Armandra

Armandra of Remere appears in passing as Prince Tavard's betrothed, the bride-to-be selected to seal a Castali-Remeran political alliance after the Conquest dust settled. Daughter of solid Imperial-Remeran stock; her hair is dark, no Narasi blood visible.

Princess Armandra is now wedded to Prince Tavard at the dynastic ceremony where Minalan and Pentandra first identify Anguin. Minalan later tutors her, in person, in the basics of magic and the role of magi in the post-Bans kingdom — an obligation imposed by Queen Grendine rather than by Tavard.

She was not particularly bright, I'd realized then, even if she seemed to have a good heart and good instincts. Tavard had not wed with intelligence in mind.

— Minalan, on his Castabriel sessions with Armandra, Journeymage

She is sincerely devout, particularly to Trygg Allmother, and her religious instincts will become a lever the Family will use against her later.

Briga's Day in Sevendor

Tavard insists on bringing Armandra (and the infant Prince Heir, future Duin) on his Sevendor visit, over Lord Ustal's objection that she is “highly excitable” since giving birth.

The wedding is going to happen. And Prince Tavard and his wife shall attend. I shall hear no more word against it.

— Minalan to Tavard's minders, Necromancer

She arrives in a grand carriage at the rear of the column on Briga's Eve. Sire Cei escorts her up to Spellmonger's Hall to rest. At the next morning's ceremony she watches magelights bloom across the vale at dusk and softens visibly:

Thank you for such a wonderful service, Baron Minalan. I confess, I took what you told me about the possibilities of magic as exaggeration. But the more I see of your country the more I understand that if anything you understated the potential. Seeing magelights just . . . appear all over the vale at dusk was delightful!

— Princess Armandra to Minalan, Necromancer

The Visitation

Then the Seven Gods walk into the canopy. Trygg, the goddess Armandra has worshipped all her life, addresses her directly — assuring her that her infant son has the goddess's blessing and protection against illness until he becomes a man:

Daughter, I cannot assure that he will be king — ask Luin, if you ever chance to meet my son. My sphere can only tell you that unless fate intervenes he will be well and whole, and that he has my blessing and protection against illness until he becomes a man. There is no higher aspiration for a mother to hold.

— Trygg to Armandra, Necromancer

Armandra is transformed by the visitation. Her devotion to Trygg, already strong, becomes the defining feature of her court life.

Armandra begs off attending Anguin's wedding to her sister-in-law Rardine, citing advanced pregnancy and her mistrust of wizards (she had a difficult Ways translation on the Sevendor visit). Tavard attends without her, which both annoys him and frees him to bitch openly at the festivities.

Rardine, separately, refers to her behind closed doors with vivid contempt:

That flat-headed, big-boobed Remeran bitch and her bawling new brat!

— Princess Rardine on Armandra, Thaumaturge

Armandra is mentioned only briefly during the Castabriel High Council scenes, but her ongoing influence over Tavard is clear: where Rardine drives Anguin and Anguin drives policy, Armandra's influence on Tavard is more devotional than political, increasingly shaping his attitude toward the clergy and Trygg-aligned moves at court.

By Marshal Arcane Armandra is in unhappy retirement at Wilderhall (functionally a captive) following the Tavard rebellion's collapse. Her son, the original Prince Heir, is dead; the surviving girl in her custody is the swapped daughter from Tavard's mistress (the secret kingmove Minalan suggests in Preceptor).

She remains devoted to Trygg and bitterly hostile to Rardine, but she has lost the capacity to influence the realm beyond her household. Grendine's “protective” sequester is the official frame.

The Affair, the Pregnancy, and the Switch

Tavard reveals to Minalan that Armandra has had an affair, and is pregnant with the lover's child. Minalan reads the situation forensically:

But the Kasari are known for red hair — bright red. And freckles. It seemed that Princess Armandra's secret love was likely from the Bransei tribe.

— Minalan, Preceptor

Armandra is pregnant with a daughter; Tavard's mistress is also pregnant, expected in the same month, with a son. Minalan proposes the cynical solution that becomes the kingmove of Preceptor:

I suggest you send them both to some abbey where they can give birth, then exchange the children. Let Armandra raise your mistress's son, and ensure that your mistress can raise her daughter in secret.

— Minalan to Tavard, Preceptor

Tavard concedes that Armandra would never accept the killing of her child — her devotion to Trygg is too strong for that. He concedes that she will hesitate to make trouble at court if her real daughter is alive in secret with the mistress, hostage in all but name.

Armandra and I have had our problems, but the babe is not responsible for her mother's indiscretions. I would not make her a victim. And I know Armandra would never forgive Mother if she killed her child, no matter what the circumstances. She takes her devotion to Mother Trygg very seriously.

— Tavard to Minalan, Preceptor

Grendine has already known about the affair for months. The official Castabriel record will show Armandra delivering a son; the truth never reaches the public.