Princess Silivia

Travels with a four-hundred-person retinue. Famously holds a blade on Knight Henned to demand the release of Golden Knight Tabek, kicking off the longest set-piece duel in the Tverdynya stretch of the story.

Dazzlingly beautiful — Lorist, who had seen many beauties across two lives, thought only one word at their first meeting: 'elf.' Skin white as jade; captivating green eyes. Count Kemmes called her 'the most splendid rose of Iberia' and 'the most dazzling pearl of the steppes.'

Proud, stubborn and girlishly wilful, refusing to admit defeat: having lost to Lorist she immediately declares that as a swordswoman she will wash away the shame and is sure to beat him. Yet she is honest and principled — she openly admits her uncle the king brought it on himself by attacking the blameless Nortons, and thinks it base that he sent a Sword Master against Lorist.

From childhood she vowed to marry a great hero — which is why so many young knights rode to war with the Second Prince, dreaming of winning her favour. She raises the royal heir, unloved by his parents, as her own.

A Gold-rank swordswoman at just twenty — a talent almost beyond comprehension. Her retinue numbers over a hundred and twenty mounted Silver-rank bodyguards, men and women in equal measure. In her duel with Henned she was covertly aided by her wet-nurse, the Sword Master Shandi, which explained her victory over a battle-hardened gold knight.

Lorist, however, dealt with her whole retinue and captured her without even using Battle Force — with internal force and technique alone — and then in an hour-long duel defeated the Sword Master Shandi herself.

Granddaughter of Grand Duke Fisabrun — the 'god of war of the steppes,' a third-tier Sword Master; daughter of his early-deceased eldest son, born after her father's death. The sole niece of the Queen of Iberia (the Second Prince's wife), elevated to princess by the prince. Her godmother and wet-nurse is the Sword Master Shandi, formerly Fisabrun's lover.

The Second Prince (King of Iberia) prizes her as a most valuable political piece: he meant to match her to Lorist to bind House Norton, and dared not touch her himself for fear of his father-in-law Fisabrun's wrath.

She first appears at second hand through the go-between Count Kemmes (ch 183): the King of Iberia offers her hand to Lorist, but he refuses to come to Gildusk. Hearing of the beast tide from Kemmes, she asks to be sent magical-beast corpses to see them with her own eyes — and Lorist slyly ships a whole consignment.

After the King of Iberia's rout (ch 191-193) Lorist finds her in Gildusk: insulted by the gold knight Tabek, she beat him, then captured both Tabek and the negotiating Henden, demanding each beat her blade. Lorist enters the palace, easily dispatches her bodyguards, captures her — then in a tense duel defeats her wet-nurse, the Sword Master Shandi, freeing both captives.

Intrigued by this extraordinary lord, the princess insists that Lorist himself escort her four-hundred-person retinue for ten days to Mounyohara province via the Kemmes eastern chain bridge (ch 195). Along the way Lorist, straight-faced, spins her tall tales about the 'voluntary' resettlement of the peasants he has ruined, and she calls him 'utterly shameless.'

Later (ch 215) she persuades her grandfather Fisabrun not to treat the Nortons as eternal enemies — 'there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests,' as Lorist told her — and volunteers to go to the Northern Lands to buy steel armour and ransom the captive Viscount Christophe and fifteen thousand Border Corps soldiers.