| “ | I know many things, child. | „ |
| ~ Riina. |
| “ | And you? You're going to have quite the curse, I'll tell you. I've been saving this one for a special occasion. You will spend the next several decades in misery, girl. | „ |
| ~ The Sorceress taunting Tress. |
Riina, also called The Sorceress by Lumarians, is a minor antagonist literary universe known as The Cosmere by Brandon Sanderson, serving as a minor character in Mistborn and the main antagonist of Tress of the Emerald Sea. She was a of a group of powerful world hoppers called the Ire from the planet of Sel, but generally travelled on her own. She would eventually arrive on the planet Lumar, where she used her advanced technology to dominate over the natives. She became known for horribly cursing sinking any ships who entered her Midnight Sea, or horribly cursing anyone who made to her island. She would eventually be put into conflict with Hoid, another World Hopper who wanted the powers that came with being from the planet Sel.
Appearance[]
The Sorceress appears as a woman in her mid-fifties, since that was the age she stopped aging at. As and Elantrian, her skin emitted a glow. In the Cognitive Realm, her true form could be seen, which was a withered husk.
Personality[]
| “ | In her case, in lieu of a soul, the woman had pure ice. Kept cold and frozen by her heart. | „ |
| ~ Hoid describing Riina. |
The Sorceress put up the facade of a polite and kind, if somewhat mischievous, woman when interacted with the Lumarians. This facade dropped the second she was angered, however, to reveal her true self. In reality, the Sorceress was sadistic and petty. She enjoyed the feeling of superiority she got from being a large fish in a small pond and toyed with and tormented the Lumarians simply because she could. As such, she enjoyed coming up with cruel curses on her spare and took great pleasure in using them. She was somewhat narcissistic and was generally amused or annoyed when threatened.
Riina was intelligent, but frequently underestimated her opponents due to her overconfidence. She also seemed to have a pessimistic view of love and believed that most people would sell out those they care about for their own gain. She enjoyed her reputation as a sorceress and the fear people had of her, and often spoke in rhyme for no reason. However, despite most of her actions being motivated by sadism or her own enjoyment, her chief priority was always self-preservation, and she never risked death.
Biography[]
Arrival on Lumar[]
Riina was an Elantrian born on the planet of Sel and at some point joined a group of world hoppers called the Ire. She once travelled with a man named Kelsier and five other members of the Ire to find a powerful magical artifact called Preservation's Shard. However, she and her companions turned on Kelsier and abandoned the mission.
At some point she began living on a backwater planet of Lumar, where she terrorized the inhabitants with her superior technology. She eventually took over a region called The Midnight Sea and sunk any ships that entered. She was also able to take advantage of the unique spores on the planet, which she used to create dangerous creatures that served her if she gave them water. She used these to defend her territory. She also began raiding the Emerald Sea.
After several centuries on Lumar, the Sorceress was approached by another world hopper; a man named Hoid. Hoid wanted Riina's ability to use AonDor, and made a deal with her: she could curse him in any way she wanted, and if he could break the curse, she would have to give him the power. Wanting the chance to curse Hoid, Riina agreed, and cursed him with essentially insanity before making him leave her island, confident he wouldn't be able to break the curse in his state of mind.
Conflicts with the Lumarians[]
Due to her frequent raids, the Verdant King of the Emerald Sea declared war on the Sorceress. As he assembled his forces, he sent the son of a nobleman named Charlie to the Sorceress with a marriage proposal under the guise a way towards peace. The Sorceress had Charlie imprisoned in her tower and sent a ransom note to his father, who refused to pay. The Sorceress then turned Charlie into a rat, with the terms of the curse saying that it could only be undone if he brought the person he loved to her to be cursed.
Several months later, Charlie returned to the Midnight Sea with Tress, the girl he loved, who didn't know that her rat friend Huck was Charlie and sought to save him from the Sorceress. Riina allowed them to come to her tower and gave Tress a fake Charlie. However, Tress saw through the illusion, and the Sorceress had her magical bound while she prepared to curse her. Around this time, a group of Tress's friends (including Hoid) managed to enter the Midnight Sea on a ship and got past some of the guards by offering them water and using them to defeat the other creatures who guarded the sea. Huck opened the door for them, and they entered the tower.
Having arrived at the central room of the Sorceress's tower, Hoid's curse was broken, and he won the bet, gaining the ability to use AonDor. He then told Riina to leave the planet or face doing battle with him. Although She knew she had a four out of five chance of defeating him, Riina agreed so as not to risk dying and left Lumar.
Powers and Abilities[]
| “ | There is precisely one being I fear on this planet. | „ |
| ~ Xisisrefliel in reference to Riina. |
Being Elantrian, Riina would never die of old age. She also had control over AonDor, which she used to shift someone's being. She could turn them into an animal, drive them insane, or do worse things if she felt inclined to. The victim would always know how the curse could be broken but would physically not be able to tell anyone about it. However, the parameters of the curses could not be changed, so loopholes could be found.
The Sorceress managed to use the Midnight spores on the planet of Lumar to her advantage. By offering midnight entities water, she could control them and used them to protect her borders. However, her control over them could easily be broken by offering them more water. Additionally, she had control over several steal giants who protected her island.
Trivia[]
- Although never stated by the text itself, the painting by Howard Lyon depicts Riina as trying to cast the Aon Shao on Tress. This aon is about transformation and also uses illusion magic, indicating that the Sorceress was planning to have Tress's curse revolve around an illusion or transformation.
External Links[]
- Riina on the Coppermind
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