Amarna Korath

Amarna Korath, Queen of The Realm, was a polarizing figure in the history of Wonderland. The first-born daughter of the progressive King Nefertem, she spent nearly twenty years living amongst the even more radical Aünapa. And so, when she returned home for her coronation in 193, she upended the status quo with a hedonistic outlook on life and governance that was difficult for the more conservative corners of society to embrace.

Born in 156 in the city of Frult Üft, Amarna spent the first twelve years of her life out of the spotlight of the capital. That said, with a little sister who followed her everywhere and did whatever she said, the future queen still managed to develop a bit of a taste for power and influence. And yet, when her father ascended the throne in 168, the sacrifices he made to wear the crown—including cutting his gloriously long and beautiful dreadlocks—Amarna soon soured on the idea of one day being a monarch herself. How, she wondered, could a man as powerful as her father be compelled to give up such a vital part of himself?

And how could she, Amarna, avoid the same fate?

Thankfully for her and her sister, their father was thinking the same thing. Seeking to spare them both, he enacted the Acts of Self Expression—laws which banned discrimination based on more than 24 elements of identity. Then, once each of them came of age, he rented apartments for them in the much more cosmopolitan Reek.

Those two decades were a gift that Amarna never stopped thanking her father for. She fully embraced the culture of the Aünapa, delved deep into the study of the Bekiskapan culture which had inspired her new friends, and partied harder than any privileged young princess ever had before. But she also went further, seeking to bring the party down to the lowest levels of the sprawling Reekian megalopolis—trying to figure out how to grant a live of pleasure to all and not just the fortunate few.

As Queen of the Realm, she continued that work, spending lavishly on social programs and extravagant balls alike. She never wanted the party to stop, and she knew that meant giving everyone the means to do so. Experiments in universal basic income and universal health coverage began during her reign, as did significant investments in magical automation. She reduced the work week from five days to four to three. She amended the tax code to make certain that the richest paid more than the poorest. And she pushed her father’s Acts of Self-Expression even further by introducing a “three strikes” law that punished serial bigots with exile.

She also managed to nearly bankrupt the kingdom in the process.

In 211, several of her shadier creditors teamed up to put a price on Amarna’s head that eventually led to her assassination. And in the years that followed, under the reign of her daughter Queen Mercy, many of Amarna’s more costly reforms would be undone. But still, her legacy lives on. The Realm is still the most radically left-leaning country in Wonderland to this day.