Rea Aurix

"'He is the golden sun. We are inexorably drawn to his light, yearning to feel his warmth wash over us...only to be blinded and burned by that same radiance. One by one, we will each be called to sacrifice ourselves upon the pyre, for the sake of his legacy.' - Rea, regarding her father and imperator, Aurelion Aurelos."Rea Aurix is the eldest child of Aurelion Aurelos and the first of his three illegitimate children. Aurelion fathered her at just sixteen years of age, after laying with his mother's handmaiden, Nereida, on the night before his arranged marriage to Septonia Halabrian. She was raised by her maternal grandfather, Nereidus, after her mother died in childbirth. Aurelion was unaware of her existence until she turned sixteen. He would later break with tradition by publicly acknowledging her as his daughter and inducting her into his Imperial Family.

Rea married Pallix Arterius, her father's adopted son, and would sit beside him as his conjux domina after her father's death. History paints her as a model consort; loyal, diligent and unassuming. She is often referred to by her unofficial title of Imperatrix Corona Sine, translating as "Imperatrix without a crown"''. ''

Birth and childhood
Rea was born in secret, out of wedlock, on the planet Macedyn. Her mother, Nereida, was a handmaiden in the service of Polixena, the mother of Aurelion. When she discovered she was pregnant with Aurelion's child, Nereida went to her mistress and confided in her the truth of the child's parentage. She had expected Polixena to help her by discreetly dismissing her from her service and providing her with a new life, where she could raise her child in obscurity. Polixena however, believing the child's existence to be a threat to her son's public image and his recent marriage to Septonia Halabrian, attempted to force an abortion on Nereida. Fearing for her unborn child's life, Nereida managed to escape from her mistress and flee from the capital. She successfully evaded Polixena's spies for several months, moving from place to place and changing her name as she went. When her time finally came, she gave birth alone. She experienced complications during labour; without medical aid, she died shortly after giving birth to a girl, whom she named Rea with her dying breath. The name Rea was a homage to Aurelion, "Rea" meaning "gold".

Ultimately, Rea's existence was the catalyst for the ensuing Massacre of the Heredi, in which Glabius Imperator and all his heirs were slaughtered, with the exception of Aurelion, who survived his encounter with Nereidus. Aurelion was completely unaware of her existence and would not learn of his illegitimate daughter until the trial of Nereidus several years later. When Nereidus finally confessed his motivations for the mass killing of the imperial family, Aurelion's first action was to have his Blackwatch track down his daughter and have her brought to him. Markus Abrudas, Aurelion's secret lover, located Rea in an isolated farming village on Macedyn. There he told her that she was the daughter of Aurelion Imperator, unifier of the empire, and that he wishes to meet her. Rea was initially scared by this revelation. Like the majority of her father's subjects, she viewed Aurelion as a living god - a mortal man with a divine spirit, who had unified the known universe through sheer will alone. The idea that such a man could have sired her was, for a time, beyond her comprehension. But Markus, with his kind heart, managed to allay her fears and convince her to travel to Palaven with him to meet her father.

Rea, then fourteen years old, was brought by Markus before her father for the first time. Aurelion promised to care for her and provided her with a home in Cipritine, staff to attend to her every need, and a tutor to help improve her standards of education. Aurelion spent a lot of time with Rea, introducing her to her illegitimate siblings Flavia and Orian. In time he would also introduce her to Trebia, his only legitimate child and heir to the throne. Rea became very close with Flavia and Orian, with whom she lived in Cipritine.


 * Desolas Arterius II is a direct descendant of Rea and, through her, Aurelion. She and Desolas shared the same icy blue eye colour, a genetic trait which has become a hallmark of the Arterius bloodline over the millennia. Desolas is descended from Elia Arterius in particular, who was the illegitimate lovechild of Rea and her adoptive brother-in-law, Castus Arterius. Rea passed Elia off as her husband daughter so successfully that neither Pallix nor the annals of history would ever know the truth. To this day, history still believes that Elia was Pallix and Rea's legitimate daughter.