Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska 3325 Share Posted September 22, 2021 (edited) “Va Krusae Zwy Kongzem”Motto of the Crown of Hanseti-Ruska‘To Protect this Kingdom’ THE CONSORTS OF HAENSE, SPOUSES OF THE CROWNEst. 131 E.S. | 1578 A.H. Or, A STUDY INTO THE CONSORTS OF HAENSE BY IRENE C. SARKOZYResearcher of the Northern Geographical Societyand OTTO THE TARCHARMANand SIR VIKTOR KORTREVICHBaruch & Kortrevich Publishing --- The CONSORT, or officially the CONSORT OF THE HAESENI MONARCH, is the spouse of the current sovereign of the realm, either married before the monarch’s accession or during their rule. A consort is not considered equal to the monarch in terms of authority and legal power, however they have begun holding considerable governmental and crown powers beginning the early 200s. They have also been traditionally given charge over the every-day functionality of the court, though most affairs have been carried out by a chamberlain to disinterested consorts. In all cases of consorts, the individual irregardless of social standing or rank has been titled with royal style and address equal to that of the sovereign (excluding the traditional ‘-consort’ appellation attached to the title in question). As of 338, all consorts have come from noble lineages, with ten officeholders being born or ethnically from Haense (I, II, IV, VI, VII, IX, X, XII, XIII, XIV, XV), one officeholder being ethnically from Curon (III), one officeholder being ethnically from Auvergne [Lorraine] (V), one officeholder being ethnically from Kaedrin (VIII), and one officeholder being ethnically from Adria (XI). Three of the four non-native consorts (III, V, and XI) were kin to their respective country’s current or former head of state. Of the houses which have married into the royal family, the Ruthern family has the most consorts of state with four officeholders (II, VII, IX, XIII) with the Kovachev family at second with two officeholders (I, IV). Notable officeholders include Reza of Turov (I), Ingrid of Ulgaard (VI), Elizaveta of Vidaus (IX), Milena of Adria (XI), Maya of Muldav (XII), and Viktoria of Metterden (XIII). Of the bloodlines and ancestries from where the consorts claim descent, nine officeholders descend from Karovic lines (I, II, IV, VI, VII, IX, XI, XII, XIII). Within the Barbanov dynasty, candidates with Karovic lineage are usually preferred and believed more prestigious than other, non-Karovic marriages. A desire for Carrion purity is also held amongst the descendents, with the more prestigious one’s Barbanov-ness or Carrion-ness being a topic of royal grumbling, which enforces a social construct of normalized consanguinity amongst the clans. Occasionally however there are cases of divergence, such as when the government’s political interest won out (III, V, XV), personal interests of the monarch (VIII, XIV), or the prestige of its own ancient, interlinked history with the royal family (X). Seal of the Queen’s Council --- HOUSE OF BARBANOV, 131 E.S. - 219 E.S. | 1578 A.H. - 1666 A.H. Emperor John III officially granted the royal titles of Hanseti and Ruska to Duke Petyr Barbanov in 1578, with shortly after the newly-proclaimed King Peter formally unifying the crown institutions and courts into a singular framework. The consorts of the patriarchs of House Barbanov are listed below; Consorts of Barbanov- I. Alexandria Stafyr, Duchess-Consort of Haense II. Kamila Vladov, Duchess-Consort of Haense, Duchess-Consort of Adria III. Elizaveta Ruthern, Duchess-Consort of Haense IV. Reza Kovachev, 1st Queen-Consort of Haense --- [I] V. Adelajda Ruthern, 2nd Queen-Consort of Haense --- [II] VI. Elizabeth Staunton, 3rd Queen-Consort of Haense --- [III] VII. Katharina Kovachev, 4th Queen-Consort of Haense --- [IV] VIII. Eleanor d’Amaury, 5th Queen-Consort of Haense --- [V] IX. Ingrid Sarkozic, 6th Queen-Consort of Haense --- [VI] --- I KOENASReza Kovachev van Turov‘The First, the Golden Griffin, the Fierce’Theresa Kovachev of Turov135 E.S. - 139 E.S. | 1582 A.H. - 1586 A.H. (4yrs)@Marquesa_City/Royal Residence(s): Saint Karlsburg (Ottosgrad) Spouse(s): King Andrik [II] of Barbanov Offspring: Marus [I], 3rd King of Haense, Princess Katharina, Duchess of Carnatia, Otto [I], 6th King of Haense Memoir(s): ‘The Life of Theresa Kovachev’ (149 E.S.) Reza Elizaveta Kovachev (Common: Theresa Elizabeth Kovachev), or Reza of Turov, was a Haeseni noblewoman and the first inaugural consort serving from 135 till her husband’s deposition in 139. Reza hailed from the senior Kovachevs of Carnatia and her union with the then crown prince came to fruition by the machinations of her father, the Duke of Carnatia. While only serving a paltry four years as consort, she exerted great influence over Haeseni politics for decades as queen-mother throughout the reigns of her son Marus I and her grandchildren. From her early age and as the eldest of five, Reza promoted a sense of maturity and intellect beyond her years. Tutors and governesses alike who attended the youth proclaimed her oft to be the most ladylike of the five Kovachevs, and most sophisticated in nature. Her adornment of other cultures exterior to Haense hailed from her education in the imperial court; a place she insisted upon being brought up in and spent most of her youth within. Her tendencies and interests leaned greatly towards the imperial court over any other, and she thrived in its halls. At the conclusion of her education, Reza returned home at the behest of her family. It was too much strife that she departed the court she accustomed herself to, but her turmoil was brought with an overwhelming sense of joy when informed of her marriage to the Grand Prince of Kusoraev, Andrik Otto. Her wedding, a most frequent affair discussed in recent times, transpired in 135 with much controversy surrounding it. Although praised by many in the contemporary decades, Reza’s wishes to plan a majority of her own wedding and its further revelries was to the dislike of many. Denial came swiftly for it was not of the Raevir tradition of the time, and she sought to design her own dress. Her dress, most costly in nature, received a great deal of criticism and her reign as consort commenced with harsh beginnings. Despite her position as consort to Andrik II, the Deep Cold Uprising came to be rejected by the Kovachev family during the winter of 139, leading to her leaving the royal capital under disguise and guard. Her short-lived marriage with Andrik was generally unhappy, as Andrik had openly despised his wife with numerous gestures making her feel un-welcomed. She would return to Haense later the next years, where she held his greatest position of power during the regency of her son led by her brother-in-law, the palatine Karl-Sigmar, with whom she held a fierce rivalry in court. Together with her brother Heinrik, she helped orchestrate his downfall from the government upon the majority of her son and in his stead place Heinrik as palatine and leader of government. Her close connections with the southern imperial court helped soothe relations following the disastrous Haeseni rebellion, and for nearly half her tenure she stayed in the private estates of the imperial royalty. Though her brother fell from power and grace only five years later, Reza would command such a presence in the Marian court that, as quoted from the poet Sir Stanimar Vyronov, “[...] she sat next to him [Marus I] as equal, with head held above as if she was the regnant, and he the consort.” Indeed, till her early death at age thirty-three she maintained a chief role in all courtly proceedings during the reign of Marus I, herself meeting with foreign dignitaries and political powers. Upon passing, numerous places and towns were named after her, including the future royal city of Old Reza, where a court would be established beginning at the reign of Robert I and through the reigns of Marus II and Andrik III. Her name would be used again for the reformed city to New Reza, surviving through the reigns of Andrik III, Andrik IV, Sigismund II, and Josef I. Her second name, Elizaveta, became popular in the time of her reign as consort and Queen-Mother, and continued to hold relevance as the most prestigious and traditional name for Haeseni women. --- II KOENASAdelajda Ruthern van Metterden‘The Deceitful, the Blackbird’Adelaide Ruthern of Metterden 148 E.S. - 164 E.S. | 1595 A.H. - 1611 A.H. (16yrs)@Kay (ItLit) City/Royal Residence(s): Saint Karlsburg (Ottosgrad) Spouse(s): King Marus [I] of Barbanov Offspring: Petyr [II], 4th King of Haense, Stefan [I], 5th King of Haense Memoir(s): ‘The Life of Adelaide Ruthern’ (164 E.S.) Adelajda Isabel Ruthern (Common: Adelheid Isabella Ruthern), or Adelajda of Metterden, was a Haeseni noblewoman and the second consort of the realm, serving from her marriage to Marus I in 148 till his death in 164. She originated from Karvoic lineage as a woman from the House Ruthern, and the first Ruthern Queen in the realm, often mistaken to be Elizaveta of Metterden who only presided over the Haeseni lands as duchess consort. She was born in the year 1583 with a twin sister, Abrielle, and three brothers; Boris, Tuvya, and Viktor. Her attachment to family was full of endearment and she adored her sister until her adolescent years. Courtly affairs became the peak of her attention from as early as the age of six, alongside her sister who seemed inseparable from her. The opportunity of queenship was announced by her mother and father, and the two were separated by their growing rivalries against one another. To her fortune, Adelajda was the first noticed of the pair of sisters and rose to the regal position upon her marriage to the King Marus I. The young Ruthern consort was no short in the lavishness of her predecessor, Reza of Turov. Diamonds decorated the finely-sewed dress across it all, and received ill favor similarly. At the time of her marriage in the St. Karlsburg Cathedral, the Haeseni tensions were high between royalty, commonfolk, and nobility. Most of the original design had been cut short of its cost, but not enough to satisfy the spectators. With her ascension, she had a minimal amount of acclamation in regards to courtly or palatial matters. In the event that a meeting with her husband would occur, she avoided attendance and awaited him outside the meeting room until he departed. Their private relations were written to have been cordial but with distant respect. She frequented quarrels with her courtiers, and disregarded most duties as well as etiquette. “She was very much a Queen in the sense of her expenses and self-indulgence,” as quoted by Northern Geographical Society (NGS) member, Henriette Marna de Rafal. The Haeseni Court, still in its early stages, had been no short of an opera house in dramatics from the consort. Despite her issues with the other Haeseni noblewomen, she was of acquaintance with Princess Juliya, the aunt of Marus. Juliya was not favorable either, as per hushed conversation amongst the ladies and servantry. The duties of queenship acquired by her predecessor were disregarded, more so throughout the Great Northern War. She garnered hatred for Courland, which she expressed openly amongst any of those within court. Many who did harbor favor towards the consort came to like her through the mutual abhorrence of Courlandic people. In the midst of her reign, and allegedly in a majority of it, rumors of deceit consumed Adelajda’s daily life. Others’ residencies, apart from the royal palace, became her place of solace; which did not include anywhere within the proximity of her sister Abrielle, whom she never mended relations with. Her tenure as queen concluded in 164 as her spouse surrendered at the loss of the war and the royal family was sent into exile. Banishment from the land left her without her jewels and titles, or any other pleasures she surfeited. Adelajda toiled with her expulsion, as well as keeping hidden from assailants. With a previous expensive and flamboyant manner of living, the sudden change left her to try and sneak superfluities back into the family’s new life. Her attempts came to a halt as she fell ill and passed within the week of attaining the ailment. --- III KOENASElizaveta Staunton van Courland‘The Loathed, the Outlander Queen’Elizabeth Staunton of Courland 166 E.S. - 172 E.S. | 1613 A.H. - 1619 A.H. (6yrs)@Violino City/Royal Residence(s): Alban (Esenstadt) Spouse(s): King Stefan [I] of Barbanov Offspring: Prince Jakob Ludovar, Prince of Markev (legitimized), Princess Viktoriya, Duchess of Markev, Prince Petyr-Karl Memoir(s): ‘The Life of Elizabeth Staunton’ (172 E.S.) Elizaveta Mariya Staunton (Common: Elizabeth Maria Staunton), or Elizaveta of Kuriland, was a Curonian noblewoman who served as consort of Stefan I for six years from 166 till her violent death in 172. Her marriage with King Stefan came from diplomatic concession as a consequence of the Greyspine Rebellion, and through its duration, it was an openly unhappy one. Her relationship with the Staunton family left her infamous throughout the realm and unpopular with both the nobility and common folk. Raised as the princess Royal of Courland, Elizaveta’s education did not lack in any field necessary befitting a woman of her high station. Her father, King Tobias I, insisted on her schooling being of the utmost standard possible from an array of tutors across the land. She derived a great deal of interest in the arts and music, but more peculiarly management, politics, and history. To her fortune, she was the twin to her brother and the heir, Joseph Alexander, and attended many lessons of leadership alongside him. Her luck and wits combined led to her being one of the most intelligent of her six siblings. As a ramification of a series of diplomatic transactions after the Greyspine Rebellion, the last of those to be informed of the arranged marriage was the princess. Her arrival in the Haeseni lands came shortly after, to which she was notably met with dislike and distrust from her beginnings. Her foreign coiffures and dresses were not taken into the style of the ladies but instead shunned. She was an enemy, despite the diplomatic attempts, in foreign territory. Throughout the entirety of her six years, she lacked the capabilities to persuade any Haeseni common folk or nobility alike in her favor; most notably, Elizaveta and her husband found no love for each other and spent little time in each other’s presence. Towards the end of her reign, Elizaveta frequented the imperial city as an escape from her unwelcoming home. Two miscarriages soured their already tumultuous relationship, and after rumors of affairs between herself as Lord Peter de Mardon of the imperial estates, she was unofficially exiled from her husband’s personal manors by 172. In only a few months, she was killed by a mob when traveling the roads near Metterden, her body unceremoniously beaten and burned by the anti-Curish party. --- IV KOENASKatherina Kovachev van Karnatiya‘The Unsung’Catherine Kovachev of Carnatia 177 E.S. - 180 E.S. | 1624 A.H. - 1627 A.H. (3yrs) City/Royal Residence(s): Alban (Esenstadt) Spouse(s): King Otto [I] of Barbanov Offspring: St. Otto [II], 7th King of Haense, Prince Sigmar-Otto, Princess Isabel-Reza, Princess Elizaveta, Duchess of Westerwald Memoir(s): ‘The Life of Catherine Kovachev’ (180 E.S.) Katherina Reza Kovachev (Common: Catherine Theresa Kovachev), or Katherina of Karnatiya, was a Haeseni noblewoman who served as consort from 177 till the death of her husband Otto I in 180, a paltry three years. She is, most undoubtedly, one of the least recorded Queens of Haense in light of the others. Katherina was rarely seen within the public eye and strayed from any duties often believed to be required of a Haeseni Queen, such as courtly and palatial matters. Her ideals did not compare to that of her predecessors, and her education was median to other Haeseni noblewomen. Katherina played a variety of instruments and wrote to her relatives when the palace lacked any visitors. Diplomats who did come by the royal’s home noted that Katherina was either not present or sat attentively at her husband’s side and listened with polite interest in the meeting at hand. To the common people of Haense, she was nonexistent. Katherina was regarded by a courtier of the time as “[...] simple, strict, but seemingly unaware.” Her relationship with her spouse, Otto I, was not believed happy or unwanted, but neutral with both garnering a mutual respect for one another. In no means was she considered disagreeable. Her character came as fair and gentle, and nearly all those who did know of her in close relation (minimal as it may be) remarked her to be a most beautiful, wondrous woman with humility of a saint. Her marriage had been political to no doubt, but the knowledge of duty and a mutual cherishment of their kingdom led to the lack of arguments or issues between the pair. Katherina did not live long after her tenure as Queen, and was overcome with an illness in the night. For weeks on end she suffered minor symptoms noted by the court physician, but none of which subsided with their appointed remedies. On the few days she managed to leave her bed, Katherina was seen in the throne room or about the public spaces of the palace to converse with passing courtiers who blessed her and prayed for her recovery which came not. She was buried within the Haeseni crypts among the other Kings and Queens, and thus a peaceful rest. --- V KOENASEleanor d’Amaury van Lotharingiya‘The Astute’Eleanor d’Amaury of Lorraine 177 E.S. - 197 E.S. | 1624 A.H. - 1644 A.H. (20yrs)@Marquesa_ City/Royal Residence(s): Alban (Esenstadt), Markev (Krepost) Spouse(s): King Otto [II] of Barbanov Offspring: Otto [III], 8th King of Haense, Prince Karl, Duke of Alban, Princess Henrietta, Queen-consort of Marna Memoir(s): ‘The Life of Eleanor d'Amaury’ (222 E.S.) Eleanor Aleksandra van Amarey (Common: Eleanor Alexandra d’Amaury), or Eleanor of Lotharigiya, was a Auvergnian noblewoman who served seventeen years as consort from 180 till 197. She was the middle child of the “Lotharingia Sisters”; three sisters who were married into reigning positions - thus all becoming monarchs - in a short period of time. Eleanor was the daughter of John I, King of Lotharingia, and his consort Charlotte of Alstion. As a Princess of Lotharingia, she was granted superior education by her parents in Aeldinic courts. The numerity of her tutors led to her skills in dancing, singing, and other fine arts of the time to which she excelled. Her character became clear from a young age; prideful, amiable, and resilient. She remained confident in her abilities by all means. Upon her return from Aeldin, Eleanor sought to find herself a proper suitor and grew distant from her mother in finding that she had not done so. Without a marriage, she settled to find others as a possibility to her. Her mother, although lacking in finding her a match, garnered one for her elder sister, Marie, instead, to the crown-prince of Courland. It is said Eleanor turned to her brother, Lothar Augustus, for assistance on the matter, and asked for him to rearrange the marriage to be in her favor instead. There was never a change for her to marry the crown prince in her sister’s place. Her primary goal became finding a proper suitor, leading her to eventually attempt marriage with the Emperor of Oren, John V. In her place, and through an enemy’s schemes, her younger sister Claude was betrothed. Although to her dismay, she would wind up with a marriage to the King of Haense’s cousin, Otto Georg. A sense of defeat claimed Eleanor as her sisters were both to be consorts, while she was hardly a princess in title. Through a rapid succession from the death of Stefan I, who garnered no sons, and Otto I’s abdication after receiving the title as King of Haense, Eleanor became overjoyed with her newfound role as the crown princess to Haense. She, too, would reign like her other sisters. Upon her ascension as the consort of the King, Eleanor desired to become a fashion icon of the Haeseni people. Frequently, the Queen’s styles would change and many of the courtiers soon followed. She was a supporter of the war against the House of Romstun, in spite of the grievances Haense faced. Regardless of her being a foreigner to the Haeseni lands, she tended to her duties of queenship to the utmost extent and was praised greatly for it. Exterior to her queenly duties, her family’s land had fallen through the years and their last remaining land was dissolved. Her frustrations were not hidden as she turned every corner to attempt at keeping the title Duchy of Lorraine from its dissolution, and she openly staked her claim for it. In turn to her claims, she received the flayed skin of her brother, Hughes. She was never able to receive the title as Archduchess of Lorraine, or as later requested, ownership of the city of Metz– for Oren fell before such could be granted. Her tenure as the consort of Haense ended with Otto II’s deteriorating health in 1644. As the dowager, she left behind the Hansetians and returned to the lands where she was previously educated. She settled within the Kingdom of Banardia for the rest of her years, until her assassination by poisoning in 1669. --- VI KOENASIyngrid Sarkozic van Ulgaard‘The Good, the White’Ingrid Sarkozy of Ulgaard 197 E.S. - 208 E.S. | 1644 A.H. - 1655 A.H. (10yrs)@TarreBear City/Royal Residence(s): Markev (Krepost) Spouse(s): King Otto [III] of Barbanov Offspring: Prince Otto-Josef, Princess Amalya-Natalie, Karl [II], 9th King of Haense Memoir(s): ‘The Life of Ingrid Sarkozy’ (208 E.S.) Ingrid Katerina Sarkozic-Ulgaard (Common: Ingrid Catherine de Sarkozy-Ulgard), or Ingrid of Ulgaard, was a Haeseni noblewoman who served as consort for eleven years from 1644 to 1655 when her husband Otto III passed in office. She was the first noblewoman to hold a princely title, as the Princess of Ulgaard. The upbringing of Ingrid was met with a time of peace in Haense, and she was able to spend her days freely on the streets of the people when her family visited the kingdom’s capital city. Her education had been no short of suitable for a Sarkozic, especially as she was to become the titular Princess of Ulgaard. It is often rumored that she was a vassal, but she held the title in name rather than in land. Her family’s high standing led to the arrangement of her marriage and she married Prince Otto Stefan, who later became King Otto III. Her marriage, held in the newly constructed capital of Markev, had been widely celebrated across the land and filled more joy into the peaceful air. She insisted her wedding dress be modest and of traditional fabrics to the Haeseni people, to represent them in her utmost possible ways. In the early years of her tenure, Ingrid became popular amongst the commoners in immediate fashion. It had been said that not a day went by without seeing the queen with her people, inviting them to sit and converse even if they were not close to her station in the slightest. If she had not been talking to the Haeseni people, Ingrid tended to duties in charity work such as providing necessities for those unable to afford or receive it. When in the palace, rare as it was for her person, she worked with diligence on the planning of events and other revelries with her chamberlain. The streets were no short of festivals and the palace no short of dances. Similar to her husband, Ingrid funded the arts and theatrical work; inviting some scholars and artists to visit the palace or to work at her many events hosted if they wished to perform at a more renown venue. She too studied the work of seamstresses closely, and found a style of her own that almost all Haeseni ladies followed suit in. Ingrid wore furs around the cuffs of her sleeves and on the rims of her shoulders, with colors of winter such as blues and whites. Among all of it, she supported her husband in his endeavors wherever they might have been, using her fashion influence to help instate the black-coat crow as the national animal and teaching in the universities to assist in the promotion of schooling. Internal affairs and neighboring diplomacy became another strong suit of Ingrid’s, often greeting guests or conversing with them before or during meetings of her husband. Her charity work flourished from the unfortunate circumstances of war with the heartlander states of Renatus and Marna. She, along with members of her court, stood in the cold snow and went to each door extending food, blankets, and more as a result of the trade loss once the city of Belvitz, capital of Adria, went under enemy control. A nation-wide famine struck with the poor harvests alongside the lessening trades, and in 1655 a plague began to spread and kill a majority of the Haeseni population– known later as the ‘Great Plague’. Her husband died in the late years of 1655, and the plague spread to her son Otto Josef. She began facing symptoms of her own and refined her bedchambers, refusing to see her son or daughter in fear that they too would catch the fast-spreading illness. She died two months after her son, but her influence and reinstatement of traditional Haeseni culture remained prevalent for many years following her death. Ingrid received the proper burial of a queen amongst the other monarchs and consorts of the realm. --- HOUSE OF BARBANOV-BIHAR, 219 E.S. - Present | 1666 A.H. - Present After the death of King Karl II, the royal mainline through King Peter I's firstborn Andrik went extinct (excluding the line of Ludovar), leading to a short succession crisis. Karl II's former Lord Palatine Franz Bihar claimed the throne in a bloodless palace coup. After his death, he was succeeded by his nephew Sigmar and the cadet line of Bihar. The consorts of the patriarchs of House Barbanov-Bihar are listed below; Consorts of Barbanov-Bihar- I. Tatiana Ruthern, 7th Queen-Consort of Haense --- [VII] II. Sofiya Chivay, 8th Queen-Consort of Haense --- [VIII] III. Elizaveta Ruthern, 9th Queen-Consort of Haense --- [IX] IV. Valera Carrion, Grand Princess of Kusoraev V. Klaudiya Vanir, 10th Queen-Consort of Haense --- [X] VI. Milena Carrion, 11th Queen-Consort of Haense --- [XI] VII. Maya Alimar, 12th Queen-Consort of Haense --- [XII] VIII. Viktoria Ruthern, 13th Queen-Consort of Haense --- [XIII] IX. Isabel Baruch, 14th Queen-Consort of Haense --- [XIV] X. Mariya Amador, 15th Queen-Consort of Haense --- [XV] XI. Annika Vyronov, 16th Queen-Consort of Haense --- [XVI] XII. Emma Kortrevich, 17th Queen-Consort of Haense --- [XVII] XII. Emma Kortrevich, 18th Queen-Consort of Haense --- [XVIII] --- VII KOENASTatyana Ruthern van Metterden‘The Blue’Tatiana Ruthern of Metterden 219 E.S. | 1666 A.H. (1mos) City/Royal Residence(s): Markev (Krepost) Spouse(s): King Franz [II] of Barbanov-Bihar Offspring: None Memoir(s): ‘The Life of Tatiana Ruthern’ (221 E.S.) Tatyana Elizaveta Ruthern (Common: Tatiana Elizabeth Ruthern), or Tatiana of Metterden, was a Haeseni noblewoman who served as consort for a brief month in 219 following Franz II’s coup and subsequent death. As a Ruthern and daughter to a Karovic house, Tatiana’s upbringing was fulfilled with plentiful knowledge and learning. She excelled in her studies, although often did not do much else other than remain within her family’s library surrounded by books. A majority of Tatiana’s childhood was known to be well and suitable for a noblewoman, besides her lack of sociality. She rarely was in attendance of events or other revelries, less it was required of her or pertained scholastic interests. Her marriage to Franz was not a large ceremony, for the noblewoman was frequently known to be humble, and Franz was not the king of Haense yet. She had been married to him for several years before his kingship. Before any Crow’s Moot could be called, Tatiana convinced her husband to take the throne. It was only for a month, if not less, that she would serve as the consort to Franz until his brutal and sudden assassination. Tatiana, similarly to how she remained in her youth, was not often seen within the public eye. She would be regarded as doing nothing by many who did not see her diligent work behind the scenes of the government. Despite no longer being queen, she held a significant amount of influence – such as inviting Karl of Rothswood in as Lord Palatine. She too would remain as a notable driving force in keeping Prince Sigmar, the heir to the kingdom, out of the kingdom’s capital. Even for the first four years of his reign that he was known to be king, he remained in exile in the south as per the demands of Tatiana and Karl. As she was not a socialite by any means within the court or daily life of the Haeseni people, rumors began to formulate surrounding her life; one of which would be the assumption that she and the peasant –and palatine– Karl of Rothswood were lovers when she began convincing Karl to promote peasants to higher positions within the government. Tatiana angered many of the old families of Haense, but also kept them in line. Ignoring the opinions of many noble houses would be her downfall, when King Sigmar would finally enter the capital with mercenaries and noble dissenters at his flank. Karl was executed swiftly upon the arrival of Sigmar, and Tatiana was banished and sent to live out the rest of her life in a nunnery. It is believed had it not been for her familial connections to the royal household, she would’ve been executed as well on charges of treason. Within the later years of her life, she succumbed to an illness and passed in her sleep. --- VIII KOENASSofiya Chivay van Kastir‘The Fair, the Common-born’Sophia Chivay of Castor 223 E.S. - 235 E.S. | 1670 A.H. - 1682 A.H. (12yrs)@frankdh City/Royal Residence(s): Markev (Krepost) Spouse(s): King Sigmar [I] of Barbanov-Bihar Offspring: Prince Otto-Sigmar, Robert [I], 12th King of Haense, Prince Andrik, Duke of Alban, Princess Theodisiya-Isabel, Prince Petyr-Josef, Prince Thomas-Odrin, Princess Elizaveta-Tatiana Memoir(s): ‘The Life of Sophia Chivay’ (246 E.S.) Sofiya Katherina van Kastir (Common: Sophia Catherine de Castor), or Sofiya of Kastir, was a Kaedreni noblewoman who served as consort from Sigmar I’s accession in 223 till his death in 235. Her marriage to the Haeseni King became a subject of high controversy, as a Chivay bastard and considered to be a low match for a wife. However, her position as being considered lesser led her to be adored by the common people of the Haeseni realm. The beginnings of Sofiya’s life began in the year 193 in the Aeldinic lands. Although not originating from her family, they remained there until Sofiya neared the age of approximately eight or later into her adolescent years. Soon, a majority of her adolescence would be consumed by years of attempts to escape Aeldin and be smuggled into their homeland continent. On ships or other expeditions in her endeavor to flee, she practiced her handwriting and spent the long hours of waiting in a small, cramped cargo box reading. As she reached her twenties, Sofiya arrived in Atlas and firstly settled in the snow-covered city of Markev. She met Prince Sigmar not long after her arrival while there were still troubles of his exile; and Tatiana of Metterden and the palatine Karl of Rothswood pertained relevance in power. It was highly recommended that Sigmar not marry Sofiya, and pursue another noblewoman that would heighten his claim or have a better standing than a bastard, but his preference in marriage prevailed despite the advice of his advisors. They married in 218 while Sigmar, the heir to the Haeseni throne, remained banished. Five years following their marriage, 223, Sigmar ascended his position as King of Haense by entering the capital with an army of mercenaries and noble dissenters accompanying him. Sofiya became the official consort of Haense, and was later legitimized as a Chivay in the year of Sigmar’s ascension. In spite of her unpopularity with the nobility, Sofiya was adored by the common people of Haense. Rarely did she attend duties in the palace, leaving it to chamberlains and other palatial staff, and instead focused on aiding the daily life of commoners. Her marriage to Sigmar and their relationship was considered to be full of joy, until Sofiya was met with multiple miscarriages and stillbirths that deteriorated her mental well-being. She would go on to have seven children with Sigmar, but only three living past the age of twelve. She was known for her dedication to her children; refusing a governess and any other form of care for her children other than herself. The devastation of losing her children strained further on her happiness, as well as the onslaught of assassination attempts on her and her children’s lives. Notable figures surrounding her consisted of her sister-in-law, Analiese Bihar; the Princess of Ulgaard, Emma Ludovar; and the royal scribe and commoner, “Swithun”. Similarly to Swithun, Sofiya promoted peasants and foreigners in her court, to the dismay of the more traditional nobility (other figures including Brog Dhoon and his family, an Illatian chef, et cetera). Lady Elizaveta Ruthern became a prominent figure of her eldest son’s life, Robert– to which she met with subtle opposition, refusing to pass down certain aspects of the Barbanov tradition when she heard that Ruthern was her son’s preferred choice of marriage. The origins of her dislike are unknown, but presumed to be a result of the Haeseni noblewoman’s character. Her husband died of fatal wounds from a boar hunt in 235, followed by the death of her son, Prince Petyr-Josef, in 236. Seldom did she leave the Krepost Palace as Queen-Mother other than to accompany her only living daughter, Princess Theodosiya, on trips through the city or to assist in charity work. Only around the years 238-239 did she begin to leave the palace as her daughter frequented the imperial city of Carolustadt. There, she kept her identity hidden to the utmost of her abilities, and met the knight Sir Avery of Oren. She remarried in 240 and later had one child with Sir Avery. The two remained away from the public view and she no longer held the title of Queen Mother, or as a dowager, with her new marriage. In 246, Sofiya passed away in a harsh winter from an illness she could not shake. At fifty-three, she died with her new son, husband, and daughter Princess Theodosiya at her side. --- IX KOENASElizaveta Ruthern van Vidaus‘The Simple, the Grey’Elizabeth Ruthern of Vidaus 235 E.S. - 260 E.S. | 1682 A.H. - 1707 A.H. (25yrs)@TheIchorDruid City/Royal Residence(s): Markev (Krepost), Reza (Prikaz) Spouse(s): King Robert [I] of Barbanov-Bihar Offspring: Marus [II], King of Haense, Princess Anastasya-Ingrid, Princess Nataya-Elizaveta, Princess Mariya, Countess of Metterden, Prince Otto-Tuvyic Memoir(s): ‘The Life of Elizabeth Ruthern’ (260 E.S.) Elizaveta Roza Ruthern (Common: Elizabeth Rose Ruthern), or Elizaveta of Vidaus, was a Haeseni noblewoman who served twenty-five years as consort from 235 till 260, the longest of any consort to date (as of 337). She served as a prominent figure in diplomacy throughout her reign, until her assassination in 260. Since her birth, Elizveta struggled with a severe illness that prohibited her from walking and rendered her near helpless in most day to day activities that were usual to a noblewoman of her age. Both of her parents died while she was relatively young, and never grew a proper relationship with either. She was born with a twin, Dmitri, and the two were inseparable in any of their endeavors. As a result of her inability to walk, Elizaveta remained within the confines of the Markev Library and was rarely seen outside of it. Her illness further was said to consist of highs and lows; the lows where she could not move from her bed and coughed in harsh fits. Through familial ties and the help of her twin brother, she was able to have a device constructed for her to sit in a chair and roll wheels on either side of it– and no longer lacked mobility. She befriended the Prince Robert and his sister, Princess Theodosia, upon calling the guards and saving the two royal children from a near assassination. The three remained friends thereon, along with her brother and other Haeseni children who joined them on occasion. Elizaveta studied under the royal scribe of Queen Sofiya, Swithun, and saw him as a pseudo parental figure. The lord marshal of Haense and her grandfather, Lord Rhys Ruthern, also was a prominent figure of her life in her parents absence. Her endearment of the library led to her remodeling it into the Markev Theodosian Library, expanding it in size, and travelling from different fairs to sell books and wares to people across the continent. Elizaveta faced strong opposition when the proposal of marriage came from Robert, as Robert’s mother showed a great deal of dislike towards the Ruthern and refused to be around her on most occasions. The two were wed nonetheless in 235, and she became Queen consort of Haense with her marriage to Robert I. Their wedding was widely celebrated across the kingdom, and revelries were held in the Krepost Palace following the ceremony in the Markev Cathedral. Her primary focus as consort became diplomacy, which she had been studying in preparation for the role, and education in Haense. She became a strong advocate for the Wood Elven people and their culture, often inviting them to visit at the palace or to attend the various events held throughout the kingdom. She made frequent travels to their lands as well, to study their ways, culture, and to converse regularly with them. Her diplomacy extended into her later years as consort, furthering into imperial relations and other internal affairs with other nations under the empire. The efforts of Elizaveta strained on her in the first years, and she struggled with the ideals of queenship. Often she refused to play the host of events, and wanted to ground herself elsewhere to be unlike the other queens before her. A lengthy part of her tenure was consumed with hatred for her position and wanting to free herself of her duties. It is said she considered leaving her husband with her son and heir, Prince Marus, and not returning to the Haeseni lands. Her notable love for Robert prevailed over her detestation of queenship, and she refrained from disappearance. Other projects garnered Elizaveta’s love and lessened her dislike as the role of consort, such as the Theodosian Imperial Academy, and the growth of the Theodosian Municipal Library. The newly-made educational system faltered out after a year or so, but Elizaveta continued pursuits in scholarly matters elsewhere. In 240, she became the High Emissary of the Academic Union with its foundation by Azkel Frostbeard and other highly acclaimed scholars. Elizaveta further became a more vocal politician as the chairman of the Common Civic Party. Her peaceful years came to a conclusion on the seventh, in 242, with the Third Atlas Coalition War after word of rebellion rose from the vassal of Arberrang. It ended in a victory, and concluded in three years’ time. In spite of the victory, Elizaveta’s joy began to strain again and worsened further in 246 with the death of the Queen-Mother, Sofiya of Castor. In the same year, she became the crown representative of Hanseti-Ruska. Throughout her lengthy tenure, Elizaveta preserved a great influence over her husband and garnered sway if her input was additionally included on any subject. He listened to her vocalized opinions and sought to make her pleased as his wife, knowing of her toils with the title of queen and not wishing her to amass any further hatred for it. She tired of the role as the years drew on, and lessened her public appearance. Her court remained minimal and her companions were but a small circle, if not a handful. Elizaveta was brutally stabbed to death by Andrei Tosali in 260. Following only months after her death was her husband, Robert I. The entire kingdom mourned the loss of their long-reigning monarchs; a pair who together affected the Haeseni people’s lives for decades, and a dedicated scholar with an undeniable need to spread her knowledge. --- X KOENASKlaudiya Vanir van Vasiland‘The Shrewd, the Solemn’Claudia Vanir of Vasiland 261 E.S. - 272 E.S. | 1708 A.H. - 1719 A.H. (11yrs)@Disheartened City/Royal Residence(s): Reza (Prikaz) Spouse(s): King Marus [II] of Barbanov-Bihar Offspring: Andrik [III], 14th King of Haense, Prince Matyas-Arik, Prince Aleksandr-Marus, Princess Adryana-Eleanor Memoir(s): ‘The Life of Claudia Vanir’ (293 E.S.) Klaudiya Erika Vanir (Common: Claudia Erika Vanir), or Klaudiya of Vaziland, was a Haeseni noblewoman who served as consort of Marus II for eleven years from 261 till 272 after his assassination. She was the second wife of Marus II, following the death of Valera of Adria in 259. A majority of her reign notably was spent during wartime, with the War of Two Emperors and the Rubern War in her dowager years. Modesty defined and outlined the very childhood of Klaudiya, as the daughter of the Margrave of Vasiland and her scheduled educational routine of governesses and tutors. There were little to no intentions or plans for her future, or a match in suitors. She did not partake in the traditional procedures assumed by her fellow nobility, endeavoring to assist in the city municipal steward. Her life changed drastically as she became the recommended match for Marus II with his wife’s sudden death and the controversy surrounding her parentage posthumously, and the sudden death of his only son and heir, Prince Petyr-Andrik. Klaudiya was married in the Basilica of Fifty Virgins in 261, and therefore ascended the position of consort. In the same year, she became the Duchess consort of Adria with the abdication of Duke Paul II and the nomination of Marus through the duma. From the day of the wedding and onward, Marus kept a cold and distant relationship with Klaudiya and attended her as few times he could. Alongside her husband, her step-children, the princesses Mariya and Sofiya, both treated her with open hatred and detestation in spite of her attempts to treat the children kindly. Seven years into her reign, in 268, the War of Two Emperors erupted from the rising and undeniable tensions. While her husband remained busy with war and often away as a result, Klaudiya focused on the internal affairs of the kingdom and excelled in stewardry and city administration. Her solemnity did not gain her favor, but she was known for her exemplary organizational and management skills. Her eleven-year reign as consort came to a sudden conclusion with the death of her husband in the Prikaz, assassinated by Hektor Barrow. Her young son, Andrik III, rose to the position of king and she withdrew herself further from public view. The toils of war took a great toll on her health, especially as the kingdom neared defeat and their allies signed treaties with the opposing side. Little was seen of or from the Queen-Mother outside of palace life and the lives of her royal children. She opposed the change in marriage for her son from Katherina of Carnatia to Milena of Adria, claiming that the prospective successor was consumed by her own ambition and entitlement though resigned that, ultimately, it was her son’s choice to which she showed strained respect for. The Queen-Mother, nevertheless beloved by her children and further sires, perished from the toils of a fever at the age of fifty-five after enduring the beginnings of another conflict, the Rubern War. --- XI KOENASMilena Carrion van Adria‘The Red, the Vulpine Queen’Milena Carrion of Adria 279 E.S. - 295 E.S. | 1726 A.H. - 1742 A.H. (16yrs)@Axelu City/Royal Residence(s): Reza (Prikaz), New Reza (Ekaterinburg) Spouse(s): King Andrik [III] of Barbanov-Bihar Offspring: Andrik [IV], 15th King of Haense, Princess Antoniya-Frederika, Prince Otto, Duke of Galahar, Princess Aleksandriya-Cecilya Memoir(s): ‘The Life of Milena Carrion’ (295 E.S.) Milena Ekaterina Carrion (Common: Milena Catherine Carrion), or Milena of Adria, was an Adrian noblewoman who served as consort of Andrik III for sixteen years from 279 till 295. She was the first Haeseni queen to be given her own coronation, and carried out the unfulfilled marriage pact between the Houses of Barbanov and Carrion that was created for her aunt, Valera of Adria. As the first queen of a golden age, her life would later be consumed by conspiracies and rumors with the infamous ‘Milena Letters’ with posthumous release by Princess Anastasia of Muldav -- sister to the Prince of Rubern. She was born within the family’s manor in the city of Ves, but escaped to Aeldin as threats upon her family worsened. Milena was raised in the land’s capital, Nova Horos. Her education was befitting of a noblewoman, but she struggled with maternal influences as her mother passed in childbirth alongside her stillborn twin brother. Her father was absent as well, having been toiled with the shattered remains of his family. Yet, he was dutiful and Milena was given many tutors, among them her ancestress the Dowager Crown Princess of Renatus Marna, Maria of Krajia. He was set to have his progeny transcend into what her aunt Valera was meant to before her untimely passing: the Queen of Haense. In her education, she was primarily taught courtly etiquette and martial tactics. Upon her thirteenth name day, she was taken to the shores of Arcas to be presented to the Haeseni court. As her head was filled with thoughts of legacy and destiny, she spoke of filling her god-given purpose to become Queen consort. Prince Andrik was betrothed to Lady Katharina Vyronov when her arrival was announced at court. Her endeavors of ending the betrothal in place of herself were seen through within a mere saint’s week, and plans for a marriage ceremony were swiftly made. Her wedding was massive and had one of the highest attendances of all the queens, among the present the ministry of Emperor Alexander II and men of Lorraine. She was costly in her dress, but was praised for it unlike numerous predecessors who attempted to do alike. As the consort of Haense, she took strides in renewing the diminished royal courts. She created numerous initiatives to do so, and formed the royal precedent of Haense. Milena befriended both of the princesses of Haense, daughters of Marus II, Mariya Angelika and Sofiya Theodosiya. The two would help her reform the court, with the position of the Grand Lady created for Princess Mariya and the role of Chamberlain given to Sofiya. Their ascension marked the creation of the Queen’s Council, which consisted of the offices of the Chamberlain, Grand Lady, and Secretary of the Queen; all of which had extensions of other offices underneath them. An official guide to Haeseni etiquette was established, resulting in a strict and suffocating, yet undoubtedly cohesive, environment in the Royal court. In addition, not long after her marriage, Milena established the Harvest Initiative of 1729, yielding to the common populace gratuitous breads and other affordable foodstuffs from the coffers of the Prikaz and later Ekaterinburg. Several years into her tenure, she was struck with sudden grief as her son, the Grand Prince of Kusoraev, Andrik Petyr, was captured by a group of pagans. She refused to leave her chambers until a rescue party was formulated. Milena rode out donning armor alongside her husband to find her son, but was captured in the midst of battle. She wouldn’t be rescued for many days after, found alongside her ailing infant and her confidant, Princess Vespira of Man. She was left alone with her husband’s leave from court and their relationship distanced greatly after the birth of Princess Antoniya. It was then, when Andrik III took his leave for a hunting trip, that Milena was said to have a short lived affair with the Lord Protector of Oren, Adrian de Sarkozy. Whether the alleged affair occurred or not, Milena assisted diplomatically with her meetings with the Lord Adrian and his wife – her confidant, Princess Mariya. With her own focus returning to Haense, legacy and dynasty became her goal and primary concern, fortified by her fervent desire in seeing the survival of her progeny. Firstly, she was given her own coronation as the Queen consort of Haense, and it became a tradition for the consorts to be crowned alongside their husband thereafter. Her firstborn son was betrothed to Princess Arianne as a marriage alliance between Haense and Kaedrin, and furthermore Houses Barbanov and Helvets. Despite engineering the betrothal merely a year after the crown prince had been born with the Queen Annabelle of Kaedrin to cultivate relations between the two prosperous states, she openly detested when the Kaedrini princess began living within the palace walls and had repetitively slighted her courtly lessons in favor of sparring. Milena schemed to have a favored successor of her own, and garnered a ward: Princess Maya. She left Princess Maya to run her courts as the Grand Lady when her mental health further deteriorated from stress and the events that occurred throughout her queenship, including multiple kidnapping and assassination attempts in the midst of war. In the year of 295, Milena was flayed by a Ruberni assailant in her own chambers, and then thrown from the Ekaterinburg’s balcony into her namesake lake. Posthumously, Milena has been subject to high controversy regarding the alleged letters released claiming that her son, Andrik IV, was illegitimate. These claims were deemed as false and an attempt to keep Princess Arianne of Kaedrin from the position as Haeseni consort. --- XII KOENASMaya Alimar van Muldav‘The Brazen, the Crow Queen, The Lily’Mia Alimar of Muldav 299 E.S. - 306 E.S. | 1746 A.H. - 1753 A.H. (7yrs)@Eryane City/Royal Residence(s): New Reza (Ekaterinburg) Spouse(s): King Andrik [IV] of Barbanov-Bihar Offspring: Sigmund [II], 16th King of Haense, Princess Analiesa-Reza, Princess Aleksandriya-Karina, Princess Amelya-Valeriya, Prince Nikolas, Duke of Alban Memoir(s): ‘The Life of Mia Alimar’ (315 E.S.) Maya Valeriya Alimar (Common: Mia Valera Alimar), also known as Maya of Muldav or Maya of Antioch, was a Haeseni princess who served as consort of Andrik IV for seven years from 299 till 306 after he succumbed to fatal wounds, garnered in a battle to save Maya from captivity. Throughout the regency of her son, she exerted great influence as the queen-mother both politically and diplomatically, and established many new traditions and set precedents for future Haeseni queens. She was assassinated at the age of thirty-two by an assailant with unknown origins. The upbringing of Maya has often been regarded as tragic and full of turmoil, with allegations of abuse from her father, the Grand Prince of Muldav, who was said to have controversially striked Maya and her siblings on a multitude of occasions, and nearly drowned her in Carrion Black. A majority of her early life went uneducated from her father and mother’s absence. Her education remained as self-taught or through militaristic arts and swordsmanship with her uncle, Richard I, Prince of Rubern. Further schooling came when she unknowingly took a role in Queen Milena’s scheme to find another successor in place of the Arianne of Kaedrin. Her father opposed her role as Milena’s ‘Queen Deputy’ and ‘Ward’, but she turned against his behest. Tensions rose between the vassal Rubern state, where over half of her family resided, and the kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska. Near the time, at eight years, Maya became acquainted with the crown prince through an introduction by the queen. War broke out and her family split to Ruberni and Haeseni, and was forced to choose a side while fighting the other. Unbeknownst to her father, Maya fought in a numerity of the battles; most notably the Siege of Reza at fourteen. Tragedy struck her family with bloodshed, and by her fifteenth year most of her once-large family was dead through brutal murder. She presided over the courts as the Grand Lady and acted in place of the deceased Queen; who had been ruthlessly flayed and thrown into the lake of her namesake. The betrothal remained intact for the marriage between Princess Arianne and Prince Andrik, in spite of the schemes attempted by the late queen. Two months before the wedding, the betrothal broke off with the disappearance of the Kaedrini princess, and the hand in marriage extended to Maya. They were married in the Basilica of the Fifty Virgins in 299, and she ascended the position as consort several months following the wedding in her sixteenth year. Maya sought initiatives to implement into the royal courts and renewed the system entirely from what it had been before, including the cultivation of her own personal council to assist in managing palatial affairs, management, and revelries throughout the kingdom. In her short reign as consort, she was renowned for hosting many of the king’s meetings in his and his palatine’s absence, and her openness with the people of Haense from common folk to nobility. “[...] She did not hide in the palace or only interact with other nobility, but was a Queen of the people.” Maya made herself seen as an equal to her husband and a leader in her own right, but equal to her people as well. Her marriage to King Andrik IV had been perceived as genuine and with a strong bond of love. Her brazen nature led to her donning armor amongst the soldiers in the Rubern War, and beheading prisoners of war or criminals of high charges in the name of her kingdom. In 305, Maya faced captivity and was held for nearly two months where she had been malnourished and beaten. Seeing the queen bloodied and bruised was said to have brought a great rise in Andrik when the party came to rescue her, and their plan went astray– leading to the great wounds upon the king. In the next year, he succumbed to an illness from the inability in the wounds’ healing. Most documentation of Maya’s life came from her years as Queen Mother, when she kept a diary over her entire tenure. She struggled in the first year with the loss of the Lord Regent Tiberius Barrow, beheaded by the Ruberni whom they still warred with. Maya turned to the raising of her children, and fulfilling her new title as ‘mother’ of both her own and her people. She revitalized her fallen courts again, and created the Royal Academy of Saint Catherine when promoted to the Aulic Council as the Headmaster. In doing so, she renewed her own education, and sought to provide it for others in funding numerous institutions for the arts and education. Throughout her incumbency as Queen Mother, she furthered herself as a notable figure of Oren and continued to pursue educating the future of Haense through her academy with a newly unseen tutor-based system. The multitude of assassination attempts on her own life and children’s strained on her health greatly, including the bolt to the throat her son, Sigismund II, endured in the middle of court. Maya became the height of many suitors’ pursuits, including a proposal of marriage from the Governor General Sylvester Halcourt and the Emperor Peter III. In 315, Maya was assassinated in her private chambers of the Queen-Mother. Her sudden death caused a series of chaotic events and shock throughout the empire, and she received a ceremonial state burial and memorial in her name. Her assailant was burned, having been dead by the Queen-Mother’s hand before her own passing. An entire district of the royal city of New Reza was named after and dedicated to her, and she was honored by her son creating a knight order after her named ‘The Order of Queen Maya and the Lily’. --- XIII KOENASViktoriya Ruthern van Metterden‘The Warrior Queen, the One-Eyed Falcon’Victoria Ruthern of Metterden 319 E.S. - 329 E.S. | 1766 A.H. - 1776 A.H. (10yrs)@Zaerie City/Royal Residence(s): New Reza (Ekaterinburg) Spouse(s): King Sigmund [II] of Barbanov-Bihar Offspring: Princess Natilya-Reza, Josef [I], 17th King of Haense, Prince Stefan, Duke of Akovia, Prince Aleksandr, Duke of Greywyn, Princess Juliya-Ipera, Prince Franz, Duke of Schattenburg Memoir(s): ‘The Life of Victoria Ruthern’ (355 E.S.) Viktoriya Sofiya Ruthern (Common: Victoria Sophia Ruthern), also known as Viktoria of Metterden, was a Haeseni noblewoman who served as consort of Sigismund II for ten years from 319 till 329. She served as the Grand Lady of the Royal Courts 306 to 319, with her ascension to the role of consort upon marriage to the King of Haense. She was a notable leader of the Scyfling Invasion, uniquely trained and fought alongside soldiers of the Haeseni Royal Army, and became the first queen to hold a position as vassal to the crown while also in the role of consort. The Ruthern family of four, Viktoriya was the eldest of her siblings and a substitute parental figure to who came thereafter. Her parents remained in a loveless marriage, only bound together by a distant friendship and respect for one another. She became subject to a childhood lacking in the proper education of her status, and lost the companionship of her sisters as one, Lady Elizaveta, insisted on being tutored in the imperial court, and her youngest, Lady Irene, was sent away to study in the Commonwealth of Kaedrin. Her bright, floral dresses were a trend in her youth, and the one-shoulder shawl she sewed together herself too garnered great interest from the Haensewomen. She stepped into the political atmosphere at a rather young age, of only six years, when Queen Maya took interest in her. Her circumstances led to her being exposed to various meetings of external and internal affairs with the Queen-Mother, and her palatial duties. A year after her beginning involvement, she was asked to become a ward to the queen, to which her father, Count Konstantin of Metterden, accepted graciously. Viktoriya served four years as the ward to Queen Maya, and during her time her education has been remarked as “ [...] unwonted, but befitting of her doughty person”. Whilst studying notable Haeseni figures and duties of administration, she too practiced and trained in swordsmanship and wielding axes under Queen Maya and other persons she sent Viktoriya to. In the final years of her wardship, she had been given her first set of armor and donned it on any occasion she sought to be fit; including her beginnings of training with the Haeseni Royal Army. In 315, Viktoriya’s life altered as a witness of multiple acts of savage violence, encompassing events such as the assassination attempt of Sigismund II, and finding the bloodied body of the Queen-Mother and her deceased assailant. Before the untimely death of the queen, Viktoriya had been arranged to marry the Haeseni king at the age of majority. Her first battle came near (The Battle of Boomhill) and she no longer wore floral patterns, but darker colors befitting her family. She married Sigismund in 319, and became his consort thereafter. Even before her marriage and during the time of betrothal, Viktoriya refused to be excluded from meetings of the nation or any other discussions that would assist her knowledge to help her husband lead the kingdom. Two years into her reign, 321, the Scyfling Invasion was no other than her primary interest. Never had she been a queen of her courts and etiquette, and she seldom wanted to be pushed into a category of the other Haeseni noblewomen. Her peculiar personality and highly vocalized beliefs led to some traditionalists in disfavor of her; while others within the Haeseni courts praised her behavior, as taken from a quote by the court scribe, Heinrik of the Midlands, “She [was] a stalwart woman, pragmatic and determined. Of her ilk remain few, for too many are consumed by whimsy and folly.” Viktoriya led men in the defense of Metterden, her homeland, and trained alongside the other soldiers or fought with them when not in direct leadership of the battle, defense, et cetera. Viktoriya, simultaneously to the Scyfling Invasion, incorporated herself in imperial court with her sister, Lady Irene, returning home but soon asked to stay at imperial court. Her father’s death and the recent change in laws led to her being the first consort to hold a vassal position, as the Countess of Metterden (as due to succession crisis, Viktoriya later lost the title of countess but it returned to her brother, Lord Aleksandr). As matriarch, she arranged the marriage between her sister and the Prince John of Helena, for Lady Irene to become empress consort, and furthered relations with the future empress regnant, the Princess Imperial Anne Augusta. The betrothal was never fulfilled, but her relations –and furthermore, friendship– with the princess imperial continued. She acquired the position of Deputy-Palatine, and (although having years of experience) furthered her administration skills through the apprentice position. Her husband’s state of being greatly fell apart in a rapid period of time, leading to his death by suicide in 329. After the death of her husband, Viktoriya remained a prominent figure amongst the Haeseni people, particularly in that of the Haeseni Royal Army and participating in a numerity of battles, trainings, and other ongoings of the HRA when given the opportunity to be with the soldiers. As Queen-Mother, she would serve as the Royal Envoy and make great strides in establishing the diplomacy of the nation for her son, King Josef I, and continuously as Deputy Palatine under the Lord Palatine Konstantin Wick. With her involvement in the HRA, Viktoriya was considered the Warrior Queen, more so after the loss of over half her limbs and later amputations; notably, her eye was taken and she donned an eye-patch. The Queen-Mother, on occasion, was known for her eccentric behavior in comparison to previous queens and most ladies of the time, even revealing the scars beneath her patch to give a quick scare or showing off her battle wounds. Viktoriya soon departed from the limelight of court life, and even that of the army, with her deteriorating health. Rarely was the Queen-Mother seen outside of the Nikirala Prikaz, located in the new city of Karosgrad after the departure from the continent of Atlas and unto Almaris. In her final year of life, Viktoriya removed herself from the confines of the royal palace to again immerse herself in day-to-day life of the Haeseni people. She visited with a numerity of her family members, and witnessed the March on Karosgrad in 355 E.S. with the pontifical controversy surrounding Owyn III. Amidst the chaos of the protest outside the royal city's church, Viktoriya halted a man known as Richard Helvets, an aforementioned enemy of hers from years past, from the stabbing and slaughter of his own daughter, Lady Theodora Helvets, by beating him repetitively with her wooden cane until dragged from the pile of people that were to tackle him for his actions. After the protest, Viktoriya suffered from a heart attack but survived with the assistance of the kingdom's surgeon-general. In her last days, she sought out her last act to be an attempt to seal a marriage for her youngest sister, the Lady Irene Ruthern, to the Archchancellor of Oren, Franz Sarkozy, through her own means of strangely-written letters. She would not survive the next heart attack, passing away in the palace gardens after attempting to train with her sword outside. The attempt caused great strain upon her greatly declining health and, at fifty-one, she died with her sword in hand. --- XIV KOENASIsabel Baruch van Valwyck‘The Candid, the Dancing Queen’Isabella Baruch of Valwyck 339 E.S. - 359 E.S. | 1786 A.H. - 1806 A.H. (20yrs)@Juli City/Royal Residence(s): New Reza (Ekaterinburg), Karosgrad (Nikirala) Spouse(s): King Josef [I] of Barbanov-Bihar Offspring: Heinrik [II], 18th King of Haense, Princess Katerina-Cecilya, Prince Andrik, Duke of Galahar Memoir(s): ‘The Life of Isabella Baruch’ (370 E.S.) Isabel Franziska van Valwyck (Common: Isabella Francesca Baruch) was the fourteenth Queen consort of Hanseti-Ruska as per her marriage to Josef I, King of Hanseti-Ruska on the 18th of the First Seed, 1786. She was a Haeseni noblewoman as the daughter of Peter I, Duke of Valwyck, and his consort, the Duchess-consort Sofiya of Vasiland. Born in the year 1770, Isabel of Valwyck was raised as daughter to Duke Petyr Baruch as the youngest of five siblings. She matured early into her youth as a onlooker to the brutish familial ongoings resulting from her father, who has been often monikered by historians as ''Petyr the Beater''. When such events did not occur within her household and her father was away as the Lord Palatine to King Sigismund II, she was raised by her mother in courtly manners and received a proper education befitting a noblewoman of her status as the daughter of a duke. She bore witness to the abuse of her mother and four eldest siblings but was one of the few in the family to have been safe from her father's cruel physical punishments. However, frequently the Baruch youth was reminded by her father that her mother held no love for her and instead despised the girl. The abuse was said to have allegedly gone as far as her mother being beaten whilst pregnant with a bottle, but - to the luck of young Isabel - she had never seen that act in particular as the youngest. Around six years of her life, Isabel found the mutilated body of her mother after she took her own life by jumping from a balcony in Valwyck. Her father accused Isabel of being the sole reason and fault of her mother's suicide, leading to a guilt that would consume a majority of her life thereafter- even into her adulthood. After the accusation, he was murdered at the hands of her brother Petyr (later disowned to be Petyr Wick), which occurred before her eyes. Isabel spent little time in Valwyck and instead in the Ekaterinburg Palace with Viktoria of Metterden, Queen consort of Hanseti-Ruska, after she was orphaned and her family fell further into shambles. Her eldest brother was disowned and no longer considered the heir to Valwyck after the murder of his father. He was later adopted into House Wick, much to the dismay of those still remaining in the family. She was seen as the most suitable match for the future King of Haense, Prince Josef, after having been around him throughout her youth and befriending him as a result of her father's prominent occupation in the palace. From the view of the Haeseni courtiers and the Queen-Mother, Prince Josef and Isabel held a close relationship with one another after her accumulated recent time spent in the palace thereafter her parent's tragic deaths. The House of Baruch had been of most prominence amongst the Haeseni houses at the time, serving in the peerage as dukes, and the late Duke of Valwyck's position as Lord Palatine led to the suggestion of Isabel to be the successor to Viktoria of Metterden. At nine, Isabel was betrothed to the crown prince and taken as a ward under Queen Viktoria. She took particular interest in the Queen's Council and any other vassal meetings the queen attended. Whenever called for, Isabel flanked the side of the queen with utter attentiveness. The guilt of her mother's death still weighed heavily upon her and often was said to have brought nightmares to her, according to servants of the Ekaterinburg whilst she was resident there. Under her wardship to Viktoria, her confidence increased immensely and she learned how to present herself before a crowd. Seeing as the Queen was not one for courteous or palatial matters, Isabel instead was taught to bow to no one - allegedly, not even to the empress whilst the Haeseni were under the Holy Orenian Empire as vassals - and garnered a strong respect for the military. With two of Isabel's sisters in the military, she was able to have spars with them and learned basic swordsmanship from Queen Viktoria as well. Courtly matters she learned on her own time, and with her governess Adelaide Myrrh. She managed most of the servantry, as she maintained a strong relationship with the head of servantry, Ser Rubern Vasili (considering him to be . Hunts were frequented by the Queen-to-be whenever she could. Her intensive studies under the Queen began to falter after Queen Viktoria was seen less and less about the palace, after the disturbances in her family- including the suicide of her husband, Sigismund II. With her governess as her primary mentor thereafter, she focused on her private lessons of dancing, piano, and music theory from Lady Adelaide. Isabel married the King of Hanseti-Ruska, Josef I, on the 18th of the First Seed, 1786, in the Basilica of the Fifty Virgins. She was commended to be "[...] magnificent yet brazen, if not a symbol of the Lady Haense herself" in her silk and satin dress of creme and gold color. The dress trailed behind her with a red train laced with true gold, and as she entered the cathedral she was brought down the aisle by her brother, Duke Matyas Baruch. A refined red ruby, said to have been a necklace from the first consort Queen Reza of Turov, dangled most prominently from her necklace and, upon her finely fixed coiffure was the traditional regalia amidst the Haeseni Queen's weddings and coronations, the diadem of Valera of Adria. Her marriage ascended her to the position of Queen consort of Hanseti-Ruska and thus sent her forth into leading the royal courts with her own jurisdiction. Her reign as queen began with a court that had been empty for a great deal of time prior to her ascension. Her predecessor was absent from the court, and left Isabel without much of a court to build off of. Rather than base the beginning of her tenure in initiatives, Isabel filled courtly positions and expanded the Queen's Council with competent, eligible workers who would help her rebuild the quiet court life. When a question was raised against her husband, she was seen –throughout her entire life– defending the king's name and honor, and remaining as one of the most loyal wives to a Haeseni king. She maintained a resolute demeanor, yet at first timid when correcting the rigid etiquette of the Haeseni courtiers who had lacked lessons in such and often overstepped boundaries when addressing the royal family. As years would pass, Isabel gained a far more brazen attitude in addressing the wrongdoings of courtiers and blatantly calling out those who would attempt to address herself and her family with anything but respect. She went on to host so many balls, masquerades, and competitions for dance that she was often remarked as the Dancing Queen of Haense. She never followed in the warrior footsteps of her predecessor, yet still was seen alongside soldiers as a nurse and attending to the wounded when troubles were to arise– wearing an HRA uniform as the prior Queen Viktoria had done in different fashion. The Queen's Council of Isabel of Valwyck remained relatively static throughout most of her reign as consort. She befriended Lady Rosalind Amador and Lady Charlotte Baruch, both who would accompany her in most outings and courtly matters. She listened to the occasional advice given to the Queen-Mother who made less and less appearances in public life, and never attended any events surrounding the court. Her husband had seen little of extravagant courtly life himself, and thus she relied on her own instincts for how to maintain a proper court. Towards the middle of her time as consort to Josef I, rumors speculated that Isabel had tendencies that lended towards her father, who often remained as having bouts of insanity. The rumors were never officiated through private royal family documents, or any other sources yet to be revealed (if any, at all). She became the primary source of knowledge for her children, and tutored them with only a few governesses and attendees to the three children she coddled; Princess Katerina, Prince Heinrik, and Prince Andrik. The children were remarked often as, "stubborn children who were unaware of the harsh realities of life beyond their comforting palace walls" as their mother shielded them from outside life and safeguarded them with the luxuries of royal life. By the time of her husband's death from a heart attack in 359 ES, the children were still young– causing her to further retreat to protect her children from any harshness that she could keep them from. [W.I.P.] --- XV KOENASMariya Amador van Aurveldt‘The Young’Maria Amador of Aurveldt 362 E.S. - 368 E.S. | 1809 A.H. - 1815 A.H. (6yrs)@Maevlin City/Royal Residence(s): Karosgrad (Nikirala) Spouse(s): King Heinrik [II] of Barbanov-Bihar Offspring: Princess Petra, Duchess of Karosgrad, Sigismund [III], 19th King of Haense Memoir(s): ‘The Life of Maria Amador’ (368 E.S.) Biography in Progress. --- XVI KOENASAnnika Vyronov van Astfield‘The Traditionalist, the Socialite, the Disowned’Annika Vyronov of Astfield 376 E.S. - 390 E.S. | 1823 A.H. - 1837 A.H. (14yrs)@Mady City/Royal Residence(s): Karosgrad (Nikirala) Spouse(s): King Heinrik [II] of Barbanov-Bihar Offspring: Prince Andrik, Duke of Akovia, Princess Anastasiya, Baroness of Antioch, Prince Marus, Duke of Alban Memoir(s): ‘The Life of Annika Vyronov’ (390 E.S.) Biography in Progress. --- XVII KOENASEmma Kortrevich van JerovitzAmelia Kortrevich of Jerovitz 390 E.S. - 425 E.S. | 1837 A.H. - 1873 A.H. (35yrs)@livrose City/Royal Residence(s): Karosgrad (Nikirala) Spouse(s): King Sigmund [III] of Barbanov-Bihar Offspring: Prince Edvard, Grand Prince of Kusoraev, Princess Klara, Duchess of Baranya, Karl [III], 20th King of Haense, Prince Sergei, Duke of Rothswald, Prince Josef, Duke of Schattenburg, Princess Maya, Duchess of Kreden Memoir(s): ‘The Life of Emma Kortrevich’ (390 E.S.) Biography in Progress. --- XVIII KOENASAmadea Basrid van SusaAmadea Basrid of Susa 425 E.S. - Present | 1873 A.H. - Present (Incumbent) @shayCity/Royal Residence(s): Karosgrad (Nikirala - Morrivi) Spouse(s): King Karl [III] of Barbanov-Bihar Offspring: Prince Georg, Grand Prince of Kusoraev, Prince Marius, Duke of Markev, Princess Analiesa, Duchess of Kreden, Prince Nikolas, Duke of Greywyn Memoir(s): None Current Incumbent. Spoiler Credit to the Haeseni wikipedia collaborators Credit to @Eryane for biographies (I-XIV); original post found HERECredit to @Zanthuz for biographies (XV-XVII) Check out the wiki page!https://wiki.lordofthecraft.net/index.php?title=List_of_Haeseni_Consorts Edited August 9, 2022 by Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska 27 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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