open/close all folders
Protagonists
The Heroes
Nina De Nobili
Francesco "Cesco"
A friend of Nina, he is a ten-year old boy, tall, slender and with glasses; he has a pointed nose and a crew cut brown hair. He is a computer genius and is in love with Nina, which she reciprocates. His parents and Dodo's parents work at the Bottega della Bauta, a mask shop.
Roxy
A friend of Nina, she is a ten-year old girl with short curly blond hair that she dresses extravagantly; she is very stout and strong, and is the bravest of the bunch. She often quarrels with Fiore, but she loves her very much.
Fiore
A friend of Nina, she is a ten-year old girl of slight build, with almond-shaped eyes and short black hair. She loves classical music, painting and animals, and is considered intelligent, but a bit snobbish; she is afraid of spiders. She has a good knowledge of Latin and she really likes to show it. She is often teased by Roxy, but there is a deep friendship between the two.
Dodo
A friend of Nina, he is a ten year old boy who is very shy and fearful. He has red hair and freckles, and he always stutters. He is very attached to Professor José.
- Fiery Redhead: Inverted. He is a redhead, but has a timid and meek personality.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Out of all his friends, possibly barring Nina, he has the strongest bond with Professor José.
- Traumatic Haircut: In the second book, he gets forcibly shaved bald by Alvise and Barbessa for spying on them.
Allies on Earth
Lyuba
A Russian nanny that remained working at Villa Espacia even after Professor Mezinsky's death. She is nicknamed Meringue for her soft shapes and her sweetness, cooks many delicacies for Nina and can hardly bear that the girl often skips meals to stay in the alchemical laboratory.
Carlo Bernotti
The gardener of Villa Espasia that remained working there even after Professor Mezinsky's death. He lives in the annex of the Villa.
Max 10-p 1
He is the Xorax-made android residing in the Acqua Profundis, Nina's secret underwater laboratory. He speaks by putting the x in the place of the s, and feeds only on strawberry jam; despite being an android, he is capable of feeling and falls in love with the android Andora, being reciprocated by her.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Strawberry jam, which functions as fuel to him.
Professor José
He is the Spanish teacher who privately teaches Nina not only common school subjects, but also alchemy, which she learned from Professor Misha, her teacher. Two months after Nina's arrival at Villa Espasia, he too moves to Venice, where he lives in the annex with Carlo Bernotti.
Andora and Carmen De Righeira
They are the great-aunts of Nina, sisters of Espasia, the child's maternal grandmother. They live in Madrid and have never married. Carmen is very sweet and sunny, Andora is calmer and more severe. When Karkon learns that Nina will move in with them, he kidnaps Andora and creates an android identical to her. The real woman is imprisoned in the tower of a dilapidated castle in Toledo, but she is eventually freed by her granddaughter.
- Fat and Skinny: They are depicted that way, with Carmen being short and plump and Andora tall and thin.
- Platonic Coparenting: Raised Nina for a period of time due to her parents being too busy at Ferk.
Vera Michailovna and Giacomo De Nobili
They are Nina's parents and they work at the Ferk in Moscow, where they study extraterrestrial life. Vera is the daughter of Misha and Espasia.
Adone and Platone
They are, respectively, Nina's Black Great Dane and red cat. Platone was found by Nina in Madrid near the Prado Museum two months before the story began.
- Big Friendly Dog: Adone, being a large Great Dane with quite an amicable temper, definitely qualifies
- Cute Kitten: Platone, an adorable ginger tom.
Allies on Xorax
Eterea
The Great Mother Alchemist of Xorax, she protects the world from the forces of Evil. Eterea created Xorax and the Magical Universe, and it is she who entrusts Nina with the task of saving the Sixth Moon. She is represented as a column of pure light with eyes and mouth that communicates telepathically.
Michail "Misha" Mesinsky
Nina's maternal grandfather. He is a Russian man once married to the Spanish princess Maria Luisa Espasia De Righejra, after whom Villa Espasia is named and who died giving birth to her daughter Vera. He loves his granddaughter very much, affectionately calling her "Ninochka". He is killed by Karkon, but continues to live on Xorax as a being of pure pulsing light. He often writes letters to his niece.
Birian Birov and Tadino de Giorgis
Ondula
Tintinnio
Ancient Alchemists
Hamoi Aturi
A distant ancestor of Nina, he is a Maori white mage who lived on Easter Island thousands of years ago.
Osiris
Yum Kax
Benign Alchitarocchi
In General
- Tarot Motifs: Their appearance, name and attributes are based on various Tarot Cards.
Bea Sapientia
Ram Activia
Qui Amas
Cil Vires
- Panthera Awesome: She is a magical tiger-card being that fights on the heroes' side.
Van Rota
Sia Justitia
Antagonists
Karkon's Bloodline
Count Karkon Ca d'Oro
An evil wizard and alchemist who uses Dark Magic and Dark Alchemy, he killed Nina's grandfather to take possession of the Taldom Lux scepter. His goal is to conquer Xorax and become the most powerful being in the Universe. He wields the Pandemon Mortalis sword.
Jacopo Borio Ca' d'Oro
An ancestor of Karkon, he died of the plague in 1577. Married to Marilina Correr, he has two children, Mosio and Livio, and a brother named Karfio.
Livio Borio Ca'd Oro
An ancestor of Karkon, he died of the plague in 1577. He is 14 years old and the son of Jacopo and Marilina Correr.
Sicurio Fastorio
Another ancestor of Karkon, he was an abbot who lived in 1500 who killed Edoardo Del Gurone to steal his sword. He came from L'Aquila and was a chess enthusiast.
Ambero Colis Novi
Ancestor of Karkon, he was a marquis who lived in 1700 who wanted to marry Camostilla to take possession of his alchemical secrets. He can change shape thanks to a magical emerald.
Karkon's Androids
Alvise and Barbessa
Twin android children that are very close to each other and the Count's favorites. They live, thanks to the cat hearts transplanted to them, for eleven years. Sadistic and evil, they love committing acts of violence violence and torture towards animals and other people and are often very violent towards Nina and her friends.
Irene, Gastilo and Sabina
Another group of Karkon's assistant android children. They often team up with Alvise and Barbessa, with whom they share a love for making others suffer.
Android Andora
An android created by Karkon to replace Nina's real great-aunt.
- Evil Counterpart: To the original Andora, until she redeems herself.
Tupac the Fierce
He is one of the other three adult androids created by Karkon and lives in Peru. He has black eyes and hair, dark skin, and is very strong, but this does not correspond to the same intelligence. He is equipped with the Cocafon, a powerful voice amplifier, and the Grande Slemma, a very sharp ax.
Vladimir the Deceiver
He is one of the other three adult androids created by Karkon and lives in Russia. He has blue eyes, blond hair, very light skin, and with his beauty and persuasive skills he is able to cheat anyone; the right hand hook sprays Mendace Blood.
- Red Right Hand: Well, Hook Right Hand, so to speak.
Loui Meci Kian the Cynic
He is one of the other three adult androids created by Karkon and lives in China. He has almond-shaped eyes, brown hair and a lean physique; he is ruthless and intuitive. He is equipped with the Subdoleo, a glove that sends immobilizing shocks, and the Heliconda, a bronze propeller that allows you to fly.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: He's defeated by Nina using Quartz, which is stated to only temporarily paralyze him, not to kill; despite this, there's no mention of him in any following books.
Karkon's Human Allies
Marquis Loris Sibilo Loredan "LSL"
Having become mayor of Venice following the abdication of the previous one, he forbids Venetians to think that the Winged Lion flies and to talk about magic, on pain of imprisonment. He is a man of about fifty, with a strong and decisive character, and one of the most prominent people in Venice, but in reality he is a dark wizard in the service of Karkon and can transform himself into a feathered serpent, as adored by the Maya as Kukulkán. He is the inventor of the Alchitarocchi and feeds on cats, which he breeds specially for that purpose.
Visciolo
He is the faithful servant of Karkon and is nicknamed "the One-eyed" because he is missing one eye, which is covered by an eyepatch. He has blond hair and always wears a cloak.
Malign Achitarocchi
In General
Trik Vessanus
- Meaningful Name: Most likely derived from the English trick, fitting for him as he is a malicious trickster entity.
- Odd Name Out: The only one of the Alchitarocchi to not have his name consist of three letters.
Got Malus
- Meaningful Name: Most likely derived from goth.
- Uncertain Doom: Doesn't get killed by his benign counterpart and is instead whisked away to Xorax; what happens to him next is unknown.
Lec Turris
- Animate Inanimate Object: A stone tower which possesses at least some degree of sapience and is clearly malicious.
- Ironic Name: His name means "defender of people" in Greek. Too bad all he has on his mind is killing people.
Vor Suspensum
Sah Mortis
- Dem Bones: He is a huge, animate skeleton covered in bandages.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Strangles Cil to death during their fight. That is Downplayed Trope, however, as he is then killed by Cesco and Dodo, who are wielding the sword that Cil dropped, to boot.
- Meaningful Name: Likely derived from the Egyptian concept of sah: a spiritual double of one's physical body that can turn hostile if the body's rest is disturbed.
Nol Avarus
- The Bad Guy Wins: Manages to defeat and kill his counterpart Ram. However, his victory doesn' last for long, since soon after he gets busted to pieces by an explosive Nina doll.
Other Characters
Espacia De Righeira
Lion of Venice
- Deal with the Devil: Makes a deal with Karkon in the first book, agreeing to eternal servitude to Evil in exchange for becoming the king of all animals on Earth.
