The Ice Queen Shiva-A Tragedy of Treason


 * From Vana'diel Tribune volume 11 (April 3, 2003)

Long, long ago in the southern regions of Vana'diel lived a solitary queen who reigned over a tiny kingdom. This queen was named Shiva. Following the will of her mother, she became the sovereign of her country at the age of 15. Due to her youth, however, she was placed under the tutelage of her uncle, the Duke. From the very start, this arrangement plunged the kingdom into terrible anxiety.

In spite of this, the young Shiva, who had been seen disparagingly as a simple marionette lacking independent thought and free will, was a prodigy in both the realms of diplomacy and the battlefield. In the face of the unreasonable demands of empires far greater than her kingdom she debated with the utmost ingenuity; in times of war, she fought alongside her forces on the front lines, giving them a sense of unrivaled encouragement. It was for these very reasons that she became ingrained in the memories of the people as the most brilliant ruler of her dynasty.

Several years passed. Her wisdom and the prosperity it brought to her people further spread throughout the continent, bringing in flocks of merchants and artisans within the castle walls. The name of Queen Shiva was heard even in the farthest regions of the world, and at this time, not even the most powerful monarchs easily dared to overthrow what was known as The Great House of Shiva.

Everyone in kingdom came to be truly grateful for Shiva's rise to the throne. With the exception of a handful of the noblesse.

Worrying over their gradual loss of influence and wealth, they sought to consult the Duke, whose place as Shiva's official guardian and tutor had not been completely forgotten.

To the Duke, their sense of dissatisfaction was a very convenient thing indeed. In all truth, from the very instant of the late queen's death, his heart became deeply filled with an ambition for the seizure of kingdom's throne.

Becoming the guardian of the then-inexperienced queen, he had hoped to place the control of the country in his hands behind her back; however, despite his intentions and the pre-conceived notions of the upper aristocrats, Shiva was a sagacious and tactful ruler. As a result of her growing popularity, even his lofty position as the kingdom's Duke had become endangered.

Upon gaining the support of the noblemen, Shiva's uncle contracted a secret alliance with the neighboring empires, and thus completed his meticulous plan to surround Shiva in a deadly political triangle.

The coup-d'état succeeded all too easily.

Betrayal and usurpation by the man she had embraced with her utmost trust was completely unexpected by Shiva. By the time she understood what was being done to her, her Uncle, who sat on the gilded throne while grinning in a demonic fashion, made his first decree as the kingdom's sovereign: Shiva would be banished to the Northlands. In truth, the wicked Duke, despite his deepest wishes, dared not order Shiva's execution due to her state of high esteem amongst the people; thus, her quiet and frigid death in the Northlands was seen by him as the easiest way to accomplish his goals without provoking public uproar.

The tragedy thus continued.

In reality, the empire that contributed the most to the success of rebellion was even cleverer. As soon as the Queen had departed, the imperial century that had been under the command of the Duke began to plunder the city in a wild frenzy, refusing to listen to the Duke's futile orders for restraint.

Upon seeing this, the nobles' opinion of the Duke's competence faded, and it was not long before chaos within the court erupted. All along, the empire had waited for this opportunity. The army seized the castle, arresting the royal house, bringing the country to its knees. In a short week, the tiny kingdom that had been so lovingly adored was no more, reborn under the flag of the Great Southern Empire.

The Duke was killed in a short execution thereafter and the small remnants of the Kingdom's soldiers, having lost both their ruler and mother country, scattered. One of Shiva's loyal subjects, the general Aeomatra, however, had the idea of leading out a rescue party to the artic regions to save their Queen.

Despite their determination, their Southern ways were their weakness. Unaccustomed to the frigid glaciers, the party faced many difficulties and one after another, the soldiers that had so yearned for Shiva slowly froze to death.

Finally, Aeomatra and 10 of the remaining soldiers came to discover their queen.

However, what they had found was a breathtaking yet saddening sight. Sleeping eternally, frozen in a crystal of ice, was the great Shiva.

With their last bits of strength, they drew their swords from their scabbards and shouted cries of their allegiance. And in those few moments they drew their last breaths, shouting aloud:

"Even if we become frozen in ice, we shall remain forever loyal to our Queen! If only the dreaded empires of the south would feel our vengeance for their sinful acts!"

Sometime afterward, hail began to fall inexplicably in the lands of the Southern Empire. Some time passed, and amongst the people it became rumored that this hail was a form of Shiva's vengeance.

Year by year, the blizzards became stronger. The Southern Emperor, rightfully fearful of Shiva's vengeance, ordered the erection of a shrine in the name of Shiva, as suggested by one of his vassals.

The Goddess Altana, watching the tragedy of Shiva's kingdom from above and the Emperor's decision to reform his traitorous ways, descended to the Artic and quelled the aura of fury cast upon the Northlands by the curse of the frozen knights--the rage that could be felt on every bitter squall disappeared, returning the perpetual snowfall of the region to a sense of silent harmony. The Goddess then called Shiva to the celestial plane, where she could watch over and protect her kingdom forevermore.

And since that time, hail has never come to fall in the Southern Lands.

Note: Aeomatra is the brighest star in the Shiva constellation in Vana'diel's sky. It is a light blue-colored star.