Characters

The big guy. Marcus is fiercely loyal to the Alexanders and their greater friend group...though his way of showing it smacks unsavory behaviors and pranks. Originally from the province of New Amstel in Amaerys, Marcus comes off as bold and brash, loud and bombastic, but he's a funny, sensitive guy who just wants to make friends. One couldn't be blamed for assuming that Marcus is all brawn, no brains, but he's actually a fair bit savvier than Elliott. However, all logic tends to go out the window where Dana is concerned.

Bigger, badder, smarter versions of your standard distortion beast. They are the alphas of their respective distortion beast packs, with the largest being the size of a house. While the threat level of regular-sized distortion beasts varies, bosses are actively dangerous. Boss distortion beasts tend to look more like wild animals than the canine forms their smaller counterparts take on. Like the rest of their pack, they tend to match the elemental nature of their home turf.

Creatures made from pure magical energy that inhabit the opposite side of the veil of the magical leyline encircling the planet. ...Whew, that was a mouthful. They are highly intelligent and look vaguely like dogs. Their goal is to help the patron spirits of the world maintain balance, and they are disturbed, they become violent. Distortion beasts come in a variety of flavors based on the elemental nature of the area they're protecting, and pictured here are some of the lightning distortion beasts found at Shrine Lyndisfarne. They are pack...uh..."animals," which implies the existence of...

An agent in the employ of the Astral Conservatory and Jiro's custodian. Tarragon and Ronan have worked together in the past, with Ronan still being frosty toward her for her perceived role in Wayland's death. She's shrewd and aloof, with a stickler for protocol, but she breaks character from time to time. Not much is known about Tarragon's or her history—even her real name is a very tightly guarded secret amongst the Astral Conservatory elite. She and Jiro appear to be very close.

A carbuncle priest working in service to an organization known as the Astral Conservatory. Among his species he's a child, but in human years Jiro is actually 119 years old. As a young carbuncle, Jiro has yet to manifest additional tails or his forehead bauble. Per his people's societal norms, he prefers to communicate through sign language and charades, but if he's feeling saucy, he might work in a prop or two. He very rarely speaks, but when he does, it's mellifluous and elegant...and (depending on the situation) possibly a sign that things are dire. If you're looking to get into his good graces, sharing your food with him is a capital idea. His call sign is Zulu.

A friend of Ronan's and Pop's and a fellow merchant. Mr. Novak lives in the neighborhood and just does his own thing. His interest in robotics is purely coincidental.

Friend of the Alexanders, potentially gone rogue. Years prior to the start of the story, Dana left Salem with her family to move to Lafrans. Somewhere in the intervening years, she enlisted in the Silver Legion and became a squad captain for the Lafransi branch of the organization. Naturally, she wasn't warmly welcomed when she arrived back home on the night of the festival, and though most of her former friends resent what's become of her, Dana disobeyed company orders to ensure their safety. It doesn't really amount to much in the grand scheme of things, especially in the eyes of Renée, who has likely had a contentious relationship with Dana to begin with. She and Marcus are the closest among their friend group, hence his unwillingness to react overly negatively toward her.

These hooded soldiers show up at locations where they have special interests. They are numerous and belong to a larger army known as the Silver Legion. They partake in the robbery, kidnapping, the destruction of cultural sites, and then some, so they're a terrorist organization moreso than a military force. Their color denotes their position, rank, and in some cases base of operations, and they have bright silver moon dragon emblems on their hoods.

The newest addition to the friend group. Born in the Koryo Islands, Lance and his family migrated from there to Lafrans, and then ultimately to Salem to settle in Autunna Falls. Under normal circumstances, Lance is subdued, but he always finds his backbone when things get tense. He's very bashful around Renée and everyone seems to be clued in on it but her. He's a polyglot and can speak several languages, including Lafransi, Svetlanese, Asapponian, and his native Koryo-ren. While Lance is the name he uses amongst his friends and the general public, he prefers being called Seong at home.

The younger of the Alexander twins. Unlike Andrew, Elliott's mantra is "shoot first, ask questions later." His reactive nature gets him into trouble, but he's got his family and friends catch him before he falls on his face. When a situation gets tense, formidable or faulty, he can be counted on to have a plan ready. That being said, however, Elliott relies a lot on dumb luck and the hope that people are patient enough to explain things to him. Like Andrew, Elliott is also a lightning mage and with him being a swordsman in training, he’s the titular Electric Fencer. Yes, that’s a pun and it’s very intentional.

Another long-time friend of the Alexanders. Renée is a ludicrously wealthy debutante. If there's a problem, she will almost certainly throw money at it until it stops being a problem. Her heart is as big as her pockets are deep, but make no mistake, she has a strict intolerance for insolence. Renée enjoys spending her lavish riches on experiences with her friends and trying to bring life to the town of Autunna Falls. Thanks to her business acumen, leadership skills, and gregarious nature, it's extremely difficult to force Renée to lose composure in a negotiation, but she's not above going for the jugular when being nice stops working in her favor. She kind of has to be like this considering someone like Ronan is a tenant in a building she owns.

Friend to the Alexander siblings, and seems to be a few crayons short of a 64-pack. Magnus can be obnoxious with his quirky behavior at times, but he means well. Life hasn't been especially kind to most of his friends, so he tries to keep everyone smiling with his...admittedly odd sense of humor. He REALLY loves the color pink.

Father of Wayland and Ronan, thus paternal grandfather to the Alexander siblings. Pop, as he's known, is a jovial old man with a very intense pride in his family. He came out of retirement and moved in with Ronan to help with the shop shortly after Wayland's death. Pop had also just divorced his ex-wife Macy, which may have in part spurred the move.

Mother of the Alexander siblings, widow to Wayland. She works long hours as chief at the hospital and spends a lot of time doing research. Since her husband's death, Liz has thrown herself headfirst into her work to keep occupied, which has led to a strained relationship with her children.

Andrew and Elliott's younger sister. After her father's death, Anastasia...er, Lee has preferred the shortened version of her middle name and will correct her family when they forget. Though being the younger sibling, she is often the most levelheaded of the three. She is a water mage gifted with specialization in ice magic and can manipulate it with great precision and control. As cool as both she and her ice powers are, Lee is still a 16-year-old girl, and doesn't always manage to keep a lid on her temper or snark. She helps the most at Ronan's shop after school. On an unrelated note, she's Ronan's favorite.

Father of the Alexander kids, husband to Liz, and an archaeology professor with an unending thirst for knowledge and the history of the world. He often went gallivanting around the world with his brother Ronan on wild adventures. Wayland was killed on an expedition to Dragomasca searching for the legendary blade Arcobaleno.

Wayland's younger brother and uncle to the Alexander siblings. Ronan runs the self-named Ronan's Warriors pawn shop in Autunna Falls, specializing primarily in weapons and artifacts of cultural significance, though he's had a very difficult time getting new stock in since Wayland's death. Occasionally, he attends festivals, conventions, or other events as a vendor. He's short-tempered and swears like a trucker, but he's far more sophisticated and worldly than his personality would suggest. While he likes his niece and nephews for the most part, having become a full-on soccer dad for their friend group in the wake of his brother's passing is not Ronan's idea of a good time. He's a fire mage and from many indications, he was a force to be reckoned with in his heyday.

The older of the Alexander twins. Andrew is relaxed, yet responsible. The yin to Elliott's yang. He's usually pretty easygoing until you start testing his patience. Andrew is a lightning mage, one of the most coveted elemental abilities in the world, and due to a chance meeting at Shrine Lyndisfarne, the Silver Legion has taken a special interest in him.