Queen of Hearts

Queen of Hearts is a title given to female magicians who have demonstrated exceptional magical skills, leadership qualities and immortalised in regional myths and legends, in most cases leading to some form of worship. This title is unofficial, but is used as a semi-formal classification within academic circles to distinguish them from similar famous magicians who do not end up being worshipped by local residents or from Gods and Goddess who descended to help mortals. This title also disqualifies magicians or creatures who ascend to divinity and then descend back to the world to help mortals left behind.

Criteria

Queen of Hearts as a title is a fairly recent invention. However, the women listed have long been known for their magical skills and political acumen. They are also, most notably, mortal. In fact one of the unofficial criteria by a respected local university is that the myths and legends surrounding her must explicitly mention her death or her disappearance from the world. The local populace should also, at one point or other, worship her as a goddess or wish-granting spirit, while being aware of her mortal origins. Another criteria is that although she may have descended to divinity, there are no known records of her using her new powers directly to affect the world.
Surprisingly in the Glowing Lands and the region surrounding, there are actually a number of candidates who fulfil the criteria. They are covered in the next section.

Notable Queens of Heart

In the Glowing Lands, there are a number of women who have been bestowed the title, often posthumously. These women are noted for both their martial and magical prowess. All have been immortalised in folklore and song that have persisted to this day. They are also worshipped or were worshipped in some fashion after their death or disappearance. Some notable Queen of Hearts include:

Queen of Ophir Mountain

The most famous legend of this Queen of Heart is when she rejected the Gooseberry King who sought to take her as his Queen, despite already having a wife and son. She set him several impossible tasks first as a polite refusal, and then appeared magically before him when he wanted to take his own son's heart. When she appeared before him, she portended the death of his dynasty no thanks to his cruelty and lust. Enraged, he cursed her using the power of his throne that she would never be able to see her paramour either during the day or during the night, else they would die a horrible death in front of her eyes.
The Queen was said to acknowledge the curse and left with her head high, leaving the King spluttering in anger at her nonchalance. It was said from then on, no one ever saw the Queen of Ophir Mountain again, though there remains a small group of people who continue to worship her in silence, usually asking her for protection as they explored the Ophir Mountain range.

Lady Miss of Blooming Flowers

The Lady Miss of Blooming Flowers is said to be a niece, descendent, or the student of the Queen of Ophir Mountain. An accomplished magician herself, she took the throne of the Glittering Kingdom when her father passed away. It is said that she ruled wisely with both cunning and kindness, balancing relations between the larger powers that threatened the independence of the Kingdom. During her time, the Glittering Kingdom lead an alliance of trade countries that formed a buffer between the hungry Gooseberry empire to the south and the Gold Empire to the North. When she was in her middle ages, she adopted the strong minded niece of a distant cousin from an allied kingdom to be the heir of the Glittering Kingdom. She is immortalised and often portrayed with a mousedeer, which legends say was her favourite animal.
Report prepared by Liew Mun Yee, Student

Type

Nobility, Military