Full Name: Alessandra Giovanna Evanesca Height: 5'7" Weight:135 lbs Hair: Ash blonde, waist-length, usually done in pin curls. Eyes: Pale blue-violet Skin: Porcelain Age:20 at the start of the saga, 24 at the end. Background: Main heroine of my story and one of the quintet it centers on. She is a young noble woman, second cousin to the heirs of House Mercat, the noble house that holds sway over the Duchy of Mercat, part of the Kingdom of Ailvess. She is the daughter of Viscount Stefan Evanesca and his wife Viscountess Genevra Mercat Evanesca who reside in the southern part of Mercat in the city of Haldane on the shores of Mercat Bay. After her brother disinherits himself by running off to wed a scullery maid, she is sent for four years to train under the tutelage of a Contessa in the ways of the courtier. There she becomes close to Lady Juliana Kale, the daughter of Baron Kale of House Noihn. During her time in the capital city she is visited by her brother Esteban, who reveals himself to be a member of an underground guild of thieves, assassins, and other malcontents, and the heart of an Ailvessan rebellion. He tells her of the treachery of members of their own House, Mercat, how they plan to stir war between Ailvess and the hostile land of Saalih Tariq across the sea, in an effort to overthrow House Iolaine and assume rulership of Ailvess. He begins to secretly train her as a court spy. At the age of 20 summers, Alessandra is assigned as the advisor to her second cousin, Arturo Mercat, the youngest son of Adamo Mercat, Archduke of Mercat. Over the course of 4 books, she spies on her cousin and his father and uncovers diabolical plans to cause political upheaval and war. With the aid of Juliana, Lord Ian Noihn (son of the Duke of Noihn), her brother, the illegitimate son of the ArchDuke (Malcolm Bane), and eventually Prince Andres Iolaine, the plots and plans of Archduke Adamo Mercat and the sinister Grand Vizier of Saalih Tariq are brought to light and foiled. She rises from simple Lady of the Court, to Princess, eventually to Queen. Alessandra gives birth to her only child, Hadrian, 8 months after King Andres' death and rules as widowed Queen of Ailvess until Hadrian's 20th birthday, when he assumes the throne. At that time, she becomes Queen Mother and lives to the age of 84. She is also a hidden Oracle and receives visions in the form of riddles foretelling future events. At birth, Oracles are taken from their families and trained in the use of their foretellings to be forcibly placed at the use of royalty and political groups. They are mated to other Oracles in the hopes of producing more of them. A full Oracle can cause a trance and focus their foretelling on a specific time or event. Alessandra is not a full Oracle, and instead she receives occasional visions in the form of riddles which appear in bodies of water when she looks into them (a cup of wine, a pool of water, etc.) She is struck by a migraine-level headache and sometimes nosebleeds in the wake of a vision. She keeps it a closely guarded secret, even occasionally feigning that her after effects are the result of a hangover. After Alessandra ascends to the throne, she releases the Oracles to live their lives freely. The Queen's Oracle, Niomah Verde, remains in her service voluntarily the rest of Alessandra's life. Appearance: Alessandra is a lady of the court ( Lady Alessandra), and when she is doing her everyday duties she would be garbed in courtly gowns. The best references for such gowns would be Italian Renaissance gowns. You may add a fantasy flare to them of course. The one in the main page graphic is a heavily modified IR dress. She would not wear anything overly revealing as she is a courtier (Courtier NOT Courtesan. Former = noble member of the court. Latter = high priced Harlot who entertains the nobility). She wears a pearl headpiece with an amethyst stone in it held in place by silver hairsticks, and a pearl necklace with a silver, amethyst, diamond, and pearl pendant, both of which are family treasures. She is not against wearing modest makeup but nothing garish or harloty. When she is performing her functions as a spy, she tends to wear a grey cloak and either a peasantly dress or men's breeches, boots and a blouse in an effort to disguise who she is. At one point during the story, she travels to a wintery mountain region as part of a diplomatic convoy, and for that she would be wearing cold weather garments with fur trim, and a dress split for riding a horse. She has a horse, a dapple grey Mercati mare (Think Arabian slimness meets Andalusian mane/tail). During the story she weds the heir to the throne and becomes Princess (Her Royal Highness, Princess Alessandra). Her garb would be more elaborate and of pricer materials than at first. At this time her pearl headpiece would be replaced by a tiara-like crown of diamonds. By the end of the story she is the Queen (Her Majesty, Majestrix Alessandra) and should be attired in appropriately elaborate gowns. The tiara is replaced by a golden crown studded with diamonds and other gems, with silver filigree scrollwork engraved on it. Her hair is usually done up in pincurls with loose strands, held in place with pearl-topped hair pins and strands of pearls. On occasion it is worn down or in other elaborate Renaissance-period hair styles with various trinkets adorning it. When in disguise it is usually braided and wound in a bun to keep it from peeking out from beneath her cloak. Reference Images: Stylesheet | By Auriana | By Kimaya | By Reapersun | By Onis | By NoFlutter