Catherine

Catherine inherited a landed title from her father besieged by debt and enemies eager to plunder her inheritance. Of course, no one knew then that her noble house had found its greatest champion. Decades of weakness had left her father's realm in ruins: crumbling towns of residents and soldiers unable to afford bread or a hope of victory. Ever-active Catherine set to work immediately. True to her house's motto, she gave her people a series of visionary infrastructure projects to restore the economic heartland. Increasing success boosted the confidence of the soldiers, with added beast-training programs and plenty of exploratory resources from the mystic realms... When Catherine eventually returned to her castle after years of laborious rebuilding, she could say now she sat on the throne of a glorious fiefdom. But the sweetest victory of all came when her greedy enemies returned to plunder once again. This time, shocked invaders' swords and spears were crushed by a united people. Where had this new resolve, this new strength, come from? Unlike some other nobles who infested the land, Catherine understood true strength could only come from the support of the people. But still, this is only Catherine's kingdom. Her ambitious eyes have now turned to the fortunes of another rising power, a newly-prosperous town by which she has reason to seek an alliance. "A town governed by such a wise leader should naturally seek an exchange with me for all of my years of ruling experience..."