Halemica

"I have no call to war for blood, gold, power or land. Only the hearts of my people shall drive me to conflict. They are the soul of our civilization, my soul, and for as long as they are in strife, I shall never sit idle."

— Halemica the Great

Thripia's most legendary figure, Halemica o Thraeo the Great, also known as the Conqueror and the Mother of all Thripia, lead the Thalassians of ancient times to Arad. She founded the city of Thripia and lay claim to it, fighting a bitter war against the native Aradin when they struck back. She is known for the love she held for her people, her desire to protect them, and her stern, unforgiving wrath towards those who would threaten their wellbeing. Today, her legacy manifests in the Gate of Halemica which stands proudly over the bay as well as the line of the Dynasty King who claim descent from her but are now deposed. She, for a time, had a hero cult dedicated to her which often associated her with the war goddess Thenia.

Appearance

Halemica, immortalized in the statue bearing her name, is a figure recognized across Thripia. Like most Thalassians and modern Thripians, she had tanned skin and a lean build. Her eyes and hair both were brown, with the latter oft tied behind her head. She was scarcely seen without her sword which either sat firmly in her hand or hung by her side. Her face, fierce with high cheekbones, rarely betrayed any kind of emotion and never seemed to break under pressure, maintaining its calm, collected appearance and stern gaze.

History

Where Thripia's future conqueror, Halemica o Thraeo, was born or raised is entirely unknown, as are much of the details of her childhood. What is known is that, hundreds of years ago, she came to Arad with a fleet of one hundred ships, each containing Thalassian men, women and children, hoping to find a home for her people. Records say not of any noble birth nor famed parentage. In fact, more common is the belief that she was born to fishermen and married, as her first husband, a sailor. Nevertheless, the weary and wary Thalassians rallied behind her as their leader. During their pilgrimage across the Western Sea, her strategic pragmatism had guided them through numerous dangerous encounters in the face of skepticism, and it is for this reason she earned their trust and support. When they arrived at the mouth of the Meleatte River, they began the construction of their new home. Upon the High Hill, Halemica ordered the construction of a fortress which, to this day, is remembered as the Fortress of Halemica.
Early on, the Aradin, who had previously fled the area fearing the Thalassians, made contact. This was thanks, in large part, to an Aradin seer leading the Ordin tribe by the name of Kadin who had, in the months prior, learnt a rudimentary version of the Thalassian tongue in ichor visions, just competent enough to be understood. Nevertheless, miscommunication soured an early meeting. The Aradin saw the High Hill as a sacred site, the orphaned child of their god the Mother Mountain. As such, they demanded that the Fortress of Halemica be taken down as it was an affront to their beliefs; a desecration of a divine landmark. The request, however, was poorly translated, leading the Thalassians to believe that the Aradin wished that they leave the land entirely. Halemica, unwilling to endanger her people by driving them back to the sea, refused.

The Aradin War

Thus began a tense relationship between the Aradin and the Thalassians. Rogue Aradin warriors, riding aback striped horses, attacked the bare city of the Thalassians, killing men and burning farms. This came to a climax when the chief of the Nandrad tribe, Edran, widely thought responsible for the skirmishes, lead a mighty attack, massacring dozens. Halemica's preparation and the swift response of the garrison allowed them to maintain a strong defence. Ultimately, the battle ended with Edran dead and the Aradin defeated. Halemica, enraged by the assault on her people, however, began mustering greater armies and expeditionary forces. She set out to attack the Nandrad, seeking vengeance and an end to their raids. War is what followed. Kadir journeyed east with the Ordin and succeeded in gaining the support of Omedid, chief of the strongest Aradin tribe, the Durdan. This provided for them a vast host. However, the Thalassians fought with unprecedented ferocity. Halemica's use of the massive Thalassian warships proved highly effective, even against Aradin warriors expert in the use of ichor. Rumors suggested that the Aradin were capable of controlling the ebb and flow of the Meleatte itself, lending further credence to Halemica's mastery of the conducting of her military
Eventually, Omedid and Kadir were defeated and killed. However, by then, a chain of events had been set into motion and one of the most famous rulers in Aradin history had risen to power; Lordun. The first ever War Chief, he had conquered and united the tribes of the Ranad Mountains seeking to rally them against the invaders. He lead them against Halemica in a fierce campaign which turned the war stale. In the end, unable to acquire a total victory, Halemica and Lordun agreed upon the Pact of the Aradin. This gave the Aradin control over the mountains, but forbade them from ever setting food in the lands of the Meleatte River. In the end, both rulers would be remembered as heroes of their people.
From there, Halemica set out to secure Thripia's rule. She attempted to colonize the once-prosperous lands of the Meleatte and rebuild destroyed villages, but, for reasons to this day unknown, could not replicate the success of the previous Aradin inhabitants and thus failed. The land had simply become infertile. Nevertheless, she knew the strength of Thripia would be built on the city's great capacity for trade. Thus, she set to constructing harbors and ports, increasing the size and efficiency of the city's fields, having learnt from the Aradin and their agricultural techniques, and investing in trade vessels. Around this time, she married her second husband, Oraeteo, one of her most talented warriors during the war who slew the chief Edran. They had a child together, her first, Atrucius.
The wealth of the city continued to grow. However, Halemica had little time to rest. Several merchant vessels had gone rogue and began raiding traders who approached the city. Once again amassing a war fleet, she chased the thief ships across the Western Sea. Famously, she would never give up these pursuits and, upon apprehending those responsible, would deliver them to the merchants from whom they stole, for their fates to be decided. Most were promptly beheaded, mutilated or, in some cases, drowned. She eventually returned to Thripia, having defeated a large portion of the thief ships. When she did so, however, she found that she had been deposed.

Betrayal

Oraeteo, who had been ruling in her stead, had amassed support among the powerful merchants of the city. He claimed responsibility for the growing tides of trade, with none present to dispute him, and painted Halemica as an insatiable warmonger with an appetite for blood, citing her recent ruthless pursuits as evidence of her dangerous capacity for violence. Moreover, he had promoted various merchants to high positions of power, garnering their support and trust.
Halemica found her city turned against her. Oraeteo claimed rule over Thripia. Their fleets clashed, but Halemica was defeated as Oraeteo had mustered a great many ships in the years that she had been away from the city. She was forced the flee, retreating up the coast. Supposedly, Halemica showed no signs of anger or fury that day. She issued only a single order; make for the Fortress of Phias. Built during the war, it was one of the greatest strongholds of the conflict, constructed to defend against the desert-dwelling Aradin. Despite protest from her captains, who questioned the decision to abandon the warships, she argued that Oraeteo would be well aware that the ships were their best advantage, and would anticipate and attack from the sea; something they could do nothing against.
For upwards of a year, Halemica operated within the Fortress, sending spies to sabotage Oraeteo's rule in Thripia and spread dissent. As efforts to this end increased, armies of traitor warriors scoured the Meleatte Desert in search of her. Eventually, their location was discovered after one of Halemica's own sold them out. However, when Oraeteo's forces arrived at the Fortress, they found it entirely abandoned. Halemica had, in reality, planted the information and, with Thripia relatively undefended, was able to stage an uprising which removed Oraeteo from power. The Merchant Lords who had betrayed her were fed to river lizards, however Oraeteo himself escaped with the help of his loyalists. With the armies that remained, as well as any men still dedicated to him who had prospered under his brief reign, he waged civil war against Halemica for years. Eventually, however, in a siege of the Fortress of Tuscas, he was at last captured. In one of the most famous acts of her lifetime, Halemica chose not to execute Oraeteo. Instead, she faced him upon a field of battle, the eyes of the city upon her, the both of them equipped only with a sword. She never said a word as when avoided his swing and slashed his neck. This act, to many, solidified her reign as all at once capable, just and utterly ruthless.
The remainder of Halemica's life was spent ruling as such. She remarried, choosing a merchant named Diodys, one of the few who had resisted Oraeteo's seizure of power and actively assisted in clandestine efforts against him, as her new husband. They had no children together, however, and it was long supposed either one of the two was no longer fertile. Some more insidious rumors suggested, simply, that Halemica was disinterested in love entirely. In any case, Diodys would prove to be the perfect supplement to Halemica's conduct. Where she was broad, commanding and unyielding, with an eye for the welfare of all, Diodys came to represent diplomacy, economics and the common man. He made particular innovations with regards to Thripia's justice system, beginning the construction of the Hall of Order. In her final years, Halemica and her husband worked to mend the rifts between the divided, wealthy merchant class within Thripia, but ultimately her last great act would be to assist and complete her husband's project. Halemica o Thraeo died on a morning of the last day of the wet season from a stroke.

Personality

Very few ever claimed to know Halemica well. Enigmatic, she held a reputation for being stalwart at all times, with a disliking for emotional decision making. Most of her thoughts and feelings were often deeply internalized and she rarely deigned to reveal her the nature of her designs, even to those closest to her. This had the dangerous effect of, at times, unintentionally encouraging subordination. Famously, Halemica held a great fury within her. Those who betrayed the trust she placed upon them would meet, for certainty, painful and swift deaths. Nevertheless, she remained just throughout her life, never acting without good cause and refusing to allow her own wants and ambitions, or her desire for vengeance, to interfere with the well being of her people. It is this for which she was known the most. Her love, compassion and genuine sense of responsibility she held towards the Thalassians made her, in their eyes, a true hero. Famously, she once declared that, although her husband Oraeteo's actions angered her, her true pain came from the damage he did to the city and the people through his corrupt policy.
Her personal life was not so idyllic, however. As a mother to Atrucius, she held little positive qualities. He, in later years, would declare his hatred for her as a result of her lack of attachment. She was distant and outwardly uncaring. It seemed to most that she prioritized her duties as a leader over her role as a mother. Many question whether she ever even wanted a child, and that perhaps this was simply an ambitious machination of Oraeteo who may have wanted to carry on his lineage or use Atrucius as an weapon against her. Oraeteo's betrayal, it is thought, did great damage to Halemica. After the civil war, she found it difficult to place any faith in others and deliberately kept her vulnerabilities hidden, likely out of fear that they would be exploited once again. Diodys, though appearing to hold genuine love for her, rarely seemed to have his devotion and respect reciprocated. Ultimately, Halemica seemed to depend on her own strength above all things, which would prove to have consequences during the rule of her son.

Legacy

Of all those every to live in Thripia, Halemica perhaps left the greatest legacy. Following her death, many days of mourning were held to celebrate a woman viewed by most as a savior, hero and mother to all. Ultimately, she would be immortalized through the construction of the Gate of Halemica many years decades later, as designed by her grandson, Dynasty King Caralcis, who was known for his adoration of her. Indeed, all Dynasty Kings to follow would be descended from her line, though she never bore any such title herself. Notably, it was Atrucius who first declared himself ruler. However, although a mythic figure within Thripia's history, reverence for her would eventually die down with the rising mercantile aspirations of the Thripian people who came to value different ambitions.

Ethnicity

Thalassians

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Mother of all Thripia, Queen of the Thalassians

Life

30 BL 34 AL 64 years old

Birthplace

The Thalassian Homeland

Gender

Female

Eyes

Hazel

Hair

Long, brown, oft tied back

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Light brown