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Serena was born to a tribe of Shav'avani who held lands and a castle in their own right since the days of the earliest Lyceum. That is if you listen to the tales they told. They were not shamanistic, though their worship of the Pantheon had drifted in a slightly different direction from that of the Faith of Pantheon practiced by the Compact; this is only to be expected when their Domini had issued fewer edicts under fewer political pressures. Serena was the youngest of three children from the local lord, and for the most part there had been little friction between them (their lands being offset from most trade routes, their castle well-fortified). But fairytales are not made of things that have no conflict in them. One day, Serena was riding with a hunting party, chasing foxes across the plains, when they were beset by wolves. Wolves that had been chased in that direction by another hunting party: one from Zaffria. The shavs were wounded and decimated, leaving few of them alive and several gave their lives to keep Serena from coming to harm. When the Zaffrias caught up they dealt a quick and decisive blow to the wolves. The young lordling caught sight of Serena and would later say it was love at first sight. She was brought back to Gemecitta to "recover." Six months later, after a lot of negotiation, Serena would find herself a Prodigal, with her family having bent the knee and her husband Lord Alexander Zaffria of Gemecitta. It wasn't an unpleasant living. The Gyre War would see her a widow, though. And since then Gemecitta did not feel like home. Serena moved to Arx and took Crownsworn vows, joined the Whisper House, and has been living as a courtier ever sense. There are always new stories to learn, new people to meet, new projects work on, and that keeps her from thinking of the losses she's had in life.

It's cliche, but big things do come in small packages many times. Serena's 5'3" of heigh is belied by an inner energy that radiates out with expressive facial features that are only highlighted by her round cheeks and wide, dark eyes. When she moves it's with energy, never a laconic motion but always with a purpose and speed that stops short of being frantic. Her build is more curvy than athletic, closer to the proprotions used by clasic painters than modern. And it's all wrapped in a dark brown skin. Her blak hair is waist length and frequently used as a playground for art itself, be it a particular arrangement of haircombs and braids or a place to stick some newly plucked blosoms in some tasteful arrangement.

The words, "Too much," and "Over the top," have been used to describe Serena before. Ever since she was a small child growing up in her Shav'arvani village near the lands of Zafria-Gemecita. She would tell wild stories with dramatic gestures, make up the grandest of tales. And it's a quality that still comes out today when she gets excited, but Serena has been working on toning that down. Get her excited, though? And it's like one of those accents that disappears until you're drunk.