Bluelake Family/Ilya
| Ilya Bluelake | |
| Last Queen of Falasan | |
| |
| First seen: | 2007-06-13, Menedor |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Class: | Warrior/Diplomat |
| Continent: | Atamara |
| Realm: | Falasan |
| Titles: | Queen of Falasan
Ambassador of Falasan |
| Age: | died at 84 |
| Physical: | 1.75m, slim |
| Eyes: | Honey |
| Hair: | Light brown, long |
| Religion: | Magna Serpaensism, then the Way of the Warrior Saints |
| Guilds: | Skat Players' Association, Spirit of Falasan, The Perfect Guild |
Raised to be the heir of the family, when her brother was born she did not give up the military training and decided to serve the realm as a knight. Held a deep loyalty towards Falasan, and, over time, learned to control her temper, growing to be a calm and respectful woman. Believes in honour and compassion. She was married to Willem Tinsley (who went missing on the south of Atamara), with whom she had two children. During the war against Cagilan Empire, Talerium and Tara, Ilya was elected Queen of her beloved realm, with a few interruptions when Willem and others ruled in her stead. After a long fight, the realm fell to her enemies and was finally destroyed. The Queen lingered for a few months in Eston, but then packed her belongings and left to be never seen again.
The Basics
A somewhat tall woman, enough to look the majority of men levelled in the eyes, yet without imposing her presence so much as to be frightening. Smart, but idealistic. She tries to be fair in all she does, though sometimes it doesn't work as she would have thought. She always takes hours to write each important letter, so that her words will come out right. This also caused some uncomfortable situations in diplomatic affairs.
Her hair is a light tone of brown, long, falling around her waist. She likes to use it tied in many different ways, so it won't get in her way on battle or other duties. Eyes are in a light honeysh tone, one would say the colour of the honey made from orange flowers, beautiful, honest eyes. Her body is strong, but slim. Her build indicates that she prefers the arch to the sword. Her will is firm, and she knows how to tame horses well, though not as well as Vanya. Her favourite sense is hearing, for is what keeps her feet on the ground while her eyes look for the prey when she has a bow on her hands. She aged well, and her face kept her dignity and traces of beauty.
Titles Held: Dame of Menedor, Baroness of Nazia, Dame of Barad Gardor, Queen of Falasan, Ambassador of Falasan, The Last Queen of Falasan
The Story
Ilya started in Falasan as a Dame of Menedor, the first of her family to take the path of the sword. Her parents only had girls for children, and soon they realized they were the ones to inherit their property. Thus, the girls were raised to know many subjects only known to men: sword fighting, writing, basics of military strategy, how to deal with soldiers, and not to bend their heads to men. Ilya always preferred the bow to the sword, and enjoyed spending time with the recruits at her father's manor, training. She was utterly relieved when her brother was born, when she was 10 years old, for she could now take her time to be who she wanted, and turned into a knight as soon as she could. Her first unit was the Ilya's Eagles, composed of archers, that were later on turned into militia to protect Menedor.
The good days
Among the first people who greeted her on her first days in duty was Willem, also from Menedor. He gave her advice on how to deal with her men so they would listen to her better, soon they were friends, and even sooner they were more than friends. The time passed, Ilya joined the Black Army, to fight alongside Willem. Willem became Marquis of Amdor, and, later on, Ilya became Baroness of Nazia.
It was only after that that Willem proposed to Ilya and they were betrothed. The wedding took place in the first tournament Falasan saw in a long time, in Tucha, hosted by Duke Fatih. During the war against Cagilan Empire, Willem gifted Ilya with a sublime accessory, the Elemental Ring of Life, with a small game for her to find out, and a sweet surprise at the end. Later in the same war, the baroness decided to wear the garments of mentor instead of a knight. This also came with the wish of spending longer times at home, having found out that she was expecting. The couple was quite glad from such news, though worried, for there were still battles to be fought and they worried of what would be of the child in case of happening the worst.
The birth happened in Nazia, on the Motosuwa Manor, where actually two babies were born. The girl, strong and outspoken, was named Alice, and the boy, serious and smart, was named Gavin Drake, for he was born under the protection of the Nazian Dragon. By this time Willem was already the new Duke of Barad Gardor.
The children were about two years old when King Jambo Lamonte decided to retire from the diplomatic front and stepped down. There was a long week of serious consideration, after a suggestion from her husband, and Ilya decided to run for Queen, despite her young 27 years old. There was some discussion between herself and one other candidate, and the lady was elected. Her major objective was to pursue peace with dignity for Falasan, and the first busy days at office showed it wouldn't be as simple as she had first thought...
The fall of Falasan
Minas Ithil and Norland came to aid Falasan in her war, but Norland eventually joined the Northern Alliance to attack Minas Ithil, allowing a fragile Falasan to suffer on the hands of her enemies. When the duchy of Tucha was condemned, they seceded, being conquered by Tara in the sequence. A bureaucratic confusion made Ilya lose her throne around this time, putting King Tuscano of the Centauri on the throne. Soon, Barad Falas' Duke, His Grace Maniac Zotral, decided to change allegiance to the Empire, so the war on Falasan would end. King Tuscano, being a knight of His Grace, joined the Cagilan Empire as well, and Ilya was reelected, beginning to negotiate a peace treaty. Those were hard times, with much writing involved and a lot of stress within Falasan's ranks due to the terms of the treaty, which she was still willing to discuss. With a sick son to take care of, the Queen left the throne for her husband. King Willem was unhappy and under pressure, with Barad Gardor occupied by enemy troops, thus he signed the Ansalle Accord as the Empire wished. From then on, the King and the Queen tried to conduct a peaceful time with honour, though unrest was ravelling through Atamara.
The Ash Sea Islands were extinct, and a war began against Minas Ithil. Falasan claimed neutrality and the nobles had little to do. King Willem had to step down after a few months, to care for his sick father, and Ilya rose to the throne once more. She wished for Falasan's neutrality, and managed to keep it for a while, though the high nobility clamoured to join the war and aid Minas Ithil. When Lothruin decided they wanted to be ruled by Falasan, Ilya made the decision of caring for the region and repairing it before more war would take place through it. So that Falasani troops wouldn't be involved in battles, she broke the Alliance with Minas Ithil and signed peace with Tara. Despite her willingness to negotiate the future of the region, such was considered an act of favouritism and goading of war, thus the Cagilan Empire deemed the treaty to be broken.
It was a quick war. Soon Falasan fell to the hands of Coria, formed in Barad Falas, and Barad Gardor was taken. Ilya sent her children, now 10 years old, to take refuge with her family in Menedor. Marquis Silverio made Menedor Estonian, once Barad Gardor had fallen, and Ilya became a landless Queen. With the decision of staying until her last realm companion had gone, she waited for weeks before finding a new home.
Yet, it seemed life had drained from her. For months she resisted and attempted to restructure her life as a soldier, but she wasn't successful, and her health was also fragile from an old battle wound that insisted on reopening. Eventually she packed her belongings and left. She lived for a few years in Menedor, caring for her children and leading both the Bluelake and the Tinsley families, but her presence there was always an imposing risk, for as long as Menedor was in enemy hands. When Alice and Gavin were old enough to rule the house, Ilya left to the north to seek protection with an old friend.
Refuge in Minas Leon
King Raoul de la Fere was kind and offered Queen Ilya protection in his own palace. From behind the curtains she watched the ice come, saw wars upon wars, the ever growing power of the Empire, and more than friendship developed between her and King Raoul. His righteousness and her honour-bound views, his fierceness and her kindness, worked to bring them together. From that union, their daughter Louise was born, named after Raoul's mother. When Atamara sunk, Ilya, Raoul and an adult, pregnant Louise with her husband fled to Dwilight, along with the remaining Bluelake family in Menedor. It was when she finally met her grandchildren by Gavin and Alice. Unfortunately, Ilya perished on the journey and was never able to meet her third granddaughter, born in Dwilight.
Friends and Foes
- Tinsley Family (by marriage)
- Friends: Lasten and Reilwin Merytis, Jambo Lamonte, Fatih Kalkandelen, Leto Atreides, Chi Motosuwa, Ronan Carmel, Crip Grindle, Gucky Zotral, Crashem de Struct, Galadia, Rhys Walsh, Nom Covenant
- Acquaintances: Malice Osha, Khaludh Telrunya, Gann MacColl
- Undecided: Maniac Zotral, Magnus the Mighty Crownguard, Shiro Motosuwa
- Enemies: Derrin Brookshield (Ilya's attacker in Nazia), Arturius Entreri, Samuel Haine
- Other people of note: Poe (Ilya's scribe), uncle Robert (Ilya's squire and steward), Varl +7 (her second captain who fled with her unit in Belegmon), her cousin Arthur who traveled with her and Willem for a time.
- Horses: the blue roan Fealith, her blue piebald foal, the brown mare Miriel
