Jay Castle
Orphaned by war, Jay grew up in the castle of Calonade as a cook’s boy. Galathian troops have occupied the city all his life. Being half Galathian himself, he has never fit in. He’s either a target for scorn or simply ignored. When he joins the academy and qualifies to compete in the race for Top Cadet, he earns a shot at a life beyond that of a servant. With the right balance of luck and skill, he could win an assignment with the Horse Division and ride out of Calonade for good.
Illustration by Walter R @walt1710/Fiverr
Jortica Eventide
After surviving a storm that killed her mother and took her father’s sight, Jortica vowed to find a life away from the treacherous sea. She joined the academy because its constant challenge kept the echoes of the storm in her head at bay. Plus, she reveled in the surprise on the faces of the men she bested in combat and book learning. When she becomes the first and only woman and full-born Calonaden to qualify for the Top Cadet contest, she seizes the chance to shock an entire empire.
Illustration by Walter R @walt1710/Fiverr
Sephy Alcott
As a young engineer-entrepreneur, Sephy parked a space station in the orbit of a rogue black hole. When she anchored the hub of a galaxy-spanning transit system to the station, ship travel became obsolete. What’s an encore to that? Monopolizing the control and trade of close to a thousand seeded planets, of course. Living in a time dilation that makes each day in the station last as long as a year, Sephy has become the leader of the most powerful corporation ever. From her seat at the top, new challenges are few and far between. When she gets wind of a classified medical experiment that could solve the genetic damage of the species, she plants it on a seeded planet orbiting a blue star. Since the star is too unstable for a decent return on investment, the planet is already a write-off. Then she erases the whole thing from the database and lets it ride for about five station years or roughly two millennia in main time. On a clandestine trip to check in the experiment, Sephy discovers the dirtside situation has gone awry. The seeded humans have advanced well beyond the stone age and it’s time to reassert planetary controls.
Illustration by Walter R @walt1710/Fiverr
Clockwork Crow
This enigmatic harbinger arrives at the just right moment with a cryptic message or perplexing clue. The origins of this magically mechanical bird remain a mystery. Could it be the servant of an aging goddess, the plaything of an immortal tyrant, or the tool of a hidden mastermind? Perhaps it is a creature onto itself with inscrutable motivations. Is it keeping a crow eye on things, or do its comings and goings have no agenda beyond chance? One thing is for sure: it’s a thief, because the epic saga starts when it steals a magical stone from a mad cyber-automaton.
Illustration by @PolestarDesigns/Freelancer
Hyssa Fyley
As the most capable and dreaded sub-director of the Willacast Corporation, Fyley’s expression is permanently set to disapproving. The most exemplary work only elicits disappointment and scorn. Seen here in her drab office, the beauty of the starry vista outside the space station viewport is overshadowed by her eric frown.
Fyley runs operations for the most sophisticated orbiting structure ever built on an antiquated computer tablet. And yet, the central hub of the galaxy spanning transit network never misses a beat with her in charge. Fyley remains the iconic testament against motivational speeches.
Glyn Styers
As a cyber-technician, she fights against the morally bankrupt paradigm of the Willacast Corporation from within. She saves lives every day by programming a moral compass into planet-governing automatons. Seen here in the lab on Alcott Station, she examines a rogue D-12 automaton called Nyimma from Braska.
Glyn looks wrinkled and gray because she is genetically damaged. The collapse of Earth and the diaspora of humanity into the reaches of space left indelible marks. The Willacast Corporation controls nearly a thousand seeded planets in which genetically viable humans are kept in primitive living conditions as reproduction and slave labor commodities. Glyn’s job is to maintain the automata controls which keep the system going even as she strives to change it.
