THE
CENTORAURIAN
ANACTARA/THARIAN
QUEEN
CUROGANA
APPEARANCE -
PERSONALITY -
BIOGRAPHY
- MYTH/LORE -
IMPORTANCE
- TIME
TABLE
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THE
CENTORAURIAN
ANACTARA/THARIAN
QUEEN
CUROGANA |
Curogana (527 b.S.-457 b.S.) is remembered as the last Centoraurian Anactara and the first Tharanian Queen. She retired from the throne after her husband’s death in 459 b.S. paving the road for her son prince Tharagane. Curogana is remembered for her firm leadership in times of danger, for her class when in court and her courage when in battle. She is considered to be the last of the Menegulan rulers of the Centoraurians.
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Appearance.
Curogana was a very beautiful woman. She was tall for a
Helcrani and emitted a feminine aura.
She had long brown hair and dark brown eyes. Her skin was white, but from the
continuous campaigns she had all year long a copper colour. Curogana’s thick
lips underlined her beauty and gave her an aura of promising sexuality. This
characteristic combined with her wits and intellect made her irresistible to
men. Curogana had an athletic body that she took good care of. As every
Helcrani woman she was fond of nice
perfumes and even in the midst of a campaign, without a bath for days, she was
to be found perfumed and always with a taken care of hairstyle. During the
second Sarvonian War she got many scars; one on her right shoulder from an
arrow, one on the left side of her torso from an
axe, one on her right thigh and one just bellow her right knee. After the
end of the war she tried to hide the many scars she got, because she thought
that spoiled her looks, despite the fact that her family and her subjects were
most proud of them.
Personality. Curogana was characterised as a
human chameleon. When she was wearing a dress,
she was a magnificent and elegant queen. People often called her “elvenborn”
(Styragana) in order to denote her grace and her affection for
elves by playing with her name. However, when
she was leading the army she became an excellent general who displayed great
tactical skills, courage in battle and could outwit her troops in vulgar jokes,
without losing her stature though. This antithesis made her extremely popular.
As a person Curogana was described as sensitive, witty and caring. However, the
years of power and warfare made her also tough, manipulative and decisive. She
was not an ambitious character nor did she want to be a queen. Her dream until
the age of twelve was to become a good wife and mother. And indeed she was.
However, as soon as she understood the struggle that unfolded around her she
decided to take active part in it. She always tried to increase
Centoraurian
power as a means to ensure the welfare of her people. Curogana knew how to seize
an unexpected opportunity and make the best out of it, without second thoughts.
Curogana was loved by her subjects and feared by her enemies.
Biography.
Childhood. Curogana was the only daughter of
Anactar Ascandir of
Centorauria and Samarilis the
daughter of admiral Mestor of the Sostrian Fratra. From her father’s bloodline,
she belonged to the Menegulan dynasty, while her mother’s bloodline claimed
ancestry from Anactar Curogane II. of
the Sostrian dynasty. Curogana had three brothers, one elder, Curocrane, who was
a natural born leader and two younger twins, Curganil and Helronil, who had all
the qualifications to become excellent scholars, not warriors, and they were
dragged in a war they weren’t made to fight. From a very early age Curogana
revealed an exceptional intimacy with the elven
ways. Styrfidel, the Fratrageta of the Styrani, was assigned to overlook her
education according to the elven ways. And
indeed Curogana was raised as an elven maiden.
She was pleasant, witty and graceful.
At the age of twelve she witnessed a sight that changed her forever; an
elven fleet managed to land troops to Esperoth
Island and then to the low northwestern shores of Efirhal island avoiding or
crushing all Centoraurian
defences in its path. The enemy was at the gates of
Milkengrad. From the shelter of the
Curonesta Curogana witnessed the bloody battle to repel the invaders. Every
Helcrani,
human elf or
dwarf, fought vigorously and after three days of battle the
elven army retired from combat. This time
Curogana felt intense fear for her life for the very first time and decided to
learn the arts of war so that never again would she be idle and helpless.
Although she did not go to war until the age of 19 she was trained in arms.
Curogana preferred and used elven
weapons, armour and techniques.
Arrival of Thar
in Helcrani
court. In 513 b.S. prince Curocrane presented to the court a talented
young Erpheronian with the name
of Thar. The prince proposed that they should keep the
man there rather than helping him on his way to
Kyrania. The Fratric council, with
the exception of Styrfidel, disagreed with the proposal. Axelclaus of the
Sostrian Fratra was more intense than the rest and insulted the prince with the
following words “Since when do the sons of Sinrann think that an
Erpheronian pig is better than
their own kin? If you do not feel shame for yourself, feel shame for our city
they burned, the blood they spilled upon the Efirhal and the
anactar they slaughtered. You hold
Helron’s sword because it was your
forefather that honoured the blood of the Sostrian kings, before you decide to
disgrace it.” Finally, Curocrane and Styrfidel managed to persuade Ascandir, who
had already distinguished Thar’s value. He justified his
offering Thar the position of the commander of the Royal
Comrades, the elite Helcrani cavalry,
with these words “Let the
Erpheronians see that even their traitors become heroes under the banner of
the burning sword. Let the redheads see that
the Helcrani know better than them that
this man cannot be a traitor. He was not in the past and will not be one in the
future. We shall display their folly by giving him a
sword and glory to harvest serving our
crown” (Both excerpts from the Anactarian
Archives of Milkengrad).
Thar, who had been offended listening to this
conversation, would have left Milkengrad,
if it hasn’t been for princess Curogana, who immediately had captured his heart.
Curogana at first did not like Thar, because he was an
Erpheronian and she thought that
he was actually worthless for the Helcrani.
Death of Prince Curocrane. The Battle of the
Shattered Shields (510 b.S.) was the cause that led Curogana both into lament
and rejoice. In this battle the elves, led by
Iythill Goldleaf, used hidden siege machines and annihilated the
Centoraurian army that engaged
their troops in an open field battle. Prince Curocrane died that day and the
Centoraurians suffered heavy
casualties. The Centoraurians
were saved thanks to Thar who assumed command after
Curocrane’s death. Thar, blinded by his own blood because
of a head injury, not only disengaged the army but he also retrieved Curocrane’s
body and carried him on his horse back to
Milkengrad.
This defeat shocked the whole nation and Curogana personally. It was not only
the loss of so many men. Curocrane had been a brilliant strategist, an excellent
political leader and was adored by the
Centoraurians. King Ascandir
fell into depression after his loss. Death came as a salvation for him three
years later in the Battle of Salazar.
The only positive from this catastrophe was the fact that
Thar rose as the new military leader for the
Centoraurians, a leader that
enjoyed unanimous acceptance, even by those who did not like him at first
because of his Erpheronian
origin. After these events Curogana developed a gradually increasing esteem and
admiration for Thar.
Independence of
Ximax. In 509 b.S.
Ximaxian authorities revolt against
Centorauria demanding its
independence in order to continue participating in the Second Sarvonian War. The
reason for this uprising are petty political ambitions of certain
Ximaxian leaders.
Anactar Ascandir is decided to crush
Ximax and decapitate the traitors.
Thar in a memorable speech in the royal council proposes
that the Ximaxians should be granted their
independence in order not to weaken the human
effort. Otherwise, he offers to eliminate the rebels in three months in order to
prove his intentions. Eventually, Thar manages to
persuade the anactar for peace gaining
Curogana’s admiration and recognition among all
human tribes as one of the most important bulwarks against the
elven tide.
Curogana falls in Love. In the next year after
Ximax’ revolt (508 b.S.) Curogana led an
embassy to Kyrania in order to
prepare a major joint human expedition against
the elves. She was escorted by
Thar and 100 horsemen from Thyslan. However, at the
foothills of the Lower Fores they were attacked by a larger force of
Sanhorrhim raiders. This was the
first time Curogana used her fighting skills in battle. Thar
risked his life for Curogana and took an arrow that was meant for her. From this
battle on Curogana would go to war in her dead brother’s place and she would
realize her love for Thar. Some days later upon the
Efirhal, Curogana expresses her feelings to the thunderstruck
Thar, who would eagerly take dozens of arrows just for a smile of her. After
a long discussion the two lovers decide to keep their relationship secret until
the time is right.
The Battle of Salazar. In 507 b.S. Ascandir decided
to launch a massive offensive against the
Jhehellrhim (since he could not
defeat the Sanhorrhim yet). He
forced the Kyranians and
Caltharians to provide troops,
who were the backbone of his force. Even the
Erpheronians provided troops for
Ascandir.
It was rumoured that with this act Ascandir wanted to crush the
elves with a non-Centoraurian
force and thus bring shame to the members of the Fratric Council, who did not
approve this campaign as too risky. However, according to a theory of later
historians, Ascandir wanted to die after the loss of Curocrane and deliberately
chose to lead non-Centoraurian
troops in order not to take them with him to certain death in his suicide
mission. The 18 year old princes Curganil and Helronil followed their father
leading the Helcrani and
Centoraurian cavalry
respectively. An intense reaction of the
anactar is recorded against this fact, but under the demand of the army he
was forced to accept it.
On their way they were informed that Veltin was besieged and they decided to
assist the city. The elves escaped north and
the humans pursued them. Ascandir made the
mistake to leave most of his
Erpheronian troops at Veltin in order to secure the river passing east of
Doovens. At the Heath of Salazar the elves made
their stand as they noticed the human army
being of reduced size and the two armies clashed. Initially, the
Erpheronians at the centre
started pushing back the elves, but the
Kyranian and
Caltharian regiments were routed
and fled in panic leaving the
Centoraurians and Erpheronians
alone. Ascandir ordered the infantry on his wings to spread and take over the
space that was left empty, while he would hold the
elven centre, but he was killed leading the
Erpheronian cavalry. Then the
Erpheronians started to retreat
holding their lines though. However, Ascandir’s sons would not flee. They had
the flanks and were cut off from the rest of the army and each other. They were
in a desperate situation and the way of retreat was open, but they decided to
stay and fight. They could not stand the disgrace of leaving with their king and
returning without him. They charged the elves
with fury and managed to stop their advance. The
Erpheronians saw that they could
fight without fear of being encircled and so they did, eventually breaking the
elven lines.
The battle was won, but it was the end of the ambitious campaign. The victory
came at a great expense. Many died, Curganil and Helronil were both killed in
this battle just like their father, leaving
Centorauria leaderless as they
were the only living male descendants of the Menegulan Dynasty. Ascandir was
buried to the Valley of the Kings along with his ancestors whom he had honoured
living.
The Rise of Curogana. According to the
Helcrani law, in case the royal family
runs out of male heirs the next anactar
should be elected with vote of the citizens. However, this time the Fratric
Council was about to break this tradition. When Curogana called the Fratrae in
order to hand them over Helronn’s sword and
set the election time, the Fratragetae unanimously voted and declared the line
of the Menegulan Kings not broken. Since Curogana was bearing arms and fought as
a man she should have political rights and a claim to the
Centoraurian throne. They also
called the Great Assembly of Milkengrad
and the Gathering of Helcrah in order to vote on Curogana’s ascension to the
throne. Indeed, in the Third day of Burning Heaven’s Curogana was “walking in
the Sea of Swords” in the King’s Plateau at her coronation ceremony.
Curogana’s Reign (507-492 b.S.). Curogana proved to
be an excellent anactara. She had
Thar on her side who, despite the fact that he lived in a
male dominated society, continued to humbly serve, support and love his liege.
Thar and Curogana achieved their military goal to gather
the population to the major
Centoraurian cities, secure them against elven
attacks and supply them with food and provisions from the Efirhal Island, that
was a region completely denied to the elves.
The Ptoliedhra, the seven forts that protect
Milkengrad, were officially established at that time. Curogana led
personally the army many times and proved to be a more than capable general with
many victories. After securing the
Centoraurian cities, Curogana assisted the neighboring
Kyrania and
Caltharia. Her ambition was not
only to conquer the Vontron Forest from the elves,
but also to expand her influence (and maybe her territory) against the
incompetent Kyranian king. And
indeed her banner was the dread of the elves in
western Sarvonia, despite the bad general
outcome of the war. Modern historians underline her contribution to the end of
the SW II, as her military achievements and her resistance at
Milkengrad simultaneously with the last
stand at Selidor Pass showed the elves that the
humans had a long way to go until they would
fail.
End of Sarvonian War II and Marriage of Curogana.
In 501 b.S. SW II ended. Three months later, Curogana and
Thar got married. According to the
Centoraurian laws,
Thar could not become a king. He should limit himself in
being a prince. Curogana - loving her husband and convinced of his abilitie s-
introduced to the Fratric Council and the Great Assembly the question whether
Thar should be granted the title of the
anactar, the
Centoraurian king.
Thar finally got the royal title after the unanimous vote
of the Council and a remarkable consensus of the Assembly. The Council justified
its decision by claiming that it was the completion of Ogygor’s promise to Ileor
the Kind of Erpheronia, since
the Centoraurians had nothing
more precious than their anactara and
their freedom.
Although all these years Thar had been a humble servant
of Curogana, after his coronation Curogana did not keep a leading role. She
willingly let Thar be in charge. She firmly believed that
this was her duty not only as a sign of respect towards him but also because
Thar was more capable than any man walking the
earth. However, she kept pulling strings
in the background and kept control of the intelligence.
Turmoil in
Erpheronia. In the year 496 b.S. the
Erpheronian sovereign, Karthach
of Ishmarin, died unexpectedly, leaving no male heirs. Turmoil reigned over
Erpheronia for four years.
Curogana considered the situation a rare opportunity to avenge the
Erpheronians for the ancient
rivalry with her people and for all the sorrows they gave to her husband. She
got involved in Erpheronian
matters exploiting the situation on
Centoraurian benefit, without Thar knowing though.
She promised support to the rivaling parties and secretly sheltered the defeated
in Helcrah.
In 493 b.S. Thar’s innocence was revealed and he was
called to seize the throne as the last living male member of the royal family of
Erpheronia.
Curogana considered this as a perfect chance to annex
Erpheronia to the
Centoraurian crown, and then
Kyrania and
Caltharia would surely follow.
Thar however faced a dilemma. He had no intentions of
expanding his kingdom over its neighbours. He was already king of
Centorauria and had started a
life in this country when he was rejected by his own folk. Everything he loved
was in Centorauria. However, he
was an Erpheronian and couldn’t
abandon his people. So, he resigned from the throne and decided to leave alone
from Centorauria just like he
came. This outcome brought Curogana’s plans into ruins, since she was about to
lose the most precious part of her life, her husband. They argued for hours and
for the first time Curogana’s screams echoed over the Curonesta, while
Thar remained calm almost whispering his words.
Eventually, Curogana, as a woman accepted her husbands will. However, she did
not give up. She informed the Helcrani
Fratragetae, who finally persuaded Thar to keep his
office. Their major arguments were - among others - the exploitation of his love
for the Centoraurian people and
pointing out to him that it was dishonest to abandon them in order to seize the
crown of their enemies.
There is a legend about that Thar changing his mind. As
he was wandering alone in the streets of
Milkengrad, he overheard a conversation among some
Helcrani where it was told that they
would follow Thar even if he wanted to become king of the
Underworld. In this case they would subdue the
demons and put the crown on his head and - if he didn’t want to be their
king any more - they would leave, ready to return when he called for them.
So, Thar in charge of a
Centoraurian army entered
Erpheronia and in 15 days was
crowned king of Erpheronia (492
b.S.). The Centoraurians were
welcomed by the people as liberators and friends. The ancient mutual hatred
vanished as Thar advanced.
However, it was hard for Curogana to accept equal cooperation with the
Erpheronians. She supported the
annexation of the country and her only compromise was that every
Erpheronian willing to bare arms
for Centorauria should be
granted the Centoraurian
citizenship, according to their law.
Thar, on the other hand, wanted to create a common
kingdom for both people, who would live in equity. After a long discussion
Curogana saw her husband’s excellence and embraced his dream of unification. She
fought with the Erpheronians
side by side during the Great War and those men close to her father’s eyes in
Salazar. After all only a kingdom founded in justice and equity would last.
Thar united the rivalling kingdoms under the name “United
Crowns of Centoraurians and
Erpheronians”. However, the
people called the new kingdom “Tharania“, since Thar was
the connecting link of these rivalling people. The United Crowns experienced an
unseen era of prosperity the decade that followed.
Curogana’s last Days. Curogana gave
Thar two sons Tharagane and Carbug. Tharagane was born in
500 b.S. and Carbug in 497 bS. Tharagane became the next Tharanian king and
Carbug became the governor of Milkengrad.
From this time on every Tharanian and - later -
Santharian heir would be granted the title
of the second anactar of
Milkengrad, where he was trained for
assuming the Throne, a smart appease to the
Helcrani ego after the relocation of the capital in
Voldar. Curogana supported her husband and
sons from the background since Thar’s death in his sleep
459 b.S. Her last public action was to ensure the ascension of her son Tharagane
and the continuation of Tharania. After Thar’s death
Curogana faded away in melancholy. Death came and reunited her with
Thar in the 26th of Falling Leaves 457 b.S. She was
mourned for forty days and her grave in the Valley of the Kings up to this day
is one of the most impressive. Envoys from all
Sarvonian kingdoms and races were sent to pay tribute to her grave.
Myth/Lore.
As with many other celebrities, there are various tales told about Curogana and
her famous husband, Thar the Great, some true, some for
sure invented. Among these stories are the following, which appear to be
comfirmed by different sources:
Helpheran and Curogana
Helpheran, the Tree of Fire of the
Artapherana on the Efirhall Hill,
is said to have shown an
affection for Curogana and later Thar. Usually, the tree
seems as if it is burning. He shows affection with an increase in his light.
Every time Curogana approached him and he felt her sad he emanated a glow
that blinded everybody in the vicinity except his beloved princess and later on
anactara. Helpheran changed his
fire according to Curogana’s mood and it
was rumored that he could actually “conversate” with her. Helpheran
also is said to have sheltered with his light
Curogana’s confession of her feelings to Thar and always
was happy to see the couple happy.
When Curogana died, Helpheran began to radiate so wildly that the citizens
thought the city was on fire. This
extraordinary event happened only once in the past when
Anactar Helronn died.
Curogana’s first Campaign
About a week after Ascandir’s funeral, the
Centoraurian army had to defend
the besieged Salsair. The expedition force was ready to depart in
Milkengrad.
They were to be led by Jonahir son of Zarehim, Fratrageta of the Helerothi
Fratra, a capable and valiant general. The men however were demoralized. “Where
is the king?” they asked only to reply to themselves “No king will ever lead us
to war again. The sons of Curogane have failed. Cursed we are and cursed we
shall fall.” Curogana was informed of the situation
and decided to go to the army assembly. She was wearing a long red cloak. As
soon as she reached the Hypheralean Square, the army’s welcome was cold and
without excitement. She addressed the army and among others she said the
following, as it is recorded in “Curogana’s Deeds” by Meroh son of Ishoc the
Ahai.
“You seek your anactar and you cry for
his loss. But has any one of you mourned more than me? I have lost what remained
of my family in one day. The rest of my kin was killed fighting for the common
cause. You seek your anactar,
as if you have none. Am I not bearing Helronn’s
sword? You want your king to lead you to battle? Well, you have no king. You
have a queen though and she will lead you!”
At this point she threw down her cloak and revealed the armour
she was wearing. The army roared like thunder in her sight and the men clashed
their weapons. -
Thus begun Curogana’s first campaign that ended in victory.
The Meeting with Iythill Goldleaf
Iythill Goldleaf was not only a capable sovereign but also a very skilled
general of the Vontron
elves, the
Sanhorrhim. He had a
brilliant strategic thought, he was brave in battle and could inspire his men.
He had fought the Helcrani for a very long time. During SW
II Curogana met Iythill many times in the field of battle. He laid siege
once upon Milkengrad and he was
responsible for the death of her brother. Curogana met
Iythill for the first time at the
Oath of the Young. He approached her, introduced himself and gracefully
kissed her hand complimenting on her beauty. Curogana returned the compliment
commenting his clothing. The former enemies had developed a mutual esteem
through years of battle. It was a revival of the Kroi’Kai, the High War among
the Helcrani and the
Sanhorrhim. Iythil gave a
golden Shamshir to Curogana as an apology for the griefs he
had given her, while she and Thar gave in return a
decorated round shield, as a token of their sorrow for the war.
The most bizarre thing is that Iythill proved to be a relative of
Agaran the notorious leader of the elven Fratra of the
Helcrani, who
was killed with Anactar
Curgan, when
Milkengrad was conquered by the Alliance of the Red. He and Styrfidel
exchanged the gifts that the elves are
accustomed to in such occasions and after the treaty Goldleaf was the first
elven sovereign to visit the City of the
Helcrani. -
From this day forth Curogana and Thar shared a true
friendship with Iythill Goldleaf that exceeded their death.
Importance.
Curogana was the right person, in the right place and in the right time. She
rose to the
Centoraurian
throne as the last living member of the Menegulan dynasty. Even before her rise
to power, Curogana was an important war leader. However, after her father’s
death her defensive strategy proved to be most effective. What is most important
though about Curogana is the fact that she sheltered Thar
and encouraged him to be the great king he became. When Thar
was facing the dilemma, whether he should remain a
Centoraurian
king or seize the throne of
Erpheronia, Curogana encouraged him to seize the
Erpheronian throne and provided
him with all the resources of her nation. When Thar
decided to go alone and claim the
Erpheronian throne, Curogana had secret contacts with the Fratric Council
and ensured that the Fratragetae were informed of Thar's
plans. This way she ensured that Thar would not go alone
in Erpheronia, where he probably
would have been killed. Nevertheless, Curogana’s initial scheme had been to
subdue the Erpheronian crown to
her own. This scheme she abandoned as soon as Thar
explained his dream to form a united kingdom pursuing
Artahir’s ideal and realised that a united kingdom would put an end to the
long rivalry among the two kingdoms.
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Information provided by
Curgan
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