Safiya al-Khazeen

Title: Wali of Nahrim, Windwright of the Twelve Lifts
Pronouns: she/her • Age: early 40s • Origin: Rihsama (Nahrimi quartermaster family)

Overview. Safiya al-Khazeen is the merit-elected governor of Nahrim —a meticulous engineer-magistrate who treats law like load-bearing math. She oversaw the city’s No-Gate Doctrine, the wind-lift towers that move caravans over the walls, and the elevated harbor & multi-ship lock that keeps Nahrim trading when storms close lesser ports. In council she’s soft-spoken, in the yards she’s a drill sergeant; either way, the numbers win.

Look. Tall, sun-browned woman; teal headwrap pinned with a brass anemometer brooch; ink-stained fingers; calloused palms; long coat with stitched measuring marks; a belt of calipers, plumb lines, and seal stamps.

Reputation.

• Brilliant windwright: over-engineers for failure tolerance; her towers are rated to “50 tons or my resignation.”
• Fair to a fault: bribes bounce; permits clear if you qualify.
• Ruthless about safety: shuts entire quays at the first bad gauge reading.

Beliefs & Goals. Merit over lineage; open trade with guarded risk; keep Nahrim neutral and indispensable. Short term: finish the harbor expansion and codify universal Lift Code for all foreign caravans. Long term: a second lock channel to eliminate bottlenecks during war or storm surge.

Allies & Friction. Respected by Rihsama’s scholars (especially Kelse Dogan admired by The Undying archivists for pristine records; resented by a few merchant princes whose “shortcuts” she killed with red ink.

Practitioner of The Windwright’s Mandate — logistic foresight, structural intuition, and “anemometric” talismans that read wind, tide, and load at a glance. Non-combatant, but terrifying with clipboards.

Quote. “Gates invite sieges. Lifts invite schedules. Choose which future you want arriving on time.”