Basilisk Queen
They never stepped down. They merely stepped aside."Basilisk Queen" is a title which refers to any of the triumvirate of magician-empresses of the Empire of Kataris. They are said to have wielded both supreme executive power over their empire, and incredible magical power sufficient that they were likely the most accomplished magicians of their era. Almost nothing is known about the individual Basilisk Queens themselves, in part due to the Katari taboo against committing to writing the names of those who they held in great reverence; contemporary sources such as the Chronicles of Vash Edom are often taken to imply that the Basilisk Queens gave up their names and former identities when they ascended to the throne. It is assumed that there were more than three individuals to hold the title of Basilisk Queen across almost five and-a-half centuries of the empire's rule, though this is based not on the Katari's own records but on those of their contemporaries - the Chronicles of Vash Edom, for example, refer to one of the Basilisk Queens being slain in battle at Mat Isarik - however there is no scholarly consensus on quite how many Basilisk Queens there might have been in total.
The Magic of the Basilisk Queens
The full capabilities of the Basilisk Queens are unclear, though it is assumed that they were experts in the use of Blood Magic and Geomancy. They are believed to have had control of three of the nine Arcane Thrones - one of which has been identified as the Throne of Winds, which was bound to the Mystic Pylon that existed in Kato Varos (upon the ruins of which the city of Ysberinge was built). It was with this throne that they were able to subourn the Eusocial Bond that bound the Goblins, Hobgoblins, and Bugbears, shattering the goblinoid civilisation and facilitating the Katari conquest of the continent. At the height of the Katari Empire, the Basilisk Queens sat at the head of the so-called Web of Geasa, a collection of interlinking magical bonds of obedience and obligation, which bound every soldier and citizen of the Katari Empire to their will. The exact powers of the Web of Geasa are unclear, though it is believed that they permitted the Basilisk Queens to issue unbreakable commands across vast distances, and even to project their spirits into their followers, puppeting their minds and bodies from afar.The Fall of the Basilisk Queens
When the Katari Empire fell into chaos, the Basilisk Queens disappeared from the world. It is generally assumed that they were slain in the fighting that overtook the continent, or else went into hiding and lived out the rest of their days in obscurity. For all that several of the successor states of the Katari Empire declared themselves the "Regents" of the Basilisk Queens or, as in the case of the mages of Kalamak, otherwise styled their leaders after them, few seem to have believed that the Basilisk Queens held any ongoing political power. According to some sources, one of the Basilisk Queens was slain and her soul devoured by the ancient dragon Urachonnis the Black, one of the Five Great Dragons of Mandragore. With Urachonnis' assassination at the hands of his own brood in 1342AK, the fate of that queen's soul is unknown.The Shadow Over the Throne
In the eyes of most, the tyranny of the Basilisk Queens is a long-extinguished evil; however a handful of individuals in Aldernord are aware that their power did not entirely fade following the fall of the Katari Empire. Though none of the Basilisk Queens are believed to be alive, at least one is said to exist somewhere in the periphery and possess power over the Alderni crown. Through some means, likely connected to the Web of Geasa, the Basilisk Queens have the ability to suborn the minds of the rulers of Aldernord should certain conditions be met. The fate of the Tyrant Queen Pyronike is attributed to this malign influence, and it has been suggested that several other monarchs have suffered similar fates. Great mental resilience is required to hold this power at bay, and without the ongoing support of the Daughters of Null it is believed that this would ultimately be impossible. The original mission of the Queensknife is said to have been to combat the machinations of the surviving Basilisk Queens; likewise, the Order of Heliodora Tyrantbane are believed to have an ongoing involvement in safeguarding against this secret threat.One Possible Truth: Szordilan's Account
According to an account related to Osrand Maelgribh-Ysern by the drow assassin known as Szordilan, the original Basilisk Queens were three humans - possibly sisters, possibly three generations of mothers and daughters - who were mystics of the "Starry Path", part of an organisation called the Circle of the Dragon Beyond, who had some manner of connection to the entity known as Anhydra. Szordilan stated that he did not know their names, but that their titles were the Archer, the Cupbearer, and the Dragonslayer. They dwelled near a place called Kepe'Aletu, which is now the city of Baletto, and were contemporaries of Alavar Scriptorum - who rose to prominence some five-hundred years before the foundation of the Katari Empire and died in the year 407 pre-AK. Szordilan stated that the Basilisk Queens sought to oppose the "Great Dragons" who arrived from the North around this time; though it is somewhat unclear what was meant by this, it may refer to the rise of the Dyarchy of Laria, which some historians believe may have emerged in approximately 450AK. Unable to oppose the might of the dragons, the Basilisk Queens are said to have turned to the surviving Eladrin that dwelled in the Wyldfire and "other, stranger corners of creation"; Szordilan reported that it may have been from the Eladrin that the Basilisk Queens learned the secrets of the Arcane Thrones that had once been claimed by the Paragons, with the implication that this may have been the ultimate root of their power.Morkath's Account
According to the dragon Morkatherit, the Basilisk Queens were a group of druids who were in opposition to the Dyarchy of Laria, or possibly the Larian Consensus. They were unable to effectively oppose the Oathcircle in Laria until the dragon Zuravatuul inadvertantly provided them with detailed information on the Paragons of Azoth, the Arcane Thrones, and the nature of divinity itself, which allowed them to gain significant power.
Type
Civic, Honorific
Status
In abeyance (probably)
Alternative Naming
Empresses of Kataris; the Archer, the Cupbearer, and the Dragonslayer
Source of Authority
Might makes right
Length of Term
Life
Related Locations
Related Organizations
Comments