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Keepers
In General
- Celebrity Superhero: Keepers, in general, are a mix of being celebrities and religous-icons, to the point of having Church-sponsored merchandise of them; there's even a Magic: The Gathering-esque card game titled "Champions of the Goddess" with cards based on real Keepers. Some lean into this more than others, like Roland and Irida, while others try to avoid it, like Liadain.
- The Chosen Many: Chosen (allegedly) by the Goddess Claiasya, though we only have the word of the Messengers to go by on that. What qualifies someone to be chosen as a Keeper is a major in-universe mystery too, and the Messengers don't seem to understand the question.
- Magical Girl: Well, girls and boys both.
- My Significance Sense Is Tingling: All Keepers have the power to sense the presence of both other Keepers and nearby Harbingers. What this is like is different for every Keeper; for instance, Plaguemaster Liadain can smell them, with each Keeper and Harbinger having a different scent, while Magic Music Shona hears a different song for each.
- Red Baron: All Keepers are given a title as a part of their magic, one that other Keepers can sense; Ill Wind, Screaming Hymn, Silver King, etc.
- Refusal of the Call: All potential Keepers are given the choice of whether they want to make the Promise or not; according to Enne, refusals are rare, but they do happen, and the Messengers are required to explain in full what it entails and get clear consent. Once you're a Keeper, it's irreversible.
Liadain Shiel, Ill Wind
- "Death is just a nightmare I woke up from a long time ago."
A young girl suffering from a terminal case of auto-immune disease, Liadain began the story having given up all hope of living beyond her thirteenth birthday... until the day Vyuji the Moon Gardener crashed into her life and offered her the chance to become the Keeper, Ill Wind. Now, Liadain fights Harbingers in the hopes of stealing enough power to cure her own disease and achieve Complete Immortality, no matter the cost.
Messenger: Vyuji
- Alien Blood: After her Spontaneous Emergence, she now bleeds crow feathers instead of blood.
- Anti-Hero: While she does fight Harbingers and save people, Liadain's motives for doing so are ultimately selfish, and she herself admits she probably wouldn't do so if she had any safer way to save her life. She's also not averse to using her Life Drinker abilities on sleeping civilians (albeit in very minute amounts) to fend off the worst of her symptoms, which is a big no-no in Keeper society.
- Atrocious Alias: She really isn't a fan of the "Ill Wind" title her magic labeled her with.
- Companion Cube: Pearl, her pink stuffed axoltl.
- Complete Immortality: Her explicit goal: to reach a point where she simply will never die, under any circumstances whatsoever.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: She fits the image, though she becomes less and less "brunette" as Emergence slowly causes her hair to turn white.
- Dark Magical Girl: Bitter and jaded are just two words that could describe Liadain as she is by the time the story starts. While there are hints that she Used to Be a Sweet Kid, being abandoned by everyone in her life and left to die in a hospice at twelve has left her pretty disenchanted with the world.
- Deadpan Snarker: Very. It's how she copes with how much shit the universe puts her through.Aisling: What did we learn?
- Death Dealer: She can use her magic tarot cards like this; it's her main mode of attack, and they're especially potent when infused with her sickness.
- Girls Love Stuffed Animals: Liadain, the spooky borderline-vampire child, dearly loves her pink axolotl pushie Pearl, and never leaves her room in the hospital before making sure she's comfortable.
- Elegant Gothic Lolita: Her Keeper attire has this look.
- Friendless Background: She had friends, but they all left her when she got sick, apparently not wanting to deal with the baggage of having a dying friend. It's why she reacts so badly to Shona and Mide's attempts to team-up with her.
- Immortality Seeker: Her goal is not just to cure her disease, it's nothing short of Complete Immortality. And given the way Emergence works, she can do it.
- Murder by Inaction: An unintentional variant. She deliberately allows the nascent-Harbinger Aulunla to grow into a fully-fledged Harbinger so that it would grant her more Emergence on killing it, fully intending to finish the job before it got big enough to actually hurt anyone. She did not account for Isobel, Aulunla's Witch, to catch on and jumpstart the process, allowing Aulunla to kill multiple people. She feels incredibly guilty about this.
- Mystical White Hair: Emergence starts causing her to develop white streaks in her hair. By the end of Arc 7, it's gone entirely white.
- Plaguemaster: The crux of her abilities lies in infecting Harbingers, and their Pocket Dimensions, with a supernatural infection/corruption that slowly destroys them from the inside out; her Life Drinker powers also leave the target suffering the symptoms of her own sickness, albeit in a milder fashion.
- Secret Identity: Unlike most Keepers, Liadain initially works to keep her real identity a secret, wearing a mask and even giving a fake name to other Keepers. It's mostly just because she doesn't want the celebrity attention many Keepers get, as she herself admits she doesn't have much of civilian to life to protect.
- Soap Opera Disease: Initially Averted, at least before becoming a Keeper. Liadain was born with a very realistic genetic condition, which several rejected marrow transplants made worse. After getting her magic, however, it stopped being a mundane terminal illness, and became a supernatural one. Because magic follows Theory of Narrative Causality more than any concrete rules, it essentially became this trope; as one doctor describes it, it became "a story about a girl dying from a disease."
- Taking You with Me: How she gets out of the middle of a four-way war between Harbingers in the forest; she prepares to unleash a toxic blast that would kill everything nearby, herself included, and tells them to let her leave. It works.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Sort of; Liadain clearly knows she's in a Magical Girl Genre Deconstruction, but she makes the mistake of assuming other Keepers are a lot further towards the "cynical" side of the Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism; she initially believes all other Keepers are as determined to get Harbinger hearts as she is, or that they even have "territories" for where they hunt. By contrast, most other Keepers she's met don't really care about hearts or chasing Emergence very much, and Roland burst out laughing at the idea of Keepers having a territory, at least in New Claris (he implies it does happen in some places, but not there).
Shona Tiernan, Screaming Hymn
- “Stand aside, everyone! The Screaming Hymn is here to silence evil’s dirge!”
A relatively new Keeper and Former Child Star, Shona and her best friend Mide became Keepers at the same time, and are the first fellow Keepers Liadain meets. The trio team up together to take on the Harbinger Irrakia... and things don't go according to plan.
Messenger: Enne
- Abusive Parents: Her mother is emotionally abusive, and it's implied she all but forced Shona into becoming a child actress without caring what she wanted.
- Ascended Fangirl: She was already a major Keeper-fangirl long before she made the Promise, and gleefully leans into the Magical Girl tropes, to say nothing of how much she geeks out on meeting Roland.
- Cute, but Cacophonic: Shona is loud.
- Genki Girl: Shona is loud, not to mention the most eager and ecstatic to engage in the Keeper lifestyle. When Liadain asks what her powers are, she demonstrates. By conjuring a lightning bolt in the middle of a park, terrifying several onlookers.Shona: Ah, sorry! Just Keepers over here doing Keeper things!
- Genre Savvy: She knows all the Magical Girl tropes, having been the star of a magical girl tv series before becoming a Keeper; for instance, she immediately picks out Liadain as a Dark Magical Girl and mysterious loner, which is why she's so determined to get her on her and Mide's team.
- Hetero Sexual Life Partners: She and Mide have been best friends their entire lives, and Shona, despite initially being ecstatic at becoming a Keeper, hesitates when she finds out Mide can't become one with her... and did something with Enne to fix that.
- Hidden Depths: It's implied that Shona is actually fairly religious, contrasting her Punk Rock aesthetic; this actually makes sense when you consider how much the Church and Keepers are bound up in each other, with the goddess supposedly being the source of Keepers' abilities. She snaps at Aisling for claiming Claisya is an "absentee mother" and is baffled that anyone would question the dogma that Messengers Cannot Tell a Lie. She also idolizes Roland, the Church's spokes-Keeper and golden boy.
- Magic Music: Her magic is channeled through a magical violin that she plays, channeling her repressed anger into the air around her, where it takes the form of lightning.
- Shock and Awe: The crux of her abilities is magically generated lightning; she can use it in the usual way, or as a kind of electric skate for moving quickly.
Mide Lachlan
- Sure, maybe this isn’t quite where I saw my life going, but… well, we chose what we chose, and we all doodled those outfits when we were little. We’re living everyone’s dream, aren’t we? I wouldn’t have things any other way.”
Messenger: Enne
- Boring, but Practical: Her ability to summon melee weapons and use them at superhuman levels is very understated compared to other Keepers like Shona and Liadain, but damn if she doesn't make it work.
- Cloud Cuckoo Landers Minder: She's the voice of reason to Shona's antics.
- Not So Above It All: She vacillates between teasing and exasperation at Shona's fangirling over popular Keepers, but is later revealed to have a rather significant crush on the Stardust Seraph.
- The Unchosen One: "Duet 2-7" reveals that she initially wasn't supposed to become a Keeper; Shona, however, refused to make the Promise without her, so Enne and Yune did something to make that happen...
Aisling Waite, Truth's Lantern
A self-proclaimed "Research Keeper" who leads the research club at Shona and Mide's school. Unlike other Keepers, she avoids fighting Harbingers personally and is more interested in uncovering the secrets of magic.
Messenger: Fouhi
- Badass Bookworm: Non-Action Girl though she is, Aisling is still a Keeper, with everything that implies, and easily the most knowledgeable Keeper in the main cast.
- Living Lie Detector: She always knows if someone is lying or being truthful.
- Naytheist: The existence of Messengers makes it hard not to believe Claiyasya exists, but Aisling doesn't see that as a reason to be very pious. She describes the goddess as an "absentee mother of us all" and has a low view of the Church, unlike some Keepers who work directly for them.
- Seeker Archetype: She's on a quest for knowledge and truth, particularly in regards to magic and Harbingers. Unfortunately, those are secrets that don't want to be uncovered.
- The Smart Girl: She's the most knowledgeable about past Keepers and Harbingers, and is actively cataloguing the latter in an effort to study them in a logical, coherent manner. When Liadain has questions about Emergence, Harbingers, or just current events in the city, she goes and bothers Aisling about it, as does Shona. She implies this is a regular occurrence for her.
Iona Fianata, The Frozen Sun
The oldest living Keeper in New Claris, patron protector of the city, and matriarch of the "Fianata family," Iona has adopted many children, both magical and non-magical, into her family over her long life, and many orphaned Keepers, or ones from bad homes, eventually find their way into her care.
Messenger: Vyuji
- An Ice Person: Her magic has power over ice and cold, and she has a permanent bubble of winter that follows her all the time.
- The Ghost: In the fist two books, Iona is oft-mentioned, but fails to make a proper appearance until 9-4. As the patron-protector of the city, she apparently has an incredibly busy schedule, and even her adoptive daughter being hospitalized isn't enough to draw her away from it. But she always makes time for a Keeper's funeral, even one she didn't know.
- Older Than She Looks: Doesn't look a day older than the teenager she was when she made the Promise, Iona is in her nineties.
Tetha Fianata, the Sea's Sanctuary
A young and idealistic Keeper, newly adopted into the Fianata family.
- Prongs of Poseidon: Her weapon is a trident, befitting her "sea" theme.
- Self-Deprecation: She has some major self-esteem issues.
Niavh Fianata
An older member of the Fianata family who often mentors young Keepers struggling with Power Incontinence; she offers to do the same for Liadain.
- The Atoner: Early in her career, Niavh accidentally lost control of her magic, resulting in the death's of multiple people. She's spent her life since trying to make up for it, partially by mentoring younger Keepers like Liadain.
- Mentor Archetype: She offers to be this to Liadain.
Roland, Stardust Seraph
- “Could you, uh, not know who I am, maybe? I’m the Stardust Seraph. Y’know… ‘When a cry for justice rings through the heavens, the Stardust Seraph answers!’”
An astonishingly handsome Keeper, and one of the most popular in New Claris. The Stardust Seraph is incredibly powerful and beloved by most of the city. He has an interest in Liadain.
- Gravity Master: His powers allow him to create "anchor points" of gravitational pull, essentially making him telekinetic. For some reason, they don't work on Keepers and Harbingers, but everything around them is fair game.
- In the Name of the Moon: He gives these kinds of speeches, though unlike Shona it seems to be more for show than something he seriously thinks sounds cool.Roland: I could do the whole song and dance for you (Liadain) if you want, I just figured it wouldn't be your thing.
- Jerkass Has a Point: During his confrontation with Liadain, for all that he's being incredibly assholish in his approach, you can at least see where he's coming from: Liadain has been using her Life Drain ability on civilians, which is a major taboo among Keepers, and he only has her word for it that she's stopped doing so.
- Just Toying with Them: During his fight with Liadain, it's made abundantly clear he's putting no effort in, which is why she's able to land a solid hit on him. After that, he stop toying with her.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: Once he stops showing off fighting with Liadain, he immediately delives them a Curbstomp Battle.
- No-Sell: Seryana's favored tactic of assuming the appearence of someone her victim had a toxic relationship with to shock them barely phases him; apparently whoever he saw is dead, so he saw through the illusion immediately.
- Winged Humanoid: Not called "Seraph" for nothing, although they aren't real wings; instead, he creates wings of Hard Light.
- The Worf Effect: The first time he meets Liadain, he enters by absolutely shredding Seryana, a Harbinger that had given Liadain and Shona a run for their money; downplayed somewhat, as Liadain had already weakened it, and Roland himself admits he only finished it off.
Irida Deveraux, Silver King
Roland's rival for the most popular Keeper in New Claris.Messenger: Yune
- Always Someone Better: By her own admission, she's only the second ranked shogi player in New Claris, to say nothing of the rest of the world, despite being widely regarded as a shogi expert; as she explains, being a Keeper eats up a lot of her time that she might otherwise spend practicing.
- Berserk Button: Tara Mullane, the disgraced Keeper. Whatever happened between the two, bringing her up is enough to get a major reaction out of this normally stoic Keeper. A flashback in "Our Callings" indicates this wasn't always the case, as she wryly mocks the Flower's Fangs on live tv, implying something changed between then and now.
- Handicapped Badass: She's actually paralyzed from the waist down, something Emergence has apparently not fixed; that doesn't stop from being one of the most badass Keepers in New Claris. She apparently rides into battle on a magical silver palanquin.
- The Minion Master: Her power is to summon warriors she controls with a Shogi board.
- Not So Stoic: She apparently has a reputation for being The Stoic; her first appearance has her gushing about her love of shogi, and bashing chess as the inferior game.
- Popularity Power: According to Liadain, the cards based on her in "Champions of the Goddess" are pretty overpowered, which Liadain chalks up to her popularity.
Tara Mullane, the Flower's Fangs
An infamous Keeper who went missing some time ago, Tara fell from grace after it was revealed she had been using her powers to assault civilians and even fellow Keepers. She was once Liadain's favorite Keeper.
- Dark Magical Girl: From the descriptions of her, she wasn't that dissimilar to Liadain, eschewing the spotlight and doing as she saw fit.
- Fallen Hero: Shortly after her disappearance, it became known that she was using her powers on civilians and fellow Keepers, seemingly attacking anyone who so much as caught her in a bad mood. The public now sees her as a disgrace.
- Loony Fan: After her actions were revealed to the public, most of her fans disavowed her; however, there is a very minute, very devoted core of people who still adore her. Liadain refers to them as "insane groupies."
- Un-person: Nobody really like to talk about her, and most quietly pretend she didn't exist. Her merchandise all got pulled and the Church deleted all mentions of her from its Keeper-centric websites. Liadain still plays her "Champions" deck, but only gets away with it because no one wants to tell a dying girl she can't do something.
Messengers
A family of six cute little spirits (and Vyuji) allegedly tasked by the goddess Claiasya with awakening the dormant magic inside children chosen to become Keepers. In General
- Cannot Tell a Lie: It's an accepted fact that Messengers are incapable of lying, something Aislin's Living Lie Detector ability has so far corroborated.
- The Chooser of the One: Maybe. It's unclear, even in-universe, what actually goes into choosing a Keeper, and who or what actually does the choosing; the Messengers are just that, messengers. When asked about this, they seem to get confused by the question.
- Invisible to Normals: The only people who can see them are Keepers, or children they want to become Keepers. However, many such Keepers have given illustrations of what they look like to the public, resulting in a flood of Messenger-themed merchandise and plushies.
- Mentor Mascot: Their purpose is to guide Keepers and teach them about their abilities. How they do this varies.
Vyuji, the Moon Gardener
- "My children always do have a certain… flair to them. I’m glad to see you’ve kept that tradition up."
A Messenger who resembles cetacean-girl with a cloak the color of the sea on a cloudy day, Vyuji is the Messenger who guides main character Liadain.
- A Form You Are Comfortable With: Averted; Liadain asks her point blank if she's doing this, which Vyuji denies, saying that "her children require her to be earnest," meaning the dolphin-girl appearance is her "true form." Whether that implies the other Messengers are doing this is unclear.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: As she herself says, her purpose is to guide Keepers to becoming their best selves, whatever that means to the Keeper in question, and helping them hone their magic. Protecting humans is, at best, a secondary benefit, and not her main concern. When Liadain plans to allow nascent-Harbingers to grow to maturity so she can harvest more power and potentially endanger human lives, Vyuji is completely supportive, much to Liadain's surprise.
- Brutal Honesty: As she puts it, the children who become her Keepers are ones who benefit most from her being completely frank and honest, as opposed to the cutesy image her siblings present. She doesn't downplay the darker sides of being a Keeper, and is very blunt.
- Deadpan Snarker: She's not above teasing Liadain.
- Renowned Selective Mentor: Shona implies that Keepers bound to Vyuji are much more rare than those of the other Messengers; the only other one confirmed so far is Iona.
Enne, Heart of the Sea
- “If it helps you think any better, you could always pet me! Actually, I just think you should pet me either way.”
Harbingers
Nightmare monsters that have tormented humanity for as long as anyone remembers, Harbingers can appear anywhere, any time, with very little warning, and beging inflicting their unique horrors on anyone around them. In General
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: None of the Harbingers seen seem to genuinely be evil, in the strictest sense. The opposite, actually, most of them seem to genuinely believe they're helping people in some way. It's just that their idea of "helping" is invariably horrifying, if not outright fatal.
- Deal with the Devil: The more intelligent ones are capable of making pacts with humans in exchange for giving them magical power; the individuals who make these bargains are referred to as "witches."
- Demonic Possession: "Vessels" are people that have had their bodies taken over by Harbingers.
- Not Quite Dead: Liadain discovers that Harbingers killed and eaten by Keepers don't really die, they persist as a part of the Keeper's soul, and even retain some degree of self-awareness. Liadain can even communicate with hers.
- It Can Think: It's often mistakenly believed that Harbingers are mindless nightmares; this is not true, and many of them in fact display a frightening degree of intelligence, such as Vianzia and Seryana.
Yurfaln//Truth Is Written In Scars
The first Harbinger Liadain ever encountered, born from Mr. Enfield's comforting belief that his terminal illness helped him see what was truly important in life. Yurfaln took this idea and ran with it, wanting to inflict lethal illnesses on people to help them reach "enlightenment". Yurfaln resembled a massive humanoid centipede draped in grey rags.
- Affably Evil: "Evil" is a stretch, but terrifying and harmful to humans it certainly is. It's also surprisingly cheerful and friendly towards Liadain and the humans under its power, which makes sense for the emotion it was born from.
- Bequeathed Power: As it's dying from Liadain's infection, it rips out its own heart to offer to her, something no other Harbinger since has been seen to do. Liadain believes this is Yurfaln's way of asking her to carry on its legacy, as it saw her as a kindred spirit. In a weird way, she sort of does.
Irakkia/The World Is Not The World
A Harbinger of unknown origin that assaulted New Claris, Liadain teamed up with Shona and Mide for the first time to hunt this Harbinger.
