Myrine Engarden

**Myrine Engarden** was a Sevician painter and socialite, a member of the illustrious House Engarden, and the sister of legendary Sevician general and statesman Petr Engarden, who led Sevicia to victory over the rebellious Anaean League in the Anaean Wars of the 660s. She was also known as being the lover of Cloe of Ida, the Imperator of Sevicia between 634 and 640 A.S.

## Background

Myrine Engarden was born in the year 614 in the city of Galadael to Freda and George Engarden, nobles and leaders of the storied House Engarden, one of the oldest and most important clans in the history of Sevicia. The younger sister of Petr Engarden, Myrine spent most of her early life studying at the behest of her parents, learning both the Duscadorian and Itrusic languages to fluency and becoming adept at counting and managing money. Her father, a shrewd businessman and money lender by trade, pushed her to follow in his footsteps, though Myrine was not quite as enthusiastic. When her father died of the weeping terror in 633, Myrine was nineteen. She moved to the capital, Morosea, to be closer to her brother and the upper classes of Sevician nobility, with whom she soon became closely acquainted.

## Life and career

The death of George Engarden left both his children with a significant sum of money and Myrine began investing it in land and property in and around the capital almost immediately. By early 634 she had earned herself a reputation as a smart businesswoman and a popularity among Sevicia's nobility for her beauty and her regular appearances at a number of parties and dinners, attended only by those among the landed class. Her house name carried a lot of weight, and when her older brother Petr was awarded the Eagle of Sevicia in 635 for his military service, Myrine's status grew by association. By the end of that year she had become known as somewhat of a socialite, mingling often with the highest of Sevician society, known for her outgoing and empathetic personality. The Sevician writer Cyppian describes her as "a woman of such sweetness and loveliness and as clever as she was beautiful."

She was known as a great artist, and soon became a popular figure in Sevicia's rich art world, including a close personal friendship with Duscadorian painter and sculptor Tamilcar which lasted until her death.

## Cloe of Ida

In early 636, Myrine came into contact with Cloe of Ida, the Imperator of Sevicia and thus the Empire's reigning monarch, at a dinner hosted by Ernan Lowe, a member of Sevicia's illustrious Senate. The two began a relationship almost immediately, and by the end of the year Myrine had moved into the Eagle Palace, Sevicia's royal homestead. Cyppian describes them as inseparable, and Myrine would often bring Cloe with her to dinner parties and socialite events. The two also shared a villa in the quiet coastal town of Yanna, where Cloe would spend most of her personal time when she was not in the capital. Early in 640, Cloe was stricken by a fever that soon turned worse, and on the 26th of Tullena III, she passed away at the age of 29. Myrine was inconsolable, and by end of the year she had sold most of the land she owned in and around and the capital and moved to Yanna, which was soon renamed *Persamon* in Cloe's honour.

Cloe was interred in the Forefathers Mausoleum in Sevicia with a necklace bearing the symbol of six arrows overlaying a winged eagle - the official sigil of House Engarden.

## Later life and death

Myrine spent the rest of her life in the villa in Persamon that she had purchased with Cloe of Ida. She stepped away from public life and her reputation as a socialite soon faded, and in 646, at the age of 32, she disappeared and was never found. According to legend she threw herself from the cliffs of Persamon into the Anaean Sea, though no body was ever found and her fate remains ultimately unknown. Myrine left no children or spouse, but was remembered by her brother Petr, with whom she always maintained a close relationship. Her life and death is chronicled briefly in Cyppian's *Annals of Sevicia,* in volume sixteen.

## See also

Cloe of Ida

The writer Cyppian

House Engarden