Eleanor the Thirteenth reigned from 1461 to 1482 and was known as Eleanor the Just.
Early Reign and the Question of Succession
Eleanor XIII ascended to the throne at age 39, having spent years watching her mother Eleanor XII navigate the treacherous waters of imperial politics. Known for her fairness and wisdom, Eleanor XIII quickly established herself as a judicious ruler who balanced mercy with strength.
Her reign was marked by two significant challenges: the establishment of equitable trade agreements with the expanding merchant guilds of the Empire’s Southeast Asian territories, and the management of her ambitious younger sister, Isabella of the Spice Islands. Isabella, born fifteen years after Eleanor XIII, had been raised in the remote fortress-palace of Ternate in the Maluku Islands, where she developed both a mastery of botanical knowledge from the region’s exotic flora and a dangerous ambition.
The Succession Crisis of 1480
When Eleanor XIII gave birth to her daughter (the future Eleanor XIV) in 1452, Isabella saw an opportunity. She argued before the Council of Laws that as Eleanor XIII was already of advanced age (50 at the time of her daughter’s birth), she should be named Regent-Presumptive in case of Eleanor XIII’s death before her daughter came of age.
Eleanor XIII, demonstrating the wisdom that earned her epithet “the Just,” neither fully rejected nor accepted her sister’s proposal. Instead, she established the Décret 1519: The Compact of Sisterhood, which granted Isabella significant holdings and the title of Duchess of the Spice Islands, but explicitly confirmed that succession would pass directly to Eleanor XIV regardless of age.
Final Years and Death
In her final years, Eleanor XIII focused on preparing the Empire for her daughter’s eventual rule. She established a Council of Tutors, carefully selected from the Empire’s most skilled administrators, generals, and scholars.
Eleanor XIII died in 1482, on the very day her granddaughter Eleanor XV was born. Witnesses reported that she held the newborn for exactly three breaths before passing, whispering: “The lion has come.” This prophecy would prove more accurate than anyone could have imagined.