Max de la Rosa

Maxelene Narselonius Monhala de la Rosa (a.k.a. Max)

MP Max is the last known-surviving member of the former royal de la Rosa family, and is a member of the parliament for the Monhalian Union. Max’s mother and brother were killed in the Razing in 3199, and their father disappeared in 3208. After the disolution of the monarchy in 3210, Max earned enough votes to join the parliament and retains that seat to this day.

Appearance

Max has the dark olive skin common to many Devalians. They inherited many of their mother's softer features, but have their father's dark, wavy hair. They'll grow out their hair until it's long enough to donate, then cut it short to start the process again. Ever pragmatic, Max rarely shows concern for their appearance unless it's to make a statement, such as wearing traditional Astronian clothing when voting in favor of housing more refugees from the dying planet.

The Razing

Max, like the rest of their family, was living in the city of Monhal during the Monhalian War of Independence. When the air raid alarms went off, Max fled through the underground escape tunnels with their brother and father, the Duke Elias. Their mother rushed to her post as captain of the city guard. Survivors of the event confirmed the Duchess died helping citizens evacuate the city in the chaos.

Once they reached the end of the escape tunnels in the forest, the Duke believed they'd reached safety and turned back to find his wife. He left Max's 13-year-old brother in charge of taking care of 7-year-old Max until his return. However, the Abraian fighters were also instructed to bomb the forests. Max's brother protected her from debris with his own body, ultimately dying of his wounds before help arrived.

Peace

Over the next few years, Max's father became reclusive. Traumatized from the deaths and loss of his home, he created his own paradise in his Elsion villa with the Countess Maxelene. Max, however, became increasingly disatisfied with this arrangement as they became more aware of the struggling state of the country they were meant to one day rule. Though the duke preferred they remain at home, they began venturing out disguised as a street urchin.
In their journeys, they learned more of the troubles their country faced and set to righting them. They knew most people wouldn't give credence to solutions posed by a teenager, so they used the anonymity of digital space to arrange social works under pseudonyms. Respected members of the community became willing to be visible where Max couldn't. Among those allies was Reyla, a florist who, on occasions that merited it, hid cameras into the flowers she sold. Despite being a Royalist, Reyla had no knowledge that street urchin Max, whom she took particular liking to, was also the Countess Maxelene.

Night Knights

Night Knights logo by Rin Garnett

In 3208, Max, disguised as a street urchin, attempted to steal a data disk from visitors from off planet. The disk was from Loren Codac (then Loren Tebils) and contained data about Mirasoil's unique properties. The visitors were the Night Knights. Max had hoped the information could help improve city planning in their country, but their attempt to steal it was unsuccessful.
Despite the rough introduction, the Night Knights decided to help Max and escorted them safely through the ruined city of Monhal. This was the first time Max had returned to the city after fleeing in the Razing in 3199. Their goal was a cache of geological survey data they hoped to use to find safer regions of the country to establish living spaces on. In addition to this, they also found a rusted, decrepit Stalker drone.
Over the next several months, they refurbished the drone to working condition. Having named it "Greg", Max loaded it with geological and Mirasoil data so it could aid in finding routes through the countryside, settlement locations, and methods to survive without the sealed housing common in Abraia. They also loaded Greg with medical scanners, allowing the drone to assist in managing their anxiety attacks.

End of Anonymity

Max had secretly taken the Democratist leader Galo as their rival, and worked up the courage to speak at a town hall in Elsion. During this, they revealed themself as the Countess Maxelene, hoping to refuel faith in the de la Rosa name. This came at great cost. They could no longer walk freely through the streets or get honest commentary from citizens. Even Reyla began treating them with reverence instead of familiarity, damaging the only positive relationship Max had with an adult figure.

Max had hoped it would at least force their father into positive action. They didn't have a chance to push for this, as Duke Elias soon disappeared without a trace. No search of the villa or any corner of the country located signs of him. To this day, there's been no conclusion to this disappearance, though many believe an Emerald Legion teleporter forcibly removed the Duke from his villa, and he was possibly held captive aboard one of the Legion ships destroyed in the Battle for Talmar.

Member of Parliament

Between Max's young age of 16, lack of confirmation of the duke's death, and the strong anti-monarchy sentiment across the country, Max was never allowed to succeed their father as ruler. For nearly two years, the country remained without a true leader or government. Max and many others filled in various gaps to support people and quell potential rebellions.

By 3210, there was finally enough infrastructure to have a general vote and institute a parliamentary system. Max, now 18 and considered an adult by Protectorate standards, was heavily involved in the process despite the protests of anti-royalty groups that insisted no de la Rosa should ever be in a position of power again. Running independent of any political party, Max earned double the necessary votes to earn a parliamentary seat.

Key Parliamentary Achievements:

• Developed refugee centers to accept those fleeing Astronius and Rada.
• Created transition programs to help incoming refugees adjust to live in the Monhalian Union.
• Promoted research into natural means to live alongside Devalian flora.
• Secured funding to upgrade infrastructure in low-income settlements.

To this day, Max has won every re-election and remains the most popular independent MP. However, many of their actions earn them criticism for being too idealistic, and more empathetic than practical. Even when their motions are denied, they often find ways to accomplish their goals with or without parliamentary acceptance. They’ve been known to find extra-governmental ways to fund the initiative, whether funding it themselves or finding support among citizens.

Gal Pals

Gal Pals logo by Rin Garnett

In 3228, members of the Nisoran group known as the Gal Pals went to Max for help. They believed an Abraia special forces soldier planted a bomb beneath Monhal, and the group wanted to both defuse that bomb and find the soldier who put it there. Max helped the group navigate and escape the ruined city to defuse the deadly bomb, and introduced them to two people who could help: a former-Abraian soldier and a Monhalian ambassador stationed in Abraia.

Max is non-binary. In their native language, they're Señore de la Rosa.

Timeline

3192:	Max is born
3199:	Mother and brother killed in the Razing
3208:	Met the Night Knights, father disappears
3210:	Elected to parliament
3228:	Met the Gal Pals

Information

Occupation

Member of Parliament (MP)

Current Location

Elsion

Year of Birth

3192 36 Years old

Birthplace

Monhal

Parents

Elias de la Rosa

Aligned Organization

Monhalian Union

As Seen In...

Now They Know

Author Commentary

Max's almost death

The Night Knights (players in Campaign 1) nearly opted to kill Max, known at the moment only as the person who pickpocketed that data they came here for. As an inexperienced GM at the time, it was a bit of a panic moment for me and a lesson learned in how not to introduce intended allies!

About Greg

I had tentative plans in Campaign 1 to have Max code Greg into a potential AI, landing them in hot water, but ditched it to let the plot focus on what was more personal to the player characters.

Gender thoughts

The contrast of Max's non-binary-ness and the feminine title of Countess was based loosely on my own experiences. Sometimes it's easiest to accept the gendered title and save your energy for asserting your true self in other avenues.