Energy mage. Pretty, with large doe-like eyes and a rich mezzo voice, she grew up on the island known as the Western Bird, caught between a mother who resented her and verbally punished her for doing anything to stand out, and an ambitious father who always wanted to show off her achievements. This is because her conception was a result of her father’s rape of her mother. They were forced to oathbind by their families, whereupon her mother broke her father’s spirit. He managed to get their daughter named Hope because to him she represented the hope of good coming out of bad, but her mother saw her as a reminder of his crime.
Related Characters
- Dignified Printer: boss, technically
- Briar Heathlake: closest friend, sometime flatmate in Flat 3 of a 4-flat house
- Patient Carver: eventual oathmate
- Faithful Victualler: first lover
- Verity at Merrybourne: mother
- Vigorous at Merrybourne: father
- Countygold of the Western Isles
- Sincerity Roper: mage, mentor
- Reliance: Asterist scholar, taught her mathematics and music
- Honey Taverner: gave her a job singing in her tavern (and later washing mugs also) in order to help with university expenses
- Mistress Courage: landlord
- Leaf: downstairs neighbour (sister of the male musician) in Flat 1
- Charity and Cloud: downstairs neighbours (artists; she paints, he sculpts) in Flat 2. Their art is simple, “like something the Realmgold would like,” according to Briar. Cloud wears the chinbeard of a Silver Earthist.
- Lily: mindmage who helps her and Patient
Hope won a full scholarship to the University of Illene by discovering Elvish spells written in ultraviolet ink in an old book from Empire times. This discovery formed the foundation of the library which was later incorporated into the Research Institute. She lost the scholarship when she cursed Faithful to impotence after catching him cheating on her with Briar (the women were previously unacquainted, and formed a friendship initially based on their shared resentment of Faithful).
Graduate of the University of Illene, holds the rank of mage-minor in mindmagic and lifemagic and full mage in energy magic. Despite losing academic standing as part of her punishment, she managed to graduate second in her class, gaining High Distinction. This is represented by a diamond on her silver mage-bracelet, which also holds a garnet representing her specialisation in energy magic.
Her first job after university was at the Clever Man's Works. Developer with Dignified of the farviewers and farspeakers and first user of the airhorse.
Recipient of the Realmgold’s Civilian Honour, Gold, with Moon for her work on the communications technology.
As at the end of Hope and the Patient Man, working for the Research Institute, and working on a book that she hopes will qualify her as a Senior Mage.