Characters

The Setting: Long ago, the great Lokansa Union sought out thousands of habitable worlds, stitching them together through  a vast hyperspace network known as the Weave. While the Lokansa are no more, its network and the array of terraformed worlds it links remains, forming the territory of the successor Empire of Lorgany. As the light of the Miroku Emperor fades and the Weave falls into chaos, a few remnants of the Empire form the organization YANA to turn back the tide of oblivion.

Sigils: In Lorgany, certain people known as espers can alter reality through sheer force of will. They do so by serving as living conduits for sigils - conceptual entites that exist on higher levels of reality. Channeling a sigil into a specific desired effect requires great mental exertion, and espers typically use a form of art as a way of focusing their minds.  Generally, becoming an esper requires a specific and often harrowing event that opens one's mind to a specific sigil, and espers who draw more power than they can handle can easily experience ego death. 

Some sigils possess consciousness, and rarely a sigil may incarnate in a physical body.

Dragons: Lorgany is home to dragons, strange beings that straddle the material and divine realms. Each dragon possesses a 'soul' - in essence, a Sigil tied to their being - and immense power. These souls allow dragons to navigate the ancient channels of the Weave without fear of dissolution, and to transmit a portion of their memories to their offspring. As the only practical means of faster-than-light travel outside the fixed Weave routes, dragons reign as the nobility of the Lorganian Empire. At the head of the Empire sits the Miroku Emperor, who reincarnates and moves closer to spiritual perfection with each death. The Emperor also possesses the Seal of Heaven, a great sigil that forces any other dragon to obey them.

Main Cast

Ksiti Himabhasa, High Speaker: A young dragon born without a soul. When the Seal of Heaven failed, a group of scientists on a backwater planet were contracted to clone a line of dragons for use as living weapons. This project was discovered by the Empire and destroyed, but a single clone survived and eventually fell into the hands of Marek Allioch, who raised her. Along with an inability to use dragons' divine sigil-craft, she has a variety of health problems, and her and Marek spent much of the first part of her life searching for a cure. Eventually, she plays a decisive role in the Lorganian War as the public leader of YANA.

Ksiti is kind, spirited, and deeply emphatetic. She has a remarkable ability to form bonds across barriers of culture and experience, and can speak most of the common Lorganian languages fluently. As she doesn't have a soul-Sigil, she channels the Dawn Over Katha, a sigil of bright snow and radiant mountains. She uses song and dance as foci. 

Fun fact: Ksiti really likes trashy soap operas and forces Marek to watch them with her (she claims it's cultural research).

Art by Aldermoth

Marek Allioch, Sword-Saint of Katha: The last dragonrider knight. When the Empire discovered a secret cloning project on Marek's homeworld, they unleashed a horrific bioweapon plague as  punishment, and Marek barely survived the decade of societal collapse that followed.  Somewhere along the line, a dragon seeking to destroy the last traces of the project found him and took him in (see Arish below), and Marek eventually discovered Ksiti on his own. He's since stayed as Ksiti's side as her protector and closest friend. 

While reserved and prone to despair, Marek possesses a gentle heart and deep well of resolve. While a doctor by trade, he has an extensive knowledge of Lorganian history and sigil theory. His sigil is the Shrouded Flame, a Sigil of dissolution and quiet rebirth, and he channels it by reciting poetry. He also makes use of Light Without Shadow, a dangerously high-level sigil of blinding annihilation.

Fun fact: Marek is transgender.

Art by Aldermoth.

Anjali Jha, the Emperor's Blade: A former assassin of the mysterious Kindling Church, a cult close to the Emperor. When the Miroku Emperor was murdered and the Lorganian Civil War began, she was sent to find the Emperor's next reincarnation. She located the Emperor on a serf world just before his birth, and raised him after the death of his parents, giving him the name Vijay. When he eventually sought to return to the Imperial core, she served as his bodyguard and sole friend.

Anjali is cold and emotionless on the surface, although she harbors a resolute sense of justice and an unshakable will to stand up for what's right. While she has no sigil, she possesses extensive cybernetic modifications and centuries of experience.

Fun fact: Anjali's single hobby is architectural sketching.

Art by me.

Shura Panashata, Lost Echo: A living weapon from the Lokansa Empire, originally reprogrammed to serve as Satya's (see below) bodyguard. His neurological frame now contains a degraded backup copy of Satya's consciousness, primarily manifesting as a desire to serve and protect Ksiti. While other aspects of Satya's personality and memories sometimes rise to the surface, his mind is fundamentally alien. He travels with Marek and Ksiti.

Fun fact: He inherited Satya's enthuisiasm for poetry.

Art by Magnus_TheMage

Satya Amika, Revolutionary: The daughter of the CEO of a massive industrial conglomerate. She hates the conglomerate's cruelty, and meets Marek, Ksiti, and Hani when they inadvertently become involved in a serf-world rebellion she helped instigate against her father's corporation. Ksiti and her fall deeply in love, but she's killed when the rebellion goes sideways. A copy of her consciousness is embedded in Bhairava.

She is kind, idealistic, and naive, although she has surprisingly keen organizational skills. She has no sigil.

Fun fact: She's an avid poetry collector.

Supporting Cast - YANA

Thena and Ea, Leader and Follower: The joint leadership of YANA, known to all but a few as 'Leader' and 'Follower'.

Thena claims to be a former high-level Imperial administrator, and commands YANA's economic and military resources with ruthless but effective pragmatism. While she nominally answers to a council, she has ways of making sure her views come out on top. She and Ksiti rarely see eye-to-eye.

Ea is an embodied sigil of genesis and proliferation, and his past and connection to Thena are unclear. Behind the scenes, he serves as Thena's conscience. While he keeps a low profile, he mentors Kitty in sigil-craft due to their sigil's similarity to his own.

Kitesva "Kitty" Lermont, Climate Researcher: A former imperial terraforming specialist trained in climate modeling, now employed by YANA. Married to Vajra (see below). They are compassionate and straighforward, and possess Warmblood, a mid-level sigil of predation and fecundity, and sometimes use it to work as a emergency medic.

Art by Guttertongue.

Vajra Hosho, YANA Diplomat: A former imperial diplomat and subordinate of the Leader of YANA. When the Leader left to establish YANA, Vajra joined her. Vajra is reserved and pragmatic. Although Vajra possesses no sigil, her 'father' was an embodied sigil, and as a result her body is highly unstable. 

Art by Guttertongue (ignore the text box, I need to update it).

Magenta "Mag" Goryens, Ecologist: A former imperial terraforming specialist trained in plant ecology. Mag  worked in the same unit as Kitty and joined YANA with them. A laid-back nature-lover at heart. He was 'born' through a failed eugenics project and possesses a tenuous connection to an unknown high-level sigil, resulting in strong but unpredictable telepathic abilities. 

Art by Zereyade.

Kim Ikahtar-Simurgh Chief Engineer: A sub-chief-engineer aboard the Simurgh, the moon-size Lokansa-era starship used by YANA as a base of operations. A 'Lokansa Engineer', a genetically modified race created by the Lokansa to crew starships. Excitable, curious, and good friends with Hani.

Visha Karak, Thousand-Faced Informant: A 'freelance information specialist' hired by YANA. He possesses No Name, a sigil that allows him to shapeshift and remain below the notice of others, and uses it for infiltration. He's a snide trickster who loves playing games on others.

Supporting Cast - Empire

Arish Lakoth, Despairing Knight: A former Knight whose dragonrider partner died during their attempt to flee the outbreak of the civil war. He wandered the Empire searching for an answer for his grief, happening to meet and take in Marek on Marek's homeworld. He trained Marek in swordmanship and sigil-craft. His sigil is Sky Torn Open, and his sigil-craft takes the form of dazzling lightning.

Ram, High Lord: The former High Lord of Lorgany and the current leader of the Pathists. He 'rescued' Anjali and a teenage Vijay, and convinced Vijay to be crowned Emperor by the Pathists in exchange for power. Although he cast himself as Vijay's adoptive father, there was always tension between them, and Vijay gradually realized he was being used by a monster.

Ram is a nihilistic dragon-supremacist with a unshakable belief in the right of the strong to sweep away the weak, although he is adept at hiding his intentions behind a reasonable façade. Befitting a High Lord, he posseses nigh-unfathomable sigil-power.

Supporting Cast - Unaligned

Brigid, Swarm Heritor: An embodied sigil posing as a traveling doctor in the outer reaches of the Empire. She's good friends with Mag.

Art by Mlyeko.

Sasha Aslanov: A trained hunter of rogue espers. While he occasionally accepts contracts from YANA, he is deeply skeptical of its leadership. His sigil is Dead Eyes, a mid-level sigil of impending doom.

Art by Oldmintt.

Inana, Life Unyielding: An embodied sigil with many bodies throughout the Empire. She nursed Ksiti back to a semblance of health after Marek rescued her, and continues to take an interest in Ksiti's adventures.

Art by me.

Roanath Ayamira, Hero of a Bygone Age: A mysterious figure from the final days of the Lokansa Empire. Remembered as an extraordinarily powerful esper who prevented an unknown calamity. His sigil was Long Way to Eternity, granting him control over the flow of time.  Given his abilities, he may yet have a role to play.

Yosuli Akka: A mysterious figure from the final days of the Lokansa Empire, remembered as a companion of Roanath. His sigil was The Stars My Destination.