Amari Olúborí

**Amari** **Olúborí** is the crown princess of Orïsha. She is the daughter of King Saran and the younger sister of Inan.

## Personality

Amari is soft-spoken and timid at first. She grew up with the constant criticism of her mother and disdain and dismissal from her father. Amari always thought of herself as weak and useless because of her distain for violence. As she travels with Zélie and Tzain, she begins to see herself differently. She learns that she can be loyal to her friends, true to her beliefs, and physically stronger than she could have imagined. Amari grows into a strong young woman who believes in peace and truth.

## Physical Description

Amari has a copper complexion and amber eyes. Along her back is a scar from when she was young and her father forced her to spar with her brother using real swords. After the return of magic, she develops a white streak in her hair.

## History

Amari was raised in the luxury of the palace in Lagos. While she might have lived in the lap of luxury, she was subjected to the strict rules of her mother, Queen Nehanda. Her mother criticized Amari's every move and dictated everything, from what Amari ate to how she carried herself. Her only solace is Binta, her only friend and a divîner serving girl. Amari dreams of a life beyond the palace, but she knows little of the injustices and dangers that plague Orïsha. After witnessing her father murder Binta, her world is shattered. She steals the scroll that awakens a divîner's magic, flees Lagos, and meets Zélie and Tzain.

As she travels across the kingdom with Zélie and Tzain, Amari witnesses firsthand the extreme suffering her father's ways have caused. When Saran attempts to murder Inan upon discovering that he can do magic, Amari is the one who kills him.

After the death of her father, Amari is staring down becoming the queen of Orïsha, and she vows to be a better ruler than him. She wants to do this by peacefully uniting maji, tîtáns, and kosidán. She arrives in Lagos to declare her right to the throne, but her mother thwarts Amari's attempts to take the throne. Amari joins Zélie in traveling to the Iyika, where she gets a taste of what it's like to be hated. The maji don't trust or like her.

## Relationships

### Tzain Adebola

Amari and Tzain develop a close friendship that turns into a romantic one. Despite the pain and hurt Amari's family has caused his family, Tzain feels compassion for Amari and understands that her father's crimes are not hers. He is far more patient with Amari than Zélie is. Tzain breaks off his relationship with Amari when she chooses to unleash Cancer gas in Ibadan, knowing full well that Zélie might be there.

### Zélie Adebola

Zélie and Amari did not start out as friends when they first met. Zélie believed that Amari was a spoiled princess who couldn't understand the struggles other faced. As the two spent more time together traveling across the kingdom, Zélie gained more respect for Amari, and the two came to see each other as sisters instead of enemies. After the return of magic, and Amari developing powers as a Connector, their relationship fractures as they feel they each believe the other no longer wants the same thing.

### Inan Olúborí

Amari and Inan have a somewhat strained relationship as a result of their father's harsh upbringing. They were made to fight each other using real swords, essentially being made to hurt one another by their father. When Amari begins working with Zélie, their relationship is further strained because Inan views Zélie as a traitor.

After both siblings gain powers as Connectors, they are able to reconnect. Amari and Inan both believe in an Orïsha when maji and kosidán are safe. Inan even offers to make Amari his queen so that they can rule together.

### Saran

Amari grew up petrified of her father. He long ago gave up trying to teach Amari how to fight with a sword because she abhors violence. Saran brutally taught Amari to put duty before self, and the wellbeing of Orïsha before anything else. When Amari witnesses Saran murder her only friend, Binta, Amari steels herself against her father and realizes that she needs to fight back against him. As she travels across the kingdom, Amari witnesses first hand the extreme cruelty of her father's ways. It casts him in a new light, showing her the evil within her own family. She still hears Saran's various catchphrases in her head. This speaks to the degree to which he warped how she thinks about duty, love, and morality. Amari vows to herself that she will be better than him.

### Mama Agba

Though Mama Agba is clearly and unwaveringly on the side of the maji, she still treats Amari with generosity and kindness that Amari gets nowhere else in Ile Ijosin. Mama Agba makes the point to Amari that the fight they're in now is just an iteration of a fight that has been going on for centuries. She offers support and and advice even though Amari is not considered a true maji by the others.

## Trivia

* In the epilogue of *Children of Blood and Bone*, it is revealed that the return of magic to Orïsha awakened Amari's magic, and she gained a white streak in her hair.
* Her aura is described as being a "vibrant blue."
* She is told by Mama Agba that her name means "possesses great strength."