Trance Tauling
Trance Tauling is a Waerrani woman, Imperial Consort of the Avinadal Empire, and Chief Executive Officer of Ensconce Technologies — a title she made clear from the beginning was not something she intended to give up. A renowned expert in nanomachines, Trance built Ensconce into a major technological enterprise and ran it with the kind of focused intensity that makes other executives nervous.
She met Aries Villanite under circumstances that were not her choice: she was kidnapped and held for ransom, and Aries saved her — not for the reward, but apparently because he found the situation interesting. What he helped uncover was worse than the kidnapping itself; the scheme had been organized by people within her own company. Trance spent the aftermath dismantling that.
She worked alongside Aries and Tamica Masters to develop the Iron Maiden Mk. 2, contributing expertise in nanomachines that made the suit's nanobot system possible. The biologically crafted nanobots, the synth-chitin architecture, the neuro-implant integration — her fingerprints are on all of it.
The marriage to Aries was a technicality, initially: a loophole in Napolian employment law that allowed her to formally join the VTC without leaving Ensconce. She said yes without enthusiasm and declined to have a ceremony. What neither of them entirely admitted at the time was that her feelings had outpaced the paperwork considerably. Lalith, the young engineer Aries had taken in, had already taken to calling her Mom before the question was even raised.
She relocated Ensconce Technologies to Plasid after the empire was established and developed a separate relationship with Augustus Markov. Both facts she treats with the same pragmatic efficiency she applies to everything else.
Trance Tauling is efficient in the way that people are when they are genuinely good at what they do and have stopped needing approval for it. She knows her field. She knows what she wants out of a conversation. She does not waste time on the social rituals that don't move things forward, and she does not apologize for that.
She is also, underneath the efficiency, considerably more feeling than she allows to surface without cause. The marriage to Aries was supposed to be a technicality. She said yes because the mathematics of the situation made it reasonable. What she did not entirely account for was that she had already been co-parenting with Aries in practice, had already grown attached to Lalith in a way that surprised her, and had already developed feelings that the paperwork was now formalizing. She did not have a wedding ceremony because the whole thing was too embarrassing. The embarrassment itself was revealing.
She gets flustered by sentiment, specifically sentiment that is aimed at her. She can handle Aries' chaotic energy, a kidnapping, and an internal corporate conspiracy without losing composure. A moment of genuine, uncomplicated affection from Lalith calling her Mom will apparently get to her in a way the other things do not.
She holds expertise as a genuine value, not a status marker. When the Iron Maiden Mk. 2 called for nanomachine knowledge she had and others didn't, she contributed it as a matter of solving a problem, not demonstrating hierarchy. She expects the same from everyone in the room.
She tends to solve the problem in front of her and move to the next one. She is not inclined toward lingering.
Formation of the Avinadal Empire and the Plasid Campaign ►
The Villanite Trading Company recruited Talia Hekata, a Hornhound dominatrix and sex therapist, as a mental health consultant. After a confrontation in which Aries shifted into beast form, Talia pledged loyalty to him and joined the team with a goal of building a capable imperial staff. Separately, Aries traveled to Plasid after Piper's crystal activated, where he learned of Empress Edith Markov's plan to transfer her consciousness into Enyxia Markov's body using a ritual that would absorb the memories of all Plasidian citizens. Trained in both Myst and Malei by Augustus Markov, Aries allied with Crowned Prince Vinisent Atril and Queen Lynia Yawlin to oppose Edith. The campaign involved liberating slaves in Harkul, surviving military assaults from Edith's forces, and the capture of Augustus and Apollo Regulus. Aries defeated Edith by using Piper's crystal to drive her from Enyxia's body, with Piper's essence expelling Edith before fading. Arielle killed Edith's physical body, trapping her in the Maleidic Realm. Following the victory, Aries and Enyxia founded the Avinadal Empire, named after Piper's middle name Avinadalia. Enyxia became Empress, and a formal imperial hierarchy was established encompassing the Regulus Sanguarchate and Plasidian Triumvirate. Lynia Yawlin and Arielle Villanite joined as High Imperial Consorts. Nyx Regulus and Aurelia Villanite also formed a romantic relationship during this period.
Founding of the Villanite Trading Company and Aries's Recovery Arc ►
Following a period of instability, Aries Villanite is summoned by Arielle Villanite to a derelict mansion in Napoli, where Apollo Regulus presents him with legal ownership of the newly formed Villanite Trading Company (VTC), a goods-and-services delivery organization. The VTC's founding client list includes the Waerrani Bounty Hunters' Guild, the Napolian Mercenary's Guild, the Regulus Sanguarchate, and Ensconce Technologies, granting it immediate legitimacy despite Napoli's notoriously strict Chamber of Commerce. Apollo manages administration with Arielle's support, while Nyx Regulus assumes leadership of the Regulus Sanguarchate aided by Aurelia Villanite. The mansion serves as both residence and headquarters. Aries initially resists the gesture through self-destructive behavior, culminating in a confrontation with Arielle that leads to a psychological breakthrough and his deeper involvement in VTC operations. He and Apollo develop a close personal relationship. Tamica joins as medical and biotech consultant, and following a long-delayed reconciliation with Kiriko, she joins as engineering and espionage consultant. Attempts to hire Trance Tauling are blocked by Napolian law prohibiting the hiring of executives from non-Napolian international firms. A legal caveat allows the hire if the executive is married to the company owner. Aries proposes marriage to Trance, who accepts, motivated primarily by personal affection for Aries and Lalith rather than professional interest. The marriage is formalized through paperwork only, with no ceremony.
Iron Maiden Mk. 2 Development and Beast Protocol Discovery (182-183 AF) ►
In years 182-183 AF, Trance Tauling is kidnapped and held for ransom by operatives connected to her own company. Aries Villanite rescues her without seeking the reward and helps her expose the corporate conspiracy behind her abduction. In gratitude, Trance assists Aries in repairing and upgrading his FEMDIN suit, officially renaming it the Iron Maiden Suit. During upgrades, an unidentifiable submatrix is discovered in the suit's logic that Trance, Ulmina, and Alexandria cannot explain. The submatrix requires advanced biomechanical nervous system integration beyond existing implant technology. Trance introduces Aries to bio-engineer Tamica, who agrees to help integrate the submatrix in exchange for conducting experiments on Aries' DNA. A successful bioprinting procedure grants Aries a functional second penis, demonstrating his body's exceptional adaptability. Tamica uses data from this procedure to develop the Iron Maiden Mk. 2, collaboratively designed with Trance and Alexandria. The Mk. 2 consists of three components: synth-chitin claws housing nano-production units that use Aries' blood to manufacture nanobots; a nanobot-woven skin-tight protective suit Aries can sense as a second skin; and an upgraded synthetic-organic neuro-implant fully integrating Ulmina into his nervous system. With this integration, Ulmina accesses the submatrix, identifying it as the Beast Protocol, apparently left by Piper. The protocol enables Ulmina to consciously manage Aries' maleidic mutations and transformational adaptability in real time, allowing him to fight at near-beast-form capability without full transformation.