Zoe is a dryad and co-ruler of Uchronic Constantinople during its golden age (mid-11th century), companion of the principal empress, Theodora. Her death sets off the Funeral Games and Theodora’s mourning.
Illness and death
She fell ill when the tree bound to her spores was contaminated by Zygomind, an alien creature. Growths on her chest exploded, and magic failed to heal her. Olaus tried to save her with a “white liquid” and stellar bonds, and failed. Her death is tied to the destruction of the cosmic sapling or tree of the mindscape: when the bonds were cut, she lost her vital connection.
Her consort disappeared mysteriously afterward (“the earth swallowed him”), taking the bulls of the plaza with him. Her death reinforces the curse of the Uchronic Guardians: the companions’ presence causes the death of figures of power (an echo of Sarajevo 1914).