Arshtat Falenas
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Arshtat Falenas is a character in the Genso Suikoden series of roleplaying games. She appears in Suikoden V.
[edit] Statistics
Name: Arshtat Falenas
Alias: Her Majesty
Origin: Queendom of Falena
Age: 34 (stopped aging at 32)
Race: Human
Rune: Sun Rune
Family: Ferid (husband), Freyjadour Falenas (son), Lymsleia Falenas (daughter), Sialeeds Falenas (younger sister), Haswar (cousin), Skald Egan (father-in-law), Bernadette Egan (sister-in-law), Falzhram Falenas (mother), Kauss Barows (Father)
[edit] Biography
Arshtat Falenas is the Queen of Falena. Initially, Arshtat was not slated to become Queen, because her mother, Queen Fahlbram, was the younger of two sisters. The elder, Queen Shareswar, already had a daughter, Haswar. However, Queen Fahlbram wanted the throne to herself, and a brutal civil war of succession would plague the two sisters. During this time, Queen Fahlbram convinced her sister to allow Arshtat to have her Sacred Games, the ceremony in which the husband of the Heir Apparent, the future Queen, is chosen.
There was a surprise in the Sacred Games, though. Rather then a nobleman's gladiator winning, a traveler from the Island Nations named Ferid won. This was a good thing, for, if a noble had won, the civil war between the two factions would have continued.
Soon afterwards, Queen Shareswar, war-weary and tired of conflict, surrendered her right of succession and allowed Fahlbram to ascend to the throne. But Fahlbram, thinking it was a trick, had her assassins, the Nether Gate, kill her sister. Queen Fahlbram ascended to the throne, but died after only two years due to illness. After this, the three princesses of Falena: Arshtat, Haswar, and Sialeeds entered into a pact. To prevent any type of war from happening again, there would be no doubt who the successors would be. Haswar and Sialeeds surrendered willingly their right to the throne, and both of them agreed never to marry or have children.
Arshtat's marriage to Ferid was soon blessed with a son, Freyjadour, and eventually, a daughter, Lymsleia. Arshtat was known to be a kind and devoted mother as well as a wise ruler. Her political knowledge and savvy were unparalleled, and she diplomatically ended a war with the nearby nation of Armes with very favorable conditions. Coupled with Ferid's unrivaled swordsmanship, Arshtat's reign was benevolent and benefited all of Falena.
In Solar Year 447, there was an uprising and a revolt by the people of Lordlake. Although it appeared as though the people were angry with the Queen, the real reason they were protesting was because Lord Barows was constructing a dam that was contaminating their water. Lord Rovere, the lord of Lordlake and one of the Queen's closest allies, tried to keep the peace, but the people managed to destroy the dam. To prevent something like this from happening again, the people wanted to go to Sol-Falena and make a formal protest to the Queen. However, Lord Barows snuck some of his soldiers into the Lordlake forces and incited them to attack the East Palace instead. While attacking, Lord Barows's forces stole the Dawn Rune housed there and returned it to their lord.
The Queen knew that, because of this, the rival Godwin faction would also come to action, perhaps against the Sun Rune in Falena. Lord Godwin's tactical advisor, Lucretia Merces, advised the Queen to bear the Sun Rune herself to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands, betraying Lord Godwin himself to tell the Queen this. The Queen knew the legends behind the Sun Rune, that it seduced the soul of the one who bore it, and bent the will of the person to the will of the Rune. But the Queen couldn't afford to hesitate. She bore the Rune. Soon after bearing the Rune, the Queen's mind was taken over by the Rune. Angry at the people of Lordlake, she used the power of the Sun Rune to rain judgment upon Lordlake, blasting the land with the power of the sun, drying up all the water and destroying all vegetation.
The Queen proceeded to have several fits of mania over the course of the next two years, but whenever she came into the presence of Ferid, she calmed down and was able to regain control of herself from the rune. Knowing that political upheaval was inevitable, she was preparing to pass the reign of the kingdom to her children. Both Freyjadour and Lymsleia were taught everything they needed to know about political machinations. Lymsleia needed to know those things when she would be Queen, and Arshtat always believed that her son would become very involved in politics, perhaps even wresting control from the scheming Lord Barows and Lord Godwin.
The Queen and Ferid planned excessively against the Godwins, who believed they would try to stack the deck during Lymsleia's Sacred Games so that they would win. Indeed, through clever use of Armes soldiers and a drug called Dark Arcanum, they eliminated Zegai and Belcoot, the two men who could potentially beat Gizel's champion, Childerich. When Sialeeds informed the Queen that Gizel was behind this, the Sun Rune took advantage of her stress to take over. But Freyjadour was able to calm her.
After Lymsleia's engagement ceremony, the Godwins arrived for the engagement banquet. Suspecting treachery would happen then, the Queen prepares to counter the Godwin's trap. Before she does this however, she says her final goodbyes. Calling in her son, she tells him how proud she is to have a fine child like him. She confesses that she believes things are going to be very difficult for him very soon, but he'll be fine no matter what.
Godwin's trap was to use Dark Arcanum in the banquet food. The Queen expected this and had the royal family take an antidote beforehand. That way, they could eat the banquet food and trick the Godwins into thinking they were drugged. But the Godwins were using powerful soldiers from Nether Gate, and, even though the Queen anticipated his plan, his forces were so strong there was little they could do about it. Inside the throne room, Ferid and Queen's Knight Galleon made their stand. During the battle, in which the Queen's forces were winning, a stray archer was about to snipe at Ferid, busy slashing at other assassins. To save him, the Queen taps into the power of the Sun Rune and vaporizes the potential assassin. Because she used the power of the Rune, the Sun Rune takes over her mind. When Ferid tries to calm her, he cannot, and the Sun Rune blasts him. As soon as she does this, Arshtat regains control and briefly reaches out to touch Ferid one last time. He mouths his forgiveness and love to her before he is killed. Arshtat sobs uncontrollably on the floor, but when the assassins move on her, they are blasted before they can reach her. The Sun Rune, taking over due to Arshtat's grief, makes her go insane again, stating she will destroy the entire country, it's the only way to stop petty squabbles over power like this one. However, Georg Prime was consueled on this earlier by Ferid, and, with a heavy heart, assassinated the Queen. Miakis, another Queen's Knight, enters to give a battle report, just in time to witness this. Horrified and angry, Miakis leaves with Galleon to protect the Princess, while Georg goes to inform Freyjadour and Sialeeds of Arshtat's death.
Arshtat's legacy lived on in both of her children. With the knowledge she gave them, Freyjadour was able to unite the disenfranchised factions of Falena to reclaim the country from the Godwins, and at the same time, prevent the Barows from getting the upper hand. With Arshtat's knowledge, Lymsleia was able to trick the Godwins several times and attempt her own escape, as well as dissolve the corrupt Senate once the country was back in her control.
When the Prince defeats an incarnation of the Sun Rune, he sees a brief image of his mother. She helps him to stand after the death of his bodyguard Lyon. Although the Queen does not speak, she mouths to her son her final words to him, just how proud she was of him. Joined by the spirits of the other fallen, the Queen encourages Freyjadour to make Falena the country everyone always wanted it to be.
