Chương 1: The Public Image

Lady Lyvia. A person of extraordinary grace. She has unshakable poise and presence, every move elegant and controlled. It's said that as a youth, she performed a ballet so exquisite that her instructor wept… and then retired the same day claiming that having seen perfection, there was nothing more he could teach. She gives the impression of someone who could walk between the flakes of an ashfall without getting dirty.

Her marriage to Lord Tanniker of House Donnelle allowed her to ascend from the farflung city of Tremredare in the Western Dominance to the capital city of Luthadel. She has served her new house diligently, overseeing the house staff, maintaining the keep, acting as a consummate hostess at house balls. Although only a newcomer, she has already done much to forge new connections within the city. While Lord Tanniker is a minor noble of a lesser house, Lady Lyvia has managed to secure invitations to some quite exclusive balls from nobles eager to have her dancing as part of the event.

In social circles, Lady Lyvia remains just as in control, every word chosen with care, every look and gesture calculated in its impact, and yet fluid and natural, never fake or stiff. She plays her cards close to her chest; her business is her own, and anything shared is done so with purpose. As a result she has fewer enemies than the typical noble of her position. The only vice anyone has managed to discover is a fondness for a particularly pungent variety of foods native to her homeland. As a result, she's never without a small container of peppermints. To be caught at a social event with unfresh breath would be unthinkable!