Sophia I

Sophia I is the Queen of the Adwest. She is also the Supreme Prophet of the Argent Church and the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of Adwest. She was born to the House of Durnador as the second child and only daughter of Edward III and Lady Laura of Varensham.

During her birth, she was second in line to the Adwestene throne immediately after her brother, Gregory Randolph. The murder of their father in 1565 led to the accession of her brother, upon which Sophia became heir presumptive. Sophia succeeded Gregory as Adwestene monarch following the latter's deposition and exile by the newly-created Royal Diet under the leadership of the Adwestene High Nobility just a year later. On her accession, Sophia I became the 9th member of the House Durnador to sit on the Lazuli Throne and the first female monarch of Adwest since the restoration of royal rule.

Often labelled throughout the world as a reactionary, Sophia's reign marked the decline and retrogression of reforms pursued by her two predecessors in several spheres. Although she reaffirmed the absolute power of the crown by means of an Edict on Divine Autocracy, she named Garithos Ashford - then head of the Ducal Council - as Lord Protector of the Adwestene Realm. The new title represented a shift in the balance of power in domestic Adwestene politics, culminating in the eventual dominant position Ashford and several other high nobles would come to possess in government, economy, and military under Sophia.

Under her direction, the Adwestene Republican Insurrection was eradicated, after pursuing a policy of militarization and economic corporatism. Outside of Adwest, Sophia I expanded Adwestene diplomatic and defense relations with several countries - namely that of Nerysia, Drahen, and Tieguo - and ended the cold relationship with the Taeunas Republic to its south before the outbreak of the Kolhar Civil War. Adwestene efforts to reunify her former territories also began under Sophia I.

The policy of political and economic consolidation, renewed international involvement, and attempts at reunification were collectively called the National Rejuvenation of the Adwestene People - a mantra adopted by Sophia's court.