Character Cast – K. Alvares

Ezra Sternheim

Ezra: Hebrew; means “help.”
Sternheim: Germanic; comprised of stern, “star,” and heim, “home.”

Age: 109
Gender: Gender-Queer; Agender
Pronouns: He / Him
Species: Mooncaster / Njeriyk
Hair / Eye Colour: Black / Grey
Ethnicity: French-Scandinavian
Star Sign: Leo

Bulky as heck. Could probably punch through your wall without trying. 5′ 10″. Invented RBF probably.
Some kind of weird gender-shifter. Takes a while to figure that out but owns that shit when he does.
Pan-demi-poly legend, but he only knows some of that.
You wanna get to Diede, you have to go through Ezra first. Good luck. You’ll need it.
He is a necromancer, which goes a little beyond just being able to tell ghosts what to do, he has like an empathic, strong psychic link to any ghost he comes across and can feel what they feel and sometimes remember what they remember. It’s actually quite fucky.
Overall his magic is kind of weaksauce and then someone pisses him off, and he decides he’d rather kill himself with his own magic than let whoever it is off the hook, and he goes from 0 to 9,000 real fast.
Nasty habit of attracting abusive boyfriends though.
Looks like a bonbon. Is not one, will kill you, don’t test him.

Diede Sternheim

Diede: Dutch, unrelated to Gaelic diedre. It’s the short form of names beginning with Old High German dioda and Frankish þeoda, meaning “people.”
Sternheim: Germanic; comprised of stern, “star,” and heim, “home.”

Age: 109
Gender: Agender, Transmasculine
Pronouns: They / Them
Species: Suncaster
Hair / Eye Colour: Blond / Green
Ethnicity: French-Scandinavian
Star Sign: Leo

Pretty small next to most people. Still pretty effeminate in build even after transitioning. Probably helped Ezra invent RBF; 5′ 7″. Dat ass doe.
Ostensibly a stronger mage than Ezra. It’s debatable.
Also some kind of weird gender-shifter. Is actually figuring that out.
Friendly little popkin, teaches baby strixes how to use magic in Elysium.
Don’t know what is dating, like who has the time for that?
Talks too much about nothing. Imagine that one person that’s always going on about something to someone but somehow nobody really knows anything about them. That’s Diede.
Are books single because Diede would marry them.
Sort of looks like a cinnabon, would really have to think about it before killing you. Most likely Ezra would get to it first.

Caleb Santiago-Morales

Caleb: Hebrew. Either from kelev, “dog,” else kal, “whole,” and lev, “heart.”
Santiago: Spanish. Named for Saint James; santo, “saint,” Yago, old Spanish form of James. Saint James is the patron saint of Spain ( and Guatemala, Nicaragua, Seattle, the capital city of Chile, and some parts of Mexico, along with a dozen other municipalities and a province or two ).
Morales: Spanish. From moral, meaning “mulberry tree,” ultimately rooted in Latin.

Age: 110
Gender: Male
Pronouns: He / Him
Species: Voordalak
Hair / Eye Colour: Dark Brown / Grey
Ethnicity: French-Spanish
Star Sign: Virgo

Tol, 6′, pale as fuck like has he ever known what is the sun, he needs a tan. ( No. ) Weirdly pretty creature prone to usage of eyeliner. He can do a smoky cat eye better than your girlfriend.
Broody because he hates being a voordalak. Made a mistake and followed the wrong bitch home from a bar. Yeah. Not a great. Thinks himself some kind of abomination, makes sense though. All his friends are casters and barkbarks.
Mostly keeps to himself, cooks a lot, often feeding someone ( Giannis or Ezra, sometimes Diede ). Shoves cake at Ellen when she gets mad.
Worries about Lilith a lot. Like a lot a lot.
Looks kind of like he could kill you but we’re pretty sure he’s a cinnamon distribution centre.

Calliope Lucero

Calliope: Greek. From Greek kallos, meaning “beauty,” and ops, meaning “voice.” This is the name of one of the nine Muses, the goddess of epic poetry and eloquence.
Lucero: Spanish. Derivative of luz, “light,” meaning “bright star,” or “morning star.”

Age: 146
Gender: Female
Pronouns: She / Her
Species: Mooncaster / Voordalak
Hair / Eye Colour: White-Blonde / Grey
Ethnicity: Greek-Spanish
Star Sign: Taurus

Not quite as ginormous as her brother, but also not very short, around 5′ 8″. Curvy lady. Chonky legs. Stronger than she looks, amazingly, considering she looks quite strong. Notably paler than Giannis.
Amusingly known for randomly breaking out in song.
Trash at keeping her balance, likes gardening but doesn’t have much sun resistance built up just yet. it’s a tragedy. Fair-minded, non-judgemental, and much less quick to spring into action than Giannis is.
Quite quick witted and thoughtful, very unapologetically herself.
Looks a bit intense, is mostly a cinnamon roll. Mostly. Remember Giannis is not.

Desiree Norwood

Desiree: English form of Désirée, French form of Latin Desiderata. This roots in desideratum, meaning “desired.”
Norwood: From an English place name meaning “north wood.”

Age: 19
Gender: Female
Pronouns: She / Her
Species: Skycaster
Hair / Eye Colour: Black / Blue
Ethnicity: Black
Star Sign: Cancer

Young-looking, kind of Not-Katara, smooth features, medium skintone, bright blue eyes. Black hair, somewhat coarse textured, but not kinky, wavy. Left loose or in a braid. 5′ 6″.
Wears a hearing aid in her left ear. I haven’t decided if she’s hearing impaired in both ears or just the one, I guess we’ll see what she decides in the story.
Unaware she’s a strix, but weird things are happening around her now.
Attending college, which is how she meets Disaster Squad.
Bit naive, likes to see the best in people.
Her mother mysteriously disappeared when she was 9, and has been vaguely looking for her ever since.
Looks like a bonbon. Very much is.

Giannis Lucero

Giannis: Greek variant of Ioannes, from Hebrew Yochanan, meaning “Yahweh is gracious.”
Lucero: Spanish. Derivative of luz, “light,” meaning “bright star,” or “morning star.”

Age: 148
Gender: Male
Pronouns: He / Him
Species: Mooncaster / Njeriyk
Hair / Eye Colour: Brown / Grey
Ethnicity: Greek-Spanish
Star Sign: Sagittarius

Scary giant man, faintly tanned, very slight freckling, he’s about 6′ 3″, has cherry blossom tattoo sleeves on both arms. Not the same but they match. Often wearing bandage wraps around his joints.
Likes his steak a bit more rare than typical. His teeth look like they could take out someone’s entire family by catching the light.
Wherever Calliope goes, Giannis goes.
He is Caleb’s fated mate. Which is distressing to him because he is a njeriyk and Caleb is a voordalak and such a union would cause a shitstorm of problems — on the other hand, does he even care though?
Sassy and very break the rules type. He knows what he wants in life, usually how to get it, and he’s not afraid of the work to make it happen.
Doesn’t look like a bonbon. Could definitely kill you.

Inyene Nwadike

Inyene: Means “wealth” in Ibibio.
Nwadike: Nigerian, originating with the Igbo. Said to mean “hero’s son.”

Age: 24
Gender: Female
Pronouns: She / Her
Species: Nightcaster
Hair / Eye Colour: Brown / Grey
Ethnicity: Black ( Nigerian )
Star Sign: Virgo

Second-generation immigrant from Nigeria.
Deep chocolate skintone, very dark brown eyes, black hair, coily, usually in braids of some kind, either box braids or cornrows. Likes to braid different colours into her hair. 5′ 8″, freckled, bit leggy, and very goth.
Artistic and personable, calm and even tempered, but suffers from chronic depression and has a weak immune system.
Sells her artwork for money. Her parents are both doctors, so she has plenty of money, which allows the freedom to sell her art.
Also sells Ezra’s for him, though he lets her keep most of the profit.
One of the few nightcasters in existence, her magic is subtle and strange; just like her.
Kind of low-key obsessed with death.
Looks a bit like a bonbon. If pushed she’ll do what she has to.

Lilith Santiago-Morales

Lilith: From Akkadian lilitu, “of the night.”
Santiago: Spanish. Named for Saint James; santo, “saint,” Yago, old Spanish form of James. Saint James is the patron saint of Spain ( and Guatemala, Nicaragua, Seattle, the capital city of Chile, and some parts of Mexico, along with a dozen other municipalities and a province or two ).
Morales: Spanish. From moral, meaning “mulberry tree,” ultimately rooted in Latin.

Age: 112
Gender: Female
Pronouns: She / Her
Species: Voordalak
Hair / Eye Colour: Black / Brown
Ethnicity: French-Spanish
Star Sign: Gemini

Basically solid muscle, 5′ 9″, not quite as pale as Caleb, sort of got a baby doll face going on.
Pretty much a goth-lesbian icon. Fight me. In another life she was a queen. … well fuck, she’s a queen in this one too.
Kind of emotionally distant ( read: doesn’t know what feelings are for the most part ). It’s a very strong dissociation / emotional processing disorder.
Ain’t nothing to fuck with.
Essentially is a voordalak for the sole purpose of shoving a wooden stake between Jezebel’s eyes and I don’t mean that figuratively.
Looks like a cinnabon, would actually kill you for the most part.

Mikhail Vasilyev

Mikhail: Russian form of Hebrew Michael, from Mikha’el, meaning “who is like God?” This is rhetorical, implying no one is.
Vasilyev: Russian surname meaning “son of Vasil.” Vasil is a variant of Basil, rooted in Greek basileus, meaning “king.”
– Whether this is his real surname or one he chose later, who knows.

Age: 124
Gender: Male
Pronouns: He / Him
Species: Voordalak
Hair / Eye Colour: Black / Blue
Ethnicity: Russian
Star Sign: Capricorn

Understand that he has diplomatic immunity in 14 countries.
Tall dark and handsome, broody, tends to look like he wants to kill someone, probably does realistically. 6′, black hair, blue eyes, pale, usually has some semblance of a beard and stache, but very neatly trimmed. His hair never gets to his shoulders.
To call him dysfunctional would be being sort of kind, because yes, yes he is. Actually they probably invented the word dysfunctional to describe specifically him.
He means well, most of the time–he’s just not very discerning of how he goes about achieving his goals and if it means shooting some bitches in the face, well, that’s the nature of life and death hey?
Absolutely do not fuck with Ezra if you don’t want to invite Mikhail’s wrath. That’s the fastest way to get it. He just loses all sense when it comes to Ezra.
His accent is thick and his English is still faintly bad. Some people can’t understand him because the Boris is so strong.
Has some identity issues.
Does not really look like a bonbon, and most certainly is not one. If you get the impression otherwise, he either really likes you, or wants to bite you. One of the two.

Ellen Fa

Ellen: Medieval English form of Helen, from Greek helene, “torch,” or perhaps related to selene, “moon.”
Fa: From Chinese 花, hua, meaning “flower.”

Age: 48
Gender: Female
Pronouns: She / Her
Species: Mooncaster
Hair / Eye Colour: Lavender / Purple
Ethnicity: Chinese-Jamaican
Star Sign: Aries

Tiny angry thing, she’s 4′ 9″. Thicc af. Clearly some sort of Asian, but she has a slightly darker skin tone and her hair’s prone to kinky texture.
Her hair’s naturally black she just keeps it lavender. Because reasons, who knows.
Basically everyone’s bitchy aunt, who’s always present for family reunions somehow, and it’s a mystery how because no one’s telling her about them, she just knows.
Though she’s easy to write off as being abrasive ( read: bitchy ), she’s the only one that tells the truth half the time. It’s hard to accept but it is what it is.
Also a shaman and a seer, which sucks because it really just gives her a migraine for something she can’t remember later. Low-key pissed about Kara losing her magic.
Believe it or not her favourite colour is not purple.
Kinda looks like a cinnabon, would probably kill you.

Etienne Hayes

Etienne: French form of Stephen, from Greek Stephanos, meaning “crown.” Or more specifically, “that which surrounds.” Saint Stephen is regarded as the first Christian martyr.
Hayes: From varying place names derived from Old English haeg, meaning “enclosure, fence.” Alternatively, from Irish O hAodha, meaning “descendant of Aodh.” Aodh is from Old Irish Aed, meaning “fire.” Potentially also a matronymic name from Chaya, feminine form of Hebrew Chaim, from chayyim, “life.”

Age: 109
Gender: Male
Pronouns: He / Him
Species: Skycaster
Hair / Eye Colour: Black / Red
Ethnicity: Moroccan
Star Sign: Virgo

Tol, 6′, his eyes are kind of brownish sometimes but mostly look red. Also quite bushy. Everyone’s grandpa maybe. He’s very dark skinned.
Was a teacher at Elysium, Sergei’s predecessor. He, Kara, and Aine might’ve been a poly who knows.
Constantly torn between Aine-is-insane and Kara-is-skittish. He needs two of himself except he doesn’t think that’d help very much anyway.
Honestly the brains of most operations involving the former mentors and it makes him Tired. Nice guy, just don’t make him angry.
Doesn’t look much like a cinnabon. Looks like he gives really good hugs. Might kill you if the dice fell right ( or wrong… )

Kara Whitten

Kara: Variant of Cara, from an Italian word meaning “beloved,” or an Irish word meaning “friend.”
Whitten: First found in various shires throughout ancient Britain, from Old English hwit, “white,” and tun, “enclosure, yard, village.”

Age: 106
Gender: Female
Pronouns: She / Her
Species: Former Mooncaster
Hair / Eye Colour: White / Purple
Ethnicity: Libyan
Star Sign: Aquarius

Tiny tiny thing, 5′ 1″, almost like a little mouse in human shape. Has a bit of a baby face. Seer and a shaman. Was the magic teacher that mentored Ellen. Darker bronzey skin tone.
Ellen may or may not be her daughter, who knows.
Keeps to herself now and hides because there’s almost always someone out to kill her. Alternatively, she might just be paranoid.
Etienne hangs around at least, so that’s nice. Makes her feel better.
Tends to Know Shit without trying and not in that just-had-a-vision way, more of a wow-are-you-sure-that’s-just-intuition way.
Speaks three languages, one of which is mermish.
Looks like a cinnabon. Really is one.

Sergei Sokolov

Sergei: Alternate Romanization of Russian and Bulgarian Сергей, form of Latin sergius, perhaps meaning “servant.”
Sokolov: Meaning “son of Sokol,” from Czech and Slovak sokol meaning “falcon.” Also a Jewish ornamental name.

Age: 51
Gender: Male
Pronouns: He / Him
Species: Earthcaster
Hair / Eye Colour: Greying Brown / Green
Ethnicity: Russian
Star Sign: Virgo

Large bushy guy. Pale skinned. Looks like everyone’s dad. 5′ 7″
The current teacher of practical magic. Eternally put-upon because he’s the only one in Elysium with any fucking sense. … alright the voordalaks and njeriyks are mostly okay.
He attracts a very specific type of student, as most of those who come across him and start to learn from him either appreciate his frankness, or learn very quickly they don’t have the emotional fortitude to handle him.
Mostly he rearranges the bookshelves, loses at video games, and cries about it to his plants.
He didn’t really want to be a teacher, and wasn’t supposed to succeed Etienne, he just did. Because the All decided he was going to.
Looks like a cinnabon. Is one. He’s the brains here, not the brawn, okay?

Aine Roland

Aine: Meaning “radiance, brilliance” in Irish. This is the name of a goddess of love and fertility, thought to live at the hill of Cnoc Aine in Limerick. Sometimes Anglicized as Anne, which is unrelated.
Roland: Anglicized form of Gaelic O Ruadhain, meaning “descendant of Ruadhan.” Ruadhan derives from Old Irish Ruadan, meaning “little red.”

Age: 56
Gender: Female
Pronouns: She / Her, and she’s offended you had to ask
Species: Skycaster
Hair / Eye Colour: Black / Grey
Ethnicity: Irish
Star Sign: Capricorn

Extremely pale. Probably hasn’t seen the sun for longer than she’s been alive. Looks like a toothpick could break her. 5′ 5″.
The destructive magic teacher at Elysium before Diede. At least, theoretically. Kara and Etienne don’t acknowledge her as such, so neither does Ellen.
Diede looked up to her as a mentor and maternal figure. Aine is too transphobic to manage to be anything more than Diede’s tormentor, ultimately.
Most people had issues with her, but nothing that could be directly traced back to her. Some people might’ve died mysteriously while she was around.
Disappeared around the end of the Strix Wars.
Looks sort of bonbonny, would gleefully kill you. Just, carefully.

Katrina Maleficent

Katrina: Anglicized Scottish Gaelic Caitriona, which is a form of Katherine, from Greek Aikaterine. Its etymology is unclear, perhaps from hekateros, “each of the two,” perhaps from Hecate, from hekas “far off.” Else from aikia, “torture,” or from katharos, “pure.”
Maleficent: From maleficence, “causing harm.” Derived from Latin maleficentia.

Age: 84
Gender: Female
Pronouns: She / Her
Species: Voordalak
Hair / Eye Colour: Black / Red
Ethnicity: Ghanan
Star Sign: Cancer

Athletic build, looks like she jumps around a lot, very flexible. Darker skin tone, sort of unnaturally ashy. 5′ 8″. BOOTY.
Spends most of the story dead. Like dead-dead. So there’s that.
Not exactly friends with Jezebel, but not really not friends. They’re more like each other’s convenient accessories. There might be fucking going on.
Not a very nice person and never gave much of a shit.
Almost looks like a cinnabon sometimes; will absolutely kill you.

Jezebel Reign

Jezebel: From Hebrew ‘lzevel, maybe from a Phoenician name, perhaps containing Semitic root zbl, “to exalt, to dwell.” Could be an altered form of Phoenician Ba’l’izbel, meaning “Ba’al exalts.” It is often used as a word to describe a wicked or shameless woman.
Reign: A period of rule by a sovereign. From Middle English reine, regne, from Old French reigne, and ultimately Latin regnum.

Age: 119
Gender: Female
Pronouns: She / Her
Species: Voordalak
Hair / Eye Colour: Black / Grey
Ethnicity: Italian-Macedonian
Star Sign: Capricorn

5′ 3″, so she’s tiny and full of rage. Pale as fuck, pure concentrated demon. Curvy though at least, it’s more stocky than anything.
Sadistic as hell; she’s Caleb’s sire. Likes fucking with people’s heads and the challenge of leaving scars on voordalaks.
Comes from old money. Killed her entire family and took the inheritance because hey, she was going to live forever anyway. Still pretty loaded. Might be wanted for a few crimes in some jurisdictions but who cares.
Hangs with Kat. Sort of. Kat gets shit done.
Kind of looks like a cinnabon, but she will definitely kill you. Eventually.