▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

WARNINGS !
you already know about some of
the societal issues but there will be
one mention of sexual abuse in one
character's background (very non-
graphic, only the word is mentioned)
and there will be two mentions of
relationships between underage
characters and a non-underage
character. there will also be a
mention of unintentional infant
death towards the end. finally, the
six queens are symbolic and are
meant to symbolize something but
i'll let you guys figure that out.

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

the blackthorn era.
preceded by house bellegard.
succeeded by undetermined.
rise to power,
shortly before the rise of house
blackthorn, the vipers were just
a noble high house. no claims to
royalty whatsoever. but when
the last bellegard king failed to
produce any children—bastard
or legitimate—his advisor staged
a coup to assume power once the
king's health was failing. the king
was forced to abdicate and was
allowed to live in peace until his
death years later.

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

THE BLACKTHORNS OF LATE.
era: evonian, named for the mother
of the current king.

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

KING STEFAN BLACKTHORN VI.
titled the merciful, stefan the sixth was
a notably just and liberal king. he had
his flaws though. during his reign he
sired five children who lived past birth
(more if you counted the stillbirths and
miscarriages). and of those five, four
were legitimate & born to his wife, evonia
carruet. after the birth of his bastard
daughter, a rift formed between the king
and his wife. he'd formally recognized
his illegitimate daughter and that was
something his wife wasn't too jovial
about. to appease her, he had his bastard
sent away and he no longer considered
her part of his family. it didn't work too
well, though. it took years before the
queen forgave him. shortly after the birth
of his last child, evonia died. his reign
lasted a total of 28 years and it only ended
once he'd died of illness.

QUEEN EVONIA CARRUET.
born to a minor noble house, evonia's
prospects were to wed someone of a
similar or potentially higher status.
at the age of 19, she travelled to the
palace to treat the queen, her future
husband's mother, who was suffering
from an illness. it didn't matter though.
the queen died anyway. however, before
evonia could take her leave, she was
offered a position as a lady to maiya
blackthorn, the princess. she accepted.
during this time, she grew close to the
new king and they fell in love. but
maiya died at just 16 years old and that
meant evonia no longer had a place at
the palace. again, evonia meant to take
her leave but this time the king asked
her to marry him. she accepted. the
marriage was good but the king wasn't
so faithful as she'd hoped. she should've
seen it coming though. during the marriage,
evonia had four healthy children but
had several miscarriages and a stillborn
son. after birthing her last child, she
died of complications caused by the
labor. during her reign, she was a very
kind queen and pardoned many people
from execution and when she couldn't,
she fought to allow them a death by
beheading. it's usually quicker than
the alternatives.

PRINCE ELIAN BLACKTHORN.
there isn't much to say about the
former king's brother. he died at
the age of 12. he was relatively
close to his brother, though.

PRINCESS MAIYA BLACKTHORN.
not much is said of princess maiya;
there isn't much to say anyways.
however, one of her ladies during
her last year of life was evonia, her
brother's future wife. she died at the
age of 16 from alcohol poisoning.

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

THE SENIOR BLACKTHORNS.
era: not titled but expected to revolve
around reina and her impact on the
blackthorn family and the policies of
the time period.

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

KING STEFAN BLACKTHORN VII.
perhaps the most controversial king
to exist, king stefan vii is known for
bribing the head of the sedei to annul
his first marriage and he's the one who
had most of his wives executed. not to
mention he's had magic outlawed and
all those who inherit it are to be killed.
he's known to have "temper tantrums"
and absurd mood swings. he's not
reasonable whatsoever and there's no
way to change his mind once he's made
it. he's often frowned down upon due
to his surplus of marriages (and his
surplus of dead wives). he generally
receives the most criticism for marrying
on the same day his second wife was
executed and for not attending the
execution of his fifth wife.

PRINCESS REINA BLACKTHORN.
dubbed the warrior princess, reina
blackthorn was the only female in
the military. she was an outspoken,
comely girl labeled the most beautiful
girl in elyria. exceptionally skilled with
the majority of weaponry at a young
age, there really wasn't any way to
question her. with the backing of her
parents and herself, she was allowed
all the same luxuries as men. it was
also well known that the princess had
personal tailors who made all of her
outfits. often times she could be seen
alternating between gowns, riding
gear, armor, and fighting leathers.
she might have been the only notable
female figure to wear more masculine
attire and get away with it. after speaking
with her parents, reina took a vow of
chastity and planned to never marry or
engage in romantic or sexual relationships.
she stayed true to that and she never
engaged with anyone. however, at the age
of sixteen, the princess was assassinated
by a person harboring magic. her assailant,
aleksander crosswell, poisoned her, using
his face-shifting abilities to slip into the
palace kitchens unnoticed. reina died a
bloody death in her older brother's arms.
the two were very close friends.

PRINCE ARIES BLACKTHORN.
the level-headed one of his father's
children, prince aries contrasts the
erratic temper of his brother and
the explosive personality of his
sister. aries is a notably tame person
who tries to stay away from drama
but always has to get involved. aries
himself is generally responsible for
trying to talk the king down and for
making sure no one does anything
brash. he's kind of a protector but he
always chooses his battles. he's smart
enough to know which ones he'd lose
before he gets involved. another thing
i must include is that aries married a
woman named hylla delcourt, a minor
noblewoman, years ago. neither were
interested in each other beyond a
platonic relationship but aries married
hylla so that people would stop bugging
him to get married and so that hylla
wouldn't have to marry someone she'd
never be able to love. hylla was a lesbian
and already had a female lover so, to
help each other out, they married one
another and in the end, it worked out
well for the both of them until questions
about children arose. however, they never
really discussed that and they never got
to as hylla died of illness years ago. it
hurt aries because he cared for her as
a friend but he's had time to process it
and grow past it. he's not remarried nor
has he gotten involved with anyone since.
for now he just plays his part to work with
his siblings.

PRINCESS MANON BLACKTHORN.
the youngest of the king's siblings,
manon is just 22 years old. growing
up, manon was generally isolated
from her family. her father loved her
but he wasn't the same after the death
of her mother (whom she never got to
meet)—and he died only a few years
after her birth. her eldest brother hated
her and she can sympathize with it. he lost
his sister and his mother within months.
her other brother isn't bad but he's . . .
passive. they don't talk often. mostly,
manon was raised by the ladies who
had worked for her mother and her
sister. it was difficult. she wasn't
perfectly demure like her mother nor
was she vivacious and strong like reina.
her eldest brother, the king, was always
disappointed with her. it's like he wanted
her to be a second reina and didn't at the
same time. she learned fast, though, and
when she was 18 she married the king of
military powerhouse khalidi (whose
military was regarded as the most powerful
and brutal). her husband was older than
her and he was okay but manon was never
interested in him. she was never interested
in marriage anyways. however, just before
their first year anniversary, her husband
died during his sleep and after spending
a month with her in-laws she returned to
her own country. it's still a mystery whether
manon killed her husband or if he died
naturally.

THE BASTARD OF STEFAN VI.
the former king's royal bastard has it
tough and yet doesn't at the same time.
after being sent away as a baby, she was
raised in a religious convent for years
until she reconnected with her mother's
family at the age of 11. it was then at age
12 that her uncle decided to send her
away elsewhere. she was devastated but
later came to realize he'd sent her to
train as an assassin. she spent years
there until the age of 21 in which she
returned to her mother's home. by then
her mother had died but her uncle was
still alive. though distant, the two slowly
grew closer and she is now very close to
her mother's brother and her family.
having been trained as an assassin, she
often does freelance work. why her uncle
sent her away to train in the first place?
well, she doesn't really know but she's
done a lot of work for him so it's easy to
assume it had to do with that. she's not
someone you'd expect to be an assassin
either. she's the shamed bastard of a king
and she's got a delicate appearance. why
would anyone take her to be anything
more? however, after receiving summons
to the palace, she chose to travel there after
consulting her uncle about it. she'd thought
that perhaps they'd have a family reunion
and boy was that a dumb idea. she's only
here to serve a role in the senior princess's
plot. however, she's going to make something
of this beyond the parameters set for her.

QUEEN KYLLA MARSEI.
the first wife of the king. they married
when they were both 20. she was very
studious and virtuous, devoted and
loyal. she had three surviving children
with the king but her second daughter
died of illness. she suffered several
miscarriages and stillbirths yet after 7
years of marriage, the king bribed the
head sedein to annul their marriage.
shortly after, she returned to her family
estate and her former husband married
18 year old eliya lynesse whose clever,
willful personality drew him in. 5 years
later, after she was declared the true
queen once more, she was assassinated.
most everyone knows the king hired
the assassin but no one dares to speak it.

QUEEN ELIYA LYNESSE.
the second wife of the king. some would
say she's a victim of her family's ambition
but many others would say she did it to
herself. when eliya was 18 she attended
an event at the palace and met the king.
he fell in love with her but she refused
to be his mistress because she was waiting
for marriage. she convinced the king to
pursue annulment and just days after the
annulment she married the king and
became the new queen. however, being
queen wasn't easy for her. many people
referred to her as the mistress rather than
the queen since many still sided with the
king's first wife. during her 5 year marriage
with the king she was only able to have one
surviving child—a girl. and though the
king fell in love with her beauty and her
outspoken willfulness, it is also what caused
him to fall out of love with her. there was
really only ever one woman who he liked
willfulness in and that girl was reina. so,
the king made a plot and charged her with
treason and adultery (with her own brother).
her brother was executed a week before her
and the king's first wife was killed a few days
before. she was executed on the first day of
the winter season.

QUEEN ERINA RAELYN.
the third wife of the king. honestly, erina
was the boring one out of the king's wives.
she was pretty, sweet, and submissive and
though she was well-liked by the people, she
wasn't radiant and unpredictable (in a good
way) like several of the other queens. in
addition, though she wasn't very politically
involved (at first glance) she was a little
controversial. she was the king's second
youngest wife, having met him when
she was 17. they met when he was visiting
her family for a tournament in meirrose.
their relationship was apparently instant.
being a sharp contrast to his wife, eliya,
it seems likely that that is what drew stefan
to her in the first place. he'd grown tired
of his wife and he was looking for someone
who behaved opposite of her and, well,
there erina was. as erina and the king fell
in love, the king began to work to get rid
of his second wife and his first one as well.
with the truth of his bribery coming out,
kylla was to be reinstated as queen and so
the king had his first wife assassinated
and his second wife executed days later.
erina married the king the same day eliya
was executed and it was a poor decision
on her part as it sparked distaste among
many who had liked the queen. however,
erina proved to be a smart queen. she
knew when to start and stop pushing the
king for something where eliya hadn't
known when to cut her losses. during her
marriage to the king, erina had one sickly
son who died several days after birth and
a stillborn daughter whom she died giving
birth to. a few months after her death, the
king married his fourth wife.

QUEEN MEIRA RAYNE.
the fourth wife of the king. she was known
as the unloved one. though she was very
beautiful, the king never fell in love with
her. at the age of 20, shortly after the death
of the third wife, her brother worked to set
up a marriage between her and the king.
they were wed but their relationship was
awkward and meira struggled to "control"
him or gain anything from him. thus, her
2 year reign was short and stressful. the
king was often with other women and didn't
seem to care about her much if at all. her
downfall arrived suddenly when kathryn
bellevae travelled to the palace to become
one of her ladies-in-waiting. the king
quickly fell in love with the new girl and
set about making accusations to get meira
executed. that was the easiest way to get
rid of unwanted wives, it seemed. during
their marriage, meira had become close with
her carriage driver and yes, she was in love
with him but they never did anything. they
didn't even kiss because meira wanted to be
a good wife. she might as well have gone and
done it though if it was always going to end
like this. after being sentenced to die on
counts of treason and adultery, the queen
spent her last days in bitterness. kathryn
visited her once before her execution shortly
after the king had proposed to her.

QUEEN KATHRYN BELLEVAE.
the fifth wife of the king. as the most
controversial of the king's wives, kitty had
a troubled life. she was the youngest of
her many sisters (and several brothers)
and despite being born to a high house
her prospects weren't too high since she
wasn't high priority. as for why she's
controversial, well, that's because she
was actually "guilty" of fraud and adultery
(the only things she would be charged with
later on). however, you can hardly call it
fraud and adultery yet it's something
everyone had their opinion on. it's a black
and white situation, really. however, she
was always adamant about defending
herself much like the other queens.
perhaps one of the saddest things was
the fact that she'd still be alive had she
made one different decision. however, to
understand what i'm even trying to get at,
we have to go into her past and explore her
rise and fall from power. this part i won't
go into detail on but when she was younger,
kathryn was sexually abused by her tutor.
however, that's as far as i'm going to go
into it. then, when she was 16, she travelled
to the palace to attend the queen as one of
her ladies. there, kitty met kasmira troy,
the king's mistress and one of the queen's
ladies. they became close friends and even
though they never got involved with one
another, they both had crushes on each
other uwu. anyways, as meira rayne was
on her way out of favor and on her way to
the chopping block, the king proposed to
kathryn and of course kathryn accepted.
she wasn't going to pass up being queen,
was she? having had the shortest marriage
to the king, there isn't much to tell so i'll
move on to her fall. when kathryn was
queen, kasmira, though still a mistress,
was not visited by the king and served
mostly as kathryn's lady over this time
period. in addition, kathryn's former tutor
arrived to tutor the king's eldest daughter
(he didn't do anything to her, though). to
keep their "secret" secret, kathryn helped
him move up political and economic ranks
but he wanted to resume their "affair", so
they did. after rumors started to float
around and after members of the king's
council launched an investigation, it was
found that she was guilty of "adultery and
fraud" and there wasn't much she could
do to refute it. how they found out the
information in the first place? well, the
tutor had been tortured until he confessed
once suspicions had turned to him. at least
he got to experience some pain too -_-.
but anyways, after being sentenced and
sent to the tower, kathryn broke out and
appealed to the king. in conclusion, he did
not spare her and his reasoning was because
he could put her past aside but he wished
she had told him so they could prevent
everything else that came after. a shitty
excuse, right? but he'd already screwed
over three of his other wives so it'd been
foolish of her to assume he'd not do the
same to her. after being taken back to the
tower, kitty was visited by kasmira. they
danced (known as both kathryn's and
kasmira's last dance) and they confessed
their love for each other (such inconvenient
timing). two days later, kathryn was
executed by the axe but on her way over,
she spotted the head of the tutor mounted
upon the gates. he'd been hanged, drawn,
and quartered three days before. and on the
same day kathryn was executed, kasmira troy
attempted to kill the king. she failed and was
executed by the axe several days later.

QUEEN ZARYA AGNARIS.
the sixth wife of the king. after the
death of kathryn bellevae, zarya's
family sent her to the palace to get
close to the king. her whole goal
was to marry the king and it seemed
obvious to her that he was devastated
over kathryn for some strange reason.
and despite her own morals, 18 year
old zarya worked to become friends
with the king. though he was never
amazed by her, it seemed he was
tired of being alone now that kathryn
and kasmira were dead and so zarya
chose her words strategically and he
did end up proposing to her. they
married months after kathryn's
death. during their marriage, zarya
struggled to control the king and
of course, no one had truly succeeded
and neither did she. being the sixth wife
meant many speculations and many
people preparing for her execution
date (which they would eventually
receive). two years into their marriage,
zarya had a son who later died after
one of the maids looking after him
forgot to lock the windows in his
nursery. the maid was later executed
and it wasn't long after that that she
began to fall out of favor with the
king. so, like he did with many other
wives, the king accused zarya of treason
and adultery. after three years of marriage,
zarya was sentenced to death but she's
yet to be executed as of now.

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

THE MAIDEN BLACKTHORNS.
era: not titled but these are the children
of the king, commonly referred to as
"maidens" due to their youth and
innocence (when compared to that of
a full-fledged adult). the roles of stefan's
surviving children will not be included
considering they are not our ocs at all.

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

PRINCESS EVONIA BLACKTHORN.
the firstborn daughter of king stefan vii
and queen kylla marsei. she was a healthy
child until a brief plague swept through
and killed her. she was 5 years old.

PRINCE ARYS BLACKTHORN.
the first child of the king and erina raelyn
was born sickly and died several days after
he was born.

PRINCESS EVALENE BLACKTHORN.
the second child of stefan vii and erina raelyn.
she was a stillborn but still received a previously
decided upon name. her mother died of labor complications.

PRINCE MARKUS BLACKTHORN.
the stillborn son of the king and meira
rayne, whose name was previously decided
upon by the king and his fourth wife.

PRINCE ERYX BLACKTHORN.
the only child of the king and zarya agnaris.
he was a healthy child but died of the cold
after windows failed to be closed shut
during the night.

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

TO KILL A KINGDOM, 2020.