Persis D'Io

Lord Hauksberg's concubine, not a standard fictional heroine, is beautiful, intelligent and imaginative. Watching Ondine while on Starkad frightens her because its strangeness reminds her of how far they are from home. She watches a mermaid floating beneath an unreal sea. To her, the hyperdrive sounds like:

"'Ghosts flitting forever in darkness.'"
-Poul Anderson, Ensign Flandry IN Anderson, Young Flandry (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 1-192 AT Chapter Seven, p. 66.

(HG Wells' Time Traveler is a ghost flitting for all time between alternating light and darkness.)

Persis voluntarily accompanies Nicky Falkayn on his dangerous escape from Merseia and later turns out to be the mother of his son. She is yet another character that we would like to see more of.

Real life continues: I am out of bed early and posting quickly over breakfast because Lancaster University teaching staff want my support in campaigning against a threat to their pensions. After that, I must buy a car but meanwhile will be mentally drafting the next post.