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A character sheet for the best-selling Dark-Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon.

(The Dark-Hunter universe has a large cast so be aware that this page is quite long. And still under construction, so in the future it will be longer still.)

Warning: Spoilers are not currently tagged in any way, so read ahead at your own peril!

     Dark-Hunters and their allies 

Julian of Macedonia

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"No power from above can make one human love another. Love comes from within the heart."

The male lead of Fantasy Lover, the (sort of) first book in Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series.

Julian was born the son of a legendary Spartan commander. Reared in the manner of his Spartan brethren, he knew no love of any kind. His childhood was harsh and unforgiving. As a man, he fought his way to the top and became the most feared Macedonian general of his time. He was the commander who trained Kyrian of Thrace and once Kyrian attained his own command status, the two of them cut a trail of slaughter through the Mediterranean and nearly brought Rome to her knees.

Unfortunately, an act of brutal betrayal brought Julian into direct conflict with the Greek gods and caused him to be cursed into a scroll that was later bound into a book. For the rest of eternity, he is a sex slave whose only goal is to satisfy his summoner for the course of a month.

By the way, he’s very good at what he does…


  • Babies Ever After: With Grace. According to his character profile on Kenyon's website, they have six children so far.
  • Badass Bookworm: Is a very intellectual man, whose favorite pastime is reading.
  • Can't Have Sex, Ever: Averted for him (obviously) in all his past summonings, but in order to gain his freedom from being a sex slave, he and Grace can't have sex for the entire month of his summoning. This probably wouldn't have been such a big deal, had they not fallen madly in love. Naturally, once Julian is freed and all is set to rights, they can have sex (How else would they have had all those kids?).
  • Curse Escape Clause: As mentioned above, the key to his freedom is celibacy for the duration of his summoning.
  • Divine Parentage: Of the demigod variety. He happens to be the son of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: After spending centuries as an unwilling sex slave, he finally breaks his curse and gets to settle down and start a family with the love of his life. Bonus points because Grace ends up immortal so they really do get to spend forever together, provided nothing happens to end the world.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Kyrian. He trained Kyrian hundreds of years ago (prior to Julian getting cursed into a book and Kyrian selling his soul to the Greek goddess Artemis for vengeance) and they became very close; when they reunite in the modern age, it's extremely heartwarming.
  • One True Love: Grace Alexander, the sex therapist who unwittingly reads him out of the book he was trapped in. She's the love interest and they eventually end up Happily Married with Babies Ever After.
  • Sex Slave: Julian got on the wrong side of some Greek gods and ended up cursed into a book to live out eternity as a sex slave. A somewhat new spin on the trope, since he's not a Damsel in Distress needing rescuing from said slavery, he's a bad ass warrior who got tricked into it...and needs rescuing. Thankfully True Love comes through in the end.
  • The Spartan Way: He was a Spartan warrior, so this was a given for how he was raised and lived his life.
  • There Are No Therapists: Averted. Julian ends up marrying one. Granted, she starts off as just a sex therapist, but during the course of the series seems to become the go-to mental health professional for any character needing help getting themselves sorted out.

Grace Alexander

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"You know, I would date, if I could find a man worth shaving my legs for."

Female lead of Fantasy Lover, Julian's love interest.

Grace was a sex therapist by trade, who’d sworn off men forever. Until the night her lunatic girlfriend gave her the most outrageous present of all time: A Greek sex slave. Now there’s something you don’t get everyday. And that’s what happens when you hang out with the Devereaux sisters.

But that’s all right by Grace. These last 11+ years have been the best of her life. Now she’s the psychologist/therapist for most of the nonhuman segment of New Orleans.


  • Happily Married: To her sexy demigod hunk of a husband, Julian. They've even got Babies Ever After. Half a dozen of them, in fact.
  • There Are No Therapists: Averted. She is, in fact, a therpist. And does her duties admirably well. Seth, Styxx, Cadegan, and plenty of others have gone to see her in order to get themselves better adjusted.

Kyrian of Thrace

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"It's not your fault. You had no way of knowing I'd traded my soul. It's not exactly how I start out conversations. Hi, I'm Kyrian. I have no soul. What about you?"

Male lead of Night Pleasures, the second book in the Dark-Hunter series (technically the first book in said series to actually be focused on a Dark-Hunter) and the love interest of Amanda.

Born prince and heir to Thrace, Kyrian was disinherited when he married an ex-prostitute against his father’s wishes.

As a legendary Macedonian general, he cut a trail of slaughter through the Mediterranean during the 4th Macedonian War. Chroniclers wrote that he would break the Roman stranglehold on the known world and claim Rome for his own.

He would have succeeded had he not been betrayed by his wife into the hands of his enemies. He was tortured for weeks and then executed by Valerius’s grandfather.

His powers are: mind-reading, accurately judging people/personalities, summoning gods, mind control, heightened hearing, and as with all Dark-Hunters, he can sense the sun setting, and feel unborn souls.


  • Chained Heat: This is literally how Kyrian and Amanda end up thrown together at the start of the story; they wake up handcuffed to each other in a back alley. Since Kyrian is more or less a vampire dressed all in leather and carrying weapons and Amanda is more or less a regular person (albeit one with a crazy ass family), this goes over with them about as well as you'd expect. They do end up getting out of the cuffs, and later fall in love, so it could also be viewed as Chains of Love in the long-run.
  • Crucified Hero Shot: Kyrian actually died from crucifixion, at the hands of his Roman enemies, one of whom just happened to be Valerius's grandfather, who only captured Kyrian in the first place because he seduced Kyrian's first wife and tricked him. Kyrian, understandably, absolutely loathes everything Roman for thousands of years afterwards.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Kyrian can be very, very sarcastic. Not surprising since sarcasm, in general, runs rampant in the entire Dark-Hunter series.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: As with every character in the Dark-Hunter 'verse, he goes through a lot of shit during the course of his long, long life. Thankfully, he ends up Happily Married to Amanda with Babies Ever After.
  • Immortality: Is immortal as a Dark-Hunter before regaining his soul and humanity at the end of Night Pleasures. Becomes immortal again in Seize the Night thanks to Acheron, who revives him and his wife after they were killed in a Daimon attack.
  • No Sympathy for Grudgeholders: Gets hit with this a bit in Seize the Night, since he's holding on to his hate for the Roman Dark-Hunter Valerius and isn't willing to let bygones be bygones until the very end; notable because Val himself never actually did anything to Kyrian, it was all Val's grandfather. Tabitha, Kyrian's sister-in-law and Valerius's love interest, points out that Valerius himself was only about five years old at the time and as such had absolutely nothing to do with any of it. Thankfully, Kyrian eventually grows up a bit and decides they can be, in his words, "friendly enemies". He even pitches in to be a groomsman at their wedding.
  • Second Love: Gets this with Amanda.
  • Soul Jar: As with all Dark-Hunters, his soul is kept in a gemstone that's in the possession of the goddess Artemis.

Amanda Hunter

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"You're trying to scare me, aren't you? Well, it won't work. I grew up in a house with an angry poltergeist and two sisters who used to conjure demons just to fight them. Buster, I've seen it all and your gallows humor isn't working on me."

Female lead in Night Pleasures. Kyrian's love interest.

Accountant by trade, Amanda wants nothing to do with the kooky paranormal world of her sisters. She likes normality, but when her psychic powers are uncovered, all Hades breaks loose and her life will never be the same. Amanda’s psychic powers are: premonition, cognition, empath, and telekinesis.

Also, don't call her Mandy.


  • Always Identical Twins: Is identical to her twin sister Tabitha in pretty much every way; the only real physical differences are a small freckle Amanda has under one eye and a large scar Tabitha has on one side of her face; it's mentioned that the two of them even have the same voice, but the way they speak differs, with Amanda being more refined while Tabitha is a bit more coarse. In terms of personality, of course, the twins are drastically different.
  • Happily Married: To Kyrian, with Babies Ever After, like most DH pairings.
  • Only Sane Man: Initially views herself as this within her family. Since her twin Tabitha is an active vampire hunter, another sister Tiyana runs a voodoo shop, yet another sister hunts demons, et cetera, while she's just an accountant, she is possibly right. That being said, she is a powerful psychic in her own right and eventually ends up dragged into her family's "insanity". She does provide a voice of reason in Seize the Night where she comes to meet Valerius to see whether or not Kyrian is right to hold on to his grudge against the other man; she eventually concludes that Val isn't so bad and that if Tabitha really loves him then she (and Kyrian) need to give him a chance, too.
  • Second Love: Is Kyrian's.

Talon/Speirr of the Morrigantes

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"I feel like I’ve known you forever. Like I’ve held you in my heart for centuries."

Male lead of Night Embrace, the third book in the Dark-Hunter series, and the love interest of Sunshine.

Talon is the son of a Druid High Priest and Celtic Queen. He, himself, was a High Chieftain in Britain who fought back invaders and secured his clan against any and all threats.

After the deaths of his aunt, uncle, wife and son over a short period of time, he was told that his ancient gods had cursed him. That they would plague his sister, his people and his lands so long as he lived. To appease the gods, he would have to be sacrificed to them. Once his clan had Talon secured to the altar, however, they killed his sister before his eyes and then turned on him. He gladly ceded his soul for revenge against them.

Unlike the other Dark-Hunters, he is entirely detached from this world. Talon walks between this realm and the next with the help of Spirit Guides.There are those who speculate that should he ever free his banished emotions, the volatile Celtic blood that flows through him will destroy not only him, but anyone near him.

Talon’s powers are: commanding the elements/weather, healing, projection thoughts/altering perceptions, pyrokinesis, and telekinesis. He can shield himself and others from the public by twisting/projecting thoughts. He talks to animals.


  • Friend to All Children: Is really great with kids, as seen in Acheron where he and some of the others get together to play and ref a kid's basketball game; they also link up with one of the kids in particular to play Mario Kart.
  • Happily Married: To Sunshine. They later have a son, Declan.
  • Meet Cute: Probably not amusing for Talon at the time, but Sunshine met him because he got run over by a Mardi Gras float.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: Well, not exactly. But he'll put up with Sunshine decking out their house in fluffy pink everything, because he loves her that much.
  • Reincarnation Romance: With Sunshine.
  • Speaks Fluent Animal: One of his abilities. Most easily seen with the alligators in the bayou where he lives.

Sunshine Runningwolf

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"I used to not care and would say anything at all, but then one time my college roommate called the psycho unit on me. You know, they really do have white coats."

Female lead in Night Embrace. Talon's love interest.

Sunshine was just your average flibbertigibbet artist into granola, bare feet, and art, until a late night encounter showed her another side of the world that she never dreamed existed. It also showed her a part of her own history, she wouldn’t have guessed in her wildest imaginings.


Zarek of Moesia

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"The only enjoyment I have in my life is knowing I piss off everyone around me. If I were dead, it would make them all happy. God forbid I should ever do that."

The male lead of Dance with the Devil, the fourth book in the Dark-Hunter series. Astrid's love interest.

Zarek was born the unwanted son of a Greek slave and a Roman senator. Moments after his birth, his mother gave him to a servant with orders to kill the infant. The servant took mercy on the child and took him to his father who had no more use for the baby than his mother had so Zarek became the whipping boy of a noble Roman family.

No one knows how he died or why he traded his soul; he keeps it as a well-guarded secret. He trusts no one. He seldom interacts with other Dark-Hunters and when he does, it is always grudgingly and with the utmost disdain for them.

Because of his steadfast denial to follow any orders (even those of Artemis) and his lack of regard for anyone other than himself, he is kept in isolation in Alaska where his activity is seriously limited and closely monitored. There are many who fear he will one day unleash his powers against the humans as well as the Daimons.


  • Abusive Parents: His father was a complete and total asshole, not just to Zarek, his bastard son, but also to his trueborn children. Zarek's mother was also not a shining example of humanity. Between the two of them, Zarek ended up being whipped, starved, emotionally abused...you name it, it happened.
  • Amnesia Danger: Artemis erased some of his memories of a massacre that happened a couple hundred years ago and lets him (and everyone else) think that he was responsible, because the true culprit was one of her own creations and she was too cowardly to fess up to it. Acheron, knowing the truth and not willing to execute Zarek like she wanted, reluctantly agreed to the memory wipe and has kept a careful eye on Zarek ever since. Zarek does eventually regain his memories, just in time to deal with the Big Bad of the book, Thanatos.
  • Born into Slavery: The son of a Greek slave who slept with a prestigious Roman senator. Despite technically being the son of that powerful Roman, his birth father wanted nothing to do with him and wouldn't have him in his household as anything other than a slave.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Again, this par for the course with all characters in the series, but Zarek truly does have some fantastic moments.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: He does, thanks to Astrid (with a little help from Acheron). Not only does he save the day and get his girl, it turns out that Artemis never took his soul to begin with (thereby sidestepping the need to get it back from her) and he ends up eating ambrosia and drinking the nectar of the gods, turning into a god himself. He and Astrid end up Happily Married with Babies Ever After (which is incredibly adorable to see in later books), and he eventually even (semi)reconciles with his half-brother Valerius.
  • Heroic Bastard: Is the bastard son of a Roman senator and a Greek slave. Shows occasional shades of Bastard Bastard but at heart he's actually a good guy.
  • Hero with Bad Publicity: Partially due to Artemis pinning the blame on him for a massacre that he had nothing to do with, and partially because of his own attitude.
  • Hidden Depths: Is actually not a completely psychotic asshole. Is actually a pretty decent guy. He's also very eloquent when he wants to be, saying incredibly romantic and poetic things to Astrid. He also does ice sculptures and wood carvings and donates them to the town he lives near; no one else even knew about this until Zarek's friend Sundown shows up in Alaska and sees a carving of himself sitting in a shop. He is, understandably, completely at a loss for what to think.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: A very, very well-hidden heart of gold. And only his One True Love Astrid manages to really bring it out. Anyone who doesn't know Zarek well will assume he's a psycho asshole. Which...he is, but he's nice on the inside. Deep down. A first glimpse of this can be seen in Night Embrace, where he does his best to help Sunshine.
  • No Social Skills: Does not play well with others 99.9% of the time. Possibly a case of Better with Non-Human Company, because he is shown being kind in other ways, like when he lets a family of martins live in his woodstove even though he knows that leaving them there means he (obviously) can't light the stove and keep himself warm, in subzero Alaska. And later when his cabin explodes, his goes out of his way to save the martins so they survive. He's also shown getting food and water for Sasha in his wolf form, before he knows Sasha is a Were-Hunter rather than just Astrid's half-wolf guard dog.
  • Obfuscating Insanity: Mildly. Everyone thinks Zarek is a crazy bloodthirsty Dark-Hunter who's basically a psycho. He can certainly display psychotic behavior, but in reality he's just got massive trust issues and no social skills whatsoever; it doesn't help that he's in general just not much of a people person.
  • The Un-Favourite: Of his family. Aside from his older half-brother Valerius who tries (but admittedly fails spectacularly) to make things easier on him, his entire family hates him and mistreats him terribly. Zarek is very much aware of this growing up and hates them all accordingly. It's worth noting that he also hates Valerius, because while Val did try to help him from time to time, generally it only backfired and made things much, much worse. The two don't even come close to reconciling until centuries later, when they're both Dark-Hunters and slightly more grounded thanks to finding their soulmates.

Astrid

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Zarek: I have found my star. She is beauty and grace. Elegance and goodness. My laughter in winter. She is courageous and strong. Bold and tempting. Unlike any other in all the universe, and I cannot touch her. I dare not even try.

The female lead of Dance With the Devil and Zarek's love interest, a justice nymph who also happens to be the younger sister of the Greek Fates.

Astrid had lost all faith in the better nature of humans. Tired of judging their black hearts, she wanted nothing to do with any of them. But when Acheron came to her and asked for a rare favor, she couldn’t deny him.

It was the best decision she ever made.


  • Babies Ever After: With her husband Zarek. Amusing in some ways, because they bicker good-naturedly over their son's name, even after the boy is born; Astrid named him Menecaeus, but Zarek calls him Bob because he thinks Menecaeus is a crap name.
  • Happily Married: To Zarek, with Babies Ever After.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With her Were-Hunter friend and protector, Sasha.
  • Temporary Blindness: Experiences this when she descends to the mortal world to fulfill her duties as a judge. She didn't always have to be blind, but after one of her charges seduced her and tricked her into judging him innocent, it was decided that blindness would aid in her impartiality.

Wulf Trygvassen

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"Have you no honor? No decency? No damn brains? You don’t kill me with bullets. You just piss me off. And you just ruined my friggin’ favorite coat. For that, you die."

Male lead of the sixth Dark-Hunter book, Kiss of the Night. Cassandra's love interest.

Wulf is a Viking warrior whose recklessness brought him into contact with Morginne, a powerful Dark-Huntress. She tricked him into trading souls with her.

He is the only Dark-Hunter who was never granted an Act of Vengeance. And since he was wrongfully brought over by another Dark-Hunter, his powers are very different from the rest of his brethren. The most curious power of all, is that of amnesia. No human or animal is capable of remembering him five minutes after they leave his presence. The only exceptions to that are those who bear the blood of his original Squire.

Since the only out-clause for a Dark-Hunter is the love of a human, and no human is capable of remembering him (and by the Code of a Dark-Hunter, no Hunter can be physically or romantically involved with his Squire), Wulf, alone, is doomed to an eternity of Hunting.


  • Horny Vikings: Wulf is, as his character bio states, a Viking. Thankfully, he averts most of the stereotypes that Vikings call to mind; there are no horned helmets here, thank you.
  • Interspecies Romance: With Cassandra, since she's technically half-Apollite, while Wulf was human first and then a Dark-Hunter.
  • Noble Savage: Was an ancient Viking warrior, with all the fighting and bloodshed said lifestyle implies. Luckily, he's a good guy at heart, with a strong sense of honor and loyalty.
  • Soul Jar: Like all Dark-Hunters, his soul is in a magical jewel. Unlike most Dark-Hunters though, his soulstone is not with Artemis. This is, in fact, a notable plot point, as mentioned above.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: With Cassandra at first, because of her Apollite heritage that doomed her to die at twenty-seven, meaning that they couldn't live out their lives together or even raise their infant son together because she would die almost immediately after giving birth to him. Luckily, with some help from Acheron, they work out a loophole.

Cassandra Peters

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"When I was a little girl, I used to try and bring sunshine to my mother. I felt so bad that she had never really seen or felt it. So I would try and catch it in jars. When that failed, I captured jars and jars of lightening bugs and told her that if we could catch enough of them, then it would look like the sun. She’d laugh, hug me, and then set them free and tell me that nothing should have to live its life in a cage."

As the last of Apollo’s direct descendents, Cassandra holds the fate of the world in her hands. If she dies, so do we.

She’s seen the deaths of her mother and four older sisters and hates Stryker with a burning passion. It took her a little while to warm up to Urian, but now she’s delighted whenever he comes to visit.


  • Babies Ever After: With Wulf, of course. Eztra heartwarming, because at first it seemed like Cassandra was going to die not long after giving birth and as such would never know her son. It all works out in the end, thankfully, and Cassandra gets to live and watch her children grow up.
  • Happily Married: To Wulf, eventually.
  • Interspecies Romance: Technically with Wulf, since Cassandra is part Apollite.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: With Wulf initially, at first because he's doomed t have no one remember him after meeting him and then again because Cassandra is doomed to die at twenty-seven. Thankfully, they work it out with some help form Ash.

Valerius Magnus

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"Play is for children and dogs. Now that you have identified which category you fall into, I'll show you what Romans do to rabid dogs."

Male lead of Seize the Night, the eighth book set in the Dark-Hunter universe. Tabitha's love interest.

The son of a Roman Senator, Valerius became a Roman general by age 22. He led conquests throughout Greece, Gaul and Britannia. For a most obvious reason, he doesn’t play well with most Dark-Hunters and it is imperative we keep him far away from Kyrian, Kell, Zarek, and Zoe.

Val is truly ostracized from the rest of his brethren. Retta has tried from time to time to bring him more into the DH circle, but the older Dark-Hunters refuse to forgive him for his past crimes.

No one knows what brought him into our circle.


  • Amazon Chaser: Was fond of Agrippina but ultimately fell head over heels in love with Tabitha, who is a fierce fighter in her own right, capable of holding her own against entire groups of Daimons singlehandedly.
  • Aristocrats Are Evil: Plenty of people seem to have this opinion of Valerius since he generally acts like a cold and arrogant aristocrat around pretty much everyone, leaving them to conclude that he's an arrogant asshole who looks down his nose at everyone. Tabitha is the first person to figure out that it's a facade he uses as a defense mechanism to keep from being hurt by others.
  • Big Brother Instinct: Had this for Zarek despite the fact that he didn't even know they were related during their human lives, only finding out a couple thousand years later. Also worth mentioning is the fact that ever time he tried to help Zarek even in small ways, their father would not only punish Zarek, the slave, but also Valerius, for being too kind-hearted in wanting to help said salve. A few good examples are where Valerius ran away crying from one of Zarek's beatings, only for his father to track him down and then whip him for "behaving like a woman", and then another time when Valerius tried to bring Zarek a horse blanket so he wouldn't be cold at night, onyl for his father to learn of it and then make Val spend the entire night outside, completely naked and feezing to death. Sadly, since Zarek was only beaten worse after these attempts to help, he hated Valerius just as much as the rest of his family, and the two didn't even begin to reconcile until many, many years later.
  • Can Only Move the Eyes: The result of the drugs used on him by his brothers when they attacked and killed him.
  • Crucified Hero Shot: It's only mentioned a couple times in the book since Val doesn't like to talk about it, even to Tabitha, but he ended up being crucified by his brothers because they hated him, thought he was too kind-hearted to be a "good Roman", and were jealous of his battle victories against the Celts. To make this even worse, beforehand they drugged him with a compound that paralyzed him but left him completely aware of his surrounding while they attacked and raped a slave woman he'd brought into his household to protect.
  • Generation Xerox: Is both named after and looks exactly like his grandfather. Valerius is not happy about this, because his grandfather was complete and total asshole and also the one responsible for capturing, torturing, and killing Kyrian. Which resulted in Kyrian selling his soul to Artemis and coming back to life to slaughter the man, with Val watching the entire slaughter from his hiding place in a cupboard at the age of five. Kyrian maintains this grudge into the modern age, to point where he will actually physically attack Valerius if he comes across him, despite the fact that Val himself never harmed Kyrian, hated what his grandfather did to him, and actually seemed to admire him as the greatest general of the time. So, no, Val does not like the close resemblance to his namesake grandfather.
  • Hidden Depths: Boy howdy, does he ever have these. On the outside, he comes off as cold, arrogant, and just flat-out unfriendly. Once Tabitha gets to know him, however, she realizes that there's much more to him than meets the eye.
  • Immortality: Was immortal as a Dark-Hunter. He lost it when Tabitha returned his soul to him and turned him human, but he becomes immortal again (and gains god powers on top of it) when his estranged brother Zarek turns up at his wedding to mend fences; he and his wife Astrid give Val some nectar and ambrosia, much like Astrid did for Zarek, so that he can spend eternity with Tabitha, who had already been made immortal and was angsting over outliving Val.
  • The Lost Lenore: His slave Agrippina seems to be this for him, in that he still mourns her death two thousand years down the road, but it is worth mentioning that while he loved the idea of her because she was the only person to ever show him kindness during his human life, they were never actually in love or any sort of relationship at all.
  • Meet Cute: The cuteness of it is up for debate, but he first sees Tabitha when she's kicking Daimon ass. She then mistakes him for one and stabs him. He later wakes up in her bed, naked.
  • Opposites Attract: With Tabitha. She is wild, brash, and holds nothing back. Valerius is equal parts appalled and charmed by her behavior, and naturally falls head over heels in love with her.
  • Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Actually does a heartwarming version of this when he and Tabitha go out for dinner at a high-end restaurant and the waiter acts incredibly snotty to Tabitha; Val remarks that he not only spends enough to money there to deserve better treatment, he could buy out the entire business and fire the waiter if she wants.
  • Soul Jar: Like most Dark-Hunters, his soul is kept in a gemstone in the possession of Artemis. Like the others who regain their souls, Tabitha acquires it and returns to him through the Power of Love. Although she does need Kyrian to stab him through the chest for her first, since she can't bring herself to hurt him herself. Kyrian, still not entirely over that old grudge, is happy enough to do the deed, and thankfully Val returns to life with his soul fully intact.
  • The Un-Favourite: Of his strict and harsh Roman family. Not quite to the level of Zarek, who wasn't even acknowledged as family (Val didn't even know they were brothers until some two thousand years later), but Valerius definitely did not quite fit his father's or brothers' standards for being a "good Roman" and they never hesitated to tell him so and beat/whip him for it. He still carries the scars on his body from the worst whippings, and those from his crucifixion.

Tabitha Deveraux

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Valerius: Life is serious.
Tabitha: No, life is an adventure. It's thrilling and scary. Sometimes it's even a bit boring, but it should never be serious.

Female lead of Seize the Night, and Valerius's love interest.

The twin sister of Amanda, Tabby is something else. The only question is what? She walks to her own beat and takes nothing from anyone. She is the baddest human who stalks the night. Her powers include: Intuition, psychometry and empathy which Acheron taught her to dampen for her own sanity. However, it can still be overwhelming for her. She lashes out in anger when that happens. She is also a Daimon magnet because of her powers which is what led her to becoming a slayer. Talon is the one who saved her from her first Daimon attack when she was 13, walking home from the library.

She was an anthropology major in college and has her M.A. in Ancient Civilizations. Her specialty was Rome.

The Deveraux sisters (listed in birth order):

Esmeralda (Essie)Yasmina (Mina)Petra (Pet)Ekaterina (Trina)KarmaTiyana (Tia)Selena (Lanie)Tabitha (Tabby)Amanda


  • Always Identical Twins: Played straight at first but later averted. She and Amanda were originally identical, but Tabitha later got a scar on one side of her face from a fight with some of their enemies.
  • Battle Couple: With Valerius. He's not always happy about Tabby being on the front line, but he (wisely) never tries to keep her from fighting Daimons (with one notable exception during Acheron because she was very pregnant at the time).
  • Opposites Attract: Tabby herself admits that her ideal guy would be like Ash: sexy and Goth. She ends up falling head over heels in love with Valerius, who is (at first glance) a rigid and aloof Roman warrior with no sense of humor.
  • Scars are Forever: As mentioned above, she has a very nasty scar across her face from a fight with a Daimon enemy. It's worth noting that other characters do seem to find it disturbing occasionally; her brother-in-law Kyrian has even offered to pay for the plastic surgery for Tabitha to get is fixed but Tabby herself never seems inclined to take him up on it, remarking to Valerius that everyone has scars and that she's actually lucky because most of hers are on the outside.

Alexion

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"Well, had you listened before you stabbed me, you would have heard the ‘I’m Acheron’s Squire’ part. Apparently that somehow escaped your hearing and you mistook me for a pin cushion."

Male lead of Sins of the Night, the ninth book set in the Dark-Hunter universe. Danger's love interest.

Brutally betrayed by the love of his life, Alexion is a quiet man who believes whole-heartedly in talking soft and carrying a big stick. He is truly the angel of death. No one ever wants to face him in the dark of night. Lightning fast and brutally frank, he never takes prisoners. As he would say, he was a science experiment gone wrong.


  • Dead All Along: Is actually a ghost of sorts who can be given physical form by drinking Acheron's blood. He was one of the very first Dark-Hunters but ended up tragically dead when Acheron tried to free him with the love-of-a-human outclause, only for his human wife to fail at restoring his soul because she didn't really love him, thereby dooming him to spend eternity as a Shade until Ash saved him. Ouch.
  • Death by Origin Story: Played with a bit, since his own origin story actually starts with his death. Everything after that is him living as a ghost of sorts while serving Acheron as a pseudo-Squire.
  • Judge, Jury, and Executioner: Does this job for Ash, taking care of Dark-Hunters who get out of line too drastically. He takes his job very seriously, since killing a Dark-Hunter condemns their soul to live as a Shade between worlds, the same fate he had when his wife failed to restore his soul.
  • Meaningful Rename: In his first life and as one of the original Dark-Hunters, his name was Ias. He later changed it to Alexion,
  • Our Ghosts Are Different: Is definitely a ghost, but he can take on a physical form for interacting in the mortal world if Acheron lets him, and he can interact fully with his One True Love Danger after she dies and also returns as a ghost (with some help from, you guessed it, Acheron).

Danger

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"You know, those parlor tricks would be much more impressive if they actually helped me."

Female lead of Sins of the Night and Alexion's love interest.

Named for the grandmother of Eleanor of Aquitaine and born the daughter of a French actress and a French nobleman, Danger grew up on the stage. She loved her life and her parents until the French Revolution tore her world apart. Caught between the two warring factions, she refused to see the noble half of her family killed.

Using her connections in the theater, she tried to smuggle her father and noble half-siblings to England. Her husband was the one who betrayed her into the hands of the Committee. She was killed trying to protect her small brother and sister from the guillotine.

Since she has joined the Dark-Hunters, Danger has, shall we say, an attitude problem. She trusts no one and she has a very special place in her heart for children.


  • Action Girl: Is a French Dark-Huntress. Kicks ass with the best of 'em.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: Sort of. She has to die to get her happy ending, but she does get to spend the rest of eternity alongside Alexion, the love of her life.
  • Together in Death: With Alexion. An interesting example in that they don't move on at all really, but remain present (well, in the Atlantean heaven realm) and interact with other characters throughout the rest of the series.

Sin

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"Wow, that was fun. Any place else you want to take me while we’re here? Maybe there’s a darker corner of hell than that hall of flesh-hungry demons, huh?"

Male lead of Devil May Cry, the eleventh book set in the Dark-Hunter universe. Kat's love interest.

An ancient Sumerian god, Sin was one of the most powerful among his pantheon… Until the night Artemis stole his godhood by trickery and left him one step from death.

For millennia, this ex-god turned Dark-Hunter has dreamed only of regaining his powers and seeking revenge on her. If only life were that simple.

Unfortunately he has bigger fish or in his case, demons, to fry. The lethal gallu that were buried by his pantheon are now stirring and they are hungry for human flesh. Their only goal is to destroy mankind and anyone else who gets in their way. Lucky Sin is the only one who can stop it, that is if a certain woman doesn’t kill him first.

Trust of any kind died in him the moment Artemis tricked him, but now he must rely on another woman or see an annihilation of biblical proportions.

He was born a triplet to a human, peasant mother. On the night they were born, his father was told the three of them would destroy the Sumerian pantheon. He immediately killed the eldest triplet. Sin took his brother Zakar and hid him in the dream realm. Sin fought his father for the right to live and then told him that he’d killed Zakar and absorbed his powers.

Sin was a fertility god and ruled the moon.


Katra

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"With my background and genetic makeup, buddy, you’re lucky I’m as normal as I am."

Female lead of Devil May Cry, and Sin's love interest.

Only Kat knows her origins and she’s not real big on sharing. A former handmaiden to Artemis, she now serves Apollymi whom she adores. She’s quick and deadly and lives to taunt any male she can find, especially Stryker. She has a soft spot for Simi and baby Eric. And she will fight to the death to protect anyone she loves.

There are those who believe she was born of the gods, but few are willing to question that. Some even claim she has powers stronger than Artemis. But again, only a fool would question it. One interesting tidbit is the tattoo she has on her stomach of a sun… some say it’s the mark of the Destroyer, others believe it’s the mark of Apostolos. Only Kat knows for sure and she’s not talking.


  • Animal Motif: Like her parents, she has a thing for owls.
  • Demigod: The daughter of Acheron and Artemis.
  • Divine Date: One is a Sumerian god, the other is the daughter of a Greco-Roman god and an Atlantean god.

Acheron "Ash" Parthenopaeus

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"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. "

The enigmatic leader of the Dark-Hunters, there is much more to Ash than anyone knows. He is a very important reoccurring character throughout the entire Dark-Hunter series, and is the central character is the appropriately titled book Acheron, which tells us the much awaited story of who he really is and how he came to be how he is now.

Even though he was the youngest when he died, Acheron was the first Dark-Hunter ever appointed. He is also the writer of the Dark-Hunter Creed and of the Code they abide by. Because of his Dark-Hunter age and the fact that he fought the Daimons alone for thousands of years, he is more phantom than real. He interacts with the other Dark-Hunters on a whim, and his sage advice is often sought.

Eccentric and idiosyncratic to the extreme, he is a legend among legends. The Dark-Hunters never know what to expect when Acheron enters a scene. He runs the full gamut from friendly to intimidating to downright scary. It is said of him that there has never been a mortal born who could equal his physical perfection. He possesses a raw, rare kind of charisma.To look at him is to want him. To see him is to ache to touch him.

Artemis herself once said of him:

He had been built to please, and trained to pleasure. Everything about him from the sleek muscles that rippled to the deep, erotic timber in his voice seduced anyone who came into contact with him. Like a lethal wild animal, he moved with a primal promise of danger and masculine power. With the promise of supreme sexual fulfillment.

Sunshine describes him as:

He had such a deadly, graceful swagger. A predator’s lope. There was something intrinsically sexual about Acheron. Something compelling, seductive. Just being near him made her want to reach out and touch him. It was as if he were putting off some powerful pheromones and at the same time, she was scared of him. He was like a lethal, beautiful animal in the wild that part of you wanted to cuddle while the other part of you knew he was just as likely to rip your arm off as he want to cuddle back. He was magnetic and fierce and he made her want to run for the door.

No one knows why he became what he did. Then again, no one knows much about him. Period. And he likes it that way. Trying to get any personal information out if him is an impossible task. No one even knows what his real hair color is.

In his “god” form, he has swirling blue skin, black hair, black horns, lips and claws. His eyes can appear red, swirling silver, yellow or a yellow orange encircled by red. His voice when in this form has a deeper, more demonic sound to it.


  • Abusive Parents: His birth mother Apollymi loves him unequivocally, but his adoptive/surrogate parents are definitely this, since they've had suspicions since his birth that he's not normal and possibly a by-blow of the gods and therefore not really their son. His birth father Archon (at least we think Archon is his father; there have been some implications otherwise in recent books) is absolutely this; he tried to kill Acheron before he was even born because he feared Acheron might one day grow up and destroy the entire Atlantean pantheon.
  • Always Identical Twins: With his twin brother Styxx. An interesting example and possibly an aversion, because they're technically not related by blood. Ash is really the son of the Atlantean goddess Apollymi, who put him (as a fetus) into the womb of a pregnant Didymosian queen in an attempt to protect him from her husband Archon, head of the Atlantean pantheon, who feared a prophecy involving Acheron saying he would bring an end to their pantheon. Despite being not actually brothers, Ash and Styxx are still almost identical for most of their lives; the only real difference is that Ash still inherited his mother's swirling silver eyes despite having his powers bound so he could pass as human, whereas Styxx has bright blue eyes. Also, Ash in the modern age will (with great frequency) change his hair color at will; usually, it's black, but it's been purple, green...you get the idea. In contrast, Styxx has always kept his hair their natural color of blond. Ash also usually wears his hair long, while Styxx keeps his short. Still, even with slight coloring differences, many other characters will notice how alike the two look despite have no real relation to one another.
  • Atlantis: We get to see a lot of Atlantis in Acheron's book. Also, he's an Atlantean god. Pretty much anything of significance to Ash and things involving him personally is going to have something to do with Atlantis in some way.
  • Cool Big Sis: His sister Ryssa is this. They loved each other dearly, and she was really the only person who ever showed him kindness during his human life. Even eleven thousand years later, Ash is still mourning her death.
  • Deadpan Snarker: As is the case with most characters in the Dark-Hunter 'verse, Ash is in possession of a very snarky and sarcastic sense of humor.
  • Evil Twin: We're led to believe for the vast majority of the series that Acheron's twin brother Styxx (who no one even knew existed until the third book) was this. Turns out it was a good example of one of Ash's own sayings: “There are three sides to every story: yours, theirs, and the truth which is somewhere in between.” Styxx is actually not a complete and total irredeemable asshole, he actually had things worse than Ash. Which was is really saying something.
  • Friend to All Children: Really great with kids at pretty much any time in his life.
  • Immortality: Duh. He differs in this slightly from the other Dark-Hunters in that he's not immortal out of a soul-selling bargain with Artemis, but rather because he's an Atlantean god and immortality is part of the package. Also The Ageless. Somewhat overlaps with Immortality Begins at Twenty, because he was twenty-one when he died and resurrected as his full-god/Dark-Hunter self; prior to that point he'd been living as a human.
  • The Leader: Of the Dark-Hunters. He describes it as a "wrangling" job, getting all the clashing personalities to work together. Not usually a fun job, since he seems to spend most of his time cleaning up messes and saving the world from impending doom.
    • -Ash, venting just a bit about one of many busy nights: "You know, I’ve had a really wonderful night tonight. I got to tell Kyrian and Julian that Valerius is in town and spent, oh I don’t know, three, four hours trying to keep them from going after the Roman. Then, just when I could relax and do my job, I find out there are Daimons in the swamp and no Talon to kill them. And why wasn’t Talon here? Because Tarzan was swinging off a balcony to save Jane from Cheetah. Now all I can do is stand here and say, next fiasco, please, right this way."
  • Luke, You Are My Father: Has a situation similar to this with his first daughter Katra. Ash didn't find out about it until many thousands of years later, but Artemis got pregnant with his child. He doesn't get to properly meet Kat until she's fully grown and kicking ass herself.
  • A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read: Not only does he possess telepathy, he can also read just about anyone's thoughts. The only exceptions are (usually) people he's very close to; his precognition is similar in this regard, since anyone he knows personally is within his sphere of influence and can in turn influence him, he can't see their futures. Ash doesn't seem to like either of this abilities very much, though they can come in handy occasionally.
  • One True Love: Soteria Kafieri (Tory). He loves her with all his heart and soul and she is literally the only person he will allow at his back. They end up Happily Married with Babies Ever After, though of course Ash doesn't retire from being leader of the Dark-Hunters and continues "wrangling" them.
  • Our Vampires Are Different: Even more different from the other Dark-Hunters. Although Ash, unlike most of the others, does actually drink blood. In his case, the blood of Artemis because she tricked him into making a bloodbond with her and he doesn't manage to get out of it until he meets his One True Love Soteria (Tory). Once he's with Tory, he drinks her blood instead. It is worth pointing out that he's not drinking blood just for kicks; without blood he'll turn in an uncontrollable violent beast (that god form mentioned above) who can't distinguish friend from foe.
  • Physical God: Is the son of the Atlantean goddess Apollymi. He's also the Harbinger of the Atlantean pantheon, whose very spoken word can alter fate itself. He also has many other extremely formidable powers, such a god-bolts, mind-reading, precognition, the ability to turn someone immortal...the list goes on. Bonus points for being the only Atlantean god still walking the Earth for the majority of the series. His mother, while alive, is locked in the Atlantean hell realm pending the end of the world, and all the other Atlantean gods are either dead or frozen in magical stasis.
  • Poor Communication Kills: Examples abound, but the most notable instance (and the one Ash himself regrets the most) is not telling Nick that Simi is his daughter. Because of his own paranoia and desire to keep Simi safe and secluded from the world, he did not tell his best friend, who happened to be something of a charmer, that the smokin' hot Goth babe was his precious adoptive daughter. Nick, while definitely something of a Cajun Casanova, would never have touched Simi had he know she was Ash's daughter. This leads to Ash overreacting when he finds out they slept together: he literally blasts Nick through a wall, and accidentally (with his innate spoken-word-as-fate abilities) curses Nick to kill himself...except Nick wouldn't kill himself in normal circumstances, so circumstances had to change so that he would. Namely, his mother Cherise (the most important person in Nick's life and also someone Ash cared for), and his someday-wife are both killed by Daimons. It's when Nick finds his mother's body that he blows his brains out with a gun; only Artemis's intervention and offer to turn him into a Dark-Hunter prevents his soul from being dragged to Hell because he is a Catholic who committed suicide. Way to go, Ash. All you had to do was say hands off. Probably also a case of Nice Job Breaking It, Hero.
  • Really 700 Years Old: Technically, he's over eleven thousand years old. Still looks about twenty-one though, to the point where Tory, when she first meets him, asks if he's really old enough to drink.
  • Sex Slave: An even worse case than Julian's, Ash was given over to his uncle Estes to go live in Atlantis as a child. His uncle proceeded to turn him into a tsoulus, which is basically a trained whore. Estes even partook of Acheron's "services" himself. Acheron eventually gets away from this (after Styxx, unbeknownst to Acheron, smothers Estes in his sleep) and returns to live with his mortal family in Didymos. And then gets into an abusive relationship with the goddess Artemis who more or less reduces him to being her own sex slave because she tricks him into a bloodbond and he has to go along with what she wants or face blood-starvation. He is extra susceptible to this due to being touched as an infant by Epithymia, the Atlantean goddess of desire, which imbued him with an unnatural elvel of attractiveness and allure that makes all others covet him. Luckily, thanks to Tory, he breaks his bloodbond with Atermis and finally gets free of her in the modern age, although not without heaps of unresolved issues and emotional baggage.
  • The Unpronounceable: He generally goes by Ash, the Americanized nicknamed for his birth name (Acheron, in the original Greek, is pronounced Ack-hair-ohn rather than Ash-er-on). On top of that, his surname is Parthenopaeus, which no one other than his wife Tory can pronounce, much less spell. His Atlantean name could be seen to suffer from this, too: Apostolos.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: With (former) best friend Nick Gautier. They have many conversations that involve sniping and bantering.
    • Nick: I know. ‘Nick, go after psycho-ass and show him where he lives.’ But might I point out that in doing this, I should qualify for hazard pay?"
      Ash: Might I point out that staying here with me is far more hazardous to your health?
      Nick: What? Am I still here? Oh no, sorry, thought I’d left ten minutes ago.
    • As Ash left the house, the back door slammed shut, catching the tail end of his long black coat. Ash jerked to a stop and cursed. Nick howled with laughter at the sight of Acheron trapped. "Don’t it take the bad-ass right out of you?" Ash arched a brow. The door opened by itself, freeing his coat, then it slammed shut again. Nick sobered instantly. "And that puts it right back in you."
    • Also this exchange: Acheron: If everyone does as I’ve instructed, then things should work out the way they’re meant to.
      Talon: And if we don’t?
      Acheron: We’re all screwed.
      Nick: Gee, Ash, you’re just so damn comforting.
      Acheron: I try to be anyway.
      Nick: You fail admirably.

Soteria "Tory" Kafieri

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tory_145x145.jpg

The female lead of Acheron, and Acheron's long-awaited love interest.

A woman on a mission, Tory is determined to salvage her father’s reputation and to prove once and for all that Atlantis was real. No one, not even the Greek gods themselves will stop her…

Or so she thinks.

The irony is that Tory’s grandfather was rescued from a war torn Greece by Acheron and brought to America. During the long trip to America, Ash stayed with the boy and entertained him with stories about the mythical Atlantis. Those are the same stories Theo told to his granddaughter. Those stories are what led Tory to look for Atlantis and they are what led her to Acheron.


Samia

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/samia_145x145.jpg
"I haven't been alive in over five thousand years. Not until some bear made a smart-ass comment about my bad driving and followed me home."

The female lead of No Mercy, the nineteenth book in the Dark-Hunter universe, and Dev's love interest. For Dev's character entry, see the Were-Hunters section.

Samia puts “hunt” in the word Dark-Huntress. She loves a good chase and thrives on toying with her prey.

As lethal as she is beautiful, Sam enjoys her job and lives for the nighttime where she is free to roam the streets. But unfortunately her immortality comes with a steep price that has made her slightly insane…

The granddaughter of Hippolyte (the most famous Amazon queen), she escorted Helen of Troy home after the war.

She is one of the infamous Dogs of War. Hunters so bad, they are constantly watched.

The Dogs (Machiskyli) in New Orleans are: Raden, Blade, Ethon, Cabeza, Tafari, Kalidas, Chi, and Sam.


William Jessup Brady/"Sundown"

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"You need to check that tone, boy. Remember, I used to kill people for a living, and I ain’t been up long enough to have much tolerance right about now. Knock it down a notch before I forget that I’m supposed to actually like you."

Male lead in Retribution, the twentieth book in the Dark-Hunter universe. Abigail's love interest.

Jess grew up hard under the hand of a father who hated him, and a mother who was fighting illness. At age thirteen, he ran away and headed out west where he quickly learned life wasn’t fair and it wasn’t easy for a boy with no family.

By age sixteen, he’d learned to make his living as a gunslinger, train robber and card sharp. He lived his life hard and was ruthlessly shot in the back outside the church where his fiancee waited. The man who shot him? The only one he ever trusted and the one who was there to be his best man.

Yep, life ain’t fair. Most days, it ain't even pretty.


Abigail Yager

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"Oh yeah, baby. You're so hot right now, if I was a chicken I'd lay hard-boiled eggs."

The female lead of Retribution and Sundown's love interest.

Orphaned as a toddler, Abigail Yager was taken in by a family of Apollites and raised on one belief: Dark-Hunters are the evil who prey on both Apollites and mankind. They must all be destroyed. While protecting her adoptive race, she has spent her life eliminating the Dark-Hunters and training for the day when she meets the man who killed her family… Jess Brady.


Renegade "Ren" Waya

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"Love isn’t an obligation. You don’t owe someone your loyalty and you damn well don’t owe them your heart. It’s an emotion, and it’s born from mutual respect and generosity. It is not cruel and it is not judging. It comes from a willingness to live in complete and utter misery for the benefit of another. But when it’s real, you don’t feel that misery at all. The thought of their face, the scent of their skin brings a light to that darkness so bright that it drives out everything else."

Male lead of Time Untime, the twenty-second book in the Dark-Hunter universe. Kateri's love interest.

One of the fabled Keetoowah who survived the sinking of their island, Ren is a man haunted by a past so brutal that no amount of time will ease his conscience. But the blood on his hands isn’t the only scar from his crimes. He ruined his own brother for all time, and destroyed both their lives.

Now he has a chance to save a world he once tried to destroy, but can he face down his demons one more time? Evil in its purest form once owned him, body and soul. As the gates of the seven worlds open and release their captives into the human world, he must find a strength he’s not sure he has. More than that, he must battle in a fight to the death.

Only he’s not the one who will die if he fails. In the Giudan Xtl, the loser is taken prisoner and the one he loves most is sacrificed to the Pale One to feed his rising. The clock is ticking…

Let the war begin.


Kateri Avani

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Ren: I love you, Kateri. You’re the only one in this world that I have ever really loved. I would sell a kidney to shoe your feet and I’d sell my soul, if I still had one, to make you smile.

Female lead of Time Untime and Ren's love interest.

Kateri Avani has been plagued her entire life with bizarre dreams she doesn’t understand. Images of places she’s never been, and of a man she’s never seen. But now that she’s under attack and on the menu for more beings than she can identify, she’s forced to travel to Las Vegas where she hopes to finally silence the demons in her mind and stop the ones out to end her life.

What she never anticipates is coming face to face with the warrior who has haunted her her entire life.


     Were-Hunters and their allies 

Vane Kattalakis

Bride Mc Tierney

Fang Kattalakis

Aimee Peltier

Fury Kattalakis

Angelia

Dev Peltier

Wren Tigarian

Margaret "Maggie"

     Dream-Hunters and their allies 

Arik

The main lead of Dream-Hunter, the first DH book to focus on, you guessed it, the Dream-Hunters. His love interest is Geary, Tory's cousin.

Arik was once one of the most powerful of the Oneroi. He made it his mission to hunt down and destroy all Skoti he could find. Until one night when he happened into the dream of a delusional human. The bright colors and intense passion he felt converted him instantly. Unfortunately, that human died the next day.

In the blink of an eye, he went from being a good guy to one of the worst skotos out there. For thousands of years, he’s walked the line of evil, trying to find another person who can give him that fleeting sensation again. He’ll do anything to have those feelings. Anything to stop the vast nothingness that makes up his existence–even steal a human soul for bondage to Hades.

And when he is sent through the conduit from the Greek Underworld to emerge in the waters of the Aegean in the human realm, his adventure begins.

He’s extremely amoral–but then since he lacks all feeling that makes sense. A vicious predator, he is untamed and determined. And he’s recently found a dreamer who has captured his notice…

Solin

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Born of a human mother and the dream god Phobetor, Solin grew up on earth, but at night he ran amok in the dreams of other humans. Completely amoral, he didn’t care what he did to others so long as he enjoyed himself.

For centuries, the Oneroi had tried to stop and trap Solin. He was one of the few Skoti who’d warranted a death sentence. His voracious appetites and fighting skills were legendary among the Oneroi who’d been unfortunate enough to confront him…

Solin didn’t know he was an Oneroi until puberty, when his powers manifested. The moment they did, his mother cast him out.


Lydia

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As a Dream-Hunter, Lydia has been charged with the most sacred and dangerous of missions. She’s to descend into the Nether Realm and find the missing god of dreams before he betrays the secrets that could kill all of them. What she never expects is to be taken prisoner by the Realm’s most vicious guardian.

But Lydia is much more than what she seems. With powers far beyond a typical Dream-Hunter, she won’t be subdued or commanded.

She’s no one’s bitch.

In The Guardian, Seth refers to her sšn which is Middle Egyptian for lily. The lily was a sacred and mysterious flower to the ancient Egyptians. The white lily, which blossoms in mud, like the blue lily was celebrated and venerated. It was used in drinks and food to cause a euphoric or calm feeling. It was also believed to have healing power.


Madoc

Delphine

     Gods, Goddesses, Demi-Gods, Demons, and Chthonians 

Apollymi/Braith

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The Goddess of Life, Death and Wisdom, Apollymi is the daughter of Chaos (the formless matter that birthed the universe) and Zenobi (the Atlantean north wind). She holds many epitaphs including: The Destroyer, The Bringer, The Giver, Biosia (Life), Thanata (Death), Magosa (Wisdom), and Fonia (The Killer).

Capricious and vain, she is the most powerful of all the Atlantean gods and can only be controlled by her half-brother and husband, Archon. She travels in the wind and can strike down her victims in an instant. It is said those who are about to die by her hand can glimpse her blond hair swirling in the mist a second before they die and at the instant of their death, the last vision they hold is her merciless pale swirling eyes.

A goddess of contradictions, she tends to be loving and kind in one breath and then brutal and cold in the next. No one, not even her husband, is safe from her wrath.

Fearful of her vindictive nature, the other Atlantean gods joined together and imprisoned her in Kolasis (a hellish plane between dimensions).

There are various legends that tell of her release. Some claim it is only by the sacrificial blood of an Atlantean that she can be freed, while others claim it is strictly the hand of her lost son Apostolos that can free her.

Because of her imprisonment, she alone escaped death when Atlantis was destroyed (at least that’s the tale the Greeks tell). Apollymi has a different version.

Now she sits in her prison, awaiting her release so that she can wreak her havoc across the earth and bring about Telikos–the end of the world as we know it.

As Braith: The missing sister of Noir and Azura. No one is sure what happened to her, but if they can locate her, they will have the power to take down all pantheons and split the world between them. It’s a quest they’re willing to kill for.


  • Lady of War: Is a very vicious goddess when crossed, and a very powerful warrior. Also extremely beautiful and regal. Luckily for the world, she's trapped in the Atlantean hell realm and can't get out unless Acheron either goes down there to release her or dies.
  • Mama Bear: Her most defining trait, both as Apollymi and Braith. Her protective motherly instincts for Acheron are what got her trapped in the Atlantean hell realm to begin with, because she refused to let her Atlantean husband Archon kill him as an infant. Apollymi is still trapped down there because she will straight up annihilate all life on the planet over what was done to Acheron during his human lifetime. And as Braith she was mother to the original Malachai, Monakribos, and reportedly flipped her shit when he was killed, making her an intensely devoted mother no matter what.
  • Missing Mom: Was absent through Acheron's entire childhood and adolescence, but not for a lack of love. She would have given anything to be with him, but because Archon wanted to kill him she had to send him to be raised in the human world instead. Currently, she and Ash are pretty close, despite the fact that they can never meet face-to-face without ending the world.

Archon

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/archon_145x145.jpg

The son of Chaos (the formless matter that birthed the universe) and Fegkia (Splendor), Archon was born to be the ruler of the Atlantean pantheon. He established order out of the universe his father had created.

It is said that Fysia spun strands of Archon’s hair to form Atlantis and that she used her blood to fertilize the earth and to create the blood-red Fysian Lilies that could only thrive on Atlantean soil. Overwhelmed by the beauty of the continent his sister had created, Archon wept and as his tears fell, the race of the Atlanteans sprang up.

Like his wife Apollymi, he held many epitaphs: Kosmetas (Orderer), Soter (Savior), and Theokos (the Divine One). He was a god of extreme patience and kindness. The exact opposite of his wife, he was said to be the balance that she needed so that the order of the universe could be adequately maintained.

He adored his wife and unlike the other gods, was never faithless to her (at least that was his PR- the truth is very different). He watched over his children and people with benediction and care. And when Zeus banished the Apollite race to Atlantis, Archon welcomed them in, thereby causing perpetual strife between the Atlantean gods and the Greek.

However, his wrath, when evoked, could be every bit as ruthless as that of Apollymi. When the Deridians attacked Atlantis and sacked Kanosis (the capitol city of Atlantis), he struck their country with his mighty thorn-hammer and destroyed every man, woman and child who bore their blood.

Though he perished with the rest of the Atlantean gods, there are those who say that Apostolos, if ever found, holds the ability to raise his father from the dead and to return Archon to his throne.


  • Jerkass: The general consensus is that Archon is an asshole and that's all there is to it. Even his wife Apollymi hates him, although to be fair she was loyal to him until he decided to slaughter her unborn baby.
  • Off with His Head!: Styxx, once he awakens as a Chthonian, finally gives Archon his just desserts and beheads him in battle.

Noir

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/noir_1_150x150.jpg

One of the primary powers, Noir has an agenda only he knows. Now that he’s been freed, he wants the world and he will stop at nothing to get it.

But first, he must find the Malachai… His powers are dependent on the Malachai. The more Nick uses his power, the more powerful Noir becomes. He also draws power from the Skoti.

Or free his sister Braith. Either way, he wins.

We lose.


Azura

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/azura_145x145.jpg

One of the primary beings, Azura has now been unleashed and is questing for the Malachai who was her servant at one time. She won’t rest until she finds him.

May the gods help us all when she does.

She’s also after her sister, Braith, and is hoping to locate her soon. If she and Noir can complete their trinity, they will be able to subjugate all, even without the Malachai.

Azura draws her power from Jaden. It’s why Jaden has to broker with the demons. Without their support, he would be drained dry and die from Azura.


Menyara/Ma'at/Cam

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/menyara_145x145.jpg

As Menyara: Many want to confuse Mennie with Bast and some even call her that, but she is, in fact, Ma’at. Bast was defeated by Artemis when the Greeks invaded Egypt. That war is also what cost Sasha his entire family.

Before Bast died, she passed many of her powers to Ma’at in order to keep Artemis from gaining them. It’s because of that dual duty Ma’at was forced into that people now confuse them.

As a goddess of divine order, truth and justice, Menyara is in New Orleans to try and save Nick from his destiny. She failed with the last Malachai and knows that if she doesn’t succeed this time, there won’t be another chance.

As Cam: One of the original gods in the Primus Bellum. Cam vanished once it ended, and no one is sure where she is today. Some think her dead. Others claim she went on hiatus. Unfortunately, with Azura and Noir on the loose, we really need her. Let’s hope she can be found soon.


  • I Did What I Had to Do: Seems to have this attitude in Instinct, regarding the manipulation of Jared so that he fathered Cherise, which led to Nick, the Malachai, having Sephirii blood in him. Xevikan in particular is disgusted by her actions, saying that she's no better than any of the other gods with the way she treats people as chess pieces (his wrath is, of course, even more understandable once you learn that Jared is his son).
  • Omniscient Morality License: Seems to claim this in regards to arranging Cherise's birth and by extension Nick's. As one of the six primal gods, she may or may not have a point, but Xev and Nick certainly seem to disagree.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Gets one from Nick (and Xev) in Instinct when the group learns that she, as Cam, orchestrated Cherise's birth and relationship with Adarian, and therefore Nick's very existence. Since Nick always viewed Menyara as one of the few people who loved him and his mother unconditionally, he took it as a very sharp betrayal, since it means that Mennie is more or less responsible to all the crap that both Nick and his mother have ever gone through. In Invision, it's shown that he still hasn't quite gotten over it, but manages to put his anger aside when Menyara is in danger.

Set/Rezar

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/set_150x150.jpg

As Set: Set is a god of mystery and many contradictions. The only thing that is agreed upon is that you don’t want to deal with him unless you have to. He’s best left out in the desert, alone.

Known to rip off the body parts of other gods, he can also be highly protective of them. Most Egyptian myths claim he is childless and incapable of procreation, but other myth tales list him as the father of Anubis and/or Thoth. His wife is usually listed as Nyphthys, but he is also linked with Anat, Astarte and Tawaret.

In the realm of the Dark-Hunters, he still holds his mystery and has a very interesting past. He is also the father of Bathymaas and Seth, and once threatened to tear down the entire Atlantean pantheon. Archon is not his pal. He’s also no friend of Apollo’s, but has been a known ally of both Apollymi and Menyara.

As Rezar: Born before our time began, Rezar was one of the heroes who fought in the Primus Bellum. Leaving his post to heal, he thought Verlyn would watch over the world. He never expected Verlyn to leave his post. Now no one knows where he is. How to summon him. But we need him, fast. The Mauvromino is on the rise and the light gods are all missing. If we don’t find them soon, there won’t be a world left to save.


  • Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: Pretty much ditched Seth in the human realm which resulted in Seth being sold into slavery and tortured by Noir and Azura for centuries...but the catch here is that Set's original reason for not claiming Seth was that he was trying to protect Seth from Noir. His plan failed spectacularly and Seth spent the vast majority of his life hating his father, but as of Styxx they seem to be working things out.
  • Papa Wolf: Is extremely protective of his children.

Seth

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/set_145x145.jpg

The male lead of The Guardian. His love interest is Lydia, a Dream-Hunter; for her character entry see the Dream-Hunter section.

The illegitimate son of the Egyptian god Set and a human, Seth was taken out to the desert by his mother and left there to die. She’d tried to give him to his father, but Set had refused, saying Seth was too weak and puny to keep. More than that, Set seriously resented Seth’s mother naming such a pathetic creature after him.

But fate wasn’t through with him. He was found by a pack of Were-Hunter jackals who took him in as one of their own. For a very brief time, he was happy.

Until they sold him into slavery. From the moment Noir saw him, he knew the potential inside Seth. All he had to do was torture the humanity out of him. Now Seth has no feeling for anyone. He is cold and filled with bitter hatred for everyone and everything. Even the demons quake in terror at his approach.

Under Noir’s orders, he’s on a quest and won’t be stopped. Not until the Olympians bow down in defeat to Noir and Azura.

Seth wears war paint to cover his looks and to purposefully intimidate the demons in Azmodea. There’s another reason he wears it, but that’s in the book. His eyes are painted the way he wore them in Egypt.


  • Badass Bookworm: It's easy to miss, but Seth enjoys reading (one of his favorites seems to be the epic of Gilgamesh...on an original scroll no less!). He likes reading enough that one of the few punishments Noir can give him that doesn't involve torture is burning his books. This form of punishment was apparently so effective that Seth had to resort to hiding his favorites so Noir couldn't get them, and he only has a few books left. His love of reading is also one of the ways how Lydia realizes that he's not just Noir's thug as she previously thought.
  • Broken Bird: Can possibly be seen as a male example of this, in a badass sort of way. By the time Seth's love interest Lydia shows up, life has pretty much beaten Seth into the ground and left him with no hope for the future; there's even the additional symbolism of his bird tattoo, which has a broken heart in its tail until he falls in love with Lydia and starts to heal emotionally, at which point the tattoo heals and becomes whole again, much like Seth himself.
  • Defiant to the End: Despite what we're initially led to believe and what Lydia in particular believes at first, Seth is this to Noir, despite everything that's been done to him. He almost never goes along quietly with what Noir tells him to do, and has even gone out of his way to wreck some of Noir's plans. One of his most notable acts of defiance (and one that got him strung up and tortured for centuries) was setting loose Adarian, the Malachai that Noir had control of (he also happens to be Nick Gautier's father), which weakens Noir tremendously and puts an indefinite hold on Noir and Azura's plans for world domination. Jaden, a fellow slave of Noir's and Azura's, mentions that Seth can't seem to help himself when it comes to defying Noir, even when he knows he'll suffer for it.
  • Divine Parentage: Is the son of Set, an Egyptian god of tremendous power. Becomes twice as impressive once you read more recent books like Styxx and realize that Set is actually Rezar, one of the six primal gods, making Seth himself a very powerful demi-god. No wonder Noir made sure he was never at full strength!
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: Does he ever. He goes through a tremendous amount of shit during the course of his life, but eventually True Love wins out and he ends up Happily Married to Lydia, and they have a son together that they both adore.
  • Long-Lost Relative: Is this for Bethany and vice versa in Styxx. Since she's an Atlantean and Ancient Egyptian goddess who was turned into a stone statue and locked away long before Seth was even born, she doesn't even know he exists until Styxx and Acheron revive her and start catching her up on everything she missed during the last eleven thousand years. Since neither Seth nor Beth had any siblings that they knew of before meeting each other, it's heartwarming to see them meet, and it's implied that they become close since Seth was waiting anxiously with their other relatives during the birth of Beth and Styxx's second child, Aricles.
  • Meaningful Name: Was named after his father, Set.
  • Parental Abandonment: His mother takes him out in the desert and leaves him to die as a child, even going so far as to break the bones in his legs so he can't follow her home or escape. He is then rescued and taken in by a family of Were-Hunter jackals...who eventually sell him as a slave to Noir (for not a lot of money, either). He doesn't even meet his father Set until thousands of years later, and spends most of that time in between hating him because he was led to believe that Set hated him, thought he was weak, and didn't care what happened to him, when in reality it was more a case of Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You, because Set was trying to keep Seth safe from Noir all along, but they ended up screwed over by the Greek goddess Leto who meddled somehow (we're never given the specifics of the how, as it's mentioned only briefly in Styxx) which left Seth hating his father for the vast majority of his very long life. They seem to be getting along fine in Styxx, so they're presumably working it out.
  • Really 700 Years Old: To the point where he's been stuck in Azmodea so long that he actually has no idea how old he is or even just how much time has passed since he got there. Lydia, once they work it out with some help from Maahes, remarks that he's older than dirt and dirt's great-grandfather.
  • Trauma Conga Line: Pretty much his entire life. His mother wasn't particularly kind to him even before she took him out into the desert and left him to die, and the jackal family the found him and took him in after that pretended to be kind but then turned around and sold him to Noir. His life since being sold to Noir has pretty much been one round of horror after another, whether it involves torture for disobedience, torture for insubordination, torture just because...not to mention Azura forcing him to sleep with her (it's also implied that she's not the only one who's raped him, and considering his age when he first came to Azmodea it isn't terribly surprising). Even just during the course of The Guardian he goes through so much shit that Lydia is very disturbed.

Jared

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jared5_145x145.jpg

A recurring character throughout the series.

Like Ash, Jared finds it easiest to move around the Goth community which is a lot more accepting of his unique characteristics, habits and needs. He’s extremely powerful and mysterious. It’s said that he can seduce a woman with a single glance and that he has the ability to control anyone near him. Part of that comes from the fact that the Sephirii were created to be protectors and consorts of the source gods.

One of the Mimoroux, the top of the Sephirii charged with protecting the gods and man, Jared was their leader. He’s also the one who betrayed his brethren to the Malachai and watched as they were all slaughtered. Some say the guilt of that event has driven him mad.

Only Jared knows the truth.

Maybe one day we’ll actually know something more about him… maybe.

The one thing he can’t do is kill a source god, unless that god turns against the source.

  • Death Seeker: Appears to be this. When he is first released and goes after Nick as the Malachai, he does not care that killing Nick will result in his death as well. Further supported by a conversation between Ash and Nick in Time Untime where Nick says that he'll destroy the world if no one stops him and Ash says that Jared, as the last full-blooded Sephiroth, could do it...only to be countered by Nick who remarks that he's glimpsed a future where he defeats Jared because Jared is "long done with this world and everything in it". It is worth noting that Jared is apparently responsible for the slaughter of all the other Sephirii through some betrayal in the past, and therefore he might be aiming for a Redemption Equals Death scenario in an attempt to atone for what he did.
  • Happily Adopted: Sort of. It's implied in Invision that Jaden took Jared under his wing when he learned that his son Xevikan was really Jared's father. Jaden loved Jared enough to sell himself into slavery to Azura in attempt to protect him, so Jared undoubtedly grew up in a good environment, which is all Xev wanted to begin with. The downside here being that Jared was never told who his real father was, and currently has no idea that he has/had a daughter (Cherise) and that the current Malachai is his grandson.

Jaden/Verlyn

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jaden3_145x145.jpg

A recurring character throughout the series. It was recently confirmed in the Chronicles of Nick book Invision that he is in fact Verlyn. Sort of.

As Jaden: Jaden is bloodthirsty to say the least. He’s also a rabid survivor who takes nothing from anyone. Actually that’s not true, he takes whatever he wants. He’s crossed paths a time or two with Ash and Savitar and it has never been pretty. Not a Chthonian, he refuses to answer any questions about himself. He vanishes for centuries at a time, but when he’s on earth, things always go bad. No one knows the extent of his powers or his weakness. But one thing no one can miss are the strange claw marks on his neck. Or the fact that he moves even faster than the gallu.

All we know for sure is that he is a predator. Some such as Savitar believe he is the first predator ever created. Take that as you will, but know that he suffers very few to live through an exchange with him.

Jaden is enslaved to Noir and Azura- over a bargain he definitely got the short end of. The worst part is, he could kill them, but for said bargain. He lives for the day when he can break free and pay them back with interest.

As Verlyn: One of the missing Gods of Light, Verlyn is the earth’s protector. Without him…It’s not a good day to be human. If we find no one else, we must find Verlyn.


  • Badass Family: Not only is he one of the six primal gods, who are referred to as his siblings, but he is also the father of Caleb Malphas and Xevikan Daraxerxes of the Chronicles of Nick series, who are both extremely bad ass in their own right. And this keeps going even further, since Xev was recently revealed to be Jared's birth father. And Jared turned out to be Cherise Gautier's father, making Jaden Nick Gautier's great-great grandfather. Yes, that's right, one of the six primal gods is the current Malachai's direct ancestor. It's a bad ass lineage from start to finish.
  • Deal with the Devil: His current schtick. He needs to broker deals with demons in order to maintain his strength so that his enslavement to Azura doesn't kill him. It's worth noting that he does take these deals very seriously and will not be happy if someone reneges on him or does something that inadvertently breaks another of his deals. And while he can grant the asker just about anything, most demons view him as an absolute last resort because he scares the crap out of everyone.
  • My Greatest Failure: Jared's enslavement seems to be this for him, since he did everything he absolutely could (up to and including selling himself into slavery to protect him) and Jared still ended up enslaved. His guilt is likely compounded by the fact that had he been a better father to his son Xevikan (who is also Jared's real father), then the course of events that led to Jared's enslavement would have been different. Really, the way his family ended up in general seems to be Jaden's biggest failure and the source of most of his regrets.
  • Super-Powered Alter Ego: Jaden himself views his Verlyn side as this, even referring to that part of himself as the Verlyn. He remarks that as Verlyn he almost completely lacks compassion, viewing the balance of good and evil as the only thing that matters. Jaden seems to be not particularly fond of this side of himself, since he made several decisions as Verlyn that seem to trouble him (he at one point notes that as Verlyn he doesn't even have compassion for his own sons, which might explain some of his harsher actions against them). In Invision, he at one point even comments that he mistrusts Xev and Caleb not so much for their demon blood, but more for the fact that they're his sons, and that he knows what a terrible beast the Verlyn is.
  • The Atoner: Not immediately notable in his first couple appearances, but definitely present in The Guardian and Invision. He's responsible, either directly or accidentally, for a lot of the damage that happened to Seth in Azmodea and also much of what happened to Caleb and Xev. It's worth noting that Seth never really seemed to hold much of a grudge, but that Caleb and Xev both absolutely despise Jaden, to the point that when Caleb is critically wounded and potentially dying in Invision, he is still adamantly against Xev summoning their father for help. Jaden, for his part, seems to be working really hard to make up for all of this, since he helps Seth get free from Azmodea in The Guardian and does a lot to help Nick, Caleb, Xev, and Kody in Invision, even lifting a small portion of Xev's curse before he leaves.

Bathymaas/Bet'anya Agriosa/Bethany

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/beth1_145x145.jpg

As Bethany: The daughter of the Egyptian god Set and the Atlantean goddess Symfora, Bethany was raised in the Atlantean pantheon as their goddess of Wrath, Misery and the Hunt. It was a task she never relished and she would find peace from her duties by escaping into the human realm where she fell in love with a young farmer named Hector. For him alone, she was willing to give up her godhood and live as a mortal in their world.

But on the very day Bethany was to meet Hector and runaway with him, Apollymi destroyed their entire pantheon and imprisoned Bethany.

Now that she’s free, she has vowed to take from Apollymi what Apollymi stole from her. The ones she loves most. Nothing and no one will stop her. Ever.

As Bathymaas: The first and original goddess of justice, Bathymaas was created to keep Set grounded and on the side he’s supposed to be on. Due to her justice duties, she believes herself incapable of feeling. Something that causes her to run afoul of several gods, including Leto who can’t forgive her for not punishing Hera for Hera’s curse against her and her children. But when a bitter, ruthless betrayal costs her everything, Bathymaas becomes humanity’s and the gods’ worst nightmare.


  • Badass Family: She's the daughter of Set (who also happens to be Rezar, one of the six primal gods). Seth is also her baby brother, although they don't meet until modern times, and she's the sister-in-law to Acheron, making her one of the more recent additions to one of the most bad ass extended families in existence.
  • Lady of War: Is a goddess of war.
  • Reincarnation Romance: With Styxx. House of the Rising Son is a prequel short story that depicts Bethany and Styxx as their past selves, Bathymaas and Aricles respectively, and how they fell in love and were separated tragically because of Apollo's machinations.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Goes on one as Bathymaas when Aricles is killed as a result of Apollo's machinations. Her wrath was so great that they literally had to remove the part of her heart that had loved Aricles and have her reborn as Bethany to get her to stop.

Styxx

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/styxx_145x145.jpg

The male lead of Styxx. His first appearance was in Night Embrace, but he wasn't really mentioned again until Acheron and his full story wasn't revealed until his own book came out. Also the main character (sort of) of the short story House of the Rising Son.

The identical twin brother of Acheron, Styxx was born to wealth and power. During their mortal lives, Styxx believed himself to be the older brother. Because of Acheron’s life choices and refusal to listen to Styxx’s warnings, he was humiliated to be related to Acheron. The fact that they were identical in looks made it all the worse for him, and he was mocked throughout his life for it. Because of his own isolation brought on by being Acheron’s twin, he hated Acheron with a passion.

Unfortunately, their lives were tied together by Acheron’s mother. So when Apollo killed Acheron, Styxx died as well. And when Acheron returned to life, Styxx was also brought back.

And he isn’t happy about that, either.


  • Chained to a Bed: A very dark version. Styxx is chained down while raped at various points during the story, and being bound in such a way has such a lasting impact on him that he can't even handle Bethany tying his wrists with her light scarves in a playful sort of way.
  • Dysfunctional Family: In the extreme. Seriously. His father is a strict and domineering asshole who never hesitates to have Styxx punished for just about everything he does that his father doesn't agree with (punishments range from burning his toys to severe beatings that leave Styxx with massive welts all along his back and legs); his father justifies this by saying that he's trying to raise Styxx to be a strong king but in reality it's because he's never been quite sure that Styxx is really his son after it became obvious that Acheron was really a son of the gods. At one point he even slashes Styxx's arm open with a knife in a drunken attempt to verify that he was really human. Styxx's mother is hardly any better; she's verbally abusive at best, but at one point goes so far as to stab Styxx, when he was trying to give her a birthday present no less. His older sister Ryssa also seems to hate him intensely, despite being incredibly devoted to Acheron; Ryssa never showed any kindness to Styxx, viewing him as a spoiled brat who stole Acheron's birthright. Ryssa, too, stabs Styxx with a concealed dagger, after she mistakenly believes that Styxx had seduced Apollo, who had taken on Ryssa as his mistress. Acheron, while incredibly close to Styxx when they were very young, eventually grows to hate him as well after he goes through his own Trauma Conga Line and is led to believe that Styxx is a selfish asshole who doesn't care about him. Oh yeah, Ash has tried to kill him, too; he snuck into Styxx's bedroom in the middle of the night and stabbed him in the heart. The only reason it didn't take was because Apollymi tied their life forces together, meaning that Styxx can't die so long as Acheron lives. And just to add even more to the Dysfunction Junction his uncle Estes is a world-class perv, who not only turns Acheron into a whore when he'd sent to Atlantis, but Estes does the same to Styxx, drugging him to get his cooperation and even branding him as a tsoulus and arranging for him to be gang-raped by Estes's political allies. This even happens to Styxx again when he returns to Didymos and his uncle comes for an unexpected visit. The abuse only ends when Styxx breaks loose and smothers Estes in his sleep, and the murder itself was mostly motivated by the fact that Estes was going to try to sell Ryssa to a brutish Atlantean prince.
  • Reincarnation Romance: With Bethany. House of the Rising Son is a prequel short story that depicts Bethany and Styxx as their past selves, Bathymaas and Aricles respectively, and how they fell in love and were separated tragically because of Apollo's machinations. They are reunited the next time around, and this time get their happy ending.
  • Trauma Conga Line: Much like Acheron and Seth, Styxx's entire life is pretty much one terrible thing after another. He has a very harsh childhood that involves numerous beatings (and at one point even imprisonment and torture at the hands of some priests attempting to burn demons out of him) as well as a lot of parental abuse and neglect and just overall unpleasantness. And his childhood is really only the tip of the iceberg; things get much, much worse for Styxx before they get better.

Urian

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/urian5_145x145.jpg

A recurring character throughout the series, he was originally an antagonist but has since joined the Dark-Hunters in fighting against the Daimons. His first important role is in Sins of the Night with smaller recurring roles since, but his largest role to date is in Styxx.

The first Apollite to be born cursed, Urian grew up without seeing daylight. For centuries, he served his father, Stryker faithfully. Until the day when he fell in love with a woman he was sent to kill.

Because of that love, Stryker took Urian’s life and then Phoebe’s. It’s an act Urian can’t forgive. And while he’s grateful Acheron saved his life, he’s still bitter over it, too. He also finds it hard to work with the Dark-Hunters given that they slaughtered his eight brothers (including his fraternal twin).


Savitar

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sav1_145x145.jpg

Savitar is an interesting… something. No one, not even Acheron, is exactly sure what or who he is. The man likes to be a vague myth. But his calm exterior belies the turmoil beneath. He can be volatile and deadly. Some say he was born human while others deny there’s anything human about him at all. He is dangerous and mysterious. Truly he is a being unto himself. More powerful than Zeus, more wise than Solomon, he keeps his own company and prefers it that way. His most noted feature is that he has a large number of tattoos on his body.

Maybe one day we’ll actually know something more about him… maybe.

Savitar makes his first appearance in Sins of the Night and has become a vital recurring character.


  • The Mentor: Is Acheron's. Also pops up occasionally to give other characters advice (generally in the form of telling them how idiotic they're being).
  • Mysterious Past: As mentioned above, we know next to nothing about Savitar other than the fact that he's a Chthonian who runs the Omegrion Council and that he likes to surf. Also that he has some sort of history with Apollymi. Oh, and he's supposedly from Lemuria. And all the other Chthonians other than Acheron and Styxx absolutely hate him for reasons unknown. Basically, we're given tidbits of information about him across the series but nothing solid so far.
  • Psychic Powers: Has some very impressive abilities, ranging from telekinesis to reading minds to being able to see the future. It is worth mentioning that Sav himself absolutely hates being able to see the future, and does his best to not get involved with things anymore as a result. It's also worth mentioning that he often gets dragged into things anyway.

Simi

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/simi_150x150.jpg

From Simi's bio (written by Simi herself): ''Hello, I’m the Simi and it is more than a name it is an attitude. I would tell you what Simi means, but then I’d have to kill you and though you are probably quite tasty, Akri gets all cranky when I snack on humans. Akri knows, but he’s not telling neither.

I have been with akri for a long, long time. How long? I don’t know. It’s something like dog years. What is a dog year? I had a dog once, but I ate him so he didn’t last a whole year. He snarled at me and I thought, hmmm, snarling dog…barbecue. Which leads me to my favorite food. Barbecued anything. I used to have a favorite kind of barbecue but akri says I can’t talk about that anymore and that it’s off the menu. He get real upset when the Simi talk about it so I don’t talk about it no more.

Where was I? Oh, I remember now. I protect akri, but he often says someone needs to protect him from me. I don’t know what he means by that. The Simi is a good protector. I eat anyone who annoys him. Anyone who don’t like akri…one word for them…barbecue. Sometimes toast would work, but I find toast too crispy so I prefer barbecue.

As for my favorite Squire, that Nicky is real nice. I don’t want to barbecue him. But he do look mighty tasty. Akri says I can’t say in public what I really want to do to him so I won’t. But he’s real nice to the Simi when she calls so I like him and I won’t make him barbecue.

My favorite time is now because now no one tries to tie me to a stake and make barbecued Simi. I did not like them people from long ago cause they would look at me and scream, then try to exorcise me. Exercising is good if you are Richard Simmons, but it is not good if you are the Simi. They did not like the Simi, so the Simi did not like them.

On that note, akri says the Simi has to sign off now or he will take away my plastic. I like my plastic–it make people do all kinds of nice things for the Simi. It gets me stuff. Akri also say if I don’t get offline he’ll turn off my QVC which would not make me happy and then I would have to barbecue akri. Since I am very attached to akri, I cannot kill him so I have to go now. Bye-bye.''

In other words, Simi is Acheron's adoptive demon daughter who takes protecting him very, very seriously. She also breathes fire and will dump copious amounts of barbecue sauce on any and everything, up to and including pesky enemies. Which she will then devour.


Artemis

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/artie_145x145.jpg

An important recurring character in the series.

The daughter of Leto and Zeus, Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo. She is the goddess of the hunt, childbirth, fertility and plagues, and she is associated with the moon. Most modern legends portray her as a virginal goddess, however in ancient Greek writings she was a dichotomy. While she was called virginal and shown to be such in some works, she was also shown to be a lover of many Greek heroes including Orion and even of her own twin brother, Apollo.

In the context of the DH mythos, she is a primary goddess who rules over all the Dark-Hunters.

When the Apollites were cursed by Apollo, they were taken in by the goddess Apollymi who showed them how to steal human souls to circumvent Apollo’s decree. Now called Daimons, they turned against mankind. Apollo sought his sister’s aid in handling them. For reasons unknown, Artemis went to Acheron (common belief is that he was a renowned Atlantean hero whose bravery had caused him to be spared when Apollo cast the city into the ocean- we know this isn’t true, but propaganda reigns supreme) and convinced him to help her hunt down and destroy the Daimons who were preying on pregnant women and children. Those of us in the know, know that she did it to tie Acheron to her for eternity.

Neither Acheron nor Artemis has ever disclosed the exact nature of their relationship. In many ways, they act as if the other doesn’t exist. All that is known is that Acheron must seek her out whenever a Dark-Hunter wishes to reclaim his soul. Since no other Dark-Hunter is allowed in the goddess’s presence, Acheron is often sent in to ask her questions or to clarify her orders.

She is ruthlessly protective of her army and of Acheron. Her affinity for Acheron is sometimes an aggravation for certain Dark-Hunters who can’t understand why he alone is able to see her while any other man who dares such is put to death. She has placed her mark on all her Dark-Hunters and demands a sacrifice for each one who would seek his or her freedom.


Apollo

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/apollo_145x145.jpg

A recurring antagonist of the series, with large roles in both Acheron and Styxx.

The son of Zeus and Leto, Apollo is the twin brother of Artemis who delivered him herself. He’s the god of music, prophecy, and most importantly, plagues. Centuries ago, he made a bet with Zeus that he could create a race superior to mankind. With his own blood, he made the Apollites and gave them the gift of psychic powers. Taller and stronger than humans, they were to replace us and thereby allowing Apollo to replace Zeus. Furious, Zeus declared war on the Apollites and they were driven to live on Atlantis.

The humans, fearful of Apollo’s plot and the strength of the Atlantean race, offered up the most beautiful maiden among them to be Apollo’s mistress. Ryssa. Apollo was instantly in love and doted on her constantly. But that didn’t go over well with the Apollite queen. Jealous and angry, she sent out a war party to kill Ryssa and the newborn son she’d conceived from Apollo. They were to rip them apart and make it look as if an animal had done it.

When Apollo found out what had happened, he instantly cursed all members of the Apollite race to die painfully on their 27th birthday (the age Ryssa was when she died). They were never again to be able to eat food, but rather their own blood would sustain them. Most of all, they were banned from daylight so that he would never have to suffer looking at them again and be reminded of their treachery.

What he didn’t realize then was that in cursing them, he was also condemning his own son, Stryker…


Zeus

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zues_145x145_3.jpg

King of the gods and hated by most, Zeus is not the kindest of creatures. He can be fair, but Jericho would like to run him through. He is the father of Artemis and Apollo, as well as Dionysus and too many more to count.


Hera

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hera_145x145.jpg

Queen of the gods, she is often at odds with her husband and his numerous affairs, especially when he brings them home. Still, she tends to stay above the politics of the others and has her own agenda.


Zakar

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zaq_145x145.jpg

A recurring character, his largest role so far was in Devil May Cry and he returns again in Styxx.

Zakar and Sin Nanna are two-thirds of a set of triplets who were born to the god Enlil and a peasant mother. When prophecy proclaimed that the three of them would end the Sumerian pantheon, their father killed their eldest triplet, Eb, and Sin hid the youngest, Zakar in the dream world. To protect his brother, Sin convinced their father that he destroyed Zakar and absorbed his powers.

While Zakar is grateful his brother saved his life, his existence has been anything but kind. He is more a waking nightmare than a god of dreams and he longs to have some kind of peace in his world.


Thorn

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thorn_1_150x150.jpg

A recurring character through the series, with more appearances in the books dealing with the Hellchasers and demons in general.

Thorn's bio in his own words: I would say I like to crochet, but that implies a soft side which I lack grotesquely. The best thing to say is that I’m the biggest disappointment my father has ever known- which is really good for you humans.

The… entity had great plans for me. Too bad. I’m no one’s bitch. I don’t come on command and I don’t fetch. What I do is kick the culo loco of anyone who gets near me showing anything other than utmost respect and fear.

Yeah, I am that guy. I don’t care if you like me. I don’t care if you hate me. But you will get out of my way, speed bump. And you better do it fast. You see, I wasn’t born in this time or place. I came of age at a time when it was kill or be killed. You either ate the monkey or the monkey played bells with your skeleton.

The good news is, I’ve stood strong for a long time. The bad news…

I don’t know how much longer I can hold out. May the gods help all of you then.


Cadegan

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ca_145x145.jpg
The male lead of Son of No One.

Abandoned just hours after his birth, Cade grew up as an orphan in a small cloistered monastery in Powys, Wales, at a time when his people were embroiled in a bitter and ongoing war with neighboring Mercians for their borders.

As a young teen, the oblate was drafted into the war when the king’s army invaded his monastery. Thrust into battle with no training, he quickly learned that he had an unholy gift for war. Embraced by the king, but mocked by his court, Cade kept to himself until the day his brother, Thorn, appeared and offered him a new cause to fight for. Humanity.

Cadegan quickly learned who and what he really was . . .

Why he was such an effective killer on the battlefield.

But happiness wasn’t meant for him. Betrayed by the only one he’d ever trusted– his own brother, Cade was locked in the world behind the veil, a world without color, where he’s had to battle even worse demons than those he fought by Thorn’s side. The only thing that has kept him remotely sane is his desire to escape his hell and shove his payback down Thorn’s throat.


Josette "Jo" Landry

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jo_145x145.jpg

The female lead of Son of No One and Cadegan's love interest.

If there was an award for bad luck, Jo would win it, hands down. Right down to the fact that she’s the first cousin and lifelong bff of the Devereaux sister clan of loons. Her entire life is to serve as an example to others. But that never stops her from trying. Barely one day from eviction, she signs on to become the photographer and videographer for a local group of paranormal investigators who are trying to make a cable show. She has no interest or belief in the paranormal, but it’s either work with Selena and her whacked out friends, or develop the same desire to eat shoes that her dogs have.

At least her new job is never boring…


     Antagonists 

Stryker

Coyote

     Other characters 

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