Sō-Thadi Alōhsēha

She was called the Mad Sun for her iron-gripped reign and willingness to do anything for the sake of peace and unity among her people. She became the only Sō-Thadi to be burned alive, but in the embers of that fire Nīwulā Valley did begin to find a sort of peace, even if only for a short while.

Life

Always on the battlefield, Sō-Thadi Tēhlebao entrusted the selection of his heir to his closest advisors and confidants, namely the leaders of the Yuiwian Temples immediately beneath him in the empire's strict hierarchy. These two chose Alōhsēha as one potential heir, and placed her under one of their most respected teachers, Henaezo.

Once chosen as the heir, Alōhsēha was given to the temple to be raised in a "more suitable environment" and groomed as the next ruler of the realm. Her friendships were managed by the temple's authorities by careful introductions to selected individuals, and most of her days were spent in rigorous study.

One of the lucky few allowed to befriend Alōhsēha was Tūdiuna, an apprentice of the then Sō-Nimēdi Amaona. Her extensive library of knowledge and talent for storytelling inspired Alōhsēha, who became something of a younger sister to the studious and responsible Tūdiuna.

Not all respected the will of the elders, however. A curious soul, Yozudena was a boy orphaned and taken in by the temple only a year before Alōhsēha's arrival. He found her studying in the garden beneath a fruit tree and talked to her out of curiosity. What began as a secret friendship, a small rebellion against the elders surrounding them, became a supportive pillar they both depended on in difficult times. And later, it might have turned into something more. But that was not the way of the world, and duty called to Alōhsēha.

Alōhsēha became the picture of a model student with a stubborness fit for a descendant of Soyaewa, with intelligence to match the demands of her most demanding instructors. However, her lack of creativity and generally serious demeanor led her mentor and guardian Henaezo to challenge her in ways the girl often found frustrating and without purpose.

Henaezo proved an interesting character. Wise beyond his elderly years, and yet with the heart of a child, he became an unconventional mentor for the girl. His methods became critized in the more traditional and conservative circles, particularly after an outing where he snuck Alōhsēha outside of the temple dressed as a servant girl, to become better acquainted with the empire and her future subjects.

Reign

Alōhsēha succeeded the third Sō-Thadi Tēhlebao at around twenty years of age, after his death amidst a field of battle. Although her age caused many to doubt her abilities, her education had been relentless in preparing her to lead the empire. But there was no shortage of enemies for the young queen of the Valley when she stepped down the steps of Na Yuo Ni-Aebomē with divine grace.

Her nation was in shambles, barely holding together after the decades of warfare waged by Tēhlebao and his predecessors to bring the two halves of Nīwulā Valley together. The Upper Valley had lowered their spears in surrender, but their spirits yearned for blood. In an effort to hasten a spirit of unity, Alōhsēha was arranged to marry Tulimiwo, the young leader of the largest of the surrendered tribes, with a promise to show leniency toward his people should he accept.

The years thereafter proved no single decision could hope to end the tensions brewing within the Valley's bounds, but that did little to stem Alōhsēha's determination. Her work continued without rest or break, and the Sō-Thadi even abandoned her royal home at the top of Sōniowie Hill in favor of moving her court to the Celestial Temple on Ēhnuo Island, in order to be closer to those she deemed most instrumental to her goals. Though her ways could be described as harsh, even cruel at times, they proved efficient even if improvements appeared slowly.

A considerable opponent of Alōhsēha's became a group of Sēna Azēgo people who continued to fight against the kingdom, butchering its people and burning their settlements before running away to hide and plan their next strike. Sight of the massacres enraged Alōhsēha, but determination to reach a state of peace and unity within her kingdom kept her going.

That was until news of a death shook her court into silence. In her absence, the security of the royal home had lapsed and Alōhsēha's reluctant spouse was found murdered in a secluded corner of the gardens, with the assassins likewise discovered later as rotting corpses away from Sōniowie Hill. All investigations concluded that the murder was an act committed by the same group which had been plaguing the Upper Valley, but another story spread among the people: the young son of their beloved leader was executed in an act of hate, proving there was no hope for unity or peace between the two peoples.

Death

What was left of Alōhsēha's support continued to dwindle as her grip around the people tightened. As if fate itself had intervened, all that could go wrong for the Sō-Thadi, did, and every decision made her less popular even among her own people. Some blamed the impossible situation, others some sudden pout of madness. Whatever the reason for her actions, Alōhsēha's reign came to an end as both the Amīzuye and the Azēgo violently demanded for her death and the coronation of a new Sō-Thadi.

Her own people turned against her, and Alōhsēha was burned alive in the hopes of fires could cleanse her soul of evil and make her next life a better one.