Description
Elen Tywin is an elegantly dressed noblewoman in her forties with carefully maintained appearance and aristocratic bearing. She wears fine clothing even during the siege, refusing to let the crisis diminish her standards. Her jewelry is tasteful but expensive, and she carries herself with the practiced poise of someone born into privilege.
Her face shows the strain of recent weeks—worry lines around her eyes, a tightness in her smile—but she maintains her composure through sheer force of will and years of social training.
Personality
Elen is self-serving but not malicious. She’s a product of noble upbringing who has always prioritized her family’s safety and comfort above abstract principles. She’s not cruel or evil—she’s simply willing to work with anyone, including smugglers, if it means protecting herself and her daughter Vanessa Tywin.
She’s pragmatic about power and survival, understanding that loyalty to abstract ideals won’t help if her family is dead. This makes her morally flexible but not irredeemable—she’s not conspiring with the cult, just trying to escape the siege’s consequences.
Elen is also intelligent and socially adept, skilled at navigating court politics and making advantageous arrangements. Her willingness to negotiate with a smuggler shows both her desperation and her resourcefulness.
Background
Elen comes from a long-established noble family in Southaven with ties to trade and land ownership. She’s used to a comfortable life and has always had the resources to solve problems with money and connections.
When the siege began and it became clear Lord Elrin Kael would not allow anyone to leave, Elen began quietly making arrangements. She used her connections to locate Edwin, a smuggler known for moving people and goods past blockades, and negotiated passage for herself and her daughter Vanessa.
She wrote a carefully coded letter to Edwin arranging the escape attempt, offering substantial payment for safe passage out of Southaven and transport to Lusteris where she has distant relatives. The letter was intercepted by Marta’s bandits at the southern blockade, but Elen doesn’t know this yet.
When she and Vanessa attempted to flee through smuggler routes, they were captured by cultists in Blacktide Swamp. Edwin escaped, leaving them behind—though he later returned to Southaven claiming he successfully got them to safety, a lie to collect the second half of his payment from the Tywin estate.