Onvaďra 2ë
From Almeopedia
Onvaďra 2ë [on ˈvað ra fto ˈrjɛ] was queen of Verduria; as she seized the throne and was not succeeded by an heir, her reign is known as the Usurpation of 3404 (so velgintro zonei 3404).
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Early years
She was born in 3358 as Onvaďra Anëtey, the eldest daughter of a rich merchant from Zeir. She attended the University of Verduria, studying law; there she became friends with the crown prince, Orest, son of Pelerin Vočnor. In her early days she was said to be retiring and serious, Orest and his aristocratic friends taught her how to relax.
She was undoubtedly brilliant; she received her scrifteca in law at the early age of 22. She managed her father's business for a year, then (with his encouragement, and with a timely endorsement from Orest) she successfully won a seat in the Esčambra (3382), on the Navirora ticket. She received a good deal of attention for being a young, pretty woman. She didn't mind this; she preferred being underestimated, and used the period to get to know almost everyone in the Esčambra, and to learn its procedures. As she remarked later, old men love to lecture a charming young woman.
Within ten years she was a leader of the Navirora party— though she did not neglect to cultivate friendships with Caďin parliamentarians. She retained her friendship with Orest; it was even said that Orest wanted to marry her, but that Pelerin refused to allow it. This would not have been the only whim of the prince, who was more than usually irresponsible; only Pelerin was able to control him.
In 3399 Orest succeeded his father, and seemed to descend into madness: when duty called he fell either into incoherent rages or listless depression. He was useless for royal business; the Esčambra found it necessary to depose him after just six months, in favor of his younger sister Vlerë.
Prime minister
Necessary as it was, this move was deeply unpopular, and the Navirora party won control of the legislature the next year. Onvaďra easily beat out several more established but more divisive rivals to be named sannei Konselore elreë, or prime minister.
If there were doubts about having a female prime minister, she quickly dissipated them. The Navirora faction appreciated her promotion of commerce; the pagans appreciated her faith. Vlerë looked up to her as a mentor. She ran the cabinet and the parliament efficiently; she seemed to know everything, solve problems before they were widely perceived, and do so without making enemies. She rarely imposed herself, but listened and sought to build consensus— and most often got her way anyway.
Vlerë, never robust in health, succumbed to an illness in 3404, without heirs. The Esčambra was soon abuzz with discussions of who should be named king; of course it was up to Onvaďra to open the subject officially, and this she kept delaying. Some Navirora members were suggesting her name; but this was most likely a long shot.
Usurpation
On 18 želea, the Esčambra approved a routine bill authorizing Onvaďra to direct the process of choosing the new monarch. No one thought anything of this; only a few cranks who opposed every Navirora bill voted against it. A month later, on 21 išire, Onvaďra declared herself queen.
The country erupted in controversy; but Onvaďra was well prepared. The army was behind her; perhaps a third of the Esčambra supported her, a third was skeptical but not prepared to resist. The remaining members considered their options; they had no real stomach for civil war (the wars preceding Pelerin were still fresh in memory), and thus resorted to law instead.
And that, in effect, sealed their doom, for Onvaďra, though gifted as a politician, was unmatched as a legal disputant. She knew the law, and she knew parliamentary procedure both fair and dirty. (Not a few parliamentarians, for instance, were essentially blackmailed into silence; she knew their secrets.) She allowed resolutions and investigations and court cases; she simply never allowed them to amount to anything. She maintained that her seizure of power was authorized by the law of 18 želea, that it was necessary for the good of the state, and that her opponents had no standing to oppose their own parliamentary leader.
And when nothing else would do, she had force on her side. On one occasion, the Palace Guard seized all the papers belonging to the Esčambra investigating commission.
Party rearrangements
She did her best to exert her old charm; but this was not enough to cover usurpation. Her party was deeply divided, and in 3410 it actually split. Onvaďra's supporters, almost half the party, founded the Ženië or People's party.
In its early years the party was a miscellaneous group, defined simply by its support for Onvaďra. After her reign, it lost much of its support, but developed more of an identity, focusing on petty bourgeois, academics and intellectuals, and Zeir (while the Navirora party drew its support from industry and large-scale commerce, Eleďát, and the larger cities).
The split led to the Caďin party regaining power (3412); this was alarming enough that the Navirora and Ženië parties put aside their differences, formed a coalition, and successfully regaining power (3414). A corollary, however, was a sullen acceptance of Onvaďra's rule on the part of the Navirora party.
Personal life
Onvaďra developed close ties to the army, and even married a general, Elil, hipcont of Alen, in 3406. (Elil was known as a dalu maris or king consort; he retained his military position but had no role in the civil government.)
Unusually among Verdurian monarchs, she preferred Arcaln to the Dalušeíra; she improved the massive old pile with pavilions and gardens in a modern style, more palace than fortress.
She had one son, Getemil, born in 3407. She named him sanno i Kaino, the traditional title for the crown prince; it was evident that she hoped to found a dynasty. Nonetheless she approved a law reinforcing the Esčambra's right to choose the monarch if there was no dynastic heir at least 19 years old. Most likely she wished to avoid another fight with the parliament, and expected to remain in power till Getemil's majority.
However, she died in 3420. Blocked court cases could now proceed, and the High Court ruled that Onvaďra had seized power illegally, but that she was lawful queen; this paradoxical judgment preserved years of laws and government actions under her name. The same decision rescinded Getemil's title; the Esčambra had already taken the precaution of arresting the boy. Now it proceeded to choose a successor, finally settling on the minor baron Vlaran Vleteon.
| Preceded by: Vlerë | Onvaďra 2ë 3404-20 | Succeeded by: Vlaran |
