Salome

Salome

Salome Ylva Octavia
Kaiser of Shireroth
Began	12.VIII.1671 (67 years ago)
Predecessor	Kaiser Ayreon IV
Successor	(Heir presumptive: Kian Aiomide Shahnaz)
Steward	The Count Palatine of Kezan (1671–1680) Lord Holly-Wythe (1680–present)
Regent or Ruling Steward	Lady Sentratera (1671–1674) Lady Shirekeep (1674–1680) Lord Holly-Wythe (1682–1683)
Imperial Bloodline	Ayreon-Kalirion
Physical description
Gender	Female
Species	Human
Race	Mixed
Hair color and style	Golden Blonde
Eye color	Green
Skin color	III
Biographical information
Father	Kaiser Ayreon IV
Mother	Isidora IV of Octavius-Teleni
Date of birth	7.VII.1665 (Age: 73 years)
Place of birth	Raynor's Keep

Salome (Salome Ylva Octavia Ayreon-Kalirion ibn al-Majeed al-Osman bin Sathrati of Waffel-Paine, born b. 17.VII.1665 in Raynor's Keep) is the current kaiseress of Shireroth since the Kalirion Fracture of 1671, Queen of Ransenar, Emira of Sathrati, and Sardar of Talenore. She was the Queen and Exarch of Chryse from 1687 to 1690, when Chryse joined Elwynn, and Steward of the Throne (Staatshouder) of Batavia (1685–1691).

Daughter of Kaiser Ayreon IV and his concubine Lady Isidora IV of Octavius-Teleni, she became kaiseress at the age of 6 after her father was murdered. Due to her accession to the Kaisership at such a young age, regents governed in her place until she came of age at 15 in mid-1680. Her regent in Shireroth was Lady Mira III Octavius-Aryani, Countess of Shirekeep, a relative through the House of Octavius. In Talenore, the Speaker of the National Assembly Leila Merhaban served concurrently as regent.

Name

Upon her birth, she was given the surname Ayreon-Kalirion ibn al-Majeed al-Osman bin Sathrati of Waffel-Paine which speaks of her genealogy. With the rank of her mother (despite belonging to an imperial bloodline herself) not being sufficient enough, as the mother was not an imperial consort but a concubine, the Imperial Court deemed that the House of Octavius needed not be considered a dynastic surname of the young kaiseress-to-be. Kaiser Ayreon IV, however, decided to honour that house by giving Salome the third given name Octavia.

The given name Salome is intended to honour her father's predecessor and grandmother, Kaiseress Noor, who took on the epithet as-Salaam ("of the peace" in Baatharzi). Salome is also an Elw given name, taken from the shared Ashkenatzi-Elw mythology, and is related to as-Salaam. By tradition, many members of the House of Ayreon-Kalirion have at least one Elw name taken from the Ashkenatzi holy book. Ylva (Norse for wolfess) honours her father's mother, Liv Djupvik, who was brave as a wolf during her life.

While in the company of Laqs, Salome insists on being addressed as Mamyr Aslanpxu, with the familiaritive Zauśypxu (RL. "War-sister") among those who have earned ł'yġe under her service. In 1699 AN, this was augmented to that of Mamyr Aslanpxu Oktoeion, to reflect her membership in the newly created Clan Oktoeion.

Family and genealogy

See also Descent from Kaiser Raynor I

Family

Her father is the late Kaiser Ayreon IV. He had three more children, the twins Prince Kir and Princess Kian (b. 1667) and the posthumously born Prince Rubin (b. 1671). Her mother is Lady Isidora IV of Octavius-Teleni, her father's concubine. Her father had also a husband, Emperor Nathan II of Natopia, who is the Dowager Imperial Consort of Shireroth, and one courtesan, Jaap van Pijpervale. Nathan II acts as a stepfather for her, while Jaap was denied all contact with her since her ascension to the throne in 1671.

Paternal side

Her father is the late Kaiser Ayreon IV (1645–1671, reigned 1650–1671), none of whose parents are still alive. Ayreon IV was the son of Prince Adam of Shireroth (1630–1650) and his wife Liv Djupvik (1615–1663) (later known as Liv Dravot). His father, Adam, had a twin brother, Aldin (b. 1630), who is still alive and who has two children together with his wife Lady Li Naomiai (b. 1627), Prince David (b. 1657) and Princess Abigail (b. 1662). His mother Liv Djupvik descends paternally from Hurmu and maternally from Normark.

Salome's paternal grandfather Adam is the eldest son of Kaiseress Noor of Shireroth (1604–1650; reigned 1644–1650). Noor was married twice, first with the former Natopian emperor, Prince Nathaniel (1686–1632), with whom she had four quadruplets, Princes Adam, Aldin, Rostam and Arn. Adam murdered his brothers Rostam and Arn 1639 as well as his mother in 1650. Noor's second marriage was with King Noah of Elwynn, with whom she had two children, Prince Vilhjalm of Amokolia (1635–1685) and Princess Esther of Anglia (b. 1638). The marriage with Noah was posthumoustly annulled, and Vilhjalm and Esther lost their noble and imperial titles in Shireroth. Vilhjalm, now known as Villy, underwent castration and contracted loyal subjecthood in Shireroth in what many people outside Shireroth term the Froyalanish genocide. He was later transferred to Francia in a peace agreement, and resettled in Stormark. He is believed to have perished in 1685. Esther of Anglia currently lives in Arbor, having adopted the name Fatima, where she is Emira consort.

On Kaiseress Noor's paternal side, Kaiseress Salome is a direct descendant of Prince Daniel Simrani (1574–1631, who ruled Elwynn 1607–1613) and Rashid Arsalani-Kalirion (Kaiser Ayreon I) (1450–1544, who ruled as Shahanshah of Babkha 1529-1541 and Kaiser of Shireroth 1542–1544). It is through Rashid's mother Tuuler Kalirion (1420–1512), daughter of Prince Paul of Brookshire, that Salome traces her primary lineage back to Kaiser Raynor I.

Among her more immediate ancestors are five Kaisers (Ayreon, Aurangzeb, Ayreon II, Noor, Ayreon IV), four Babkhan shahanshahs (Ardashir, Tahmaseb, Rashid, Osman), and two Natopian emperors (Nathan, Nathaniel), as well as rulers from Elwynn (6), Brookshire (2), and Goldshire (2).

She belongs to the imperial houses of Ayreon-Kalirion, Osman and Waffel-Paine. In terms of imperial genealogy, she can trace her descent to Kaiser Raynor I through her membership in the bloodlines of Ayreon-Kalirion, Kalir, Steffki and Octavius. In the most senior genealogical line from Raynor, she belongs to the sixtieth generation of descent from Kaiser Raynor I. These three have academically been referred to as the Line of Ayreon-Kalirion-Steffki-Octavius.

Early Life

The first six years of Salome's life were spent between Raynor's Keep and the Montran Estate, under the watchful eye of her mother, Isidora IV of Octavius-Teleni, who had been elevated to Chamberlain of the Imperial Household in 1667 AN. During the fateful days that began the Kalirion Fracture, the Imperial Family were in the County Palatine of Kezan. On 12.VII.1671 AN, Salome inherited the Golden Mango Throne upon the announced death of her father. The decision is made by the Chamberlain and Imperial Mother for the child Kaiseress to temporarily remain in Kezan for her safety. Salome spends the next three and a half years there.

On 8.II.1675 AN, the Kaiseress finally returned to Benacia, the political landscape having radically changed, in order to participate in her coronation as Queen of Ransenar, one of the post-Shirerithian states that had developed in what had been Goldshire. A month later, she returned with the Imperial Court to Raynor's Keep, where she lived for the last five years of her regency.

Rule

In preparation for her coronation, Salome spent three days of strict fasting and prayer at the Holodomatic nome at Raynor's Keep, ritually purified and initiated into the school as a syndomate. On 17.VII.1680, Salome reached the age of majority in accordance with the Charter, and was invested in the full authority of the Golden Mango Throne. As part of her coronation, she appointed three new members to the Landsraad and named Chrysostom Wythe the first Steward of her reign proper.

In 1685, following the Batavian Revolution, the joint assembly of Batavia, in an attempt to improve its diplomatic position, offered the crown of Batavia to Kaiseress Salome. On 17.VI.1686, the Imperial Advisory Council gave Salome its approval of accepting the Batavian offer of the crown, and the Landsraad resolved two days later the same. The matter was immediately communicated to the Batavian ambassador in Shireroth in an audience with the Kaiseress. Her coronation as Steward of the Throne (Staatsholder) of Batavia occurred in ....

Government

Wythe Stewardship

Title	Tenure	Name	Titled	Comment
Steward	1680–	Chrysostom Wythe	Viscount Holly-Wythe
Minister of State	1672–1684	Caleb Sarrick	Lord Sarrick
	1684–	Evgeniya Sotnikova	Viscountess of Hope
Commissioner for the Fiscus	1678–	Ms Naïs Szodarvs	Zir Hælsans
Commissioner for Defence	1672–1684	Heinz Łatþig-Sur	Zir Hælsans
	1684–	Liese Aethonia	Lady Aethonius
Commissioner for Rites and Citizenship	1672–1684	Iddo Neriui	Lady Neriui
	1684–	Heinz Łatþig-Sur	Mr Heinz Łatþig-Sur
Commissioner for Public Works	1680–1684	Evgeniya Sotnikova	Viscountess of Hope
	1684–	Derok Aezjor	Mr Derok Aezjor
Minister of the Exterior	1672–1684	Chrysostom Wythe	Viscount Holly-Wythe	position held concurrently with Office of Steward
	1684–	Aloys Serratus	Lord Serratus
Commissioner for International Trade	1670–1684	Aloys Serratus	Lord Serratus
	1684–	Kai bi-Folłur-Tuifals	Lord Folłur
Commissioner for the Raspur Pact	1675–	Aes Bonna	Laeszus u Zir Hælsans
Commissioner for International Cooperation	1670–1684	Daniel Mortis du Grifos	Lord Mortis du Grifos
	1684–	Awaz Rahimdokht	Mr Awaz Rahimdokht
Chamberlain of the Household	1667–	Isidora of Octavius-Teleni	The Imperial Mother	Mother of the Kaiseress
Master of Pages	1667-	Sintsza Aneï	Seniormost Adept
Master of Endowments	1680-	Mari Eiskar	Senior Adept
Dean of the Dirâsat-an-Nûr	1680-	Alejian Kaukainen	Frainan Uihmanzis (retired)
Commissioner for the Crypteia	1658-	Qadesh Marozzi	Salbnan (retired)

Decrees

Decrees issued by Salome as Kaiseress of Shireroth

Decrees issued by Salome as Duchess of Brookshire:

Short Title	Issue Date	Content
Brookshirene Forces	10.III.1683	Reorganization of military forces
Summoning of the Kehl	15.V.1683	Instructions to reconvene the Kehl

Relationship with the Laqs

Salome has built much of Shireroth's ascent from the depths of the Fracture atop support from the Ŝḥenĉeł'yh. Her relationship with the Laqs began as merely financial, with representatives from the House of Octavius providing the necessary training, weaponry, and equipment to build the Ŝḥenĉeł'yh into a viable mercenary force. Its leadership was reluctant to receive direct operational orders from a young and inexperienced war leader, but warmed to her during the Imperial Expedition to Crestfall. She earned multiple counts of ł'yġe disarming and overpowering an assassin sent by the Brookshire Anti-Alienation League, receiving supplicants and avenging their comrades, and leading Laqs on the battlefield.

Salome made a concerted effort to the learn the Laqi language at great difficulty, due to its unusual structure, paid into the Ŝḥenĉeł'yh as a war leader on its council in order to assemble her own formation, the Tyġoryġwh (RL. "The Eagle-Owls"), and adopted the modified Laq dress of Ŝḥenĉeł'yh battledress while outside of the Imperial Court. By the end of the Imperial Expedition to the Guttuli, Salome had assembled a personal guard of Laqs, the Tyġoryġu Pesak'oh to travel with her in all settings, to supplement the Palatini Corps life guards. To satisfy the decorum of the Imperial Court, she issued them dress uniforms for use in Shirekeep, and ordered the construction of barracks in Raynor's Keep for them to maintain as a permanent headquarters in the capital.

At the first convening of the enlarged Landsraad, in mid-1688 AN, the contingent of newly-elevated Laqi leaders invited Salome to attend a Pšyhem ia Has, to be held in the Field of H'Graa outside Maltenstein. At that council, the attending princes made a covenant with her, naming her Laqezeć' Ćadzyx (RL. "Sovereign among All Laq"). Unaffiliated Laq clans issued statements complaining of the arrogant presumption, and insisted that there has been no sovereign over All-Laq since the dawn years and that there will never be one until the sunset years.

Until her elevation to Sovereign of All Laq, Salome's social role within Laqi circles had been that of an independent warlord, a position typical of a charismatic and militarily-effective Laq who lacked a traditional clan powerbase. With her Laqi powerbase primarily rooted in her ability to lead and secure wealth for her followers, Salome had effectively become a nouveau-riche power broker with a sizable retinue of peers.

Following her elevation, however, Salome found that she was now without peers and newly-isolated. Princes found themselves hesitant to treat with her as one to a warrior leader, but, because Salome lacked the trappings of a clan, clans could not treat with her as one clan to another. Her attendance during the following few years at Laq feasts diminished, except for those conducted by Lyn Ityqu, who refused to change his demeanor towards her.

In 1693 AN, shortly after disinheriting her younger brother, Salome issued an invitation to all the clans that had established their courts in Brookshire and the Guttuli for a great feast (RL. Ieśheieśuŝho), to be held in the fields of Montran. The Great Feast of 1693 would be the largest gathering of Laqi magnates since Salome's elevation to Sovereign of All Laq and the first gathering in which Salome served as a master of ceremonies. At the event, Salome was seen imbibing an excess of alcohol, complaining about the fickleness of her brother, made a pass at more than a few high-prestige warriors, and had to be helped outside of the festal boundary in order to vomit.

In the last days of 1698 AN, Salome retreated to the woods near Montran and camped with Lyn Ityqu and his family. During this retreat, they discussed Salome's increasingly fraught relationship with the Laqi clans, who were becoming restless during the long peace, and who lacked a proper mechanism to relate with her in their terms.

In early 1699 AN, Salome summoned Bethany V of Octavius-Leilani, who had been one of the few members of the House of Octavius to fully-support her work, especially with the Laqs, to Montran, as well as four additional hand-picked clan princes from Brookshire. Once all had arrived, Bethany was created Prince of Oktoeion, with the Manor of Montran and its attached lands and properties granted to the new clan. Bethany's skills in the Laqi arts were confirmed (with some effort), and then the five other attending princes offered up Laqs to be retainers to the new clan prince; these candidates demonstrated their skills in the usual manner and the top ten were invited to swear oaths to the Prince of Oktoeion. Salome also provided chosen members of the Eagle-Owls (RL. Tyġoryġwh) to swear oaths to Bethany. This was in order to substitute for her lack of retainers in the traditional sense; under normal circumstances, Salome, as the creator of the new clan, would also have been expected to offer up Laqs to the new prince. Since she had had no clan affiliation up until this point, however, those who had served under her had instead invested their whole glory with their home clans (like Lyn Ityqu, whose successes under Salome made him powerful enough to be made a clan prince in his own right).

At the close of this impromptu feast, Salome issued a directive, whose veracity would be confirmed by the six princes present, that the clans were to communicate with their Sovereign Among All Laqs through the new Clan Oktoeion, within which Salome would now be counted and name. Before leaving Montran, Salome and Lyn discretely suggested some potential suitors among the more cultured Laqi nobility for Bethany to consider for a Hak'o (RL. lit. "stallion", in this context a Laq expected only to provide strong stock and lacks rights or obligations to the child; typically used in the exceedingly rare cases where a woman is invested as a clan prince). Bethany ultimately chose Zmicier Ianqu Ẑylyŝĉ, a Green Laq who had served as a subaltern in the Imperial Expedition to Crestfall before being elected to the Kehl. On 20.IX.1702, Bethany and Zmicier named their newborn son Baġden. His purpose fulfilled, Zmicier thereafter made the case to his prince that he should remain attached to Prince Bethany, in order that Clan Ẑylyŝĉ may attain a position of preference with Clan Oktoeion.

Relationship with the Imperial Family

Salome's early years were defined by constraint from the Imperial Mother, whose protectiveness during the early years of the Kalirion Fracture ventured into paranoia. As soon as Salome reached majority, she instituted a restructuring of the imperial government so as to decrease her mother's direct authority, and took on every opportunity to be away from Shirekeep "on business" to avoid her. This desire to keep distance also influenced Salome's management if the Imperial Family; apprehensive about becoming like her mother, Salome sought to arrange marriages for her younger siblings, so that they would be the conduit through whom the Line of Ayreon-Kalirion would continue.

These plots came to a head in 1693 AN, when Salome arranged a meeting with the Co-Monarchs of Drak-Modan, John Hilding Waffel-Paine and Loki Drakspunk, with the goal of cementing relations between Shireroth and Drak-Modan through a marriage between her brother Kir and Lisa Starshade, a member of Drak-Modan's royal house. Instead, Salome found out that Kir had already contracted a marriage without her approval, in direct contradiction to house law, and that he refused to break that contract for a legitimate marriage that would produce heirs to the Golden Mango Throne.

In response, Salome complied with the law and disinherited her brother, and then took steps to help arrange a marriage for her next brother, Prince Rubin of Shireroth. This was successful, and the Order of Succession began to fill out again for the first time since the three siblings were born.

In 1698 AN, Rubin arranged a meeting between Salome and Kir and Kir's family, in the hope that this would help mend the breach. While Salome's heart was softened, her actions to mend the rift inadvertently left Kir's ego bruised, resulting his own actions taken to deepen the rift between the two of them further. Salome instructed her staff to cancel any appointments or events for the remainder of the year, then travelled to Montran to get wasted.

Titles and Arms

1665–present: Emira of Sathrati, Lady Baroness of Varmland, Lady in Jorvik, Progeny of the Once-Living God, Lady of the Holy Lakes, Scion of the King of Kings

1671–present: Kaiseress of Shireroth, Rani of Tas Neemia, Duchess of Brookshire, Duchess of Chestnut, Princess of Hurmu, Princess among the Lakes, Duchess of New Aquitane, Marchioness of Zy-Rodun, Khanum of Caer Lum'ruush, Countess of Upper Macon, Countess of Andiopolis, Countess of Dracoheim, Countess of Istvan, Baroness of Port Mills, Lady of Zauberförde/Senkyōwan, Progeny of the Once-Living God, Scion of the King of Kings, Thane of the Shirelands, Keeper of the Apollo Legacy, Grand Master of the Orders of the Dragon, Griffin, Phoenix, and Chimera, Sovereign of the Golden Mango Throne, Lord Mayor of the City of Vladagrad

1673–present: Queen of Ransenar

1674-present: Sardar of Talenore

1686–1691: Staatsholder of Batavia (Staatshouder van Batavië)

1688–present: Sovereign of All Laq

Coat of arms

Period	Picture	Right	Comment
1665–		As Emira of Sathrati
1671–		As Marchioness of Zy-Rodun
1671–		As Duchess of Brookshire
1671–		As Duchess of Cheshunt, Countess of Upper Macon, Countess of Andiopolis, Countess of Dracoheim, Countess of Istvan, Baroness of Port Mills, Lady of Zauberförde/Senkyōwan
1671–		As Kaiseress of Shireroth	See coat of arms of Shireroth
1671–	TBA	As Duchess of New Aquitane	On a black shield, Saint Christopher, wearing a red loincloth, crossing a river, carrying the Messiah, in red garments, on his shoulder, the Saint carrying a golden staff in one hand and the Messiah holding a golden orb
1671–		As Princess of Hurmu, Princess among the Lakes	Use of the coat of arms of Hurmu, undefaced, by special licence by the Order of the Holy Lakes
1671–		As Rani of Tas Neemia

Former titles

1665–1671: Lady of the Holy Lakes

1665–1671: Imperial Princess of Shireroth

1671–1678: Queen of Normark

1687–1690: Queen and Exarch of Chryse

Former coats of arms

Period	Picture	Right	Comment
1671–1678		As Queen of Normark
1686–1691		As Staatsholder of Batavia	Using her dynastic coat of arms as a member of the Imperial Bloodline of Ayreon-Kalirion, undefaced
1687–1690		As Queen and Exarch of Chryse

Preceded by: Kaiser Ayreon IV	Kaiseress of Shireroth 1671–present	Succeeded by Incumbent Heir presumptive: Prince Rubin
Preceded by: Kaiser Ayreon IV	Marchioness of Zy-Rodun 1665–present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by: Zahir al Din	Emira of Sathrati 1665–present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by: Kaiser Ayreon IV	Duchess of Brookshire 1671–present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by: Position created	Queen of Ransenar 1673–present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by: Joseph Bartholomeus des Vinandy-Windsor	Staatsholder of Batavia 1686–1691	Succeeded by Hendrik Leopold des Vinandy as King
Preceded by: Vidar	Queen of Normark 1671–1678	Succeeded by Monarchy abolished
Preceded by: Kaiser Ayreon IV	Princess of Hurmu Princess among the Lakes Lines of Waffel-Paine and Elijah Ayreon 1671-present	Succeeded by Incumbent heir-presumptive: Ichirō

External links

• Salome on ShireWiki.