| Dragon-Queen Tyarel Volshevrin II | |
|---|---|
| Title | Dragon-Queen of Maur |
| Reign | 541 - 550 |
| Predecessor | Ivet Volshevrin-Nisakovich |
| Successor | Nitra Volshevrin-Li |
| Spouse | None known |
| Issue | None known |
| House | Volshevrin |
| Mother | Kara Volshevrin |
| Father | Jowan Jarrow-Nisakovich |
| Born | 508, Maur |
| Died | 551, Maur |
| Cause of Death | Suicide |
| Religion | Tzetultep |
Tyarel was the second of the twin daughters of Queen Kara Volshevrin and the last de facto Dragon-Queen of Maur.
Succession[]
Only a few days into her reign, Tyarel's sister Ivet was found dead in her chambers. Although it transpired Ivet had left a legitimate daughter, Aelina, Tyarel assumed the throne herself without opposition. She accused the Commonwealth of Lorvyn of the murder and imprisoned her father Jowan as well as sending agents to abduct and return the merchant exile Jaran Baltiz, an outspoken critic of the new Tzaltec regime. However she maintained her own private suspicions that the Tzaltec themselves were responsible, similar to their attempted coup against Queen Loris in Faedas.
Instability and Deposition[]
Her reign was dominated by conflicts within the Tzaltec Empire and an internal religious struggle between Tzetultep and the Doctrine of Frost. Aggressive proselytisation by the Doctrine within the Kingdom was largely successful in the first part of her reign, the cult of Tzetultep itself only recently established and finding the missionaries difficult to repel.
Meanwhile the Teotlkan called on Tyarel to support her invasion of the Sharixian Republic to return it to the Tzaltec fold. Tyarel dutifully dispatched her army, but somewhat unwisely neglecting to retain large numbers of troops within the kingdom itself.
In 550, Tyarel's cousin Nitra, a Doctrine convert, gathered an army of followers known as the Frozen Horde and marched on the capital. With her army abroad in Valasharix Tyarel had no means of defence and surrendered, ultimately allowing Nitra to take the throne as "Frost-Queen" after a brief period of pretence that saw Nitra issue decrees in Tyarel's name. She was eventually formally deposed sent into exile in Niskovia.
Escape and Return[]
During Tyarel's journey to Kishinev, Tzeltulep-worshiping loyalists to the Dragon-Queen raidws the caravan that had been transporting her and freed her from her guards, replacing her and her Niskan father with doubles. The raid on the caravan was successful and Queen Tyarel II freed and taken to the summer palace of the royal family in the south of Maur.
The bulk of the army stationed in Maur soon pledged themselves to the liberated Dragon Queen upon learning of her escape. The two regiments raised by Nitra during her reign split, one pledging itself to Nitra while the other also joined with Tyarel. Outside Maur proper the army sided mostly with the Frost-Queen, the entire military of Pomequi joining her side.
Tyarel rallied her supporters and marched on the capital herself, seeking to reclaim her rightful throne. Nitra called on her religious allies outside the kingdom, receiving substantial aid from Sycia, Ashenia and the Warriors of Syvine. Nitra issued a death sentence for her cousin, should she be taken alive by Maurian troops.
Severely outnumbered, Tyarel's forces quickly found themselves facing certain defeat. The Dragon Queen, fearing for her fate, killed herself before she could be captured when the battle was clearly lost, drinking a poisonous and combustible concoction that burned the former sovereign from the inside out.
Legacy[]
Tyarel's army was destroyed or captured on the field, ending any internal military threat from Tzetultep followers to the new regime. Relations remained poor between the Commonwealth and the Frost-Kingdom following the killing of the Nisakovich heirs in Maur.
Some foreign governments, including the Imperium of Sobrida, recognised Ivet's daughter Aelina as Tyarel's rightful successor, but took no overt action to sponsor her cause.
| Royal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ivet Volshevrin-Nisakovich |
Dragon-Queen of Maur 541 - 550 |
Succeeded by Nitra Volshevrin-Li as Frost-Queen of Maur |
| Titles in pretence | ||
| Deposed | — TITULAR — Dragon-Queen of Maur 550 - 551 |
Succeeded by Aelina Volshevrin-Li |