Vrinis
Overview
Vrinis is the first and only daughter of Vraruka, former Mistress of Vraitha. She was assigned the new Mistress of Vraitha three years after the vanishing of Vraruka. She is supported by eight Ministress, a Chamberlain and a Companion. Right now her consort is Roland and she does trust him in certain affairs like war, magic or knowledge. And since he smells like fire and iron - even after all these centuries - she does like (or love?) him very much and the nights when she sleeps alone are rare and in the one figures.
History
Vrinis was born the first and only daugther and only child of Vraruka. She was surrounded by all the luxury, knowledge and protection with the Ravenguard and Blackwings and teachers the palace had. During her early days as a child and a teenager she did everything in her power to proof that she was worthy of the throne during her lessons, but once she was free afterwards during the day, she vanished into the city or the wilds. A Mistress has to know her kingdom, right?
Vroela was one of her usual destinations. Here she learned a lot about trading and shipping - sometimes literally - which was a good lesson combined with the things she learned in the ports of Vrasathra herself. Her interest was more in food, music and dresses than in military and magic - since her magical abilities weren't larger than lighting a candle - but her lessons covered that as well.
Unbeknown to her mother she slipped out of the Palace every other night and ventured into the city where she had various partners and got some tasteful tattoos on her upper arms and lower legs, spots she could hide easily until she was old enough to show them in public. Her neck and throat were the last spots to get floral tattoos. And yes, her mother was outraged after discovering it. And as Vrinis ascended into adulthood, she opposed her mother openly by showing her tattoos and - over the years - more skin.
As she learned more and more about trading, politics and that Vraitha was quite different from the other countries, she also learned that her mother was more of a "Vraitha-first" defender which means that she was trying to shut down every relationship outside of the Seven Nation alliance. And even from those she wants to sever all ties. A thing which caused a lot of quarrel between her and Vraruka which ultimately lead to the creation of Vrarukas painting.
That was not the only quarrel and reason for dispute between her and her mother. Sometimes it was just the colour of her shoes, the way she braided her hair - if any - or how the dress she wore was too long/short/revealing/didn't float the way Vraruka wanted it to float. This trickled down to her choice of clothing style, her choice of soap/perfume or the way she wrote letters or specific words. Ultimately her choice of partners was another hot topic which caused a lot of fraction, screaming and broken hearts or furniture, mostly on Vrinis side. Vraruka was cold and her words could cut like knives or the freezing cold of winter. A thing which was good for political conversations, but not good in building a trusting relationship with her daughter.
First it caused Vrinis to flee into the arms of whoever she deemed fit. The problem was that Vraruka was very good in finding out who it was and where they was. Some of them vanished without a trace, sometimes only the partner, sometimes the whole family. One got executed before her own eyes and the last one was caught in the middle of political affairs and was banished with their entire family. Vrinis was 27 years old during this time, was devastated and angry, outraged. It was during this time she also learned that her mother wanted to isolate Vraitha. A thing Vrinis couldn't tolerate. Not because it was a political nightmare, but she didn't want to lose access to all the fancy stuff she could wear, eat and indulge herself. That it benefitted her citizens was a nice side-effect and since she knew a lot about her citizens, she didn't want them to suffer because Vraruka thought Vraitha could survive on its own resources.
So she entrapped her mother in a very bloody ritual in the painting and waited until the Ministress & Ministers assigned her the new Mistress of Vraitha. After that she hung up the painting in the throne room behind the thrones. To show her mother that she was the better ruler.
A different form of ruling
Normally children are swearing that they do better than their parents. Since her father died so early she barely can't remember him - aside from a few normal paintings - she only had her mother as a baseline and she wanted it to do like other Mistresses before Vraruka.
The first thing Vrinis did was to sent letters to the other nation in the alliance and invite them to a banquet a few months after she was assigned Mistress of Vraitha. Then she started to unravel the laws which prevented Vraitha from making various kinds of contact with other nations. She also reviewed and reworked with a lot of help the tax laws which lightens the tax load for her citizens and the merchants. The benefit? Well, better conditions for the royal house to buy from the citizens who imports instead of buying directly because the royal house has the highest tax rate. It was a numbers game, it supported the economy and blurred the traces Vrinis and her house left behind.
With that out of the way she made another step and announced daily sessions with her citizens in the throne room. There they could tell her of their problems, be it financial problems, marriage problems, fears, judicial problems or just an ear. Vrinis has allocated three hours of the day to that, right after her breakfast, followed by the meeting with her Ministress (and Ministers if there are some). Which was a new thing as well, because Vraruka just gave orders and didn't care about the When, Where and How. Vrinis isn't caring either, but she wants to know. Otherwise she wouldn't be a good ruler who can support herself in the case of a shortcoming of Ministress'. In the end everything she did was egocentric and support Vrinis.
The next big step and that was the biggest step away from the way her mother ruled. Vraruka was prude, which was an understatement and tied into the entire "Vraitha first" agenda of hers. Meaning she didn't show skin or supported the ambitions of her citizens, banned various kinds of clothes - the bans which Vrinis lifted too - and banned ambassadors from other countries for various reasons. Even the Elves and Dwarves weren't welcome since they weren't citizens of Vraitha. Vrinis lifted the bans as well and over the course of months she slowly switched her private and formal attire: from closed dresses to see-through dresses, lingerie or being full topless, showing her nude upper body. Sometimes she showed a bit of her legs, but hips, lower body and legs were normally clothed.
Why? The answer is dominance. She wants to show not only by words but also by actions that Vraitha is a matriarchal kingdom and the women are in charge. The other reasons is to challenge her citizens and the ambassadors. If they look at her bare breasts, they proof that they have a weak mind, get easily distracted and are not a reliable partner, be it in business, war or peace.
If a bit of skin - or my breasts in this case or just bare skin in general - gets your mind wandering, what does more valuable assets do? Gold, silk, runes, valuable tomes, favours? If I can't rely on their words, why should I rely on their actions?
She also lifted the ban on male ambassadors in the process and contracted a Sword Maiden named Alfara for the banquet with the Seven Nation alliance and for her protection in general. Even after she married Roland.
Personality
Vrinis is a careful woman who approaches most subjects from one side and starts to look at subjects, people, topics from every angle she can think of before she starts to act. That can be a bit of a hinderance, but is the better way. Honourable, as the Dwarves would say.
She is also a deeply loving woman if she sets her heart on a partner, in the actual case Roland. Casual bonding is also a thing, especially during her earlier days and during her single life. She would care for her child as she would care for her citizens, but if someone wrongs her, she does not forgive or forget easily.
In other terms one could describe Vrinis as a fancy woman. She wants to have luxury, she wants to have it comfy and she wants to have it homely for her, her Companion and for her Consort. Finest teas, pottery, cups or chocolate with expensive furs, dresses, lingerie or blankets. She also learned the Colourblade colour-coding language to communicate with her citizens and the Sword Maiden.
Vrinis can take up with a lot of stuff, but if she reaches her limit, she acts in cold calculation, even when the flames of ambition are burning in her mind and body. Seldomly something stands in her way if she has decided on a way forward.
Free time & secrets
During her free time she enjoys the luxuries of her kingdom, be it the market, new clothing or a few hours in the Royal Duckery, surrounded by fancy pots, cups and the occasionally "QUACK!" from one of the Rainbow Ducks. She does have a favourite, but besides the Lord of the Ducks nobody knows which one. Roland discovers it after a while and it stays each others secret.
If you wanna know as well...
She sounds like a fascinating character, and I like the changes she has put in place in her position so far. I also love that she has a favourite duck.
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QUACK!!!