open/close all folders
The Val'Dutan'vir
This was a clan made up of Drowussu and Drowussu/Drowolath hybrids and used to be one of the two main Drowussu Houses making up the Nine Clans at meetings, the other being the Val'Kyorl'solenurn. The Dutan'vir were the older and first established of the two Drowussu Houses. They suffered greatly due to the Nidraa'chal War, which proved to be a Trauma Conga Line. After Diva'ratrika began her inquisition of the tainted, the Dutan'vir were one of the hardest hit, with family members turning against each other and an entire house, the Les'wanre, defecting to the Kyorl'solenurn in protest.Later, their Ill'haress Sannindi was murdered by her stag guardian, which had been tainted and set against her. The son of one of the house leaders rallied most of the adult warriors to fight in the War, but most perished in a Last Stand against the invading demons
. Many of those that survived were tainted in the process and killed by the Val'Kyorl'solenurn mop-up teams. The Kyorl'solenurn also took the surviving children of the clan they liked and sold the others to slavery.
The few members that remain are either now part of the Kyorl'solenurn, wandering in Chel or enlisted amongst Sarghress ranks, mainly in the Maeyukir subhouse. Two major characters who belong/ed to this clan are Mikilu and Lulianne. After the Dutan'vir fell, they were replaced in the Council of Nine by the Vel'Vloz'ress.
In their heyday, they made up most of Diva'ratrika's inner guard, earning her trust because of their unique qualities. Being part-Drowussu meant that they were loyal, more so than Drowolath, but being part Drowolath meant that they would also be fierce fighters.
General
- Animal Motifs: A stag-like animal called a ligr.
- Driven to Suicide: At least one survivor of the war chose seppuku over living after the Nidraa'chal War.
- Face–Heel Turn: Of a sort. The Dutan'vir who are shown to still work for the Sharen after the Nidraa'chal War all seem to have pledged their loyalty to one of the Sharen daughters rather than to Diva'ratrika, though it's not known if any besides Nir'naya know for certain she's dead.
- Foil: They were this to the more fanatical Kyorls. In turn, the Kyorl hated them because they were mixed breeds and as such an affront to their ideals of racial purity. This is also seen in the two drowussu clans' choice of animal mount, e.g. the stag for the Dutan'vir and the unicorn for the Kyorl'solenurn. It also helped that the leaders of the Kyorls were Light Elves.
- Honor Before Reason: The reason they undertook their last stand.
- Locked Room Mystery: The death of their Ill'haress was one of these, since she was slain at the heart of the fortress surrounded by guards. In this case the method isn't in question, since her guardian was tainted and set on her, the question is who. It's implied that it may have been an inside job possibly by a Nidraa'chal sleeper agent.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: They saw Diva'ratrika as this, which was why the Sharen sisters targeted them during their coup.
- Pimped-Out Dress: Their leaders had some of the fanciest outfits of the comic. One look at the detail in Mikilu'ligr's overseer uniform provides proof◊.
- Pride: Their greatest strength and weakness. It keeps them united and determined, but it has also lead them to make impractical decisions and serious mistakes. During the Nidraa'chal War, they made an ill-advised Last Stand, getting most of them wiped out. Rather than rally the survivors, Mikilu went into hiding to get revenge, allowing slavers to steal their children. In the current era, their pride makes it easy for shadowy conspirators to manipulate them into reclaiming their home from the Kyorl. As a result, the Sarghress and Kyorl clans are sent to the brink of war over dubious gains.
- The Remnant: They were mostly destroyed after the Nidraa'chal War. Even the suffix 'ligr' (of the main noble house) came to be a term of derision in the Drow world. Whenever someone makes a huge mistake in battle, they are referred to as pulling a "ligr". However, the survivors remain a significant influence and plot their revenge. Most of the survivors that still identify as Dutan'vir have integrated into the Sarghress clan. In chapter 42, this faction launches an attack against the Kyorl without Sarghress approval in order to reclaim some of their lost territory on behalf of their current clan.
- Trauma Conga Line: The entire Nidraa'chal War was this. And according to Sha'sana, this was exactly what Snadhya'rune wanted to happen, in order to undercut Chel's stability and remove Diva'ratrika's strongest and most loyal allies.
- Turn Coat: One of its main houses, the Les'wanre, defected to the Kyorl'solenurn over what they felt to be Diva'ratrika's betrayal of their clan. Her holding an inquisition of members of the clan during the Nidra'chaal uprising led to some Dutan'vir thinking that she was questioning their loyalty, so they defected in protest.
- Undying Loyalty: One of the traits Diva'ratrika valued in them, and it turns out the exact reason the Nidraa'chal targetted them.
- Unwitting Pawn: During the District War, a shadowy conspiracy manipulates them into reclaiming their home in order to spark conflict between the Sarghress and Kyorl clans.
Mikilu'ligr
sidestory and missing by the start of Chapter 1, and with the last female Val of the Dutan'vir clan gone the clan fell and were replaced by the Vloz'ress.- Authority Equals Asskicking: How she's gathered allies in Mimaneid, since their culture operates under this principle.
- Chekhov M.I.A.: Missing by the start of chapter 1 only to show up again in Chapter 31, and it's confirmed later that she was the one who tried to kill Snadhya'rune and made several more attempts during the timeskip.
- Driven to Madness: She was put through this by being denied access to Diva'ratrika and meetings concerning her, being mocked by everyone except the Sharen sisters who were the ones actually setting her up and having her food replaced with rotting meat to either force her to leave or make her go on a suicidal charge.
- Frame-Up: She was set up to look like she'd snapped and killed a bunch of slaves in order to smear her reputation.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: She decides to flee from Felde as soon as Snadhya'rune snaps, knowing she can't possibly fight her one-on-one.
- Last of Their Kind: She's the last surviving Dutanvir Val, and as such her disappearance after the war was seen as the official end of the clan.
- Meaningful Appearance: Her gray eyes are a minor plot point in her relationship with the drowolath girl Taio'shi, since Taio'shi possessing these reminded Mikilu of her lost family and prompted her to take the girl in.
- Mysterious Veil: Part of her Overseer attire, and she continues to wear it both as a fugitive and in Mimaneid.
- Pimped-Out Dress: According to the artists who worked on it, her dress is one of the most complicated in the comic.
- Put on a Bus: She disappeared for years before briefly making an appearance at the end of chapter 32. Chapter 43 reveals that she has been in Mimaneid gathering allies.
- Revenge Before Reason: When she goes after Snadhya'rune in Felde the latter points out that instead of spending her time and energy there for the sake of revenge she could be rallying her remaining clan members now that they've retaken their former home. And worse, Snadhya'rune is right.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Chapter 43 shows she wasn't just sitting idly by mourning her fallen clan. She has actively been gathering allies in the city of Mimaneid.
- Skyward Scream: A pretty spectacular one thanks to the use of mana.
- Unexpected Successor: She's considered the top candidate for the leadership of the reformed Dutan'vir, a position she had not been expected to take because of her position with Diva'ratrika.
Minka Sann'ligr
Formerly a member of the Dutan'vir, he was part of the charge that wiped out most of the clan. After the Nidraa'chal War he was captured and forced to work in the Black Dragon gladiator arena. After Ariel and her friends break Rik'shakar out of the dungeons, he is one of the prisoners set free by Irena to help her against them, only to knock her out and take power for himself. After the timeskip the Black Dragon arena has been renamed to the Black Wolf arena and he has openly allied with the Sarghress clan. After the 15-year story timeskip, Minka joins a group of Dutan'vir survivors, with support from the Sarghress clan, in an attempt to reclaim the old Dutan'vir territory, now under Kyorl'solenurn management. After a siege by the Kyorl'solenurn army, the clan leader Valla'drielle sentences the Dutan'vir siege survivors, among them Minka, to death by fire. Saved barely in time by a protest of Kyorl'solenurn citizens led by the new clan leader Anahid, Minka catches Valla'drielle alone and barely restrains himself from strangling her thanks to Anahid's call for forgiveness.
- The Dog Bites Back: What he does to Irena, feeding her to her own dragons as part of the entertainment. He can also be seen as this to the Sharen sisters since the Black Dragon, now renamed the Black Wolf, is being used a Sarghress base after the timeskip, implying that he's openly allied with them and/or allowing them to use it as a very public "fuck you" to the three Sisters.
- Gladiator Games: Was made to participate in them unwillingly.
- Laser-Guided Karma: In Chapter 49, Minka tries to invoke a Karmic Death for Vala'drielle's murder of her friends and attempted execution by cornering and choking her to death. However, he remembers Anahid's words about forgiveness, and instead leaves her alone to fade away in ignominy.
- Made a Slave: His fate after the failed assault on the demons. It's also implied that he was the Sole Survivor of the entire battle.
- Restrained Revenge: The Dutan'vir are manipulated into attacking the Kyorl. Vala'drielle's retribution results in the deaths of many comrades and she nearly has them all executed before she is coerced into abdicating to a more merciful Illharess. After he is released, he manages to corner her in an isolated location and starts strangling her. He then echoes Anahid's words about forgiveness being true strength before letting her go.
- Under New Management: The Black Dragon after he takes it over.
- Would Hit a Girl: Irena never saw it coming...
Sker'ligr
Formerly one of the Val'Sharess' guards, Sker was present when Sil'lice arrived at the Imperial Palace. He later deserted and wound up in the Maeyukir House of the Sarghress. He is mentioned to be the brother of Mikilu.
- Conflicting Loyalty: Ran into this when he found Sil'lice at the Val'Sharess tower and she was charged with attempted murder, but ultimately chose Sil'lice over the other Sharen sisters and let her go, and later joined her in the Sarghress clan.
- Death by Falling Over: Vala'drielle kills him and several other Dutanvir by having the floor of their ancestral home collapse several hundred feet, causing collateral damage among the common populace living below.
- Defector from Decadence: Unlike Nir'naya and Mikilunote Sker decided to leave to join Sil'lice rather than stay in the employ of the Sharen.
- Dual Wielding
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: He has golem prosthetics that he uses to hold extra shields.
Sael
Lulianne's niece, she was Syphile's friend at Orthorbbae, focused on in the sidestory "Syphile's Great Deed" (the dialog is canon, but the art was done by a fan for a contest). It's heavily implied that she died during or soon after the Nidraa'chal War, and she never actually appears in any official artwork, outside of Khaless using Sael's face to taunt Lulianne during their fight in Chapter 25.
" (the dialog is canon, but the art was done by a fan for a contest). It's heavily implied that she died during or soon after the Nidraa'chal War, and she never actually appears in any official artwork, outside of Khaless using Sael's face to taunt Lulianne during their fight in Chapter 25.- Braids of Action: Had this when alive.
- The Cassandra: She tried to warn Syphile exactly why tainting herself was a bad idea, but Syphile ignored her.
- Shapeshifter Guilt Trip: Her face was used by Khaless to do guilt-trip Lulianne into not attacking her.
Sang'oro
A former Dutan'vir of mixed drowolath/drowussu heritage who is now a templar for the Kyorl'solenurn clan. He can be seen in Chapters 12 and 13 fighting with Kyo'varde and her team against Sene'kha Vel'Vloz'ress and her demon hunters.
- All Genes Are Codominant: Unlike other Dutan'vir, who mostly just look like drowussu with a darker grey shading, Sang'oro is drawn as a direct intermediate between drowussu and drowolath typical traits. His skin is shaded grey-brown and his hair is neither neon like drowolath or pale like drowussu; he has what appears to be a pastel light-purple/faded-pink hair color.
- Blood Knight
- Meaningful Name: Sang is the French word for blood. This might be to emphasize the fact that he may be a Blood Knight as seen above.
- Nice Guy: His first appearance has him stand up for Desmonde after Kyo'varde and Mili'ani verbally insult her and give her the cold shoulder. This makes Desmonde fall for him.
- Nonhuman Humanoid Hybrid: He managed to enlist within Kyorl ranks, despite their dislike of mixed breeds. Either this means that the Kyorl'solenurn are willing to let individuals prove themselves or Sang'oro is just that badass.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted somewhat. There is also a Sang in the Sarghress Clan.
- The Stoic/Perpetual Frowner: Dude doesn't even smile at all or emote in the appearances he makes.
- The Quiet One
Kai'to
A former Val of the Les'wanre house of the Dutan'vir clan, Kai'to fell out with his family and left the clan shortly before the Nidraachal War. He first attempted to join the Kyorl'solenurn but was disaffected by their ideals, eventually choosing to join the Sarghress (however he refused to join the Maeyukir subhouse). He is now a Highland Raider alongside Quill'yate and Vaelia!. He appears in the side stories depicting the Highland Raiders' adventures on the surface world during Chapter 25 and also in Chapter 44.
depicting the Highland Raiders' adventures on the surface world during Chapter 25 and also in Chapter 44.- Author Avatar: He is an avatar for Kite, the co-creator of Drowtales, alongside the character Desmonde Kyorl'solenurn. note .
- Facial Markings: Has what looks like cat whiskers on each cheek.
- Fantastic Racism: Against anyone who is not a drow and against Kyorl drowussu.
- I Work Alone: The major reason he wound up in the Raiders, and also why he rejected the Mae'yukir outright.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: One of the few remaining signs of his former Val status is his long ponytail.
- Noble Fugitive: He was a former Val but somehow fell out with his family before the Nidraa'chal War.
- Older Than They Look: As one chibi page points out, despite looking very young he's hundreds of years old and had the personality of a grumpy old man.
- Relationship Reveal: In Chapter 44 he's revealed to be in a romantic relationship with fellow Raider Riz'riia.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: It's implied that his experiences have left him as this, explaining some of his Jerkass behavior.
Crossbow Lady*note
A mixblood sandwich cook living in the North Cliff district during Chapter 39. Reappears in Chapter 49, taking part in the effort to reclaim the ancestral Dutan'vir lands. Her concept art can be found here◊.
◊.- Ascended Meme: A nameless background character, she nonetheless gained a substantial fanbase for her response to Maki and was later sponsored to return, which she does in Chapter 49.
- Badass Bystander: She was courageous enough to shoot Maki with her crossbow, and scores a hit on her shoulder.
- Call-Back: Paraphrases her first spoken line when she attempts to shoot Vala'drielle.
Grea'spa*note
A lobbyist for the fallen Dutan'vir clan at Snadhya'rune's Felde gathering, first seen in Chapter 44. He has hopes to return the clan to its former glory status. His concept art can be found here◊.
◊.- Bare-Fisted Monk
- Hair-Trigger Temper: When hungry, anyway.
- The Smart Guy: Said to enjoy intellectual games.
- Wild Card: Not officially tied to any existing clan after the fall of the Dutan'vir, but he is heavily invested in bringing his old clan back to power.
Akumu'keshi*note
A female Drowussu taking part in the effort to reclaim the Dutan'vir lands. First appearing in Chapter 49, her concept art can be viewed here◊.
◊.- Blow You Away: Possesses an air affinity.
- Guilty Pleasures: Enjoys her writings, but is rather embarrassed of them.
- Shipper on Deck: The primary focus of said writings involves pairing her peers.
- Throw the Book at Them: Resorts to this (with her own material, no less) when surprised by intruders.
Beryla'zuli*note
An upbeat female Drowussu taking part in the effort to reclaim their lost lands. First appearing in Chapter 49, her concept art can be viewed here.
.- Affectionate Nickname: Would appear prone to these.
- Canon Immigrant: Originally created for the Relic Hunters roleplaying section of the site, before being sponsored as a cameo. She also appeared in a few of the Daydream stories.
- Combat Medic: Trained as a medic, but not shy about firing at besiegers with a crossbow.
- Genki Girl: Dresses in exceptionally bright colours and is extremely excitable, to the point of squeeing over an opponent in the middle of a battle.
- Naughty Nuns: Formerly catered to Kyorl fetishes, and acted the part.
Vara'nin*note
A ex-Kyorl Crusader responding to the call to reclaim the ancestral Dutan'vir lands. First appearing in Chapter 49, her concept art can be viewed here.
.- Blood Magic: Her affinity, used for healing.
- Forgetful Jones: Tends to misplace things.
- Innocent Blue Eyes
- The Medic
- Quirky Curls: Of the "life of it's own" variety.
- Tears of Fear: Visibly sobbing when captured and facing execution.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Terrified of Dawmeres. Especially fat ones.
The Val'Chai'tioc
A Val clan that existed around 3 centuries before the main storyline, first introduced in a Daydream story. A notable member of this clan introduced in the story is Sal'bara, one of Snadhya'rune's young proteges who later appears in the main story and is all but confirmed to be a Nidraa'chal agent. The clan itself was destroyed by the Sharen after the assassination of a Sharen Val was blamed on them. Now the clan fortress ruins are used by squatters. General
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Sal'bara indicates that her clan was always at each other's throats and that she could not trust anyone. And if they were indeed responsible for the assassination of a Sharen Val, this may be why.
- The Engineer: Sal'bara at the very least was a talented golem engineer.
- Meaningful Name: Scramble the letters in Chai'tioc around, remove one of the is and you get chaotic. Sal'bara's referral to her former clan as being constantly at each others throats thus becomes a lot more telling.
- Tall Poppy Syndrome: After the assassination of a Sharen Val was blamed on the Chai'tioc, the Sharen retaliated by wiping them all out. Ironically, the resulting war greatly benefited the Sarghress and helped their own rise to Val status, and the Sarghress have proven to be far more trouble for the Sharen than the Chai'tioc ever were.
The Val'Nabhan'veaka
A Val clan that existed around the mid 10th century, the Val'Nabhan'veaka created the ambitious Skyhole project, which would permit travel between the Surface in a matter of hours instead of days and make colonization easier. Even more extraordinarily, they managed to unite the clans behind the effort as well, even bitter rivals like the Sharen and the Sullisin'rune. Sadly, the Skyhole collapsed, effectively killing the clan, and set the stage for much of the chaos that was to follow. The Val'Jaal'darya succeeded them as the next Val clan. General
- All There in the Manual: This clan first appeared in the "Rise of the Jaal'darya" Daydream story, and then certain details were confirmed canon to the Drow Tales universe by the writer.
- Creative Sterility: After the Nabhan'veaka clan fell, many of the brightest thinkers went with them, as seen in the entries below.
- Disaster Dominoes: Besides the immediate physical damage to the surrounding area, the collapse of the Skyhole had several other effects on the main story.
- The collapse trapped many Sarghress troops on the surface and cut them off from the rest of Chel.
- Taking advantage of this, Diva'ratrika had the Sharen led by Sarv'swati attack the weakened Sarghress.
- This led directly to the battle where Sarv'swati fought Quain'tana and made her barren.
- The Sarghress survived thanks to their cavalry making a forced march from the surface and coming to the rescue to their clanmates and Ill'haress just in time.
- The collapse and its after effects ruined the good will that had been building among the clans, setting the stage for the distrust and indifference that would later show itself in the Nidraa'chal War.
- The collapse also took many of Chel's most creative and progressive thinkers with it, and set back the colonization effort for many years.
- The Engineer: A whole clan of them.
- Epic Fail: The collapse was considered the greatest disaster in Chelian history until the Nidraa'chal War.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Though not seen in the main story, the failure of their "Skyhole Project" is remembered long after they fell.
- Space Elevator: This was essentially what the Skyhole was, though instead of space it went to the Surface.
The Balvhakara
The Balvhakara are the second most powerful clan in Nuqrah'shareh after the Illhar'dro. They could challenge the Illhar'dro for power but choose not to, preferring the stability the latter clan brings to the city. Unlike other Nuqrah'sharian clans they actively prepare their members for war; from building mana fueled cannons to training them for combat. The Balvhakara also have ancestral ties to the Chelian Beldrobbaen clan - the two clans originated from the same surface queendom called Phariasta but left at different stages of the Dark Elf exodus underground. The Balvhakara stayed in Phariasta for longer than the Beldrobbaen until the demon attacks proved too strong for the Balvhakara to combat. General
- Animal Motifs: The crab, a counterpart to the Beldrobbaen's spider.
- BFG:
Word of God is that the Balvhakara cannons use a mana blast instead of regular ammo, which while making them less powerful than dwarven cannons gives them the advantage of being rechargeable with the user's mana (provided it has a sufficient core), not requiring heavy ammo or having a recoil. - Dark Is Not Evil: Like their cousins the Beldrobbaen; most Balvhakara have black hair and dress mostly in black, but are actually pretty reasonable and level-headed people. They also don't challenge the Illhar'dro for power even though they could.
- Facial Markings: Agneya'mukhi's forehead jewel, and Sara'hilana also has one that resembles a bindi.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: The Balvhakara seem to have an Indian slant to them, since Agneya is a Sanskrit word, several members wear jewels on their faces reminiscent of a bindi, and their homeland is even shaped somewhat like our real-world India.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Though like the Beldrobbaen they are primarily golem engineers, they have advanced technology and have engineered crab golems to a degree not seen outside of Nuqrah'shareh.
- Humongous Mecha: The Balvhakara's crab golems, which are enormous even by the standards of the setting.
- Instant Fan Club: The fandom formed one for the Balvhakara when they turned up with a giant crab golem in their army.
- Massive Numbered Siblings: Sara'hilana refers to herself as "The Matriarch's 18th Daughter" and she presumably has as many brothers as well.
- Mistaken Nationality: When Sara'hilana first meets Baliir, she's mistaken for a Beldrobbaen, which makes sense since the Balvhakara and Beldrobbaen both share a common ancestor.
- The Needs of the Many: The reason why the Balvhakara chose to support Nega'fanae over Balsii in the battle for Nuqrah'shareh, claiming that the person they are supporting is better overall for the stability of the city.
- Powered Armor: Worn by the Balvhakara troops.
- Trouser Space: Joked about in a chibi page, playing off the fact that pants in Nuqrah'shareh tend to be baggier than in Chel.
- Wild Card: Surprisingly for Balsii, Agneya'mukhi, the Balvhakara Matriarch. Despite seeming to have supported Balsii in the past, in the end she chooses to support Nega'fanae even though she was very vocal against the latter's pacifist ways, because as seen above this seems to be the best option for the city's survival.
Agneya'mukhi
The ruling matriarch of the Balvhakara. Like Balsii, she was very vocal against Nega'fanea's decision to allow Chelian refugees into the city and felt that she was too pacifistic in general, but surprisingly supports Nega'fanea over Balsii during the latter's coup in the interests of stability in Nuqrah'shareh.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl
- Cute Bruiser: Readers can infer that she is probably one of these; given her slight physical build yet soldierly attitude.
- Explosive Breeder: In terms of how many children she has given birth to; she probably ranks third behind Ash'waren and Zala'ess for having the most offspring stated in-universe.
- In the Hood: Agneya'mukhi is seen in this style at the Glass Tower.
- Lady of War: Chapters 33 and 34 strongly imply that she is a seasoned warrior, despite the pacifistic policy of Nuqrah'shareh. The minute Balsii publically declares her coup against Nega'fanea she is shown to switch to her powered armor from the floaty leisure outfit she had on in the prior chapter.
- Strong Family Resemblance: To her daughter Sara'hilana.
- Wild Card: To Balsii, who expected her support in her coup against Nega, due to Agneya supporting her in the past.
Sara'hilana Balvhakara
The eighteenth daughter of the Matriarch, chosen to accompany Chrys'tel and her family on their rescue mission in Chapter 34. She is very excited about the prospect of going to war, considering that she doesn't often get to fight in the peaceful Nuqrah'shareh.
- All Amazons Want Hercules: Possibly part of her attraction to Baliir, since she seems to become interested after he effortlessly tosses her off the turtle summon and later dares him to do it again.
- Defiant Captive: In response to Kalki punching her in the face she merely states "you hit like a boy".
- Deliberate Values Dissonance / Innocent Bigot: Despite her generally friendly and chipper attitude doesn't bat an eye at calling drowussu and light elves "pale worms" and seems nonplussed by Kalki taking her blasting "her" ones away so personally. Makes sense when you consider that drowussu and light elves are largely not present in Nuqrah outside of being slaves.
- Eye Am Watching You: Gets this gesture directed at her by Sal'bara here and snarks back in response.
- Genki Girl: As described in the above trope, when she accompanies Chrys to take out the Whispering Tower,she's giddy at the prospect of being able to use her cannon. Word of God is that unlike the Chelian characters, most of whom were in at least one serous fight as adolescents, Sara's never actually fought before, so the seriousness of the situation has yet to sink in. Whether or not this changes after nearly avoiding execution by airship remains to be seen. This seems to be the norm in Nuqrah'shareh, which also explains Kyo'nne's attitude and relative lack of fight experience compared to her Chelian peers.
- Knowledge Broker: Her role in Chapter 44 is to gather useful information at the Felde gathering for Zala'ess and her Nuqrah'sharian allies. One thing she does find that may be key in later chapters is the existence of the Ninth Tower from Zhor.
- Massive Numbered Siblings: She is the eighteenth daughter of her mother and presumably has just as many brothers as well.
- Mistaken Nationality: When she first meets Baliir, she's mistaken for a Beldrobbaen, which makes sense since the Balvhakara and Beldrobbaen have a common ancestor.
- Shipper on Deck: For Chrys'tel and her brother Ked'ren Balvhakara.
- Ship Tease: The story hints that she may have developed a crush on Baliir, possibly due to Freaky Is Cool, since Baliir is, to be blunt, built like a gorilla.
- The Tease: To the point that when she tells Chrys that she has "[has] something for you inside my chestplate" one of the antidote vials Chrys at first assumes Sara is flirting with her and curtly reminds her that she's in a relationship with her brother, with a strong implication that it's not even the first time they've had this conversation!
- Trouser Space: Joked about in a chibi page, playing off the fact that pants in Nuqrah'shareh tend to be baggier than in Chel.
- Victoria's Secret Compartment: A Sarghress soldier gives her a plague vial and a vial containing the cure to foil the Nidraa'chal's Poison and Cure Gambit. Guess where she hides it, which leads to a humorous misunderstanding when she tries to tell Chrys about it.
Ayana'sima Balvhakara*note
A golem engineer serving in the Sharen alliance, first see in Chapter 47. Her concept art can be found here◊.
◊.- Brutal Honesty: She's extremely blunt and outspoken, even to the point of casually admitting the Sarghress could crush their golems in a straight-up fight.
- Child Hater: Describes Suna as a "tiny meatbag".
- The Engineer
- Gun Nut: She gives an almost loving description of a golem's cannon while threatening Quain'tana. She also wields a mana cannon in combat.
- No Social Skills: She's much better at dealing with machines than people.
- Wrench Wench: As a female member of the Balvhakara clan, she is one.
The Jie'yen
The third most powerful clan in Nuqrah'shareh after the Illhar'dro and then the Balvhakara. They are a nation of warrior monks that fled to Nuqrah'shareh from their overworld homeland 400 years into the Moonless Age. Despite being drowolath, their outlook and structure is similar to that of a drowussu mindset - being that they actively suppress their inner chaotic natures through their teachings and stress the importance of the clan over the individual. This is part of the reason why most members shave their heads, this is to make it difficult to tell individual Jie'yen apart. General
- Animal Motifs: The dragon, though a different sort of dragon than the Sharen's.
- Chekhov's Gun: The dragon seen in the Jie'yen clan page shows up in Vaelia's story at the end of Chapter 25, and it's heavily implied that the island the Highland Raiders are seen exploring is in fact the Jie'yen's old home.
- Determinator: Held onto their homeland for four hundred years after the majority of Dark Elves went underground! This was despite the surface being infested by demons at the time.)
- Facial Markings: Some Jie'yen warriors also sport tattoos on their faces best seen here◊. However they do not seem to be permanent unlike other examples of the trope.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: The Jie'yen seem to be this for our real-world China, and come from the Drow Tales world's equivalent of East Asia.
- Martial Pacifist: This defines the Jie'yen philosophy.
- Master of Disguise: As part of being Ninjas.
- Ninja: Are essentially this trope.
- Pirates vs. Ninjas: Averted. They are actually a major supporter of the Illhar'dro whose ancestors were merchant seafarers.
- Warrior Monk: And apparently Sandaur learned his stuff from them.
- Wutai: Their culture is heavily based around this genre, particularly in their architecture and clothing styles - all of which seems to be an analog for East Asia, specifically China.
Shi'tua
The ruling matriarch of the Jie'yen and a strong supporter of Nega'fanea during Balsii's coup. She does not say much during her appearance in Chapter 34 but her agents are instrumental in rescuing the captive Chelian Vals in said chapter.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: She and her ambassador are most often seen in red colored robes.
- In the Hood: Shown off to perfection during her first appearance in Chapter 34.
- Reasonable Authority Figure
Anjin
A male warrior from the Jie'yen clan, and a member of Chrys'tel's squad.
- Beneath Notice: His usual method of disguise as seen thus far, where he's disguised himself either as a servant or a commoner, which is actually closer to how real life Ninja operated than in most works.
- Deadpan Snarker
- Facial Markings: His forehead is completely covered in tattoos, but as shown by his Chapter 44 disguise, these are removable.
- Master of Disguise: Has done this successfully three times.
- Ninja
- The Quiet One
Gen'inidia Jie'yen*note
A male Jie'yen in the Sharen Alliance during the closing cycles of the District War. First appearing in Chapter 47, his concept art can be found here.
.- Casting a Shadow: View shadow foci in his gloves.
- Facial Markings: Has Jie'yen facial tattoos on his forehead.
- In the Hood
- Panty Thief: Per concept art, of Zala'ess, of all people.
- A Taste of the Lash: Frequently, as a result of his hobby.
J'hane Jie'yen*note
A male Jie'yen in the Sharen Alliance during the closing cycles of the District War. First appearing in Chapter 47, his concept art can be found here◊.
◊.- Bare-Fisted Monk: He has a Katara (a type of push dagger), but is skilled at unarmed combat, as Zala'ess finds out.
- Facial Markings: As per Jie'yen custom.
- Fetish: For the dark ladies of the Beldrobbaen and Balvhakara. To the point of being a bit uncomfortable around them.
- Roundhouse Kick: Owing to the Puppeteer Crisis, he gets the distinction of delivering one to Zala'ess. Alongside a slap to the face, no less.
- The Speechless: He's mute, so he has to communicate through other means.
- Warrior Monk: Of the Eastern-influence variety.
Harci Jie'yen*note
A Jie'yen ambassador present at the meeting between Zala'ess and Quain'tana during the closing cycles of the District War. First appearing in Chapter 47, she and her mate's concept art can be found here◊.
◊.- Casting a Shadow: Her affinity.
- Innocent Blue Eyes
- Honest Advisor: When asked her opinion, matter-of-factly admits that the Alliance's ability to launch a counterattack was lost when Sarv'swati's forced were defeated.
- Nap-Inducing Speak: As with her mate, her passion for history is not as keenly appreciated by those stuck listening to her lectures.
- Only Sane Employee: Bless her, she tries to keep things civil at the meeting.
- Sickeningly Sweethearts: With her mate, Gera.
The Duskians
The third most powerful clan outside of the ruling Illhar'dro in Nuqrah'shareh. They get their name from their location; the Tower of Dusk. They play a neutral role when it comes to city politics; preferring to support no one clan above another during the coup of Chapters 34-35. An interesting fact about the Duskians is that their founders were drowussu but most of their ranks are made up of drowolath. This was due to the founding members' slow breeding rate and their practice of adopting orphaned or abandoned drowolath children and raising them. By the events of the main story, most Duskians are drowolath but have adapted their normal chaotic natures to being more orderly like drowussu. In this they are similar to the Jie'yen. However their closest analog is to the Chelian Kyorl'solenurn; both clans are fanatically against the Tainted and are responsible for patrolling the city to control nether outbreaks. Unlike the Kyorl'solenurn, the Duskians do not kill any and all Tainted on sight; they were willing to escort Chrys'tel Vel'Sharen and her family through Nuqrah'shareh - provided neither she or her brothers and sister lose control of their seeds. General
- Demon Slaying: Their primary function.
- Expy: The Duskians in-universe are seen as ones for the Kyorl'solenurn, though their clan page reveals that they prefer to stay neutral in clan conflicts and are mostly made up of drowolath who were adopted by the drowussu founders.
- Horse of a Different Color: The Duskians are unusual even among drow in that their clan mount appears to be some type of dinosaur, or possibly a large flightless bird since they seem to have some sort of stunted wings. Oddly enough, they also have teeth.
- Knight Templar: Much like the Kyorl'solenurn, though to a lesser extent than the former.
- Lawful Neutral: The Duskians have this as their clan philosophy, maintaining order and controlling nether outbreaks but staying neutral in politics, as evidenced by their refusal to choose either Nega'fanae or Balsii but they step in when nether gates start being opened. In a later chapter a Jie'yen snarks that Craft, who helps hide Chrys'tel's party being snuck into the lower city by showing himself is being "useful for once".
- Meaningful Name: It was pointed out on the fan forums that the Duskians have this; as dusk refers to the period between night and morning- the Duskians were founded by Drowussu, descendants of Light Elves who are said in early info to have worshipped the sun but are mostly comprised of Drowolath, descendants of Dark Elves who were in the past said to have worshipped the moon. Hence duskian because they represent an amalgamation of both drowish cultures.
Craft Lumesowa
- Early-Bird Cameo: Made a one page appearance pre-timeskip and showed up later in Nuqrah'shareh.
- The Fundamentalist: Much like the Kyorl: He executed a tainted golem pilot before Chrys'tel's squad could get information, and rudely brushed off their angered concerns by pointing out that as tainted foreigners, Chrys'tel and her squad cannot command him.
The Kavahini
A clan native to Mimaneid, they are first encountered in-story during Sil'lice and Nishi'kanta's counterstrike against Sarv'swati in Chapter 44. The Kavahini dwell in the uppermost roots of the world tree in Mimaneid and they have adapted peculiarly to their environment. Word of God says that readers will see more of them in Chapter 45. General
Background Information:
- Animal Motifs: The owl is this for them.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Their warriors take the owl theme to the max, applying face paint, wearing feathered longpants, and winged cloaks to boot.
- Blood Knight: Their illhar Ulvakhi appears to be this, being rather eager to send her forces to Felde and attack Snadhya'rune.
- Blow You Away: Diva mentions that the Kavahini are known for their air affinity. This is presumably also how they travel around their homeland.
- The Cavalry: Will become this if they officially join Sil'lice, Mikilu and Nishi'kanta's alliance.
- Honor Before Reason: This is their modus operandi, due to Mimaneid's more martial culture. Duels are fought over the most trivial of reasons, though no steel weapons are allowed in such duels nor are they fought to the death.
- Never Bring a Knife to a Fist Fight: No steel weapons are allowed in honor duels.
- Proud Warrior Race: The entire clan is steeped in martial tradition.
Ulvakhi Kavahini
The Illhar (aka minor clan leader) of the Kavahini clan, whose support was vital to Mikilu's plans for gaining support against Snadhya'rune. She is particularly eager to send her warriors to Felde.
- Blood Knight: In her conversation with Sil'lice and Nishi'kanta, she seems very eager at the prospect of sending her warriors off to storm Felde and attack Snadhya'rune.
- Braids of Action: As the Illhar of her clan she has to be a top warrior and befitting this status keeps her hair tied in a single side plait)
- Facial Markings: Has tattooed a jewel to her forehead.
- Feather Fingers: Wears gloves designed to look like the talons of an owl.
Chakri Kavahini
A member of the Kavahini who challenges Chess'ria and Chigusa Val'Sharen to a duel.
- Blow You Away: She has an affinity for air, which she uses in her duel with Chess'ria and Chigusa.
- Demonic Possession: She gets killed off by the Sarghress traitors, but her half dead body rises again under demonic possession.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: Has no problem with insulting then issuing challenges to complete strangers.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: She wisely decides to book it after Snadhya'rune goes berserk, barely escaping from a summon following her out the window.
- Sore Loser: Averted. After Kadara defeats her she doesn't appear to be angry.
Myridil Kavahini*note
A Kavanhini warrior taking part in the attack on Snadhya's forces during Chapter 46. Her concept art can be found here◊.
◊.- Butt-Monkey: Her first appearance features her being empathically tortured by Kharlaggen. In her second appearance, she gets punched in the face by Jiaan and empathically tortured yet again by a Nidraa'chal empath (Tanavya). She is then beaten to a pulp by Jiaan and finished off when one of Snadhya'rune's summons crushes her to death.
- By the Hair: Jiaan is shown to grab her by the braid when he overpowers her.
- The Fashionista: Described as this in her concept art.
- Happy Dance: Per concept art, she celebrates victories with a cheerful dance.
- Killed Off for Real: She gets crushed to death by one of Snadhya'rune's summons.
- Oh, No... Not Again!: Says this almost word for word when for the second time that day she gets attacked by an empath.
- Scarf of Asskicking: Subverted, she has a scarf but she's the one getting her ass kicked. After Snadhya's summon crushes her it can even be seem floating in the air near where it happened.
Strigg'dae Kavahini*note
A Kavanhini warrior taking part in the attack on Snadhya's forces during Chapter 46. Her concept art can be found here◊.
◊.- Are These Wires Important?: Her way of disabling part of the airship? Find some piping and start ripping it apart.
- Berserk Button: It appears she's really touchy about her height.
- Extra-ore-dinary: Instead of an air affinity, like most of her clan, she has an affinity for metal sorcery.
- I Meant to Do That: Per concept art.
- Pintsized Powerhouse: She's really small compared to other drow; her bio shows a comparison in height between her and Snadhya'rune. Doesn't mean she can't kick ass like the rest of her clan.
Taw'ni Kavahini*note
A Kavanhini warrior and sealer taking part in the attack on Snadhya's forces during Chapter 46. Her concept art can be found here◊.
◊.- Collector of the Strange: Her bio says she likes to collect body parts.
- The Dark Arts: As with all sealers, she has at least a working knowledge of nether summoning.
- Meaningful Name: She is named after the tawny owl species.
- Stay in the Kitchen: A gender-flip variant; due to the matriarchal environment of the drow, she refuses to fight men in battle because she believes in this trope.
Tirveena Kavahini*note
A Kavanhini warrior taking part in the attack on Snadhya's forces during Chapter 46. Her concept art can be found here◊.
◊.- Cuteness Proximity: She adores bears. A little too much.
- Exotic Weapon Supremacy: Wields a bola.
- Irrational Hatred: Really the Jaal'darya.
Vestri Kavahini*note
A Kavanhini warrior taking part in the attack on Snadhya's forces during Chapter 46. Her concept art can be found here◊.
◊.- Absurd Phobia: Afraid of the ground.
- Blade Brake: Intentionally pulls this on the airship to tear a large hole in it.
- Blow You Away
- Dreadlock Warrior
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Keeps a small owlet in her cowl.
Zakndanree Kavahini*note
A Kavanhini warrior taking part in the attack on Snadhya's forces during Chapter 46. His concept art can be found here◊.
◊.- Old Soldier: His ears are very large, a sign of advanced age in Elves. Despite this, he still took part in the strike-force against Snadhya'rune's airship.
- Grumpy Old Man: Show in concept art telling off younger members of the clan for being on his branch.
Vanaheimr
The last known surviving Light Elf city, the elves of Vanaheimr have secluded themselves in the wilderness ever since the Dark Elf exodus underground and the end of the Moons Age. Their name for their nation proper is apparently Kveyka. Although the city was initially hostile to outsiders, as of Chapter 41 there has been a successful attempt by the Kyorl'solenurn's Order of Serenity outpost to establish political links with the city. General
- Bavarian Fire Drill: The citizens are so used to following orders that it just takes Freyr telling them to back down to make them leave Shan and Myou alone.
- Fantastic Caste System: Vanaheimr operates on a very strict caste system, as Freyr explains when asked why there aren't more outside. They also seem to draw a clear line between "Vanir" (themselves) and "outsiders" (light elves of slave descent and drowussu) and only consider the former citizens.
- Fantastic Racism: Freyr explains that The Purge carried out on the surviving light elves slaves from Nagyesced took place because they weren't considered "real" vanir. Even Freyr, who otherwise comes off as being fairly reasonable, calls them "a stain" and "a shame". This could be due to a matter of Pride as well however, as the Nagyesced survivors had been enslaved by Halmes, which both elves and drow consider an inferior race.
- Just Following Orders: Seems to be a common theme amongst them.
- The Purge: The same night Chiri, Shan and the light elf slaves they rescued arrive, assassins are sent to kill them.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: See the above trope for details.
- Theme Naming: A lot of their names come from Norse Mythology. Interestingly, in Real Life the Norse name for the land of elves was Álfheimrnote , who rather than elves were actually Gods. This tells you something about the elves of Vanaheimr and what they think of themselves.
Vala Hudr
The ruler of the light elves of Vanaheimr. Apparently born into her status, there are small hints that some light elf males are seeking her hand in marriage for political gain. She was formerly co-ruler with the Van note until he died.
- Bystander Syndrome: According to Freyr, she intentionally turned a blind eye to the assassination attempt on Chiri and Shan so she wouldn't have to bear the guilt of it.
- Head-Turning Beauty: The fanbase had this reaction when she first appeared in Chapter 29. A Daydream wallpaper followed soon after.
- Hot Consort: To the former Van, who died before the story started.
- Puppet King: Gender-inverted and implied here. Although highly ranked, due to her powers and being of noble blood, she has no power without a king, her previous King having died beforehand. It seems that several of her chancellors are vying for her hand in marriage as a result.
- Seers: And apparently Chiri's powers interfere with hers. Given that so far the only three characters who are able to see the future are light elves or drowussu the descendants of the former it seems to be a racial trait.
Freyja van Niroenir
One of the light elves imprisoned in Nagyscyed. She and the other elves were eventually rescued by Ariel and her gang in the "Rescue Faen" arc before splitting up to travel with Chiri'nide and Shan'naal. Sweet and demure she has hopes of finding her brother and her city homeland after being rescued.
- Big Brother Mentor: Myou Kyorl'solenuurn was a female version of this to her in Nagyscyed and her actual brother Freyr also fits the trope in general.
- The Cutie: A young Light Elf girl who's cute as a button.
- Everyone Loves Blondes
- The Ingenue
- The Pollyanna
- Princess Classic: See below.
- Save the Princess: Not a princess but, as the daughter of a high-ranking light Elf, she fits the trope.
- Theme Naming: Like her brother her name comes from Norse Mythology.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: She has no idea of what really happened to her friends in Vanaheimr and accepts her brother's version of events without question.
Freyr van Niroenir
Freyja's older brother. He was separated from her when they were outside their home city and she was eventually captured by Halme slave traders. He has been looking for her ever since.
- Ambadassador: Has become one of these between the Kyorls and the Vanaheimr nation off-screen after the TimeSkip. Before Chirinide defects from the Kyorl'solenurn after Shimi'lande's assassination she even mentions that she was due to meet with him for negotiations.
- Badass Cape: Subverted. Chirinide still beats him to a pulp even when he is wearing it.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: A variant. He admits that his sister being rescued from Halme imprisonment is the only reason he helped Shan'naal, Chirinide and Myou escape Vanaheimr.
- Big Brother Mentor: Is very much a caring older brother to Freyja. One of the first hints to show that he may not be all bad.
- Government Conspiracy: Chapter 29 doesn't go into much detail about his father's plans but he and Freyr seem to want to abolish the caste system in Vanaheimr.
- Jerkass: Has shades of this, but to a lesser extent than his fellows.
- Knight Templar Big Brother: For Freyja.
- Noble Bigot: Extremely prejudiced against those not from Vanaheimr. The "noble" part comes in when despite this he goes through the trouble of saving Chiri, Shan and Myou from certain death at the hands of his own people.
- Power of Trust: He only helps Chirinide, Shan'naal and Myou escape because they helped Freyja back in Nagyscyed.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Is a miniature version of his father.
- Theme Naming: He and his sister both have names from Norse Mythology.
- Warrior Prince: Not a prince but he is the son of a high ranking light elf and a competent fighter so he fits the trope.
The Tei'kaliath
This House mostly plays a role in the "Path to Power" games but small references to them have appeared in the main comic. Coming from the fallen city of Shifaye'sindil, they are newcomers to the city and have a different look to other Drow. Their Illharess is An'jhali. General
- Aerith and Bob: Because each character is named by a player, this is the effect some names have, with some being obviously fantastic and others being variations on real world names, often with an apostrophe or alternate spelling.
- After the End: Not only was their original homeland destroyed, they have also had to fend off attacks on their refugee party from the Black Sun mercenaries and lost their home in Chel.
- The Cameo: The little puppet Kharla'ggen is holding in one of the main comic wallpapers is of An'jhali, while An'jhali herself appears in Chapter 16, and one player makes a cameo in Chapter 13.
- Crazy Survivalist: Pretty much out of necessity since they first arrived on the outskirts of Chel with only the clothes on their backs.
- Cross-Cultural Kerfluffle: Because their home city was completely cut off from the rest of the Underworld the Tei'kaliath have dealt with several of these due to In-Universe Values Dissonance, from referring to their leader as an Ill'haress, a title reserved for the leaders of the great clans to accidentally breaking the Queen's law against fighting in the streets, which is brought up in the main archive here. Once you see the map of the underworld and realize how far away their city was from all the other underworld settlements this makes a lot of sense.
- Doomed Hometown: Shifaye'sindil fell before the start of the game, with only 2% of the population surviving the Black Suns invasion and the civil war that broke out as a result.
- Hero of Another Story: Their main role is in the Path to Power games.
- Interactive Comic
- Modest Royalty: An'jhali is dressed much more conservatively than other clan leaders but this may be justified due to the Tei'kaliath not having Val status.
- Naïve Newcomer
- Nonhuman Humanoid Hybrid: Word of God is that the unique Tei'kaliath skintone was originally a coloring error, but later on they decided that it actually indicates that the original dark elf nation was more racially tolerant than their neighbors, so there would have been more mixing of light and dark elves, but it happened so long ago that no one really remembers it. It also helps explain the various eccentricities that on a meta level are due to the clan being played by humans.
- Player Characters: Every character besides An'jhali and a few other NPCs is controlled by a player)
- Proud Warrior Race: They practice a form of martial arts long lost to other drow nations called Tir'ray.
- Remember the New Guy?: For the most part averted when the clan came to the surface when a newly introduced character could just be an immigrant, and handled in different ways when the clan was in Chel and a character who was part of the original group of survivors suddenly showed up for the first time. The specific ways this was addressed, if at all, varied by player, but generally included some element of having become separated from the group and joining up again later or being in a Heroic BSoD after the fall of the city that they only recently snapped out of, meaning they were there the entire time but not interacting with anyone.
- The Remnant: They are much closer to their Dark Elf ancestors than other Chelians, since there was no massive generational overthrow of dark elves in Shifaye'sindil as happened in Chel. This is one reason why they have a somewhat paler complexion compared to most other Chelians as well as them being often taller than the average Chelian drowolath.
- The Rival: To the Black Sun, and the Siksa'santi, who at one point took their ambassador hostage.
An'jhali
The Ill'haress of the Tei'kaliath house. She came to the role relatively early after the war that devastated Shifaye'sindil.
- Babies Make Everything Better: By the end of the roleplaying game, Anjhali has given birth to an heir, which solidifies the line of inheritance and ensures that the current generation of Tei'kaliath royalty is secure.
- The Chains of Commanding
- Last of Their Kind: She's the last surviving member of the original ruling family, and was so far down in the succession line that she was never expected to rule.
- Modest Royalty: Her garb is very understated compared to other clan leaders.
Badai An'karaa
An'jhali's lover, he was believed dead during the attack on the Tei'kaliath homeland, when in fact he was captured by the Black Sun. He later appeared in a sidestory done by the Path To Power artist, then later appeared in the game itself.
done by the Path To Power artist, then later appeared in the game itself.- Accidental Misnaming: The fact that a lot of players seem to have trouble with his name has turned into something of a Running Gag, with the most frequent misspelling being "Bandai".
- Chekhov M.I.A.: Believed to be dead, but was actually captured by the Black Sun.
- Easy Amnesia: When he arrives in Chel he remembers nothing, not even his own name.
- Handicapped Badass: Losing one arm didn't do anything to slow him down.
-
Memetic Badass: As soon as he was introduced in flashbacks the Path To Power plays instantly formed a fanclub for him, and this was poked fun at in game.
Minalia*note
A landlady living in North Cliff during the Vloz attack, first seen in Chapter 38. Reappears at Snadhya's meeting in Felde, during Chapter 44.
- Navel-Deep Neckline: Both of her on-screen outfits cut all the way down to her belly.
- Vapor Wear: In addition to their extremely low cut, she is clearly not wearing anything under her tops.
Sen’gil Nimaraidh Tei'kaliath*note
A Tei'kaliath serving in the Sarghress Homeguard Brawlers. His squad leader is Jak'iaah. Appears in Chapter 40.
- Canon Immigrant: From the Path to Power section of the website.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Has an earth affinity.
- Knee Capping: The end-chapter character listing states he took an arrow in the knee during the fighting.
- Player Character: Originally.
- Plunder: One of the reasons he fights for the Sarghress. And he sees nothing wrong with it.
Leona Kyorl'chath Suru Tei'kaliath*note
A stalwart Imperial Guard seen protecting the Diva'ratrika body-double during Chapter 39.- Braids of Action
- Locked Out of the Loop: Like many of her fellow guards, she's unaware that the "Empress" she's protecting is merely a bio-golem double.
- Overly Long Name
- Praetorian Guard
Dycle Tei'Kaliath*note
Another character introduced at Snadhya'rune's gathering in Chapter 44. He is on the hunt for a mate and seeks to gain favour with Snadhya'rune. His concept art can be found here◊.
◊.- The Empath: Attempts to use this during his duel with Jiaan to end the fight quickly. Doesn't work.
- Hot for Teacher: His concept page states that he was once a student of Snadhya'rune and it is implied that he has a crush on her.
- Hopeless Suitor: What he actually is, though everyone but him seems to realize it. He even agrees to duel Jiaan in exchange for a shot with Snadhya'rune. He does not survive.
- Hopeless Suitor: What he actually is, though everyone but him seems to realize it. He even agrees to duel Jiaan in exchange for a shot with Snadhya'rune
- Impractically Fancy Outfit: So impractical that many fans suspected it would result in his death since it provides essentially no protection. He does die, but is stabbed up through the bottom of his head rather than in his torso.
- Joke Character: Not even his sponsor takes him seriously.
- Killed Off for Real: His attempts to woo Snadhya'rune annoy her, so she sets him an Engagement Challenge that ends up killing him.
- Stripperiffic: His outfit is designed in such a way to show off his torso in the hope of attracting future mates.
- Gender Flip: Of the Chainmail Bikini sporting fantasy heroine.
The Siksa'santi
A clan of warriors, they came into being in the aftermath of the Sharen and Sullisin'rune War. Their Illhar is Kendra. General
- In-Series Nickname: After the hostage incident, several Tei'kaliath note dubbed them the Sexy Santas, especially since so many had trouble spelling their name.
- Private Military Contractors: They essentially play this role in Chel.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: Even more so than typical drow.
The Siyah'Khorshed - aka The Black Sun
The Siyah'Khorshed (aka Black Sun mercenaries)
A loosely organised group of drow nomads that make their living from raiding other clans and cities. They are disliked by the majority of Chelians. General
- Barbarian Tribe: Their armor and equipment is noticeably more primitive looking than the settled drow armies', and apparently they hold disdain for people who wear armor, since one calls the Sarghress "steel plated cowards" only to find out seconds later why they have armor.
- The Big Guy: Several members- fan speculation is that they have outposts on the surface and occasionally give birth overground, which allows them to have larger offspring compared to standard drow.
- Braids of Barbarism: A common style among members.
- The Cameo: Appeared in the side story ''Empress To Be''◊, where they go against Snadhya'rune.
- Cypher Language: The language they speak in the comic is this. One fan translated the text to let us know what they were saying.
- Dumb Muscle: Some of their mooks.
- The Horde: Reason why they are not allowed to enter Chel in large groups.
- I Fight for the Strongest Side!: When some of the Black Sun hired by the Nidraa'chal realize that their side is outnumbered and losing ground, they decide to change sides and betray the Nidraa'chal agent they were working with up to now.
- Jerkass: If Farasank and the men fighting Snadhya'rune are anything to go by.
- Matriarchy: Played with. The higher-ups appear to be women, but men may have important roles in the group as shown in the (albeit non-canon) ''Origins of the Jaal'darya''.
- Rag Tag Bunch Of Misfits: Not really classed as a clan due to being heavily decentralized.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With the Sharen after the timeskip, to the point that several Sharen openly resent working with them, and apparently Black Sun getting tossed into cells with rowdy Sarghress prisoners by Sharen is a regular enough occurrence to not arouse suspicion.
- Confirmed by Word of God, as well as some additional details:Kern: The way the Sharen use their Black sun allies makes this improbable situation a definite possibility, lowering Balushizar's guard as she's seen much worse, such as her own people being pinned to the outer wall as punishment.
- Confirmed by Word of God, as well as some additional details:
Farasank
A leader of the Black Sun Mercenaries (or Siyah'Khorshed), a band of nomadic drow from outside Chel'el'Sussuloth first introduced in Chapter 30. He appears to have a low opinion of most Chelians, regarding them as weak and soft.
- Abhorrent Admirer: He lusts after Vidhi'yani and Sarv'swati and desires that they bear his children. Naturally, they rebuff his advances violently.
- Amazon Chaser: He wants both Vidhi'yani and Sarv'swati in very disturbing ways and seems to like Sarv'swati even more after she beats him up. He also explicitly stats that one reason he's interested in Sarv'swati is because she will produce strong children.
- Ambiguously Brown: In this case Ambiguous Fantasy Ethnicity; is he a Dark Elf or is he a Drow? The red skin and coloured hair might indicate that he is a Dark Elf, but his eyes appear Drow like. The other members of the Black Sun however look like standard drow.
- Barbarian Tribe: The Siyah'Khorshed/Black Sun Mercenaries are seen as this by Chelian city-dwellers.
- The Big Guy: And how! He is practically a giant compared to most male Drow and could potentially rival Quain'tana as one of the tallest characters in the series.
- Casanova Wannabe: Makes advances to every female character he comes across.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Downplayed: After his defeat by Sarv'swati, his tribe allies with the Sharen and he considers her a Worthy Opponent. However, as shown post-timeskip, both sides have a very strained relationship with one another.
- Distracted by the Sexy: He may well have won his fight with Sarv'swati or at least fought her to a draw if he hadn't stopped to cop a feel.
- Fang Thpeak: Tends to slur his speech and the 'r's in his words are replaced with apostrophes in the text bubbles.
- Fantastic Racism: Against the inhabitants of Chel'el'Sussuloth.
- Made of Iron: Takes a mana fueled kick from Sarv'swati directly to the chest, and it doesn't even faze him.
- Standard Female Grab Area: Subverted. He tried grabbing hold of Sarv'swati in this manner, but it failed.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After his introduction in chapter 30, he hasn't shown up again in the story even though his younger brother has.
- Worthy Opponent: Thinks Sarv'swati is this, albeit after she kicks his ass.
Farahang*note
A member of the Earth Tribe (and Farasank's brother). He's Shinae's ex-boyfriend. Appears at the Sharen penal colony during Chapter 40. His concept art can be found here◊.
◊.- Amicable Exes: With Shinae, accounting for Shinae's usual temperament.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Shinae.
- Canon Immigrant: First appeared in a 2011 contest story, before being added to the official storyline.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: It doesn't take much convincing from Shinae for him to abandon the fortress where the Slave Army is being built, especially once the Sarghress show up.
- He does it again in the final chapter where he and the other Black Sun switch sides when they realize the tide has turned against the Nidraa'chal.
- "Shut Up" Kiss: In his original story, pretty much literally.
- Stood Up: He winds up doing this to Shinae, but not by choice.
K'sava*note
One of the Sharen's Black Sun allies, working as a slave-driver in the penal colony during Chapter 40.
- Not Quite Dead: Even after getting stabbed, tied up and interrogated, stripped and caught in a collapsing building she turned out to have survived and scared the hell out of a bunch of commoners who were trying to eat her.
Balushizar*note
A slave overseer in the Sharen penal colony, first seen in Chapter 40. She has a penchant for pretty male drow. Her concept art can be found here◊.
◊.- Blow You Away: Has an air affinity.
- Pull the Thread: She attempts this when she sees K'sava in the cells and is asked to let her out, asking K'sava in the Black Sun language how she got in there, but K'sava's response convinces her. Too bad it was actually Ariel, who was Crazy-Prepared enough to know the Black Sun language.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After the slave army fortress falls she's last seen with a beautiful Sarghress male in the guise of a slave. Given that Ariel assassinated Nihi'liir while disguised as her it's understandable why Balu wants to get away.
Malag'nafein*note
A mercenary working for the Black Sun in Chapter 40. His concept art can be found here◊.
◊.- Booby Trap: His preferred method of fighting.
- Casting a Shadow: Has a shadow affinity.
- Combat Pragmatist: Blows up a tower full of Sarghress while a captured ally was still inside.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Fled when K'sava was ambushed.
- Non-Human Sidekick: His Tiktiki.
- Rugged Scar: Has a deep scar running over his right eye.
Vicriina'tana*note
A Black Sun sniper taking part in Sarv'swati's last stand at the Council Dome, during Chapter 44. Her concept art can be found here◊.
◊.- Companion Cube: She talks to her weapons, and doesn't appear to be entirely there.
- The Hedonist: Described as such in her concept art.
- I Call It "Vera": Named her bow "Sarv'swati", her crossbow "Quain'tana", and her pillow "Mr. Snipy".
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Shown doing this near the end of Chapter 44.
- Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises: While aiming.
The Kal'Yantra
A non-Val clan specialising in the building of golems. After the timeskip they've been absorbed by the Sarghress and contracted to work on their war golems, and the sidestory Battlefield Engineers focuses on them. General
- Gadgeteer Genius: The entire clan falls into this since most other clans rely on them for war golems.
- Goggles Do Nothing: Averted, they are seen using their goggles whenever welding metal together.
- Punny Name: Their Illhar's name is Maszyna, which in several Slavic languages means "machine".
- Wrench Wench: The female members of their clan.
Dra'jyal Kal'yantra
One of Ariel's classmates in the Davya Tower of the Orthobbae Legs. Doesn't appear again until after the time-skip in the main comic, but the contest winner of 2011 and 2012 features him heavily in her side stories. His most recent appearance was in the canon side story Battlefield Engineers.
.- Curtains Match the Window: Is both brown haired and brown eyed in the comics.
- Happily Adopted: It was revealed that he wasn't born into the Kal'yantra clan but was adopted into their ranks. He seems happy enough with the set-up however.
The Guild of Flowers
Part of the trading community at large. They sit in the middle circle at the Council. Most are unaffiliated with any of the major clans except to trade. Their Illhar's name is Naj'wa. After the Timeskip, however, it is suggested that they have been absorbed into Val'Sullisin'rune ranks. General
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: One of the professions their members are involved with.
- Intrepid Merchant: Another of the professions their members are involved in.
- Urban Segregation: They provide an example of this at clan meetings where the reason they sit in the middle is because they represent middle to lower-middle class drow, while the Val clans sit at the top on a higher platform with the lowest of the lower class not even represented at all.
The Val'ley'Gurls
A minor clan specialising in girliness and pink. Lots of it. They appear mostly as a running gag in chibi art and side stories, and are not officially canon. Their Illhar is Val'erie.
General
- Color Motif: They really, really like pink.
- Sliding Scale of Silliness vs. Seriousness: Both extremely girly and extremely silly.
The Stone Company
A trade company specializing in overworld and underworld goods, headed by Dhal'zin and several generations of her Halme allies. This was the subject of a podcast and Dhal'zin herself also appeared in Chapter 20. Dhal'zin
The owner of the Stone Company and a trading partner of the Illhar'dro.
- In the Hood: Wears a long cloak with a hood.
- Interspecies Romance: With Kai and possibly Fen too in the past. It's somewhat ambiguous just how far their relationship goes, but she's certainly flirtatious with both of them.
- Statuesque Stunner: One of the tallest drow females seen in-story.
- Super Breeding Program: Of a sort. Word of God is that she intentionally bred Kai's family with people who would give them coloring similar to a dark elf, apparently for her own amusement. She also names each successive generation with names with the same first letter, so Fen is part of the F Generation, Kai part of the K Generation, etc.
Fen
A Halme merchant who became friends with Dhal'zin several decades ago, and his family has been part of the Stone Company with her for several generations. He was also a part of Dhal'zin's breeding program, with his descendants continuing to work with her till the present day.
- Inter Species Romance: Possibly with Dhal'zin. This is especially notable, since most drow would consider such relations with a human bestiality.
- Intrepid Merchant
- Like Father, Like Son: Dhal'zin is implied to have had relationships with both him, his grandfather, and his descendant Kai.
- Odd Friendship: With Dhal'zin.
Kai
A descendant of Fen in the present day. He is present in Chapter 20 with Dhal'zin at the Ill'har'dro surface outpost that Kyo'nne reports to.
- Identical Grandson: Averted, although amusingly Dhal'zin is the only one who doesn't seem to notice.
- Inter Species Romance: Possibly with Dhal'zin. It's kind of ambiguous, but at the very least Dhal'zin is not above fairly obvious flirting.
- We Are as Mayflies: He points out that despite the influx of halmes seeming sudden to a long-lived drow, from the perspective of a halme it's been going on for generations.
Others / Clanless
Rikshakar
A male half-dragon, half-drow hybrid.
- Asshole Victim: Discordia slaughters him in their rematch. Considering that he was a violent kidnapper who intended to keep Ariel as a sex slave, it's rather difficult to feel sorry for him.
- Attempted Rape: Attempted this on Ariel, twice.
- Freudian Excuse: He really hasn't had an easy life, and Ariel even acknowledges it when he tries to rape her, but that doesn't stop her beating him up and the Karmic Death.
- Jerkass: Very much one of these.
- Last of His Kind: Or really the only one of his kind.
- Mix-and-Match Man: Rik was created as an experiment breeding dragons and drow, and Word of God is that his mother was a drow slave, who while not stated probably suffered Death by Childbirth.
- Psychopathic Manchild: Can be read as this, especially whenever he loses.
Zhor
Originally a Dark Elf turned into a spider after receiving life threatening injuries, Zhor is Mel's constant companion and the father of her child, Ariel. He may very well be the oldest character in the setting, having already been an adult during the Moons Age.
- Emergency Transformation: Turned into a Giant Spider in his backstory when his original body was mortally wounded. As of Chapter 44 his original body was restored.
- Facial Markings: He has silver markings on his face as shown after he is returned to his original dark elf form.
- Genre Savvy: He knows that Snadhya'rune is nowhere near as nice as she pretends to be, and that Mel is being manipulated like a puppet on Snadhya's strings.
- Good Parents: Especially compared to many of the other parents in the series Zhor stands out as being extraordinarily understanding and supportive, and consoles Mel about letting Ariel get the hell out of Felde helped by the fact that he's done this before.
- Handicapped Badass: It's evident where his daughter Ariel gets it.
- Human Resources: A slave's life was sacrificed to create his new body. He does not look happy when he learns this.
- Interspecies Romance: Despite appearances, Zhor is actually a subversion, since he's a Dark Elf that was transformed into his current state.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Apparently Ariel was informed of Zhor's relationship to her over the timeskip, but her reaction wasn't shown.
- Mysterious Past: Despite now being able to talk again much of Zhor's past, such as how he became a spider, what he was like prior to the Moonless Age and much of his history before he met Mel is a complete question mark. So far a few of the leads we have say that he: fathered at least two drow children prior to Arielnote , knows Orthorbbae's ninth tower isn't a myth, and apparently knew Diva'ratrika well enough to be privy to her concerns about Snadhya'rune's sanity, something she probably wouldn't have told to just anyone.
- Only Sane Man: See the inversion of Women Are Wiser. Also he seems to pick up on Lulianne's possession by Khaless quicker than Mel'arnach does, does not seem to be as charmed by Snadhya'rune as she is, and in Chapter 44 directly tells Sara'hilana that Snadhya is "truly insane" and that Diva knew of "the sickness in her daughter".
- Papa Wolf: In Chapter 46, he's pissed when Kalki stabs Ariel's hand. After Kalki outright chops off her arm and attacks Lulliane, he manages to pin her down despite his crippled condition, throwing himself out of his wheelchair out of sheer willpower.
- Secret-Keeper: Implied; he's the only one who knows that Snadhya'rune was born with a sociopathic disorder, which is something that Diva'ratrika doesn't tell everyone.
- Shapeshifting Squick: How Ariel was conceived. One of the editors clarified that the actual process of shapeshifting wasn't involved in Ariel's conception, but the sheer fact that he's, y'know, a spider still makes it fall under this. If you really want to know...note .
- So Proud of You: Towards Ariel for not stealing someone else's arm.
- Spanner in the Works: A few choice words on his part (completely unprompted, at that) to Sara informed the Alliance that Snadhya'rune was keeping something important hidden away in Orthorbbae's ninth tower. The direct result of that is the Alliance commissioning Kiel and her group for a mission to infiltrate Orthorbbae to locate this ninth tower (which almost no-one believed to exist until then) and find out exactly what's up there that's so important to Snadhya.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Once he gets returned to his original elven body, his resemblance to Ariel is striking.
- The Unintelligible: Due to being a spider, the most he can do is chitter, though it was strongly suggested that he and Mel'arnach could communicate through sign language. It also means that unless we get a flashback from his perspective we'll likely never know what his real story is. As of Chapter 44 now that he's humanoid again though, we presumably will.
- Was Once a Man: Elf, that is and now he is again thanks to the Jaal'darya.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Was unaccounted for following the timeskip and not seen in Mel's company, which led to lots of concern from fans about where he was. As of Chapter 44 the Jaal'darya apparently found him at some point and somehow returned him to his dark elf body.
- Women Are Wiser: Inverted with him and Mel'arnach. He seems to be the voice of reason as seen during their conversation in Chapter 44 and even Kel'noz acknowledges that like him, Zhor is the one to keep the Hot-Blooded females of the family reasonable.
- You're Insane!: He exclaims "You are all mad!" to Kalki and her colleagues.
Discordia
A sentient demon and shard of a great demon god. Was originally summoned to fight in the Black Dragon arena, but has since escaped and taken over another body, which is being hunted by the Vloz'ress so they can summon another demon and Take Over the World.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: As a demon, she really has no concept of morality and acts purely on instinct.
- Fearless Fool: When her ancient enemy, an intact demon god arrives to devour her, she excitedly announces "Prey!", despite no longer having the power to match it.
- Killed Off for Real: Her aura is devoured by her ancient enemy.
- Pieces of God: She is the last surviving fragment of what was once an enormously powerful demon god.
- Psychopathic Manchild: She is a Vel'Akar, a sapient demon. But because she is the sole surviving fragment of a destroyed, larger entity, she is deeply confused and unable to think of things in terms other than hunting prey.
- Transformation of the Possessed: Her latest body originally belonged to a drow woman, but over time, the body's appearance has been twisted into something more draconic, closer to the former demon god's original form.
Sha'sana
The former headmistress of Orthorbbae, she narrates part of the Prologue and appeared in one page, where it's implied that Snadhya'rune killed her. She later turns up alive and well in Chapter 25, and appears to be biding her time until Snadhya's plot implodes.
, where it's implied that Snadhya'rune killed her. She later turns up alive and well in Chapter 25, and appears to be biding her time until Snadhya's plot implodes.- Be Careful What You Wish For: Curious that the "demon princes" are protecting Kiel of their own volition from her elemental attacks, and thinking that it's something odd about Kiel, not the demons, she reaches down to grab Kiel saying "show me what's inside you." Out pops Naal, the friend demon to stop her.
- Bystander Syndrome: How she feels about Chel, since her only goal is to resurrect Sharess and she views everyone else's problems as trivial and meaningless. Lulianne is not happy to hear this and tells her that by doing nothing she aids the Nidraa'chal.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Her entire appearance in Chapter 25.
- Deceptive Disciple: Snadhya'rune was this to her, and Sha'sana knew it by the time she was betrayed.
- Elemental Powers: So far, in attacking Nau and Kiel, she's used both air and earth affinity without elemental foci.
- Exotic Eye Designs: Her pupils are shaped like spirals, and according to Word of God this is due to her undergoing a sort of tainting that's not quite demonic tainting but similar. The implications of Liriel's eyes turning the same way as Diva'ratrika starts to manifest is that she has undergone some sort of aura fusion, and later confirmed in chapter 39 when Kiel'ndia displays the same type of eyes and Khaless explains that it means she's fused with her seed.
- Face Death with Dignity: She doesn't rant, rave, whine, or beg, she just asks forgiveness for her lack of foresight and her sins, quietly states her regrets, and pleads with Diva to find a way to lead the Drow back to the beauty of the surface with Sharess, or not, preferably with.
- Fantastic Racism: Having watched them destroy the old world, she has an understandable hatred for demons, and incorrectly asserts that all demons are mindless beings instinctively driven to devour and destroy. She believes that even the supposedly sapient demons are mindless beasts by nature and are merely using memories they stole from Fae.
- Fatal Flaw: She has one and her tower has another. Hers is Suicidal Overconfidence that she's above everyone and everything in the world setting, thus prompting her to drop her guard when an enraged Sil'lice and an armed squad make their way up to her on the ninth tower, and her home has a platform that once down, can only be sent up again by someone on the bottom, and once up, can only be sent down by someone on the top. Of course, like the rest of Chel, the lift itself has No OSHA Compliance, so it's amazing she didn't fall to her death at some time in the past.
- Gone Horribly Wrong: The tainting process, which originally was a device to help the drow resettle the surface. However Snadhya'rune warped it to fit her own plans for takeover with intentionally faulty seeds.
- Heel Realization: Downplayed and combined with For Science!. Seeing Demon-Naal go from a small, red blob, mostly glutton-demon, to a dark, drow shaped demon princess and coming to Kiel's aid convinces her that she doesn't understand demons as well as she thinks she does, and immediately stops trying to literally throw Kiel and Nau out of her home (which would be fatal) and officially invites Kiel to stay so she can figure out what's going on.
- She completes the realization as she bleeds out from being stabbed by Sil'lice.
- The Hermit: She willingly locks herself up in the tallest part of the ninth tower and fervently refuses to admit visitors, except on very, very rare occasions.
- Knight Templar: She is so utterly convinced that she's right about everything, including demons, that she's perfectly willing to inflict violence on anyone who doesn't agree with her.
- Living Relic: one of the last living dark elves. If the Daydream side story has any canon within, she was Sharess' own court High Summoner, making her one of the oldest and most powerful beings in the setting.
- Mummies at the Dinner Table: It's hard to not think of how she's keeping Sharess' body as this.
- Necromantic: Her main motive is to restore Sharress's aura to her Empty Shell of a body. She has committed some deeply unethical deeds towards this end and prioritizes it over stopping the Nidraa'chal.
- Neglectful Precursors: Besides being a surviving dark elf, Sha'sana was also largely responsible for the current trend of tainting, though the Nidraa'chal were not her direct doing.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: As mentioned above, her research into tainting led to other unscrupulous characters turning it into a weapon of war.
- Passing the Torch: She passes on her legacy to revive Sharess to Diva.
- Person of Mass Destruction: Though not yet shown, given what we know about her and what we can infer from what Diva'ratrika was capable of, Sha'sana is probably a massively powerful dark elf.
- Readings Are Off the Scale: Kiel finally realizes just how over her head she is once Sha'sana starts unleashing her elemental attacks."Damn. She's on a whole different level."
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: She thinks that demons act strangely around Kiel because something about Kiel attracts demons. In reality, there is something odd about Kiel in that she's the only drow crazy enough to actually seek out demons, and make friends with them, instead of simply using them as weapons, trying to enslave them, or seal them away and throw them blindly into the nether which often just means they become food for other demons.
- Seen It All: Has this tone, and Wild Mass Guessing is that she's inherited memories from her ancestors.
- Story-Breaker Power: In-universe, and literally. She absorbs, consumes, or seals all the "Demon Princess" including those not shown in such a way as to cut off the reader's view of the comic, the archive, and if Kern had the know how, the entire web page.
- Squishy Wizard: Her elemental magics and ability to control demons is immensely powerful, but if someone gets into melee range, she's easy pickings.
- This Cannot Be!: She is utterly stunned, and frustrated, that the "Demon Princes" are clearly not acting like Demons she knows and hates, namely that they're actually protecting Kiel and Nau.
- "Again with these demons. They ought to have retreated beyond the gate."
- Time Dissonance: She refers to periods of 25 or 30 years like they're a few minutes, and seems to have a detached and bored tone when talking about how Snadhya'rune's plot will fall apart soon enough.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Her research into stable demonic seeds was meant to help the drow resettle the surface, and she hoped to find a way to remove the seeds at some point as well. She also believes that her single minded efforts to resurrect Sharress will somehow unify the clans.
- Would Not Hurt A Child: Not directly, at least. Nau was able to disrupt her Story-Breaker Power by punching her in the gut and breaking her concentration thanks to this trope. Of course, she's completely ignoring her long, long history of Murder by Inaction, and is reconsidering her policy. Now that Nau has a knife near her throat, despite his obvious trepidation about going through with it.
Sharess
The savior of the Dark Elves from the nether beings and leader of her people into the Underworld, Sharess was worshipped as the Goddess of her people for centuries, but by the time of the story the religion had largely died off save for the Kyorl'solenurn and a few pockets of worshipers.
- Alternate Character Interpretation: This exists for her in-universe. She's seen as a goddess by the Kyorl and her surviving worshippers, while the Sharen use her image to help them retain control but don't seem to buy the "goddess" part. Diva'ratrika, one of the few people alive who actually knew her, is implied to think of her as more Warts and All, and feels like she was abandoned with a crown she never wanted, while Sha'sana believes she can unite the clans if she comes back, and preserves her body for this purpose. And then Kiel'ndia speculates that if there is anything left of Sharess after spending so long in the nether realm that by now she has to be a demon, and this suggestion greatly angers Chiri. "Sharess is Dead" is also seen as graffiti on one of her statues implying that the common people don't put much stock in her legends anymore.
- Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: This is what both the Kyorls and the Vloz'ress believe to be the case but they fall on opposite sides of the argument. However according to a non-canon Daydream story the truth is implied to be somewhere in-between. Currently that version of Sharess is a physical goddess with a case of split personality disorder due to being composed of three separate beings.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: She magically separated her aura from her body to distract the demons from going after her people. Quain'tana applauds her method, but not so much the god-level treatment she got years later.
- Facial Markings: The nine-eyed mark is her symbol, and that of the Val'Sharess and those associated with her.note .
- The High Queen: Was adored by her subjects when she was alive.
- King in the Mountain: It's said that she will return to lead her people to the Surface again, but after 1000 years there's no sign of her. Sha'sana plans to change that.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: She made a promise to return the dark elves to the surface, but has been unable to fulfill said promise for over a millennium. Because of said promise, the dark elf generation tried to retain control, breeding resentment from their drow descendants and eventually causing conflict between the generations that destroyed most of the surviving dark elves. While intergenerational strife is largely over mostly only because you can count the number of remaining Dark Elves on one hand, the current war tearing Chel apart does have some roots in the conflict her promise caused.
- Oh, My Gods!: In-story, people use "Sharess" or "Goddess" in place of "God" in many exclamations.
- People Jars: Her body is kept in one by Sha'sana.
- The Promise: Her pledge to return the Dark Elves to the surface, though it hasn't been fulfilled yet and many Dark Elves lost hope that it ever would. She ultimately never returns, and Diva'ratrika ends up taking over her empty body to fulfill the promise in her place while posing as her.
The Vel'Cahal
A semi-mythic figure, the Vel'Cahal was a knight of Sharess who was said to have taken a demon into their body and fought off the demonic hordes. In universe, Vel'Cahal is a popular subject of stories.
- Alternate Character Interpretation: Like Sharess, he is an in-universe example of this, since so little is actually known about him.
- Determinator: Vel'Cahal is described as being so thoroughly tainted that only sheer willpower kept him moving.
- The Dreaded: With a name that translates to Demon Poison, this is a given. Chrys'tel would take the latter part of his name and give it to her dragon mount.
- Gender Flip: It's suggested that the Vel'Cahal was actually a male knight, but was changed into a woman in later re-tellings to inspire later generations of drow girls. If the Daydream Archive story dealing with the events after Vel'Cahal and Sharess disappeared is accurate, then the rumors that he was a male knight would indeed appear to be true.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Stayed behind even after the other elves had fled underground to fight off the demonic hordes.
- Lady and Knight: With Sharess, when portrayed as a male. They're also sometimes shown to be lovers.
- Meaningful Name: Vel'Cahal means "demon poison".
- Shrouded in Myth: Because almost everyone who would have known the actual Vel'Cahal is dead, details about him, including his gender, vary greatly. Only three or four people currently active in the present storyline likely know the truth. One is Zhor, mostly because he was an adult Dark Elf back when Sharess was still alive and also one of the royal bodyguards back before he was injured saving a young Diva'ratrika's life, another is obviously Diva'ratrika, even in her current form as Diva, the third is Ash'waren because she was friends with Diva'ratrika when both of them were children and note . The fourth possibility is Sha'sana, who knew Sharess in life and is currently in the Ninth Tower of Orthobbae guarding her body.
Blossom / The Flower Queen
A childhood friend of Val'sharess Diva'ratrika and Ash'waren Val'Sullisin'rune from their younger days living on the surface world long before the Dark Elf exodus underground in the current Moonless Age. She's known as "The Flower Queen" because of her great adoration of flowers and plants of all kinds. Her story is expanded upon in a side story in Chapter 39 created by Kite.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Her whole story can be seen as a warning about this trope, especially the way Diva tells it to Faen and Ariel.
- Celibate Hero: But less by choice and more due to circumstance She had few Dark Elves left of acceptable breeding to mate with and she despised the available drowolaths to the point of not even wanting to mate with them.
- Childhood Friend: To Diva'ratrika and Ash'waren.
- Courtly Love: A deconstructed version. Knight goes on an epic quest to bring back a McGuffin for his beloved? Check. Is said quest the only way to win her love? Check. Knight succeeds in mission and reunites with said beloved? Check. Knight and his beloved live Happily Ever After? Uncheck. The McGuffin is actually an Artifact of Doom which kills his beloved, their children and his entire city. The knight goes on another quest to the surface, this time for revenge on the sentient forest that gave him the deadly flower. The readers are not told if he succeeded.
- Death by Materialism: She loved flowers far too much...
- Death by Racism: Time delayed version: while she eventually got over her hatred of the drow and even had several children with the Flower Knight, her unwillingness to mate with them to begin with eventually and indirectly caused her death.
- Engagement Challenge: Asked anyone who wished to become her mate to go to the surface and bring back a specific flower she remembered from her childhood memories. However she never actually expected anyone to succeed. She also didn't expect it to lead to her death.
- Fantastic Racism: She was deeply prejudiced against the drow, finding their ashen skin repulsive and refusing to consider marrying one even to stabilize her kingdom.
- Fatal Flaw: Her pride. All the misfortune that befell her city could have been avoided if she had not been too proud and hateful of the drowolath to mate with them in the first place.
- Flower Motifs: She was one of the princesses of a Moons Age queendom known for producing beautiful mana flowers. By the Moonless Age she had tried to recreate a version of her surface homeland underground.
- Green Thumb: Had an affinity for growing flowers.
- The High Queen: Projected this image to her subjects but in reality was a Noble Bigot who hated the ashen skin of the drowlaths.
- I Gave My Word: At least she wasn't prejudiced enough to go back on her word to marry the knight who brought back her promised flower.
- Lady and Knight: Blossom being the lady in question and her future mate the knight.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: The Daydream story that introduces her says that in her culture their names are earned, not given, and "Blossom" is merely what Diva'ratrika can call her in the meantime since she's too young for an adult name. In Diva's story she's referred to only as "The Flower Queen" and her adult name is never stated.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: The ending of The Flower Knight.
- Small Role, Big Impact: She doesn't appear in the main comic outside of Diva'ratrika's memories, but the destruction of her queendomis a huge Chekhov's Boomerang for the existence of a parasitic mana-eating flower only hinted at in a previous side-story. And the gun has been fired once again in Chapter 44, page 64.
- Springtime for Hitler: Never expected anyone to actually succeed at her Engagement Challenge.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Some readers were hopeful that she had survived up til the current Moonless Age, but The Flower Knight side story confirmed her death.
- World's Most Beautiful Woman: In-story she is described as being the most beautiful woman of her time and the "gem of her city".
Tralyn the Clanless
An aged history teacher in the Legs (i.e. male section) of Orthorbbae. He first appears in Chapter 2, stunning Ariel and her other classmates with his visibly aged appearance. Well versed in the knowledge of Drow history and culture he is a favourite amongst the pupils of Orthorbbae's Legs and is the one to suggest that Faen run away to the surface after she injures Nihi'liir and critically wounds a teacher. He also appears to be on good terms with Kel'noz.
- The Chessmaster: No one knows exactly what he and the other headmasters (including Kel'noz) are plotting, but they're definitely up to something.
- Cool Old Guy: Much like Rosof of the Sarghress he is notably lined and haggard in the face, due to spending a long time away from the mana pool. Unlike Rosof he will not age further because he was not away for too long and got back to Chel quickly enough.
- The Magnificent: His moniker the clan-less. Even as a history teacher he is still allowed to keep his clan name, since most of the other male masters still use them, and it's not been explained why he specifies that he's "clanless" as opposed to just going by his name, as Sha'sana and a few other independent characters who do not identify with any specific clan have been shown to do, and even Chelian commoners appear to use surnames most of the time.
- Mysterious Past: Again regarding his moniker. When Ariel and her classmates ask him about he claims that it is a story for another time. Also counts as a Noodle Incident, since presumably something happened that made him clan-less.
Calin Con’Dulean*note
An amnesiac civilian living in the North Cliff district during Chapter 38.
- Canon Immigrant: From the Relic Hunters RPG.
- Indentured Servitude: Ariel sentences him to this when he is unable to pay his debts. However, he escapes in the chaos of the Vloz'ress attack.
- Player Character: Originally.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Said verbatim.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: No word is ever said about his fate after the rogue Vloz attack on North Cliff.
- You Have to Believe Me!: Said word for word when he claimed that he wasn't using counterfeit Ada to purchase goods from a merchant. Unfortunately, the evidence did not agree with his assertions.
Senyah*note
Ax ex-Sarghress attending Snadhya'rune's Felde gathering in Chapter 44. His concept art can be found here◊.
◊.- Facial Markings: Has prominent facial tattoos.
- Hot-Blooded: Has a bit of his chip on his shoulder, and is very impatient.
- Irrational Hatred: Hates spiders. So much so that he's seen in concept art tearing apart a golem simply because it looks like one.
- Our Nudity Is Different: Per concept art, he is a neck nudist.note
