Alis Luela is a daughter of nobility from the Valor Alliance. Her father is a Valor Knight who comes from a noble family (and is therefore technically doubly nobility). She grew up in Astri, the city of the Valor Hall, and always wanted a life forbidden to women, and especially the women of the Valor Nobility. She hates court manners and the frivolous, superficial dance of court life, and does not want to learn any of the womanly arts. Above all, she does not want to marry anyone, to give herself to the authority of another, instead of seeking to do what pleases her or what she thinks is right. Alis has always dreamed of riding horses, and she likes being as outside as she can get and getting the wild animals to feel safe around her. She convinced her family to let her learn to groom and care for horses, but as a woman of nobility, there was no reason why she would ever need to ride them that she could argue.
Alis is absolutely determined never to swear or give herself to a god or a man, but at the same time she is terrified of being thrown into the netherhells by the gods for her disobedience, and she has no idea how to run away. When she meets Tara-lin, when the young half-elf visits the Valor Hall with her father, and the two make instant friends, finding that they have some interests none of the other noble girls around them share and have some similar frustrations, Alis’ life takes a dramatic turn for the better.
Alis soon discovers that she dreams of something even more impressive than riding a horse: she wants to be the first female human gryphon rider in Areaer (and she never intends to marry anyone). Eventually, Alis will bond to the gryphon Kushon and find her dream come true.
Alis is stubborn and determined, but the combination of her inexperience and her indoctrination mean that there is a lot of fear and panic over her to overcome. She is also usually kind-hearted, but she is a lot more skeptical of human nature and whether other people will reform than her best friend.
Alis is Tara-lin’s best friend in both books of the Legend of the Singer Duology. She appears briefly in Kindred of the Sea.
Posts about Alis:
Portrait of Alis Luela (Art for the Legend of the Singer Duology)
Enthralled By Love 