Anastasia of Thay
Anastasia, First of Her Name, Empress of Thay
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Biographical Information | |
Home |
Yuirwood, Aglarond |
Born |
Winter Solstice, The Year of Shadows, 1358 DR (age in 2/1388: 29) |
Died |
- |
Aliases |
Ani, Scrubs |
House | House of Thay |
Physical Description | |
Race |
Human (75% Rashemi, 25% Mulan) |
Gender | Female |
Height |
5'11" |
Hair Color |
Blonde |
Eye Color |
Blue |
Skin Color |
Fair |
Family Information | |
Parents | Vasilisa Radov and Uksar Valik (birth), Wilhelmina Petrovna (foster) |
Siblings/Etc | Natalia Gorbovna (foster) |
Spouse |
None (sired five children with Tchazzar, Sceptenar of Chessenta) |
Children | Treygar, Zehra, Wilhelm, Nadia, Alexander |
Chronological and Political Information | |
Affiliations | Thay (empress), Rashemen (protector), The Covenant, Chosen of Mystra |
Anastasia I is the current Empress of Thay. Her reign began on 23 Kythorn 1381 DR, though her coronation was held on the 1st Flamerule. She succeeded Zahl I by that empress' will upon death, as she had served as her apprentice. In doing so, she also inherited the title and duties of Protector of Rashemen, and has maintained Thay's close alliances with Aglarond and Unther.
Titles
Anastasia's full formal title and style is:
Differences from Zahl's title include:
- The prefix "By the Grace of the Gods" was removed, as to sever ties to the old polytheism. The title "Ordained of the Goddess" was added, to indicate the acceptance of the monotheist faith of the Goddess as the state religion. The prefix "by Divine Right" was added to her title as "Empress of Thay" to indicate that her title is bestowed by the Goddess herself.
- To reflect the partial liberation of Rashemen, she has eliminated the title "Empress of Rashemen", and added the title "Protector of Rashemen", as she maintains control of that land.
- As she has recognized the independence of Aglarond, she has eliminated the title "Empress of Aglarond".
- Since the Edict of Liberation has liberated all slaves, even non-Thayans, she has added increased the importance of the title "Empancipator of the Slaves".
- Though Thay maintains total control of Thesk, she has eliminated the title "Empress of Thesk".
Colloquially, she is known as the "Mother of Dragons", due to siring children with Tchazzar, who is rumored by common folk to be a dragon in disguise.
Reign
In just over three years of rule, Anastasia has proved a competent successor to Zahl I, albeit one with a very different character. In particular, her policies are dramatically more compassionate, and perhaps even more ambitious. It remains to be seen if her enemies will attempt to take advantage of her generosity and forgiveness.
In her first year, she issued three crucial edicts which would fundamentally reshape the Empire:
- The Edict of Liberation, which liberates all slaves in the Empire, past, present, and future, regardless of race, gender, or deeds. Accompanying this decree was a massive investment of her personal funds to guarantee the welfare of newly-freed slaves.
- The Recognition of Independence of Aglarond, which relinquished all Thayan claims to Aglarond's lands, and recognized the sovereignty of Queen Ninaran Olossyne as rightful ruler of both Aglarond and the Yuirwood. Some credit for this rightfully goes to Zahl, who signed a peace treaty with Aglarond shortly before her death. It is believed she would have implemented this act, if given the chance.
- The New Society Act, the first edict in a comprehensive plan to rebuild and modernize Rashemen, in the wake of the total destruction of the Wychlaran as a partial governing body.
Though these changes sparked great protest (particularly among slaveowners), and many feared the liberation of Rashemen and Aglarond would embolden malcontents in Thesk and the Pirate Isles, the situation eventually calmed without further incident. This is largely credited to the Empress' strong alliance with Chessenta, which would seem to make her military power nigh unstoppable, should rebellion occur.
In the years since, she has focused much of her efforts on Rashemen, as well as with the situation of the poor within her own realm. Many of the upper classes feel she unfairly burdens them to give to the unworthy (i.e. poor), and to enemies of Thay (i.e. Rashemen). Increasingly, those whose wealth is sufficiently portable have been removing their assets to other locations, such as Sembia, to shield them from taxation by their sovereign. While such action might be seen as dishonest, or downright treasonous, she has not elected to punish them harshly, even as her exchequer diminishes.
Foreign Relations
Though Anastasia hasn't continued Zahl's aggressive expansion of the realm, she has not indicated any desire to curtail such activities in the future. As such, many neighboring nations still maintain cordial relations, in an effort to minimize the threat of invasion. For the most part, she has not overseen any major changes to her relations with nations north and west, with the exception of Sembia, which is growing increasingly bold and uncooperative as they continue to suffer from the loss of control of Inner Sea trafficking (particularly that of illegal, private trading).
Most notably, she has dramatically altered Thay's relations with Chessenta, as she is married to its King, Tchazzar. Neither claims any dominion by right of marriage over the other's territory; rather, they remain close allies. Both boast massive armies which could challenge any nation in the region even without their allies. None contest the military power of the combined alliance, though some wonder if the two nations would indeed fight together if there were a significant imbalance in their interests.
Despite Thay's daunting military power, Mulhorand remains strong and confident of their position. Though relations have thawed since their recent war, due to Thay's aid in thwarting the Jade Empire, the two nations still watch one another closely, each ready to counter the other. Anastasia argues that, with the Jade Empire posing such a massive threat to Mulhorand's flank (and, ultimately, the rest of Faerun), Mulhorand cannot afford to remain unfriendly with Thay. Pharaoh Keket counters that all allies of Thay are ultimately her slaves, and Mulhorand will not bend knee as others have done.
Other developments of interest include the deterioration of The Great Dale, whose villages and towns have been vanishing under an onslaught from the forest itself. Where Impiltur and Veldanthiir have failed to protect the locals, Anastasia has offered to help them; thus far, they are refusing any aid, as they fear becoming Thay's next conquest.
Legacy
Though a young empress, surely with many years in which to accomplish much, Anastasia has already set a trend which heralds and scholars predict will continue in generations to come. Specifically, that the Empire of Thay will, by tradition, be ruled by an Empress, rather than an Emperor, and in particular by one of Rashemi descent. It remains to be seen if future successions will frequently be made by appointment, rather than inheritance.
Issue
Under Thayan law, all of Anastasia's direct issue are in line for the crown, with the eldest holding prime position, but the Empress having the legal right to name her successor. In the event of the latter not occurring, the law does not specify how to resolve a situation where multiple children are eldest. Typically, in the case of twins, the first to emerge is eldest, even if by a few seconds. However, Anastasia's eldest were born en-caul, coupled together inside a sac (or, as some joke, "born of the same egg", referring to the commonly-believed myth that Tchazzar is secretly a dragon), in such a manner that it could not be determined which of the two emerged first. Scholars have not found a single case of precedent among all realms in recorded history. Since the succession is, necessarily, a confusing and potentially violent issue, the nobility of the realm has urged the Empress to legally name a successor, preferably one of her eldest two.
It is noteworthy that, under both Thayan and Chessen law, royal descendants are legitimate, regardless of wedlock. Thus, despite Anastasia and Tchazzar never marry, their children are legal descendants in both of their realms. As royals, they have no legal last name, but are members of both the House of Thay and the House of Tchazzar. By Chessen law, only male descendants can rule as Sceptenar, so Anastasia's eldest son is, in addition to potentially being her legal heir, already the legal heir to Tchazzar's throne.
Name | Sex | Age | Color | Description | Physical | Name |
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Treygar |
Male |
8 |
Red |
Brash, impulsive, terrifyingly charismatic. He's hotheaded, and constantly getting in trouble, but you just can't hold it against the little scamp. Constantly trying to prove his superiority to his sister Zehra, and failing. |
For a child of 8 years, he's positively beastly. At almost 5 feet tall already, he towers over his playmates. He is stronger than almost all of his adult caregivers. This accomplishment would be more impressive, perhaps, had he managed to outsize his sister Zehra. (Science notes: he is predicted to be around 6'10" at age 18) Flaming red hair, copper-colored eyes. |
Treygar was named by his father, in honor of his deceased brother of the same name. |
Zehra |
Female |
8 |
Black |
Clever, devastatingly intelligent, and (for now) physically superior to Treygar. The two have always been competitive, but Zehra has shown greater discipline and patience, opposed to Treygar's raw enthusiasm. |
At 5 feet tall at age 8, Zehra is breaking records, hearts, and--occasionally--bones. Her impressive physical stature still manages to leave much room for beauty, most particularly her striking, raven-black hair and eyes, and pale, but otherwise perfectly complected skin. She's likely to continue to break hearts (and bones) as she grows. (Science notes: she is likey to reach about 6'5" at age 18) |
Zehra was named after Zahl's mother, now deceased. |
Vilhelm |
Male |
6 |
Blue |
Intelligent, bookish, detached from physical concerns. Loves reading, speaks several languages, has no patience for the antics of the elder siblings. |
Tall and slender, with a slight but not fragile build. Delicate features, not effiminate, but not nearly as stoutly-built as his elder brother or sister. Dark hair that could almost pass as black, but noticeably blue, with blue-grey eyes flecked with gold. (Note: Wilhelm was born Wilhelmina, and assigned female gender at birth, but later confided with Anastasia that he did not feel comfortable as a girl. A ritual spell was conducted to reassign him, and he has been comfortable ever since.) |
Wilhelm was named for Anastasia's mentor and caretaker, Wilhelmina Petrovna. |
Nadezhda (Nadia) |
Female |
6 |
Green |
A born socialite, always charming, obsessed with looks and likeability. Capable of manipulating others while seeming innocent. Has an affinity for flowers and plants of all kinds. |
Strikingly beautiful for a child of her age, with vivid green hair and emerald eyes. Not as powerfully-built as her elder siblings, but sturdier than she looks, and more graceful than her peers. |
Nadia's name was inspired by a ballet dancer, whose performance captivated the Empress (along with most of Thay's social scene). |
Alexander (Ali) |
Male |
3 |
White |
The runt of the litter. Soft-spoken, sweet, sensitive, and a bit moody. His mother's favorite, but little regarded by his elder siblings. Has difficulty relating to other children, and is noticeably speech delayed, but is very sweet and warm. Strong affinity with animals. |
Shorter than average, a bit pudgy, but ridiculously cute, more so than any of his siblings at his age. Platinum blonde hair and ice-blue eyes. |
Alexander was named by his father after a legendary hero, king, and conqueror of Chessen history. |