Character from Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams
A Thrithings horsewoman who followed a one-handed prince into rebellion and exile — fierce, beautiful, trapped between the open grasslands she came from and the stone-walled world that will never fully accept her.
Vorzheva is willful, intelligent, and possessed of a quick temper that she unleashes in heavily accented Erkynlandish when frustrated — which is often, because the 'Stonedwellers' baffle and infuriate her in equal measure. She calls the Erkynlanders 'stone-dwellers' with the contempt of someone raised under open sky. She defines her worth through Josua's affection, which is both her strength and her vulnerability. She left her father's clan for him — was given to him, or gave herself, depending on whose story you believe — and the cost of that choice is permanent exile from her people. The Erkynlander noble women call her 'Thrithings whore' behind her back, and she hears every word. Beneath the pride and temper is someone deeply compassionate. She advocates for women's voices in Josua's councils, befriends Aditu when no one else will, and protects her twins with the ferocity of someone who knows exactly what the world thinks of half-blood children.
Raven-black curly hair, dark uptilted eyes, hawklike nose, and pale ivory skin. Tall and slender but not frail — she carries herself with the proud bearing of the Thrithings clans. Wears rustling robes and paints her lips and eyes in the Thrithings fashion, which the Erkynlander noblewomen despise. Mid-thirties at the start of the story.
Also known as: Vorzheva, The Thrithings-woman