Lady Leena

Lady (of the City) Leena Serren

No ruler is universally popular. The best most can hope for is that only half the population hates their guts. There are a few notable exceptions, of course; dictators typically have most of their population support them, for the simple fact that they are dictators. Lady Leena, however, was an exception - although she was a dictator, she was truly well-liked. Save the criminals of Cada Cratal, I have not once heard any citizen say a single bad thing about her reign.

Mental characteristics

Sexuality

Leena outright refused to marry in her youth, stating that she thought it would dilute the power of the city state to tie it to another kingdom. She subsequently revealed she was aromantic.

Education

Leena studied, as most of the nobility of Cada Cratal do, in the various academies provided to those of her social status. From the age of five, she learnt the arts of statecraft, as well as the tools she would need as the future leader of the city. Leena excelled in her studies, making progress almost too fast for her tutors to keep up with her in various fields including spellwriting, history, etiquette, and dueling. Despite her incredible gifts in these subjects, Leena soon slacked off in her studies as they began to challenge her less and less. At the age of 10, she had covered nearly all the information required for her to learn before her age of majority, a full 6 years ahead of schedule. Seeing that his daughter lacked motivation and stimulation, Lord Thess began to involve her more and more in the actual workings of the city's administration. Placing her under the direct command of one of his assistants, he gave instructions that she should be permitted to do anything she set her mind to, provided it would not destablise the city.
Under the tutelage of Administrator Tollos, Leena learnt much about the state of the city as a whole. Beginning in the field of taxation, Leena learnt about the way the city gained its funds, before turning her attention to trade and other commercial areas.

Employment

At the age of 18, Leena took over from her father as the ruler of Cada Cratal, as he had been struck ill and was losing the ability to perform his duties in public. However, this was mostly a ceremonial change of power - Leena had been closely involved with many decisions since she was 15.

Accomplishments & Achievements

Leena instituted several major changes during her time as the ruler of the city. The first of note is her institution of the Cada Cratal City Guard. With a rise in crime from the Cenata causing the streets to become ever less safe, Leena legitimised the existing vigilante groups, placing them under the control of her mentor Tollos, who was a key advocate for the legitimisation. Tollos would soon resign his other posts in favour of becoming the first captain of the guard, presiding over perhaps the most successful period of law and order in Cratalian history. Leena's next big move was the construction of the Caraed. Continuing in what would turn out to be quite a populist rule, Leena heeded the citizens' demands to introduce more facilities for entertainment, hoping also that she would be able to mitigate a sudden and unexplained rise in street violence in the city.
Only ten years later, Leena was approached by the Guild of Spellwriters with the suggestion that they set up a permanent premises in the city. Leena had been watching the rise in the monopoly of the guild on many aspects of production and was more than happy to tie the income and the guild to Cada Cratal in a more concrete manner. She exacted a tithe on the Guild for the premises, and thus ensured an income line from the guild.

Intellectual Characteristics

Leena had a sharp and inquiring mind, but often lacked the stimulus necessary to use it to its full potential. In her memoir, she writes that she found times of conflict in her reign the most fulfilling and enjoyable, despite the typically large threat to the city's stability.
Leena also had a tendency to hyperfocus on certain tasks. Tollos wrote in his autobiography that she would often exclude other tasks given to her when she was under his tutelage to work on a particular aspect of taxation or consult with a particular group of individuals. Some say that this tendency to focus on only one aspect of her rule was what made her successful - others attribute her widely respected and revered reign to her network of capable assistants and advisors who took care of the more menial tasks of running the city when she was working on a particular project.

(image via Artbreeder)

Circumstances of Death

Suspected Assassination

Birthplace

Cada Cratal

Known Languages

Leena learnt the native tongues of the major nations of her time, namely the Mountain Empire, Plains Kingdoms, and Sea Queens, as a part of her education.

Death

Lady Leena died at the age of 75, under suspicious circumstances. The alarm was raised in her housing on what was presumed to be the morning after her death, with the bodies of her guards and security showing clearly the path that the assailants had taken to reach her. Many suspect that an old member of the Cenata commissioned the organisation to create the cauteriser units for the express purpose of assassinating Leena to prevent her peaceful death.