Ana

The Queen of the Keshali

**The Queen Ana** is the highest authority and goddess of the Keshali Kingdom in Romani folklore, after the Keshali Wars, she is hidden in her crowded palace in the form of a golden toad.

## Lore

Is known for her enchanting and tragic tale. Living in a magnificent castle within the Transylvanian mountains, she enjoyed a blissful existence until she caught the attention of the King of Demons, malevolent spirits known as Loçolico in Romani folklore. The King, smitten by her beauty, proposed marriage, but Queen Ana rejected his advances.

## Keshali Wars

As a consequence of her refusal, Kalo unleashed his evil horde upon Queen Ana's palace. Her Fairy entourage, loyal and magical beings, faced a devastating fate as they were ruthlessly devoured by the King's minions. In a desperate attempt to protect the remaining fairies, Queen Ana reluctantly agreed to become the King's bride.

## In The Confinement

Depressed due to his wife's lack of affection, the ruler of the Locolici took a prolonged stroll one day and encountered a mysterious golden toad. This enigmatic toad advised the king to feed Ana magpie brain, inducing her into a deep slumber that allowed the wicked king to conceive his first child, eventually known as Melalo, a result potentially influenced by the magpie brains.

As Melalo grew, he sought his own wife and requested his father to create one for him. The king was instructed to cook a fish in donkey's milk and let the liquid fall on Ana before conceiving another child. Thus, Lilyi, a sea demon, was born, who swiftly had offspring with Melalo.

Jealousy consumed the king as he observed his son's expanding family, leading him to once again take advantage of his wife's sleep, this time after consuming kite bird meat and crayfish. As a consequence, Tculo, described as a small, spiny ball akin to a bloated sea urchin, came into existence.

Tculo caused distress to his own sister, Lilyi, prompting Melalo to believe that the only way to end his brother's negative influence was to find a wife for the hedgehog demon.

Though the origins of Tcaridyi remain unknown, this entity grew up with a sole purpose: to target the woes of women.
In an attempt to occupy Silali, Melalo persuaded Kalo to feed him garlic soaked in urine, resulting in the creation of a hideous multi-headed worm.

As Ana suffered from illness and a weeping rash, Melalo claimed that the sores would heal if licked by mice, and strangely, the bird's advice proved accurate. The mice soothed Ana and the rash vanished, but not before a mouse crawled into one of the boils and transformed into her next monstrous child, a red mouse that embodies all the ills of the skin.

Desiring to be sterilized permanently, Ana followed Melalo's suggestion and underwent a ritual involving a dung heap, leading to her last and most evil daughter, born from the beetle that entered her womb.
Both Ana and the Keshali were desperate to end the nightmare, and they believed a special cake containing cat hair, demon dog hair, and pulverized remains of a dry snake could sicken the demon king.

In the end, the Keshali achieved their goal, but at a terrible cost. Poisoned by the peculiar cake, the King conceived only one more son, an abominable being embodying all degenerative diseases, seemingly absorbing the evil of the King himself.

This allowed Ana to return to her kingdom, but not before agreeing to a 999-year deal to appease the Locolici once and for all.

## In the World

Ana, possessed remarkable fertility herself. However, her pregnancies were not by choice but a result of her union with the King of Demons. Each of her ten children born from this union became embodiments of horrific disease spirits. The details of each pregnancy and the diseases caused by her children are remembered in a haunting fairy tale cycle.

Despite the anguish and despair brought upon her by the births of these children, Queen Ana eventually persuaded the King of Demons to release her from their unholy union. In return, she consented to the agreement that when a Keshalyi, a member of the Roma community, reaches the age of 999 years, they will wed one of the Loçolici King. Overwhelmed by remorse and shame, Queen Ana now hides within the confines of her palace, occasionally venturing out but only in the form of a golden toad.

## The Golden Toad

The symbolism behind Queen Ana's transformation into The Golden Toad is profound. It represents her deep sense of degradation and her desire to hide from the world, carrying the weight of her past.

The Golden Toad is a mystical creature believed to be none other than Queen Anne herself. If you happen to come across this extraordinary being during your adventures and recognize it as the transformed Queen Anne, you have the opportunity to reap incredible rewards.

Those who are lucky enough to encounter the Golden Toad and recognize her true identity as Queen Anne can unlock remarkable perks. Queen Anne's reputation as a figure of immense power extends far beyond her physical manifestation. She possesses the ability to fulfill any wish, grant fertility to those who struggle to conceive, and cure ailments inflicted by her own offspring.

## Origin

Queen Ana and her tale comes from an old Transylvanian gypsy tale, it is generally used as an allegory for the care of infectious diseases, with a rather unique mythical component.