Greta

Greta was a slave who belonged to Jarek. A mother figure to Torwin, she is killed in the arena as punishment for abetting Asha in saving him from Jarek's wrath.

Appearance
Greta has gray hair and dark skin. She is described as "knotted with age".

Personality
Although Greta physically appears only briefly, she has a major impact on Torwin's life. It can be surmised that she is compassionate and caring, as she acted as a mother to Torwin and passed on to him what she knew of reading, writing, and playing the lute. Greta displays great courage by aiding Asha in rescuing Torwin from the violent Jarek, despite the knowledge that she would most likely be sentenced to death as a result. When her sentence is meted out in the form of an arena fight against another slave, whom she apparently knows, Greta surrenders and gives the other slave permission to kill her. The slave carries out her wish, and he cries and holds her in his arms as she dies, indicating that Greta is well-loved among the slaves.

The Last Namsara
Greta first appears when Asha arrives at Jarek's house the night of the party. She answers the door, lets Asha in, and leads her into the court, where Jarek is torturing Torwin as punishment for touching Asha. Visibly upset by the violence against Torwin, she implores Asha to save him. Asha intervenes, leading to a physical altercation with her betrothed. She knocks Jarek unconscious, but he falls on top of her and begins to asphyxiate her. Before Asha can suffocate, Greta pulls Jarek off of her. To disguise Asha and Torwin, she provides one of Jarek's red hooded mantles; she then asks where Asha will take him.

Torwin plays a lute. Asha inquires who taught him how to play, and he responds that Greta did, saying that Greta has been like a mother to him.

After Asha takes Torwin to the temple, she is summoned to attend an arena fight. To her horror, she discovers that Greta has been pitted condemned to the pit as punishment for her insubordination. The other slave, who is much younger and fitter than Greta, hesitates to kill her because he knows her; knowing that only one of them can leave the arena alive, she grants him permission to do so. Reluctantly he slits her throat, then cradles her in his arms and mourns as she dies.

Jarek ransacks the room of the temple housing the scrolls when he learns of Dax's involvement with the old stories; on one of the shelves is the lute that Greta gifted to Torwin - the lute that also bears her etched name on its body. In an effort to protect her brother and Torwin, Asha burns the scrolls and the lute along with them. Feeling guilty for destroying Torwin's precious lute, Asha purchases a new one for him in the market and presents it to him. At first he is affronted and angry that she ruined one of his only possessions - and possibly the most prized one - and believes she can simply replace it, but when he learns of her reasoning, he apologizes and accepts her gift.