Krighal Princess Zivura

***“**Do not fight unless attacked. Do not chase fleeing enemies. Care for wounded enemies like they were your allies. If you stick to these three rules, your mercy will win the war of hearts and minds.**”***
— Krighal Princess Zivura

**Krighal Princess Zivura**, also known as **Saint Zivura of Toscov**, **Princess Zivura of Toscov** or **Zivura the Kind**, was a Toscovish princess who fought in the War of the Fifteen Princes. She was a member of the Krighal Princes, later acting as its leader from 148 AW until her death in 149 AW after the demise of Prince Woldar. She was posthumously canonised as a saint alongside Mikhail Ivolanov by the Divine Order of Enselonde in 374 AW.

Trained to be a doctor, Zivura valued mortal life highly. Despite being a Warlady, she installed a strict moral code into her personal Warband. She treated enemies compassionately, seeking to improve the highly negative view of the Krighal Vitna. She was also a key player in community building and one of the first founders of the Krighal identity.

For her tireless work for the Krighal Vitna, she has become a racial hero and inspiration to many. Statues in her honour have been erected from Lesterwood to Marenbach to Point Mikhail, and she is a widely celebrated figure to this day. She is one of the city-state's patron saints, and the sole patron saint of the Order of Saint Zivura.

## Biography

### Early Life

Princess Zivura was born in 128 AW to then-crow prince Budimiv. She was the eleventh of Budimiv's fifteen children. In her youth, she befriended a young servant at the Imperial Palace of roughly the same age as her called Joliah. Despite being from vastly different backgrounds, the two girls became vast friends. However, Joliah ultimately contracted the Second Plague of Ihyll or Shadowrot. Instead of a fast-acting variant that killed the girl in a week, Joliah suffered from a slower chronic version that slowly sapped the life out of her for months.

Zivura constantly began hounding the court physician at the Imperial Palace to save her friend, practically forcing him to take her as her apprentice. She spent day and night observing or going through tomes, trying to find a cure for the disease. However, despite obtaining an impressive amount of medical knowledge at a young age, Shadowrot was (and often still is) incurable, and Joliah slowly worsened before ultimately dying in late 135 AW. Joliah's death crushed Zivura, though it gave the young princess an inner fire to become the greatest doctor the Eastland had ever seen. While she couldn't save Joliah, she vowed to protect as many others as possible.

Budimiv allowed Zivura to continue her medical training. With time, she outgrew everything the local doctors in the capital could teach her. Arrangements were made for her to join the Kymelian Order; however, the Sixth Plague of Ihyll would get in the way. Ordinary Humans were turned into gigantic beasts of tooth and claw, plaguing the countryside and preying on smaller villages and travellers. This effectively crippled the ability to travel across the Eastland, and Zivura was kept in Toscov for her safety. This decision outraged Zivura, who was desperate to contribute to lessening the effects of the Krighal Taresh, though Budimiv couldn't be convinced. After getting caught trying to sneak out of the city, she was placed under house arrest.

It wasn't until 143 AW that Budimiv relented. The roads had become relatively safe. A large escort brought Zivura to the Kymelian Kingdom, where she joined her older brother Prince Woldar, who had also worked alongside the Kymelian Order. Once arrived, she impressed many with her medical knowledge and became an official member of the Order despite her young age. A cure for the Sixth Plague had been discovered by Mikhail Ivolanov that allowed the Krighal Taresh to regain their sanity, though the change to their bodies was permanent. These cured individuals are known as the Krighal Vitna. Zivura and Woldar fell into a rhythm, with the two royals curing hundreds of Krighal Taresh. However, while curing one particularly feisty infected, he broke free and clawed at both royals. Subsequently, they, too, fell victim to the infection and twisted into Krighal Taresh, being cured soon after.

Being invited back to Toscov in disgrace, the pair were brought before their father in the throne room before he ordered the Imperial Guard to arrest them. Budimiv's hatred of the Krighal ran deep, and it mattered little to him whether or not they were Krighal Taresh or Vitna. He threw both in the dungeon and scheduled their execution. At the last moment, the two were pardoned at the behest of Princess Zviglena, though both were disinherited and exiled. Woldar and Zivura fled into the Blue Forest.

At the time, the Blue Forest was the home of a growing Krighal Vitna community of exiles seeking refuge in the vast wilderness from the Empire's forces who hunted them down relentlessly. While Zivura became a local leader, hoping to live out her days in peace and quiet, Woldar turned to revenge. He raised a militia against his father, enraging him. Despite being outnumbered, Woldar launched a highly aggressive offensive, killing the Emperor before retreating. This killing, born from hatred and abandonment, would start a series of catastrophic events that would lead to one of the most destructive wars in the history of the Eastland: the War of the Fifteen Princes.

### War of the Fifteen Princes

The War of the Fifteen Princes broke out in 146 AW when Princes Durkrin and Zhincis launched a failed coup and siege of the capital city, Toscov. Ultimately, they were repelled by Prince Deslov. However, the siege was only the start of troubles, as soon after, the Rebel and Free Princes formed against the Empire.

Woldar, too, would create his own faction: the Krighal Princes, which Zivura formally joined not long after the conflict started. While Woldar led the military side of things, Zivura was more of a passive Warlady. However, she raised a significant Krighal Vitna Warband that was notable for containing many kymelomancers or traditional doctors. These were tasked with entering the fray to rescue both friend and foe who were injured. Her Warband became one of the most famous, and many Imperial or Rebel forces – enemies of the Krighal Princes – left them alone even if they could have won. There are many incidents where a Princely Army or Warband stalked Zivura's forces, though ultimately turned around and left.

Zivura would make her worth known to the military cause when she besieged Makhava, close to the critical city of Machayya, in a bold yet effective offensive. After a five-month siege, the city's garrison surrendered. Her Warband took the settlement, treating the injured and forgoing any looting. Prisoners were treated well and eventually released or allowed to return to civilian life if they wished. Zivura's deeds drew much praise from the citizens of Makhava that many joined the Krighal Princes despite still being Humans themselves, with the princess welcoming the cooperation.

However, things would take a turn for the worse for the Krighal alliance after the execution of Imperial Princess Zviglena by Prince Zelumir, who had joined the Rebel Princes. Zviglena was much beloved and had saved both Woldar and Zivura from execution in the years prior before the civil war. While Zivura mourned her sister's death silently, Woldar flew into a rage, rallied his Warband, and went on a reckless offensive against Zelumir. In early 148 AW, Zelumir lured Woldar's forces into Sevhansk, which he bombarded relentlessly with his pyromancers, burning enemy soldiers and civilians. With Woldar dead, Zivura had suddenly become the figurehead of the Krighal Princes, a task she was unprepared for.

With Woldar dead, a group of Human pro-Imperial rebels overthrew the local government in Kovka, whose vassal prince had joined Woldar's side over the Empire. When news reached Zivura, she left Makhava and returned to the capital of the Krighal alliance in early 149 AW. She surrounded the city and negotiated a bloodless surrender, allowing the rebels to leave the Blue Forest for Imperial territory unharmed. The rebels agreed, and a peaceful transfer of the city occurred.

However, more problems with the Imperial Princes followed when Ludimik II himself led the Golden Army into the northern Blue Forest, displacing Krighal communities and driving refugees south towards Kovka. In response, Zivura gathered what troops she could and met Ludimik II at the town of Kaliscow in late 149 AW. The two armies agreed to a ceasefire, and a series of negotiations started. Troops from both sides began intermingling until Ludimik betrayed Zivura, drawing his sword and driving it through her heart. Immediately, the Imperial forces turned on the unsuspecting Krighal, massacring them and the town's population in a dishonourable battle that sparked outrage from all sides of the conflict.

While Ludimik had hoped that killing Zivura and her forces would pacify the Blue Forest. While it successfully collapsed the Krighal Princes as an alliance, it only heightened the remaining rebels' resolve under far more violent leaders such as Vaskah Savin and Zsemyon Surikolsky. Due to the events at Kaliscow, any Krighal rebel that remained chose death over surrender, causing these guerilla conflicts to drag on all the way until 158 AW.

### Legacy

Princess Zivura left behind a great legacy that is widely celebrated today. One of pacifism in times of war, kindness for your enemies, and choosing to do the right thing even if it is more challenging. While many went into the War of the Fifteen Princes thinking of the Krighal Vitna as nothing more but violent savages, by the time Zivura and her forces were massacred, there was widespread outrage. This signalled a shift in rhetoric, as Zivura's deeds throughout the conflict changed many's views of the Krighal Vitna.

Tales of the sparing of Makhava or the peaceful resolution at Kovka spread rapidly to all corners of the Eastland. Zivura became a highly respected princess even by her enemies. These tales also resonated in the future and to different continents. Zivura became a racial hero for the Krighal Vitna, showing the positive sides of their people and that – on the inside – they were still very much Human.

Where the Krighal Vitna spread, so, too, did the legend of Princess Zivura's kindness. There caused a high public awareness of her amongst other races. Statues were erected in her honour from Lesterwood to the Marenbach Mountains and as far as Nuj Tarrok in Point Mikhail. Many stories, plays, or poems feature Zivura, emphasising her kindness and honourable conduct.

For her tremendous impact on the Krighal identity and hard work in allowing their race to find their first footings as a distinct civilised society, she was canonised as a saint by the Divine Order of Enselonde alongside Mikhail Ivolanov. She is the joint patron saint of the City-State of Point Mikhail alongside its namesake, Saint Mikhail. She also acted as the patron saint of the Order of Saint Zivura, a Krighal Vitna order of doctor-soldiers founded in the Kingdom of the One that operates to this day.

## Military Career

* War of the Fifteen Princes
	+ Siege of Makhava - Victory
	+ Battle of Kaliscow - Defeat †

## Awards

*Main Article: List of Awards*

* Kymelian Order Service Medal - The Kymelian Kingdom
* Kymelian Order Veteran Medal - The Kymelian Kingdom
* Order of Saints of Enselonde - Divine Order of Enselonde (posthumous)
* Champion of the People Medal - City-State of Point Mikhail (posthumous)
* Order of Patrons of the Grey Temple - Kingdom of the One (posthumous)

## Personality

For Princess Zivura, mercy was the name of the game. She went against the rest in nearly every aspect of the other Warlords and generals in the War of the Fifteen Princes, choosing diplomacy over violence, kindness over cruelty, and pacifism over war. Many looked up to her as a community leader, while her enemies held her in the highest respect. Some claim she was blessed or possessed by Kymelia herself.

## Relationships

* Krighal Prince Woldar - While she may not always have agreed with Woldar's violent tendencies, Zivura still heavily relied on and loved her brother.
* Kilolov II, Prince of Kovka - Kilolov saw the Krighal Vitna not as monsters but as people and ultimately came to their aid. Zivura greatly respected him for that decision.
* Imperial Princess Zviglena - Zivura loved Zviglena much, even before she saved her life from execution. She mourned her death greatly.
* Ludimik II - While many disliked Ludimik, Zivura was not one of them. She considered him an enemy of circumstance and wished to reconcile with him as leader of the Krighal Princes, an ultimately fatal mistake.

* Rebel Prince Zelumir - Zivura believed in the power of forgiveness, but what Zelumir did to Zviglena and Woldar was beyond forgiving to her.