Nagina

Nagina was an expert at being unseen. In the glittering capital of the Teikodian Empire, this was a valuable skill. They moved through gold-lined streets in a ragged jumper, their face a secret behind a ninja mask, noticed only by the guards they slipped past. They met a palace botanist by accident, landing silently in the Emperor's private gardens during a night patrol. The botanist did not raise an alarm, merely looking up from a moon-petal vine to study the salmon on Nagina’s head. “You are a long way from the river,” was all they said. That quiet acceptance became a secret language. They met there for months, Nagina’s stoicism softening against the botanist’s gentle patience. The ancient sabre on their back is for the world; the pressed blossom tucked inside their jumper is for the garden.