Zorya

''It is clear that this tall woman was once a great beauty and middle-age has only served to turn those looks into something more regal. An aquiline nose and clear-grey watchful eyes lend her an almost corvine air. Robes of the softest black silk subtly shimmer with dark hues of purple and green much like like the raven feathers that decorate the dress in clusters at the shoulders. Her long dark hair is streaked with iron-grey and hangs in waves down her back held back off the face with a silver circlet. At the woman's shoulder is pinned a silver raven brooch.'' Zorya is somewhat of an enigma. The mysterious woman is the grandmother to Olga Vranov and Demyan Kuchenko. Little is known about her past other than that she had a reputation as a dark-haired Issian beauty from the shores of the Lake of Mists and Veils and that she possessed considerable skill as a witch.

She is known to have had three daughters, none of whom still survive, although it is possible that there are others. The descendants of Zorya seem pre-disposed to a talent for magic and a keen-intellect. Most have also been drawn to the raven, a bird Zorya claims has been associated with her ancestors back into the distant past before even the Iobarians settled their colonists in Issia. This coupled with her darker colouration suggests Kellid ancestry.

Olga has been known to comment that she suspects Zorya has had a hand in the fortunes of her grandchildren, working subtly in the background, but to what purpose or agenda they are not sure. During Olga's period of death, Zorya appeared in Stagshelm to assist Demyan in his stewardship of House Vranov, bringing with her a number of relatives. Upon Olga's return to life Zorya departed and her whereabouts are not currently known.