Anise du Arlay was always well-versed in the arcane arts. Well-versed, no. An understatement. Anise is one of the most powerful sorceresses to date, rivalling the infamous founder of their art, Eve du Rosèe. She epitomises all that a sorceress should be: cunning, creative and intuitive. Anise is the youngest First Enchantress to date, and the only one with no familial tie to the Family du Rosèe. Not only is she a capable maegi, but a capable woman and figure in the politics and intrigues of Dumat.

Anise is the last of the Family du Arlay. Her family is infamous for being the victims of the Plot du Varatille, an scheme whereby the Family du Varatille assassinated all of the Family du Arlay, save for Anise and her brother, Charlegne. This act was political suicide for the du Varatille, who violated an ancient law sacred to the noble houses of Dumat. As such, the du Varatille were eradicated, and their lands given to the du Arlay.

After the death of her brother during the Seventh War of the Well, Anise inherited all of her family’s titles, lands and fortunes, in tandem with her position as First Enchantress. Alongside Rosette de Carvay, Anise was chosen by First Enchantress Marienne du Rosèe to accompany her to Diel’athar. Anise brought her charge, the 11-year-old Ophelia du Marge, with her as well.

Marienne was discovered and executed by the ithuri. Her chosen, Rosette de Carvay, immediately took up the mantle as First Enchantress. Anise, who very much coveted the title, manipulated the entire group into a set-up that resulted in the death of Rosette, the deaths of two others, and the capture of the remaining group. Anise departed, unscathed, and returned to Dumat declaring herself the First Enchantress. It is assumed that some members of the group were tortured during their imprisonment.

Ophelia du Marge is of a different sort to First Enchantress du Arlay. While Ophelia showed magical promise a lot earlier than most children, she lacked the confidence and cunning of her mentor. She was always kind, innocent and gentle-hearted, with a love for flowers and butterflies. While Ophelia did not mirror any of the First Enchantress’ qualities, Anise saw in her the young girl that she once was before the Plot du Varatille.

Ophelia is the only daughter of the Duke du Marge, a southern lord. Her family loved her very much, and when approached by Anise du Arlay, allowed her to make the decision. From then on, Ophelia was the charge of Anise du Arlay, a woman who had already made a name for herself.

The young prodigy proved to be a talented sorceress. Initially, her studies began Lavondrelle, but she proved to be talented in various forms of the Way of the Rose. As such, Anise withdrew her and brought her to the University of Arc Tenès. It was then that Anise was chosen to join the First Enchantress at the Dragonwall. Ophelia was brought too.

In Diel’athar, Ophelia was responsible for maintaining glamours over the various party members. She had studied long and hard all about the ithuri aesthetic and culture, schooling the others in everything they needed to know before sending them out. She developed positive relationships with all involved, and soon they grew to love her, perhaps as a sister, perhaps as a daughter. Ophelia continued her studies her under the watchful eyes of du Arlay. She displayed great aptitude for the creation and maintenance of glamours, which earned her the favour of the First Enchantress. However, Ophelia owed her loyalty to Anise du Arlay, and when Marienne was executed, Anise called upon Ophelia to help her set up Rosette. Ophelia was also captured, but spared any discomfort or pain, for though the ithuri loathed humanity, they were not child-killers.

Ophelia was freed before the others due to her age. She returned to Arc Tenès to continue her studies. It was always assumed that Ophelia had no part in the set-up.

Serathael, like all ithuri, has no surname. He is a typical ithuri by all accounts - intelligent, well-educated, sharp-tongued, personifying grace and sophistication, and annoyingly arrogant. However, unlike his brethren, Serathael does not hate humans. In fact, they intrigue him. Serathael had never seen a human before the Seventh War, only heard tales of their barbarism and stupidity, jokes and jests passed along from ithuri to ithuri for many centuries, stories that might make anyone ill. Yet Serathael was always one for the macabre. He loved humanity.

Serathael has seen almost four centuries. From youth, he was a scholar and an academic, developing a penchant for learning about the world rather than the magic that most ithuri craved to master. He eventually rose to become one of the Sielhar Vylei, a scholar who learned and studied the secrets of the world, history that predated humanity and even the ithuri, knowledge that the old gods of the ithuri and humans left behind. Like all of the Sielhar Vylei, these secrets were bound into his skin through arcane vitali, protected by blood and wiped from memory.

When the Seventh War arrived, Serathael made his way to Diel’athar, hoping for a chance to go to the battlefield and see the feral humans for the first time. He was, however, restricted from going beyond the city’s northern gates and served as an archivist for General Atharael. It is in this position that he met Anise du Arlay, disguised as an ithuri arcanist, and was introduced to the rest of the group. Though they were not the fearsome beasts he had been led to believe, he was still in absolute love with them all. He became an accomplice to their missions, providing them with maps, locations and meetings. Though he was betraying his kind, he found humans to be humbler, kinder and less intolerable. Unlike the ithuri, who treated each other with scorn and strived to be greater than each other, the humans cooperated and listened to each other. Serathael somehow developed a resentment for being an ithuri. He wished he was a human. He went so far as to cut the tips of his ears.

Following the death of Atharael, Serathael’s part in the scheme was discovered. As the ithuri do not believe in killing one another, he was instead sentenced to exile, and the vitali containing the secrets he had learned were spelled with wards so that if he required access to them, he would need to endure incredible pain.