The People of Darklaw

ASADA (Avestine)
Some people are innocent. I know, because I’ve killed many of them.

Avestine and her brother, Avestar, are children and heirs of the Architect, the legendary emperor who established Darklaw and brought half the world under its dominion. They are twin flames, burning with ambition and arrogance, but she is the brightest light and the true Emissary of Arujan. She is also a fugitive, pursued by both bounty hunters greedy for gold and spiritual warriors compelled to serve. Her brother sits on the throne, having murdered their father with the belief that the gods would grant him all the powers of life and death. But the gifts of the gods belong to the Emissary. As long as she lives.

KAMI
Truth, not a person, is the spring from which duty flows.

Raised in a whorehouse, Kami has seen more lust and violence in her childhood than most people see in a lifetime, and she is more confused about the difference. She has always found solace in the forest — not because it is safe, but because it is honest. To consume, to create life, to be consumed. These are the essentials for any Essanti of Instinct — those spiritual warriors who serve the Emissary through powers of the beasts. But can the Wild be tamed, even by the power of Darklaw?

ROOK
Love is a wound, and only the Emissary can heal it.

Rook is an Essanti of Justice, whose prayer of judgment can kill the undeserving. A man of profound faith, his focus shifts in a blink from what he sees to what he believes without the burden of recognizing the difference. Like the structure of a solemn temple, his face nuances severity in each scar and promises an answer for every hope. Although many wonder how he came to lose both hands, they wonder even more how he manages to survive without them. He has served Avestine since they were children, his single act of disobedience a refusal to die at her command, a refusal to leave the Emissary unprotected.