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| ancestors=the [[Haiming Dynasty]], the [[Temaida family]], the [[Rittevon family]], the [[Balitang family]] |
| ancestors=the [[Haiming Dynasty]], the [[Temaida family]], the [[Rittevon family]], the [[Balitang family]] |
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| − | | parents=[[Mequen Balitang]] † {{comment|father, deceased}}, [[Sarugani Temaida]] † {{comment|mother, deceased}} |
+ | | parents=[[Mequen Balitang]] † {{comment|father, deceased}}, [[Sarugani Temaida]] † {{comment|mother, deceased}}, [[Winnamine Balitang]] {{comment|adoptive mother}} |
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| siblings=[[Saraiyu Balitang]] {{comment|sister}}, [[Petranne Balitang]] {{comment|half-sister}}, [[Elsren Balitang]] † {{comment|half-brother, deceased}} |
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| descendants=Presumably the rulers of the Copper Isles |
| descendants=Presumably the rulers of the Copper Isles |
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| + | | other=[[Mequen Hetnim]] {{comment|nephew}} |
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| rank=Noble, royal |
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Revision as of 02:27, 30 August 2014
Dovasary Haiming Temaida Balitang, nicknamed Dove, is the half-raka second daughter of Mequen Balitang and Sarugani Temaida. They are of the Rittevon and Haiming royal lines, the latter which Dove got secretly through her mother's Temaida ancestry. Her older sister is Saraiyu Balitang, the original candidate for queen in the raka conspiracy. Dove became the Queen of the Copper Isles in 463HE[1] with the help of the raka conspirators, and fulfilling the Kyprish Prophecy of a "twice royal" queen.
Biography
Early life
Dove is born in the beginning of 450 HE[1] as the second daughter of Mequen Balitang and Sarugani Balitang, former Temaida. Sarugani died years later in a riding accident when Dove would have been approximately four or five years old. Mequen would later remarry Winnamine Fonfala. In Rajmuat, Dove exploited her stepmother's desire for acceptance by sneaking out of the Balitang household and into the city. Around the time the Balitangs were exiled to Tanair, Winnamine was debating whether or not to put a stop to it.
Exile by the Rittevon King
Shortly after Aly was sold to the Balitang family, King Oron began to have unsettling thoughts of the family, driven by his paranoia. Oron invited them to prove their loyalty with expensive offerings. He later decided that he would feel far more at ease if the Balitangs temporarily vacated Rajmuat. This, as well as their depleted coffers from the gifts, drove Drove and her family to Tanair, Sarugani's dowry.
On Tanair, Dove took to listening at keyholes, eavesdropping on conversations held by her parents, and probably others as well. She occasionally visited with Aly as the other girl tended her goat herd, having taken to reading there to avoid her hotheaded sister and Prince Bronau, an arrogant luarin prince.
Towards the end of the stay at Tanair, Dove and her family are confined to one room during a battle not dissimilar to a siege, in which Bronau attempted to force Sarai's hand in marriage in a play for the throne of the Copper Isles. A skirmish that led to the death of Mequen Balitang occurred. Dove, as well as the rest of her family, was in a state of mourning, but Dove still kept her head in light of the circumstances.
Rubinyan Jimajen, Bronau's older brother, visited them at Tanair. He and his wife, Princess Imajane were then regents to Dunevon Rittevon, the new boy king of the Isles. He apologized to Winnamine Balitang for his brother's actions and said he was sorry for the death of Mequen, as they had been close friends. Aly could see he wasn't lying, and that he was actually mourning for the Duke. He invited the Balitang family back to Rajmuat, and Winnamine said that they would arrive in due time, but that she also needed time to grieve. Rubinyan understood, and left.
Dove and her family did meet Aly's father. He had tracked Aly from Rajmuat to Tanair, disguising himself as a slave trader. He offered to buy her, and Winnamine saw through him after a while.
Return to Rajmuat
Back in Rajmuat, the Balitangs are forced out of mourning by a royal decree, and Dove's Great Aunt Nuritin arriving in a flurry of guards and servants.
While the family settles back into their former life, Dove is introduced to the conspiracy to fulfill a prophecy by putting Sarai on the throne. She visits with her old friends--merchants, beggars, fishermen, glassblowers, pottery-makers, etc. She carefully observes the nobles around her even as she plays chess and discusses philosophy and astronomy with some of the greatest minds in the Copper Isles. Despite her watchful eye, she is as surprised as everyone when Sarai elopes with Zaimid Hetnim.
Post-elopement, Dove wins over the conspiracy group while the god Kyprioth keeps Aly for three days, reminding them that Sarai wasn't the only twice-royal, and proving both her political prowess and practicality as she keeps up with Aly's spy work in her absence.
Supplied with a new cantidate, the rebellion is renewed with vigor. The conspiracy provokes a battle for the throne and capture the Gray Palace as Dove takes a somewhat dangerous but morale-boosting flight over Rajmuat on a fully grown kudarung--a winged horse.
Dove recruits Aly as her spymaster and Taybur Sibigat as the captain of the Queen's Guard. The coronation occurs shortly after Midwinter, the prophecy fulfilled.
Physical appearance
At thirteen, Dove is described as looking a bit like her sister Sarai, with creamy-gold skin and long black hair. She is also said to have "observant black eyes" and is small-boned. She is considered plainer than her sister, and considerably more inconspicuous, a trait she uses to go unnoticed, collecting gossip and news. As a half-raka noble, she has mastered a polite political face, showing nothing but pleasant interest.
Personality and traits
Dove is the rational side to her sister's impulsivness. Logical and intelligent, Dove prefers books and chess to jewelry and fancy dinners. Instead of making friends with nobles her age, she prefers the experienced older men of the court and merchants. She's interested in what goes on in the local markets, things like whether the price of fish is up or if the glassmaker is making a new type of bowl. She also is interested in the merchants' lives, hearing stories about their children and pasts. She is not as admired by the higher classes as her sister is, but has made her mark among the common folk. She has a temper, but less so than her sister, and thinks things through before she speaks.
Because of her interest in the people, political matters, economic matters, and spy matters, Dove is far more suited than her sister to rule a country. Although younger, she is far more realistic than Sarai, and understands the world much more than her sister does.
Relationships
Saraiyu Balitang
Dove had a fairly stable relationship with her older sister. She did think that Sarai was far too hotheaded, and often hid from her. She knew that Sarai was very fluttery, and loved her, but recognized that she was not a good fit for leading.
Winnamine Balitang
Dove's relationship with her stepmother is far better than her sister's was. Dove and Winnamine understand the danger while in Rajmuat, and the two develop a very close friendship.
Alianne of Pirate's Swoop
When Dove first meets Aly, she is distant, as she thinks Aly is just another slave. However, she soon grows to trust Aly greatly for the other girl's services to her family. After the death of her father, the family returns to Rajmuat, bringing Aly. Dove and Aly form a very tight-knit friendship, as Dove is very more interested and intelligent in the ways that a state runs, and how people work—unlike her sister, who is more headstrong and idealistic. After Sarai runs away, Aly backs Dove in her new placement as the twice-royal heir. Dove offers Aly a position as spymaster under her, and is pleased when the other girl accepts—as she sees Aly as more than just a servant, a friend.
Family
Balitang Family Tree
Trivia
Tamora Pierce included some traits of Elizabeth I of England in the character of Dovasary Balitang.[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tortallan timeline
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Trickster's Choice (electronic edition), Ch. 2.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Trickster's Choice (electronic edition), Ch. 3.
- ↑ Given that Saraiyu and Dunevon Rittevon were second cousins (Trickster's Queen (electronic edition), Ch. 12), this was the logical point for the marriage. The Rittevon woman must have been Oron Rittevon's aunt.
- ↑ Trickster's Queen (electronic edition), Ch. 2.
- ↑ Zaimid was a distant cousin of the Carthaki emperor, Kaddar Iliniat. Trickster's Queen (electronic edition), Ch. 4.
- ↑ Zaimid and Saraiyu planned to name the child with whom she was pregnant in Trickster's Queen Mequen if the child were a boy, but it was not confirmed whether the baby was liveborn and male or not. Trickster's Queen (electronic edition), Ch. 12 and Ch. 21.
- ↑ Random Buzz; "Famous Women"; April 23, 2009