Nashira Sargas


 * "I have done nothing to you that you have not done to yourselves. I have only used humankind's own methods to bring it to heel. And I mean to continue."
 * ―Nashira Sargas

Nashira Sargas (pronounced: Na-SHE-ra SAR-goss), also known as The Suzerain, is blood-sovereign of the Rephaim, a position she shares with Gomeisa Sargas. She is the creator of the Republic of Scion and means to use it to control clairvoyants and fight the Emim. Her aim is to eventually take over the human world.

History
Nashira originally lived in the Netherworld under the rule of the Mothallath family. She dwelled in the great observatory in the swathe of the Sargas family, where she learned about human beings and their capacity for hatred. After the Waning of the Veils, when death entered the Netherworld and Rephaim stopped being able to exist purely on the æther, Procyon Sargas declared himself blood-sovereign and led his family in open revolt against the Mothallath. The Sargas usurped and destroyed their former rulers and defeated their supporters, the Ranthen.

By the time the Ranthen declared their loyalty to the Sargas, Procyon was unable to continue ruling. In his place, Nashira became blood-sovereign alongside Gomeisa and declared that she would take one of the traitors as her blood-consort to prove that even Ranthen must conform to the new order. Without a choice in the matter, she chose Arcturus Mesarthim, and he has spent the next two hundred years as her fiancée and war trophy.

Since the Rephaim could no longer connect to the æther in their own world, Nashira led the Rephaim to Earth in 1859 and revealed herself to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Lord Palmerston, who surrendered control of the government to her. Queen Victoria was allowed to maintain an appearance of power until her death. On the day he was crowned, Edward VII was accused of being Jack the Ripper and of bringing unnaturalness into the world, resulting in the fall of the British monarchy. It was replaced by the Republic of Scion, a system of government designed to control clairvoyant humans. Though she allowed Scion to be outwardly led by a human Grand Inquisitor, Nashira established herself as its true ruler. She used the stores of knowledge she had saved from the observatory, specifically knowledge of how intensely humans can hate, to turn the tide of public odium toward "unnaturals" and to promise control. That was how Scion was born.

The Bone Season
When disease infects the Rookery, Nashira and the other Rephaim sequester themselves in their homes. Nashira does not care if the harlies die from the sickness. Death in the Rookery will sow fear, which upholds her rule. This will also give her the chance to appear benevolent by distributing medicine at the time she deems best.

The Mime Order
After the botched Bicentenary, Nashira spreads the word among her fellow Rephaim that her former consort "degrades himself with humans," an extremely serious offense in Rephaim society. Terebell Sheratan tells Paige Mahoney that during the revolt, Nashira and Gomeisa barred themselves inside the Residence of the Suzerain, along with every loyal red-jacket that had not been killed, to wait out the destruction. Afterwards, Nashira came to the Archon in London. She's been there ever since, urging the Grand Inquisitor, Frank Weaver, to increase the intensity of the hunt for Paige.

The Song Rising
Alsafi sacrifices himself to Nashira to allow Paige to escape from the Archon. After an intense fight, Nashira beheads Alsafi.

The Mask Falling
Coming soon...

Physical Description
Nashira is well over six feet tall. Her features are "perfectly symmetrical: a long, straight nose, high cheekbones, and deep-set eyes fixed in her face." She has thick, long brassy hair and hooded eyes that change color when she feeds on aura. When she feeds, they are chartreuse, otherwise they are like uncut emeralds. Her complexion is somewhere between silver and gold, but more on the silver side. Her voice is like cut-glass.

Personality
Nashira values Rephaite blood and is only willing to spill it when she considers it absolutely necessary. This is part of why she is so popular with her followers. Nashira never raises her voice yet she is still incredibly creepy and scary. Nashira wants complete dominion over the human world, and to collect as many different clairvoyant gifts as possible. She uses the multiple clairvoyant abilities she has already collected, and her fallen angels, to serve as weapons and shields for her. Her clairvoyant type is unknown, but it allows her to bind multiple spirits. Nashira's aura is corrupted and now like a smoking fire, suffocating the aura of others. Her dreamscape is wrapped in the chainmail of centuries.

Nashira tells Paige Mahoney that she has done nothing to humans that they have not done to themselves. She claims to have only used humankind's own methods to bring it to heel. This revelation makes Paige realize that Nashira is not simply evil and sadistic, but that she is smart and cunning. Nashira knows more about humans and humanity than humans do, and they had given her the tools to bring them to their knees.

Etymology
Nashira (Gamma Capricorni) is a giant star in the constellation Capricornus, the Sea Goat. The name is derived from the Arabic سعد ناشرة sa'd nashirah "the lucky one" or "bearer of good news." Sargas (Theta Scorpii) is a binary star in the constellation Scorpius. The name is of Sumerian origin and means "seizer" or "smiter."

Trivia

 * According to Warden, the Sargas family's favored form of execution is decapitation, as it symbolizes the removal of the dreamscape.

Appearances

 * The Bone Season
 * The Mime Order
 * The Song Rising
 * The Dawn Chorus (mentioned only)
 * The Mask Falling