Arveneän Shelsin

Arveneän Shelsin was an opera singer whose murder Thara Celehar investigated. The investigation was the central plot of The Witness for the Dead.

Appearance
She was delicate and had blue doe eyes, and was no more than thirty when she died. Her hands were uncallused, and she had long white hair.

She was at least sometimes overdressed. Mer Dravenezh considered her state "bourgeois-vulgar."

When she died she wore a dark green velvet gown with silk cuffs embroidered with flowers.

Personality
She was ambitious, conceited, spiteful, reckless, argumentative, and a thief. “She saw herself in competition with everybody.” She was also relentless, and not deterred by losing fights. She enjoyed learning secrets, in part to use them for blackmail material. She had a bad gambling habit and was bad with money generally, and always hungered for more than she had. She frequently made herself an outcast in the circles she traveled due to her arrogance.

She loved talking about the opera, and often complained about her fellow singers, but would also often speak about her own parts and how difficult they were. Although she pursued wealthy patrons, she was only interested in the wealthy, and did not care about their age. She loved eating at Hatharanee.

She preferred male partners for duets, and Davelo Matano noted she was more likely to confide in a man than a woman.

Life
Toreän Nochenin said that Arveneän might have been raised in the Harnavetai.

She was the senior mid-soprano at the Vermilion Opera. She lived in Cemchelarna, and boasted of never going south of the city walls.

She had many patrons who gave her expensive gifts, many of which she pawned because of her gambling habit. She also stole gowns from the Vermilion Opera seemingly for her own personal use.

She was furious about Iäna Pel-Thenhior writing an opera with a goblin lead, and got into fights with Iäna about it, and even threatened him over it, though he told her it was an empty threat. She made an appointment to meet the Marquess Parzhadel, though she didn't make it due to her murder.

Arveneän attempted to blackmail Tura Olora about a lover based on a letter she stole from him. Tura had recently received an inheritance of four thousand muranai, and Arveneän demanded one thousand muranai for her silence. Not trusting that she would let it go if he paid her, and hating her arrogance about the lover's identity and the potential danger she posed to the lover, Tura arranged to meet Arveneän at a bar by the water called the Canalman's Dog. He then struck her on the head from behind and threw her into the Mich'maika.

Shelsin's body was hauled out of the water by the Vigilant Brotherhood of Amalo. Azhanharad called Thara to Witness for her and investigate her death.

Her funeral was in the municipal ulimeire of the Airmen's Quarter. Her mourners included Meletho Balvedin, Toreän, Azhanharad, Iäna, and Thara.

Skills
She was a senior mid-soprano opera singer. Her voice was so beautiful that it saved her job many a time, despite her temper. Due to her job, she was very good at changing clothes quickly, even in complicated costumes.

She had good penmanship.

She didn't know how to swim.

Dach'osmer Cambeshar
Arveneän wanted wealthy men like Cambeshar to court her because of their money. Iäna noted Cambeshar was too canny to allow her to oust the other women he patronized.

Borava Coreshar
One of Arveneän's patrons at the time of her death. He escorted her to Bonashee the night she died.

Cebris Pershar
Arveneän's duet partner for The Siege of Tekharee. He detested Arveneän.

Danila Ubezhar
Danila was at Bonashee the night Arveneän died, and Borava noted Arveneän would have spoken with him if she saw him.

Davelo Matano
A fellow singer of Arveneän's, but not one of her intimates. She noted that Arveneän had a temper and was widely disliked.

Osmer Elithar
Arveneän wanted wealthy men like Elithar to court her because of their money. She practically ruined Elithar.

Iäna Pel-Thenhior
Iäna and Arveneän hated each other. Iäna helped Thara investigate Arveneän's death.

Osmer Isthanar
One of Arveneän's patrons.

Meletho Balvedin
A clerk at the Vermilion Opera who was close with Arveneän. She thought Arveneän was kind and generous, and was honored Arveneän spoke to her, since Arveneän was a principal singer and Meletho was merely a clerk.

Marquess Parzhadel
Arveneän and the Marquess had a difficult relationship: she attempted to get other singers fired, and he sent her off at least once, telling her she was lucky he didn't get rid of her.

Osmer Ponichar
One of Arveneän's patrons. He gave her jewelry. They would get in very loud fights.

Rhadeän Nadin
The aunt of Vinsu Nadaran and fellow tenant at the boardinghouse where Arveneän lived. She attempted to befried Arveneän and was rejected. She said that Arveneän was greedy.

Thara Celehar
Thara investigated Arveneän's death as a Witness. He noted she seemed bent on destroying her own life, but he didn't let that intrude on his investigation.

Toïno Culainin
Arveneän's understudy. Toïno noted that Arveneän didn't notice her. Toïno memorized Arveneän's movements to perform as her.

Toreän Nochenin
A clerk at the Vermilion Opera who was close with Arveneän. She thought Arveneän was kind and generous, and was honored Arveneän spoke to her, since Arveneän was a principal singer and Toreän was merely a clerk.

Tura Olora
One of Arveneän's coworkers and blackmail victims. They slept together once. Tura ultimately killed her.

Veralis Telonar
Arveneän's duet partner for Zhelsu. She was blackmailing him for other people's secrets.

Vinsu Nadaran
Vinsu was Arveneän's landlady, and responsible for Arveneän's things after Arveneän's murder. Vinsu considered Arveneän “a good lodger: quiet, polite, always paid the rent on time. But she wasn’t friendly with anyone, not the other lodgers, not Merrem Nadaran, not Min Nadin herself.”

Quotations

 * Mer Dravenezh to Thara: “She was a woman with the worst kind of temper, for she was vengeful. If you angered her, she would not be satisfied until she had found a way to hurt you. The last time she was here, she was trying to get one of the other singers dismissed.”

Trivia

 * She had no children.
 * "She had the michenothas in her room . . . and a token from the Sanctuary of Csaivo."