Aredhel, Queen of the Amethyst Throne

Aredhel Landis. Daughter of Lord Thalanil Landis of the county of Faelondis, the only independent High Elven county in Peltas not vassalized to the duchies of Ishaeras and Ayath Lenora.

Lady Aredhel Landis was born the daughter of Lord Thalanil, his third child and only daughter. Her mother was Lady Ithildrel, who had served as his guard captain and was the great-granddaughter of a demigod and a Fae spirit. Her father, being a close friend and courtier of King Beledraug IV, quickly arranged her betrothal and courtship to Crown Prince Caladir of Peltas. The match was initially rather cold and simply done for the sake of politics, but when the Peltasian Civil War broke out, the now-Princess Aredhel and her husband were forced to work together to survive the coup that slew her father-in-law and dethroned the D'Lyandariis dynasty. Much like her mother to her father, Aredhel acted as her husband's strongest warrior and valiant defender, to the point where she bore Tiondir, the royal family's ancestral blade, into battle as his greatest knight.

When the civil war ended with Prince Caladir regaining his throne and punishing both the usurpers and the orc grand chieftain who had sponsored their coup, Queen Aredhel settled nicely into courtly life, happy to no longer see the battlefield. The royal couple were beloved by their people, the King and Queen proving effective in leading the realm out of the devastation of the Civil War and having their mettle as rulers tested in the wake of the long conflict.

However, the seemingly-inevitable tragedy that befalls Peltasian monarchs struck shortly after the birth of her twin sons, Lyrandrar and Tamnaeth. While journeying to the remnants of the Eternal Empire on a diplomatic mission, the Queen's entourage was attacked and captured by a ruthless orc pirate lord, the son of the same grand chieftain she and her husband had defeated. To avenge his clan's honor and the orcish blood she'd spilled, the beloved Queen Aredhel was executed, her two closest friends and ladies-in-waiting, Duchess Ravaethiel and Countess Liandris, forced to bring her head home as a statement to the Kingdom that the orcs had returned.

King Caladir was wracked with grief and fell ill, but the queen's firstborn daughter, Princess Aethelesca, showed her mettle when she took personal charge of the expedition to punish those who had murdered her mother. With a righteous fury reminiscent of her adored mother during the Civil War, the princess and her expedition tore through the pirate fleets, executed the brigands, and she personally branded the pirate lord with her flame-engulfed hand that his shame and humiliation would be known forevermore.

Aethelesca recovered her mother's body along with Tiondir, returning them both to her father. Every citizen of Peltas grieved for the queen, with Ayath Lenora packed with throngs of people consisting of every noblemen of the realm and any commoner who could attend. Many say that King Caladir has not been the same since his wife's tragic death.

Today, the queen's body rests in a lavish tomb built in the crypts of the Wolf's Castle, with her daughter making regular visits on behalf of both herself and King Caladir; the king refuses to set foot in the tomb again until the day comes for him to join her.