Primary Characters
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| An orphan(?). Had a fancy book that was destroyed when Apen attacked him. Cries like a whimp. Pretends to be stupid so that everyone has low expectations of him and he can get away with being an annoying lazy bum. Often goes to the capitol and hangs out with Avidan, by Velvare’s bidding. Saved Velvare’s life as a youngling. Was adopted by Marcus Lanum, but is rumored to be Velvare’s illegitimate son. Has a crush on Chara Alvarado. [spoilers: Legitimate son of Velvare/Bhatair and Gudrun. Brother of several people.] [EN-ell] Means ‘Three’. |
Has a spiffy telescope. Attacks redheads at random(?). Doesn’t like libraries because his father was presumably murdered in one. Forbidden to enter the capital by Velvare. One-time king of Cedulan, sentenced to execution via the Deadlands (east). Was found on the edge of the Deadlands (west) by the Alvarado family. Is the son of Joshua Shephard, and sometimes goes by the alias Josh Alfero. Brother of people. Guardian of dog named Melly. [UH-pen] Means ‘free’ or ‘open’. |
A traditional ranch girl who likes making things with her hands. She is practical and finds Enel to be obnoxious. She resents those who leave or betray her, whether that be her mother or Apen. Sister to Chara. Daughter of Joe. Friend(?) to Apen. ‘Bro’ and hopeful-doctor-apprentice of Noah. [ber-LIN] Said just like the capitol of Germany, and doesn’t mean anything. I straight up stole her name from a random girl at church and I don’t regret it. |
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| Goes by the name ‘Blue’ or ‘Blue Dolan’ to everyone but Bhatair. Melete is one of the original Nedarians. She ran away from her husband, Syllor. Her hatred for him was so severe that she cursed herself to live forever in order to prevent any chance of meeting him again in the afterlife. Ancestor of Apen and the Shephards. Was held captive by Antigone Shephard for decades and eventually rescued by Bhatair. Calls Bhaitar ‘Bay’ and they are best bros. [MEL-eet] |
Wears a mask. Popular for negotiating peace between Gallitan and Raritan. Adopted crown prince Avidan Leto, and acts as steward of Gallitan until Avidan is of age. Velvare found Enel in the orphanage and arranged for him to be Avidan’s playmate. Velvare’s hair turned white in the same incident when he got his many scars (the primary one being on his neck). Benefactor of libraries and Marcus. [spoilers: Designated non-dad of Avidan, but actual dad of Enel]. [VELL-vare] Basically means to be veiled or covered up. [bam-A-DEAL] Means ‘follow me home’ |
AKA, Young Velvare. Was the king of a country in Levant called Bellingrath. Always tries to one-up Joshua Shephard in an attempt to prove that [BAY-tar] Variant of ‘Walter’, means ‘ruler of the army’ |
Secondary Characters
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| Is an unsocialized hermit hipster librarian. Thinks kids are the worst invention. Can’t focus on what he reads unless he reads aloud, and has gained a fanclub of kids at the library because they like to listen to him. Lent Enel Velvare’s the fancy book and lives to regret it. Has a mustache. Can’t climb spiral stairs to save his life. Adopted Enel. Hates Apen, the destroyer of book. Thinks Miss Idony is mighty fine. [LAN-um] Means ‘long/tall’. |
Is blind. Is the daughter of the headmistress of Enel’s orphanage, Mrs. Savannah St. Claire, the sister of Noah St. Claire, and the cousin of Avidan Leto. She takes after her mother with her love of children. She brings the orphans on regular field trips to the library so they can hear Marcus read. She has a crush on Marcus because of his awesome voice, but can’t stand his dislike for children, which is a (potential) deal-breaker for their relationship. [eye-DONE-ee] Means ‘to love again’. |
He wanted to be a doctor, but it didn’t pan out, and now everyone must suffer his presence. He acts as a messenger for Velvare and an advisor to Avidan. Noah is like a bigger scarier version of Avidan. He is Avidan’s cousin and the oldest child in the St. Claire family. [spoiler: Husband of Ruya. Son of Thoth.] | Can’t stand conflict. Is Joe’s daughter and Berlyne’s sister. Has a thing for Enel, God knows why. [SHAR-ah], short for Charlotte, means ‘happiness, joy’. |
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| A kindly rancher dude who lives outside the capital. Took Apen under his wing after they discovered him in the Deadlands. Is the father of Berlyne and Chara. Is divorced, and his ex doesn’t really come into the picture, in case you’re wondering where Berlyne and Chara’s mother is. | Both of his parents – the king and queen of Gallitan – died within the week of his birth. He was adopted by Velvare, who is supposed to be raising him to be the next king of Gallitan. Avidan is bitter because everyone likes Enel more than him, and his status as prince of Gallitan is majorly overshadowed by Velvare’s popularity. [a-vi-DAN] Means ‘my father is judge’.[LET-oh] Means ‘forgotten’. |
Has a fancy axe and knows how to use it for decapitation and amputation purposes. The only reason anyone still has heads and limbs is that he doesn’t take his job very seriously. [AY-shyus] Means ‘eagle’. [NIM-rahd] Means ‘mighty hunter’. |
A good carer who happened to get tangled up in Aetius’s group of fun times. [spoiler: Wife of Noah] |
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| Joshua’s youngest daughter. Apen’s closest sister. Likes to sings and wear feathers in her hair. She wants to protect people from trauma. | Was the king of a country in Levant called Cedulan. Became a widower after his wife, Isis, passed away. From oldest to youngest their children are: Aphera, Adara, April, and Apen. Josh tries hard to tolerate Bhatair, but there’s only so much he can take. He raises kid Apen to be better than Bhatair’s son at everything. | Helped her family shelter descendants of Augustine during Antigone’s War. Married Bhatair and became queen of Bellingrath. Will do anything for her kids. | Bhatair and Gudrun’s beloved daughter. Her favorite thing to do was listening to her father tell stories of his adventures. She also liked to have her own adventures with her brother and Ezra Damir. |
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| Gudrun’s father. Their family sheltered descendants of Augustine during Antigone’s War. His wife was killed as a result of their efforts. Sees Apen as an innocent and does what he can to help. | The son of an ambassador from Amethyst. Has lived in Bellingrath most of his life. Good friend of Delaney. | An original Nedarian. Creator of The Silver Eye (telescope) | A caretaker charged by Velvare to run a storehouse on the coastal route between Gallitan and Bellingrath. Likes to use Syllor’s curse to force people to ‘give’ her their possessions. | A descendant of the Dolans that Aetius uses to create Syllor’s Curse. |
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| Formerly a Leto and princess of Gallitan. Was disowned by her father for marrying Thoth, leading to Avidan’s father being crowned. She runs an orphanage. Mother of Noah and Idony. Aunt of Avidan. | Ruler of Raritan. Wants Gallitan and Aetius to leave him alone. | Unfortunate captain who had his ship taken over by Aetius. | Fighter in Aetius’s crew. Didn’t like that Goatface died. | Dead. Marcus didn’t kill him, Marcus swears. |
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| Melly is Melly.Rest in peace, real-life Melly – 1999–2014 |
Apen’s Arabian stallion who assisted him in crossing the Deadlands. Currently owned by Velvare. Is a ninja horse who obeys whistle commands to attack people. | Noah’s messenger bird, gifted to him by Blue Dolan. Can teleport long distances. |
Mini Glossary
| Is a telescope made out of gleipnir. Though other objects made from gleipnir exist, the ability to break curses belongs uniquely to The Silver Eye. It was crafted by Nedarians and originally belonged to Melete Dolan. Melete gave The Silver Eye to her daughter as a wedding gift and it has been an heirloom in their family ever since. It was given to the heir to the throne of Cedulan once they were deemed worthy of it. | A civilization that existed around eight centuries ago. Nedarians had power that allowed them to create curses and blessings. There is little to no history left of the Nedarians, and the only signs of their existence is a bit of their written language, The Silver Eye, and empty cities and buildings scattered across the continent. The Shephard and Hollingsworth bloodlines are supposedly descended from Nedarians and even though they lack the ability to give curses, sometimes a bit of their ancestors shows through. | An area in the center of the continent that separates the East and West. Dragon-like creatures called weavers guard the Deadlands and kill anyone who enters them. They are called weavers because of the way they kill. In the East, they send people out into the Deadlands as a form of execution. It is their highest punishment. Like the Deadlands, the Deadwaters are guarded by weavers. Ships can sail out as far as the continental shelf, but if they go further the weavers will sink them. |