men had murdered his concubines. She was able to gather the spirits of several of them and bind them to hers to prevent them from being devoured by otherworldly creatures. Supported by the other Highland Kings, her army then stormed the citadel, killing Ulin before Bran was betrayed by his guards, allowing Artesia to mystically bind his spirit to this world before beheading him. His head remains on a spear in the throne room of Dara Dess, there he will see everything and one day, report on what he has observed before his spirit will be released. Artesia's position as both a witch and a priestess of Yhera gives her magical abilities that allow her to see visions and cross dimensional planes, see through the eyes of a crow and bind the souls of her sister-concubines to her. She can enter rooms magically and eavesdrop on the conversations held therein. She is attended in battle by three she-demons (Mormo, Dimidce and Charize) who assist her at critical moments and she can summon spirit-guides to escort the dead to the after-life. She can also prevent the dead from entering the after-life if she so chooses. Her magic is shown to be strong enough to break the magic of the Thessid sorcerers in several instances. In the immediate aftermath of her victory over Bran, Artesia does not claim the title of Queen of Dara Dess in spite of her captains insisting that she do so. Ultimately, she agrees to accept the crown as it increases her status in the Middle Kingdoms and helps her in her dealings with her allies to counter the Thessid invasion. She leads the Highland army, bolstered with contingents from the other Highland Kings, into the Middle Kingdoms to fight the Thessids. Artesia's lieutenants Ferris is a short haired female warrior. She is also a Cult Sister of the Cult of Hathhalla, a subset of the worship of Yhera. A dour individual as befits a follower of Hathhalla. Umaza: Another one of Artesia's female warriors, Umaza wears her hair in braids. She and Demetrius were noted by King Alexus as being excellent soldiers. She is familiar with Artesia and unafraid to chide her for being promiscuous. Demetrius - A male warrior, Demetrius was recognized by King Alexus (along with Umaza) as a good soldier to employ. He and Vaslov once killed a Wyrm and its scales are used