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Attolia Irene is the queen of Attolia and the wife of Eugenides. She is often referred to simply by her title Attolia.

Physical Appearance[]

Irene is a tall, beautiful woman with black hair. She frequently wears a ruby headband and dresses in imitation of the goddess Hephestia. She is several inches taller than Eugenides.[1]

Early Life[]

Irene was born a minor princess of Attolia, the daughter of the previous king of Attolia and his second wife.

When her brother was killed in a suspicious horse riding accident, she became heir. Since women were not traditionally rulers of Attolia, she was betrothed to the son of a powerful baron, and he would have become king. While she lived in his household she was given the nickname "shadow princess" by her fiancé. She pretended to be stupid and shy, so that he would not suspect her of plotting against him.

Shortly before her first marriage, her father was poisoned and she became queen. At her wedding, she poisoned her groom with powdered coleus leaves. Her barons then convened to decide who her next husband would be, but Attolia ordered the Captain of the Guard to shoot the man they selected instead. She then informed her barons that the next king of Attolia would be her choice.

She spent the next years strengthening her position as queen. She increased the size of her Guard, allowed okloi as well patronoi to serve as officers in her army, and dealt ruthlessly with anyone who opposed her rule. During this time she earned the respect of her people, though her barons continued to vie for power against her.

Novels[]

The Thief[]

Using intelligence supplied by Ambiades, the Attolian guard captured Eugenides, the magus, and Sophos during their journey to steal Hamiathes's Gift. Attolia came personally to speak with the prisoners and, suspecting Eugenides's true identity, approached him with an offer to become her Thief. Eugenides refused the offer and soon after escaped back to Eddis.

The Queen of Attolia[]

After stealing Hamiathes's Gift, Eugenides continued to visit Attolia, occasionally sneaking into the queen's strongholds to spy on her. With assistance from the goddess Moira, Attolia was able to capture him. Though she initially intended to hang Eugenides, the Medean ambassador Nahuseresh convinced her to consider a different punishment instead. Attolia then decided to cut off Eugenides's right hand and sent him back to Eddis. The queen of Eddis then retaliated against Attolia, and the two countries went to war soon after.

During the war, Nahuseresh provided Attolia with gold and military advice, hoping to maneuver the country into an alliance with the Medean Empire. Attolia attempted to form an alliance with Sounis against Eddis, but the alliance dissolved after Eugenides destroyed the Sounisian navy and led the king of Sounis to believe that Attolia had been behind the attack.

While overseeing her army in Ephrata, Attolia was tricked into leaving by boat with Eugenides, who then offered her a choice between death or marriage to him, which would end the war. Attolia was rescued from the Eddisians by Nahuseresh; however, she quickly realized that he had landed a Medean army in Attolia without her knowledge or consent. Although freed from Eddisian captivity, Attolia nonetheless decided to marry Eugenides, forming an alliance with Eddis and expelling the Medean army from her country.

The King of Attolia[]

Shortly before Attolia married Eugenides, Relius privately asked her to consider ways to limit the new king's power. Attolia refused to consider it. She hoped that Eugenides would be a strong king, secure in his position, and that this would finally stop her barons from vying against her and each other for power. But despite Attolia's wishes, Eugenides was reluctant to wield power, and preferred to let her take the lead in most matters of government.

Immediately after their wedding, Eugenides told Attolia that he wanted to reduce the Royal Guard by half; she responded by throwing an inkpot at his head. But at some point after that, she agreed to reduce the Guard on the condition that he also convince Teleus first.

Two or three months later, Relius's intelligence operation was compromised, leading to the simultaneous capture of several Attolian spies. He lied to the queen about the cause, then retreated to his rooms to write a confession and attempted to poison himself. He was arrested before he could finish the deed, and Attolia ordered him imprisoned and tortured.

Not long after that, Eugenides was badly injured in an attempted assassination. Furious, Attolia arrested Teleus and the entire squad of guards assigned to Eugenides when he was attacked, and planned to have them all executed the next morning. But due to the intervention of Costis and Eugenides, she ultimately ended up pardoning them, though she quarreled with Eugenides publicly over the decision afterwards.

Shortly after Teleus was reinstated as Captain of the Guard, Eugenides pardoned Relius. Although Attolia was initially reluctant to see him, Eugenides eventually convinced her to visit Relius. She admitted that she had trusted Relius in the past, despite his own advice not to, and that she would trust him unconditionally moving forward.

Attolia revealed after the fall of Erondites that Eugenides had promised to deal with him for her in six months, but he accomplished it in ninety-eight days. She was listening behind a screen while Eugenides banished Dite and was surprised to learn that Dite had been in love with her.

She arrived to watch Eugenides duel his guard squad and stopped Teleus from halting the fighting, trusting Eugenides to handle himself. After he had won the duels, he knelt and presented his sword to her and accepted his position as king.

A Conspiracy of Kings[]

Following Sophos's arrival in her capital, Attolia provided the young king with political and military advice. Although Attolis and Eddis both hoped to find a diplomatic resolution to the civil war in Sounis, Attolia more pragmatically advised Sophos to annihilate his rebellious barons.

Thick as Thieves[]

After suffering a late-term miscarriage, Attolia spent the following weeks recovering. After encountering Kamet in the gardens by chance, she requested that he recite an ancient poem about the river Ianna, which was the source of the Attolian saying "the river knows its time."

Return of the Thief[]

With her fellow rulers, Irene accompanies the combined forces of Sounis, Eddis, and Attolis as they march towards Leonyla Pass to confront the Mede army. Along the way, Eugenides discovers that she is pregnant. Outraged, Eugenides attempts to order her to return home, but she refuses. During the battle with the Mede Army, Irene and Helen stay behind at camp while their husbands Sophos and Eugenides fight with the armies. After the Mede invasion is successfully repelled, Sophos, Irene and Helen return home, while Eugenides marches on with what is left of the army to chase down remaining Mede forces. Later, Irene gives birth to twins. After Eugenides returns, she introduces him to their twin children, naming them Hector and Eugenia.

Trivia[]

  • The name Irene (Greek: Ειρήνη) means "peace".
  • Irene may be based partially on the historical figure Irene of Athens, the only woman to rule the Byzantine Empire in her own right.
  • Irene is said to be descended from the goddess Alyta, the Hephestian goddess of gentle rain.

References[]

  1. The King of Attolia, 2017 paperback edition, page 100.
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