Adria Fairingrove was a Tusaine commoner in the 5th century HE. Her father was a merchant who smuggled goods through his shop. Adria was a gifted mathematician who often spent time looking over the shoulder of a visiting engineer who was overseeing the construction of a new drawbridge on the River Drell. He had been taught math from a young age by Instructor Hillbrand, who was educated at the Tortallan Royal University. When a new instructor, Instructor Park, took over her mathematics instruction, she was punished for jumping through the math to the answer without showing the steps to get there. He was educated at the Carthaki University and was jealous of Adria's skill at picking up new mathematics concepts.