The Queen of Night
the tyrant who dominated the Seal
Despite her Mythic status little is known of the Queen of Night, she is thought to be the daughter of a petty noble, possibly a lord and lady of the kingdom of Belinfort east of the Briar Woods in the late second Age. However, what is believed to be the first record of her existence comes from a report of a Knight in strange armour pulling the lady of Bendalf, a village west of Rosewood, from her carriage and beheading her in the village square. What marks this event as odd is that the guards, instead of arresting her, dropped to their knees in some swayed submission.
Accounts like this dot the years leading up to the establishment of the Crown Dominion until in 2A 606 the Queen of Night marched into Helden and declared herself to be the Rightful Ruler of the Seal. The Continent watched in horror as King Ruden of Isslefaw knelt to her, laying his crown at her feet and swearing fealty. Reports show that she then cried aloud in a voice that could be heard across the kingdom, "any who should to chalange my divinity show yourself or cower in your mud."
In the wake of her declaration, seeing an opportunity to finally gain control of Helden High Lady Elinor of the Lords Alliance gathered an army to march on the city. The self-proclaimed Queen met her on the field with an army a tenth their size. Despite the overwhelming odds, Lady Elinor’s army is said to have been instantly devastated, with some reports stating that the earth itself swallowed her army up. The next two years are well documented, over the first 6 months the Queen spreading her influence within the Helden pocket, some kingdoms like the Tri Mountain kingdoms of Danborn submitted peacefully in those that did not, the Queen would plant her banner, an hourglass silhouetted over a shining sun, through their hearts. Once her crown conquest controlled the land from Draϋgheim to Rookwood she made to focus her efforts to the west, rumours were spiking that the Kingdoms of Humanity were uniting like they had in the first age. The Queen of Night would not allow this to happen and gathered her first large scale army to subjugate the west.
Although the fame of her godly armour is widespread across the Seal, what is so often forgotten is her tactical prowess. Along with her main army she brought with her a battalion of commoners whom she dressed in what appeared to be fine armour sending them towards the city of Dawnhelm, western capital of the kingdom of Ridria, who gathered the strongest force of the land, forging desperate alliances with lesser kingdoms in a vain attempt bolster strength, meanwhile the Queens real force tore through the rest of the Idrain and Aldrik regions whilst the great army watched on powerlessly, starved and helpless the army would swiftly surrender. The Queen would go from win to win over the following year and in 2A 608 controlled the entire Seal, declaring the Crown Conquest to be completed and the Crown Dominion established. Declaring herself as the almighty power in the Seal, blacking out the sky as a show of her power above the gods.
It was then that the Reign of 10,001 nights began, during which time the sun would not set, nor the stars and moon rise. Despite what the name would suggest however this was no dark age, in the night people prospered and though it took time to adjust to the dark but reports show people had grow accustomed to it by 2A 610, or "year 3 of our Queen". The great armies were dispanded save for the Queens Guard who enforced her rule accross The Seal. The Queen was however growing increasingly paranoid, she relocated from her grand throne in Helden and built a great keep on Elden Ile calling it El-Mistif, the gods city in elvish.
The darkness was ended 27 years later when Elden visited the Queens children as his dragon aspect Eldenclaw, urging them to kill her and turn her kingdom into something great, they did just that, with Eldenclaws guidance they split up the armour taking it to be hidden across every corner of the Seal, Elden then without the armour to counter his will dispelled the darkness and with that great miracle was placed as the Eternal Crown of the newly reformed Crown Union.
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