Liadri was born in Sieta, where her mother taught her to weave and her father worked as a trader's guard. He was killed by bandits one day, leaving Liadri's mother, once a bright, laughing woman, quiet and subdued. Liadri lost a great deal of her childhood as she was forced to grow up abruptly, and she took care of the household from then on.

Hoping that a change would help banish painful memories, she moved with her mother to Chihalla. Although her mother did not shed her numbness, Liadri avoided bitterness and instead vowed to always think the best of things, so that she would never become like her mother. Thus her smile is warm and quickly summoned. With light chestnut hair that falls a handspan past her shoulders and deep blue eyes the color of the sea, she is not necessarily a beauty, but her face is not easily forgotten.

Although her hair and eyes are her father's, she takes after her mother in other ways. She is petite (having long ago resigned herself to tilting her head upward to meet others' eyes), graceful, and deft with her fingers, especially when she plays her lute. She loves to dance as well, but she has a practical side that keeps her from indulging in the activity as much as she wants to. Her efficiency perhaps lends her a touch of arrogance, but it's balanced by a quick sense of humor, light laughter, and mischievousness. She is always so cheerful that no one suspects she still mourns her mother's reticence, or that she has dark dreams of her father's death.

[Portrait by Rebecca Engelmann]
 

Silence

Silence is the only deaf corn at the Academy. While somewhat at a loss in his younger years, Silence has learned to rely heavily on his powers of observation, as well as his mindspeech to help him communicate and understand others. He is inquisitive and articulate, sweet natured and well liked by all, though secretly a little insecure because of his disability. Also very creative, Silence has made great friends with the local artists and paints pictures from time to time, and has been praised for his artistic talent. His power is that of creating a sphere of absolute silence around himself and extending up to one hundred feet in either direction. Needless to say, the only way he can tell that his talent has been invoked is by the surge of magic within him and the reactions of those around him... A valiant and determined fighter...