Queen Merdi (mɛr'di)
Huef's most beloved queen
Merdi was born in 1846 in the city of Evering the first child of Huef's king, and the third of his wife. At the time, her parents were living near the eastern border of the Great Northern Desert to monitor the conflict between Huef and Linakra as well as the Huxoth living within its borders.
Merdi's parents encouraged a natural curiosity in their children. They allowed her siblings, Niko and Lidia, to attend official meetings if they desired, to develop their understanding of what it took to run the country. As a baby, Merdi also usually accompanied her family, rather than be given to a nurse to look after. At the age of five, she began her official schooling. Because they lived in a frontier area, this included self-defense practice with her siblings, should any conflict arise.
Her parents' plan worked. Merdi was a very curious child and routinely asked questions of everyone around her. Her teachers often remakred on how bright she was and how quickly she learned. By age six, she had grown so curious about the Huxoth people living in the area that her parents hired a tutor to teach her their customs and language. At seven, she was adept at riding a donkey (more common in the area than horses), and at age eight, she was particularly adept at throwing knives.
Virtually nothing was off-limits to us as children. If we asked about Linakra, we were told. If we wanted to visit the city, someone brought us there. Anything we showed interest in, we were taught. If we had been raised any other way, we likely would not have survived.
In 1854, as the conflict with Linkra escalated, Evering was attacked. Merdi's father joined the soldiers in the fight, while Merdi's mother tried to take her children to safety, but they were attacked by soldiers with the specific mission of kidnapping the young princess. The queen was stabbed in the process, and though Niko and Lidia, aged 15 and 11, tried to stop the kidnappers, they ultimately let them escape, while trying to defend their wounded mother, who died later that night.
The kidnapping of Merdi launched a conflict of ocassional skirmishes into an all our war, which, in turn, made conflicts with the Huxoth worse, as he developed a military conscription plan which included everyone living within Huef's borders, including those in the Northern Desert. As wave after wave of soldiers was lost to Linakra's superior technology, many citizens accused the king of having lost his mind to grief.
In 1860, the king himself died in battle, and admist the turmoil, Merdi's brother and sister took control of the country. Though neither had a blood right to the throne, they argued their right to rule in their sister's stead, using her as a national symbol to rally their people. They ruled together, though Niko officially took the position of general and Lidia as interim queen.
We always expected Merdi to take the throne. But we couldn't let the country dissolve more than it had. And we feared what might happen if she returned a Linakran puppet.
Though only 21 and 17, respectively Merdi's brother and sister ruled more steadily than their step-father had during the previous six years. Lidia helped to rebuild and fortify areas near the Linakran boarder while Niko made more calculated decisions in the battle against Linakra, never giving up on rescuing Merdi, but also trying to minimize caualties. The two continued to struggle with the question of conscripting Huxoth soldiers, as they needed people in thier army, but knew it woudl eventually create bigger problems with an enemy inside their own borders.
Lidia and Niko's greatest fear was that Merdi, whever she was held, was being trained to take her place again, once she had been brainwashed to follow Linakran ideology. Their fears were not unwarranted, as this is exactly what Linakra attempted. Though technologically more advanced, Linakra needed a way to obtain more resources, and Huef not only had a young leader, but much of its border was taken up by the desert, and the conflict with the Huxoth weakened the country's focus.
Linakra kept Merdi as a high-security prisoner for seven years, in an attempt to break her down and seek for any respite to her situation. At the age of 15, she was "rescued" by a high-ranking family who brought her into their home. Malnourished and infested with parasites, they brought her back to full health, gave her standing in Linakran society, and sent her to school, where again, showed remarkable aptitude. They told her that Huef had fallen into chaos and entered into "talks" with other government officials about putting Merdi in her rightful place on the throne if her nation could be tamed, all the while trying to indoctrinate her. Merdi didn't buy it.
She was so small when she returned, we thought at first she was a child.
Though Merdi outwardly agreed with everything her new family told her, she secretly planned to escape. After three years, she did so, stealing a donkey and disguising herself as a Huxoth woman. Keeping to smaller towns, she would find refuge with families, claiming to have escaped the conflict in Linakra and trying to get back to her people. She told the Linakrans that she had seen the destruction Huef had brought, and that she intended to spread the word of their great country to her people, always she spoke in broken language, or in Huxoth. Though some people suspected, none could prove it, and many were taken with the exotic figure.
In the last town she visited, she learned of Huxoth soldiers camped near the Northern Sea. Despite their presence, the area had not seen a lot of battle, so as she neared, she waved a white flag to signal truce. When the soldiers saw the young queen, they almost turned her away, as they felt she was to blame for having been conscripted. But Merdi spoke to them in their own language.
I am the rightful queen of Huef. If you reinstate me, I will have the power to help your people.
The soldiers helped return Merdi to the capital, where she was reunited with her brother and sister, and took her rightful position as queen, though Niko remained her general and Lidia continued to serve at her side. Merdi's personal defeat of Linakra greatly boosted the morale of the country. Furthermore, she had much more knowledge of Linakra's weaknesses, which her brother made use of. Linakra, having lost its extra piece, eventually retreated.
In 1871, Merdi kept her promise by inviting Huxoth leaders to her home for a diplomatic meeting. This was returned by an invitation to visit their desert cities, the first for any ruler of Huef. Merdi granted the Huxoth people sovreignty over the desert, as well as Huef citizenship to those living within her borders. They would not be required, as had been previously to swear fealty to her to live within the Huef cities. This ushered in a new age of relationships between the Huxoth and their neighbors, and many cities, especially those on the border, now boast very mixed populations. Therefore, Merdi will always be remembered not only for tricking her enemies, but for honoring her allies.
Comments