Lev SokolLev Sokol is the young and bitter Jewish protagonist of our story. Orphaned during the nuclear holocaust that destroyed the world and gave him the unnatural ability to control fire, he works as a sell sword for the people of Arkangelsk and lives with his widowed sister and his niece in the family cabin just outside of town. He hates just about everyone in town, except for the beautiful matryoshka painter he watches from a distance.
|
Inna Romanova
The widowed sister of Lev Sokol. Her husband, Sasha Romanov, was a soldier on the border of Arkangelsk and New Russia when he was killed in a border skirmish. Unable to take care of herself and Masha, the daughter she had with Sasha before he died, she moved back into the family cabin with Lev. Thanks to her husband's status as a "war hero" and her conversion to the Russian Orthodox church when she married Sasha, she and her daughter aren't the social pariahs that Lev is. She's been depressed from the death of her husband since he died, but a year later, she's starting to come out of it.
|
Masha Romanova
Empress Marina Kedzierska
The empress of the state of Arkhangelsk, and has been for forty years. Though she’s really getting up there in age, she’s still as sharp as a tack. The senile part of getting old, though, is definitely true in her case. She’s traditional to a fault, a quality that some see as her greatest strength, while others (specifically two of her three children) see it as her greatest vice.
Dariusz Kedzierski
Empress Marina's youngest and the black sheep of the royal family. Bookish and a little bit of a recluse, Marina is currently working on arranging a marriage for him, which he isn't exactly thrilled about. He wants nothing more than to prove himself to his family, but with his hemophilia, he's finding that easier said than done.
Ilya Kedzierski
Empress Marina's eldest. Though he doesn't possess any magical abilities, he's the perfect man, according to many of the women of Arkangelsk: strong, an expert swordsman, and good-looking. An officer in the city garrison, the only reason he isn't married, yet, is because Marina's having a hard time sorting through all of the proposals, and is close to just giving up and holding a bride show.
Xenia "The Wolf" Kedzierska
The second of Empress Marina Kedzierska's three children. The only member of the royal family with any magical ability, the responsibility of maintaining the family's military tradition has fallen to her, a duty that she's gladly accepted. Rather than join a regular unit, though, she chose to become a border scout, where she watches for any signs of New Russian aggression. The other scouts gave her the nickname "The Wolf": partially because of her eyes, and partially because of her tracking skills. A bit of a pariah at high society functions, but nobody would dare tell her that. Ironically, Xenia couldn't care less about whether or not those "snobbish brats" accept her.
Livia Zinna
Emperor Erik Medved
Ulricha
Emperor Erik’s witch. She has the power to give and take magical power, as well as the ability to give herself the power of someone else. This is done to mages who rebel Emperor Erik, or mages in his armies that disobey his direct orders. As of right now, she has the power to control fire, water, ice, stone, lightning, and plants. She doesn’t super love what she does for Emperor Erik, but she hates the idea of what he might do to her if she were to refuse even more.
|