by J. D. Lakey
War: a complex strategy game played in the central plaza of the domes during the coldest days of winter using large, carved wooden game pieces and computers that weight each move with randomized values based on difficulty and probability; values set and rules defined by the current War Master, who is the Alpha of the Pack who won the winter before
witch: a word with many connotations depending on who says it and how it is said. In general, it is any female of the domes and is not the same thing as hedge-witch which is a healer who uses herbs and natural objects to heal
yellow quills: the canary yellow winged lizards who have taken up residence under the ledges of the towers of Dunauken
Blackwind Pack
Alain: born in Firewalker Dome, Tam’s Second. Beta male of Blackwind Pack
Cheobawn: born in Windfall Dome, Mora is her Truemother, Nestmother, and Natal mother; Black Bead in Blackwind Pack, a rankless Omega Ear
Connor: Tam’s Truebrother; born in Waterwall Dome; Tam’s Third, Omega of Blackwind Pack
Lawflin: called Flynn by the Lowlanders who are his customers. one of the forerunners sent down by Mora to prepare the way for the Black Bead, If he had stayed in the domes he would be considered a Master Tinkerer but now he runs a repair shop in the commercial district below the bluffs of
Dunauken
Megan: born in Windfall Dome; Amabel is her Truemother; Alpha Ear of Blackwind Pack
River: of the Red River Dome, pack affiliation unknown, he is one of the scouts or forerunners sent down to the Lowlands to prepare the way for the arrival of the Black Bead
Tam: born in Waterwall Dome; Alpha male of Blackwind Pack
People of the Domes
Finn: Master Tinkerer of Windfall Dome, he is an expert engineer.
Ivanna: First Mother of Seawind Dome, she was the catalyst who finally helped Cheobawn break free of the hold Mora had on her will.
Zeff: packless oldpa who runs the boarhounds, Lady and Prince
Ironheart Pack
Orin: Alpha male of the now defunct Ironheart Pack
Leena: Ironheart’s Alpha Ear who was killed and eaten by a dubeh leopard
Thora: Ironheart Pack’s Second Ear, same age as Connor
Tsionna: Ironheart Pack’s Third Ear, same age as Cheobawn
Garrick: Orin’s Second, killed by a dubeh leopard
Grist: Orin’s Third
The High Coven and their Husbands:
Mora: First Mother to Windfall Dome; Alpha Ear of the Coven; High Mother to all the Highreach Domes; Truemother of Cheobawn
Hayrald: First Prime; Mora’s First Husband; Husband to the Coven; titular head of the Fathers of Windfall Dome
Amabel: Mora’s Second Wife; Master Geneticist; Master Maker of the Living Thread; Megan’s Truemother
Sybille: Mora’s Third in command; Brilliant warrior and mathematician; chief liaison with the Fathers
Menolly: High Priestess to Windfall Dome; Mora’s Fourth Wife, ex-Black Bead, taken from her dome of origin and brought to Windfall Dome to prepare the way for the next Black Bead
Brigit: Mora’s Fifth; Nursery Mother
Raddoc: Second Prime, and Hayrald’s Second; Security Chief and Crystalline Mind expert
Wissen: Hayrald’s Fourth; Weapons Master
Phillius: Hayrald’s Third; Husband to the Coven; Head Pack Liaison
Sunbird II Crew
Carlil: deck boss in charge of all the cargo on the Sunbird II
Samwell Wheelwright: Captain of the Sunbird II; son of Robert and born of a wealthy merchant family; college dropout, former CPC conscript, survivor of the Spider Wars; now Meetpoint Captain
Peltin: Sam’s bosun’s mate who got promoted to Meetpoint Captain and captain of the Sunbird Ii when Sam decided to stay in Dunauken with Cheobawn
Lowlanders:
Dominick: Director of the governor’s private police force; to Cheobawn—who has met him over and over again in her ten-thousand future timelines—he is her kidnapper, her killer, her lover, her Husband, her torturer, her partner, her jailer, or a combination of all these things; he has killed her Pack and her dome in a thousand futures, forcing her to watch; In a thousand more futures she has killed him or killed herself or both; the Coven’s plan to send her down at her majority guaranteed she would meet Dominick at exactly the wrong time and the outcome would have been the destruction of human civilization, hence her rage at Mora and Hayrald just before she ran away and came down the escarpment
Dermot Winterglen: forty-fifth governor and leader of the planetary Civil Council of the planet the Lowlanders call Occonomara
Doreeth: hedge witch of the upper waterfront of Dunauken and owner of the magic shop called the Jade Cauldron
Sillianna: a Lowlander courtesan hired by Kander Hess, who is an agent of the hedge-witch rebels, now a part of Willa’s Darktide Pack
Jonah: a business associate of Robert and Sam, he is an underworld figure with fingers in many pots, one of them being the illegal trade in psi lizards
Robert Wheelwright: Heir to the shipping fortunes of Occonomara; Sam’s father
Willa: Doreeth’s shop girl working in the Jade Cauldron
Spacers:
Captain Kander Hess: Psi-Ops specialist, expert interrogator
Colonel Bohea: agent of the royal hegemony; titular head of the CPC forces arrayed around Cheobawn’s planet, Tearmann (or Occonomara as it is known by the Lowlanders
CPC: Central Planets Consortium, the political body that oversees the governance of all human space and collects taxes and conscripts men to wage war against the Spiders; headed by a Prince of the royal family, appointed by the CPC
Prince Karleman IX: Face of All Humanity, elected leader of the Royal Hegemony, the Prince Regent, born Timothy in the Royal House that is not dissimilar from the nests of the domes, in that the children of the Hegemony are raised and trained as a group in preparation to become the Prince Regent or part of his administration
Kirr: Sendai of the Margai people: Psi-Ops Specialist and Master mind-reader, he and Cheobawn have a very intimate connection, having share their minds on more than one occasion. Che calls him brother. He loves her which puts his loyalties in jeopardy.
Oud: Scerron High Priestess and Cheobawn’s mentor as she learned to master her psi gifts, who revealed her muddled loyalties when she rode Spider’s psi signal to find her as she lay dying in the marshes above the Escarpment. This was the first indication that the Scerron’s interest in Cheobawn was less than benevolent.
Sergeant Garro: Spider Wars veteran, treasure hunter, mercenary, agent of Star Fleet enlisted by Colonel Bohea as the third member of Sam’s team who climbed the Escarpment and killed Old Father Bhotta the summer Cheobawn turned seven; killed by Colonel Bohea as he sank into the madness caused by bhotta toxin poisoning
About the Author
J.D. Lakey is an award-winning author of science fiction and fantasy stories. Her lyrical writing style and passionate connection to her characters pull you in and take you on an emotional journey of discovery in expertly-crafted worlds where futuristic technologies reside amidst primordial landscapes.
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