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Blackflame Empire
Jai Clan
Jai Long
Jai Long, Path of the Stellar Spear (deviant)
"Let's not inflict my company upon them. They're having fun."
Once the heir of the Jai clan, binding an improper Remnant took him off the orthodox Path of the Stellar Spear.- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: He's the strongest of his clan in the Desolate Wilds and he knows it. Played with in that his friendlessness (aside from Kral) and lack of interpersonal skills aren't really his choice - they're the result of his Goldsign-deformed face and his rejection by his clan.
- Post Bloodline this is what keeps him from fully accepting Lindon's assistance/advice. It doesn't matter that Lindon is several levels of advancement above him now, he still only remembers Lindon as the scared, pragmatic, little Lowgold that "murdered" his best friend Kral.
- Bash Brothers: With Kral.
- Big Brother Instinct: He loves his sister and would do anything for her. In fact, the reason he bound the wrong Remnant was because he needed power, fast, in order to protect her. He never once blames her for what happened to him.The last of his madra failed him, and soon he was fighting with nothing but the strength of his limbs. Even so, he swore an oath to the heavens.If nothing else, he would die before his sister did.
- Character Development: Due in part to his sister's influence, by Skysworn he has almost become an Anti-Hero, though still more interested in protecting his sister than anyone else. In Bloodline, he and Jai Chen help Wei Shi Kelsa and Orthos rescue Kelsa and Lindon's mother from imprisonment, and eventually he agrees to stay and help with the evacuation of Sacred Valley.
- Ex-Big Bad: For two and a half books, he’s Lindon’s looming problem. However, this changes in Skyworn, and he leaves planning to never see Lindon again.
- Mark of the Supernatural: His goldsign is worse than usual; he has a horrific Nightmare Face and an Evil Laugh. Unlike most goldsigns, his does not become more manageable as he advances, so he just keeps his face wrapped in scripted bandages.
- Nightmare Face: His face was deformed by absorbing an unapproved Remnant that was attacking his sister. He now keeps it covered with scripted bandages at all times due to its horrifying appearance.
- No Guy Wants to Be Chased: It's light, but this combined with his shame over his goldsign that has Jai Long slightly befuddled over how to handle Wei Shi Kelsa's very obvious desire to pursue him romantically.
- Red Right Hand: His face was deformed by his goldsign and put him on a sharply darker path.
- Revenge: His initial driving goal is revenge on his clan for rejecting him and refusing to heal his sister; for part of the story he is also driven by revenge against Lindon for killing Kral. Both are ultimately subverted - he rejoins his family when they take his sister hostage, and he ultimately reconciles with Lindon after Lindon heals his sister.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After his clan's patriarch callously throws away the future of both the clan and the entire empire for revenge, right in front of him (while putting both Jai Long and his sister's lives at risk), and after reconciling with Lindon, Jai Long finally accepts his sister's suggestion to find the hidden valley and retreat from society.
- Socially Awkward Hero: Because he has been treated like a monster since he was fourteen years old, Jai Long has two modes: Icy cool and extreme awkwardness, particularly when someone expresses romantic interest in him.
Jai Chen
Jai Chen
"We just want a place to stay for a while."
Jai Long's sister, who was crippled in an attack on the family compound. She was given treatment enough to survive, but nothing more, and has spent years barely able to breathe.- Bond Creatures: In the attack that crippled her, part of her madra was transformed into a living spirit, much like Jai Long's living forger techniques. It fights her constantly for years, but once Lindon heals her and puts her spirit back under her control, it becomes a tiny pink dragon who fights for her. She names him Fingerling. He likes to eat fish.
- The Dog Bites Back: After she has spent years being treated as an embarrassment by Jai Daishou, and then as a hostage, she stabs him in the neck with the Ancestral Spear. She absorbs all his madra (and he had a lot at that point), putting her on a unique Path.
- Hero of Another Story: By the end of the series she has started to become a legend of Sacred Valley.
- Jumped at the Call: A lie she said in the heat of the moment basically created the Sect of the Twin Stars and she has dedicated herself, to a degree even her brother doesn't like, to making the fledgling sect a force to be reckoned with.
- Mark of the Supernatural: Averted; she lacks a Goldsign because her unique blend of madra made it impossible to find a compatible Remnant. She advanced on power instead.
- Master of None: A variant; most Paths use one or two types of madra, because you have to keep all your madra types balanced. The more different types, the harder they are to balance, the harder it is to find aura, and the harder it is to find compatible advancement resources. Due to her trick with the Archstone, Jai Chen ends up with three madra types that don't usually go together: Wind from Naru Gwei, and Light and Sword from Jai Long and Jai Daishou. Eithan notes that it is a very good thing that Lindon's Blackflame core was completely empty at the time, and is very interested in seeing where her Path takes her. It is impossible to find a compatible Remnant to advance her to Gold, so she is forced to advance with elixers and scales instead.
- Morality Chain: She tries to get Jai Long to give up his crusade. She eventually succeeds as the Jai clan is falling apart, and they leave to find a legendary valley far to the west.
- Red String of Fate: She was the girl Lindon was destined to marry in the original timeline, and they still find themselves drawn to each other in the new one.
- Shipper on Deck: Is in full support of Wei Shi Kelsa and her brother Jai Long.
Jai Daishou
Patriarch Jai Daishou, Path of the Stellar Spear
"I don't know if you've heard, but your family's performance in the city has slipped while you've been gone. I can only imagine what it's like over the rest of the empire, without your personal supervision to guide them."
The Patriarch of the Jai clan, and its only Underlord. He is dying, and if he doesn't find a suitable heir soon, the entire clan will die with him.- Bad Boss: He doesn't even blink about sending progressive amounts of waves after Jai Long, knowing that they will die, rather than handle it himself because of his misguided honor. Only steps in once he has absolutely no choice.
- Fisher King: What he believes that he is in concerns to the Jai house, his internal dialogue shows that he fully believes that his house will essentially cease to exist when he passes which is why he's not altogether concerned with wasting their resources while he's alive.
- Hypocrite: He tosses aside his honor at the end, proving willing to risk even the Dreadgods returning if it means killing Eithan.
- Revenge Before Reason: At first his ruthlessness is in order to advance his clan, but past a certain point it becomes more about getting revenge on Eithan, even if it involves doing things that put not just his clan but the entire empire at risk.
Naru Clan
Naru Huan
Emperor Naru Huan, Path of Grasping Sky
"You could have warned me, Eithan. You can't just pop up anywhere you want to."
The Emperor of the Blackflame Empire, and its only Overlord.- Beleaguered Bureaucrat: The Emperor of the Blackflame Empire is essentially just a (fancy) administrative job. The Akura Clan own the Blackflame Empire, but don't bother to put one of their own members in charge.
- Beneath the Mask: He acts perfectly composed most of the time, even using the Royal "We", but when alone with Eithan he drops the act and is just an exasperated friend.
- From Zero to Hero: The Naru clan were once servants to the Blackflame family, and Huan recalls scrubbing the floors of the palace as a child.
- Mark of the Supernatural: He has massive emerald wings, as is standard for his family.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Just wants to hold together the empire that his mother rebuilt after it had previously fallen to pieces. Does his best to deal with Eithan's trollish behavior including giving him leeway that he wouldn't for any of his other subjects.
Naru Saeya
Naru Saeya, Path of Grasping Sky
"I don't want my name to spread, but the name of the Blackflame Empire."
The Emperor's younger sister, and a powerful sacred artist.- Bash Brothers: She becomes friendly with Yerin when they get teamed together for the tournament, and they bond as they spar.
- Fragile Flyer: She is quick and agile, but much less tough than the rest of the Blackflame contingent.
- Spider-Sense: Her ability to sense fluctuations in wind madra is almost as good as the Aurelius bloodline ability.
- Shipper on Deck: After seeing Lindon issue rapid-fire orders to his team and fly a cloudship while building a launcher construct at the same time she makes a point of telling Lindon he should act like this more because Yerin would love it.
Naru Gwei
Naru Gwei, Path of Grasping Sky
"We will listen when your spirits and bodies are shackled. Faces on the ground, final warning."
The uncle of Emperor Naru Huan and leader of the Skysworn, the Empire's elite forces. He is strict and no-nonsense, and hates that Eithan always gets away with everything.- Barbarian Longhair: His long hair is usually tangled and dirty.
- Da Chief: Is this for the entire Skysworn organization, but since this is Cradle and Asskicking Leads to Leadership he's also their most powerful member. Until Eithan joins.
- Not So Above It All: After all his suspicions, all his attempts to counter what he assumes are Eithan's plans, what finally brings him around? Eithan swears an oath not to bother him unless it's an emergency.
- Oral Fixation: Constantly chews on a leaf, and keeps a ready supply in his pocket in case one is lost.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: So long as a situation doesn't directly involve Eithan, he's quite reasonable. When Lindon's team resists arrest, he'd be perfectly within his rights to kill them all for treason. But he keeps his head enough to realize that they didn't kill anyone when they absolutely could have, and decides to listen to them.
- The Stoic: He is described as constantly sounding bored, as if he was dragged away from a nap.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: He is convinced that Eithan is always planning something. He is, but not for any nefarious purpose and nothing to do with the Skysworn. Lindon and Yerin, in particular, are not weapons to be used against the Empire but more soldiers for the cause.
Skysworn
Renfei
Renfei, Path of the Cloudhammer
"You will not be tried or punished until a representative of your clan can be found to speak for you."
A Truegold Skysworn who arrests Lindon for being a Blackflame.- Good Cop/Bad Cop: She's the good cop to Bai Rou's bad cop, being as polite and cordial as she can at all times.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: She is unceremoniously killed by Akura Harmony because her speaking interrupted his meditation.
- Personal Raincloud: Her goldsign is a small cloud that hovers over her head that turns into a grey stormcloud when she's angry or agitated.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Barely gets any characterization before getting killed by Akura Harmony.
Bai Rou
Bai Rou, Path of the Amber Well
"Who would be this stupid?"
A Truegold Skysworn who doesn't talk much.- All Asians Wear Conical Straw Hats: Wears a conical straw hat that hides his goldsign eyes.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: The bad cop to Renfei's good cop. He is absolutely convinced that Lindon and Yerin are just bombs waiting to go off, and lets them know it. Whenever anything goes slightly wrong, he assumes it's their fault.
- Poisonous Person: His Path seems to combine Water, Poison, and Dream, attacking the body and mind with acidic nightmares.
- Supernatural Gold Eyes: His goldsign is glowing yellow eyes.
Fisher Clan
Gesha
Fisher Gesha, Path of the Fisherman
"If I want the words of a silly girl, I will reach back a hundred years and ask myself."
A Highgold soulsmith, one of the best the Fishers have. While still a Copper, Lindon begs her for training, and she ends up following him to the Blackflame Empire proper.- Changed My Mind, Kid: When Eithan initially asks her to come to the Blackflame Empire to train Lindon, she flatly refuses. When Lindon wakes up on the cloudship, she's there too; she mutters about how she always wanted to see the Empire, and this is as good a chance as any.
- Cool Old Lady: An experienced leader, deadly Highgold combatant, master soulsmith, and one of the few people to show Lindon any respect early on. She also keeps up with the rest of the cast despite being over a hundred years old (and, unlike some people, looking every year of it.)
- Doting Grandparent: When the Emperor gives her a great gift of elixirs to raise her to Truegold, she asks to give them to her grandchildren instead, as she feels they deserve them more than an old woman. The Emperor denies her request, but gives her a few more identical gifts to give to her grandchildren.Gesha: [tearing up] Heavens grant long life to the Emperor.
- Gadgeteer Genius: As a master soulsmith, this is her specialty; several of the wonderful toys the cast uses are made by her, including Lindon's artificial hand.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: While she acts like a surly old lady, Eithan immediately notices that she's actually a softie.
- Mind over Matter: Her clan's path allows her to draw objects to her from a distance, hence the "fisher" name.
- Miniature Senior Citizen: She's very tiny.
- Old Master: She becomes Lindon's teacher in the ways of Soulsmithing.
- Spider Tank: She uses spider-limb mechs capable of carrying her to get around quickly despite her old age.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Minor Played for Drama example. She's almost completely absent from Blackflame; when she shows up again in Skysworn, she mentions that she was on a small vacation, seeing the sights and sampling delicacies. Lindon had assumed she was training nonstop because that's what he was doing. Gesha snaps at Eithan for driving Lindon too hard.
Sandviper Clan
Kral
Sandviper Kral, Path of the Sandviper
The "young chief" and heir of the Sandviper sect. He is a friendly and gregarious man, unless he decides that you are his enemy. In which case he will destroy you without hesitation or mercy.
- Bash Brothers: With Jai Long.
- Boisterous Bruiser: While his clan are the antagonists of the book where he appears, he's generally upbeat and eager to include Jai Long in things despite his terrifying face.
- Beat Them at Their Own Game: Dies because he doesn't realize that Lindon has a superior version of his own Iron Body that lets him resist Sandviper madra.
- Would Hurt a Child: Kral, a Highgold, tries to kill Lindon, an Iron three stages lower than him, for no apparent reason.
Seishen Kingdom
Seishen Dakata
King Seishen Dakata, Overlord
The King of the Seishen Kingdom, he is the father of Kiro and Daji. He competes against the Blackflame Empire in a clash hosted by Akura Charity.
- Abusive Parents: Is cruelly dismissive to both his sons, to the point that Kiro's Underlord revelation was fear of his father.
- The Ace: Like Naru Huan, he is the only Overlord in his kingdom.
- Combat Pragmatist: Leads his forces in an ambush against the Blackflame contingent to kick them out of the Nightwheel Valley, and sets a trap for them when they return.
- False Confession: When he realizes that his remaining son has committed treason against the Akura clan, he tries to take the blame instead.
- Large Ham: Often laughs at his own jokes while his court laugh weakly.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red Oni to Naru Huan's Blue.
Kiro
Seishen Kiro, First Prince of the Seishen Kingdom, Path of the Steel Guardian
The son of Seishen Dakata and Crown Prince of the Seishen Kingdom, he is "encouraged" by Akura Charity to hunt Lindon & Co during the competition between the Seishen Kingdom and Blackflame Empire.
- The Ace: He is highly regarded in his kingdom, and managed to reach Underlord at a young age.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: He works extra hard to keep his father from embarrassing their kingdom in front of Akura Charity by interjecting whenever he thinks that Seishen Dakata is about to stick his foot in his mouth.
- The Chains of Commanding: His excuse for attacking a Truegold as an Underlord and his reasoning for not allowing Lindon to surrender when Yerin is in danger. He is a Prince and an Underlord, Lindon is a vassal and a Truegold, Kiro's responsibilities dictate that he has to kill Lindon.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Has this dynamic with Meira as she is a normal height and the men in the Seishen family are all incredibly tall.
- Oh, Crap!: Like many who've fought Lindon he had this reaction when not only is his sword blocked by someone who is a lower advancement level than him but who could mostly fight him evenly. This revelation causes him to stop holding back and really take Lindon seriously.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: One of the many things that he doesn't like about himself, he would love to stick up for Meira to his father, to get him to admit that while Kiro the strongest of his children that Meira is the strongest Underlord in the Seishen Kingdom. He can't though, because it would lessen the respect his father has for him.
Daji
Seishen Daji, Second Prince of the Seishen Kingdom
"A Truegold! He is mine. I will carve the difference between us into his body."
The Second Prince of the Seishen Kingdom, younger brother of Seishen Kiro. Starts off as the top Truegold of the Seishen Kingdom, later advances to Underlord. Known for being brash and filled with rage.- Driven by Envy: The main reason he pushes himself so hard and throws himself at every challenge. Daji lives to show up his older brother and prove to his father that he is the better sibling.
- Revenge Before Reason: After the death of Seishen Kiro at Lindon's hands Daji will do anything, even put the lives of his father and Meira along with their entire kingdom at risk to achieve this revenge. He attacks Lindon twice while under direct orders from the Akura Clan to not attack their fellow vassal states on the penalty of death. Finally after those attacks fail he directly betrays them by teleporting multiple members of the Akura family, including Mercy, Pride, and Grace directly into a trap set by Reigan Shen. Safe to say he's abandoned all reason by this point.
- Hate Sink: No one likes Seishen Daji, not his subjects, not his teachers, not his peers, and not even his family. They seem to put up with him simply because he is the Second Prince and no other reason. After the death of Seishen Kiro we find out that Seishen Dakata cries himself to sleep each night with the knowledge that Daji is the only son he has left.
- Meaningful Name: Daji is a character from Chinese mythology, a nasty fox spirit that seduces the emperor into torturing, executing, and even feeding his own citizens to each other. Being named after her is not a compliment.
- Too Dumb to Live: Even after being told and shown time and again that he is no match for Lindon he keeps trying to fight him. His own allies are forced beat him unconscious to stop him from getting himself killed in one instance. Not that they didn't enjoy it.
Meira
Riyusai Meira
"This servant does not dare to address the Akura Sage, but is grateful for the Sage's attention. It is the honor of her life to serve the first prince of the Seishen Kingdom"
An Underlady who directly serves Prince Seishen Kiro and is acknowledged by him as the star genius of the Seishen Kingdom.- The Ace: Acknowledged by Seishen Kiro as the premiere Underlady in the entire Seishen Kingdom. Made even more impressive by the fact that her Path is usually only employed by gardeners and healers. Seishen Dakata wishes that his sons were as powerful as Meira is.
- Almighty Janitor: Officially, she is a gardener. In reality, she is one of the strongest Underlords they have.
- Broken Bird: Became one after the death of Seishen Kiro. She is so broken she is willing to let Seishen Dakata execute her with zero resistance.
- The Grim Reaper: Her entire aesthetic and Path seems to be based around this. She wears simple grey robes, her path is based entirely upon Life Madra, and her main weapon is a staff that doubles as a Life Madra Scythe which specifically targets the life line of anyone that it hits.
- Hero Killer: Averted. Was nearly this after her first fight with Yerin ended with Yerin's life line so damaged that if Yerin hadn't advanced to Underlord she would have lasted maybe another month at best.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Despite her initial violent reaction to Kiro's death (and the insanity she had previously demonstrated), she soon accepts that she simply cannot fight someone who made it to the top sixteen of the Uncrowned King tournament. When they meet Lindon again and Daji tries to kill him, Meira sweeps Daji out of the way with her scythe—saving his life from a bar of Blackflame Daji didn't even notice—and apologizes to Lindon for disturbing him.
- Madness Mantra: Has a tendency to slip into these while fighting, but especially evident while searching for Wei Shi Lindon the first time we see her fight.Meira: Where is he? Where is he? Where is he? WhereisheWhereisheWhereisheWhereisheWhereisheWhereishe?
- Minored in Ass-Kicking: She is a gardener and a healer, with a Path designed for exactly that. She's still the most combat-capable Underlady in the Seishen Kingdom. It's notable that she never uses any direct attack techniques, relying instead on her own skill and powerful weapon. She mostly uses her techniques to heal herself.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: In Wintersteel, after a particularly dumb statement from him Meira finally lays into Daji with a blistering rant about how much of a useless ass he is.
- Sinister Scythe: She uses a scythe with a blade made from life madra, allowing it to directly cut at an enemy's lifelife. For bonus points, she genuinely is a gardener, and considering the crazy plants in this world, that might really be a gardening tool.
- Yandere: Her love for Seishen Kiro is NOT healthy in any way. Her devotion to him and fear for his safety drives her to greater and greater heights of insanity throughout Underlord culminating in this line:Meira: If Kiro is dead, I will kill your friends. I will kill your family. I will kill everyone you've ever loved, you've ever known. I will kill, and kill, and kill, and kill, until you wade through a river of blood with every step.
Sacred Valley
Wei Clan
Wei Clan in general
"Honor by any means."
Wei Shi Lindon's clan, most of whom follow the Path of the White Fox.- Doublethink: The clan motto is "Honor by any means," but the addendum is that even deception can be used to serve honor. That paradox is the foundation of the clan's philosophy.
- Emotion Bomb: Their Ruler technique, the Fox Dream, can be used to temporarily distract or confuse opponents by drowning them in illusions. Usually the specific emotion doesn't matter - they are just given whatever illusion will be the most distracting.
- Faux Flame: Practitioners of the Path of the White Fox can create balls of purple flame which causes spiritual damage that makes their victims feel like they're being burned, and can cut through forged madra.
- Invisible Means Undodgeable: The Foxtail enforcer technique creates illusions to alter the apparent length of weapons and trajectory of attacks.
- Master of Illusion: Part of the reason why few people in Sacred Valley takes Lindon's warnings seriously is because many people assume that the signs of impending disaster are part of an elaborate illusion.
Elder Whisper
Elder Whisper, Path of the White Fox
"When a traveler cannot find a path, sometimes he must make his own."
Mysterious Sacred White Fox, founder of the Wei Clan and the Path of the White Fox.- Asian Fox Spirit: He is a classic five-tailed fox from Japanese mythology.
- Master of Illusion: He seems to enjoy making multiple copies of himself while holding conversations, and regularly travels around Sacred Valley invisibly.
- Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: Is hit with this pretty hard in Reaper when he keeps trying to intimidate the main party. He has been a Truegold in a land of Jades, but the main characters are nearly all Underlord/lady or above at this point.
- Papa Wolf: Since all of the white foxes in Sacred Valley are his descendants, Elder Whisper has banned their hunting, which some members of the Wei clan do in the mistaken belief that eating their meat will be beneficial to their Path. Somewhat subverted because he does allow their hunting on special occasions (most of them aren't sapient).
- Seers: He has some insight into the future due to his mastery of Dream madra.
- Shapeshifting Trickster: Doesn't actually shapeshift, but can disguise himself with illusions - for instance, taking on the form of a statue.
- Swiss-Cheese Security: For some reason he is kept "imprisoned" in his tower, but in reality he wanders around the Valley whenever he wants.
- Threshold Guardians: He is the first person to suggest to Lindon that he can be something more than an Unsouled with no future if he works hard enough.
- Trademark Favorite Food: He is fed a bucket of fish twice per day.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: As a advanced Sacred Beast, he could theoretically shapeshift. It's unclear what his level of advancement is since he has spent the last several centuries in Sacred Valley, but if he really is the ancestor of the Wei clan he most likely took human form at some point in the past.
Kelsa
Wei Shi Kelsa, Path of the White Fox
"This is my mess. It's only fair that I clean it up."
Lindon's older sister. She is a talented young sacred artist on the Path of the White Fox.- The Ace:
- She was seen as a genius of the clan, advancing the fastest out of almost anyone. This was one of the reasons Lindon was ignored so much—even his own parents felt it more effective to pay attention to his sister.
- Subverted in Reaper, when even with Lindon's incredible resources, her advancement stalls a bit. He wonders aloud if not everyone can advance at his breakneck speed, even with the same resources.Yerin had stared at him for five minutes straight when she heard him say that, while Eithan laughed himself sick then stored the memory in a dream tablet to share with others.
Lindon still didn't see why it was funny.
- Asian Fox Spirit: Her Fox Tail goldsign and her Path of the White Fox put her in this category. Considering the Elder Whisper has 5 tails it's more than likely that as she advances Kelsa will gain more tails as well.
- Brutal Honesty: She does not sugarcoat anything.
- Can't Catch Up: Is hit pretty hard with this in Reaper. Even with the same or better resources than Lindon had at the same level, it takes her longer to advance. Time will tell if she can get past this.
- Cool Big Sister: She's one of the few people of the clan who helps out Lindon. When he returns, she is clearly frustrated with how their parents cannot acknowledge how powerful Lindon has become, assuming that everything is the result of him having powerful friends.
- Emotion Bomb: Because she was judged a Ruler in the Spiritual Origin test, this is the only technique she knows at the start of the series.
- Faux Flame: As a practitioner of the Path of the White Fox, she can create balls of purple flame, at least after she starts learning all the techniques of the Path under Orthos' tutelage.
- Parental Favoritism: Has this due to Lindon's status as The Unfavorite thanks to his Unsouled status. For instance, Lindon breaks his arm getting a spirit fruit, and they don't even consider giving it to him until he asks.
- Shared Family Quirks:
- During the events of Wintersteel Orthos wonders if the one defining trait of this family if their lack of patience. She also shares Lindon's tendency to carry a carefully organized, huge backpack full of anything they could possibly need.
- In Reaper Jai Long notes that her dedicating literally all of her time to training (even trying to turn it into a date) is exactly like Lindon.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Fell pretty hard for Jai Long during their shared adventures and has no problem telling anyone about it.
- Stronger Sibling:
- At least for all of Unsouled, she is among the youngest members of her clan to achieve Iron advancement while Lindon is still at the Foundation stage.
- Subverted by the time of Blackflame where Lindon has advanced to Lowgold, a level of advancement thought to be the stuff of myths in the Sacred Valley. By the time of Wintersteel Kelsa has just managed to reach Jade while Lindon is now a Sage.
Jaran
Wei Shi Jaran, Path of the White Fox
"Whatever trick a mouse uses, it cannot defeat a lion."
Lindon's father. He was once a promising member of the clan, but a crippling injury to his leg set him back.- Driven to Suicide: Implied in the vision of the future Suriel gave Lindon. One night he just leaves with a sword and never comes back.
- Handicapped Badass: He suffered a leg injury when he was younger. Lindon is annoyed at one point to note that even with the injury, his Iron body lets him run faster than Lindon. The Heaven's Glory school blinds him when he resists arrest, so Kelsa has to take care of him while they're on the run.
- Parental Neglect: He ignores Lindon for a good deal of the boy's childhood, thinking him not worth the time. He only starts to pay attention when he realizes Lindon might have a chance to actually make a decent showing at the Seven Year Festival.
- Selective Obliviousness: When Lindon returns home after three years, he refuses to believe that Lindon has become powerful in his own right, and assumes that his abilities are being exaggerated. It isn't until he sees Emperor Naru Huan greeting Lindon as a superior in Reaper that it finally hits home.Jaran slowly shut the door.Seisha slid a hand around his waist. “You’ll have to get used to these things sooner or later.”“No,” Jaran grumbled.
Seisha
Wei Shi Seisha, Path of the White Fox
"Back home, we had a saying. 'The disciple follows the master, but the genius blazes their own trail.'"
Lindon's mother. She is a Soulsmith of the Wei Clan.- Brainy Brunette: She is famous for her brown hair and Soulsmithing capabilities, which take a good deal of knowledge and skill.
- Constantly Curious: When she isn't soulsmithing or checking scripts, she constantly takes notes and asks questions about new things around her.
- Glamour: Of the non-sexy variety. She Forges disguises for herself in the form of different outfits.
- Pragmatic Hero: Catches Lindon planting a trap in the arena before the Seven Year Festival, but lets him go through with it since she knows that he needs all the help he can get.
- Sparing the Aces: Jaran and Seisha are both punished for resisting the Heaven's Glory school, but as a soulsmith Seisha is too valuable to cripple. Instead she is kept captive to work for them.
- So Proud of You: It's buried under a lot of stoicism, but she is definitely proud of Lindon for all that he's done, and far more readily accepts his change than his father.
- Workaholic: Constantly takes notes or checks scripts in her notebook.
First Elder
Wei First Elder, Path of the White Fox
"There is no affinity to his spirit. He is empty. Unsouled."
First Elder of the Wei Clan. He is the person who determines that Lindon is a worthless Unsouled.- Anti-Mentor: He tells Lindon that Wei Mon Teris attacking him was Lindon's own fault, because he should have stayed at home where it was safe.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: When Lindon returns home to evacuate Sacred Valley, the First Elder and the Patriarch assume he is there to steal the clan from them out of revenge. The nonstop earthquakes that they have been experiencing for the last several days? Clearly fake.
- Number Two: The First Elder runs the day-to-day operations of the clan for the Patriarch, who is too exalted to bother most of the time.
- Pet the Dog: When Lindon (apparently) demonstrates the use of the Fox Dream Ruler technique, he offers to find a Ruler badge for him. Lindon is momentarily touched, before he reminds himself that the First Elder was the one who declared him Unsouled in the first place.
Li Clan
Markuth
Li Markuth, Ascended Grand Patriarch of the Li Clan
The Grand Patriarch of the Li clan, he ascended from Cradle centuries ago. He returns in Unsouled and attempts to conquer Sacred Valley.
- Loophole Abuse: Thinks he can get away with taking over Cradle because he is from there originally, but Suriel catches him in time.
- Small Role, Big Impact: His presence caused Suriel to take notice of Lindon, putting him on his Path.
- Take Over the World: After taking over Sacred Valley and the Labyrinth under it, he plans to take over the world.
- Winged Humanoid: He has a pair of pale bat wings as his Goldsign.
Heaven's Glory School
Elder Rahm
The Elder in charge of the Lesser Treasure Hall of the Heaven's Glory school.
- Idiot Ball: When Eithan is evacuating Sacred Valley, Rahm tries to burn down a house full of people. Eithan cuts his remnant in two.
- Jerkass Has a Point: On one hand, his refusal to listen to Lindon and Yerin is infuriating. On the other hand, they did raid the Treasure Hall and betray his trust.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Upheld, then subverted. In Unsouled he is one of the first people to ever defend Lindon and treats him at least like a valuable servant. After Lindon and Yaren rob him and return three years later, he refuses to listen to them just because he doesn't like them.
Elder Whitehall
Elder Whitehall is the first Heaven's Glory elder that Lindon meets, when he visits the Clans to watch the Seven Year Festival tournament.
- Creepy Child: Looks like a small child, but actually is as old as the other elders in the sect.
- Glass Cannon: Despite being an Elder and a Jade, Whitehall's body is still that of an eight-year-old boy. The much larger Lindon is able to defeat him by picking him up and throwing him off a cliff.
- Mirror Character: Lindon looks like a huge warrior but has a weak spirit, and Whitehall looks like a weak child but has a strong (for Sacred Valley) spirit.
- Older Than They Look: A mistake with some elixirs and pills regressed him to the body of a child. He's still a Jade, but a broken one.
