Brimstone

Overview

Plot Summary ⚠️ Spoilers

Characters

• Saeris Fane
  The central protagonist, a former human from Zilvaren who becomes a Fae-vampire Alchemist and unwilling queen of the Blood Court. Her arc follows her struggle to master quicksilver, brimstone, and other dangerous runes while protecting her friends and deciding what kind of ruler she will be.
• Kingfisher (Khydan Graystar Finvarra)
  Saeris’s God-Bound mate and the Lord of Cahlish, a shadow-wielding warrior bound by old trauma, oaths, and love. His true name frees him from Belikon’s control, and his hidden connection to Diaxis becomes central when he reveals Styx is his father.
• Onyx
  Saeris’s loyal white fox, whose devotion repeatedly draws him into danger. He crosses impossible terrain to reach Saeris, dies protecting her from Orious, and is restored by Saeris’s unprecedented attempt to undo death.
• Carrion Swift
  Saeris’s smuggler friend and the hidden Daianthus heir, whose irreverent persona masks grief, intelligence, and a growing sense of responsibility. He guides Kingfisher through Zilvaren, helps recover Hayden and silver, and begins awakening strange plant-related magic.
• Taladaius
  Saeris’s vampire maker and a Lord of Midnight who becomes her uneasy ally. He severs their maker bond, poisons the Blood Court to force judgment on the high bloods, survives Iseabail’s spell, and later accepts the god sword Tarsarinn as a sign of redemption.
• Foley Briarstone
  Lorreth’s long-lost brother, an unwilling vampire and former Lupo Proelia who has hidden in Ammontraíeth’s library for centuries. His Alchemical knowledge helps Saeris, and he becomes a Lord of Midnight after swearing loyalty to her.
• Lorreth
  A Fae warrior close to Kingfisher who trains and protects Saeris while carrying old grief from Ajun and Foley’s disappearance. He often acts as a blunt strategist and later leads the surviving Irrín warriors to Cahlish.
• Renfis
  Kingfisher’s brother-in-arms and commander, haunted by his twin Merelle’s death and deeply hostile to Taladaius. His disappearance is later explained when Ajun summons him as an Orrithian knight guarding the gate to Diaxis.
• Danya
  A Lupo Proelia warrior who fights the altered feeders, suffers burns, and later helps defend and organize refugees. Her harsh pragmatism clashes with Kingfisher when she suggests sacrificing fire sprites for brimstone.
• Te Léna
  A healer at Cahlish who tends Danya, Hayden, Everlayne, and the survivors of the Blood Court purge. Her limits reveal how strange Saeris’s altered body and magic have become.
• Maynir
  Te Léna’s mate and a scholar figure who assists in the search for answers about Alchemy, Everlayne, and the rot. He helps shelter and move the injured during the evacuations.
• Iseabail
  A witch prioress from Nevercross whose knowledge and scrying make her useful but dangerous. She supplies Taladaius with the anti-vampire spell, hides forbidden spellwork from her clan, and nearly opens a gateway to the demon realm through Taladaius.
• Everlayne
  Kingfisher’s half sister, poisoned by Malcolm’s venom and trapped in unconsciousness. Her body becomes a conduit for Edina’s warning, and her past betrothal to Taladaius explains part of Renfis’s hatred.
• Edina
  Kingfisher’s dead mother and an oracle whose presence and writings guide Saeris after death. Her hidden Alchemy book warns Saeris about the rot, the cure, the white cliffs, and crucial choices involving Kingfisher.
• Hayden Fane
  Saeris’s brother from Zilvaren, rescued by Kingfisher and Carrion but shaken by Madra’s propaganda. His reunion with Saeris is painful, yet he chooses to stay in Yvelia and become useful.
• Archer
  A fire sprite at Cahlish whose loyalty and formal service anchor Saeris in the household. His near-fatal injury reveals that brimstone can destroy the rot, but only at devastating cost to fire sprites.
• The Hazrax
  An ancient, non-vampire Lord of Midnight and observer who bargains with Saeris. It grants her an undoing rune, warns her about the cost of her powers, and later transports her to the Wicker Wood in exchange for continued access to observe her.
• Zovena
  A Lord of Midnight and Keeper of Missives who opposes Saeris and withholds letters meant for Taladaius. Taladaius secretly restores her to Fae life during the Blood Court purge, but she later dies during the Inishtar crisis.
• Algat
  The ancient Keeper of Records, a former witch-vampire who guards Ammontraíeth’s library. Algat bargains for Saeris’s blood, invades minds, resists Foley’s rise, and becomes a feared uncertainty after the purge.
• Ereth
  A Lord of Midnight who manipulates Saeris’s coronation and then attempts to assassinate her. Kingfisher kills him, creating the vacancy that later allows Foley to become a Lord of Midnight.
• Belikon De Barra
  The tyrant king of the Winter Palace, bound to oaths and determined to control Saeris, Kingfisher, and the god swords. He imprisons Kingfisher in the Wicker Wood and remains a central enemy even after Kingfisher beheads him to delay pursuit.
• Orious
  Belikon’s seneschal, who delivers Belikon’s demands to Saeris and later helps trap Kingfisher in the Wicker Wood. He kills Onyx with a null blade before Saeris and Kingfisher destroy him.
• Madra
  The queen of Zilvaren, whose propaganda turns Saeris into a false martyr and whose actions are tied to infected feeders crossing realms. Saeris concludes that Madra may have turned Zilvaren itself into a massive sigil for siphoning power.
• Elroy
  Saeris’s former forge master in Zilvaren, whose family secretly guarded Fae knowledge and a hidden quicksilver pool. He protected Saeris’s dangerous power by burning records and later shelters Kingfisher, Carrion, and Hayden.
• Gracia Swift
  Carrion’s guardian figure in Zilvaren, whose death forces him into open grief. Her funeral leads him to sacrifice a treasured book tied to his lost Fae heritage.
• Rurik Daianthus
  Carrion’s father and the former Yvelian king, remembered through Carrion’s drawings and the satyrs’ loyalty. His bloodline makes Carrion a politically dangerous heir.
• Amelia Daianthus
  Carrion’s mother and the former Yvelian queen, remembered through Kingfisher’s memories and Carrion’s drawings. Her choice to hide her child shapes Carrion’s displaced identity.
• Merelle
  Renfis’s dead twin sister, whose death at Ajun haunts Kingfisher and Renfis. Her spirit is revealed to be bound within Nimerelle, Kingfisher’s god sword.
• Nimerelle
  Kingfisher’s iron god sword, linked to Merelle’s spirit and central to conflicts with Belikon. It accepts Saeris in the Wicker Wood when she comes to save Kingfisher.
• Solace
  The Fae god sword once belonging to Kingfisher’s father and later entrusted to Saeris. After Saeris awakens deeper metal magic, she reshapes it into the twin swords Mercy and Honor and reforms it when needed.
• Tarsarinn
  The god sword Saeris creates for Taladaius after the battle at Inishtar. Its name means redemption, reflecting Taladaius’s decision to fight on the right side.
• Joshin
  An ancient desert demon who traps Kingfisher and Carrion in Zilvaren through Vorath Shah. Kingfisher bargains with him for venom and a secret, then leaves a surviving scorpion remnant with Foley.
• Vorath Shah
  A vault breaker and black-market trader who betrays Carrion and serves Joshin. His trap turns the search for silver into a demonic ambush.
• Eric
  Carrion’s absent business partner, suspected of stealing the Brigand’s Bank goods and hiding silver behind traps. His theft drives Carrion and Kingfisher toward Vorath.
• Guru
  Algat’s red-eyed shadow cat, linked to the library and strangely responsive to Kingfisher and Foley. Guru guides Kingfisher to Foley’s hidden refuge and reacts to blood and danger.
• Kavan Dahlish
  A former warrior under Kingfisher, turned into a high blood after death by Malcolm’s forces. His petition at the Evenlight Ball reveals how Malcolm twisted fallen Fae soldiers against their own.
• Ibanwae
  A former Alchemist with dead runes who petitions to become Keeper of Pain. Her praise of domination and feeding farms gives Saeris a chance to reject the Blood Court’s old cruelty.
• Orellis
  A satyr in Inishtar who shelters Saeris’s group after the feeder attack. His home becomes the temporary planning place while the survivors assess Fisher’s disappearance and Madra’s portal magic.
• Galwynnian
  A satyr leader who recognizes Carrion as Rurik Daianthus’s heir. His public welcome signals that Carrion’s return carries political consequences.
• Arissan
  The dragon gatekeeper of Diaxis who captures Saeris and Khydan rather than killing them. Arissan seeks judgment against Khydan for killing Shacry.
• Crave
  A Diaxian commander who confronts Saeris and Khydan after their capture. Khydan subdues him while demanding that Styx be summoned.
• Githrand
  A Diaxian commander who explains Khydan’s alleged crimes in Diaxis and threatens Saeris. His shadow magic is overpowered by Khydan’s.
• Styx
  The king of dragons in Diaxis, named by Khydan as his father. His unseen authority turns the search for brimstone into a confrontation with Khydan’s origins.
• Shacry
  Arissan’s dead offspring, whose killing is one of the crimes for which Diaxis seeks judgment against Khydan. Shacry’s death explains Arissan’s hostility.
• The quicksilver voice
  The sentient force within the quicksilver that tests Saeris’s worth, motives, and fears. Its bargains grant Saeris relics and power but threaten her memories, identity, and safety.
• The fire sprites
  The pyre-dwelling beings of Cahlish whose brimstone sustains their lives. Archer’s injury reveals that their brimstone can burn away rot, making them both vital and vulnerable.
• The altered feeders
  Rot-corrupted, recently dead humans from Zilvaren who absorb magic, survive ordinary destruction, and spread black contamination. Their attacks transform the war into a multi-realm crisis tied to Madra’s power.

Themes