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| Marshal Valarosta Inuiirn | |
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| Born | Unknown |
| Died | N/A |
| Spouse |
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| Issue | Disputed |
| Religion | Draconism |
| Parents | Unknown |
| Affiliations |
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| Persuasion | Valarosta's Stat is 16 for Persuasion /Dice |
Valarosta Inuiirn (full Rokhavaal name unclear, or omitted), is a Marshal of the Regalian Empire, in the service of the Crown as the larger Regalian Marshalry. She is also a member of the Draconist Community, and one of the inner circle of the Blue Crown Dragon Matron. Originally a Rokhavaal (Dread Empire) Kathar in the service to the Empress as priestess-general, Valarosta came to Regalia with nefarious intentions towards the Empire, but slowly grew to appreciate its plurality. Living through some of Regalia's more chaotic periods both politically and socially in the last 15 years, Valarosta was eventually convinced to convert from Evolism to Draconism due to her social connections in Regalia. She became one of the focal points of the Draconist community for more political representation, attempting to implant her within the Regalian Marshalry. Succeeding both from personal and group-based efforts, Valarosta is one of the few members of that political elite of the Draconists who actually stayed in power after the state at large became more suspicious of the intentions and motivations of the Draconists, and saw most of them ousted from political relevancy. Eventually ennobled by the Emperor, Valarosta has retained relevancy in the Regalian Military, and is one of the more active Marshals in the Empire that is routinely seeking new engagements to either expand the Regalian Empire, the influence of Draconism, or her own ambitions.
Early Life
Little to nothing is known of Valarosta's early life, mostly because the fact that she was born in Rokhavaal (the Kathar Empire), is widely suppressed perhaps not so much by herself but by her bureaucrats and military clerks. What is known about her, is that she was born an Abyss Arkenborn daughter of an Evolist priestess who copulated with the Intrigue Arken. Her family in Rokhavaal supposedly has a long lineage of priestly figures dating back to the Allorn Empire, and even before becoming Kathar had a long history of both military and religious appointment. The exact reason why Valarosta came to Regalia are unclear, though many speculate that it was on some kind of higher mission from the Evolist priesthood to preach their faith to the undercity of Regalia to expand their flock, but also to expand the influence of the Rokhavaal among the poor and downtrodden in Regalia with the intention of turning the population against the Emperor.
Early Regalia
Valarosta's arrival to Regalia was likely some years after Emperor Alexander's coronation, but at least a decade ago. She initially infiltrated the Regalian underground and formed a local clan of Kathar along with her fellow infiltrates and servants she brought from Rokhavaal. Work in Regalia to encourage conversion to Evolism and pro-Rokhavaal sentiments was easy for Valarosta, due to the deplorable living conditions of the Kathar at the time, who were routinely denied basic civil rights on the notion of their supposed allegiance to Rokhavaal, even if they were born within the Regalian Empire. While initially the intention was or Valarosta to do damage to the Regalian state, it never truly came to this, because political machinations in Rokhavaal put her family in a disadvantageous place.
Having migrated to Regalia, Valarosta was now thousands of miles from her homeland and her clan, which was entirely at the mercy of the Crimson Witch Cabal and the Eclipse Witches who always sought to supplant political office from who they considered "true believers", or those who would put their religious convictions and family ties above dreams of conquest and power. When Valarosta received the Silver-tear mirror, a device capable of directly communicating with the Empress of Rokhavaal, the mirror had already been sabotaged, and Valarosta claims that at this moment she realized, that her mission to Regalia was more like a form of exile to dismantle her family's political power base in Rokhavaal, than an actual mission.
Disillusioned but not broken in her Evolist convictions, Valarosta disappeared somewhat into the background of the criminal narration of Regalia, and only appears again during the so-called Manathar period. It appears that she made a side-step into Arken worship, and had numerous interactions with Arken over the years, though much of the details are lost to whispers and time. Through interactions with the Arken, Valarosta supposedly became a Manathar, though the concept of Manathar was never officially recognized by the Regalian State or scholars, who both consider it an evolution of Katharism, and thus do not historically view them any different from Kathar. As a result, information about Valarosta of this specific period are impossible to find, because one cannot distinguish between self-identified Manathar Valarosta, and Kathar Valarosta.
Regalian Service
Valarosta's exact motivations for suddenly breaking with her criminal past (in the context of Regalia), and joining the Regalian Guard to become part of the law enforcement structure are dubious or unclear at best. Her critics have speculated that she used her powers as an Intrigue Arkenborn to worm her way into gracious circles, while her supporters claim that she grew disillusioned with being an undercity dweller, and wanted to return to the good graces of the nobility, but could not in Rokhavaal, so she decided in to try in Regalia instead. Truth lies likely somewhere in the middle, or in a combination of both, as Valarosta can always be historically described as one of the most social-mobility motivated people within the Empire, and she most definitely has used her Arkenborn powers for control and sway over the mind to get her where she ended up.
While in service of the Regalian Guard, she eventually rose to the position of sub-commander, placing her in authority over many Ailor soldiers, which caused notable difficulties from time to time. Her tenure as a guard is generally regarded as competent albeit marred by the institutional corruption that was prone in the Regalian Guard before its reformation into the State Metropolitan. It is unclear if anyone can make a salient accusation against Valarosta for participating in this climate on her own volition, after all, when a system relies so heavily on nepotism and favoritism, it is hard to imagine anyone who wants to succeed not eventually partaking in the cultural norm to survive or thrive. Valarosta's supporters always claimed that she was disgusted by the so-called pathetic grift and acceptance of incompetence within the Guard, but participated because she had to, and that seems consistent with her immediate self-ejection from the Guard when it had landed her in the necessary social circles.
Military service
When or how Valarosta ended up in the Regalian military is not well recorded, though it is generally accepted that this was one of the waning steps of the Regalian Guard grift during its final years. Valarosta was already out of the Guard when the Guard was decommissioned and replaced by the Metropolitan, and she already held the position of generalship at this point. Her appointment to general led to some controversy among the Marshals in Regalia, notably because she was a Kathar, but in small part also because she was a woman, non-Unionist, Arkenborn, and foreign-born. In essence, Valarosta could not have been more disliked by the old rank and file for representing everything they considered beneath them, for the gentleman's club that the General's Staff was at the time.
Valarosta's military service is generally held in high regard. While there were many incidents of Valarosta encountering disobedience, mutiny, and infighting as a result of who she was to the predominantly male-Ailor soldier population, her success on the battlefield and proportionally lower casualty count led to a begrudging respect among the soldiery. The soldiers who initially resisted her appointment, eventually came to prioritize staying alive under her command, over that of the Regalian born noble generals who had a habit of carelessly throwing away the lives of their soldiers for proportionally meaningless victories. Valarosta knew early on, that the key to victory was a good relationship with her officers and soldiers, and employed this to the best her abilities to rise in the ranks of the General's Commission, despite the sexism and racism she faced.
It should be noted here that while Valarosta showed near unmatched grit and motivation to succeed in spite of the forces arraigned against her, her efforts were not hers alone, and she had the support of many of her original clan who had adopted a legal lifestyle, as well as the allies she had made along the way both in the military and the guard. One's rise to power in Regalia can be impressive, but is never made without the combined effort of friends and allies who seek the success as much as the one achieving it.
Turn to Draconism
Valarosta's exact turn to Draconism is unclear, because citizens of Regalian hardly ever publicly proclaim their faith changes, doing so would be considered prideful and egomania. What is known, is that her conversion to Draconism was largely motivated by a sense of betrayal by her old past, the silence or even grim mockery of the Evolist Gods to her personal journey, and the wide acceptance of the Draconist faith. In part, she was motivated by the strong rhetoric of the Blue Crown Dragon Matron Gwyneth Zylmoira, who accepted her into the Draconist fold after an extended friendship that pre-dated her conversion. Around this time, Valarosta also denounced her Katharism and Manatharism indirectly by the use of Magic to convert to appearing of Suvial heritage. This decision in hindsight seemed like deceit and an insensitive gesture given the Kathar-Suvial relations, but the actual reasons were more complex.
At the time, Valarosta had reached a glass ceiling. The Empire, even under Alexander, did not under any circumstances accept Kathar in the peers, but she had earned her ennoblement at this point. The much more sinister implication, was that agents within the state intentionally pressured her to "stop being Kathar", in the hopes that her gesture to become un-Kathar would also lead others to accept the veneer of rejection of identity for the sake of satisfying the bigots and racists in the Empire. Valarosta has never publicly spoken on her feelings about this, but given that she returned to being a Kathar when the social climate became more tolerable, one can conclude she was not in favor of it.
After converting to Draconism and becoming Suvial-appearing, Valarosta took an even greater role in the military, presiding as one of the High Marshals in several cabinets, and leading competently in several military engagements. Valarosta's military success was largely owed to her intimate knowledge of Kathar asymmetrical warfare. Even though the Dunden War was almost 35 years prior, Regalia still had not properly adopted to the new age of warfare where the enemies it faced would not send simple lines of soldiers into formations for battle. Valarosta's knowledge of asymetrical warfare showcased best during the Sendrassian Wars, where she was one of the few military leaders to not suffer humiliation in combat, before eventually being ousted by her classical enemy, the systemic pressure of the old guard seeing her as an interloper and a puppet to use when convenient, but to discard if she developed opinions of her own.
Despite this ouster, Valarosta retained her military commission when the rest of the Draconists fell from favor, largely by laying low and not signalling strongly in her Draconist intentions. While other Draconists insisted that they were a necessary decision-making element of the government because they had information other Regalians did not, Valarosta did exactly her job and nothing more or less. She eventually came into favor with the de Azcoissia Duchy, and her titles were transferred to Diravella, which is where eventually the Suvial would settle. In the present day, Valarosta continues to be a first-generation Countess in Diravella, but due to the land concessions she is the ruler of these lands under the Duke Raffaello Lamperni now.
Personality
Valarosta's personality has always been described as externally calm and warm, but internally electric, passionate, and at times mischievous. She is known to be generally good-natured to those who approach her in good faith, but to have a deep vindictiveness to those who cross her, and to use her Elven aging to her advantage and wait out any due punishment or vengeance for her mistreatment with time. She has always been keen on knowing her assets in charm and war, though has historically also been prone to outbursts of emotion, especially in moments of adversity and lack of success in her plans, owing to her parentage of the Intrigue Arken, who is also prone to outbursts upon being politically outplaced. Nowadays, Valarosta plays the perfect diplomat, by being courteous and respectful at face value, but it is no well kept secret that her boudoir evenings are some of the most gossip prone engagements where her real opinions are put on vivid and colorful display.
Controversy
Valarosta is not clean of controversy, on two major points. The first one is her Suvial-pretense for some time. While she never truly expressed a sentiment of feeling Suvial, many Suvial have over the years accused her of insensitive appropriation of their culture for the sake of political expediency. While she was essentially forced into this position by the powers that be, her choice for Suvial in particular may have been an expression of that colorful vengeful interior shining through, especially given her history as general of Rokhavaal where she inevitably would have had to face off against Suvial commanders and generals. Still, her tenure as a Suvial-appearing Countess in Diravella is generally held in good regard by the locals, so much so that it has become a regional way of figuring out a Suvial native to Regalia or Agnevaal. Those who are critical of her tend to be Agnevaal, while those who are positively inclined, tend to be from Diravella, with a more nuanced view of her.
The second point of criticism is perhaps somewhat more salient, in that after achieving political success and wealth, she pulled up the proverbial ladder behind her and made no effort of helping other Kathar reach her. Despite the ongoing political discourse in the Empire concerning the silent mistreatment of Kathar, Valarosta has essentially taken a complete disregard of the matter. Her allies claim this is purely to avoid stirring the pot, but many of her critics say that she could have made soft-power gestures to help out other Kathar, but won't even meet them to discuss how they might rise in the ranks, she won't even offer them advice, and refusing any public calls to make statements about her experiences to aid the cause. To a lesser point, criticism of her also falls in likely using her mind-control powers to leapfrog some obstacles on her path upwards. At this point it is impossible to say who she did and did not mind control. Her allies never refuse the idea that she never used it, though her critics likely exaggerate the amount of times she might have used it, or who might have used it. In general she seemed to be well liked by the Prince Cedromar, being seen as his unofficial general with preference, and is immune to this kind of Magic on part of his nature.
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