Teodora I (テオドーラ Teodōra [1]) is the Empress of Valua and mother to Enrique. She is the tertiary antagonist of Skies of Arcadia.
Information[]
Personality[]
The Empress is very self-righteous and cannot bear anyone going against her wishes. Yet she cares very much for her son Enrique, and wants to expand the Valuan Empire to leave him behind a prosperous nation when she passes away. Enrique, however, voices concern that the means that the Empire undertakes to do so, by conquest, are wrong. When he voices his displeasure she will often brush him off, telling him he must learn to stop "worrying about the petty worries of the 'people'" if he is to succeed her as Valuan Emperor in the future. Thus, Enrique has no real influence over Teodora's militaristic policies, and eventual circumstances lead to his joining Vyse and crew in direct opposition to Galcian's Armada.
Bio[]
Teodora was said to be a kind and beautiful woman once, but is now a corrupt dictator bent on expanding her power. Various in-game dialogue with NPCs explain that Valua is facing an impending energy crisis due to a severe lack of new moonstone reserves, a fact largely ignored by the self-centered upper class Valuans, who continue their shallow, mass consumption ways. Valua's massive military force does not help matters, as maintaining its military power is extremely draining on the country's resources. From this, it can be inferred that, after Enrique's father died and Teodora had to take the throne, she caved under the pressure of being a ruler and adopted militaristic policies as the solution to Valua's problems. She listens with interest to Lord Galcian's report on the Moon Crystals and orders him to find them for her, believing that these superweapons will allow her to rule the world without having to spend additional resources on the military. However, she gives Galcian too long a leash and is slow to suspect him of treason; this lack of concern is the cause of her death, as she ultimately dies along with Admiral Alfonso and countless others when Galcian calls the Rains of Destruction down upon Valua.
Trivia[]
- When Fina insults her during their meeting, Empress Teodora shouts "Off with her head!". This appears to be a reference to the Queen of Hearts' famous line from Alice in Wonderland.
- Teodora strongly resembles Imelda Marcos, wife of Filipino strongman, Ferdinand Marcos.