Meta's name comes from the Latin word meta, which means "goal", which seems to make reference to her role as a successful experiment.
 * Her surname is German in origin, translating as "heir to a salmon" or "salmon farm"; salmon are known to return to the exact place of their birth to spawn their own children.
 * In Norse mythology, the god Loki attempted to escape punishment from the gods by transforming into a salmon and escaping into a river.
 * Meta's name is partially inspired by the name of her representative Vocaloid, MEIKO, both names sharing their first two letters.
 * Meta's characteristic color, red, references the red horse of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, representing War.
 * Eve's delusion of Meta being a bear as she chased after her stolen children references the protective maternal qualities of bears, hence the phrase "mother bear"; interestingly, bears are known to eat salmon.
 * Meta's status as a Ghoul Child may reference the sin of Gluttony and her resemblance to Banica Conchita; ghouls are undead spirits or demons usually depicted as scavengers and human flesh eaters, often associated with graveyards and burial grounds.

Curiosities

 * Ironically, the words Meta heard from Eve after coming across her are the same she says concerning her own missing children.

Gallery
Song Apparitions=

Appearances

 * Escape of Salmhofer the Witch
 * Moonlit Bear (first appearance)
 * Prelude to Forest
 * Evils Forest
 * Evils Kingdom
 * Original Sin Story -Act 1-
 * Original Sin Story -Act 2- (mentioned only)