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Cyrilla Amnell was the Queen of Galea after her mother, Queen Bernadine Amnell. Cyrilla was sister to Harold Amnell, who served as the general over the armies of Galea, and half-sister to Kahlan Amnell. Her father, King Wyborn, was the official ruler of Galea until the Mother Confessor of the time chose him to be her husband. It is through King Wyborn's blood that Cyrilla and Harold are half-siblings to Kahlan Amnell, the Mother Confessor of the Midlands. She is 12 years older than Kahlan.

Biography[]

Early life[]

When Cyrilla was still a young girl, the Mother Confessor of the time decreed that King Wyborn was to be her mate. The two conceived Kahlan Amnell, who would eventually succeed her mother as the Mother Confessor.

Many years later, during a great festival, Kahlan traveled to Galea as the newly-named Mother Confessor. Cyrilla herself had only been Queen for a short time and was holding a festival. Kahlan and her wizard, Giller, interrupted a ball being held in Cyrilla's palace. Kahlan asked Cyrilla if she had an advisor by the name of Drefan Tross, which Cyrilla confirmed. Kahlan then asked to speak with Drefan privately, but Cyrilla had begun to develop feelings for Drefan and insisted that anything Kahlan had to say to him could be said in front of her. Much to Queen Cyrilla's horror, Kahlan informed her that she had recently heard the confession of a murderer---a murderer who admitted to conspiring with a man named Drefan Tross to assassinate Cyrilla. Drefan quickly pulled a knife and attempted to kill Kahlan, but she unleashed her Confessor's power on him. Once Drefan was completely under Kahlan's contol, he revealed that he was planning to assassinate Queen Cyrilla on that very night. Cyrilla became enraged and demanded that Kahlan force him to reveal who had hired him. Kahlan told Cyrilla that the accomplice had probably been protected by a spell that would kill Drefan if he were asked that question, as the other accomplice who had been captured dropped dead from similar magical means. The furious Cyrilla continued to demand that Kahlan ask, which she eventually did. Drefan died in the same way as his accomplice.

Kahlan told Cyrilla that she suspected that it was the Keltons who were behind the attempted assassination. Cyrilla was initially very bitter towards Kahlan, but soon attempted a sisterly moment between the two. She asked Kahlan to stay and enjoy the remainder of the party with her, but Kahlan flatly denied the offer. She said that she didn't want to spoil the party for the other guests, as people of the Midlands feared the Confessors more than almost anything else in the world.

Imperial Order War[]

Galea, though initially a powerful nation, had been weakened by its defence of the Midlands against D'Hara. Once Kelton attacked Galea, Cyrilla journeyed to Aydindril to call upon the Central Council of the Midlands. She planned to ask them for their help and support against Kelton, although the Mother Confessor would technically make that decision. Upon arrival, Cyrilla ordered her escort of one hundred score men to wait outside while she addressed the Council. She became immediately disturbed to discover that her half-sister, the Mother Confessor and rightful occupant of the First Chair of the Central Council, was not in attendance. Presiding over the Council was High Prince Fyren of Kelton, the very person she had intended to accuse of attacking her people.

Cyrilla bravely chose to ignore her enemy, instead addressing the rest of the Council. However, Fyren himself accused Cyrilla of attacking his people and lectured the Council on the supposed folly of allowing women to have positions of power. Cyrilla was declared guilty of crimes she had not committed and was sentenced to be beheaded. Fyren had Cyrilla forced to her knees as he cut her long hair, which was a social indicator of her royalty and power. Bravely, Cyrilla held her head high.

In the meantime, Cyrilla's troops were attacked and slaughtered. Some of the soldiers managed to escape, however, and Cyrilla dearly hoped that her beloved brother Harold was among them. Queen Cyrilla was then escorted by guards to a dark and dank pit. She initially feared that she might be thrown to some rats, creatures she feared and hated, but the guards had a nastier surprise in store for her. The pit was occupied by many rapists and murderers, who were awaiting their executions and pleased to be offered one last victim. Queen Cyrilla was pushed into the pit and then let out a scream, the latter of which she hadn't done since childhood. Cyrilla was then continuously defiled until being led to the execution site, where she was bravely rescued in a daring raid by her brother, Prince Harold. Due to her time in the pit, however, she became delirious and was rarely conscious.

Delirium[]

Harold's party later met up with his half-sister Kahlan Amnell and her own company. In her brief moments of consciousness, Cyrilla asked Kahlan to become the Queen of Galea in her stead, until she was well enough to retake the Crown.

Whenever conscious, Cyrilla would react violently, unless Kahlan, Adie, or Jebra Bevinvier, the only women in the company, were there to tend to her; her experiences in the pit having destroyed her trust in men.

Jebra, a Seer, noticed with her talents that Cyrilla often dreamed of hanging herself. Jebra than suggested that Cyrilla should not be left with rope, lest she act on her dreams. Cyrilla repeatedly asked Kahlan to assume the throne of Galea, not realizing in her delusions that Kahlan had already done so.

Because of a spell which was cast on Kahlan, most of the people with her thought of her as always having been the Queen of Galea. Cyrilla was viewed merely as a sick woman travelling with them. The Galean company then went on ahead to the Galean Crown city of Ebinissia, while Kahlan and Adie travelled at a distance in Ahern's carriage.

Retaking the Crown[]

Sometime after returning to her Crown city, Cyrilla began to become more lucid. She eventually regained her sanity but was completely changed by her experiences in the pit in Aydindril. She was no longer the good and compassionate woman she used to be.

Cyrilla took back the Crown of Galea and was furious when she discovered that, in her absence, Kahlan had committed Galea to the D'Haran Empire and declared war on the Imperial Order. Jebra, acting as an advisor to the Queen, assured her that she must follow Kahlan's decision, as she had seen the consequences of not doing so in a vision.

The Queen eventually tired of Jebra's visions and had her locked in a palace dungeon, ordering Jebra to be held there until she denounced her blasphemy. Cyrilla then sent Prince Harold to retrieve the Galean troops stationed with Kahlan, who were busily defending the Midlands against the Order. One thousand men accompanied him, intending to join Kahlan against the Queen's wishes.

Harold was killed at Kahlan's camp, but most of the Galean troops returned to their homeland. Unfortunately, they were of little help to defend when the Order made its way through the Midlands. Galea was overrun and Queen Cyrilla was captured. She was forced to engage in sex with Jagang's men, just as Jebra had predicted, until the day she was beheaded. Jagang's men then started a game of Ja'La, using Cyrilla's severed head as the ball.

Appearances[]

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