Queen Mother Virila Dune
The Queen Mother was born in the village of Mionbeag, County Guithas, on the northern border between the Dappled Forest and Naranthia. Her father, Elie-Yves Barasho (b. 1930), was a traveling merchant from a town in the North of Finapor, while her mother, Hallie Greenway (b. 1931), was of a nearby farm called Spás Glas. Elie-Yves and Hallie married in 1951 and moved around the Dappled Forest and Finapor before settling in Caisbaile in 1960 with their three children, Octavie (b. 1952), Virila, and Daryn (b. 1958).
When the Noble War started in 1965, Elie-Yves was immediately drafted, and Hallie got a job working as a maid in Sliabh Rook. Both Octavie and Virila, who were 13 and 9 respectively, sold vegetables from their home garden to make a little bit of extra money, due to the financial strain that the war caused to the Dappled Forest. The next year, Octavie caught the eye of a young noblewoman, Boudicca Hywel of Bailobrach, County Giuthas, who was a year older than her at age 15. Octavie was made a lady-in-waiting for Miss Hywel, and Virila was made a second lady-in-waiting when she turned 15 in 1971.
After the end of the Noble War, Elie-Yves returned from battle, now missing an arm and two wings. He and Hallie, along with Daryn, now 13, moved back to Mionbeag and lived at Spás Glas to attend to Hallie’s aging parents. Virila and Octavie both sent money home and visited approximately once a month until adulthood. Octavie never married, but Virila did, marrying then Crown Prince Oisín in October 1976, only 7 months after they first met. They had their first child together, Iris, nearly 2 years later, while living in the Royal Family’s Spring House in the Southeastern Dappled Forest. Her two other children, Chrysanthemum (b. 1980) and Cedar (b. 1984) were also born at Spring House.
On 2 June, 1988, while on a horseback ride with her two daughters, Iris and Chrysanthemum to celebrate Iris’ 10th birthday, Virila’s horse was suddenly startled and began to buck, eventually dislodging her and causing her to land on the rocky path. While doctors were called quickly, they were unable to repair damage done to her spine and legs, which resulted in her needing to use a wheelchair for the remainder of her life. The true cause of the incident is unknown, but many believe that Iris may have caused it in some way, as a way of preventing her mother from taking the throne in the event of King Oisín’s death.
When King Oisín was coronated after the death of his father, King Kenneth, Queen Virila took an active role in the government of the Dappled Forest, working towards a true peace treaty between her kingdom and Naranthia. However, after King Oisín was deposed by their daughter, Chrysanthemum, in 1998, Virila was barred from participating in the Floral Court in a political capacity, and was often relegated to her personal chambers in Sliabh Rook. Though the Dappled Forest’s border security was once again heightened after the crowning of Queen Chrysanthemum, Queen Mother Virila found ways to communicate with a mysterious elf with the pen name ‘Nilsa,’ who told her of the goings on not only in the Naranthian court, but also in many other countries outside the Dappled Forest.
