Olessa Zal'honan

Olessa Zal'honan is a character mentioned in From the Shadows and detailed further in King of the Dead. In 290 CY, she became the wife of Firan Zal'honan (whom would later become known as Azalin). Olessa's marriage to the king was loveless in the service of politics. Olessa cursed Firan as she perished giving birth to their son Irik.

Expanded Story in King of the Dead

Olessa was the young daughter of Count Delaric. Against her will, he presented her to the much older Azal'Lan Firan Zal'honan for marriage. Olessa expressed contempt for Firan, who was a nasty, aging charlatan in her eyes, for she loved another, Parras Venturian. Using scrying magic, Firan discovered this, and he secretly arranged the demise of Parras. However, Olessa still refused to marry Firan, causing her father to call for her to be beaten until she acquiesced. Azalin discovered this and used magic to transfer the damage from her to her assaulter. Persuaded that he was not a phony, Olessa still showed no desire to be Firan's bride and instead called upon him to revive Pallas.

It took Count Delaric's threats of torture to Eritai to get her to consent to the marriage. Olessa performed public life and ceremony through the years as well as could be expected, though she never gave Azal'Lan what he wanted: a son to be his heir, no matter what he did or how many times he tried. In truth, Olessa had consulted outside aid to magically render herself unable to produce children. Azal'Lan discovered this and reversed it with powerful magic. At last, she produced him a child, Irik Zal'honan. The labor was hard and difficult and ended up taking her life. As she perished, Azal'Lan told her he had caused Parras' death, and it was then Olessa cursed him as she drew her last breath.