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Atalya

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The Divine Blade, The Mad Queen

The matriarchal figure of what is arguably the largest and most powerful of all K'Tri clans, Atalya and her history is easily the most well-known of all the Ascendants. She was created to be a warrior, and while that is what she excelled at, much can also be said of her skill as a diplomat and as the first true monarch of the K'Tri clans.

During the War of Subjugation with the Andulans, Atalya emerged as the first true leader of the K'Tri. She had a legendary intellect, and with it devised some of the most successful battle strategies ever seen, and indeed, it was the planning that she enjoyed most. However, Atalya was equally skilled in battle and wielded both bow and blade with skill seen rarely since. It was due in no small part to Atalya that the K'Tri emerged victorious in the war, and it came as no surprise when she was chosen first for Ascension. The gods gifted her with empathic abilities, which only added to Atalya's already impressive arsenal.

After the war, she and the other Ascendants took to the monumental task of creating what would become the roots of K'Tri culture. During this time of working so closely together, the Ascendants cemented their bonds. Atalya developed a very close relationship with Kai, and the tales of their love form the base of many of the most well-known K'Tri epics songs and poetry.

Atalya took a very personal approach to the creation of the clan that would take her namesake. She ruled the clan firmly, almost militaristically, during her reign. All were treated equally, and fairly, and Atalya's rule was an almost idyllic time for her people. However, for those that broke the law, punishment was swift and harsh in many ways, a practice that holds over into the clan even today.

Kai was her second-in-command during these times, until he and Atalya disagreed over her increasingly harsh punishments of criminals. Kai left with many others who felt the same as he, resulting in an irreparable rift between him and Atalya.

Afterwards the Queen was no longer the same. Driven mad by grief and rage, Atalya became paranoid of another betrayal. She used her considerable power in unconscionable ways, the largest of which involved the mind-warping of many of her subjects into believing they were superior to the other Clans. Atalya led the militaristic and fanatical might of her people, and descended upon the "weaker" clans such as the Terratus and the newly formed Fidellian clan, in an attempt to conquer or kill them all. Only the combined might of the remaining Ascendants was enough to stop the Mad Queen from realizing her goal. Unwilling to kill her, the Ascendants combined their abilities, captured Atalya, and delivered her to the gods for judgement.

Only the gods know what Atalya's punishment was, but there is no record of her past that point.