'Blood Raider' rumors continue to hound Midna

Following the allegations that she is a Blood Raider sympathizer, pop star Midna's image continues to be questioned by people across the cluster. Though Midna has denied that she is a Blood Raider, or has anything to do with them, signs continue to point to some connection with their religion.

Hederick Maar, the Ni-Kunni immigrant who originally brought forth the allegations, has taken the charge in organizing boycotts and protests of Midna's concerts. At a recent concert in Oursulaert, around six-hundred protesters ringed a small club, nearly matching the number of people inside seeing the concert. Maar was on hand, holding a sign reading "No Blood, No Music!" Similar chants occasionally broke out, especially once Midna's vehicle arrived.

The protesters only had a brief glimpse of Midna before she was whisked inside by security, but that didn't stop them from shouting insults and a few from hurling water balloons filled with red paint at her. According to Maar, the protests show, "The people of the Federation won't tolerate the intolerable, no matter where it comes from. Midna may be a pretty face, but that doesn't excuse that she sings about being a Blood Raider. They are monsters, through and through."

Midna, for her part, has remained silent to the criticism, outside of a brief statement a week ago, when she denied all involvement with the Blood Raiders. Her only commentary since has been the occasional comment during a concert, such as what she said during her Oursulaert concert. "They don't know what they're talking about!" she shouted, before performing her latest single, "Dream States".

Reports from concert-goers also paint a confusing picture. During a recent concert, one fan reported that Midna was seen to be drinking blood. Some other concert-goers challenged the report, claiming it was nothing more than a glass of wine. "Whatever it was," said one young fan, Jerius Lore, "It was red and thick. It wasn't wine, that's for sure. But was it blood? I don't know. The lighting was dim and colored, the air was smoky, and I wasn't exactly paying attention to her drink, you know?"

When asked what he'd do if Midna turned out to be a Blood Raider, Lore commented, "We liked her music when she was a teenage drug addict. She's clean and even better than ever. Why should we care if she's into some weird religion?"

The most controversial evidence against Midna, however, was a series of pictures taken by paparazzi for the Laurvier Sun Post, a well-known tabloid. The pictures clearly show Midna meeting with a man dressed in red robes. The man, identified by the paper as Apostle Aman Indrid, a Sani Sabik priest, spent nearly two hours in Midna's hotel room while Midna was staying on the Modern Finances station in Laurvier.

Midna could not be reached for comment about the meeting. Hederick Maar, when notified of these pictures, merely considered it more proof of Midna's guilt. "She even meets with their priests! What more evidence do people need! She should be banned from performing and spreading her sick message to others."

Officially, Midna has done nothing illegal. The Blood Raider faith is legal under the Freedom of Religion clause in the Federation's Constitution. "As long as she's not breaking any laws through the practice of her faith, there's nothing that can be done to her," said Rand Wyndia, an expert on religion in the Federation. "And really, there's nothing that should be done. The Federation is founded on freedom. Freedom of beliefs should be the most sacrosanct of those freedoms."

Others, however, are unconvinced. Hederick Maar reports that the information portal of his organization, Federation Citizens Against Midna, has received more than one billion visitors, with at least half those leaving messages of support.