Esthera

Story
A powerful and strange female who holds a major fragment of the soul. In the first meeting with the group, she seems quite ruthless, as per her actions toward Simon, but her current nature remains unclear.

Her salute to her colleagues is a good show of her style: provocative, ironic and sexy at the same time.

During the Gathering, as the new Incubus King is her vassal, the party acts in various occasions as her own personal boy errand, but she can be quite generous in her rewards if you serve her well. Although the kindness or the well-being doesn't seem to be in a high position among her priorities, neither she seems to be the type to go out of her way to inflict pain, humiliation or other nasty things for the sake of it. In any case, we will have more opportunities to study her during Simon's path.

Although she is one of the most powerful beings among the IK, she doesn't consider herself above the games of cloak and dagger. In total contrast with the transparency of Xerces, she uses the group's services to contact indirectly with the Queen of Ghenalon to establish trade relations. She seems to have a strong interest in courting her, because later, she rigs her own activity just to give Ghenalon a clear win.

In any case, she seems to have a very deep knowledge of the Succubi's machinations to allow the free circulation between the different domains of both Succubi and Orcs.

During Simon's Path we are treated to a much more in-depth overview of her history and motivations. At first, she seems to fit the a powerful, uncaring dominant but appearances can be deceiving as you will see later. If you take the time to know her better, you will find a lonely, scared lady that has no companions or a powerful second-in-command, because of her own isolation and distrust.

We are also given her daughter, Nalili, to train and guide, not by an act of uncaring selfishness but because she cares. One interesting fact that it's revealed only after her return from the Gathering is her vulnerability, her regrets about past mistakes and:

She no longer can't take the risk to have sexual relations with Simon any more. The interactions between the shards could be messy...

In her own words:

We will definitely see her again, but the question remains: We will destroy or free this beautiful creature?

Relationship points
Maximum affection is 100, and once there a girl should not lose affection afterward.

Maximum legit value 88.
 * Base value: 10-60
 * Up to from 10 affection per 5 "Esthera mood" points (see below)(this determines her base value).
 * getting the office orgy scene.
 * Up to from final "Nalili maturity" score at the end of Simon's route.
 * if you did more good than harm in the Battle for Yhilin (Dari: "Sounds like the battle went great overall!")
 * funding Aram border defense.
 * funding Ardoheim border defense.
 * examining Doom King statue in Ari-Yhilina Square (must be built).

Happiness points
During Simon's route, Empress Esthera has a hidden "mood" score. Raising it unlocks certain events, and at the end of Simon's route, is tallied and affects her affection score. In general, you want to speak to her often, pick conversation options she responds non-negatively to, treat Chaya gently, assist the palace bureaucrats very effectively, and raise Nalili's maturity. In specific, mood modifiers are:

Base value 1
 * saying hello to Chaya, OR grabbing her.
 * asking Chaya for books (recommended) or nothing, OR "Just yourself".
 * helping Chaya move heavy stuff.
 * helping Chaya shop.
 * refusing to help Chaya escape, OR offering to help.
 * responding to being called "satisfying tool" with "My pleasure, OR "If you insist" or "I live to serve".
 * Up to sharing your thoughts on seeing the Empire after being let out of her room.
 * responding to rebel succubi entertainment idea with "Let's do it!" or "Decline", OR for "...", OR  for "That's horrible!".
 * trying the stairs to Nalili's room (SW on 2F) after being warned.
 * asking Nalili's room guard "Who are you?", OR asking "What's up there?".
 * finding all 5 truant office workers then talking to their boss.
 * helping route-planning succubus well enough to hear: "You're like some kind of route-planning genius!".
 * helping meeting succubus well enough to hear: "Well, fuck me! Everybody did exactly what you wanted...".
 * helping accounting succubus well enough to hear "I'll try even harder in the future!". (NOT "I'll try a little harder too!".)
 * +1 investigating box with Worn Whip in her room (day 20 on).
 * sleeping and getting the Wendis dream, but talking after Wendis dream and starting with "...", OR  "Want to talk about the dream?" or "Stay out of my head."
 * immediately truthfully answering when she asks about Simon's children, OR saying nothing initially.
 * conversation about Nalili by Nalili's room at maturity >= 2.
 * choosing to enslave the smugglers.
 * participating in the "secret" succubus meeting on the 2nd floor while Esthera is gone.
 * conversation about what she wants by the vault near the end of Simon's route.

Maximum legit value 32, which means you can botch the previously mentioned hidden variables and still optimize this, because there's no benefit past 25.

Final warning:

Above all else, do not defeat the elite in the fighting ring without following Nalili's idea and learning Dominate first. This removes all her maturity, drops Esthera's mood by 10, and for some reason adds 10 to Simon's daycount (an epic 10-day battle...?). It's hard to do without burning thru restoratives anyway.