Zora III Shiroko
Empress Zora III Shiroko
Zora III was born in 751 to Lyrasa I Shiroko. Upon her ascension to the throne of Eoion, she restructured the governmental departments, bringing them all under direct family control. This led to a great deal of micromanaging and training. She is also remembered as the first of the Shiroko line to have more than one spouse at the same time.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Born in 751, Zora III was the eldest child of Lyrasa I Shiroko. Her mother was the final baejan (empress) in what became known as the Era of Heat, a time when three consecutive rulers were all pyr-esh. Zora III was born prior to her mother taking command of the empire and was raised without a title for the first eight years of her life. After her mother's ascension, she became the tajanji (high princess) and began her formal education in ruling the empire as the heir. From her mother, she was educated in all of the standard subjects that her predecessors had been: military strategy, history, international politics, court etiquette, leadership, management, and other such subjects.
After her Attunement Test showed that she was a lu-esh rather than a pyr-esh like her mother, her father took over her magical education, along with priests from the Bolugama temple on the grounds of the Gandenye. She was not as skilled as her father, but studied hard and was able to become proficient over the course of her childhood and by the end of her life, could perform powerful feats on part with those who possessed more natural talent.
Through her education with the priests, she learned of the Doctrine of Dea-an Heritage and was told by Lyrasa I that she would be marrying her younger brother, as was custom. Zora III took the doctrine further than simply ruing and wondered why the family was not directly in charge of all twelve departments within the government. Instead, only a few were headed by members of the Shiroko Dynasty and the rest were staffed by various aristocrats. Her mother, grandmother, and great-grandfather had done so to have the nobility on their side and have some separation, but Zora III saw this as counter-productive.
She began speaking extensively with her younger siblings and extended relatives about their interests and where they might fit in the twelve departments. This caused friction between her and her mother, who wanted to keep the nobility in their positions. Through these talks, Zora III also became very close with one of her cousins, Tisiye. The two women began an intimate relationship when they were still teens, but as no heirs would come from it, Lyrasa did nothing to stop or encourage the relationship. Homosexual relationships were not particularly frowned upon, but were looked at more with confusion among the upper classes as they would not produce any children and thus the family line would come to a halt.
Despite the love affair, Zora III married her younger brother, Boraye, right before her coronation. The two were crowned together in 776 after the retirement of their mother and she created a Tsirin as was custom for new baejan. Only a year later, she married Tisiye as well, making her the first baejan to have two spouses at once. Polygamy was not illegal in Eoion, however, a marriage hierarchy existed. The first spouse was always higher in rank than the second. Thus, even though there were now two tsudaebas (royal consorts), Boraye retained more authority. Given that he was one of the janji (prince/princess) before the marriage, he had been seen as above his cousins and this did not change that ranking. However, it was clear that Zora III was much more in love with Tisiye and the two were seen together far more often than she and Boraye.
Still, the two had several children together over the course of Zora III's reign: Zora IV (779), Bayko and Ilya VI (781), and Galyena (783). As her mother had with her, Zora III instructed her eldest daughter in the running of the empire and taught the younger sibings how to act as support. She chose Ilya over Bayko to marry Zora IV because he was stronger in magic despite the fact that Bayko was born first, which caused a lifelong rift between the twins.
She had not forgotten the discussion she had engaged in during her teen years and began searching through the family for people who could replace the nobles currently heading some of the departments. In her mind, if the entire government was under Shiroko control, then there would be much less infighting between the monarchy and the departments, along with a more streamlined system. The family were all meant to be allies to one another and this was what was taught to royal children. In this spirit, she selected people from her mother's and her generation and placed them in head positions throughout the departments.
This caused severe backlash from the deposed nobles who felt that they were being disrespected for no reason. Friction grew within the departments and Zora III became extremely prone to micromanaging everything in order to keep it running. Still, she refused to believe that installing the nobles again was a better option. Some of the family was highly competent in their roles, while others were not. This eventually led to corruption and disarray after her death and into the reign of Zora IV, who suffered from delusions that made her ineffective at managing the suddenly larger system.
Before this, however, and under the strict guidance of Zora III, the departments became successful as she trained the various family members in their work. She smoothed over relations with the nobility through economic favors and creating several powerful vice head positions that were almost as powerful as the heads themselves. These positions are still in use and are considered honors in and of themselves, although nobles and family continue to vie for the position of department head. The vice-headships are used by the department head to train successors, both within the royal family and outside of it.
Her first spouse died in 800 and she decided to retire in order to spend the rest of her life with her second. This led to the ascension of Zora IV. For the remainder of her life, Zora III traveled around the empire. However, upon hearing of her oldest daughter's descent into madness, she returned to the Gandenye and assisted her son Ilya VI in reestablishing control over the departments and ensuring that Zora IV received care and treatment. She died in 812, just months after the ascension of Ilya VI and was buried with the previous Shiroko monarchs in the mausoleum under the family temple.
Life
751
812
61 years old
Birthplace
Place of Death
Children
Gender
female
Eyes
round, wide, violet
Hair
many small braids, dull white, long
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
pale, pink undertone
Height
5'5"
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