Queen Ratha is a short, young looking elf with red hair pulled into a short, tight braid. Her eyes are her most striking feature; they are pure black, with red pupils. While everyone notices her eyes, no one comments on them, and as such, she never mentions them.
Ameal has struggled with her appearance most of her life. Her lean build has lead to others thinking she's weak, or treating her like a child, even when she was an adult. She's used that to her advantage on serveral occasions; before she was queen she would run scams on known criminals, using the excuse she was just a dumb kid if she got caught.
She is an incredibly determined person, unwilling to give up on something if she feels it is the right thing to do. In the face of the impossible, she buckles down and either works out a solution, or she finds the closest she can get to her desired outcome, accepts that for now, and continues to come at the problem from other angles. It was this drive that lead her to look for outside solutions to the four kingdoms attacking Kelir.
Ameal's life has been defined not by the family of her birth, but by the family of her choosing. She lived on the street for much of her life, and even in her twenties, chose to travel the Kingdoms looking for herself and making friends. It was only after meeting Imra, and seeing the duties she had placed on her that Ameal returned to Kelir, with the idea of helping her people. Little did she realize she would get chosen to be Queen.
An old "friend" of Ameal's was the one who sponsored her. In fact he arranged for her to be put up as a candidate from the town she was staying in. Formerly the head of Bala's local guard, he and Ameal had had numerous run-ins over the years. He ended up marrying the current King, and receiving the cerimonial title of "Head of the Armies". The King was starting to get old, and he decided that instead of sitting on the throne for the end of his days, he and his husband should spend their remaining years relaxing. So, he sent out a call for candidates.
Ameal's frenimy heard about her and Imra, and that Ameal was returning to Kelir. So he pulled some strings, and sponsored her. She was confused, since they had never shared a friendly exchange in the entire time they'd known each other. He said to her, "I know what this job entails. And as much of a pain in the ass as you are, I know you better than anyone here. And I'll be damned if I could think of a better Queen. Plus, I'd love to see what the other Kingdoms will do with you. I'll bet you drive them nuts."
In the end, the King ended up voting for her over his own son, and she became Queen. Years later, shortly after her win against the other Kingdoms, she ran into her friend again. He ignored the guards around her, walked straight up to her, and said, "There she is. Knew you'd be a pain in their ass." She laughed, agreed, and had had him arrested. An hour later she let him out herself, telling him it was payback for all the time she'd spent on the other side of the bars. He didn't have the heart to tell her that he'd barely been in the cell the whole hour, since his old buddies from the city guard had come to see him.
Ameal's relationship with Chieftan Imra is a complicated one. When they first met, Ameal was on the run from the Rima Army. She had caught a captain and his troops having their way with a small villiage just over the border in Kelir. She had attacked him, taking one of his eyes before running for her life. The entire local garrison was searching for her when she, literally, ran head first into Imra, who'd been out hunting. Taking her to be a young girl, Imra simply assumed the worst of those chasing her, and offered Ameal protection, taking her back to Duhn Darim.
As they reach the city, a runner from the Chieftan meets up with Imra, informing her that her father has sent for her. The runner then questions who Ameal is, and Imra says that she is a refuge, and Imra takes responsibility for her. They return to Imra's father, who, upon seeing Ameal, and hearing Imra took responsibility for her sends Ameal off with his wife, and has a long talk to Imra, outling the situation, and that he has pledged to aid the Dwarves.
Imra confronted Ameal, claiming she lied about her age, and accusing Ameal of using her. Imra was furious, demanding Ameal make good on "whatever shreds of honor you have left and face me." Ameal, knowing very little of Orc customs, told Imra to go to hell, and attempted to leave. Imra chased her down, threw her to the ground and informed her that she wasn't going to let her leave. Because of her, her father would have to turn her over to the Dwarves in Ameal's stead, so the least Ameal could do is give her the satisfaction of exacting her own price "from such an honorless elf."
At that, Ameal pushed Imra off, stood and said, "Fine. But let's make this official... whatever that means around here. I want everyone to see what happens when you defend evil people. The pain, the blood. All of it. Call the whole damned city."
Imra thought that Ameal was refering to herself, not the Dwarf Captain she'd blinded. Imra thought that Ameal was going to force Imra to kill her, but as far as she knew, Imra's life was over anyway; attacking an officer of the Army was punishable by death, and Imra had no reason to think that even thought she was simply a proxy, she'd receive leniency.
At the center of Duhn Darim is a stone circle, used for proclimations, official statements, celebrations, and duels. This was the first duel there in over a century, and everyone who could crowd the walkways and roads came out to watch. Even the Dwarven Captain, who sat at the right hand of the Chieftan. Ameal knew he wouldn't be able to resist watching, and that was her entire plan.
Each duelist was allowed to pick their weapons; Imra picked two hunting axes, and Ameal chose a spear taller than she was. Imra didn't hold back and after the first attack, the spear had been cut in half, and Ameal simply dropped it.
It was at this point that the situation change dramatically. Imra, while not exactly strong by Orcish standards, was still much stronger than an Elf. When fighting and training with other Orcs, she used her natural strength as speed, being much more agile than one would assume an Orc could be. In this fight she's planned on quickly getting past Ameal's defenses, and then using her strength to overwhelm the admittedly weak looking Elf, wining quickly.
Ameal's plan was, apparently, to destroy her only weapon and then K.O. Imra with a single hit. She nearly pulled it off, stopping Imra's attack with a single hand, and had Imra not been practiced at fighting some of the strongest Orc warriors in Rima, Ameal would have definitely landed a nearly fatal blow. Ameal wasn't trying to kill Imra; rather she rarely used her strength, so simply didn't know how hard she was hitting.
Somehow landing on her feet, Imra stood there at the diminuative Elf, her off hand dangling from a shattered arm, and laughed. "You're not an Elf, are you? They eyes should have told me everything I needed to know; you're an Infernal, and you're here to kill us all."
Ameal sighed, picked up half the spear, and looked at Imra. "No. I'm just an Elf, and I'm only here to kill one person." With that, she lobbed the spear with incedible speed at the Dwarf Captain, killing him before anyone else could react.
Imra was moving as Ameal turned her back on her, and Ameal didn't even attempt to block the blow. Imra burried the ax inbetween Ameal's shoulderblades just as the spear left her hands. Ameal fell to her knees, but was still very much alive.
The events that had just happened caught up to Imra, and rage overtook her. She kicked Ameal to the ground, ax still in her back. "Why? Was killing me not enough? Now my father, my entire family will die because of you!"
Ameal looked at her, sadness in her eyes. "No. No, they wouldn't... they couldn't... Queen Runur would never defend a monster like him. You're... you're wrong."
The shock on Ameal's face chilled Imra's rage, and she leaned in close to the dying elf. "Monster? Why did you have to kill him."
"An eye for an eye wasn't enough. What he did to those women... to the entire town... death was too good for him. But... you happened."
Imra's father had entered the circle. He pulled Imra aside, and instructed her to put Ameal out of her misery. Imra, instead, told her father that someone was lying, until they determined who, the duel was over. He agreed, but refused to help Ameal, so Imra picked up the now unconscious Elf's body and over the next week nursed her back to health.
During that time, the truth about the guard came out. Ameal's actions were pardoned, under the condition that Imra continue to be responsible for her as long as she remained in Rima.
Ameal stayed with Imra for over a year. Her strength and health returned quickly, but she felt she owed it to Imra to help her recover from the shattered arm. It took a year for Imra to regain full use of it, and in that time Ameal and Imra because very close, doing everything together. As Imra tells it, she'd decided to take Ameal as a lover long before Ameal made the first move, but neither woman agrees on how it played out.
Ameal and Imra traveled acros Rima, and into Gerel, where Ameal introduced Imra to Throop. They three adventured for two years, before Imra was called to return. Her father had died in an accident, and Imra was to be named Chieftan. Ameal didn't understand, she tried to get Imra to simply run away further. Imra, instead, immediately ended their relationship, said goodbye to Throop, and headed home.
Stunned, Ameal decided to return to Kelir, not knowing what to do. Little did she know, that would end up with her being named Queen.
Ameal and Imra didn't renew their relationship for a few years, when a harsh winter had driven most of the game from the land around Duhn Darim. Imra, now High Cheiftan, went to the Court of Kelir, as they were much closer than the Dwarves. She had no idea that Ameal was now Queen. Upon seeing her former lover sitting on the thrown, Imra said, simply, "I don't get it. What's the joke here?"
Ameal responded, "There is no joke."
Imra laughed and shook her head. "There must be. Because that's the only way I can even imagine you on the throne. A really bad joke, in poor taste."
Needless to say, Imra's people got the supplies they needed, hand delivered by Ameal. The two renewed their relationship sometime afterwards, and have been together since.
Imra is Queen Ratha's consort. While they are married in the eyes of Kelir's law, they are not married in the eyes of the Orcs, or most importantly, Imra herself. To do so would tie the Orcs to Kelir in a way unheard of, and the other Chieftans are incredibly uncomfortable with the idea. As such, for now, Imra has accepted the lesser title of Consort. Ameal holds no standing among the Orcs, officially, but the people of Duhn Darim refer to her as "Our Queen".
Ameal first met Throop when he was a child, and she was barely much older. She learned to listen to him, and value his observation. He valued her determination, and skill. It was this long relationship of mutual respect that lead to her seeking him out when the Kingdoms attacked.
Please see GM Notes.