Arsaces Family

By the swing of the axe, the People's Queen was dead. She was favored no more, this demon queen — and those who wept for her met the same bladed kiss.

— Retelling of the Arsaces deposition

The late ruling family of the Kingdom of Arsavela, whose extended line reigned over the land from Malkora's earliest recorded history.

The People's Monarchy

Arsavela's history saw leaders of all kinds rise and fall, through all stages of its growth. There was good, bad, and utterly corrupt — the Arsaces family was among the best of them all, in the eyes of the people.

Queen of the Southern Plains

Hailing from the lands now known as the Melocazh Barrens, Queen Danica Melor Arsaces was among the most beloved of the whole royal line. Raised as a noblewoman in these southern lands of the Kingdom, she married into the royal family later than was common with such unions — this could be blamed on the late succession of King Moren, whose then-ruling grandmother was blessed with a long, prosperous life, delaying both his father's and his own successions.
Queen Danica had a jubilant charm about her that drew the hearts of the people like none before her. Hers was a heart kept open in the face of hardship and change, and she met her subjects with kindness and a fair hand. King Moren outranked her, as he was the monarch who bore royal blood, but she took the late king's place on the high throne following his passing, and continued her rule for years beyond.

Favored Children

The union between King Moren and Queen Danica produced several children: three sons and one daughter. The youngest Arsaces child, Prince Vani Merel Arsaces, was born in the months following King Moren's death, making him the final child born to the Arsaces line. After King Moren's passing, Queen Danica never remarried, sitting alone on Aurel's throne as she prepared her eldest child, Prince Leon Amero Arsaces, for the throne.
The Arsaces children lived well, receiving a tremendous amount of love from their Queen mother, but it could not be helped that the Queen developed a particular fondness to her only daughter, Princess Ranela Narie Arsaces.

End of the Line

In spite of their beloved status across the kingdom, the Arsaces family rule ended through a bloody deposition led by the Alabaster Hand, who now claim the throne of Castle Amsa. After being branded a heretic and executed by The Alabaster Hand, the entirety of the royal family was hunted and slain, with the only known surviving member being Princess Ranela Narie Arsaces, the queen's only daughter.

Queen Danica was the last of the Arsaces family — and entire Savelan royal line — to sit upon the throne, and it is said that all but one of her children were executed alongside her, to ensure the bloodline did not survive to reclaim the kingdom one day.
The reclamation of the Arsaces throne was prophecized by the priests of the Alabaster Hand, who foresaw a male heir turning the tide on the Hand — this prophecy no longer concerns the Hand, as the only Arsaces child unaccounted for in the wake of the executions was one of Danica's daughters.

Rulers of

Kingdom of Arsavela

Members

King Moren Arsaces (Deceased)
Queen Danica Melor Arsaces (Deceased)
Prince Leon Amero Arsaces (Deceased)
Prince Varag Meno Arsaces (Deceased)
Princess Ranela Narie Arsaces
Prince Vani Merel Arsaces (Deceased)

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Length of Rule

The Arsaces family ruled over Arsavela for 17 years, but the royal line reigned over Arsavela since the kingdom's founding in ancient times.

Related Historical Events

• 2675 AS
  Fall of Arsaces

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Traditional Titles

Arsaces is not a family name, but a title, bestowed upon those who take to the throne in the Kingdom of Arsavela. This title changed with each succession, calling upon the ancient Savelan tongue to identify each generation of rulers.
The Arsa- prefix, shared with the lands they rule, is to be followed by a descriptor suiting the new rulers. This decision is traditionally made during rites of succession and the unions which typically accompany them.

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Fated Family

Queen Danica was not a frequent visitor to royal courts or events, and her meeting with the King-to-be was through pure coincidence. Most royal unions are planned far in advance, but with the untimely death of King Moren's betrothed, he and Danica were able to form a relationship on their own terms.
Arsaces was a name chosen to reflect the unlikely meeting and pairing of the King and Queen to be, taking the -ces suffix from the ancient Savelan cestaga, which refers to that which is a gift of fate.