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Main Characters
Gabriel de León
Gabriel de León, The Black Lion of Lorson
The protagonist and narrator of the story, the Black Lion of Lorson, the Last Silversaint. Gabriel de León was once the greatest champion of the Silver Order of San Michon, untill he was disgraced, excommunicated and exiled from the Order. Now, over a decade later, Gabriel finds himself a prisoner of the vampiric Blood Chastain, who bid him to recount the tales of his exploits for their own sinister ends. Gabriel obliges... or so it appears.- Anti-Hero: Though he begins as an Ideal Hero - skilled, devoted, chivalrous and above all, determined - the years of hopeless struggle and grievous losses against the vampiric conquest leave Gabriel de León falling squarely into this trope. By the time he joins the Company of the Grail, he has become a surly, wrathful, perpetually intoxicated Naytheist with little loyalty left even towards his own old friends. He has only mild concerns about sacrificing innocent (as far as he knows) lives to save his own skin and even using his own allies as bait to draw out his own intended targets. In his own word:Gabriel de León: “Who the fuck told you I was a hero?”
- Arch-Enemy: To Blood Voss, with whom is feud runs deep and is well known even by the other vampire courts. Gabriel has killed several prominent members of Blood Voss and lost those close to him in kind. Subverted, in that the principal reason why Fabién comes to slaughter his wife and daughter is because Gabriel refused to keep playing the hero to his villain, preferring to retire and spend his days with his loved ones instead. After their loss, though, Gabriel plays it very straight.
- Also partially to Blood Dyvok, whose former Priori Tolyev he slew during the critical battle of Crimson Glade. The loss of their patriarch nearly destroyed the entire clan as it descended into infighting, and the survivors never forgave the Black Lion his assassination.
- Bastard Bastard: Born the bastard son of a baron's daughter and a vampire, and capable of being a downright nasty son of a bitch when the occassion calls for it - something he owns up to completely.Gabriel de León: “Always better to be a bastard than a fool.”
- Blood Magic: As a child of an Esana ancien, Gabriel inherited his father's gift for sanguimancy, the art of controlling the blood within the bodies of himself and others. While he never found himself a master to guide him, he taught himself a few basic tricks, such as boiling the blood in others' veins or sensing a vial of his own blood across great distances.
- Byronic Hero: Gabriel de León is the greatest among the Silversaints of the Ordo Argent, a prodigy with the blade whose faith in God once burned so strong upon his skin it burned the eyes from the sockets of any vampire who beheld it. He is also currently a broken shell of a man, addicted to both sanctus and alcohol whose faith in God, as well as everything else, has been thoroughly shattered. He now prefers solitude, walks his own path and only cares about avenging himself upon the Dead who took everything away from him.
- Character Narrator: The story is framed as an autobiography which Gabriel narrates to Jean-Francois, one of the vampires keeping him prisoner. The chronicler will occasionally even interrupt the Silversaint's telling for the sake of expanding on the worldbuilding, as his stated mission is to "preserve (the setting's) image long after (Gabriel's) world has been forgotten by future generations".
- Crusading Widow: After Fabién Voss slaughters his daughter Patience and focres Gabriel to kill his wife Astrid by Turning her, Gabriel vows to wipe out the entire Voss bloodline, starting by taking Fabién's own "children" away from him. He mourns and hallucinates his murdered family every step of the way.
- Cool Sword: Ashdrinker, perhaps the coolest sword in the setting. A sentient blade crafted specifically to hunt the undead, forged of Thunderbolt Iron, with a stylized praying maiden as her hilt and capable of reducing even ancien vampires to ashes within seconds, hence her name.
- Defector from Decadence: What he views his excommunication as, seeing his former masters as unjust, ungrateful and slaved to oaths and morals with no practical recourse. Many of his comrades, his former friends among them, see him more as a Mr. Vice Guy.
- Dhampyr: Like all the brothers of the Ordo Argent, Gabriel is a paleblood, a child of a mortal mother and a vampiric father. Unlike most palebloods, however, Gabriel seemingly failed to inherit the gifts particular to his specific bloodline, most likely due to his father being too young of a vampire. In reality, Gabriel did inherit the talents of his father, namely sanguimancy, the domain of Blood Esana, though he only seldom uses it due to a lack of training.
- Disappeared Dad: Gabriel never knew his true, vampiric father, and his mother never told him anything of substance about him, something which irks Gabriel for man years after. He eventually learns, from Celene, that her master Wulfric, an ancien of the Blood Esana, was the father in question. Unfortunately, this also results in Gabriel finding out that his father never cared for him and was willing to see him dead.
- Establishing Character Moment: When Gabriel was barely thirteen, his younger sister Amélie and her friend Julieta were murdered by an unknown vampire, reviving as wretched and returning to their hometown to feed. As Julieta rips into her own mother and the two gorge on her blood, Gabriel, rather than being horrified or running away, instead feels an ungodly amount of hatred at the desecration of his sister and friend, takes an axe and attempts to slaughter the wretched himself. He nearly dies for his trouble, but in his own words, "the hate hasn't left him since".
- Experienced Protagonist: By the present day, Gabriel de León has become one of the greatest vampire hunters in history, a veteran commander of dozens of battles and well-travelled and connected man who has earned loyalty and respect from many across the Empire, for better or worse.
- Forbidden Love: With Astrid Rennier, the sister and eventually Mistress of the Aegis of the Silver Sorority at San Michon. Meeting by chance while sneaking into the forbidden section of the great library, they soon developed a fondness for each other, one which steadily blossomed into something more. Of course, her being a nun, their relationship was extremely tabboo, and would have dire consequences for both of them down the line.
- Functional Addict: Like all palebloods, Gabriel inherited his undead father's Horror Hunger for human blood, which he staves off by smoking sanctus, powdered vampiric blood. However, in the years following his exile and retirement, Gabriel substituted sanctus by feeding off his wife directly, which significantly sped up his slide into the monstrous Red Thirst. To stave it off, Gabriel has taken to drink alcohol in great quantities, and though he can operate well enough inebriated, he is still a mean, surly drunk.
- Ideal Hero: At the height of his service, Gabriel was the perfect knight of the Empire - brave, clever, skilled, devoted and loyal, the victor of a hundred battles and the slayer of more than one of the most ancient vampires to blight the realm. His excommunication, exile, and subsequent tragedy eventually beat the faith and optimism out of him, leaving him a cold, faithless Anti-Hero instead.
- Like a Son to Me: What his eventual relationship with Dior turns out to be. Upon discovering she is a girl, and growing close to her after being charged with her protection, Gabriel imprints upon Dior hard. It is only later that Dior understands this to be a coping mechanism for losing his own daughter, Patience, at the hands of the Forever King. Dior tells Gabriel she can never replace his lost child, but gradually comes to accept his paternal attitude towards her anyway.
- Living Legend: At the height of his career as Empress Isabella's Silversaint champion, it was said more children in the Empire were named after him than the reigning Emperor. His famous deeds and exploits have made him a great many friends and allies, and an equal amount of bitter foes and rivals.Jean-François Chastain: “You served San Michon five more years... Five years in which your name became legend. You led the attack on Báih Sìde and liberated the Dyvok slaughterfarms at Triúrbaile when you were only nineteen. You freed Qadir and broke the siege at Tuuve at twenty. You slew elders of the Dyvok in Ossway, Chastain in the Sūdhaem, burned out a nest of ancien Ilon that threatened the Crown itself. The Black Lion, they called you. Your name was a clarion call. A hymn in the houses of the holy, and a curse in the Courts of the Blood.”
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Gabriel usually wears his black hair long and unbound, which only adds to his youthful appearance. Not helping him is his ofte-remarked upon inability to grow a proper beard.
- Master Swordsman: Even by Silversaint standards, Gabriel was noted to be famed for his skill with the blade. He insists he never had particular talent for it, and that his proficiency is the result of hard work and incessant drill alone.
- Momma's Boy: Growing up, Gabriel was significantly closer to his mother, Auriél, than with his distant, often abusive stepfather. Auriéle raised Gabriel to be bold and take pride in his lineage and nature, to the point where Celene felt their mother viewed her and Amélie as secondary to their stepbrother. At the very least, Gabriel remembers her much more warmly than Celene does.
- My Blood Runs Hot: One of his signature moves is using his sanguimancy to boil the blood within any vampire he is touching, reducing them to ash in a few moments. The trick is particularly effective against the Voss, whose iron skin protects them from most other forms of damage.
- My Greatest Failure: "The Worst Day", which continues to haunt Gabriel at the present in his every waking hour. The day Fabién Voss tracked him down to his hideaway, murdered his daughter Patience and turned his wife Astrid with Gabriel powerless to stop him, forcing him to finish off his wife and bury them both with his own hands.
- A close second is the reunion in Dún Maergenn, where his wrath and hatred for Celene causes him to slip up and allow Dior to be murdered by Lilidh Dyvok, his ego costing him his surrogate daughter as well as his trueborn.
- Naytheist: Gabriel once was an ardent believer in the Almighty and the Redeemer, to the point that his aegis burned so bright it fried the eyes of lesser vampires who beheld it. Years of battle and tragic loss have hardened and embittered Gabriel to the point that, while he acknowledges the objective existence of God, he refuses to pray to Him due to his belief that the Almighty has betrayed both him and all mankind in unleashing Daysdeath upon his creation.
- Papa Wolf: Towards his daughter, Patience, who becomes his main reason for living. After her murder, he transfers those same feelings to Dior.
- Pride Before a Fall: One of Gabriel's principal flaws is his collosal (and somewhat deserved) Pride and self-confidence. His mother raised with the motto "better to live one day as a lion than a hundred as a lamb" in mind, and Gabriel accepted her words deep into his soul. As his exploits mounted and his legend grew, he believed he could get away with anything, even stealing a bride from God himself. The Ordo Argent proved him otherwise...
- Power Tattoo: Like all brothers of the Ordo Argent, Gabriel's skin is covered in an aegis, an intricate patchwork of religious iconography meant to blind and repel vampires in the heat of battle. His own design, painted by Astrid Rennier, prominently depicts a roaring lion with sevenstars for eyes.
- Red Baron: The Black Lion of Lorson.
- Running Gag: For all his beauty and attractiveness, everyone he meets remarks on Gabriel's complete inability to grow a proper beard, much to his exasperation.
- Survival Mantra: “No fear. Only fury.”
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Gabriel is a tall, shapely man possessed of peak physique, beautiful dark hair and piercing grey eyes. Adding to his physical attractiveness, his paleblood nature ensures most people will be drawn to him subconsciously as well.
- Traumatic Superpower Awakening: Gabriel's powers fully manifest for the first time right as he is having sex with his girlfriend, who is then on her period. Instinctively, he begins drinking her blood, and only realizes what he is doing and stops himself when the girl is inches away from death. Naturally, she panics and screams for help, which most likely would have gotten Gabriel executed if not for the timely arrival of the Silversaints. Gabriel continues to be haunted by this for many years after, enough to swear off relations with women completely... for a time, anyway.
- Troll: Especially in his present conversation with Jean-François, Gabriel shows that he can be Actually Pretty Funny. He also has his moments when sparring words with Dior.
Dior Lachance - UNMARKED SPOILERS
Dior Lachance, The Holy Grail
The eventual deuteragonist of the novels, a young urchin boy who quickly turns out to be both a young girl and the Holy Grail, i.e. the last living descendant of the semi-divine Redeemer. Despite knowing little to nothing of herself or the world, Dior is nevertheless prophesied to end the endless night... somehow.- Butch Lesbian: Straddles the line between this and Lipstick Lesbian, since Dior is very tomboyish and rough around the edges, but her appearance is more androgynous rather than masculine and she tends to be the more passive party in her relationships. That said, she is attracted almost exclusively to women.
- The Chosen One: Many believers of the One Faith, including the surviving vampires of Blood Esana, come to see Dior as the culmination of ancient prophecy, come to rid the world of Daysdeath. Among them, she comes to be known as San Dior, the Red Hand of God.
- Daughter of a Whore: Born to a prostitute on the streets of Lashaame, though her mother barely raised her or acknowledged her existence, so hooked was she on her drugs and drink by that point. Dior only received a burning hatred of addicts from her.
- Divine Parentage: She is an in-universe result of the Jesus Bloodline theory, being a direct descendant of the Redeemer, the son of God on earth, and his first disciple, San Michon.
- Fingore: Dior rips off three fingers from her left hand in order to free herself and save Reyne from Lilidh's assault. The result is not pretty.
- Good Is Not Soft: Though Dior is unambiguously the most moral and virtuous of the main cast, she is anything but harmless in her conduct. She has killed people before, and is unafraid to confront even ancien vampires should her friends or innocents be on the line. She successfully lands the killing blow on Danton Voss, and later almost finishes off Lilidh Dyvok on her own.
- Had to Be Sharp: Dior was born the child of a drug-addled whore who rarely cared about her, and had to raise herself on the streets of Lashaam from an early age. Thus she became prematurely world-weary and savvy when it came to sniffing out both risk and rewards, not to mention handy with both a knife and a lockpick.
- Heal It with Blood: Dior's blood heals any wound or illness it comes into contact with, even those which ordinarily would spells certain death. She can also use her blood to heal the soul, in a way, most often by breaking the bond between vampire and thrall.
- Holy Burns Evil: While Dior's blood can heal even mortal wounds, it chars undead flesh to ash and bone and is strong enough to kill even an ancien if delivered in sufficient quantity.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Dior is rude, crude and opportunistic owing to her gutterborn nature, but nevertheless has a hard time tolerating suffering or injustice of any stripe within her vicinity, and is surprisingly selfless at many points when her very survival is all the line.
- Living MacGuffin: Dior turns out to be the very Holy Grail Chloe and Rafa claim to have discovered, and the desire to protect, capture or kill her is the driving motivation of almost all the major factions of the story.
- Mystical White Hair: As the Redeemer's descendant, Dior has a number of unique supernatural abilities, especially when it comes to combatting vampires and other unholy beings. She also has a mop of unruly white hair which she usually cuts close to pose as a boy.
- Neck Snap: How she meets her end at the hands of Lilidh Dyvok, during the climax of the battle for Dún Maergenn. She gets better.
- Outside-Context Problem: For most of the Dead, Dior is a dangerous enigma, immune to many of their signature strengths. The Voss cannot read her mind, the Dyvok cannot dominate her and the Ilon cannot influence her. Her blood is lethal to them even as it draws them to her, and she can erase the bonds between master and thrall with the smallest drop of it. Only Fabién Voss seems to have an idea of how to use these gifts to his own advantage.
- Red Baron: She styles herself the Prince of Thieves and Lord of Liars while posing as a mere urchin. Those who know better name her the Holy Grail, or the Lady of the Grail, the Red Hand of God, or simply San Dior.
- Single Line of Descent: Dior is the last surviving descendant of the Redeemer. His only child with San Michon, Esan, founded a dynasty which at one point vied for the throne of the Empire, but was thought wiped out by the Augustin dynasty and the church after the rebellion known as the Aavsenct Heresy. Dior's ancestors survived, but eventually lost all knowledge of their divine descent, while the true nature of the Heresy was supressed.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Being gutterborn and bred, Dior has a rather foul mouth on her, and her method of endearment is usually to trade catty insults with those she grows close to. She ramps it up to absurd levels while posing as a boy, but even later she maintains a penchant for being Sophisticated as Hell.
- Smoking Is Cool: As part of her crossdressing disguise, Dior takes to chomping down on cigarelles, to add to her "boyish" persona. Gabriel reprimands her on this, but she seems to have developed a fondness for them, continuing with it well after her cover is blown.
- Sweet Polly Oliver: Dior had taken to disguising herself as a boy from an early age, cutting her hair short, binding her chest and wearing a "magic coat" to hide her proportions. In her own words, "the gutter fucks boys different than it fucks girls".
- Tomboy: Not exactly by choice, but still Dior is a pretty standard example. In her case, though she does have a spirited and adventurous nature, posing as a boy has a much more practical reason - in the city slums, boys tend to be at least slightly safer from predation than girls.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak: That said, Dior still enjoys some stereotypically girly things, such as fine clothes and fashion and takes to dancing and music very eagerly.
- Walking Spoiler: It is basically impossible to discuss Dior without revealing that he a) is a she and b) is the Holy Grail, the last living descendant of the Redeemer himself.
Liathe - UNMARKED SPOILERS
Celene Castia, The Last Liathe
Celene Castia was the younger half-sister of Gabriel de León, prior to being brutally murdered by a vengeful Laure Voss. Reviving quickly after her death, Celene spent years seeking revenge on her "mother", leading her to join Blood Esana, the vampiric bloodmages dedicated towards slaying their own kind. At present, Celene has taken up the title "Liathe" (Crusader) and seeks the Holy Grail as well, bringing her into conflict with her estranged half-brother.- Actually a Doombot: Celene's signature move involves creating a clone of herself made of congealed blood. The copy is weaker and slower, usually dispatched after a single blow, but this gives the real body enough time to pull a You Are Already Dead on her unsuspecting opponent.
- Affectionate Nickname: "Hellion" by Gabriel, back when they were children. It arguably becomes
Harsher in Hindsight... - Badass Longcoat: Prefers a crimson one to ho with her midnight-black hair and White Mask of Doom.
- Became Their Own Antithesis: The tomboyish, individualistc and barely religious Celene became a dedicated, pious Liathe of the Esana, swearing herself wholly to a cause far greater than herself . Her development mirrors Gabriel's own, who started as a pious and devoted Ideal Hero and became a cynical, self-centered Naytheist.
- Blood Magic: Being a member of the Esana, Celene gained access to sanguimancy, the power to control the blood within herself and others. Unlike Gabriel, who can only pull off basic tricks, Celene is incredibly practiced with the art, being able to produce blades and whips of blood, boil blood directly within others' veins, create doppelgangers made of congealed blood or break apart into a swarm of crimson moths.
- Cannibalism Superpower: Despite being a fledgling in terms of years spent as one of the Dead, Celene wields power comparable to an ancien of the kith, having stolen the power and abilities of a host of other vampires.
- Consummate Liar: As Gabriel puts it, Celene is "made of lies", willing to deceive anyone and everyone for her own gain. Even when she does not lie directly, she tends to obfuscate the truth to keep an ace up her sleeve.
- Creepy Good: Due to her Becoming, Celene was left with a permanent, hideous patch of flayed skin across her neck and jaw, giving her a Nightmare Face and a slurred, hissing lisp. Combined with her White Mask of Doom, her dead vampire eyes and her Monstrous Cannibalism, she is easily the darkest protagonist of the story. That said, as an Esana, she is firmly on the side of God and mankind, and her main goal is help Dior fulfill her destiny and end Daysdeath. By any means necessary.
- Daddy's Girl: In contrast to Gabriel, who was loved by their mother and hated by his stepfather, Celene was ever at odds with Auriél and sought comfort in her father's forge. She remembers her father warmly as a man who, like his daughters, would never be loved by his wife to the same degree as her bastard son.
- Deceptive Disciple: It is revealed Celene's dramatic power level is the result of having cannibalized her master, Wulfric. Though Fabién Voss suspects treachery, the circumstances of the murder remain unclear.
- "It" Is Dehumanizing: Other coldbloods refer to Liathe as an "it", her Esana nature viewed even by them as a crime against nature itself. Liathe is usually too busy draining them to death to care.
- Master of All: As an Esana, Celene can access the abilities of any of the vampires she has consumed, allowing her to use the gifts of all the other Bloods as well as her own cabal's signature power of sanguimancy.
- Meaningful Name: In the old Nordish tongue, her surname, Castia, means castle. Her father taught her that she ought to see herself as though made of the stone of castle walls, able to bear any battering life threw at her.
- Merlin and Nimue: Her master, Wulfric, was an ancien vampire who was old when the Empire was still young, while Celene was murdered and sought him out aged barely fifteen. And much like Nimue, she eventually betrayed and disposed of her old master.
- Mind Hive: As a result of frequent cannibalism, absorbing the souls of many other vampires, Celene has trouble drawing a firm line between herself and the other Dead inside her. She frequently refers to herself as "we" and her personality can shift drastically if she loses control of herself for a while.
- Monstrous Cannibalism: As an Esana, Celene feeds primarily off of other vampires, draining them to ash to steal their power and safeguard their souls from Hell, until Judgement Day arrives. Other vampires see her, just as all her kind, as utterly abominable, and even Gabriel is disturbed by Celene's appetites.
- Nightmare Face: When Laure Voss killed Celene, she ripped out her throat along with much of her chin and lower lip. Given that vampires remain in the state in which they died for the rest of eternity, Celene's face is horribly disfigured, and she prefers to hide it behind a White Mask of Doom and a crimson scarf. That said, her wound does heal, slowly, whenever she cannibalizes blood from a powerful vampire.
- Red Baron: The Last Liathe.
- Religious Vampire: Hating her undead nature with a burning passion, Celene wholeheartedly embraced the religious teachings of the Esana, zealously carrying out their creed in order to salvage her own soul from perceived damnation. She explicitly refers to other vampires as sinners and has little love for other creatures viewed as unholy, such as duskdancers.
- Shapeshifter Weapon: Celene can create weapons from her congealed blood, sharper enough to cut Voss flesh and durable enough to withstand Dyvok blows. She usually goes for a combination of a sword and a whip in either hand.
- Speech Impediment: Having had her throat ripped out before Becoming, Celene was left with a permanent, hissing lisp which only adds to her already unnverving appearance.
- Stronger Than They Look: At first glance, Celene is a fledgling vampire, with not even two decades to her name - by highblood standards, she is practically a toddler. Due to being an Esana, however, Celene is on the level of an ancien and capable of defeating and devouring some of the oldest highbloods in existence, if properly prepared for the fight.
- Survival Mantra: “Steel rusts. Ice melts. Stone endures.”
- Walking Spoiler: Liathe is basically impossible to discuss without revealing her true identity as both an Esana vampire and Celene Castia, Gabriel's presumably deceased half-sister.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: While Celene is firmly on the side of mankind in general and wishes to end Daysdeath, she has precious little regard for the individuals who get caught up in her schemes to achieve this, her own brother and her chosen champion herself very much included.
- White Mask of Doom: To hide her Nightmare Face, Celene usually wears a plain white mask with a bloody handprint over her mouth, which she usually only pulls off in order to feed.
- The Worm That Walks: Celene can take the form of a swarm of tiny crimson moths, maintaining a connection with pieces of herself even across vast distances. This also makes her one of the very few vampires capable of genuine flight.
- Wound That Will Not Heal: Like all vampire's, Celene's body remains in the state it was in when she was killed, frozen in time. Unlike most vampires, however, Celene was killed by having her throat violently flayed from her neck by Laure Voss. This leaves her with a permanent Nightmare Face of exposed bone and cartilage and a creepy, hissing lisp whenever she speaks. That being said, her wound is healing, extremely slowly, whenever Celene drinks a particularly powerful vampire.
Ashdrinker
Ashdrinker
The sentient blade wielded by Gabriel de León, Ashdrinker (or "Ash" for short) is an ancient sword forged from meteoric iron by those who hunted the night in times past. How exactly Gabriel came to possess her is the source of many tall tales and speculations, but she was a legendary blade in her own right centuries prior to the present day. Ash can speak to whoever draws her from her scabbard, though nowadays she tends be a bit... woozy.- Actually Pretty Funny: Though Ash usually speaks in Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe and has been going somewhat senile, she nevertheless possesses a biting sense of humour she does not hesitate to unleash, usually upon Gabriel.
- Affectionate Nickname: "Ash" by Gabriel and Dior.
- Cool Sword: Perhaps the coolest sword in the setting, forged of Thunderbolt Iron, with a stylized praying maiden as her hilt and capable of reducing even ancien vampires to ashes within seconds, hence her name.
- Creepy Good: Ashdrinker is an ancient sword forged of meteoric iron, with a genocidal hatred for all that is undead and a list of dark, disturbing nursery rhymes she likes to recite at random in the middle of combat. She is nevertheless extremely loyal to Gabriel and is Actually Pretty Funny more often than not.
- Innocently Insensitive: Due to the partial memory loss resulting from her chipping on the iron skin of the Forever King, Ash has a tendency to ask Gabriel about Astrid and Patience, as though the latter were still alive. Notably, she is the only character whom Gabriel tolerates talking about his murdered family.
- Madness Mantra: "The snik and the snak, and the red, red, red..."
- My Greatest Failure: How she regards failing to leave so much as a scratch on Fabién Voss the night he killed Gabriel's family. Having her point broken off by the blow didn't help her sanity either.
- Mysterious Past: When and how Gabriel found her is a matter of much speculation. Rumours variously claim he discovered her in the tomb of a barrow king, won her in a riddle contest in the Everdark or stole her from the treasure trove of a fae queen by exhausting her in bed. Gabriel scoffs at all these tales and remains tight lipped on the actual circumstances of the event.
- Nursery Rhyme: Is quite fond of these, for whatever reason, contrasting sharply with her bloody profession. She also sings them on request, such as when Gabriel hands her to Dior to prevent the youngster from falling asleep and freezing.
- Scatterbrained Senior: Since her shattering, Ashdrinker seems to have developed some kind of memory loss, frequently inquiring Gabriel about their location and circumstances and being relegated to "sleeping" in her sheath for large segments of the story. She also often forgets Astrid and Patience are dead, genuinely asking about their health and safety.
- Sentient Weapon: Ash has a mind of her own and can speak her thoughts to whoever draws her from her sheath. However, after her point breaks while trying to behead Fabién Voss, Ash's mind is left a little hazy, and she is prone to outbursts and self-repetition akin to senility.
- Sophisticated as Hell: Ashdrinker has a preference for speaking in Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe, due to being unfathomably ancient, but she is also rather peppy and somewhat senile by the point the story begins, resulting in her frequently reprimanding and mocking Gabriel in a somewhat campy and vulgar manner.
- Thunderbolt Iron: Ashdrinker was allegedly crafted from a fallen stars in millenia past, and cuts the undead and unclean even sharper than silversteel.
- Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: How she speaks, courtesy of being thousands of years old. Overlaps with Sophisticated as Hell, given her wanton use of (archaic) vulgarity and propensity to reprimand her wielder.
The Silver Order of San Michon
The Silversaints
In General
Brothers of the Ordo Argent
All brothers of the Ordo Argent are palebloods, children born of a vampiric father and mortal mother. The result of such a union, if any, is invariably a boy who inherits some traits of their undead sire, such as a measure of Super-Strength, Super-Speed, Super-Reflexes and a potent Healing Factor, as well as the talents particular to their own bloodline. However, along with these gifts, the palebloods inherit their father's curse, feeling the same burning hunger which drives them to consume the blood of the living, and radiating a similar, if more subdued, aura of dark charisma which either draws or repels everyone around them. To atone for the sin of their conception and salvage their own souls from damnation, palebloods are recruited into the Ordo Argent and tasked with ridding the world of their coldblooded progenitors so that no more such as they may be sired in the future.- Cool Horse: Silversaint steeds are especially bred and trained to never fear the dark creatures they hunt and assist their masters in combat. This is done by hanging a chained vampire, usually a weak wretched, from the ceiling of the stable, allowing the warhorses to grow accustomed to the proximity of such beings at all times. Though Silversaints prefer fighting on foot, mounted combat is far from unheard of, as mobility is essential when fighting outnumbered.
- Creepy Good: All Silversaints are the offspring of vampires and mortals, possessed of their undead fathers' dark aura and bloodthirst, not to mention they tend to swaddle themselves in dark leathers and flush their eyes red when entering combat. However, unlike their progenitors, Silversaints place a firm taboo on feeding from mortals and only smoke powdered vampire blood, and though they are often mercyless and brutal, they are firmly on the side of mankind against the darkness.
- Fantastic Drug: Sanctus is a powder made from extracted vampire blood, smoked through a pipe by the Silversaints in order to slake their own thirst for human blood and boost their own powers before going into battle. Vampiric blood itself is highly addictive and repeated consumption renders one enthralled to the undead from which it came. To avoid this, and dull its potency in general, the blood is distilled and powdered, and only smoked once a day at most, usually during evening mass. Even so, sanctus is incredibly potent and almost as addictive, with the highs it provides to the palebloods unlike any other sensual experience, and sooner of later, all Silversaints will wind up completely dependant upon it.
- Good Thing You Can Heal: It is often said palebloods die hard, and indeed even young Silversaints are capable of taking wounds which would be lethal to most mortal men, though they cannot regrow severed body parts fully. Given their Training from Hell, which takes full advantage of this fact, it can very much be a double-edged sword.
- Holy Burns Evil: Since vampires cannot stand anything associated with true faith, be it iconography depicting saints and angels, consecrated ground, holy water or even the sound of earnest prayer, the Silversaints cover their bodies in sacred tattoos and thus become literally blinding to their foes, who are unable to so much as look at them.
- Horror Hunger: The palebloods inherit the incessant thirst for fresh human blood from their undead parent, among other things, and it eventually always either consumers their mind until they're too weak to resist - a process known as sangiré, the Red Thirst -, or lose their minds supressing the urge. Smoking vampiric blood in the form of ''sanctus'' staves the urge off, but never truly sates it.
- Hunter of His Own Kind: All palebloods are Dhampyr children born of vampiric fathers and human mothers, and inherit many traits from their monstrous progenitors. Believing their birth to be a heavy sin against nature and God, the Ordo Argent recruit and train such children to dedicate their lives to the destruction of His enemies, be they vampire, demon, fae or any other monster of the dark, so that they may redeem their own cursed souls. Vampires are their most common quarry, and indeed much of a Silversaint's training focuses specifically on combating their undead relatives.
- The Order: The Ordo Argent is an ordained segment of the One Faith, operating from the fortress-monastery of San Michon for centuries prior to the events of the series. The Silversaints have played an important role in many key events throughout Imperial history, such as assassinating the rebel Ossian queen and duskdancer Ailidh the Bold, though their prominence skyrocketed after Daysdeath fell and the Dead began to rise.
- Power Tattoo: The aegis is a beautiful, intricate full-body tattoo worn by the Silversaints of the Ordo Argent. It acts as both a conduit for channelling the power of their faith and a supernatural armour/repellent, since it is painted with silvered ink and depicts holy inconography, positively blinding to all creatures of the dark. It has three segments: the chest is inked after the Trial of the Blood, after the initiate Silversaint survives his first fight with a lowly vampire and their bloodline is determined; the left afterr the Trial of the Hunt, after the initiate survives his first hunt out in the field; and, finally, the sword arm is decorated after the Trial of the Sword, where the initiate has to slay his first beat with his own sword. The chest centrepiece usually depicts the crest of the bloodline to which the particular paleblood belongs, but other designs are also known to exist.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Much like vampires, palebloods who have freshly fed will have their eyes redden, often to the point of completely colouring their whites. This also happens whenever Silversaints smoke sanctus.
- Silver Has Mystic Powers: Silver burns evil almost as much as holy objects - combined, the two make for the best vampire hunting gear one could ask for. Silversaints use the metal for everything, from their weapons, forged from the silversteel alloy, to their equipment and even the aegis tattoos upon their bodies, painted with an ink infused with colloidal silver.
- Slowly Slipping Into Evil: Eventually, if they live long enough, all palebloods will succumb to the hungry curse passed onto them by their fathers, the thirst within them becoming unbearable. When this happens, rather than risk losing their minds or becoming no better than the beasts they hunt, a Silversaint is taken to "Heaven's Gate" by his brothers at San Michon. There, his throat is cut and his body cast into the waters of the river below, ensuring an honourable death and a short path to Heaven, or so it is said.
- Training from Hell: The initiates at San Michon are trained vigorously and harshly, since the elder brothers believe it is kinder to kill them than to send them fight the horrors of night unprepared. It involves not only rigorous exercise and demanding study sessions, but also live sparring with sharp (albeit only steel) blades which do inflict real injuries. Since Good Thing You Can Heal is very much in effect for all initiates, this is not as dangerous as it sounds... but exactly as painful.
- Vampire Hunter: The Silversaints of the Ordo Argent are sworn to hunt creatures of darkness across the Empire, with vampires constituting their primary and most common quarry, though they are also mentioned to have hunted witches, demons, faekin and duskdancers.
- Vow of Celibacy: To prevent more of their accursed kind from being born, all Silversaints undertake a vow of celibacy as part of their initiation, so as to minimize the risk of conceiving a child, and also as a way to devote themselves fully to the Order's stated mission.
Abbot Khalid
Abbot Khalid
The abbot of San Michon from the days when Gabriel joined, a mountain of a man with a fierce grip and fiercer faith in the righteousness of his order. He oversaw the rejuvenation of the Silver Order in the wake of Daysdeath. Born of Blood Dyvok.- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: A veteran Silversaint with scars to show for his service, and the abbot of San Michon at the time Gabriel is recruited.
- Big Good: As the abbot of San Michon, he is about the closest figure one gets to a truly positive authority within the Empire as it stands. He nevertheless insists on obeying scripture and Church law, despite his occasional doubts about them. Greyhand later tries to fill in his shoes, less successfully.
- Face Death with Dignity: Khalid begins to succumb to the sangiré in the years following Gabriel's excommunication, and eventually opts to walk to "Heaven's Gate" rather see himself reduced to a slathering monster. It is about the most honourable death out of combat a Silversaint can hope for.
- Gentle Giant: Despite his considerable size and prodigious strength, Khalid is shown to be rather delicate when dealing with all those around him, taking care not to use unnecesary force even on those stepping out of line.
- Glasgow Grin: Has a nasty scar slashed across his cheeks forming a mock smile - a parting gift from a duskdancer he had slain many years ago.
- Posthumous Character: While present in Gabriel's earliest flashbacks, Khalid has passed by the point the main storyline's retelling begins, having opted for a merciful death due to feeling himself losing his mind to the Red Thirst.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Though Khalid is about as devoted as any other to the mission of San Michon, he is likewise a pragmatic man who is willing to listen to any counsel, even if it comes from initiates and based on intuition alone. He also insists on giving Aaron and Baptiste a proper trial for the accusations of sodomy leveled against them, rather than lynch them on the spot.
- Super-Strength: Khalid is already a large and imposing man, as though chiseled out of granite, but as a scion of Blood Dyvok, his already unnatural strength is augmented manyfold. A simple squeeze of Gabriel's shoulder is enough to still the boy completely.
Greyhand
Frère Greyhand
A veteran Silversaint, Greyhand is the one to rescue and recruit Gabriel into the Silver Order, becoming his and Aaron de Coste's mentor and master during their initial hunts. Years later, Greyhand ascends to the position of Abbot after Khalid's passing. Born of Blood Chastain.- An Arm and a Leg: Laure Voss painfully rips off Greyhand's swordarm during their fight in Coste. She also robs him of an eye and an ear afterwards.
- Animal Lover: As a scion of Blood Chastain, Greyhand has a natural affinity for animals, often using them as scouts and spies while always treating them with respect and care. It says a lot that the only individuals he shows any overt warmth or affection to are his two bonded hawks, Archer and Winter.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: One of the most storied veterans of the Silver Order, Greyhand becomes its abbot following Khalid's decision to let himself be killed before the sangiré took his mind.
- Career-Ending Injury: Laure Voss robs him of his swordarm, his right eye and ear, and mauls his body almost beyond recovery. Although he manages to survive, Greyhand is forced to largely retire from active service following his run in with the Wraith in Red.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: During his final fight with Gabriel, the latter manages to grab Greyhand by the throat and boil the blood in his skull, making his eye and brain melt until both spill out of his orifices.
- Disappointed in You: Despite their mutual misgivings, Greyhand earnestly believed Gabriel could become the greatest champion the Ordo Argent had ever seen in its history. The revelation of his affair with Astrid seemed to confirm all of Greyhand's worst preconceptions about his former pupil, and meeting him years later as a faithless, cynical, alcoholic mess only reinforces his disappointment.
- Eye Scream: Laure Voss rips his right eye out during their fight in Coste. He subsequently decides to wear an Eyepatch of Power.
- Familiar: As a scion of Blood Chastain, Greyhand can communicate with most animals, and can use those he bonds with as his eyes and ears. He seems to prefer brids of prey, originally keeping a grey hawk named Archer and later a snow hawk named Winter.
- Good Is Not Nice: While Greyhand is one of the most veteran and reliable Silversaints, he is still very much a Mentor in Sour Armor and a By-the-Book Cop, meaning he has no issues beating and injuring his subordinates if he deems their behaviour unacceptable. He nearly kills Gabriel at one point for repeated insubordination, and only relents due to Aaron defending his battle-brother's actions at a risk to himself.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Greyhand's insistence on giving Gabriel a proper death via "Heaven's Gate", rather than simply putting him down on the spot, is what allows Celene to rescue her brother and send him back to the monastery, leading to Greyhand's own death in battle.
- Loose Lips: When his argument with Gabriel gets heated, Greyhand accidentaly lets slip that Dior will be the one to "spill her blood" in the defence of the Empire, leading Gabriel to realise the implications of Dior's purpose at San Michon.
- Mentor Archetype: To Gabriel and Aaron, being the master to both during their apprenticeship. Despite their later misgivings, both of them still respect the man greatly, and heed by his advice more often than not.
- Mentor in Sour Armor: Though he taught Gabriel and Aaron well and saved their lives on multiple occassions, Greyhand was hardly the most affable companion to them, being a stern, zealous man of few words and little tolerance for disobedience or wilful behaviour from his pupils. Even compared to other senior Silversaints, Greyhand is remarkably dour, only showing affection to his bonded hawks Archer and Winter.
- Mysterious Past: Where he is from, who his father was, and how he came to his signature nickname are all the sources of much speculation among the younger members of the Order. Greyhand himself views the plentiful rumours about him with disdain and refuses to engage with them, with the few Saints who knew him from his earlier years remaining just as tight-lipped.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Greyhand is his name, surname and title. Nobody among the younger Silversaints knows his true name, nobody is even sure about the origins of his nickname, though both are the sources of plenty of bets and drunken fables. Greyhand himself dismisses all this and remains tight lipped on both topics.
- Parental Substitute: Greyhand was the closest thing Gabriel ever had to a genuine father figure, being his mentor and trainer for the duration of his apprenticeship in San Michon, and continued advising and guiding the younger Silversaint for many years after. Greyhand's part in his excommunication hurt Gabriel the most, and killing him in Dior's defence continues to haunt him years later.
- Pet the Dog: Even the ever stoic and sour Greyhand shares a moment of heartfelt sincerity with Gabriel when the latter discovers the ruins Laure Voss had made of Lorson, supporting his young pupil in his grieving. Subsequently, he allows Aaron and Baptiste to leave for exile without facing punishment, and wishes them good luck on their travels.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Though being no less devoted to the rules and prescriptions of the Faith than any other Silversaint, Greyhand does have a human core underneath the zeal and stoicism. He is willing to let Aaron and Baptiste leave the Order freely, rather than have them dragged back for trial and possibly tortured and humiliated. Subverted later, as he is willing to let Dior be sacrificed and kill Gabriel once the latter tries to interfere, but by that point, desperation has hardened his once smooth edges.
- Training from Hell: As the man in charge of training up his apprentices, Greyhand has few issues abusing the Healing Factor of the palebloods to practically demonstrate the severity of injury to his pupils. Whether that be cutting, stabbing or outright impaling the youngsters, Greyhand sees it all as but rehearsal before the true battle.
Seraph Talon
Seraph Talon
The seraph, i.e. quartermaster, of the Silver Order, Talon was a vicious, mean-spirited bastard of man with little love lost for the pupils he was meant to prepare for fighting the Dead. Born of Blood Voss.- Beware the Mind Reader: As a scion of Blood Voss, Talon is able to read the thoughts of those around him, though unlike vampires he is sworn never to do so to brothers of the Ordo without their explicit consent. Aaron noticing Talon prying into his mind to frame him is ultimately what allows Gabriel to uncover Talon's crimes and bring him to justice.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: Talon is a mean, joyless, sadistic old bastard who enjoys bullying his pupils and rarely spares so much as a word of praise for their efforts, viewing success as the baseline and failure as dishonourable. Unfortunately, as San Michon's serving Seraph, he is one of Saints mainly in charge of training and preparation of the new recruits.
- Framing the Guilty Party: During the ball in Coste, Talon murders and drains a serving maid, intending for her to be chalked up as a victim of one of vampire duo who attended the event. It works to begin with, until Gabriel begins investigating and remembers that, although the Seraph's eyes were flushed red, he did not smell of sanctus on that night.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Had Talon not tried to cover all his tracks by reading Aaron's thoughts to frame him, he may never have aroused suspicions in Gabriel, who proceeded to lure the Seraph into a trap by giving him false information when Talon tried to repeat his attempt with him.
- Hypocrite: He is savage and unforgiving in his training methods, constantly deriding his pupils for their "failures" and always eager to remind them how "want is weakness". He is eventually revealed to have succumbed to the sangiré long ago, having been both feeding off and sleeping with his assistant sister Aoife for months at least, and later draining a serving maid in Coste to death.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: How he meets his end, courtesy of Greyhand. His former friend even twists the blade to make doubly sure it sticks.
- Ironic Echo: "Want is weakness", Talon's favourite saying, is repeated back to him by Gabriel when the latter exposes the former's descent into the sangiré.
- Lean and Mean: Talon is a wiry old man, all sinew and bone, with a gaunt, angled face and a perpetual scowl. He is also a nasty teacher who takes pleasure in demeaning and hurting his pupils under the pretense of toughening them up, and is generally a joyless bastard to be around.
- Manly Tears: He cries these upon receiving the news of Aoife's death, earnestly thanking Gabriel for avenging his assistant's murder while cursing himself for his carelessnes with the restraints. Or so it seems. In reality, much of this is an act designed to put himself beneath suspicion in Aoife's death.
- The Neidermeyer: Although a veteran of many hunts, Talon remains a nasty, petty, spiteful old man who enjoys putting down his young recruits much more than subsequently building them up, Though Gabriel ends up remembering many of the lessons the man imparted to him, he never has a nice word to spare about the old Seraph, and most of his fellow initiates seem to agree.
- Offing the Offspring: Aoife's revelation of her pregnancy is what prompts Talon to murder her and their unborn child - though he claims to have done it in order to prevent another "abomination" from being born, it's far more likely he was saving himself from being exposed as an oathbreaker.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: A treasonous Silversaint who broke all his vows, murdered innocent women and schemed to kill or exile loyal brothers just to save his own hide, Talon is finally and swiftly put down by Greyhand, who gives the old paleblood no time for any more convincing or scheming.
- We Used to Be Friends: With Greyhand, Talon being among the few remaining Silversaints who knew the former before he received his famous nickname. Greyhand even apologizes to Talon for having acted too late to grant his old friend an honourable death. Then he twists the sword in Talon's chest, sundering his heart.
Aaron de Coste
Frère Aaron de Coste
Born a bastard son to one of the wealthiest houses in the Empire, Aaron de Coste is the other apprentice of Frère Greyhand. Aaron and Gabriel initially go together about as well as oil and water, becoming fierce and bitter rivals. Born of Blood Ilon.- Affectionate Nickname: Golden One, by Nikita Dyvok. After his enthrallment is broken, Aaron naturally discards it immediately.
- And Then John Was a Zombie: He is killed fighting Kiara Dyvok and subsequently rises as a higblood, eventually becoming thralled to Nikita Dyvok personally.
- Bastard Bastard: Born the bastard son of a noblewoman of the house of Coste and an Ilon vampire. Also a major jerk and bully to Gabriel until Character Development sets in.
- The Bully: To Gabriel, initially, as both are Greyhand's pupils vying for approval and glory in his eyes. Aaron mocks Gabriel viciously for his low birth, lower education and the seeming lack of any major vampiric powers, which prompts Gabriel to double his efforts to stand out among his peers. After fighting side by side on several ocassions, and especially after Gabriel decides to become Aaron's Secret-Keeper, the two bond and become proper Fire-Forged Friends.
- Emotion Control: As a scion of Blood Ilon, Aaron can amplify or subdue the emotions of those around him, effectively being able to control others to a limited degree by managing their reactions.
- Fate Worse than Death: It was bad enough to fall at Kiara Dyvok's hands while seeing all he and Baptiste had built undone, but to then return as a vampire, be forced and thralled into armed and sexual slavery and nearly kill the love of his life... safe to say, Aaron would have preferred staying dead.
- Fire-Forged Friends: With Gabriel, unlikely as that initially seems. During their joint hunt in Coste, Gabriel disobeys his orders saving Aaron's cousin, which earns him a beating from Greyhand only cut short by Aaron's good word. In the subsequent battle, the duo fight side by side and wind up surviving by a hair's breadth, gaining each other's trust. Finally, their bond culminates during the desperate Battle of Twins, being the only two Silversaints present to stop a massive horde of the Dead from crossing over the mountains.
- Happily Married: With Baptiste, for all intents and purposes. Though they are not able to wed, due to the nature of the setting, they have been in a commited, monogamous relationship for almost twenty years by the time of the main story.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Aaron is a snide, conceited bastard to most people around him, particularly those of lower class than himself. Nevertheless, he takes his calling as a Silversaint seriously, loves his friends and family fiercely and eventually becomes calmer and mellower with age. After rebuilding Aveléne, he becomes beloved by its inhabitants as the fort's honoured capitaine.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Famous even among the generally attractive Silversaints for his long, golden locks. He has been nicknamed for them on at least two separate ocassions.
- My Greatest Failure: He is horribly ashamed of the time when he let his abusive stepfather beat his lover Sacha to death in front of him for fear of suffering another beating. The fact that his lover was a boy and that Aaron essentially claimed he had been raped by Sacha to save his own skin only compounds his guilt and humiliation.
- Reforged into a Minion: After he dies battling Kiara Dyvok, he quickly Becomes a highblood and catches the eye of the lecherous Nikita Dyvok. The Blackheart thralls Aaron soon after and makes him his favourite enforcer, even managing to get him to kill his former Silversaint comrades before Baptiste breaks their bond.
- Straight Gay: Aaron is homosexual, but rarely shows any stereotypically camp behaviour and is conventionally charismatic enough to attract a sizeable number of women during social events. That said, he is the more feminine party in his relationship with Baptiste.
- Super-Strength: After Becoming a Dyvok highblood, Aaron gains access to the bloodline's signature monstrous physical strength, augmenting his already dangerous Ilon powers to absurd levels.
- Took a Level in Kindness: He starts out as a mean, vicious bully to Gabriel, deriding him for his comparatively humble background and lack of bloodline powers. After Gabriel rescues Aaron's cousin from Laure Voss, fights alongside him in the subsequent battle, and most importantly agrees to keep his affair with Baptiste a secret, Aaron becomes one of Gabriel's closest friends and eventually his best man during his wedding with Astrid.
- Universally Beloved Leader: After rebuilding the ruined for of Aveléne, turning it into a formidable bastion and a safe heaven in the generally wartorn Nordlund, Aaron gains the unquestioning love and devotion of its new settlers, being seen as their valiant protector and a wise, honest commander.
- Wound That Will Not Heal: After Becoming a vampire, Aaron's silver tattoos become burning scars which cause him excruciating pain whenever he is awake. Since vampires return to the state in which they died every night, flaying him does no good - instead, Nikita has his tattoo outlines filled with Ash before they can fully reform, preventing the regeneration from completing.
Lachlan á Craeg
Frère Lachlan á Craeg
The first and only apprentice Gabriel ever took under his wing, and eventually one of his closest friends, Lachlan á Craeg (or "Lachie" to friends) came from a background harsh even by paleblood standards. Born of Blood Dyvok.- 11th-Hour Ranger: Lachlan arrives leading the full might of the Ordo Argent to turn the tide of battle during the liberation of Dún Maergenn, and personally duels his "brother" Nikita Dyvok to a standstill.
- Affectionate Nickname: "Pretty One" by Ashdrinker. Much to Gabriel's chagrin.
- The Apprentice: The only apprentince Gabriel de León had ever decided to take in, primarily due to the unique and grim circumstances the two of them initially met under. Gabriel taught Lachie pretty much everything he knew, and Lachlan was almost religiously devoted to the man who had chosen to rescue him from Dyvok servitude where so many others would have put him down on the spot.
- Broken Pedestal: Lachlan practically worshipped the ground Gabriel walked on after joining the Order, becoming one of de León's closest friends and confidants. Finding out about his mentor's affair with a sister of the Silver Sorority greatly undermind this trust, and though Lachlan kept Gabriel's secret, he never approved of the tryst and always blamed Astrid for "leading Gabriel astray". Finding out about the massacre at San Michon years later only worsens the split, leading Lachie to renounce his former mentor completely.
- Cain and Abel: An Abel of a sort to Nikita's Cain. Both of them are "sons" to Tolyev, but where one was naturally born from his blood, the other was begotten by Becoming his broodson. Nikita toyed with and bullied Lachlan ever since the boy could remember, all under the guise of "making him stronger", and now sees the paleblood as nothing but a traitor to his own kin. Lachie, for his part, has nothing but contempt and righteous anger left for his former "big brother".
- Defusing the Tyke-Bomb: From his earliest days, Lachlan had been thralled to his father Tolyev, who kept the paleblood around for his own amusement and brought him up in the savage ways of the Dyvok, blooding the boy early and beating mercy and compassion out of him. After Gabriel defeated the young Lachlan during the siege of Báih Sìde, he decided against killing the boy, taking him captive instead, showing him kindness, taking care of him and reading him scripture. Still, it took seeing the sheer horror of the Triúrbaile Slaughterfarms for Lachlan's conviction to crack, and then the death of Tolyev for him to be fully freed from the ancien's clutches.
- Heel–Face Turn: Lachlan was originally enthralled to his father Tolyev and fought as a champion among the Dyvok thrallswords. Gabriel sparing his life and showing him kindness while in captivity was what helped chip away at Lachlan's brainwashing, and allowed him to eventually betray his father's hideaway to Gabriel. After Tolyev was slain, the young paleblood immediately joined the Ordo Argent to repent for his sins.
- More Dakka: Lachlann is an excellent shot even by Silversaint standards, and always carries around at least six wheelock pistols to make the most of his accuracy. Discard and Draw very much applies to his style of using them.
- Pretty Boy: Even compared to other inhumanly beautiful palebloods, Lachlann is noted to have a face which could make any woman swoon, and a roguish smile to boot. Even the differently attracted Dior finds him charming, and Ashdrinker outright nicknames him "Pretty One", much to Gabriel's annoyance.
- Secret-Keeper: Lachlan found out about Gabriel's affair with Astrid Rennier some time before the two of them made it public. He kept the secret to himself, but confronted Gabriel about it privately, and the revelation forever tarnished Gabriel's spotless image in his eyes, something he blamed Astrid for emphatically.
- Super-Strength: Born of the Priori of Blood Dyvok, Lachlan is freakishly strong even compared to other 'saints born of his bloodline, and very skilled in applying his strength in the most vital, critical points.
- Walking Armory: Carries no less than six different pistols on him at all times, and is very quick on the draw. Not to mention his sword, chains, bombs... you get the idea.
The Blackthumbs
Forgemaster Argyle
Forgemaster Argyle
The forgemaster of San Michon, a veteran blacksmith in charge of maintaining and expanding the Silversaint arsenal, as well as one of the senior officers in charge of the Order in general. Baptiste Sa-Ismael
Baptiste Sa-Ismael
A handsome young Blackthumb and a protegé of Forgemaster Argyle himself, Baptiste is talented with the hammer in the forge and fierce with it on the battlefield. He is the one who gifts Gabriel his first sword, Lionclaw, upon accession into San Michon.The Silver Sorority
Prioress Charlotte
Prioress Charlotte
The prioress of the Silver Sorority, a stern, strict old matron in charge of the San Michon nunnery and with very little qualms about enforcing its discipline. Still, there is a softer side to her beneath the joyless smiles.- Apron Matron: Stern and joyless though she may be, Charlotte genuinely cares for the safety and well-being of the Silver Sorority, and is genuinely sympathetic to the plight of their fellow Silversaints, viewing them as tragic beings.
- Boom, Headshot!: She meets her end when Laure Voss manages bypass her holy aura by throwing Gabriel's sword at her, splitting her head open.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Charlotte stands between the injured Gabriel and Laure Voss herself, paying with her life when Laure figures how to circumvent her Holy Halo, but providing Gabriel with just enough time to collect himself and finish the job.
- Power Glows: Like most true believers of the One Faith, Charlotte can make her wheel literally glow during prayer, its golden light being strong enough to repel even ancien vampires such as Laure Voss.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Despite not being averse to physical punishment and tolerating precisely zero disobedience from her pupils, Charlotte is ultimately a caring and thoughtful Prioress for the Sorority. After Aoife's murder, she is readily convinced to begin training the Sisterhood in firearm usage and rudimentary self-defence, a practice which outlives even her tenure. She also believes Gabriel's discovery of the Voss's true plans without much hesitation and even agrees to free Aaron and Baptiste to aid in the coming battle.
Astrid Rennier
Sœur Astrid Rennier
A haughty young woman of noble lineage, Astrid was sent to the Silver Sorority as means of penance for her bastard birth, as well as to get her far away from the proper line of succession. Trapped in a monastery she despises, Astrid only finds some measure of purpose - and company - upon a chance encounter with Gabriel, with whom they become friends and, eventually, much, much more.- And Then John Was a Zombie: After Fabién Voss is done with her, Astrid revives as a highblood soon after. When Gabriel comes to, both of them realize what needs to be done. To add insult to enjory, Gabriel's last memory of her is now forever in her undead state.
- Femme Fatale: Played With. At first, she seems a strong-headed, wilful and ambitious young woman who plays Gabriel like a fiddle in order to enact her own desires. Isabella later explicitly warns Gabriel against falling for her, saying he won't be the first man she has led around the bend. However, after they become an item, Astrid mellows out considerably, and her antics in retrospect seem more akin to a Trickster Girlfriend than a proper fatale.
- Forbidden Love: With Gabriel de León, him being a Silversaint sworn to celibacy, her being a Silver Sister sworn to God himself. Nevertheless, they carry on their affair in secret for five years and then marry out in the open after being excommunicated for blasphemy.
- Happily Married: To Gabriel, for the eleven years they lived in exile. Untill Fabién Voss came knocking...
- Locked Away in a Monastery: As the emperor's bastard, Astrid came to represent a threat to empress Isabella's legitimacy and the claim of her own children. Thus, she is sent away to join the Silver Sorority at San Michon. And hates every second of it, until Gabriel arrives.
- Kiss of Death: Both Astrid and Gabriel understand she has to die following her Becoming. Gabriel decides to kill her by draining her to the last drop of blood.
- Kiss of the Vampire: She is the one who initially goads Gabriel into drinking her blood, so that she can experience the sensation of a vampire bite. After they are exiled, drinking her becomes Gabriel's main method of supressing his thirst. This has dire consequences for him once she becomes unavailable...
- The Lost Lenore: To Gabriel, following her demise at the Forever King's hands. Gabriel repeatedly has vivid hallucinations of her and their daughter, Patience, while travelling north to avenge them, and keeps thinking of her even while conscious.
- Mama Bear: She tries to kill Fabién Voss, the Forever King, the oldest living vampire in existence, with a kitchen knife, just because he was threatening her daughter. Little good it does her.
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Has a pretty awesome one against Laure Voss, right before helping Gabriel land the killing blow.Astrid Rennier: “The only queen on this mountain is me.”
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Fits the archetype to a T, with a beauty spot under her eye in tow. Becomes doubly true in her final moments, after she Becomes a vampire.
- Royal Bastard: Astrid eventually reveals herself to be the illegitimate daughter of emperor Alexandre himself, having been raised at the imperial court in Augustin. But for a twist of fate, she may well have been legitimized as an imperial princess, but Isabella opted to get her and her mother out of the way instead by interning both in monasteries. Astrid certainly retains a regal attitude, if nothing else.Astrid Rennier: “I'm a fucking queen.”
- Sophisticated as Hell: Astrid is prodigiously educated, extremely well read and not a little clever. She is also incredibly crass and often swears like a drunk sailor. These two factors make for some... memorable dialogue involving her. Chloe has a habit of fruitlessly calling her out for blasphemy, though usually this is Played for Laughs.
Chloe Sauvage
Sœur Chloe Sauvage
A mousy little woman of fierce religious devotion, Chloe was originally a friend to both Astrid Rennier and Gabriel de León, the three of them studying in secret the means by which Daysdeath may be undone. Years later, a chance encounter brings Chloe and Gabriel back together, Chloe's research having brought her on an unlikely, perilous journey - the quest for the Holy Grail. Aoife
Sœur Aoife
A troubled young woman, Aoife is an Adept of the Silver Sorority, who serves as Seraph Talon's designated assistant.The Company of the Grail
Père Rafa
Père Rafa of San Guillaume
An old priest from the San Guillaume monastery, whose research into ancient prophecies and the Holy Grail got him into contact with Chloe Sauvage. Joining forces, they became the first members of the Company of the Grail. Bellamy
Bellamy Bouchette
A soothsinger of the Opus Grande theatre of Augustin, Bellamy joined the Company of the Grail seemingly on a whim. His stated intent is recording their adventures and exploits in story and song for all the generations to come - whether or not the other members appreciate his company. Saoirse
Saoirse á Dúnnsair
A warrior from the Ossian Highlands, a veteran slayer wielding the massive axe Kindness. Being a worshipper of the Mothermoons, a pagan religion older than the One Faith, Saoirse seeks the Grail for reasons that are her own, and woe betide anyone who gets between her and her new goal. Phoebe
Phoebe á Dúnnsair
A massive mountain lioness, from a breed thought extinct by the general populace, and Saoirse's faithful companion ... or so it seems. In reality, Phoebe is a duskdancer, a human capable of shifting shapes during dusk and dawn, and Saoirse's cousin.The Empire
The Imperial Court
Emperor Alexandre III
Emperor Alexandre III Augustin
The reigning Emperor of all Elidaen, an indecisive, circumspect man wholly unsuited to handling the crisis that is Daysdeath. Nevertheless, heeding the advice of his wife and court, he manages to stimmy the tide of blight and death across his realm. For a while... Empress Isabella
Empress Isabella Augustin
The Empress-Consort to Emperor Alexandre III, Isabella is a driven, intelligent young woman of fierce resolve and unquestionable authority within the Empire. Taking charge of the campaign to eradicate the vampiric usurpers, she takes notice of the bold young Gabriel, eventually knighting him and becoming his patron and benefactor... so long as he enacts her wishes.The Inquisition
Talya & Valya
Sœur Talya & Valya d'Nael
A twin pair of sadistic inquisitrixes charged with hunting down and executing Dior Lachance on charges of witchcraft and heresy. After several run-ins with Dior and Gabriel, the pursuit becomes much more personal.Others
Patience - UNMARKED SPOILERS
Patience de León
The daughter of Gabriel de León and Astrid Rennier, Patience was born after her parents had been excommunicated from the Silver Order for adultery. Growing up a cheery, kind child, with not a trace of the paleblood curse inside her, Gabriel considered her his greatest achievement in the world. That is, until the Forever King arrived to collect a debt unpaid...Vampiric Bloodlines
Blood Voss
In General
Blood Voss, the Ironhearts
Blood Voss are the most regal and ambitious of all vampire bloods, being the first to rise from the shadows in the nights following Daysdeath. They can make their already tough skin as hard as steel, hard enough it can withstand silver and fire. Additionally, they can also read the minds of anyone within their vicinity and puppeteer their wretched kin. Their symbol is a crowned white raven, their words - ''All Shall Kneel''. Fabién
Fabién Voss, The Forever King
The Priorem of Blood Voss, a vampire so ancient his body has been literally bleached of all colour, and a Voss so mighty it is said his skin turns away even fire and silver. After Daysdeath fell, Fabién was the first highblood to realise the potential implications, raising an army of wretched to conquer the remote Talhost. In its ruins, he crowned himself the Forever King, and from it he works to spread his dread kingdom across the rest of the continent. Alba & Aléne
Alba & Aléne Voss, The Terrors
The firstborn and eldest children of Fabién Voss, the dark duo have a dreaded reputation even compared to the other Princes of Forever. Revelling in terror tactics, their mere presence on a field of battle sends the Forever King's foes running. Danton
Danton Voss, The Beast of Velenne
The youngest son of Fabién Voss, Danton is as hideously twisted in nature as he is handsomely fetching in appearance. A sadist with a taste for young women, Danton is the best tracker among the Princes of Forever, making him the Forever King's favourite assassin. Laure
Laure Voss, The Wraith in Red
The youngest daughter and child of Fabién Voss, Laure is often said to be her father's favourite among the Princes of Forever. Whether that be due to her (relative) youth or due to the exceptional brutality she directs against children and infants, only the Forever King can say for certain.Blood Chastain
In General
Blood Chastain, the Shepherds
Blood Chastain count among the most versatile and adaptive of all vampires, a fact stemming in no small part from their versatile power set. They can to and bond certain kinds of animals, most often bats, rats, crows or wolves. The best can also shapeshift directly into animal forms. Their symbol shows two black wolves beneath twin moons. Margot
Margot Chastain, The Empress of Wolves and Men
The Priorem of Blood Chastain, Margot is a wicked, wily old vixen of a vampire, her cautious nature belying her boundless ambition. After capturing Gabriel de León, she styles herself the Empress of Wolves and Men, vying for the throne the Forever King has built. Jean-François
Jean-François Chastain
The youngest (and, by all accounts, favourite) child of Margot Chastain, Jean-François is valued by his dread mother for his immense gift with both quill and brush. After Gabriel de León is captured by Blood Chastain, Margot tasks her favoured son with constructing a biography of the Black Lion of Lorson. The true reason for this, however, is far deeper than mere academic curiosity.Blood Dyvok
In General
Blood Dyvok, the Untamed
Blood Dyvok are a barbaric breed of vampiric warriors and marauders, gifted with strength even other vampires find unholy. They are capable of punching through fortress walls, shaking the earth with their steps and tearing even other coldbloods apart with disgusting ease. Their symbol is a white bear on a broken shield, their words - ''Deeds Not Words''. Tolyev
Tolyev Dyvok, The Butcher
The Priorem of Blood Dyvok at the beginning of the war, and the one who began the Dyvok conquest of Ossway. Gabriel wound up taking his head at the battle of Crimson Glade, a sin for which the other Dyvok never forgave the Black Lion. Nikita
Nikita Dyvok, The Blackheart
Firstborn son of Tolyev himself, Nikita was thrust in charge of Blood Dyvok after his father was slaughtered by Gabriel de León. Upon consolidating his power, Nikita decided to honour his late father by finishing what he started - conquering the rest of Ossway. Lilidh
Lilidh Dyvok, The Heartless
Eldest child of Tolyev the Butcher himself, Lilidh stands out among the martial Dyvok by preferring to command from the rear and scheme in the background. Nevertheless, it was her schemes which allowed her brother Nikita to conquer Ossway, a service for which the new Priori rewards his sister generously. Kiara
Kiara Dyvok, The Wolfmother
Thirdborn daughter of Nikita Blackheart, Kiara was once in charge of delivering supplies to the nightmarish Slaughterfarms at Triúrbaile, a sin for which Gabriel never forgave her. Rumours spread she died at the battle of Crimson Glade. The rumours were, unfortunately, wrong. Kane
Kane Dyvok, The Headsmun
Youngest broodson to Lilidh Dyvok, Kane is as savage and straightforward as Dyvok come, relishing in brutal combat and wanton slaughter. Though a youngster by vampiric measures, he earns his mother's favour through his great skill - and greater savagery - with his massive executioner's blade.Blood Ilon
In General
Blood Ilon, the Whispers
Blood Ilon are the most covert and secretive of all the bloodlines, taking delight in manipulating the world from the shadows. They take the common vampiric mind domination to the next level through emotional control, inflaming or supressing feelings and sensations at their leisure. Their symbol is a heart-shaped shield set with a weave of roses and serpents, their words - ''Sharper Than Blades''.Blood Esani - UNMARKED SPOILERS
In General
Blood Esana, the Faithful
Blood Esana, the Faithful (or alternatively, Esani, the Faithless) are in truth not a vampiric breed at all, but rather a strange, religious sect of vampires who find converts not among mortals, but among other coldbloods. The Esana believe their undead state to be a curse, a damnation by God who has consigned them to Hell, along with the rest of their Dead kin. To avoid this fate, they believe they are charged with collecting the souls of their kin, protecting them within their bodies till Judgement Day arrives for God to cleanse them of their taint. Other vampires rarely appreciate their ministrations, mostly because this involves the Esana draining other vampires to ash. The fact that this twisted form of cannibalism allows even fledgling Esana to grow exponentially in power only compounds the fear and loathing all other Bloods have for the Faithful. During the ancient Wars of the Blood, the Esana became so mighty that for the first and only time in history, the other Bloods put aside their differences and joined in an alliance to exterminate the Esana. And while they were unsuccessful, many of the most ancient Esana were destroyed, with the rest driven deep into hiding, biding their time and "protecting" the souls they have consumed. Their symbol is a pair of skulls opposite each other, outlining the Holy Grail, their words - ''Judgement Comes''. Maryn
Maryn Esana, the Mother of Monsters
The last child of the original Esana, Illia herself, Maryn was left the acting Priori of the Faithful after her mother's destruction during the Wars of the Blood. Taking the deceptive form of a small girl, she remains asleep beneath Dún Maergenn during the onset of Daysdeath. Wulfric
