her native country. Dowager Queen Helena turned her attentions toward expanding the Nortan electrical grid from border to border, reaching even remote Red communities. When King Marcas died in a drunken fall, the two queens continued their work in conjunction with his heir and only child, Aerion.
AERION
DECEMBER 12, 159–FEBRUARY 2, 188 NE
King Aerion shared his mother’s passion for architecture, and together they built the now-iconic Bridge of Archeon. During this period, Nortan spies led by House Merandus and House Iral aided Prairie warlords in their border war with the Lakelands. Backed with money from the Nortan treasury and the king himself, Prairie armies won valuable farmland in the Minnowan region and pushed the Lakelander border back across the Great River. King Aerion used this tactic to weaken Norta’s closest neighbor, knowing that their two kingdoms would inevitably clash in the future. Influenced by his mother and grandmother, King Aerion decreed that his line of succession would depend on ability, not gender. Therefore his firstborn child, a daughter named Andura, was heir to the throne, followed by her younger brother.
ANDURA
FEBRUARY 2, 188–SEPTEMBER 27, 199 NE
As the first ruling queen of Norta, Andura faced considerable opposition from the nobility and her government. She married through the first Princestrial, wedding a son of House Blonos, who became her prince consort. Queen Andura was a famed warrior and diplomat, able to hide Nortan involvement in the Prairie wars with the Lakelands. She maintained a shaky peace with the north while secretly building up her nation’s armies, expanding Red conscription to include females as well as opening the military to any Silver woman who wished to enlist. Andura’s only child did not inherit her burner abilities, and to maintain peace in the kingdom, she upheld her father’s decree of succession. Her brother remained her heir until his death during a Red uprising in Harbor Bay. Similar uprisings were gaining strength in Norta, the Lakelands, and Piedmont, where Silver overlords struggled to maintain control of a larger Red population. Andura’s son, Ambrosin, left Norta following his mother’s death to seek his fortune in the west. He is a highly skilled blood healer, nearly immortal because of his ability, and still lives as King Triarch in Tiraxes. He is over one hundred years old.
TIBERIAS III
SEPTEMBER 27, 199–MARCH 30, 222 NE
As the firstborn son of Queen Andura’s brother, Tiberias became heir to the throne after his father’s death. He ascended during a chaotic time of Red rebellion and worsening relations with the Lakelands. One of his first acts as king was to call a summit with the monarchy of the Lakelands, but negotiations broke down quickly, and the Lakelander War was declared. It would last more than a century and claim millions of lives, both Red and Silver. It has been suggested that the war was indeed a war of anger, but of necessity as well, serving to curtail Red populations in both Norta and the Lakelands.
LEONORA
MARCH 30, 222–JANUARY 3, 237 NE
Like her grandmother, Leonora was the firstborn child of a Calore monarch, and so inherited the throne over her younger brother. She refused the rite of Princestrial and never married, but Mariane Nolle was her consort until death, and given the rank of princess. Leonora was the first ruling Calore to leave Norta during her reign, embarking on a tour of Piedmont to visit cousins and various dignitaries. She also visited Corvium many times to survey the Choke, a rapidly expanding wasteland serving as the war border between the Lakelander and Nortan trenches. By her decree, her nieces and nephews were partially raised at the war front to learn military matters firsthand.
TIBERIAS IV
JANUARY 3, 237–SEPTEMBER 2, 270 NE
Continuing the military tradition set by his ancestors, Tiberias IV was a general in the Nortan armies before succeeding his older sister. He oversaw more than thirty years of war as king, and toward the end of his reign began a more clandestine campaign against the Lakelands. He utilized a vast spy network, headed by House Iral, to infiltrate Lakelander strongholds, track troop moments, sabotage supply chains, and assassinate key figures within their government and military. The king’s second son, Aerik, died in retaliation for one such assassination. While reviewing troops on the Lakelander border, Aerik was ambushed and killed by Lakelanders disguised as Reds. After his son’s death, Tiberias IV spent most of his time at the front, leaving his heir to rule from the capital in his place and learn statecraft firsthand.