History
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Ilene was born on a brink of the last winter day to a young couple. This couple was king Damian Hawise and his queen Marietta Hawise who together ruled justly over their kingdom called Edasit. Ilene was named after two great queens, her grandmother and mother. As she was born a woman, the royal couple tried to have another baby, a boy that would be a future of the kingdom. They succeeded and when their second child was born, he quickly became the star of the family and the whole kingdom with it. Ilene was already twelve when he was born and quite mature for her age.
People warned her that she would no longer be in the spotlight but she wasn't angry and was far away from hating her own little brother. In fact, she loved him greatly and gave him as much attention as the rest of the family. She knew she would never sit on the throne of Edasit so she focused on her studies, intent on becoming a knowledgeable adviser to her brother when he ascended the throne. She was content with how her life was going but she often missed her parents. She didn't blame them, but she missed their attention and love.
She soon started to feel redundant and spent most of her teenage years studying with her teachers or maids. But her brother Matias differed from her parents. He admired his pretty older sister and wanted to spend as much time as he could playing with her, though he was almost always forced to attend social gatherings and events. He was, after all, the future, albeit too young to understand what was going on around him.
Ilene cherished the time with her brother and secretly hoped that once he was older, she would get her parents back, no matter how selfish it sounded. Her life was nice and one could say she was happy until one day changed everything. The kingdom her family ruled was a great one and very respected. However, many people feared it as it began to add lands to its possession. Smaller towns were eager to become a part of this kingdom and other kings were afraid of its growing power.
Two kings from foreign lands united against Edasit and planned an assassination of its royal family. Ilene was already an adult, twenty years old to be precise, and her brother only eight. It was an evening like any other, Ilene finished her daily lessons and was resting in her chamber, just reading about the fairy tales that had always fascinated her. When she grew tired, she put the book aside and went to sleep. Ilene was awakened suddenly during the middle of the night. She was confused as to why since she couldn't recall a nightmare or anything, but then she heard it. Screaming inside the castle in the background and hurrying steps outside her bedchamber followed by the creaking of her door.
She sat up abruptly upon seeing a hooded man with a dagger aimed at her heart running towards her. She had no time to dodge or run. She was petrified and thought she was gonna die, but something else happened. The man was thrown to the wall at the far end of the room. Ilene didn't know what happened, though when thinking back to it, she realized it was the first appearance of her raw magic. It saved her. The man was knocked out cold, but she feared he would wake up any minute so she quickly exited her room. She would scream for guards but she immediately noticed them on the ground, unmoving and bloody. Her stomach twisted painfully but she kept her dinner inside and turned the other direction - to her parents' chamber.
She found it empty, only more dead guards scattered in the halls of the royal castle. The bed sheets were torn and candles with vases shattered on the ground - clear signs of a fight. She hurried to her brother's chamber next, only to find it in the same state. She could only think of one other place to look - the throne room. She was practically sprinting at this point. Thoughts of her dead family making her faster with every step. By the time she got inside, it was too late. The sight she was met with was terrifying, bloody and exactly what she was so afraid of.
There they were. All three of them. Dead, gutted, even her little brother. She screamed with all her might, not caring if the attackers were still inside or not. Her uncontrolled raw power manifested again, breaking all the windows and stone pillars. She was lucky it didn't hurt her. Ilene was found kneeling by the bodies of her dead family by backup guards who arrived at last. With them came the maid who basically brought her up when her parents were too focused on their son. No one saw the manifestation of her magic that day.
The kingdom was facing a rather tough situation with the King, Queen and the future King dead. Ilene was the next to ascend the throne but she had spent her whole life studying to gain knowledge about foreign countries and lands, not to rule people and make battle strategies. She was viewed by many as unfit to rule, but she was the last remaining Hawise living so there was no choice. Even she had her doubts for she never wanted the responsibility of the queen.
For two months, there was no one on the throne. The dukes of the lands from Edasit stood united and held many meetings considering the next steps the kingdom should take. They also tried to pinpoint the assassins and which of the foreign kingdoms was responsible for the countless murders of the royal family, guards and several servants. They managed to capture the killer who sneaked into Ilene's chamber, but before he could question him, he hung himself in his cell. The men were hooded with plain swords and daggers, no family or kingdom crest. Most of them escaped as well. They had no idea who caused the murders, but all the dukes agreed that the killers would be back to finish the job so they kept Ilene in the castle surrounded by guards.
Ilene was left alone most of the time, nothing but her thoughts occupying her mind. She was grieving and depressed but she had to be strong for her family. They would want her to keep their great kingdom thriving not die with them. So with that in her mind, she put herself together and started to prepare herself mentally for what was awaiting her once it was safe for her to exit her chambers. Her teachers vouched for her in front of the dukes, claiming she was an intelligent young woman and with the dukes's advice, she would make a good queen with few years of practice. The dukes believed them and put their trust in the teachers' praise of Ilene. So two months after the massacre, after various meetings and coronation plans, Ilene became Her majesty Ilene Marietta Hawise of Edasit.
Not even three weeks into her rule, the south border of Edasit was attacked by troops from the neighbouring kingdom Terawan. They managed to burn seven villages to the ground before the word got to the new queen Ilene. Edasit's own army marched to meet with the troops with Ilene as a queen in front of her soldiers.
Before the fight began, the king of Terawan was kind enough to call for a meeting with the new queen. He wanted to see what kind of person she was. Her advisers believed the meeting was a trap but in hopes of ending the war before it even began, Ilene attended the meeting, thinking of peace treaties. The meeting was supposed to be in a tent made directly between the two armies. Ilene with a few trusted guards entered unharmed. The king was an older fellow, a widower, and upon seeing the young beautiful queen, he flirted with her. Ilene wasn't interested in making that type of deal and politely rejected his courting. This enraged the king and while angry, he wasn't careful with his words.
He admitted his master plan and how he and another king were responsible for the death of her family and hers soon, too. He insulted her, her family and her whole kingdom. The moment he mentioned Matias, the little brother she loved with all her heart, Ilene lost it. For the third time in her life, her magic exploded. Killing the king in front of her. King's guards attacked her but she was rushed out by her guards. She tried to scurry away from the men since she didn't want to hurt her people.
When she gained a little distance, she noticed both armies marching at them from both sides, racing to get to them first. They must have seen a commotion in the tent and decided it was the start of an attack. Ilene was highly distressed and terrified. She wanted nothing more than to protect her people and stop the army somehow. Her magic complied with her subconscious wishes and in a wave of great power, Ilene crushed the majority of the enemy troops. Her own army didn't falter in their loyalty upon seeing her magic and quickly finished the job.
The war never started since the dead King's son agreed with Ilene and didn't want more bloodshed. Since that day, it was known that Queen Ilene possessed a great weapon, but that it was actually her and her magical abilities remained unknown and all the soldiers in her army were sworn to silence and secrecy. Other Kings weren't sure what to think of the young powerful queen with secrets, but not a single one dared to attack her like the King of Terawan. When the times were calmer, a skilled mage from a distant land was found and brought to her. He was honoured to be able to train the Queen how to control her magic. Ilene made a lot of progress in the following four years and is now, at the age of twenty-four, in control of her power and a Queen that no one dares to defy.