Eines

"I happen to agree with these idiots. I need no help. From anyone."

- Eines, Volume 2 Eines is the younger sister of Stein Phais. A prodigy of a mage and a well-respected rivership captain, Eines has spent the past few years transporting goods and passengers down and up the river Hadria.

Personality
"Anyone with over seventy people killed is not to be trifled with."

- Antheus Prayne, Volume 2

Eines is stubborn and blunt, but loyal once you've won her over.

History
"You're certainly eager to join a battle you knew nothing of until today."

- Stein Phais, Volume 2

Eines was born and raised in Ardunat. She came from a long line of smart and skilled spellcasters, and they trained her well. She was specifically trained by her parents and her grandfather. She was a noted prodigy, unlike her elder brother Stein who was incapable of preforming most spells and who was instead trained as a cartographer. However, Eines' quiet family life would change when she was thirteen.

When Eines was thirteen, her elder brother Stein was to undergo the Sealing: a ritual which required those going through it to pull a weapon from the Faetree. The Faetree of Ardunat contained the grimlas double blades which bound the soul of Azriel Sanreya. Pulling the blades on a whim, the following explosion of magical power not only revealed Stein as a Necryte - the first since Necryte Varda, believed by some to be Varda reborn - it killed two hundred and forty seven souls. The rare survivors of the incident described the Reaper as Ardunat as having a robe of shadows and dark, an armor of bones, and the blackest of hearts.

However, according to Eines none of the survivors of Ardunat had discovered Stein was the Reaper and the cause of the tragedy. When Stein ran as hard as he could, Eines followed with the intention of bringing him back to their family. The survivors of Ardunat were fleeing, and their family was, too, and she was to bring him back. When Stein chose to instead wander on, however, Eines decided to accompany him rather than returning to their clan, dedicating herself to the protection of her brother. They wandered the kingdoms, doing work where work was to be found. Eines was after all a competent mage - more than that, really - and Stein was a schooled cartographer. And all roads lead to Wade, at one point or another, so the two eventually ended up there, thinking perhaps they would find work or even settle down. And then they were ambushed.

The two ended up in Wade while it was under the control of the Arenians. They had been on the run for about three years at that point, and Eines was sixteen. Wade had been under Arenian occupation for more than three centuries, and they were known for drafting anyone of skill into their army - and they made the mistake of trying to draft Eines' brother, Stein, into their party. His spellcasting swords named him a mage to all who saw him, and the mage hunters immediately tried to push him around. Peter Bowen and Mary Ives stepped in, the two of them taking down three guards between them. Eines killed the fourth guard with a smooth lightning bolt spell from her pipe before he could retaliate.

Stein hugged her and apologized, saying he should have taken the life instead, but Eines didn't say anything in reply. When Peter and Mary, members of the resistance, told them to come along she was the first to follow them, Stein quickly following her lead. She was also the first to introduce herself when they were asked for their names, though she said it was "Just Eines" and refused to give any further information. Her brother, however, used his made-up last name of "Phais".

When asked why they were in Wade, they told the truth...or a version of it. They were honest about being from Wade, and about their status as travelers, but did not reveal Stein to be the Reaper of Ardunat. Peter told them that carrying magical weapons so obviously would mark them by mage trackers, and Stein admitted he hadn't known things were so bad. Stein correctly pegged Peter and Mary as resistance fighters, mostly due to the crest of the former ruler being on the wall of their hideout - which Eines translated from Stein's rather bragging explanation by pointing out he was a cartographer and familiar with it.

Peter offered them a place in the resistance, but Stein didn't seem certain about it. It was Eines who agreed, telling Peter that if he helped them with food and a roof above their heads they would help out in any way they could. Stein tried to get her to back down with a pleading look but she gave him a cold one in return and he backed down and agreed. When left alone he questioned why, but Eines pointed out they'd helped them, and Peter and Mary hadn't even asked who they were first. She planned to return the favor. She pointed out that Stein would never be able to redeem himself as he wanted if he kept running away from opportunities to do it, and told him that things didn't feel fate-driven to her when he reminded her of rule one: run when things feel fate-driven. She said it was people-driven, instead.

During a planning session of the resistance, Eines immediately jumped in. Mary had told her they'd been having problems acting within the city for fear of innocent people being hurt in the process. Eines asked for a detailed map of Wade, and smacked Stein out of the way so she could examine it. Immediately, the sixteen-yearold put coins on several places on the map and told them these were the places to get them. They were bridges, scluded tunnels, and foundation walls of old Wade. Peter said they'd thought of that as well, but said that they had nothing the Arenians wanted, and that they wouldn't send their forces after just anyone.

Eines only grinned and cast a controlled hovering fireball spell, telling Peter they did now. Stein tried to tell her no, but she simply told him yes and that he was coming with her, too. Peter asked if Eines was sisterhood-trained, as her plan to be bait wouldn't work if she were - even the Arenians weren't crazy enough to mess with the Sisters - but she assured him she had been trained by her family, not the Sisterhood.

Stein noted she was eager to join a resistance she'd known nothing about until that day, and she simply pointed out it was now personal. No one tried to take her brother from her and lived to attempt it ever again. Six weeks after their arrival in Wade, the city was in chaos. Eines was being called the "devil woman" by the Arenians, an arch mage in her own right. What she lacked in the corpulence of an Arenian arch mage, she more than made up for with skill and resourcefulness.

Eines' plan was working brilliantly, and the Arenians had only twelve trained mage hunters left, and more and more mages had joined the rebels. However, some of the rebels made the poor decision of kidnapping the daughter of the opposing general's forces. In response, twelve of the secret outposts of the rebellion were destroyed, with more than one hundred of the cause dying in one night. Eines, having been stationed at one of the outposts, thankfully escaped and made her way to the outer walls to leave the city and meet up with the other survivors.

When Stein and the others joined up with them, he hugged Eines and sat with her for some time, having found her red-eyed by a fire though she didn't share what had been troubling her. It was obvious enough, and Eines didn't really share. When the council of war began, Peter outlined two options: run away and leave Wade, or fight a hopeless battle. Eines pointed out it wasn't "options", but just one option. No one would ever leave Wade, of the resistance, so it was instead a fantasy and the actual option.

Peter told Stein and Eines that they could leave Wade and not attract attention, as it wasn't their fight - and was slammed into a tree by the forceful blast of a spell from Eines."That's what I do to people who annoy me, Peter. Would you like to find out what I do to those who truly enrage me?"

- Eines

Stein also refused to abandon the people of Wade, although less...dramatically than Eines. At that point, Stein looked to Eines, and she nodded, knowing what he was asking without words. And then Stein offered Wade salvation, and asked what they would do if they could win this. A hundred and twelve people in the resistance, with only five mages. No breathtakers, no dragonlords, no dragons. But they did have one thing the enemy did not have: the Reaper of Ardunat, the Necryte.

Stein promised to liberate Wade. He just asked the rebels to stay in the woods, to stay away, and to allow him to meet the oncoming army alone. They'd called the Arenians with the promise to return the General's daughter, and Stein planned to use his uncontrollable, infinite magic to reap the souls of the Arenians - the first time he'd killed on purpose. Stein gave the Arenians a chance to run, warning them they were wrong about the limitations of the mage firepower of the resistance. He revealed himself as the Reaper of Ardunat, and began to case.

Some of the rebels left the safety of the woods to join the fight despite Eines screaming at them to stop: Jacob Ives, Mary Ives, some other nameless rebels. Those who left the woods against the warnings of Stein and Eines were killed or maimed in the aftermath of his magic, as he could never aim it. In the aftermath of the battle, a message was sent to Karan of Areni: Wade was a free city, protected by teh Reaper of Ardunat. Peter was made king. Despite the friendships they'd made in Wade and the fact the crest and motto of the kingdom were changed to honor Stein - despite even the fact he was made a lord in Wade - Stein and Eines left shortly after the matter was closed. They knew it was for the best, as staying meant facing the risk of paid assasins hired by the unhappy families of Arenians or the people of Ardunat, should they come seeking the Reaper.

Following the liberation of Wade, Eines did a short stint as a mercenary, and later split ways with her brother as they pursued different interests, though they kept tabs on one another. She at some point gained possession of an Arenian Wraith ship (which she proceeded to dub "Sue") in return for letting an Arenian General live. After that she spent years transporting goods and passengers up and down the river Hadria on her Wraith, a calm life that offered rare encounters with pirates and robbers. Few people crossed her path, and those who did quickly learned that there was a good reason she had been successfully navigating the Hadria and that there was a good reason many powerful and respected people treated Eines with care. She was even familiar with Khedria of the Shivas, and supposedly even the king of Wade bows to Eines' word without question.

When seeking transport to Wade, Antheus Prayne and Arthur Feldenstrom went to the Horn, the local tavern in Hadria (located at the outlet of the river Hadria), to seek out a captain. The barkeep told them they wanted Eines if they wanted the fastest transport, as she was in possession of an Arenian Wraith - a military transport. While Antheus noted not just anyone could control such a ship, he was assured that Eines wasn't just anyone.

They found Eines being threatened by Lord Wilkes, who didn't care for her not giving him his shipment. He'd given her twelve crates to transport and was demanding repayment. Eines agreed he'd pay her to transport the crates, but pointed out the manifest had said they'd carried coffees and spices - but in one of the crates had been a Mesadee girl, bound and gagged. Eines had freed the girl instead of delivering her, and noted that the Mesadee had sworn a blood vengeance on the lord.

Antheus stepped in to warn Lord Wilkes and his guard that they shouldn't threaten Eines. When asked if he had a death wish by the lord and getting an irritated statement that she required no assistance from Eines, Antheus assured her he knew that, and stated he'd stepped in for the safety of Lord Wilkes and his crony. No one with a kill count as high as Eines' should be trifled with - for Antheus of the Deep Sight was Shivas trained, and could see the crows of those Eines had killed.

The Lord Wilkes and co decided that while they might be inclined to (unwisely) trifle with the lady, they had no desire to trifle with Antheus Prayne after he introduced himself. Antheus told Eines they required her services and asked the cost for a trip to Wade. Eines told him: sixty silver, all up front. Arthur protested it was Lord Prayne and she told him she hadn't known, and then changed her demands to: sixty silver, all up front. So it wasn't really a change. Antheus asked if that covered their protection, and Eines assured him they had no need to worry about that.

Three days out from Wade, the three had a short conversation about Antheus' Deep Sight and his ability to see crows. He mentioned again the number of crows attached to Eines being high, and she simply told him with a smile that he should meet her brother. The Reaper of Ardunat, after all, had more crows than anyone - though she didn't say that.

Appearance
Her eye has developed a distinctive flaw that acts as a dead giveaway for her magic talent, as many great mages develop the same flaw. Mages in the Palladia region tend to have two options: register as a vassal of the kingdom and become active military personnel OR become a servant of the mountain god. Since she's taking the third route of being a free mage, Eines hides her eye.

Abilities
Eines is a skilled shipwoman, capable of controlling an Arenian Wraith - a military ship that requires one to use magic as well as sailing skill in order to use it. She's also a high-ranking mage. Her weapon is a Baran-spiral engraved pipe.