Cherniava

Cherniava was an old woman who lived in the village of Sitnitsa. The Serpent Slayers met her after having come to the village to view the wondrous golden egg laid by Ryaba the Hen. She was first noticed by Lokan, who wondered out loud what would happen if the egg was cracked. Cherniava, who was present in the barn, shot him a quick look, but said nothing. 
The Serpent Slayers later met with Cherniava in her own hut. There, she told them that the ignorant villagers were not aware of the fact that the true treasure was not the egg, but what lay inside, and that anyone who could crack it would gain untold power, wealth, and knowledge. Mostly, she spoke in riddles, but related an old heathen myth about how the world was formed from an egg. When Augusta de Urbino accused her of tempting them, she replied that the true tempter was the nun's God, who placed temptations before people, but commanded them not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge. 
Before the Serpent Slayers left, Cherniava gifted her pet rat, Stinker (also called Terentii) to Agapia. As they traveled back to Ladeisk, Stinker cracked the egg with its tail, causing the heavy yolk to fall out. Agapia  ate it off the ground, and caused a great misfortune to fall upon her and her companions. Stinker stayed with Agapia, as well as with her sometime companion, Zalyn, for a time. It also demonstrated the power to turn into a ratman on occasion.
As for Cherniava, she was never seen again, and it is not known whether she suffered the fate of the other residents of Sitnitsa (they were all slaughtered, and rose again as navii. When Yuri and Zalyn returned to the village a few days later, they found her hut empty, but did not locate her body.

Age

Crone