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| “ | You're a feisty little thing, aren't you? | ” |
–Chapter 2, A Shadow in the Ember | ||
Seraphena Mierel (pronounced: See-ra-fee-na[1]) is Nyktos' Consort and the true Primal of Life and Queen of the Gods.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Seraphena was born the daughter of the King and Queen of Lasania. Long before her birth, the Primal of Death made a deal with her ancestor, King Roderick Mierel, to temporarily keep back the Rot that affected the land in exchange for the firstborn daughter of the Mierel line as a consort. When Sera was born, the Rot began to spread again.
Both of her parents were aware of the fate that awaited Seraphena, and after her father died by suicide when she was too young to remember him, Sera's mother hid her away. Besides her immediate family and very few others, no one knew her true identity. She was raised in secret and trained by Sir Holland to become an assassin, as her mother and others believed that the only way to stop the rots progression would be to kill the Primal of Death. Thus, Sera was trained to be able to fight and seduce him, as the only true weakness to a Primal is falling in love.
At some point during her childhood, Queen Calliphe remarried Ernald, who became Sera's stepfather and the new king. With Ernald came his two children, Tavius and Ezmeria. As no one besides the royal family knew Sera existed, Tavius then became known as the heir for the throne.
A Shadow in the Ember[]
On her 17th birthday, Sera has her Rite where Nyktos will collect her as his Consort. However, he refuses her, stating he has "no need of a Consort". Calliphe is enraged with her daughter, believing that she did something wrong, and strikes her. Every year afterwards, she is once again veiled and brought to the Shadow Temple in hope that the Primal of Death will arrive and take her as his Consort, but he never shows. Everyone, including Sera, believes that she has failed the kingdom and all is doomed.
Three years later, Sera has been stripped of her title of Maiden and she works for her mother as a handmaiden and assassin, essentially doing her mother's dirty work. After the Vodina Isles rejects an alliance with Lasania, Sera is ordered to go after Lord Claus and executes him. On the way back from her job, Sera witnesses the gods Cressa and Madis kill a man and a baby. Enraged, Sera goes after them, but is stopped by another god. She tries to fight him, but he deflects all of her blows, and he successfully subdues her, taking her away from the scene before they are caught and they share a heated kiss in order to not be recognized. After Cressa and Madis leave, Sera and the god return to the townhouse to investigate the murders. She questions his motives for interfering, and he says that she shouldn't be involved in this. She tries to attack the god once more with her shadowstone dagger, but he easily deflects the attack and subdues her once more. He praises her bravery, and calls her liessa.
She is taken by Nyktos to the Shadowlands to become his Consort, where she meets members of his court and the draken.
A Light in the Flame[]
TBA
Personality[]
Sera is often described to be youthful, free spirited, absentminded, impulsive, outspoken and passionate. She is worried about the good of her people and helps those in deed by bringing them food from the palace. In several occasions she helps her step sister Ezmeria, who is helping children in need on the streets of Carsodonia. She is committed to fulfilling the deal in order to save her kingdoms and is ready to die for this. She is brave to a point of recklessness, where she would do something, without much thought of herself and her safety. Reaver says that when it comes to taking actions she will think about it, weight the consequences, hope no one was paying attention and do it anyways. Sir Holland also mentions her recklessness on more than one occasion and says she is a warrior and survivor. Under the effects of whiskey she told Nyktos that she always was alone in this life and didn't understand what had she done to deserve it.
Physical Description[]
Sera has described herself as not a skinny, and a fairly tall person, although she often feels "short" in front of Nyktos. She has silvery-blonde hair, described as the color of moonlight. She says that she resembles her father and looks nothing like her mother, even though she later remarks that she and her mother share the same features, with Calliphe's being more refined.[2] She has exactly 36 freckles on her face, as counted by Nyktos, as well as a crescent shaped birthmark above her left shoulder blade, which marks her as belonging to the Primal of Death.
Powers & Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Healing: Like her granddaughter, Penellaphe Balfour, Seraphena has the power to heal. Due to her gift, Seraphena is able to take away other people's pain by reaching out to them. This gift is due to her having the ember of life, given to the Mierel line by Nyktos' father.
- Resurrection: Also like her granddaughter Seraphena can restore the soul back to the person from limbo or command the soul to stay within the body.
- Foresight: Sera has the power of heightened intuition which she gained after Ascending as the Primal of Life.
Ablities[]
- Shifting: Sera can shift into a white cave cat.
- Fighting: Due to excessive training, Sera is a skilled fighter and able to use various weapons.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Prior to the events of A Shadow in the Ember, Sera had killed fourteen people.[citation needed]
- Sera's mother and father were heartmates.[citation needed]
- It is revealed by the Arae in the face of Holland that Seraphena is the reincarnation of Sotoria.[citation needed]
- During the Blood and Ash series, Sera is mentioned several times.
- Penellaphe Balfour starts hearing and seeing images of Sera in her mind when she is in Atlantia and is being confronted by Alastir and the hostile citizens and guards. ("It wasn't supposed to be this way." In a flash, I saw her, hair like moonlight as she thrust her hands deep into the ground. Some inherited knowledge told me that she was where this Temple now stood, but in a different time, back when the world was an unknown place. [...] Her words reached me once more. I am done with this, all of this." - Poppy (Chapter 2, The Crown of Gilded Bones)).
- Without warning, an image flashed in my mind. The silver-haired woman standing before another as the stars fell from the sky, her hands balled into fists. Her words came from my lips, "I will not let you harm him or any of my friends." - Poppy (Chapter 41, The Crown of Gilded Bones)).
- Poppy hears and sees Sera a few more times and believes what she had told her while in the tombs is the answer to everything. It is revealed in The War of Two Queens that Seraphena tells Poppy her name.
- Seraphena also helps Poppy with the words she needs to use to summon the draken to her aid. When Poppy and Kieran Contou go to the Shadowlands for the second time, Nektas says that she is currently sleeping, unable to wake until her son Ires is returned to her.
References[]
- ↑ Pronunciation Guide in The War of Two Queens
- ↑ Chapter 22, A Light in the Flame