Duchess Xenia

Duchess Xenia, a character from the Blades of Light and Shadow series, is an agent of the Shadow Court posing as the late Kaya Duskraven. She is first seen in Book 1, Chapter 10, although she is first referenced in Chapter 9 if you take the lore tablet.

Appearance
As "Kaya", Xenia has black skin, gold eyes, and black hair tied to a ponytail. She wears a golden and red dress, golden earrings, a golden tiara, and a golden bracelet.

In her true unaltered form, Xenia has white hair, black skin with black veins, purple eyes with black sclerae, a pair of horns on her head, and long, sharp fingernails. She wears a golden tiara on her head, a purple necklace, and a black dress with golden patterns.

Personality
An agent of the Shadow Court, Xenia is ambitious, cruel, manipulative, power-hungry and sadistic. A master of spycraft and intrigue, Xenia avoided the frontlines of battle. Instead, she worked behind the scenes, gathering intelligence, corrupting the weak, sowing chaos within the ranks of the elven army.

Background
In life, Duchess Xenia was known as Eleryn of House Rosecoven. Renowned across the empire for her beauty and wit, Eleryn was often called the Rose of Valen, a pun on her family name. In private circles, Eleryn had an entirely different reputation: that of a cruel, manipulative noblewoman, who relished in toying with the emotions of others, who smiled coldly as others dueled to the death in her name. Corrupted by the Court, Eleryn became Duchess Xenia. She slayed her sister Elanei in the Great War.

Book 1

 * Chapter 9: The Queen, The Prince And The Exile (Mentioned; Determinant)
 * Chapter 10: The City of Glimmering Lies
 * Chapter 11: What Lies Beneath (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 12: The Murderous Masquerade
 * Chapter 13: City of Wonders (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 16: Blade of Light and Shadow (Determinant)

Book 2

 * Chapter 1: Through the Looking Glass
 * Chapter 4: Our New Nemesis (Mentioned)

Tyril Starfury
In Book 1, Chapter 9, Tyril tells your party about Kaya. They became friends when her family traveled in the noble circles. She kept his ego in check and made him a better person. When she returned from her expeditions a year prior to the current events, her whole behavior and personality had changed. She challenged him to a duel and defeated him despite him being "the most skillful duelist in all of Undermount". He states that this was the most humiliating moment of his life which made him flee the city. If asked how she defeated him, he says her skills were unlike anything he'd ever seen: "Fast, ferocious, and with a magical finesse that stunned everyone." Her shift in behavior causes him to believe that she may have succumbed to the Shadow Court's influence much like the Mayor of Parnassus.

When Tyril returns to Undermount with your party, Kaya invites his house to the Ancestral Masquerade at Duskraven manor. She only invites him out of obligation, and tells him that Duskraven is now the House Ascendant, after House Starfury fell into ruin. During the year that Tyril had been gone, Kaya had brokered new alliances, secured trade agreements, and bought council votes. Tyril's father was unable to keep their influence as she convinced others that House Starfury was a "bad investment" and were useless.

In Chapter 11, Tyril realizes that it was an impostor who had returned in Kaya's place a year ago, leaving the real Kaya dead in the Shrine of the Eldest. In the following chapter, it is revealed that the impostor is Duchess Xenia. You have the option to help Tyril kill her or let her escape.

Kaya Duskraven
When the real Kaya Duskraven went in search of more knowledge and history behind the Shadow Court, she felt herself being drawn by an Onyx Shard. She wrote to her best friend, Tyril, telling him of her fear. Xenia drew her into the Shrine of the Eldest and used the Scepter to turn her into glass. Then, Xenia took Kaya's place and returned to Undermount.

Trivia

 * In Book 1, Chapter 11, it is revealed that the Kaya Duskraven met in Chapter 10 is actually an impostor. The real Kaya was killed and petrified.
 * In Chapter 12, you have the option to hunt her down and kill her after she is exposed as Duchess Xenia.
 * Her crimes include conspiracy to commit murder and identity theft.