Arabella Jotsis

Arabella Jotsis, commonly known as Ara, is the daughter of one of The Empire’s greatest Sis noble families. She’s an incredibly rare Two-Blood, with both Quantal and Hunska traits, and is rumoured to be the prophesied Argatha or Chosen One. She is enrolled in the convent of Sweet Mercy, in order to protect her from the machinations of the Emperor’s sister Sherzal.

Appearance
Arabella is uncommonly beautiful, to the point that Nona Grey describes her as without blemish. She has long curly golden blond hair, and a curvaceous figure.

Personality
Arabella has the serene confidence common to many of the Sis nobility. She quickly gathers a large group of friends, although Clera Ghomal takes an immediate dislike to her. Influenced by Clera, Nona also dislikes her for a time, but the pair eventually become close friends. While Arabella settles in well to life in the convent, she resents the fact that it’s not safe for her to visit her family.

Abilities
She has Hunska and Quantal in her. She is greatly skilled in walking the Path.

History
Arabella was born into the Jotsis noble family, one of The Empire’s greatest Sis families, headed by her uncle Malcan Jotsis. When Ara begins to show Hunska traits, despite not being dark haired, her family take her to The Academy to be tested. The tests reveals that she is an incredibly rare Two-Blood, with both Quantal and Hunska traits. Rumours immediately begin to swirl that she might be the long prophesied Argatha or Chosen One. The Sis nobles fight over such children, and may even assassinate one to prevent them falling into another’s hands. When Emperor Crucical called her to court, the whole family make the journey from their estates in Ledo to Verity. Along the way they are intercepted by house-troups of the emperor’s sister Sherzal. However, Arabella has already been secretly sent to meet Abbess Glass to be enrolled in the convent of Sweet Mercy.

Red Sister
Arabella joins Sweet Mercy on the same day as Nona Grey. Clera, resentful at all the nobility, takes an immediate dislike to Ara, as does her friend Nona. This seeming mutual dislike is aggravated when Nona finds Ara’s missing belt during their first Blade-Class, and Ara gets punished by having her head shaved. That night, Nona finds a knife in her bed which she assumes was put there by Ara in revenge. In fact, the blade was an attempted assassination by a Noi-Guin paid by Thuran Tacsis.

As a Quantal, Ara becomes a particular favourite of Sister Pan in Path-Class, along with Hessa. After Nona’s trial before High Priest Jacob and the Shield Trial, it is Arabella who brings Nona from the sanatorium to the Path-Tower for their naming. In the naming, Ara chooses the name Sister Thorn, while Nona become Sister Cage; supposedly the Argatha and her Shield. This is the first time that the two novices have really spoken. Nona finds that Ara is actually rather likable, and it marks the beginning of a friendship between the two girls.

Nearly two years later, Ara graduates to Grey Class, a few months before Nona. When Sherzal arrives at Sweet Mercy with her ward Zole, the emperor’s sister asks to see Nona and Zole fight. Both are Hunska primes, and the fight ensues at lightning speed. However, Zole knows moves that Nona doesn’t, beating her and then raining kicks on her prone opponent. With no one seeming keen to end the fight, Arabella steps forward having walked The Path. She wants to both protect her friend Nona, and demonstrate to Sherzal that she is someone to be feared. Ordering Zole to stop, she shows her power by destroying one of the practice dummies. High Priest Nevis is not amused, and orders Arabella punished. However, Sherzal has her own suggestion, that Nona as supposedly the Shield should take the whipping, a practice common among The Sis. Despite her injuries Nona agrees and receives twenty strokes of the wire cane, something that Ara feels very guilty about.

Later, Sister Pan takes Arabella, along with her other two Quantal novices – Hessa and Nona – to The Academy. The Sweet Mercy novices are to face off against Academy students and Ancestor brotherhood novices. The second contest is between Ara against Willum. Willum is able to use his Marjal traits building an invisible protective wall, but Ara succeeding to destroying it with her Path energy.

When Nona learns that Zole’s bodyguard Yisht is trying to steal the Sweet Mercy Shipheart, Ara and the other novices agree to help deal with her. Together they steal the ingredients for a poison, and Nona manages to subdue the deadly ice-triber in the caves beneath the plateau. Ara and the others then drag Yisht out of the caverns, stuff her in a wine-barrel, and ship her to Durn.

During the annual Ranging, Ara, Nona and the other Grey Class novice must cross open country alone from Harran Fens to the Kring. After the novices become split-up in an ice-storm, they realise that the region is full of men who seem to be Durnish raiders. Eventually Ara, Nona, Darla, Zole, Clera, Ruli, and Jula gather in a cave with Tarkax the Ice-Spear for protection, who explains that the men are in fact Tacsis soldiers disguised as raiders. Eventually the twelve soldiers surround the cave. As they are preparing to fight them, Clera reveals herself to be a traitor, poisoning Tarkax, Ara, and Zole before the others can subdue her. Despite their losses, Nona insists on fighting anyway. Using a combination of her Hunska speed, Path energy, and her Flaw-Blades, Nona hurls herself at the soldiers and begins tearing them apart, while Darla, Ruli, and Jula deal with the soldiers who try to retreat for safety into the cave. With the novices exhausted from dealing with the soldiers, Raymel Tacsis suddenly appears swathed in scale-armour. The four novices attack the giant Gerant, but the devils inside him make him virtually impregnable. Barely recovered from her poisoning, Ara walks The Path and stumbles out of the cave to push the energy into him, though even that barely damages his flesh. It's only when Nona uses Yisht's Amulet of Negation that she can finally kill him.

Grey Sister
Nona graduates into Mystic Class before Arabella, but they remain close friends, regularly meeting up to explore the undercaves in the plateau. When Nona joins the class she quickly gets into a feud with another novice, Joeli Namsis. Joeli goads Nona into exploring the undercaves where her friend Hessa died. While Ara, Nona and the others are searching for a route to the spot, they encounter a Holothour, a mysterious entity bred by The Missing. The Holothour causes the novices to flee in panic, to dread returning, and even to forget the experience. Nona eventually cures the Ara and the other novices with Thread-Work, and convinces them to return to the caves. In the cave, their Serenity Trance collapses before the Holothour, and they start to flee again. However, Ara falls and this prompts Nona to turn back, refusing to leave her friend, and ultimately defeating the mysterious entity. They eventually do reach the spot where Hessa died, where Nona finds a Thread to her Shadow.

One seven-day, Arabella invites Nona and Zole to come with her to Verity, to visit her friend Terra Mensis, with Sister Kettle tasked with escorting them. However, at the bottom of the Vinery Stair they encounter a throng of pilgrims eager to see Zole, who is widely rumoured to be the Argatha. This causes Zole to panic and flee back to the convent. At the Mensis house, Ara and Nona go inside while Kettle waits in the garden. However Safira has infiltrated the house disguised as a servant intent on kidnapping Zole. Kettle bursts in to confront her, and the two women fight. In the end, Safira threatens her with Grey Mustard poison and leaves, claiming that her patron Sherzal is the best hope for The Empire.

Arabella is co-opted, along with the others, into helping Nona succeed at the Shade-Trial. Ara's role is to run into the Novice Cloister disguised as Nona to distract the Mystic Class novices trying to catch her, and thus allowing Nona to be hurled into the Centre Oak and retrieve the puzzle-box unnoticed.

When the Inquisition descend on Sweet Mercy, None is forced to flee the convent, and Abbess Glass is arrested for heresy. Both Arabella and Darla manage to convince their families to let them attend Glass' trial at Sherzal's palace. During the trial, Joeli tries to manipulate the judges with Thread-Work, but Ara and Darla, Ara countering her manipulation and Darla distracting Joeli with a hefty shove. Eventually Abbess Glass turns the tables on Sherzal, instead putting her on trial for stealing the Sweet Mercy Shipheart. But Sherzal does not intend to face justice, despite all the Sis in attendance, breaking up the trial with her soldiers. A fight ensues with Ara walking The Path and unleashing her power, while Darla deals with the archers. With Ara's power spent, Abbess Glass urges them to escape through the servants entrance. Arabella, Abbess Glass and the others eventually reach the stables, but their escape is blocked by Sherzal's soldiers. The situation seems hopeless, and they begin to pray, only for Nona and Kettle to suddenly appear. When her wounded friend Darla die in her arms, it fuels the rage that Nona needs to walk The Path and use the energy to push the others in a carriage through the gates, and away from the palace. The carriage is full, so Arabella has to cling to the side, getting an arrow in the leg in the process. She eventually pulls the brake, bringing the carriage to a crashing halt. However, Sherzal's soldiers begin to converge on them. As they prepare to hold the path, allowing the others to flee, suddenly the hillside collapses, obliterating the soldiers. From the rubble emerges Zole, who caused the collapse using Rock-Work fueled by the Shipheart stolen for the Noi-Guin.

Holy Sister
As flashforward throughout the first two books describe events that presumably occur in Holy Sister. Soldiers and Pelarthi mercenaries under Lano Tacsis are attacking the convent of Sweet Mercy. With them are a full eight Noi-Guin assassins, more than has even been assembled. Arabella, now graduated as Sister Thorn, is sent out to face them. Ara devastates the mercenaries with her throwing-stars, sword, and the power of the Path. Standing amongst her vanquished foes, she’s suddenly skewered through the back with a spear. As she collapses, the spear thrower approaches her, and all Ara can say is “Sister C …” before passing out.

Clera stands poised over the wounded Ara, when Nona or Sister Cage suddenly emerges from the caves. She kills half a dozen of the nearest Pelarthi mercenaries, and the rest flee in terror from the renowned nun. Clera is shocked to see Nona, not expecting her here. Nona had refused to kill Clera in the past, the friend who betrayed her, and refuses to kill her now. Ara is still alive, and nuns arrive to take her to Sister Rose in the sanatorium. Clera warns Nona that Lano Tacsis will be sending in more men now. Nona just stands ready for them, with her back towards Clera, daring her to kill her. She says simply “''I think you’ll fight them with me. Sister.''”