Quanyii

Quanyii from the poster for The Devil in the Sunlight by Milo Mars

—Quanyii[src]

**Quanyii** is a possibly ancient, famously powerful, dubiously wicked Witch from The Western Wastes.

## Early Life

Quanyii was born in the Western Wastes and gained significant infamy there before moving on. At an unknown point before reaching the Northern Wilds, Quanyii met Sir Caroline, and the two decided to spend their lives together. They have an open relationship, live together, and share the care of their dog Gawain.

## History

Quanyii first appears in the monster courthouse, speaking to Rilla and masking her voice from Caroline. She saves Rilla and Caroline's lives by tricking Judge Helicoid into going to sleep, but Caroline is still infuriated upon seeing her, insisting she should not be here. The two play it off as if they do not know each other, Caroline acting as if she just does not want to be around a witch and Quanyii flirting with and asking out Caroline as if they've only just met. Quanyii makes a deal with Rilla that she will help her escape Fort Terminus, but Rilla will owe her a favor in return. Caroline warns Rilla strongly against it because being in debt to a witch is more dangerous than she can imagine, but Rilla tells Caroline she has lost her trust and Rilla makes the deal with Quanyii.

Quanyii reveals she wants Rilla to get the four thumbs of a reptilian familiar, which Rilla is extremely averse to. Luckily for her said familiar is teleported away before her debt can be called. Quanyii later asks Rilla to retrieve the silks of the Fear monster's cocoon, but quickly realizes it is the monster's aura talking and rescinds the request.

Rilla remains in Quanyii's debt to this day. Quanyii teleports several knights away from Fort Terminus at Caroline's request and disappears before Rilla and Caroline find their way back to the Swamp of Titan's Blooms. Later, Quanyii greets Caroline when she returns to their home by complaining Gawain has Not been a good boy while she's been gone. Caroline scolds Quanyii for breaking their one rule and following her to work. Quanyii seems to feel bad about making Caroline feel condescended to, but quickly changes the subject. She congratulates Caroline on her promotion to Captain of the Guard and asks her if she's finally comfortable here. Caroline then notices Quanyii is wearing her clothes, Quanyii says they look better on her, and the two make love.

Some months later Quanyii encounters the changeling Olala in the Swamp of Titan's Blooms. Olala tells her she is going to meet the Queen, and Quanyii assures her she can charm the Queen no problem. Olala becomes very afraid of Quanyii when she tells her her name, asking if she is really 'The Witch of the Wastes'. Quanyii says she may be from the Wastes, but she is of wherever she wants to be, the Wilds currently, though that may change if 'she' doesn't apologize soon.

Later on, Quanyii prepares Olala for a scheme. He briefly explains that he is genderfluid and remarks that one would never want to be a woman in the Second Citadel because it is disgusting. He takes Olala to see Sir Angelo, from a distance, so that she can shapeshift into him. He puts a miniaturized Olala in his pocket and goes to see the captain of the journeymen knights, Sir Absolon, and tricks him into handing over one of two keys to the archives. He expresses his distaste for Absolon to Olala, then instructs Olala to shift into Angelo and retrieve the other key from Sir Caroline. He gets small and gets into Olala's pocket and advises Olala to agree with Caroline if she is at a loss for what to say. Caroline greets 'Angelo' tersely and gives a rundown of the current state of the Citadel. She explains how she has banned all monsters and monster-adjacent beings from the Citadel in order to root out a shapeshifter. She has already found several shapeshifters, including one who confessed to killing a child, but not the shapeshifter she's looking for. She shows an anti-magic staff she has had built from the stone of Fort Terminus. Olala asks for the key just as the real Angelo arrives, and just snatches it out of her hands and runs, Quanyii still in her pocket even as she shapeshifts into a mouse.

When they arrive at the archives and return to their human forms, Olala comments that Quanyii is a beautiful woman again, and Quanyii tells her to keep the flattery up. They go looking for the door, only to find that they got a fake key from Sir Caroline. Sir Angelo and a few guards arrive on the scene, and they're forced to hide separately. When Angelo finds Quanyii, Olala quickly makes a deal with Jack of Shadows, a kind of shapeshifter imprisoned in the archives, and he sweeps Olala and Quanyii behind the locked door and safely away from the knights. Quanyii lights a magic lantern and warns Olala to stay well within the light, for Jack is dangerous and prone to eating children. Jack says that he has made a deal with Olala and cannot hurt her until it is finished. Quanyii gets Olala to repeat the deal verbatim and says that he cannot hurt her until he gets them through a second locked door, at which point their deal is complete.

Olala shows Quanyii the Thoughtstream, which she and Jack are both very interested in. It produces an indefinite amount of Nine of Mirrors cards. Since the Mirrors suit represents The Wayward East, Jack points them towards a guitar from the East that functions similarly to Olala's cards. He lures Olala to the edge of Quanyii's light in the guise of showing her how it works, and so when he casually opens a second door for her, Quanyii is too far away to protect her. Quanyii enters a fight with Jack and appears to lose. In actuality, she retreats to find Sir Caroline, and they both arrive back just in time to save Olala from Jack. Caroline handily despatches Jack, and gripes at Quanyii for not waiting for her to check that the Soulkeeper Amulet was missing instead of breaking in to see for herself. Quanyii rebukes that Caroline had been putting off checking that the Amulet was missing for days, and she could not wait any longer to be proven right. She tells Caroline The Kite must have the Amulet, but Caroline does not seem very interested, instead roughly taking hold of Olala. Quanyii tells her to be careful, Olala is just a little girl, but Caroline disagrees. She demands that Quanyii go home. Quanyii reassures Olala that Caroline wouldn't really hurt her, seeming to believe it herself, before departing presumably to her and Caroline's home.

## Abilities

Quanyii is a skilled witch. She opens a portal to the Swamp of Titan's Blooms, while simultaneously maintaining control over Rilla's sprained ankle. According to Sir Caroline, she is 'more dangerous than any monster.'

Her powers operate by "scavenging" objects and body parts from innately powerful monsters, and by asking the universe the right question: not so much "please don't let those rocks fall on her head" as "pretty please, just for me, give my little pocketwatch the power to stop time so I can freeze those rocks before they hit her." She tells Olala she has made herself "not entirely human", but not part monster, just a little dead. He also remarks that he gave his soul away "years ago."

## Relationships

### Sir Caroline

Quanyii and Sir Caroline are in an open relationship, and Quanyii references the two of them choosing to spend their lives together. Before the adopted child Olala, Quanyii was the only person Caroline had ever told about her origins. They have a cottage and a war pug, Gawain. Until the season 2 finale when it's revealed that they're together, Quanyii relentlessly asks Caroline on dates, which Caroline brushes off.

### Amaryllis of Exile

Quanyii likes Rilla, initially commenting on how pretty her name is when they meet. Rilla is amazed by Quanyii's abilities and very curious about the nature of magic. The two of them establish a repoire, "encouraging each other" much to the ire of Sir Caroline. Rilla's wonder at Quanyii and her abilities is significantly dampened by the fact she wants Rilla to cut off Lord Arum's thumbs and give them to her in order to settle her debt, but when Rilla instead gets Arum away safely Quanyii does not press her on them. Rilla still expresses excitement about sharing her supernatural research with Quanyii after they're separated by a cave-in, and dread at the idea she (or anyone else) may have been killed in the cave in.

The Fear monster briefly tricks Quanyii into charging Rilla with taking the silks from its cacoon for her, but she quickly comes to her senses. It is understood that Rilla will have to fulfill her debt some other way in the future.

### Olala

Quanyii finds Olala wandering alone out of the Swamp of Titan's Bloom's, and recognizes her as being desired by The Kite, wondering aloud what he would do to get his hands on her. She does not, however, have any intention of handing her over to him. She instead takes Olala as a helper on her mission to break into the Second Citadel's archives, as she needed a shapeshifter anyway. He finds Olala's honest nature cute and seems to grow fond of her as their time together progresses. When Olala makes a deal with Jack of Shadows Quanyii tries her hardest to protect Olala from him while keeping herself, unprotected by a deal, safe, but eventually must go to Sir Caroline to save her. Quanyii seems to genuinely think Sir Caroline will not hurt Olala or turn her in to The Kite, though events Quanyii did not witness suggest otherwise. Olala for her part is initially frightened of Quanyii because of the scary stories she's heard about her but grows attached to her, to the point that she reminds her of Sister Tiilei.

## Episode Appearances

* Second Citadel - The Spiral Sage (Part 2)
* Second Citadel - The Hallowed Halls of Helicoid (Part 1)
* Second Citadel - The Hallowed Halls of Helicoid (Part 2)
* Second Citadel - The Battle at World's End (Part 1)
* Second Citadel - The Battle at World's End (Part 3)
* Second Citadel - The Battle at World's End (Part 4)
* Second Citadel - The Battle at World's End (Part 5)
 Season 3* Second Citadel - The Lovers of the Fallen Tower (Part 2)
* Second Citadel - The Devil in the Sunlight (Part 1)
* Second Citadel - The Devil in the Sunlight (Part 2)
* Second Citadel - The Priestess' Fortune (Part 1)
* Second Citadel - The Priestess' Fortune (Part 2)
 Season 4)
* Second Citadel - The Perils of Pellinore (Part 1)
* Second Citadel - The Perils of Pellinore (Part 2)(mentioned)

## Trivia

* Sophie Kaner chose Quanyii's name, "trying for something cutesy and not too much like any specific language," and says they tried several spellings before Kevin Vibert came up with the double "i."
* Quanyii appears to be a genderfluid lesbian, much like Xavin of Marvel comics.
* In the poster for The Devil in the Sunlight, Quanyii is wearing the same colors as the logo for The Penumbra Podcast. This could also be an allusion to the nonbinary flag.

## References

1. ↑ The Devil in the Sunlight Part 2 Patreon Commentary Track
2. ↑ Second Citadel - The Spiral Sage (Part 2)
3. ↑ Second Citadel - The Hallowed Halls of Helicoid (Part 1)
4. ↑ The Lovers of the Fallen Tower (Part 2)
5. ↑ Second Citadel - The Devil in the Sunlight (Part 1)
6. ↑ Second Citadel - The Battle at World's End (Part 6)
7. ↑ Second Citadel - The Hallowed Halls of Helicoid (Part 1)
8. ↑ Sophie Kaner tweet 12 November 2019