Jaliah
Appearance
Average height and slim, Jaliah could easily be viewed as frail. It helps that she tends to use a cane. She has leaned into her age, hoping that it makes her appear less threatening. Her only concession to vanity is that she uses dyes to keep her hair lustrous and dark. The corners of her eyes are crinkled into crows feet, and her mouth is flanked with laugh-lines, the badges of a life of many varied emotions and lots of laughter.
Once a great beauty, now in her sixties, Jaliah has accepted her status as a matron. As the Queen Dowager and former Queen Mother of Tyria, she holds herself with a regality and dignity that few in the city-state can challenge. A widow who has also lost her son, she tends to wear dark colors like black or dark jewel tones. She is, of course, partial to deep, dark Tyrian purples, not only because it suits her complexion, but because it is the color of royalty and sets her apart from (and above) the plebs and poseurs at her granddaughter's court.
Once a great beauty, now in her sixties, Jaliah has accepted her status as a matron. As the Queen Dowager and former Queen Mother of Tyria, she holds herself with a regality and dignity that few in the city-state can challenge. A widow who has also lost her son, she tends to wear dark colors like black or dark jewel tones. She is, of course, partial to deep, dark Tyrian purples, not only because it suits her complexion, but because it is the color of royalty and sets her apart from (and above) the plebs and poseurs at her granddaughter's court.
Skills and Abilities
-Intrigue
-Deception
-Quips
-Fashion
-Deception
-Quips
-Fashion
Personality
Although she projects an image of dignity and warmth to the people of Tyria, Jaliah's true personality only shows to the inner circle of family and courtiers in Tyria. In reality, the Queen Dowager is impatient and irritable with people who she views as slow to understand. She expects people to catch up and keep up. It wasn't always this way; as a girl and the young, trusted and beautiful queen of Tyria, she was easy-going and genteel, polite and docile. Her husband trusted her advice and so she wielded her influence in a more straightforward way. But after her husband died, and even more after the death of her son, she has felt sidelined and found her patience growing thinner and thinner as the years went on and as her ability to influence affairs at court diminished.
Never one to take defeat lying down (or standing up, or in a semi-recumbent position), she learned other abilities: flattery and finagling to learn what was being kept from her, manipulation and influence to convince courtiers to advise her son and granddaughter in a way she would approve.
Never one to take defeat lying down (or standing up, or in a semi-recumbent position), she learned other abilities: flattery and finagling to learn what was being kept from her, manipulation and influence to convince courtiers to advise her son and granddaughter in a way she would approve.
Biography & Lore
Born to a wealthy family of minor nobility in Annuakat, Jaliah was the youngest of three and the only daughter. Her parents made much of Jaliah's brothers, and so she did not expect to have much of her parents' support in forging her life. It was rather a surprise, then, when through chance Jaliah met her future husband, the crown prince of Tyria, when he was visiting the city as part of a diplomatic mission, and through sheer force of will and her own maneuvering they were betrothed.
Her parents, eager for an advantageous match, agreed to an obscene dowry. The rest, as they say, is history.
As a young woman, Jaliah married the crown prince of Tyria and acceded to the consort's throne beside him upon the death of his mother. They reigned together for three decades, almost as joint monarchs given his reliance upon her for insights and advice. During this time, she gave birth to a son and two daughters. She was close to her children; the family was tight-knit for many years until her daughters were sent away to advantageous marriages, though they remained in contact and visited across the years.
When her husband died Jaliah was devastated, but she channeled her grief into helping her son settle into his role as the new king. When her son married, his wife supplanted the Queen Mother as chief adviser and confidant. Jaliah was still entitled to sit on the small council and tried to maintain her influence over affairs of state. When she found herself working at cross-purposes with her daughter-in-law, Jaliah turned to less-than-forthright methods of influencing her son.
When her daughter-in-law died, her relationship with her son improved, and Jaliah became close to her granddaughter Xaviera as a strong maternal influence. But when her son died young, unexpectedly, and Xaviera acceded to the throne of Tyria, Jaliah found herself concerned about the child's youth and inexperience, and began to move to secure Tyria - for her granddaughter's good, if not with her permission.
Her parents, eager for an advantageous match, agreed to an obscene dowry. The rest, as they say, is history.
As a young woman, Jaliah married the crown prince of Tyria and acceded to the consort's throne beside him upon the death of his mother. They reigned together for three decades, almost as joint monarchs given his reliance upon her for insights and advice. During this time, she gave birth to a son and two daughters. She was close to her children; the family was tight-knit for many years until her daughters were sent away to advantageous marriages, though they remained in contact and visited across the years.
When her husband died Jaliah was devastated, but she channeled her grief into helping her son settle into his role as the new king. When her son married, his wife supplanted the Queen Mother as chief adviser and confidant. Jaliah was still entitled to sit on the small council and tried to maintain her influence over affairs of state. When she found herself working at cross-purposes with her daughter-in-law, Jaliah turned to less-than-forthright methods of influencing her son.
When her daughter-in-law died, her relationship with her son improved, and Jaliah became close to her granddaughter Xaviera as a strong maternal influence. But when her son died young, unexpectedly, and Xaviera acceded to the throne of Tyria, Jaliah found herself concerned about the child's youth and inexperience, and began to move to secure Tyria - for her granddaughter's good, if not with her permission.