Credit to whoever created this painting, a portion of which I have cropped in the likeness of Nayana Lidar.
Apologies for such long stretches between posts! Character names can be a bit befuddling in large quantities, so here is an index of mine.
Apologies for such long stretches between posts! Character names can be a bit befuddling in large quantities, so here is an index of mine.
Aeos/Shadow Prince: A mysterious wizard who, having retrieved the full prophecy of Amy’s arrival from the wizard Elgarn, sends a formidable army of Awakened creatures across Thunderland to find her. This wizard is not all he seems. Many Tellers, people that see the future, sense that an ancient evil may be behind his unseen rise to power.
Prince Alee Babwee: The son of the King of Thunderland, of Fajar (FAY-jar) descent. He rescues Amy from the frozen time of our world and accompanies her on her quest to free her parents and face the wizard behind it all. With him he bears one of the ancient swords of the Riders of Orion (warriors from the realm of Orionel). This is the Sword of Fire, or Hramar. Fire is an important symbol and weapon in Starhelm, and most civilized realms.
Amanda Wupero: An intrepid twelve-year-old English girl born to a poor family in 1898, she travels through a portal to Thunderland, where she is caught up in a dangerous quest across the provinces to save her parents and prevent a war. She prefers to be called Amy. Unlike many mortals from Earth, within Amy burns the Fyre; an enchanted fire bestowed to planets that possess magic. This Fyre of Starhelm is common, but the Fyre of K’nast (Earth) is rare and is both an asset and a quiet danger to her.
Andur Ptolarchus: The Wizark or High Wizard of Thunderland, Ptolarchus is the mentor and friend of Nayana Lidar and sends Amy, Alee, Nayana, and Oscar on their quest to UthNir. Like all Wizarks, after his thirteen years in the position are up, he will be banished for the safety of Thunderland so that one sorcerer or sorceress may not become too powerful.
Elgarn: Elgarn is a prophet and wizard who, although he is not as powerful as Aeos, has spent years evading the Shadow Prince’s evil agents in order to preserve the prophecy (or story, as he calls it) of the girl who will bring either salvation or doom to Thunderland and perhaps all the realms.
Gillius Imh / The Seeker: The Seeker of Death is a Sand-Scrie, or powerful being bound to the desert of Knis. He was once a Fae, but the Shadow Prince (Aeos) imprisoned him with magic close to the Fyre beneath the desert, and because of this exposure the Seeker has become a decrepit and twisted form of himself. He is blind to our world but can see both the past and the future and is endowed with the incredible sense of smell common to the Fae. His desire for revenge and freedom leads him to give Liam Sagittus the Potionspell that will imprison Aeos as he is.
John of Carthwright: John is a foot-soldier/infantry man of the province of Ormira. Like a few of the other soldiers in the Army of Dantai, he escapes the massacre that unfolds on the plains and flees to the Jungle with his companions Nory and Nick. For a time, he aids Amy and her friends on their journey.
Joseph Wupero: Amy Wupero’s father. He is a poor but kind-hearted fruit seller in the twentieth century, whose parents were Italian immigrants. It is his dream to pursue the sea and have adventures as a sailor, but his loyalty to his wife and daughter keep him in London. He and Martha Wupero were stolen from their realm.
Kelfia the Nymph: Kelfia is an evil tree nymph who is the lieutenant to the Queen of the Fir-wood. (Fir-wood is what the nymphs call the Valley of Ylogmitr.) Nymphs do not have the Fyre for they lived on Starhelm before the Old Ones seeded it, but Kelfia and her kind are nonetheless a perilous enemy.
Kor Mirakar: Kor Mirakar is a hunter and assassin who serves as general to the Shadow Prince, Aeos. He is only half-human, his other half the more sinister mark of his bloodline. Kor hunted Elgarn the wizard across Starhelm. His years of experience in service to Aeos have made him not a man to be trifled with, though he knows his boundaries when it comes to his superior, is willing to engage in espionage, and desires only revenge on the land that scorned him (in his mind), with no intentions to seize power himself.
Larence Windol: Nayana Lidar’s childhood friend and sweetheart. Both of them showed potential in magic and their interest in it, and the power that came with it in his case, led them down a dark path. It took a terrible accident for Nayana to seize control of herself and her untempered magic, but Windol disappeared without a trace.
Liam Arthur Sagittus: A Kikaran archer who, fleeing from his sister and brother and hence responsibility (in what he would later consider an act of cowardice), joined the army of Dantai, Ormira. He falls into company with John, Nory, and Nick, who also survived the battle of the plains with the invading army, and his general Grye Hugo. Liam joins the quest and once he is entrusted with the Potionspell, he has no intentions of leaving it…or those involved.
Martha Wupero: Amy’s mother. She is a factory seamstress (occasionally working as a laundress on the side) who cares very much for the two people that provide relief from a very hard lifestyle. She, too, is stolen from our realm.
Nayana Lidar: Nayana is the Apprentice; the student of the Wizark Ptolarchus. She is learning to become the Wizark herself. A past of dark magic has colored her eyes a violent shade of scarlet and leaves a tangible atmosphere of danger around the woman, but she proves a loyal ally and friend, and although her powers are still developing, her magic is certainly useful in tight spots. Her greatest weakness is attachment to people, but it is also her greatest strength.
Nick of Tyals: A flustered cook who parted with the Dantai forces after their decimation, like Liam, John, and Nory. He has some doubts about participating in anything involving great feats of courage, intrepidity, or even physical activity, but he proves good at all three with only a little bit of complaining.
Nory of Ellaway: Perhaps the most argumentative of the three, like Nick and John, he is an ordinary soldier with no jaded past to speak of who is swept into remarkable events by a series of coincidences. His compass, whether or not he realizes, plays an important role in the fate of many.
Oscar Hugo Gregory Finch: Oscar is a young man who lost his father and mother in quick succession; his mother to the plague that killed many mothers and young children several years prior, and his father to the War of Reaf, since he never returned. Left with no parental figures or livelihood at a young age and in possession of a wayward nature, Oscar becomes a thief, but the passage of time and a series of chance encounters leads him back to honest work and a meeting with Amy in which he saves her from drowning. He, too, is swept into a tale far stranger than any future he could have imagined for himself.
Takalihran Gildwa: The provincial king of the desert land Knis who resides in Hanuk. Although by nature a suspicious man, like his daughter, Takalihran is welcoming to whatever good or unfortunate souls come to his city, and even in the wake of a terrible disaster he provides aid to Amy and her companions.
Ta’raekk the Wyvern: The airborne Fyre beast associated with the Fair Yula. Turmoil in recent years has changed her from the trusting creature she was of long ago into something fearsome and furtive. She is not allowed to return to the realm of wyverns.
Teresa Gildwa: The daughter of King Takalihran, Teresa is the princess of Knis. While she is comfortable in court clothes, she prefers armor, and shares little with anyone but her father. She has a soft spot for Prince Alee, since she encountered him as a child and considers him fellow royalty, even if royal blood is of little interest to her. Her mother was said to be a witch and Teresa has not seen her since she was supposedly pulled into a mirror.
The Tortoise: A benevolent, shape-shifting creature who calls himself Amy’s Guardian and favors the form of a blue tortoise the most. Whomever appointed the Tortoise, or if he elected himself to this position, remains to be seen. Although his presence as a guide is rather lacking as he disappears at rather inconvenient times, the travelers are forced to learn to find their way on their own, unknowing of his almost constant vigilance beyond their sight.
Yula: Half Fair and Half Fae, an unutterable past has led her to a rather manipulated present, but her advice (and her form of transportation, via the wyvern Ta’raekk) is certainly valuable to Amy, Nayana, Alee, and Oscar.
Prince Alee Babwee: The son of the King of Thunderland, of Fajar (FAY-jar) descent. He rescues Amy from the frozen time of our world and accompanies her on her quest to free her parents and face the wizard behind it all. With him he bears one of the ancient swords of the Riders of Orion (warriors from the realm of Orionel). This is the Sword of Fire, or Hramar. Fire is an important symbol and weapon in Starhelm, and most civilized realms.
Amanda Wupero: An intrepid twelve-year-old English girl born to a poor family in 1898, she travels through a portal to Thunderland, where she is caught up in a dangerous quest across the provinces to save her parents and prevent a war. She prefers to be called Amy. Unlike many mortals from Earth, within Amy burns the Fyre; an enchanted fire bestowed to planets that possess magic. This Fyre of Starhelm is common, but the Fyre of K’nast (Earth) is rare and is both an asset and a quiet danger to her.
Andur Ptolarchus: The Wizark or High Wizard of Thunderland, Ptolarchus is the mentor and friend of Nayana Lidar and sends Amy, Alee, Nayana, and Oscar on their quest to UthNir. Like all Wizarks, after his thirteen years in the position are up, he will be banished for the safety of Thunderland so that one sorcerer or sorceress may not become too powerful.
Elgarn: Elgarn is a prophet and wizard who, although he is not as powerful as Aeos, has spent years evading the Shadow Prince’s evil agents in order to preserve the prophecy (or story, as he calls it) of the girl who will bring either salvation or doom to Thunderland and perhaps all the realms.
Gillius Imh / The Seeker: The Seeker of Death is a Sand-Scrie, or powerful being bound to the desert of Knis. He was once a Fae, but the Shadow Prince (Aeos) imprisoned him with magic close to the Fyre beneath the desert, and because of this exposure the Seeker has become a decrepit and twisted form of himself. He is blind to our world but can see both the past and the future and is endowed with the incredible sense of smell common to the Fae. His desire for revenge and freedom leads him to give Liam Sagittus the Potionspell that will imprison Aeos as he is.
John of Carthwright: John is a foot-soldier/infantry man of the province of Ormira. Like a few of the other soldiers in the Army of Dantai, he escapes the massacre that unfolds on the plains and flees to the Jungle with his companions Nory and Nick. For a time, he aids Amy and her friends on their journey.
Joseph Wupero: Amy Wupero’s father. He is a poor but kind-hearted fruit seller in the twentieth century, whose parents were Italian immigrants. It is his dream to pursue the sea and have adventures as a sailor, but his loyalty to his wife and daughter keep him in London. He and Martha Wupero were stolen from their realm.
Kelfia the Nymph: Kelfia is an evil tree nymph who is the lieutenant to the Queen of the Fir-wood. (Fir-wood is what the nymphs call the Valley of Ylogmitr.) Nymphs do not have the Fyre for they lived on Starhelm before the Old Ones seeded it, but Kelfia and her kind are nonetheless a perilous enemy.
Kor Mirakar: Kor Mirakar is a hunter and assassin who serves as general to the Shadow Prince, Aeos. He is only half-human, his other half the more sinister mark of his bloodline. Kor hunted Elgarn the wizard across Starhelm. His years of experience in service to Aeos have made him not a man to be trifled with, though he knows his boundaries when it comes to his superior, is willing to engage in espionage, and desires only revenge on the land that scorned him (in his mind), with no intentions to seize power himself.
Larence Windol: Nayana Lidar’s childhood friend and sweetheart. Both of them showed potential in magic and their interest in it, and the power that came with it in his case, led them down a dark path. It took a terrible accident for Nayana to seize control of herself and her untempered magic, but Windol disappeared without a trace.
Liam Arthur Sagittus: A Kikaran archer who, fleeing from his sister and brother and hence responsibility (in what he would later consider an act of cowardice), joined the army of Dantai, Ormira. He falls into company with John, Nory, and Nick, who also survived the battle of the plains with the invading army, and his general Grye Hugo. Liam joins the quest and once he is entrusted with the Potionspell, he has no intentions of leaving it…or those involved.
Martha Wupero: Amy’s mother. She is a factory seamstress (occasionally working as a laundress on the side) who cares very much for the two people that provide relief from a very hard lifestyle. She, too, is stolen from our realm.
Nayana Lidar: Nayana is the Apprentice; the student of the Wizark Ptolarchus. She is learning to become the Wizark herself. A past of dark magic has colored her eyes a violent shade of scarlet and leaves a tangible atmosphere of danger around the woman, but she proves a loyal ally and friend, and although her powers are still developing, her magic is certainly useful in tight spots. Her greatest weakness is attachment to people, but it is also her greatest strength.
Nick of Tyals: A flustered cook who parted with the Dantai forces after their decimation, like Liam, John, and Nory. He has some doubts about participating in anything involving great feats of courage, intrepidity, or even physical activity, but he proves good at all three with only a little bit of complaining.
Nory of Ellaway: Perhaps the most argumentative of the three, like Nick and John, he is an ordinary soldier with no jaded past to speak of who is swept into remarkable events by a series of coincidences. His compass, whether or not he realizes, plays an important role in the fate of many.
Oscar Hugo Gregory Finch: Oscar is a young man who lost his father and mother in quick succession; his mother to the plague that killed many mothers and young children several years prior, and his father to the War of Reaf, since he never returned. Left with no parental figures or livelihood at a young age and in possession of a wayward nature, Oscar becomes a thief, but the passage of time and a series of chance encounters leads him back to honest work and a meeting with Amy in which he saves her from drowning. He, too, is swept into a tale far stranger than any future he could have imagined for himself.
Takalihran Gildwa: The provincial king of the desert land Knis who resides in Hanuk. Although by nature a suspicious man, like his daughter, Takalihran is welcoming to whatever good or unfortunate souls come to his city, and even in the wake of a terrible disaster he provides aid to Amy and her companions.
Ta’raekk the Wyvern: The airborne Fyre beast associated with the Fair Yula. Turmoil in recent years has changed her from the trusting creature she was of long ago into something fearsome and furtive. She is not allowed to return to the realm of wyverns.
Teresa Gildwa: The daughter of King Takalihran, Teresa is the princess of Knis. While she is comfortable in court clothes, she prefers armor, and shares little with anyone but her father. She has a soft spot for Prince Alee, since she encountered him as a child and considers him fellow royalty, even if royal blood is of little interest to her. Her mother was said to be a witch and Teresa has not seen her since she was supposedly pulled into a mirror.
The Tortoise: A benevolent, shape-shifting creature who calls himself Amy’s Guardian and favors the form of a blue tortoise the most. Whomever appointed the Tortoise, or if he elected himself to this position, remains to be seen. Although his presence as a guide is rather lacking as he disappears at rather inconvenient times, the travelers are forced to learn to find their way on their own, unknowing of his almost constant vigilance beyond their sight.
Yula: Half Fair and Half Fae, an unutterable past has led her to a rather manipulated present, but her advice (and her form of transportation, via the wyvern Ta’raekk) is certainly valuable to Amy, Nayana, Alee, and Oscar.