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Ihakudian ✦ The Arch Queen
Of all the amazing women in Arch history, Ihakudian is the most well-known. The first queen of Edirak, the granddaughter of Iyesromor, and the one to hold the country together during hardships and glory—she is easily the nation’s favorite.
Born in 1129, Ihakudian was the youngest of three and Pai’ista’s only daughter. Her older brothers, Hyemal and Mojava, were ruling when the Hebnians came over to see their writing supplies in 1143. Mojava welcomed them in, leading them through Kikora before arriving in the Glory Kalmansa. Ihakudian watched them strike a deal that surrounding nations found ridiculous. Ihakudian’s nurse wrote about the trade, but historians and linguists are still struggling to translate it.
Less than a month later, complaints arose from Kikora—most of their people had become sick and it was spreading quickly. The brother-kings, Hyemal and Mojava, were also bedridden, and Ihakudian became ill shortly after them. Her nurse watched over until she recovered in 1143, shortly after she was announced queen of Edirak. Her brothers and nurse all died from the sickness shortly after.
Fourteen year old Ihakudian had the northern tribes build a visitor’s quarters in Ormsa as a sign that the Arch remained strong, despite their condition. An ‘órei writing quotes her from this time: “What happened could not have been avoided, when no one knew what was coming. But we will not bury more [sons and daughters] for the sake of foreign goods.”
With the visitor’s quarters built, she sent a gift to then Grand Hebnia to say the Arch were not angry at the Hebnians, and a strong bond was built between the countries.
In 1156, Edric author Bommi wrote, “[She] was a queen in mourning clothes. The people feared she would break, but she did not.”

Leira Jorän Kaelira Valkoren ✦ The Historian Woman
Leira Valkoren hid under the masculine pen name “Thoren” during a trying time for women in Edrana. She later became one of the most influential people in Edric history by challenging and reshaping misogynistic norms of her time.
Born sometime around 1020 AD as the only daughter of Jorän and Kaelira Valkoren, she witnessed her mother pass away from overwork and malnutrition, leaving her to care for her three younger brothers. When she wasn’t doing work around the house, she would read and study. She thought history was fascinating, and would write essays analyzing different angles of history. Her father encouraged her studying, but only when the household was in order.
When she became an adult, she eloped with a man who was anti-misogyny. According to entries from her journal (found by archaeologist Lee Hammerstein in 1754), she commented on the day she eloped, saying, “[Brenn] always had a woman in the home. How will life be when I’m gone? Father failed you by leaving all the work to me—I hope you can now care for yourself.”
Leira and her husband settled in Landdaal, where they raised a son and two daughters. In her mid-forties, she authored The Mirror of Ynvor, a speech that challenged centuries of entrenched misogyny. The speech was promoted by Preacher Muiran Räveth Soreia Säntherik, who was also speaking out around the same time.

Caetano Maviri ✦ Father of Caetlians
The country of Ewalria was long dismissed by surrounding nations, its people seen as fractured and undefined. Figures like Caetano Maviri would change that.
Caetano was born in 1627, a little under two hundred years after the nation of Ewalria was founded. He was a cousin of the Laizin family—the ruling line of Ewalria. Orphaned at a young age, he grew up alongside his cousin Heir Rhuen, and they were close as brothers. Rhuen took the throne in 1646, and Caetano separated himself to study. He observed his fellow Thalorians, forming strong opinions about their culture. By 1650, he published his first book ‘On the Nature of the Thalorians’, and he immediately became the talk of the town.
“I have come to see our people as three types; the purists, the deniers, and the rememberers. Purists want full separation from our Arch and Hebnic roots. His Highness King Rhuen, my beloved cousin, is a Purist. I admire his determination to make us a people of our own. Deniers wish they were fully Arch or Hebnic and reject our Thalorian identity altogether. I’ve seen very few deniers, but those I have encountered are remarkable. Rememberers like myself want to preserve both cultures. When history is so rich and culture is so bright, why should we create something new?“ — [excerpt from ‘On the Nature of the Thalorians’, translated by X Aurelio in 1891]
His “Rememberers vs Purists” opinion ignited division across the nation, with civilians picking sides and causing disturbances. The noise reached King Rhuen, and an argument broke out, resulting in Caetano leaving the nation. According to his journal entries, he was scared to leave, but didn’t want to ruin his relationship with Rhuen any more than he already had. He and many of his followers settled in Jangledgrief, Extroit, where they created the Thalorian community of Somber Foreste, embracing both sides of their ancestry. His exile split the Thalorians permanently—his descendants in Extroit became the Caetlian Thalorians, while his ideas reshaped communities across Eblar.