Vendi I Aryes

Vendi I Aryes, also known as Vendi the Fiend, was the queen of New Calmeera. Her reign was shortlived after she murdered multiple family members to secure her ascension to the throne. She took no husband for her brief time on the throne and bore no children. She was defeated in the War of the Crown by her first cousin, Vindictus I Aryes. In which, she was thrown down a well as punishment and subsequently drowned to death after many rainfalls.

## Appearance and Character

Vendi was tall and built for war, with distinct yellow eyes and short-cut black hair unlike the rest of her family who had pale blonde hair. She was very callous and authoritative. During her short reign, she was never seen outside without her golden full-plate armor nor her large greatsword. She wore no crown for the entirety of her reign, opting to wear her golden helmet the entire time.

Vendi had no allies in reach only subservient nobles who were too afraid to act out of line or else they would be executed for treason against the crown. The queen was a great strategist and even better duelist. She had no match and defeated many opponents who would unwittingly accept her duels. She challenged and killed two of her family members, Avery of New Calmeera and Vincent Aryes, in a duel.

## History

### Early Life

Vendi was born in Ashermark in 48 GI to King Centrus I Aryes and Queen Mable Gallant. She had two younger sisters, Vinna Aryes and Viona Aryes, and four half-brothers, Tyler Apron, Fenric Kane, Avery of New Calmeera, and Benny of New Calmeera. She was never fond of her siblings and would actively torment Vinna and Viona. Her father kept his bastards away from his primary family, but that didn't stop Vendi from brooding a deep-seated hatred for all of them.

### Ascension

Vendi was heir to her father since he never had any trueborn sons. When her father died her ascension to the throne was messy. Her father's council opted to put the ascension to a vote for either the late king's brother, Varrus Aryes, or her. The council voted in favor of Varrus so Vendi locked the doors to the chamber and slaughtered all six council members, including the priest. She promptly waited till her uncle slept that night and murdered him in his sleep. When all the nobles woke and went to the throne room, they all found Vendi sitting on the throne with her golden full-plate armor on. She was hence dubbed Vendi the Fiend behind her back.

Vendi, accompanied by her royal guard, went to Castle Longwatch in Fort Apron where her bastard family members were. She challenged her half-brother, Avery, who stood outside the city and waited for her, to a duel to the death. He was a skilled duelist but proved no match for Vendi when she killed him. When she entered the castle she couldn't find Tyler as he ran away once the news of her army arrived. She only managed to find her infant half-brother, Benny, where she promptly strangled him to death to prevent anyone from pressing his claim.

Vendi returned to Ashbeak to find that her sisters have run away from their kinslaying queen. Vinna ran away from the kingdom to never be seen again, while Viona ran to her cousin Vindictus I Aryes for refuge. As soon as the news of the queen's murders came to the ears of her first cousin, Vincent Aryes, he declared war against the crown in rebellion and started the War of the Crown. Vincent would gather the aid of Tyler who was appointed Chancellor and would come out of hiding. They used Fort Apron as their base of operations. He was also joined by Fenric who was appointed Marshal and Vindictus who was appointed as a commander. Tyler would never leave the safety of Fort Apron again.

### War of the Crown

Vendi had little time to cherish the throne for herself before she was in a revolt against her rule. Her cousin, Vincent, has risen against her for the murder of their family and claimed the throne for himself. Vincent gathered the support of Tyler Apron, Fenric Kane, and Gabriel Gallant, while she had the remaining support of Daniel Duny and Malik Falks. She had also hired a mercenary band to aid known as the Galagian's Captains.

Vendi would move on Alfrick first as the settlement was isolated from the rest of the revolt and Fenric's army consisted of exiled Northmen who battle-hardened veterans which brought fear to Vendi. When Vendi found Fenric's army his army was outnumbered three-to-one, but Fenric gallantly charged Vendi's army anyway. After hours of combat that ensued Vendi proved victorious, though at heavy cost and Fenric got away. Vendi would settle on pillaging and burning down Alfrick.

Vendi then set her eyes on Gallensten to burn to the ground. However, her army was pitted against Vincent's army who met near the village of Dunwall. In the battle, both Gabriel and Daniel were killed in the chaos. Vendi beelined right towards Vincent who led from the rear, instead of the front, unlike Vendi. She carved all the way to Vincent where they would have a one-on-one duel. Vincent was a capable swordsman, however, Vendi's aggressiveness and lack of honor in a fight gave her an upper hand. In a short five minutes, Vincent was quickly dispatched and killed. Vendi promptly put his head on a spike and routed his army.

With two victories underneath her belt, Vendi decided to ignore Gallensten and instead move on Fort Apron where Vindictus, Tyler, and Viona stayed. When Vendi finally reached Fort Apron, Malik and the Galagian's Captains have finally reached her army. With Vendi's army finally bolstered she laid siege on the city. Vendi would never assault the city, rather she would let the siege last a full-year while she returned to the capital. Fort Apron would slowly begin to starve. However, since Vendi never took the city and finally crush the revolt, she would make a fatal error.

Vendi has never seen Vindictus in person nor Fenric, which proved useful for the two. Both of them, with the aid of the remaining Northmen, snuck their way into Ashermark. In board daylight, their party forced their way into the throne room of Ashbeak, where they found Vendi in her golden full-plate armor. She challenged Vindictus to a duel to the death for the throne, but Vindictus knew the fate of every opponent his cousin had faced. He declined, so Vendi and her royal guardsmen charged their party. The small battle raged on for well over an hour inside the throne room. Vendi was a well and capable fighter, but her guardsmen were no match for the Northmen. In the end, Vindictus and Fenric defeated Vendi together but only injuring her, since they didn't want to share in the kinslaying like her. When the throne room's doors were finally opened, her soldiers rushed into the room only to find Vindictus sitting on the throne. However, instead of wearing full-plate, he wore his royal garments and held a flower in his hand, a symbol of peace. The War of the Crown was over with Vindictus reigning as the new king.

## Death

King Vindictus didn't execute Vendi nor imprison her. He decided to throw her down a well as punishment. He told her "If you can escape the well, then you are free. If you can't, then you will drown. I will not kill you, as you are my kin, but the rain will not discriminate." He threw her into the well. She was pulled out two weeks later, having drowned in the rain. She was buried in an unmarked grave.