Felith Ran Mathanith

Bethsaida Emil Galare's former lady-in-waiting who gets assigned to Reese and becomes Laisrathera's chatelaine.

Appearance and Personality

An Eldritch woman in a slim brown gown edged in gold, and with a simple long braid crowning her head.

Biography

From the subsumed Ran family of the Mathanith; her prospects were poor when Liolesa chose her as a potential help for her heir.

Formerly one of Bethsaida's ladies-in-waiting, she was reassigned to Reese when the human arrived for her first visit to Escutcheon, and was invited to stay at Ontine. She has an ear for news, and is well-connected that way; Hirianthial describes her as "Liolesa’s, heart and hand." He also calls her a lady's maid, so maybe those terms are interchangeable.

During the coup, she hid with Fassiana Delen's entourage.

Later accepts an offer to become Laisrathera's chatelaine; Irine thinks she might make a match of it with Beronaeth Gali Tera.

A note: Felith defines a lady-in-waiting: "The women who serve that role have chosen to attach their fortunes to their lady's, and become a part of a society themselves as a tier of support beneath the significant players of a House but above the class of household servants."

Family

• Marries Beronaeth Gali Tera during the Fallowtide; their courtship is hinted at before Reese's wedding

Quotes

• "You must not wear a vest to see the Queen!"

• "Not all of us [are xenophobes], if you will permit me to say so. And those of us who are not would welcome you."

• "I think I could grow to like a... more unconventional lifestyle."

• "I can only commit to preventing you from making the problematic faux pas, I’m afraid. The ones I think necessary I may let you commit, the better to… rearrange… any problematic customs that might benefit from a fresh approach."

• "I was but just this moment speaking to Mistress Othise, one of the princess’s tenants, about how many sordid events might have been prevented by nobles who did not use their secret affairs against one another. Too many of those scandals involved the tenants, who did not deserve to be so used. The nobility pretends to virtues they do not, for the most part, have—or value!—and then are surprised when their families produce... Well. Events like today’s, between the prince’s brother and his lover."

Felith's Aphorisms (as related by Lunet)

• "You shouldn't say 'um', it's not lady-like."
• "Mistress Felith says children should always be a credit to their parents. Because otherwise, they will be sent to a convent to be interred."
• "Mistress Felith says it's very important that we understand other species, especially the ones that are helping us."
• "Mistress Felith is always talking about the dangers of ACTING OUT. She says if I am not careful, my behavior will become OUTSIDE OF WHAT IS PLEASING, and become more akin to acting out than is proper for a young maiden of good breeding."
• "Mistress Felith says a straight nose is the eppity of elegance."
• "To restain from pleasures in order to fulfill your BOUNDEN duties is the mark of good breeding, which, as Mistress Felith would say, is the height of virtue."
  

Trivia

• swears by Goddess and Lord
• when she first meets Reese, she speaks in accented Universal.