Magda

Magda is a Lothrian woman who operates a hidden underground clinic in the waste-water tunnels beneath Vedatharad on Padmurak. Lean and spare, with a round face and a cap of short graying black hair, she is distinguished among the local population by her refusal to shave her head. She wears a crude cross of two welded nails on a chain -- a mark of her Museum Catholic faith.

Magda was named, baptized, and taught Galstani by Father Dias, a Museum Catholic priest who came to Padmurak to minister to the underground poor. Father Dias built the clinic and drew her to the tunnels before the Conclave seized him while he was treating the sick above ground. Magda carries on his work alone, sheltering washouts, outcasts, and runaways in the deep tunnels where the Guard's patrols do not reach.

She treats Hadrian for a concussion and insists he rest for several days, recognizing that palatines heal faster than ordinary humans. Watchful and unafraid, she believes God sent Hadrian to her and that her faith will see her work through.