Lady Auriana Cuniegonde, often known as Matriarch Auriana or Auriana of Mirmillion, was a noble lady and matriarch of the City-State of Mirmillion.

Biography

Auriana was born into the family of Cuniegonde, a commoner family which ruled several small villages in Mirmillion's westernmost reaches, near the High Mountains foothills. The Cuniegondes' domain was rather poor, featuring, in Auriana's words, "little more than mud, dung, and peasants". Notably, because of the domain's distance from the city and the protection it offered, it had to rely more on bilateral deals with nearby orc tribes, had an above-average orc population, and featured much more herding and badeep riders than other Mirmillite areas.

When her father died in 1'050 b. OW, Auriana quickly took the reins of the family. The Cuniegondes had led the people of their domain fairly and well for the past century, so her rule was easily accepted by the people, while her relatives believed in her ability. Under her leadership, several farms were expanded and built up, while Auriana made deals with neighboring orcish herders: she allowed them to join her villages in exchange for the extra manpower and beasts they could offer. The domain thrived, and had become one of the largest groups of villages standing under the control of a single family - and the Cuniegondes were commoners, at that.

Auriana saw a new opportunity while visiting Tumben Brook, a place where people from different villages met to trade, and she met interesting people, including merchants from Gezneth, a drow citadel in the Caverealm, and merchants from some of the larger orcish clans in the west. Using the badeep of her herder subjects, and wagons which she creatively sourced from her domain and beyond, she slowly began setting up a trade network with the neighboring villages. Very quickly, she became the favored partner of the orcs and drow, because she was a reliable bulk buyer, and she utilized this market advantage to strengthen the Cuniegondes' position in the rural Mirmillite economy.

By 1'044, Auriana controlled a trade empire across the Mirmillite farmlands and in the western orcish lands, and she had begun buying up businesses and sale rights in the city itself. She had even hired Bromalnor stoneworkers to begin the construction of a small palace in the foothills on the shore of the Lake of Stars worthy of a noble. By maneuvering from her economic position and connections among citizen families, she managed to get in touch with nobles from three different families, and eventually invite them to dinner parties in her lakeside residence. They were so impressed by her wealth, the fine pseudo-Elvish architectural style of her residence, and the power she wielded controlling the small city that the Cuniegonde hometown had become, that they officially promoted her family to citizen rank; they felt that the well-mannered and tasteful Cuniegondes were much more worthy of the position than many hobgoblin families who held that title.

But Auriana wasn't satisfied with this: she wanted even more. By now, her family's position was stronger than all citizens and even some nobles. She continued to use her power to continue increasing her economic and social influence in Mirmillion city. In 1'038 b. OW, when it was time to elect a new patriarch, she was in the perfect position. The hobgoblin noble family had recently fallen from favor due to several scandals and financial troubles (thanks in part to the Cuniegondes' plotting), and three of the remaining six families were allied with or indebted to the Cuniegondes; additionally, Auriana held more power than any other single individual, having a stranglehold over the entire rural economy of Mirmillion and a close relationship with three orcish warlords as well as the Gezznyr. Her candidacy for the office of matriarch was virtually uncontested.

Auriana was the first human to hold the position of matriarch, and during her rule the situation for the human race - previously a small minority restricted to commoner lives - strikingly improved. Many human families were elevated to citizens and took up residence in the city, while human merchants became almost as influential as elven public officials. By consolidating the power of Cuniegonde Family, Matriarch Auriana also made sure that the human family's position as Mirmillion's economic elite was unshakeable. After her dozen years of rule, though elves still nominally held most of the power, Mirmillion was clearly on the path of becoming a more human-centric polity.

After her term was over, Auriana retreated from politics altogether and lived out her life in her estates, often looking at the brilliant reflections in the Lake of Stars. Cuniegonde would remain the most powerful Mirmillite noble family for centuries.