Kika Birgir

Kika Birgir, Duchess of Stornoway, is a Karelian solider and politician. Having fought in the Karelian intervention in Mayayore and the Great War, she would be one of the main conspirators in the 1813 Officers Revolt. As of 1830, she is Frida’s most trusted advisor.

## Kika Birgir av Stornoway

### Relatives

Caohime Birgir, Vera Birgir, Niels Braun, Anna Birgir, Steen Bakke

## Physical description

### Early Life

Kika Birgir was born to Anne Birgir and Steen Bakke in 1776. Her parents were staunch supporters of Rowlind Hillevy, and members of the Ascendency Movement, which sought to modernize Karelian society. She spent her adolescence being educated in the Maldrecoy, learning Hoffnung and building a deep adoration for the culture. It was there she would meet her future lover, Niels Braun.

Returning to Karelia in 1792, Kika attended Vestpunkt College Military College in Kalinta. There she became well known for her horsemanship and leadership abilities. Leading a squadron of House Cavalry under her mother in the Tournament of Arms in only her first year (albeit to limited success), she became a prodigy.

### Mayayore Awakening

In 1794, the people of the Mayayore region revolted against the King of Scarabeen. A bloody civil war followed. Rowlind Hillevy saw this as an opportunity to expand Karelia influence in the region, and as an opportunity to weaken a rival. In early 1795, a force led by Anna Birgir was sent to support Mayayore’s rebellion.

Despite sending a large force with modern equipment, Karelian tactics were dated, and they faced heavy losses at the hands of battle hardened Scarran forces. The most stunning loss came when the commander of the Karelian forces in the region, Anna Birgir, was killed in an ambush later that year. With the Karelian’s lacking a commander, their position west of Tel-Sheia being under threat, and Scarran forces a few days march outside the city itself, Kika acted in a way she would become famous for. Taking her wing of cavalry on a months long trek behind enemy lines, her troop of less than 100 hundred destroyed trains, raided supply trains, and turned locals against the King of Scarabeen. Her operation bought the Karelian’s enough time to re-organize and solidify their positions in the north of the country. When Kika returned, having lost only a few horses and no men, she received a commendation from Rowlind himself. Many of the theories and tactics Kika would become known for in the Great War were developed in the deserts of Scarabeen.

### Great War

With Kika’s mother dead, she returned to Karelia after the Mayayore Awakening as the Duchess of Stornoway. The next few years were spent attempting to wrestle with the administration of the Duchy, rebuilding the Duchies house forces, and in 1797 and 1798 respectively, raising Caohime and Frida. Kika remained close to the Ascendency Movement, which had been weakened by the death of her mother and Rowlind Hillevy.

#### Battle of Lansdowne

Upon the outset of the Great War, Kika remained in Lansdowne. Her Duchy’s forces were still undermanned, and she was reluctant to send them into battle under anyone else’s command. The decision would prove fortuitus, as most other Duchy’s forces would be destroyed during the Renewal Crisis. With Shirudan forces now marching towards Stornoway almost unopposed, Kika began overseeing the defence of Lansdowne. Opposing orders from Dominus Max, the General of Karelia’s combined war effort, to abandon the city and destroy it and the surrounding countryside, Kika stood her ground. A year of intense fighting around and ultimately in the city followed in 1803-1804. Kika’s victory would be pivotal. It would also place her squarely in opposition with King Sigurd Hillevy and his chosen commander.

#### Exile and the Experimental Air Assault Brigade

With much of her Duchy’s forces depleted in the Battle of Lansdowne, and Kika an unpopular political enemy to those with Karelian High Command, she was sent as far away from the front as possible under Sigurd’s order. The rest of 1804 and 1805 were spent in unofficial exile with Niels. It was then she had her daughter Vera.

However, Karelian failures were ultimately force Sigurd to cave to alliance pressure, and Kika, along with other political opponents, were invited to return to military service. Kika accepted an invitation to lead a Karelian contingent in an experimental air assault brigade. Working alongside Kennewick Von Lark, the brigade’s success proved an important component of many Allied victories in the Great War. Kika would also develop a close relationship with her second in command Archer Karl.

Von Lark and Kika Birgir would prove to be revolutionary commanders. However, their working alongside Hathor Shirudo, crown princess of the Shirudo, in the later years of the Great War would lead to a falling out between the two partners. While initially supporting the action, Kika would be convinced by Archer that returning a Shirudo to power would be dangerous for Karelia. This led to the experimental air assault brigade collapsing, with the Karelian contingent splitting from the rest of the force.

### 1813 Officer's Revolt

Following the 1810 armistice, Kika was assigned to North Point to inspect Karelian troops in the region and to oversee their reorganization. Working with Duchess Hedberg and Duke Havelka, they began to establish a base of power in the region, expecting fighting to resume as negotiations in Phyber dragged on. When word arrived in 1813 that a Treaty had been signed, one which allowed the Shirudan’s to retain their holdings on the continent, there was outrage throughout the military. Kika resigned from her post in protest, any many other officers and soldiers followed in suit. The triumvirate held meetings with the officers and disgruntled veterans who began to stream into North Point. Suspicious, King Sigurd Hillevy turned to Duchess Rask, the most prominent of the loyal officers, to begin plans to assault North Point. However, Kika, Hedberg, and Havelka moved first, storming Korinta while Rask was still assembling her forces. The Emerald Palace was taken on the 27th of Life’s Beginning, 1813, with King Sigurd Hillevy and Dom Max being forced into exile.

While some soldiers and officers had been expecting this to mark the end of the monarchy, Kika, Hedberg, and Havelka decided it would be best to find a replacement for Sigurd Hillevy. It is speculated that they feared ending the monarchy would agitate two issues; Rask was still assembling forces to restore Sigurd, and the Karelias Arbejderforbund had been invigorated by the chaos following the war. Kika turned to Frida Hillevy, who would be coronated two weeks later. Kika was made the Crown Protector.

### The Long Peace

Birgir has remained outside of the military since resigning in 1813. She has since split her efforts between being the Crown Protector, rebuilding Stornoway and constructing a new army college, and it is believed she manages Karelian intelligence or secret police. She has largely afforded Frida the spotlight, but it is believed much of the post war styling of Karelia has inspired by her artistic preferences. A falling out with Vera Birgir has seen her only biological daughter leave for the former UHR. Whether she is still alive or not is a matter of speculation.

Journalists have actively investigated the matter but have struggled to find anything conclusive on the fate of the young Vera Birgir. For her part, Kika has always been a media darling and has expressed that she enjoys the stories about her daughter that occasionally make their way through the rumor mill and has urged journalists to continue the search. Similarly, her sexuality and relationships with the likes of Archer Karl and Duchess Hedberg have also produced stories. She has coyly refused to confirm or deny the nature of the relationships she has with those women. In turn, Kika has become something of an icon among gay activists in Karelia, especially among those in the landed elite who view her as a source of legitimacy.