The Ruby and the Orchid

The Ruby and the Orchid was the name for a controversial agreement between the Court Circle of Katrapetch and the High Gardeners of Highloft, setting out the terms of an alliance between their respective city states which also altered the constitution of Katrapetch in a number of important ways.

The document was almost entirely the work of the Lady Cultivator Zhao Yun Chi but it was written with the agreement of the Raja and the Court Circle of Katrapetch. It was signed by the Raja Samudravael Varakesh and his wife Zhao Yun Chi on 8th Findil, 3432 APC.

Document Structure

Clauses

In honour of the great and enduring friendship between the cities of Katrapetch and Highloft it is hereby determined that our cities shall henceforth follow the way of the Ruby and the Orchid, set out in the laws below:-

• First, that in accordance with the ancient traditions of Katrapetch, the male line of succession shall continue to be governed by the rules manifested through the Succession Ruby in the Confirmation of the Anointed Successor. The Raja thus anointed shall continue to be the supreme ruler of the city.
• Second, that the immortal Lady Cultivator of Highloft, Zhao Yun Chi shall be married in perpetuity to each successive Raja, and shall be known by the title of the Eternal Rani to reflect the union of the hearts and minds of the leaders of Katrapetch and Highloft.
• Third, that the Eternal Rani, whilst partaking in all other spiritual, physical and political duties of the wife of the Raja, will not be responsible for the conception and incubation of new heirs.
• Fourth, that the Raja may seek out and employ one or more women to serve the state as Royal Breeders. That any such as give birth to sons and daughters of the Raja will receive the new title of Consort Mother.
• Fifth, that the title of Consort Mother will be respected within the Court Circle of Katrapetch but that it will not be considered equal in status to the true Rani, the Eternal Rani, Zhao Yun Chi.

Historical Details

Background

In 3417 APC, Zhao Yun Chi married the venerable old Raja Vasurajan Varakesh, becoming his second wife just before he reached the grand old age of one hundred and thirteen. In so doing, she acquired the title of the Rani of Katrapetch. It was a profoundly political act, establishing a link between Highloft and Katrapetch for their mutual benefit, and for the first time, it granted a formal (if tacit) acceptance of the new Rani's immortality in the ancient Punjuki city, far beyond the domain of the High Gardeners.

Raja Vasurajan Varakesh by DMFW with Midjourney

Zhao Yun Chi on her wedding to Raja Vasurajan Varakesh in 3417 APC by DMFW with Leonardo AI

The age difference between the groom and the bride set tongues wagging in both cites but not for the reason an ignorant observer might assume. A decrepit and somewhat vain old man marrying a woman of remarkable beauty from a different generation looked like a cynical exploitative act. Perhaps such a suspicion wasn't entirely wrong. But what was surprising on this occasion was that the age gap ran in the opposite direction to the one that outward appearances might suggest. Zhao Yun Chi was the elder of the two by far. At the time of the wedding she had been openly ruling Highloft for almost exactly three hundred years and though her birth date wasn't public knowledge, she was nearly three hundred and eighty years old. It was widely believed that if anyone was exploiting an age gap, it was Zhao Yun Chi.

The marriage lasted two years before Vasurajan Varakesh died in 3419 APC, peacefully in his sleep in the official records but from heart failure brought on by an overdose of passion with his energetic and sexually inventive wife according to palace gossip.

The alliance, however, was too useful to discard. Katrapetch, and particularly the Arcane Advisors, wanted the security of the backing of Highloft and its Arcane Amplification Perfume in the face of the threats they saw from the Unbound. No sooner had Samudravael Varakesh completed the coronation ceremony to become the new Raja than the widower surprised almost everyone by marrying his late father's wife, ensuring that Zhao Yun Chi retained the title of Rani.

In 3419 APC, the line of succession was already secured by Suravajra Varakesh, the son of Samudravael Varakesh and his late wife Farzana Varakesh, as confirmed by the Succession Ruby at the coronation. This was satisfactory in the short term, but the Rani was already thinking about a more stable plan for the long term, in which the symbolic marriage of the leaders of Katrapetch and Highloft could persist into an indefinite future. The fundamental problem there was that Zhao was infertile, a side effect of the use of the Fountain of Life. The Ruby and the Orchid set out a solution which was ratified on 8th Findil, 3432 APC.

History

At the time the agreement was signed, there was an existing heir to the throne of Katrapetch. Suravajra Varakesh, the son of the Raja Samudravael Varakesh and his first wife Farzana Varakesh had been verified by the Succession Ruby in a public ritual for the Confirmation of the Anointed Successor. When Samudravael Varakesh died, therefore, in 3452 APC the coronation of his son did not immediately test the treaty. Further, Suravajra Varakesh seemed happy to accept marriage to the Eternal Rani and to proceed with the selection of potential Consort Mothers.

The first Consort Mother, Diya Ghosh, gave birth to Thalanir Varakesh in 3454 APC and from that point onwards, the system continued to operate, with only a few quirks and abnormalities, for more than two hundred years. It was only with the death of the Eternal Rani in 3670 APC that the agreement lapsed. The traditions of Katrapetch and of Highloft reverted to their older established forms and the Ruby and the Orchid came to be seen as a strange historical aberration, albeit a long lasting one.

Ratification Date

8th Findil, 3432 APC