Katherine Yorke

''"There is, I believe a time in the history of all great states when they begin to stagnate, and decay. And then comes a time that the people of those states shall witness a great upheaval and be reborn. For Ithilia, this is that time. A chain of events is destined to occur from the blade we have lowered here. And that great chain will lead us forward. All we need do... is give it a little tug." --Raviel Hevoria, Testimony before the Council''

Katherine Yorke was an Ithilian noblewoman, Duchess of York, and Queen-consort to the throne of Ithilia by her marriage to Sidd Kingsley. She was considered a just and fair woman and was well respected both by the nobility and the commonfolk. She was killed in 1369 by an assassination plot led and executed by Raviel Hevoria.

Biography
Katherine was the daughter of Dante of York and the heiress to the duchy of the same name. While her inheritance lay in York, she spent much of her youth in Cheltenborne with her relatives. After she came of age, her father abdicated and retired to Cheltenborne while Katherine took his place as ruler of the city. She participated in many military campaigns against the Vikings and in the Southern War and was one of the original members of the Ithilian Dragoons.

She was also very active in King Vermeer's court where she championed for laws holding the nobility more accountable in their administration of the Ithilian regions and granting more rights to commonfolk. She was seen somewhat as a radical but her determination and commitment to her office gained her a great deal of respect in court.

Eventually she married Sidd Kingsley which caused a minor stir due their peers belief that to the young lord's rising political clout and Katherine's powerful office would give the couple too much power within the realm. This would come up again after Vermeer's death led to Sidd being elected king of Ithilia. Together Katherine and Sidd worked tirelessly as enlightened rulers for the eradication of serfdom and the expansion of free trade within Ithilia and York, specifically.

Katherine was murdered in 1376 by Raviel Hevoria and a conspiracy of traitors within the Ithilian court who sought to undermine the couple's strong influence over the nation.

Personality
Katherine was a very stern woman. She rarely smiled and took her duties as Duchess of York very seriously. Despite her generally severe nature, she was always as just and fair as she could be, and cared genuinely for the welfare of her subjects. She would often be the first to question unjust or corrupt policies, and had a penchant for exposing incompetent or corrupt administration among the nobility. This caused her to have some mixed reception among her peers but generally she was respected.

Sidd Kingsley
Katherine loved Sidd dearly and it was clear they were very happy together. Indeed his presence was one of the few things that made her smile unabashedly. She supported her husbands policies among the nobility and together they wielded great power which they used to promote fairness and equality among their citizens, expanding the rights of the commonfolk, and strengthening the industrial and trading power of their kingdom. While their relationship was somewhat controversial, Katherine believed their love would overcome.

Rowan McGregor
Rowan McGregor was one of Katherine's closest friends. They grew up together in Cheltenborne and served together both on the battlefield (leading their family's soldiers in the Army of York, and in the Ithilian Dragoons) and in King Vermeer's court. Katherine was aware of Rowan's romantic interest in her, but it was never addressed between the two of them. After she began courting and later married Sidd, the rift that had grown between them grew stronger and while they remained close friends it was clear things would not be the same between them. After her death, Rowan insisted Raviel be hanged for his crimes and visited her grave regularly.

Raul la Fere
Katherine always viewed Raul with distrust as she suspected him for a long time of various criminal acts including embezzlement and financing a cartel within the city of Leohampton. As she had no real authority over him and he was close with King Vermeer, she had no way to prove her suspicions or the political power to accuse him. Despite this they remained cordial in court and occasionally worked together during military campaigns. Raul viewed Katherine as somewhat of a thorn in his side as she regularly opposed him in court, but respected her for her convictions.

Trivia

 * Katherine is the first deceased character mentioned in the story, with her first mention being in The Root of All Evil.
 * Katherine was mentioned again briefly after finding a letter from Sidd Kingsley in Blackheart's hideout.