Katyia

Katyia of Revaire is a princess who lived about a century prior to the game's present day. She is notable for having traveled to Vail Isle to meet with the natives, and founded the Seven-Week Summit. She's known for having forged the Great Peace, but in modern Revaire her legacy is somewhat taboo.

Katyia's Legacy
For her 16th birthday, Katyia sent invitations to important young people from all nations. Katyia was clever as well as brave. Charming as well as calculating. And most of all she was very inventive and very determined. She invited important young people from all of the kingdoms to celebrate her birthday, but, thinking it a trap, no one would agree to come.

So Katyia learned of a small, mysterious island in the middle of the sea connecting the kingdoms. She went to this island, known only as Vail Isle, and she had a grand castle built. Again, she sent out invitations. This time promising neutral ground. Again, her invitations were refused, this time citing the danger of assassins and trained guards.

So Katyia sent back her own people and trained the mysterious island natives in the ways of service. Then, she sent out the invitations once more. This time banning the attendance of guards, servants, or attendants. No one was to come, she insisted, save for the young nobles and royals themselves.

By this time, the young people in question had grown mighty curious. What sort of person would go to so much trouble simply to celebrate a birthday, long since past? Furthermore, if they went, they could find the answers to many of their pressing questions. Was it true, they wondered, that the female warriors of Skalt drank only the blood of their male victims? Was it true that the pirates of Hise made sails out of skulls and bone? Did the emperor of Corval truly have a house of a thousand wives? This time, they accepted. Not all of course, but enough. Seven from every kingdom.

When they arrived at the Isle, they found themselves well greeted and feasted. There were parties and plays. Dances and friendly duels. And all along, there was Princess Katyia, convincing them to stay, just a little longer. To forget, just a little more, that their nations were at war and hated one another. It turned out that the Skalt Princess, when asked about drinking blood, could only laugh at the ridiculous thought. And seeing her laugh, no one could find her quite so scary, or so strange.The Corval prince, upon being asked how many wives he had, proclaimed, 'why none!' and then happily opened the position to any pretty applicants. The pirates of Hise were baffled to think how anyone thought a ship made with bone could sail, and offered to take everyone for a ride on their ship. Weeks passed and the young people began to realize that none of the others were so very strange, or so very different. They might, under different circumstances, be friends. Or more than friends.

In particular, it is said, they were all, male and female alike, more than a little in love with Princess Katyia.

As time went on the Kingdoms became more and more impatient for the return of their children. They sent ships and warriors, bent to retrieve them at all cost. But even the best ships and the best sailors, couldn't find the Isle. They all returned, empty-handed, filled with stories of heavy mists and vain searches. They sent angry letters to their children, demanding they return. But by now, Katyia had convinced them. Convinced them they were not so different, that they did not have to fight, and most importantly that they were not powerless in face of endless conflict. So the young people sent letters of their own, refusing to return home. This enraged their families, who sent threatening letters to Katyia. Katyia sent thoughtful letters back, saying she would allow a single representative, an ambassador, from each country to visit the Isle, authorized to negotiate on behalf of their country. The ambassadors arrived, thinking to be facing kidnapping and extortion.Instead, they were greeted by a grand ball and the charges they were set to rescue, all happy, well and getting along. This surprised them no little amount. But no where near as much as what happened next. In what later became known as the First Summit, the ambassadors and the young nobles and royals sat down and negotiated for a solid week. They hammered out peace treaties, trade agreements, and marriage alliances. When they were finished, seven weeks had passed, seven couples were married and the seven kingdoms were finally at peace.

It was not an easy transition, and there were many fears that no number of marriages or treaties could change anything for long. So Katyia proposed a plan. She would stay, on the Isle, waiting. And every seven years, the seven kingdoms would send seven young delegates for seven weeks to arrange seven more weddings. This way, she argued, understandings between the nations could continue to grow. Alliances would be strengthened. Negotiations resumed. They might not all trust each other, but by the end, they all trusted Katyia, no longer a princess, having forsaken title, family, and country, so she could be a neutral voice.