Growing up in the shadow of one of Terra's champions was a comfortable place to be. Padana was the third child of the Empress Amanda Tyrell of the Haldis Imperium, and she was a very requested bride.

Being a class zero like her mother, Padana has nothing to offer the next generation. Any child she bears will breed true to the father. This attracts a certain type of suitor who has every interest in her position as princess and none as her descendant of a champion. Padana finds this annoying.

Yomin is the heir to an empire, a guardian, and a descendant of a class zero himself. It is a requirement for his line that the aspects of Hredu breed true. Getting a portrait from the artist Rhoda had given him a woman to find, and locating her in the Haldis Imperium had meant some high-level negotiation. Fortunately, he had just met an excellent negotiator.