yrae | Character 100-ish 093: Princess Zhizaa (Reply)

I want to say this is the last of the future babies but I have a niggling feeling there's another one in the box.

Mostly inherited grandma's looks, I think, with those cheekbones and the lips. Reminds me more of Shizaaqa than either Assili or Zakky.

NAME Princess Zhizaa
WHO IS THIS PERSON Future eldest child of Empress Assili and (by this stage) General Zakaariss
GENDER Female because Kazin hasn't worked out terminology yet
AGE Not born yet; pictured in her 30s I think

BRIEF BIO In Zhizaa's mind there's never been any confusion. She has always, since she was a tiny little kiddie, wanted to be a boy. Alas, Kazin isn't nearly so open and welcoming of such concepts as her cousins in Llayad, especially with girls wanting to be boys, so Zhizaa's life has been an uphill battle all the way. Doesn't help that mummy named her after her predecessor and had her marked as the next empress from birth.
The older she got, the more Zhizaa fought to be recognised as a warrior. She trained with the army, and of course nobody could challenge her because at the end of the day she was the sodding crown princess and she could have you killed. Only Assili and Zakaariss ever actually said anything to her face, but it was more a 'you're really sure you don't want to be empress?' thing rather than 'suck it up, kiddo, you're next in line.' Because she's got younger sisters, most notably Shai, who really really wanted to be empress, and was set to be a pretty good one, too, so far as Kazinian empresses go.
So Zhizaa renounced her claim on the Kazinian crown and let Shai take the title of Crown Princess, and pretty much took on the role of army leader in all but name, because that's just pushing the envelope too far, even for royalty.
While her sister Shai was away on her royal meet-and-greet, meeting local queens and foreign royalty, Zhizaa began to realise just what she had given up. The empress has far more power than even the army general. She had the power, for example, to allow women into the army. To open up the high ranks of lieutenant, commander, even general, to women. So in those couple of years, Zhizaa studied up to earn her place as a phenomenally strong empress AND general.
I haven't decided yet which of the two makes it to empress, though I suspect Shai, just because she's more politically savvy while Zhizaa would rather hit things with a stick, but who knows. Maybe they make friends.

CHARACTER Tough, rebellious, very authoritative. Zhizaa has a very quick mind, both in tactics and general quick wit, that would make her the equal of any of Assili's Commanding Circle if she'd been born a man. She's stupidly envious of her half-Llayan cousins who can be whatever gender they choose, not the gender they were born into.

POINTS OF INTEREST

If there hadn't been so much bad blood following Shizaaqa's reign, Zhizaa would have been named Shizaaqa. It's as close as Assili could come to naming her after her mother without the empire sniffing a rat.

When Zhizaa's younger brother (Dahkir) was born, Zakaariss said, 'oh good. Another boy.' This is probably the closest Zhizaa has come to actually being acknowledged as a boy. Because Kazin.

Even to Zhizaa, being referred to as 'he' would seem weird to her. She wishes she had been born a boy, wants to be a boy, but knows she's a woman and uses that to her advantage. Women have the higher standing in Kazin, anyway, so it's not that great a loss.

Google Sam Stosur for her physique. Woman is built.

The army admires her very highly.