(1843-1918) The Lyzian Era

Lyza “The Great” Toras (1843-1918) was the most beloved monarch in recent Rizian history. The granddaughter of Queen Ariana Toras and only child of King Xavi Toras II, she inherited the throne as a teenager upon her father’s death in 1860. Despite her youth and inexperience, she quickly became known for her wise decisionmaking and modern worldview. She presided over a time of rapid industrialization, particularly in the country’s gold mining and manufacturing sectors. She used the country’s newfound wealth to institute wide-ranging reforms, most notably in the fields of education and women’s rights. Under her reign, Rizia became the first country in South Merkopa to implement compulsory schooling for both girls and boys, and made great strides in providing equal opportunities for women in the workforce. She was also known for her diplomatic prowess, and her ability to negotiate beneficial trade agreements with countries such as Sordland played a significant role in fueling Rizia’s economic boom at the time. An avid patron of the arts and sciences, she established several royal foundations dedicated to supporting Rizian culture and technological advancement. Unique for a woman of her era, she resisted marriage until age 28, when her council pressured her into a union with her second cousin Edu Toras, the Earl of Qalus. Her son Valero Toras, followed shortly afterward. The childbirth process was difficult and left the Queen seemingly unable to conceive; however, 1884 saw the surprise birth of a second son, Hugo, just before the death of King Consort Edu from pneumonia. Her critics, especially abroad, pointed out that her reforms could be considered an overreach in royal authority and that her progressive stance was undermined by her refusal to acknowledge the growing calls for democracy within Rizia and elsewhere. Staunch royalists were also angered by her handling of the scandal surrounding her son’s marriage to a commoner, wherein she granted noble status to the family of Princess Consort Estela Toras instead of disinheriting Prince Valero from the throne.

However, she remains an almost universally beloved figure, with her texts on leadership, the economy and society commonly taught in Rizian schools to this day.