The Vorkosigan Companion - Lillian Stewart Carl [206]
Vorpatril, Alys:
Wife of Captain Lord Padma Xav Vorpatril, she is the very pattern of a proper Vor woman. She has long, dark hair, and is accustomed to being in charge, although not overbearingly so. She is pregnant at the same time as Cordelia, and assists her in integrating into Barrayaran society. Her house colors are blue and gold.
During the War of Vordarian's Pretendership, her husband and her unborn child are on Vordarian's assassination lists, because their blood right to the Barrayaran throne is better than his. She and Padma hide in the caravanserai section of town during the coup attempt, but they are discovered, and Padma is killed. Cordelia is able to rescue Alys. In the confusion of their escape, Alys goes into labor, delivering her son, Ivan, that same evening. After the coup is put down, Alys oversees Koudelka's and Droushnakovi's wedding preparations.
She eventually becomes Gregor's official hostess, and handles his social calendar. She organizes the Imperial state dinner where Emperor Gregor first meets Laisa Toscane. She takes Laisa under her wing, and makes sure the Komarran heiress is accepted as Empress by all the old Vor families. During Simon Illyan's illness, she stays by his side, and then helps take care of him during his convalescence afterward. The two of them embark on a romance, much to her son Ivan's dismay. When Miles is courting Ekaterin, she is quite appalled at the disintegration of his infamous dinner party, but sympathetic to his plight as well. A veteran of Vorbarr Sultana politics, she assists greatly with René Vorbretten's and Dono Vorrutyer's cases, confirming counts that will vote for them, and removing a few that won't. She is also Byerly Vorrutyer's contact to Imperial Security. (All except FF, SH)
Vorpatril, Falco:
A count, he is a member of Barrayar's Conservative Party. He is one of Ivan's relatives. Despite Falco's exasperation at Ivan's inability to get married, Ivan tries to persuade him to vote for René Vorbretten's and Dono Vorrutyer's petitions at the Council of Counts. Initially against Dono's case, Falco comes over to their side when Richars attempts to castrate Dono. It is not known how he voted on René Vorbretten's case. (CC)
Vorpatril, Ivan:
Miles's cousin, he is tall, fit, easygoing, handsome, a bit lazy, and—after a successful but not outstanding pass through the Imperial Academy—a model Vor military officer. He makes a career of slipping through life nearly invisibly, doing just enough to succeed, and reserving his real efforts for his social life and for dealing with Miles, who is the closest thing to a brother Ivan has.
As children together, Ivan and Miles set the pattern of their adult relationship. Miles came up with wild ideas, and then coerced Ivan into helping him carry them out. The two of them, Miles and Ivan, engage in an underground game of one-ups-manship whenever they are together, but Ivan picks his ground carefully whenever he decides to challenge Miles. The first serious challenge Ivan issued to Miles—not intentionally, for a change—came when Ivan was accepted into the Barrayaran Imperial Military Academy at the same time that Miles failed the physical qualification test after acing all the written examinations. Miles traveled to Beta Colony to visit his grandmother, but seemingly vanished in midroute. Ivan was sent to find Miles by Admiral Hessman, but his mission was part of an intricate plot to bring down Prime Minister Aral Vorkosigan. Ivan was not supposed to survive the trip. In spite of the odds stacked against him, Ivan survives and finds Miles, who uncovers the plot against his father based on the information Ivan gives him.
After Miles is admitted to the Imperial Academy in spite of his physical limitations, Ivan and he routinely end up on the opposite side in undergrad war games, and Miles savors his frequent victories over his taller and better-looking cousin. Upon graduation, Miles gets sent to the worst posting in all of Barrayar's army—to Kyril Island as a weatherman. Ivan can't help but grin. But he's in position to help