JeVondair Family/Selenia

The Corsair

Selenia was a blond-haired, fair-skinned serf of a brutal Aurvandilan minor noble. The man was arrogant, as all Aurvandilan nobles were, but even among them, he was the worst sort and he viewed his serfs as property, not people. It was Selenia's great misfortune that she was his bastard. Her mother died bringing her into the world for a 'noble' man that raped her; who did not care and hardly noticed her trouble. Selenia was barely past her girlhood when a swaggering, swarthy-skinned adventurer, Lion'El, came through town and took notice of her. Pretending to be a Lurian Noble, he bartered for her release upon the promise that the Lurian Queen, Alice Arundel at the time, would hear of it as an example of Aurvandilian fair bargaining and goodwill.

Selenia, suddenly free of a lifetime of burden and fear of her father's eye, felt that surely she most have entered into a dream. Unfortunately, that dream would soon become a nightmare. The couple spent their first few weeks together happily. They were swiftly married and Lion'el spent a great deal of time teaching her skills he had learned alone in the wild. How to hunt, how to fight, how to survive. Little did she know that he was preparing her to endure without him for a time. Lion'El informed her that he was leaving to become a knight. This seemed a grand thing to Selenia, who busied herself with thoughts of homemaking and children. But Lion'El never came back.

A week past, then two, until finally the new bride could stand it no longer. Picking up her pack, she set out after him, tracking him through the D'Haran warcamp during their war against Madina. An adventurer named Markus directed her to Madina City, where the site that greeted her would haunt her nightmares for years to come: Her husbands broken and rotting corpse hanging aloft in a cage from the city walls. Her screamed aroused the brutal city guard, and she was swiftly taken into custody. Fully expecting to be maimed and murdered as her husband was, she spare no restraint in berating her husband's killers. Curiously, she was released without so much as a word.

Knowing her time in the South was over, she traveled north to make a name for herself in her Husband's homeland of D'Hara. She joined Great House JeRavosi as their first Corsair (an adventurer rank) and pledgeed herself to serve it's Crown Prince, Rynn JeVondair of the Desert of Silhouettes, Duke of Port Raviel and also, she would learn, younger brother to her late husband. But she did not press upon the DUke, preferring instead to go her own way far from the lives and cruelty of noblemen. In due time, she found herself a small hovel and hard work as dock crew in Port Raviel. But upon the Eve of Dragon King Machiavel Chernier's Coronation and Wedding to Dragon Princess Selena, Selenia's life would change forever.

See the Dragon Coronation[1]

Selenia saving the life the Prophet of Sanguines Astrum Mathurin Hossenfeffer himself, and her subsequent invitation to meet with and dine with the most elite nobles of Dwilight in one of the highest-profile gatherings in history, changed her life forever. She gained powerful patrons like Ghandan D'Espana (who's kindness she never forgot), Katrina Dragul and others. And for the first time in her young life, she found religion in Sanguis Astroism, joining the Church as a fervent believer after she'd encountered it's founder. She was a woman of some means now, and left the dock work of Port Raviel to dive back into adventuring. This time with the purpose of protecting the weak in the name of the Bloodstars as a Sheriff of the Church. But this was not to last. D'Hara was at war, the Prophet disappeared, and in his absence, the Church Selenia had come to love began to shatter. She watched, horrified, as secular interests tore the Church asunder. Greedy nobleman seeking only power and not caring one whit for the spiritual well being of the common man and woman slowly eroded Seleneia's faith. SHe shouted against them, argued, pleaded for sermons. But her cries were only an annoyance to the masters of the Church...who eventually excommunicated her for daring, as a commoner, to question their noble intentions. It was in that moment that Selenia knew the Church had ruptured beyond saving. And she also knew that she would be damned before she let someone else tell her that her opinions did not matter. She had her three letters of recommendation. She KNEW that Lion'el had been the brother of no less a personage than Duke Rynn JeVondair himself. In a matter of days, she was on board a ship leaving D'Hara and Dwilight behind for Beluaterra, where the JeVondair family had recently suffered the loss of Duke Rynn's sister, Duchess Kalixta of Agyr.

Selenia arrived in Beluaterra off the coast of the Ivory Vale of Fheuvenam and quickly presented herself to King Trent of Fhuevenam and his brother Duke Trent of Iato. She was greeted in a perfunctory fashion...that is to say barely at all... by the Trent brothers. Selenia was alarmed to learn that they had consolidated all of realms major ducal and council positions to themselves. So when the position of banker came up for election, she ran for it. It was by pure stroke of luck that she found an ally to her 'new' family name in Uthred Mormont, he helped get her the votes she needed to wrest control of at least one council position from the Trents. But when the ruling brothers became irritable, they used thier power to simply banish a noble without any account to trial or explanation. One day he was there, the next he was gone. Outraged at their crass and cavalier attitude, Selenia organized a protest alongside Uthred and Rythan Songslayer. Together, they forced the King from office and forced Duke Trent from his position as judge. Knowing they could not win an election, Duke Trent instead broke the Duchy of Iato away and formed the illicit realm of Trenton. Selenia, newly crowned Queen of the IVF, immediately set about reorganizing the IVF into the Empire of the Ivory Vale[2], penning down it's first laws herself to ensure that nothing like the seditious Trent Tyranny could ever happen again. Then, she declared a war of reunification to get rid of the Trents once and for all, who had even attracted the notice of the Titans themselves by this time. The Titans judged the Trents and banned them to points unknown. The Trents were defeated, but the lands that would ultimately form the Empire had yet to be reconqured. She never wanted to be a queen, she never wanted responsibility really. Frankly, the idea of a girl who'd been born a peasant in nation no one remembered becoming a Queen was laughable. But after the Church, and the Trent's she trusted know one else to do the job right. So Selenia, the self-styled 'Ivory Empress,' set to it with a will.

The Ivory Empress

Over a dozen noble families heeded Selenia's international call to action, including her cousin-in-law, the displaced and defeated former Duchess of Fronepu Mavia Eastersand JeVondair who joined Selenia's court (unwillingly but choiceless) as a courtier and administrator. Mavia, dusky-skinned, exotically beautiful woman of true noble birth, looked down on Selenia, having no love for the pale-skinned, plain-faced common brute of a woman that claimed the JeVondair name...but, being the political animal she was, she knew better than to try and usurp Selenia's momentum. Other notable supporters included Katalynfae Dragul and Ravyn Coquard who, together with the Mormonts and D'Espana's, had established themselves as family allies to the JeVondairs. Very slwoly, what had been the IVF was building itself into a true realm.

There were challenges to the reunification, of course. One of these challenges took the form of Raziella I Himoura of the Nifelleisca family who became the next ruler of Trenton. Curiously, Selenia never saw Raziella as an enemy, merely an obstacle. So, rather than waster her limited resources on a costly battle, she challenged Raziella to a fair duel wherein the winner would bow to the demands of the looser. Raziella arrived with her hammer and magic helm, Selenia in her white on white outfit and bone-breaking dual kukris. The two warrior women fought and it seemed that Raziella, swinging her hammer wildly, might have had the upperhand when Selenia took a nasty bump to the head from a fall. It was not so, however. As an adventurer, Selenia had seen a lot of bad things. She yet carried many of those dark memories deep within her, which trigger from time to time in bouts of hysteria. One moment, she saw Raziella with her hammer raised...the next it was an undead lych that had very nearly claimed her life in northern Madina...the same Islet where Lion'el had lost his. The frenzy that followed stunned onlookers, and a sobbing, screeching Selenia had to be pulled bodily off of Raziella's limp form before she bashed the other woman's head in with her own magic helm. The duel was won, and Trenton was absorbed into the Empire as the Ebony Vale of Iato under Duke Uthred Mormont alongside the original Ivory Vale of Fheuvenam under Duchess Mavia Eastersand.

Although it took some time, Selenia did finish building her Empire, adding the Pearl Vale of Shifgrethor headed by Duke Shinhall A'Valti and the Jaded Vale of Ete City by Duke Owain Bolton. By this time the Empire boasted over 20 nobles with a full ruling council and 16 regions divided equally among 4 Dukes. It was a fine, fine legacy. Selenia had just crossed into her 40's when she began to feel the wanderlust start to smolder in her again. In a few short years, she'd turned the IVF into a sprawling Empire with the might to challenge any other power on Beluaterra short of Thalmarkin itself. With no more enemies to fight, lands to conquer, or goals to achieve, she was ready to step down and hand over the reigns. She felt that she'd accomplished everything that a noblewoman could in life, far less a commoner! Thereafter, the denizens of the Ivory Vale commonly referred to her as the First Empress, both of her successors (Syl Marlboro and Rosalia Maxwell) both being female. Selenia found herself looking forward to an easy sort of retirement, a chance to rest on her laurels and perhaps start a family of her own with someone worthy. She left quietly, making her arrangements and boarding a ship to the East Continent...and Xavax.

The Duchess of Xavax

A call had gone out to all the nobles of Battlemasteria that whole Islands were sinking...which somehow had an effect on the frozen southern reaches of the East Continent, melting ice that had buried entire regions in impassable snow for years, revealing 3 whole cities that were soon to become nations in their own right. Selenia saw her chance for a quiet retirement, and a chance to contribute to the development of a new realm; an activity she'd learned to enjoy while building up her Empire in the Ivory Vale. Selenia was not alone. Several members of her Ivory Court followed their Empress on this new adventure, and the kin of several more awaited them. By the time she arrived in Xavax, choosing that city because she liked its name and location, she was the 5th noble to make the city her home. It would not be long, however, before 30 families had sent their representatives to be a part of the new nation. Selenia's goal was simple: She wanted to become the Duchess of Xavax. It was a title she'd never held, and she was certain it would allow her to retire comfortably. When the time came to choose a ruler, many looked to her to throw her name in for consideration. Selenia, however, had had enough of crowns and instead used her influence as a bartering chip to ensure she be made Duchess. Her gambit succeeded, and when a young man named Magnus Aurea was crowned Xerarch of Xavax, his first act was to ensure she be named Duchess of Xavax. With the flaming Phoenix motif emblazoned on her ducal circlet, Selenia felt that she could finally get to the business of settling down, starting a family, and perhaps allow other members of the JeVondair family a chance to take the spotlight. Her very first order as duchess was to subsidize the establishment of vineyards throughout her holdings. Wine, she'd learned, was the most effective way to keep her personal demons at bay. As soon as her affairs were in order, and after leading the conquest of nearby rurals, she took a vacation traveling north to Sirion in hopes of meeting real live elves of whom she'd been told stories of ever since she was a little girl. Selenia would not, hhowever, have the chance to enjoy her 'retirement' for very long.

During the ruler election, there were two main candidates: A former Atamaran queen named Viridinia, and a young upstart knight named Magnus. Selenia, knowing Magnus did not have enough honor nor prestige to his name to be considered, backed Viridinia. Both women were surprised when Magnus somehow DID get his name into the voting booths, and the young man waged a very vocal and successful campaign. His energy was undeniable, and his passion was unmatched. The fading Atamaran queen simply did not keep up. Selenia, however, had grown cunning in the ways of 'realpolitik' as the Ivory Empress. When it became plausible that Magnus might win on the merit of his own rhetoric, Selenia allowed him an audience and struck a deal that was never made public to ensure that no matter who won, her bid to become Duchess of Xavax would be assured. Selenia did, however, have concerns. Energy and passion were all well and good, but the East Continent was a viper pit of deep and interconnected politics that a teenager like Magnus couldn't possibly have the experience to deal with. Her premonitions will become unfortunate fact far sooner then she would have liked.

From the moment he took the Crown, Xerarch Magnus started making mistakes, the sort of mistakes that an older, more experienced noble like Viridinia would have avoided. He was sensitive, volatile, and his decisions were often made unilaterally. In his effort to please everyone, he made a hasty alliance with Xavax's nearest neighbor, Fallangard, and did his best to do the same with Alara. However, his designs divereged from that of his people. Xavax was crowded with 30 noble families packed into barely 10 regions. The desire to expand was overwhelming, and Magnus stood against that tide, doing his best to exert his will over his court by force, and only succeeding in alienating them further. It was not long before Selenia, then the most powerful noble in Xavax by far, was approached by seditious elements proposing rebellion in order to get Magnus off the throne. She tried to placate them, promising her support if only they showed restraint, and meanwhile reported this to Xerarch, citing that anonymous sources were growing agitated and that he needed to amend his behavior if he meant to keep his Crown. But Magnus either could not or would not understand, and the situation at home worsened.

Worried, Selenia turned around, leaving Sirion and requesting passage through Caligus. High Queen Teniel, herself barely out of girlhood, greeted Selenia personally as she passed through Domus. Selenia took the opportunity to evaluate the young queen, forming, if not a friendship, than at least an understanding. By this point, Magnus's foolishness had caused Teniel to accept an alliance from Alara, rather than peruse better relations with Xavax. A mistake that would have dire consequences for the people of Xavax for a very long time...

The High Queen and the Duchees were into their fifth cup of wine when a courier of Xavax burst into the sitting room, very nearly getting beheaded by the High Queen's personal bodyguard and lover, the Duke of Domus. He reported that Civil War had broken out in Xavax, led by Duke Iuz of Isadril, but instigated by the Xavax general Kellan Dodger. Selenia excused herself, promising friendship to her young host as she made ready to depart.

By the time she'd arrived in Xavax, battle had already scythed its fiery path through her city. Both sides called for her to join them, and Selenia was faced with the toughest decision of her life. The separatists were right, Magnus had to go. But Selenia had developed a personal dislike for Kellan Dodger and she'd be damned if anyone could malign her as a traitor. but Magnus HAD TO GO. The majority of her vassals, that is to say the majority of Xavax, was waiting to see what she would do. SO she brokered a compromise whereby she would side with the loyalist if only Magnus would step down from his throne and retire while promising full pardon and reinstatement to the rebels if they withdrew their armed forces from the capital. Magnus agreed, as did Duke Iuz, but few were happy with Selenia's compromise. Some choose to leave the realm rather than cooperate with traitors, others, like Kellan Dodger, did not believe that Selenia would keep her word and fled the country. But all of them agreed on who the next ruler should be. And with no one else that she could trust to do the job, Selenia stepped forward as the next Xerarch of Xavax.