Gunnhildr
Queen Gunnhildr is the name and title given to each queen when they come to rule over Bozja. The last queen was crowned during the Fourth Umbral Calamity in a desperate attempt to save the Bozjan people, and there hasn't been a new queen since.
Origins of the Queen
Millenia ago, a civil war raged across the lands of Bozja. To bring this bloody struggle to an end, a woman united all of the people under a single banner. She became the first queen, and was given the name and title of Gunnhildr. This title was from then on passed to every monarch who followed her.
Selecting the Queen
Unlike other monarchies, the next Gunnhildr is not selected from any royalty or lineage, but rather from a selection of maidens who show great promise as shamans who can commune with the gods of old, and are trained at a shrine. The most favored of these shrine maidens is believed to be blessed with the ability to read the stars, and are selected to lead the people of Bozja. They were also given the weapon Save the Queen, a powerful sword wielded by the original Queen Gunnhildr.
The Queen's Guard
To protect the queen, a contingent of knights surrounded her at all times. These knights came from several noble families and made up the ruling class, and were called the "Blades of Gunnhildr". Each wielded a recognizable weapon that was blessed by the queen herself. Long after the last Queen Gunnhildr, replicas of these weapons were kept in the Bozja Citadel until its untimely destruction in the Bozja Incident. These weapons were so iconic that they acted as the rallying point for the Bozjan people and the Bozjan Resistance.
The Last Queen
At the end of the Fourth Astral Era, after the collapse of the Allagan Empire caused the Fourth Umbral Calamity, the ruling class of Bozja wanted to use the power of Save the Queen to summon forth a champion and deliver Bozja from destruction. However, the current Gunnhildr knew that she would be consumed completely by invoking the power of Save the Queen, and refused to do so. Desperate to save Bozja, they hastily promoted a shrinemaiden with great potential and the ability to read the stars-a trait believed to be a sign of the god's favor-who comes from a long line of Seers named Nevembya Votyasch.
What Nevembya and the people of her time didn't understand is that she was blessed with the power of the Echo, which gave her her visions. This power was what brought her to the Blades' attention and what prompted them to place her on the throne. Using the power of the Save the Queen, she brought forth an entity that saved Bozja from certain destruction. To the surprise of the Blades of Gunnhildr, Nevembya was not consumed by the Save the Queen, and was seemingly even strengthened by it.
As it would later be discovered, the Save the Queen was actually a weapon forged by the Allagan Empire to streamline the process of summoning. It would use the wielder's deepest desire to draw out the power of the weapon in the form of an entity similar to an Eikon, that would feed on the Aether of the wielder of the weapon.
The realization that Nevembya was strong enough to wield the Save the Queen as she desired brought fear to the ruling families of Bozja, and they quickly plotted her assassination. Because the people of Bozja believed the act to be righteous, they did not defend her. Even Nevembya did not try to stop her assassins from killing her, as she believed her unnatural power had to be controlled to keep Bozja safe. As she lay dying however, for a brief moment, she wished to live just a little longer. This wish, along with some of her aether, was drawn into the sword.
The Queen's Rebirth
During the Bozjan Resistance, the Garlean spy Misija Votyasch learned of her heritage and her connection to the last Queen Gunnhildr, and managed to claim the Save the Queen for herself and intended to use its power for her own purposes. However, without the power of the Echo, she wouldn't be able to control the Queen's power. To see her ambitions realized, she kidnapped the Sharlayan scholar Mikoto Jinba, who was known to possess the Echo. Using the techniques developed by Aulus mal Asina, she reproduced Mikoto's power within herself, and became what's known as a Resonant.
Using the last of the Save the Queen's power, and her body as a conduit, she summoned the Eikon of the last Queen into herself and had full control of her powers without losing herself. Even with all the power of the Allagan weapon and Queen Gunnhildr, however, she was no match for the Warrior of Light, who was able to defeat her after an intense battle.
Later, the spirit of the last Queen would appear to Misija in her cell and compel her to use her power and the power of Save the Queen to stop the Diablo Armament from unleashing its power on Bozja. Thanks to this power, the Allagan weapon was subdued and Bozja was saved, however the climactic struggle also claimed Misija and the power of the Queen.
Trivia
Most Gunnhildrs were actually female Hrothgar, given that they made up a majority of the population of Bozja.
- See also: Field Notes on Gunnhildr and Field Notes on Gunnhildr Part II