Aravis Tarkheena

"I am the the only daughter of Kidrash Tarkaan, the son of Rishti Tarkaan, the son of Kidrash Tarkaan, the son of Illsombreh Tisroc, the son of Ardeeb Tisroc who was decended in a right line from the god Tash."

- Aravis

Aravis was a Tarkheena, a female member of the ruling class of Calormen, and is one of the main characters in The Horse and His Boy.

The only daughter of Kidrash Tarkaan, Aravis spent her youth in the heart of Calormen. When she is first met in the books, her mother and older brother have both died and her father recently married an unkind woman, who made no attempt to disguise her dislike for Aravis. Aravis's already difficult home life was rendered impossible when her father announced her engagement to Ahoshta Tarkaan, an ugly, loathsome man whom she despised. Feeling she had no other option, she decided to commit suicide. However her attempt on her own life was interrupted when her horse Hwin began to speak, saying this "Oh my mistress do not by any means destroy yourself for if you live you may yet have good fortune but all the dead are dead alike!"

- Hwin

Taken aback on hearing the horse's pleas, Aravis thought she was now suffering delusions due her fear of death. Ashamed, she attempted to stab herself again, only to have Hwin rebuke her once more, placing her own head between the girl and the dagger, and this time Aravis was so curious that she forgot about killing herself. Hwin then revealed that she was no common mare, but a talking horse of Narnia, kidnapped in her youth. Upon hearing about Narnia, Aravis was determined to go there, and she and Hwin planned to escape Calormen. After decieving her family into thinking she was happy to be getting married, she escaped by drugging her stepmother's slave into sleep so no one would notice her.

During their journey they were met by Shasta and Bree, fugitives also making their way to Narnia. They all became good friends in their travels. The four reached Tashbaan, and they got separated. Aravis eventually found an old friend named Lasaraleen, a fellow Tarkheena. They eventually came to hide in the room of the Tisroc himself. There, they overheard a conversation between the Tisroc, Prince Rabadash, and Ahoshta. Rabadash was furious that he had been rejected by Queen Susan of Narnia, and wanted to lead a force to Narnia to capture her and force her to marry him. The plan involved conquering Archenland, a kingdom on the border of Narnia. The Tisroc agreed, but after Rabadash left, the Tisroc told Ahoshta that it made little difference to him whether Rabadash succeeded or died.

Aravis fled the city, and reunited with her friends. She told them about Rabadash's plans, and the four set out across the Great Desert to warn Archenland. One step ahead of Rabadash's army, they only reached Archenland in time because a lion chased them. This lion used its claws to tear into Aravis' back, scaring her. Aravis and the horses were left behind at a hermit's house while Shasta went on ahead. During her recovering, Aravis and the horses were visited by Aslan. Aslan said that he had chased them so they could reach Archenland in time, and told Aravis that he had scared her so she would know what her stepmother's slave went through when she was punished for the drugged sleep she tricked her into.

Shasta, who was later discovered to be Cor, the lost son of King Lune of Archenland, was able to warn the Archenlanders in time, and a combined Narnian-Archenland army defeated Rabadash at the gates of Anvard. Rabadash was captured, and later sent back to Calormen in the form of a donkey by Aslan. Aravis accepted both Cor and Lune's offer to stay with them in Anvard.

Aravis later married Cor, and became queen of Archenland when Lune died and Cor took the throne. She was also the mother of King Ram the Great.

She is one of the characters seen in Aslan's Country at the end of The Last Battle.

Character
To her credit, she was brave and intensely loyal. However, she was also very arrogant (a possible side effect of her upbringing as a privileged Tarkheena) and at times, very manipulative. Throughout the story we see her grow and change to become less like a ruthless Calormene, and more like a Narnian or an Archenlander. It is likely that  C. S. Lewis meant to metaphorically represent the Christian notion that though one's social status may be great, we are all as commoners before God, in the contrast between this character and Shasta; and though one be a commoner (as the character Shasta was before discovering his true identity) we are also royalty in God's eyes.