Dread Empress Maleficent I

"And so Maleficent said: ‘Though you be god I am Empress, crowned of dread, and by my hand comes your doom. Rage in vain, for from your bones will rise a great tower whose shadow will be cast upon all the world.’"

―Extract from the Scroll of Chains, first of the Secret Histories of Praes

Amina
General information
Name	Dread Empress Maleficent I
Faction	Praes, Villains
Species	Human
Status	Deceaced

Maleficent the First, also known as Amina, was a Taghreb warlord, governor of Kahtan under Miezan occupation and the first Dread Empress. As the founder of the Dread Empire of Praes, she’s widely regarded as one of the most accomplished Tyrants. The founding itself is known as the Declaration and the Imperial Calendar uses it as its starting point (i.e. AD stands for After Declaration).

Reign

Following the War of Chains and the occupation of the various peoples and tribes that make up Praes, the Miezan Empire engaged in a series of wars (known as Licerian Wars) against a fellow overseas polity, the Baalite Hegemony. The exact scope and timeline of these wars is unknown, however it put such a strain on Mieza that by the time the wars were finished there was barely a legion left in the entirety of Calernia. Its expulsion from the continent was probably a formality though repelling Miezans is an important creation myth for the Empire.

As a Tyrant, Maleficent I ruled for less than ten years, around 1340 before the current events. She was regarded as a great stateswoman and unifier.

To form the Empire she brought together various factions, mostly through diplomacy but also through violence. Among them were:

• The Ogres, who joined the Empire in exchange for land to live on, around the city now known as the Hall of Skulls
• The Orc Clans were similarly brought in through diplomacy and bribery. The Declaration made many promises and concessions, amongst them the outlawing of slavery. They were broken by her successors.
• The Goblin Tribes were brought in by force.

In the end, the Soninke nobles would not brook a Taghreb ruler when they were much more numerous and powerful. She was stabbed in the back by the then High Lord of Wolof, Subira Sahelian, who became her successor as Dread Emperor Sinister I.

Epigraphs

“Fate is not a bridle; it is an arrow in flight. No hand but your own can loose it, yet once loosed there can be no desisting from the path.”
– Dread Empress Maleficent the First

“Nothing is half as dangerous to a villain as victory. We raise our own gallows.”
– Dread Empress Maleficent the First

“Maybe I’ll lose one day. But not today, and not to the likes of you.”
– Dread Empress Maleficent the First

“And so Maleficent said: ‘Though you be god I am Empress, crowned of dread, and by my hand comes your doom. Rage in vain, for from your bones will rise a great tower whose shadow will be cast upon all the world.’”
– Extract from the Scroll of Chains, first of the Secret Histories of Praes

“And so Subira of the Sahelians slew Maleficent and said: ‘Emperor am I now, Sinister of name and deed. Let this be the truth of our empire, that iron ever sharpens iron ‘til the last cut is made.’”
– Extract from the Scroll of Thrones, second of the Secret Histories of Praes

Trivia

• When Alaya ascended to the dread crown it was suggested she should take up the regnal name of Maleficent the Third.
• The imperial institution of Seraglio was started by her