Aerithia (ai̯.e.riː.tʰi.a)
Queen of Nisi
"I believe in my people, and in the glorious future before them. As always, we will ascend to heights undreamt of by others."
Queen Aerithia is the ruler of the Kingdom of Nisi, located on the island of Nisi. Nisi is the home of the Aethry, a species of winged humans created when the god Ídhi blessed their ancestors with the power of flight. Aerithia is a direct descendant of Iliana, the first person who was transformed by Ídhi, and who established the Kingdom of Nisi.
Early Life
Aerithia is the only child of Queen Klio and her consort Ioannis. She was orphaned at the age of nine; her parents were on a diplomatic mission to the Malikate of Saba, and their ship vanished during a terrible storm that roared out of The Middlesea. Her uncle Stefanos, who is the Avatar of Ídhi became her guardian and regent until she reached her majority at the age of 20. Stefanos undertook to raise Aerithia to be a good queen and a devout worshipper of Ídhi, and has repeatedly stated that educating his niece was the greatest and most important thing he had ever undertaken.
Queen of the Aethry
When Aerithia was crowned, the people of Nisi celebrated for a whole month. Their new monarch was well loved; she was beautiful, and cultured, and represented all that they believed to be right and just in the world. After nine years of her reign, their admiration for her has not diminished, and she may be one of the most beloved rulers in the Great Ring.
As Queen, Aerithia has spent much of her time supporting the arts and culture of the Kaphtori Aethry. She is a patron of the amphitheaters of Arthris, where she can often be found attending performances of her people's artistic and literary works. She has also been a great supporter of the Akadimía of Arthris, where she has particularly encouraged the study of natural philosophy.
Internationally, she has a reputation as a shrewd ruler who will keep her word, but always puts her own people first. She has taken a personal hand in negotiating treaties and trade deals with other groups, and Nisi has profited from the agreements she has made. She has even made overtures towards the other leaders of the Kaphtor Islands to suggest unifying into some sort of league, but this has borne little fruit so far.
Looking Upward
Aerithia believes that the Kaphtori Aethry are destined for a great and brilliant future, and she intends to do what she can to make that happen. Her vision is that Nisi will become an example of refinement, culture, and civilization that all the world will look to and emulate. She is also convinced that when Ídhi transformed her ancestors into Aethry he remade them into a higher form of person, and that the Aethry are innately better than any of the other species in the world. She would never be so rude as to tell them this, but observant people can discern her opinion.
One place that she has not yet succeeded is in finding a consort and continuing her family line. Her closest advisors have brought many candidates before her, but so far she has found them all lacking in some way, and refuses to settle for anything less than perfection. In the last year, her concerns over this matter have caused her to beseech Ídhi directly for an appropriate candidate, and she is convinced that the deity has undertaken the project on her behalf.
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This article was originally written for Spooktober 2024. You can find all of my Spooktober Articles at Spooktober Central.
This article was originally written for Spooktober 2023. You can find all of my Spooktober Articles at Spooktober Central.
I love a strong female figure! I am sure she will find the right consort and I hope he'll be someone that she will fell in love with first :) I am very interested to learn more about Stefanos and how he came to be the avatar of a god. Also, we share the name! My archipelago is called Aerithia <3
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Thanks! I’ll have to write an article about Stefanos; Ídhi usually maintains an avatar among the Aethry, but how any particular person earns that role is bound to be a good story. As for her consort…I have some thoughts on that. She may have to do some self reflection before she realizes what she actually wants. And I have to go read your Aerithia archipelago! That’s the kind of connection that I love and I’ll probably come back and tuck in a reference for those who read us both. ;)