Nikulas

This feels like why she came to Nature. Like she was the leader of some band that got destroyed by some decaying force? Maybe the Shade semi-directly tbh. or as directly as it ever gets.

She and her little clan conquered a section of land that had been pretty corrupted by Shade and unnatural decay. Once it had been restored, Nikulas kept power by the will of the people. But she let it go to her head, to the point of forgetting the constant vigilance of keeping the land safe, and people stopped liking her. The resistance against her was amplified by the Shade's influence, but it started with just unhappy citizens. She fought back, but eventually was forced to flee.

She keeps trying to sneak Anzu out of power, but it's hard to do because there's not really a power structure like she's used to. Anzu is a good leader, but not a good ruler, so eventually she might force her way in, but there's hardly anywhere to force her way to, and also there's Glory to worry about.

My, oh my
it was picture perfect
by design
every color flourished
but the grass has gone grey
and the people they say
"why did I vote for scar"
my work can't decay
there's something at play
but I'm afraid the people know who they are.

Sitting on a hallow throne
the people are against me
they think I've lost control
sitting on a hallow throne
they've told me there's a resistance
but I won't fight this war alone!