Herleva
Queen Herleva
Matilda and Old Nick's eldest daughter. Despite her physical health being poor, she was by far the smartest and most ambitious of her siblings. She was fond of the Arakhne peoples, and with her sister Eadgifu set up a good rapport which eased tensions on the contested territory of Hol Gheal. At 21, Herleva returned from her schooling in Lodonesia to find her family gone. Her mother was dead, Eadgifu had run away to Aranea, Kalfr had been sent to Rhudd, and her father had gone mad.
Hol Gheal was run by the Dolomedes, but they were frequently attacked by Double Walkers and tensions between the other Belanos settlements in the east had reached a boiling point. Herleva pled her case to the Dolomedes chieftess Cwenhild.
Cwenhild offered her eldest son Oswin in marriage, a soft-spoken man who lacked initiative. Herleva helped defend the Gheal Valley against the Double Walkers in The Naefergrene and managed to set up proper leadership in the valley. She was then approached by Gisla.
Gisla offered Herleva support in uniting the rest of the eastern territories but warned her of what was going on in the mountaineous territories of places such as Blaec Gheal. She offered to help Herleva put together an army if Herleva would help her expand the Clockmakers to have a unified presence. This would mean confronting the double walker of her father, Old Nick.
Herleva and Oswin’s army eventually marched on Blaec Gheal, and easily overwhelmed the ruling family, who had very little military presence. In 709, Herleva was crowned Queen of Blaec Gheal and Ceowan, as well as the Gheal Valley, forming the Queendom of Ghealas. The Clockmakers established a large headquarters in the city and money was poured into infrastructure. Blaec Gheal became a full Midnight City by 720 with a flourishing mining and manufacturing industry.
However, relationships between the Dolomedes and Belanos began to sour when over-mining and logging in the Gheal Valley dried up the natural fens, causing a collapse. Oswin and Herleva’s family and children began to bicker and fight for power. Before dying from years of exposure to radium and pollution, Herleva in a shocking display disinherited them in her will, leaving the inheritance to the children of her siblings.
Old Nick mourned his daughter's passing and buried her body in his estate underneath an oak tree. He frequently sends his adopted children on missions to search for her electronic belongings, which her children sold to various inventors. He has not met an automata worthy of reviving her soul yet, but perhaps one day a candidate will come along.
Cwenhild offered her eldest son Oswin in marriage, a soft-spoken man who lacked initiative. Herleva helped defend the Gheal Valley against the Double Walkers in The Naefergrene and managed to set up proper leadership in the valley. She was then approached by Gisla.
Gisla offered Herleva support in uniting the rest of the eastern territories but warned her of what was going on in the mountaineous territories of places such as Blaec Gheal. She offered to help Herleva put together an army if Herleva would help her expand the Clockmakers to have a unified presence. This would mean confronting the double walker of her father, Old Nick.
Herleva and Oswin’s army eventually marched on Blaec Gheal, and easily overwhelmed the ruling family, who had very little military presence. In 709, Herleva was crowned Queen of Blaec Gheal and Ceowan, as well as the Gheal Valley, forming the Queendom of Ghealas. The Clockmakers established a large headquarters in the city and money was poured into infrastructure. Blaec Gheal became a full Midnight City by 720 with a flourishing mining and manufacturing industry.
However, relationships between the Dolomedes and Belanos began to sour when over-mining and logging in the Gheal Valley dried up the natural fens, causing a collapse. Oswin and Herleva’s family and children began to bicker and fight for power. Before dying from years of exposure to radium and pollution, Herleva in a shocking display disinherited them in her will, leaving the inheritance to the children of her siblings.
Old Nick mourned his daughter's passing and buried her body in his estate underneath an oak tree. He frequently sends his adopted children on missions to search for her electronic belongings, which her children sold to various inventors. He has not met an automata worthy of reviving her soul yet, but perhaps one day a candidate will come along.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
While building up a city in the hilltops of the Gheal Valley, her ancestors made use of the radium re-discoveries made in the south of Morisulis and had created a city where the lights never go out. This exposure to radioactive material had negative effects on her and her family's health as it did everyone in the valley. Herleva was born with very sensitive skin, prone to burns sunspots caused even by the slightest sun. Her younger brother Kalfr required replacement limbs and sister Eadgith suffered from lung problems much like her mother Matilda.
Herleva spent a lot of her late childhood and early adolescence helping take care of her siblings under their mother's strict tutoring and etiquette lessons. She often traveled with Eadgith into Aranea, as the cleaner air near the Phoneutrian tribes gave her reprieve. Herleva became well known for always carrying a parasol to shield her from sunlight. The Belanos are all taught how to repair basic electronics as part of their schooling, and they would exchange repairs of their hunting gear for medical knowledge, for the Phoneutria medics posessed far broader knowledge of natural remedies, something much harder to find in the Gheal Valley. It was only when Eadgith accepted an apprenticeship in Hol Gheal's clinic, that the 17 year old Herleva felt comfortable to live her own life.
Education
Herleva spent three years traveling within the Lodonesia despite her parents' concerns that the increased sunlight would aggravate her health issues. It was the most carefree era of her life, and she made friends with the mistresses of the libraries who were curious about her experience of radium and electronics. Herleva spent a year studying the arte of Bismuth, and planned to bring this knowledge back to the Gheal Valley and use her status as Young Earlen to open a guild.
Relationships
Current Location
Ethnicity
Life
684 CA
738 CA
54 years old
Family
Spouses
Heimrich Wisterwood
(spouse)
Siblings
Children
Eyes
Light brown, large and hooded
Hair
Black and straight, reaching just past her shoulders
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Medium tan, covered in freckles and sun spots
Height
5'10"
Weight
180 lbs.
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