Bianca del Oroba

Bianca's portrait taken from a scene in the Mural "The Dragons" by Raphael CE 910

### Titles

White-Gold Princess, First Queen of Kasmir

## Physical Description

### Eyes

Amber

**Bianca del Oroba**, also called **White-Gold Princess**, was the Crown Princess of Darcedon between CE 895 and CE 930. She was an independent heiress of Laconia when it was clear that her father, Alexander III, would father no other children besides her. Spending much of her life prior to her naming as heir in Oroba, Bianca was unusually pale for being Casmirese and her lighter hair led many Jade lords in the region to believe Alexander III was not in fact her father. This contributed to the War of the Bloody Vigil, and by the time she relocated to the Castle of the Virgin's Rock when she was fourteen, her father's deteriorating mental state and poor health led her to rule as regent for the remaining years of his life.

Bianca relinquished power to her husbandPhillip II in CE 895; he then began his campaigns that comprised the War of the Dragons. Throughout this period, Phillip II married five other women to secure alliances and even fathered children with these women. However, only Bianca del Oroba's children were legitimate Darcedonian heirs, and his other wives were not permitted in Kasmir whatsoever.

Despite her husband Phillip II taking great claim for the success of Darcedon in the War of the Dragons, Bianca del Oroba played a major role in the political and often stringent military strategy at the time, especially in Cisteria. She is also credited for her control over Laconia throughout the war and assuaging of civil unrest, capitalizing on Darcedon's popularity with Kasmirians as well as forging strong alliances with their neighbors through political marriage (often with her own husband) and the negotiation of loans to create a debt liability on Darcedon.

Much like Hadassa, contemporary depictions of Bianca del Oroba are highly romantic and portray a polyglot, a grammaticist, a skilled politician and orator, and a strategist who worked with a male ruler as an equal and not a subordinate. She has been featured in numerous Kasmirian plays and fictional works, particularly in children's literature where she is described as a fair queen who uses her wits to solve vexing problems. In sharp contrast, she receives far worse treatment in western Neuphany and in Tyrrhos, where she is often depicted as being incompetent or foolish.

## Early life

The only child of Alexander III, Bianca was born only a few years prior to the War of the Bloody Vigil. During the event itself, she was safe at the Castle at the Virgin's Rock, though the declining health of her mother culminated shortly afterwards. With the death of her mother Madalina, Alexander III fell into a melancholic state and his communications with his court fell nearly silent. Even from the age of six, Bianca would speak on behalf of her father to the court, though she had no special privileges outside of this.

Under a vague hope of Alexander III's recovery and the expectation he would remarry, Bianca was sent to Oroba under the guise of tutelage by a dwarf, Falin Goldenbrow, with the intent to remove her from Kasmirian politics altogether. During this time, Bianca developed a friendship with the court jester James II and his son Phillip II, who helped alleviate her intense studies under Goldenbrow. In Oroba, she stood out for her unusually pale complexion, and received the name "del Oroba" for spending nearly her entire childhood and adolescence in the small town.

## Regency and independence

Once it was clear that Alexander III was neither intent on remarrying nor fathering another heir, Bianca was brought back to the Castle at the Virgin's Rock with the intent of naming her heiress to Darcedon. Once Alexander III granted her regency, in a completely unexpected move, she acted as both caretaker and regent for her dying father. By his death in CE 895, she had spent almost half a decade in nearly complete control of Laconia and Tyrrhos.

The title of Crown Princess was bestowed upon her immediately following her father's death, making her the most powerful woman in Laconia since the time of Brutus Draco's daughter Agrippa Draco, during the Magdamolia. This also made her highly sought after, with proposals arriving from all over Neuphany for her hand in marriage.

Biance del Oroba ruled independently for six months, in that time fielding and rejecting over one thousand suitors from various noble houses. This came to a conclusion when Phillip II proposed to her by playing a song on his harp, *We Met and Parted as Strangers*. She accepted, and this story has been fictionalized in many accounts across Laconia. In addition, the song is a favorite among Darcedon's allies, being a common song for harpists to play to stir a crowd. However, the story itself is most likely fabricated; there is copious amounts of evidence that Bianca and Phillip II had been involved with each other based on accounts of their behavior in Oroba; this has, however, deep connotations that Darcedon categorically denies.

At the end of CE 895, Bianca del Oroba relinquished control of the throne to her new husband Phillip II, making him the Crown Prince. However, she maintained complete control over inheritance, meaning that while Phillip II had utter control over political and military matters, only her children could inherit the throne; though she would only ever mother his children, this was likely established due to growing plans to instigate the War of the Dragons. This relinquishing of the throne was also likely to make the Crown of Darcedon beyond reproach for the male-dominated leadership of Neuphany at large.

## War of the Dragons

### Causes

Many of the reasons for the War of the Dragons are cited as being spearheaded by Phillip II, but Bianca del Oroba had a great influence on her husband's decision as well. Having seen the despondency of Darcedon's allies, growing Papetral control over their territories, the Jade House of Lords attempting deceptive marriage alliances, and a crushing debt inherited through nine centuries of poor fiscal management, Bianca had spent many years at this point discussing methods of consolidating power and paying debts.