Dorothea Arnault is the only student of common birth in the Black Eagle House. Her mother was a servant to a nobleman, and she was orphaned at a young age, forced to use her voice and her beauty to eke out a living. Eventually she joined the Mittelfrank Opera Company, and performed for the nobles of Enbarr. Her life experiences have made her painfully aware of the fact that beauty is fleeting, and she is anxious to secure a living for herself through marriage before she can be a diva no longer and the fickle public eye turns away from her.