Cassiopeia

On the border between the Sunbeam Ruins and the Tangled Wood a kingdom rose...

Aesthetic:




Cassiopeia was an only child and the sole heir to the kingdom of Dysiliou. Her parents the king and queen showered her with affection, as well as the education she would need for her future role as Queen of Dysiliou. They were also very protective, perhaps overprotective, and tried to keep her inside the castle grounds while she was growing up, or at least inside a well-guarded carriage. Besides the natural parental worries, they also had to consider the threat of assassination or kidnapping. Cassiopeia excelled at her studies and tried to please her parents, but she couldn't resist sneaking out to see more of the kingdom. She loved playing in the forest just outside the castle walls or sneaking off to explore the marketplace of the nearby town. As an adolescent her parents allowed her a bit more freedom, and Cassiopeia used it to see every inch of her kingdom, from the mountains to the port. Her parents made sure she was at least accompanied by a few guards, and that was how Cassiopeia met Philip. Cassiopeia recognized in the young guard the same love of Dysiliou that she felt. They weren't quite friends, Philip took his job too seriously for that, but they had a connection, and Cassiopeia grew to care about Philip. She didn't realize how much until he was promoted to captain of the guard and she stopped seeing him as much. Then she knew that she had fallen in love. Cassiopeia's nature was to fearlessly and enthusiastically dive into anything she felt strongly about, but she was all too aware of the power imbalance between them. How could she tell him how she felt without putting him in a terrible position?
Soon she had other worries. Her parents' ship sank on a diplomatic voyage, leaving a grieving Cassiopeia queen of her kingdom. She had been training for this moment all her life, but without her parents she felt lost. Through her grief she summoned up her training to deal with the diplomatic and economic issues that rose. She relied on Philip's strategic advice and tried not to wish for his emotional support as well. Just as Cassiopeia was starting to regain a sense of stability, Philip approached her asking to be moved to another post away from the castle. Cassiopeia was distressed trying to imagine getting by without him, but shocked when she learned his reason: he had been in love with her for the last few years and couldn't bear hiding it from her any longer. Cassiopeia told him she reciprocated his feelings, and they started courting. Soon they were married.
Philip and Cassiopeia have been happily married for years, and have several children. Cassiopeia admires Philip's careful, strategic thinking, and she relies on him to help her plan for her kingdom's future and respond to threats.


































I belong to bellzan (#137005)!




Main familiar:

Velvet Floracat

Familiar

Though its fur is plush, it is the soft down of the leaves that earned this floracat's name. (Colored by Skelizard.)

1800

Y'know, I love starmap, but I've been agonizing over how to use it- this is such a lovely example! Those browns look so rich and warm. Bee and opal work so well, really bringing out the glitz of it. I like the barbarian's headdress with the rose thorn set, that's an unusual combo that works really well! She makes that lion's mane look elegant AND fierce. Beautiful!