King and Queen of Escher
King Heinrich (733) and Queen Andrea (487) Albright are the beloved rulers of Escher. Heinrich is widely regarded as wise, kind, and fair; Andrea is considered intelligent, shrewd, and highly competent. Although Heinrich is perhaps more liked by the people than Andrea, she is the pride of the nation, an efficient administrator and ruthless commander in chief that has slowly taken over Heinrich's duties in his old age, and Escher has prospered as a result.
Heinrich grew up as the crown prince, and he was coronated and wed to his first wife, the late Queen Esmere, at the tender age of 87 when his parents were killed by an assassin. Esmere was a woman of high birth, a kind and merciful queen, if not as competent as Andrea. Their marriage was arranged, and their relationship was generally characterized as dutiful but not especially romantic. When Heinrich was nearing 300, Esmere (then 346) fell ill and, over the course of a few short years, met her untimely death. Heinrich was said to be distraught and made no effort to look for a new bride until on his travels, he chanced to meet Andrea, an indentured serving girl who had run away from her master. He gave her shelter in the palace and paid off her debts, and serendipitously, a noble couple approached and claimed that Andrea was their young daughter who had disappeared at the age of eight, an age at which Andrea claimed to have lost her memories. The king had fallen for Andrea over the course of the year she had stayed with him in the palace, and now that she was revealed to be an eligible noble, took her as his queen.
With Queen Andrea at Heinrich's side, the monarchy began to favor the church's inclinations to arm the nation and expand its borders, against the inclinations of the Noble Assembly. Escher's human population boomed and Andrea is very unpopular with the Noble Assembly, mostly elven families, as a result. But the general populace views Heinrich as wise for picking Andrea as their queen and Andrea and the Church of Kolif'rem as largely responsible for the nation's prosperity.
Heinrich and Andrea live in Steelspire Palace in Orbwick, the capital city of Escher. The palace is grand and extravagant, a true architectural and technological marvel, with moving stairwells and passageways that make the palace almost impossible to navigate unless one is a member of the royal family. They have six children: two, the eldest Nylessa (F603) and the crown prince Douglas (M544), are the children of Heinrich and Esmere, while the remaining four, Clara (F154), Anthony (M108), Ana (F108), and Christopher (M56), are the children of Heinrich and Andrea. All live within the palace, and are said to be close, with little fighting between the siblings.
Comments