Vika I Durrandon
Vika I Durrandon (155 A.I.-), was the eldest daughter of Elenei I Durrandon and the second Storm Queen regnant. She ascended the Storm Throne in 180 A.I. after the death of her mother, and a council that selected her instead of her younger brother, Durran. She dealt with assassination attempts early in her reign, and was the first monarch of the Stormlands to outlaw worship of the Seven, outside specific exemptions.
Appearance
Vika was fairer than her mother, but also physically stronger. Her black hair fell smoothly down to her back, and she preferred to dress a little more womanly than a warrior would. Broad-shouldered and broad-framed, she was densely muscular, and had slightly softer facial features than her mother.
Personality
Vika was violently committed to the gods of sea and sky, and possessed a great fire of courage in her heart. She was incorrigible and pushed to be queen over her brother principally because she had greater, grander vision than he. She was committed to pushing her faith across the realm. She had a great interest in storm magic, and though she was often unwilling to take Tempest into combat and wield it, she still considered it a ceremonial sword and a symbol of Durrandon greatness. She was one of the finest warriors in all the Stormlands.
History
Raised by her mother at court in Storm's End, Vika was the youngest daughter born to Elenei I. She was the most like her, though, and took a liking to her mother where her other sisters found her to be dispassionate and too focused on politics and ruling. Vika's keen interest in the gods, and her conviction, led to her bonding quite closely with Elenei, and she soon became the favored heir over any of her other children. Plagued by the rumor that she was no Durrandon, but a Gardener bastard fathered by Gwayne V Gardener on Elenei, she felt compelled to do everything in her power to ease those concerns by marrying her cousin, Durran Durrandon. This would ensure that their children would be Durrandons in name and blood, to satisfy the more patriarchal traditionalists of the Stormlands. Their marriage was considered loveless, and staunchly political, as Durran's father was an insane man and his own claim to the throne was in jeopardy because many feared his father's madness would pass to him.
When her mother died, her uncle Beric called for the Stormlords to assemble at Storm's End and choose their new monarch. Vika and her younger brother Durran the Debauched were the principal choices, but the two had grown exceptionally close in their youth. They'd been best of friends, supporting one another's ambitions. Durran longed more for the physical pleasures of the world, whilst Vika was committed to saving the realm from the Andal faith. Vika was crowned Storm Queen in 180 A.I., after narrowly beating out Durran for rule. Vika's husband became known as Durran the Consort, to distinguish him from Durran the Debauched and others bearing his name.