Heat of the Everflame Study Guide

House Corbois. Son of one of the Heads of House, Garath, and his wife Freah. Brother of Taran. High General between Luther and Alixe. 

At first makes Diem believe he is an ally but plots behind her back with Ileana to keep Diem and Luther apart. He is prejudiced against mortals, not very powerful, but charming and handsome which he uses to his advantage to get all the recent gossip. When Luther's titles are stripped, he becomes Keeper of the Laws and High General of Lumnos' forces. He is the Descended who did not care that he killed a child by running over him with his horse, which Henri saw - leading him to become a Guardian.

He tells Diem that he has halted all half-mortal executions as High General and insists that he did not kill the child Henri saw him run over on purpose. That it had been an accident. Diem pleads with him to be the man she knows he could be. A good man. He tells Remis that Diem and Luther plan to break Auralie out of the Fortos prison.

House Corbois. Daughter of a Descended high up in the Emarion Army. High General after Aemonn.

Vice Commander of Lumnos forces and one of Luther's most trusted cousins. She dreams of leading the Emarion Army herself and is honored to meet Diem's father, Andrei. She has worked with Luther to get the half-mortal children out of Lumnos alive and works with Alixe to develop her magic skills. After Andrei is killed, she is in charge of protecting Teller. She swears loyalty to Diem and becomes one of her advisors.

She travels with Luther and Taran to rescue Diem from the Guardian camp in Arboros. They travel together through Ignios and into Sophos, where they find Zalaric Hanoverre. She has an idea to integrate mortals into the Lumnos guard and to use the godstone that Diem created after her father died to make godstone shields that would be impervious to both magic and godstone weapons. Diem tells her before leaving for Fortos to be the High General for the realm and to do what is best for Lumnos.

Mortal Commander in the Emarion army. Husband of Auralie, father to Teller, and adopted father of Diem. 

He fell in love with Auralie when they were both in the army but was too scared to tell her. When Auralie left for a mission and was gone for a year, he swore to tell her when she returned. They started courting, although he could tell Auralie was hiding something from him. One day she arrived at his door with her daughter Diem in her arms. They were leaving and he decided to go with them. He knew that his place was with the two of them. He just knew. 

When he is conscripted back into the Emarion army, Diem gets into a huge argument with him - telling him he is not her father before running out of the house. 

He finds out that Diem is the new Queen of Lumnos during King Ulther's funeral. He would often secretly advise Ulther about mortal concerns and defense issues, Diem asks him to become an advisor on her council. He hesitantly agrees but steps down after his presence causes issues with one of the Houses. He is killed by her enemies soon after. 

Deceased

Wife of Andrei. Mother to Diem and Teller. 

Disappears after an argument with Luther. Auralie made a deal with Luther to ensure that Teller could attend the Descended school in exchange for her serving the Crown. This made Auralie the healer for King Ulther when he became sick. Diem discovers that this deal was made when Auralie found out a secret of Luther's and blackmailed him. 

Auralie has been on the island of Couerile for seven months waiting for Ulther to die. This is the same place Diem was born, but she believes that Diem's father is dead after the last time she was here. She thinks she killed him then. She is enacting her plan now. She is there when Ulther dies, and she knows she can return home in a month's time. She worked with Luther since both of them had similar goals and asked him to help her get to Couerile. She would help him smuggle half-mortal children out of Lumnos when she was needed.

While she was waiting, she had put explosives on the island. When the Crowns arrive for Diem's coronation, she triggers the explosion, not realizing that DIem is the new Queen of Lumnos. When she realizes, she tries to warn Diem.

After the attack on Coeurile, Auralie is placed in the Fortos prison to await execution - should at least six of the Crowns vote for it. Diem and Luther break her out as well as all of the other mortals and most of the Descended imprisoned. They try to return to Lumnos but are forced to flee for Montios instead. There, they discover the Descended man helping the Guardians and Auralie recognizes him as Diem's father. She explains in depth what happened when they had met and why she thought he had died. They have to flee again, this time for Sophos, but Auralie stays with the Guardians in Montios since she is not allowed in Sophos. She arranges to have the Guardians on Coeurile step back to allow Diem's coronation.

Guardian close to Vance.

Friend of Henri and a member of the Guardians who gives Diem a Fortosian dagger, in exchange for a favor he can call in at a future date. Member of the Emarion army.

He has gone missing from Fortos with a large number of weapons.

He is in the Arboros Guardian camp that Diem is held in. He is not accepted there as an ex-Emarion soldier and plans to travel to Montios. Dell conspires with him to free Diem, making it look like he and Diem escaped together. 

Leader of the Guardians of Arboros and a friend of Auralie. 

Does not think that all Descended are bad. When Fortos refuses to trade Diem for Auralie, she conspires with Brecke to free Diem without her people knowing. It will look like Brecke freed Diem and they escaped together, but Brecke will travel to join with the Guardians in Montios. The plan goes awry and several Guardians are killed.

Queen of Lumnos, Montios, Fortos, and Umbros. In love with Luther Corbois. Older sister of Teller. Daughter of Auralie and adopted daughter of Andrei. Technically betrothed to Henri. Has claimed House Corbois, her fake father's name is Harold Corbois.

Followed her mother's footsteps and became a healer but has been forbidden by her mother to attend any Descended. She has a disease passed on by her unknown biological father that causes her eyes and hair to lose color. Her hair is very pale and her eyes are grey, unlike the other mortals who have brown eyes. She began having visions when she was young, and her mother began giving her flameroot powder to stop the hallucinations that she said were caused by Diem's illness. Just before her mother goes missing, Diem sees Auralie and Luther arguing on the street. She finds out that Auralie blackmailed Luther into allowing Teller to attend the Descended school. When Auralie goes missing, she throws away her flameroot powder and she convinces Maura to allow her to attend to the Descended. She joins Maura when they respond to the Descended school roof collapse. She attends to Lily, setting the girl's arm on her own and somehow healing a wound on her back with a soft glowing light - not even leaving a scar. She saves the girl's life. She begins to attend to the king as well, meeting Luther. She is convinced to become a Guardian by her childhood best friend and boyfriend Henri. She is given a Fortosian dagger by Brecke. While attending a Descended child that the Guardian's poisoned, she finds information on an armory that she passes to the Guardians. She is forced by Henri to take on a mission scouting the inside of the palace and is caught by Luther, but he does not turn her in. Instead he tells her that he hopes she knows what she's doing and that she doesn't betray him like her mother did. When the Guardians bomb the armory, she runs to respond and goes into the armory to pull out victims. She saves Perthe and another Descended man and has a vision of herself and Luther standing together on a battlefield. When she is trapped in the armory, Luther pulls her out with his magic and saves her life, staying with her until she wakes up and entrusting her care to his cousin Eleanor. Just before King Ulther dies, he speaks to Diem and says he knew she would come for him, shatter their stone and lay waste to their borders. He then speaks with a woman's voice, calling Diem "Daughter of the Forgotten" and asking Diem to give Luther their gift. She flees the room and is stopped by Luther who kisses her and tells her that he can feel her magic. She runs away, dropping her Fortosian dagger in the process. She gets home and fights with her dad because he has been reconscripted into the Emarion army. She tells him he is not her father and runs away. When the king dies, the Crown goes to Diem. Both she and her brother see it. 

Diem realizes that she did not have a disease, the flameroot was smothering her powers. She becomes friends with Luther, Lily, Taran, Eleanor, and Alixe, realizing that not all Descended are bad. She eventually makes Eleanor and Alixe her advisors and asks Lily and Teller to join her council once they are of age. She makes a bonded bargain with Remis Corbois, agreeing to claim House Corbois as her own for the length of her reign while he will make sure House Corbois does not challenge her and will not encourage the other Houses to challenge either. She technically becomes betrothed to Henri, but tries to break it off before the Challenging. She's unable to do so because he's out of town. At her Challenging, she chooses to fight Rhon Ghislaine and has another vision, where she turns down a washed out man's offer to help her destroy all of the Descended, and finally gets full cooperation from her magic. She tries to give Rhon leniency, but kills him when he tries to stab her after swearing fealty to her. She and Luther decide to stop pretending they aren't attracted to each other and also to tell each other the whole truth about their pasts. When she attends the Rite of Coronation, she drips her blood on the heartstone and breaks it just before explosions go off. She knows that somewhere, her birth father is still alive.

Diem is kidnapped by the Guardians and taken to the Arboros Guardian camp. Luther and Sorae try to rescue her but the Guardians have godstone crossbow bolts and Diem sends Sorae away. The Guardians Cordellia and Brecke conspire to break her out without the other Guardian's knowledge but the plan goes awry when Luther, Taran, and Alixe try to rescue Diem at the same time and several Guardians die. Diem, Alixe, Luther, and Taran are forced to run to Ignios and Taran is shot twice with godstone arrows on their way but Diem is able to heal him. She is overwhelmed by Ignios magic while in the realm and has to burn the fire off to avoid exploding with it. She faces off against the Ignios King and absorbs his magic but he nearly kills her. Luther overpowers the King but lets him go and saves Diem's life by attacking her with his own magic and allowing Diem to absorb it. After Ignios, they enter Umbros where they are held "as visitors" by the Umbros Queen. and they find Zalaric Hanoverre. When they discover that Luther has also been hit by godstone and is dying, the Umbros Queen tries to force them to stay and they attack her and her gryvern, getting away by using a jar of the dragonfyre of the Montios gryvern. Diem goes back to Lumnos, miraculously heals Luther, breaks things off with Henri, and then leaves on terrible terms with Luther to break her mother out of prison. In Fortos, she kills the Fortos King and is made the realms first ever Queen. She illegally frees all the mortals and most of the Descended in the prison before escaping with Luther and her mother on Sorae's back. She tries to return to Lumnos but nearly gets them all killed and flees to Montios, where she finds out that the Montios King died in the Coeurile attack and she is their new Queen as well. She tries to kill the Descended in the Forgotten Lands on Montios and he absorbs her attack. She, Luther, and Auralie flee toward Sophos. She learns the truth about her father Ophiucae and they drop Auralie off at the Montios Guardian camp before she and Luther go to Sophos. She meets the Sophos Crown, Doriel, and helps Doriel defend Sophos City against Ophiucae's attack with the Guardians. In exchange, Doriel agrees to call for her coronation. On the way to the coronation, Doriel asks for a bonded bargain. They agree to vote for Auralie and Diem's charges to be dropped and to try to convince the other realms to do the same. Diem agrees that she did not know about the Coeurile or Sophos City attacks and that she will kill Ophiucae. But upon hearing that Diem did not kill the Guardians that attacked the city, Doriel betrays Diem. They do follow through with their bargain, but also ask to have the heartstone change the rules of Coeurile. Now no one without a Crown can step foot on the island or fly over it, gryverns included, without dying and Diem cannot leave. While at the Coronation, Ignios kills the Umbros Queen and Diem gets that Crown as well. To guarantee Diem's cooperation to change the laws on Coeurile with the Forging magic, Sophos has kidnapped Teller. Diem is trapped on Coeurile when Luther, Teller, and Perthe try to rescue her. She calls Sorae to get them and they end up leaving her on the island but Perthe does not make it off in time and dies. Just after, Ignios stabs Diem with a godstone blade. 

Crown of Sophos. Bound to the gryvern Vexes. 

Offered a position to study at their universities for Teller, which Diem did not tell him about out of fear for his life. .Fights with Diem and Luther when Ophiucae attacks Sophos City. Doriel leaves Diem in charge as they mount Vexes and tries to lure Ophiucae away from the city and the mortal rebels he shields. They successfully defend the city and Doriel agrees to call for Diem's coronation as the Queen of her three realms. On the way to Coeurile, Doriel requests a bonded bargain. They agree to try to convince the other realms to vote in Diem's favor and pardon both Auralie and Diem of their charges of treason and to vote in their favor themselves, in exchange for DIem confirming she did not know about the attack on Coeurile of Sophos City and agreeing to kill Ophiucae. After the vote is called and Diem receives yet another Crown, Doriel proposes a change to the Forging magic on Coeurile. Anyone without a Crown who walks on the island or flies over it (gryvern included) will die, and Diem will be forced to stay. Doriel is holding Teller captive to assure Diem's cooperation. They believe that if Diem is held on Coeurile without her magic, the Emarion army can kill Ophiucae and negate the bonded bargain, which will take Diem's magic away, and then Diem can be released. 

One of the Umbros Centenaries - the Descended that come from Umbros which only one hundred are allowed to live, guaranteeing that they are powerful. She is mated to a Descended from Meros and pregnant with his child. 

House Corbois. Luther's (not first) cousin. 

More clever than she is given credit for. Cared for Diem after the armory fire. She becomes a trusted friend of Diem very quickly and is the first person appointed as Diem's advisor. She advises on all things Diem would know if she grew up as a Descended, like social customs. She makes a pretty huge mistake when she doesn't choose a dress for Diem to wear to Ulther's funeral and Diem wears black instead of red. She will never make a mistake like that again. She has sworn her loyalty to Diem.

A Descended man imprisoned in the Fortos prison for smuggling mortals out of Faunos. Diem frees him and heals him, charging him and the other Descended that she freed with working with the mortals that she also freed and getting them out of Fortos and to safety. 

Guardian close to Vance.

House Corbois. Older brother of the late King Ulther and one of House Corbois Heads of House. Husband of Freah, father of Taran and Aemonn. 

Warden of the Shadows for Ulther, which takes care of all the Crown's more discreet affairs. Rumor has it that he used to physically abuse his sons but was forced to stop by the king. Prejudiced against mortals and does not like Diem, partly because she's half-mortal but also partly because she irritates him on purpose. He and House Hanoverre convinced the other Houses to challenge Diem. 

Childhood friend of Diem and hertechnically betrothed to her. His father delivers packages and he has begun taking over his father's route. Member of the Guardians.

Becomes a Guardian after seeing a Descended trample a mortal child on horseback, killing the child without remorse. We later find out this was Aemonn Corbois. He convinces Diem to become a Guardian as well, volunteering her for missions that she does not want to take part in. He is pivotal in the armory bombing and does not share Diem's opinion that Descended children and innocents should be spared. Proposes to Diem and believes she will say yes, despite her asking to think about it first. 

He is furious when Diem becomes Queen, believing that she always knew she was Descended. When she agrees to marry him, he is excited to become the first mortal king and to have a queen work with the Guardians. Misses her father's funeral but comes later. Diem agrees to sneak him and Vance into the palace tunnels to explore the Royal boat, as long as she blindfolds them so they don't know how to get on their own. But they run away from Diem on their return journey, reneging on their agreement. Diem calls to Henri, but he chooses to follow Vance instead. He decides to go out of town for a mission at the same time as Diem's Challenging, which he misses even knowing that she could die.

He was a part of the attack on Coeurile but left to return to Lumnos immediately afterward, to avoid suspicion. He knew where Auralie was the entire time that she was gone and Diem was worried about her. Diem visits him to officially end their engagement and break up, just to find out that he's already in a relationship with the healer Lana. 

Counselor of Montios. Elder of the Crown Council. 

House Hanoverre. Was once betrothed to Luther. Sister to Jean. Granddaughter of the Head of House, Marthe.

One of the top Commander's in the Royal guard and a friend of Alixe's. She and Luther were betrothed to cement the relationship between their Houses. It was an on again off again relationship that Luther ended for good around the time he met Diem. Ileana is still convinced that she should marry Luther and become queen consort. She hates Diem. House Hanoverre agrees not to challenge Diem if Luther will enter a bonded bargain with them to marry Ileana, which Diem will not allow him to do. 

House Hanoverre. Brother to Jean. Grandson of the Head of House Marthe. Father of the half-mortal Zalaric.

Hates DIem and not only challenges her himself, but convinces the other Houses to challenge her as well, promising that he will be the one chosen to fight her - which does not happen. He swears fealty to Diem after the Challenging, along with everyone else. 

Fortos Descended known as The Cardinal.

A contact of the Jaguar who agrees to ferry Diem, Luther, Taran, and Alixe back to Lumnos from Umbros while avoiding the Centenaries. When they meet the Cardinal, the Centenaries suprise them by being at the meet. They take Diem, Luther, Taran, Alixe, and Zalaric to the Umbros Queen but they kill Jemmina. Diem manages to save her life but tells Jemmina to pretend to be dead. Jemmina does that and most do not realize she isn't dead, but at least Symond notices and Diem later tells Zalaric the truth.

King of Montios. 

Very old and frail. DIem helps him climb the steps at her Rite of Coronation. He sees her eyes and calls her "Daughter of the Forgotten". 

He dies at the attack on Coeurile, knowing that Diem would be his heir. He tells his council to trust the Kindred's new choice of Crown and leaves Diem a note from Montios. The note says that eleven must fall for one to rise, share the gift to pay the cost. A dying star will rekindle the spark. What is forgotten is not lost. It also asks Diem to remember Montios' sister's words but beware her brother's wrath.

Deceased

Healer who helps Maura and Diem when they respond to the Descended school collapse. Diem later sees her at a meeting of the Guardians. She attends Andrei's funeral. 

Diem finds out when she goes to break up with Henri officially that he is already in a relationship with Lana. 

One of Auralie's army contact who Diem sees in Fortos. She explains to Diem that the flameroot powder is unobtainable. Even knowing of its existence can get you executed and in order to obtain the powder, the need permission from all nine Crowns. Diem's questions make Leona suspicious. 

House Corbois. Princess of Lumnos, niece of King Ulther. Younger sister of Luther. Daughter of Remis and Avana. Has a crush on Teller.

When she is injured in the Descended school roof collapse, Diem heals her. She sets Lily's arm and saves her life by discovering a shard in Lily's back. She somehow heals Lily with a soft light, leaving not even a scar. 

Starts to sneak Teller into the palace dungeons to see DIem until he has to move into her suite. Her father agrees to betrothe her to Roderyck of House Byrnum, but both Luther and DIem hate the idea. It causes a huge fight and Luther's titles are stripped as a consequence. Lily does later refuse the offer and when she tells Teller, he kisses her. Diem has asked her to become a council member when she comes of age. 

She asks that Remis and Avana be allowed to stay at Luther's bedside when he is dying from his godstone wound. Teller leaves her in Lumnos to travel to Sophos and breaks up with her. 

House Corbois. Prince of Lumnos, nephew to King Ulther, and assumed Heir to the Crown. The most powerful Descended in Lumnos after King Ulther, until Diem. Older brother to Lily. Son of Remis Corbois. 

Was blackmailed by Auralie Bellator to allow Teller to attend the Descended school, in exchange she attends to the king. Had an argument with Auralie just before she went missing. He is gruff and hard, but is thankful to Diem when she saves Lily's life. He escorts her through the palace to see his uncle, disciplining any guards who mistreat her. When Diem sneaks through the palace to try to get intel for the Guardians, Luther knows where she is but does not catch her - telling her that he hopes she knows what she's doing and asking her not to betray him like her mother did. When Diem goes into the armory after the bombing, he uses his magic to pull her out and they share a vision of standing together on a battlefield. He cares for Diem with the help of his cousin Eleanor until Diem is healed. Before the king dies, he kisses Diem, telling her that he can feel her magic but she runs away from him. When the king dies and he does not inherit the Crown, he knows instinctively that Diem did. 

He convinces Diem to join House Corbois for her own protection and the good of the House. He continues as High General of Lumnos' forces, Keeper of the Laws, and Warden of the Light - who handles public Crown affairs, but Diem does not offer him an advisor position. He advises her anyway, and becomes one of her most trusted. He tells her that he has been smuggling half-mortal children out of Lumnos to save their lives with the help of his cousins Taran and Alixe, and occasionally the help of Diem's mother. This was the information that Auralie used to blackmail him. He reveals that there was never a bargain that he had with Auralie, but they worked together because they had similar goals. The day that she argued, she asked him for help getting to a place that is forbidden to mortals but he doesn't know what her plan was. He helps train Diem and is the only person who can get her to use her magic. Was once betrothed to Ileana Hanoverre but broke off their engagement around the time he met Diem, much to Ileana's dismay. He refuses a bonded bargain with House Hanoverre to marry Ileana on Diem's orders. When she is challenged by every one of the Twenty Houses except Corbois, he also challenges her. He believes he will be chosen to fight her, where he will kill himself but make it look like she did it, protecting her life and her claim as Queen of Lumnos. He is in love with Diem and was told by Lumnos that he would serve a grey-eyed queen, he believes that is her. He shares his last secret with Diem: his mother was a mortal named Florille who his father killed, nearly killing Luther in the process. 

When Diem is taken to the Arboros Guardian camp, he mounts two rescue attempts. The second one with Alixe and Taran is mostly successful but they are forced to flee to Ignios and both he and Taran get shot with godstone arrows. He does not tell anyone about his wound. He attacks the Ignios King to save Diem's life and later attacks Diem so she can absorb his power. He travels with her to Umbros, but they leave when they discover Luther's wound and are nearly killed by the Umbros Queen. After his godstone wound is treated, he agrees to go with Diem to Fortos to break Auralie out of prison. They end up helping all of the mortals and most of the Descended prisoners to escape the prison and in the process, Diem kills the Fortos King. They next flee to Montios and confront the mystery Descended man that it turns out is Diem's father. He rescues Diem and Auralie when they are to stunned to run, dropping Auralie off at a Guardian camp and taking Diem to Sophos, where they help defend Sophos City from Ophiucae and the rebels. He agrees to stay at the docks when Diem leaves to be coronated, but figures out that something is wrong. He somehow rescues Teller and Perthe and they try to get to Diem, but she can no longer leave the island. Sorae comes to take Luther and Teller off the island, but Perthe is left behind and dies. 

Healer who worked with Auralie at the healing center in Lumnos. She takes Diem with her to the Descended school collapse and into the palace to treat the king. She agrees to take Teller if Diem dies in the Challenging. 

She comes to try to heal Luther's godstone wound but cannot help him and leaves Diem with a sleeping tonic that, when given in a high enough dose, allows the person to slip peacefully into death. 

Descended child from Montios that confronts the Fortos soldiers when they try to take Diem and Auralie. She brings a group of Descended with her, but is their spokesperson since Montios Descended do not speak to anyone other than other Montios Descended once their magic comes in. 

Mortal who lived in Umbros who would take in the half-mortal children that Luther evacuated. She would find them a family or would take them in herself. She raised Zalaric after he was rescued before she got sick and died. 

Maybell's father. Montios Descended who has taken a vow of silence. He uses picks to remove Diem's shackles. 

Crown of Meros. He votes in favor of Diem when she asks for clemency for herself and her mother, mostly because Sophos convinced him to vote that way. 

Crown of the lost realm of Umnos. 

Only a select few people know that there were ten Kindred instead of nine, including the youngest brother Omnos. He never mated and the other siblings did not believe he had any children. Something happened, its unclear what, but his realm was given to Montios and is known as the Forgotten Lands and all evidence of Omnos' existence was written out of history. But he must have had a child at some point resulting in Ophiucae. Around the time of the Blood War, Ophiucae was imprisoned on the island of Coeurile by the other Crowns. He was chained with godstone chains and kept in a cellar with a godstone door. When Auralie found him, she was able to break the doors rusty iron hinges. Soon she was pregnant and Ophiucae became possessive and paranoid. He seemed better after the baby, Diem was born but Auralie came into the cellar one day to find him with a dagger to Diem's chest. He claimed that her blood would free him from his curse. Auralie stabbed him in the chest with a godstone dagger and took Diem and ran. She believed he was dead. But when Diem dripped her blood on the heartstone, it appears that it did in fact free him from his curse and he was able to escape. He's been helping the Guardians to kill the Descended as his revenge. He has attacked Umbros and Sophos. He is able to absorb magic like Diem can. She believes she is the only person capable of killing him. 

Descended in the armory fire who Diem pulls out, saving his life. Although the Royal guards guarding the palace are from House Corbois, Perthe petitions Luther to be able to guard DIem.

When Diem is not in Lumnos, she asks Perthe to guard Teller. When Teller goes to Sophos, Perthe accompanies him. When Luther and Teller sneak on to Coeurile to save Diem, Perthe comes with them. When Sorae rescues them, Teller originally grabs Perthe's hand but Luther is unable to grab Sorae in time, so Teller lets go of Perthe and grabs Luther instead. Perthe dies as no one is allowed on Coeurile without a Crown. 

Deceased

Mated to King Ulther when he first became King of Lumnos. During the Period of Challenging, Ulther was swindled in a deal. Not wanting to look weak, he came down hard on the House. One of their House elders then poisoned Rapheol in retaliation. Ulther made a bonded bargain not to punish the House further in exchange for an antidote, but the antidote given was not the correct one. Rapheol died. Because Ulther could not punish the House further, his brothers did it for him and killed every member of that House, including the children. 

Deceased

House Corbois. Younger brother of the late King Ulther, Regent of the Crown, and one of the Heads of House Corbois. Husband to Avana and father of Luther and Lily. 

He was one of King Ulther's advisors and continues until Diem's coronation. He makes a bonded bargain with Diem that she will claim House Corbois in exchange for House Corbois not issuing a challenge to her and not encouraging any other Houses to challenge her either. He is angry that he does not have more power while both his eldest brother and son are Wardens. After an argument with Diem and Luther over Lily's possibly betrothal to House Byrnum, he strips Luther of all his titles and makes Aemonn Keeper of the Laws and High General instead. At the challenging when Luther challenges Diem, his power is taken from him. Diem agrees not to tell anyone of his loss if he allows her to choose her own challenger, which he does. She chooses Rhon Ghislaine. 

He continues to be Regent, since he knows that Diem was not coronated. He tries to put Sorae in chains to keep Diem from freeing her mother from Fortos, and claims that he is trying to prevent civil war in Lumnos from breaking out. He insists that he is not an enemy to Luther or to Diem. 

House Ghislaine. 

He had a son with a mortal woman. After several years, he discovered the boy's existence, tracked him down, and killed both the boy and his mother while Diem tried to protect him. She gave him the chance to leave the boy alive, but he did not take it. 

He challenges Diem for House Ghislaine and when she recognizes him, she arranges to fight him for his Challenging. She cannot call her offensive magic, he almost kills her because of it. But she finally connects with it and allows him to keep fighting until his magic is drained, wrapping shadows around his neck and forcing him to kneel to her. She should kill him, but she does not after he yields. He tells her that House Hanoverre convinced the others to challenge her with the help of Garath, promising that Jean would be the one to actually fight. After she allows him to live, he attacks her with a dagger and she is forced to kill him. 

Deceased

House Byrnum. Son of the twin Heads of House Ryx and Ravyn, with the help of a surrogate father. One of the most powerful Descended in his generation.

When Lily refuses House Byrnum's betrothal offer, they decide to challenge Diem. Roderyck is their challenger.

Mortal imprisoned in Fortos prison for working with the Guardians who Diem breaks out. She seems open to working with the Descended. 

House Byrnum. One of the Heads of House with his twin sister, Ravyn. They have a son, Roderyck, born to Ravyn with a surrogate father but raised by Ravyn and Ryx together. 

During their House Reception, they reveal that Remis has agreed to betrothe Lily to Roderyck. Both DIem and Luther object to this, and Lily later rejects the offer. This causes Roderyck to challenge Diem for House Byrnum.

Mortal whose mother works in Sophos. He and his father were able to come with her but her contract will be up in a year or so. They are hoping to receive a permanent offer soon. Originally from Meros but everyone there believes he and his family are dead. Has a huge crush on Diem. When Sophos is attacked, he retrieves the Kindred's godstone weapons from the vault to fight with. 

One of two representatives from Umbros sent to Diem's Ascension Ball.

One of Umbros' Centenaries, only one hundred Umbros Descended are allowed to live at a time, ensuring that they are very powerful. Symond ambushes Diem and her friends at the Sophos docks as they try to escape with the Jaguar. He uses his magic to make the Jaguar cut her own throat, though Diem is able to save her life. Typically acts like a jerk and is unlikeable, but he would like to sleep with Diem. 

House Corbois. Elder son of one of the Heads of House, Garath, and his wife Freah. Brother to Aemonn, who he hates. His favorite cousin is Eleanor.

Member of the Royal guard and one of Luther's closest friends. He is powerful, but is uninterested in having power over others and has turned down any titles offered to him. Served on King Ulther's council but has not been made one of DIem's advisor, which irritates him. Worked with Luther and Alixe to smuggle the half-mortal children out of Lumnos. Trains Diem with her magic but gets nowhere with it. Has sworn his loyalty to Diem.

She travels with Luther and Alixeto rescue Diem from the Guardian camp in Arboros. He is shot by two godstone arrows in Arboros, but Diem is able to cure him. They travel together through Ignios and into Sophos, where they find Zalaric Hanoverre. Taran has a crush on Zalaric. When Diem and Luther leave for Fortos, Taran stays in Lumnos and guards Teller. 

Son of Andrei and Auralie Bellator, younger brother of Diem Bellator. Has a crush on Lily.

Attends the Descended school as part of the agreement that Auralie made with Luther. When King Ulther dies, he is the first person to see the Crown above Diem's head. 

Uses what he was taught at the Descended school to help Diem navigate the House Receptions. After their father is killed, he moves into the palace and has made friends with several of the younger cousins. He's pretty smart, but Diem doesn't listen to him most of the time. After Lily refuses the offer of marriage from House Byrnum, he kissed her.

He is mad at Diem for constantly lying to him and hiding the truth from him. He ends up taking a position at the Sophos universities, partly to stay away from Lily and allow her to move on without him and with someone she can spend her life with. He is taken hostage by Doriel to guarantee Diem's compliance with her new plan, but he is somehow freed by Luther. They and Perthe try to rescue Diem from Coeurile but cannot touch down and must retreat. Sorae comes to retrieve them but Perthe gets left behind and dies. 

King of Lumnos who is sick and being tended to by Auralie. When Auralie goes missing, Maura takes over his care followed by DIem. Just before he dies, he speaks to Diem. He knew she would come for him, shatter their stone and lay waste to their borders. Then he speaks with a woman's voice, calling Diem "Daughter of the Forgotten" and telling Diem to give Luther their gift. When he dies, many believe Diem had something to do with it. 

Diem realizes from preparing for the House Receptions that Ulther did not have a problem with mortals and was considered too lenient with them. He would not have been so harsh with his laws, but had to make compromises. He refused to ban relationships between Descended and mortals. 

Deceased

Father of the Guardians in Lumnos. Diem has a vague memory of him having a conversation with her mother. 

Believes that Diem has abandoned the mortals now that she is queen and is eager to strike the Descended, even when it is not a smart move. Diem smuggles Vance and Henri into the palace tunnels to search the Royal boat, after which he runs away from her so he can find the entrance himself. He knows what Auralie is doing and meets her on Couerile before the explosions.

Currently fights with Ophiucae. 

Queen of Umbros.

Luther has been smuggling half-mortal children into Umbros for years, the Queen does not seem to mind. Diem realizes that the woman who first called her "Daughter of the Forgotten" and encouraged her to stop taking the flameroot was the Queen of Umbros in disguise. She does not seem surprised when Diem breaks the heartstone.

When Diem comes illegally to Umbros, the Queen has her detained. She wants to discuss certain things with Diem, but measures her answers out and does not give the information quickly or freely. Diem and her friends are forced to leave Umbros before they can finish their discussion because Luther is dying, much to Yrselle's upset. She attacks Sorae with her own gryvern and nearly kills them, but is stopped when the jar of Montios gryvern dragonfyre breaks and burns her. When they are called for Diem's coronation again, she decides to vote to pardon Diem and her mother. She gives Diem a warning: take the rosebane, use the key to her library, and heed her warnings about her heir. Before she can get her vote out, the Ignios King stabs her with a godstone dagger. Before she dies, she scratches him with her godstone nails so he will die as well. Her Crown passes to Diem. 

Deceased

The Jaguar. A half-mortal child of Jean Hanoverre that Luther had smuggled out and into Umbros. Sleeping with Taran. 

Raised by Miss Margie because he was too old to have a family found for him. He trained himself both physically and magically after Miss Margie died and has become one of the most skilled Lumnos Descended that even Luther has ever met. He owns an inn in Umbros that is run by other Lumnos Descended that operates as a safe space for the half-mortal children that Luther smuggles out. When Luther, DIem, Alixe, and Taran get to Umbros, Luther asks Zalaric (who he's never met and was introduced to through Auralie, not realizing that he had also saved Zalaric's life) to arrange for them to sail to Lumnos without anyone noticing. Zalaric tries to do that, but the Umbros Centenaries visit him and he's forced to tell them what they know. They ambush DIem and her friends, having them all (including Zalaric) come to the palace for an "official visit". Through the visit, it becomes clear that Zalaric is no longer safe in Umbros and he leaves with Diem and the others to return to Lumnos. He's sleeping with Taran. 

Montios gryvern who died in the Blood War.

Gryvern bonded to Lumnos who serves the current ruler of Lumnos. She is loyal to Diem completely, but she also likes Teller, Alixe, and Luther. 

She was once in love with the Ignios gryvern but they were forced apart by the Kindred to be bound to their own realms. She and Luther tried to save Diem from the Guardian camp, she also came to Umbros to bring them to Lumnos. She flew with them to and from Fortos, nearly being killed when she returned to Lumnos. She was placed in chains by Remis so that she could not fly to Diem, but broke those chains to save Luther and Teller from Coeurile. 

Gryvern bound to Ignios, though he hates the current Ignios King. Was once in love with Sorae but they were forced apart by the Kindred to be bound to their realms. 

Sophos gryvern who flew with Doriel to lure Ophiucae away from Sophos City. She is not used to fighting or flying and generally lives a soft life, so is heavier than the other gryvern and has less stamina. 

Gryvern bonded to Omnos who is flown by Ophiucae. 

• Corbois - Heads of House: Remis and Garath. Notable: Luther, Diem, Lily, Taran, Aemonn, Alixe, Eleanor

• Hanoverre - Head of House: Marthe. Notable: Ileana, Jean

• Benette - Head of House: Evrim

• Teniers

• Amraut

• Byrnum - Heads of House: Ryx and Ravyn. Notable: Roderyck

• Ghislaine - Notable: Rhon