The adventurer Almara Delisen founded the Umbra Carnival over a decade ago in Yulania. Almara had seen her companions slaughtered during an ill-fated venture, and in grief, turned to entertainment as a means to sustain herself. An illusionist, Almara used her magic to become the center of a traveling show that passed through small towns starved for entertainment and a glimpse of life beyond their borders. With time, other performers, acts, and attractions joined her circus—lost souls and lonely hearts, eager to see the world or leave some part of it behind. Years later, the circus has grown to the size of a small village, with a diverse array of attractions and amusements from all over Zaldara. The sincere intent of the carnival is to provide much-needed entertainment at a price communities can afford. Once it arrived just outside of Skeene, however, this goal became complicated by a series of murders in which their star attraction, Jherizana the Sphinx was implicated.

Almara and Ika the bard are lovers.