Yolanda Silverbrush

Yolanda Silverbrush is a character in the Ballad of Adler Young. She first appears in the story as a vixen changeling returning to Faerie. She arrives at the Vulpitanian Embassy on the first day of Winter in Albric Tor, and introduces herself as Yolanda Vanessa Cognomena, pampered daughter of a "strong farmer" in the lowfolk world. Her long bangs cover her right eye, which is cursed such that bad things happen to whatever it looks at.

When Yolanda finds out that Adler Young is the son of the King, she latches onto him. Later, at an inn on the road to Persoc Tor, she tries to woo Prince Estmere, who begs Adler to take the vixen off his hands. While at the inn, Yolanda eats part of a ham which is haunted by the ghost of Sir Evan Klive, incurring a strange ham-related curse on her. Not long after arriving at Persoc Tor, Yolanda receives a letter and is escorted away by Vulpitanian agent Alice Chetsweeks.

Yolanda appears again a short time later when Adler visits Athstead, but now she is married to the ancient and insane magickal fox Estvan Silverbrush. She has a run-in with an Ominous Orse Ixie, who accidentally uncovers her cursed eye. The encounter ends with the two of them being somehow combined; Yolanda becomes a cute & tiny Yolixie and the Ixie becomes a large, ungainly Ixanda. When Adler's group of friends eat grilled portions of the giant fish/god Iku-Turso, Yolanda is the only one not adversely affected. Her eye curse is completely removed, and her latent ham curse is transferred to the Master of Elfhame due to his efforts to magickally disentangle Yolanda and the Ixie.

Yolanda appears in the Ballad yet again, with Estvan, as they hitch a ride aboard Rivermaster Izzy's ship, the Imperial Booty Inspecting Ship Juniper on its way South to Caer Adland to arrange Estmere's marriage to Princess Edessa Tulani. Once on board, Estvan discovers that his wife is pregnant, and she gives birth to twins (coincidentally near the spot where Irenaeus was born) while surrounded by mysterious Iku-Turso cultists who had come aboard to witness the birth. Yolanda's first kit, SALV Sofia Silverbrush, magickally pooks out of her mother's womb and is taken away by Alice Chetsweeks disguised as a traveling spice merchant. Her second kit, Boris Beauregard Silverbrush, displays a talent for levitating, and later demonstrates an uncanny ability to see the truth behind misleading facades.

Vulpitanian Ambassador SALV Alberta Chesswick is Yolanda's older sister. Alberta was not sent to the lowfolk world as a changeling, but was instead brought up and groomed for the Vulpitanian Civil Service. All is in accordance with The Plan. Vulpitania Vincit!