(MAY-lee VAYL-rik)
Nickname: Leigh
Role in Story Universe: member of the main cast of the Ashes of Aekos series.
First Appearance: Book One – Ashes of Desire
Class: Civica – via a black-market ICICLE chip and tattoo
Race: Aekosi
Physical Description: stands 5’7″ with a voluptuous, curvy figure and the soft strength of someone who’s weathered much and still stands tall. Her hazel eyes are warm and expressive, hinting at her compassionate nature and quiet resilience. Her shoulder-length dirty blonde hair is streaked with paler strands, falling in relaxed, beachy waves that frame her pale skin with its signature silver Aekosi undertone. She’s effortlessly striking in a way that speaks more to presence than performance—a grounded beauty, radiant in her authenticity.
Age: approximately 440 years old
Key Relationships: sister to Eryndor Vaelric. Sister to Daerion and Shayde via adoption. Daughter to King Basilius and Queen Gaia via adoption.
Backstory: Maeleigh lost both parents before she was old enough to remember them—her father killed during the war and her mother driven to suicide shortly after. Alone and vulnerable at just a year old, she survived the chaos for several years under her brother’s protection before being found by Wolfred, who brought the siblings to safety and into the care of the royal family. Raised as surrogates alongside the King and Queen’s own children, she grew up surrounded by love and protection, though the scars of her early abandonment lingered beneath the surface.
As an adult, Maeleigh entered into a toxic and abusive marriage with a man named Ignar. Though never bonded, she felt trapped by fear, circumstance, and societal expectations—until Eryndor intervened, saving her from the brink of death. Pregnant with Ignar’s child and determined to reclaim her identity, she took back her maiden name and found the strength to begin again on her own terms.