Skip to: Tarsin, Tieke, Harangin, Tekk
Jahrd Ardeana
Race: mixed (Tarsin/Tieke)
Age at Introduction: 8
Current Age: 18
Place of Birth: Oros, Tarsin Desert
Known Relatives: Jacind Ardeana (father), Kraelyn Ardeana (mother)
Jahrd is a tikedi from the northern province of Tarsin, born to mixed parentage and faced early on in his life with personal tragedy that sparked an intense and insatiable curiosity. Where most of his people live in apprehension and fear of the enigmatic and predatory tekk, Jahrd takes it upon himself to study their language and culture to the point of obsession.
Shanka Kaneska
Race: Tarsin
Age at Introduction: 13
Current Age: 17
Place of Birth: Oros, Tarsin Desert
Known Relatives: Balta Kaneska (twin brother), Yaren Kaneska (father), Calterra Kaneska (mother)
Shanka is the son of Yaren Kaneska, the former lead hunter in Oros, and Calterra Kaneska, the community’s healer. He is very serious, shy, and quiet, with a bad habit of letting his fears and his lack of confidence rule him.
Balta Kaneska
Race: Tarsin
Age at Introduction: 13
Current Age: 17
Place of Birth: Oros, Tarsin Desert
Known Relatives: Shanka Kaneska (twin brother), Yaren Kaneska (father), Calterra Kaneska (mother)
In direct contrast to his twin, Shanka, Balta is outspoken and brave. He’s driven to protect and guide those he cares about, particularly his brother.
Jacind Ardeana
Race: Tarsin
Age at Introduction: 26
Current Age: 36
Place of Birth: Oros , Tarsin Desert
Known Relatives: Jahrd Ardeana (son), Kraelyn Ardeana (mate)
Long before the story’s beginning, Jacind was appointed as the Kantreska of the village of Oros. He met Kraelyn, his mate, in far-away Tieke City and brought her and her many secrets back with him to the desert. Now, first and foremost, he is the devoted father of Jahrd.
Kirie
Race: Tarsin
Current Age: 16
Place of Birth: Oros, Tarsin Desert
Known Relatives: Elder Degur (uncle)
Kirie is the niece of one of Oros’ most contentious village elders, who raised her since she was small. She is habitually observant of those around her, and can be warm and encouraging or sharp-tongued and shrewd, depending on how she judges those she’s dealing with.
Calterra Kaneska
Race: Tarsin
Age at Introduction: 30
Current Age: 34
Place of Birth: Oros, Tarsin Desert
Known Relatives: Yaren Kaneska (former mate, separated), Balta Kaneska (son), Shanka Kaneska (son)
Calterra is the healer in Oros and the keeper of a garden known as Oros’ Heart. She is serious and professional in her work and renowned as a talented doctor, but in her personal life and the relationship with her family, she’s terribly distant and guarded.
Yaren Kaneska
Race: Tarsin
Age at Introduction: 33
Current Age: 37
Place of Birth: Oros, Tarsin Desert
Known Relatives: Calterra Kaneska (former mate, separated), Balta Kaneska (son), Shanka Kaneska (son)
Yaren is the father of Shanka and Balta, the former mate of Calterra, friend-turned-rival of Jacind Ardeana, and the hunt leader of Oros for many, many years. He is known to be outspoken and aggressive with his opinions, and is fiercely loyal to the old ways and traditions of Tarsin society. Yaren always tries to act for the good of his people, but his temperament leads many to fear him instead of respect him.
Shensin
Race: Tarsin
Age at Introduction: 16
Current Age: 20
Place of Birth: Gessick, Tarsin Desert
Shensin is the current Kantreska of Gessick. He took up leadership at sixteen, an incredibly early age for the job, and he goes to great lengths to keep others from judging him for his youth. He is a very careful individual in regards to respecting the tekk, and he stubbornly refuses to bend to any who would make requests that might anger them. Despite his lack of experience, he is considered by most of his people to be a wise and compassionate leader and he is well liked.
Elder Degur
Race: Tarsin
Age at Introduction: 42
Current Age: 42 (deceased)
Place of Birth: Oros, Tarsin Desert
Known Relatives: Kirie (niece), mate (name unknown), two children (names and genders unknown)
Degur is the youngest of the elders who play advisor to Oros’ Kantreska. He’s a cantankerous and contrary fellow who seems constantly dissatisfied with the state of affairs in Oros. He’s been determined to bring about change for years.
He’s Kirie’s guardian, and he raises her as if she were his own.
Elder Vendess
Race: Tarsin
Age at Introduction: 58
Current Age: 58
Place of Birth: Oros, Tarsin Desert
Known Relatives: two daughters (names unknown), mate (name unknown; deceased)
There are few Elders as well liked as Vendess. When he senses a problem, he tends towards providing a gentle nudge to those in need, but otherwise tries to lead by example. He’s level-headed, easy-going, and enjoys nothing more than a good laugh.
He has a talent for singing, and an interest in arts and the history of Oros that he’s passed on to his eldest daughter.
He often wears a hat fashioned from tree bark and he’s never given an explanation for why.
Aurorin Duskeir
Race: Tieke
Current Age: 20
Place of Birth: Tieke City, Tieke
Known Relatives: Annen Duskeir (older brother), twin sister (name unknown), mother and father (names unknown)
Aurorin is the son of two healers in the city who are battling the last traces of an illness that decimated Tieke City’s population. He is an inexperienced but gifted engineer who would love nothing more than to be left in a workshop, taking apart and exploring pieces of ancient Seradin technology and improving modern Tieke-built devices.
His parents’ affiliation with the Priestesses of Teyka and his own close friendship with Jardren Stiggs – an aide to Tieke City’s Kantreska – sometimes puts him in an awkward position, caught between two sides of much larger, much more political arguments than he’d like. He is logical, blunt, pessimistic and prefers to simply get things done.
He and Priestess Shen Coritani seem to have a rocky romantic history.
Annen Duskeir
Race: Tieke
Age at Introduction: 24
Current Age: 28
Place of Birth: Tieke City, Tieke
Known Relatives: Aurorin Duskeir (younger brother), younger sister (name unknown), mother and father (names unknown)
Annen is Aurorin’s older brother and just as dedicated to the cause of helping his family and people overcome their plight. His passion for the preservation of those he loves has led him even to putting his own life in danger. Whether his decisions are the wisest, however, is debatable. He unfortunately demonstrates marked recklessness, very little care and consideration for anyone who is not a fellow Tieke, and a special disregard for the tekk.
He is involved – along with his younger brother Aurorin, their mutual friend Jardren Stiggs, Tieke City’s Kantreska, and some of the Priestesses of Teyka – in a controversial plan to construct and maintain colonies in the forested land between Tieke City and the Crater so as to allow easier access to tekk territory and its herbal resources.
Jardren Stiggs
Race: Tieke
Current Age: 24
Place of Birth: Tieke City, Tieke
Jardren Stiggs is an aide to the Kantreska of Tieke City, and working with Aurorin, Annen, and some of the Priestesses of Teyka to build and maintain the colonies in the Western Forests of Tieke. He finds great joy in grand plans and negotiations, and carries an air of perpetual reassurance and optimism about him.
He tends to go by his last name instead of his first, even among friends.
Shen Coritani
Race: Tieke
Age at Introduction: 17
Current Age: 21
Place of Birth: Tieke City, Tieke
Shen is a young, somewhat idealistic Priestess of Teyka. It pains her greatly to see her people suffer from the sickness that swept through the city, and she strives to aide them, but her actions are ultimately guided by loyalty to her order, especially the High Priestess. She is particularly vocal on the teachings of Teyka that call for respect of all sentient life, and for a healthy fear of the tekk and of trespassing into their territory. In her mind, they are better left alone, and far away.
She is also a lifelong friend of the Duskeir family, particularly Aurorin, who she’s hinted as having had romantic feelings for at one time, although differences of philosophy have tended to cause a strain between them.
Aeza Coritani
Race: Tieke
Current Age: 32
Place of Birth: Tieke City, Tieke
Aeza is a Priestess of Teyka working as a scout in the Western Forests of Tieke and the fringes of the Crater. Her assignment is to map the location of valuable medicinal plants and resources so that the colonies can eventually expand.
She is a survivor of the sickness that swept through Tieke City, and was left half blind and half deaf, with partial facial paralysis and a bitter attitude towards many of the Priestesses who oppose the construction of the colonies.
Jamet Tygren
Race: Harangin
Current Age: 14
Place of Birth: Unknown, Harangin Mountains
Very little is yet known about Jamet. He came to Tieke City as a boy with little warning and no explanation, but his arrival mysteriously set many of the Priestesses of Teyka on edge.
Shan’rekk
Race: Northern Maned Tekk
Age at Introduction: 81
Current Age: 86
Place of Birth: Northern Harlech Tree, The Crater
Shan’rekk is a the leader of the tekk of the Northern Harlech Tree. He is a follower of the oldest traditions of the tekk, which speak of a need for the respect and guidance of the tikedi so that they can reach their full potential and not be dragged down by what the tekk refer to as corruption: when the tikedi lose their respect for the tekk, and become arrogant and aggressive.
It is his personal mission to foster real communication and understanding between the two species and lead them to mutual peace.
Ah’tekk
Race: Northern Crested Tekk
Age at Introduction: 38
Current Age: 42
Place of Birth: Northern Harlech Tree, The Crater
Ah’tekk was once a scout at the borders between the Crater and tikedi territories until a sudden disappearance. He returned without explanation nearly a year later, changed by his mysterious ordeal, and has since become sullen, fatalistic, and troublesome. He has developed a dangerous hatred for the Tieke tikedi, and was removed from his former scout’s duty by Shan’rekk out of fears that he would do something truly rash. He is no longer allowed to leave the Northern Harlech Tree.
Ah’tekk is strongly opposed to Shan’rekk’s more peaceful methods of dealing with the shaky balance between the two species, and would much prefer to be allowed to cull them as he sees necessary.
Renn’tekk
Race: Northern Maned Tekk
Age at Introduction: 49
Current Age: 53
Place of Birth: Northern Harlech Tree, The Crater
Renn’tekk is Shan’rekk’s mate and his most trusted friend. She is his second in command and, often, a voice of reason where his idealism would lead him astray. She is logical, strong-willed, loyal, and practical. While following tekk law is deeply important to her, she is willing to bend rules if it serves the greater good.
Trai’tekk
Race: Northern Maned Tekk
Age at Introduction: 43
Current Age: 47
Place of Birth: Northern Harlech Tree, The Crater
Along with Renn’tekk, Trai’tekk is one of Shan’rekk’s elite guards. He is a personal protector for Shan’rekk, and also takes up the duty of keeping Ah’tekk in check. Trai’tekk is one of very few tekk with the ability to get Ah’tekk to listen and to speak instead of simply brooding.