Ignis & Spectrum

For five years, M.Z. was in a coma at Carbon City Hospital. Her company, M.Z. Industries, was put into the hands of her faithful management. They kept the company running as usual (providing customized tools and equipment to several public and private industrial clients) out of respect and to help pay the hospital and insurance bills of their founder and close friend.

When she awoke, she found she could create – and sometimes control – fire. While perhaps the most impressive thing she could imagine, she knew it was not normal for someone to be able to do what she could. She attempted to hide it in hopes that it would simply go away. After meeting Cyril, the fear of her secret being discovered lessened, or perhaps just lay dormant and forgotten in her mind.

M.Z. is the current owner of Château de Vesask.

In his early adulthood, Cyril joined up with a questionably legal dream research program, Project Chimera. The project claimed to merely wish to research dream patterns and reactions to certain experimental sleep medications. Choosing three final subjects out of nearly five hundred volunteers, the project quickly reached grounds no one expected.

The project quickly fell apart, but the effects of the research remain to this day. Cyril discovered he can manipulate light frequencies and their intensity. After gaining ownership of the House of Arcana, he also discovered that he, like every other keyholder, can create makeshift portals to a dreamworld (the return portals to the waking world are static and created seemingly at random).

Cyril is the current owner of the House of Arcana.

For years, Zaman lay dead in the House of Arcana. Cyril discovered him lying upstairs on an operating table shortly after claiming ownership of the House. Zaman’s body never began to decompose, so Cyril left him there and did his best to research the strange dead man with a clock in his chest frozen at 3:40. Zaman’s death occurred during the first major war of the dreamworld. As a member of the Ancients, he was tasked to fight along the True Dreams in attempt to rid the nightmares and their beastly brethren from the sacred land.

In a bizarre accidental ritual, Zaman was resurrected by M.Z. when she lit the impossible-to-light fireplace within the House of Arcana. He is currently living, but is unable to leave the dreamworld.

A survivor of the First War, Oscar volunteered to become a scout for his race, the True Dreams, in the aftermath. He was assigned to observing Freya since they had witnessed her involvement with the nightmares. Shortly after his assignment, he was captured by Aaron and Voro. For months, he was imprisoned in the House of Fears dungeon and tortured by Freya and her crew. With help from Ophelia, he escaped.

Ophelia was approached by the True Dreams after they noticed she alone was responsible for cleaning up and rebuilding several historic sites in Forgotten City damaged during the First War, including the clock tower. The town had remained in disrepair for many years not because no one cared, but because the inner makeup and rules of the dreamworld differ greatly from that of the waking realm.

Most humans (who, mostly as dreamers, make up a large percentage of the dreamworld population) cannot comprehend the intricacies of it all, but her skill and dedication to the community caught their eye. Ever since her introduction with the True Dreams, she has worked closely with them to help bring order back to the dreamworld.

Ophelia is the current owner of Peak House.

One of the three chosen subjects of Project Chimera, Freya is extremely crafty and influential. With her granted ability to read the fears of those within close proximity (and cause intense hallucinations of those fears), Freya drove all of the dream researchers at the facility to suicide. She attempted to do the same to Cyril, but he quickly retaliated and escaped before any real harm could be done.

Later forming a strong alliance with Aaron, she discovered a method to grant other humans the same power keyholders are granted upon first obtaining their Houses. The nightmares in the forest proved great allies to her and her new friends.

Freya is the current owner of the House of Fears.

Forthright and headstrong is Aaron’s way. He can be silent and resolutely obedient when necessary, but quite often, he gets what he wants. Project Chimera granted him the ability to manipulate all sorts of plant life, growing at speeds not naturally possible.

Aaron is the current owner of the House of Aspirations.

Known (and respected) mostly by fellow thieves, the Raccoon has a sort of history stealing things from M.Z. Industries. Typically, his thievery is merely for sport and the thrill of it all. He has broken out of seventeen prisons around the world, all of which he claims to have gotten into intentionally to test their security. Needless to say, he is wanted in several countries and never stays put for very long, always looking for the next target.

The vile smelling ghoul known only as Voro can often be found rooting about cemeteries and morgues, looking for a meal. He prefers his corpses to be fresh, but he isn’t too picky; meat is meat. Any other reason for doing so (acquiring souls, the skills of the dead, etc.) are dismissed at this time as only theories. He appears to have been wearing the same ratty remnants of a pair of pants (or perhaps some sort of canvas sack) around his waist for years.

Early on, we didn’t know much about Zero-K, not even his name. These days, we know more, but will leave his bio here mostly blank until we feel like filling it in (in accordance with the story’s progression).

An absolute giant, this man towers well over seven feet tall, demanding respect from all those in his presence. His full face is rarely seen and it is said he is badly scarred beneath his metallic mask. Rarely does he speak in any intelligible or eloquent way; he just grunts a lot. He always carries blunt objects with him, most often a pair of wooden baseball bats holstered at his waist.

An old acquaintance of Zaman’s, Elpidius doesn’t have many (other) friends–reasonably so, for he is kind of a selfish jerk. He is an abstract Concept and, like all Concepts, has the ability to see into the not-too-distant future with fabled accuracy. Cyril and Zaman looked to him and his ability to help them find M.Z.

Forever acting as second in command, Linh usually runs the Carbon City headquarters of M.Z. Industries while M.Z. is absent. Her main duties keep her from getting too distracted and limit her free time to next to zero. Out of respect for M.Z. (and a healthy paycheck), she rarely complains and often does more than is expected of her.

Alison manages much of the public relations for M.Z. Industries while maintaining an active role in the production process. She has worked closely with other industrial manufacturers in efforts to outsource their less demanding projects as well as the higher volume orders from clients.

Forgotten City’s finest bartender always mixes up the perfect drink, no matter the order. Dreamers from all around have come to challenge his abilities (never leaving dissatisfied), but lately business has fallen comparatively slow for Oswin.

A small rundown town within the dreamworld. All twelve of the Houses are technically located within Forgotten City limits, though only a few of them are located in the downtown district. Other points of interest include the clock tower, Oswin’s Bar, and the water tower on the edge of town.

Being one of the largest forces in the First War, the nightmares unsurprisingly maintain a strong hold on the dreamworld’s forest just outside Forgotten City. The frontline thugs of the nightmares look like mangy lions, their coats solid black, and their eyes glowing various colors. They pray on dreamers’ weakest moments and deepest fears.