Queens

**The Queens** are the rulers of Fennbirn Island.

## Description

In each generation, three triplet queens are born to the current Queen Crowned. Each are considered equal heirs to the throne, but only one of the triplets can become the next Queen Crowned. Each Queen Crowned earn her crown by killing her sisters during the Ascension Year. All of the triplets are linked to the Goddess in a unique way, and only a queen can receive the next generation's triplets. Temple doctrine decrees that queens have no mother or father; they are daughters of the Goddess only. Once the Goddess sends the new queens, the old queen's reign has ended. Queens Crowned depart the island with their king-consort as soon as they recover from giving birth to the new queens. Most presume that they make a life for themselves on The Mainland, though in truth few give the departed queens a second thought once they are gone.

When the new queens are born, their mother always knows immediately what their gift is. Once born, the old queen announces the baby's name and gift. After the births, messengers are sent to the capital and whichever cities house the gifted who share the new queens' gifts. It is tradition for queens to only wear black once they are no longer babies. Newborn queens are given blankets and clothes that identify their gift, such as Oracle Queens receiving yellow and grey blankets or Naturalist Queens receiving green ribbons. All queens are born at the Black Cottage, where they live together for the first six years of their life under the care of the Midwife. Once the queens turn six, they are taken in by their foster families during the Claiming Ceremony. Foster families are chosen based on the strength of their gift, since only the strongest bloodlines are fit to rear and protect the future queens.

When the queens turn sixteen, their Year of Ascension begins with the Quickening Ceremony on the third night of the Beltane Festival. During the Ascension Year, the queens work to kill each other until only one remains. While the queens are given a full year to kill each other, some Ascensions are shorter than others, and it is said that the bloodiest Ascension Years occur when all three queens are strong. Should the Ascension end with two sisters still alive, they are locked in a tower in the Volroy until one kills the other. This also occurs in the event that all three queens refuse to kill each other. The Ascension Year officially ends at the next Beltane Festival when the remaining queen is officially crowned.

The bodies of vanquished queens are given burial rites in the form of being thrown into the Breccia Domain at the heart of the island. A short period of mourning is permitted for fallen queens, during which people light candles and wear black and crimson. After the victorious triplet is crowned at the end of the Ascension, the names of her slain sisters are never spoken again and are forgotten to history.

## Trivia

* **Queen Elo:** A mural of her is located in the Rolanth Temple depicting her on a gilded barge, burning an attacking fleet of mainland ships to the bottom of Bardon Harbor. She ruled before Queen Emmeline.
* **Queen Emmeline:** A statue of her is located in Bastian City. A bloody spear is above her head, and arrows are suspended from the ceiling in tribute to the war-gifted's ability to move things with their minds. She ruled before Queen Elsabet.
* **Queen Shannon:** She is Mirabella's favorite queen. She was one of the strongest queens, and her affinity was for weather.
* Few War Queens have been born in recent generations, likely because Fennbirn has not been at war with The Mainland and thus does not require a War Queen's protection. Given that the Mist protects and isolates the island, it is possible that a War Queen has not ruled since Queen Philomene, who birthed the Blue Queen Illiann.

## Known Queens

* Katharine: the Poisoner Queen Crowned of her generation, called the Undead. She ruled directly after Queen Camille. She was actually born a naturalist, but her mother switched her with Arsinoe to break the Arrons' hold on the throne. Her sisters are Arsinoe and Mirabella.
	+ King-consort: Nicolas Martel
* Arsinoe: the Naturalist Queen of her generation, called the Bear Queen. She survived her Ascension Year, but she refused to be crowned and instead ceded the throne to the Legion Queen, Juillenne Milone. She was actually born a poisoner, but her mother switched her with Katharine to break the Arrons' hold on the throne. Her sisters are Katharine and Mirabella.
* Mirabella: the Elemental Queen of her generation, called the Great Elemental and Mistbane. She was the most powerful triplet in her generation and many thought she would be the next Queen Crowned.
* Camille: the Poisoner Queen Crowned of her generation. She ruled directly before Queen Katharine and gave birth to Mirabella, Arsinoe, and Katharine.
	+ King-consort: Philippe
* Nicola: the Poisoner Queen Crowned of her generation. She ruled directly before Queen Camille and gave birth to Camille and her sisters.
* Sylvia/Sandrine: the Poisoner Queen Crowned of her generation. She ruled directly before Queen Nicola and gave birth to Nicola and her sisters. The names Sylvia and Sandrine have both been used to identify the queen who preceded Queen Nicola, implying that one was a typo.
* Bernadine: the Naturalist Queen Crowned of her generation. She ruled sometime between the Blue Queen Illiann and Queen Sylvia, since the city of Sealhead was renamed Wolf Spring in honor of her wolf familiar. She was the last great Naturalist Queen.
* Daphne: the Elemental Queen Crowned of her generation. She ruled directly after taking the place of her younger sister, the Blue Queen Illiann, whose identity she assumed. Her sisters were Leonine, Isadora, and Illiann.
	+ King-consort: Henry Redville
* Illiann: the Elemental Queen Crowned of her generation and the most recent Blue Queen. She ruled four hundred years prior to Queen Katharine. As a rare fourth-born, she was deemed blessed by the Goddess and immediately became the Queen Crowned. Her sisters were culled, but Daphne survived. Her sisters were Leonine, Isadora, and Daphne.
* Isadora: the Oracle Queen of her generation. She was drowned at birth for being an oracle. Her sisters were Leonine, Daphne, and Illiann.
* Leonine: the Naturalist Queen of her generation. She was left to die in the woods after her birth because her sister was the Blue Queen. Her sisters were Isadora, Daphne, and Illiann.
* Philomene: the War Queen Crowned of her generation. She ruled directly before Queen Illiann and gave birth to Leonine, Isadora, Daphne, and Illiann.
	+ King-consort: Louis
* Shannon: the Elemental Queen Crowned of her generation. She likely ruled some time before the Blue Queen Illiann, since her reign seems to predate the Mist, but it is unclear if she predated Queen Elsabet. Given her fame in the present series and that she was not mentioned in The Oracle Queen, she likely ruled afterwards.
* Andira: the Naturalist Queen Crowned of her generation, called the White-Handed. She ruled some time after the Oracle Queen Elsabet, since she became queen crowned following the drowning of her oracle sisters. She likely ruled before the Blue Queen Illiann, since her story is considered an older legend.
* Elsabet: the Oracle Queen Crowned of her generation, called the Mad Oracle Queen. She ruled five hundred years prior to Queen Katharine. She was the last Oracle Queen.
	+ King-consort: William
* Emmeline: the War Queen Crowned of her generation. She ruled directly before Queen Elsabet and gave birth to Elsabet and her sisters.
* Elo: the Elemental Queen Crowned of her generation, called the Fire-Breather. She is known for burning a fleet of Selkan ships in Bardon Harbor, putting an end to the foreign invasion. She ruled directly before Queen Emmeline and gave birth to Emmeline and her sisters.
* Aethiel: the War Queen Crowned of her generation. She began construction of the Volroy during her reign. She ruled directly before Queen Elo and gave birth to Elo and her sisters.
* Theodora: the Naturalist Queen Crowned of her generation, whose familiar was a horse. It is unknown when she ruled, but it was likely before Queen Bernadine, who was considered the last great Naturalist Queen Crowned.
* Hadly: the War Queen Crowned of her generation, whose gift appeared on her sixteenth birthday. She likely ruled some time before the Blue Queen Illiann, since her reign seems to predate the Mist, but it is unclear if she predated Queen Elsabet.
* Caedan: the Queen Crowned of her generation and the very first Blue Queen. She ruled over one thousand years prior to Queen Katharine. The fourth-born daughter of her generation, she was deemed so blessed by the Goddess that she immediately became the Queen Crowned. Her sisters were culled, and she was taken to Indrid Down to be raised by the high priestess of the time. Her gift is unknown.
* Bethel: the Queen Crowned of her generation, called the Pious. She is the earliest known queen to have ruled over Fennbirn. While others certainly preceded her, their names have been lost to time. Her gift is unknown.
* The First Queen: The first Queen of Fennbirn's name has been lost to history. She was a Legion Queen, the only known one to have existed.