Heike Stahldritten

### Aliases

War Mother (current); Empress of the Six Realms (former); Great Mage of the Stahl Realm (acting)Great Lady of the Wasser Realm (former)

### Relatives

Iolar Mathair (betrothed) Melior Wasserste (former husband) Konig Stahldritten (father) Fieke Erdefunfte (mother) Konnen Stahldritten (brother) Korol Stahldritten (brother) Klauen Stahldritten (brother) Bitva Stahldritten (sister) Latya Stahldritten (sister) Helm Stahldritten (brother) Krov Stahldritten (brother)

## Physical description

### Eye color

Grey

**Heike Stahldritten** is the thirdborn child of the tenth House Stahldritten, and daughter of Konig Stahldritten and Fieke Erdefunfte. She has five brothers (Konnen, Korol, Klauen, Helm and Krov) and two younger sisters (Bitva and Latya).

## Appearance & Character

Heike takes after her mother's traditionally Erde features, with straight, dulled brown hair and pale skin. She has inherited the familial Stahldritten eyes of piercing grey. Despite her firm Stahldritten heritage, Heike distinctly resolved to introduce Erde fashion into her Stahl wardrobe, and proved to be adept at marrying the two highborn Houses of her heritage.

Heike is described as calculated, with a demeanour hinting at coldness and apathy. Many remark that she is very intelligent, particularly at political strategy and diplomacy, and she has demonstrated this adeptness on many occasions. She favours efficiency and utilitarianism, valuing those who are useful to her, only for so long as they are useful to her. She is also, as many Stahlborn are, very skilled at understanding other's emotions, and manipulating those emotions to suit her desires; she consistently manipulates her younger brother Klauen into ruling the Stahl Realm in her stead when she ascends to the throne of the Six Realms as she sees fit.

Despite some unsavoury opinions of her, Heike manages to inspire great loyalty to herself and her cause following her assault on the Ether Realm, and the subsequent murders that follow, suggesting that she is quite favoured for her strategy and level-headedness.

## Skills & Abilities

As with all Stahldrittens, Heike was trained from a very young age to wield a sword for defensive and offensive measures. As her training progressed, she received her ceremonial sword and her warsword alongside her training sword.

At thirteen, in completing the Stahl rite of passage to adulthood, Heike executed a criminal of the Realm and was gifted with her warsword. As was custom, she carved the name of her kill into the black forged steel.

Unlike many Stahldrittens, Heike's warsword was relatively unscathed during her lifetime, indicating that she was not directly responsible for many kills. However, this should not be confused with a lack of involvement in state executions; as acting Great Mage of the Stahl Realm and as Empress of the Six Realms, Heike would have been responsible for overseeing management of an overpopulated prison system, and the punishment of traitors and deserters.

Heike did not chose a specialised weapon to continue her training, instead favouring the traditional sword.

## History

Heike is the eldest of the three daughters of Konig Stahldritten, the thirdborn of his own family, and Fieke Erdefunfte, the eldest of the two sisters. She is preceded by two elder brothers, Konnen and Korol, whom she does not share particular closeness with.

Growing up, she was decidedly her father's favourite of his four eldest children, achieving the calculated balance and reserve that her siblings lacked. However, Heike did not seek or even seem to acknowledge her father's approval, instead favouring her mother's wisdom and talk of impending danger. Seeing a reflection of herself in her mother's patience and strategy, she spent many of her younger years educating herself on the histories of the Realms, with her mother's assistance. As she grew older and came to understand her own strengths more, the two women planned for the salvation of the Realms from the approaching Devonian Army, whom Fieke had come to understand returned every century. As the date drew closer, the pair prepared for Fieke's suicide and Heike's ascension to the throne.

## Events

### Ascension as War Mother

Heike accepted the mantle of War Mother of the Devonian Army, agreeing as a condition of her banishment to lead them away from the Six Realms. She later married her betrothed, Iolar Mathair, and mothered four children; her two daughters were named Fieke Mathair, for her mother, and Foiche Mathair, for Iolar's childhood friend.

## Trivia

* 'Heike' is the feminine diminutive form of 'Henrike' or 'Henry'. It is believed to translate as "home" (heim) and "power, ruler" (ric), an adage to her fierce loyalty for her home realm and the Six Realms.