Amelia Zen

Amelia Zen (née Amelia Ghern) was an Heran leader and the bastard daughter of its first legitimate ruler Kathleen Ghern. She was known for ruling the nation throughout the Near War, leading it to a period of neutrality and relative peace, but her decisions ultimately led to large public disapproval, forcing her to walk away.
As the granddaughter of Heran founder John Ghern Amelia was expected to follow his steps as a ruler, but her mothers influence led her down a kinder path than the one her grandfather had in mind. She was born just as Ghern and his fellow exiles were establishing the colony that would go on to become the city Ghernia, and she was considered to be the "First Child of Hera".
While Amelia was at first sheltered from the other Heran settlers her mother was soon forced to marry Thomas Hugafia, John Ghern's closest military ally. Amelia never connected with her step father, and would argue with him over his plans for violence at the cost of her own personal safety. In 20 AE John Ghern passed away, and Hugafia became Hera's next ruler. His position as leader meant he and Amelia interacted even less, allowing her and her mother to grow more and more distant.
In 25 AE Thomas Hugafia ignited the Heran-Tripolian War in an attempt to purge the content of the Tripolian settlement, something Amelia desperately tried to talk her step-father out of. She was ignored, and so the first major war in the region commenced. The war lasted a little less than three years and ended when Akarvian and Yore forces joined the fight, killing Hugafia in the process. In the aftermath of Hera's defeat Akarv decided it would be best to occupy the nation to ensure a peaceful transition of power.
With Akarv's support Kathleen Ghern was elevated to a position of leadership in Hera, despite her connection to Ghern and Hugafia. She could influence the Heran people and was called for peace and development rather than war and nationalism. Kathleen's alliance with the Akarvian occupational forces saw a rapid transition of power and Hera entered a state of peace. Amelia, meanwhile, slowly grew close to the ranking Akarvian official overseeing the occupation, Alexander Zen. Despite the age difference the two grew so close that Zen made the decision to remain in Hera when Akarv left in 29 AE, and the two were married by the end of the year.
By 33 AE Hera had been recognized as one of the official nations of Voldrania, and Amelia and Alexander had given birth to two children: Zade and Zarkan. Hera had reached a position of peace and prosperity few nations had to that point, and Amelia enjoyed life removed from the public eye. This couldn't last, and in 39 AE her mother began the process of transitioning the nation from its current totalitarian government to a more democratic one. Amelia was forced to come to her mothers aid to help the transition, and stuck by her side when Kathleen was elected to remain as the nations ruler.
While the rest of the world seemed to be dealing with its own drama Hera kept to itself, leaving Amelia with relatively simple management duties. But in 47 AE Kathleen Ghern died unexpectedly, and the nation held an emergency election to select her replacement. Amelia had no interest in leading the nation, but an overwhelming number of people voted for her anyway. Not wanting to disappoint her people, Amelia accepted the burden of leadership with Alexander by her side.
For a time Amelia was a popular ruler among her people, and was able to maintain Hera's status of peace. But as the years went on an increasing number of Nightcrawler attacks plagued the nation, and Amelia was forced to make the tough decision to issue a mandatory migration to the capital city Ghernia where the people could be better protected. The sudden influx of people in the city was logistically unmanageable, and chaos gripped the city as guilds, religious institutions, and individual parties all began to breathe down Amelia's neck. Alexander was able to deal with most of these issues himself, allowing Amelia to focus on leading the nation to the best of her abilities.
For a time this system worked, but when Alexander passed away in 57 AE Amelia found herself consumed by the angry protests and demands of the Heran guilds and people. That year she made the decision to step down as Hera's leader, and an emergency election was held to replace her. While the details of the election were worked out Yenklet Lupice, a Goblin with ties in the Akarvian Government, acted as an interim steward.
Amelia fell off the map after stepping down as Hera's ruler. Her fate after the Fall of Voldrania remains unknown, but it is believed that she returned to the Old World with the rest of the Herans shortly before the event began.
Category:Voldranians Category:Characters Category:Herans Category:Politicians Category:Leaders Category:Deceased