Lapheraz Kataph

## Lapheraz Leandra Irboda Kataph

**Lapheraz Leandra Irboda Kataph** was the Empress-Regent of the Shantine Empire and Archbishop of the Basilica of Bishant in the early-mid 500s A.U., serving as de facto Head of State of the Empire during the final years of Empress Leandra I's reign. After her mother's death, she ascended to the role of Empress and became the official head of state in the year 531 A.U. (reigning as **Empress Lapheraz I**).

## History

### Early Life

Lapheraz Kataph was born the youngest of Leandra I's five children in the year 500 A.U. As she was born nearly 20 years after her next oldest brother, she was considered a miracle child; this preconception was reinforced by her grandmother Irboda's naming of Lapheraz as heir to the Empire and successor to the Patriarchy of Bishant mere moments after her birth. At the behest of her father, the Lord Kane, his daughter was named after the Kane family's favored angel.

Political machinations around Lapheraz began immediately - Irboda closed ranks with the support of the Knights of Leandra and made moves to "retcon" Imperial law to reflect her will. Matches were made quickly to secure alliances among the prominent noble houses and patriarchs, and the Iron Empress was able to cow her grandson Emmet into yielding his claim. With various Kane and Bec territories divvied up to the younger sons, a succession crisis was narrowly avoided. Lapheraz herself was promised at a young age to the heir of House Ontario, Markham, securing ties between the Imperial House and the Shantine Merchant Navy.

Lapheraz she grew up educated in the Shantine Imperial tradition - tightly guarded by Knights of Leandra and Adarnum, and tutored privately by various priests and patriarchs. After some time, Irboda passed and the throne went to Leandra I, sparking a subtle shift in her behavior. After this, the Empress' health quickly began to fail, and Emmet was given the regency in the year 515 A.U. In the interim years, Lapheraz was prepared for her eventual ascension - and was visited more and more frequently by dreams and visions of a past and future Bishant. This interim period was characterized by frequent public appearances, sermons, and diplomatic missions; despite Bishant's frightening reputation among Imperial Space, Lapheraz proved herself an able orator and negotiator. In contrast to Irboda's iron fist, Lapheraz extended a gentler hand to Bishant's allies and client states, and garnered a reputation as a peacemaker and benefactor - though she did not hesitate to lambast the enemies of Kirva and her Church when they were threatened. Finally, in the year 525 A.U., Lapheraz ascended to the position of Empress-Regent.

### Regency

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Once Emmet stepped down as Head of State, Lapheraz moved quickly to make allies and put the rest of the cabinet and nobility in line behind her. Unlike her grandmother, however, Raz made use of a more diplomatic touch- handshakes and subtle threats won the day over executions and excommunications. At the end of it all, she had solidified her position as de facto Empress and voice of Leandra I (in the rare instance that the ailing Empress made her wishes known).

As Empress-Regent, Lapheraz presented a front of diplomacy and unification, making strides to repair Bishant's tenuous international reputation. Despite risk of assassination, the Empress-Regent made efforts to personally visit old allies and apprehensive neighbors as a sign of good faith and outreach. She put forth a simple foreign policy: "Treat your Kirvans well, and you are a friend to us. Treat them poorly, and we will have words. Continue to do so, and you will contend with the Flame."

In her role as Archbishop of the Basilica of Bishant, she preached reform and acceptance over tradition. Though she was adamant about the supremacy of Kirva as the prime deity, she also advocated for a change in attitude towards the Pentacle, particularly towards Valdos. In sharp contrast previous canon, she claimed the existence of the Pentacle Churches and their should at least be tolerated, if not accepted (though not, of course, within the borders of the Empire). She also stressed the importance of Idolmar, Kirva's eternal ally and partner, and a desire to bring other wayward denominations back into the fold of a universal Kirvan church. Despite this generally tolerant rhetoric, however, Lapheraz's doctrine focused on one immutable fact: above all else, to be Shantine is to be Kirvan.

### Reign as Empress

Lapheraz was eventually raised to the position of Empress officially upon the heels of her mother's death at the hands of the Veiled Masters. In truth, however, her mother's death was caused by the evacuation of Leandra (A) from Leandra (E)'s body, causing a traumatic premature death. Immediately declaring a war of retribution, Lapheraz met with success and reclaimed the historic Bastions of Adarnum, renaming them to the Bastions of Leandra in her mother's honor. Lapheraz's early reign was marked by heavy evangelism, especially in Celestial Space through the Tetrad Church in the GCC and Nipponese Foreign Quarter, as well as acceptance and sheltering of many refugees from the various Celestial wars and Valdosian Contract Crisis.

Leandra continued her streak of Shantine victories into the next several years as one of the primary architects of the Imperial invasion of the Veiled Dominions and eventual Shantine dominion over the Foreign Quarter. She was personally involved with the (presumed) final deaths of the Veiled Masters at the hands of the Knights of Leandra.

### Death

Lapheraz's reign was cut short, however, due to a sudden conflict of angelic proportions - marking his moment, her brother Emmet D'Arcy staged a coup attempt while simultaneously aiming to raise his own son, Arson, to the position of Emperor. Arson remained loyal, however, and slew Emmet and several Seraphim before himself perishing. This kicked off a pseudo-civil war between the Knights of Adarnum and Leandra, culminating in the attempted summoning of Adarnum himself in the great Basilica of Bishant. In response, Lapheraz summoned her family's angel Leandra to do combat, and in the process was consumed and assimilated by the angel in the Cathedral, joining the ranks of her foremothers as aspects of Leandra's will.

### Legacy

Before her death, Lapheraz set into motion a plan that would affect the very order of the cosmos and the Partition. Some time before her ascension, Lapheraz was possessed by the ambition of Leandra to enact a plan - make Leandra so powerful that she (and by proxy, Lapheraz) would supplant Kirva as the primary deity in the Great Pantheon. With the assistance and inventions of the scientist Kersien Roo, she devised the means: artificial souls replicated via soul computer. Over the course of her reign, Infinite Wishes (and its subsidiary Boundless Dreams) poured immense effort into perfecting a soul that would be able to sustain a god. Though Lapheraz would not live to see this plan through, it was eventually completed by her daughter and successor Avaboda, leading to the ascension of Leandra as a goddess in her own right and her mortal servants as angels.

## Personal Life

Lapheraz was married to Markham Ontario, scion of the noble Ontario family and member of the Shantine Naval leadership. As the two had been marked for arranged marriage at a young age, Markham and Lapheraz were able to maintain a strong and healthy friendship before their planned engagement finally took place. The two eventually had twin girls, Avaboda and Acaboda; as Avaboda was born just before her sister, she was the designated heir to the Empire. She also maintained close contact with her mother and brothers, though tensions about power and succession was a consistent undercurrent at family gatherings, particularly when Emmet was present.

Like most Kataphs, Lapheraz was devoutly Kirvan, and had been a member of the Church of Kirva's clergy since her early adulthood. Though she kept her personal life close to the chest, she was a known user of ethernet technologies and was eager to integrate new communication technologies in her sermons. She was also known to be a patron of the arts, particularly the theater- though opportunities to attend were few and far between.