Introducing Queen Aine (Patreon)

From the desk of the resident griffon,

Hello everyone! It's time for a Sunday post! Today we are showing off a character that has been referenced before, but was never seen! Introducing the leader of the Queendom of Everna: Queen Aine

Now there is a whooole lot about this character, and so im going to hand it off to our writer, Silk Wright, for a first glance into who Queen Aine is.

Long ago, when Cancordis was suffering under the Great Absence, before the Great Tribe of Kobolds formed and when the Antella were nomads without power, magic, only a ruined home, a singular being aimed to rein in the chaos of a world turned upside down.

This was Aine, later known as Queen Aine, the Elder God of Order and the Evening Star, Mother of Equinity.

A tall, severe god, Aine created two things: Equines, meant to be the stewards of Order, and Everna, the queendom made to keep the Equines safe as they settled into the world. It was from this great seat that the Evening Star would begin cultivating reason in a world gone mad. Each Equine was given a part of her divinity, a single spark, which manifested in many ways. The Pegasi were granted her dexterity and the gift of flight. The Ponies were granted her resilience and the gift of strength. Finally, the Unicorns were granted her intelligence and the gift of magic.

Aine formed the Throne of the Evening Star, pulled a castle from the World Peaks, and set the Equines to labor. There was no difficulty at first, as in the earliest days of Equinity, individuality and will were sparse, the Equines acting more as extensions of Aine's self. But, as decades passed, the ego began to emerge within Equinity. Each began to develop their own colors, beliefs, and lives. Desires and needs were discovered, so Everna turned from a single seat of action into a true establishment. An economy blossomed, at first via the trade system, before creating the Oat-backed system.

With the local wildlife contained, Everna stretched from its forested beginnings towards the plains and hills of regions beyond them. This territorial growth did not come without consequence. The Queen fought several wars to keep Everna safe. From the subjugation of the Fearits to the war against the Griffons of the Third Peak and even skirmishing with the Therewhals and their god for a few years. It was then that Queen Aine grew most aware of the blossoming wills and personalities in her creations and learned of one thing they desired. Peace. And so, the Queen ordered peace in one stroke across all of Everna.

With this blossoming will, belief became a factor. Some wanted to go even further, exalting The Evening Star and her actions. It was here that Aine faced her first 'tricky' challenge. Gathering resources and providing food and housing were simple compared to controlling the desire for exaltation. The Bleached, the Scorched Way, and the Word of Golden Light held many names, but all had one purpose. To exalt Aine and deliver Order through whatever means possible. At first, Aine tolerated and even supported the Bleached. But in time, she grew to learn the downsides of pure zeal and so turned her favor against the Cult, removing them with unerring efficiency. In the modern day, Aine allows only limited worship of herself, either through personal ritual or guided strictly by local ordinance. One of the most popular and prevalent methods of worship is to keep one's hearth and community clean and maintained, resulting in some of the best maintained lands and goods to exist on Cancordis. This has even translated to their goods, where the focus lies in longevity, durability, and quality over quantity. All in its place, in its time.

Another of Aine's great difficulties came from a desire for autonomy. The first instance of this was when the Equines of Everna approached her with what they called 'issues,' things such as neighborly disputes or even theft or minor crimes emerging in her queendom, the desire for culinary variety beyond simple need. It was during this explosion of ego within Equinity that Aine learned most. She struggled to maintain control over a newer, broader, more diverse territory than ever before while learning about mortal dalliances such as luxury or cherry pies and something she had never expected. The formation of two new gods associated with her divinity. Her daughters were born from the wills of Equinity, Circlet, and Cobalt. From this came something she had never considered before: Delegation. Queen Aine granted her most trusted the title of Duke or Duchess, bequeathing a territory to each to rule in her stead.

This new delegation system was fun at first, allowing Aine to focus on the capital (aptly named Ainestown) and her new responsibilities as a parent while only occasionally peeking in on other territories. This, however, quickly grated on the god, the disorder of decentralization wearing on her divinity. Soon, new policies were developed, eventually culminating in the formation of the Guard, a domestic military to keep order within the queendom. Instead of simply checking in, Queen Aine soon stopped directly managing the day-to-day of any individual territory. Instead, she began to control the Dukes and Duchesses, as well as the Guard proper. Through her will and the Guard in all its forms, the vast majority of authority was once more centralized but in a far more efficient manner.

Queen Aine suffered another setback at this apex of her development and rule. Her daughters, who she had taught over the years and even granted them titles and territories, led those who desired freedom in a revolt fueled by the increase in centralized authority, resulting in a fiery split of the Equine race. The vast majority of the Ponies remained with the Queen in Everna. In contrast, most of the Pegasi traveled with Duchess Cobalt to the unclaimed plains beyond the forest, the unicorns following Duchess Circlet to the coast to live along the sea. This shocking split of not only her daughters but her creations drove Aine, for a time, mad. Every Duke and Duchess were bound to their castles while the central authority of the Throne grew in severity. The Queen's demeanor darkened, and Everna closed itself off from the world.

Many years passed, the two daughters of Aine formed their own nations, Libego and The Harmonic Provinces, and slowly, over time, Aine's will softened. Eventually, at the dawn of the modern day, Everna opened itself up again, the Dukes and Duchesses of the Throne regained some semblance of autonomy, and Everna began to prosper again.

By most standards, Queen Aine, and by association her nation, is strict, authoritarian, and unforgiving. Beyond that, however, one may find a Queen who has seen eons go by, may see the wisdom in a simple walk in the garden or passes the time in critical thought.

Queen Aine's days are filled with exercise, study, light conversation, and many board games. Sometimes traveling throughout her queendom, Aine is a quiet individual, fond of observing, critiquing, and complimenting those around her. And when a problem emerges... absolute authority is brought to bear, whether it's simply a misplaced fence post or a theft.

The MC's interaction with Aine is likely to be very limited, if any interaction at all. However, her presence in the world will absolutely be felt. The Queendom of Everna is one of the potential starting areas for each player, where her style of Order will be seen first hand as the MC departs for their new adventure.

Let us know what your first impressions of Queen Aine are! There will be much more to learn about her in the future, but for now, this is all we will share.

Thank you all very much for the continued support, I hope you have a great week, and until next time!

~ DongDiagram

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