Eleanor Arkades

Queen Eleanor Arkades is the ruler of the Homyn people and a member of the Chimera Council. She is also the wife of Nasser Graham and mother to Princess Halle and Prince Lucas. Known for her stoic and poised demeanor, she often keeps her opinions and allegiences close to the vest. She got off to a rocky start with the Party when they accused Prince Lucas of destroying a Koan moon, and she has always greeted them with icy receptions.

Early Life

Queen Arkades was born to one of the four ruling families of the Homyn Kingdom. Each family handed off rule in a seasonal order at the turn of the century or if a family was extinguished. The Arkades, as Rulers of Autumn, found themselves in an unfortunate position occupying the middle of a Spring Dynasty under the thumb of the longtime family rivals, the Hartos. What was worse, the ruling Kwoan Empire granted the Scalfi Autumn as a reward for the heroic sacrifice of their planet, leaving the Arkades second class citizens in their own home.
Like many Homyn nobles from families far from political favor, Eleanor was raised in the art of spycraft. She was groomed to join the Handmaidens, a spy organization that serve Homyn queens in the guise of servants. It was her family's hope that by becoming an attendant and spymaster for the Harto Queen, she could win favor and possibly look for opportunities to move the calendar of succession forward.
As pariahs among the ruling class, the Arkades resorted to the aid of smugglers to get access to the resources their rivals in power deprived them. Their relationship with the legendary Jim Kestral eventually put them in the path of Graham's rebellion. Eventually, Eleanor's younger brother, Alyn left home to join The Pride.

The Autumn that Followed Spring

The Arkades found their opportunity for advancement in Nasser Graham's rebellion. They negotiated a marraige between Nasser and Eleanor as well as a modfication to the order of succession that would bump the vernal and estival families who sided with the empire from the order of succession and give the throne to Eleanor. Ironically, this resulted in Eleanor being paired with Maeve Harto, the very woman she was meant to serve under the Koan regime.
After Graham's rebellion proved successful, Eleanor moved into the Homyn royal palace as queen with her new husband. They had two children together--a sickly prince named Lucas and a rambunctious princess named after Eleanor, but who preferred to go by her middle-name, Halle.
She also took a seat on the Chimera Council, thrusting her into international poltiics. Her spy training proved useful as a politician. Eleanor garnered a reputation for being difficult to read, and even more difficult to impress.

Divided Loyalties

Matters involving the royal family grew complicated when Nasser suddenly disappeared. After a failed mission on Mong Bal, Prince Lucas--now a Corsair--had a falling out with the order's leader and her husband's closest confidante, Jin Bei. Those conflicts reach a boiling point when the Party stood before the Chimera Council and accused Prince Lucas of destroying the Koan Moon Aspidie.
In a show of solidarity for her son, Eleanor harshly questioned their account and attempted to block their nomination into the Corsairs. But the Phantasm of Io, Sena, frustrated her efforts by nominating them himself.
Many feared that the Koa might seperate from the alliance in wake of the accusations against her son, or worse, declare war. But deft maneuvering by the Koan Knight, Sir Reglas, allowed the family to save face by proposing marriage to Princess Halle.

A Failed Annexation

With one diplomatic crisis solved, Eleanor turned to other matters by appointing her brother, Alyn, to rule over the Kingdom's newly-annexed moon, Nimbus. She hoped the move would both soldify the Arkades power in the Kingdom and provide them with an influx of soldiers to stand against the Scalfi in the form of the able-bodied Moku natives.
However, the annexation efforts hit a snag and Eleanor was forced to delcare martial law in a failed attempt to quell rebellion. She was none too pleased to learn that the very Corsairs who accused her son of genocide had found themselves at the center of that rebellion.
Denied Moku reinforcements, Eleanor took the bold step of accepting her son's offer to have the White Lion Armada assist Autumn in repelling the Scalfi forces. This decision was all but an endorsement for the embattled organization's legitimacy from one of the most powerful governments in the system.

The Koan Engagement

In preparation for her daughter's wedding, Eleanor travelled to the Koan capitol, Balphuran, with an entourage of her Handmaidens. She suggested a truce with the Party and Corsairs since they shared a common interest in ensuring the nuptials went smoothly, even having her handmaiden, Maeve, teach them Homyn dancing techniques in preparation.