Aina Shulivar

Aina Shulivar was a former apprentice to the Clocksmiths' Guild of Zhaö and later the maker of the device used to sabotage the Wisdom of Choharo, which was central to the Tethimadeise Conspiracy.

Appearance
Aina was "tall, a little gawky, with short-cropped black hair and vividly blue eyes; his skin was the same slate gray color as Maia's."

Personality
Thara Celehar described Aina as "an intense young man". Aina “read Curnar metaphorically, and imagine[d] Universal Ascendance as a world in which no man holds power over any other.”

When he was first brought before Maia after being arrested, he was “neither frightened nor hostile”. He was fervent in his belief that murdering 23 people was for the greater good, because it put a progressive on the throne.

Life
Aina was formerly “apprenticed to the Clocksmiths’ Guild and been thrown out as a troublemaker”.

Aina was a fervent follower of the philosopher Curnar. Thara called them "angry men". One group of the fervent Curneisei met at the Stone Tree, and Aina was "the motivating force behind [Evrenis] Bralchenar's cadre of Curneisei". He colluded with Duke Tethimel, Eshevis Tethimar, Atho Narchanezhen, Evrenis, Odris Ubezhar, and sympathetic nobles to murder Varenechibel IV and his sons, and place Eshevis in the regency for Idra Drazhar, as part of the Tethimadeise Conspiracy.

At some point, Aina "made the device which destroyed the Wisdom of Choharo”, which killed Varenechibel IV, Nemolis Drazhar, Nazhira Drazhar, Ciris Drazhar, Varenechibel IV's edocharei and nohecharei, and the crew of the ship. This went against Eshevis' original plan, as Eshevis had not yet signed a marriage contract with Vedero, let alone marry her, and so was not in a position to take power after the murders. Aina was later taken prisoner with Atho and Evrenis by Thara and the Vigilant Brotherhood, and brought to the Untheileneise Court, where they were "remanded to the Judiciate". Maia questioned Aina last of the three Curneisei.  Although Aina explained that he regretted the deaths, Aina believed that what he did "had to be done", because Maia was more progressive than his father, and would dismantle opposition to progressive ideas to better the lives of workers, and possibly for women.

Aina was later tried for his actions and executed.

Skills
Aina apprenticed to the Clocksmiths' Guild and created the device that destroyed the Wisdom of Choharo, so he was seemingly a skilled engineer and able to craft bombs.

Atho Narchanezhen
Thara “heard many long arguments between her and Aina about whether man’s power over woman is natural—and therefore unchangeable—or not”. She served as “the courier between Ubezhar and Shulivar—the two men had apparently agreed on their plan of destruction and murder without ever meeting face-to-face.”

Evrenis Bralchenar
Aina helped motivate Evrenis.

Maia Drazhar
Aina horrified Maia, because of his belief that killing the people on the Wisdom of Choharo was the right thing to do, particularly because it put Maia - a progressive - on the throne. Maia thought he was mad.

Quotations

 * “It is the nature of all persons to hold on to power when they have it,” Shulivar said. “Thus it stagnates and becomes clouded, poisonous. Radical action is necessary to free it. And if you look, you will see that it is already working. If I had not done what I did, a half-goblin such as yourself would never have gained the throne of the Ethuveraz.”
 * “I can already see the changes,” Shulivar said. “You do not hold on to power as your father and grandfather did. You are not afraid to let it go. And you have new ideas, ideas that no emperor before you has ever had. . . . No other emperor would ever have attended the funeral of his father’s servants. No other emperor would have accepted a woman as his nohecharis. You bring change, Edrehasivar, and you bring it because I opened the way for you.”