Basileia
Eternal of Autumn
Sobriquets
The Sovereign Lord of the City of Locks changes in a way few other eternals do. The current incumbent has chosen the title Basileia, or sometimes Basileia Brazen.
She is sometimes referred to as the Princess of Weirs, a further reference to the canals that criscross her domain, as well as the Carver of Cliques, alluding to her concern with small, exclusive groups. She enjoys being called the Crown of the Archway, referring to her status as an essential and load-bearing part of the City. She has also been called the Mistress of Falls; while on the surface this is another reference to her city's many canals, it is also a hint at the fate that awaits those who challenge her status.
She is sometimes known as the Patron of Spies and Traitors due to her role in keeping other people's secrets. Brazen is dubbed Princess of the Black Vaults, in recognition of the role that espionage and military defence play in her realm – and of the oubliettes to which those who fail or displease her are consigned.
While she sometimes appears in male or monstrous guises, Basileia is generally referred to with feminine pronouns. Basileia is confirmed to be her title as ruler of her city – her personal name is Brazen.
Several sources reference Basileus Kade, and Basileus Flynt, as former rulers of the City of Locks. The latter, allegedly an Imperial citizen before some kind of poorly understood "ascension", usurped the latter as Sovereign Lord. They in turn were apparently deposed by the Lictors following their involvement in the destruction of entity known as Mazen of the Masks. Given that Basileia is the third ruler of the City of Locks in the last decade it is likely that their are many more, their names lost to history. This unique pattern inspires a great deal of discussion among scholars of the eternal realms; what does it mean that the identity of the Sovereign Lord of the City of Locks seems to change while other eternals remain constant?
Appearance
Basileia has two distinct forms, and swaps between them as they wish. Most commonly she appears to be a woman dressed in the well-tailored clothes of a professional of some kind. She can also appear as the Beast of the Locks; a monstrous horned creature reserved for the darkest deeds. While she rarely carries a weapon in her other guises, as the Beast she may wield a brutal double-edged gladius and a main gauche. When she is encountered in this form, all pretense of civilisation is abandoned, and she appears entirely consumed with the ruthless application of power to achieve one's goals. All the scholars agree - deal with the Beast of Locks extremely carefully. The Sovereign Lord of the City of Locks was once known to take the form of a lithe young man as well, but this guise has not been seen since the ascension of Basileia Brazzen.
It is not common for an Autumn eternal to change shape so freely, and scholars of the eternals theorize that she does so via access to an item of power, possibly a mask or the Belt of Locks. Others suggest that it is a demonstration of the dual-faced nature of those who seek power. They may appear civilised and mannered when it suits them, but are capable of ruthless brutality when their ambition demands it.
However else she appears, she is always wealthy, powerful and in control. Regardless of form, she wears discreet yet obviously valuable jewelery to reinforce her appearance as a person of high station. Regardless of her attire, she invariably wears a belt with a lock and set of chains chains worn over the buckle.
Like her predecessors, Basileia almost never appears alone. She may remain aloof, allowing her heralds to do the talking for her (especially when she is in the guise of the Beast of the Locks). Other times she plays the gracious host, entertaining guests with conversation and fine food - but a guest should never forget that this creature is a being of intrigue and power, and that very little she says or does should be taken at face value.
Concerns
While previous eternal rulers of the City of Locks have kept only a thin veil over their obsession with power and control, Basileia Brazen has worked to present a more pleasing face to the outside world. The naive may believe that this indicates some fundamental change under her rule, but those who pry beneath the surface will find the same dog-eat-dog city with a ruler no less ruthless than her predecessors.
Ultimately, the concern of Basileia Brazen, and indeed everyone within the City of Locks, revolve around the ways that social and political structures can be used to dominate other people. Unlike some of her predecessors, the Crown of the Archway is quite open about the fact that her power exists as a result of the collective efforts of others. She claims that it comes from the fact that she has made herself as close to irreplaceable as possible – her underlings may resent that she has more power than they do, but they know they would be worse off without her - a state of affairs she works very hard to maintain.
While her primary concern is her own power, the Princess of Weirs is known to have a fondness for certain mortal nations and institutions that she believes embody her philosophies. She finds the conflict between the various Imperial houses of state to be endlessly fascinating, and apparently holds the position of the Throne in high regard, seeing it as something similar to her own position. She approves of the ruthless internal politics of the League, especially since the Apulian Orcs joined them. She has an interest in the pragmatism and religious philosophies of the Navarr, although some vates claim that she fundamentally misunderstands the nature of self-sacrifice for the greater good and should under no circumstances be allowed to offer advice to any guides. She also has a strange fascination with the Imperial Orcs that she refuses to explain, although whether she will disproportionately favour or disfavour any given Unshackled as a result is never a sure bet.
Outside the Empire, the Carver of Cliques is said to favour both the populist authoritarianism of the Commonwealth and the dynamic oligarchy of the Principalities of Jarm, seeing things to admire in both. How much of a hand she is taking in either nation is unknown, but the fact that they hate one another does not seem to concern her in the slightest.
Boons
The Sovereign Lord of the City of Locks fundamentally represents the drive to gain power. They collect secrets; not mystical secrets like the eternals of Night, but the secrets gathered by spies and agents who watch and record what the people around them are doing. She gains power by influencing those who seek to control those around them. She helps those who want to protect their investments, build on their assets and alliances, and increase their share of whatever market they are competing in - while ensuring that she increases her own share of that market through the person she is aiding. Magicians prepared to make a strong deal, and willing to accept the risks of a continuously changing, foreign, and possibly alien market can get access to the valuable resources and assets in the halls and vaults of the City of Locks.
Basileia encourages her heralds to make deals with magicians, and those who are clever enough can reap substantial rewards; but they must be careful not be crushed by the rapidly changing politics of the city. This is especially true when one considers that the magician will not be able to directly get involved in the management of any assets they gain in the city and will have to trust that the group they are working with will protect their interests. The most common way of achieving this goal is to have plenty of resources to draw on in the Empire to be used as capital, and to ensure that any agreements are carefully worded. The representatives of the City of Locks will never break the word of a contract, but they have no regard for the 'spirit' of an agreement - only the actual words on the paper.
Those dealing with Basileia should take care to remember that trade is not her primary goal; it is a means to increasing her power and control over the world. While representatives of the City of Gold and Lead might engage in trade for the love of the deal and its subtleties, ultimately those of the City of Locks are concerned only with power over others. Playing the game with Basieia is not for the faint hearted, and although the rewards are great, the possibility of the Lictors - or worse - collecting on debts owed cannot be ignored.
Most recent historical records refer to Basileus Kade as the ruler of the the City of Locks. During the Autumn Equinox 379YE, following a significant period of turmoil in the City of Locks, Kade was supplanted by a citizen of the League city of Tassato. The details of precisely how Flint was able to claim this position and become Basileus Flint are known only to those directly involved. What the political, religious (and legal) implications of this ascension, assuming it is even real, are extremely unclear. Now Basileus Flint is also gone, apparently "replaced" by on the throne of the City of Locks by Basileia Brazen. Her ascension apparently begain in Summer 385YE with the disappearance of the eternal Mazen, and an Imperial Orc named Ashborn Trosk was apparently involved in the removal of Flynt by the Lictors. In Autumn 386YE, in response to a plenipotentiary message from the Archmage of Autumn, Basileia formally declared her dominion of the City of locks to the Empire and announced significant changes to the way her domain would be operating in future.