Auralia de Hartcold
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Auralia Marie de Hartcold (1619–1659) was the Baroness Regnant of Adylith. She was married to Duke Thomas I of Riviä, from their marriage in 1642 until her death in 1659.
Contents
Younger Years
Auralia came from a family of peasants who could barely afford to keep their ranch, and always seemed to accumulate an ever-growing debt. She was finally sold to an Orenian nobleman by her parents at the age of seven to pay off the enormous debt that they owed. Feeling resentment towards her family, despair, and anger, there was little for her to do but accept her fate.
Her first few months under the ownership of this nobleman were very rough, and she had to face beatings and lashings for poor judgment and performance in her duties.
She was then sold to a new owner, who was kind and gentle to her and treated her not as property, but as a daughter. She stayed with this particular owner for eight years, before the owner's wife sold her again.
She found herself under the ownership of Makashima Draskovits, who freed her later on after the Duchy of Curon retook Aleksandria from the Kingdom of Santegia.
Adulthood
Auralia Marie presented herself as an ambitious common woman, building a fast friendship with the Queen-Consort of Marna, Henriette Louise. From this relationship Auralia was able to actively participate in the affairs of the upper class, obtaining gossip and knowledge from the queen-consort's royal court. Auralia met her husband, Thomas de Hartcold in the city of Aleksandria, and he showed immediate attention. Auralia, seemingly in pursuit of nobility, and the spouseless man appearing to be her opportunity to arise like her friend had, accepted Thomas's quick proposal. Unfortunately, the marriage would swell into a union of hate and discord, with several interventions made from powerful parties like the Church of the Canon and the municipal government of the Principality of Curon. It was this marriage that placed Auralia as a controversial consort within the peerage of Curon and the human bastions. Her name was slowly spread through the city sprawls, and most common were the heinous connotations. Auralia appeared to regard these slanders with little attention; her focuses were on other matters, other people, making friends, doing good works for her community, and running the de Hartcold Bakery in Marna.
It was after the birth of Auralia and Thomas' first daughter, Theresa Elisabeth de Hartcold, that the realms of men were shocked to see a huge blunder. Auralia Marie, hoping to help Sylvestre Halcourt, who was supposedly still heartbroken by their department in Axios, would willingly go to the bed, committing adultery with little shame. The close friends of Auralia were shocked to see the scarlet letter brandished across her chest; and more were horrified when she stayed within Curon after the incident as a 'handmaiden' under Ester, Duchess of Curon. She would later find out, through citizens of Curon, that she was misled, and in fact, deceived by her own friend. Guilty of her heinous sin and wanting to cleanse her soul, she openly admitted to her mistake to her husband,whom forgave her for her sins against him, and confessed before High Pontiff Clement III in Marna, before wearing the scarlet letter A for two Saint's weeks, even a few days after to prove her loyalty to GOD and the Church of the Canon. It appeared however, this would not be the last controversy Auralia would face or the last punishment.
Her Sororal Tenure
In the Year of The Lord, 1648, Auralia Marie de Hartcold swore a sororal tenure with the Order of Blessed Catherine. The Holy Mother of the Church, Mother Judith had summoned Auralia to the Annsden Abbey on a black night and informed her of what would happen. Auralia, eager to cleanse her soul of her misdeeds, willingly allowed Mother Judith to have her stripped of her vanities, her head shaven, and her titles dismissed temporarily. The disgraced consort was to reside amongst the nuns, dressed in the habit of a sister and devoting her years as a daughter of GOD. Her tenure lasted for four years, continually being assessed and disciplined for her adulterous and vain pursuits in life. Mother Judith and her sisters wrote several letters in the tomes of the sisterhood, discussing the apparent bashfulness and blissful arrogance of the woman. On the 25th of the First Seed, 1652, all the sisters of the Church were summoned to the Abbey of Esteresa in Curon for the unanimous vote to extend or end the sororal tenure of Auralia. The vote allowed her to leave, as she would sworn that she would forever uphold the virtues of Saint Julia and the piety of a GODly woman. However, despite her extensive education and discipline, Auralia gave in beneath the weight of a new, false crown, provided to her by her husband.
Reign as Queen-Consort
The realms spat when they had learned that a new kingdom had sprouted from the earth far in the north. The Kingdom of Adylith had been conceived by Thomas de Hartcold, his army smaller than the rallies of any present nation. Particularly, Mother Judith was disgusted with what the lordling had done, and that Auralia had followed him so obediently into the greed. The kingdom was a farce in the perspective of man; Thomas had disappeared weeks after he had made his ascension, and Auralia was left to combat the hate, alone. Confused and anxious, Auralia made a desperate address to the peoples of Curon, Renatus, Marna and Haense. This announcement rang all over Atlas, igniting an immense gossip forum to assemble. The de Hartcold name had never been more soiled as it did then, as a burning controversy thrown Auralia's way, whilst she begged and pleaded towards her husband in vain attempts to have him see reason and have him demote the false kingdom to something more reasonable. The Global Assembly of Atlas soon then convened, and summoned Auralia to discuss the matter of Adylith. After hours of intense discussion and debate, Auralia, wanting to end the farce and direct her new nation on the right path, submitted herself as a vassal of the Principality of Curon - Adylith shrinking small into a barony. She was no doubt pleased with this result, though her husband was disgruntled, even angered, believing the Global Assembly and Curon to be attempting to act against him and destroy the very thing he sought to build.
Reign as Baroness
Auralia's role as Baroness was plagued with problems. Orcish raiders, pirates, lack of progress, poor planning, and stiff opposition from within, all equally attributed to her struggles. Even in when Princess Linette Devereux transferred power to her in 1658, there was more who opposed her leadership than that of her husband, although he still supported her in many ways more than one. She herself would face constant threat of kidnapping and capture from both the Steelheart Pirate Clan, Norland, and various small bandit groups. Norkai Grandaxe and Karrak of the Steelheart Pirates managed to kidnap her and her adopted daughter Belle, before being interdicted and stopped by Daelish peoples when he got too close to their settlement. Belle and Theresa, Auralia's eldest daughter, was later both kidnapped and enslaved by an orc, before escaping to Curon. Things got so bad that the camp at old Adylith would be evacuated completely, and designated as Off Limits by the Baroness. She then spent many months in Curon, under the watchful care of the Southern Brigade, with her family and friends, before finally, in 1659, she acquired new land to resettle. However, her life would very quickly begin to take a drastic turn for the worse, as a Kha assassin made a string of attempts on her life in that same year.
Assassination
The Baroness's luck would finally run out as the assassin caught a lucky break on his third attempt, and shot her with an arrow to the neck as she was comforting her grieving daughter, who lost her younger sister earlier that day. Her death came as a shock to those around her, and many friends mourned her. A private funeral was held, before she was finally buried in Cadlew Priory, where she remains at rest to this day.
Issue
| Name | Birth | Death | Marriage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theresa Elizabeth de Hartcold | 1644 | Alive | Unmarried | Firstborn child of Thomas and Auralia de Hartcold |
| James Frederick de Hartcold | 1648 | Alive | Skylar Enthelor | Firstborn son of Thomas and Auralia. Heir to the Barony of Pyrmont. Father to Robert Hartcold. |
| Opal Louise de Hartcold | 10th of the Snows Maiden, 1659 | Alive | Unmarried | Third child of Thomas and Auralia de Hartcold, twin sister to Henry |
| Henry Fitzroy de Hartcold | 10th of the Snows Maiden, 1659 | Alive | Helena de Savin y Kharadeen | Fourth child of Thomas and Auralia de Hartcold, twin brother to Opal
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