Zaira: Difference between revisions
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Zaira has consumed so much red honey that her own memories have been essentially washed away.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/A_Walk_with_the_Lady_of_the_Cages|A Walk with the Lady of the Cages|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Personally, I've drunk the memories of so many homes, I couldn't pick a particular one out of the lot. Tricky things. [...] Have I muddled this up? I did say I set up a meeting with the King for you, didn't I? Well. I did."''</ref><ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/The_Garden_of_Roses_and_Cages|Talk to the Lady of the Gardens|Sunless Sea|}} ''"She tells you that she was once a prisoner in this very garden, but that she escaped and drank down her own memories stewed bright and honey-sweet. "And then I was whole again!" She claps, and a laugh echoes from her twisting lips. "Or maybe that was someone else. It most probably was. Don't you think? It sounds very far-fetched, now that I say it out loud.""''</ref> She struggles to remember the people she meets,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/A_Message_for_Zaira|A Message for Zaira|Sunless Sea|}} ''""How is the Venturer? Still a Rubbery Man? He isn't? Are you quite sure?" The Lady of the Cages rubs her cheek. "Maybe that part comes later. I shall have to make a note.""''</ref> let alone practical advice,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/A_Message_for_Zaira|Hand her the medallion|Sunless Sea|}} ''"I'll have a reward sent to your ship. Don't worry, I asked the Sisters to pick - I can't seem to remember what's edible and what isn't these days. [...] Can you fry wine in batter? I don't see why not!"''</ref> and even has difficulty remembering her station and duties.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/The_Lady%27s_Patronage|The Lady's Patronage|Sunless Sea|}} ''""We have not met. Have we? No, this is definitely the first time. But - hmm. [...] Best to proceed as if it is the first, don't you think? [...] I think we should be friends. I'm very important you know - or I was. No, still am. [...] Yes, I am quite sure I still am."''</ref> In a stark dissonance from the reality of the Cage-Gardens, she views them as a place of peace, pointing out that the [[Exile's Rose|roses]] that grow there are innocent even though they are hybrids with [[Hell|Hellish]] flowers.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Tending_the_Rose_Garden|Wait... what?|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Nightmarish? You really think so? Well, you must have odd dreams.. [...] This place is full of peace. Do I mean peace? Yes, I think I do. Serenity. Stillness. The roses are innocent, even though they half-sprung from hell. You don't find that worth something?"''</ref> Her responses to Leopold's pragmatic advice are equally eccentric and detached; her idea of getting to know a business partner is consuming the memories of someone who knew them.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/A_Request_from_Zaira|Accept|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Do say hello to the Merchant Venturer for me, won't you? He was such a awful child. [...] I drank the memories of someone that went to school with him. [...] I like to know my business partners. It was Leopold's idea, of course. He's very thorough."''</ref> She seems, perhaps out of necessity, to be entirely dissociated from the meaning and consequences of her duties and the process of harvesting red honey.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Tending_the_Rose_Garden|Offer her a crewman|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Memories of salt and zee! Mmm. She'll do nicely. Won't you? Yes, I think so. Yes. Have you had a little accident, my dear? No matter, the flowers like the ammonia."''</ref> However, she is still coherent enough to be sharp-witted when spurned,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/A_Walk_with_the_Lady_of_the_Cages|You politely decline|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Zaira looks confused for a moment, and then stamps her foot in a charade of rage. "You are banished from my presence! Begone, foul disappointment!" She gives you a wink, before her face clears. "But really, I am rather cross. Yes? Mmm. I probably won't kill you. But one never quite knows, does one?""''</ref> and when threatened she is remarkably lethal no matter her mental state.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Proper_Nomenclature|Threaten her|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Zaira does not waste time with words: she slips a long, thin dagger out of her sleeve and cuts the throats of two of your crew. The dagger is pressed to your own throat before you can even give a shout of horror. "Violence! I remember violence!" She laughs breathily. "Do you think I should kill you?" You don't. You really don't. "Oh, all right then.""''</ref> | Zaira has consumed so much red honey that her own memories have been essentially washed away.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/A_Walk_with_the_Lady_of_the_Cages|A Walk with the Lady of the Cages|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Personally, I've drunk the memories of so many homes, I couldn't pick a particular one out of the lot. Tricky things. [...] Have I muddled this up? I did say I set up a meeting with the King for you, didn't I? Well. I did."''</ref><ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/The_Garden_of_Roses_and_Cages|Talk to the Lady of the Gardens|Sunless Sea|}} ''"She tells you that she was once a prisoner in this very garden, but that she escaped and drank down her own memories stewed bright and honey-sweet. "And then I was whole again!" She claps, and a laugh echoes from her twisting lips. "Or maybe that was someone else. It most probably was. Don't you think? It sounds very far-fetched, now that I say it out loud.""''</ref> She struggles to remember the people she meets,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/A_Message_for_Zaira|A Message for Zaira|Sunless Sea|}} ''""How is the Venturer? Still a Rubbery Man? He isn't? Are you quite sure?" The Lady of the Cages rubs her cheek. "Maybe that part comes later. I shall have to make a note.""''</ref> let alone practical advice,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/A_Message_for_Zaira|Hand her the medallion|Sunless Sea|}} ''"I'll have a reward sent to your ship. Don't worry, I asked the Sisters to pick - I can't seem to remember what's edible and what isn't these days. [...] Can you fry wine in batter? I don't see why not!"''</ref> and even has difficulty remembering her station and duties.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/The_Lady%27s_Patronage|The Lady's Patronage|Sunless Sea|}} ''""We have not met. Have we? No, this is definitely the first time. But - hmm. [...] Best to proceed as if it is the first, don't you think? [...] I think we should be friends. I'm very important you know - or I was. No, still am. [...] Yes, I am quite sure I still am."''</ref> In a stark dissonance from the reality of the Cage-Gardens, she views them as a place of peace, pointing out that the [[Exile's Rose|roses]] that grow there are innocent even though they are hybrids with [[Hell|Hellish]] flowers.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Tending_the_Rose_Garden|Wait... what?|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Nightmarish? You really think so? Well, you must have odd dreams.. [...] This place is full of peace. Do I mean peace? Yes, I think I do. Serenity. Stillness. The roses are innocent, even though they half-sprung from hell. You don't find that worth something?"''</ref> Her responses to Leopold's pragmatic advice are equally eccentric and detached; her idea of getting to know a business partner is consuming the memories of someone who knew them.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/A_Request_from_Zaira|Accept|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Do say hello to the Merchant Venturer for me, won't you? He was such a awful child. [...] I drank the memories of someone that went to school with him. [...] I like to know my business partners. It was Leopold's idea, of course. He's very thorough."''</ref> She seems, perhaps out of necessity, to be entirely dissociated from the meaning and consequences of her duties and the process of harvesting red honey.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Tending_the_Rose_Garden|Offer her a crewman|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Memories of salt and zee! Mmm. She'll do nicely. Won't you? Yes, I think so. Yes. Have you had a little accident, my dear? No matter, the flowers like the ammonia."''</ref> However, she is still coherent enough to be sharp-witted when spurned,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/A_Walk_with_the_Lady_of_the_Cages|You politely decline|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Zaira looks confused for a moment, and then stamps her foot in a charade of rage. "You are banished from my presence! Begone, foul disappointment!" She gives you a wink, before her face clears. "But really, I am rather cross. Yes? Mmm. I probably won't kill you. But one never quite knows, does one?""''</ref> and when threatened she is remarkably lethal no matter her mental state.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Proper_Nomenclature|Threaten her|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Zaira does not waste time with words: she slips a long, thin dagger out of her sleeve and cuts the throats of two of your crew. The dagger is pressed to your own throat before you can even give a shout of horror. "Violence! I remember violence!" She laughs breathily. "Do you think I should kill you?" You don't. You really don't. "Oh, all right then.""''</ref> | ||
Zaira is actually completely blind. It appears that her eyes were put out (understandably not depicted in her artwork) and her brain ravaged by lamplighter bees harvesting her memories<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/The_Garden_of_Roses_and_Cages|Talk to the Lady of the Gardens|Sunless Sea|}} ''"A breeze lifts her gold-mesh veil: there is a shadowed emptiness where her eyes should be, and livid scars all around. The sort a nectar-maddened lamplighter bee might leave, when it burrowed into a brain."''</ref> - perhaps lending credence to her own story of freeing herself from the Cage-Gardens,<ref name=":0" /> but also offering a further explanation for the erasure of her identity. | Zaira is actually completely blind. It appears that her eyes were put out (understandably not depicted in her artwork) and her brain ravaged by lamplighter bees harvesting her memories<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/The_Garden_of_Roses_and_Cages|Talk to the Lady of the Gardens|Sunless Sea|}} ''"A breeze lifts her gold-mesh veil: there is a shadowed emptiness where her eyes should be, and livid scars all around. The sort a nectar-maddened lamplighter bee might leave, when it burrowed into a brain."''</ref> - perhaps lending credence to her own story of freeing herself from the Cage-Gardens,<ref name=":0" /> but also offering a further explanation for the erasure of her identity. Additionally, some of her compatriot [[Isery]]'s comments about her are much more condescending in this light.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/An_Offer_of_Patronage|Promises made|Sunless Sea|}} ''""Dear me, it appears I have made my offer rashly," Isery says [...] "You're already taken! Do say hello to Zaira, won't you? What an excellent eye she has." "''</ref> | ||
== References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 08:50, 1 October 2024
"We have not met. Have we? No, this is definitely the first time. But - hmm." The Lady of the Cages shakes her head sharply. "Best to proceed as if it is the first, don't you think?"[1]
Zaira is the overseer of gaoler's honey production on the Isle of Cats.
A Vacant Stare
A direct subordinate of Leopold, the Pirate King,[2] Zaira is known to most as the Lady of the Cages - although she prefers to be called the Lady of the Gardens.[3] (She responds to both, and admits both are true.)[4] Described as tall,[5] she wears a distinctive gold veil that obscures her eyes, and carries dozens of keys with her that unlock the cages of the Isle's prisoners.[6] Her primary responsibility is to supervise and tend the Cage-Gardens, and ensure that honey production goes smoothly.[7] While not the official overseer of the Melliferous Sisters, who take care of the lamplighter bees and perform the bulk of the honey-harvesting, she works alongside them - for better or for worse.[8]
Zaira has consumed so much red honey that her own memories have been essentially washed away.[9][10] She struggles to remember the people she meets,[11] let alone practical advice,[12] and even has difficulty remembering her station and duties.[13] In a stark dissonance from the reality of the Cage-Gardens, she views them as a place of peace, pointing out that the roses that grow there are innocent even though they are hybrids with Hellish flowers.[14] Her responses to Leopold's pragmatic advice are equally eccentric and detached; her idea of getting to know a business partner is consuming the memories of someone who knew them.[15] She seems, perhaps out of necessity, to be entirely dissociated from the meaning and consequences of her duties and the process of harvesting red honey.[16] However, she is still coherent enough to be sharp-witted when spurned,[17] and when threatened she is remarkably lethal no matter her mental state.[18]
Zaira is actually completely blind. It appears that her eyes were put out (understandably not depicted in her artwork) and her brain ravaged by lamplighter bees harvesting her memories[19] - perhaps lending credence to her own story of freeing herself from the Cage-Gardens,[10] but also offering a further explanation for the erasure of her identity. Additionally, some of her compatriot Isery's comments about her are much more condescending in this light.[20]
References
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