Maya of Muldav

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Maya of Muldav Baroness of Antioch Maya of Muldav, commissioned by Andrew IV Peter c. 1746. Queen-Consort of Hanseti-Ruska Tenure: 9th of Amber Cold, 1746 - 22nd of the First Seed, 1753 Coronation: 10th of the Grand Harvest, 1747 Predecessor: Milena of Adria Born: 13th of the Sun's Smile, 1730 Reza, Haense Spouse: Andrew IV of Haense (m. 1746-1753) House: Alimar Father: Kazimar I of Muldav Mother: Sofiya of Haense

Maya Valeriya Casimirovna (Common: May Valeria), known regally as Maya of Muldav or Maya of Antioch, was the twelfth Queen-Consort of Hanseti-Ruska, and earlier the incumbent Grand Lady of the Queen Milena’s royal court from 1744 to 1746. She was a princess of Hanseti-Ruska as the daughter of the Grand Prince of Muldav, Kazimar Lazar, and Princess Sofiya of Haense. Through her father, she was a paternal granddaughter of Josef of Bihar and Aleksandra of Antioch. Through her mother, she was a descendant of King Marius II and his first wife, Valera of Adria.

Biography

Early Life

Old Reza of the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska was the birthplace of Maya Valeriya, where she was raised for a majority of her childhood in her family’s manor. Early in her youth, she was introduced to bloodshed and harsh realities as her father had her attend an execution by beheading on her fifth nameday. Whilst her mother was not far off, with her strictness and beliefs. Her mother was of no convincing when it came to whether her daughter was cursed. Sofiya believed her daughter corrupted from her grandmother’s incestual blood, the allegations of her mother’s parentage taking a great toll on the woman. It was also, to note, that the premature birth of Maya caused panic upon her and allowed for beliefs of curses to seep through. Nonetheless, Maya was bestowed a high education because of her noble standing, and thus, was of a maturity higher than her age. She frequented courtly matters and festivity plannings with Milena of Adria, the then Queen Consort of Haense. Her endeavors would lead to an eventual interest in politics and the royal court.

Due to her apprenticeship under the Haeseni Queen, she was caught within the walls of the Prikaz when the royal city caught fire through mystical means. She managed to escape from the grasps of the growing fire as it overtook the palace, being one of the last to exit the palatial building. Both Maya and Milena waited out the fire in the crypts of the Basilica Cathedral, alongside her sister Karina whom she would later be reunited with. To quote one Haeseni citizen who witnessed the fire; “... There were screams from dusk until dawn, and we could not do anything about them. It was horrific. Terrifying.”

The traumatizing events that unfolded with the fire of Old Reza left the young noblewoman to indulge heavily within the studies and duties similarly to a Chamberlain. She was, in officiality, the ward of Queen Milena, at the age of eight. Her ventures led toward her tasks of event planning within the newly built city; holding a numerous amount of festivities in spite of only being in her premature years. In the midst of her chamberlain-like duties, she covertly trained in the art of swordsmanship with her paternal uncle, Richard I of Rubern. She made trips often to the Rubern city where he presided over, to see him and her beloved cousin Anabel Alimar. Alongside her cousin, she befriended the crown prince of Haense, Andrew Peter, through accidental meeting. Their friendship continued throughout the course of her adolescence, with her assisting him in his youthful stuttering as well as his letters to his betrothed, the Kaedrini princess, Arianne Helvets.

She dodged capture when she was near her adolescent years, although garnered scars from it. Upon a bandit raid on the royal city, both she and later the Queen Milena were knocked unconscious for a period of time and dragged away, escaping only when they returned to a coherent state. Maya, in the attempt to free herself, was stabbed at the waist before she ran into the safety of the Ekaterinburg Palace. The incident allowed for great stress to befall her father, which in turn strained the correlation between the two. It is said, although only in rumor, that her father nearly drowned her in Carrion Black, and that she was struck frequently as the eldest of three siblings.

At the beginning of the Rubern War, the princely house of Alimar was split two either side. Those of the Alimar name whose ties mainly lied with Rubern fell on the side of the Alliance of Independent States and Morsgrad. However, Maya’s cousin Aleksandra Alimar would later go on to openly declare her allegiance with the Imperial State Army, and thus the Holy Orenian Empire. Maya, with strong patriotism for her homeland, did not falter and stayed within the Haeseni walls. Consequences would later follow because of her loyalty to Haense; once leading to her nearly being beheaded in the Ekaterinburg courtyard by Morsgradi-aligned bandits. She was rescued in the moments before her head could be removed, by her cousin Godfric Alimar.

Adolescence

Although the war was straining and seemingly never-ending, Maya made political advances and friendships within the varying vassals and allies of the ISA. She became a courtier of not only the Haeseni royal court, but of the Imperial and Curonian courts as well. There, she befriended the princess imperial and heir-presumptive of the Holy Orenian Empire, Anne Helane, and later the princess Elizabeth Devereux, daughter of Pierce I, King of Curon. She frequented travels to both the cities of Avalain and Helena to meet with the two, as well as many other varying courtiers.

In 1742, the Queen Milena was assassinated by an unknown assailant. Thus, Maya’s tenure as a ward and apprentice of the Queen came to a sudden end. In the few months before Milena’s untimely death, Maya was urged to take the position of Queen-Consort from the Kaedrini princess in which her son, the crown prince, was betrothed to. There were letters later discovered by Maya that contained the same message, as well as the coronation gown used during Milena’s ceremony– as she was the first Queen to be coronated. The Alimar did not openly pursue the position of consort, however, as the betrothal between Prince Andrik and Princess Arianne was set in place as a form of foreign diplomacy between the kingdoms Haense and Kaedrin. It is said by servants to the Alimar family that she did inquire her father of his opinion of her potential queenship, but in response locked her within the confines of her room for approximately three days.

Changes began after the year of 1742 and Her Majesty’s death, leading the Prince Andrik to ask for Maya's assistance in raising the remaining royal children. With her acceptance, she became a primary guardian of Princess Alexandria and Prince Rupert. Other shifts in her family were that of her father’s abdication, as he stepped down from his title as Grand Prince of Muldav. There were disputes over the heirship and who would succeed Kazimar. Due to the succession laws being agnatic primogeniture, Maya was not given the title of Grand Princess of Muldav, but instead garnered her grandmother’s title as Baroness of Antioch. The line of succession led to Otto Sigmar, her great uncle, to take up the position in leading the family. Maya’s youngest brother, as well as any Alimars who were sided with the AIS, were declared as disinherited.

Her father passed two years after the death of her mentor, Queen Milena, in the year 1744. The war still continued to wage, with Maya sneaking off in her youth to fight in a multitude of the battles. On the same night she learned of her father’s passing through murder, she learned of her mother’s death that occurred four years prior to her being informed. She received another letter alongside the informative of her mother’s assassination, which was written by her cousin Anabel Alimar. The latter letter described Anabel’s torment and overwhelming stress due to the war, and that she, by the time of Maya receiving the letter, had drowned herself. However, the suicide was rumored to be a hoax later on.

Maya had fallen into a depression around the time that most of her family members and friends began to pass, as she was in her early adolescence and the grief anew. As a pastime to keep her mind from the consistent mourning, she focused on her duties to the royal twins, Alexandria and Rupert. Woefully, the nine year old princess was executed by stabbing, and Maya’s grief grew into anger. Although, she did not fail her responsibilities to Rupert and continued to be a maternal figure for him.

Through the previous holder, Adryana, Princess of Haense, Maya was granted the position of Grand Lady of the Royal Courts in 1744. Immediately, she sought for a revitalization of Haeseni customs and traditions in her events she oft held within the royal city. One of the events, in particular, was Barovifest– a customary revelry of her people.

The following year, the Princess Arianne of Kaedrin was deemed as missing and presumed dead. The betrothal officiated between the Kaedrini and the crown prince of Haense was no longer with the declaration. In place of the missing princess, Maya was betrothed to Andrik hastily following the announcement. Knowing her future, she concluded any plans to fulfill in her tenure as Grand Lady. In her stead, she briskly apprenticed her cousin, Aleksandra Alimar, into the role.

Marriage

In the year of 1746, Maya was the age of majority and thus was set to marry the crown prince as stated through their haste betrothal. Celebrations were held in the tavern and cheers were given of good health for the royal pair as the ceremonial day drew nearer. The wedding ceremony was held within the Basilica of Fifty Virgins on the outskirts of New Reza. Her entourage consisted of her half-sister, Katerina Barrow, and her handmaiden, Maela Thorfinn. She was also flanked by the Lady Maer and Chamberlain, Kamilla Stafyr, and assisted down the aisle by her great uncle, Prince Otto Alimar.

Her raiment gave a nod to her predecessors, as she donned the wedding gown of Queen Milena, and her coiffure was styled to be particularly similar to the Princess Mariya Barbanov. She wore a headdress made of chiffon, with a long gown of velvet white. A furred golden robe embellished with designs of roses in various colors was draped about her, additionally with a train of a foot in length.

Queen-Consort of Hanseti-Ruska

From the moment she ascended the position, Maya drafted plans of what she wished to accomplish within several years of her reign. Hopeful at this point in her life, she chalked together the possibilities of how to achieve her want to expand and revive the royal court, and integrate traditional and customary Haeseni culture back into the daily lives of the people.

During the first years of her reign, she began renovating the Ekaterinburg Palace with her Grand Lady and confidant, Aleksandra. From the inside, the entirety of the royal apartments were stripped and redone. The two furthered their plans into the main section of the palace, where they refurbished many of the rooms– although their focus heavily persided on the throne room, to which the pair of friends constructed a dais in place of a high table.

Maya, aside from palatial duties, tended to numerous revelries and other happenings of the city. She regularly frequented the tavern to befriend newcomers or converse with familiars. She sported a patriotic personality with a passion for her people, and thus was often among them in the capital city’s square. When inquired of her newfound duties, she quoted;

❝ To many, the crown may very well be a burden. Though I love my people, and have been willing to give my life for them since my early youth. It is a blessing, if anything. ❞

As she sought to renew the courts, she studied the initiatives and reforms implemented by her predecessor. Thus, she instated new ones in their place, such as the ward initiative originally enacted by a preceding Grand Lady, Mariya Barbanov. Her observation of the precursory court under Queen Milena led to her formation of the Queen’s Council. The Queen’s Council consisted of the palatial offices of the Chamberlain, Grand Lady, and the Secretary of the Queen. She soon found herself seeking more relevance for the Haeseni consorts, for her and her future successors. She garnered the right to trial courtiers herself with her council members, although only if it were nothing of extreme dire nature. Her reformations and revival included an overhaul of the etiquette and mannerisms of Haense, which she completely rewrote and released to the public. Her retinue of ladies was known to be rather expansive after her reformations, with a numerity of ladies-in-waiting.

On the 10th of the Deep Cold, 1749, the young Queen of nineteen was bestowed with her first child and the heir to the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska, Sigismund II. She set aside the formalities of a queen and instead accumulated her responsibilities as a mother. Despite having read that most consorts adorn a nanny or other varying royal servantry to care for the children, Maya refused to do so in the first few years of his life in spite of her weighing duties of queenship. She held an unwavering love for her firstborn child and son.

A portrait of the princesses Analiesa (left) and Alexandria (right), circa 1754.

Her obligations to the royal court were halted as Maya was nearly unable to recover in the year succeeding the birth of Sigismund. She, soon after her first child, bore three daughters as triplets. The princesses were named Analiesa, Alexandria, and Amelya. Alexandria’s second name, Karina, was a namesake for her missing sister. Rumors speculated the Queen had passed in the birth, but news quickly spread of her recovery.

With four children to care for, she settled her pride and pursued royal governesses to assist her. The burden of war, the Rubern War, was draining on her, and she struggled with an overwhelming onslaught of accountabilities. Her opinion of the war was still bitter and cold, with a subdued anger. It was no longer subdued at the first assassination attempt of her husband, where she took the King’s sword and beheaded the assailant herself. Her actions in beheading the terrorist gained her the respect of many. In the same evening as the execution, Maya orchestrated the death of another; who was a Morsgradi governmental official.

The occurrences prior and the ongoing war fed into Maya’s growing paranoia and fear of assassination. Her children grew by the day, and she did not want to leave them without a mother like she was. She insisted that she was to be a better parent than her mother or father. Soon would come another assassination attempt on Andrik, and further threats were made. The court’s activity had slipped from her grasp in her deteriorating state of mind, but after several months she returned to her previous happenings. She expanded the royal court and created the office of the Princess Royal and Royal Architect. She also formed the role of Royal Events Administer to assist the Chamberlain, Maer, and Grand Lady. During the time of her second renewing of the court during her reign, she had a second son– Prince Nikolas.

On the 18th of Snow’s Maiden, 1752, terror awoke all of those in the royal apartments in the midst of the night. Maya, Andrik, and their eldest son were ambushed by assailants seeking to capture one of the royals. She and her son were held with knives to their throats, although she pleaded for the life of her son should she go with the men willingly. Her son was freed and she dragged away. It was too late by the time guards were able to rush to the balcony where she was taken from.

For two months following, she was held in captivity and confined to a small room in a keep unknown to her. She received a minimal supply of water and bestowed little to no food. As the Haeseni forces approached, Maya was brought into the courtyard of the old keep, beaten, and had her onyx hair cut off. At the arrival of Andrik and the army, she was unable to fend for herself as she could not even manage to stand without collapsing to her knees as a result of her malnourishment. As soon as she was out of enemy hands, Maya was rushed to the city to where she could be tended to. Amidst the fighting, she was stabbed deep into her stomach. A crowd gathered exterior of the clinic, while the Pontiff, Pontian III, prayed at her and her husband’s side. She would manage to break through her weakened state after weeks of urged rest, but Andrik would not.

Her tenure as the consort concluded with her final event, the Dance of the Crows, in honor of her three daughters' introduction to the public eye and for her husband’s eight years as king. Attendance was astounding, and music was boisture until it’s untimely end. Maya was rushed out of the ballroom and informed of her husband’s unrecoverable state. She stayed by his side until the end, and the dance came to a short end with the announcement of the King’s death.

Queen-Mother of Hanseti-Ruska

At the age of only twenty-three, Maya became the Queen Mother of Hanseti-Ruska. She was overcome with grief as soon as her husband had passed away, who was a childhood friend and someone she had lived more of her life with than without. She kept away from the public eye and instead spent time with her children and her son, King Otto IV. Although not yet crowned, the kingdom passed onto him despite him only being five years old.

She frequented visits to the imperial city far more often than she did during her tenure as the Queen-Consort. However, her visits were lessened when she was urged to stay in the city of Reza after fear of assassination of the Queen Mother rose. Whilst she was in Reza, however, Maya saw through plenty of lessons for her children and sought for only the highest education in their youth. The triplet princesses and their eldest brother were tutored in over twelve different subjects including swordsmanship and music among the many.

Maya's once flourishing court fell in its activity as she focused on the ongoings of her children and their education far more. Her trips to the imperial city eventually led to her bursting onto the courtroom floor during the Carrington vs. Crown, in which she and the Grand Lady of the Imperial Court, Valentina Ruthern attempted to accuse the surprise witness as false. The witness claimed to have killed the Pontiff, Pontian III, himself - and had his cross to show it. Yet, the cross had been given to her husband in the weeks before his death. She obtained the true item, but Lady Valentina and her claims were not taken into consideration and the witness was executed on charges of murder. Following the trial, Maya was said to have grown immensely in paranoia and stayed within the city of Reza only. Rarely was she seen without a Golden Hussar - the name of the Haeseni royal guards and protectors of House Barbanov.

Through the years as she grew into the middle of her twenties, she became bitter and often was far more blunt than she was in years before. Her half-sister, Katerina, would commit suicide during the years of her being Queen-Mother. Lady Valentina Ruthern was also found murdered, someone who she had been well-acquainted for quite some time. The murder reassured Maya's paranoia, as she felt that she was going to be the next to be killed. However, none of which happened and there were no assassination attempts on her. She attempted friends to keep her mind off the family of hers that continued to dwindle, including Tiberius - the Lord Regent - who was executed by hanging after his capture to the AIS.

Soon following the previous streak of death, her cousin Princess Winnifred returned to Haense only to admit to the illness that had nearly overcome her and later passed away as well. By the time of her death, Maya was able to pull herself from the depression she had fallen into and properly mourn the loss of another relative. In the wake of her mourning, she was able to put past her struggles and began attending court unlike before, as well as appearing in the city more. She started to plan balls and assist with festivities, and work on court reforms to help breathe life back into it. Haense flourished under the regency of her great uncle, Otto Sigmar, with the help of the Lady Maer, Aleksandra. Maya was assisted by the new Grand Lady and her Bihar cousin, Tatiana of Alban, and thus she was able to push through the darker times of before and begin with her work once again.

Titles, Styles, and Honors

Titles and Styles

• 1730-Present: Her Highness, Princess Maya of Muldav
• 1744-Present: Her Highness, the Baroness of Antioch
• 1746-1753: Her Majesty, the Queen of Hanseti-Ruska
• 1753-Present: Her Majesty, Queen Maya of Hanseti-Ruska

Style as Queen Consort

Her Royal Majesty, Maya Valeriya Barbanov, Queen-Consort of Hanseti and Ruska, Baroness of Antioch

Style as Queen Mother

Her Royal Majesty, Maya Valeriya Barbanov, Queen-Mother of Hanseti and Ruska, Baroness of Antioch

Issue

Name	Birth	Death	Marriage
Otto Sigismund Barbanov, Grand Prince of Kusoraev	10th of The Deep Cold, 1749	Alive	Unwed	Firstborn son of Andrik and Maya, King of Hanseti-Ruska.
Princess Analiesa Reza, Princess Royal	14th of The Amber Cold, 1750	Alive	Unwed	Firstborn daughter of Andrik and Maya. Triplet to Alexandria and Amelya.
Princess Alexandria Karina of Haense	14th of The Amber Cold, 1750	Alive	Unwed	Secondborn daughter of Andrik and Maya. Triplet to Analiesa and Amelya.
Princess Amelya Valeriya of Haense	14th of The Amber Cold, 1750	Alive	Unwed	Thirdborn daughter of Andrik and Maya. Triplet to Analiesa and Alexandria.
Prince Nikolas Stefan, Duke of Alban	5th of Sun's Smile, 1751	Alive	Unwed	Secondborn son of Andrik and Maya.