Rayleen Wayward

Rayleen Wayward was the first Queen of the Snowlands and ruled peacefully for fifty years. She is known as Rayleen the Righteous.

Appearance and Personality
Rayleen was a tall and stunningly beautiful woman. She was fierce, quick-tempered, and unforgiving. She had long silver-tinted blonde hair and bright golden eyes. She had soft facial features and small pointed ears. She was a skilled fighter and mastered both the sword and bow. She was well-respected and commanded her people better than any ruler before.

History
Rayleen was born in Maryere in 75 SM. She was the firstborn child of King Fane Wayward and Queen Lyra Wayward. She had seven siblings: Obediah, Deidre, Seren, Soran, Cleon, Autumn, and Irene.

Rayleen was a rebellious child who refused to live up to the feminine standards set in the Snowlands. In 87 SM, Lord Timothy Myster proposed that Rayleen marry his eldest son, Elliot. King Fane agreed to the betrothal without speaking to Rayleen first. Upset with her father’s decision, Rayleen ran away from Maryere and traveled north to the Northwoods.

From 88 SM to 92 SM, Rayleen lived happily with the Mountain tribes who accepted her rebelliousness. During her time with the Mountain tribes, she was able to gain their respect by defeating the tribe’s chief in hand-to-hand combat. Not wanting to become the next chief, she instead accepted the position of a priestess.

In 92 SM, she learned that her brother, Soran, had died. She rushed back to Maryere to find her sisters Seren and Autumn on their deathbed. She stayed with her sisters until they died. Being the eldest son, Obediah was locked away in the Bloody Tower in 93 SM to prevent the possibility of getting sick. In 94 SM, her grandmother, Taylia, died from the plague. Her brother, Cleon, died in 95 SM. Her other sister, Irene, also died in 95 SM. In 97, Obediah died of the plague, although he had been locked away. In 98 SM, her mother and her sister, Deidre, died within a few hours of each other, leaving only Rayleen and her father left. In 99 SM, King Fane Wayward committed suicide. This chain of deaths brought the darkest era in Rayleen’s life.

The Great Queen Reigns
As the last member of House Wayward, in 100 SM, Rayleen was declared Queen of the Snowlands, becoming the first woman to obtain queen status, not through marriage. Around the time she was proclaimed queen, rumors arose that Rayleen had murdered her entire family and not the plague that had ravaged the Snowlands. These rumors almost made Rayleen commit suicide, but her advisor, Gill, helped her.

Death’s Mistress
Rayleen was called Death’s Mistress by many highborn during the first five years of her reign.

In 100 SM, Lord Florian River created an army and marched to Maryere to depose Rayleen. As the army approached Maryere, Rayleen’s mental health spiraled. Rayleen’s best friend and handmaiden, Haueis, who was drying from the plague, helped Rayleen create a plan to defeat Lord Florian.

On the third day of the Worm Moon, Haueis died. On the fourth day of the Worm Moon, Lord Florian arrived to sack Maryere. Grief and anger filled Rayleen, and she unleashed her plan she had created with Haueis. As the army attempted to break down the city’s walls, Rayleen had her men pour molten sap from the lumberyard trees over the walls. The parts of Lord Florian’s army that made it through the walls were met with fire arrows. By the next day, Lord Florian’s army surrendered.

The famous painting Rayleen and Foxtail depicted the moment Rayleen rode her horse, Foxtail, into the battle that had lasted deep into the night.

After the Siege of Maryere, Rayleen arrested Lord Florian River and forced him to watch the rest of his army’s executions. She then had the rest of House Rivers arrested. For the rest of the year, Rayleen executed each House River member, including the children, with Lord Florian being the only person in the audience. She executed Lord Florian on the first day of the Wolf Moon in 101 SM.

During the Harvest Moon in 101 SM, her advisor, Gill, succumbed to the plague. Knowing that Elliot Myster, the person she was supposed to marry, was deeply in love with her, Rayleen decided to make him her new advisor. Elliot left Bear’s Creek, leaving his wife Jinx and his younger brother Marth in charge.

Elliot proved to be a good advisor, creating many alliances between the houses and Queen Rayleen. From 102-105 SM, Rayleen went on several excursions to eradicate the Valiant Warriors, who refused to stop attacking settlements and towns and didn’t recognize her as queen.

Rayleen the Righteous
In 106 SM, Alaric was born. Alaric’s father is unknown, but it was rumored that her father was Elliot Myster, who publicly adored Alaric. As a mother, Rayleen relaxed on expeditions and mostly stayed in the newly built Sun Keep. Although she loved all her children, it was apparent that she loved Alaric the most and groomed the girl to one day become queen.

In 108 SM, Rayleen decided to visit the Mountain tribe she lived with when she was younger. The trip was initially supposed to be a one moon stay; however, Rayleen became pregnant with her second child, Leander. In 109 SM, Leander was born. His father was Drynad, the son of the chief of the tribe who Rayleen had beaten when she was younger. When Leander was born, Drynad was named chief of the tribe and decided to stay instead of traveling to Maryere to be with Rayleen.

In 111 SM, Rayleen invited a strange unknown man to Maryere. It was rumored that the strange man was an Arc. In 112 SM, Rayleen gave birth to her third child, Rihannon. Rihannon’s father is unknown, but many believed that her father was the strange man who visited Maryere a year prior.

In 112 SM, Rayleen created a new decree allowing the firstborn child to control the throne instead of the firstborn son.

Rayleen’s final child, Caera, was born in 113 SM. Caera’s father is unknown. After giving birth to Caera, Rayleen became very sick and lost her ability to have children.

Elliot Myster died in 116 SM. Rayleen replaced Elliot with her ten-year-old daughter, Alaric as advisor. This confused many highborn, but Rayleen assured it was okay.

In 120 SM, Rayleen traveled to Shadow’s Peak and decided there should be a city on the island. Rayleen made the ruling family on Shadow’s Peak an official house, creating House Tudor.

In 150 SM, after 50 years of reigning, Queen Rayleen gave the crown to her eldest child Alaric.

The Retired Queen
Retired, Rayleen became a quiet and charitable person who happily gave advice to her children. In 154 SM, Rayleen advised Alaric to build a holdfast where she killed Silas Myster a year prior. Doing this earned Alaric the name Alaric of the Trident, a name Rayleen prided.

In 155 SM, Leander murdered Alaric. This broke Rayleen, and it saddened her that Rihannon didn’t want the throne. Two moons after Alaric’s death, Caera took the throne. Rayleen advised her that it should be Caera who executes Leander, not an executioner. In 156 SM, Caera beheaded Leander. It is believed that Leander only told his mother why he murdered Queen Alaric.

Rayleen stayed in the shadows during Caera’s reign, allowing Caera to create a name on her own. This proved to be helpful in the way Caera governed. Caera only went to her mother for advice when there was a problem she could not solve. In a letter written to her lover, Selah, she quoted: “I adored Alaric and crushed her under my strength. I ignored Caera and she shone brighter than the sun. I constantly question why I am here, but when Caera is on her knees, asking for my input, I feel greater than Axone.”

In 177 SM, Caera died after falling from a horse. At 102 years old, Rayleen knew that she would soon be dead too, and worried for the Snowlands future. Rayleen had a falling out with Rihannon when she still refused to take the throne. She believed that if Rihannon’s son Rickard became king, he would destroy the Snowlands. Rihannon still refused. In 178 SM, when Rickard became king, Rayleen left Maryere and moved to Alaric’s Holdfast along with Selah. She refused to accept the fact that Rickard became king of her kingdom and constantly plotted his demise.

In 180 SM, Rayleen invited Nodin and Orist Wayward, the bastard sons of Alaric, to Alaric’s Household. Nodin and Orist idolized Rayleen and did everything his elderly grandmother asked of them. In 181 SM, Rayleen sent Orist to kill Rickard who was supposedly traveling to Gatekeeper’s Watch. Being careless, Orist set the wheelhouse on fire, never checking who was inside. Inside was Rihannon and her grandchildren, not Rickard. Three moons later, Orist mysteriously died.

In 182, Nodin Wayward, the bastard son of Alaric, murdered King Rickard. The other houses voted to make Nodin Wayward the new king even though he was a bastard. Rayleen approved the assassination and Nodin’s ascent to power.

Queen Rayleen Wayward of the Snowlands died in 183 SM at 112 years old.