Mortals

Baizon, Micah—A fifth-year Proctor at the Seminary of the Burning Rose. His guardian angel is named Kenshi, and appears as a vaguely human-shaped cloud of mist. Micah is a good-looking, hearty young man.

Blackhall, Gerard—A teacher at the Seminary of the Burning Rose. A hero of the Seventy-Fourth Battle of Ktarr's field, he is still burdened with the staff he wrested from the sorcerer he killed there.

Baldarov, Gular—A Transducer scholar, who wanders from city to city teaching his tradition.

Bejes, Rosalia—A Lan'yarian mage specializing in planar magic, based at the Temple of Eternal Mists in Ilium.

Braistern, Klevan—Captain of the Ilium City Watch. Heavily tattooed left arm, nose ring, bald. As tough as he looks, and smarter.

Caelwyn, Tasad—A mystic of Yuuga Kouren in Ilium.

Claine, Isaiah—A Proctor at the Seminary of the Burning Rose. At eighteen, already has a receding hairline and bad eyesight.

Clay, Dameron—A pawnbroker and fence from Gereval, who specializes in the most costly items. Works out of the Seventeenth Ward.

Congreve, Sabra—An Initiate of Gabriel at the Seminary of the Burning Rose. Too bookish to be recognized as pretty until she's about sixteen.

Daine—A Crusader of Michael. A hero of several major anti-demon operations, Daine is a man of great promise and very strong beliefs. Due to his role in the Seventy-Fourth Battle of Ktarr's Field, where he took serious wounds while rallying a shield-wall against a rogue sorcerer, he acquired the nickname "Keystone."

Dan Shi, Dian—The fourth Lune Knight of Heaven. A mental disability prevents him from speaking, but his tactical and strategic senses are preternatural. If he didn't have to communicate by sign language, he'd certainly have become Dragoner instead of his classmate Vinn. As it is, his brigade does all of Dark Eternal's heavy lifting.

Dechen, Trechechem—Dwarven coroner at the Watch HQ in Ilium.

Darenton, Kligh—A nobleman of Ilium, a patron of the arts. Provides funding for the more artistic endeavors of Jashain Juste.

Deacon, Randall—An Initiate of Raphael at the Seminary of the Burning Rose. Best friend of Adam Mayonet.

Devlin, Lisse—Fifth Lune Knight of Heaven. Suspected by some of being too young for her lofty position; she plays up to this role, favoring trendy city garb and light banter. Just as Lune Knight Dekar Raviede adopts a slum persona to invite underestimation, Lisse poses quite effectively as a wealthy socialite who just happens to have a vorpal Luneblade. Only fools are deceived—but the world has no shortage of those.

Devlin, Emmelita—Little sister of Lisse Devlin. Runs a coffeehouse in the overwhelmingly hip Sixteenth Ward of Gereval. "Acquaintance" of Adam Mayonet.

DuValle, Kelvin—A member of the Cloudgatherers.

DuValle, Maxson—A member of the Cloudgatherers.

Farghahn, Jakk—An armorer from the Eastlands. Works at Zachariah Moline's Implements of Destruction in Ilium.

Faris, Cecilia—A singer in Gereval; see the culture page for more information.

Genjiro Hideki—A maverick general of the Kingdom of Sune. Such an effective warrior and conqueror that he is considered a threat to the status quo, or even possibly to the ruling government. Those who keep up with Sunese politics know that Genjiro is a loose cannon; if he's not allowed to continue his southward conquest (even up to the point of invading Andragar), he might turn on his masters and lead a rebellion. He was once asked what he'd do if he were allowed to conquer the entire continent. He replied, "I'd take five of my men, secede, and conquer it all again."

Greylight, Prism—An assassin, and member of the Cloudgatherers. Master of his father's fighting style, "Grey Light."

Greylight, Taryn—An assassin, Prism's brother. Devoted to the Archdemon Ghoster.

Headmaster, The—High Priest of Jodin, and Headmaster of the Grand Repository near Karth. Wily and sadistic, he’s an expert at using his knowledge to extract the greatest possible price.

Hermit—The unofficial manager of Purgatory, and one-third of the musical combo. Hermit runs the main mixer and handles all the samples and special effects in real-time; one of his favorite tricks is to put audience feedback into the song itself. Hermit is short and stocky, and has strangely attractive shiny black curls. His loud shirts are admired by some, vilified by others.

Hartman, Ralph—For the past five or six years, the trade routes between Ilium and Eridu have been plagued by a band of elusive brigands, led by a highwayman named Ralph Hartman. They clearly have their base in the Black Forest, but this is a large and wild area, with a thousand possible hiding places. So far, despite the best efforts of bounty hunters and adventurers, the bandits have not been brought to justice. Evidently their toll on passing caravans has not been so great as to force a costly dragnet through the forest, as the Seven Stars of Fate have placed a relatively small fifty-gold bounty on Hartman's head and left it at that.

Highwind, Sandor—Captain of a Silver Coast luxury yacht that sails out of Atlantis.

Inverness, Karzath—A merchant from Xanadu, who specializes in selling action figures and accessories based on the Hundred Deadly Fighters.

Jones, Barracuda—A member of the Cloudgatherers.

Jameson, Rico—A soundcube vendor in Ilium's Southtown.

Juste, Jashain—A fashion designer, influential in Ilium.

Kendall, Urien—Called "Master Kendall," Urien Kendall was one of the most powerful Urielite paladins of all time. According to legend, a street urchin gave him his stickiest and least dignified nickname: "Sir Havin'-an-Axe." Dead these three thousand years, his bones rest in the reliquary at the Seminary of the Burning Rose, and have been confirmed to cure several forms of cancer.

Kimball, Kale—A teacher at the Seminary of the Burning Rose.

Klaus—A mystic of Whirlwind Lionheart, in Eridu.

Kline, Gamaliel—An elderly priest of Gabriel, in a small church in Angelwatch, Ilium.

Kurtzweil, Änder—The head of the Psychic Investigators. This ageless albino half-elf is privy to all the recondite knowledge that his guild has accumulated; some say that this knowledge will bring Kurtzweil the prize of Dragonrank. Others say that his prize will be assassination instead.

Laile, Vitus—A friend of Adam Mayonet, recently accepted to the Stone Raven Institute for training as a geomancer.

Lanford, Rosa—A teacher at the Seminary of the Burning Rose.

Laplace, Carragio—A wandering noodle cart owner from Ilium. Already an expert chef who has won repeated prizes in local and national cooking competitions. Dreams of inventing his own fighting style, based on cooking, but first he's determined to win 1st place at the most exclusive cooking tournament, the Saffold–Marman Silver Coast Invitational.

Larkin, Sturge—Head of the Thieves' Guild of Ilium. Sometimes called "Sturge Moonshadow" due to his favorite magical treasure, a cloak of the bat. Well-known due to a widely-reported series of trials (1994 DR) in which he and his colleage Regor the Red were brought to account for their crimes. Sturge escaped with little more than a slap on the wrist, due to conflicting evidence.

Lasterman, Geoff—A teacher at the Seminary of the Burning Rose.

Lasalle, Tancred—Sealed Librarian at the Great Library of Eldorado University. Longs for . . . well, a lot of things, but first and foremost to win the hand of local belle Lucrecia Inverness. Becoming an Arch-Occultist of the Chaos Plane comes second.

Hien, Leigh—A communications officer at Ilium City Watch HQ.

Hinomura, Heike—Headmaster of the Seminary of the Burning Rose.

Eaglebourne, Emilia

When she was only five, a young lass named Emilia defended his small farming village in the Patchwork Kingdoms against a band of thirty-one bandits from the next province. Armed only with an oyster fork, she beheaded fifteen of them, disemboweled fifteen, and then had the leader gnawed to death by ferrets.

By the age of ten, the young human had killed seventy-eight men (and fifteen hobgoblins and two unfortunate dwarf tourists) in single combat, and had become a master of twelve distinct styles of swordsmanship, five spear forms, and two knife arts. Taking on the surname "Eaglebourne" when she was twelve, she set out into the world. The first person she encountered was a wandering samurai, master of the legendary and treacherous samurai sword style; with a single blow, Emilia killed the samurai and took his peerless sword. (Other tales say that Emilia stole the sword from a Chaos Lord, recovered it from a trap-laden tomb, or forged it from her own thighbone.)

When she was fifteen, Emilia fought with Red Justice, the Invincible Swordsman of the Eastlands, on top of Yellow Mountain. The fight lasted for four days, and Emilia was hard pressed to defeat Red Justice's dreaded "Four Strokes of the Justiciar," an Eastlands variant of the Lan'yarian Terrish Maraounshi style. However, in the end Emilia was triumphant. Standing over Red Justice's bloody corpse, Emilia brandished her sword high overhead, proclaiming herself the new Invincible Swordsman. At this point, she was rushed by Red Justice's personal army, five thousand strong, howling for revenge for their master's death. Although she was tired from his four-day battle, she slew them all, pausing only to take quick catnaps as her opponents struggled to clear bodies out of the way to get at her.

After she had killed Red Justice's five thousand men, Emilia tried to leave the country. However, she was stopped at the foot of Yellow Mountain by the army of Blue Dark, Red Justice's old enemy. When Blue Dark learned that Emilia had robbed him of his chance to defeat Red Justice himself, Blue Dark ordered Emilia's death. With a sigh, Emilia went back to work, using a stone whetted with blood to sharpen her blade between swings, dulled as it was from killing five thousand men already that day. It was this day that Emilia's famed curved sword became known as "The Sword That Drank Ten Thousand Lives."

Now, at the tender age of twenty-one, Emilia has been everywhere and killed everything at least twice. Her battles with Dark Eternal are legend. Hers long-lasting grudge against the entire Lan'yarian military is well-documented. Her ringing victories and dramatic defeats are told everywhere, the most recent being her startling defeat by the dragon duelist Hyuri. Is the bold Emilia Eaglebourne beginning to lose her edge?

Magrisson, Yuvi—A Proctor at the Seminary of the Burning Rose. Cute and wholesome, but does her best to be severe and professional.

Mayonet, Abram—Cousin to Adam Mayonet, and descendant of the exiled Prince Kligh Mayonet. A graduate of Camineet Academy, recently accepted for Dragoon training with the Andragar Rangers, 1st Chapter (Mid-Central). A brash and confident youth.

Mayonet, Adam—The other male direct-line descendant of the old Mayonet line, accepted as Initiate of Raphael in Gereval's Seminary of the Burning Rose. Intelligent and introspective, with a tendency to "meditate outside the box," Adam seems poised to accomplish great things.

McKallis, Dratho—A mercenary general, current commander of the famous army-for-hire, "Steinmar's Destroyers."

Mekoides, Zarnath—"Grand Vizier" of the Knights of Destiny, a determined militant anti-Andragar fringe group in Eridu.

Nightblade, Coris—A former student of Aaron Wrenfall. He parted ways with Aaron in 1979, under circumstances that remain mysterious. Other than Aaron, the only known master of the Wrenfall style.

Old Wolf—A paladin of Gabriel and leader of the Cloudgatherers. See the entry in Organizations for details of his life and the Cloudgatherers.

Phatos, Jharrik—A stave-chanter from the Eastlands. Popular in Ilium.

Piper—The master keyboardist of Purgatory. With long hair, a mustache and goatee, gold glasses, and leather trenchcoats, Piper's fashion sense is somewhere between hippie, accountant, and Ruido Grande enforcer. Piper talks a good line about sensitivity, but occasional lines like "I'd tap that ass like a sledgehammer" give his "deep emotions" the lie.

Rakárn, Crengé—A teacher at the Seminary of the Burning Rose.

Ralshev, Kaelor—Prelate of the Church of Michael in Ilium.

Raviede, Dekar—The first Lune Knight of Heaven is very proud of his underclass origins, and flaunts them by littering his every sentence with back-alley slang. As slouched and unshaven as a samurai, Dekar delights in causing his rivals to underestimate him. He has proven to be an excellent First Lune Knight, but his public image is that of a loose cannon held in check by the Dragoner, rather than a logical successor to that post. In actuality, however, Dekar's every action is calculated, if not exactly planned ahead of time.

Regor the Red—Head of the Thieves' Guild of Eldorado. Indicted along with Sturge Larkin, he would have gotten off scot-free, but for the untimely intervention of an informer. The informer was spirited away to an "undisclosed location" for his protection, but it rapidly became evident that the undisclosed location was the grave—his own bodyguards, paid off by the Thieves' Guild, cut the informer's throat and have not been seen again. This doesn't help Regor, though, as he's condemned to be prey at the next Bounty Strike.

Relache, Franc—A half-elf friend of Adam Mayonet. Entering a city school for training as a policeman.

Rialtonarus, Levelliarin—An Initiate of Uriel at the Seminary of the Burning Rose. Has long hair that hangs over his face, and a long name that he hates. "Call me Rialto" is the first thing most people ever hear him say.

Sadler J—A lightwarrior (i.e. DJ) from Ilium. Nobody knows what the J stands for. Occasionally plays with Dorothy Durai.

Sanzokawa, Akira—Hobgoblin friend of Adam Mayonet. Currently undecided about his future, taking mixed vocational training as a woodworker and musician. In his spare time, he's a member of Gereval political-protest band Slab.

Schafthauser, Deira—Andragarian philosopher, died 1542 dr. Wrote about the relationship between humans and dragons. Her conclusion was that for weak humans, dragons are the natural rulers, existing to provide them with structure, guidance, and judgment; but for strong humans, dragons are a trial that provides mankind with an incomparable opportunity to shine. As long as humans are ruled by dragons, that is well and proper . . . but man's next great evolutionary step must be to surpass, if not literally overcome, his dragon rulers. Schafthauser's ideas were later adopted by some religions, which preached that the dragons were brought onto the planet by (insert supreme being here) as a test of human (insert desirable trait here). Fill in the blanks based on each religion's bias.

Schoenmar, Karl—Leader of the Red Wings of Tempest. A Slash Knight, he fights with two aerodynamic hand axes on short chains; he can either spin them in circles or attack with them normally. He's a good strategist, but a poor tactician, and tends to leave himself open to attack in his eagerness to lead his men into battle.

Shaleberg, Johann—A jeweler in Eridu, skilled in the working of cleria.

Skvarce, Sk'sn—The only K'siri Arc Knight in history. The "serpent angel" of South Lan'yarian myth, Sk'sn only came to Andragar at the age of 46, relentlessly tracking one of his oldest enemies. Although completely lost in Northrock culture, he managed to learn the language and conventions well enough to complete his task—but not well enough to explain that the man he'd killed was a fugitive murderer. The Erethan police intended to detain him until a K'siri interpreter could be found, but Sk'sn broke out of prison and fled across the countryside. The matter was referred to the capital, and Lachlan Vinn sent the 3rd Platoon after the renegade K'siri. After a long chase, they managed to trap him against Andragar's southern shore, about fifteen miles east of Southpoint. Although they took him back to Gereval in chains, those chains were quickly removed once they learned his true identity. In compensation for his hardship, Lachlan Vinn offered him the position of Arc Knight, which he accepted. The wandering lifestyle of an Arc Knight has been quite comfortable for Sk'sn Skvarce, and his typical heroism has done much to improve the general view of the K'siri in Northrock.

Sobredaño, Darm—Third Lune Knight of Heaven. Became a famous warrior in the Lan'yaria Republic by the age of nineteen, and was recruited for Heaven in the next year. After twenty-five years of service, Darm has ascended to the rank of Lune Knight, commander of a fifth of the force. Soft-spoken and seemingly unfocused, Darm's inoffensive nature does not even begin to distract his foes from his black-and-gold Heaven armor. Darm is sometimes known as the Devil Knight: early in his career as an Arc Knight, he fought a powerful free demon named Yugrial, and was only able to defeat the demon when the demon attempted to possess him and was instead captured within Darm's heart and soul. Darm's spiritual and mental strength confines Yugrial, but only so long as Darm's self-control remains absolute. Should Darm ever relax enough to release the demon, Yugrial would surely kill him or possess him instead of simply leaving his body—and so Darm is cursed to live a life of iron willpower, allowing the demon no quarter. With time, Darm has come to exist more peacefully with the demon, appeasing it occasionally by allowing it to use its power through him to kill his enemies. In this way, Darm has gained more power and more personal freedom from the demon's rage, although he knows that he can never relax his guard too far.

Sparrling, Danae—The second Lune Knight of Heaven, Danae is considered most likely to be appointed Dragoner if Lachlan leaves the post. Daughter of a construction magnate, she is well-acquainted with the political and industrial workings of the city, and although her father suffered her to enter military school, he also required that she receive a classical education.

Stahl, Garland—A paladin of Kahan, Garland is famed for his tactical knowledge, leadership, and fighting skills. Unfortunately, he has difficulty accepting any authority lower than that of Kahan himself, and so Garland is routinely sent on the most difficult missions that the Church of Kahan has to offer, in hopes that he'll get killed and stop mouthing off to the Church elders. This has not yet occurred.

Talliger, Orden—A teacher at the Seminary of the Burning Rose.

Taven, Lorrimer—Bartender at the Golden Rose Inn in Ilium.

Toshiro Kensuke—Known as "The Baron of the Silver Hills," he is important in Sunese politics, as the king's best friend and confidant, and as controller of most mineral resources in the nation.

Uthener, Rallness—Raphaelite Cardinal of Gereval. The most powerful Raphaelite in Andragar.

Vortigaunt—Frontman and stave-chanter of Purgatory. Has an on-again, off-again relationship with Cecilia Faris.

Vinn, Lachlan—The Dragoner of Heaven. One of Dark Eternal's closest advisors and most powerful retainers.

Vectra, Alma—A teacher at the Seminary of the Burning Rose.

Wrenfall, Aaron—A professional soldier and occasional mercenary, who speaks little of his past.

Yulias, Änder—The paladin otherwise known as Old Wolf.

Yulias, Aven—Founder of the modern Alchemists' Guild in 524 DR.

Zanziger, Lopresti—An Initiate of Michael at the Seminary of the Burning Rose. Prefers to be called "Zan." Extremely confident in his fighting, tends to dismiss all proposed rivals, from his teacher up through Kahan, with "I could take him."