Valeria the Isarch

Benevolent monarch of the Azoturian city-state

Isarch Vasha Mol-Tavo (a.k.a. Queen Valeria)

The queen knows where it's at. You receiving me? Not only that, she knows where its going. Back when she was an acolyte at the oracle temple, she had the Truesight. She told the High Priest she was going to rule the temple one day. He laughed her down. Now she's queen and he scrubs prayer mats. The power of prophecy ain't nothing to mess with.

— Mun-Ra of Azoturia

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Born to a peasant home located at the base of Mount Acros, the woman who would one day be crowned Valeria the Isarch was sold as a child into the service of Azoturia's Oraculum. As a temple acolyte she was given the name "Mol" to designat her indentured status. She spent the first twenty years of her life forbidden from exploring the temple mysteries and serving as a chambermaid. But as time progressed her secret meditations upon the sacred mantras and mandalas of the Oraculum, practiced in secrecy, were steadily unlocking her own prophetic powers.

With the help of temple adepts who recognized her emerging gifts, she secretly assumed the habit of a priestess along with the name "Valeria" and began to offer divining oracles to temple visitors. She made predictions and offered advice and soon attracted a rapt audience of supplicants who came to the Oraculum to partake of her prophetic wisdom.

When the temple priests learned of Valeria's deception they sought to expel her but found their own acolytes resisted and chose to instead elevate her to become the Isarch of the Oraclum Temple and Queen of the Azoturian city-state. This bloodless temple coup of 987 PCE is known as the "Isarch's Gambit," and it brought about a shift in Azoturian public life that is still being felt across the Forbidden Zone to this day.

Accomplishments & Achievements

During her reign, Isarch Valeria has not only renewed the prestige of the Oraculum but reasserted the power of Azoturia's traditional theocratic hierarchy. Prior to her ascendance, the Isarch and his high priests had seen their power over civil affairs wane in the face of an emergent polity led by Azoturia's nascent bourgeoisie. The popularity of the Oraculum's prophet-queen has led to a resurgence of the temple's prestige and a return to Azoturia's traditional theocratic customs. Moreover, during her reign, Isarch Valeria has leveraged her powers of Truesight to outmaneuver her political foes and reestablish Azoturia as a vital nation in the broader cultural fabric of the Forbidden Zone.

Year of Birth

952 PCE 48 Years old

Circumstances of Birth

It is often said that Queen Valeria is the "hooded queen" prophesied in Sangar's The Testament of the Firewalker.

Eyes

Black

Hair

Long, braided, raven black

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Olive

Height

5'10''

Weight

130 lbs.