Description
Vanessa Tywin is a young noblewoman in her early twenties with her mother’s elegant features but a softer, more anxious demeanor. She dresses in fine clothing appropriate to her station, though the siege has forced compromises in her usual standards. Her hands often fidget with her jewelry when nervous—a tell she’s never quite managed to control. She has the look of someone who has lived a sheltered, privileged life and is now facing harsh realities she was never prepared for.
Personality
Vanessa is not as pragmatically ruthless as her mother Elen Tywin. She’s more idealistic and naive, wanting to believe in honor and doing the right thing, but she’s been raised in a world where privilege and survival often require moral flexibility.
She’s frightened by the siege and the dangers surrounding Southaven, and she defers to her mother’s judgment on matters of survival. She feels guilty about attempting to flee while others suffer, but her fear and her mother’s insistence overrode those concerns.
Vanessa is kind-hearted but lacks the strength of will to stand against her mother’s decisions. She wants to do good but doesn’t know how to balance that desire with her family’s self-preservation instincts.
Background
Vanessa grew up in comfort as the daughter of a wealthy Southaven noble family. She was educated in music, literature, and the social graces expected of her station. She had dreams of perhaps traveling to Lusteris or Fadrín to study art or become a patron of culture.
When the siege began, Vanessa was terrified. The violence, the shortages, the desperation—none of it fit into her sheltered understanding of the world. When her mother Elen Tywin proposed hiring Edwin to escape, Vanessa felt torn between guilt at abandoning Southaven and relief at the prospect of safety.
She agreed to the escape attempt, justifying it to herself that they couldn’t help anyone if they starved or died in the siege. When they were captured by cultists in Blacktide Swamp, Vanessa’s worst fears were realized—and she’s now facing horrors she never imagined in her privileged upbringing.