Janey Astley

Daughter of Barnaby Astley, the man that wrestled partial Lothlorin independence from the Empire of Evadrin, sister of Renias Astley, the first prince of the Principality and aunt of Wynne Astley, the nation’s current ruler, Janey Astley seems to be the odd one out of her family. Completely uninterested in diplomacy, rulership or any kind of politics, she instead has always focused her efforts on her academic exploits, becoming one of the foremost contemporary historians of the First Age. She is the pride of Lothlorin’s institutes of learning, the only one coming close to her academic skills being her youngest child and only daughter, Moreen.

Despite her aversion to politics, Janey was the subject of a political marriage between the (then future) royal family of Lothlorin and one of the most powerful dukes of the Empire of Evadrin, Conrad Read. Despite Conrad’s hatred for the Lothlorin independence, the marriage between him and Janey started off well and resulted in four children: Pedro Astley, born in the year 460 5A, Nicholas Astley, born in the year 462 5A, Zuriel Astley, born in the year 465 5A and Moreen, born in the year 470 5A.

In the year 483 of the Fifth Age Janey’s brother and prince of Lothlorin, Renias, died in suspicious circumstances. Because Lothlorin has vague laws of succession and only indicates that the title of prince or princess should stay within the Astley bloodline, Janey was actually offered to become the new princess and thus become the new ruler of Lothlorin, as Renias’ only child was deemed too young and inexperienced for such a difficult task. Janey, however, refused. As she was never trained for leadership and is far more passionate about her academic exploits, Janey never believed her to be a good fit to be princess of Lothlorin. This decision did cause a major rift between her and her husband. Janey currently lives with her daughter, Moreen, in the palace in Lorrenveil where she continues her work as a historian.

Janey was born in the year 435 of the Fifth Age as the second and last child of Barnaby Astley and Adela Dreherg. When she was born, Lothlorin was still a province of the Empire of Evadrin in which the Astley family were the appointed governors. While this was 15 years before her father would start openly vying for independence, his machinations in preparation for this were already well underway. This didn’t really have much impact on Janey personally, however. She grew up in a luxurious castle and had little to worry about. As her older brother, Renias, was in line to follow up their father, Janey was also free to pursue something of her own choice. Unlike her father and brother she had no interest at all in rulership, politics or even diplomacy, but was instead drawn to academics. She would study at the most prestigious academy of Lothlorin and developed a great interest in history, focusing on one of the most obscure era’s of Ehldaron’s five ages: the First Age. Not only is that period one of the most mysterious ones of all, it is also the one that lacked that which she disliked most, namely politics, most. While the most pristine Lothlorin academy had a good reputation, it didn’t have the sheer resources or renown of Evadrin’s greatest academies. Janey always wanted to study at one of these, though her father’s battle for independence made that impossible. Thus, while her brother was being trained and her father plotted against the Empire, Janey quietly focused on her studies. During her youth, she got along well with her entire family, though was closer with her mother than her father and brother who were always incredibly busy.

In the year 450 of the Fifth Age Janey’s father began the fight for Lothlorin’s independence. Nine years later these negotiations were still going on, though it was clear they were headed towards the end. Rohan Lancaster, Emperor of Evadrin at the time was somewhat sympathetic to their cause, though even he wasn’t thrilled with the idea of a full independence. In order to improve relationships between Evadrin and Lothlorin the son of Rohan, Arryn, proposed a political marriage. Janey, Barnaby’s youngest child, was to marry one of the most powerful Dukes within the Empire of Evadrin: Conrad Read. The young Conrad was to become the duke of the capital province of the Empire, and with that came great power and influence. Aside from mending wounds, this marriage was to add some neutral voices to the negotiating table. In the year 459 of the Fifth Age Janey and Conrad married, their first child following a year later. Conrad, a stern and very political man that was fiercely loyal to Arryn Lancaster, was far from Janey’s dream husband. Nevertheless, she knew and had long accepted that as the child of an influential family marriage would never be a matter of love. Janey never complained or protested this decision, and merely hoped for the best.

It would quickly become clear that Conrad did not and would never support the Lothlorin cause. Planted by Arryn as an inside man, the only goals he pursued were that of the Empire. Barnaby and Renias both realised this, resulting in many clashes between them. Janey on the other hand, while aware of this, was completely uninterested in the political games and even the negotiations as a whole. Her interests were her research, and her child. This disinterest in politics did make marriage between the two much easier and pleasant than many would have expected. Indeed, Conrad and Janey got along quite well during the first decade of their marriage. Three more children would be born, all living in the palace in Lorrenveil while Conrad divided his time between his family and the Empire of Evadrin. Janey constantly took care of her children, refusing to let servants be the ones to raise them, and was always searching for a balance between her work and household.

During this period Janey also began to make a name for herself as an extremely capable and gifted historian. Her published work spreaded to other nations and she would become known as one of Lothlorin’s greatest academics. In the one exception where she got involved with rulership, Janey worked closely together with her brother, the prince of Lothlorin, to elevate their nation’s academies and make them far more respected. This is an effort she continues to this day and with great success, as Lothlorin has become a center for academic research on the continent.

In the end of the year 469 of the Fifth Age Janey’s husband was summoned to the Empire of Evadrin by Arryn Lancaster after he received reports of strange monstrosities crossing the Monstrous Marches. This was the beginning of the terrible event that would become known as the Dismal March. For over five years the Empire of Evadrin, alongside the Kingdom of Orthdond and the Theocracy of Dorothel had to fight for their survival. Rohan Lancaster, emperor of Evadrin at the time, refused to act, and thus his son Arryn had taken it upon himself to take control of what little remained of the army and defend the Empire. Conrad would end up becoming his right-hand man, distinguishing himself as a renowned military leader and tactician, considered to be a hero by many but also a traitor alongside Arryn by loyalists of the emperor. As the Principality is an island and nowhere near the Monstrous Marches, they were never directly affected by the Dismal March, though they would welcome tens of thousands of desperate refugees. As a historian, Janey couldn’t do much to help during this period. However, with her fourth child born in the year 470 of the Fifth Age and her children’s father fighting this terrible threat for over five years, she decided to temporarily minimize her academic work and focus fully on her family. She spent her days taking care of her newborn daughter and helping her sons cope with the absence of their father, who feared his death daily. It was a difficult time, though in the year 475 of the Fifth Age the Dismal Monstrosities were finally pushed back, and Conrad returned home after many years of campaigning. Life, however, would never go back to how it was before.

Mere months after Conrad returned home he was summoned once more to the Empire of Evadrin. Rohan Lancaster had died, and his son, Arryn Lancaster, summoned his right-hand man to his service. Choosing his duty to his nation over his duty to his family, Conrad departed. This began to sour the relationship between Janey and Conrad. In the years to come, Conrad would systematically enlist his sons into the most prestigious academy not only of Evadrin, but of the entire continent: the Cynebald Academy. While this ensured the best training and education possible for their children, it was also an obvious attempt to reduce the influence of Janey, and her family, over his children. There was, however, little Janey could do in retaliation. Despite her royal bloodline, she held little power herself, and her brother couldn’t act without risking severe diplomatic consequences. Furthermore, this was largely considered to be the children’s own choice. As Janey saw her sons leave her one at a time, she grew incredibly close with her daughter Moreen, the only child Conrad didn’t move to the Empire and simultaneously the child that took most after herself. When she wasn’t spending time with her daughter Janey buried herself in her academic research to distract her from her children not being home. With mixed feelings she was able to console herself with the idea that they got the one thing she was never able to get herself: the best education there is. Luckily, Conrad visited the Principality with their sons on a regular basis. Janey always deeply treasured these visits.

In the year 483 of the Fifth Age Janey’s brother, Renias Astley, the prince and ruler of the Principality, died in suspicious circumstances. Due to Lothlorin’s vague laws of succession both Renias’ daughter, Wynne, as Janey herself could become the next ruler of the Principality. As Wynne was only 25 at the time and the new ruler would have to face off against Emperor Arryn Lancaster, who held a strong anti-independence sentiment towards Lothlorin, she was deemed too young. Thus everyone looked at Janey to become the new princess. Janey, however, refused this immediately. She wasn’t trained to rule, she was no diplomat and she had no desire to enter the political stage. Despite her young age, she considered Wynne to be a much more appropriate and potentially successful leader. This decision, however, infuriated Conrad. He had hoped that Janey would become the new princess, for this ensured their children to be first on the list to become the Principality’s future rulers, and potentially bring it back into the Empire’s fold. As a result of this, Conrad refused to spend more time in the Principality with his wife than one or perhaps two visits per year. He also used his influence to make sure all three sons in the Cynebald Academy were kept so busy that they couldn’t return home. Janey, however, managed to stay strong with the aid of her father and her cousin Wynne, the new princess. She dedicated herself even more to her daughter, who followed closely in her footsteps and became a historian herself, and continues to be one of the world’s famous historians to this day.

Janey and Conrad continue to be married to this day, but at this point it is clear to everyone that their relationship is purely for political means. A breakup would be a major diplomatic incident which both nations want to try to avoid, as it could have dire consequences.

First and foremost, Janey is known as an incredibly kind and warm person. She has always done her best to take care of her family, including her husband who despised her nation. She gave up her passion for academics to take care of their children when he was fighting the Dismal March and never blamed him for it. Even when her sons were sent to the Cynebald Academy she never spoke bad of him, though many would agree she had every right to.

Janey is also considered to be one of the most intelligent contemporary historians, if not one of the greatest historians of the First Age to ever have lived. Her research on an incredibly obscure topic has managed to be both factual yet always filled with new insights. She is known to “consume” books and many believe her to have something akin to an eidetic memory. Janey herself, however, strongly nuances these claims.

Lastly, Janey is known to have a strong aversion to any kind of conflict. This is likely the reason why she has never displayed any interest in rulership or politics. She dislikes fights and arguments and has often said to simply not understand many conflicts people are having. While her aversion to conflict has likely made her marriage with Conrad Read far more pleasant during its first decade than anyone expected, it has also caused her to lose her sons to the Cynebald Academy as she was never able to convince herself to fight her husband on it.

Religion within the Principality of Lothlorin is already far more liberal and nuanced than it is in many other nations. As an academic, Janey especially partakes in few religious rituals. She does certainly believe in the Gods, however, and is known to respect Dysder as the God of writing and knowledge, and the gods Ahdah, Ryher and Nalena for their philosophies.