Blood Queen Yaka

To tell this story we must go back, long long ago. Before civilisation, before history, to the first stories of the Giants, 25 and 30 foot tall monsters. When the valley first knew peace, when all was calm and the humans lived in small towns, with northern elves and a vast variety of peoples of all races, religions and proto-nations. When history was spoken, not written. It was the day the human civilisations learned of the giants, and it was not a good day. They came from the mountains, hungry and enraged, and the humans were no match for their much larger, much stronger foe, so they fled.

Following their flee southwards, the giants of the time split into Clanns, or groups and families, spreading out into the nearby areas, such as Clann Akl, Clann Mark and Clann Bexr who were enraged with bloodlust, pushing south after the peoples of the lake whereas Clann Shannon, Clann Saoírse and Clann Vars all settled around the lake and in the forests surrounding it, which is where we get the names of the lakes that we still use nowadays, but this story isn’t about Shannon, Saoírse, Vars or Mark. It starts with Akl. And a woman named Yaka Akl, who sought power. She sought true power and the only way to true power was Terror. As Yaka grew more and more prominent inside of her Clann, some of the elders began to fear her, and that was exactly what she wanted, she worked through their fears and empowered herself, and then, the head of the Akl Clann, Cub Akl, died under mysterious circumstances, and within those circumstances, Yaka became the new leader of Clann Akl, any who questioned her learned quickly not to... and Clann Akl prospered.

Their takings from the raids on the lower peoples was immense, their harvests grew tenfold, and it was all too easy, the Clann had everything they wanted, but not Yaka, for Clann Leader was not what her ambitions led her to, she wanted to be the Queen of *All* of the Giants, of the whole known world, Rum Rí Yaka, Blood Queen Yaka, a queen to which everyone swore blood loyalty to. So she turned Clann Akl in on itself, anyone who would not forsake their own blue blood on the cold blankets of mountainous snow for her, she would spill their blood for them.

There was no choice, no question, no uprising, no doubt. **Only fear.** Yaka had total and utter control. Through fear, as she always wanted as they all swore loyalty to Yaka, Blood Queen and Queen of Fear.

But the raids on the lower peoples wasn’t enough, and the Blood Queen herself walked into the mountainous abode of Clann Bexr, and drew her axe, killing untold numbers, and wiping their name from the face of history, instead the Clann being known by the colour of the tears that were wept from relatives in the other Clanns, as she bathed in their blood, she herself gathered the skeletons, and piling them all into the forge in the mines, she melted down the bodies of Clann Bexr forging herself a new Ax and crown, the Crown of the Dead  and the Ax of Atrocity.

With her new ‘crown jewels’ the Blood Queen returned to Akl, and any who didn’t believe the tale of the battle were killed, as she led the Clann on against Clann Mark, onto Shannon, stopping at Shannon to build her throne as a display of power before pushing onto Vars and finally the smallest Clann, Clann Saoirse, where only one woman came out to meet her, an older giant of 200 and something years, who looked her up and down.

I am Tréasa of Clann Saoírse, and I request that you all return to your own lands.
And the army that had swore blood loyalty, turned and left, leaving Yaka standing in front of the alchemist Tréasa, who looked up at her “Arrogant child, you think no one would prepare for your arrival?”, and as Yaka stood there stunned, Uhm na Galdur (The Order of Magic) stepped out from the treeline, six of the wisest and smartest alchemists in the known world, all stood with their leader Tréasa, and as the eight women stood in the clearing, their was a chaotic fight.

The results of the fight have been lost to history, some say Yaka was killed, some say she was banished, some say her soul is trapped in her crown. But they all say one thing… that if you spill too much of your own blood on the mountain snow, Yaka will come to claim back on your promise.