John Egbert – The Heir

Age: 16 years old


An ancient prophecy announced him as Skaia’s savior. His birth was preceded by winds of unbelievable power. As the Heir, he is bound to bring peace upon Skaia and rule as a peace-loving sovereign. At the time of his birth, Skaia was still peaceful. John’s childhood was calm, despite the lack of normality; he was taken away from his parents and raised by dignitaries. Thus, having human friends his age was almost impossible. His only contacts were with his servants (carapaces) and his tutors. He met with Jane, briefly, when he was 4.

He received a formation regarding various subjects: politics, philosophy, history, etiquette, etc. To gain knowledge of monarchy, he had many occasions to spend time with the King and Queen of Prospit. Each encounter was different from the others: sometimes, John and his sovereigns had idle chats about anything; other times, it was serious conversations about how to reign over a kingdom, about politics and about philosophy.

Even with this austere training, John came out as an upbeat, funny guy. He liked to pull pranks on people and that drove his servants crazy. John had, since a young age, been fascinated by theatrical representations. Companies were often asked to perform private plays for John and his entourage. John liked pretty much all the plays, even the bad ones. He shared this interest with Jake. Together, they were the ultimate amateurs of prospitian theatre. On rare occasions, dersite companies were invited to perform in front of them.

Since it was unclear how John would bring peace upon the world, he was taught to wield the legendary Warhammer of Zillyhoo. That ancient weapon possesses incredible magic powers and strength. It had been kept and protected by Prospit’s royal family for such a long time but no one was ever found worthy of it. The hammer was meant to be used with caution and only in specific situation. Never should it be used to hurt other living creatures or to perpetrate evil. John never had the occasion to use until now.

When the two kingdoms were at peace, John followed the White King and Queen, visiting Derse and Skaia. He met various people on his visits and kept in touch with them through letters. He developed a friendship with Dave and later on, with Rose. Since John’s role as Skaia’s savior was acknowledged by everyone on Prospit and Derse, he has always been heavily guarded. His personal guards composed of Humans and Carapaces always follow him wherever he goes. He also has Jake, the Page, to protect him. Due to the fact they have to spend next to every instant together, they have a close bond. When his presence outside the palace was not mandatory, he was kept inside for his own security. However, his friend Jade sometimes helped Jake and him sneaking out of the castle with her magic powers!

With the Condesce taking over Derse and declaring war to Prospit, John’s role as the Heir took all its meaning. The “she” in the prophecy was finally revealed. As Prospit prepares for the war, John still has no idea how he is supposed to stop the evil troll. However, he is surrounded by people who have sworn to help him.

Relevant documentation:
"The old Prophet"
"The Heir and the Page

TAKEN! => Character sheet


Jade Harley – The Witch of the Green Sun

Age: 16 years old


Born in the aristocracy of Prospit, Jade was chosen by the current Wizard of the Green Sun to become her successor. Her parents let her go with the Wizard: it was a great honor to have their child chosen to become Prospit’s next Witch. Since the age of 1, she lived in the Wizard’s tower. She had barely seen her parents since then. Before her apprenticeship began, the Wizard performed the ritual on her, officialising their link. The symbol was engraved on her chest, beneath her left collar bone. He then proceeded to teach her basic knowledge: how to write, read and express herself clearly. He also taught her humility and respect, for her role was to serve Prospit’s royalty. In parallel with these intellectual teachings, he taught her the secrets of the Green Sun’s magic. She was handed Becquerel’s book and expected to know every word of it. Her practical training was really hardcore and she would often faint because of the intense efforts. She would also receive injuries of various degrees of gravity. She learned to endure the pain and took every challenge with courage.

During her training, Jade had absolutely no right to leave her master’s tower. When he had to leave to fulfill his obligations, she was to stay in the tower and resume her training on her own: she would read ancient books, meditate and practice her magic skills. Guards were there to prevent her from leaving.

When she was 9 years old, her master died in his sleep at the age of 174. At that moment, she officially became Prospit’s Witch. Her sequestration ended and she was free to go wherever she wanted. She of course travelled to Derse and Skaia. With her cheerful personality, she had no problem making new friends. Also, she didn’t mind to mingle with “lower classes”. She met people on Derse such as Dave and Dirk who shared her wish to protect their respective planet; on Prospit, her friends included trolls and the kids from aristocracy she had no occasion to meet before. For example, she became friend with Jake and Jane. She grew pretty fond of John with whom she has a lot of fun. She thinks being stuck in the Palace for so long is boring and helped him sneak out a few times. After all, with her powers, she is able to protect him. Jade also met Rose when she acted as her guide around the kingdom.

While exploring Prospit, she found out about the trolls trying to reinstall the hemospectrum domination. She met Karkat who was at first really heinous with her. Determined to end this abomination, she talked with the White Queen who passed new laws to prevent blood discrimination.

When the Condesce took control of Derse, Jade’s connexions with her friends were severed. She could send letters to her friends with her powers, but she could receive theirs. She asked PM to keep delivering letters for her and any person willing to communicate with Dersites. To help the mail lady avoid the enemy ships, Jade performed various rituals on her ship (see PM’s description for more details).

Jade is therefore really active in the fight against the Condesce. Her official role as the Witch sends her at the front line where she must either help the army to prepare or simply fight. She still communicates with her friends on Derse and helps them organise their uprising. However, she might be required to help the Heir stop the war. Finally, Jade is involved in the troll rebellion.

Relevant documentation:
"Wizard/Witch of the Green Sun"

TAKEN


Jake English – The Page

Age: 18 years old

Jake was born in an aristocratic family. Nothing announced that he would have a special life. However, on the day of the Heir’s birth, his parents tragically died in a plane accident caused by the gigantic gusts of wind. Jake’s parents were coming back from a diplomatic trip to Derse. Their son was considered too young to go (he was 2) and was left on Prospit, to the cares of the servants. The death of Mister English and his wife meant only one thing: Jake was bound to be the Page. Now an orphan, he was taken to the same part of the Palace were John would be raised. He was educated the same way John was except the philosophical and political part of it was less important.

To enable him to protect John, he had to follow an intense military training, which was pretty unusual on Prospit. Long hours of sword fighting made him a skilled protector. However, his mission demanded more than short-range protection: Jake had to protect John from any kind of harm. The eventuality of someone coming close enough to Jake for a swords-fight would mean John was close to danger. Too close. And the protection provided by a sword was too limited. Therefore, Jake was trained at shooting, something he was particularly skilled at. After a few years of training, he was able to shoot really small moving targets. He also received tactical training to help him identify dangerous situations and avoid them. Jake’s physical resemblance with John allows him to be his double. Sadly, he has no real life of his own. He is doomed to be the Heir’s shadow.

When Jake was 6, he met Jane who was exceptionally allowed out of the Temple of Life to meet John. Since their age proximity, they bonded easily. When he had free time, Jake was often seen sneaking in the Temple to find Jane. Jake followed John when he travelled. He met a few people that way. For example, he often met Dirk during diplomatic meetings where John was invited.

In his free time, when John was in good hands (for example when he was with the White King and Queen), Jake liked to wander outside of the castle and explore Prospit’s moon. That’s as far as he went because he was afraid he would get caught. When they were older and Jade started helping John sneaking out of the castle, Jake tagged along. These moments were the best: there was no one to tell them what to do and they were unstoppable.

Despite his role as the Page, Jake had one hobby no one could take away from him. He was lucky to share his love for theatrics with the Heir. That fact made it possible for him to view countless plays. To this day, Jake had never seen a play he didn’t enjoy.

The Condesce’s rise to power changed Jake’s life as well. Before that event, the threats to John’s safety were minors. In fact, Jake seldom had occasions to fight to protect him. He knew since he was young that one day he would have to put his life on the line to protect the Heir. Jake now trains more than he ever did so he will not fail his mission.

Relevant documentation:
"The Heir and the Page"
"The old Prophet"

TAKEN! => Character sheet


Jane Crocker – The Maiden, future Head Priestess of the Temple of Life

Age: 18 years old


Jane was born in a regular aristocratic family. She was identified as having special abilities by the current Head Priestess. Upon being explained the situation, Jane’s parents gave their daughter to the Temple of Life, honored to have her to play such a significant role in the prophecy.

Jane was therefore raised as a maiden of the Temple of Life. She had no special treatment; however, her training was way heavier than the rest of the maidens, but no one ever told her why. Added to her regular training (basic knowledge, learning prayers, meditating, etc.), she had to read books about advanced healing techniques, had to stay hours in the shrine when all the other maidens were sleeping and studying politics. Jane always considered that part of the training odd since all maidens were meant to stay in the Temple and had no business with the “real world” outside of ceremonies. When she was 6, she was told about her fate: that she was bound to help the Heir save the world. She met John (who was 4 at the time) and Jake, something that made her fate more real than anything else. After that, she had to train as if nothing had change. Only now she knew why she was different from the other maidens. The Head Priestess had her work on her healing skills. Jane started to be able to heal small animals after a few months – a faint light would irradiate from her hands and heal the wound. She then became able to heal carapaces. Humans were harder, but she worked day and night to polish her skills.

When Jane was twelve, the Head Priestess decided Jane was old enough and that her maiden spirituality was strong enough to go outside the Temple; she was allowed to go in the Palace, but her training was not to suffer from it or her privilege would be revoked. When she was younger and couldn’t leave the Temple, she would often receive visits from Jake who came to see her. The Head Priestess didn’t like it at all and Jake would be kicked out shamelessly. But as a result, Jane and Jake are pretty close friends. When she was allowed to go in the Palace, she met with him on a regular basis.

A night when she was thirteen, a duo of wandering carapces showed up at the Temple, asking for shelter. One of the carapaces looked kind of weird. Jane observed them for a while and figured out that the taller one was in fact a human girl around her age. When confronting her about that, she was perplexed to see that the girl named Roxy didn’t have an answer as for why she was disguising herself as a carapace. Jane thought Roxy’s ways of living were peculiar but she couldn’t help to feel sympathy toward her. The next day, Roxy was gone with her carapace “dad” and Jane never saw her again.

Jane is not officially the Head Priestess. She will be when her tutor dies. She doesn’t have to officiate during major ceremonies, which let her focus on her special training.

When the Condesce became the new empress of Derse, Jane had to prepare to take her place at the Heir’s side. Since the prophecy doesn’t include the maiden and her help is solely based on the Old Prophet’s last words, her role is left to interpretation. Fighting had always been prohibited by the Cult of Life. Therefore, Jane lacks of practical skills to help John. Her strength resides in her healing abilities and her strong will. She might hide some physicals abilities but they are yet to be discovered.

Relevant documentation:
"The Temple of Life"
"The old Prophet"

For more information on Jane's relationship with Roxy:
Roxy's character sheet

TAKEN => Character sheet


Dave Strider – The Knight

Age: 16 years old


Dave’s parents were part of the royal families. Since the Prince was already born two years before, it was decided that Dave would take the military course. It was how things went. Dave never really had a choice. From the moment he was able to stand on his two legs, he was handed a sword and started his training. He was amazingly talented and his teachers praised him a lot. It wasn’t long before he became the best recruit. He was seven and could win a swordfight against someone twice his age. In between his military training, Dave was taught basic society etiquette. He had some intellectual education too, but it was not were his focus was.

Since the age of eight, Dave often asked to join the army. He was so good, training was dull. However, his masters thought he was too young to go. Even with his mastery of sword fighting, there were many aspects of military training he lacked understanding of. Military formation was separated in two different aspects: fighting and tactics. Dave was the best at the first one. The second, however, was not his strong point. He wasn’t one to plan carefully. He was the kind to rush into battle without thinking twice, which was working quite well for him. He was skilled to improvise. However, that wasn’t the type of people Derse wanted in its army, especially if they were less than ten years old.

Dave had to work really hard to fill the gap between his stronger and weaker points. His tactic training took all his time. After years of training, he was finally allowed to be part of the army. His first mission was given to him when he was twelve. It was an easy mission and he did more than was expected of him. Mission after mission, he gained respect from the officials. He won medals over medals. At fourteen, he was promoted: he gained a position as the youngest officer of Derse’s army. Dave was not only respected by his fellow soldiers but also by the population. He was sort of Derse’s hero. He saved civilians and soldiers alike; he risked his life on a regular basis.

Dave grew up with the other army recruits. They weren’t really his friends, though. They were only fighting partners. One person he grew close to, however, is his cousin Dirk. Even if they had different schedules, they spent a lot of time together. Dave really looked up to Dirk. Even if he was not trained for the military career, he was more of a strategist than Dave could ever dream to be.

Dave visited Prospit a lot. When he was still a kid, he went there with his parents. He met Jade and John, with whom he became friend. When he was older, he went on Prospit while on duty. He was often sent out to protect royalty. He also met Rose when she came out of her confinement. They became friends despite the weird dynamic they have together. Dave thinks she’s nice but she kinds of freaks him out at times.

When Dirk, warned by Rose, planed his escape, he talked to Dave and asked him to stay in the army. He said that he needed someone inside, someone who could tell him about the Condesce’s plans. He told him that Rose could do that, of course. That she intended to do it all along. But that with her gifts, she would be locked inside the palace and that the Condesce would never let her go. He said he needed someone free to go wherever he wanted to act as a spy. Dave accepted without question. He trusted Dirk with his life. The Condesce took the King and Queen’s place. Dave played his role a little too well. The population started to hate him for helping the Condesce. They consider him as a traitor.

Relevant documentation:
"Dersite army"

For more information on Dave's relationship with Dirk:
Dirk's character sheet

For more information on Dave's relationship with Rose:
Rose's character sheet

TAKEN => Character sheet


Rose Lalonde – The Seer

Age: 16 years old


Rose’s birth was announced by a prospitian prophet. He saw in a dream that during a meteor shower night, a dersite girl gifted with seer abilities would be born. This prophecy was unusual since no seer was ever born on Derse; this was Prospit’s particularity. Therefore, that baby girl would be the only dersite Seer. Seventeen years after that dream, the meteor shower naturally happened and Rose was born. Her parents were part of the royal families. This meant that with Roxy supposedly dead, she was meant to take the vacant Princess role. There was a disagreement between aristocracy and the followers of the Horrorterrors who claimed her so she could be educated properly. The Black Queen decided that her Seer powers were more important for Derse than the Princess was. The Black Queen’s veto forced the royal families to let go of their beloved Princess.

Rose was raised in the Horrorterrors community and was never allowed out. She didn’t see the outside world before her formation was over, at the age of thirteen. Rose had a complete education; despite having never seen the world, she had great knowledge of everything. She learned to read and write at a young age and liked it a lot. In secret, she would sometimes write stories for her own amusement. Her spiritual education started early in her life: she was taught how to communicate with the Horrorterrors through meditation. She went through the complete initiation of the Circle and became one of their members.

When her training was completed, she had the right to go out as she pleased. But before that, she had to go on a tour of Skaia. Her mentors wanted to show the universe how wonderful Derse’s Seer was. Therefore, during a month, she was travelling on Derse, Prospit and Skaia to wave at cheering carapaces. While touring on Prospit, she met Jade, her guide. They bonded over their spiritual powers. She met John at the same time.

Back on Derse, she was finally to do whatever she wanted. Due to her long years of sequestration and obscure affiliation (she would often be accused of wielding dark magic), she had an odd sense of reality and her social interactions were often awkward... for the other person. She had that weird ability to make everyone feel uncomfortable by telling them exactly the right thing (or the wrong thing, depending of the perspective). In fact, her knowledge of the future was a big part of the weird aura she was carrying around. Even with that handicap, she met people from Derse’s aristocracy such as Dirk and Dave. She became friends with them after a while. She especially likes to tease Dave. Their relationship is based on showdowns between his coolness and her apparent knowledge of everything.

With her Seer powers, she foresaw the Condesce’s coup d’État. She warned Dirk about it, just in time for him to get out and avoid being killed. Rose is now stuck on Derse: the Condesce want to keep her near, for her powers could help her win the war. The Seer is for now playing along with the Condesce. As talented an actress as she is, she is on the Rebellion’s side. However, like Dave, she is considered as a traitor and most of the population hate her for it.

Relevant documentation:
"The Noble Circle of Horrorterrors"
"The Prince and Princess" (minor)

TAKEN => Character sheet


Dirk Strider - The Prince

Age: 18 years old


Dirk’s parents were part of the human royalty. As the first boy born after the wedding of the previous Prince and Princess, he was meant to be the new Prince. He was expected to attend ceremonies, balls and parades; and he was to appear with the Princess at each of these events. He would have been expected to follow the traditional courtship leading to their wedding (i.e. offering flowers and jewels, send her gallant letters, etc.).

Because of Roxy’s disappearance, Dirk never had to go through this process. He was educated as any other Prince would have been; he grew up in the Prince’s tower and he was taught politics and history, along with regular etiquette. He was also allowed to choose any subject to study during his free time between official obligations. At a really young age, Dirk took a liking in building things. He started studying mechanics. He was really skilled and soon enough, he was building small machines for his personal enjoyment. Working up his skill, he was soon able to provide new machinery to Derse’s army and improve the existing ones.

When he was roughly four, he saw that his cousin Dave pushed full-speed in the military career and asked his parents if he could do the same. They told him that because of his Prince duties, he couldn’t expect to have as hardcore a training as Dave would have. However, they agreed that his future, after retiring and having a hypothetic wedding (the princess was still missing), would be brighter if he had military training: he could be part of Derse’s army and bring glory to the Strider family. Dirk therefore followed a training similar to Dave’s, but less intense due to his busy schedule. The Prince was talented in both aspects of the military training. He became a skilled swordsman and one of the finest strategists, much to Dave’s envy. Dirk is good at planning strategies. However, he must have the time to do so. When confronted to a moment where improvisation is the key, he often takes bad decisions leading to failure or to dangerous situations.

The lack of Princess led Dirk to spend more time with Derse’s royalty, with the Black Queen more specifically. They chatted together and sometimes played chess. They developed a close bond: the Black Queen had trust in Dirk and she loved him greatly; Dirk considered her as a motherly figure.

Dirk was also really interested in philosophy. He read all the philosophy books he could find on Derse and when he was done, he borrowed some from Prospit’s royal library. The Prince was a freethinker. He saw the flaws of Derse’s organisation and aimed to fix them. He also wished for the two rival planets, Derse and Prospit, to be at peace.

As he grew older, he outgrew his symbolic role. Not only was he the Prince, a public person loved by the population, but he was also able to influence the Black King and Queen’s reign. He was really active in Derse’s politic, which was unusual for a Prince. The Black Queen was really inspired by Dirk’s ideals, which instigated the reform of Derse’s legal system.

Due to his Prince duties, Dirk travelled a lot. He was often on Prospit where he met John, Jake, Jade and Jane. He made friends among Derse’s nobility. Since childhood, he was close to Dave, whom he regarded as a little brother. They spent a lot of time together due to their training. He was also interested to meet Rose, the girl who came close to become his wife. When she came out of her isolation, he finally met her. Her singularity didn’t scare him off; it made her interesting. Soon, they became friends as well. Lucky for Dirk because wouldn’t it have been from Rose’s insight of the Condesce’s coup d’état, he would have seen it too late and would probably have been killed. With Rose’s warning, they had time to plan his escape and what would happen next. By running away, Dirk was not abandoning his kingdom to its fate: he was taking measures to be able to do something. Dirk entrusted Dave the role to act as a spy and to protect Rose.

Dirk is now hiding somewhere on Derse, trying to free his homeland and prevent the dawning war.

Relevant documentation:
"The Prince and Princess"

TAKEN => Character sheet


Roxy – The Rogue Princess

Age: 18 years old


Roxy was born in one of the royal families. The previous Prince and Princess had their wedding a little less than a year ago and Roxy was the first girl to be born since then; that made her the new Princess. She was bound to have a life full of salons, balls, ceremonies and parades. Her education would have been courtesy and etiquette, about how to be pretty and to make people love you. She would also have had been taught various subjects such as history, politics, and pretty much any subjects she would find interest in. She would also have been taught music. In fact, her education would have made her the perfect lady. Ultimately, she would marry the Prince, Dirk, who was born the day before.

Young Roxy was taken to live in the Princess’s tower and had nannies to take care of her. She was an unruly child. She was often escaping her cradle and wandering around the palace, spreading panic behind her. Servants would run around to find her and bring her back to her room.

When she was a little older than one year old, she escaped her cradle once again and crawled out of the palace through the door her nanny forgot to shut tight. Roxy crawled her way in one of the shuttles without anyone noticing her. She travelled a long time before falling asleep somewhere in Derse’s lower district. A wandering carapace found her all alone. It was Wayward Vagabond. He took the baby and looked around for her parents. But went it was obvious they were nowhere to be found, he decided to keep her with him. It never occurred to him that she was a baby from royalty; after all, he found her in the slums. By the time the servants found Roxy’s room empty and sent guards to find her, WV had already took a ship to Skaia with Roxy in his arms. Guards searched every inch of Derse to find the missing Princess. After a few months, they had to dismiss her as dead. However, the apparent curse put on the royal families was the foundation of rumours concerning the Rogue Princess. Carapaces said she was still alive and that one day, she would come back. They waited patiently for the girl with blond hair and pink eyes to return.

When WV found her, Roxy was wearing a bracelet at her wrist: it was a very sophisticated jewel with her name engraved on it. He decided “Roxy” would be her name.

Roxy grew up while travelling on Skaia with WV. Since she was little, WV found her a way to pass as a carapace so she wouldn’t feel out of place: black tunic, skin tight leggings and a mask. Raised by a carapace, she lacks the education she was supposed to receive as a Princess. She doesn’t know how to write or to read. Having spent almost her whole life on Skaia, she had never grasped the hierarchy of Derse, therefore never fully questioning her origins. She might lack the society skills she was supposed to learn but by being raised abroad and having to live wild, she learned how to survive and how to fight.

Roxy and WV went on Derse and Prospit on a few occasions. When she was thirteen, they went on the golden planet; the weather was so bad they had to ask for shelter at the Temple of Life. That’s where Roxy met Jane. As soon as she saw another human, she wanted to befriend her. She had only one night to know her but it let her craving for human contact even more than before.

Now that she is older, Roxy is seeking independence. She was always drawn to Derse, even before WV told her that’s where she comes from. She decided she wanted to explore it more. However, with the recent coup d’état on Derse, her coming back might be a little more dangerous than planned.

Relevant documentation:
"The Prince and Princess"