Lady Giselle Grey
The protagonist of the first volume, Giselle is an instinctive fighter, with an improvisational style. Giselle is introspective, watchful - speaking only when necessary. She knows her own mind, the only sister to resist the brainwashing of her training, and is skeptical of the rituals and traditions that dictate her life. She nevertheless remains loyal to the Kaiser, grateful to him for sparing Mathilde’s life as a child. During her escape following the Kaiser’s death, Giselle’s hair becomes stained red with blood, symbolizing her separation from her sisters and the beginning of a new life free from tradition.
Lady Mathilde Grey
Giselle’s twin sister, Mathilde is considered the ‘runt’ of the
Greys. Her dark hair is unique among the sisters, and is enough for them
to treat her with suspicion. As a result Mathilde embraces the family's
rhetoric, desperate to feel a part of it. As a child Mathilde was
highly creative, a quality incompatible with her role and as a
consequence brutally suppressed. Like her sister an expert fighter,
Mathilde however favors words over action, and would rather attempt to
resolve conflict through negotiation.
Lady Anna Grey
Anna is Strength - impulsive and violent. A zealot who unquestioningly accepts the Queen’s rhetoric, Anna is the most dangerous of the Greys. In their role as the Kaiser’s enforcers Anna believes it is the Greys who truly hold the power in Mitteleuropa.
Lady Eva Grey
Stately, beautiful, Eva is Wisdom. The Matron Sister of the Greys, Eva is the wisest of the sisters, and so elegant a killer that the blood of her victims will not dare stain her clothes. Her greatest failing is her blind faith in the infallibility of His Majesty the Kasier.
The Wolf General
In his role as Lord High Marshal of Mitteleuropa the Wolf General is responsible for the internal security of Mitteleuropa. Long ago he was a fervent advocate of the Kaiser, and of Gottfaust, but his experiences have led him to adopt a more pragmatic, long-term view. Now he serves only the people, believing them to be the true source of the nation’s strength - more important than any king, politician or god. The General has a strange connection to Gottfaust’s stone of power, and as a consequence possesses the uncanny ability to read the memories of the dead.
His Imperial Majesty the Kaiser
Hind Von Medeim is ruler of Mitteleuropa, and the last in a line stretching back for almost a millennium. The people of Mitteleuropa consider him a living god, a single consciousness transferred from father to son, from vessel to vessel. Like Giselle the Kaiser feels constrained by duty, and this shared burden has created a deep, unspoken bond between them. A benevolent and just leader, the Kaiser married late, having dedicated his life to his people. His greatest failing is his devotion to Alena, a love that clouds his judgment, and blinds him to her malign influence.
Alena von Medeim/Raisa Vasilyeva
Raisa Vasilyeva is the illegitimate daughter of Ursa’s Czar. When her half-sister the Princess Alena was lost fleeing Ursa’s revolution Raisa took her name and her title, rising through the ranks of society to eventually become the Kaiser’s consort. Like the General Raisa too has been touched by the power of Gottfaust’s stone – her hands scarred, cursed to corrupt with her anger anything she touches. With the help of her Governess Nana, Raisa conspires to avenge her Father and return to claim Ursa’s throne.
Elliot Pepper
Former US airman Elliot Pepper is a fugitive and a conman, wanted by the Allies for desertion and by the Axis authorities for theft and fraud. A handsome, beguiling character, Pepper survives within Mitteleuropa itself by stealing and adopting the lives of others. Pepper likes to consider himself a free spirit, yet in practice he is nothing more than a war profiteer and a drunk. Yet it’s his weakness for women and booze that presents him with the chance for redemption, in the voluptuous form of Miss Dina Cumming.
Dina Cumming/Lady Fermoy
Once a Secret Agent for the Allies, Dina disappeared off the map after losing faith in the decisions of her superiors. As a rogue operative Dina is determined to create small pockets of instability within the Kaiser’s territories. In order to gain access to confidential intelligence Dina seduced and married the Baron, a member of the Kaiser's inner circle. Enraged by his wife’s deception the Baron brutally attacked Dina. But he had underestimated her, and in the fight that ensued the Baron was left horribly wounded.
The Baron
The Baron is a member of the Cabal - a committee that advises the Kaiser, and represents the interests of the wealthiest families in his court. He has lived a privileged life, and always suffered from an inflated sense of worth. But his marriage to Dina and the injuries she inflicted have changed him, made him bitter, and cruel. He is driven by his desire for retribution, and willing to sacrifice the lives of his men in order to preserve his own.
Gottfaust - Father of the Greys
Inspired by a stone that fell from the heavens a peasant boy became a great warrior. In time the stone became a symbol of his strength. The Kaiser named him Gottfaust, and he became the people’s champion, ushering in Mitteleuropa’s golden age. His strength and wisdom became legend, and the stories told about him give Gottfaust – and the stone – their power. For almost six hundred years Mitteleuropa was the dominant world power. Gottfaust sired three daughters. In time they too came to serve the Kaiser, as bodyguards and advisers. The last Kaiser of the Golden Age died, and was succeeded by his son. And then everything changed...
Marshal & Marshall
- The Marshal is a member of the Wolf General’s entourage, a detective
partnered with the boy Marshall to investigate strange anomalies in the
fabric of reality known as ‘continuity errors’.
Marshall
- Partnered with the Marshal, Marshall is a young acolyte of the Wolf
General, and a product of the anomalies they have been tasked with
investigating. Marshall has the ability to step outside of the borders
of the world and perceive the effect Gottfaust’s stone has had on
history. This talent places a great burden – both physical and emotional
- on poor Marshall.
Mentor Goethe
Goethe is the Twins’ advisor and tutor, responsible for their training in diplomacy, politics and the art of war. He knew their flaws, yet chose to hide them from the council, and resorted to brutal measures in an effort to ‘correct’ them, afraid the twins would be retired from service. Yet even the most loyal of the Kaiser’s subjects are susceptible to the influence of the Queen...
Nana
Nana is a member of the Order of Gottfaust, a cult-like organization founded on the belief that Gottfaust will one day return to Mitteleuropa, reuniting the two halves of the stone and reclaiming his power. In the guise of her governess, Nana introduced the future Queen to the stone myth, and trained her in the order’s arcane ways.
