Mira Black — Shadow of the Empire

Name: Mira Black

Title: Princess of the Blackwood Empire, Shadow of the Black Throne

Race: Human (rod Black)

Age: 19 years

Occupation: Master of internal intrigue, unofficial head of palace intelligence

The family: Emperor Lanius Black (elder brother), Artis Black (middle brother, Black Knight)

Background and family

Mira is the third and youngest child of the Black Dynasty. She was born seven years after Artis, when no one expected another heir. Her birth was not planned, but, like everything in the Empire, it was immediately written into the system.

Her father, the previous Emperor (whose name she rarely mentions—not out of hatred, but out of pragmatic indifference), died when she was fourteen. The mother died in childbirth. Thus, by the age of fifteen, Mira was left in the care of her older brother Laniya, who was forced to combine the role of Emperor and guardian.

Unlike many ruling families, where younger children become a bargaining chip for marriage unions, the Black family has never considered Mira as a "commodity." Blacks don't need alliances through marriage—they rule through strength, order, and efficiency. Mira understood from childhood that she would not be sold or exchanged. But she is not allowed to be just a "ball princess" either. Every member of the dynasty must serve the Order.

Childhood and upbringing

From an early age, Mira showed unusual abilities — not for magic (although she has a core and is tuned mainly to Fire), but for reading people. She learned to recognize lies before she learned to write. By the age of seven, she already knew when the servants were lying. By ten, she could get them to tell the truth without resorting to threats: she just asked the right questions and looked at them with the right look.

Her caregivers described her as "an extraordinarily gifted but anxious child." It was disturbing because Mira had never played like other children. She was watching. Analyzed it. Memorized it.

Lanius, noticing her inclinations, ordered that she be given access to court life from the age of twelve. Not as a princess who needs to be protected, but as a future instrument of the Empire. He coldly and pragmatically prepared his sister for the role he had defined for her.: "You'll know things about everyone that they don't know about themselves. You will become my eyes and ears where even the Shadow Order cannot reach—in the drawing rooms, at balls, in the beds of enemies."

Mira didn't resist. She agreed. Because it gave her what she wanted most: control.

Personality formation

By the age of fifteen, Mira was already a full-fledged player in the palace intrigues. Not a puppet of Lanius—he was too smart to try to control her directly—but an independent figure who acted within the interests of the Empire, but by his own methods.

It was during this period that the trait began to manifest itself, which later courtiers would whisper to call "the strangeness of the Princess." Mira was not content with simply eliminating enemies. If someone became interesting to her, she began to study them with the meticulousness of a collector. She recognized weaknesses, fears, secret desires. She remembered who this person was dear to. And then, methodically, step by step, she took him for herself.

I didn't kill him. Killing is the end of the game. The game ended for Mira when a person could no longer breathe without her.

The first incident (unofficial):

At the age of sixteen, Mira "attached" to herself a young lord from the house who sympathized with the Slane Theocracy. The lord was handsome, ambitious, and considered himself beyond manipulation. Eight months later, he publicly renounced the title, broke up with his family and asked to serve in one of the divisions of the Shadow Order — just to be closer to the court. Closer to her. When asked why he did it, he replied, "I can't live without her. And I don't want to be able to."

Mira herself, when asked by Laniya what she had done to this man, just smiled and said, "Nothing. I was just talking."

By the age of eighteen, Mira had become what she is now: the unofficial head of palace intelligence, the master of psychological control, and the most dangerous woman in Blackwell after... well, perhaps after no one.

Current role in the Empire (at the time of 4E 2978)

Mira does not hold an official position. She's a Princess, and that's enough. There is no place for her in the Administrative Hierarchy of the Empire, because her work does not fit into the bureaucracy.

Its functions:

Control over the nobility. She knows who's breathing what. She has dossiers on every significant family, and these dossiers are in her head, not in the archives.

Recruitment and re-recruitment. Sometimes it's easier to make a person your own than to kill them. Mira is a master of this art.

Interrogations of a special kind. When the Punishing Watch cannot break the prisoner by torture, Peace comes. Her methods are not torture. It's worse. She says. And the prisoner breaks down not from pain, but from the realization that his soul now belongs to her.

Shadow diplomacy. Formally, the White Watch and the Emperor are engaged in foreign policy. But sometimes it is necessary for an enemy's ambassador or agent to go home, thinking that he is still loyal to his country, but in fact he has already worked for the Empire. Mira is doing this.

Her work is appreciated. Her methods are feared. Even in the Shadow Order, there are rumors that the Punishing Watch is checking its agents to see if they have been in contact with the Princess for too long.

Family relations

Lanius Black (the elder brother, the Emperor):

The mutual respect of two pragmatists. Lanius values Mira for her efficiency. Mira appreciates Laniya for not trying to control her. They rarely talk about anything personal, but they understand each other without words. If someone threatens Laniya, Mira will stop at nothing to eliminate the threat. At the same time, she does not feel warm feelings for him in the human sense — rather, cold, absolute loyalty, mixed with the realization that he is the only one whom she considers equal.

Artis Black (the Middle Brother, the Black Knight):

It's more complicated with Artis. He is a Black Knight who has been reprogrammed. In ordinary life, he still retains remnants of his personality — he can laugh, be sad, even show affection. But in combat mode, it becomes a machine. Mira is genuinely attached to him—as much as she is capable of. Her attitude towards Artis is perhaps the only thing that comes close to normal sisterly love. But even here there is a shadow of possessiveness.: "Artis is my brother. And if someone harms him, I won't kill that person. I'll make him want to die. But he won't be able to."

Personal life (or lack thereof)

Mira has no husband, no official favorite, and not even public rumors of an affair. This is not accidental. Mira is not looking for a partner — she is looking for an object. And this search scares even her.

She knows her character. He knows his obsession. And for the time being, he keeps it under control, directing energy into work. But sometimes—rarely, very rarely—someone who seems "interesting" to her appears.

When this happens, the world changes. She doesn't fall in love — she gets fixed. And then all her manipulation skills, all her experience, all her patience are directed towards one goal: to make this person your own. Completely. Without a trace. Otherwise, no one.

So far, there have been few such cases, and each one ended... differently for the object. Some still serve at court. Some of them don't even have records left in the archives.

Current situation

The world is at the peak of its influence. Lanius is on the throne, the Empire is strong, the enemies are trembling. But she feels bored. She needs a new challenge, a new project, a new toy. Perhaps that's why she personally engaged in the selection of a mercenary for a delicate case — instead of entrusting it to subordinates, as she would normally do. Perhaps there is something in this case that interests her personally. Or someone.