Cherbish von Minky

**Cherbish von Minky** was a Momian noble and potential heiress of the Minky Momian crown. Young Cherbish was caught in the great Minky familial dispute that would eventually erupt into the Momian Civil War which ended Momia's sustained 300 year long period of prosperity. Cherbish was decided by the Momian parliament to ascend to the throne at the age of 13 after her aging grandmother, Dartill von Minky passed away. At the age of 17 Cherbish was killed by her older sister, Felsia.

## Early Life

Cherbish was born in the Momian imperial capital of Thebo in 2061 to parents Dartill von Minky II and Boolart von Minky. Cherbish was pampered and spoiled by her parents, but remained pure of heart. She was very studious, and always treated her inferiors with respect - a trait not often found in Momian royalty.

Cherbish, like her sister, was sent to Schwing School for the Elite when she had reached 5 years of age. As years went on, her older sister would be pulled from the institution due to her poor health. The young Cherbish became somewhat of a Momian celebrity among the aristocracy, and a darling of the nation. Felsia began to notice this, and grew envious of her sister.

In 2073 the Queen of Momia was killed in a Zerbling Anti-Momian terrorist attack in the planet of Nabei. As both sisters were too young to inherit the throne, power was transferred to Queen Dartill I, the geriatric mother of Dartill II and grandmother to Cherbish. It quickly became clear that Dartill was too old to rule, and was reduced to a mere figurehead at the behest of the Momian Grand Council. Although Felsia was in line to succeed her mother, the council pushed against her succession do to her weak composition, a controversial but largely popular move.

## Ascendance to the Throne

Cherbish was quickly coronated in 2071 at the onset of the Second Erbling War. Increasing demands from Mars to send additional fleets to the front had put severe strain on the Momian economy as well as causing social unrest due to rising anti-Martian sentiment. While a large portion of the population was hopeful that the new Empress would begin to reform the decaying monarchy, others would continue to lay the blame of Momias economic struggles on the Minky family.

## Fracture in the Momian Grand Council

Never publicly announced, rumors swirled among the elite and the general populace that Felsia had defected to Elerbia and that Cherbish would be the ascendant. Given Cherbish's relationship with the Momian elite, this was seen as a great thing. After the collapse of the Martian empire in 2074, Momia was steeply declining and the need for consolidated leadership was more than apparent. The Grand Council was shown to be completely ineffective at leadership, and the *de jure* Queen Dartill was senile and could not be trusted at the helm of Momia.

The council was not as accepting of Cherbish's ascendancy as the masses were, however. Although to most it was clear that Felsia had abandoned her homeworld and her return was unlikely, many Momian conservatives and fundamentalists disagreed with the unorthodox way in which Cherbish was unofficially in line to be the queen. It was a great violation of thousands year long tradition, and many families did not want to see themselves take a back seat after a singular ruler was restored. This caused many Momian royal families to abandon the council and relocate to Winglong-VI, a former Martian colony with a great number of Momian migrant workers, which currently lacked a claim and a central government. The strongest of these families was the Meltorgan family, who led a great effort to rally colonial Momians and displaced and destitute Martians who were left abandoned after their empire's collapse. Meltogran Momia declared independence from the Minky family, and began functioning as an independent state. The Minky loyalists ruled this to be constitutionally legal - although, they knew they had no funds or military might to stop the Meltorgans from seceding.

## Death and legacy

Cherbish officially ascended to the throne in 2077, much to the delight of the mainland galactic Momian peoples, and the ire of the Meltogran planets and Felsia herself. Cherbish enjoyed a short reign of only 3 weeks until Felsia herself returned to Thebo. When news of Felsia's reemergence reached the Meltorgans, they offered to give her the throne of Meltorgan Momia - which she declined. Felsia arrived at the von Minky castle with an escort of powerful Elerbling warriors - grand Vampires which she herself had turned. Immediately after disembarking her ship, Felsia destroyed two guards with an energy blast - something which was caught on the live feed of Felsia's return, broadcasted to all the Minky Momian empire. Felsia and her warriors made it to Cherbish's bedroom. It is unknown whether Cherbish and Felsia exchanged words, but Felsia ended up blasting Cherbish and leaving nothing but her burning skeleton. Felsia's ship quickly departed, and was engaged by Momian Fighters. Felsia managed to evade them and escape the pursuit.

After news of Cherbish's death spread throughout the galaxy, the Meltograns took the opportunity to scrounge up a military force and invade Minky Momia. The Momian Civil War raged on for 2 short years until the Meltograns conquered the city of Thebo. Cherbish remains a major figure in Momian history and her death is considered by most to be the direct catalyst of the Momian Civil War. Cherbish's remains are interred at the Meltogran Grand Tomb in Thebo, along with the rest of the Minky family.

After the Momian-Shinoan war of 2703, a memorial was erected in Cherbish's honor in the center of Mantill Square. It is one of the largest statues on Momia, and the largest in the capital city of Thebo.