Named characters in order of appearance:
Chapter 1
Tif = Sixteen-year-old human girl who lives in the Lows of Lercel with her parents, Heb and Lil. Dreams of being a knight of Lercel and then its Archon. Refers to herself as Tiforoth when pretending to be from Blood Tribe.
Zek = Human boy with green eyes who Tif wins flats from in a game of das. A focused player who is hesitant with his money and becomes frustrated when it’s lost. Tif assumes that he and his similarly-sized friends are all sedan bearers.
Pep = The charcoal face--two dots and a line--on the inside of Tif’s left hand.
Mas-Ort = Female keshe who asks Tif about her das playing and later offers her money to face off against her employer, Sur-Rak. Has Gold ris on her ears, amber eyes, a brass ring in the center of her nose, and wears a cobalt blue layered garment. (Introduced in Chapter 1, though not named until Chapter 3)
Yeq = A stocky human man who is a bookie for the underground. Takes Tif’s bet for a street corner duel but worries that Tif and her family will go hungry if she loses. When Tif wins, suggests she has a good enough eye to bet at the Lane.
Chapter 2
Lil = Human woman who is Tif’s mother. Lives in the Lows with Heb. Slight from malnutrition but carries herself with a long-limbed grace. Has a small circle of Gold ris on the edge of her lip.
Heb = Human man who is Tif’s father. Lives in the Lows with Lil. Has bushy eyebrows, a scraggly beard, and a small line of Gold ris below his eye.
Awt = Human boy whose parents were killed in a Death invasion years ago and so was raised by Tif’s parents in the Lows. Now, works for the Underground and is involved with Tif. He has sloping shoulders, a thick head of hair just long enough to curl around his ears, and a line of Gold ris down the middle of his nose, though he gives that up later. Tries to get the Blood ris Tif unwittingly receives back, which leads to a falling out between them. Rescues her from prison in the Highs, and is the recipient of the Blood crest Tif carries, which only furthers their estrangement. Hires Plumya to watch over her in her travels.
Chapter 3
Sur-Rak-Sha = Eighteen-year-old female keshe noble--two seals of Gold ris--with violet eyes who lives in the Highs of Lercel. Plays Tif in a series of das games at her home and ends up losing. After, they argue about who will be the Archon. The right side of her head is shaved and covered with ris, along with her right ear and her neck. Cousin to Jer-Rix, and the Archon is her aunt. Plans to be the Archon herself someday, and is accepted into the Inner Division of Knights after the Recruitment Challenges, which she sees as a useful stepping stone.
Chapters 4 - 5
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Chapter 6
Viv = Robust human woman employed by the Underground who doesn’t want to let Tif into the hideout she guards but eventually does. Wears mismatched leather, uses a spear, and has a rather surly attitude. Prone to naps. Ends up throwing her spear at Tif but hits Heb instead.
Torgath = Older male cyclops who is imprisoned by the Underground when Tif finds him. Has parted gray hair that falls to his ears and a salt and pepper beard. Without Tif knowing, he gives her Blood ris through the power of the Blood Crest he possesses. Grandfather to Teerog.
Chapter 7
Gar = Thickly muscled and short human man who works for the Underground. He accompanies Awt to get the Blood ris back from Tif. He’s heavily scarred with a cut through his right eye, which is milky white. Wears a sword. (Introduced in Chapter 7 and named at the end).
Hum = Another human man sent by the Underground with Awt to get the Blood ris back. He is wiry and uses a cudgel. (Introduced in Chapter 7 and named at the end).
Chapter 8
Regulator = The official title for the one who is in charge of measuring knight candidates during Recruitment to ensure that they have two seals of the same type of ris, so that they have enough protection to survive the challenges. The current Regulator is a short, aged female keshe who uses a caliper to poke and prod at Tif. Seems interested in Tif’s ris, especially the configuration on Tif’s chest, but doesn’t say anything directly about it.
Administrator = The official title given to the one who runs Lercel’s bi-yearly Recruitment for knight candidates. The current Administrator is a male keshe who wears a voluminous robe with wide sleeves and has a loud voice. He wants to bar Tif from entering, but a division leader overrides him.
Hur-Rek-Sar = The division leader who allows Tif to participate in Recruitment, saying it will only benefit Lercel. A tall keshe, with intense yellow eyes, who is in charge of the Inner Division of Knights. Broke his back in his youth, but by mastering the 4th Seal of Gold, he can use his shroud to manipulate the metal bracers around his legs. The Archon’s brother and Opa’s adopted father. (Introduced in Chapter 8, but not specifically named until later)
Chapter 9
Opa = Young, but very tall, female keshe who is the first to talk to Tif in Recruitment, challenging her to a duel that Tif doesn’t accept quickly enough for Opa’s tastes. Both sides of her head are shaved and her eyes are more orange than yellow, which, to Tif, matches her fiery attitude. Uses an odd style of fighting, with up-close Gold ris attacks. Adopted daughter of Hur-Rek-Sar, making her technically Sur-Rak and Jer-Rix’s cousin, but she was adopted only a few years ago, so they are not close. (Introduced in Chapter 9, but not specifically named until later)
Jer-Rix = Male keshe who is the Archon’s only child, and Sur-Rak’s cousin. Has been away traveling for the last three years but returns to participate in Lercel’s Recruitment at the same time as Sur-Rak. Has two seals of Gold, one of Blood, and one of Death. Is intrigued by Tif because she also has Blood seals and asks her back to his travel tent. No part of his head is shaved and his braided hair falls around his shoulders. His Red eyes are nearly the same color as Tif’s tattoos. He likes using a flashy way of fighting with unexpected moves and is quite skilled. Received recruitment offers from all seven of Lercel’s knight divisions but accepts none of them. Blames Tif for his mother’s death, and when he learns from Sur-Rak of Tif’s escape, he vows to find her.
Tad-Soo = Human boy who participates in the Recruitment Challenges with Tif. Is followed by Dax and Vytel, the latter of whom he is involved with, and seems to have history with Jer. His head is fully shaved, the left half covered in Gold ris and the other half in Life ris. Due to the number of seals he has for his age, two of Gold and two of Life, Tif assumes he comes from one of the few human upper class families in Lercel. He loses against Sur-Rak in the Second Challenge, but still earns a place among the knights.
Vytel = Human girl who is part of Recruitment and involved with Tad-Soo. Is the last to face of against Jer in the Second Challenge but loses. Tif doesn’t talk with her until they are both in the Candidates Pavilion together, eating and drinking. Learns she is from Iislee, the city of the Life Tribe, and experiences first hand Vytel using her Life ris to wield an invisible sword. Has two seals of Life. (Seen in Chapter 9 but doesn’t speak until 12)
Dax = Male keshe who isn’t particularly tall but is still a foot taller than Tif. She faces off against him in the First Challenge of Recruitment, which results in a stalemate, and he loses to Jer in the Second Challenge. Later, he calls Tif a Blooder and blames her for ruining his chances. Doesn’t plan to stay for the Third Challenge but eats a great deal in the Candidate’s Pavillion before leaving, which Tif respects. Has two seals of Gold. (Seen in Chapter 9 but doesn’t speak until 12)
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Rof = Male keshe who is a year or two younger than Tif. He is beside her in the First Challenge and uses a strange style of attacking where, instead of punching, he points with two fingers toward his target and expends a great deal of Gold ris in a single shot. Always seems sleepy, and when near him, Tif senses a pain below his heart. He ends up joining the Southern Patrol Division, which is tasked with escorting Tif to the Blood Plains. In Sah’Sah, he gains two seals of Tears, and over a drink with Tif, they discuss the horrors of the Life Trade. Upon returning to Lercel, tries to kill the Archon and dies in the attempt. Tif comforts him in his last moments and barely hears him tell her that the Archon actually started the Life Trade, not ended it.
Chapter 10
Yoa = Sur-Rak’s friend who has long nails and is scandalized that Sur-Rak knows Tif. Fights in the same Second Challenge as Jer using claw-like attacks but loses. Has two seals of Gold and does not attend the second day with Sur-Rak.
Lus = Keshe boy who fights in the same Second Challenge as Jer but lasts only a moment since his shroud hasn’t fully recharged. Has two Seals of Gold.
Chapter 11
Ede - Mature female keshe who Tif faces in the Second Challenge. Tif accidentally takes some of her Gold ris, but after Ede confronts her about it, Tif agrees to give it back.
Chapters 12 - 13
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Chapter 14
Gul-Lan-Tho = Large human man with a thick mustache, the tips of which extend below his chin. Has Gold ris on head in the place of hair, and is the Western Patrol Division Leader. Tif previously liked him a great deal, as he is the only human division leader raised in her lifetime. But, after overhearing whispers in the night, she suspects him of being part of a plot to kill the Archon.
Udaru = Male aquaros, with royal blue scales, nearly the same color as the Tears ris he possesses. Also has a seal of Gold ris, and, though it is not the norm, he is the Southern Patrol Division Leader. Due to his division’s ability to travel quickly, he is put in charge of taking Tif to the Blood Plains to pay her debt. Ends up recognizing the value Tif has, and when they return early to Lercel due to the threat of Death troops, he agrees to petition the Archon for her to become a knight. However, that meeting reveals Udaru’s true purpose in being in Lercel: determining a way to kill the Archon, which he succeeds in doing. After, he escapes the Inner Division, but fails to take Tif with him.
Mek-Car-Rin = Youngest division leader in a generation. Female keshe, who has a thick bar of Gold tattoos across the bridge of her nose. Smiles kindly and often, with dimples, and challenges Vylet to do a Life form. She is the Eastern Patrol Division Leader.
Ihl-Ves-Lee = Female keshe in her middle years entered, who is an arknight and the Western Wall Division Leader. Looks at Tif rather unkindly when Tif walks by on her way to face the Archon, but Tif is glad to have someone as strong as her on the wall. Is said to be master of the exploding strike.
Sha-Ahn-Ras = Old male keshe who is an arcknight and the Southern Wall Division Leader. He walks in a strange, disoriented manner, which Jer explains to Tif is a special meditative technique. In the Third Challenge, he challenges a keshe boy who is using a similar technique, and crushes him with his foot, eliminating him as a candidate. Is said to be one of the most powerful users of the 1st Gold Seal to ever walk the mountain. Sur-Rak and Jer-Rix’s grandfather, and father of the Archon.
Chapter 15
Archon (Kur-Sha-Veh) = Female keshe who is the ruler of Gold Tribe and the city of Lercel. Tall, with a shaved head, every inch of her skin--from her skull, to cheeks, to lips, to the tips of her pointed ears down to the stretched lobes--is covered in Gold ris. Bedecked in thick gold jewelry, which she can give to the Aspects who follow her everywhere to recharge her ris. In the Third Challenge, agrees to play Tif in a game of das. However, the set is designed for arcknights to move with their Gold seals and Tif has no way to compete. When Udaru later takes Tif to see the Archon to tell her about the , reveals that she has since her seals prevent her from harming herself. Has violet eyes, similar to Sur-Rak’s, who is her niece. Mother to Jer-Rix and daughter of Sha-Ahn-Ras. Has five Gold seals. (Mentioned in Chapter 1 and introduced in Chapter 15) Related to Tuu-Veh-Nas, the Temple Council Seat?
Chapter 16
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Chapter 17
Byr = Young servant with a scraggly beard who takes Tif to the Southern Patrol Division’s tent and speaks to her before Udaru arrives. Turns out to be a spy for the Underground, and tells Tif that they have her parents. Gets very nervous when Udaru joins them, nearly revealing himself.
Plumya = Female fairy bounty hunter around Tif’s age who is currently employed by Lercel’s Underground. First meets Tif on the Lift to check that she still has the Blood crest and to tell her not to do anything stupid. Follows Tif to Tears Tribe, and after a planned bar brawl starts, she takes Tif to meet Sah’Sah’s underground element. When betrayed by this group, Plumya fights free with Tif. Later, Plumya leads Death troops to the knight party that Tif is with, which makes the knights decide to return to Lercel. In the end, Plumya takes a job from Awt to see Tif safely to wherever she goes and back.
Chapter 18
Yuu-Fen = Human knight, who is a member of the Southern Patrol Division. Has two seals of Gold and two of Tears. Welcomes Tif to the group affably, despite her prisoner status. Tif guesses that he’s around twice her age but doesn’t realize that he’s involved with Bes-Ahl until she sees them kissing.
Bes-Ahl = Rail thin female keshe, with wiry strength, who is a knight of the Southern Patrol Division. Has two seals of Gold and two of Tears. Sometimes short with Tif but agrees to train her some in the use of her Blood seals, specifically sticking to opponents when they strike her. Is involved with Yuu-Fen.
Chapters 19 - 20
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Chapter 21
Hahna = Large, yellow female aquaros with a wide frill. She is one of the two leaders of Sah’Sah’s underground, and after speaking with Tif and learning of her crest, decides that she does not want to give Tif to Vak-Lav as agreed. Plumya flies into her mouth and out the side of her neck.
Ipsol = Old human man who is the other leader of Sah’Sah’s underground. Has a reed thin voice and likes to make up stories. Uses his seals of Tears to punch Plumya and then port away with Hahna after she is injured.
Qundel = Blue aquaros who is skinnier than Udaru and is supposed to transport Tif back to Lercel. However, at Hahna and Ipsol’s command, he fights against Plumya and Tif.
Chapters 22 - 25
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Chapter 26
Jep = Human man who is guarding one of the entrances to Lercel’s Underground. Has a wife. Tif experiments with doing a faster 1st seal Blood pull on him, which immediately incapacitates him.
Fom = Second human guard in a cheese shop that leads into the Underground. Uses a shortsword but is quickly knocked out by Tif.
Vak-Lav (Vakoriuss) = Old, wrinkled woman who wears her white hair pulled back, which accentuates her prominent cheekbones and fangs. Is actually a naga, with a human upper half and the lower half of a large, albino snake. Claims to come from an unknown, sixth tribe, which was devoted to Aspects of Sound. Now, she is the leader of the Underground. After speaking with Tif, agrees to not harm her or her parents in exchange for the Blood crest that Tif had taken from Torgath--property she claims, and Awt supports, was bought and paid for by her.
Ssuran = Tall human man who is Vak-Lav’s personal guard and oversees Underground training. Older, though not as old as the Vak-Lav. Has sinuous pink tattoos along his arms, but they do not have the luster of true ris. Due to how Tif handled some of his better guards, as well as her knowledge about the knights and experiences with various ris types, he strikes a deal with her: her parents can stay in the Underground, but when she returns from her travels, she is to help him educate some of their thugs on how to fight ris users.
Chapters 27 - 28
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Epilogue
Teerog = Female cyclops who is Torgath’s granddaughter. She wishes to have her grandfather’s Blood seals because she knows there is something special about them and she wants to be her tribe’s Vychon. She tracks them to Sah’Sah, where she is thwarted by Plumya and some local underground fighters. She then returns to Lercel, thinking Tif, the human girl who bears the seals, will eventually do the same, and is surprised to see Tif leaving the walled city instead of coming back to it and without the seals. Follows her to discover the truth.
Named characters who are brought up:
Meh-Vin = Owner of a hookah bar in the Mids who eventually closed up shop. Tif plays das in front of his old building. (Mentioned in Chapter 1)
Kit = Human woman who has a tiny bakery in the Lows where she and her three children live. Tif buys steamed meat buns from her when she can afford it! (Mentioned in Chapter 2)
Elu-Tah-Vah-Soo = Arcknight who is known to sometimes appear in the middle of shows at the Opera House, enchanting the crowd and the performers with a voice of unearthly perfection. Serves in the Inner Division of Knights, and is Tad-Soo’s mother. (Mentioned in Chapter 3 and seen in Chapter 24, but Tif does not realize it)
Ree = Friend of Tif’s ma Lil who lives in the sewers underneath the Lows with her family in a “good” spot. Lil and Heb plan to hide from Vak-Lav there. (Mentioned in Chapter 7)
Dex-Lin-Saa = Creator of the angled shot for Gold warriors. Sur-Rak studied this technique to create her own tracking shot. (Mentioned in Chapter 11)
Kyr-Pul-Rem = Creator of the boomerang technique for Gold warriors. Another past master who Sur-Rak studied. (Mentioned in Chapter 11)
Domrhav = Jer’s Blood tribe teacher. Impressed that Jer learned how to bypass the opponent’s ris so quickly when using the First Seal of Blood. (Mentioned in Chapter 13)
Zos-Thi-Ilm = Eastern wall division leader who is not present for this Recruitment. A middle-aged keshe who Tif likes because he was a das champion before becoming an arcknight. (Mentioned in Chapter 15)
Master Nee-Yin = Trainer for the keshe boy who moves slowly in the challenges. Told by the Archon’s grandfather to stop teaching a technique he doesn’t understand. (Mentioned and present in Chapter 15)
Otari = The other Sah-Sah underground member who was supposed to transport Tif back to Lercel. (Mentioned and present in Chapter 21)