For
herit so she can give a source information about Shah in Poly. I try to be unbiased with our favorite lesbian vampire Imperial who, for once, isn't FAIL ♥
Spoilers ahead.
Shahrzad al-Rahman
Shahrzad and Esther Blanchett, Reborn on Mars IV, "Imitation Star".
Name origin: Shahrzad comes from the famous storyteller Scheherazade, al-Rahman means "the Benevolent" or "the Most Merciful."
Age: Around Astaroth Aslan's generation - 100-200 years old.
Stationed quarters: Timişoara, second largest city of the Empire.
Shahrzad al-Rahman is the Countess of Babylon from Ţara Methuseluth; she is a Methuselah noble with dark skin, mauve eyes, and black, curly hair with the appearance of a "young girl", about 16 to 20 years old, very beautiful and beloved by all her servants. Unlike most of her kind, she has no hatred or resentment against the Terran or the Outer. Her personality is sweet, cheerful, kind, honor-bound and somewhat naïve; she's not a snobby headcase like most of the Imperials are. Unfortunately, as the niece of the traitor to their country who played a major role in the prior novel, Duke Süleyman of Tigris, Shahrzad herself had no idea what exactly Süleyman was doing, but was used by him for his plans, and so, after his death, had to run for her life.
At the beginning of "Imitation Star", she had fled the Empire and reached the Outer World, accompanied by five servants who were faithful to her and would rather die alongside her than serve a new master. However, they were caught by Emmanuele D'Annunzio, the new Bishop of István. D'Annunzio wants to start a war with the Empire, and for this purpose, he'll use a plan involving Shahrzad, who is supposed to publicly kill Esther in exchange for her servants' lives in the middle of the stage where the girl plays the role of a Holy Woman. As benevolent the Countess is, Shahrzad attacks but she cannot bring herself to kill Esther, and instead just abducts her to bargain for her men's lives. Both women cooperate in the hunt for their lives from all sides: the Bishop's, the Ax's, and the Inquisition's and Esther's own former troops.
At the end of a series of persecutions (Esther is first seen as victim then she was almost branded as traitor), both women discover the location of Shahrzad's servants but they were too late for everyone had been tortured to death. The Countess tells Esther that she has never hated Terrans before, but now she loathes them with all her soul before charging against D'Annunzio (who is holding the Pope and Caterina at gunpoint close by) but she is shot by his guards with UV-light and silver bullets. The Inquisition and the Ax arrive to save Esther and the siblings. Shahrzad knows that she is bound to die, whether she is captured or not, but she doesn't want to die all in vain and decides to try and help Esther gain the reputation for killing her, as a way to thank her for helping her. Hence, she charges at Alessandro and holds him hostage, and tells Esther to kill her, so that she would really gain the title of a Holy Lady or Lady Saint, because with such a recognition, it would be easier to change things for the better. She hands Esther a gun, and presses her hand close, pulling the trigger and killing herself while letting Esther take the reputation for killing her. Esther is given the rank of saint and buries Shahrzad next to the late Marquis of Hungary, Gyula Kádar, swearing to honor the title unfairly given to her.
Shahrzad/Esther fanservice from the Manga, for good measure... ♥
That'll do? :3
Someone make Kasper von Neumann for me, plz. ♥