Template:Royalty-Princess Da'tan Pal'durath (Princess Da'tan of Hapes) (Da'tan Pelin'a Pal'durath Hapesah) (3926–3965) was the firstborn daughter of Inaq Thian Pal'durath, the last Queen-Mother of the Hapes Consortium. In the early years of her life the Princess travelled across much of the Rim Worlds and Rifle Worlds, befriending local nobility and promoting conservative Hapan ideals.
She was a notorious advocate of the Hapan feudal system and used her nearly limitless funds to spoil her elite friends. She is mostly remembered for the feud with her own sister over who was to sit on the Hapan throne and also triggering the Hapan Civil War which plunged the Hapes Consortium in to a devastating conflict.
Early Life
The Princess was born in the Royal Hapan Palace on Hapes Prime on January 10 3926 as the firstborn child of Queen-Mother Pal'durath VII and royal consort Prince Vidall. Her younger sister was born some two years later. The Princess had a luxurious and extravagant childhood on Hapes Prime, spending most her time in the capital city Ta'a Chume'Dan or in the Reef Fortress.
In her teenage years the Princess travelled much in the Hapes Cluster, especially in the Rim Worlds region and Rifle Worlds region where the strongest supporters of the Pal'durath dynasty lived. She befriended the daughters (and occasionally sons) of local nobility and liked to spoil her new friends with extravagant and expensive gifts from the capital. It is said that while Da'tan maintained a good relationship with her younger sibling Princess Ta'lan during their childhood, she never thought of her as a friend. Their personalities were vastly different as Da'tan had high materialistic values while Ta'lan seemingly disliked much about the Hapan government. Much of the higher nobility had met Da'tan in official ceremonies in the Royal Hapan Palace and Lorell Hall, but her frequent visits to the outlying worlds of the cluster made her very popular with the elite class of the Hapes Consortium.
In 3942 the Princess visited the worlds Olanji and Charubah, meeting with representatives of House Olanji. Princess Da'tan came back from the meeting with a different outlook on life in the Hapes Cluster, more actively and aggressively getting involved in the politics of Lorell Hall. It is speculated that the Olanji sisters made the Princess aware that even as the firstborn, she was not automatically the heir apparent as the laws relating to the rights of the firstborn had been abolished by Queen-Mother Pal'durath II. Da'tan attended Lorell Hall assemblies more frequently, getting involved in matters relating to the armed forces, culture and governance. The Princess also managed to convince her mother to make her overseer of the Rim Worlds and Rifle Worlds region. The commoner Archons of the two regions protested heavily, but it fell on deaf ears. The nobility of the regions, on the other hand, supported the act and prospered from it through increased funding for the Noble Navy and especially Olanji/Charubah. For her 17th birthday in 3943, she was given a brand new Tractia Heavy Cruiser by House Olanji's Olanji/Charubah, which she named Dream of Darkness.
Princess Ta'lan countered her sister's behaviour by acting as a representative of the commoners in Lorell Hall, giving wide support to the civilian population (especially in the Interior region and Capital) and having frequent meetings with the Archons. The race for influence and power was on.
Hapan Civil War
The Outbreak
Princess Da'tan's mother fell in a coma in the last months of 3945 with no heir specified. The debate over who was the most suitable heir spread quickly across the Hapes Cluster and especially in Lorell Hall. Most of the Hapes Consortium's nobility made their way to Hapes Prime for the debates and attended twelve hour long sessions in the grand assembly hall every day for months. The Princess made numerous speeches the assembly, often backed by many nobles who held considerable sway with the rest of the elite populace. Princess Ta'lan frequently countered with speeches of her own, insisting that time had come for change in the Hapes Consortium with a more centralised form of government rid of the corruption of the nobility. This did not appeal to the supporters of Da'tan and caused a massive uproar.
As time went by the speeches and debates became more and more intense and Da'tan's aggressive nature, which had previously been hidden under a calm exterior, became more and more apparent:
"Her Highness became increasingly aggressive as Ereneda's condition continued to deteriorate. She knew, as did most of us, that the likelihood of reaching any form of agreement before the Ta'a Chume passed away was slim at best. In private meetings I had with her in the late hours, Her Highness hinted at the idea of using military might to force a decision in her favour, stating on numerous occasions that she had the full support of House Olanji, among others. The Princess' speeches in Lorell Hall were filled with not-so veiled threats directed at supporters of Her Highness, Princess Ta'lan, in the Interior and Capital regions. While I suspect that Princess Ta'lan may have been aware of Princess Da'tan's so-called desperation, I do not think she thought her sister capable of starting a civil war." Memoirs of Nilij Cal'taru, Royal Advisor and Diplomat, Chapter II, paragraph 5)
When it became clear that the Queen-Mother had only days left to live, it was decided that the Grand Council of Lorell Hall should vote to determine who was to take the throne. Each Lady of the Hapes Consortium had one vote in the matter. Each of the four Archons were given a vote on behalf of their respective region, each populated world had one vote decided by local polls conducted by the population (the final amount was split in half), and each of the five Royal Advisors were given one vote. The Queen-Mother passed away on February 23 3946 and the Grand Council met the following day to do the official placements of votes.
The poll ended with Princess Ta'lan winning with half a point more than Da'tan. The outcome showed that the nobility greatly favoured Princess Da'tan throughout the Hapes Cluster while Princess Ta'lan was more popular with the Hapan peoples and the neutral advisors.
Da'tan promptly stormed out of the Grand Council chamber, screaming profanities and shoving guards, nobles and spectators out of her path. She retreated to her private chambers where she called up a number of members of the nobility, requesting a private meeting somewhere outside the Capital. Her ship, the Tractica Heavy Cruiser Dream of Darkness, departed Hapes Prime the same afternoon for Rebo.
At her meeting with the supporting nobles, she got assurances of loyalty and support, especially from House Olanji and House Par'wandi who were considered critical to her plans. Two days later, her forces attacked the Lorell system and seized Lorell, making it the capital of the newly formed Draconian Union.
Wartime Princess
Template:Royalty-Styles-Princess Her time as leader of the Draconian Union was marked by firm and traditional leadership. She did not let the stronger noble houses get out of control and was often concerned about whether or not her movement would have any support in the Capital and Interior region when and if they took control of them. She considered Hapes Prime to be the key to her victory and launched numerous attacks on the Hapan system in the course of her rule, with few positive results.
In 3947 she married Count Xariq Tylger, brother of Lady Kani Tylger who had made the first assault on Lorell possible. While the marriage was seen by many as a political move, the two supposedly maintained a loving marriage. She spent most of her time on Lorell, directing the Draconian war effort from the Royal Draconian Palace.
She gave birth to her daughter in 3963 and named her Lana Da'tanah Pal'durath, meaning Lana of Da'tan Pal'durath. She took care of her daughter with the help of Draconian Handmaidens. Lady Ci'hani of Varn was one of her closest friends and advisors for the duration of her rule.
Her sister died in 3964, which made the Draconian Union declare victory, only to be disappointed by a newsbroadcast from Princess Inaq, Princess Ta'lan's daughter, which stated the war for reunification would go on.
Death
She was killed, along with her husband, in the dinner party massacre in 3965. Extremist special operatives from the Sword Confederacy had infiltrated the Royal Draconian Palace and killed the couple during a ceremonial dinner attended by numerous members of the nobility. The assassins were taken out by the Draconian Royal Guard before they had a chance to hurt anyone else.
Many historians mark the death of Princess Da'tan as the turning point in the Hapan civil war, as the rules of war were largely ignored after this and the conditions which the population of the Hapes Cluster had to endure worsened. Lady Zalin Ci'hani took over as Regent of the Draconian Union until Princess Da'tanah became old enough to rule.
See Also
| Preceded by: Vacant title last held by Inaq Thian Pal'durath |
Princess of the Hapes Consortium alongside Ta'lan Pal'durath 3926–3965 |
Succeeded by:<br./>Lana Da'tanah alongside Inaq Ta'lan |
| Preceded by: None *Position Created* |
Leader of the Draconian Union 3946–3965 |
Succeeded by:<br./>Lady Zalin Ci'hani |
