Sylvia I

Sylvia Aurum (born 146a.Au, crowned 162a.Au, died 195a.Au,) known as Sylvia the Splendorous, was the fifth child of King Julius Aurum and Eda Quaite. Though fifth in line to the throne, she would find herself inheriting it at 15 when all of her siblings predeceased her during the wars that her father led.

Princess Sylvia was 13 when her grandfather, King Markus II, was murdered by his false lover Magnolia Aurum, leading to her own father Julius ascending the throne. The then Lord of Kenkoa had previously taken up the title of Lord Paramount of the Western Reaches and had been fighting wars in West Orbis against the Terranian Empire.

Having ascended to the throne, King Julius decided to deliver a killing blow to the Terranian Empire's economy by taking the city of Southspire and disrupting their sea trade hegemony. Over the next two years, the actions of King Julius - which involved an invasion of Southspire in Viland as well as an offensive in West Orbis, would inevitably lead to the death of four of his five children before he too fell in battle at Southspire in 162a.Au.

The coronated Queen Sylvia I would have to spend some months under the regency of her uncle Prince Argus before she came into her own rule. The young queen noticed that her uncle had spent some time consolidating power at court in Argentum and was concerned that her regent would hope to impose undue influence over Orbis as a whole. Queen Sylvia therefore announced to the court that she was naming Prince Argus the Lord Paramount of the Western Reaches, arguing no one was more qualified to lead the colonies than someone who had experience also leading the nation. Prince Argus could not refuse such a promotion, even if it did shove him away from court life.

There was fear of invasion on many quarters however, not just the concerns of border disputes in the west. The High Jarl in Viland had taken Southspire and was amassing a reinforced army there - it was not clear whether he would set sail for Terrus or for Orbis. In order to ensure that Orbis would not suffer an attack, Queen Sylvia pledged the hand of her own widowed mother, the Dowager Queen, to the High Jarl's second son. She also sent them 50 ships, which had been commissioned by Prince Argus to try and retake Southspire to claim the king's body, so that the Vilanders could war with the Terranian Empire instead.

This move was seen as very controversial, an admittance of defeat, and already people's eyes were turning towards a new leader who might better defend their lands. The year came to a close and in the next, Dowager Queen Eda gave birth to a son, Jormund. At the same time, Sylvia married Coriolanus Theirin, the second son of a rather lowly noble house, but one that was rich in silver and believed to have paid an incredibly hefty dowry for the hand of the queen. As the Dowager Queen reared a child, the Young Queen began building ships.

In 164a.Au, the High Jarl would return to Southspire after numerous raids across northern coastal towns and cities in the Terranian Empire, sailing his longboats down thick rivers to attack inland settlements as well. There were three nights of feasts and revelry, for on the fourth morning the High Jarl was found in a pool of his own blood.

There were many blamed for this outrage - Eda Quaite amongst them. Her husband, Desmond Icespike, was one of many who geared up for war in the inevitable succession crisis. He requested aid from his stepdaughter Sylvia, who promised to set sail at once. 'At once' would in fact be some considerable time after the civil war of the Vilanders had been in full swing, wherein the forces of Orbis came and cleared out the divided, fatigued remnants of the High Jarl's armies.

Having claimed Southspire, Queen Sylvia made contact with the Terranian Empire and offered an end to harrying on Terrus and a permanent base for Terranian forces within the city of Southspire so long as trade count continue between the city and the Terranian Empire. Orbis would provide the bulwark from further northern incursions and the northern sea trade routes would not be disturbed. The Terranian Empire saw this as an outsourcing of the Vilander problem and accepted the proposals.

Though Queen Sylvia's stepfather Jarl Desmond had survived the battles, the Vilander forces as a whole had collapsed to a state that they could no longer have a unifying leader. Jarl Desmond returned north, thankful that his forces received aid, not at all realising that he had been made the unofficial first line of defence against Southspire in future, now that his family was bound in blood with that of Orbis.

These bonds were strengthened when Queen Sylvia wrote to her uncle Argus, noting that the north of the empire will need to be defended and that Jarl Desmond's sister, Thessia, would make a suitable bride for any suitors. Prince Argus instantly suggested his son and heir Archimedes, as Queen Sylvia knew he would. Prince Archimedes Aurum and Thessia Icespike would marry in Southspire, with Archimedes being named Lord Paramount of the Northern Heights. Further, Queen Sylvia stated that the firstborn child of the two, and their firstborn child thereon, would be named Thane of Southspire in perpetuity. In a swift move, Queen Sylvia had placated her uncle with a gift she would have given anyway, aligned Jarl Desmond intimately to Orben interests, and gifted Prince Archimedes with lands and title for his descendants which would make him loyal to her, and not just to his father.

Queen Sylvia returned to Orbis, with her own mother in tow - it had always been a marriage of political expediency and the return of Jarl Desmond's wife had been one of her conditions for aiding him in battle. A trade route had been set up between the Aurum Empire and the Terranian Empire, and a ceasefire between the two which meant her power-hungry uncle and Lord Paramount of the Western Reaches could not profiteer off of any potential victories he might have won in Terrus.

In the space of a year the young queen had turned her reign around from a potentially sticky end, and at the end of 164a.Au she gave birth to her first child, Josephine. In a long and happy marriage, seven more would follow. Yennifer (born 167 a.Au), Devon, (born 168 a.Au), Leon (born 170a.Au), Alexander (born 171a.Au), James, (born 172a.Au) Lucia (born 174a.Au) and Marken (born 176a.Au).

Queen Sylvia's reign was marked by its prosperity, and with a closeness of the Aurum Empire to its neighbours that was not defined by warfare. Queen Sylvia threw lavish feasts and gave money away to the impoverished, and the nation as a whole grew under her shepherding. She would eventually grow plump, and then fat, and in the year 195a.Au she would die from heart failure, after a grand night of celebration for a midsummer festival. She died aged 53, and was succeeded by her daughter Josephine.