Miranda the Fierce

Miranda the Fierce runs a workshop in Quiet Springs with an honest sign out front: "We'll fix anything, if you don't mind losing the shed." The town magistrate hires her for dirty jobs like blasting mine blockages, splitting granite boulders in newly cleared fields, or lighting damp hearths. Unofficially, the whole town runs to her whenever something old needs to be blown to smithereens with a proper bang.

She was practically kicked out of the Imperial Elemental Academy: she failed the theory exam three times in a row, but during the practical exam, she blew up the cafeteria so thoroughly that the kitchen staff still cross themselves. Now she lives right in her workshop, sleeping on a narrow cot surrounded by vials of saltpeter. Her pet salamander, Cinder, warms himself in the fireplace ashes—a notoriously cranky creature who only tolerates old, thoroughly burnt anthracite.

It is always loud around Miranda. She chatters at lightning speed, rattles off technical jargon, gestures wildly with blacksmith tongs, and immediately dubs any guest "colleague" while thrusting something smoking into their hands. Beneath all the soot and smoke lies a surprisingly tender heart: she knows every neighbor's troubles and wouldn't hesitate for a second to dive into a caved-in cellar to rescue someone's cat.