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Onua Chamtong (pronounced oh-NOO-ah cham-TONG) is the Horsemistress of the Queen's Riders in the mid-5th century HE. She is K'miri but was living in Tortall at the time. She gave Veralidaine Sarrasri her first job.

Biography[]

Abusive Marriage[]

Onua was of the K'mir Raadeh. Thus she originally came from Sarain. Before coming to Tortall Onua was beaten by her husband and left for dead. Her dog, Tahoi, saved her life. Onua and Buriram Tourakom are old friends. It is possible that they know each other from Sarain, where the K'miri have their homeland, or they could have met once Onua arrived in Tortall.

Horsemistress[]

By spring of 449 HE Onua had been visiting the annual fair in Cría for six years, indicating that she had also been working for the Queen's Riders as horsemistress for at least six years.[1] Therefore it can be safely assumed that she didn't arrive in Tortall after 443 HE and probably arrived sooner.

Meeting Daine[]

Onua met Daine in the spring of 449 in Cría, and knew immediately that the girl was younger than what she claimed. Onua still took her on, and was shocked to discover that the girl had a strange magic. They traveled south to Corus together and became friends. Near Fief Sinthya, Onua and Daine helped Numair Salmalín change back into a man.

Onua helped Daine get situated as Assistant Horsemistress and was delighted to see Daine do well at first. When the Riders went on summer camp to Pirate's Swoop, a fief run by George Cooper, they ran into some trouble when Daine used her magic to protect Griffins from attack. Queen Thayet was furious, as they needed to be able to trust their horses without interference. It was at this time when Daine realized that being assistant horsemistress was not the best thing for her.

Pirate's Swoop[]

At the summer camp, Carthaki pirates attacked the Swoop, demanding that Queen Thayet and her children be handed over to stop the siege. Daine didn't want her animal friends to get hurt in the fighting, but Onua advised her that this was probably the wrong way to look at this; Pirate's Swoop was their home too, and they might want to defend it from attackers.

Onua was awed when Daine found Skysong, a baby dragon.

Magical Abilities[]

Onua has wild magic with horses, being what the K'miri call horse-hearted, and the Gift. She used her gift before hiring Daine to check for lies. Onua also uses her gift for a protecting circle at nights when she is on the road. Onua's protective circle's are stronger then for example those of Daine's mother, because Onua's circle also hide what is within the circle while Sarra's could only hinder people from entering.[2]

Tamora Pierce states that she made a mistake in giving Onua both wild magic and the gift as it is actually impossible to have both.[3]

Trivia[]

Onua is one of several people in the books to have wild magic specifically with horses. The others are Tobeis Boon, Stefan Groomsman, and Sabine of Macayhill and her family.

Notes and references[]

  1. Wild Magic, Ch. 1 (pg. 18; Simon Pulse paperback)
  2. Wild Magic, Ch. 1 (pg. 25; Simon Pulse paperback)
  3. Sheroes Forums
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