Anavalistia

Anavalistia, or Anaval, was the town of Earbeford's overworked wet-nurse.Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords, Section 5, p.21-22 She often carried a baby on each arm latched to her breasts and often forgot who they belonged to.Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords, Section 5, p.22 She claimed her profession left her brain permanently clouded by humours that left her unable to think clearly.Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords, Section 5, p.25 She vaguely recalled a time when she had possessed a smart and educated brain.Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords, Section 12, p.62 Guardswoman Grabella said the wet-nurse had once been too smart and too sharp, and it had driven her to flat-out insanity.Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords, Section 13, p.66
Her husband Grizzer left her, calling her "a bad mother", after she misplaced their own baby girl, who was never found again. Anavalistia's friends, Burok the town Manuromancer, and Thibly the cobbler, had helped in the search. The wet-nurse still feared that she would one day open a cupboard and find the remains of the infant.Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords, Section 5, p.25-26 Burok assured her that his own divinations from the infant's last diaper showed that the girl was fine and being cared for.
==In Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords==
Anavalistia nursed councilwoman Nistilla's newborn during the meeting in which the town council chose to hire Bauchelain and Korbal Broach to defeat The Tearful Three, whose undead army threatened the town. The wet-nurse thought the councilwoman's latest child was quite ugly with its pug nose and floppy ears.Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords, Section 12, p.60 
She was also among the motley crowd of poorly armed citizens conscripted to face the undead army while Bauchelain and Korbal Broach launched their attack. Ultimately the conscripts were not required, although she carried Nistalla's child with her onto the battlefield to watch and promptly misplaced it.Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords, Section 23, p.86 When she recovered it by the battle's end, Emancipor Reese pointed out that the she was "baby" nursing was actually his puppy. He demanded the dog's return until the wet-nurse requested three jeerkhins in exchange. Reese relinquished his ownership and Burok adopted it instead, with Anavalistia allowing that the manuromancer could pay her back later.Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords, Section 30, p.101 It was unclear whether Anavalistia had ever been tending to one of Nistalla's children or whether she had been tending Reese's pug-faced dog the whole time.
After the Tearful Three were defeated, Villiob and several others among the conscripts devised a plan for the now masterless undead army. Since the undead did not require pay or food and would be desperate to rejoin society, the people of Earbeford could welcome them back as the town's new working class. In the process, people of the lower classes such as themselves would be elevated to a wealthier, more privileged class.Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords, Section 30, p.97-99 But the newly freed horde of undead, under their leader Ilma, reacted to the proposition by announcing they would kill and devour the townspeople.Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords, Section 31, p.102-104Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords, Section 32, p.104
As Bauchelain, Korbal Broach, and Emancipor Reese left the town to their fate, Reese was surprised to be joined atop the necromancers' carriage by Anavalistia. The wet-nurse informed him she planned to travel with him while her brain freed itself of the humours that befogged it. Reese warned the woman, whom he found "pretty...in a hefty, motherly way", that his lifestyle required "Drink. Drugs. Rustleaf. Rustleaf. Drink." to survive, but she was not dissuaded. Once her brain was back, she would choose among those three remedies to remain with him for the long haul. She also carried the puppy, whose name she revealed only to the manservant. Reese found the name fit most perfectly.Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords, Section 31, p.102-104Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords, Section 32, p.104-106 
==Notes and references==
Category:Females
Category:Humans