The Characters of Nacre Then
- Autlan - Born in the First Era, Autlan is the human that brought his kind out of the darkness that was their enslavement during the majority of this Era. He mounted a resistance and overcame the Al’Tari, ending the First Era and becoming the first Emperor of the Crown Empire. In later Eras, he is revered as an all but divine being, due to his intelligence, perseverance, and kindness as a ruler.
- Marciellus - During the Second Era, and the protagonist of the Warstorm, Marc is the fighter that participates in the Warstorm, a tournament that was set up by the Crown Council to destroy any would-be resistance for when the Al’Tari are prepared to rise again. Marc is nearly victorious in the first Warstorm he participates in, and returns a second time once he sees the truth, but that time his intent was to put an end to the bloodbath.
- Aluvair - Herald of the Third Era, and one of the Archons. He is a large, jovial fellow. The sort of guy who you’d love to have around for when you need to be inspired, your spirits lifted, or your friends stabbed. He’s everybody’s best friend, but if you get on his bad side he won’t hesitate to let you know and make you regret it. During the Archon War he was a tough opponent in singular combat, especially when equipped with the momentum-negating Vanguard. He couldn’t stand up to somebody like Cedrine or Verik, but his true talent was to make his people not only want to fight, but believe they could win even when statistics dictates otherwise. His people were the most unified during the Archon War, and thus their forces moved the most fluently.
- Cedrine - Herald of the Third Era, and one of the Archons. Cedrine is the older brother of Zephirine, and is generally more soft spoken. He’s generally introverted and doesn’t speak his mind without putting thought into his words. Cedrine is able to think about things in a different perspective, and he always seems to know what to say. His calm and thoughtful personality is contrasted by his Origin magic, in his ability to use two magic styles simultaneously at the cost of his sanity. This causes his power to increase immensely, and the only person that could stand up to him in a fight would be Verik, since nobody is as impossibly powerful as he, and this is further augmented when he wields the Graven Channel. Before the Archon War, he and Calitha had a romantic relationship. This was somewhat deterred by the fact that they were enemies during the War, and Cedrine also had a hand in The Great Sundering, the event that killed thousands of Calitha’s men.
- Zephirine - Herald of the Third Era, and one of the Archons. Zephirine is the younger brother of Cedrine, and is by far the most hotheaded of the seven. He was arrogant even before he became an Archon, and his Origin magic of air mastery only amplified his narcissism. He and Cedrine are virtually polar opposites, so Zephirine’s magic is also contrasted by the fact that in order to utilize it, he must meditate, something his hot bloodedness finds quite difficult. Before the Archon War, Zephirine was one of the largest factors in erasing Empiran presence on the northern half of the continent, as he could single-handedly turn armies with his manipulation of the weather. During the Archon War, he used this power to make his nation an unconquerable bastion of fierce winds and harsh climates to any unwelcome party. Later, the alliance of his climate control and Calitha’s near omnipresence allowed the two of them to be a virtually unstoppable force of nature. The only thing that stopped them from overrunning all of Northern Torreth was Cedrine and Verik’s plan to cause The Great Sundering.
- Keht - Herald of the Third Era, and one of the Archons. Keht was the heir to the throne of the Autlan Empire when he joined the group of historians that would become the Archons. Once they achieved their goal and claimed that vast reservoir of power, he changed his name to Keht (the name he is most commonly known as in later Eras) so that he wouldn’t be associated with his father or the kingdom he despised because of him. Keht was always a very manipulative person from the start, and his Origin magic of using the power of Suggestion on people made it that much easier on him. Keht would always get what he wanted, and was able to make it seem like he got the short end of the stick most of the time. It was Keht that essentially formed the alliances that occurred in the Archon War. He witnessed Zephirine’s ability to turn armies alone and Calitha’s superb tactical mind, and allied himself with the two of them. He did not anticipate The Great Sundering, which was a severe blow to his plans, so after that he settled down in the remaining half of the desert to build his nation, which was previously a largely uninhabited land.
- Kitsuki - Herald of the Third Era, and one of the Archons. Kitsuki is probably the most unique Archon in terms of personality. In her first incarnation, she was a pacifist who believed only the pursuit of knowledge could better society. During the Archon War, she only directly participated through the use of her healing ability. Once the war became a strife between the Archons themselves, she stepped out and let them settle their disputes on their own. She founded the Preservers to make the humans a more learned species, and make something better of themselves as a result. After the Great Sundering, the other Archons accepted their roles as leaders of this group. Since Kitsuki has the power to reincarnate, she is timeless. Her incarnations are all copies of her previous self, however, so after generations of this process she is nowhere near the same person as the original Archon was. She grows far more cynical, and eventually even violently so, especially upon witnessing the corruption of her beloved Preservers. Furthermore, the fact that she reincarnates is not common knowledge. Everybody else believes that her spirit travels through people throughout ages, and these “Emissaries” are merely prophets as opposed to the true Archon. It isn’t until the Fourth Era that her true Origin magic is revealed.
- Calitha - Herald of the Third Era, and one of the Archons. Calitha is a cool-headed, strategic person. She understands the needs and capabilities of large amounts of people on a level second to none. Before the Archon War she amassed an army to retake the lands of Torreth conquered by the Koh Liir in the Second Era. She is the epitome of confidence and competence, and her involvement in the first phase of the Archon War (when the Archons were fighting in free-for-all combat) was quite limited, since her magic power is most proficient with the involvement of thousands. Even as an Archon, her strength in the use of elemental magic was mediocre at best. During the War she wanted to decide who would get what land based on honor and skill in combat, so she lost a lot of respect for Cedrine and Cerik when they caused the Great Sundering to kill thousands of her men and end the war, especially since it destroyed nearly a fourth of the continent. Her relationship with Cedrine before, during, and after the war went through several different stages because of these events.
- Verik - Herald of the Third Era, and one of the Archons. Verik kept to himself for the majority of his life. His life’s goal was the pursuit of progressing the limits of what magic can do. As a result of this he studied all of the other Archons’ magic styles extensively, and tried to learn to utilize all of them. This effort was largely unsuccessful, but after discovering and secretly studying the Al’Tari culture, invented his Origin magic, Imbuement. This enabled him to permanently enchant things with arcane energies, which opened an entire new world of possibilities, such as gravity manipulation, clairvoyance, and even the reversal of death itself. He also made The Archive, a book of nearly limitless knowledge and power (though it didn’t start out that way, as it had to first gain all that knowledge). Verik was also exceptional in one-on-one combat. Even without his artifacts, he attacked with precision, and another feat he alone was able to achieve was to “program” a mind into his blood, so that when he lost it in combat it would aide him in combat without requiring any conscious thought. This made him unstoppable in combat, since the more blood he loss the more dangerous he became, and the addition of his artifacts would only make him more fiersome. The only one who could stand up to him was Cedrine, so later on when they were allied, there was nothing that could stop the two of them, save perhaps an entire army favored by the winds, which is exactly what happened at the end of the Archon War. To combat this, the two of them caused The Great Sundering, the intense and dramatic impact of which was somewhat accidental. Verik also lived for nearly two thousand years. Using his Thinking Cap, he prolonged his life by consciously continuing to reproduce cells, and later on his descendants learned time magic to both accelerate his perception of time and slow his aging process. He is the only one (save, in a way, Kitsuki) that has seen three Eras on Nacre Then, and Sorik discovers that he is still living and speaks with him for a time. After the Rupture, though, Verik’s soul is considered “dead”, as his people are wiped out and there is nobody left to follow under his star. Verik himself survived because he felt the internal combustion of his body and was able to stop it before it occurred using the Thinking Cap.
- Salenith - During the Third Era, Aluvair’s daughter Salenith was fascinated with Verik and his imbued artifacts. This leads her to craft an artifact of similar power using Aluvair’s style of magic, a sword called the Soulsheath. This sword actually takes somebody’s essence into the blade when it kills them, effectively taking a piece of their soul as they die. The wielder of this blade can hear the voices of those the blade has killed. Some are helpful, some are not. The trick is to learn which is which. A side effect of this blade is that it slowly consumes the soul if its owner, even if they don’t use it. As a result of this, hundreds of years later this blade has dozens, perhaps hundreds of souls locked inside. Salenith’s voice is the most powerful and vocal since her essence is by far the most prevalent inside. She is what makes this blade strong, since her advice is actually quite helpful and accurate to her owner.
- Khir - Just before the Fourth Era, and a defining character in the history of Soldier of Na’Du, Khir was an inspiring leader and a caring brother. He is the eldest of the Imadias siblings, and joined the Crown Forces to put an end to the Garm Rebellion. He was one of the commanding officers in charge of the attack on Urohaul, the event that effectively scarred him concerning the horrors of war. After this he leads the covert ops mission to rescue his little sister, Aleiah from The Preservers (though they don’t know who kidnapped her). This mission fails, and Khir pays the ultimate price for it, changing the lives of his sisters.
- Aria - Just before the Fourth Era, and a main character in Soldier of Na’Du, Aria is the leader of the squad that worked to save Aleiah after the mission failed, and she leads in Khir’s memory. Her team works under the Crown Forces, and are the ones to discover the Al’Tari’s influence on both sides. Aria is a courageous leader, but doesn’t have much tolerance for incompetence. She is also bitter after Khir’s death, since she loved him more than anyone else in the world, and she blames herself for not being brave enough to have helped when he needed her.
- Valithiri - Just before the Fourth Era, and a main character in Soldier of Na’Du, Valithiri is the youngest (known) surviving Imadias sibling. She joined the mission to help save Aleiah, though she wasn’t a soldier, because she practically raised their baby sister. After it fails, she becomes an expert in pyrotechnics, and as a defense mechanism for the loss of two siblings, is very ecstatic and hyper about everything. This ‘explosive’ personality has two sides, however, because she is very protective of her older sister.
- Aleiah/Allia - Just before the Fourth Era, Aleiah is a defining character in both the history of Soldier of Na’Du and in Sorik’s life before the Rupture. Aleiah was the youngest of the Imadias siblings, and was raised mostly by her older sister, Valithiri. She was kidnapped by the Preservers, and her siblings mounted a rescue mission. They failed to defeat them, and Aleiah was thought to have died. She managed to escape to Veritia, though, and in doing so discovered an entirely new world and met Sorik, who mistakes her name for Allia, when she gives it to him. The Preservers manage to find her once again, and on threat of killing her, make her an informant of Sorik’s activities. This goes horribly awry when he falls for her, and the Preservers use her as a hostage to steal The Archive. Sorik promises to save her, and accidentally causes The Rupture to do so.
- Varth - Just before the Fourth Era, and a main character in Soldier of Na’Du, Varth trained Khir how to fight before the Garm Rebellion officially began. Later, he joins the mission to save his little sister. When he fails, he considers it a debt he must repay to protect his two sisters, and thus help them in the war effort. Later he discovers the Soulsheath, and after the Empire falls he takes it up and his soul is consumed. After it is shattered and his soul freed, he finds a new life in a new Era, having two kids, Aron and [Jin]. When Archeus is kidnapped, he trains Jin to be an assassin to avenge him, but Jin rejects that life and runs away.
- Caele - Just before the Fourth Era, and a main character in Soldier of Na’Du, Caele is a woodsman that Khir befriended during the course of the Garm Rebellion. Caele had run away from home, being raised in an abusive household, and grew up in the forest. He learned to hunt and became attuned to the forest, going so far as to blindfold his eyes so he could better sharpen his other senses (and also adapt them to low amounts of light like nocturnal animals). He grew up away from and therefore distrusting of humans, but Khir managed to prove his worth. He joined the mission to save his little sister, and as a result of his failure to do so, decided it was his duty to aide his siblings in anything else they needed.
- Tiel - Just before the Fourth Era, and protagonist of Solder of Na’Du, Tiel is a man that was drafted into the Crown Forces by specific order of the Council. He has reservations against the Empire due to the fact that his wife, Shiah, had been killed because of their war during the raid on Urohaul. Having no other choice, however, he goes along under Aria’s command, and discovers the Al’Tari and their plot during the events of Soldier of Na’Du. He comes to take up the responsibility of reforming the Empire, but not before it falls to the Al’Tari and their Na’Darians.
- Drelenar - Just before the Fourth Era, and main character in Soldier of Na’Du, Drelenar is the older brother of Varth, and the two have been rivals since birth. Drelenar hates the Crown Forces, and holds little respect for his brother when he finds out he has “sided” with them. He leads the Garm rebellion (thinking Garm himself is secretly dead without realizing he never really existed to begin with). He is also Tiel’s father-in-law and a respectable soldier and leader.
- Ulrik - During the Third Era, Ulrik plays a huge part in the history of who the Preservers are in his son, Sorik’s time. Ulrik is a direct descendant of Verik, and unlike most of the other nations, the title of Keeper was passed down in Veritia. Ulrik was a Keeper of the Preservers, but also possessed both the Oracle and the Archive. He was a skilled chronomancer, and as a part of his plan with Ehdrik to stop the other Keepers’ plot to use their power to become rulers of nations, sent Ehdrik back in time on several occasions (causing a ‘zig-zag’ effect on how Ehdrik experienced the timeline). This plan nearly worked, but failed due to unforeseen circumstance.
- Ehdrik - During the Third Era, “Rook” Ehdrik plays a huge part in the history of the Preservers are in Sorik’s time, as well as playing a role in Vasrandi affairs. (Rook being the title the Keepers give him to both shame him as his betrayal and exile him from Veritia.) Ehdrik does not use magic, and is an expert armsman. His timeline was segmented into a ‘zig-zag’ formation because of his plan with Ulrik to stop the Keepers (under the front of Ehdrik being a double-agent and taking Ulrik’s place as Veritian Keeper). After their plan fails and the two flee to Vasrand, Ehdrik is touched by a Darkkind, and the Skyshard gives him the power to glimpse another’s thoughts and intent upon physical contact. Because of the Skyshard’s entropy and the chronomancy involved with Ehdrik, some of this power is also sent back in time, which is essentially what caused their plan to fail. What’s more, the corruption of the Skyshard has fragmented Ehdrik’s being, and he is neither physically nor mentally “all there”. He lives a half-existence, aging more slowly and being semi incorporeal.
- Sorik - Harbinger of the Fourth Era, and protagonist of “Sorik’s Series”. Sorik is the son of Ulrik and descendant of the Archon, Verik. Needing to flee the country, his father gives Sorik to the headmaster of a Veritian college, along with two of Verik’s artifacts, the Oracle and the Archive. Sorik grows up at the college, finds the Archive, and falls in love with Allia, an informant of the Preservers by matter of necessity. They discover that Sorik has knowledge of the Archive, and uses Allia as a hostage to get it. Sorik, trying to circumvent their fiendish plot, misuses the Archive to gain power to save her, but in doing so creates the Rupture, the event that shakes the entire planet, wipes out virtually all life on Veritia, opens the portal to the Else on Vasrand, and puts Sorik in a magic stasis all at the same time. He wakes up over seventy years later in a changed world, but now as the sole user of Verik’s star, has attained godlike power. He can’t use it because his body hasn’t adapted to channel it in any way, which renders him virtually useless as he fights in this new world against The Preservers, the Al’Tari, Roshak and his clan, and the Else Beings. He is also proficient in chronomancy, it being his favorite type of magic, but after the Rupture can no longer rely on it.
- Delanden - Just before the Fourth Era, Delanden may or may not play a minor role in the events of “Sorik’s Series”. Being a prodigy in Zephiran magic, he wasn’t a fan of their passive style of teaching. Delanden uses his wit to attain access to Zephirine’s temple, a place locked by a lack of air on the pathway. He circumvents this obstacle by encasing himself in a bubble of water filled with air, and once he enters, he discovers the group of Koh Liiran disciples awaiting the next Windcaller. After an internal dispute amongst themselves, they decide to teach him Air magic, which Delanden is able to learn. He can’t use it with sheer force as Zephirine could, but Delanden’s prowess lies in his precise use of it.
- [The Headmaster] - Before the Fourth Era, father figure to Sorik and friend to Ulrik, [The Headmaster] served as caretaker of the Oracle and the Archive after him. He helped raise Sorik and guide him on the path he chose, He is headmaster to the college Ulrik himself had attended, and the two became good friends. He was the only one Ulrik trusted in his own country, and perhaps rightfully so.
- Caylia - During the Fourth Era, Caylia is the thrill-seeking granddaughter of Allia. She works in somewhat indentured servitude under the Preservers, and has never seen her mother, Amelia’s birthplace, Cedria. She works as a shipmate on one of the Preservers’ vessels, and is the one that discovers Sorik in his stasis in the Veritian wasteland. She stows him away on the ship, and when he wakes up he nearly blows up the entire boat on the way to Kitsuya. Sorik mistakes her for Allia, and feeling indebted to her, helps her escape the Preservers’ grasp.
- Senture - During the Fourth Era, Senture is the head of the underground mages in Torreth, holding exceptionally strong influence in Kitsuya. She has a special hatred for the Preservers, since she was separated from her sisters because of them. Her twin, Xelfure, and their younger sister, Mayellsure, are the ones that lead and teach the mages like a secret society, all while being hunted down by the Preservers. Senture is by far the most powerful mage of the three, specializing in ice magic. She thinks that she knows everything, and never really asks for second opinion before she rushes in to take action.
- Xelfure - During the Fourth Era, Xelfure is one of the leaders of the underground magic movement in Torreth. She is the younger twin of Senture, and the two were separated most of their lives by the Preservers. She hates the Preservers, and mistrusts others, but is often kinder than her other two sisters in most situations. She prefers to fight darkness with happiness, and her specialty is electricity.
- Archeus/Aron - During the Fourth Era, Aron Lanteus is the protagonist of Kitsuki’s Emissary. He is the elder son of Varth after the Rupture. Archeus was kidnapped at a young age by the Preservers (for a few reasons). He was taught Kitsuyan magic by them while living his imprisonment. He is a genius at arcane manipulation, and uses it to get what he wants. He discovers an unawakened Kitsuki on the island he lives on, and accidentally awakens the Archon. He helps her escape, and she gives him the mission to become a Keeper of the Preserver to reform their current doctrine. He pursues this goal when he finds himself at odds with Sorik and Senture years later. Secretly on their side, he must combat their movements to solidify himself as loyal to the Preservers.
- Tavin - During the Fourth Era, Tavin is a main character in Kitsuki’s Emissary. He is the instructor and warden of Archeus, teaching him magic all while keeping a watchful eye on him. He is a servant of the Preservers, but he has a secret distaste for their values and their means of pursuing their goals. When changing his mind about Archeus, he is taken away and replaced by the Kitsuyan Keeper himself, Kalkenshi.
- “Jin” - During the Fourth Era, “Jin” is a prevalent character in “Sorik’s Series”, and is the younger son of Varth. After Aron’s kidnapping, Varth seeks vengeance, and so teaches his son to be an assassin (this side of him referred to as “Kami”) in the hopes that he could seek out his older brother and save him (not unlike their mission to rescue Aleiah decades ago at this point). Jin eventually escapes his father’s ruthless upbringing. He flees to Calitha, and becomes “Jin”, a thief of near legendary skill. He gains significant notoriety, especially after successfully robbing from a noble that he himself informed of a future robbery. He does this without harming a single person, and tries to prove to the commonwealth how vastly ill distributed the wealth of the country is. He isn’t a ‘freedom fighter’, but tries to do good in his own way. He has a hobby in alchemy, and accidentally invents the zeppelin, which changes Calitha’s infrastructure on a huge scale. He later meets Shekoi, who brings “Kami” back out, and while this is happening, Jin is sought out by Sorik and Senture for his unique capabilities. Jin also owns a set of Steelweave armor, which is lighter and tougher than steel, which is primary weapon when under the guise of Kami.
- Shekoi - During the Fourth Era, Shekoi is a descendant of Keht. He is an incredibly powerful mage, but due to [unfortunate circumstances], is forced to flee Ketha to Calitha as an adolescent. Here he meets Jin, and the two become good friends. Jin enjoys his company because he feels good about helping out a child like Shekoi, but Shekoi uses Jin for nefarious purposes. Without Jin’s knowledge, Shekoi uses Keht’s Origin Magic, to ‘possess’ Jin and returns to his former alias of “Kami”. Since Kami had sworn never to kill anyone again, he finds himself going through a personal crisis, as to him, he has become a habitual serial killer with literally no control over his actions.
- Kalkenshi - During the Fourth Era, Kalkenshi is one of the antagonists of “Sorik’s Series”. Being the Kitsuyan Keeper of the Preservers, his goal is to reinstate the Keepers as rulers of their respective nations. He is the owner of The Graven Channel, and is nicknamed ‘King’, due to his ability to force those around him to literally bow to his will. He is a mage of incredible power, and is the driving force between monopolizing magic capability for the Preservers in Torreth during the Fourth Era.
- Al’Rodán - Just before the Fourth Era, and an antagonist in Soldier of Na’Du, Al’Rodán is the general of the Al’Tarin legion. He is the most prominent figure in Al’Tarin society that wants to reconquer Torreth, massacring all of the humans instead of enslaving them this time. He devised a careful plan to make this happen, and got enough of the Al’Tari behind him to act on it, toppling the Crown Empire once and for all during the events of Soldier of Na’Du.
- Roshak - During the Fourth Era, Roshak is an arrogant young clan chief of Aluvalia. He is intended to be a possible antagonist in “Sorik’s Series”, and is a renowned wyvern slayer, and has been on so many successful hunts, has spent astonishing amounts of wyvern horns to forge a purely aesthetic suit of armor out of them. He wields a sword so immense it is larger than Cloud McStrife’s Buster sword. His goal is to rediscover and obtain the Vanguard, Aluvair’s old shield imbued by Verik. He believes the Preservers are keeping it hidden, so he seeks to wage war on them until this relic is returned to his clansmen, the rightful owners of it.
- Vijari - During the Fourth Era, and a possible major character in “Sorik’s Series”. Vijari was a Vasrandi necromancer that lead some of the people out of Vasrand to flee the terrors there. He is extraordinarily powerful, and though he holds more of an affinity for amassing thralls, he can hide this through sheer power and seem like somebody with an arcane attunement like those of the other sect. Vijari foresees the problem with using the Darkkind as thralls, and helps the arcane magic sect flee Vasrand once his sect takes a firm hold of the country (before the Else Beings invade the nation).
- Cyntheras - During the Fourth Era, Cyntheras is a Darkkind that shadows the land of Torreth as a ‘lady of death’. She fashioned a polearm weapon whose blade is a piece of the Skyshard itself, and her agility and proficiency with this weapon can literally tear her victims’ souls apart. She also has a dagger that she attaches to her polearm with magic chains and her unstoppable nature is controlled by what the voices of the Skyshard tell her to do and who to kill. Like some Darkkind, she is psychotic because of the Skyshard, and since her mind doesn’t function on the same level as other people, this makes her a nightmare to those who know her name.
- Sevveren’Saleliakanis - A timeless being, “Sevv” is a strider that wandered to Torreth early in the Second Era. Like most striders, he prefers interacting with people that don’t know his true nature, and as a result takes different forms and acts as an observer towards how people treat each other. He doesn’t experience time in the same way as mortals, so he can often take days pondering the answer to a simple question, thinking about dozens of hypothetical, though ultimately unrelated questions along the way.