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Eira Rosynhwyr, aliases Evening Winterrose and Evelyn Winters, is the Firstborn of the Daoine Sidhe. As Evening, she hid among her descendants for decades while she manipulated monarchies and nobles in a ploy to amass more power. She is also the manipulative and pure evil inventor of elf-shot and one of the main antagonists of the series.

She first appears, as Evening, in Rosemary and Rue.

Keep your bloodlines pure, and gather power like roses in the spring, for when I return, I will expect a hearty crop of crowns and children.

–Eira Rosynhwyr, Shine in Pearl

About[]

Eira is the eldest daughter of Titania and Oberon, making her thousands of years old. Since most of Maeve's children are dead, the only Firstborn older than Eira who is still alive is the Luidaeg.[1] Along with the other Firstborn, Eira agreed not to directly interfere in the politics of Faerie; instead, she manipulates the fae from the inside, disguising herself as an ordinary if influential Daoine Sidhe. Eira is under a geas and cannot directly harm anyone of Oberon's line.[2]

Before Oberon disappeared, he gifted Eira with a hope chest called Goldengreen. It can be accessed using the Summer Roads Key.

Appearance[]

In her Evening persona she has sharply tapered ears, midnight-blue eyes, and black-purple hair highlighted with pink, orange, and blue.[3] Even disguised as an ordinary Daoine Sidhe, she seemed "wild, terrible and strange" and never mistakable for human. Quentin remarks that it seems like poisonous flowers would bloom from every step she walked.

Her true appearance as Eira is said to have inspired humans in creating Snow White. Her skin is pale, almost bloodless, and contrasts her dark hair and blood-red dresses. She has the power to compel all Daoine Sidhe, and to a lesser extent all children of Titania or those sworn in fealty to the former.[2] If she believes that a child of Titania's requires too much effort, then she will avoid that child in favour of someone more susceptible to her charms.[citation needed]

Personality[]

In both guises, Evening is cruel, petty, and powerful. She is considered cold and very self-controlled, but will ultimately do what needs to be done; she is willing to put a deadly geas on Toby in order to get justice for her own death.[4] She believes that purebloods are fundamentally better than changelings[5], and also disapproves of Daoine Sidhe mixing their bloodlines with other fae.[6]

She is a traditionalist among the Fae, modeling her mortal business on the ancient Faerie concept of three roads: "The hard way, the easy way, and the long way."[7] Her preference for the "long way" is supported by the way she plays the long game in the mortal world, with influence and property throughout San Francisco. She plays the long game in Faerie as well, faking her own death and going dormant for years at a time as well as manipulating her descendants for schemes years in the making, as she did with Quentin's fosterage.[8]

Biography[]

The Early Days of Faerie[]

Eira was always power-hungry, and always hated Maeve's children. She especially hated Antigone. In the early days of Faerie, Eira tricked merlins into attacking the Roane, killing a majority of them and stealing their skins in a desperate attempt to become like the Fae. Eira convinced Titania that Antigone would try to seek revenge, so Titania set the restrictions upon Antigone to "protect" Eira and Titania's other descendants. Although she forcibly bargained Antigone into not remaining with her remaining descendants for seven years after their slaughter, she is infuriated when Antigone extracts the price of not coming after them as part of the bargain. When Maeve learned of this, she exacted her own revenge on behalf of her daughter.[2]

1500s[]

Eira receives a Hope Chest to balance out the chest given to her sworn enemy, the Luidaeg.

Eira manipulates Janet of Caughterha into rescuing Tam Lin from the Faerie Ride, breaking Maeve's last hunt and causing her to disappear. As a result, Titania was banished and bound to live as a reincarnating changeling of sorts and Oberon disappeared from Faerie as well.[9] Before he disappears, Oberon placed a geas on Eira preventing her from harming any of his claimed descendants - including the Dochas Sidhe and the Tuatha de Danaan.

1700s[]

Eira possesses the Summerlands side of the Tower of London, which she decorates and protects with thorns, though she hasn't been seen there for ages.[10]

When America is young, around the late 1700s to early 1800s, Eira is Queen of the Kingdom of Ash and Oak in New York under the alias Vesper Shallcross. She abandons the kingdom and her husband Absalom Shallcross after he loses his bid to become the new High King of the Westlands, leaving many to assume she died as one of many countless victims of widespread iron poisoning as a result of Ash and Oak's oversaturation of iron from the Industrial Revolution. [11]

1830s-1840s[]

Eira gives birth to Dawn Winterrose out of petty jealousy of her sister Amandine's own daughter. Eira passes Dawn off as "Evening's" younger sister.[12][13]

By the mid-1840 she has established herself as the Countess of Goldengreen. Under her rule, the county of has no subjects or denizens. [14]

Evening interferes with Dianda and Patrick's courtship, not wanting one of her Daoine Sidhe descendants to wed a Merrow. She sends a message to Dianda implying insult from Patrick that nearly breaks the two of them up.[6][15] Patrick takes offense, but when he goes to confront her she weaves an illusion upon him that makes him think like a prejudiced Daoine Sidhe, and think Evening is the pinnacle example of their shared race. Later that same week she accepted an offer of fealty from Simon Torquill, given in an attempt to protect Patrick and Dianda from further meddling and acquire the power needed to find the lost August.

1906[]

Oleander kills King Gilad at Evening's instruction.[16] As the Tuatha de Dannan, Gilad's fae race, is claimed by Oberon, the geas prevented her from acting against him herself.

Evening personally travels to the High Court of the Westlands to announce Gilad's death and support the False Queen as his heir. Aethlin and Maida, Daoine Sidhe who are susceptible to her influence, do not question the False Queen's impossible heritage.

1990s[]

In 1993, Evening lends Toby her daughter Dawn's memorial globe so Toby can find a new knowe for the Queen in the Mists. She supports Toby's request for the Queen in the Mists to acknowledge her as a knight of the realm.[17]

Evening and Toby become sometimes-friends, though often divided by their differing views on social status and blood purity. Toby found Dawn Winterrose's killer; she cleared Evening of treasonous charges against the Queen of the Mists; she discovered Goldengreen so that Evening could claim it as her knowe. In turn, Evening rescued Toby from some difficult spots in her knight / PI duties, and Toby became an honorary knight for her services with encouragement from Evening and Sylvester.[5]

In 1996, Eira orders Simon to kidnap Rayseline and Luna as a convoluted plot to assassinate Toby. However, Simon transforms Toby into a fish rather than kill her, unwilling to be responsible for the death of his legal daughter.

2000s[]

Evening recommends that the High King and Queen send Quentin into blind fosterage in Shadow Hills. Even though the Mists is a small Kingdom and Shadowed Hills was dysfunctional at the time with Luna, Raysel, and Toby missing, the high monarchs easily agree. While Toby was missing, Evening defended Home in Toby's name from the False Queen's attempt to tear it down, despite Evening's disdain for changelings.

In the Series[]

2010s: Rosemary and Rue[]

After the enchantment that transformed Toby into a koi fish breaks, Toby calls Evening from the police station. Evening informs the local nobility of Toby's return and helps her reestablish her human identity, including acquiring a rent-controlled apartment in San Francisco.

Approximately six months after Toby's return, Evening calls Toby's apartment, frantic. After leaving several desperate messages, Evening's last message puts a geas on Toby, binding her to find Evening's killers or die. Toby hears screams and three gunshots before the message ends.[18] When she goes to investigate, she finds that while Evening was shot, she was truly "killed" with iron. A horrified Toby feels compelled to ride her blood. While unsuccessful in finding the identity of the killers, she discovers that Evening left a key for her.[3]

Toby tries to tell the Queen of the Mists of Evening's death and seek help in finding the killer, but the Queen refuses to accept that Evening is dead.[19] Toby also learns that when the Queen tried to dismantle Home, Evening defended them in Toby's name. Devin regrets Evening's death and commits to helping Toby find her killer.[7]

A Rose Goblin delivers to Toby a key with Evening's magical signature on it. She takes the key to Third Road Enterprises, where it opens doors and drawers and gives her light in the dark. The curse itself tells Toby if she's far or near to her goal. Toby finds the Hope Chest hidden away.[14]

Toby investigates Goldengreen, Evening's knowe, for further answers. She and Connor are chased by an unknown attacker, and the key opens a door when Toby begs "in my mother's name." It dumps them off a cliff into the ocean.[20]

The Luidaeg says of Evening: "Always was a nasty bitch, that one...The Winterrose is good at what she does. There is no loophole."[21] She barters to acquire the key from Toby. This hints at Evening's survival as the Luidaeg referred to her in the present tense.

Toby ultimately discovers that Devin "killed" Evening in order to steal the hope chest.

The Winter Long[]

Evening resurfaces, revealing that Devin had only injured her to the point where the night-haunts came for her (explaining why Toby never saw the night-haunts wearing her face). She revealed that she cut a deal with them to fake her death after Devin "killed her", and had killed the Luidaeg - although she is unaware Toby brought her back from the dead. It is also revealed that she had compelled Simon to turn against his own brother and shockingly her own descendant and kidnap Luna and Raysel in exchange for the power to find August.

It is here Toby sees Evening as the real person she is - someone willing to drown the current Count of Goldengreen to take it back. Though Toby remarks that she wasn't normally nice, she never knew that Evening would be outright cruel. Toby, Tybalt and Quentin discover that she is the Daoine Sidhe Firstborn (which explained why Devin wasn't able to kill her with his method), and Luna confirms it. The Luidaeg also confirms that Evening was the woman who had caused the near-extinction of the Roane out of disgust over their happiness, and begged Titania to bind the Luidaeg into what she became (though Maeve retaliated somehow). It is possible Evening went through all of this because she doesn't even want Oberon, Titania and Maeve to return, knowing full well she would be limited again because of it.

Toby is able to work around the Luidaeg's geas (by convincing her that while she can't hurt a child of Titania, she can assist a child of Oberon) and both sisters fight each other, though the Luidaeg is outclassed and Simon is elf-shot in an attempt to put Evening to sleep. After further confirmation that Evening can't hurt a child of Oberon, Toby manages to hit her with a knife laced with Simon's elf-shot blood, and Evening falls asleep.

A Red-Rose Chain[]

The Luidaeg confirms that Evening was the creator of elf-shot and confirms that she always intended it to be fatal to changelings. This allows Toby and Walther to work together to find the cure, managing to find the rose that Evening used to create it from. Toby noticeably also tries to keep Evening separate from her true identity as the Daoine Sidhe Firstborn.

Once Broken Faith[]

When Walther discovers the cure for elf-shot, Evening decides to invade Karen's dreams and force her to be her representative. Clearly against the cure being distributed, Evening haunts Karen for the remainder of the elf-shot conclave. She is later warded out of Karen's dreams by the Luidaeg.

Toby and Dianda see Evening in the elf-shot induced dreams. Though Dianda is skeptical that Evening is truly present, Evening makes an off-handed comment about Dianda marrying one of her own children (despite the Merrow being descended from her own mother), confirming to Dianda her identity.

A Killing Frost[]

Evening uses a bespelled Simon to attempt to wake her from her elf-shot induced sleep by means of compelling him to use more and more of the blood she granted him. She appears in Toby's elf-shot induced dream and attempts to claim control of her as well. She is foiled by Toby being woken, but not before she inadvertently helps Toby to figure out where Oberon is.

Be the Serpent[]

It is revealed that Evening presented Janet to Titania before they sabotaged Maeve's final ride.

Relationships[]

October Daye[]

Due to Evening's ideas of social status, she and October had a contentious if respectful friendship. When her daughter Dawn was killed, Toby helped find the killer. When Toby was held for harassing the Duchess of Dreamer's Glass, Evening came to rescue her.[22] Evening harassed Sylvester until he agreed to knight Toby. Additionally, Evening stopped the Queen of the Mists from moving to disband Home, in Toby's name. It was not entirely selfless - she was emotionally drawing Manuel Lorimer to her service, but her ploy was effective.[23] Despite all their history, Evening was still blind to Toby's true nature in the end, placing a binding when simply asking for help would have sufficed.[24]

This was all an act however - Evening despised Toby, admitting that she was disgusted at how Amandine invited her to the christening of a changeling. As the Luidaeg noted, she hated being limited - she wanted Toby dead, but she knew she had to work around the geas that her father placed on her to prevent her from actively harming anyone from his line, such as the elaborate ruse in kidnapping Raysel and Luna so she could kill Toby in the process.Citation needed

Luidaeg[]

Evening despises her elder half-sister and plotted to destroy the Roane purely to hurt the Luidaeg. She convinced Titania to put a geas on the Luidaeg "protecting" those of Titania's line, although it handicaps the Luidaeg more than Titania could have predicted. Later, in Toby's time, Evening places an additional geas upon the Luidaeg to prevent her from telling Toby Evening's true identity. Toby is able to find a loophole and the Luidaeg admits the enemy is someone she knows personally; the Ludiaeg becomes terrrified and forces Toby and Tybalt to leave. Evening is alerted to the slip and kills the Luidaeg cold, though Toby is able to bring her back. The two have a showdown on the Thorn Roads that leaves Evening elf-shot and abandoned,[2] though she is able to communicate with the outside world through the onieromancer Karen.[25]

Oleander de Merelands[]

Oleander is Evening's assassin and despite being a mixed blood with no heritage to Titania, her most useful pawn. She seems to have been utterly loyal to Evening and in return, Evening gave her large amounts of free reign and ordered Simon Torquill to warm her bed.

Simon Torquill[]

Simon acted as Evening's pawn for years after offering her his fealty in order to stop her interference with Patrick and Dianda Lorden. She placed him under a geas to keep him from revealing her as his employer, twisting his personality by means of compulsion and his magical signature by allowing him to use her magic. Simon attempts to shoot her with elf-shot near the end of The Winter Long after trying to find a way to break her geas. She briefly reclaims his loyalty when he loses his way home at the end of The Brightest Fell but he repudiates her again when brought back to his senses in A Killing Frost.

Devin[]

Devin appreciates Evening's help in keeping the Queen of the Mists from destroying Home after Toby disappeared. However, he is ambitious enough to kill Evening in order to steal her hope chest. He does not succeed and had been blissfully unaware that she despised changelings in truth.[21]

Torin of Bluefish[]

Through unknown means, and despite her views on the Merrow, Evening convinced Torin to attempt and sabotage the Convocation of Consequences in order to keep Toby and the Luidaeg from bringing the Roane back. She convinced Torin that the Roane's presence had caused most of the disasters in Faerie and their near-extinction had prevented more deaths.

Amphitrite[]

Evening and Amphitrite hold mutual resentment for each other. Evening's disgust at Dean and Peter's heritage was enough to pleasure Amphitrite.

The Queen of the Mists[]

The two have a contentious relationship. Evening was accused of treason against the Queen, although Toby saved her from the charges.[5] It was revealed that Evening gave her the throne to the Kingdom as a racist and perverted joke and also as retaliation for Gilad's line claiming a throne she believed that her entire line was entitled to.[citation needed]

Quotes[]

  • According to the Luidaeg, "Always was a nasty bitch, that one...The Winterrose is good at what she does."[20]
  • Eira's final words to the Daoine Sidhe before disappearing for centuries: "Keep your bloodlines pure, and gather power like roses in the spring, for when I return, I will expect a hearty crop of crowns and children."[26]

Trivia[]

  • Despite Evening's disdain of changelings and clear disgust at Karen for her human heritage, Evening was unaware that her mother Titania was in the Kingdom in the Mists the entire time forcibly masqueraded as Stacy Brown. This makes the Brown children her siblings.

References[]

  1. When Sorrows Come Ch. 15
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 The Winter Long
  3. 3.0 3.1 Rosemary and Rue Ch. 4
  4. Rosemary and Rue, Ch. 2
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Rosemary and Rue Ch. 3
  6. 6.0 6.1 Write in Water
  7. 7.0 7.1 Rosemary and Rue Ch. 7
  8. Chimes at Midnight
  9. Night and Silence
  10. The Voice of Lions
  11. A Killing Frost
  12. The Unkindest Tide
  13. Heaps of Pearl
  14. 14.0 14.1 Rosemary and Rue, Ch. 9
  15. The Ambitious Ocean
  16. The Brightest Fell
  17. Strangers in Court
  18. Rosemary and Rue Ch. 2
  19. Rosemary and Rue Ch. 5
  20. 20.0 20.1 Rosemary and Rue Ch. 21
  21. 21.0 21.1 Rosemary and Rue Ch. 23
  22. Rosemary and Rue, Ch. 3
  23. Rosemary and Rue, Ch. 6
  24. Rosemary and Rue, Ch. 4
  25. Once Broken Faith
  26. Shine in Pearl
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