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Wow! 0__o I can’t believe I’m finally done with this. I finally have all of the characters drawn for Tales of Excidium. (It took some time to write out their bios too. It was all in my head, but I’d never written it before, really.) A lot of things have changed since I first started drawing them and you can probably see I’ve left a space in the middle for another shot at making a cover design. I’ll post that too at some point and it will include a sort of preview (silhouette) of Heiavian, who will be the next character from this story I draw, but that’s a ways off now that I’m going to start on a major ToS drawing.
Here’s the info about the characters and the relevant information about the world they live in:
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The World:

The world the characters live in has been decaying for centuries. All traces of the society that once knew its original name have long since vanished. The world’s supply of mana has almost vanished and with it, the spirits that once governed the world’s natural forces have disappeared as well. The decaying world has forced humans to a pinnacle of technology aimed at keeping their world together. Almost every natural force has to be triggered in some way, shape or form by human technology. Even the light of the sun no longer reaches the world below. Artificial sources of light, ocean and wind currents and scientifically generated life forms keep the world hovering on the brink of death. The hospitable portions of the world extend now over two large continents.
The regions devoid of light are largely unknown, but one threat routinely emerges from the shadows to prey on the inhabitants of the shrouded world. The Credo, mechanical beings believed to have once been human, frequently drag away or kill people in the dead of night. Recently, their attacks have become bolder due to a weapon that can snuff out the artificial light most cities have to keep them safe. Although not harmed by the light directly, they prefer to avoid conflict in the open.
The only real sources of power that remain are the scales of dragons; a race nearly extinct now. While people work hard to make up for the lack of energy, most powerful technology relies on the power of dragon scales, or even the dragons themselves to function. The city that produces sunlight for the rest of the world is pulled through the sky by one of the few remaining dragons. Other scales are used for purposes ranging from flying ships, to massive towers that produce clouds, to personal use. A person using a dragon scale is not immune to harm, but the scale holds their body together, allowing them to survive otherwise fatal injuries. Users can also learn to shield themselves from magic and/or projectiles including firearms. People continue to live their daily lives virtually unaware that life was ever different except in old myths…and one legend about a lost island that still lives in the natural light of the sun somehow.

Theo Aromevano:

Age: 24

Primary Weapons: Sword (Deihamat), bracers/fists

Theo’s sword is a type exclusively given to those within his order. It contains a scale from Heiavian himself, which a distinguished initiate must carry and cultivate for a long time before it is finally fused within the metal of the sword and the user forms a bond with the weapon. Its actual weight is immense; enough to tear through steel, but his bond with the weapon allows him to pick it up where others would find lifting it impossible. In addition, he is well-trained in using his fists in combat to make up for the slower sword swings, although speed in this case is relative and he can swing the heavy Deihamat at what many would call a normal speed.

Preferred Environment: Prefers the open air and is fond of both rain and intense sunlight, but doesn’t like humidity.

Preferred Food: Theo has an almost inhuman tolerance for spicy food.

Cooking Skill: Theo is well-versed in the dishes from his home island, but doesn’t really know what to do with a lot of ingredients, many of which he’s never heard of.

Main Bio:

Theo originates from an island somewhere in the northern seas. Though many have tried to find it, its existence is largely considered mere legend due to the fact that it seems cut off from the world. It has a sun and a moon and a natural environment that doesn’t need humans to be maintained, just as things were many thousands of years ago. Its small population is aware of the rest of the world and the state it’s in, but are entirely untouched by the decaying world around them.
He grew up studying within the island’s one and only religious order, which pays its respects to the creator, Heiavian. Everyone in the order is given a permanent tattoo representing Heiavian which goes from the neck down across the back. (Their hair is also dyed black. Theo’s natural hair color is blonde.) Hardly more than a week ago, Theo was bidden to leave the island bearing a note of invitation from someone important on the Eastern mainland. With little explanation he’s had to leave on his own in a small ship and sail off into the darkness of a world he’s never seen with his own eyes. Along the way he stumbles upon Sasha and pulls her to safety.
He is, needless to say, naïve when it comes to people in the rest of the world and while he’s mostly eager to learn, he retains what he was taught on the island fiercely. He insists that people are capable of changing the way they behave and doesn’t have much patience for stubbornness, nor for those are unable to overcome their fears.
This rapidly becomes a problem for him when he reaches the mainland and discovers that the tattoo he wears supposedly marks him as a harbinger of the end of the world. People believe that soon his people will arrive on their shores and overrun the countryside before the ultimate destruction of the world and it’s a fear he really doesn’t know what to do with. His nature is normally very passive and he’s not used to having to cut down other people just to protect himself from harm. He and Sasha are treated as exiles if not an outright threat by most of the people they encounter, meaning they often spend their nights outside, away from cities. Even criminals won’t approach them. All he can do is trust that he was sent to the mainland for a good reason…

Sasha Irides:

Age: 20

Primary Weapons: Sword, Chains

The chains are the ones she wore while in captivity. She uses them when just out of sword range.
Preferred Environment: Hates stagnant weather from being in a place with no wind for so long and is very used to shrugging off the cold.

Preferred Food: Has a great deal of fondness for sweet, sugary foods despite the fact that they tend to exacerbate her already excessive energy levels.

Cooking Skill: Though not inept, Sasha doesn’t really know how to make much of anything.

Main Bio:

Sasha grew up in the massive coastal city of Meilianna, which occupies most of the western mainland, but was taken captive at age thirteen by the hated machines known as the Credo and remained there for seven years of her life until her behavior took a violent turn and she was disposed of by cast into the sea. She was unexpectedly found by Theo as he made his way across the ocean to the eastern mainland. Not wishing to return home yet, she chose to stay with him instead.
When taken captive, she was injected with a chemical that causes the body to produce excess energy at an extreme rate for harvesting. As a result of her exposure to the chemical and her long enslavement, she never sleeps more than a couple of hours at a time. She gets wound up easily and she has a short temper and little patience but she tries her best to hold back when she can. That said, she retains from her childhood an eagerness to get into a fight that often got her into a lot of trouble back home. Though now free, she almost never removes the chains she wears, having grown so accustomed to them. Being seen without them is worse for her than being seen naked. Though she hides the scars cut into her face under her left eye, many others are still visible on her skin, which makes people react very strangely to her and that can make her very self-conscious at times.
Her capacity for quick movement is easy to underestimate and once she starts fighting she can be very hard to stop. Winning a fight does help her cool off though, and she doesn’t have any particular difficulty getting along with people initially, but finds it very hard to forgive slights against her.

Ezalier ‘Zail’ Dastegya

Age: 18

Primary Weapon: Artificial Array (“Torch”)

The artificial array is not primarily meant as a weapon. It houses a dragon scale powerful enough to light a city, which is what it was intended for. A so-called ‘torch bearer’ is needed to spread artificial light to the cities so they can stay safe and functional at night. However, the device can also be used for powerful magic and it carries a blade near the top that retracts when not in use.

Preferred Environment: Really doesn’t care for stormy weather. Prefers bright, sunny days and blue skies, whether hot or cold.

Preferred Food: Likes fish more than anything. Doesn’t care for food that requires too much chewing.

Cooking Skill: Learned a lot from his parents about how to prepare meals for anyone and everyone, though he never really got the chance to refine his skills since he took on the task of being a torch bearer. He’s better at making medicine and most of his dishes have medicinal qualities, but are lacking in taste somewhat.

Main Bio:

Ezalier generally goes by the shorthand “Zail” for obvious reasons. His late father was the original torch bearer in his family and since his father’s death he has tried vigorously to fill his father’s shoes, but hasn’t had a lot of luck learning about how to use the torch yet. Needless to say, he despises the Credo and while he can be overly cautious when dealing with other enemies he is quite different when confronted with his father’s foes, leaning toward dangerous recklessness at times.
Though still a child and willing to admit it, he takes his task of being a torch-bearer very seriously. When Theo and Sasha take refuge at the healing spring where he and his mother live, he ends up deciding it’s time for him to get out and try to follow in his father’s footsteps and decides to go with them. He’s not a very shy person and he can be a little stubborn or sarcastic now and then, but otherwise he’s an easy person to get along with.

Volantes ‘Draco/Drake’ Dirigendos

Age: 33

Primary Weapons: Two Swords, a device that can affect the wind

The device on his forearm was a machine crafted by his father to give him an edge in the business of directing air currents, but Drake likes to use it in battle as well. It really comes in handy for pulling targets off-balance and with enough energy, it can even cast wind magic. Its power source is a dragon scale from an ancient dragon that could supposedly move the wind with its call.

Preferred Environment: Enjoys intense, stormy weather, but otherwise prefers hot weather, which is somewhat scarce in his world.

Preferred Food: Has a special fondness for steamed food and also fish.

Cooking Skill: Having learned quite a bit from his parents, and having prepared his own food for a long time, Draco knows quite a lot about cooking, though he tends to always make things he likes.

Main Bio:

Going by his middle name, Draco, or Drake, Volantes comes from a family with a long history. They’ve all had the same occupation for generations: piloting the flying ships that keep the wind currents moving and herd the clouds to where they’re needed. The name he was given roughly translates to ‘flying dragon guardian’ and he wears the name proudly in spite of the fact that not many people have heard of it. Having to travel almost every day though, he’s never been able to start a relationship since all the girls he meets aren’t inclined toward traveling (particularly since most people in this age have an important job they need to do to keep the world from falling apart at the seams.)It hasn’t stopped him from trying though. His thoughts have recently wandered to making his ship, the Derecho, into a charter vessel instead, and when Zail, Theo and Sasha come looking for someone to take them to Arcrenian he decides it’s as good a place to start as any.
In combat, Drake usually keeps one sword out and the other sheathed, only drawing the second one when he needs it. When he’s only using one sword, he can also use the device on his arm, which is able to direct air currents. It works as a handy ace to play now and then in a fight even though he’s not really supposed to use it that way. If you’re a guy, he can come off as a bit condescending, but he means well. He tends to pick on Zail though, and calls him ‘weed’ all the time, insisting that his normal name is simply too much of a mouthful despite his nickname. If you’re a girl, his personality comes down to a rather overzealous chivalry. He can be civil when he needs to be, but can also call up quite a few colorful words when he feels like it. If there’s one thing he definitely can’t abide, it’s a hypocrite. He’s inherited a long-standing distaste for lack of principles from his parents, who are still alive, and now run a small repair shop for vessels like his. His father is the only person who can fix the device on his forearm since he’s the one who made it originally. Other people in his business don’t have them.

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The two ages:

At a certain point, events lead to the world being recreated into a new form by Heiavian and the spirits are reborn as the Ruanaught, harsh beings that have actual physical bodies and rely on their centurions to control the currents of mana now flowing through the world once more. Theo, Sasha, Zail and Draco awaken many centuries after the end of their age, now called the ‘lost age’ by most people, and are forced to deal with the problems of the so-called ‘newborn age’.
The other characters live in the newborn age.

Rimenna Veera

Age: 29

Primary Weapon: Razor Bow

A razor bow is designed for close combat in addition to firing arrows. It includes a long, heavy blade on one end that can be used like a halberd. She is also able to imbue arrows with incantations to unleash them on targets directly.

Preferred Environment: Rimenna loves the cold. Snow and ice don’t bother her at all. She doesn’t like intense sunlight much.

Preferred Food: Rimenna can be picky about food sometimes; having grown up with someone like Seyja around, especially since he never made food for himself so she always got to eat what she wanted.

What to eat tends to be a point of rather childish contention between her and Drake, though it turns into something with an entirely different context to it after a while.

Cooking Skills: Rimenna doesn’t know much about cooking. Seyja normally makes all of her food, and though she often takes an interest in learning more, she is easily distracted by her research projects and has a somewhat short attention span.

Main Bio:

Rimenna is the daughter of a great explorer and scholar. Her parents aren’t around anymore, but she has inherited their extensive estate and her father’s love of adventurous exploration. Her hometown, Nebula, is built on the ruins of Caral Nivar, which used to produce rainclouds in the lost age and this has made it a favorite home for scholars and explorers. Seyja was a friend of her father and has been her guardian for much of her life since their passing and it’s a situation she’s grown accustomed to. Despite being generally regarded as an expert on the ruins of the ancient world, she is not studious. Her lack of knowledge is palpable but she is an excellent fighter and very agile. Much of what she knows comes from being the only one physically able to explore a lot of the remnants of the old world, (which are too hazardous for most mages)…at least, those the Ruanaught will allow people to examine. When she decides to take a risk and opens up one of the forbidden temples up in the mountains, she finds Theo and his friends inside. Having released the ‘ancient destroyer of the world’ the legends spoke of, she has broken a critical law of the Ruanaught and incurs the wrath of Procellus, who comes after her.

Rimenna is also a ‘vetus sanguine’ (meaning old blood) which means her hair changes color with the seasons. It turns from its normal black to blazing white in the winter.

Seyja

Primary Weapons: Two staves

Seyja has an immense amount of magic power; enough to use two weapons at once, either on separate targets or on a single one. Using both weapons on the same target with the same spell triggers the aftershock effect. He speaks all his incantations in the old tongue.

Preferred Environment: Seyja is relatively unaffected by the air around him, but the cold does tend to slow him down a bit.

Preferred Food: None

Cooking Skill: Seyja is a master at cooking despite not having eaten for centuries. Whatever memories he may lack, he has retained a knack for preparing food and has had ages to practice the art.

Main Bio:

A long time ago, someone apparently tried to make an immortal being of some kind and, well, whether they succeeded or not is a bit of a mystery. For that matter, it’s not really clear if the experimenter used him/herself as the subject or if it was someone else. Whatever the case and whatever the purpose, the result was Seyja: a being composed of a mixture of machinery, bone and sinew with incredible magical power and a life span that seems to last forever. His body is by no means perfect though. His blood collects in vials in his stomach cavity and every so often he needs to remove one of the bottles and drink his own blood again to keep it flowing through his body, which lacks a proper circulation system.
Whether he is an undead abomination or the immortal fruit of his or someone else’s research, Seyja has long since stopped caring. Having lived for several lifetimes, he has learned to walk among the human race as one of them, even if the sight of him still scares people sometimes. However, most people in this day and age have heard of the wandering immortal…though he’s no longer a wanderer. Years ago, he met Rimenna’s father just after the passing of her mother and continued to explore with him for many years. When he died, Rimenna’s father asked Seyja to watch over her and he has been her guardian ever since.
Seyja has enough magic flowing through his veins to match several battlemages and in combat he wields two staves at once. His spells can produce a powerful aftershock effect that no living human can replicate and he has a vast understanding of the magical properties of the world which he’s built up over the long years. That said, healing artes do not work on Seyja, nor do any normal healing implements. He is the only one able to repair his body. Even resurrection magic cannot be used on him. He can only be brought back using a special synth. Item called a Guardian Scroll. When he is called back though, he temporarily has an unnatural increase in power.

Terisa Kasaveir

Age: 19

Primary Weapon: Double-ended lightning sword

The sword is a model commonly used by the best assassins from Cataega. It can take in lightning energy from the air in large bursts and turn it loose on targets in separate strikes or all at once.

Preferred Environment: Likes humid, misty conditions like her home.

Preferred Food: Can’t stand bloody meats. She’s pretty much a vegetarian.

Cooking Skills: Terisa doesn’t really know how to cook at all. Embarrassed by this, she is usually able to get out of cooking by noting that her people are really better at making poisons than food.

Main Bio:

Terisa is one of the assassins from the floating city of Cataega, initially sent to hunt down Rimenna after she escapes the grasp of Procellus’s centurions. Her people have served Iratheres for a long time and both of her parents are also assassins who, unbeknownst to her, were against her being warped into another killer, but were unable to refuse the order that she be trained as one of them. They recently were sent off to search for the lost island Theo grew up on and it’s been a while since she’s seen them, but she remains unconcerned for the time being…
Despite the nature of her occupation, Terisa has a weak stomach and a violent aversion to blood in particular. She doesn’t like to see it, but is especially sickened by the smell. She’s shy, reserved and easily manipulated emotionally, a nature resulting in part from the fact that she never ventures out into the rest of the world for any reason other than to eliminate a target, so social interaction is strictly out of the question. As much as people tend to fear Theo, they react even more violently to someone like her; a known killer and enemy of anyone not from her city. (Actually, because of their shared burden of being so feared by everyone, she develops a pretty strong crush on Theo after she gets over being afraid of him, but she’s hopeless, romantically speaking, and tends to trip over her own feet a lot trying to get closer to him, all the while failing to notice Zail’s obvious crush on her.)

Samuel Tovaris

Age: 36

Primary Weapon: War Hammer, Sword

Samuel is a giant of a man, able to wield the hammer in one hand and a sword in the other with shocking ease.

Preferred Environment: Samuel really prefers a good breeze since it helps air out his armor. Otherwise, he’s fairly oblivious to weather in general.

Preferred Food: Samuel is quite capable of eating anything, but he’s very familiar with high quality food and knows a good dish when he eats one.

Cooking Skills: Samuel does know how to make a few items, though most of that was learned during his younger years, before his duties as a knight started to take up most of his time, so most of what he knows is simpler stuff, but he takes great care with everything he makes.
Main Bio:

Samuel is the Grand Knight of Rima, which is the name of a city in the northeastern area of the newborn age, but Rima really refers to a small kingdom that has built up around the city over the years. As they live in territory overseen by the more passive spirit Quassus, they enjoy a relative increase in freedom from the Ruanaught and their laws, but are by no means free to do as they please. They’re just less subject to the spirits’ wrath, and many who fear reprisals from them tend to flee there. At the moment, there is no ruling family, but Nalina Avinthel, one of the last remaining blood relatives to the previous ruling family has been chosen as a new heir is already being groomed to take over the vacant seat of the Queen and for several years, Samuel has been her protector. They’re more than in love with one another and Samuel now has to consider the very real likelihood that he will become King in the near future, but for the time being, he still dedicates himself to the protection of the region. Samuel also has the companionship of a fierce fledgling dragon named Argus who carries him into battle gladly. Though he has not yet learned the language of men, he and Samuel have an understanding as strong as the bond between any knight and steed.
Samuel himself is a very strong leader and a bold and clever strategist, but when fighting alone, he likes to let loose and enjoy the fight, which he can afford to do since he’s such a massively strong man that he can even cross blades with someone like Theo. He uses the sword for quicker attacks and the hammer for crushing follow-up attacks. He is chivalrous and jovial even in dark times, but he keeps his serious side and doesn’t joke around when it’s not called for. For all his easygoing attitude, being a pillar of strength takes its toll on him and Theo’s companionship is very helpful as far as giving him a person he can confide in once in a while apart from Nalina.

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And there we are. Sorry to throw so much into the description. Hope you enjoy it them!

Description
Wow! 0__o I can’t believe I’m finally done with this. I finally have all of the characters drawn for Tales of Excidium. (It took some time to write out their bios too. It was all in my head, but I’d never written it before, really.) A lot of things have changed since I first started drawing them and you can probably see I’ve left a space in the middle for another shot at making a cover design. I’ll post that too at some point and it will include a sort of preview (silhouette) of Heiavian, who will be the next character from this story I draw, but that’s a ways off now that I’m going to start on a major ToS drawing.
Here’s the info about the characters and the relevant information about the world they live in:
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The World:

The world the characters live in has been decaying for centuries. All traces of the society that once knew its original name have long since vanished. The world’s supply of mana has almost vanished and with it, the spirits that once governed the world’s natural forces have disappeared as well. The decaying world has forced humans to a pinnacle of technology aimed at keeping their world together. Almost every natural force has to be triggered in some way, shape or form by human technology. Even the light of the sun no longer reaches the world below. Artificial sources of light, ocean and wind currents and scientifically generated life forms keep the world hovering on the brink of death. The hospitable portions of the world extend now over two large continents.
The regions devoid of light are largely unknown, but one threat routinely emerges from the shadows to prey on the inhabitants of the shrouded world. The Credo, mechanical beings believed to have once been human, frequently drag away or kill people in the dead of night. Recently, their attacks have become bolder due to a weapon that can snuff out the artificial light most cities have to keep them safe. Although not harmed by the light directly, they prefer to avoid conflict in the open.
The only real sources of power that remain are the scales of dragons; a race nearly extinct now. While people work hard to make up for the lack of energy, most powerful technology relies on the power of dragon scales, or even the dragons themselves to function. The city that produces sunlight for the rest of the world is pulled through the sky by one of the few remaining dragons. Other scales are used for purposes ranging from flying ships, to massive towers that produce clouds, to personal use. A person using a dragon scale is not immune to harm, but the scale holds their body together, allowing them to survive otherwise fatal injuries. Users can also learn to shield themselves from magic and/or projectiles including firearms. People continue to live their daily lives virtually unaware that life was ever different except in old myths…and one legend about a lost island that still lives in the natural light of the sun somehow.

Theo Aromevano:

Age: 24

Primary Weapons: Sword (Deihamat), bracers/fists

Theo’s sword is a type exclusively given to those within his order. It contains a scale from Heiavian himself, which a distinguished initiate must carry and cultivate for a long time before it is finally fused within the metal of the sword and the user forms a bond with the weapon. Its actual weight is immense; enough to tear through steel, but his bond with the weapon allows him to pick it up where others would find lifting it impossible. In addition, he is well-trained in using his fists in combat to make up for the slower sword swings, although speed in this case is relative and he can swing the heavy Deihamat at what many would call a normal speed.

Preferred Environment: Prefers the open air and is fond of both rain and intense sunlight, but doesn’t like humidity.

Preferred Food: Theo has an almost inhuman tolerance for spicy food.

Cooking Skill: Theo is well-versed in the dishes from his home island, but doesn’t really know what to do with a lot of ingredients, many of which he’s never heard of.

Main Bio:

Theo originates from an island somewhere in the northern seas. Though many have tried to find it, its existence is largely considered mere legend due to the fact that it seems cut off from the world. It has a sun and a moon and a natural environment that doesn’t need humans to be maintained, just as things were many thousands of years ago. Its small population is aware of the rest of the world and the state it’s in, but are entirely untouched by the decaying world around them.
He grew up studying within the island’s one and only religious order, which pays its respects to the creator, Heiavian. Everyone in the order is given a permanent tattoo representing Heiavian which goes from the neck down across the back. (Their hair is also dyed black. Theo’s natural hair color is blonde.) Hardly more than a week ago, Theo was bidden to leave the island bearing a note of invitation from someone important on the Eastern mainland. With little explanation he’s had to leave on his own in a small ship and sail off into the darkness of a world he’s never seen with his own eyes. Along the way he stumbles upon Sasha and pulls her to safety.
He is, needless to say, naïve when it comes to people in the rest of the world and while he’s mostly eager to learn, he retains what he was taught on the island fiercely. He insists that people are capable of changing the way they behave and doesn’t have much patience for stubbornness, nor for those are unable to overcome their fears.
This rapidly becomes a problem for him when he reaches the mainland and discovers that the tattoo he wears supposedly marks him as a harbinger of the end of the world. People believe that soon his people will arrive on their shores and overrun the countryside before the ultimate destruction of the world and it’s a fear he really doesn’t know what to do with. His nature is normally very passive and he’s not used to having to cut down other people just to protect himself from harm. He and Sasha are treated as exiles if not an outright threat by most of the people they encounter, meaning they often spend their nights outside, away from cities. Even criminals won’t approach them. All he can do is trust that he was sent to the mainland for a good reason…

Sasha Irides:

Age: 20

Primary Weapons: Sword, Chains

The chains are the ones she wore while in captivity. She uses them when just out of sword range.
Preferred Environment: Hates stagnant weather from being in a place with no wind for so long and is very used to shrugging off the cold.

Preferred Food: Has a great deal of fondness for sweet, sugary foods despite the fact that they tend to exacerbate her already excessive energy levels.

Cooking Skill: Though not inept, Sasha doesn’t really know how to make much of anything.

Main Bio:

Sasha grew up in the massive coastal city of Meilianna, which occupies most of the western mainland, but was taken captive at age thirteen by the hated machines known as the Credo and remained there for seven years of her life until her behavior took a violent turn and she was disposed of by cast into the sea. She was unexpectedly found by Theo as he made his way across the ocean to the eastern mainland. Not wishing to return home yet, she chose to stay with him instead.
When taken captive, she was injected with a chemical that causes the body to produce excess energy at an extreme rate for harvesting. As a result of her exposure to the chemical and her long enslavement, she never sleeps more than a couple of hours at a time. She gets wound up easily and she has a short temper and little patience but she tries her best to hold back when she can. That said, she retains from her childhood an eagerness to get into a fight that often got her into a lot of trouble back home. Though now free, she almost never removes the chains she wears, having grown so accustomed to them. Being seen without them is worse for her than being seen naked. Though she hides the scars cut into her face under her left eye, many others are still visible on her skin, which makes people react very strangely to her and that can make her very self-conscious at times.
Her capacity for quick movement is easy to underestimate and once she starts fighting she can be very hard to stop. Winning a fight does help her cool off though, and she doesn’t have any particular difficulty getting along with people initially, but finds it very hard to forgive slights against her.

Ezalier ‘Zail’ Dastegya

Age: 18

Primary Weapon: Artificial Array (“Torch”)

The artificial array is not primarily meant as a weapon. It houses a dragon scale powerful enough to light a city, which is what it was intended for. A so-called ‘torch bearer’ is needed to spread artificial light to the cities so they can stay safe and functional at night. However, the device can also be used for powerful magic and it carries a blade near the top that retracts when not in use.

Preferred Environment: Really doesn’t care for stormy weather. Prefers bright, sunny days and blue skies, whether hot or cold.

Preferred Food: Likes fish more than anything. Doesn’t care for food that requires too much chewing.

Cooking Skill: Learned a lot from his parents about how to prepare meals for anyone and everyone, though he never really got the chance to refine his skills since he took on the task of being a torch bearer. He’s better at making medicine and most of his dishes have medicinal qualities, but are lacking in taste somewhat.

Main Bio:

Ezalier generally goes by the shorthand “Zail” for obvious reasons. His late father was the original torch bearer in his family and since his father’s death he has tried vigorously to fill his father’s shoes, but hasn’t had a lot of luck learning about how to use the torch yet. Needless to say, he despises the Credo and while he can be overly cautious when dealing with other enemies he is quite different when confronted with his father’s foes, leaning toward dangerous recklessness at times.
Though still a child and willing to admit it, he takes his task of being a torch-bearer very seriously. When Theo and Sasha take refuge at the healing spring where he and his mother live, he ends up deciding it’s time for him to get out and try to follow in his father’s footsteps and decides to go with them. He’s not a very shy person and he can be a little stubborn or sarcastic now and then, but otherwise he’s an easy person to get along with.

Volantes ‘Draco/Drake’ Dirigendos

Age: 33

Primary Weapons: Two Swords, a device that can affect the wind

The device on his forearm was a machine crafted by his father to give him an edge in the business of directing air currents, but Drake likes to use it in battle as well. It really comes in handy for pulling targets off-balance and with enough energy, it can even cast wind magic. Its power source is a dragon scale from an ancient dragon that could supposedly move the wind with its call.

Preferred Environment: Enjoys intense, stormy weather, but otherwise prefers hot weather, which is somewhat scarce in his world.

Preferred Food: Has a special fondness for steamed food and also fish.

Cooking Skill: Having learned quite a bit from his parents, and having prepared his own food for a long time, Draco knows quite a lot about cooking, though he tends to always make things he likes.

Main Bio:

Going by his middle name, Draco, or Drake, Volantes comes from a family with a long history. They’ve all had the same occupation for generations: piloting the flying ships that keep the wind currents moving and herd the clouds to where they’re needed. The name he was given roughly translates to ‘flying dragon guardian’ and he wears the name proudly in spite of the fact that not many people have heard of it. Having to travel almost every day though, he’s never been able to start a relationship since all the girls he meets aren’t inclined toward traveling (particularly since most people in this age have an important job they need to do to keep the world from falling apart at the seams.)It hasn’t stopped him from trying though. His thoughts have recently wandered to making his ship, the Derecho, into a charter vessel instead, and when Zail, Theo and Sasha come looking for someone to take them to Arcrenian he decides it’s as good a place to start as any.
In combat, Drake usually keeps one sword out and the other sheathed, only drawing the second one when he needs it. When he’s only using one sword, he can also use the device on his arm, which is able to direct air currents. It works as a handy ace to play now and then in a fight even though he’s not really supposed to use it that way. If you’re a guy, he can come off as a bit condescending, but he means well. He tends to pick on Zail though, and calls him ‘weed’ all the time, insisting that his normal name is simply too much of a mouthful despite his nickname. If you’re a girl, his personality comes down to a rather overzealous chivalry. He can be civil when he needs to be, but can also call up quite a few colorful words when he feels like it. If there’s one thing he definitely can’t abide, it’s a hypocrite. He’s inherited a long-standing distaste for lack of principles from his parents, who are still alive, and now run a small repair shop for vessels like his. His father is the only person who can fix the device on his forearm since he’s the one who made it originally. Other people in his business don’t have them.

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The two ages:

At a certain point, events lead to the world being recreated into a new form by Heiavian and the spirits are reborn as the Ruanaught, harsh beings that have actual physical bodies and rely on their centurions to control the currents of mana now flowing through the world once more. Theo, Sasha, Zail and Draco awaken many centuries after the end of their age, now called the ‘lost age’ by most people, and are forced to deal with the problems of the so-called ‘newborn age’.
The other characters live in the newborn age.

Rimenna Veera

Age: 29

Primary Weapon: Razor Bow

A razor bow is designed for close combat in addition to firing arrows. It includes a long, heavy blade on one end that can be used like a halberd. She is also able to imbue arrows with incantations to unleash them on targets directly.

Preferred Environment: Rimenna loves the cold. Snow and ice don’t bother her at all. She doesn’t like intense sunlight much.

Preferred Food: Rimenna can be picky about food sometimes; having grown up with someone like Seyja around, especially since he never made food for himself so she always got to eat what she wanted.

What to eat tends to be a point of rather childish contention between her and Drake, though it turns into something with an entirely different context to it after a while.

Cooking Skills: Rimenna doesn’t know much about cooking. Seyja normally makes all of her food, and though she often takes an interest in learning more, she is easily distracted by her research projects and has a somewhat short attention span.

Main Bio:

Rimenna is the daughter of a great explorer and scholar. Her parents aren’t around anymore, but she has inherited their extensive estate and her father’s love of adventurous exploration. Her hometown, Nebula, is built on the ruins of Caral Nivar, which used to produce rainclouds in the lost age and this has made it a favorite home for scholars and explorers. Seyja was a friend of her father and has been her guardian for much of her life since their passing and it’s a situation she’s grown accustomed to. Despite being generally regarded as an expert on the ruins of the ancient world, she is not studious. Her lack of knowledge is palpable but she is an excellent fighter and very agile. Much of what she knows comes from being the only one physically able to explore a lot of the remnants of the old world, (which are too hazardous for most mages)…at least, those the Ruanaught will allow people to examine. When she decides to take a risk and opens up one of the forbidden temples up in the mountains, she finds Theo and his friends inside. Having released the ‘ancient destroyer of the world’ the legends spoke of, she has broken a critical law of the Ruanaught and incurs the wrath of Procellus, who comes after her.

Rimenna is also a ‘vetus sanguine’ (meaning old blood) which means her hair changes color with the seasons. It turns from its normal black to blazing white in the winter.

Seyja

Primary Weapons: Two staves

Seyja has an immense amount of magic power; enough to use two weapons at once, either on separate targets or on a single one. Using both weapons on the same target with the same spell triggers the aftershock effect. He speaks all his incantations in the old tongue.

Preferred Environment: Seyja is relatively unaffected by the air around him, but the cold does tend to slow him down a bit.

Preferred Food: None

Cooking Skill: Seyja is a master at cooking despite not having eaten for centuries. Whatever memories he may lack, he has retained a knack for preparing food and has had ages to practice the art.

Main Bio:

A long time ago, someone apparently tried to make an immortal being of some kind and, well, whether they succeeded or not is a bit of a mystery. For that matter, it’s not really clear if the experimenter used him/herself as the subject or if it was someone else. Whatever the case and whatever the purpose, the result was Seyja: a being composed of a mixture of machinery, bone and sinew with incredible magical power and a life span that seems to last forever. His body is by no means perfect though. His blood collects in vials in his stomach cavity and every so often he needs to remove one of the bottles and drink his own blood again to keep it flowing through his body, which lacks a proper circulation system.
Whether he is an undead abomination or the immortal fruit of his or someone else’s research, Seyja has long since stopped caring. Having lived for several lifetimes, he has learned to walk among the human race as one of them, even if the sight of him still scares people sometimes. However, most people in this day and age have heard of the wandering immortal…though he’s no longer a wanderer. Years ago, he met Rimenna’s father just after the passing of her mother and continued to explore with him for many years. When he died, Rimenna’s father asked Seyja to watch over her and he has been her guardian ever since.
Seyja has enough magic flowing through his veins to match several battlemages and in combat he wields two staves at once. His spells can produce a powerful aftershock effect that no living human can replicate and he has a vast understanding of the magical properties of the world which he’s built up over the long years. That said, healing artes do not work on Seyja, nor do any normal healing implements. He is the only one able to repair his body. Even resurrection magic cannot be used on him. He can only be brought back using a special synth. Item called a Guardian Scroll. When he is called back though, he temporarily has an unnatural increase in power.

Terisa Kasaveir

Age: 19

Primary Weapon: Double-ended lightning sword

The sword is a model commonly used by the best assassins from Cataega. It can take in lightning energy from the air in large bursts and turn it loose on targets in separate strikes or all at once.

Preferred Environment: Likes humid, misty conditions like her home.

Preferred Food: Can’t stand bloody meats. She’s pretty much a vegetarian.

Cooking Skills: Terisa doesn’t really know how to cook at all. Embarrassed by this, she is usually able to get out of cooking by noting that her people are really better at making poisons than food.

Main Bio:

Terisa is one of the assassins from the floating city of Cataega, initially sent to hunt down Rimenna after she escapes the grasp of Procellus’s centurions. Her people have served Iratheres for a long time and both of her parents are also assassins who, unbeknownst to her, were against her being warped into another killer, but were unable to refuse the order that she be trained as one of them. They recently were sent off to search for the lost island Theo grew up on and it’s been a while since she’s seen them, but she remains unconcerned for the time being…
Despite the nature of her occupation, Terisa has a weak stomach and a violent aversion to blood in particular. She doesn’t like to see it, but is especially sickened by the smell. She’s shy, reserved and easily manipulated emotionally, a nature resulting in part from the fact that she never ventures out into the rest of the world for any reason other than to eliminate a target, so social interaction is strictly out of the question. As much as people tend to fear Theo, they react even more violently to someone like her; a known killer and enemy of anyone not from her city. (Actually, because of their shared burden of being so feared by everyone, she develops a pretty strong crush on Theo after she gets over being afraid of him, but she’s hopeless, romantically speaking, and tends to trip over her own feet a lot trying to get closer to him, all the while failing to notice Zail’s obvious crush on her.)

Samuel Tovaris

Age: 36

Primary Weapon: War Hammer, Sword

Samuel is a giant of a man, able to wield the hammer in one hand and a sword in the other with shocking ease.

Preferred Environment: Samuel really prefers a good breeze since it helps air out his armor. Otherwise, he’s fairly oblivious to weather in general.

Preferred Food: Samuel is quite capable of eating anything, but he’s very familiar with high quality food and knows a good dish when he eats one.

Cooking Skills: Samuel does know how to make a few items, though most of that was learned during his younger years, before his duties as a knight started to take up most of his time, so most of what he knows is simpler stuff, but he takes great care with everything he makes.
Main Bio:

Samuel is the Grand Knight of Rima, which is the name of a city in the northeastern area of the newborn age, but Rima really refers to a small kingdom that has built up around the city over the years. As they live in territory overseen by the more passive spirit Quassus, they enjoy a relative increase in freedom from the Ruanaught and their laws, but are by no means free to do as they please. They’re just less subject to the spirits’ wrath, and many who fear reprisals from them tend to flee there. At the moment, there is no ruling family, but Nalina Avinthel, one of the last remaining blood relatives to the previous ruling family has been chosen as a new heir is already being groomed to take over the vacant seat of the Queen and for several years, Samuel has been her protector. They’re more than in love with one another and Samuel now has to consider the very real likelihood that he will become King in the near future, but for the time being, he still dedicates himself to the protection of the region. Samuel also has the companionship of a fierce fledgling dragon named Argus who carries him into battle gladly. Though he has not yet learned the language of men, he and Samuel have an understanding as strong as the bond between any knight and steed.
Samuel himself is a very strong leader and a bold and clever strategist, but when fighting alone, he likes to let loose and enjoy the fight, which he can afford to do since he’s such a massively strong man that he can even cross blades with someone like Theo. He uses the sword for quicker attacks and the hammer for crushing follow-up attacks. He is chivalrous and jovial even in dark times, but he keeps his serious side and doesn’t joke around when it’s not called for. For all his easygoing attitude, being a pillar of strength takes its toll on him and Theo’s companionship is very helpful as far as giving him a person he can confide in once in a while apart from Nalina.

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And there we are. Sorry to throw so much into the description. Hope you enjoy it them!