Winterhart (born Reanna Laury) is the Trondi'irn of the Sixth during the Mage Wars between Urtho and Ma'ar. Near the end of the war, Winterhart sheds her icy facade and takes up with Kestra'chern Amberdrake, her lifebonded. At White Gryphon she and Amberdrake marry and have a daughter, Silverblade (originally known as Windsong).
Early life[]
Reanna was born into the House of Laury and was a lady in the king's court of Tantara. Her parents were particularly demanding of her, while at the same time neglecting her Healing and Empathic Gifts. This combined to make Reanna particularly sensitive and lead to her developing an inferiority complex. This was further compounded when she ran away (along with almost everyone else) when Ma'ar sent an insidious fear spell to the court to which she, an unshielded Empath, was particularly vulnerable.
The Mage Wars[]
Lady Reanna joined with Urtho's army but, not wanting to be recognized for fear of being reviled, she changed her name to Winterhart (Amberdrake notes that she chose "winter" for the cold demeanor she adopted and "hart" because a hart is a hunted creature). She took the job of trondi'irn (a caretaker of gryphons) because it was a profession well below her previous status. Winterhart trained herself to believe that gryphons and other non-humans were no more than intelligent animals. This combined with her icy demeanor made her disliked by those she was meant to care for. Winterhart also took on a lover, Conn Levas.
Eventually Winterhart was made to see her errors. She was shown by both Skandranon and Zhaneel that gryphons (and other non-humans) were, in fact, people. She was also helped by Amberdrake to see that her self-degradation and the abuse she suffered at the hand of Conn were undeserved. Amberdrake explained to her how she had been particularly susceptible to Ma'ar's fear spell because of her untrained Gift and that is was particularly brave to return to help.
In the series[]
The manga version of Winterhart
Winterhart appears in the following works:
- The Black Gryphon, Mage Wars, volume 1
- The White Gryphon, Mage Wars, volume 2
- The Silver Gryphon, Mage Wars, volume 3