Arufina Villanova is a member of a society of assassins known as the Scarlett Circle, an organization trumped in mystery and cloak-and-dagger-ness by only the Ephemeral Cartographers. Her older sister was a Cartographer before the war, and Aru might have been as well. Something else happened, however, and Arufina’s sister disappeared, putting Arufina on the run.

Her job, and her proficiency at it, has allowed Aru to rub elbows with some of the most prolific (and dangerous) people in the Imperial Triad. What’s more, she is liked and highly respected by those dangerous people. It has also caused her to cross paths more than once with the likes of Rigel Rinkenbach and Pixie Sinclaire, as well as an embarrassing episode with Roderick Beauchamp La Pierre that neither one of them likes to talk about.

Aru has a magnetic personality, and most people would never think she was an assassin upon first meeting her. But her prim exterior only hides the truth: a stone cold killer who loves her job and takes pride in (some would say obsesses over)  precise execution. She is also known for her ability to execute specific directives at the request of her clients, no matter how outlandish.

For example, she once had to smother a man with his own cat. That’s one of the tamer examples.