Anasûrimbor Theliopa was the eldest daughter and second child of Kellhus and Esmenet. Over the course of the Aspect-Emperor series, she remained with her mother in Momemn in her capacity as Imperial Adviser[1].
Appearance[]
Theliopa was tall and pale-skinned like her father[2], with sallow blonde hair[2] and pale blue eyes[3]. She was thin to the point of emaciation, her features angular and her skin being referred to as "tented over the woodwork of her bones"[2].
She was known for wearing outlandish garments of her own design and arranging her hair in equally eccentric hairstyles[4].
Personality[]
Theliopa was remarkably intelligent, but almost completely devoid of emotion and oblivious to most social norms[2][4]. She almost always avoided meeting other people's gazes[5], her stare being very intense on the rare occasions she did so[6]. She spoke with a very high and cold voice[2] and possessed a verbal tic that manifested as the repetition of certain words[5].
She was an avid reader, remembering all she read with perfect detail[4]. However, she was so consumed by her interests she often forgot to eat or sleep, having to be forced to do so (the latter situation resulting in her emaciated state)[4].
Story[]
What Came Before[]
Theliopa was born in Nenciphon during the Unification Wars[2][7], probably in or around the winter of 4113[7]. Due to her prodigious intellect and memory, she was made an Imperial Adviser at the age of twelve[4].
At some point during her youth, she underwent a traumatic experience (presumably involving rape) at the hands of her brother Inrilatas[8]. This was likely the catalyst for Kellhus' decision to imprison his son (it is implied Esmenet never learned about this)[8]. This event remained the only thing to cause Theliopa to show any kind of emotion, as Kelmomas discovered years later[8].
The Judging Eye[]
Theliopa was one of her mother's closest advisers in the Andiamine Heights, using her Dûnyain mental abilities to provide detailed reports and oversee Esmenet's meetings with various dignitaries. She was also the one to detect a skin-spy among the stable slaves in Momemn.
She was present when Samarmas was killed in an accident engineered by Kelmomas, the latter describing her as observing the scene "with fey curiosity".
The White-Luck Warrior[]
After Esmenet started to mistrust Maithanet, she asked her daughter for advice on how to gauge his true intentions. Theliopa eventually suggested that Inrilatas could read their uncle's face, as he had been the only one trained to do so by their father.
When the Andiamine Heights were stormed by Maithanet's men in the coup following Inrilatas' murder, Theliopa told her brother Kelmomas to run.
Later, during Maithanet's reconciliation with Esmenet, he told her that Theliopa was safe.
The Great Ordeal[]
Theliopa advised her mother against forgiving Naree for betraying her location (and indirectly causing Imhailas' death). She offered to kill Naree herself, but Esmenet declined.
It is revealed that Theliopa had grown increasingly suspicious of Kelmomas's behaviour since the events following Maithanet's murder of Inrilatas. She confronted her younger brother, telling him that she had figured out that he was more than he seemed, and asked him if he had been the one to kill Biaxi Sankas. When Kelmomas denied it, she left him alone, but not before threatening him, as Momemn needed its Empress, and Kelmomas was making her weak (and the revelation of his crimes would make the situation even worse).
Later, while Esmenet was giving Kelmomas a bath, Theliopa arrived to inform her mother that General Iskaul had arrived. Esmenet promptly left, asking her daughter to finish bathing Kelmomas. Theliopa then told her brother that she knew that he had made the decision to kill her. Kelmomas, in turn, brought up the past incident between her and Inrilatas, reminding her of how he would call her "Sranky". Overcome by uncharacteristic emotion, she quickly fled the room.
Some time after that, Kelmomas tracked the White-Luck Warrior to his own bedroom. He watched as Theliopa walked in and confronted the White-Luck Warrior, who made it clear that she was "already dead", him just being "someone who was there when it happened". At the end of their conversation, an earthquake wracked the city, causing Theliopa to be crushed by falling debris. After the White-Luck Warrior left the now-destroyed room, Kelmomas walked to Theliopa and smashed her head with a brick to make sure she was dead. He then pretended to cry over her body. By the time a grieving Esmenet found her daughter's body, she caught a glimpse of Kelmomas' joyful expression.
Trivia[]
- Theliopa is the only one of Kellhus and Esmenet's children not to have a clear or probable namesake. Kayûtas, Serwa and Kelmomas are explicitly named after Anasûrimbor Nau-Cayûti, Serwë and Anasûrimbor Celmomas II, respectively[9][10][11]. Inrilatas' name is likely derived from that of Inri Sejenus, while Samarmas' is quite similar to those of Samarmau Uän or Sag-Marmau.
Notes[]
Notes and References[]
- ↑ The White-Luck Warrior, What Has Come Before
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The Judging Eye, Chapter 3
- ↑ The Great Ordeal, Chapter 3
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 The White-Luck Warrior, Chapter 6
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Judging Eye, Chapter 5
- ↑ The White-Luck Warrior, Chapter 5
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Encyclopedic Glossary II, 'Unification Wars'
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 The Great Ordeal, Chapter 16
- ↑ The Unholy Consult, Chapter 17
- ↑ The Judging Eye, Chapter 15
- ↑ The White-Luck Warrior, Chapter 13