Makhaira

Makhaira was a historical figure in the Great Red Sand, Sumeru who lived after King Deshret's death several thousand years ago. She was originally a resident of Tulaytullah and Xiphos' lover, but was sent to become the vassal king Badanah's concubine. She conspired with Faramarz, Badanah's son and her second lover, to assassinate the tyrant. The resulting power vacuum led to a series of conflicts which eventually resulted in her death at Faramarz's hands.

She was the wielder of Makhaira Aquamarine.

Story

Makhaira's mother was a Jinni, from whom Makhaira learned her seven-fold sword dance.^[2] She lived in Tulaytullah, which the lost prince Xiphos eventually became the protector of, and she became his lover. However, due to her beauty and her skill at sword-dancing, the rulers of Tulaytullah sold her as a concubine to the vassal king Badanah.^[3][4] At some point, Makhaira stumbled into the ruins where Thoth was imprisoned. Deciding that she was worth granting powers to, Thoth asked her the second out of three riddles: "What obliterates love and hate?" He was satisfied by Makhaira's response, "I have nothing left to lose. Vengeance alone can quench both love and hate," and gave her the power to "be loved."^[1]

Eventually, both Makhaira and Faramarz, Badanah's son, agreed that Badanah's greed and self-indulgence would destroy the kingdom. The two drew up a plot to assassinate Badanah. Makhaira assassinated him with her sword dance,^[3] then they covered up his death by setting it up to be the result of Badanah entering a structurally unstable tower, which gave way to Badanah's weight and sent him plummeting to his doom.^[2][5] Following the king's death, the tower was demolished and his hunting falcons were buried with him.^[4]

Desert Destabilization and Death

With Badanah dead, Faramarz was coronated as the new king. However, due to his relatively young age, Makhaira became the queen regent. She gathered their retainers and afterwards, it was decided that Faramarz would abdicate in favor of his uncle Balash, who was the master of Tulaytullah. One of his other uncles, Goraz, raised an army to restore Faramarz; while Balash's fate is left unclear, it is implied that Balash was killed in the uprising. Faramarz was restored as king with Goraz and Makhaira as co-regents, only for Goraz to later claim the throne for himself, take Makhaira as his queen, and exile Faramarz.^[4]

The people of Tulaytullah, angry over Balash's deposition, rebelled. Goraz's cause of death is unclear, but Makhaira handed his head to the rebellion to appease them,^[4] suggesting she may have assassinated him herself. Faramarz was restored to the throne for a third time, only for the people of Saleh to attempt to regain independence. Makhaira appeased them as well, only for another twelve of Faramarz's uncles to each make claims to the throne, instigating a protracted war. Faramarz emerged victorious and returned to power for a fourth and final time.^[4]

Despite being in love with Makhaira, Faramarz grew wary of Makhaira's penchant for aligning with whomever best suited her designs on the throne, and assassinated her using a viper's venom. However, the slave-warriors and the city dwellers conspired with each other and deposed Faramarz one last time, after which he was exiled to the forest.^[2][4][5]

Legacy

The Old Blind Poet, an unnamed general and poet who once served Badanah, managed to survive the court intrigue following Badanah's demise. He was blinded at some point before he met Xiphos,^[2] a homeless former prince who served as his apprentice before departing for Tulaytullah.^{[6][Note 1]} The Poet outlived many of the other historical figures of that era and recounted their stories.^[7]

In present day, Makhaira is believed to have committed suicide via poisoning.^[1] Tales passed down by the desert dwellers include a story about "the treasure of the evil queen Makhaira."^[8]

Trivia

• Makhaira is inspired by Cleopatra, the last ruler of Egypt's Ptolemaic Kingdom. The Ptolemaic dynasty was wrought with court intrigue and assassinations, with Cleopatra defeating, exiling, or assassinating most of her siblings and potential rivals to the throne over the course of her reign. Makhaira's demise via snake venom is a reference to the popular depiction of Cleopatra's death by means of a venemous snakebite, and the inconsistent accounts about the reason behind Makhaira's death (suicide or murder) may be a reference to the debate over Cleopatra's.
  • Cleopatra famously had affairs with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, which led to her depiction by the Romans as an "evil foreign temptress." Makhaira's reputation as the "Temptress of Woe" and her affairs with Xiphos and Faramarz are likely loosely based on this.^[1]

Etymology

• A makhaira (Ancient Greek: μάχαιρα mákhaira) is an Ancient Greek term used to refer to single-edged blades, although it was used to refer to blades of any size.
  • In a similar vein, a xiphos (Ancient Greek: ξίφος xíphos) is an Ancient Greek single-handed, double-edged blade.

Notes

Other Languages

Language	Official Name
English	Makhaira
Chinese (Simplified)	玛海菈 Mǎhǎilā
Chinese (Traditional)	瑪海菈 Mǎhǎilā
Japanese	マカイラ Makaira
Korean	마카이라 Makaira
Spanish	Májaira
French	Makhaira
Russian	Махайра Makhayra
Thai	Makhaira
Vietnamese	Makhaira
German	Makhaira
Indonesian	Makhaira
Portuguese	Mahara / Makhaira[1]
Turkish	Makhaira
Italian	Makhaira

Change History

References