Main character page can be found here.
Shapeshifters
Shapeshifters have the power to transform at will into a particular animal. They are said or described to have traits of this animal even in their human forms. Most shapeshifters are born shapeshifters, though humans can be turned into a shapeshifter as well (it is not entirely clear how this is done).Warning: Contains some unmarked spoilers for the series
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Sekhmet
Sekhmet
Appears in: Secret Vampire
A minor character in Secret Vampire, though she's notable for being the very first shapeshifter to appear in the series.
- Bit Character: Her sole appearance is as a guest at Thierry's Summer Solstice party. We know very little about her, though it's hinted Ash may have dated her at some point.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Implied. Ash states that "you don't want to get her mad".
- Meaningful Name: Possibly. Shapeshifters are known to have names alluding to their animal form. Sekhmet is an Egyptian goddess of war and healing, often depicted as a lioness or with the head of a lioness.
This would imply Sekhmet's animal form is in fact a lioness. - Statuesque Stunner: She's described as being "tall and lovely".
Miles Neely
Miles Neely
Appears in: Black Dawn
Maggie Neely’s older brother, whom she spends most of Black Dawn searching for after he disappears in suspicious circumstances.
- Big Brother Instinct: He’s always looking out for Maggie; she mentions that he yells at her if she makes potentially dangerous mistakes when they’re out rock-climbing together.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: He clearly has this in common with his sister. Moments after meeting Aradia, he was compelled to help her in any way possible and was willing to risk injury or even death protecting her from Night People.
- Cool Big Bro: To Maggie. She absolutely adores and admires him; when Sylvia starts saying that Miles may have fallen because of a mistake he made with his equipment or technique, Maggie instantly defends him, knowing how meticulous Miles is about this sort of thing and how he takes safety seriously.
- Cursed with Awesome: How he sees becoming a falcon shapeshifter, saying he plans to use his newfound flying abilities to reach mountain summits a new way.
- Disney Death: Sylvia claims at the start that he accidentally fell to his death whilst they were mountain climbing, but Maggie doesn’t believe her because she knows her brother would never make the amateur mistakes Sylvia suggests and because she realizes Sylvia is faking her grief. In the end, he turns out to be alive and well.
- Distressed Dude: Throughout Black Dawn, or at least Maggie is convinced he’s this, refusing to believe he’s dead. She rescues him in the end.
- Forced Transformation: Sylvia turns him into a falcon shapeshifter and puts an enchanted band on his leg that doesn’t allow him to turn back into a human. After Maggie finds him and removes the band, however, he’s able to transform at will.
- Living MacGuffin: A large chunk of the plot in Black Dawn is Maggie searching for him, refusing to believe he’s dead as Sylvia and Delos claim. As it turns out, she’s right.
- Shapeshifting Lover: An interesting example. Sylvia intentionally has him turned into a falcon shapeshifter and uses magic to keep him in this shape, in order to always keep him close to her and under control. His sister Maggie breaks the spell in the end – although he’s still a shapeshifter, he can transform of his own free will.
- So Proud of You: Towards Maggie when she succeeds in rescuing him from the Dark Kingdom, saying he knew she’d come for him.
- Strong Family Resemblance: He and Maggie look a lot alike, including both having auburn hair. When Maggie shows a photo of Miles to people, they quickly guess he's her brother.
Azhdeha
Azhdeha
Appears in: Witchlight
A dragon shapeshifter who is awoken shortly before Witchlight and allies with the Night World, leading their hunt for Iliana Dominick.
- Big Bad: Of Witchlight, though as he later reveals to Keller that he secretly serves someone else responsible for waking him - "a witch who isn't a witch".
- Draconic Abomination: His true form is a foul smelling, greenish-yellow, fifteen foot long Velociraptor dragon who stands on two legs and has sharp clawed hands.
- Kill It with Fire: He is finally defeated by Iliana incinerating him with blue fire.
- Meaningful Name: According to Galen, Ahzdeha means "man-eating serpent" in Persian. In Iranian mythology, 'azhdaha' are giant, snake-like creatures similar to dragons.
- Mind Rape: He has the ability to mentally dominate people and bend them to his will.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Thousands of years ago, he was put into an enchanted sleep and buried beneath the earth by the witches, but was recently awoken by an unknown person to aid the Night World against Circle Daybreak.
- Time Abyss: As the war between the witches and dragons occurred years before even Maya and Hellewise's duel (in the Stone Age), Azhdeha is likely the oldest living character in the series thus far.
Drache family
In General
- Altar Diplomacy: In Witchlight, the family seeks an alliance with the Harmans (and by extension all the witches and Circle Daybreak) by marrying Prince Galen to the Witch Child, the lost Harman destined to be a Wild Power.
- Dragon Ancestry: All the Draches are descended from dragon shapeshifters, though it's unknown if they themselves could still shapeshift into a dragon form.
- Meaningful Name: Their surname is German for "dragon".
- Royalty Superpower: Members of the Drache bloodline have some abilities and traits different from ordinary shapeshifters, due to being descended from dragons. One such ability is being able to telepathically communicate with animals, including other shapeshifters while they're in their animal forms. Another unique trait they possess is that they aren't born with a specific animal form and can choose for themselves; they do this by making physical contact with an animal when they consciously choose to shapeshift for the first time. However, once they've made their choice, they're stuck with that animal form permanently, so they have to choose carefully.
Galen Drache
Prince Galen Drache
Appears in: Witchlight
"People die . . . so love them every day. Beauty fades . . . so look before it's gone. Love changes . . . but not the love you give. And if you love, you'll never be alone."
One of the secondary protagonists of Witchlight. He is a prince of the First House of the Shapeshifters, who hasn't yet chosen his animal form. He's meant to be marrying Iliana Dominick to secure an alliance, only for it to turn out he is the soulmate of Raksha Keller, Iliana's bodyguard.
- Actually, I Am Him: A variation. For the first few chapters of Witchlight, Keller reluctantly lets him tag along with her team because he's the only one Iliana trusts. She makes it plain she doesn't want him around and views him as being The Load, berating him for getting in the way and not giving him a chance to explain who he really is. When Grandma Harman turns up to meet Iliana, she insists Keller work with Galen; when she tries to protest that Galen is not "involved", she is finally informed by him that he's actually the prince of the First House of the Shapeshifters whom Iliana is meant to be marrying, much to her shock and embarrassment.
- Amazon Chaser: He seems to like Keller's courage and combat prowess, though he's disturbed and upset by her apparent disregard for her personal safety when she fights; he also finds her panther form beautiful. On one occasion, he avoids touching her while she's a panther and keeps rubbing his hand on his leg after accidentally brushing against her; she assumes it's because he finds her repulsive, but he later confesses it's because he was trying to resist the urge to stroke her fur, thinking she wouldn't much appreciate it.
- Arranged Marriage: With Iliana. Fortunately, it's later averted, leaving him free to be with Keller.
- Better as Friends: He comes to love Iliana, but states he's truly in love Keller, viewing Iliana in more platonic terms. In the end, Iliana is able to free them both from their betrothal and gives him her blessing to be with Keller.
- Big Damn Heroes: During the climax of Witchlight, he leaps in to save Keller by choosing to shift into a leopard.
- Boomerang Bigot: To an extent. He admits feeling somewhat ashamed of his status as shapeshifter and particularly as a Drache, due to their rather bloody history, and does his best to avoid violence. However, he starts to feel more pride in being a shapeshifter after meeting Keller and even chooses a leopard as his form, the same as her.
- Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Gender Flip with Keller, he being the Gentle Boy to Keller's Brooding Girl.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Uncommon male example. He has golden blonde hair and is very kind and idealistic, even bordering on naive.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Downplayed in that it doesn't involve dying, but Galen is willing to go ahead with his Arranged Marriage to Iliana to secure a vital alliance with the witches, despite the fact Keller is his true love. Luckily for him, Iliana rearranges the terms of the alliance to wriggle out of the marriage pact, meaning Galen gets to be with Keller after all.
- Ideal Hero: Galen is a deeply compassionate and moral boy who only reluctantly engages in violence and encourages heroism and altruism in others.
- Interclass Romance: With Keller. She's an ordinary shapeshifter while he's a prince.
- The Lancer: To Keller. He's a rational-minded Nice Guy who tries to find diplomatic solutions, in contrast to Keller, who is more action-oriented and impulsive.
- Meaningful Name: His name nearly literally translates to 'calm dragon'.
- Morphic Resonance: He has green-gold eyes in both his human and leopard forms. Both forms also have golden hair/fur.
- Nice Guy: One of the nicest in the series. He shows compassion and respect for everyone, tends to see the best in people, tries to find diplomatic or non-violent solutions first and foremost, and goes to great lengths to help his people, even being willing to sacrifice his personal happiness for the greater good.
- Non-Action Guy: He's initially this, on account of his pacifist values, but he eventually unleashes his inner badass when pushed.
- The One Guy: He's the only male member of Keller's team. He's supposed to marrying Iliana, but ends up falling in love with Keller.
- Opposites Attract: With Keller. He's a kind and gentle Ideal Hero, while she's an abrasive Knight in Sour Armour.
- Pale Females, Dark Males: A rare inversion. Galen's animal form is a more typically-coloured golden leopard, whilst his soulmate Keller is a melanistic leopard.
- Prince Charming: He's literally compared to a fairytale prince at one point. See also Nice Guy and Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: When he uses his dragon abilities.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: He's a member of Circle Daybreak and actively takes part in the mission to locate and protect Iliana, his bride-to-be, in time for their betrothal ceremony.
- Villainous Lineage: Subverted. Though his family - due to being descended from dragon shapeshifters - are known to be tyrannical and bloodthirsty, Galen is very kind, gentle and largely a pacifist.
- Warrior Prince: Though he tries to avoid violence, he's not afraid to kick some ass if he has to.
- The Wise Prince: He's an All-Loving Hero, smart, level-headed and a natural leader.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Says pretty much this to Keller when she dismissively states she's just doing her job and implies she believes her mother was right about her being unlovable, insisting she's far braver and more honorable that she realises, and is worthy of love.
Dragon Princess
The dragon princess
The founder of the Drache family in prehistoric times and the last of the dragon shapeshifters.- Children Are Innocent: The reason the witches spared her from the fate of the other dragons was because she was "so small and weak" (she was only a toddler when the dragons were defeated). The witches instead raised her themselves in the hopes she wouldn't be as bloodthirsty and tyrannical as her brethren.
- Famous Ancestor: To the Draches, though not quite to the same extent as Hellewise to the Harmans, or Maya and Red Fern to the Redferns.
- Last of Her Kind: Due to the other dragons either being killed in the war or buried underground in an enchanted sleep, the dragon princess was the only dragon shapeshifter left in the world.
- No Name Given: She's only referred to as 'the dragon princess'.
- Orc Raised by Elves: She was born to the dragons but raised by witches.
- White Sheep: Due to her young age, she wasn't evil like the other dragons and was raised by the witches to be more peaceful and benevolent.
Kierlan Drache
Kierlan Drache
One of the main protagonists of Strange Fate. He's one of Sarah Strange's soulmates and the cousin of Galen Drache. According to Word of God, he's also the fourth Wild Power. His animal form - if he's chosen one yet - hasn't been revealed.- Childhood Friend Romance: Possibly with Sarah.
- The Chosen One: According to
Word of God, he's the last Wild Power needed to defeat the darkness. - Class Clown / The Prankster: Has shades of this. He's prone to making jokes and wisecracks and Sarah states that "everything is a joke to him". According to Sarah, he once flipped a girl's skirt in public, would probably try slipping something in the punch at homecoming and would also probably deliberately spill some on an Alpha Bitch if she wore white to the dance. Apparently, Sarah and Mal have to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't go too far.
- Friendly Rivalry: Seems to have a bit of one with Mal, especially in regards to Sarah.
- Love Triangle: He's stated as being one of Sarah's soulmates, the other being Mal Harman.
- Meaningful Name: His first name is possibly derived from Irish Gaelic meaning "black" or "dark", potentially alluding to the line of the Wild Power prophecy that pertains to him: "One from the twilight to be one with the dark". Combined with his surname, his full name roughly translates as "black dragon" or "dark dragon".
- Really Gets Around: Implied. To put this into perspective, Ash Redfern suspects he's even more promiscuous than him.
- Those Two Guys: With Mal. They're both constantly hanging around with Sarah.
Galen's parents
Galen's parents
Appear in: Witchlight
The mother and father of Galen Drache, heads of Drache family and King and Queen of the shapeshifters.
- Didn't See That Coming: Galen's father is completely thrown for a loop when Iliana announces that she won't be marrying his son, even though the marriage pact is the basis of their vital alliance. He's relieved, but still flustered, when Iliana quickly clarifies that she wants the alliance without the marriage because Galen isactually in love with Keller, whom she has declared her blood-sister.
- The Good King: Galen's father is this to the shapeshifters. He puts his people first, is stern yet open-minded and wants humans and the Night World to live in harmony. Grandma Harman, who is a rather blunt woman who doesn't suffer fools, speaks highly of him to Galen.
- Good Parents: To Galen. They are caring and supportive towards him (though they do put their people first) and they raised him to be fair and compassionate.
- The High Queen: Downplayed for Galen's mother. She doesn’t get a whole lot of pagetime, but she's described as being a beautiful and regal woman who supports the alliance with Circle Daybreak.
- Look-Alike Lovers: They're both described as being regal-looking with golden or topaz colored hair.
- Minor Major Character: They're the rulers of the shapeshifter race, but the first time they’re even mentioned in the series is in Witchlight, the ninth (and second-to-last) book.
- No Name Given: Their names aren't mentioned in Witchlight.
- Open-Minded Parent: Both of them are this Galen, though his mother slightly more so. Neither of them ultimately have any problem with him not marrying Iliana - a witch princess - and instead being with Keller - an ordinary shapeshifter - as long as the alliance goes through. Galen's mother also says she thinks it's "wonderful" he chose a leopard as his animal form even though he'd been intending to choose a more 'peaceful' animal like a bird, telling him how his great-grandmother was a leopard too.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Although surprised by this unexpected turn of events, Galen's father has no problem with Iliana basing the Drache-Harman alliance on a blood-tie with Keller instead of a marriage to Galen as long as the witches agree.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: In Witchlight, they attend the Winter Solstice meeting in person to hopefully forge an important alliance between the shapeshifters and the witches and by extension Circle Daybreak, whom the witches have formally declared support for.
- Ruling Couple: Downplayed. Although Galen's father is the one who is primarily addressed during the witch-shapeshifter meeting, he made a point of bringing his wife to the meeting with him and she sits at his side throughout.
- So Proud of You: Towards Galen when they learn he helped take down a dragon.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Galen's mother is said to have green eyes and blonde hair, the same as her son. His father is blond, too.
