Dyfy Toarlameek
Dyfy Gaeza Toarlameek /'dɪfiː 'tworlɑmiː/ was Taley Toarlameek's first wife, mother of Tos Toarlameek and later the Murdoh of Lora. She lived for over a hundred years owing to the superhero warrior Lotyfa prolonging her life.
| Dyfy Toarlameek | |
| The Mother of Kopchungoh | |
| Murdoh of Lora | |
|---|---|
| Reign | 1567-1602 SR |
| Predecessor | Tos Toarlameek |
| Successor | Deeras Tole |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1499 SR |
| Died | 1606 SR (aged 107) |
As Taley's wife
Dyfy moved with the Toarlameeks from Qep city to Lora after Maksag Oordar's invasion of Qep. She became a notable part of Lora's high society and was rumored to have caught Heemin's eye, which might have led him to hire Taley as his aide.
She had three children with Taley: Load (Loady), Tos and Merkoda. All of her children died under mysterious circumstances: Load died in her sleep when she was just 25 years old, Tos mysteriously disappeared in 1567 when returning with his entourage from hunting and Merkoda, born after Taley's death, was last seen when she was 3 years old. Dyfy said that she died from an illness.
As Murdoh of Lora
On the day of her son's disappearance, Dyfy assumed the title of Bortoh. She assumed the title of Murdoh shortly after that. She had an incredibly positive image among the populace, earning her the nickname "the Mother of Kopchungoh", with Kopchungoh being the name of the old palace of Lora, the seat of the ruling family.
Her relationship with the court and her foreign relationships, however were quite different. She quickly became known as an erratic and difficult ruler, and an unreliable negotiator. Many of her actions seemed to pursue no clear goals. For example, she instigated a purge that replaced many of Taley-era courtiers with foreigners, some of whom could barely speak Lora's or Qep city's Bukk, although no conflicts or difference of opinion with the existing court was evident. Once the new court was reshaped, Dyfy assumed a mostly hermitical lifestyle, living in a closely guarded keep of Kopchungoh and rarely visiting the palace or interacting with her courtiers. Instead, she set up her personal secret messaging service.
Dyfy unofficially broke off many of the agreements with Qep city and instead set up several sweeping agreements with Zelo that eventually were never followed. After a while, the new court of Lora began to operate on its own, returning to the Taley-era agreements that were never officially canceled anyway. This manner of existence became characteristic of Dyfy's rule, which saw her dictate bizarre provisions, negotiate strange agreements with other city states, and then have her court scramble to either implement or ignore some of her orders entirely, with little to no repercussions. This is partially blamed on the fact that Dyfy did not speak the Bukk variant of the court she had assembled. She also did not know how to read.
The precursor of assemblic monarchy
As a result of this strange relationship, Dyfy-era court developed an intricate system of operations, power checks, designed to prevent a coup, and became the model for assemblic monarchy in Mantareia. It is also credited with an increase of Lora's political standing, diplomatic flexibility, long-term planning and the establishment of long lasting peace that was unbroken for at least a century, which ensured Lora as an economic and cultural center in Mantereia for decades to come.
Unlike Tos, Dyfy declined to attend the Murdon Circle, but, as was usual for her, never declined formally, instead simply never showing up. Eventually, her courtiers began attending on her behalf. For the first time in the history of the Continent, the representation of a toor on the Murdon Circle was not fulfilled by the Murdoh, but instead by her representatives. This made an impression on Mylda Toarlameek, who recognized the efficiency of essentially having several politicians with different strengths represent at the Circle and began involving her own courtiers.
Relationship with Mylda
Dyfy had a complicated relationship with Taley's second wife, Noana Korōly: both women seemed to like one another, but Dyfy developed an acute jealousy towards Korōly's children.
When Korōly died in 1571 SR, Dyfy began using her maiden name Gaeza instead of Toarlameek and set to actively interfere with Qep city's interests, Mylda's domain. Her attempts, however, were being actively undermined by her own court and rarely succeeded.
She was also said to have hated Gorona and would refer to her as "that worm from up north". She did respect Gorona's power and did not engage her on the political stage.
Abdication
No records exist of Dyfy's reaction to Nilma's first invasion of Qep. During the second invasion, Dyfy ordered an offensive, but her court never followed through, instead moving the army out of Kopchungoh, so that Dyfy would only be able to observe empty barracks from her keep. Lora's court officially surrendered to Nilma in 1602.
When Dyfy was informed, she had the messenger executed in her keep. On the very next night she left Lora with several of her personal guards, messengers and with Lotyfa. One of her messengers informed the court that Dyfy had abdicated.
She was succeeded by Nilma's courtier Deeras Tole.
Life after abdication
Dyfy's mental health was questionable before that, but it began swiftly deteriorating. She spent the last years of her life searching for her son Tos in the forests surrounding Lora, while ambushing travelers and sometimes robbing them. Her entourage was led by Lord Soader, who was sworn to her family. Soader convinced Deeras Tole, the new Murdoh, to spare Dyfy and let her live out her life. She died in 1606 SR in a forest camp, several kilometers away from Lora, releasing Lord Soader and his men from their oath.
Longevity
Dyfy lived a long life of 107 years, which was not the result of luck.
Dyfy was a very private person. But when she became the Murdoh of Lora, she inadvertently became the center of attention and it took her some time to rearrange her surroundings. She would eventually move into Kopchungoh's keep known today as Dyfy's Keep.
However, the exposure of her private life led to rumors that she lived with a strange creature who became known as "the Wildling". Eventually, it was figured out that it was a young skinny woman with extremely long and unkempt hair. The Wildling was moved to Dyfy's Keep after Dyfy's ascension to Murdoh. The common theory at the time was that the Wildling was Merkoda, but several of Dyfy's servants claimed that Mekoda did indeed die albeit under unclear circumstances. Mekoda's place of burial was known to some of the palace staff.
When Dyfy abdicated and left Lora, she took the Wildling with her. Dyfy and her entourage were then seen in forests around Lora for the next several years, but without the Wildling. Dyfy, who looked unnaturally young for her advanced age, began declining rapidly.
It was later revealed that the Wildling was a superhero warrior who would later become known as Lotyfa. Lotyfa had the ability to infuse a mysterious energy into living creatures, that created an orgasmic effect. It is speculated that Dyfy became addicted to the experience.
When Dyfy left Lora, she was intercepted by Kievan, who took Lotyfa away from her. Dyfy began to age rapidly right after that, although it still took her 4 years to die.