- This page is about the character Sethra Lavode. For the book, see Sethra Lavode (book).
Sethra Lavode, the Enchantress of Dzur Mountain, is older than the Dragaeran Empire itself, and helped found the empire. Her House is unknown, though her appearance combines that of Dragonlord and Dzurlord.
Her title, used when she is announced at Court, is "Baroness of Dzur Mountain and Environs", but she is not known to insist on its use elsewhere. She is currently undead.
Sethra, though not an unpleasant person, is legendary and feared by most of the populace. Her appearance is a bit forbidding, a rather tall, undead-pale, thin woman, dressed entirely in black.
An image of Sethra Lavode can be found here, by Danielle Sylvie Taylor.
History
By one account (Jhereg), she was involved in the fall-out of Dolivar's betrayal of Kieron and the House of Dragon. Aliera (who was present in a past life) says that Sethra was supposed to "hamstring the yendi," by whom most assume she means Dolivar, but deliberately missed, allowing him to escape. (Further clues are provided about these events in the present, in which she continues to be concerned with Dolivar's reincarnation, Vlad Taltos, and to watch over him, partly out of a sense of guilt, and partly for reasons she herself isn't certain of, by her own account in Orca. )
In the 4th Cycle, her first historically verifiable acts involved denouncing the treacherous Warlord Trichon, and helping Terics e'Marish'Chala to repel an invasion from Elde Island.
She is known to have served as Warlord in the 13th Cycle, under the Lyorn Emperor Tiska, and again during the 14th Dragon Reign (and presumably countless other times during the history of the Empire).
Some thousand or so years before the Interregnum, Sethra died, but was allowed by the Lords of Judgment to return to Dragaera as an undead. It is also known that at one point she was offered godhood, but refused.
At some point, Sethra founded a group called the Lavodes, a group of warrior-sorcerors formed to protect the Empire from non-military threats. Sethra is currently the last true Lavode. At some point she was involved in the Lavode Scandal, though details about this event are few.
As part of her role as a Lavode, Sethra created another identity for herself, Kiera, a Jhereg thief, who would be able to move in different social circles and gather different information (Orca). Only Vlad Taltos has ever realized that Kiera and Sethra are the same person, even though the two identities have some other friends in common, such as Aliera.
Additional Notes
She is recognized as the best general and the most powerful Sorcerer in the empire. Even Morrolan e'Drien, a Dragonlord, would prefer to hire her than to command his troops himself. (See Battle of Baritt's Tomb, Siege of Dzur Mountain.)
Sethra possesses the Great Weapon Iceflame. She presented Morrolan e'Drien with his Great Weapon, Blackwand, after recognizing him as the object of a prophecy when he arrived at Dzur Mountain to demand his due in taxes. It is unknown how many other Great Weapons Sethra holds.
Sethra, and Dzur Mountain, are two of Dragaera's primary defenses against the Jenoine. In times when the Jenoine threaten to invade, Sethra confines herself to Dzur Mountain, from where she can best mount a defense.
Sethra has been Warlord of the Empire multiple times, including:
- 13th Lyorn Reign, under Emperor Tiska
- 14th Dragon Reign
- 17th Jhegaala Reign, under Empress Viodonna VI
- 18th Phoenix Reign, under Empress Zerika IV
Sethra has had several apprentices, only one of whom, her namesake, has not attempted to kill her (Yendi).
Current Events
Sethra lives atop Dzur mountain with a single servant named Tukko or "Chaz", about which little is known. She has hinted that she was once part of Dzur Mountain itself, and may be again.
Sethra also likes to moonlight as Kiera the Thief, her Jhereg alter-ego. (A fact known only to herself and Vlad Taltos.)
As of Dzur, Sethra continues to train Zungaron in the aim of having him become a Lavode.
- See also Speculation:Sethra Lavode.
Friends
Quotables
"For some reason, Morrolan, I am loath to destroy you. And yet, you seem insistent..."
---
- "It is good to find one's self in agreement with the gods."
- "Is it?"
- "Yes. It shows that the gods have some wisdom."
- -- Sethra expresses her opinion on divine wisdom
---
- The earliest authentic records of Sethra predate the founding of the Lavodes, and consist of a rough drawing of her device, which appears to have remained unchanged throughout her life, consisting of white Dragon's Head and Dzur's Claw against black [...]. In the oldest drawings of her device, a motto is shown at the top, but not only is the language on one which no scholar has penetrated, there are even a few unfamiliar symbols, as if the very alphabet in which it was written were ancient and forgotten. [...] Sethra has, by all reports, been silent on the subject, even to those few who have been close enough to be considered her friends.
- Her lineage block, similarly, is in the form of a downward pointing arrowhead or triangle, entirely self-contained, with no lines either entering or emerging, as if her maternal and paternal ancestor had appeared from nowhere at all, begotten her, and vanished.