"To be or not to be" Thursday (The Seeress of Muren)

In the picturesque mountains of the Switzer Confederation lies a small traditional village. If seen from the right angle you could easily feel like you have been transported through a time-warp but walking down the main street of the town you will be met with cars mingled with ox carts and traditionally dressed farm folk bartering with patrons on cell phones. The Town of Muren gets its name from the sharp cliffs surrounding the entire valley and gives the impression of immense walls protecting the town. "Muren" in the native tongue means "walls". These walls have kept the town trapped in its almost dream state for centuries and even modern man only comes here for family reasons as even dedicated tourists would not always bother with the distance to only experience a farm community. Muren however has an international drawing card which is also one of the few reasons for its financial survival and the cause for an influx of outsiders especially in the last decade. This "attraction" is the world renowned Muren Finishing School for Girls and its headmistress Waltraud Richter, better know as the Seeress of Muren. 

The Town of Muren, seen from a slightly elevated position just above the Church. 

Muren has a traditional Mayor and Town Council but due to the town's isolation a special from of "martial law" has been granted to the council that has afforded the town an almost pseudo-independence from the greater Switzer Confederation. The town council has a 3 sided government structure akin to most national governments. The Council holds legislative power, the Municipality has administrative power and the Seeress has judicial power making her the official Judge at Law. The Seeress, apart from her governing roll also heads up the Muren Finishing School for Girls. As far as her personal life goes she  upholds a standard farm community household with her husband Mark, the local Wurstbude (Sausage Shop) owner. Her husband strangely specializes in Italian style Salami rather than the indigenous varieties of sausage. The Finishing School caters for extremely wealthy, influential and well bred families. There is also a scholarship program for the "less fortunate but very gifted" funded by the school and its sponsors. One in every three girls falls in the scholarship program. The education system of the school has a flawless pass rate. The discipline and education is of the highest standard and graduating from the school stands to a student's credit within the international arena for life. Illustrious graduates from the school include; the Crown Princess Imperial, Princess Marie-Elizabeth of Swann, The Queen of Hispania, The Grand Duchess of Hanoveria and many others.

Waltraud Richter does not care for the media glare so few good photographs exist. Her good friend, the Duke of Swann has threatened for years to arrange a proper portrait sitting. This blog might just see the results soon. She wears a blindfold as the tradition of her office requires. The blindfold is meant to heighten her spiritual insight and it is only removed in her private chambers. All Seeresses in the past have been trained like genuinely blind people to navigate themselves and Waltraud is fully capable of walking wherever she likes.

The Seeress of Muren is a somewhat enigmatic figure. The office and title of Seeress has existed in Muren since its foundation in Medieval times. It has, according to legend, been passed from Seeress to Seeress and includes the impartation of a "gift" of Prophecy. This affords the Seeress with a supposed supernatural ability, a form of clairvoyance to; "see" the future, what people have on their minds and even the true intentions of the heart. The current Seeress has held the office for what seems to be since before modern documentation can record. Due to the town's isolation, birth and marriage certificates were only instituted and recorded since the late 1960's, after the Great War. Thus the Seeress, who has no such record filed in the town's archives, can claim any age she cares to. 

It seems that the tradition of the Seeresses of the past, to raise up young orphan girls as candidate successors, was the origin of the Muren School for Girls. Thus the current Seeress is believed to also have come from orphan stock, which makes gauging her age even more difficult but nobody knows for sure nor do they care to find out. 

Waltraud is greatly respected if not revered by her townsfolk and her word has by tradition of the office and her personal conduct become tantamount to law. Her prophetic insight is never questioned and according to local accounts always accurate. She has a great rapport with all the citizens and maintains an extremely simple life being happily married and has biological children and adopted children aside from the girls in the school that she is responsible for. She enjoys walking her dogs in her spare time and loves cooking and visibly enjoys her husband's company. There are however also the occasional private party or town's function that she arranges to everybody's delight and these can sometimes be borderline ostentatious but are always considered to be to the benefit of the town and its people. One such an event was the Crown Prince Imperial's Birthday Ball held in 2009. The Seeress arranged a spectacular event to showcase the revelation of her "adopted son" Chris, being the undoubted heir to the Empire of Scot-Britania. The birthday of the Crown Prince Imperial was held in a newly constructed Town Hall and attended by members of Royal families from over the whole of Europa. The event boosted International interest in the town raising the economy through the roof. 

The Seeress of Muren (seated) chats with the Margravine of Montrose while hosting the Crown Prince Imperial's Birthday Ball.

The Seeress is also held in high regard internationally and is often visited by Royalty and the wealthy elite who seek her advise and insight. She does however keep to herself and her responsibilities to her family, town and school as much as possible.

The best photo of the Seeress Waltraud of Muren. She wears jewellery given to her by the Duke of Swann as a "thank you" gift. The Seeress often receives gifts of all kinds for advice or services rendered. She once received 10 cows from a farmer in the region for correctly predicting when it would rain.

There have also been rumours surrounding the mysterious Seeress. Allegations of occult practices, drugs and sexual indulgences have come and gone over the years but all have been proven to be unfounded nonsense leveled by those who are threaten by her authority and success. Her reputation remains untarnished and her track record speaks for itself. These would stand unwavering in her defense alongside powerful friends like the Duke of Swann and the Crown Prince Imperial, even if some skeleton had to fall out the closet. We can only wish her the best and tip our heads to a community servant, with no Royal title but who can hold her own with any Queen or Empress.