Victoria Knox

Victoria as she appeared circa 1070

Odysseus Knox (son)

Cassandra Knox (daughter)

Ethan Blackthorne (son)

Gwenavere Blackthorne (daughter)

Blackthorne Royal Family

**Victoria Knox** was a Noble Lady and Princess-Consort. She was the only daughter of Lord Nestor Knox by his wife Aislinnn Corcoran, and thus his sole heir even though he died before his birth; therefore she was the Matriarch of House Knox from her birth in 1016AE to her death in 1075AE. Victoria was engaged, prior to her birth, to her cousin Oedipus East, who she remained married to until the union was undone by royal decree in 1048AE. She then became the first wife of the future King Gordon I Blackthorne, marrying him in 1050AE and separating from him around 1070AE. In the latter role she was a Royal Consort and Queen Presumptive, though she separated him from him before she could be crowned as official Queen following his ascent to the Throne in 1075AE.

Victoria had two children from her first marriage to her cousin Oedipus; both suffered from severe deformities as a result of generations of inbreeding within Hosue Knox. Her firstborn Odysseus had a variety of physical disfigurements, while the daughter Cassandra suffered from severe delusions and hallucinations. By her second royal marriage she had another two children, and both proved able-bodied and -minded; another son, Ethan, and a daughter Gwenavere.

Victoria was killed by the Red Death plague in 1075AE, survived by all her children with the exception of Cassandra. Her Blackthorne children, as well as the general Aradian populace, remember her fondly; Odysseus, estranged from her since birth, still harbours a great hatred for her and her "new family."

## Appearance and Character

Victoria was considered to be very beautiful when she was young, and was thought to be a prized match following her separation from Oedipus for her looks as well as her power. She had something of the classic Knox appearance, short and slightly-built with a particular shade of green eyes that looked almost yellow; her features were considered fresh-faced and kindly-looking in youth, though age gave her a more pinched "wolfish" look common to her family. Her hair was silken and black in her teens, and turned an "iron grey" as she grew older. She favored red fabrics that reflected the colors of her House, and was known to favor emerald jewellery that complimented her eyes. She would wear simpler roughspun clothing when at work, tying her hair back in a tight bun.

Nestor Knox was a man maddened by arrogance and greed, but thankfully, he left none of that in his only progeny. Victoria was an idealistic child, prone to daydreaming and flights of fancy, with a cheery and optimistic manner. Even as she became older and more cynical, she remained very kind-hearted, exemplified by her first meeting with her then 8-year-old future husband Gordon when she managed to save him from being bullied by his sister Valoria. Nevertheless she spurned her Knox children, unable to love them. Both Ethan and Gwenavere recollect their mother as being always at work, sewing or gardening or at some other pursuit about the Royal Palace, and despite being pampered nobility for her whole life she refused to be idle. She was occasionaly sharp and stern in her manner, but was nontheless an attentive and very loving mother to her two younger children in a manner that their father was inconsistent with. She did not love her first husband, and though initially affectionate with Gordon their relationship became combative leading to separation; she vocally disapproved of Gordon's remarriage to Anarietta of the Gilded Isle, and was never linked romantically to another man until her death.

## Trivia

-Victoria was always intended to be a daughter of Aislinn Corcoran, but was originally going to be a child of House Worcester. Making her a Knox was decided upon as the Knoxes were more story-relevant in the prequel, and had more elaborated background than the Lords of Porcupine's Den.