Character from The Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb
An ancient woman hiding in plain sight — centuries old, carrying the guilt of a long-ago Skill-murder, who joins Verity's quest as an unassuming camp cook and proves to be the most powerful Skill-user alive.
Kettle presents as a crotchety, interfering old woman who bosses everyone around and inserts herself where she isn't wanted. Beneath that is a Skill-user of extraordinary power and age, burdened by centuries of guilt over a murder committed through the Skill in her youth. She joins the quest to find Verity because she recognizes one last chance at redemption. Her relationship with Fitz is part mentor, part grandmother, part cautionary tale. She understands the Skill's seductions better than anyone alive and tries to warn him about the same traps she fell into.
A tiny, wizened old woman with bright, knowing eyes that don't match her apparent frailty. She looks like someone's grandmother — bundled in shawls, perpetually cold, complaining about her joints. This is a disguise that has worked for centuries.
Also known as: Old Kettle