Lady Dhana-mira

conniving . vicious . beautiful

Dhana was born in the springtime, the seventh princess and 11th in line for the throne. The youngest of the princes and princesses, she was barely walking on two legs by the time the usurpation occurred. She vaguely remembers the soft green of her mother’s hair and the fond, blurry outlines of other children, but that is all. The king and queen were executed, and all 10 of the other children found themselves following suit before long. Donna was spared to be a hostage, to keep loyalists in check. She’s known that for as long as she can remember.

It wasn’t a terrible experience, though. She was sequestered to a secluded estate, given a run of servants and nannies, given a proper little education. It occurred to her early on that they were probably grooming her for a marriage to further cement the new monarchy. The estate was lonely, but she learned to bide her time. She studied and read and learned a little bit of magic along the way. Occasionally, Duke Hieloff would secret away to her. The Duke was Dhana’s only confidant, her only friend. He would give her the exciting books, teach her about a different kind of magic, the kind he reproduced in his labs and factories. He could never stay for long, though. But he taught her the important things as she grew: be slow to trust and wary of others, hide your strengths and project your weaknesses, and never, ever seem like more of a threat than she already is. She remembered these lessons well.

One day in her childhood, the Duke was accompanied by a girl only slightly older than Dhana herself – Baira Aradusq. She was to be trained and eventually become Donna’s personal knight, but Dhana was not one to let opportunity pass. She befriended Baira, or Dusq as she preferred. They grew close, shared secrets, grew and matured together, and it was only natural that they fell in together, too. Dusq became the companion she longed for in every way – friend, sister, lover.

On the verge of her adolescence, Donna was summoned to the palace. She left the estate behind, but she brought Dusq with her – all according to plan. The capitol is a pit of vipers, of poisonous ambitions and untreated hurts and longsuffering injustice. But Dhana has a plan.