MAINS & EXCLUSIVES

Calanthe Fiona Riannon was born in Cintra, as legitimate daughter of King Dagorad and Queen Adalia, called The Seer. Second and third name were given to her to remind of famous ancestors. But with a rather negative outcome, for they reminded of a case of incest - Fiona and Riannon were, after all, the ancestors of both of her parents.She took the throne of Cintra after her father’s death at age fourteen. Barely a year later, aged fifteen, after victoriously leading cintrese troops to battle at Hochebuz, against the army of Nazair, Calanthe earned the nickname Lioness of Cintra.Calanthe was married twice. First time aged seventeen, to seven years her senior, Duke the Salm, Roegner. It was a typical dynastic marriage. At first, Lioness Calanthe did not want to marry at all, later however, when she agreed to marriage of convenience after many persuasions, it turned out there were not many volunteers.Too many gossips were spread of the princess - later queen - of Cintra. They spoke of incestuous relationships in the family, they spoke of “hot blood”, of numerous romances and adventures. They spoke even of a perverse relationship of Calanthe with her cousin, Queen Meve of Lyria.All of this caused many princes and kings to politely refuse, when they were proposed a union. They had to look far - and they found: in Ebbing, in duchy de Salm. For the young duke Roegner de Salm a marriage to the Queen of Cintra was a huge honour and promotion, so Roegner - even though he knew the rumours - agreed with no hesitation.Calanthe, so they say, almost lost interest in marriage again and she was supposed to try and sabotage the whole thing, pretending in front of her bridegroom a crazy hag and hellcat… But she changed her plans when she first saw Roegner - the duke was in fact devilishly handsome!If there was in the royal marriage love, or not, today no one could tell anymore. But beyond any doubt - and in spite of the rumours - the marriage was compatible - especially after they had a daughter Pavetta.When Roegner died, Calanthe had many offers of re-marriage, as she had not only built Cintra to power and glory, but was known as one of the most beautiful women of her time. From King Ervall of Verden and much younger than herself Venzlav of Brugge, among others. She did not agree to any of them. They spoke lots of her romances, but the rumours were either untrue, or the Queen was unusually discreet, for no clues that could be used as proof remained.At the time when the Queen was highly fascinated with the persona of Eist Tuirseach, Jarl of the Islands of Skellige, she encouraged new rumours of romance, but again they seemed to only be that - rumours.It is known that Eist Tuirseach proposed to the Queen repeatedly, but she always refused. Only when Pavetta turned fifteen and the scandal, that resulted in marriage, broke out of her romance with Duny the Urcheon, Calanthe decided to accept Eists proposal - and this way, two marriages and two weddings happened at the same time in Cintra.Calanthe and Eist lived together for 13 years, but they had no children.When the army of Nilfgaard passed the Marnadal Stairs and entered Cintra, Calanthe and Eist Tuirseach - the royal couple - themselves led the troops in the Battle of Marnadal, where King Eist died, and Calanthe, who with unmatched bravery stood together with a group of knights and protected the decimated army as it reatreted, was wounded gravely.They managed to transport her away from the battlefield and back to Cintra. When Nilfgaard broke into the city and it became clear, that the castle will be broken into as well, Calanthe demanded that she be killed, or be given something sharp, so she could open her own veins. When her people refused, she crawled to the window despite her wounds and threw herself off the tower, dying instantly.The Queen’s body was desecrated by the invaders, the Gemmerian Pacifiers, and probably burned together with the fallen at the huge stakes placed in front of the city walls. Despite that, Calanthe has not one, but two cenotaphs - one at the Skellige Islands, where she symbolically lies with her second husband, Jarl Eist Tuirseach. The other - extraordinarily beautiful - in Cintra in the royal crypt underneath the Castle. It was built at the order of Emhyr var Emreis, the emperor of Nilfgaard, exactly a year after Cintra was conquered.