Makhaira

Makhaira was a historical figure in the Great Red Sand, Sumeru who lived after King Deshret's death several thousand years ago. She was originally a resident of Tulaytullah and Xiphos' lover, who was sent to become the vassal king Badanah's concubine. She conspired with Badanah's son, Faramarz, to assassinate the tyrant. The resulting power vacuum led to a series of conflicts which eventually resulted in her death at Faramarz's hands.
She was the wielder of Makhaira Aquamarine.
==Story==
Makhaira's mother was a Jinni, from whom Makhaira learned her seven-fold sword dance. She lived in Tulaytullah, which the lost prince Xiphos eventually became the protector of, and she became his lover. However, due to her beauty and her skill at sword-dancing, the rulers of Tulaytullah sold her as a concubine to the vassal king Badanah.Interactable: Vaguely-Readable Inscription, Khaj-Nisut
After a time, however, both Makhaira and Faramarz, Badanah's son, agreed that Badanah's greed and self-indulgence would destroy the kingdom. The two drew up a plot to assassinate Badanah. Makhaira assassinated him with her sword dance, then they covered up his death by setting it up to be the result of Badanah entering a structurally unstable tower, which gave way to Badanah's weight and sent him plummeting to his doom. Following the king's death, the tower was demolished and his hunting falcons were buried with him.
===Desert Destabilization and Death===
With Badanah dead, Faramarz was coronated as the new king. However, due to his relatively young age, Makhaira became the queen regent. She gathered their retainers and afterwards, it was decided that Faramarz would abdicate in favor of his uncle Balash, who was the master of Tulaytullah. One of his other uncles, Goraz, raised an army to restore Faramarz; while Balash's fate is left unclear, it is implied that Balash was killed in the uprising. Faramarz was restored as king with Goraz and Makhaira as co-regents, only for Goraz to later claim the throne for himself, take Makhaira as his queen, and exile Faramarz.
The people of Tulaytullah, angry over Balash's deposition, rebelled. Goraz's cause of death is unclear, but Makhaira handed his head to the rebellion to appease them, suggesting she may have assassinated him herself. Faramarz was restored to the throne for a third time, only for the people of Saleh to attempt to regain independence. Makhaira appeased them as well, only for another twelve of Faramarz's uncles to each make claims to the throne, instigating a protracted war. Faramarz emerged victorious and returned to power for a fourth and final time.
Despite being in love with Makhaira, Faramarz grew wary of Makhaira's penchant for aligning with whomever best suited her designs on the throne, and assassinated her using a viper's venom. However, the slave-warriors and the city dwellers conspired with each other and deposed Faramarz one last time, after which he was exiled to the forest.
===Legacy===
The Old Blind Poet, an unnamed general and poet who had once served Badanah, managed to survive the court intrigue that had occurred but was blinded at some point before he met Xiphos, who was apprenticed to him before he embarking on his trip to Tulaytullah. The Poet outlived many of the other historical figures of their time, and recounted their stories.Makhaira Aquamarine's description suggests that the Old Blind Poet was blinded during the court intrigue that followed Badanah's assassination, sometime after which he became Xiphos' master. However, this does not mesh with the timeline given by Tulaytullah's Remembrance, which states that Xiphos and Makhaira were lovers before Makhaira was sent to become Badanah's concubine. Until further information is given, the wiki will assume that Tulaytullah's Remembrance is a more accurate depiction of history, and that the Old Blind Poet exited Badanah's service before his assassination for unknown reasons.
==Trivia==
* Makhaira is likely to be inspired by , the Queen and the last active ruler of the of .
===Etymology===
* A is an Ancient Greek term used to refer to single-edged blades, although it was used to refer to blades of any size.
** In a similar vein, a is an Ancient Greek single-handed, double-edged blade.
==Notes==
==Other Languages==
==Change History==
==References==