Click here to see the Primal of Life throne by Creatively Agnes full size.

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SOTORIA †

Mortal

Click here to see a full-size image of Sotoria by Art by Steffani.

Here are some details about Callum’s sister and the false King of Gods’ obsession (I hate referring to her as such. She’s a mortal. A woman—a beautiful one. One with a tragic history)…

Hair: The color of ruby-hued wine and falls to the middle of her back.

Eyes: Green like spring grass.

Body type: Slightly shorter than average height and voluptuously curvy.

Facial features: Oval face with angular cheekbones. Full, bow-shaped lips the color of berries. Strong brow. Some freckles across her nose to her eyes. Cute nose.

Personality: Timid but a fighter. Kind. Fierce. Stood up for her brother.

Background: Died by falling off a cliff while picking flowers for her sister’s wedding and getting scared by Kolis. Was brought back to life and kept as a prisoner. Died again, but had her soul marked so she’d constantly be reborn. Ends up sharing a soul with Seraphena and then being transferred to the Star diamond. Is finally reincarnated—I believe Poppy is Sotoria reborn but I have not received confirmation of that as yet.

Family: Brother = Callum. Sister = Anthea †.

SOTORIA’S JOURNEY TO DATE:

Poor Sotoria has had a rough journey. First, Kolis sees her and instantly becomes infatuated. When he reveals himself to her, it scares her enough that she falls from the Cliffs of Sorrow while picking flowers for Anthea’s wedding.

She enters the Vale and is fine, until Kolis rips her from there and brings her back to life. But she doesn’t come back the same. She’s morose and resentful. Not to mention she’s kept in a cage.

She eventually dies again—exact cause unknown, though there’s a rumor that Eythos killed her—and Eythos and Keella take measures to ensure she can’t be ripped out of the Vale again. They mark her soul, making it so she’ll be reborn over and over.

Eythos takes additional measures by placing her soul in Seraphena. But she’s not reborn as Sera, they share Sera’s body.

Inside Sera, she becomes enraged at the sight of Kolis in Dalos and the price he forces Sera to pay—the young draken’s death. Her fury fills Sera.

When Sera is captured and brought back to Dalos, Sotoria’s anger and panic fill Sera—it’s a reminder of what she endured.

As Sera is held in Dalos, Sotoria emerges several times, letting Sera feel her pain and fear and panic. She also lets loose her anger and fury at times when the embers rise within Sera.

Once Sera escapes, Sotoria feels herself being removed from Sera and questions the Primal, Keella, if she will be okay. Once she’s reassured, she lets go, letting herself be transferred into the Star diamond.

But on her way out, she tells Sera they’ll meet again.

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CALLUM

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The First Revenant Court: Dalos

Click here to see a full-size image of Callum by art.bymikki.

Hair: Golden. Shoulder-length.

Eyes: Pale blue—almost colorless—with eather.

Body type: Tall.

Facial features: Golden skin. Delicate curve to cheeks and chin.

Distinguishing features: Mole beneath his right eye. Soft lilt to his voice.

Preternatural features/abilities: Able to come back to life. Telekinesis.

Personality: Apathetic. Flippant. Cruel. Arrogant. Thick emotional walls.

Habits/Mannerisms/Strengths/Weaknesses: Wears gold. Is often seen with gold-winged face paint—an homage to Kolis. Knows Primal magic.

Wears a sword strapped to his back and a dagger on his thigh at times. Also two swords on his back—pommels down—and a black dagger strapped to his chest at others. Loves the word scampered.

Other: Incredibly old.

Background: Showed Isbeth how to make Revenants. Ezmeria thought he was a god. Told Calliphe how a Primal could be killed.

Family: Sisters = Sotoria † and Anthea †.

CALLUM’S JOURNEY TO DATE:

If I had to pick someone who both intrigues and terrifies me, it would be Callum. He’s incredibly enigmatic, but as someone even older than I, who

has been in league with some of the vilest of the vile, he admittedly scares me.

Callum first entered my radar when I saw him in the visions I had when Sera was attacked by the guards. I, like Ezra, thought he was a god at first. He immediately rubbed me the wrong way, taking obvious pleasure in Sera having killed the guards and then lying about it.

He later appears in Dalos when Kolis meets with Sera, peeking through the curtain and telling the draken Davon that they have something to take care of.

After that, I suspect that I caught a glimpse of him lurking in the shadows during Kyn’s ordered Cimmerian attack at the House of Haides, but I don’t have anything to confirm that definitively.

Callum is there when Sera wakes after being abducted by Attes, revealing that she’s been unconscious for two days, and that Attes wasn’t supposed to hit her so hard. He then tells her that it’s no longer a secret that she’s a mortal with embers of life in her, then greets her by her full name and asks if she remembers him.

Callum insults Sera, telling her she stinks of the Shadowlands and the Primal there, then warns her not to disrespect Kolis. As talk turns to her life in the mortal realm, Callum says that he got the impression the Queen wasn’t much of a mother to Sera and then tells Sera he’d had regular contact with Calliphe for years and was the one who told her how to kill a Primal—make them fall in love and then end them.

He adds that Kolis knows all about her and has since the night she was born, then says Sera’s father, King Lamont, summoned the Primal of Life to make another deal. He remarks that it was clever of Eythos to hide embers in a simple mortal, especially someone who would one day belong to his son.

Sera asks why Kolis didn’t just take the embers. Why wait for her to be taken to the Shadowlands? Callum and Kolis reveal the prophecy and reiterate the Blood and Ash bit.

As they talk and explain more, Callum laughs when Kolis says how silly Sera’s question is about wanting more power and then warns Kolis to watch out for Attes. He tells him that the other Primal is trying to trick him and not to trust him. Attes threatens that he knows how to kill Callum—draken blood—and will do so if he disrespects him again.

Callum keeps watch over Sera as she’s held in Dalos. He doesn’t for one minute believe that she’s Sotoria and makes it abundantly clear to her. All the while, they argue and do things to provoke the other.

They really do fight like siblings—if that brother and sister constantly had murdering each other on the brain, that is.

When Kolis reveals that he’s actually Sotoria’s brother, Callum gives his sister the credit she’s due, calling her sweet, and fierce, and caring. But he takes great pleasure every time Seraphena is knocked down a peg and plans to do whatever is necessary to make sure that Kolis rises to the power he was always meant to have. He owes Kolis, after all. The King forgave him for letting Sotoria down and gave him eternal life.

My next sighting of Callum is actually in my more recent visions of Poppy and Casteel. I first saw him entering the dungeon with five Handmaidens and Isbeth when the Blood Queen held Cas. He remarks that Casteel is clever when he figures out what Isbeth is and then takes interest when she asks what Cas knows about Malec.

After Poppy beheads King Jalara, Callum is a bit stunned. He’s careful not to touch his head as he steps forward to confront her.

Later, back in the dungeon, Casteel threatens to kill him, and Callum quips that he’s heard that more times than he can count but confesses that Cas is the first person he thinks might actually succeed. Then, he removes a shadowstone dagger and stabs the new King of Atlantia.

Casteel repeatedly calls Callum Golden Boy, and it irks him. I love it, and I’ve taken to doing it myself. He lashes out and says he’s not a boy. When Cas attacks and stabs Isbeth with the sharpened bone, Callum looks on in captive interest. He tells the Blood Queen that Casteel needs to feed. As they try to force it, he holds Cas still, but the Atlantian elbows him in the chin, headbutts him, and throws him into the wall, causing him to acknowledge how strong Cas still is.

Callum separates Kieran and Reaver and then formally greets Poppy, telling her it’s an honor to meet her. As Poppy tries to read him, she’s met with only thick, shadowy walls.

Poppy threatens Isbeth, and it gives him goose bumps. He remarks that he hasn’t felt power like that in a very long time. When Reaver asks how long, he only responds with, “Long.” I imagine he’s alluding to the fact that she feels like the Consort, Sera, whom he had loads of experience with, as well.

Callum leads Poppy, Isbeth, and Millie to Casteel’s cell in the dungeon and has Poppy blindfolded once they’re underground. He stares at Poppy’s scars and remarks that the wounds must have hurt something terrible. She tells him that he’s about to find out if he keeps standing so close to her.

Callum backs away at the Queen’s order.

As he leads Poppy to Cas, he warns her not to stand too close to him as he’s like a rabid animal. Poppy tells him that she’ll make sure he dies and make it hurt. When they see Casteel, and Callum remarks that he’s surprised to see Cas talking since he was only foaming at the mouth the last time, Poppy tells him she’s changed her mind and will kill him the first chance she gets. When she displays some of her power, letting it into her voice, he hisses and straightens his spine.

Later, he asks if she thinks Cas really deserves food, and she stabs him in the heart with his own dagger. He swears, and Millie removes him.

The next day, he tells Casteel that his arrogance is impressive and admits that Poppy stabbed him with his own weapon. He lets on that he’s seen love take down the most powerful beings but has only seen love stop death once—with Nyktos and his Consort. He taunts Casteel with this, saying that love is a weakness for him and that he should have fed from Poppy when he had the chance. He then stabs Casteel, barely missing his heart on purpose, sending him straight into bloodlust. He removes the blade, licks it clean, and then wishes Casteel luck.

When the group escapes, Callum rushes to warn Isbeth and runs into Malik. They get into it.

Callum and a half dozen other Revenants confront the group, and Callum tells Reaver he thinks he knows what he is, then taunts Kieran, saying he wants to keep him since he’s always wanted a pet wolf. Turning his attention to Poppy, he tells her that humanity is a weakness.

The Queen orders Malik to be brought to her, and Callum tries to warn her that it’s not the right time, but she merely silences him. As everyone is distracted, he snaps forward and cuts Kieran’s arm with a blade, whispering a spell as he does. Casteel stabs him in the chest in retaliation, and he remarks that it stings before falling dead.

When he comes back to life moments later, Isbeth is removing her ring, then Callum watches in amazement as Kieran knocks Malik unconscious.

After the Queen kills Clariza and Blaz with power, he tells Poppy not to bother trying to bring the couple back to life because nobody comes back

from a death like that, yet he takes clear pleasure in watching her reaction to their demise.

Poppy and the group bring Malec to the Bone Temple, and Poppy makes demands. He taunts her, asking her, “Or what?” When Cas says they’ll set the casket on fire and kill Malec, Callum turns his attention to Casteel.

Approaching Kieran, Callum is shocked to see the curse mark missing. Still, he uses a milky-white blade—a bone of an Ancient—to open Kieran’s skin. Black smoke seeps out of the wound as the curse lifts. He then tells Kieran that not much can do serious harm to him now—indirectly referencing the Joining. The wolven plunges a bloodstone dagger into his heart in thanks.

Callum revives just in time to see Isbeth stab Malec. As things unfold, he thanks Poppy for fulfilling her purpose and doing what she was prophesied to do. He explains the prophecy—sort of—and says that as long as both she and Malec had the Primal God of Life’s blood and were loved, it would restore him—meaning Kolis. He adds that Isbeth just needed someone from Kolis’s bloodline to find Malec, but Ires wouldn’t do it.

Callum didn’t know that Isbeth would kill Malec until she asked for him. He figured it was a fifty-fifty chance who she’d kill—her heartmate or Poppy. He explains that Isbeth is the harbinger, and Millie was the warning. He then says that it’d take Poppy eons to be powerful enough to destroy the realms, then adds that it’s time for them to bow to the True King of the Realms.

As a final taunt, he tells Poppy it should have been her on the altar and that it was always about her and Millie, promising they’d be dealt with later. He also explains that Kolis slept fitfully under the Temple of Theon but was kept well-fed. The extra Rite made him strong enough to wake up. When Poppy Ascended, it woke him completely, and when Malec takes his last breath, he’ll be at full strength. Reciting part of the dark nursery rhyme Poppy heard as a child, Casteel silences him by ripping out his heart.

With a gaping hole still in his chest, he gets up and tells the group that the True King’s guards are coming—the dakkais.

Callum fights with Malik and then runs off as soon as Poppy calls the Consort’s name—he knows what that means.

The group promises to find and deal with him later, and I certainly hope they do. However, I fear there is still more to come as it pertains to Callum.

He knows more, has experienced more, and had a stake in more than anyone. His end goal is still very much a mystery.

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NEKTAS

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The first draken

Court: Dalos to The Shadowlands

Click here to see a full-size image of Nektas by Art by Steffani.

Hair: Long, black, and streaked with red (becomes streaked with silver).

Eyes: Blood-red with a vertical pupil (become sapphire blue with a vertical pupil).

Body type: Tall. Long legs.

Facial features: Copper skin. Broad, proud features.

Distinguishing features: Ridges along his back that resemble scales— can present elsewhere if close to shifting.

Preternatural features: Black and dark gray scales. Spiked tail. The size of three large horses. Long, graceful neck. Head is half the size of a horse’s body. Flat, broad nose. Wide jaw. Pointed horns on his head like a crown. Body is at least twenty feet long.

Personality: Quiet. Reserved. Sage-like.

Habits/Mannerisms/Strengths/Weaknesses: Extraordinary hearing.

Can manifest clothing.

Background: Was Eythos’s bonded draken, the very first, and was close to him even before receiving his dual nature. Created the first mortal with Eythos. When Eythos died, it severed their bond, and he ended up bonded to Nyktos by choice.

Family: Daughter = Jadis. Mate = Halayna †. Distant relative = Thad.

Bonded Primal = Eythos and then Nyktos.

NEKTAS’S JOURNEY TO DATE:

When Nektas first meets Sera, he wants her to pet him and is a bit hurt when she thinks he’ll bite her. He has no interest in eating her or any of the gods—especially Saion. Given his bond to Ash (a.k.a Nyktos) Nektas knew when Sera stabbed him and told Ash as much, but he also knew it wasn’t serious. He would have come for the Primal if it were.

After Sera is attacked in the woods, Nektas is there when she wakes. He reveals that the only reason she is still alive is because Ash used a rare antidote on her, which he actually found surprising. He is honest and says it would have been better if he hadn’t saved her. When Sera questions him, he admits that he doesn’t think any of Ash’s decisions have had anything to do with the deal King Roderick made.

Nektas watches Sera and Jadis as they slumber. When Sera wakes, he tells her he was looking for his daughter and figured she’d be with Ash. He didn’t expect Sera to be here, too. He adds that he’s never seen the Primal sleep so soundly, even as a child, and explains that he knew Ash’s parents. He makes it clear he considers Ash family, and then tells Sera that he will call her his, too, since she has given Ash peace.

After Sera brings Gemma back to life, Nektas arrives and says that all the draken felt what she did. He then leaves with Reaver.

I saw a lot of inconsequential stuff in my visions between these happenings and the things I will recount in a bit, but I will relay one takeaway from them: Nektas is an incredible father and a wonderful caretaker. He has a huge heart, and even with his stoic demeanor, that is clear for anyone to see.

In the war room, Nektas shares that Eythos was a fair King—kind, generous, and curious by nature. He reveals that it was he who gave the dragons their god forms. He then outlines what happened when Kolis switched destinies with his brother and surmises that Sera’s presence alone is slowly bringing life back to Iliseeum.

During the first major battle, Nektas arrives with the rest of the draken from the west and sends fire onto the docks, beaches, and the water. He rounds on the crimson draken as it pursues Sera, Ector, and Rhain. It falls, and Nektas circles it as Ash draws near.

Nektas arrives at the palace with Nyktos and Saion. He tries to get Ash to feed, but the Primal is stubborn and insists he’ll ride it out. Nektas lets it go but relays to Sera that the Primal can tip into something dangerous if he doesn’t take sustenance, but even if he doesn’t do that, he’s still weakened

and not healing and that’s the last thing any of them needs. He adds that Nyktos won’t feed because he was forced to do it, and Kolis did all manner of things to him.

After some thought once Sera’s plan is outed, Nektas says he thinks they can get Ash to feed from Sera—he’s angry enough to do it. He asks Sera if it’s really her choice since they won’t force her. He’s relieved when she says it is.

When Sera is escorted back to her chambers, Nektas tells her he’s doing as Ash asked and putting her somewhere safe. He adds that Nyktos won’t answer if she knocks on their adjoining door, but he’s sure it’s unlocked. He then asks Sera if she would have followed through in killing Ash if she hadn’t learned it wouldn’t save her people.

She can’t say.

Sera starts feeling pain from her Culling, and Ash goes to get her some healing tea. Nektas arrives just as he leaves and settles in to guard her, sitting on the balcony. He talks to her about the bond between the draken and the Primals and says that he likes being bonded to Ash. When talk shifts to the crimson draken that attacked, Nektas says he doesn’t know if they chose to bond with Kolis because Kolis doesn’t give many of them a choice.

When Ash returns, Nektas tells him that Sera is lying about feeling better. He relays that everything has a smell, and everyone has a unique scent. He tells her that she smells of death, referring to Ash, and that bathing wouldn’t wash it away. He’s disappointed when Sera doesn’t want to know what else she smells like.

Sera drinks the tea, and Nektas tells her he’s impressed that she downed it so quickly. He explains that it wouldn’t have been a known thing in the mortal realm. When Sera tells him she thinks it’s the same as the one Holland gave her, he asks if Sir Holland was mortal and challenges her confirmation that he is.

When the vengeful gods attack, Nektas comes in through the ceiling and torches Madis. He growls a warning as Taric materializes an eather sword and then trills at Sera, urging her to use her gift. Ash tells him to be sure the guards are ready for anything, and Nektas calls out to the other draken, who answer him immediately.

Nektas watches as Sera brings Bele back to life, and trills again when the goddess draws renewed breath.

Nektas leaves to summon the Fates and then returns, waiting for Ash and Sera in the throne room. He eventually sends Reaver to get them. When the Arae respond, Nektas waits with Rhahar, Ector, Ward, and Penellaphe outside the throne room with Reaver by his side and tells Sera and Ash that they will wait—for both of them.

After the dakkais attack, Nektas checks on Ash and Sera. He remarks later in the war room that he doesn’t know every draken but sensed the enemy draken was young—too young to be up to that kind of shit. He wonders if the other god involved in the dakkais attack saw Sera and wanted to grab her, and then tries to calm Ash when he hears that the god planned to let Sera die.

He tells them that a Primal had to be behind the attack, as no one else could command a draken. The question is, who would be willing to anger both Kolis and Nyktos by letting Sera die?

Nektas arrives in the Dying Woods just in time to see Sera and Nyktos fighting. He lands and crouches over Sera after she blasts Nyktos with eather, protecting her from Nyktos possibly retaliating out of reflex. When Nyktos calms a bit and lands, he nudges him and is told he’s okay and just needs a minute.

Nektas shifts and smirks when Sera stares at his nakedness. He manifests some pants for her benefit. He then asks her what the Shade said and grins when she explains what happened. He tells her it’s the embers and explains that Eythos could raise the bones of the dead. He says that he only remembers him doing it once, and it’s not the same as restoring life to the recently dead—that’s why nobody felt what happened with the Shades like they did with the other things Sera did. He reiterates that the embers are really strong in her and then asks Ash if he’s better.

He tells them that he doesn’t think even Kolis knew Eythos could raise the dead that way and then instructs them to go back to the palace since the Shades won’t be scared off for long. He shifts back to his draken form and flies off.

Nektas spends some more time with Jadis and Sera after Ash puts the other gods in their place about Sera and her bravery. He tells Sera that he’s with her because he chooses to be. When Sera asks about Davina, the draken who fell during the battle, Nektas explains about the draken’s family, saying there won’t be a burial rite and telling her why.

Food is brought in, and Nektas laughs and says he thinks it’s funny that Ash thinks he doesn’t know that the Primal lets Jadis eat whatever she wants. He then tells Sera that his daughter can have food if she eats it off a fork instead of using her grubby little fingers. When Sera gets her to eat with the utensil, Nektas stares in stunned amazement and states that everyone has tried with little to no results—even Reaver. He tells Sera that he thinks she reminds Jadis of her mother and then relays what he knows about matings and heartmates. He admits that he knows everything Eythos did and tells Sera the price always matters—speaking about her risk of going after Kolis on her own.

As Nyktos and Sera bicker, Nektas tells them it’s entertaining. He insinuates that death isn’t a foregone conclusion for Sera because the embers aren’t fully hers until she Ascends. They should be removable until then. He adds that when Eythos was the Primal God of Life and Ascended the Chosen, they became like godlings because the eather was stronger in them. None ever became gods, but none had embers in them either. He tells Sera that anything is possible with her and reminds her that someone had to tell Kolis how to take the embers from Eythos.

As they discuss possibilities, Nektas tells Sera how they can find Delfai via the Pools of Divanash but adds that they’re temperamental, and he can’t be the one to ask. It needs to be her.

When the Cimmerian appear, Nektas arrives at the battle, killing one with a bite and shaking it in two. He senses the eather growing in Sera and looks up to give her a warning growl.

After the attack, Nektas brings Sera breakfast and sits with her. He asks if she wants to accompany him to check on Jadis and then wonders what she thinks of Ash’s plans to remove the embers from her. He tells her the road to the Vale is dangerous. When they talk weaknesses, he says he can burn anyone to a crisp save for a Primal—no one can fight a Primal unless they attack Nyktos or his Consort.

Nektas tells Sera that Ash could hurt her if he loses his composure but won’t risk it if she’s close to him. He then says he thinks Kolis will use the summons as a chance to find out how the embers of life were felt and will offer his permission for the coronation in exchange for the embers.

After following her back to her chambers, Nektas calls her meyaah Liessa, and she calls him meyaah draken. He recognizes that she doesn’t like being referred to as a Queen and says that he didn’t know he was her

draken, then tells her that she’s their Queen with or without a coronation. She carries the embers of life; therefore, she is the Queen.

Nektas reveals how Ash has had to convince Kolis that he’s submissive to him and what would happen if Kolis knew the truth. When they discuss in more detail, Nektas tells Sera that everything that’s going on is personal for her because Sotoria is part of her. He then asks her why she no longer calls Nyktos Ash and explains that Eythos called him that. Ash introducing himself to her as that the first time means something.

Sera and Nektas discuss Ash and Court and whether Ash forgives her for what she planned. Nektas says he never said Ash forgave her, only that he understands and accepts it. If he didn’t, she wouldn’t be in his bed or smell of him, and Nektas wouldn’t have sensed peace from Ash.

He visits Vathi to see Aurelia—Reaver thinks he’s sweet on her. When he returns, Sera blames him for everything that’s gone on since he left and then tells him that his eyes flashed blue. He relays that it happens

sometimes. He mentions it to Ash and then takes the younglings away.

After their trip to the Vale is planned, Nektas says he’ll meet them on the road to the Pillars. After they meet up, he tells Sera about Eythos as the Primal of Life and explains that being near the Pillars was hard for him. He then tries to get her to understand that she’s stronger than she thinks and calls her meyaah Liessa, adding that it’s her that makes him say that, not the embers.

He and Nyktos tell her about the riders. When they bow, Nektas remarks that he hasn’t seen them do that in a while. When he and Sera break off from Ash and the Primal says she is very important to him, Nektas replies with, “I know.”

Nektas tells Sera he knew she cared for Nyktos before she was ready to admit it to herself. She says that if she’d been able to kill Ash, he wouldn’t have needed to kill her because she would have done that herself. Nektas answers that if that’s true, he’s even more right than he thought.

They talk about what happened in the Dying Woods, and he tells her that Ash could have fucked him up. It’s another reason he knows the Primal’s feelings go beyond fondness. Nyktos cares for Sera.

Nektas then details that Ash removed his kardia, not so he wouldn’t become his father and how he grieved for Mycella but so he wouldn’t become his uncle. He suggests that Sera loves Ash and tells her that love should be terrifying.

When they approach the Shroud, Nektas stops Sera from getting too close and tells her about the sirens. To keep her close, he takes hold of her horse’s reins, only releasing them hours later to go through the passage under the mountain to the Pools of Divanash.

Nektas tells Sera he smells Ash on her but also death—lowercase d. Her body is dying; the Culling is killing her. He then tries to detail what life and death smell like to him.

At the Pools, he tells her what to do but admits that he’s never seen it work. He hears Sera confess her suicide attempt. He calls her meyaah Liessa again and tells her it worked, then identifies Delfai for Sera in the Pools.

When they see where Delfai is, Nektas remarks that it’s fate that he’s with someone Sera knows. When Sera explains who Kayleigh was to her, the draken tells her that Ash finds great enjoyment in visiting Tavius in the Abyss and does it quite often.

As they talk more, Nektas reminds Sera that he was there when the mortals were created and helped, that fate isn’t absolute, and that nothing is more powerful than the ability to feel.

After they leave the Vale, Nektas asks her if she’s okay and tells her she can talk to him if she ever isn’t. He’ll ensure she is.

As they travel, he senses the nymphs and tells Sera to halt. He explains about the nymphs, and they fight them. Sera kills them, and he tells her that only the Primal of Life can wield the kind of eather needed to kill nymphs

—it’s the same as what can kill another Primal.

Nektas eavesdrops on Sera and Ash and then brings the younglings to say goodbye to the couple. He wants to go with them, but only they can answer Kolis’s summons. He tells Sera he will see her again.

Nektas and Jadis go to the mountains. On coronation day, he returns but leaves the younglings there. Landing in front of the thrones in draken form, he remains there the entire time. Attes stops to speak with him after talking to Sera and Nyktos. He nudges Keella’s arm in response to something the Primal says, and she strokes his cheek.

When the next big attack comes, he and Orphine attempt to fend off the enemy draken attacking Lethe. Nektas then fires on the dakkais attacking Ash, scorching those in front while Orphine takes those behind Nyktos.

Nektas comes to Ash’s aid when he breaks free of the Carcers and goes to rescue Sera. When Ash Ascends her, he’s there to help watch over her

and talk to Ash as he talks to his Queen. At one point, he makes sure they’re okay and has his life threatened by his friend.

He’s pretty sure they’ll be just fine.

My next viewings of Nektas were in Poppy and Casteel’s time.

Nektas wakes when Poppy touches him, snarling and sniffing her and then giving a soft whirring trill.

When Poppy returns to Iliseeum the second time, he’s in his god form and tells her that Nyktos has rejoined the Consort in sleep. He urges her to be sure before she speaks the words that cannot be rescinded and says that once she summons the flesh and fire of the gods to protect, serve, and keep her safe, they will be cast in fire and carved in flesh. He then asks if she wants them to destroy the Blood Crown for her and is told she wants them to fight the Revenants and the Ascended. To fight beside Atlantia, not for them. She adds that she doesn’t want any cities destroyed or innocents killed.

Nektas asks Poppy if she plans to take what is owed and inquires whether she can bear the weight of two crowns. He also pleads with her to bring back what is theirs to protect and what will allow the Consort to wake

—Poppy’s father. He then adds that Malec is lost to them; he was gone long before they realized, then reveals that Malec is not her father. His twin, Ires, sired her.

He tells Poppy how Ires was lured from Iliseeum some time ago and drawn into the mortal realm with Nektas’s daughter while everyone slumbered. He informs her they cannot look for Ires without being summoned, and while Ires has not called to them, he knows he lives.

Nektas says that Ires was fond of taking the form of a large, gray cave cat, much like Malec, and is surprised to hear that Poppy saw Ires and knows he’s in the Blood Crown’s clutches.

Poppy tells him Isbeth’s claim of being a god because Malec Ascended her, and Nektas laughs. He tells her that gods are born, not created, and that she, like the Revenants, is an abomination of everything godly. He then tells her that her enemy is truly an enemy of theirs.

As talk turns to Malec once more, Nektas tells her that anyone entombed by the bones of the deities would simply waste away but they would not die. They would exist in a place between dying and death, alive but trapped.

He then tells Poppy to speak the words and receive what she came to Iliseeum for. When she does, he tells her they are hers from that moment to the last and then calls her the Queen of Flesh and Fire.

Just as Poppy goes all Primal at the Bone Temple, Nektas arrives and takes out the dakkais on the Rise. He reveals that Reaver took Malec to Iliseeum after the stabbing and that he’s alive—for now. He then says that Jadis is alive and in the mortal realm.

When they talk about what happened with the mass resurrection, Nektas tells them that Poppy didn’t bring everybody back to life, the Primal of Life aided Poppy, and Nyktos captured their souls before they could enter the Vale or the Abyss. But he warns there must always be balance.

Poppy announces that the Consort is the true Primal God of Life and Nektas replies that the Consort is the heir to the land and the seas, the skies and the realms. She’s the fire in the flesh, the Primal of Life, and the Queen of the Gods. She’s the most powerful Primal. But then he adds, “For now.”

He tells them briefly about Eythos and Kolis and their true roles, relays the story of Sotoria and the aftermath, and states that Nyktos is a Primal of Death but not the true Primal. He was never the Primal God of Life and Death. There’s never been one, and he would never have answered to that title.

Poppy argues that it’s nonsense that no one can talk about—or really even know about—who the Consort is. She calls it sexist, patriarchal bullshit. Nektas tells them that it was the Consort who chose for it to be that way. She wishes to remain unknown, and Nyktos honors her wishes because of everything they did and sacrificed to prevent what just happened at the Bone Temple.

Nektas adds that if Poppy chooses to have children, they will be the first Primals born since Nyktos. If Kolis hadn’t stolen Eythos’s essence, Nyktos would have become the Primal of Life, and Ires and Malec would have been born Primals, but only if a female was born first.

He tells Poppy not to apologize for existing and adds that Malec and Ires were already well on their way to being born when the plotting that led to Poppy started. What was done to stop Kolis meant that Malec and Ires could never risk children, but Malec did it anyway. The risk, creating the cosmic restart, would allow for what was done to Kolis to be undone.

He then tells them that Callum knew what speaking the Consort’s name would mean. They realize the Revenant is missing and agree that he must

be dealt with.

Nektas says that Poppy is the Primal of Blood and Bone, the true Primal of Life and Death, and adds that the two essences have never existed in one being.

When Poppy reveals that she knows where Ires is, he tells her to take him there. He then sees that they all think they’ve stopped things and tells them they’ve stopped nothing. What happened at the Bone Temple freed Kolis, and they’ve only slowed the inevitable, preventing Kolis from returning to flesh and bone and power, but he will rise if left unchecked.

Nektas tells them they must kill Kolis, though he doesn’t know how—I assume they can now since Poppy is the balance of life and death. For now, Nektas says he needs to get to Ires, find Jadis, and return to Iliseeum.

He mentions that the Consort and Nyktos no longer sleep, which means other gods will awaken, too, and not all are loyal to the Primal of Life.

War has just begun.

Nektas leaves to take Ires home, knowing he will return for his daughter.

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REAVER

Draken

Court: The Shadowlands

Click here to see a full-size image of Reaver by art.bymikki.

Hair: Blond. Shoulder-length.

Eyes: Crimson with vertical pupils in the time of the gods. Blue with vertical pupils in recent times.

Body type: Long legs.

Facial features: Sand-colored flesh. Sharp, strong, chiseled jaw. Wide- set eyes tilted down at the inner corners. Full, bow-shaped lips. Not classically handsome but interesting and striking.

Distinguishing features: Faint but distinct scale pattern on the skin.

Preternatural appearance: Purplish black scales. Large but not as big as Nektas. Smooth, black horns starting in the middle of the flattened bridge of his nose and rising up to the center of his diamond-shaped head. The ones around his eyes are smaller but lengthen into sharp points that jut out from his frills as they travel up his head.

Other: Gruff voice. Can change his teeth and breathe fire while in his god form.

Personality: Aloof. Sarcastic. Easily irritated.

Background: Was young when news of what Kolis did came out. Was hidden away with the other younglings. The first draken to emerge after Poppy summons Nyktos’s guards.

REAVER’S JOURNEY TO DATE:

Reaver first entered my visions as an adorable, precocious ten-year-old draken just learning to fly.

He spends a lot of time with Sera after she gets to the Shadowlands, pestering and being pestered by little Jadis and getting into trouble.

When Sera brings Gemma back to life, it affects Reaver—and the rest of the draken.

In the throne room, after Sera tries to go after Kolis on her own, Reaver lets out a staggering, high-pitched call when Nyktos says her bravery is unmatched.

Reaver waits with Jadis, Bele, and Aios when the Cimmerian arrive. After the battle, he joins Nektas, Sera, and Jadis, and the two younglings play. He insists he doesn’t like Nektas’s daughter, but he’s so sweet with her. Like when he brought her favorite blanket to her while she was napping in her mortal form.

As time passes and Sera’s embers grow stronger, Reaver becomes closer and closer to her—and more protective. He even issues a warning to Nyktos at one point, even though he knows the Primal won’t hurt her. He just doesn’t like Sera being upset at all.

When Veses attacks Sera in her chambers, Reaver tries to protect her and gets thrown into a wall by the Primal. His death is imminent, but Sera is able to save him. When he opens his eyes, they shift from blood-red to brilliant blue, and he calls her liessa.

On coronation day, Reaver stays in the mountains with Jadis.

The next time I saw Reaver in my visions, he was a huge and gorgeous, purplish black draken in Iliseeum. He’s the first to erupt from the ground, roaring and breathing silvery-white fire.

Back in the mortal realm, Reaver and Kieran immediately become antagonistic to each other. Reaver almost bites Kieran when he gets too close to him while Reaver is resting, and they engage in an epic stare-down outside of Oak Ambler.

When Poppy delivers her message to King Jalara, Reaver accompanies her. He lands before the Revenant, letting out a deafening roar and hitting them in the chest with his spiked tail.

While in Cauldra Manor’s banquet hall, Reaver is amused by Poppy and Kieran’s interaction. Like usual, he spends his time staring at Kieran— likely because he knows it bothers the wolven. Kieran snaps at him, and Poppy scolds Kieran, making Reaver laugh. She chastises him, too, and he puffs out some smoke, affronted.

Vonetta asks how he managed to get into the banquet hall, and he simply thumps his tail on the floor in response.

Later, Reaver tells Poppy that she’s filled with worry and every draken can feel it, even those not there with them. He confirms that all the draken are bonded to her and is surprised she didn’t realize that. He then tells her that she can’t communicate with them telepathically like she can with the wolven, but they will know and answer her will, adding that it’s always been that way with Primals.

Reaver explains that a god can kill another god, and shadowstone to the head or heart will do, as well. He then says that a mortal stabbed with shadowstone will normally die, adding that Tawny is obviously alive for a reason.

He tells Poppy that she’s the first female descendant of the Primal of Life—the most powerful being known, and that she’ll become stronger than even her father, Ires, in time. He says that Ires left Iliseeum while the draken slept, though he woke one to accompany him. Reaver just became aware of what happened eighteen years ago when the Primal woke. He then tells Poppy that her birth was felt, and that’s when they learned that both Malec and Ires were gone, as was Jadis.

Reaver explains about Ires and Malec and what Malec would have to do in order to stay strong and in the mortal realm—he’d have to feed and often. He tells Poppy she won’t have to feed as often as Malec and Ires once she comes into her power…unless she’s injured. However, until then, she needs to make sure she doesn’t weaken since she hasn’t finished her Culling, adding that he would feel it if she had.

He tells her that nobody can feed from the draken. It would burn the insides out of most, even the Primals.

When Reaver calls Poppy meyaah Liessa for the first time, it stuns her. He takes the time to tell her about the balance of power and how the fire the draken breathe is essentially the essence of the gods, though using it weakens them and slows them down. He says that even Primals had weaknesses and that only one is infinite.

As Poppy talks, Reaver tells her she sounds a lot like the Consort and confirms the Consort will wake when Ires returns. He says the gods will eventually wake, too. When asked what the Consort’s name is, his reply is that it is a shadow in the ember, a light in the flame, and a fire in the flesh,

and to speak it is to bring the stars from the sky and topple the mountains into the sea.

When Isbeth’s gift is delivered, Reaver is there and emits a strange staggering call when he sees Poppy’s reaction to Casteel’s finger. Later, he accepts Poppy’s request to join her and Kieran on their mission to save Cas.

During Vessa’s storm, Reaver watches, stunned, and lets out a low, mournful sound when the draken die and fall from the sky. When Poppy goes to heal them, he tells her she cannot bring back the dual-natured and explains that only the Primal of Life can restore life to a being of two worlds. When they tally the dead, he tells everyone it was no storm; it was an awakening of death.

He explains that Vessa smells of death, saying that the Primal of Death’s stench is oily, dark, and suffocating, and that’s how she smelled—which doesn’t make sense. When talk turns to the god of death, he tells them that he knew Rhain before he was the god everyone recognizes, and that he wasn’t a god of death. There is no god of death, only a Primal of Death. He then adds that Nyktos isn’t the Primal of Life and Death, and he was never the true Primal of Death, either—that was Kolis. However, they wouldn’t know that because Kolis erased the history. He goes on to say that Kolis was interred, that no one would be alive if he hadn’t been. The only way he can be freed is by the Primal God of Life.

Reaver later realizes what the Revenants are and remarks he should have caught it earlier. He tells them how the first mortals were created, how third sons and daughters are special, and about the Revenants being Kolis’s pet project. He talks about the Rite, the original Rite, and how Eythos always gave the Chosen a choice.

When talk turns to Jadis, he says he believes she’s dead but that one drop of draken blood, no matter how old, can kill a Revenant.

Reaver is present during Poppy’s meeting with the generals, watching Valyn and getting irritated by Murin suggesting they let the draken fly over Oak Ambler and incinerate it all.

Later, he does take down Oak Ambler’s gate with fire, then he and Nithe take on the soldiers in the inner part of the city before the wolven are overwhelmed. Next, he, Nithe, and Aurelia take down the internal Rise, and then Poppy calls them all back, telling them to rest. Reaver perches at the top of Castle Redrock and lets out a deafening roar.

Following the macabre discovery in the tunnels and the Temple, Poppy orders him to burn the Temple to the ground. He flies over, circling the structure as he does. Happy to do it.

Sharing a meal with Poppy, Reaver tells her that it’s good they can’t understand what the Ascended did. He stresses that Nyktos is the True King and wouldn’t approve, and the Priest thinking it’s anyone else is unfortunate. He adds that the Consort doesn’t like limitations either and laughs when Poppy imagines the Primal of Life probably doesn’t like her bringing people back to life. He tells her that Nyktos would be conflicted.

He’d be happy about life yet worry about fairness, while the Consort would weigh the concerns, throw them aside, hope no one was looking, and do it anyway.

He explains that the Consort sleeps so deeply because it’s the only way to stop her from doing the kind of harm that can’t be undone in her rage over her sons being taken from her. With Ires in mind, Reaver reminds Poppy that they mustn’t forget about him. The god needs to return home to Iliseeum.

Reaver wears Kieran’s clothing—to the wolven’s chagrin—as he readies the horses and the wagon of whiskey for their trip to the capital.

He tells them the truth about demis on their journey and says they’re so rare he’s never seen one. He explains that a demis is a god made, not born. They’re mortal—though not Chosen—Ascended by a god. He says that few existed because the act was forbidden, and most didn’t survive the Ascension. However, those who did make it were essentially gods with the same weaknesses as the gods.

When he sees the state of things in Solis, it saddens him. He tells Poppy and Kieran that he’s been to the mortal realm before, back when this area was Lasania, though only a few times when it was necessary. He reveals that the Consort was born there with an ember of pure primal power in her, unlike the Chosen.

Reaver notices another group on the road, not Huntsmen, and offers to burn the soldiers. Poppy tells him not to, saying she doesn’t want his identity revealed.

When Millie stops them, he tells her that if she wants Poppy, she’ll allow him and her advisor—Kieran—to accompany her as a show of good faith.

Inside Wayfair, Reaver is in a chamber below Poppy’s room but is under guard. Still, he behaves and is taken to see Kieran whenever the wolven demands it.

Poppy checks on him, and Reaver follows her to meet with the Queen.

Millie escorts him, Poppy, and Kieran to the Great Hall. He stares at the statue in the center of the Great Hall. Poppy believes it’s the Primal of Life, Nyktos, and Reaver tells her it isn’t. Millie confirms.

He announces that he doesn’t like how the Ascended look at Poppy. When she remarks that he and Kieran are beautiful and she’s flawed, and the Ascended can’t figure out why she’s with them, he tells her that’s the stupidest thing he’s heard in a while, and he’s heard a lot of stupid.

When Isbeth enters, Reaver doesn’t bow. She comments that she doesn’t recognize him, and he tells her that she wouldn’t.

After meeting Callum and hearing him say that he hasn’t felt power like Poppy’s in a very long time, he becomes incredibly interested and asks him how long. The Revenant’s response? “Long.”

During their rescue and escape attempt later, he blows the stairwell doors off the hinges and emerges drenched in blood. When Poppy and Kieran look at him, he tells them he’s a messy eater and then promises he’ll handle any Revenants they encounter.

When confronted by the Royal Knights, he tells them he’d be offended by their threats if what was left of their souls wasn’t about to be ushered into the Abyss.

Reaver revels in the battle, taking down many and commenting on his prowess.

Poppy calls the Shadow Temple the Temple of Nyktos, and Reaver corrects her. He tells her they were the Sun Temple for the Primal of Life and the Shadow Temple for the Primal of Death when it was Lasania. He confirms that the Shadow Temple is in the Garden District, however, near the Luxe, and he is familiar enough with the city to know the way.

He tells Poppy that Nyktos only sat on the throne for a short while.

When the candles start responding to Poppy, he tells her that she carries the blood of the Primal and she’s in his Temple, then teases her for being special.

Reaver suggests that they use the spell to find where to go next to find Casteel and spins as Malik arrives. He reminds them all that they don’t have

time for distractions and says to either kill him or make sure he can’t betray them.

After they find Casteel, Reaver agrees with Poppy that Callum should be dead and helps keep Casteel in check by removing the shadowstone shackles from his ankles and neck but putting the bone chains on him.

Poppy later asks if he can break the chains around Cas’s wrists. He does.

When Cas is more himself after, he introduces himself and says he’s glad Cas didn’t bite him, and he didn’t have to burn him alive.

When Cas reveals that the Revenant, Millie, is Poppy’s sister, Reaver is stunned. He asks if Ires is her father, too, and then remarks that the Consort will be pissed.

Later, he confirms that Poppy is, indeed, a Primal born of mortal flesh. He says he thought she knew but then realized she doesn’t know much of anything. She was able to summon the draken and has the Primal notam. He tells them there’s no danger of her not surviving her Culling now and then congratulates her on knowing now and being able to prepare.

As they talk more, Reaver tells Poppy that only a Primal can create the mist and that her eyes are a sign that she’s close to completing her Culling. He says the streaks of eather may remain, or her eyes could go full silver like Nyktos’s.

When Casteel asks how a Primal is born to a mere god and of mortal flesh, Reaver says he can’t answer that but tells them that Poppy is the first Primal born since the Primal God of Life, and only the Primal of Life can answer that.

Reaver wonders why the Blood Queen thinks Poppy will destroy the realms. When the talk turns to the prophecy, Reaver tells them it isn’t bullshit, not when spoken by a god. And then explains that the goddess Penellaphe was close to the Fates.

After Malik shares his story about being there the night Poppy was attacked in Lockswood and mentions seeing the Consort in Poppy’s eyes as a child, Reaver swears. He tells them the Consort sleeps fitfully and that things happen sometimes that partly wake her.

At Blaz and Clariza’s, Nektas opens the back door to guards and roasts them. When Callum enters, he tells him he’s about to find out for sure what Reaver is and puffs smoke from his nostrils. He’s told to stand down but turns to Callum just as he snaps forward and wounds Kieran.

On the way to Padonia, Reaver leads the horse with an unconscious Malik. After they eat a little bit, he asks them if they’re really worried about the curse Callum put on Kieran—he assumes Kieran, Cas, and Poppy are Joined. He tells them the essence Callum used had Kolis’s stench.

Outside Padonia, Poppy releases Reaver to do as he pleases, and he joins his brethren, flying above the city, their calls echoing through the valley.

After scouting for the ruins, he arrives just in time to join the fight with the Craven. He takes out several trees and incinerates the remaining threats. Once things die down, he tells them the ruins are a day’s ride north.

When talk turns to Malec, Reaver tells them that the documented

O’Meer was not Malec’s last name, and if he did have one, it would have been Mierel, which was the Consort’s mortal last name.

As they approach the ruins, Reaver mentions that he didn’t see the mountain of rock from the air and figures it must be where the forest is the thickest. When the Gyrms attack, he warns the wolven not to bite them, saying there’s no blood in them, but there is a poison that will eat them from the inside out. He elaborates and says the ones attacking are Sentries, which are like Hunters and not like the other kind of Gyrms they’ve fought before. Fire won’t work on them. He also mentions they’re filled with snakes.

Poppy asks him if eather will work on them, and he tells her it will from her, but only because she’s a Primal about to complete her Culling.

After the fight, he asks if anyone was bitten and informs them that the snakes’ bites are toxic, too.

As they talk about the Unseen, he says he doesn’t know what they are or how or why they’d be summoning the Gyrms. After Poppy explains more about them, he surmises that they must have come to be a thing while he was sleeping.

Before they rest, Reaver tells them the Gyrms were once mortal, those who summoned a god and pledged servitude for whatever favor the god granted them. Hunters hunt things. Sentries guard things—objects, people…usually people. Seekers, like Hunters and Sentries, can sense whatever they’re searching for. Either they find said thing and bring it back, or they die in the process of defending it. He explains that the ones they saw and fought were down there for hundreds of years and tells Cas that whatever brought the Sentries wasn’t tied to what Eloana did. He adds that

he thinks the mountain formed as a way to protect Malec’s tomb and that the Gyrms they encountered weren’t summoned by Primal magic—only a Primal could have sent them.

Reaver reveals that when Malec left Iliseeum, he did so right before the other gods went to sleep and didn’t do so on good terms. The Primal of Life, even if asleep, would have sensed that he was vulnerable. However, the deity bones would have blocked their ability to know where he was.

Therefore, the Primal of Life must have summoned the Sentries to protect Malec.

He talks to Poppy more about Malec and says they were friends when they were younger, before Malec started visiting the mortal realm and lost interest in Iliseeum. That loss of interest meant a loss of affection for those who lived in the Land of the Gods.

Reaver comments that it’s strange that Malik is so closely named to Malec, but he imagines it was a way for Eloana to honor what could have been.

Cas asks Reaver if Nyktos could have prevented Malec’s interment, and Reaver says the Primal of Life could have prevented it, but Malec must have been injured or significantly weakened to be entombed. If neither Nyktos nor the Consort intervened, they must have had their reasons.

At the Bone Temple, Poppy orders the draken to take to the air to avoid the dakkais. Reaver lands and shifts to mortal form, telling Poppy to stop using the Primal essence since it’s only drawing the dakkais to her. She tells him that Kolis will be at full strength if Malec dies. He responds that if that happens, they will all pray for death. He urges her to go and try to save him, then takes to the air again, lighting up the Temple grounds.

Eventually, he gets taken down by dakkais and dies. Luckily, he returns like everyone else when the Consort merges with Poppy. After, he takes Malec to Iliseeum.

Click here to see a full-size image of Reaver in his draken form by Kassia Ramos.

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JADIS

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Click here to see a full-size image of Jadis by art.bymikki.

Hair: Dark.

Preternatural appearance: Greenish brown scales. Long neck. Oval- shaped head.

Personality: Fearless. Inquisitive.

Background: Taken prisoner by the Blood Crown.

Family: Father = Nektas. Mother = Halayna †.

JADIS’S JOURNEY TO DATE:

Oh, dear, sweet Jadis. The visions I first had of her were of her youngling days. She was such a precious little thing. But the more I saw of her, the more a miasma began to cover her visage, leading me to believe that her future was in flux. I now know why, given my understanding that she went missing, and knowing what the Blood Queen has said about the one who came to the mortal realm with Ires, looking for Malec.

Let’s take a peek at what I did see—and do know—about this bacon- loving draken.

A precocious child, Jadis spends most of her time getting into trouble, irritating her older friend Reaver, sleeping, and begging for food. When she meets Sera, she instantly takes to her and isn’t unaffected by the changes occurring within the soon-to-be Primal—like when Sera brings Gemma back to life.

The draken loves Nyktos and spends as much time curled up with him as she can.

Proving just how much she’s taken to the new addition to the Shadowlands, Jadis agrees, at Sera’s request, to eat from a fork, a feat

nobody else has been able to do and falls asleep with her in her god form, something the draken only do when they trust implicitly.

Jadis goes to the mountains with Nektas and is left there with Reaver, which makes her incredibly unhappy when she realizes she can’t attend Sera’s coronation.

The bits between this and the future are murky for me, sad to say. The only things I know are supposition and piecemeal factoids. It’s assumed that Jadis accompanied Ires into the mortal realm to look for Malec and was somehow taken prisoner along with the god when Isbeth locked Ires away.

After that, we can assume that her blood was used for nefarious purposes since only draken blood can kill a Revenant, and Isbeth killed Coralena. It’s also unknown whether or not she still lives. Isbeth says she was dealt with, but that could mean many things.

I certainly hope that she’s just hidden away somewhere, and Nektas and Sera will be reunited with the sweet girl again so they can help her heal.

When Ires is rescued, he says that she’s somewhere in the Willow Plains. Hopefully, Poppy, Cas and their allies can locate and save her if she is.

HOLLAND (A.K.A SIR BRAYLON HOLLAND)‌

A Spirit of Fate. One of the Arae.

Hair: Closely cropped.

Eyes: Hickory-hued.

Facial features: Brown, smooth skin.

Personality: Gentle. Kind. Compassionate. Honest.

Other: Appears to be in his forties. In a relationship with Penellaphe—a goddess.

Background: Posed as a Knight of the Royal Guard from the time Sera was seven, teaching Sera how to deal with her anxiety and taking care of her in each decade of her life. When Sera healed her cat Butters, he told her she did nothing wrong but urged her to be careful. Tavius sent him off on a ship to the Vodina Isles the day after the King died.

HOLLAND’S JOURNEY TO DATE:

Holland first appeared in my visions as Sir Braylon Holland, a Knight of the Royal Guard in Lasania. He wasn’t, however, present on Seraphena’s birthday when the Crown presented her to the Primal God of Death.

When the Lords of the Vodina Isles arrive, Holland is shocked by their refusal of the Crown’s deal and bothered by how they look at Sera. The Queen’s order for Sera to deal with them angers him, even though he’s known for Sera’s entire life what she’s been trained to do…to be.

Still believing that the Primal God of Death will come for her, he carries on, training her as best he can while also protecting her as much as he is able—the Arae are forbidden from directly interfering.

Seeing—and possibly knowing—that Tavius is a threat, Holland warns her. He also asks what’s going on with her. When she says she’s unworthy, it surprises him, and he tells her that isn’t the case at all. He says that she carries the ember of life inside her. Hope. And the possibility of a future.

When he said that, it seemed he meant the deal and the Rot. However, we now know that he was being literal.

When Sera asks him why he isn’t married, he responds that he just hasn’t felt like doing it. The romantic in me thinks it’s because he has Penellaphe. The realist in me knows it’s likely because he can’t.

After Sera witnesses the seamstress rising after dying from an attack, she asks him what happened. He replies that he has no idea what such an abomination would be and asks her where she heard about it. I wonder if that’s true. He’s an Arae. Wouldn’t they know all about the Revenants and Craven?

Ezra tracks them down in their hidden spot while they’re training, and Holland is a bit annoyed that she is aware of their activities—especially since he knows that Sera let the Princess follow her. He questions Ezmeria as to why she and the orphanage need Sera’s aid and is irked that his training with Sera is cut short.

Sera is attacked, and Holland checks on her, then later attends Odetta’s funeral. A couple of days later, he learns of Sera’s headache and stomach issues and asks her if her jaw hurts. When she tells him it does, he brings her something for it. We later learn it was a tea that helps a god get through their Culling. He also tells her about Sotoria and says she reminds him of the woman. Reminds? She shares a soul with her.

After all the details were revealed to me, it was interesting to look back on the things I saw happen between these two and their discussions.

Holland really was skirting the line of propriety when it came to interfering.

Once Sera is in the Shadowlands, she sees him as he enters the throne room. After her shock, he admits that he’s known her for most of her life. That he trained her. He tells Sera to call him Holland and explains that he’s not a viktor, saying, “That honor is not mine.”

He goes on to explain that he knew his time in the mortal realm was over when Tavius reassigned him to the Vodina Isles. He didn’t go because he knew Sera and Nyktos would want to talk to him. When she asks him how he’s stayed so young, he tells her that he’s ageless because of the whiskey he drinks.

I think maybe I can claim that, too.

Later, he says that he never directly intervened. He couldn’t tell her the Rot wasn’t tied to the deal or the pointlessness of her endeavor, though he was pushing it with the healing tea.

When asked why he got involved at all, Holland confesses that he knew Eythos when he was the Primal God of Life and considered him a friend, though he didn’t know what would become of him. He insists that if he had, he wouldn’t have been able to stand by, and would have intervened, even knowing the punishment for such an act is final death.

He then tells them exactly what Eythos did. When Penellaphe recounts her vision, he reaches over and takes her hand and says how tricky it is to understand prophecies, adding that they’re only one possibility, and not every word is literal.

Gods, is that true. I have revamped my interpretation of the prophecy so many times as visions came to me over the years.

Holland explains that Sera will go through the Culling but won’t survive it. As they talk more, he reminds Sera how reckless and impulsive she is and tells her it can be her greatest strength; it could have given whatever Eythos believed upon hearing the prophecy a chance to come to fruition.

He shows them the cords of fate, and as they look at the almost broken thread, the only way to disrupt fate, Holland reveals that the key is love— the only thing not even fate can contend with. He says that love is more powerful than the Fates. It’s even more powerful than what courses through their veins, though it is equally as awe-inspiring and terrifying in its selfishness. He says it can extend a thread by sheer will, becoming a piece of pure magic that biology cannot extinguish. It can also snap a cord unexpectedly and prematurely.

He reiterates that Sera cannot survive the Culling, not without sheer will of what is more powerful than fate and even death. Not without the love of the one who would aid in her Ascension.

When Ash takes Sera to her lake and Ascends her, those statements become all too clear. And it moved me to witness it.

Holland then tells Sera she’s had many lives, and Eythos remembered the first one: Sotoria.

As they discuss the Rot, Holland says life has only continued because the ember was in Sera’s bloodline. However, she now carries the only ember of life there is, and if she perishes, everything everywhere will die with her.

He goes on to say that the Primal God of Life is the most powerful being in all the realms and that she’s never been merely mortal; she’s the possibility of a future for all.

When Sera’s doubt creeps in, Holland reminds her that she’s a warrior, just like Sotoria learned to be. He adds that he doesn’t know what Sotoria originally looked like—he didn’t follow her threads until Eythos asked what could be done about Kolis’s betrayal—but he knows she didn’t look the

same with each rebirth. He then tells Sera that Kolis may have sensed traces of eather in her and thought she was a godling entering her Culling.

Holland knows what Kolis has been doing to the missing Chosen— turning them into Revenants—but states they are not the only mockery of life he’s managed to create. He details what some of the gods from Kolis’s Court have been up to: creating the Craven.

Not to mention the Ascended…

Holland tells them about the Craven, talks about balance, and alludes to the fact that Sera bringing Marisol back to life had consequences. He confirms it was her time, and Sera’s act needed to be righted. Therefore, the Arae decided who would take her place. Holland asks Sera if knowing that ahead of time would have changed her actions, and she says it wouldn’t have.

Holland reveals that what the god Madis did to Andreia was an attempt to rectify what one of Kolis’s creations left behind and adds that is all he can say without it being considered interference.

He reveals to Sera that Kolis can’t kill Nyktos because life cannot exist without death, and they should not be one and the same. He adds, however, that anything is possible, even the impossibility of a Primal of both Life and Death. He says that such a being would be unstoppable, and there would be no balance. The Fates ensured long ago that the absence of either ember— life or death—would collapse the realms. Suddenly and absolutely. He says that if Kolis kills Nyktos, he’ll kill himself and everything else in the process. He ends by saying he doesn’t actually know what Kolis’s end goal is.

When they discuss what led to the present moment, Holland admits that he couldn’t tell Sera how pointless her duty was and outlines that the mortal realm has a year—maybe two or three if they’re lucky—before the Rot consumes it, but warning the people would only incite panic.

Sera seems a bit crestfallen, and Holland reminds her not to give up hope, bringing up the broken thread and saying that fate is never written in bone and blood. It can be as ever-changing as her and Nyktos’s thoughts and hearts.

She reminds him that Nyktos can’t love, and he tells her that love is more powerful than even the Arae can imagine.

Before they part ways, she asks if she’ll see him again, and he can’t answer. He does remind her of something she already knows, though: All

her training wasn’t a waste. She is his weakness. Only it’s not Nyktos. It’s Kolis.

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OTHER PRIMALS AND GODS

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Click here to see this image full size. Gods portraits by Creatively Agnes, layout by Hang Le.

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PHANOS

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Primal God of Sky, Sea, Earth, and Wind Court: Triton Isles

Click here to see a full-size image of Phanos’s crown by Creatively Agnes.

Hair: Bald.

Eyes: Silver.

Body type: Very tall.

Facial features: Burnt umber skin.

Other: Crown shaped like a trident.

Background: Destroyed Phythe after the games honoring him were discontinued—sent waves taller than any Rise to wash away the entire kingdom. Hunted down many of the gods who left his Court after—Saion and Rhahar only escaped because Nyktos claimed their souls.

PHANOS’S JOURNEY TO DATE:

Attends the coronation with the other Primals.

Speaks to Saion and Rhahar briefly and then walks off with Embris.

When Kolis brings Seraphena to him off the coast of Hygeia, he hates what he’s forced to do—especially since he should be paying Nyktos back for stealing Rhahar and Saion from him.

He tells Sera that he should just take the embers from her and says what he’s doing isn’t even worth it since it’s only a temporary fix. Then, he breathes life into her and has his ceeren sacrifice themselves to save her.

During court later, he tells Kolis they need to talk, and Kolis promises to do just that as soon as he returns Sera to her chambers.

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MAIA

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Primal God of Love, Beauty, and Fertility Court: Kithreia

Click here to see a full-size image of Maia’s crown by Creatively Agnes.

Hair: Warm blond that cascades down her back in thick curls.

Eyes: Silver.

Body type: Full-figured.

Facial features: Yellow-brown skin. Stunning.

Habits/Mannerisms/Strengths/Weaknesses: Her every move and mannerism carry an air of softness, and a hint of spice.

Other: Pearl crown of roses and scalloped shells.

Background: Removed Nyktos’s kardia upon request.

MAIA’S JOURNEY TO DATE:

Attends the coronation with the other Primals.

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KEELLA

Primal Goddess of Rebirth Court: Thyia Plains

Click here to see a full-size image of Keella’s crown by Creatively Agnes.

Hair: Curly. Russet-colored.

Eyes: Silver.

Body type: Regal bearing.

Facial features: Smoky, reddish brown skin.

Personality: Welcoming yet reserved. Believes in right, wrong, and balance.

Habits/Mannerisms/Strengths/Weaknesses: When a babe dies, she captures their souls and gives them a rebirth. Sees those she saves as her children and often follows them throughout their lives. Doesn’t always believe things attributed to the Arae.

Other: Nearly as old as Kolis. Can see the souls of all those she captures. Wears a pale blue quartz crown of many branches and leaves.

Background: Was involved in Sotoria’s rebirth and hiding her soul from Kolis.

KEELLA’S JOURNEY TO DATE:

Keella attends the coronation like the other Primals. When the benada, the imprimen—the imprint—appears, she smiles at Sera and presses her hand to her chest.

After, she says something to Nektas. He nudges her arm, and she strokes his cheek.

When Nyktos announces Sera as the One who is born of Blood and Ash, the Light and the Fire, and the Brightest Moon, Keella asks him about it and says that perhaps it is another blessing. As she inquires about its inspiration

with an edge to her voice—not anger…something else, she says it’s beautiful and gives the couple an old, knowing, clever smile.

Before she leaves, she tells Nyktos that his father would be proud of him.

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EMBRIS

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Primal God of Wisdom, Loyalty, and Duty Court: Lotho

Click here to see a full-size image of Embris’s crown by Creatively Agnes.

Hair: Curly and brown.

Eyes: Silver.

Facial features: Boyish.

Personality: Quiet and watchful.

Other: Bronze crown of olive branches and serpents.

Background: Doubts some things regarding the Arae.

EMBRIS’S JOURNEY TO DATE:

Like the other Primals, Embris attends the coronation. He spends some time with Saion and Rhahar and then walks off with Phanos.‌

VESES‌

Primal Goddess of Rites and Prosperity (a.k.a The Eternal Goddess) Court: Callasta Isles

Click here to see a full-size image of Veses’s crown by Creatively Agnes.

Hair: Long, thick, golden-blond ringlets that reach her waist.

Eyes: Silver.

Body type: Thin but shockingly endowed.

Facial features: Creamy complexion—no freckles. Delicate nose and brows. Full mouth. Apricot-shaped lips.

Distinguishing features: Incredibly beautiful. Velvety voice. Smells like roses.

Preternatural features: Can sense a god or godling nearing their Ascension, but Kolis switching fates with Eythos dulled the ability.

Personality: Vindictive. Entitled. Can be vengeful. Can become fixated and resentful. Vocal about annoyances and complaints.

Other: Very old—should have gone to sleep long ago. Crown is shaped like a jade tree and made of bloodstone.

Background: Wants Kolis but settles for Nyktos. Found out about the deal regarding the Rot and Sera and made her own bargain with Nyktos to keep it a secret—she gets free access to him for feeding and…other things.

VESES’S JOURNEY TO DATE:

Veses is a hard Primal to like. I want to think maybe she’s just misunderstood or has reasons for her selfishness and vile ways, but realistically, I know it’s just that she’s entitled, jealous, and bitter.

Sera arrives in Iliseeum, and Veses comes to the Shadowlands to confirm that Nyktos has taken a Consort. When she discovers that it’s true, it upsets her.

Veses comes to Nyktos for their deal, to feed from and indulge herself with him, and does it in such a way that she knows they’ll be discovered— which Sera does when she returns from the Vale. When Veses sees Sera, she says, “So, this is her?” before Sera flees. Veses laughs at the fallout.

Later, when Nyktos is otherwise engaged with Shades—something Veses set up—she decides to confront Sera. Ector denies her entry into Sera’s chambers, drawing his sword, and she throws the god into the room. Rhain then arrives and says he’ll get Nyktos, but Veses just slides him out into the hall along with Ector’s unconscious form and closes herself in the room with Sera.

She reveals that she knows Sera’s full first name and asks how she became Nyktos’s Consort. She also relays that she believes Nyktos lied to Sera, just like Sera is lying to her. She calls Sera fat and freckled and remarks that Sera is a Consort in title only. Sera taunts her and says Nyktos called her the “worst sort,” pissing the Primal off. Sera makes it worse by then calling her pathetic. Veses takes it out on young Reaver by kicking him across the room.

In retaliation, Sera plunges her dagger into Veses’ eye, and Veses hits Sera with eather. As they argue and battle, Veses confesses that she sent her guards and her favorite draken to the Shadowlands, confirming she was the one behind the earlier attack. She also wonders aloud if Nyktos realizes the others likely know Taric and the other vengeful gods were in the Shadowlands before they disappeared.

Veses reveals to Sera that she felt her and knew there was more to everything—a reason Nyktos was willing to do anything for Sera. She insinuates that being able to sense her either means Sera has so much of Nyktos’s blood in her that Veses is latching on to that, or Sera’s a Primal in her Culling.

She then taunts Sera that she knows the difference between Nyktos’s blood and something else because she’s had Nyktos’s blood—she’s had all of him. Sera punches her, and they fight some more until Bele arrives.

Veses sees Bele and realizes she’s Ascended, relaying that there’s a bounty on her head. As Bele keeps her busy, Sera heals Reaver. When he wakes, he calls her liessa, and Veses explodes with shock and anger, saying she was right and asking what Nyktos did.

Bele attacks with renewed fervor, and Veses fights back. Sera throws a dagger at her, and Veses tells Sera she’s going to kill her because she’s an

abomination.

Bele renews her attack with an eather bow and arrow and gets Veses on the cheek. Shadows fill the room as Nyktos arrives, and Bele tells him that Veses knows about Sera. He blasts Veses with eather and orders Orphine and Ehthawn to take her away and put her in a cell.

Nyktos’s attack essentially puts Veses into stasis, meaning she’ll be out for at least a few days.

While she’s out of commission, it’s revealed that she hasn’t been able to sense a god or godling in their Culling since Kolis took Eythos’s embers.

She only knew that Taric and the others were looking for a source of energy in the mortal realm and ended up in the Shadowlands. She felt something within Sera and realized they were embers. Putting two and two together, she figured she’d deal with Sera to keep Nyktos from getting in trouble with Kolis.

Admittedly, Veses cares for Nyktos in her own twisted way, but that doesn’t make me like her any better.

Veses ends up escaping when Nyktos falls into stasis and the wards on the dungeon are weakened. She chews off her arms and gets out. Once she’s healed, she heads to Dalos, only to find Sera there.

She makes it very clear how she feels about her being there, and ends up punished by Kolis, using Kyn as his weapon.

Later, she blasts into Sera’s chambers where she’s in the cage and convinces Callum to let her talk to Sera. Once they’re alone, the Primal goddess tells Sera she knows she’s lying, and insists she won’t let Kolis throw her aside for Sotoria again. She’d rather see him dead.

She tries to convince Sera that she doesn’t mind Kyn’s particular brand of punishment, but I’m not sure even she believes that. Still, Sera says she’s sorry for what happened to her, but it doesn’t change that she can’t wait to see her burn.

I’m sure Veses wishes she’d try.

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ATTES

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Primal of War and Accord Court: Vathi

Click here to see a full-size image of Attes’s crown by Creatively Agnes.

Hair: Light, blondish brown that frames his face.

Eyes: Silver.

Facial features: High cheekbones. Chiseled jaw.

Distinguishing features: Scar that runs from his hairline, across the bridge of his nose, and down his left cheek. Dimples. Silver cuff around his biceps.

Preternatural features/abilities: Can manifest clothing out of thin air.

Turns into a silver hawk.

Body type: Tall and broad.

Habits/Mannerisms/Strengths/Weaknesses: Uses eather for provocation, feeding emotions to incite violence or peace. Has many perverse pleasures. Wears shadowstone armor and carries a curved sword on his hip. Driven by three things: peace, war, and sex. Turned on by boldness in women. Knows how to kill a Revenant. People pray to him on the eve of battle to grant their armies cunning skill and cleverness. Can shift into his nota form—a silver hawk.

Personality: Strategic. Cunning. Clever. He prefers to do things himself instead of delegating.

Other: Crown = a helm made of reddish black stone.

Background: Co-rules Vathi with his brother, Kyn. Kolis killed his children in retribution for losing Sotoria. Has feelings for Lailah.

Family: Brother = Kyn, Primal God of Peace and Vengeance. Children

= unknown †

ATTES’S JOURNEY TO DATE:

Attes is a bit of a conundrum for me. I wanted to like him right off; he is, after all, the ancestor of some of the most pivotal people in my current history. Yet the things I saw led me to be incredibly wary. I thought, even at first, that he might be playing both sides a little and working behind the scenes, but I had no proof to substantiate that, and thus kept waiting and watching.

Luckily, I didn’t have to wait too long.

As close to Kolis as a brother, Attes knows about Sera and watches her.

He even saves her once as his nota form, the silver hawk.

After Sera arrives in the Shadowlands, Attes travels there to meet her. He remarks that she’s no mere mortal and says she carries a mark and an aura. When she lashes out verbally as Sera is wont to do, Attes remarks that she has bite and asks Nyktos if Veses has seen her.

When he turns his attention to Nyktos, he inquires why the Primal killed the Cimmerian, Dorcan, and states that he thought they were fond of each other. Ash answers by reminding him what Attes did to his brother’s guards.

Attes asks if Sera knows not to repeat what she hears, and she snaps at him again. He tells her to mind her tone and says that while he finds her boldness refreshing and alluring, others will not. Nyktos says that Sera will kill those who don’t.

He attempts to use a bit of provocation magic on Sera and realizes that his presence does not affect her. He then turns the conversation to the Ascension that was felt and asks how a god Ascended in the Shadowlands. When Nyktos says it had to be Kolis, Attes clearly doesn’t believe him. He says he knows it was a god from Hanan’s Court and guesses it was Bele.

He tells Nyktos that Hanan has been having a fit in Dalos, and the other Primals are worried. He then adds that he hasn’t forgotten who Nyktos’s father was or who Nyktos was meant to be. If Nyktos wasn’t the one who Ascended the god, then the embers are in the Shadowlands somewhere.

Attes says he’s at the House of Haides out of curiosity and on Kolis’s behalf. He believes he was chosen to deliver the message because he was the closest—and the least likely to be thrown into the Abyss. He then drops the bomb, telling Nyktos and Sera that Kolis denies their right to the

coronation. He says the Primal of Life wants it to be more formal, and that requires his permission. He adds that Kolis will summon them and then comments on Nyktos being Kolis’s favorite. When Sera calls the fake Primal of Life a son of a bitch, it makes Attes laugh.

Testing the waters, Attes offers himself to Sera if she’d rather have a

warmer climate in bed. Nyktos is not happy, and Sera threatens Attes again. As he leaves, he tells Theon about Sera’s threat on his way out and admits he was both turned on and amused.

In Dalos, Attes enjoys the show as Nyktos and Sera kiss and then interrupts them, flirting as usual. Nyktos threatens him again and says he’s bound to lose his eyes. He tells Nyktos it would be worth it.

When Dyses enters, Attes finds joy in watching the Revenant provoke Nyktos. He remarks that Nyktos killing Dyses would either annoy or amuse Kolis. He also says that he imagines there will be many heartless, dead gods by the end of the day.

He tells Sera and Nyktos that he was awaiting their arrival, saying they’re better company than the rest in attendance. He also remarks that Dyses has always felt off to him and tells the couple that some of the bodies they saw were from the last Rite.

When asked why he’s there, he says that Kolis summoned Kyn, so he decided to join his brother. Not to mention, he wanted to see Sera again and remind her what he said when they first met about her watching her sharp tongue.

He adds that he’s only been in Dalos for a few hours and that no other Primals are there but him and Kyn.

He sets off to find his brother before Kyn gets himself into trouble.

After, he tells Nyktos why he killed Kyn’s guards when the Primal of Death brings it up again.

Kolis arrives, and Nyktos blocks the Primal of Life from touching Sera.

Attes remarks that Nyktos is quite possessive and says that the Primal of Death has threatened to rip out his eyes at least three times.

When talk turns to the Ascension they all felt, Attes chimes in and clarifies that what Nyktos says means that only Kolis can Ascend someone.

Kolis demonstrates his life-restoring powers with Dyses, and Attes sits up straighter when Dyses enters, restored. Kolis asks him if he has the same doubts as Hanan since he seems surprised to see Dyses alive and well. Attes

explains that it’s just been a long time since Kolis has bestowed the honor, so it was a bit of a surprise.

He lies so smoothly.

Kolis tells Kyn to retrieve what he was ordered to deliver, and Attes swears when he sees the youngling, Thad. After Kolis makes his decree, Attes brings a dagger to Sera. Once Sera takes Thad’s life, Attes lifts the draken’s body, the blood singeing his flesh.

Later, in Vathi, Attes inquires as to why Nyktos and Sera are on his balcony without invitation or warning. When Sera asks about the draken, it takes Attes by surprise. He explains that Kyn went to burn Thad. Sera urges him to stop his brother and bring the body to them. When he hesitates, Sera shouts at him, and Nyktos orders him to do it.

It surprises me that he’d listen given how much older he is, but his loyalties really do lie with the Primal of Life. And he was Eythos’s friend.

He returns with the draken’s body and is told not to speak of what he sees. Nyktos says he will level his Court and hunt him down if he does. To which he responds that he’s getting really tired of the Primal of Death’s threats.

Attes watches, stunned, as Sera revives the draken; so shocked, he stumbles back from the table and swears.

The couple tells him he’ll have to keep Thad hidden, and Attes confirms that the gods and Primals would have felt the revival. It will be hard to keep him hidden, especially from Kyn. They tell him to bring the draken to the Shadowlands and promise he’ll be safe there. Attes says he knows Nektas will take care of him.

He comments on Sera’s charm, saying it won’t work there, but vows that no one will learn about what happened in Vathi—he swears it. He bows to Sera and promises not to betray what she did.

Attes insists that he knew something was different about her. He had even more suspicions when she didn’t react to his presence. Nyktos asks why he didn’t go to Kolis with his assumptions and gain favor, and he says that he could have, but again, he remembers who Nyktos’s father was and who Nyktos was meant to be.

At the coronation, Attes sees Nyktos bow to Sera and remarks that he’s a man who knows his place. He approaches the dais and bows to the couple

—he is the only Primal to approach them up to that point—and tells Sera

that her crown and imprint suit her. He adds that the imprint was… unexpected.

He reveals that a few dakkais have been sniffing about but left without causing too much trouble, then says they need to make time for the three of them to speak in private. Before he leaves, he says he hopes their union will bless the Shadowlands and beyond and then briefly stops to speak to Nektas.

During the battle later, he comes up to Sera from behind. She swings at him, not knowing it’s him, and he catches her. She thanks him—presumably thinking that he came to her aid—and he says that she shouldn’t thank him yet.

When I saw this, I instantly felt rage. When things unfold more later, I felt a little sorry for him.

He tells Sera that what he’s about to do is the only way and disarms her, then hauls her against him. He says that all they want is her. If she removes the charm, no more blood will be shed, and no more lives will be lost. If she refuses, his brother will leave none but the Primal standing. He reiterates that it’s Sera’s choice, but she needs to make her decision quickly.

Sera makes him promise that no one else will be harmed, and he swears.

When she surrenders, he tells her she made the right choice.

Back in Dalos, Attes interrupts Kolis and reminds him that Keella helped Eythos capture Sotoria’s soul to be reborn. He reiterates that Kolis hasn’t been able to find her, even after hunting down every mortal with an aura. He then suggests that maybe he couldn’t find her because she’d been reborn over and over the last few centuries and insinuates that maybe Sera is telling the truth about being Sotoria reincarnated.

When Callum disrespects him, Attes tells the Revenant that he knows how to kill him and will prove it if he speaks to him like that again.

Kolis still seems hesitant to believe what Sera said, so Attes reminds him how clever Eythos was and says that it’s just the kind of thing he’d do to fuck over his twin.

Attes visits Sera in her cage, coming in as his nota form, the silver hawk. He explains himself, and gets her to understand, telling her that he was never really loyal to Kolis. Not after Kolis killed his children.

While he brings Sera news of what’s going on and does what he can to help her, he makes it clear that while she’s important, Sotoria’s soul must be saved since she’s the only thing that can kill Kolis.

Once Ash breaks free and gets to Sera, Attes shows up to assist. He has been working through a god from his Court, Elias, for a while and continues that by lending him Setti to transport Kolis somewhere he won’t easily be found.

He goes to get Keella and witnesses them transfer Eythos’s soul out of The Star, set it free, and then put Sotoria’s in.

Not liking what’s happening to Sera, he makes his opinion known and tells her how he feels about it. And while he still isn’t Nyktos’s favorite person, he at least knows the Primal understands he’s on their side.

And he plans to uphold his promise to Sera to support Nyktos however he needs when she’s gone, as well.

He made a vow. Even if he weren’t duty-bound as a Primal to uphold it, he would.

Won’t he be shocked to find out that Sera Ascended as the new Primal of Life?

Or maybe he won’t.

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KYN

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Primal God of Peace and Vengeance Court: Vathi

Click here to see a full-size image of Kyn’s crown by Creatively Agnes. Here is some information about Attes’s evil twin…

Hair: Light, blondish brown.

Eyes: Silver.

Body type: Tall and broad.

Facial features: High cheekbones. Chiseled jaw.

Distinguishing features: Dimples. Silver cuff around biceps.

Habits/Mannerisms/Strengths/Weaknesses: Extremely fond of the draken. Spends a lot of time in the mountains. Heavy drinker.

Personality: Asshole.

Background: Co-rules Vathi with his brother, Attes. Kyn’s guards were taking young ones years out from their Culling to their encampments, so Attes killed them.

Other: Gods in Kyn’s Court are a bunch of assholes—taking after their Primal. Crown is a helm of reddish black stone.

Family: Brother = Attes, Primal God of War and Accord.

KYN’S JOURNEY TO DATE:

Kyn arrives in Dalos before the others, already deep in his cups, and Attes quickly shoves him into a chair before he falls on his face.

The Primal of Life asks if Kyn has what Kolis asked him to bring, and Kyn moves to the hall to retrieve a young draken. Sera asks Kyn what Thad

did to deserve being killed, and Kyn can only answer with the truth: “Nothing.” Kolis then orders Sera to take the innocent draken’s life, and he is struck down. Kyn folds his hands over his eyes during the act, unable to watch, but then glares at Sera with burning hatred afterward. Later, he heads off to find some whiskey before undertaking the task of burning the draken’s body.

Kyn attends the coronation with Hanan, both of them highly intoxicated.

He and the Primal of the Hunt and Divine Justice are the only two who do not approach the new couple, showing utter disrespect.

Eventually, Kyn heads to the Shadowlands looking for Nyktos and Sera, ultimately killing both Aios and Ector.

Once his brother takes Sera to Kolis, Kyn shows up at court in Dalos and gloats about Sera’s captivity. He fights his attraction to her but is eased a bit when Kolis offers Sera up as a reward for his loyalty if she turns out to be lying about who she is.

He brings news about the Shadowlands’ forces and offers to take them out. Kolis doesn’t give him express permission, but he makes it known that he’s at his disposal should he change his mind.

When Kolis calls him in to punish Veses for her failure, he gladly accepts. It speaks to his sadistic side, and he will never refuse an opportunity to let it out to play. He only wishes Ione hadn’t told Kolis that Sera was Sotoria. If he hadn’t, he might have had his chance to play with her, as well.

Still, he’s holding out hope that the truth will come to light, because he doesn’t, for one minute, believe that she is who she claims to be.

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HANAN †

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Primal God of the Hunt and Divine Justice Court: Sirta

Click here to see a full-size image of Hanan’s crown by Creatively Agnes.

Hair: Dark.

Body type: Tall.

Facial features: Pale. Sharp and angular—beautiful in a cunning, predatory way.

Distinguishing features: Silver cuff on biceps. Deep, gruff voice.

Personality: Combative. Contrary.

Other: Appears to be in his thirties. Follower of Kolis. Wears a crown of ruby antlers.

HANAN’S JOURNEY TO DATE:

As the Primal of the Hunt and Divine Justice, Hanan rules the Court of Sirta with his gods but follows the ways of Kolis. He has a small army of Cimmerian at his disposal, which he isn’t afraid to employ against the Shadowlands. At one point, he sends upwards of one hundred of them.

When Hanan meets Seraphena, he calls her “a diamond that will inevitably be shattered into tiny pieces.” Nyktos takes offense and threatens to break every bone in his body and bury him so deep in the Abyss it’ll take him a hundred years to claw himself out if he so much as looks or speaks to her again. Not afraid, he challenges and tells Nyktos that he knows Bele Ascended. Nyktos says that no one in his Court can Ascend a god and taunts Hanan about doubting Kolis. Still, Hanan questions Nyktos’s

explanation because he doesn’t believe that Kolis would Ascend someone in the Shadowlands for no reason and then just leave.

Later, when everyone is together, he speaks up without permission, and Kolis reprimands and scolds him, telling him to leave his sight and not return until summoned.

At the coronation, Hanan joins Kyn in a little too much drink and disrespects Nyktos again by not approaching the new couple.

Later, Hanan comes to back up Kolis in Dalos when Nyktos busts in trying to save his Consort. Unfortunately, he doesn’t succeed, and Nyktos kills him, ripping out his heart and taking off his head.

His title transfers to Bele.

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ECTOR †

Court: Originally, Vathi

Hair: Curly. Fair.

Eyes: Deep amber.

Body type: Tall. Slender.

Facial features: Sharp cheeks, eyes, and jaw.

Personality: Loyal. Likes to tease.

Other: Older than Nyktos by several hundred years.

Background: Knew Eythos and Mycella fairly well. Knew about King Roderick’s deal. Sometimes joined Lathan to watch over Sera—starting on her seventeenth birthday.

Family: Sister.

ECTOR’S JOURNEY:

I’m going to admit that when I started seeing Ector in my visions of the past, I immediately had a soft spot for him. And the more I saw, the more I learned by researching and viewing others, the more endearing he became.

The first real glimpses I got of Ector started when he hands Sera a narrow birch box that he was ordered to give to her—the box containing her special crescent moon shadowstone dagger.

Ector accompanies Nyktos to the mortal realm to retrieve Sera and tends to her after Tavius’s assault, freeing her from her bonds and calling her stepbrother an animal. When Nyktos orders everyone out of the hall, Ector escorts the mortals.

When they return to the Shadowlands, Ector stands guard outside Sera’s room, even though he feels he has much better things to do. However, he remains for her safety since he’s heard that she likes to wander off into dangerous situations. He also takes it upon himself to bring her meals.

Ector accompanies Sera as she watches Nyktos hold Court, though he was against letting her come. Rhain teases him that he worries Daddy

Nyktos will be upset and send him to bed with no dinner. When Veses arrives, he is ordered to take Sera somewhere safe and gives her the option of her chambers or the library. When she chooses, he deposits her and reminds her to adhere to what they agreed to.

Later, when Erlina arrives, Ector brings Sera to her chambers and stands guard outside. When the seamstress leaves, Ector offers to walk with Sera in the courtyard instead of keeping her in her room. He tells her that the draken understand when someone talks to them, even when not in their god forms.

Ector sympathizes with the shock Sera must have felt learning the truth about the Chosen. They discuss Gemma, and Ector tells Sera that she hasn’t been in the Shadowlands long. He then reveals what Court he’s from and tells her how old he is, teasing her about how good he looks for his age.

As they discuss Nyktos’s parents, Ector tells Sera that Eythos loved Mycella, even more so after she died, and would never have remarried.

A ruckus arises at the south gate, and Ector asks Sera to stay put as he goes to investigate. He finds Gemma, injured, and carries her into the palace, then orders Rhahar to get Nyktos. He tells Sera to return to her chambers.

He tries to argue that Gemma isn’t dead, but then he sees that she is. When the draken start acting strangely, he remarks that he’s never seen anything like it and then stares in shock as Sera starts to glow. He watches in awe as Sera brings Gemma back to life.

Later, Ector enters the war room with Bele and helps to relay the tale of Kolis’s treachery, how he exchanged destinies with his twin and then destroyed all records of the truth. When they discuss recent happenings, Ector remarks that it makes sense now why the poppies returned.

After Sera’s secret becomes known and during the dakkais siege, Ector asks what to do with Sera but ends up fetching a hooded cloak and meeting Nyktos by the gates to the bay. He doesn’t believe that Sera cares about Nyktos’s safety and tells her so later when he relays that monsters are in the water. He adds that Nyktos won’t kill her until he figures out what’s up with the embers.

When the dakkais spill out of the bay, he remarks that he thought they’d cleared the harbor, and Rhain tells him they were in the process of doing it. As he watches Bele fight, he gushes that he might be in love. As the battle rages, a dakkai pins him to the parapet wall, and Sera throws a dagger at it, saving Ector’s life. He thanks her in response.

Ector takes Sera back to the palace and wants to return her to her bedchambers. When he sees Nyktos, he asks the Primal how much of the blood he’s wearing is his and realizes that most of it is. It concerns him. He

then turns his attention to Sera and tells her that she doesn’t have to pretend to care for Nyktos around them. She promptly tells him off and chastises him not to tell her how to feel.

After Hamid attacks Sera, Ector arrives with Nyktos and Saion. He kills Hamid with eather before thinking that Nyktos would probably like to question him. Sadly, there’s nothing left but ash. Despite the error, he’s a little surprised by how upset Nyktos is that he killed Hamid and remarks he should probably think before he acts, then goes to clean up the mess.

Ector says that no one would piss Nyktos off when he could fuck with them after they’re dead. As they talk about what might have led to the attack, Ector tells everyone that Gemma is still in the palace and was sleeping when he checked on her half an hour ago.

He shares that Nyktos doesn’t enjoy being touched but likes Sera’s kind of touching and is asked if he has a death wish. His response? “I’m beginning to think I do.”

He reminds me so much of Emil…

Ector enters the throne room just as Nyktos engages the murderous gods. When he sees that Bele is injured, his eyes turn glassy. He falls to his knees and argues when Nyktos says she sleeps, that is all. Then, with awe and fear, he stares at Sera, saying, “That is not all,” and watches in shock as Sera Ascends Bele.

Ector and Saion pace as they wait in Nyktos’s office with Sera. She asks them if they’re scared of her, and Ector responds that they’re more unnerved since nobody should be able to do what she did—bring a god back to life and Ascend them. He then adds that he doesn’t think Bele is a Primal, but she is more powerful. He goes on to say that he was around when Primals Ascended.

He’s ordered to fetch a bowl of water and a towel so Sera can clean up and does, then leaves to wait for Nektas. Later, he waits outside the throne room with Nektas, Reaver, Rhahar, Ward, and Penellaphe—the Arae have answered.

When the next big attack comes, and Davina is struck down, Ector stops Sera from reviving the draken. Then, he curses when Sera admits that she finds Nyktos ripping a god in half hot.

In discussions later, Ector wonders how a god was looking for Sera when no one knows what she looks like. But then Rhain implies that Veses does, and things become clearer.

After Sera tries to leave to take on Kolis by herself, Ector is with Orphine when Nyktos returns with her and is subsequently stunned when he hears the specifics. But maybe not as surprised as he is when he finds out that Sera and Nyktos are lovers. Later, when Nyktos tells them all that Sera’s bravery is unmatched, he draws his sword and bows to her.

Ector fights with the others against the Cimmerian and then joins Rhain and Sera in the office after the battle. He tells Rhain that Sera saved his ass outside.

Tensions arise between Rhain and Sera, and Ector tries to defuse the situation. He says that she’s not the enemy. When talk turns to the things Nyktos has sacrificed for Sera, he brushes aside the topic and then leaves quickly when Nyktos arrives, donning his scary face.

Ector enters Nyktos’s office just after Attes leaves and reveals that Attes told him about Kolis making Nyktos get permission for the coronation.

When they discuss what happened, Ector realizes that Attes’s presence had no effect on Sera and tells her that gods and godlings are not immune to a Primal’s influence. Only three things are: the Arae, the draken, and another Primal.

The time approaches for them to head to Dalos, and he is confused why everyone is so nervous. He says it’s how they get permission. Though he

does worry about something: not Nyktos but rather Sera not playing nice with Kolis.

After Sera’s dinner with Bele and Aios, Ector escorts her back to her room. He tells her that Orphine is with Nyktos and remarks that he’ll lose an eye to a draken someday, given how little awareness they have of where they are in a space. He goes on to say that there are Shades at the edge of the Dying Woods, too close to Lethe, and Nyktos and Orphine are dealing with them. He adds that the Shade issue is an infrequent one, but something that is becoming a bigger problem.

When Veses arrives, Ector refuses her entry into Sera’s chambers and is thrown inside by her power, landing on and crushing a table.

Once he recovers, he rides outside Sera’s carriage with Saion on the way to the coronation, until the end, when he enters the carriage with her. He notices she’s pale and nervous and says she reminds him of his sister on her wedding day. He adds that he didn’t believe Bele when she told him that Sera was anxious. He tries to comfort her, telling her that nothing will

happen to her, and is taken aback—and thrilled—when she blurts out that she wants to be Nyktos’s Consort.

After the coronation, Ector tells Sera that the cheers and shouts are for her and then stands by her side as the revelers greet her and Nyktos.

During the next big battle, Ector moves to protect Aios from the Primal Kyn and dies. Sera goes to save him, but Saion stops her when her power starts drawing the dakkais. She backs off, and the dakkais swarm him, drawn to the eather Sera released, leaving nothing of Ector behind but a

mess.

Let me tell you, viewing that last battle and Ector’s tragic end was enough to bring even me, someone who has seen and experienced much, to tears.

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BELE

‌Goddess of The Hunt (in Blood and Ash timeline) Court: Sirta to The Shadowlands

Hair: Midnight black. Shoulder-length. Often braided.

Eyes: Became silver after Ascension.

Body type: Tall. Lithe.

Facial features: Light golden-brown skin. Round cheeks and chin.

Distinguishing features: Paints her fingernails black. Wears no bands on her arms like others.

Preternatural features: After Ascension, she can conjure a bow and arrow made of eather, and her bolts of eather kill rather than wound. Powers of prosperity and fortune in Blood and Ash timeline.

Personality: Nosy. Flippant. Nonchalant. A bit of a showoff.

Habits/Mannerisms/Strengths/Weaknesses: Doesn’t like crowds.

Usually wears a short sword on her hip and a bow over her shoulder. Often speaks without thinking. Huntress of information. Has a knack for moving about unseen. Is often in other Courts trying to uncover information that might be useful. Helps the Chosen get out of Dalos. Has a thing for Aios.

Loves fighting. Always armed.

Background: Knows many Consorts but none who are mortal. Was born after Eythos died. During her Culling, she shattered windows every time she got upset.

BELE’S JOURNEY TO DATE:

Okay, I’m just going to say it. I love Bele. She’s absolutely delightful. I only wish she played a more prominent part in my visions because I enjoy viewing her every time she appears.

When Sera comes to the Shadowlands, Bele is the first to bow to her and explains why it’s so important. She also reveals that some Courts are betting on how long Sera will live. After it’s shared how Sera killed Tavius, Bele is delighted, impressed, and a bit surprised that a mortal Consort has a violent side.

She gives Sera advice, like not to show fear during the coronation.

Once Sera brings Gemma back to life, Ector escorts Bele to the war room, where she stares openly at Sera. She says that no Chosen are

Ascended because Kolis no longer has the ability to grant or create life, so he can’t Ascend them. She adds that he can’t stop the Rite, though. It’d raise too many questions, so the unstable balance shifts more toward death.

When they discuss Sera’s plan, Bele says that she doesn’t believe Sera thought becoming Nyktos’s Consort would save her people; she learned how to end the deal in the summoner’s favor.

The dakkais attack, and Bele reminds everyone that most Courts likely felt a ripple when Sera used her powers, and the attack is probably because of that. She, Saion, and Rhahar go to find out what’s happening. Later, they ride down the bluffs and engage the dakkais, Bele standing on her horse to fire her arrows as the others crouch. She punches a dakkai and it explodes, then follows another that made it up the bluff and into the city.

Bele doesn’t think that Sera should be going anywhere after Hamid’s attack, not even to see Gemma. She tells Sera that Nyktos is in Lethe dealing with an incident and then questions Gemma about how she knew Kolis was looking for Sera. When the word graeca is mentioned, Bele tells Sera it’s the old language of the Primals and means life. During discussions, Bele realizes that Hamid thought he was protecting the Shadowlands by killing Sera.

The goddess admits that she knows nothing about the Revenants but has been working hard to find out what happened to the missing Chosen. As talk turns to the Fates, she tells Sera they don’t know everything, though they do know more than most. She adds that the Primals cannot make demands of the Fates. They can’t even touch them—it’s forbidden in order to maintain balance. She says that it wouldn’t have even crossed Nyktos’s mind to go to the Arae—Kolis, either. And he has no respect for the rules.

When the gods attack, Bele throws herself over the staircase at Cressa and fights with her. She’s eventually stabbed in the back with a shadowstone dagger and kicked hard enough in the head that it would have killed a mortal.

The fighting dies down, and Aios removes the dagger. Bele dies, but not for long because Sera brings her back to life. When she wakes, she says she just feels tired and then goes on to say that she saw an intense light—what she thought was Arcadia—before passing out.

After Bele awakens again, she spends some time with Aios. Everyone acknowledges that she’s not a Primal. Still, she’s definitely stronger, and they felt a burst of energy when she healed and rose—not as strong as when

a Primal enters Arcadia and a new Primal rises, but she’s still Ascended, and that’s a big deal. The most significant part is that she can challenge Hanan for the Primal position of the Hunt and Divine Justice in Sirta now, and he won’t take kindly to that at all.

When the draken attacks, Bele gives Sera a spear to fight with and remarks that Nyktos will lose his shit when he finds out that Sera is fighting with them. As they set off, Bele calls those they’re fighting for “our people,” referencing Sera.

Bele acknowledges later that she didn’t recognize the god who was talking to Sera—the one Orphine killed, though she imagines that Hanan was behind the attack. She then declares that she needs to leave so no more deaths occur because of her, though she refuses to hide forever. Nyktos tells her that she’s needed in the Shadowlands and it’s also the safest place for her. Sera tries to soothe her, saying it’s not Bele’s fault. It’s hers. Bele thanks Sera for saving her life.

Bele joins the others in the throne room when Nyktos tells them that Sera went after Kolis and reiterates her bravery. Later, when the Cimmerian arrive, Bele takes the younglings to Aios and refuses to leave them.

Sera returns from Lasania, and Bele trains with her for the better part of an afternoon.

Bele is with Rhain in Nyktos’s room when Sera wakes from her mini stasis. She flips off Rhain but goes to get juice and water for Sera. She shares that Sera slept for four days and says it’s a lot like hibernation. She adds that Sera could have been out for weeks. Bele continues to be Bele, oversharing and annoying Rhain. She tells Sera that Nyktos barely left her side and was very worried. She shares that he’s currently at the Pillars, dealing with something. When Sera mentions her nakedness, Bele tells her she’s okay with it.

I just bet she is…

Bele sits with Sera for dinner and tells her that not even the oldest and strongest gods could shake the palace like Sera did when she got angry at seeing Veses. She asks what made Sera so mad. Sera tells her about her Culling and her anger, and Bele calls Sera aggressively assertive. She then reveals that she knows it was the Primal goddess.

Bele says she was waiting for Aios and headed to the kitchen when she saw Veses enter Nyktos’s office. She had hoped the Primal’s visits would stop after Sera’s arrival. She admits that she doesn’t get what’s going on

with Sera and Nyktos and doesn’t know about Veses, but she sees how Sera looks at the Primal of Death and has never seen him act the way he does with Sera. She insists it’s not just the embers and tells Sera how he told them all off after the bravery speech in the throne room.

She guesses that Sera saw Veses and Nyktos together and reveals that she’s seen Veses feed from him before—without sex. She doesn’t get it and knows there has to be a reason he allows it, but she doesn’t know what that is. She insists she doesn’t believe Veses was ever good and tells her that the Primal supports Kolis and that Nyktos doesn’t trust or even like her.

Bele and Aios have dinner with Sera in Sera’s receiving chamber, and the goddesses covertly flirt. When Sera heads to her room, Bele charges in to face Veses.

Veses tells Bele there’s a bounty on her head and Kolis will rip out her heart and devour it. She flippantly replies that there are tastier things on her than her heart. After Veses hurts Sera and Reaver, Bele tells her that Sera is Nyktos’s Consort, Reaver is under Nektas’s protection, and things won’t end well for her.

Bele engages Veses, and Veses shatters her sword and throws her back.

She summons an eather bow and arrow and fires at Veses, the energy grazing and wounding her cheek.

Once Veses is subdued, Bele tells Nyktos that Veses knows about Sera.

He orders her to take Reaver to Nyktos’s quarters. Later, while talking to Sera, she tells her not to thank her for helping. She’s been waiting to get her hands on Veses for ages.

Bele tries to keep Sera still during her gown fitting and does a terrible job. She tells Sera how big the crowd will be for the coronation and remarks how beautiful Sera is in her gown. Despite having to stay at the House of Haides for the coronation, Bele comforts Sera’s worries about a few things and then warns her about dismissing her title while praising her for remaining armed. After Rhain speaks with Sera, Bele sees them off.

Bele joins Rhahar in Lethe to fight the dakkais and isn’t aware of what happened to Aios.

I can only imagine how she’ll take it. The romantic in me hopes it will finally force them to stop dancing around each other.