.::triad::.

LAWL CRAYOLAS!
1. Yes, I am in college.
2. Yes, I own the 96-piece set of crayons.
3. Yes, I like to sniff them because crayons smell good.

That said, from left to right these are Grigorij, Nikolay, and Avrahm. True to my fetish of historical soap operas and the single-child mentality of the iron-clad bonds of brotherhood, these guys are just a continuation of the Imperial House of Vijayakar. Gutki won back the throne in the North with the help of her brothers Sabiryhan and Ibanislav, the gryphon Lyubov, and her "wolf" Iftikhaar through a political marriage between her and Nachmanke (Nikolai) Istvan after overthrowing his father Kasrileke Istvan, the man who had originally usurped the throne from Yevgenya Vijayakar, who sent her infant daughter Adelaide into hiding with the family's slave gryphon. Kasrileke had legitimized his new claim on the North by marrying Yevgenya after murdering her previous husband, and they had a son named Yachna (Rotislav) Istvan, who married a noblewoman named Sirel and so begot Nachmanke.

Adelaide, of course (OF COURSE! Seriously, this is what happens in my head), was raised by Gad Lutz (a mercinary) and Morrin (a south-easternish prostitute) in a mercinary camp. Lyubov, unaccustomed to squalling babies, stumbled across the serfs in the woods as they were burying their own baby, and was more than happy to relinquish the upbringing of the princess to them. Adelaide learned how to fight, went into her first battle at the age of 11, was promptly "retired" by Morrin after being badly injured, and then resumed honing her combat skills after the woman died five years later. Gad and Lyubov in tow, Adelaide made her way south and east in search of her own army to reclaim her birthright. She ended up in the port-capital of Este, ruled by the Istvan family (sound familiar? Abimelech, the king, was Kasrileke's older half-brother). Gad had died by this point, and with him, apparently, died Adelaide's sense of integrity. In exchange for an army she agreed to marry Abimelech's seventh and only un-landed son, Ettore; thus assuring continued trade and relations between the North Kingom and Este even if Kasrileke's regime was brought crashing down. Adelaide was 21 by now, and her half brother (whom she didn't know existed) had recently celebrated the birth of his first son Nachmanke and the subsequent death of his wife Sirel (she was 17, he was barely 20).

Gutki, with her boy husband (Ettore wasn't even 15 when they got married), had Gutki within the first year. When Adelaide saw the child was a girl, she handed her to Lyubov, went back to training her army, and refused to have anything to do with it. It was the gryphon who named her Gutki (meaning "goodness") and vowed to do a better job raising this princess than he had the first, with Ettore's help. Ettore, understandably terrified of his demon bride, avoided her as much as possible and devoted himself to educating his daughter. After almost five years without another potential heir, Adelaide became frustrated and decided to make due with her girl and tried to train another warrior for her cause. However, lacking Gad's finesse, she's lucky she didn't kill the little girl and gave up, disgusted. Thankfully she gets pregnant again and there is much rejoicing when Ibanislav ("gracious gift") is born when Gutki is 6. Unfortunately, the boy is sickly, and there isn't much hope that he will outlive the first year. He, too, is dumped into the care of Lyubov and Ettore. Three years later, the army venturing north after almost nine years of training and preparation, Sabiryhan ("one who is patient"), a strong healthy boy, is born. And there is much rejoicing. They tour the land, gathering support. Kasrileke hears word about the infiltrating army and moves in a premptive strike, ambushing Adelaide's forces and slaughtering them. Only Ettore's quick thinking spared his children (11, 5, and almost 2), though he didn't survive. Lyubov, barely alive himself due to an iron arrowhead in his chest, manages to get the children to a nearby town, where they are "adopted" by a farming widow named Masha, who recognizes their eyes (all Vijayakars have eyes the color of the Northern sky) and what Lyubov really is. And there they stay while Gutki plots, and her brothers grow. Ten years later, the plan is put into action.

Under the assumed name Lutz, and passing Lyubov off as her sickly uncle, Gutki (Katarzyna), Ibanislav (Iban), and Sabiryhan (Sabir) infiltrate Kasrileke's court as a courtier, her priest, and her knight, respectively. The king is suspicious, to be sure, but there is no denying that the young woman (Gutki, 22, must pass herself off as a 14 year old girl, while her brothers, 15 and 12, must come off as much older than they really are) is of noble blood, that her priest is learned, and that her knight, though immature and riding an old plow horse, is powerful and skilled. Lyubov is hidden away in Gutki's chambers. Yadda yadda, two years later Sabiryhan is coerced into fighting in Kasrileke's wars of expansion in the Steppelands, where he captures the Han prince Iftikhaar, thinking him to be a good fighter and an asset for his sister's plan. Gutki wins Iftikhaar over to her cause, Iban and Lyubov seek out the consult of the world's last dragon, Gutki seduces Nachmanke (she is 25, he is 26), Iftikhaar is jealous, Kasrileke is overthrown, Lyubov (the last gryphon) finally succumbs and dies, Iban runs off and marries the mummer's daughter (Narjis), Sabiryhan falls madly in love with and marries Iftikaar's twin sister Naadirah and they have many Hasian nomad babies, and Gutki has a son. Who in turn has another son, and a daughter. The daughter (Alevtina) marries a real asshole named Aleksandr, and thus is born Grigorij! And his little sister, Avril. From the son (Aadam) comes Nikolay with a serf named Nadezda (who he married in secret when he was a teenager. Oh, love), and with his "legitamate" wife Yulia, Avrahm.

And so this latest development with the Vijayakar family (and cousin). Aadam dies, leaving Avrahm as his apparent heir apparent, except for the fact that he prefered his serf son from the woman he loved as opposed to his pudgy son from his pudgy royal wife. Avrahm, finding out about this and being a good guy, informs his "illigitmate" half-brother of the fact that under the laws of the land, technically HE is the bastard son because of the fact that their father had married the serf first, and never terminated that contract. And, should Nikolay want to claim the throne, being eldest, Avrahm would back him unconditionally. Nikolay punches him in the face. At the same time this is happening, Aleksandr is trying to install his son on the throne with the intention of installing a puppet monarchy where he would call all of the shots. Grigorij, who has no intention of doing anything his father wants, backs his cousin Avrahm whole-heartedly (though that doesn't stop him from laughing when Nikolay lays the boy out). After much debate, Nikolay decides that Avrahm is more suited to monarchy than he is, and pledges to fight for him. Because neither Nikolay or Avrahm have a legal claim to the throne, Aleksandr arranges for a tourny, which is where the triad comes in. Nikolay is a veritable genius when it comes to close-quarters combat, Avrahm is a peerless archer, and Grigorij somehow got his hands on the jousting and chavalier blood in the family.

Eventually the boys (in this picture Grigorij is about 15, Nikolay is 16/17ish, and Avrahm (the baby) is just 14), realize that they are fighting a moot cause, come to the conclusion that noble Vijayakar blood only runs strong in the women of the family, entrust the future to Grigorij's little sister Avril (nine years younger than him), and, disillusioned, set off looking for a different coutry or kingdom where they might make a difference or prosper in one way or another, and find themselves lost in the desert. It is here that they encounter the "Desert God" Bilaal and his retainers, including the mysterious Saadiras! GASP!

TO BE CONTINUED...

If anyone read this whole thing, you are either crazy or really bored. But I love you anyway! MUAH!
But seriously. This is what goes on in my head. All the time. And it only gets bigger and bigger each time I think about it.

More Vijayakars?
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All this crap c. 2004-present MY MIND (IS FULL OF SCARY STUFF).