Arveneän Shelsin

**Arveneän Shelsin** was an opera singer whose murder Thara Celehar investigated. The investigation was the central plot of *The Witness for the Dead*.

## Appearance

She was delicate and had blue doe eyes, and was no more than thirty when she died. Her hands were uncallused, and she had long white hair.

She was at least sometimes overdressed. Ema Dravenezh considered her state "bourgeois-vulgar."

When she died she wore a dark green velvet gown with silk cuffs embroidered with flowers.

## Personality

She was ambitious, conceited, spiteful, reckless, argumentative, and a thief. “She saw herself in competition with *everybody*.” She was also relentless, and not deterred by losing fights. She enjoyed learning secrets, in part to use them for blackmail material. She had a bad gambling habit and was bad with money generally, and always hungered for more than she had. She frequently made herself an outcast in the circles she traveled due to her arrogance.

She loved talking about the opera, and often complained about her fellow singers, but would also often speak about her own parts and how difficult they were. Although she pursued wealthy patrons, she was only interested in the wealthy, and did not care about their age. She loved eating at Hatharanee.

Arveneän was possibly a perfectionist, or at least a strong believer in improving your craft, and seemingly believed that if “you aren’t always striving to become better, you stagnate”.

She preferred male partners for duets, and Davelo Matano noted she was more likely to confide in a man than a woman.

## Life

Toreän Nochenin said that Arveneän might have been raised in the Harnavetai. Her family died in the “iärditha epidemic five years" prior to the events of *The Witness for the Dead.*

She was the principal mid-soprano at the Vermilion Opera while Amaö Anshonaran was on maternity leave. She lived in Cemchelarna, and boasted of never going south of the city walls.

She had many patrons who gave her expensive gifts, many of which she pawned because of her gambling habit. She also stole gowns from the Vermilion Opera seemingly for her own personal use.

In the spring before *The Witness for the Dead*, she performed in *Thormedo*.

She was furious about Iäna Pel-Thenhior writing an opera with a goblin lead, and got into fights with Iäna Pel-Thenhior about it, and even threatened him over it, though he told her it was an empty threat. She made an appointment to meet the Marquess Parzhadel, though she didn't make it due to her murder.

Around two weeks prior to the events of *The Witness for the Dead*, Nepena Duhalar left Tura Olora 5,000 muranai in his will, and Tura learned of it. One night Tura got drunk with Veralis Telonar and Shulethis Dorenar, and told them about the money, but swore them to secrecy. Arveneän was blackmailing Veralis, and he told her about Tura's money out of desperation. Tura also slept with Arveneän at some point, and she made use of the occasion to steal a letter from him with his lover's name in it. She had him meet her at the Canalman's Dog, where she showed him the letter, and demanded 1,000 muranai in exchange for giving it back. Tura couldn't stand the idea of "her smirks and knowing looks", and the potential for her to find more ways to blackmail him again, and how she would stand as a threat to his lover. So he struck her on the head from behind and threw her into the Mich'maika. The letter was destroyed in the water.

Arveneän's body was hauled out of the water by the Vigilant Brotherhood of Amalo. Azhanharad called Thara to Witness for her and investigate her death.

Her funeral was in the municipal ulimeire of the Airmen's Quarter. Her mourners included Meletho Balvedin, Toreän, Azhanharad, Iäna, and Thara.

Thara's investigations uncovered Tura's involvement. Thara confronted Tura, and after Tura revealed everything, Tura committed suicide. Tura was buried in the same cemetery as Arveneän.

## Skills

Arveneän was a senior mid-soprano opera singer. Her voice was so beautiful that it saved her job many a time, despite her temper. Due to her job, she was very good at changing clothes quickly, even in complicated costumes.

She had good penmanship.

She didn't know how to swim.

## Relationships

#### Borava Coreshar

Borava was one of Arveneän's patrons at the time of her death. He escorted her to Bonashee the night she died.

#### Dach'osmer Cambeshar

Arveneän wanted wealthy men like Cambeshar to court her because of their money. Iäna noted Cambeshar was too canny to allow her to oust the other women he patronized.

#### Mer Csenivar

Csenivar was one of Arveneän's patrons at the time of her death.

#### Cebris Pershar

Arveneän's duet partner for *The Siege of Tekharee*. He detested Arveneän.

#### Danila Ubezhar

Danila was at Bonashee the night Arveneän died, and Borava noted Arveneän would have spoken with him if she saw him.

#### Davelo Matano

Davelo also worked at the Vermilion Opera. She noted that Arveneän had a temper and was widely disliked.

#### Osmer Elithar

Arveneän wanted wealthy men like Elithar to court her because of their money. She supposedly practically ruined Elithar.

#### Iäna Pel-Thenhior

Iäna and Arveneän hated each other. Iäna helped Thara investigate Arveneän's death. The one thing they agreed on was improving your craft.

#### Lalo Leverin

Arveneän blackmailed Lalo into silence over Arveneän's theft of clothing from the Opera. Lalo was terrified of what might happen if word got out about Lalo's lover.

#### Meletho Balvedin

Meletho was a clerk at the Vermilion Opera who was close with Arveneän. She thought Arveneän was kind and generous, and was honored Arveneän spoke to her, since Arveneän was a principal singer and Meletho was merely a clerk.

#### Osmer Olchevar

Olchevar was one of Arveneän's patrons at the time of her death.

#### Marquess Parzhadel

Arveneän and the Marquess had a difficult relationship: she attempted to get other singers fired, and he sent her off at least once, telling her she was lucky he didn't get rid of *her*.

#### Osmer Ponichar

Ponichar was one of Arveneän's patrons. He gave her jewelry. They would get in very loud fights.

#### Rhadeän Nadin

Rhadeän was the aunt of Vinsu Nadaran and a fellow tenant at the boardinghouse where Arveneän lived. She attempted to befriend Arveneän and was rejected. She said that Arveneän was greedy.

#### Thara Celehar

Thara investigated Arveneän's death as a Witness. He noted she seemed bent on destroying her own life, but he didn't let that intrude on his investigation.

#### Toïno Culainin

Toïno was Arveneän's understudy. Toïno noted that Arveneän didn't notice her. Toïno memorized Arveneän's movements to perform as her.

#### Toreän Nochenin

Toreän was a clerk at the Vermilion Opera who was close with Arveneän. She thought Arveneän was kind and generous, and was honored Arveneän spoke to her, since Arveneän was a principal singer and Toreän was merely a clerk.

#### Veralis Telonar

Arveneän's duet partner for *Zhelsu*. She was blackmailing him for other people's secrets.

#### Vinsu Nadaran

Vinsu was Arveneän's landlady, and responsible for Arveneän's things after Arveneän's murder. Vinsu considered Arveneän “a good lodger: quiet, polite, always paid the rent on time. But she wasn’t friendly with anyone, not the other lodgers, not Merrem Nadaran, not Min Nadin herself.”

## Quotations

* Ema to Thara: “She was a woman with the worst kind of temper, for she was vengeful. If you angered her, she would not be satisfied until she had found a way to hurt you. The last time she was here, she was trying to get one of the other singers dismissed.”

## Trivia

* She had no children.
* "She had the michenothas in her room . . . and a token from the Sanctuary of Csaivo."

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Addison, Katherine. *The Witness for the Dead*, First ed., Tor, 2021.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Addison, Katherine. *The Grief of Stones*, First ed., Tor, 2022.