Merida Caelum

Merida Caelum, also known as "Queen of Sunflowers", was the seventh Queen of Azure. She ruled peacefully with her husband, Ramos Stormyr.

Appearance
Merida was a beautiful woman, who inherited the strawberry blonder hair of her mother and the bright blue eyes of her father. Despite being a full human, she had the silvery gold freckles of her aasimar ancestors.

Personality
Merida had a sweet and radiant personality in her youth, earning her the title "The Spring Princess" and later "Queen of Sunflowers." She was a capable and smart ruler in her adulthood, who knew when to be fair and strict when she needed to be. Like her father, she highly valued the advise of her council and knew her own capabilities. She also had the reputation of being a wild spirit, and was notorious for breaking hearts.

Early Life
Merida was born in 229 AE to King Mordred Caelum I and Lady Diana Lazul. Her mother died in 234 AE when she was only 5 years old.

Because of her mother's death, Merida was overly protected during her childhood and later adolescence. Her father remarried in 252 AE, to Lady Nyla Belros. Merida would gain a half-brother, Mordred II, in 255 AE, though the two were never close.

While Merida had many lovers and suitors, she would choose to marry her personal retainer and knight, Ser Ramos Stormyr in 263 AE. This choice caused a minor scandal, as she was nearly 12 years his senior and he was a commonborn knight. It was also rumored that she broke off a long-planned engagement with a noble lord, though her father gave them his blessing. The two had two children, Reynard and Rene, in 264 and 267 AE respectively, after two difficult labors. Both children were quite sickly in their childhoods, though they were given the best care they could have gotten.

Her older son, Reynard was able to shake off most of his frailty of childhood, training to be a knight and warrior like his father. He was brutally killed by older Scarlet Guard who wanted to prove his skills in combat. He was buried in 281 AE, at the age of 17. Merida's daughter, Rene, suffered through her long term illnesses all throughout her life, later succumbing to it in 290 AE, at the age of 23. Merida supposedly did everything she could to save her children, and was deeply changed by their deaths.

She served in her father's Bright Council until his death in 295 AE. She and her husband were notably at his side during his deathbed.

Reign
Merida ascended the Azure throne in 295 AE at the age of 66, co-ruling with her husband, Ramos. She and her husband continued the good reforms and peaceful administration of her father. Together with her husband, Merida was considered to be a good ruler, though she did not enact as many changes or major policies.

Despite both her children being long dead during her reign, Merida refused to acknowledge her half-brother Mordred II as her heir, causing further strife between the two half-siblings.

Death
Merida died of natural causes in 329 AE, at the very old age of 100. Before she died, she slighted her half-brother one more time by naming her husband Ramos as next heir to the throne.

Legacy
Merida and Ramos' rule is remembered to be a good and peaceful rule, continuing the success of the previous monarchy before them.

Neither of Merida's two children, Reynard and Rene, would end up on the throne as they both passed before her.

Mordred Caelum I
Merida had a very close relationship with her father, who often spoiled whenever he could. She was overly protective of her, and gave her all the attention she could. He supposedly would have given her anything.

Diana Lazul
Merida remembered little of her mother, as she was only five years old when she died. Despite this, she had fond memories of her, and would often remember the lullabies she sung to her in her youth, which she would sing to her own two children.

===Mordred Caelum II Merida never got along with her younger brother, Mordred II, who was nearly 26 years younger than her. She often called him a wicked boy, citing his hatred of her and her mother out of jealousy. Even as he got older, the two often avoided each other when they could. Despite him being her true heir after the death of both her children, Merida chose to slight Mordred II by refusing to acknowledge him as her heir throughout her whole reign, and later by naming her husband as heir during her deathbed.

Nyla Belros
Merida never got along with her stepmother Lady Nyla Belros, though they had a civil relationship in court. She heavily believed that Nyla was turning her half-brother Mordred against her and her father. She also suspected she was the source of many of the rumors surrounding her sexual life among the tabloids.

Ramos Stormyr
Merida met Ser Ramos in 261 AE, when she was 32 and he was 20, after he was assigned to be her personal guard and retainer. They would later marry two years later in 263 AE. Their relationship caused a minor scandal due to their age gap, his lowborn status, and her rumored engagement to a noble lord during the early parts of their affair. Despite this, the two had a strong relationship, and were each others most reliable partners throughout both of their long lives. Their marriage almost fell apart after the deaths of both their children, but they were able to repair their relationship sometime in their elderly years.

Reynard Caelum
Merida was very protective of her two children, both of which had sickly health during their childhoods. She gave Reynard more freedom when he became healthier, though she was very wary of his choice to become a knight and join the Scarlet Guard. She was very heartbroken by his death, which almost put a wedge between her and Ramos, as she partially blamed him and his negligence for Reynard's death.

Rene Caelum
Merida was very protective of her two children, both of which had sickly health during their childhoods. She did everything she could to cure Rene of her illness, and was deeply heartbroken by her death.

Abilities
Merida had some magical ability, and she was rumored to have been much more powerful than she let on. Merida was also a highly trained archer and horseback rider.

Influence
As Monarch of Azure, Merida was one of the most powerful people in Auros. Due to her husband's influence as a General, she also had a lot of sway among the Scarlet Guard.

Trivia

 * According to tabloids, her nickname for her husband was "Bearcub."
 * Merida was loosely inspired by Princess Raenyra from House of the Dragon, as well as her namesake from Pixar's Brave.