Tyqua

**Tyqua** is a lion living in the Age of Kingdoms. She was the queen of Tayutho until her death, when she was succeeded by her son King Wyrrik.

## Appearance

Tyqua has gray-brown fur, with darker hind legs and ears, and a lighter underbelly and muzzle. She is small and scrawny, with bony hips and scraggly fur. Her pawpads are light tan, and her eyes are golden-yellow.

## Personality

In order to fight her usual perception as a weak, sickly youngling, Tyqua took it upon herself to project an air of command and determination. Although perhaps not a natural leader, she was able to maintain her kingdom without much strife. She frequently came off as strict or snappish, especially to those that did not know her well. Those who did know her found that she had a softer side, one she hated letting others see out of fear that it would be considered weakness.

## History

Tyqua was born on Spring 12, y2049, in a litter of three. All of the cubs were small and sickly, with Tyqua being the littlest. One of the cubs died before the end of their first day, and the other made it a little over a week before passing away as well, leaving Tyqua the sole survivor.

As she was now the only heir to the Tayutho throne, Tyqua grew up under the very protective eyes of her parents, with caretakers and assistants watching her every move. When she was six years old her parents had another litter of cubs, but they were again born too small and sickly, and this time none of them survived. This only increased the king and queen's over-protectiveness, and Tyqua was rarely allowed to be alone.

Although never quite in full health, Tyqua made it to adulthood, and took over as queen of Tayutho in y2073, when she was twenty-four years old. She ruled her kingdom fairly, but built up a reputation of being strict and harsh, in order to fight the reputation that she had as a youngling - that of a sickly, scrawny, fragile creature. She swore that she would be strong, even if it meant hiding her true self from the others.

She led Tayutho for almost two decades. In her thirties, she formed a relationship with Kaede, another Tayutho resident that she had grown up around but had barely spoken to in childhood. The two officially became partners in y2085, although their relationship was kept quiet - not because Tyqua was ashamed of him or felt the need to keep him a secret, but because Kaede had no desire to become a part of the royal family, and was skittish at the thought of the attention it would bring. Tyqua was content to keep him separate from her royal duties.

In y2088, Tyqua became pregnant with their offspring. Once Kaede found out, he realized that it would now be near-impossible to remain hidden from the rest of the kingdom, or to escape the notoriety that came with being the partner of a queen. And so, he fled, disappearing from the kingdom one day without so much as a goodbye. Heartbroken, Tyqua tried her best to erase his memory from her mind entirely. She never told anyone about him, even after her pregnancy was discovered.

Two seasons later, she gave birth to a single cub, who she named Wyrrik. She adored him from the moment she first laid eyes on him, but promised herself that she would not smother him the way her parents had smothered her. Luckily Wyrrik was in perfect health, and he grew quickly, with Tyqua loving him more every day that went by.

In y2091, during one of the harshest winters Tayutho had ever seen, Tyqua became sick. It began as a minor illness, something a healthy creature would have easily been able to fight off, but her childhood sickliness had never quite gone away. Over the course of half a season, she grew weaker and weaker, eventually passing away on Winter 37, leaving the three-year-old Wyrrik to become the new ruler of Tayutho.

## Relationships

### Wyrrik

Wyrrik is Tyqua's only son, born to a litter all by himself. Tyqua loved him immensely, but forced herself to let him have his independence, afraid of smothering him the way her parents had smothered her. Despite her attempts to be a strict and distant mother, Wyrrik brought out a softer side of her that she was unable to hide.

### Kaede

Tyqua met Kaede while growing up, although didn't form a relationship with him until she was in her thirties. Despite keeping their relationship quiet, Tyqua did truly love him, and felt bitterly betrayed when he left. She often wished that she were not royalty at all, so that she could have a normal life with him in it.