Alinne Corvere

Alinne Corvere, with her daughter, Mia Corvere, by PhantomRin

**Alinne Corvere** was the mother of Mia Corvere. Through she was born in Liis, Alinne rose to prominence in the halls of Itreyan power. She was a political genius, and a dona of no little esteem and will. Imprisoned in The Philosopher's Stone with her infant son, Jonnen, after her husband's failed rebellion, she died in madness and misery.

## History

The details of Alinne's life prior to her marriage to Darius Corvere are relatively unknown. She was born in Liis, a vassal state of Itreya. She was, presumably, not highborn. Her life was likely modest there, her upbringing humble. At some point in her life, she relocated to Itreya, possibly with her family, possibly alone. Whether or not she had any living relatives, either in Itreya or back in Liis, is unknown. If she did, they are not mentioned. At some point, after arriving in Itreya, likely in the city of Godsgrave, she met Darius Corvere, the then justicus of the Luminatii Legion, and they married. Their relationship, however, was never romantic but instead one of friendship and political expedience. On Alinne's side, the marriage was strictly advantageous - the wife of a Justicus is a powerful woman. She married the position, not the man. Darius's reasoning was unknown, possibly to deflect or deflate suspicion of his true nature, possibly for another reason entirely. Their marriage was according to Sidonius, a former legionary who served under Darius, "*a strange kind of love*". Armed with her husband's political prominence and her remarkable beauty, Alinne went on to all but conquer the Itreyan Senate, manipulating the political sphere with ease. At some point during her political career, she began a relationship with another rising star, Julius Scaeva, who went on to sire both of her children. Despite their relationship, the consul showed no compunction in casting Alinne aside after her husband's failed rebellion. He imprisoned her in The Philosopher's Stone.

Alinne's political schemes and machinations yielded impressive results. Prior to her familia's tragic downfall, she controlled a third of the Senate and half of the Luminatii Legion. It is no exaggeration to say that, at that time, Alinne was one of the most powerful women in Godsgrave.

## Appearance

Mia described her mother as regal, a woman with the air of a queen. She was tall and beautiful, imperious and severe, her voice was akin to a freshly sharpened blade.

## Personality

The strength of Alinne Corvere is often accentuated throughout the novel. A woman with a will of steel and ice in her veins, she was regarded as a imperious woman, harsh and severe, likely forged by the difficulties of her youth, which she spent largely impoverished. She endured shame and disgrace, the execution of her husband and (supposed) execution of her daughter, the repossession of all her earthly belongings, the downfall of her familia, the taking of her son, and deep physical and psychological torture at the hands of her former lover and father of her children, all without shedding a single tear.

Prior to her downfall, she often demanded her daughter reciprocate this severity. Indeed, she went as far as to force Mia, ten years old at the time, to watch her father's horrific execution. However, her behavior could never truly be considered cruel. Alinne possessed a strong maternal streak and was fiercely protective of her children. The narrator drew comparison between Alinne and a type of Vaanian arachnid, known as the wellspring spider, one that resulted to cannibalism after laying her eggs, unwillingly to leave them unguarded to search for food, and eventually, upon their hatching, served as their first meal. And, according to the narrator, this arachnid had *nothing* on Alinne Corvere.

Alinne was also extremely intelligent, regarded as something of a political genius during the height of her prominence in Itreya. She manipulated the political theatre and navigated the halls of the Godsgrave elite with relative ease, despite her humble origins, her foreign upbringing and utter lack of noble blood.

Much like her lover, Scaeva, Alinne was extremely ambitious, and, according to Sidonius, more so than Darius Corvere and Gaius Antonius, the infamous masterminds of the Kingmaker Rebellion, combined.

## Relationships

### *Julius Scaeva*

Likely a strictly sexual relationship begun for mutual political advancement, Alinne and Julius were lovers for many years, it seems. He fathered both of her children - her daughter Mia, and her much younger son, Jonnen. The children have an age difference of nearly ten years, so evidently the affair lasted a while. While there was clearly no love between them, and the pair showed absolutely no respect for each other in their final confrontation, Mia did observe an intimacy between them whilst they were speaking alone, and she also notes that Alinne did briefly cause Scaeva to waver in his certainty and confidence during their conversation, which is no small feat.

## Trivia

* The familia Corvere had the Liisian saying *Neh diis lus’a, lus diis’a*, which translates to *When all is blood, blood is all*.