Aurinae Valleros, a character in the Blades of Light and Shadow series, is the late Queen of Morella and the mother of Aerin and Baldur. She is first mentioned in a premium scene in Book 3, Chapter 1, and first appears in Book 3, Chapter 9.
Appearance
Aurinae has light skin, brown eyes, and long brown hair pulled into an updo. She wears a black brocade dress with red and gold trim, a gold stomacher, and a large gold ornament with a red stone on her belt.
Personality
Aurinae is intelligent, perceptive, and displays a mischievous sense of humor. Aerin describes her as the only member of the Valleros family with the ability to manage her feelings. When you first meet her, she appears friendly and openly affectionate with Aerin. Her betrayal soon afterwards reveals that she is actually cold, calculating, and manipulative. Power is all that matters to her, and she remains bitter over losing her former status as Queen.
Background
As Queen of Morella, Aurinae was known to be popular at court for her skill with alchemy and potions. Her private role was much more sinister, as she kept her husband's enemies in line with threats of the poisons which were her true area of expertise. Her own poisons were eventually used against her, and her killer's identity was never discovered. Publicly, she was said to have died in her sleep of unknown causes when Aerin was younger.
Since her death, Aurinae has resided in Elhalas. She became a leader in the resistance movement against Nifara, working together with Tyril's mother Sarenya, the Old God Bakshi, and the New God Ellara. However, her role as the resistance's spymaster was merely a cover for her true purpose of undermining the resistance on Nifara's behalf.
Chapters
Blades of Light and Shadow
Book 3
- Chapter 1: One Day More (Mentioned; Determinant)
- Chapter 3: Here at the End (Mentioned; Determinant)
- Chapter 5: The River of Seekers (Mentioned; Determinant)
- Chapter 6: The Heart of the Sea (Mentioned)
- Chapter 9: The City of Light
- Chapter 10: Into the Deep
- Chapter 11: Abandon All Hope (Mentioned)
- Chapter 12: The Pit and the Pendulum (Mentioned; Determinant)
- Chapter 13: All Shall Fade (Mentioned)
- Chapter 14: The Queen's Cage (Mentioned)
- Chapter 15: For One, For All (Off-Screen; Physical Appearance Determinant)
- Chapter 16: Life, Death, and Beyond (Mentioned; Physical Appearance Determinant)
Relationships
Aerin Valleros
Aurinae took her younger son Aerin under her wing when he was a small child, teaching him herbology and serving as the one safe and loving member of his family. She has continued to watch over him from the afterlife, and she shows sympathy for how much he's been through in her absence. To all appearances, she seems a devoted mother who cares very much for her son, enjoys gently teasing him, and is happy he's found companions to look after him.
In truth, Aurinae has no respect or affection for Aerin. She was proud of him for the first time when he served the Dreadlord, as she thought he was finally making something of himself, and she's disgusted by his "cowardly" failure to enact real change in the world. She now considers Aerin worth nothing and has no hesitation including him in her plans to hand your entire group over to Nifara.
Arlan & Baldur Valleros
According to Aerin, Aurinae's husband and elder son treated her much better than they treated him, and her relationships with them seemed solid. Aurinae herself claims to have seen enough of Arlan and Baldur's behavior from the afterlife to be disappointed in how both of them have conducted themselves.
When she reveals her true nature, it seems likely that her disappointment was not in their poor behavior, but rather that it wasn't worse. In particular, Aurinae dismisses Arlan as a worthless coward and remains angry that he didn't try hard enough to find her killer.
Gallery
Other Looks
Miscellaneous
Trivia
- Her character model resembles Gayle from Sunkissed.
- Her hairstyle is the same as that of Theresa Sutton from Desire & Decorum.
- Aurinae's name was first mentioned in Aerin's character sheet in the VIP-exclusive Blades TTRPG Companion special. This also revealed that Aerin still carries her signet ring with him.
- If you take the premium scene to listen to stories of Mal's childhood in Book 3, Chapter 5 and ask to hear of him being both cute and troublesome, he'll reveal that he once owned a pet chicken he named after Aurinae.
- Her crimes include attempted murder.