Engled, The Queen Consort

She is one of the key players the Twin Rose Wars (as seen by Memoirs of the Twin Rose Wars)/ Magenta Rose set of submissions. You need to look at these posts, for all of this to make proper sense. This submission can be used other places and times, with all the information above the "death of the king" or the "Start of the Twin Rose Wars."

Engled, The Queen Consort is Mathius the Great King's third wife. Yes, it was a political marriage. Yes, he is much older than she. Now, they have grown older together; growing to be his friend and co-ruler rather than just a political pawn bride.

Appearance
Engled is a woman of later years, there is no disguising it. She is The Great King's twenty five year junior. She has lived the life of Court across The Lands.

Engled is a the perfect picture of a queen; that perfect posture, that regal bearing, and the unnatural grace that marks one truly born to royalty. Even in her youth, she was always more of a handsome woman than a beauty. Her jaw is set and features firm, showing her Nechteraian noble heritage. Her blonde hair has turned to an iron white through the years. It is still thick and strong; weaved into a thick braided ponytail as is the style in Nechteran.

History/Background
Nechteran is a mountainous Middle Kingdom (*1) filled with steep valleys and rivers. Living there can be good, but at all times it is hard. And there is often war in and about The Lands. This Kingdom breed a tough and pragmatic people.

It was in this Kingdom that Engled was born. She was the High Princess, the first female in line for the throne, after her older and younger brother. She lived the typical princess life of court and politics. She served her father as an advisor and an embassador. After her older brother had a son, she became just another royal (unless all the male heirs died). Though she had many romances, she had not been married. Just before his unexpected death, his father arranged to have her married to the third son of Royal House of Polondorn (a nearby powerful kingdom). Always the dutiful royal, she married who she was told. Engled came to love her darling Halan. That made his death, after so few years together, so totally tragic. He left her with two daughters (who were unlikely heirs to the House of Polondorn and vague chances for Nechteran).

There was one of the times of great crisis. The plottings and net of alliances and feuds between kings and countries, drew themselves tight as a noose around the countries of the Lands. It was only through the deft diplomacy of The Great King Mathius (an adjective used by most of the peoples in the Lands from this point on) that more bloodshed was averted. In the flurry of treaties and marriages that followed, she was betrothed to the Great King Mathius. This linked the two great powers and became the laces that held together the cobbled together peace.

The betrothal party traveled to The Human Kingdom like it was marching to funeral dirge. Engled was not thrilled with the pairing to such an older man or the marriage. She, the Princesses, and their party did not wish to travel so far from "home", probably never to see it again. The Party arrived eighteen years, to the day, of the first Twin Rose War.

The reception they received was publicly warm. The Small Folk all cheered their new queen. The Nobles and Courtiers were unfailing polite. However, her reception was "chilly". There was a great deal of resentment about the New Queen at court. She was "foisted" upon them as an unneeded treaty binding. At best, she was disrupting the status quo; at worst she was an enemy spy or an attempt by the Nechteranian's to take control of The West. These opinions were not helped by the languages. Part of the issue was she only spoke a few words of Lingu Humana, rather than Nechtel or other Middle Kingdom languages. She could not communicate well with anyone except her staff and a one or two scholarly nobles (in other tongues). Between her displeasure at the marriage AND the troubles at court, it was an unhappy time for her and the children.

Through it all, King Mathius, was helpful and supportive. To his credit, he learned to be proficient in her language. He did what he could to make her and the children happy, or at least comfortable. He was even willing to delay the marriage, though Engled a dutiful Nechteranian would not allow it. They did wait until both were "comfortable" with the arrangements, before they became "together".

It took the first three years before the Court fully changed their opinion. The first thing that helped break the ice was her patronage of The Arts and Musics. She would have a number of small audiences, allowing her to build relationships with the courtiers outside of the political pressures of court. She arranged public concerts and shows for the Small Folk too. This influx of the Arts and Musics was a welcomed change from the pragmatic court of Great King had before.

She took to walking through the Magenta Garden as well. There she would meet the younger members of the court. She would often sit at the tables with chess pieces (or other game pieces), engagingng others in impromptu games. This allowed her to negate her lack of language skills in the universal language of chess and other games. Her children started to join her here as well.

As her language skills grew to proficient and native, she arrange other social events. They grew grander and grander, so much so that Mathius asked her to "scale back", as it was an expense his Kingdom did not need so much of. In addition to these "events", her langauge skills allowed her to show off her diplomatic and administrative skills to the court. Now The Court sees her as a valuable asset instead of an issue.

In the eighteen years before the Twin Rose Wars, the couple grew closer. Her role has changed from political token to an advisor and loving friend. In the last few years, she has taken the more and more of burden for the mundane aspects of ruling.

In issues of the Colors of the Court (See Blues and Yellows of The Colors & The Greens of The Colors), she has always been bit of a Blue, supporting the old powers of the Nobles and the Crown. While not a great friend of the Viceroy, she is on friendly terms. However, as a Crown, she was always publicly a Green, if she declared at all.

Then the Twin Rose Wars began.

Upon her husband's death, she rode to meet the procession. Her grief was true and stirring for all that saw it. She oversaw the entire funerary process and affairs of states. Within that week, she had heard whispers of a Yellow Plot to capture her. She and a small retinue (many from The Order of the Magenta Rose) fled to the North, towards the Viceroy's forces.

It should be noted that Princess Reisha formed an "administration council", to run the country's structure while the Nobles fought about who would rule. This formed the foundation of the Senate and Magistratery (the civil service) of the Modern Humana.

Once there, she led legitimacy to his cause. The military campaign flowed back and forth to no side's advantage. She would of stayed with the Blue Camp, if it had not been several nobles invoking the Old Laws of Blooded Rite - any lower noble or peasant who struck down a higher one, had their family and neighbors killed as well. One hundred heads for one, the old law said. Sickened by the slaughter of innocents, she fled back to the capital. There she was first captured by, then reluctantly joined, the Duke's Yellow forces.

With her "weight" added to the Yellows, they found greater support among the Small Folk and other non committed nobles. This created the pro-yellow sentiment among the peoples (high and low). However it was not enough to turn the tide of the First Twin Rose War.

A savage faction among the desperate yellows tried to "sell the queen" to a foreign power (whos identity is long disputed) caused her to flee once again. Into the arms of the Viceroy's right hand man, Ser Bargos, her flight took her. She was there when the Duke formally surrendered.

Note: The Surrender procession was a brilliant stroke on The Duke's part. Twenty miles separated the two armies when the herald's message told of the preliminary surrender and that he would come, as a loser should, to the winner. He slowly advanced toward the Viceroy, begging apology from everyone he met, high or low. This single man procession bought time for his Yellow forces to disperse (leaving weapons and yellow banners behind) and avoid reprisals by the Blues.

During the Twin Rose Pax

The Viceroy took the reigns of government from Engled and her family. He was crowned by the Queen and given the Seal of State (and a well created administration) by Princess Reisha. While he dismantled some of the magistrates' powers, he kept them (and Reisha) as they assisted his rule. Engled did not like what she saw under the Viceroy King's rule. She truly became a Yellow at that time.

Towards what would be the end of the Viceroy's reign, Queen Engled proceeded to travel. She moved from court to court, visiting her homeland and the various countries she gave embassy to. She talked philosophy, art, music, and some politics everywhere she went. She was received well nearly everywhere. However, the troubles occurred in the Human Kingdom, had echos elsewhere in The Lands. It was no longer time for unenlightened noble rule. She was an enlightened noble, who understood the Silver Age was over.

Historians would be able to directly trace her ideas and contacts to the various rebellions and modernizations of the Middle Kingdoms and the Seaman's Rebellion in the East.

The Queen Honoraria actually ended her days in the Human Kingdom, spending the last six years there... dying at a ripe old age of eightynine.

Special Equipment
She has a network of courtiers and nobles who help her achieve her goals at court and in the country. Some are spies, other allies, some curry favor, and a few are blackmailed pawns.

The Princesses are her main tools at Court.

Princess Reisha - Princess Green: A carbon copy of her mother. A fair and practical woman. Would be an excellent queen, and might be for another country, she is 11th in line.

Princess eDonistadled aka Doni Princess "Doni" is Yellow Princess. A dreamer and idealist, this free spirit loved her mother. Unable to be queen because she is heir to foreign throne (12th in line)

Roleplaying Notes
She speaks slowly and carefully, in measured political tones. Take a deep breath before each statement.

Hold your head up high, unkinking your neck. Her motions are graceful and slow... this is ballet.

*1) Of The Land (as seen in the Magenta Rose series): There are the Old Kingdoms to the far east, where Humans had been enslaved by The Dylori (Not Mythics, but not completely human). The Human Kingdom was founded by refugees and escapes in the Far West (against the Mythic territories, as The Dylori feared The Mythics. Here Humans built a human society. After the fall the Dylori, the Middle Kingdoms came into existence "filling the gaps". You can of course insert your own "lands" as long as Humana (or your substitute) is a large country, "the leader" in its area, and adjacent to the Mythic/ Elven lands.