Qi Lalita

"Danse Macabre" Reinwald of Anthos CE 881

**Qi Lalita** or **Lalitao Qi** was the Davarian queen of Tyrrhos, who ruled the eastern half of the island for nearly thirty years from CE 676 to CE 701. She ruled the orc-occupied regions of *Aurellia*, *Tiberia*, and parts of *Argentia*. Qi was originally taken as a concubine for the Auber general Garagis, but through political violence and posturing, was able to take power for herself. Her thirty year rule ended when she allied with the Republic of Pria to prevent her own death at the hands of revolting lords; her descendants would later become members of the House of Barbieri.

Qi is most noted for being a powerful necromancer, being able to rend the spirits of the dead to give her intelligence and insight so long as she possessed a piece of their body. She could also raise the dead, so long as they were her children, and used them as her royal guard, much to the fright of her court.

The importance to history of Qi's period of political and
military leadership is instrumental in the modernization of Tyrrhos, with the constructions of *alhambras*, roads, bridges, and castles to protect government interests in the region. Besides the more direct consequences of her
struggle to gain and maintain supreme power, Qi's leadership resulted in
 important effects regarding social class in Tyrrhosi society, empowering of the Counts of Bellhaven, and in
relation to state support for education and literature.

Her patronage of artists and architects, while manly serving her own interests, resulted in a resurgence of *memento mori* style art that enabled modern-day Tyrrhosi art and prevailing attitudes. The many bone churches, gargoyles, skull motifs, and overall fear of the undead come from her rule.

## Life in Pramidia

Though she is not a descendant of Hadassa, Qi Lalita was born into the House of Myrtle to a lower gentry family. Her mother died giving birth, and the unnamed distraught father sought the help of a witch in which he traded his daughter for the life of his wife. Qi Lalita was not named by her parents, but named by the witch who accepted the trade. "Lalitao Qi" literally means "Plays with life" or "Life-playful."

Qi was raised by the witch as a hand-maid, with her primary task being to help the witch summon the dead and interrogate them. Qi was given a variety of tasks ranging from acquiring rare herbs growing near the mouth of a volcano to diving down beneath the waves and finding endor-pearls for necromancy. This continued into her late teens, and most of the specifics of this period are unknown to history.

While pearl diving sometime in CE 660, orcs from Vostok Manda landed on the witch's island. Though they did not find the witch's hut, Qi was captured in the water and taken captive. Because the Auber at this time had never seen a Davarian, her exotic appearance was believed to be a sign that she was celestial in origin. She was taken to Tyrrhos to be given as a concubine to the Auber general Garagis.

## Rise to power

### Imperial consort

Auber scholars had estimated Qi's age to be exactly seventeen years and ten months by the time she was brought to Tyrrhos, which would mean that she was born within one week of the death of the Jackal King. This was taken as a divine incarnation of the god-emperor and that Qi must be a potential successor to his legacy. However, Garagis did not believe a woman, especially not a human woman, would be the sign sent by Orcus to re-assert Auber dominance in the Old World. After some convincing done by Qi, Garagis concluded that she was to be bestowed upon the next emperor of the Auber, and that until then, she must be treated carefully and with caution.

For the next two years, Garagis consolidated power across Tyrrhos and retrieved from *Lydia* a powerful artifact: the Lance of Navar, a weapon that spilled the blood of both Syphepex and the last Lathotep of Espios. Concluding this was the portent of his imperial rights, Garagis took Qi to be his main, imperial consort. They relocated to the capitol of Kenin.

As the imperial consort, Qi mothered eight silver-blood children between CE 662 and CE 674. Also during this time, she ordered Auber laborers to acquire endor-pearls from the seas of Tyrrhos to be brought to her so she could conduct her divination with the dead. She used the information she learned at this time to gain power in various ways, from her temple of *Qiguan* (literally "Where Qi observes" or "Where Qi worships"). This temple, which is less than six miles from modern-day Delephia, was built to the same specifications as her former necromantic tutor in *Pramidia*.

### Empress consort

#### Cloak-and-dagger politics

Qi was vicious to other consorts, political rivals, and those that were inconvenient to her. She tortured and killed many consorts of Garagis to discourage him from fathering children with other women, leaving only her children as heirs. She also made accusations of black magic and treason against those whose offices were valuable to her, and replaced them with orcs who would be more receptive to her bidding. By CE 668, the entire court had only those who swore her absolute allegiance, with the punishment for disobedience often being a gruesome death.

In one such tale, an administrator for Garagis had proposed reforms that would limit her influence and power, so she fabricated crimes for which he could not defend against, as he could not prove he did not do it and he had significant motive to do so. A replacement administrator who Qi found suitable came across a Davarian man and realized that they were an ethnic group, and that Qi was not special in this regard. Upon discovering this, she accused him of treason, and then had the entire position abolished as she claimed it was rife with corruption.

In another, more grisly event leading up to her ascension to empress, a sorcerer informed Garagis that one of Qi's children, her first son and second child, was not his own, and that this invalidated every child after this, ultimately claiming that none of her children were a proper heir to Garagis. In response, Qi strangled the ten-year-old child to death, and claimed that it was ordered by the sorcerer as an attempt for his sister to become the new imperial consort. Garagis was suspicious, but had the sorcerer and his family executed regardless.

#### Judgment of Arha

One consort that was kept secret from Qi by Garagis was an Auber woman named Arha. Knowing somewhat that his wife was responsible for the deaths of his other consorts, Garagis kept Arha hidden and intended to legitimize their son and daughter in the event that Qi was ever directly linked to treacherous actions or treason. However, in CE 675, Qi did learn of Arha through one of her spies that traveled with Garagis.

Qi, furious, sent an
assassin to force poisoned wine down both the children's throats while Garagis was campaigning in *Argentia*. The young heirs were dead before Garagis returned home. Qi then had Arha killed in an inhumane manner: she had Arha's limbs chopped off at the joints, eyes
gouged out, ears sliced off, forced her to drink a potion that made her mute, and thrown into a latrine.

Qi referred to the barely-living Arha as a "pig-woman." Upon his return some weeks later, Garagis was
 taken to view the "pig-woman" and was shocked to learn that it was his concubine Arha. He cried loudly and became ill for a long time. He requested to see his mother and said, "This is something done not by a mortal. I'll never be able to rule the
empire." From then onward, Garagis indulged himself in carnal pleasures and ignored state affairs, and was declared unfit to be emperor in CE 676. The second son of Qi was declared the heir apparent, and Qi the empress dowager until the child was fourteen.

## Empress regent

### Trade with the elves

In her first year of rulership, Qi had merchants - a previously lower class in Auber society - seek routes to Prace to trade with emerging merchant republics like the Republic of Cyravest. Among these, Qi developed a strong relationship with the Republic of Pria, whose interests in Tyrrhos were preeminent. Their relative power over other republics made them unique in that they could bid up the price of goods, in turn monopolizing those goods in Prace itself. Over time, orc merchants became quite wealthy, especially the ports in the south that had trade routes between the Baerisian Islands and Prace, among the longest trade networks in the world at the time.

Beyond the simple monetary boon brought by this trade, Qi also was also interested in the pelt of a rare beast called a *yali*. This creature lived in the Misty Mountains, and based on her divination, was able to change its color at will. Qi sought such a valuable robe to drape herself in for both fashion and as a deadly weapon. She is often alleged to have received her wish after trading with Boriats in *Velusia* for the pelt, offering a quiver of *grudge-bolts* in exchange. The pelt, which is better known as the Silken Gown of Alhambra, is one of the Thirteen Lost Treasures of Tyrrhos.

### De-imperialization of Tyrrhos

#### Necromancy and reanimation

Of her fourteen children, five would perish at a young age, three of them by her own hands for political ends. Qi discovered that, as the mother and the woman who gave life to the bones of her children, she could also reanimate them in death, giving "life" to the same bones she formed within her body.

By using endor-pearls harvested from the Strait of Espios, Qi was able to raise the bones of her children as skeletal servants, and who acted as her frightening royal guard. Though they carried no weapons and stood no more than four or five feet tall, their presence was enough to correct behavior in anyone, as a grim reminder that Qi Lalita had not only the power to kill her own children, but to raise them from the dead as well.

By practicing divination with the dead, Qi also hired military expeditions (called "Crusades") to cross over *Shashania* and recover artifacts from *Lydia*. In particular, the ruins of Espios were valuable hunting grounds, and precious objects and artifacts were taken from its various sanctums and treasuries despite being infested with demons, as their exact locations were known to her. Qi kept the fate of Espios a well-hidden secret, and in fact outright lied to the elven nobility about its fate to prevent them from their own looting exhibitions.

#### Patronage of artists

Much of the refined art of Masadene, such as their woodcuts and later impressionist styles, were influenced by Qi Lalita's patronage. By diverting sizable funds to the monks of *Argentia*, Qi empowered a growing religious class in the cold highlands, and encouraged her sons to pursue painting in the monasteries to the north. Unsurprisingly, her encouragement of her sons to pursue arts and letters led to a pattern of each child eventually revoking their claim to the throne, and becoming monks under the mantle of the Gankunori.

Despite her goals being to redirect her ambitious children, Qi's support of the arts has led to a legacy of Tyrrhosi artists flourishing throughout the following two centuries, and the development of many modern Baroque styles of music. The Gankunori were also cautious with the funds afforded to them, and soon grew to be a government-like entity of their own capable of providing public services and even levying taxes under the guise of "tithes."

#### Construction of the *alhambras*

In the early years of her regency, Qi was approached about one of the historic issues of Tyrrhos, *Tiberia* in particular: because the rivers change their course every few years, bridges are difficult to construct without becoming obsolete in a decade or less. In addition, flooding was far more severe than in Cascadia, where irrigation networks have all but resolved their own flooding issues. Because of the changing river directions, an effective network needs to be designed year after year, which becomes a vexing problem when compounded over generations.

Qi Lalita, from the *Qiguan* in *Tiberia*, never experienced the flooding as described to her by the commoners of the region. She realized that the design of her temple was incidentally a perfect foundation to base other structures on to combat the "fickle rivers." The design, which is composed of a series of arches ranging in height, are also set into by stone-fortified canals on all sides. In perhaps one of the largest architectural feats in Tyrrhosi history, Qi ordered the construction of over 1,000 miles of connected bridges and *alhambras*.

The *alhambra* is a specific type of castle with a series of arches, gutters, and canals splayed out from its foundation that funnel water underneath it. In addition to centralizing irrigation, they are all interconnected by long stretches of roads built like elevated flat-bridges, which funnel water using a system of canals and dams. This complex structure allows for the redirection of flowing water and acts as a sort of wall that helps control the direction of the rivers in *Tiberia*. The fortresses themselves litter the landscape as both useful garrisons and as the central area where the rivers are redirected. The network stretches along borders of *Shashania,* as far north as Arlando and as far south as the border of *Aramea*.

#### Murders of the Twin Knights

Qi Lalita was responsible for the deaths of the twins Harkus and Rukduk, two of her late husband's subjects who contributed greatly to the founding of the growing Auber empire in Tyrrhos, of whose military capabilities both she and her husband had once praised to such degrees as to usher them into their own clan.

In CE 685, a war to unite Cascadia and Tyrrhos had taken a sharp turn with a devastating ambush in the Ganan Canyon, where the army of Harkus was cut down by more than half. Qi Lalita suspected Harkus as having betrayed her as a way to protest their involvement in Cascadia. Harkus had once voiced displeasure in "killing other orcs" which Qi had quickly shut down. Qi ordered Harkus to return to the capitol, where she later admitted to having sneaked into his quarters and stabbing him in his stomach to stage it as a suicide. The next morning, she used this as an admission of his guilt and folly, and had his relatives and family members executed as well.

Because of his noble status, Rukduk was spared. He was demoted to the status of a
 commoner and exiled to a remote village in *Margovia*. However, Qi Lalita was already suspect of Harkus and his twin brother too was under suspicion of treason. Rukduk was never seen again after departing from *Tiberia*, though his battle-axe was discovered in the marshes near Boar's Head. Qi is alleged to have killed him as well, but this is not confirmed.

### Revolt of the Counts

#### Origins

The growing power of merchants in this Tyrrhosi society stratified the former commoner/noble classes into a three-tiered peasant/gentry/royalty divisions, with the middle class occupied by merchants accruing wealth thanks to grand trade routes stretching as far north as the Republic of Pria, to as far south as the Baerisian Islands. Routes to the mythical lands of Jigoku and the orc nation of Vostok Manda also benefited the merchant class.

The gentry were growing in influence and power, unchecked by Qi Lalita and no longer bound by necessary feudal ties. Those with the greatest wealth were those at the southern tip of *Aramea*, in Bellhaven. The growing class of nobility outside of the empress's control were heavily romantic and mostly human and elf settlers rather than Auber. Though they tolerated the rule of Qi Lalita, as she was human and endeared them to the mixed Auber-human dynasty, their capabilities to hire mercenary armies meant that the fearsome approach of Qi Lalita was no longer a necessity.

Despite her many successes in cultivating a wealthier and more hospitable Tyrrhos, her reputation as a kin-murdering necromancer who uses her power for personal acclaim and benefit did not bode well for her image. In addition, the High Pontiff Velzar had laid claim to the hypothetical Medean province in CE 700, saying that it was given to the Pontifect by Robaerigon. The seduction of Papetral rule meant that an imperial authority under Orcus had to be toppled sooner than later.

#### Siege of Kenin

The Counts of Bellhaven organized under the House of Atlas, with the Count Gabriel D'Atlas heading the nobility. In June CE 701, their mercenary forces (comprised mainly of Cascadian Auber veterans, in an interesting bit of irony) approached Kenin with the only intent of delivering a message to Qi Lalita, that *Aramea* was to be liberated from imperial authority. Outraged, Qi scrambled to have her army approach the siege force, but was consistently outmaneuvered. The siege prevented her from performing her necromancy in *Qiguan*, and with no way to acquire endor-pearls, the empress struggled to maintain order within the city and to arrive at a ready solution.

### Proposal from the Otario of Pria

On 4 August CE 701, the High Pontiff sent the Pri Archbishop Randolfo di Milenni to oversee "Medea" and to strike common ground with Qi Lalita. However, while trying to travel to Kenin, he discovered the fact that the Counts of Bellhaven had revolted, and that the Counts had done so in anticipation of his arrival. Archbishop di Milenni wrote to the Otario, the elected leader of Pria, that his proposal to Qi Lalita could serve to both quell insurrection and to give Pria a provincial power under the Pontifect.

The Otario, Nunzio Barbieri, quickly took advantage of the opportunity. He traveled in person to Kenin on 18 August CE 701, and slipping in the cover of night with a small retainer, appeared before the empress with his proposal. She was delighted and agreed to the proposal, and furtively slashed the throats of her remaining heirs before departing Kenin for the last time. She deceived Barbieri into believing that she had not only never had any heirs, but that she was in fact much younger than she was in reality (claiming that she was twenty-eight instead of fifty-eight).

Once the two were wed in Delephia by the Archbishop di Milleni, Barbieri traveled to meet Gabriel D'Atlas and allowed the secession of Bellhaven, but not *Aramea* entirely. D'Atlas agreed, and the siege was lifted. Qi, enraged by the deception on part of her new husband, planned to kill him. In an apocryphal tale, she planned to consumate their marriage and kill him during the act; however, immediately preceding the act, she learned from Barbieri that the Archbishop was there to instate Papetral rule over Tyrrhos, and that effectively the Archbishop could grant them pseudo-imperial authority without having to face his own armies nor that of the Pontifect; she abandoned her plan to kill him thereafter.

## Life in the Republic of Pria

Even given her age, in which most women are no longer able to bear children, Qi Lalita was able to bear the Otario four children before she grew too old to bear any more. Otario Barbieri learned of the deception on part of the former empress sometime in CE 708, when her aging was becoming more apparent. It is around this time the truth of Qi's life, including her more manipulative and sadistic behaviors, were revealed to him, both from her own testimony and that of surviving imperial authorities in Kenin. The complete picture of Qi's life was likely established by CE 709.

In spite of the duplicitious marriage and understanding of Qi's true nature, the Otario did not act against her; in a letter to the Archbishop, he claimed,

> [...] A mother who slays her own children is wicked; a sorceress who would force childrens' bones to dance for her own amusement is fearsome; a consort who maims and mutilates a living woman is deranged; a woman who could rule orcs for two decades is never to be trifled with. To what do we owe the empress who was all four?
>
>

The Otario constructed a new temple for his wife with his personal wealth in Numendor, which was likely named *Qitaguan* (literally "Where Qi also observes") at the time, which also acted as her personal estate for the remaining decade of her life. She continued to consult the dead for answers to extend her life, though based on Pri accounts, she did not find these answers.

Qi Lalita was buried in her temple, which was closed off and formed a solitary mausoleum for the former empress. The temple, named the "Spring Gate" after the grove in which it was built, continues to be a site for many pilgrims to learn more of Qi Lalita. Her four sons with Barbieri were considered legitimate heirs to the Barbieri fortune, though of a lesser gentry than his wife when he remarried.