Juventia Theosa
Interim Queen Juventia Theosa
"In the name of our freedom, everlasting and enduring, I swear to found no dynasty, bear no children, and take no power I do not return. May I be the only one of my kind, and may my title die with me."Juventia Theosa, upon her coronation
Named Vyren at her birth, Juventia Theosa is the first Queen of Theolin, and hopes to be the last. Along with her twin brother, Pyrion, Juventia was raised in the messenger's guild of Lavender Correspondence, both in its open business as a courier service and in its quiet business planning for a revolution. The name 'Juventia' was originally her pen or code name while organizing the Revolution's supplies and communications. She was also responsible for Ilmira's recruitment to the group. Her contributions to the war effort, association with Ilmira, and rule as Interim Queen have made her quite a figure in Theoli folklore.
On a more personal level, Juventia is known for being a quick thinker, problem solver, and fan of various types of music and performance. Despite her heritage and origins, she has stated that she is, 'hopeless at anything that doesn't involve strings.' While that was taken as a reference to her role in the Revolution's information network, she meant it genuinely - her only musical talents are tied to string instruments. She's also known to have a penchant for apple pastries.
Biography
Early Life
"As of this day, I have no father, and I have no mother. I have only my brother and king, as equals in service to our nation."Juventia Theosa, upon her coronation
The twins were born in Sekrith - a town which no longer exists. It was not the location of the center of the Lavender Correspondence's operations, but did contain a branch office that was useful for a variety of more illicit purposes. Soren Calcade, the twins' father, had been assigned there early on in his own career, and met their mother while living in Sekrith. Though Soren would eventually begin to travel back and forth between Sekrith and Rivenford, the twins largely stayed in the raucous town of entertainers.
At the age of twelve, both Juventia and Pyrion became apprentices in the Lavender Correspondence. They began to take turns traveling with their father, or under the guidance of other members of the Correspondence, until they successfully demonstrated their skills to become fully fledged members of the guild. Juventia accomplished this at age seventeen, while Pyrion elected to wait another six months before taking his own evaluation. Given no one recalls which twin was born first, this is sometimes cited as 'proof' of one's status as the elder sibling: either Pyrion's, for showing wisdom not to rush into things, or Juventia's, for finishing first.
As a Revolutionary
"By the waters that both drown and nourish. By the fires that both scorch and warm."Juventia, upon her coronation
Juventia was never outright informed of the Lavender Correspondence's role in the growing anti-Orellia sentiment in Theolin. Instead, it was a knowledge that crept in at the edges of everything her parents and mentors taught her, coloring almost every action she took as a messenger.
Juventia learned how to seem perfectly subservient, neutral, and unobtrusive when running messages, as well as the slight of hand needed to replace them when the time came. By working messenger posts in different parts of Rivenford, she learned the names, faces, and friendships of almost every political figure in the city. Frequent trips to surrounding cities helped her expand that knowledge and experience, supplemented further by whatever the other members of the Lavender Correspondence could obtain.
When open hostilities began in 525, Juventia was often placed in charge of managing entire sections of the Correspondence's information network, of which she had largely become the main architect. She had a knack for piecing together what they couldn't find out from observing, and connecting events from happenstance. Her guesses were not always correct, but they were never far from the mark - and that meant she was treated as a figure of respect and an advisor to Theol and her father by 526.
The most innovative of Juventia's changes to the Revolution's networks was the implementation of mage talents. Given how variable mage abilities and their applications were, mages were previously tasked individually with disconnected advice or instruction. Juventia took the time to work with several types of mages, learning their strengths and abilities, and created a complex network of magical communication. A scribing mage, like Ilmira, could copy a manifest without opening it, or make a transcript of a conversation she overheard. That was then passed to a mage who could generate light signals, and then displayed to someone capable of farsight or scrying magic in a coded cipher. A mage with affiliation for animals would ask them to see to a message's stashing or transportation, a weaver mage tasked with putting signals into their gifts of scarves or fabric samplers. The variety and pathways of the network were complex enough that very few ever realized how far it stretched.
Juventia was present at several battles during the course of the war. While she didn't ever enter the field as a commander of forces or common soldier, she wound up in both roles several times over. In a letter to Ilmira, she wrote that she, 'preferred being the soldier, but [she] couldn't sit by while business was left unfinished.'
The Bastion's Commander
"By the green shoots of spring and the dead stalks of winter. By the future borne to us on the ever-changing winds, and the past carved by our feet into stone."Juventia, upon her coronation
Juventia's relationship with Ilmira wasn't unnoticed, particularly after the latter made her debut as the 'Flame-made-flesh.' If Ilmira was the Living Bastion of Theolin, as sturdy as any wall or fortress on the border, then it was said Juventia was the commander in residence.
There were occasionally accusations that Juventia was using Ilmira and her abilities for their own gain, likely in attempts to separate the couple, but none ever gained traction. Those who saw the pair together could rarely refute that they seemed closely knit. In war councils and negotiations, Juventia refused to allow Ilmira to be treated as a weapon to be wielded, even standing up to Theol in several heated confrontations. That she was the victor in several of those arguments further cemented her status in the eyes of the Revolution's highest.
The pair would both later admit, separately, that they had been romantically interested in the other for quite some time before the war began. It was only after Ilmira discovered the armor, however, that Juventia expressed her affections - motivated in no small part by the suddenly drastically higher chance of Ilmira coming to harm, or death. The two were not particularly private or public with the relationship, though ballads and tales from the war that pay homage to their love often cite two specific instances. The first, where upon their reunion after several months apart, Juventia 'leapt into [Ilmira's] arms and [...] kissed her soundly' in front of a significant portion of the Revolution's forces.
The second tale relates to the battle of Sheep's Leg, which Juventia participated in directly. Her group was trapped further up the mountainside, separated from the rest of the Revolution's forces, and quickly running out of options. Ilmira, upon arrival, cut a swath through the center of the Orelli army and launched herself upwards to reach Juventia before she could fall. Upon her return to friendly forces, Ilmira was carrying what was mistaken as Juventia's body. The future queen was, in fact, only lightly injured and asleep - the blood belonged to either opponents or allies she'd been aiding. Romanticized versions of this tale cite it as Ilmira's love that brought Juventia back to life.
Interim Queen
"I accept this crown as the temporary thing that it is, and commit my voice to Theolin's peace. Being bound both body and soul, it is all I have left to give."Juventia, upon her coronation
Juventia and her brother were both present at the end-of-war negotiations, along with their father and an additional Revolutionary figure, though Theol and Ilmira did not attend. As previously coordinated, Juventia handled most of the group's rebuttals of demands for repatriation or client status. In a bid for time, one of the Orelli representatives insisted that a treaty could only be signed with a head of state - meaning that the group would need to declare a government before any official deals could be signed. Their hope was that in doing so they would force a succession crisis, destabilizing the revolution until they could reclaim Theolin. Otherwise, it was expected that either Theol or Ilmira would be the favored choices, and require them to be brought to the negotiations. This would necessitate either a delay while negotiations were re-hashed, or allow for the assassination of either.
Instead, with the blessings of the majority of Revolution's key supporters, Juventia invited the representative to attend the coronation of Theolin's new monarch later that evening. Both Juventia and Pyrion were crowned as interim king and queen - taking on a title equal to that of Orellia's monarch in order to demand equal footing, and yet promising to surrender their titles as soon as a new form of government could be ratified. This was largely to ensure that Orellia could not default on any of their agreements, as well as to provide some form of structure for the rest of the country during early rebuilding efforts.
In order to gain the backing for this to occur, Juventia and Pyrion agreed to several concessions. One, that in order to avoid founding a dynasty, both would be magically sterilized. Both now bear two rune marks for sterility: one on the inside of the left hip, and one on the back of their left hand. The former is the actual spell mark, and the latter merely a visible demonstration of their commitments. Two, in order to prevent a dynasty from being formed around them, they would have to forswear any remaining family ties. That meant both twins had to disown their mother and father. Three, that they would be crowned as they were known to the Revolution, and therefore give up their old names. And four, that they would be crowned together, so that no one individual had absolute power over Theolin. Should one twin die, the other will no longer be recognized as a monarch, until a co-ruler can be declared.
Professions
Date of Birth
19 Orest 504
Year of Birth
504 O.L.
28 Years old
Children
Pronouns
she/her
Gender
female
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments