Empress Bio

Art once again by Henry

The Empress is as the name suggests the ruler of a place known as the Zhu Empire, the main setting of my current projects.  She serves as the main protagonist of the second time line, representing a leader caught between the traditions of her society and the increasing need to modernize in a more complex world.   

Li Ling is the daughter of the one of the more loved Empresses of recent times, her parents teaching her some degree of duty and responsibility but mostly allowing her to learn on her own.  As such her youth was mostly spent trying to find new ways to have fun and throwing parties, even the skills she gained from training were mostly applied for tricks.  She had numerous misadventures that will stick with her for the rest of her life, but her story really begins at age 18.  A few weeks past her birthday a demon mostly known through legend mysteriously got into the palace him and his minions assaulting the place from within suddenly and without warning.  Despite their best efforts, her mother was killed and her gravely injured, her father having to give his life to destroy the demon.  Unable to handle what had occurred the now Empress left with her grandmother, leaving the Empire to fall upon it's back up government measures as she left her nation behind.

Several years later she returned, finding herself mentally ready to take the throne.  It was a long journey of her traveling around and working to muster up enough support to claim the throne of her various family members vying for the Imperial seat above the other kings and queens, but eventually she carved out her true place at the head. Since then her rule has been a very controversial one her policies moving more and more into an area many find uncomfortable as she seems to regard less and less of tradition as the years go by.  She is loved for her strong dislike of bureaucracy and focus on defending and helping even the smallest part of society, but the massive love for her is becoming more and more towards her as a person and less as a leader as time goes on.  With already major internal conflict under her belt, only time will tell where her rule will lead and if the martial strength she possesses will be enough to face the next coup.