Vaena Askari
Lady Cadalthor
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Sub Vaena's mother.
Image Credit: Here.
Role: Mylea is an influential Eldorai noblewoman and the mother of Vaena, her bastard daughter. She belongs to the old guard of the Eldorai nobility and may provide advice to Vaena, but also at times work against her.
Permissions: Can use Firemane stuff because I own the company.
Links: Ashiranism, Eldorai Exodus from Kaeshana, Firemane, Inexorable, Four of a Kind, Denouement, Choir of Angels, Draconian Guard, Church of Ashira, Pious Deliverance.
PHYSICAL INFORMATION
Age: 120s.
Force Sensitivity: Non-Force User
Species: Eldorai.
Appearance: Myela is an Eldorai female in early middle age. Her age is not really obvious since due to the way Eldorai aging works. Her people become physically mature around the age of thirty, and fully develop at fifty. After that they experience little visible aging until well over two hundred. She has bright blue eyes, pale blonde hair and the typical pointy ears of her species. She is tall, graceful and has a regal bearing. Myela always wears clothing of the highest quality and will dress as befitting a lady of rank and refined taste. She favours ornate clothing, jewellery and elaborate hair styles. Her hair is always impeccable and her face is attractive, but haughty. Myela has a stern and firm gaze. She is someone who is used to those beneath her in social standing obeying her without question and carries herself accordingly.
SOCIAL INFORMATION
Name: Mylea Cadalthor.
Titles: Her Censor of the Lady's Truth and Commander of the Faithful Militia titles are defunct, as she no longer holds a position in the security police. However, she has been allowed to keep them.
- Mylea of House Cadalthor, by the Grace of the Goddess Marchioness of Morlaiqua, Countess of Sintara & Gairona, Censor of the Lady's Truth, Commander of the Faithful Militia and Pious in Ashira's Eyes.
- Daughter of the Dragon.
- Light of the Faith
Wealth: Mylea is a member of one of the Eldorai peerage's Great Houses. Being a Marchioness and, in addition to her family inheritance, gave Mylea a considerable fortune to draw upon. The Exodus dininished this as her land was lost. She was given a new fief with land and income on Tygara and soon acquired property on Arkas. However, her fortune was diminished again when Firemane forced House Cadalthor to pay reparations after Tarissa's failed coup. Mylea's minions did their best to cook the books for her, but Vaena turned out to be quite rigorous in abiding by the terms of the agreement she had signed. So Mylea had to give up several beach houses, private yachts and so on. Much to her annoyance, her wayward daughter has been imposing austerity on her house and decreed that her relatives must cut expenses.
Mylea still retains the appearance of wealth and lives in opulent splendour, but in reality is in hock to loans. Nova Bank is one of the financial institutions she has borrowed money from. This is ironic since the lady who runs it is an exile who was driven from the Matriarchy many decades ago and really does not like it. Mylea finds the idea of living a more frugal life distasteful. There is, however, a more complex reason than simly greed, for she must consider the optics of position. If someone wants to be treated as a noblewoman, she needs to act and display like one. A modest and dowdy peer is looked down on more than an impoverished one who lives above her means. Such perceptions unfortunately matter. It is a point of contention between Myela and her daughter, who was raised in a monastic way. She is not above employing graft to get what she wants. She also has money stashed away in a secret account in an off-world bank. The Marchioness does not see this as in any way inconsistent with her xenophobic and ultra-nationalist beliefs.
Notable Possessions: Owns a Sarix as befitting her rank as a noblewoman. It is mostly ceremonial, but can also be used in combat if needed. She owns a large mansion and several villas on Tygara and has a transport vessel on par with the Tantive IV. She also has a couple of smaller ships to take her from the surface to space and vice versa, such as a Lambda-class shuttle. She has a heirloom necklace with pendant of the Cadalthor House. Moreover, she has a large art collection.
Skills: Much to her chagrin, Mylea is not a Sciian, which is the Eldorai word for Force-Sensitive. Space mages tend to commandeer the top jobs in the Matriarchy and are regarded as blessed by Ashira in conservative circles. However, she is well-versed in courtly etiquette, intrigue and trained as a Sarix duellist. The Marchioness enjoys civilised pursuits such as falconing, riding and attending the opera. Myela is a patron of the arts and has a good eye for artwork. She is quite accomplished at equestrian sports. Indeed, she is a champion dressage rider who has won gold and silver medals. Her musical tastes are conservative. Moreover, she is an avid gardener.
She is quite knowledgeable about Eldorai history and religion. Indeed, she has written texts on both. Her writings espouse a traditionalist, conservative interpretation and are very dismissive of modern trends. Mylea understands Galactic Basic, but refuses to speak it herself. Whenever she meets someone, she will speak Eldarai and it will inevitably be High rather than Common Eldarai. Mylea was highly placed in the Eldorai secret police for many years. She lost that job many years ago, but has retained her expertise in political repression, fabricating plots and conspiracies.
Personality: Mylea is not racist; she is 'racially conscious'. She likes 'human monkeighs' well enough as long as they know their place. She misses the old days when the monkeighs and other aliens were restricted to the Guest Quarter of Santaissa. In those days, everything was still right in the world. "I'm not saying that monkeighs are animals, but studies have shown that they lack impulse control. How can we let our sons and daughters be safe with them around? The pointed ear and the rounded ear can never be compatible."
"I have nothing against these Tygarans - better than the monkeigh - but they should stick with their own and not try and seduce good Ashira fearing Eldorai girls. The Tygaran natives are like children, not fully formed by the Goddess. It is our duty to guide them to the light. It is only right that they show us proper deference."
"The Qadiri are brave and industrious but too consumed with their petty squabbles. They must be civilised so they are properly brought to the Light of the Goddess. The Vash are too wayward and unused to urban life to be relied on for now, but they are the most likeminded to us and the most honest. Their native simplicity does them credit. The Xio were lost in the hands of abominable despotism and dreadful heathenism but they have recanted some of their earlier barbarity and their skill with machines may serve them well if guided with a stern mother's hand. It is the Eldorai woman's burden to bring civilisation to those bereft of Ashira's light for so long."
"Today, it has become fashionable for the mob to castigate Tirathana VI as a tyrant. I ask you, who has taken her place? A weak-willed puppet who cannot make a single decision before a coarse monkeigh has made it for her in advance. Without the strong hand of a true Star Queen, we are the mercy of the forces of chaos."
"Welcome to being a ruling Duchess, daughter. You do realise that we could all be dead? You, your siblings and I. All slaughtered because you had to place your feelings and your base desires above your duty? Insist on offending the family, and you will lose your head. Everyone is a lying viper here, and a better one than you."
"And I imagine you are the viper I should trust, yes?"
"Of course. I am your mother."
"You're an embodiment of everything that is wrong with this house."
"I am a survivor. Condemn me if you believe it makes the halo on your head shine any brighter. I have played this game for over a century. For how long have you been part of this family? Less than a year and the daggers are already sharpening while you fumble about like a blind woman. They do not respect you; they revile you."
"I will make the people love me."
"If this is your idea of attaining their love, you are doing a terrible job of it."
"I was not speaking about the family, mother. When I say people, I mean those who toil in the fields and factories, carry our banners and fight our wars."
"The mob's love is a fickle thing, dear. One moment they sing your name in praise, the next they curse your name and demand your death. The slight breeze sways them. Any demagogue can rouse the rabble. It has no consistency other than hungering for more."
"You see, mother, I was raised among the rabble. I spent my whole life as one of them. I know them. And there are many who have kept faith in the Mother."
- Mylea and Vaena having differences.
As the above shows, Mylea is truly a paragon of tolerance. She is haughty, bossy, snobbish and ruthless. She is protective of her daughter, but also believes she should follow her 'guidance'. She is accustomed to a life of luxury and scandalised by certain elements of Vaena's behaviour. Mylea is very knowledgeable about courtly life and has well-honed survival instincts. If she cannot lead the house herself, she is determined that a child of her line will. Vaena does not like relying on or confiding in her mother, but has to sometimes. Mylea is a woman of the faith, but also a woman with an eye for power and opportunities.
Exposure to the game of stars has made her a deeply cynical woman. Mylea is prideful, but also bitter. Mylea has a thoroughly matriarchal, feudal, hierarchical notion of power. She considers it part of the natural order that the commoners know their place and respect the authority of the highborn. The idea that common people should have the ability to choose their leaders by vote and remove them from office if they find their conduct to be unsatisfatory would seem absurd to her. She has close connections to the Society For the Propagation of Ashira's Grand Design and Her Shining and Blessed Path, an extremely conservative faction in the Church of Ashira. Mylea is corrupt and has no qualms about abusing her authority to enrich herself. In her position as censor, she often resorted to blackmail.
It goes without saying that Mylea has a low view of Eldorai dissident groups such as the Shadow Knights. To her they are anarchists who rebel against the natural order and sow discord. She also lacks sympathy for the Eldorai who were left behind on Kaeshana during the Exodus. To her, these 'Forsaken' were rabble who had abandoned the Goddess and thus deserved to be be there. In her view, the cataclysms on Kaeshana are a sign that the Goddess has been angered by the turn to liberal ideas and toleration.
Likewise, she dislikes Star Queen Tirathana VII, regarding her as a weak, indecisive appeaser and probably an apostate. The Marchionesses believes in a very conservative set of values. In her world view, the men of her house are suited for securing marriage-alliances and little else, meaning they should not wield power of their own. Ironically, her son Aridius might be the child she is the most satisfied with. Sadly, he was born a boy. Strictly speaking, the Eldorai Council of Nobles now has a few male members. But in House Cadalthor tradition is considered holy writ, and so the boy cannot inherit.
She can be rather vindictive when thwarted. At her command, one of her rivals was locked up and shackled in a small cell filled with gold, which was actually painted lead. When the prisoner tried to bribe the guards with it they got angry with her on discovering it and reported her. Mylea ensured that her prisoner was fed by droids, but denied contact with sentient beings. Eventually, she was shown holopics of the outside world. Some of them had been doctored; all showed Mylea being successful. When the prisoner tried to starve herself, she was force-fed. Eventually the captive managed to commit suicide. Mylea was rather annoyed by this.
This is not to say that Mylea cannot show kindness or generosity. However, she is rather patronising about it. This is called noblesse oblige. She is an aristocrat to the core and views her position of power as a pre-ordained right. As a result, she is extremely resistant to social change. The wind of change that has swept over the Matriarchy troubles, as it puts everything she has believed in as well as her social status into question. In the end, Mylea is a child of her time and place. Mylea also has a rather vindictive streak. For all her unpleasant traits, she is devoted to her family. But this overlaps strongly with her belief of what her family and its place in society ought to be. Mylea is an avid animal lover, enjoys gardening and falconing. Much to her frustration, she was born without Force powers, which made her a bit of a disappointment in her family's eyes. However, she learned how to employ other weapons, such as cunning, guile and gold.
The relationship between mother and daughter is strained. Vaena's conception was an accident that deeply embarrassed her mother. The child's father was not someone who'd be considered an 'appropriate' match for an Eldorai matriarch, but a male courtesan. One might note that it is common among Eldorai noblewomen to hire surrogates for their husband to impregnate and then raise the children as their own. In short, her conception was quite scandalous. So Vaena was declared a bastard and raised in an orphanage of the Church of Ashira. She was inducted into the Angelii corps after being discovered to be Force-Sensitive.
Mylea was bitter about her sister taking control of the house. She claims that she did not want to give up Vaeana, but her daughter is sceptical of this. After Tarissa framed her mother and took control of the house, she had Mylea temporarily placed under house arrest, but later set her free, but kept her under surveillance. Vaena and Mylea crossed paths during the Exodus. The reunion between mother and daughter was awkward to say the least. Both lived in different worlds, Vaena was curious, but also shocked about the revelation of her true origins. For her part, Myela regretted giving up her daughter, but at the same time had new children and Vaena was a stranger to her. Nonetheless, she tried to include the young Angelii, which put Vaena through internal turmoil since such contact conflicted with her duties. Moreover, Myela's daughters made no secret out of the fact that a lowly Angelii officer was beneath them. Especially one who had been born a bastard. Tarissa watched their contacts with suspicion.
The two had a reunion after Tarissa's execution. Vaena was part of the joint Firemane-Angelii task force that stormed the Cadalthor estate. The family had been black listed and faced the prospect of losing all its lands and privileges. Mylea urged her daughter to embrace her heritage and do her duty to her house. Vaena responded poorly to this. In a way, Mylea has gotten what she wanted. Her sister and niece are dead and her daughter is Duchess now. She is not particularly enjoying her victory though. However, Myela does not quite understand her daughter, as both have grown up in different worlds. She regards many of her beliefs as naive. Here it is pertinent to note that although Vaena is more egalitarian than her mother, she is no liberal and certainly no democrat or advocate of gender equality. Rather she is a conservative, deeply pious woman who believes the elite has forsaken the Goddess for filthy lucre. She also has a habit of scandalising her mother, who is rather vexed by her daughter's 'unseemly liaisons'. Mylea wants Vaena to succeed and stay on top, but she also wants Vaena to do it on her terms and allow herself to be guided by her wise mother.
Mylea correctly believes that the girl lacks knowledge of court politics and seems intent on offending the old guard as much as possible, which is foolish. At the same time, Mylea may take drastic action that could inadvertently undermine the young Duchess. The matriarch regards herself as wiser and does not believe she needs to explain herself to her daughter. Both also feel that the true word of the Goddess is being lost in an era of enlightened despotism and dislike the Eldorai's dependence on outsiders. The difference is that Vaena also believes the old guard forsook Ashira in favour of lucre, making Mylea and those like her part of the problem. She regards the Tygarans as equal to the Eldorai, seeing them as fellow children of Ashira.
COMBAT INFORMATION
Weapon of Choice: Bladed weapons, such as the Sarix, pistols and bodyguards. Myela is not a warrior and has minions to do the fighting for her, but she can defend herself when neeeded. She will usually carry a holdout blaster of some sort.
Combat Function: Mylea is a noblewoman, not a warrior. She has bodyguards to do the fighting for her. Her primary goal is to avoid combat herself. However, failing this, she can defend herself with blade and pistol as needed. Mylea is no coward, but also not someone who will foolishly throw herself into the line of fire out of some misguided sense of heroism.
She will commonly not wear armour and carry only a Sarix and a pistol, so her main goal would be to bring combat into a closer confine where she can strike. Mylea is quick, but not particularly tenacious. So she will aim to end a confrontation quickly if forced into combat. One particularly useful trait is her very high resistance to poisons. This is partly a racial trait because Eldorai have a toxin-flushing organ, but also the result of training. The game of stars is a perilous one and so she has acquired an immunity to many forms of poison. She is also skilled in employing poison to dispose of individuals who threaten or otherwise inconvenience her.
Strengths:
- Trained as a Sarixi duellist and good at using a pistol. Myela can defend herself with blade and gun.
- Very resistant to poison and other toxins. This was a necessity at the poisonous court she grew up in.
- No space magic. Mylea is a normal Eldorai woman with no Force powers. She also does not have genetic or cybernetic enhancements to compensate for this. Thus she can be injured or killed like any mortal.
- Limited skill with galactic technology. Mylea is a traditionalist and xenophobic. Though not ignorant of modern technology, she has only a basic knowledge of its more high-tech applications.
Mylea Cadalthor is a scion of the Noble House of Cadalthor, a great family long held in high regard in the Eldorai peerage. It is known for its unwavering commitment to Ashiran orthodoxy and the defence of the ancien régime. For centuries, it has almost always been at the forefront of Eldorai politics. Dramatic falls from grace have been paired with equally dramatic rises to power. The Cadalthors consider themselves to be the guardians of the true faith in the Great Goddess Ashira and the other Eldorai deities, protecting Eldorai tradition and culture. At the same time, they regard themselves as warriors, who use their martial prowess to smite the Eldorai's enemies.
Finally, they regard themselves as the natural leaders of the Eldorai due to being descended from the ancient Star Queen Anais II of House Kaldis, known as Anais the Dragon. Famously brave and ruthless, Anais was a formidable warlord who led the Eldorai people to great triumphs and hitherto unprecedented heights of power. Cadalthor means 'Daughters of the Dragon' in Eldarai. While the Cadalthors are not direct descendants of 'the Dragon', they claim to be descended from one of her cousins, Caerys Kaldis. This illustrious lineage is what, in their opinion, gives them the right to rule, along with their martial valour. Even when they were out of favour at the Court and far from the corridors of power, the Cadalthors have not wavered in this conviction.
The House made its mark during the Great Civil War, also known as the Time of Troubles. The last Kaldis queen, Anais IV the Proud, was murdered by a cabal of nobles led by Valeska Masana, following a devastating Kar'zun offensive. What followed was a period of widespread chaos, during which no less than nine queens ruled in less than ninety years. With the Matriarchy weakened by internal strife, the Kar'zun seized the opportunity to strike deep into Eldorai territory and sack the capital city of Santaissa.
Despite their regicide, Valeria Kaldis backed the Masana family during this tumultuous period. If you would ask the Cadalthors, they would say it was because Anais IV was an unworthy ruler and that while her death was unfortunate, she had clearly lost the mandate of heaven. Besides, having one Star Queen was better than nine. Moreover, it was every Goddess-fearing Edorai's duty to rally beneath the holy banner to fight the 'stone demons'. The Kaldis cadet branch used the chance to expand their own power, carving out their own petty kingdom.
Valeria either declared herself Duchess of Galondrona - or received the title from the 'legitimate Star Queen' according to the Cadalthor annals. She was a ruthless, but effective ruler committed to law and order. The title 'Daughter of the Dragon' was bestowed upon her after striking down an usurper. It became the family name. House Cadalthor played a key role in the final war against the Kar'zun. A Cadalthor was among the one hundred Angelii who were martyred during the battle at the pass the pass of Thermiscyra. Her cousin, Celestyne Cadalthor, enthusiastically backed Ariane the Great's ruthless crusade against the Kar'zun, leading part of her host in person during the final battle.
House Cadalthor's fortunes waxed and waned over the centuries, but tradition remained holy writ and so the family was steeped into it. It was the world Mylea Cadalthor grew up in, but the family would soon face challenges that went beyond the threats their ancestors had fought against. Her mother was Aelia Cadalthor, Duchess of Galondrona. Mylea was the middle child, with an older sister called Mikela and a younger one by the name of Fausta. In addition, she had an older brother called Livius. However, like all of her siblings, Mylea was not the biological offspring of the Duchess, though all were considered the latter's children.
Instead she was product of the husband and a chosen broodmare called Mellisa who had been specially selected for the right genetics. This was by no means uncommon or considered strange in the Eldorai's matriarchal culture. In Eldorai high society females would often hire surrogates for their husbands to impregnate and then raise the children as their own. A child was yours if you acknowledged it as such, no matter who had given to birth to it. The Eldorai Matriarchy practiced absolute enactic succession, which meant only the daughter would inherit.
Mylea is described as having been a proper Eldorai lady at nine. Eldorai age and develop at a slower pace than humans, so this is their rough equivalent of three. As a middle child, Mylea was the spare. Mikela was the eldest daughter and thus the one being groomed to rule. Mylea would step in if something happened to her older sister. This meant she would receive the appropriate education, but also have it drilled into her skull that she was not to usurp her sister or get ideas about supplanting her. When they little, all children were close. However, they drifted apart as they grew older.
Livius, being a boy, was the odd one out as he received a very different education. He could not inherit due to his gender. Instead he was supposed to get a good match on the marriage market. Once he had married a suitable noblewoman, he would become part of his wife's family, yet also be expected to represent the interests of the Cadalthors. His most important duty would be to provide his wife with an heiress and a spare. Livius was introverted and a bit shy. Fausta, having no real role due to being neither the heiress nor the spare, took an interest in martial pursuits.
Both Mylea and Mikela grew competitive with each other. Each sought to impress their mother. Mylea displayed clear academic gifts, developing an interest in history, religion and the arts. Indeed, the family's confessor praised her for her knowledge of the Ashiran classics. However, she was also prideful and vain. She soon had a circle of ladies-in-waiting she liked to lord over and boss around. However, what vexed Mylea was that both of her sisters were Force-Sensitive, and she was not. Aelia was a Force-User herself and came to see her second oldest daughter as a bit of a disappointment for not being able to harness her Sciia. Livius was also as Force-Sensitive as a plank, but he was a boy, so he did not count.
It did not take long before Mikela had attended the School of Four Powers and been inducted into the Angelii. A combination of skill and family connections ensured she was soon promoted. Myela was jealous of her, but also felt guilty when she heard Mikela had been injured in combat. At first she had Fausta to bond with. However, soon it turned out that her younger was also Force-Sensitive and so she followed Mikela to the Angelii. This left Mylea feeling rather lonely. She developed a love for spectacles. It was a distraction, but she was also a good organiser.
Among other things, she organised dance troupes and theatrical performances to celebrate the anniversary of her mother's ascent as duchess. Mylea enjoyed the role of a maecenas who could dispense patronage on singers, poets and artists. She also commissioned the creation of a revised history of House Cadalthor. She was particularly proud when the dance troupe she had organised performed for the Star Queen.
Her mother's relationship with Queen Tirathana VI was not the best. When the Venari dynasty took the throne, the Cadalthors protested that as a cadet branch of the Evoras, the previous royal family, they deserved the place. However, the Venari claim was stronger and, more importantly, they had the military might to make it the legal one. Thus the Cadalthors had to bide their time. Aelia resented Tirathana, but also feared her and was afraid of arousing the suspicion of the paranoid, despotic ruler. It raised Mylea's standing a bit when she was able to please the Queen. Here and there, she received letters from Fausta, who was taking well to being a soldier. Her younger sister was serving in the prestigious Valora's Chosen Great Company.
However, it was in this period that young Mylea entered a liaison that would have profound repercussions for her life. Many decades later, the product of this short-lived dalliance, Vaena Askari, would be told that her father had been a common courtesan. However, this does not add up. A conservative, ultra-traditional Eldorai lady would not fail to use protection when she bedded a maleling whose sole role was to give her pleasure.
Instead, Vaena's father was someone Mylea actually had feelings for and was genuinely fond of, though she would not admit to it. His name was Arellius Pictor, a famous but lowborn painter. He was far beneath her in status, but extremely gifted and fascinated her. He charmed the aristocracy by immortalising them in his paintings. He was also a bit of a player and a rogue. It is debatable whether he had feelings for Mylea, was just using her or whether it was a bit of both.
Though miles apart in social status, Arellius charmed the young noblewoman with his quick wit and sense of humour. They also bonded over art and music. Mylea felt stiffled in her present role and he offered an outlet. While dependent on the patronage of the highborn, Arellius often mocked their pretentions and the shallowness of courtly life in private. The pair grew closer, and he offered to do a portrait of her. He did so, and she was delighted with his work. Pride was her fatal flaw. The two proceeded to consummate the completion of the image. However, wall have ears.
On the next day, Arellius was gone. Mylea was told he would not be coming back. Moreover, it soon turned out that the young lady was pregnant. She refused to take steps to abort the child. However, she obviously could not keep it around. It was a bastard and the fruit of a liaison with a lowborn. This made its existence an embarrassment to the family. Moreover, it could create succession issues, which was deadly serious. A bastard could not inherit, but certain parties could always try to use it as a pawn.
Aelia decreed that the child would be given to the Church. Mikela, having returned from her tour of duty, rose in the Duchess' esteem again. The babe was taken from Mylea immediately after she had given birth. Indeed, she was allowed to hold it. She would be raised in an Ashiran nunnery. However, Mylea secretly kept Arellius' painting. After this embarrassing incident, Aelia decided to send her wayward daughter away to a place where she could be productive and out of the limelight. Mylea was not a Force-User, so she could not be sent to the Angelii. Aelia could have forced her to take the veil and become a priestess, but that would mean taking her out of the line of succession.
So instead she sent Mylea to a remote fief of House Cadalthor to supervise tax collection. It was the first time the young noblewoman had ventured into the rural areas, leaving the glamour of the cities and of aristocratic life behind her. It was like stepping into another world. Centuries ago Ariane had founded settler colonies here to 'civilise' the former Kar'zun lands and spread the virtues of Ashira. However, these days were past. The province was behind on meeting its tax obligations.
Mylea was angry, but she was still a Cadalthor. Since she was who she was and so were the Eldorai, she increased the taxes. This sparked a peasant rebellion. At first, it seemed like a local issue. The revolt broke out when an official dispatched by Mylea to investigate the nonpayment of the poll tax. This sparked a violent confrontation, and the revolt soon spread. Peasants, as well as local artisans and officials, took up arms in rebellion. They killed tax collectors and gendarms, burnt court records and opened the local jails. Manor houses were burnt and supporters of the ancien régime lynched. Peasant leaders proclaimed they were not rebelling against the Queen, but her rapacious minions.
Mylea's response to the revolt was one of ruthless suppression. In the world she had grown up in, the smallfolk were supposed to know their place and obey. It was the natural order, and the 'rabble' was rebelling against it. The thought that the commoners could express a will of their own and have a right to rebel against their betters was absurd to her. The nobility and the Queen ruled by divine right. She was no warrior, but she had soldiers at her beck and call. Poorly armed and disorganised peasants could not withstand a trained military for long, especially since it had artillery and they did not.
Since this was the ancien régime, she was actually applauded for having made a 'salient example'. The only comment from the royal court was that she should not burn as many villages next time - not because of any silly morality but because it was fiscally inefficient. Regardless, Mylea had regained a small measure of favour when she returned home. By now Fausta had returned from deployment, with scars and stories of battles against Dark Eldorai and foreign devils. Now Myela could live vicariously through her younger sister and bask in her martial accomplishments. Fausta tried to mediate between her two older sisters. However, Myela and Mikela did not get on, though they remained somewhat civil for a while.
However, her actions had repercussions. Soon the ancien régime faced a new peasant uprising. This one was better organised and more dangerous. They called themselves the New Green Ribbons, after a radical egalitarian movement that had rebelled against the Crown during the Time of Troubles many centuries ago. Labelling the Star Queen was an unjust tyrant, they declared that she must be overthrown in the name of the Goddess Ashira. Significantly, their leader was a royal pretender. For she claimed to be Aspasia, a scion of the Evora branch of the royal family, which had been ousted by Tirathana VI. In truth, she was probably an army deserter who had discovered that she possessed talent as a demagogue.
It helped that many ordinary people had never met a royal. The usurper promised an end to oppressive taxation, freedom from exploitative nobles and 'forgiveness for all previous crimes'. Peasants would no longer toil the land for a lady or pay tithes to a corrupt Church. Every woman would reap what she had sown, from the highest lady to the lowest gutter rat. She would scour Santaissa clean, starting with the Star Queen and her decadent court.
But the uprising was a brutal one. The pretender's make-believe utopia was played out against a backdrop of blood and terror. The faux royal decrees unleashed a frenzy of hatred. Peasants rose up and butchered the matriarchs, their families and the hated tax collectors. Some nobles and their families were dragged from their burning mansions, flayed, burned alive, hanged from trees or executed in other grisly ways. Even children were murdered. Brigands, who claimed to be affiliated with whichever faction seemed ascendant at the moment, attacked merchants and raided settlements. The retaliation from the government troops was just as brutal. 'Examples' were made of those who defied the régime. Villages accused of collaborating with the rebels were decimated.
Peasants in the district where Mylea had carried out her purge remembered the cruelty of the Cadalthors. The ferocity of the uprising took the nobles by surprise. Mylea, like many others, dismissed it as some uppity rabble with pitchforks. The young Cadalthor was playing hostess to a group of nobles and other members of high society when the Cadalthor villa she was staying in was sacked. Fausta nobly protected her sister and helped her get out, slaying many rebels. However, in the process she was captured. The last thing Mylea saw of her was Fausta being beaten and dragged away. She was able to hide, but had to disguise herself as a servant. Her fancy and now rather bloodstained clothes with all their gems would have only aroused attention. However, when she came across royalist soldiers, they at first mistook for her an actual commoner. They frisked her, and proclaimed her a thief since she was carrying the signet ring of House Cadalthor.
Needless to say Mylea was indignant, especially after she was robbed. However, her regal bearing convinced one of the soldiers, possibly hoping for a promotion or plain fearful, to call her superior. The call eventually reached Mylea's mother. Aelia had two of the soldiers whipped, then spoke with Mylea. Mother and daughter had a brief moment where they consoled each other for Fausta's loss. Mylea was determined that they had to get her sister back. However, Aelia remained adamant that the family had to focus on the larger picture. The Crown was rallying for a counterstrike to wipe the rebels from the face of the earth. House Cadalthor had to do its duty and not appear weak. Their credo would be fire and blood.
Soon House Cadalthor received a ransom demand. However, Aelia refused, for the family would not bow to rebels and terrorists. Mylea wanted all rebels to burn, but she also wanted her sister back. Thus she used secret channels to contact them. Her hope was to get them to agree to an exchange, then ambush them and rescue her sister. However, things took a drastic turn. To ensure that defection was impossible and that they had burnt their bridges with the ancien régime for good, the rebel leader holding Fausta had her executed, then ordered her lieutenants to stab the corpse one by one to ensure their loyalty through the knowledge that the Cadalthors would not spare any of them. The executioner was a young revolutionary called Stylena. When Cadalthor troops stormed the cave she had been held in, they found a mutilated corpse. Ironically, Fausta had probably been the nicest of the three sisters. Mylea swore she would unleash fire and blood. She also had to cover her tracks, lest her dealings with the rebels be discovered.
Mylea started working with the dreaded Investigators of Ashira's Truth. This was the secret police of the Eldorai Matriarchy. It was tasked with enforcing political and religious orthodoxy. This involved investigating all facets of society for signs of deviation. It was a job that required deviousness and cunning, while martial prowess was less important. The Investigators followed in the wake of the combat troops to screen population in rebel-held areas that had been reconquered by the royalists. They questioned captive rebels and villagers, carried out arrests and extrajudicial executions. Amarille Daenora, a senior secret police officer from minor nobility, was assigned to advise Myela and show her the ropes.
Mylea remembered the lesson she had learned during her first command. This time she did not waste 'fiscal assets'. As the fighting dragged on, she proposed a new policy that received the backing of the secret police. The rebels used the civilian population in the rural areas as a shield. They taxed them, conscripted them and, when fortune did not favour them, hid among peasants. To isolate the rebels from the peasants who sometimes fed or sheltered them or provided them with information, she reasoned, it was necessary to relocate rural inhabitants from compromised areas into royalist territory.
Because their loyalty was not beyond reproach, they would have be held in isolated encampments. She called this the reconcentration policy. Thus civilians were forced to move into these encampments. There were no mass executions. Indeed, Mylea was quite adamant about not wasting assets. After all, the deportees could still be productive. However, terrible living conditions, disease and lack of food claimed the lives of many innocent civilians.
At first it was a local policy, but then Tirathana VI endorsed it. She approved of the young Cadalthor's severity in dealing with 'godless rebels' and 'heretics'. Mylea seldom visited the detention centres. However, she took an active interest in the interrogation and trials of captured rebels, who were compelled to confess to all sorts of absurd conspiracies.The camps were closed after the rebellion had been crushed. Mikela participated in the final battle, where the royalists dealt a crushing blow to the rebels.
The remnants of the rebel army scattered, but the False Aspasia's own bodyguards delivered her to the royal army. The Grand Seraph had her placed in a metal cage and sent to Santaissa. Weeks of interrogation followed. It was inconceivable that an illiterate brigand could have instigated a revolt on such a scale on her own. Mylea personally attended an interrogation, knowing that the Queen was personally monitoring the proceedings. There was no evidence that the usurper was the agent of a foreign power, but that was not politic to say.
So Mylea compiled a report portraying her as the stooge of Illyrian demon-worshippers and foreign devils. It is doubtful that Tirathana believed it, but it was meant for public consumption. The pretender had confessed and expressed hope for mercy, but a death sentence was unavoidable. The pretender was brought before a special court, admitted her true identity, confessed her crimes and declared that she repented before the Goddess and her all-powerful viceroy, the rightful Star Queen. The usurper was publicly executed. A mob was allowed to beat the prisoner. This was followed up with some flaying and removal of the ears with hot irons. Finally, a red hot 'crown' of iron was placed on the pretender's head until she died. The dismembered corpse was then sent to all corners of Kaeshana as a warning.
A few low-level royalist soldiers and enforcers who had committed 'excesses' were punished. But the leaders of the royalist counter-strike received medals, titles and estates. Mylea was given a high rank in the Investigators. There, she displayed a talent that went beyond mere political repression. Mylea had always liked to think of herself as a woman of impeccable taste and a connoisseur of fine arts. Now she proved herself to be a skilled fabricator of plots. Mylea did not personally participate in torture, but remote-controlled interrogations and trials from afar. This went to the point that she edited confessions the secret police was supposed to extract from prisoners.
Mylea enjoyed the company of literati, but it was a poisonous affection. Tirathana, whose own legitimacy was somewhat in doubt, had acquired a fixation with closeted heretics in the Church, and Mylea came to share it. After all, there had to be a conspiratorial centre behind the uprisings. Saboteurs also had to be at fault for the corsair raids against Eldorai settlements. Over the years, Mylea carved out a niche for herself as a cultural censor and rigid enforcer of orthodoxy. She made the acquaintance of a young, heterodox artist, but her reaction was quite different now.
Considering his behaviour to be uppity, she had him framed for indecencies and thus sent to a labour camp. Meanwhile, his work was taken by her and renamed. Rumour has it that a popular musician attempted to 'encourage her' to give their work consideration. Mylea took the bribe, but after the singer attempted to seduce her she had her arrested and 'compelled' to confess to revolutionary and seditious leanings. To no one's surprise they were 'shot whilst escaping' on the way to prison; the common cause of death for those the regime felt were too dangerous to keep alive.
Mylea got involved in an investigation regarding the presence of closeted Illyrians. Illyrianism had been banned for centuries due to being heretical. In Eldorai mythology, Illyria is a traitorous daughter of Ashira. She grew haughty and jealous of Ashira's creation, the Eldorai, so she spawned demonic abominations. She refused to repent and fought against the heavenly mother, but she was beaten and cast into hell. However, she has been a symbol of rebellion for 'Dark Eldorai'.
While a persecuted minority, scattered Illyrian sects had managed to survive by passing as Ashirans. Some of them created ostensibly orthodox art that, in fact, incorporated Illyrian symbols only members of the sect would be able to identify. Put in charge of a commission, Mylea found that Illyrian sects had endured in a remote province, where the local clergy and governor were lax in their vigilance. However, now this attitude of 'don't ask, don't tell' came to an end. The results were arrests, forced confessions and deportations. Tirathana was eager to purge heretics, as her own legitimacy was somewhat questionable. Those who did not lapse and recant were banished.
Amidst all this, the secret police succeeded in luring a famous Eldorai poet called Siora Venyra back to Kaeshana. Mylea had been an admirer of her work...which is why she really wanted the poet back - in a golden cage. To this end she played on the poet's vanity. Bit by bit, the poet was ensnared, until she was producing panegyrics for the regime. Her house was bugged. The secret police used her as a means to lure in other intellectuals. Myela sent Siora, supervised by an Investigator, to a special purpose camp on an arctic island. Siora put on her blinkers and closed her eyes to prisoners dying in the icy wastes. Instead she wrote an article expressing her delight at the clean sheets, good food, daily news and rehabilitation which the Investigators gave to their prisoners. In the meantime, Myela had married. Her husband was from an old Eldorai family. The marriage was purely a political one to solidify an alliance between two families in the conservative bloc. Mylea gave her husband a servant girl to impregnate so that he could provide her with heirs. Incidentally, the servant was kin to her biological mother.
Mylea performed personal inspection of art to ensure it was orthodox. She found time to keep tabs on her bastard daughter. Her mother had denied her permission to see her. Indeed, she had not even been told where exactly her child had been sent. However, now she was highly placed in the secret police and could locate the nunnery she was being raised in. She had an agent placed in the temple to keep an eye on her, and make sure the little one remained safe from harm. Mylea made a donation to the temple. Here and there, little Vaena received gifts, though she was kept in the dark about the source. The Investigators scored a success when they helped predict and thwart the quixotic coup of Taenarys Evora, an exiled claimant. The usuper believed that the common people drank secret toasts in her name and would rise in revolt the moment she returned. Unfortunately for her, this was not the case. Tirathana gave her 'dear cousin' a 'crown of gold'.
As more and more offworlders started coming to Kaeshana, the regime grew concerned about the Eldorai being corrupted by foreign ideas. Heretical writings, such as those of the renowned biologist Charae Darwai, who had claimed that Eldorai and humans shared common traits and origins, were destroyed and possession of them was treated as a grounds for arrest. Foreigners were limited to the 'Guest Quarter' in Santaissa, which was kept under police surveillance. Myela took charge of these containment measures. She also censored what Eldorai publications wrote about the outside Galaxy. Any Eldorai who had contact with foreigners were monitored closely. However, other foreigners came with malignant intent. These corsairs carried out slave raids to capture and enslave Eldorai. They possessed superior technology to the Eldorai.
Mylea helped cover up one such raid to prevent the Eldorai's weakness from becoming known. Deep down she was afraid, but she reacted in the only was she knew. Clearly saboteurs had to be at fault. Incidentally, some of the Illyrians who had been banished from Kaeshana now returned as raiders and pirates. While all this took place, the family suffered a loss. Mylea's mother had fallen ill and, despite the efforts of the best doctors, passed away.
Ironically, both Mylea and Mikela suspected the other of having killed Aelia for different reasons. However, in truth neither had committed matricide. Directly killing a family member was a taboo. Family was everything, unless a member went totally 'extreme'.
Their mother had died of natural causes. Mylea was forced to grit her teeth and watch her older sister be confirmed as Duchess by the Queen and receive pledges of fealty from her vassals. Mylea had tried to covertly lobby in her favour, and make her sister look bad. She, of course, did not want her dead, but she believed she deserved the top job. However, Tirathana did not like it when others obtained power against the rules. Mikela was the eldest, so she would be Duchess.
Mylea served her well in the secret police...but it was never a good idea to give those types too much power. Indeed, the rivalry between the two sisters would give them ample incentive to compete for Tirathana's favour, thereby making them even better servants. Privately, Mylea disparaged her sister's military record, claiming she had embellished it to make herself appear heroic. Fausta had been the hero. She might have felt guilty about the cruel fate that had befallen her sister.
However, the threat from Dark Eldorai rebels and foreign incursions did not abate. The government's response was a mixture of carrot and stick. Strict orthodoxy remained the order of the day. As Dark Eldorai insurgents grew more bold and launched terrorist attacks, Mylea tightened her grip on the security services. Political repression and propaganda could keep the majority of the Eldorai compliant, but it could not modernise Kaeshana so that it was able to meet the external threat.
The Investigators started to pursue a strategy of infiltrating opposition groups. It helped that many rebel groups were just as hostile to each other as they were to the Matriarchy, if not more so. Dark Eldorai was a catch-all term the automatically prejudiced opinion, but in truth the groups lumped under it pursued wildly divergent aims. Mylea took this as evidence that the mob was unfit to govern, as they were chaotic and violent.
Meanwhile, Vaena had matured and been discovered to be Force-Sensitive. Mylea was immediately informed about this by her agents. Vaena was discovered to be a Sciian when a fire broke out and she was caught by flames while trying to help a fellow orphan get out of the danger zone. Flames scorched her, but she was miraculously unharmed and the flames seemed to recoil from her, allowing her to save her friend. This revelation was a profound change in Vaena's life. Due to it, her path was set in stone, more or less. All Force-sensitive Eldorai are required to attend a state academy to learn how to control their powers.
Mylea was kept abreast of her progress at the academy. Vaena was not a scholarly type, but extremely pious and displayed an aptitude for fire. She reminded Mylea of Fausta. Her bastard daughter's affinity for fire meant that she was enrolled primarily as a potential soldier in the future. Over the next couple years she continued her education in the ‘Academy of the Four Powers’, performing well. After graduating, she was inducted into the Angelii. Mylea pulled strings to ensure that her bastard was placed in the Valora's Chosen Great Company. It was the same unit Fausta had served in. Mylea had risen to dominate the Investigators, but was deeply embarrassed when two Angelii managed to come across the Arithdae Codex, a top secret tome the Eldorai Matriarchy had hidden away because it contained revelations about their true origins. Despite being pursued, the two rogue Angelii were able to escape with the help of Phylis Alince and Siobhan Kerrigan.
Then suddenly Tirathana passed away. The Star Queen had ruled for so long that she had become an institution. Now she was gone. Her death left a vacuum, creating a succession crisis. A brief civil war followed. One candidate was Nalia, a hardline conservative, the Queen's niece; the other was Silaqui, the Queen's daughter. The latter was an intellectual lightweight more interested in pleasure than statecraft, but more liberal and open-minded about engaging the outside galaxy. Mylea's sympathies lay with Nalia, though Silaqui might prove more pliable.
However, things took an unexpected turn when the Omega Protectorate intervened to 'mediate'. In Mylea's eyes, this was foreign imperialism...which was exactly what it was. The Protectorate was led by Princess Anya, who had been exiled by her mother Tirathana many years ago after being framed by Nalia. Silaqui had once had an affair with the notorious Colonel Siobhan Kerrigan, who accompanied Anya as a bodyguard.
Long story cut short, negotiations broke down, Anya won a trial by combat and then fighting broke out. It ended with Nalia dead at Siobhan's hands. Silaqui was proclaimed Queen. Realising the way the wind was blowing, Mylea tried to execute a quick pivot and align herself with the new regime. Silaqui accepted the list of traitors and let her keep her job. However, Silaqui, while still an autocrat, lacked Tirathana's ruthlessness. She had realised that brutally torturing religious dissidents was not the best way, so many of the more barbaric practices were stopped.
She also promuglated an amensty, freeing most of the political prisoners if they swore an oath of loyalty to the crown. Of course, the most dangerous ones were not given this option and those dissidents who were released were still monitored by the police. However, this still went too far for Mylea. When a faction of Eldorai conservatives tried to topple the Queen, Myela was curiously inactive. She did not throw in her lot with the revolutionaries, but she could not be reached for several hours. Perhaps she was waiting in the wings to determine which way the wind was blowing. She finally stepped in and committed forces to help suppress the coup.
Silaqui had been murdered by traitorous Angelii. In her place, Anya acceded to the throne as Tirathana VII. This was not to Mylea's liking. She regarded the new monarch as 'tainted' by the many years she had spent offworld. However, Anya was unwilling to accept the matriarch's 'guidance'. Shortly after her coronation, she dismissed Myela from all state posts. Myela was still a Marchioness who owned vast estates and could live off the income her feudal holdings generated. But she was no longer part of the Queen's Council.
Angered, Mylea withdrew to her mansion. She had always been corrupt and spendthrift, but her frustration over being marginalised exacerbated these tendencies. Mylea and Mileka were alike in their disdain for the Queen's 'namby-pamby' liberalism, but continued to dislike each other. The Marchioness surrounded herself with a court of hagiographers and hangers-on. She had affairs, but reacted very poorly when her husband did. When a cousin plotted against her, Myela had her shackled and locked up in a cell full of painted lead, which looked like gold. Meanwhile, Vaena's Angelii career was progressing well. Myela watched from a distance.
Her bastard fought pirates, slavers and Dark Eldorai. Ironically, her commanding officer was one of the two Angelii who had escaped Mylea many years ago. Her name was Kaida Taldir. Mylea disliked her strongly, considering her a bad influence. But then the period of calamities began. The Netherworld Event was followed by the Exodus. Mylea and Vaena were on Kaeshana when a conspiracy of Eldorai nobles, led by the Queen's aunt, tried to assassinate Siobhan Kerrigan. After the plot narrowly failed, Angelii loyalists, including Vaena, arrested nobles suspected of complicity during a dramatic scene in the Eldorai Council. This incident also led to a regime change in House Cadalthor. Mikela had attended the soiree where the assassin made an attempt on Siobhan's life. She had, however, not been involved, though she would have been happy if the human monkeigh had died.
However, her daughter Tarissa framed her. She succeeded in goading Mikela into attacking her, which compelled a nearby Angelii to protect the noblewoman. With her mother dead, Tarissa took an energetic role in unmasking the conspiracy. She was a reactionariy like her mother and aunt, but more willing to work with outsiders. Indeed, her reactionary views did not keep her from having an affair with Siobhan. Myela, who suspected her sister had been an innocent, was disgusted.
The Cadalthors had standards and killing your own family members was a taboo, unless they really went off the rails. Seeing her aunt as a potential rival, Tarissa had her placed under house arrest. Presumably she intended to rid herself of another possible rival, but the investigation found no evidence of treason and Anya was a lot less inclined than her predecessors to kill people purely due to personal dislike.
The exodus caused Kaeshana to descend into chaos. Panic broke out, for not everyone could be evacuated. The much-vaunted obedience of the Eldorai gave way to desperation as people tried to get one of the coveted spaces on an exodus ship by any means necessary. Cults mushroomed, promising varying forms of salvation, the streets ran red with blood. During a skirmish with fanatical cultists and looters Vaena saved the life of an Eldorai noblewoman. That aristo turned out to be none other than Mylea.
The reunion between mother and daughter was awkward to say the least. Both lived in different worlds, Vaena was curious, but also shocked about the revelation of her true origins. For her part, Mylea strongly regretted giving up her daughter, but at the same time had new children and Vaena was a stranger to her. Nonetheless, she tried to include the young Angelii, which put Vaena through internal turmoil since such contact conflicted with her duties. Moreover, to the family Vaena was a bastard.
This was also the time Vaena finally encountered Tarissa. Indeed, Tarissa had been keeping tabs on her cousin for quite a bit. In all likelihood this was because the suspicious noblewoman wanted to make sure she could not become a rival. Suffice to say the two cousins did not care for one another. In the end, Vaena decided to stay with the Angelii and not attempt to get herself legitimised as a member of House Cadalthor. So much of their behaviour seemed so...petty, wasteful and selfish to her. They were her blood, but not what she considered to be her 'family'. She was a soldier and that was that. The rejection stung, but Mylea resolved to continue watching over her. By now she had legitimate children, but she always responded poorly when family members disparaged her bastard.
As a peer, Mylea was guaranteed a place in the exodus fleet. The policy of prioritising the rich and wealthy was obviously unpopular, but it was also necessary because the fleet needed their financial contributions to get off ground. For non-essential citizens, there was a lottery system. Most Eldorai were evacuated from Kaeshana before the planet was devastated by an asteroid, but not all of them. Mylea evacuated her assets, both fiscal and in terms of personnel. Naturally this included her art collection. Her servants went with her. However, a servant girl was left behind for 'uppity behaviour'.
There was fighting in Santaissa during the final stages of the exodus. This left Mylea deeply worried about Vaena, who had been deployed there. However, her bastard survived. Enraged by the brutal civil war that broke out while nemesis was coming to Kaeshana, Vaena beheaded a rebellious Angelii who had been captured after days of fierce fighting in Santaissa, during which she'd lost many battle sisters. All Angelii were guaranteed a seat in the evacuation fleet, but Vaena felt like staying behind before Kaida punched her and had minions drag her away.
What followed was the fallout of the exodus and the move to Tygara. On Tygara Mylea was granted her old title and given a large fief. Her relationship with Tarissa remained poor. Her niece had been an energetic 'crisis manager' during the Exodus, having stayed on Kaeshana for most of it. Tarissa also led troops during the final battle with the Xioquo, participating in the assault on the Underealm. Vaena fought there too as part of the Angelii contingent, though the two did not cross paths as they were deployed to different operational zones. Mylea's view on the Tygaran natives was racist. They were like children, not fully formed by the Goddess, and needed the Eldorai's guidance. However, the Eldorai's growing dependence on Firemane vexed her. With some justification, she felt that the Queen was letting power slip from her grasp and allowing the humans to take the lead. This meant the Tygarans looked to the humans for succour. The fact that her own racialism would have prevented her from making friends among the 'cousins' escaped her.
Mylea's bastard daughter participated in the humanitarian operation launched by the Tygaran Alliance and the Galactic Alliance on Kaeshana and fought in the battle that subsequently took place against the First Order, participating in the fighting in the ruins of Santaissa. Tarissa personally participated in the battle, coming across those who'd been crucified by the First Order. Though not really an opponent of crucifixions or public executions in general, she was disgusted. The retreat was a shameful act of betrayal in the eyes of House Cadalthor...but also an opportunity.
Clearly the Goddess had forsaken the Eldorai because they had compromised with aliens and heretics. It was also a blow to the personal prestige of Siobhan Kerrigan, whose relations with Tarissa had cooled recently. Thus the Cadalthors set a plan into motion to launch an insurrection and seize power for themselves. Exploting the anger many ordinary Eldorai felt, they stirred up an uprising in New Santaissa, the Eldorai's new capital on Tygara, targeting foreigners and unbelievers.
At the same time, Tarissa attacked Firemane - and indirectly the Star Queen - on the political front during a session of the Eldorai Council, which was ostensibly supposed to determine the cause of the defeat. To this end, she used the Duchess of Caladan, an old crone, as a sockpuppet. However, unfortunately for her, her plot was uncovered through the efforts of a joint Angelii-Firemane force, which stormed the Cadalthor mansion. While presenting the evidence, the Lady Kerrigan personally executed Tarissa in front of the entire council. It was a devastating defeat for the clan.
With the Duchess dead, the Queen was left with the question of what to do. She could have purged House Cadalthor, expropriated or followed the normal chain of succession. Instead she chose...Vaena Askari. Vaena ahd Mylea had a terse reunion after the assault on the Cadalthor residence. Shortly thereafter, Vaena was summoned to the throne room, where she met the Queen. Her relatives protested since she was a bastard, but they were out of favour with the Court. After agonising over the decision and seeking spiritual counsel, Vaena accepted the Queen's offer. Henceforth, she would be known as Vaena Cadalthor, Duchess of Galondrona. The first order of business for the new duchess was trying to mend fences with House Kerrigan-Alcori. The clan as forced to pay reparations, which covered about 40% of their assets. While a serious blow, they were not crippling.
It helped that new duchess favoured a rather Spartan life style and was disgusted with the opulence the clan lived in. Mylea was extremely annoyed by this. The idea of austerity was anathema to her. On paper, she had won. Her daughter had been legitimised and was now head of the family. Unfortunately, she found Vaena deeply frustrating to deal with. Her daughter was unruly and averse to be being guided by her wise counsel. She was rather scandalised by Vaena's dalliances with humans and Tygarans of both genders.
Mylea tried to persuade Vaena to make her the family's chief treasurer, citing her decades of experience. However, Vaena ended up picking a retired Angelii who had served in the quartermaster's office. This was probably a good idea since Mylea was corrupt. Until now her daughter had only known the life of a soldier. Inexperienced in politics and openly contemptuous of most her relatives, she had an uphill battle. Mylea rightly warned her that she was antagonising the old guard instead of winning friends. Vaena distrusted courtiers, so she came to rely on allies who were of low birth and not connected to the nobility. She filled her personal guard with Qadiri and Xioquo warriors. One of her allies in House Cadalthor was, ironically, Taiya Star, Mikela's bastard. She lacked Vaena's idealism, but had a grudge against the top members of the clan. Mylea correctly guessed that her daughter had been choosing as Duchess not just to spite the family, but also weaken it through internecine strife.
Vaena also implemented an austerity programme to curb extravagant spending. This caused disconcent, and she was faced with a cabal of disgruntled family members who wanted to impose limitations on her authority. In response, Vaena carried out a purge. The assets of these renegades were confiscated. Among other things, the money was used to fund the construction of a worldship. While many of her relatives, such as her mother, looked down on 'human monkeighs' and other aliens, they had no qualms about embezzling funds and stashing them away in foreign banks. Hypocrisy is a sin many Eldorai nobles love to cultivate, much like racism.
The differences between mother and daughter were manifold...yet there were some similarities. As Vaena told her mother, she was deeply opposed to secularism and the Eldorai's dependence on Firemane. Likewise, she regarded Tirathana VII as a weak, irresolute ruler who was reliant on human bayonets. However, to her this was a symptom. The disease was the hypocrisy and corruption of the peers who took Ashira's name in vain. Therein lay the fundamental gulf between them. Mylea is still an important matriarch in House Cadalthor. Vaena deeply dislikes her, but cannot dispense with her.
Last edited:
