| “ | I have been preparing to confront this evil for my entire life. My focus must be absolute. | „ |
Lily Chen, the Martial Artist, is a fictional character created by Fantasy Flight Games for inclusion in their vision of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.
History[]
The day after Lily's birth on mainland China to a pair of impoverished peasants, a group of mysterious monks arrived on the doorstep. Claiming to be searching for a “child of prophecy,” they told Lily's parents that their child was the one they sought. Despite their obvious shock that the babe was female, the monks expressed their desire to take her away and train her for a task of great importance; after receiving assurances that Lily would be well looked after, her parents agreed.
From the time she could take to her feet alone, the monks trained Lily in every combat technique they knew, and even went so far as to bring in instructors from across the globe. Lily absorbed all of their teachings with ease, and in the process achieved a state of harmony between her mind and body that few ever attain.
Then, in 1926, one of the monastery monks leapt from his meditations screaming “the Great Eye is opening! The final days are upon us!” before dropping down dead. Taking this as a sign that her purpose was near at hand, Lily made her way to Arkham, where she searched for clues on how to defeat whatever ancient evil was threatening existence.
Behind the Mythos[]
Lily was first introduced in the expansion for the Second Edition of Arkham Horror, Kingsport Horror, and has since been incorporated into some of their other games, including Eldritch Horror and Mansions of Madness, as well as making appearances in their Mythos fiction. Fantasy Flight also released a plastic miniature of her which was intended to replace the cardboard tokens included in their games, but this has since been discontinued.