Coriane Jacos was the former Queen of Norta, the first wife of Tiberias Calore VI and the mother of Tiberias Calore VII, She was the daughter of Harrus Jacos and Aline Marinos, and the younger sister of Julian Jacos. She was a Silver Singer of House Jacos.
History[]
Early Life[]
Coriane was born on May 1, 278 NE, into House Jacos, which lost most of its wealth due to many members dying in the Nortan-Lakelander War. She was the daughter of Harrus Jacos and Aline Marinos. Her mother died when she was young, and Coriane lived in their lonely, empty estate in Aderonack with her father, her cousin, Jessamine Jacos, and her older brother, Julian Jacos. She had only two friends, Julian and Sara Skonos.
After losing their greatness, House Jacos did not have much money and had to sell all their valuables. Coriane didn't live as hard as a Red did, but even common Silver merchants were wealthier than her family.
In 293 NE, Coriane was present at her uncle, Jared Jacos's, funerals along with the remaining family. Shortly after the ceremony, Coriane was invited to attend the banquet organized by Norta's ruling House, Calore, in Archeon, accompanying House Jacos. The family was seated next to the Whispers of House Merandus. During the dinner, Elara Merandus started to crawl into Coriane's head just for fun, making her run off to escape the madness. Outside, she met Prince Tiberias and they have a pleasant talk.
When Harrus took over his brother Jared Jacos's position as governor, Coriane and the family moved to the capital, to live at court. Coriane kept in touch with Tiberias and the two got close. One day, Tiberias invited her to go to the theater so he could introduce her to Robert Iral, one of the royal family's closest friends and the Prince consort of King Tiberias Calore V. Coriane was delighted because she had never been to one, due to her family's financial status, and she and Robert got along very well.
Tiberias and Coriane fell in love and spent what many of the High Houses considered to be too much time together. Because he found a love match, Tiberias married Coriane without her competing Queenstrial. This angered many High Houses, particularly the Queenstrial forerunners Houses Samos, Merandus, and Osanos and the competing ladies who had waited a long time for the chance to potentially become the Queen of Norta, particularly Elara.
For the following years, Elara continued playing with Coriane's mind, giving her constant nightmares. As a consequence, Coriane had three miscarriages and was gradually more stressed and paranoid, convinced Elara was always messing with her. She told no one when she was pregnant a fourth time and gave birth to Tiberias Calore VII, whom she nicknamed Cal, to distinguish him from the many other kings.
For about a year after his birth, Coriane was still plagued with nightmares. She went insane, trying to find out who was responsible for them. At the Parting Ball, Coriane used her ability as a Singer and sung into Elara's mind and asked her if she was causing her nightmares, which Elara denied.
Elara, however, was lying. Coriane was found dead in her bathtub and her diary completely trashed. Her best friend, Sara, then had her tongue cut out, when she tried to speak the truth of Coriane's death, and how it was Elara's doing that drove her to commit suicide. Coriane had died when Elara whispered into her mind to slit her wrists, killing herself.
Personality[]
Julian described his sister as "kind, compassionate, and a mother who could raise Cal to be the king the country needed to unite them all." She was humorous and sarcastic. She also liked to be alone and was a little sad, which only worsened with Elara's haunting nightmares. She had low self-esteem, not believing to have a great beauty or intellect, or much skill in her ability. Coriane loved to build and tinker with things, a trait she passed on to Cal. She always wanted to build airplanes and fix things, but her father and cousin did not approve, saying it was not proper of a Silver lady, which made her feel unappreciated.
Physical Description[]
Coriane was a slim, slender girl with limp chestnut hair and soft, colorless blue eyes. She was average height and a little underweight. She had paler skin than some Silvers and long, thick eyelashes. She often wore her house colors - yellow and gold. Because she was from a low House, her clothes were old and out of fashion compared to the other Houses.
Abilities[]
As a member of House Jacos, Coriane is a singer, meaning she can use her voice to control people as long as direct eye contact is established. Coriane learned and trained her ability with her brother, Julian. She rarely used her ability and believed not to have much skill, considering herself undefended against people like the whispers of House Merandus, despite the rumors of the Silver Elite, who believed she had manipulated Tibe into falling in love with her. After she met Elara and her nightmares began, she honed her ability and practiced on Julian, Sara and Tibe in order to sing into Elara's mind.
When she used her ability her voice sounded "like music and a choir both, elegant, heartbreaking, dangerous". [1]
Relationships[]
Tiberias Calore VI[]
Coriane and Tiberias' marriage was a true love match, a rarity among the Silver Elite, and even more rare for a monarch. Coriane fell in love with him because he made her feel safe. For her, Tibe forwent Queenstrial. They made each other happier then they ever thought they would be. Tibe often called Coriane beautiful and assured she was the only woman for him, in any world. Before she took her life, Coriane wrote in her diary that the crown had changed Tibe.
Tiberias Calore VII[]
Coriane loved Cal deeply, considering him the sun of her world. When Tibe went away to the front, she felt like Cal kept her safe, even when he had just a few months. She delighted piecing together the toys Cal broke apart and put back together incorrectly. Coriane had frequent nightmares of Cal grown up, going to war and never returning. She wrote in her diary that she didn't want Cal to be a soldier, stating "One hundred years of war, and my son will bring peace. He will not die fighting. He will not. HE WILL NOT." She took her life before Cal turned one year old, so he doesn't remember his mother. He wishes several times that he could have had known her. Even though it was very painful for him, Cal read her diary to get a glimpse of the woman she was.
Julian Jacos[]
Coriane and Julian were close. Julian offered her books on every birthday and holiday, where he used to hide manuals and guides. Those were Coriane's most valued gifts. He was very protective of his sister and was afflicted by her death, blaming Tiberias VI for not saving her. Julian made a copy of Coriane's diary, which he kept for many years and later gave to her son, Cal.
Harrus Jacos[]
Coriane and her father did not have a good relationship. Harrus did not approve of Coriane's tinkerings. He still called upon her every time something needed fixing, but never acknowledged her good work. His father never payed her much attention until the Prince fell in love with her, and even then it was minuscule and not for her own benefit. Coriane noted that her father only condescended to notice her worth when someone else did. As a wedding gift, Harrus asked her for allowance, instead of giving her something. She wished it was not him to walk her down the isle. When her father died, Coriane wrote about his death on her diary.
Jessamine Jacos[]
Coriane was not particularly fond of Jessamine, considering her the "foulest". While it seemed like Jessamine did not care much for Coriane either, she did occasionally show her some kindness. Jessamine was in charge of Coriane's lessons and only wanted to help make her a proper lady, by her standards, believing it was for her own good. Jessamine was very happy when Coriane fell in love with Tiberias and before their wedding, she complimented Coriane's figure, taking the credit for everything. When Jessamine died, Coriane wrote about her passing on her diary.
Sara Skonos[]
Sara was a childhood friend of Coriane and they grew up together. They were each other's confidantes, and used to shared their dreams in conversations late at night. After Cal was born, Sara was Coriane's chief lady-in-waiting and her physician. Sometime after Coriane died, Sara was the only person to mention the truth about the role Elara Merandus played in Coriane's death, and the new queen punished her for it by cutting out her tongue.
Anabel Lerolan and Robert Iral[]
Coriane grew very close to Anabel and Robert. She used to dine with them regularly and both praised her a lot. She considered them as her substitute parents, and even wished Robert would walk her down the isle instead of her own father, Harrus Jacos. After King Tiberias Calore V passed away, she was terrified of losing Robert. When he died, Coriane wept for him and wrote about his ending in her diary.
Trivia[]
- Right before Tiberias VI was killed by Elara, through Cal, the he moaned, "Coriane. Julian knew. Sara knew. You punished her for the truth."[2]
- She was married on May 15, 294 NE.
- As a condition for her husband to refuse Queenstrial, Coriane had to agree that all their children would have political marriages, with no exceptions.
- Coriane died on June 1, 301 NE.
- Coriane kept a diary, given to her by Julian.
- If Coriane were to have had a second child after Cal, the baby would have been named after her brother.
- Cal named his and Mare's daughter in honor of her.