Shandra Mervey
A stern, quiet, fearless old woman who serves House Surtova. Hiding her allegiance, she served as the Counselor of The Land of the Silver Star for several years before leaving without warning. There is enormous potential for harm from the information she has gathered working on the inside, and her death is actively desired.
Little was known about Shandra's house, though she claimed it was young and small without much of a name. She is the first to make a name of her house. She claimed she bore no ill will towards the Silver Star, its council or people. Although Shandra's motivations and background were vague, she was explicitly interested in looking into the "curse" of the Stolen Lands, which she was convinced is some form of twisted magic.
At the Stolen Lands Coronation, she sat at the opposite corner of a table from Natala Surtova, the only one who shared a table with her. She was entirely unphased by Natala. When approached by Kiin she seemed interested in her familiar, asked whether she thought the party could properly guide her, and offered her services. She was most interested in the role of Magister, but ultimately settled for Counselor with the stipulation that she would not work with Lander (or possibly anyone from House Lebeda).
Further conversation with Ragnar Garess and Alain Orlovsky revealed she is a major sponsor of New Stetven's college and very interested in magical research.
In Erastus 4712, Kiede shared concerns that Shandra may have been replaced. She reportedly has gaps in her memory, hasn't been tutoring Kiin often, has forgotten significant and recent events related to Kiede (such as his adoption of Changeling children), and doesn't know some basic things about Fey.