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Tricks won't save her ... She only knows how to dance. To survive, you have to know how to kill, and she doesn't. |  | |
| - Iskra on Ciri's inability to kill, pg. 319, Time of Contempt (U.S. edition) | |||
Aenyeweddien (Elder Speech: Child of the Fire) (d. 9 September 1267), better known as Iskra or Spark, was an elf and one of the members of the Rats.[1]
Biography[]
Early life[]
For unknown reasons, she was banished by the rest of the free elves, essentially a death sentence if she didn't find others to help her survive. Luckily for her, she found Giselher in the elven woods, having been pinned to a tree by an arrow, and ended up helping him out and the two joined forces and later became lovers.
Likely around 1266,[2] they met Asse, Kayleigh, Reef, and Mistle during the holiday of Lammas in Geso and formed a gang. Originally the law ignored the Rats, believing the group would soon fall victim to the usual methods that wiped out other gangs: be killed by a mob of peasants or fight each other over loot. However, the Rats were different in that they didn't kill for the goods, they killed for entertainment and thus handed out the goods to the poor citizens in the area, which also made it harder for troops to track them, as the citizens would give false information on the Rats' whereabouts and even shelter them on occasion. The Nilfgaardian prefects then tried to offer generous rewards on the Rats, but any informers had their cottage set on fire and were summarily killed by the gang when they tried to escape the burning building. Trying another route, the prefects tried to plant moles, but the group despised outsiders and refused to accept anyone else.[3]
Meeting Ciri[]
This changed however, in July 1267; Ciri, who'd just survived her own ordeal crossing the Korath desert, was summarily captured on the edges of it by a group of slavers, called the Trappers, looking to turn her in for a large reward (not realizing she was the lost princess of Cintra). Meanwhile, Kayleigh had been captured by another gang, the Nissir, to be turned in for a reward and which would undoubtedly lead to his execution. When both groups met in Glyswen, the other Rats attacked the inn and both gangs inside. Impressed with Ciri's sword skills and as she helped Kayleigh, the Rats let her escape with them back to one of their hideouts and let her stay for the night.
After a lot of back and forth amongst the members, where Mistle stood up for Ciri while others, like Iskra, only saw Ciri as a mere child, the group decided to welcome Ciri into their fold and lavished her with gifts and asked for her name, who hadn't revealed it yet. Ciri decided on the elder word "Gvalcha'ca", meaning "falcon" and thus the group called her "Falka" (another variation of the word).[3]
Death[]
On September 9th, she, along with the rest of the original gang, went to Jealousy to confront Leo Bonhart, a legendary bounty hunter that'd been asked to deal with the Rats. However, their overconfidence led to the gang's downfall and all of them were subsequently killed and beheaded by Bonhart, save for Ciri as Bonhart had a separate, special contract on her. Iskra's decapitated body was then buried in Jealousy with the rest.[1]
Appearance and personality[]
Big-eyed, lithe and ethereal in the dance, quick and lethal in a fight, with her narrow lips and small, elven teeth, Iskra had dark, luxuriant hair, and was known for her very flamboyant, colorful outfits and filigree earrings, and was seen as a fashion icon among the children and youth in the villages they graced with their ill-gotten wealth. Despite this though, Iskra, like the rest of the Rats, relished in murder and so when she first met Ciri she was put off by the young girl who had initially refused to kill others, even when they threatened her, and thus constantly referred to Ciri in a condescending manner. Over time though, once Ciri, operating under the name of Falka, began to also partake in killings with no hesitation, Iskra began to treat her better and treat her like an equal in their gang.[3]
Notes[]
- In Polish, "iskra" means "spark" or "twinkle", so her nickname is merely a simplification of her true name.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Tower of the Swallow
- ↑ # In Time of Contempt, Skomlik mentions a reward was on Giselher a year ago and Mistle, indicating the 3 pairs had formed together, at the latest, by 1266.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Time of Contempt