Lydia

For the better part of her life, Lydia had no name. She was born in icy tunnels, raised alongside the Gaoler children - and yet apart, for her parents were Guardians. Her childhood was an experimental one; she would be assistant to the Seekers, but assistant only.

She believed wholeheartedly in the Gaolers' mission. She really did, and she excelled in her work. But to her shame and and her despair, she found that Sornieth's safety was not the Charge her soul sought. Her instincts drew her north, and they became increasingly impossible to defy.

The nameless Guardian turned in her resignation. "The experiment has failed," she told her superior in sorrow; "you may part with me in whatever manner you wish, but part we must."

The Philosophers' Crypt took interest in her for the colors she wore. They paid a tidy sum to her now-former clan to have her shipped north, to the Shifting Expanse.

The nameless Guardian stepped into the Crypt, expecting to stay only as long as necessary to hatch a nest of eggs. She knew nothing of the nest's purpose, of the outworlder soul the clan hoped to capture.

Her Charge looked to her, once the nest had hatched and Valerie's colors were confirmed, and gripped her heart with iron hands. It threaded a needle with spiders' silk, and began to sew.