Sareth I

Queen **Sareth I** is a recurring character in the Apple TV+ series, *Foundation*. She hails from Cloud Dominion and is assisted by Rue Corintha. Sareth i is portrayed by Ella-Rae Smith, first appearing in "In Seldon's Shadow."

## Biography

Sareth I, Queen of Cloud Dominion, was not originally in line for the throne. Her elder sister was the crown princess, while her brother served as an officer in the Royal Hussars. Sareth was allowed to indulge her interests, including art, sport, and music. When she lost her family in a zeppelin accident, she was elevated to the throne with no education on how to be a leader. Rumors abound that she engineered the accident herself. In 12,240 Era Imperial, Sareth I approaches Trantor to meet Brother Day for a potential wedding arrangement. Enjoiner Rue Corintha notes how the rings of Trantor are like lizards raising their frills as a sign of strength and intimidation. Sareth notes lizards do that as a sign of being frightened.

Sareth is presented to the three Cleons by Rue as gifts of their finest original chroma pigments are presented. Upon receiving a brass depiction of Trantor to show what is on offer for her, she notes that this signifies Empire's reach diminishing if Trantor is all that is on offer. Their meeting with the Cleons is interrupted by Demerzel.

Sometime later, Sareth and Rue dine with the the Emperors. At first, their discussion is light as they get to know one another; Sareth offers to take Brother Dawn ice-running, but the conversation soon turns serious. Sareth asks if the assassination attempt had been successful on Brother Day, then the Day sitting with them would be a new man. Day asks how she knows about the assassination attempt; Sareth mentions it was a rumour until he just confirmed it. They talk about how marriage would effectively do the same as an assassination attempt, and Sareth points out that the marriage would end Brother Dawn's reason for being, and that he would never become Day.

Sareth asks to see the replacement clones, and Day escorts her to the Principium. They talk about how the exponents receive memory updates, only edited to remove the memory of death. Talk turns to how they plan to procreate, either naturally or artificially. Sareth has heard rumours about the corruption of the Genetic Dynasty and reasons this is why Empire is interested in a match with her.

Sareth discusses with Rue how she might go about finding out more about Empire, and their involvement in the death of her family. This leads to her meeting Cleon XVIII as a potential entry point to that knowledge. When she meets with him, she quickly wants to establish if Cleon XVII was involved which Dawn initially denies, though doesn't deny he might be capable. After denying his involvement too, Sareth wonders if she and him could get married, as he is effectively the same person as Day. Later, Sareth meets with Claviger Markley, who is willing to try and find information on Day's involvement with the death of Sareth's family and obtain visual records of the assassination attempt in return for payment.

Sareth meets again with Markley to see what she can find out about the assassination attempt on Cleon XVII. With no recordings of the event, Sareth knows the only way to gather information will be to get into Cleon's bedroom herself. She reassures Rue that she won't give up more information than she needs to.

Entering Cleon XVII's bedroom, Sareth discusses with Cleon what he wants their relationship to be. As she does so, she wanders around the bedroom, spotting signs of repair after the attack. Intimacy begins with Sareth and Cleon XVII, though it is becoming tense. Cleon brings up her past lover who was killed in the same accident that killed her family, and Sareth angrily wonders why he knows so much about the attack. Cleon XVII suddenly realises the reason Sareth came to his quarters. In response to him accusing Sareth of being behind the attempt on his life, Sareth retorts that she is just making sure the Palace is safe for her and any potential offspring. She later promises to marry him if she is able to secure her safety and find the person responsible for the assassination attempt.

Later, Sareth discusses with Rue what happened and is updated on the memory audits of the Cleons which cannot be accessed. Sareth suggests accessing the memories of the medical staff who worked on Cleon XVII's wounds. Markley obtains the records of one of the medical staff, and they are shocked to discover that Demerzel is a robot.

Cleon XVII assembles the Galactic Council and addresses a crowd of citizens in an arena on Trantor. He dedicates a new statue to Winoset, mother of Cleon I and the last galactic Empress. During his speech, Brother Day announces his intention to wed Sareth I and end the Genetic Dynasty. To the applause of the crowd, Sareth addresses them as well and promises that they will rule as servants to the people, and that their concerns would be their agenda. The crowds cheer as Day looks on, annoyed at what his bride-to-be has promised the people.

Reviewing the recording of Sareth's speech later, Rue warns her not to embarrass her future husband like that. They are interrupted by Demerzel, who wants to bring Sareth to the medical bay to be examined for her ability to produce an heir. Sareth follows and en route, says to Demerzel that she knows she is a robot and wants assurances that Demerzel will serve her. However, the only assurance she gets is that Demerzel will serve Empire. In the medical bay, Sareth consents to an examination but will not consent to any eggs being harvested until she is married to Day. Despite protests from medical staff and Demerzel initially, she is successful in preventing harvest of her eggs. Demerzel wants a private conversation with her, and here she is given a warning not to get revenge on Empire, as Demerzel is capable of many things, including the nature of her family’s death.

Sareth meets Day in the gardens at the Imperial Palace. Day wants to discuss their personas, but Sareth quickly moves on to discussing her family, how they will be connected to Day, even though they are gone. She wishes she could tell her family the impact Day had on them, even indirectly. She leaves the gardens, and wants a meeting with Dawn in private. The pair meet using facial scramblers, where she reveals Demerzel killed her family. With Dawn asking what she wants from him, she responds that she wants to have children with him. He is different from Day. She says she will marry Day, but she wants to have Dawn’s child. They kiss and in response to Dawn saying it is suicide, she said it is a bloodless coup instead.

Sareth is being detained in the Imperial Palace after being arrested for sending the assassins to kill Day. She is freed by Dawn, however, who enters through secret passages and fights off the guards as he frees her. Now together, the pair make a statement. Dawn reveals to the galaxy that Day is dead and he wants to marry Sareth which she agrees to. They are using facial scramblers however, to thwart attempts from Demerzel to capture them. They then contact Demerzel to explain the situation, trying to win her over, citing that killing them might turn the people against Empire, which goes against Demerzel’s programming. Sareth reveals to both that she is pregnant with Dawn’s son. Dawn refutes Demerzel’s claims that the child won’t be a leader, saying it doesn’t have to lead, just be loved. He thanks her for always being there for him as the couple go into space.

## Appearances

* Season Two
	+ "In Seldon's Shadow" (First appearance)
	+ "A Glimpse of Darkness"
	+ "Where the Stars Are Scattered Thinly"
	+ "The Sighted and the Seen"
	+ "Why the Gods Made Wine"
	+ "A Necessary Death"
	+ "Creation Myths"

## Notes and references

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "A Necessary Death"
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 "In Seldon's Shadow"
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "A Glimpse of Darkness"
4. ↑ "Where the Stars Are Scattered Thinly"
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "The Sighted and the Seen"
6. ↑ "Why the Gods Made Wine"
7. ↑ "Creation Myths""