[PoP] - Afsoon {original}
Category: Blogging

| HOME | <--- Back to CONTENTS || GROUP

Queen Afsoon {Eva Green} PROFILE: n/a STATUS: OPEN Basic Information Full Name: Afsoon Mihran (of the House of Mihran) Nickname(s): Queen of the North Title/Rank: Queen / Satrap (governor) Occupation: Satrap of the Aturpatakan Satrapy (province) Affiliation (team/side): The Persian Empire / herself Appearance Gender: female Age: 27 Height: 5' 6'' (1.68 m) Eye Color: blue Hair Color: black Hair Style: long and wavy Body Type: slender, toned Other Features: n/a (up to the writer) Background Nationality: Madai Place of Birth: Hagmatana (capital-city of the Mada Satrapy) Current Residence: Ganzak (capital-city of the Aturpatakan Satrapy) Marital Status: widow Love Interest: Saen (only if the writer wants it) Known Relatives: parents, siblings, other relatives, husband (deceased), step-children Other Connections: n/a (up to the writer) Personality Strengths/Qualities: ambitious, determined, strong-willed, witty, shrewd, unpredictable; her intelligence and charms usually get her out of tight situations Weaknesses/Flaws: sometimes loses her temper when her plans fail, her judgment is occasionally clouded by anger or distress; stubborn, unforgiving, sometimes cruel, merciless with enemies (unless the contrary serves her purpose), lacking in physical strength (the kind expected of a military commander) Fears/Phobias: n/a (up to the writer) Goals/Motivations: expand her reign over larger territories, incorporate into the Persian Empire the Kingdom of Armina and the other neighboring kingdoms that had belonged to the Persian Empire centuries before, and most importantly push back the Romans and recover the territories they had conquered (also former territories of the Persian Empire) Hobbies/Interests: mystical practices, astronomy, government, politics, history, hunting Abilities General Skills: diplomatic tactics (through subtle manipulation), strategic warfare tactics, proficient horse-riding and hunting, basic weapons training, skilled with a bow, competent in the art of poisoning Uncommon Abilities: potential for engaging in mystical practices Weapons/Equipment: bow and arrows, poisons Personal History: Afsoon was born a princess, a daughter of the king of the Mada Satrapy and one of his queens. Under Persian rule the satraps governing each satrapy also retained their noble titles, such as king or queen, while the Absolute Monarch who governed the entire empire held the title King of Kings. Control over the vast territory of the Persian Empire was shared by seven clans (houses) organized as feudal aristocracies that governed one or more satrapies. All of the seven houses were subordinate to the house of the King of Kings with its seat of power at Babylon. The House that Afsoon was born into was that of Mihran, a dynasty of the Madai people, who had inhabited the region of Mada for hundreds of years. Under the current Persian rule no subjects of the empire were forced to renounce their nationality, mother tongue, religion or customs. Obedience to the King of Kings and the required tribute sufficed. In her teenage years Afsoon was married by her father to a much older man than she, the king of Aturpatakan, a semi-independent kingdom, with loyalties to both the Persian-Empire to the south-east and the Kingdom of Armina to the north-west. Once a territory of the First Persian Empire, Aturpatakan detached itself during times of turmoil but still remained subordinate to the Persians. With the increasing threat from the Roman Empire whose sphere of influence was spreading over Armina more and more with each passing year, Afsoon's father arranged her early marriage for pure political reasons. The marital contract was also one by which Aturpatakan, originally part of the land of Mada, became once again a satrapy of the Persian Empire, under the full control of the King of Kings. Some years into their marriage Afsoon's husband grew ill and became bedridden. This was a most pleasant surprise for Afsoon, not only because she had always disliked the man but also because she had developed into a strong-minded and ambitions woman with a fierce appetite for political power and governance. Soon after her husband became incapacitated Afsoon hurried to assume his position and all of his duties, claiming that the kingdom had to secure its position in the face of pending threats and growing unrest in the region and no delays could be afforded. After her husband's death Queen Afsoon officially assumed the position of supreme ruler, a function she was already fulfilling in her husband's absence. She sent into exile her late husband's children, wives, mistresses and any of his former loyal subjects who would not swear their allegiance to the new ruler, replacing them with subjects loyal to her. She argued that she was the first entitled to inherit the throne, above any of her late husband's children because she was a descendant of the Madai dynasty who had ruled over Aturpatakan when it was still a part of Mada. Also, because the kingdom became a satrapy of the Persian Empire after Afsoon's marriage to the late king, control over the region was now held by the House of Mihran. To make her claims more convincing Afsoon also accused some of her late husband's relatives and subjects of having betrayed their people by conspiring with the Romans. Initially, all the drastic measures that the new supreme ruler of Aturpatakan was taking were not well received by the Persian central government and her own father also frowned upon it at first. However, she was able to convince him of the higher goals she was pursuing and it was not difficult to gain his trust and support, since she had after all inherited his temperament and mentality. In turn, the king and satrap of Mada supported his daughter's actions before King Sharaman, the King of Kings, and convinced him of the necessity of such actions in the troubled times they were facing. The King of Kings could not afford to completely avoid harsh, even brutal tactics since the threat posed by the expanding Roman Empire was a very real one and the Babirus Satrapy, the Persian center of power, ruled by the dynasty of the King of Kings, lay at the very western border of the empire, with only the Ufrātu river and the vast and arid Syrian desert as natural barriers between the Persian and Roman empires. To the north however the Persian Empire had as direct neighbors the kingdoms of Nodshirakan and Osraine, the latter also a direct neighbor of Roman Syria. Despite these regions having once formed part of the Fist Persian Empire and now being client kingdoms of the reconstructed Persian Empire, the possibility of Romans expanding their influence over these regions in order to get closer to the Persians could not be ignored. There was another neighboring satrapy that supported the politics of Queen Afsoon, the Varkāna Satrapy of the far north, bordering Aturpatakan to the west. The region was governed by the House of Karen and Afsoon had had close contact with one of its members. When a massive rebellion erupted at its western border with the Kingdom of Nodshirakan, with support from the Kingdom of Armina, influenced in its turn by Roman generals, Babylon sent troops to aid the army of Aturpatakan in suppressing the rebellion and restoring order. The troops were led by Commander Saen of the House of Karen. With Afsoon's husband being ill and bedridden and the lack of affection she had always suffered from in her arranged marriage, she was easily drawn towards the charming commander. During the months that Saen spent in Aturpatakan fulfilling his military duties he also engaged in an affair with the enchanting queen. Once his assignment had been fulfilled Afsoon asked if he would consider ruling the satrapy by her side when her husband would be gone but Saen avoided giving a clear response due to other obligations. He had promised his father that after his death he would take over his place as Commander of the King's Personal Guard. This was also the wish of the King of Kings who saw that he could trust Saen as much as he trusted his father. While in Aturpatakan, Saen received word of his father's death and because of this he could not delay his stay once order had been restored. In his heart Saen had no desire to be a ruler. He had left his homeland of Verkana with disgust for family feuds over who would inherit the throne, and grief for his wife's death who had been an innocent victim accidentally thrown in the midst of a foul plot. According to some beliefs, a person's name, or rather its meaning, is tied to their destiny. Afsoon's name can be interpreted as charm, bewitchment or spell. Some considered these to be fitting descriptions of her personality, way of being or looks but hushed rumors accused the queen of being involved with dark mystical practices. Together with the people she had had executed for treason Afsoon also sent to the executioner people she accused of spreading false and despicable rumors about her, namely that she had caused her husband's illness and afterwards his death.