Mistress Featherlight trying to persuade the Matron
The Charms — “We’re mercenaries. If we’re paid to spy, we spy. If we’re paid to kill, we kill. And we use whatever means necessary. We’re information brokers and we traffic secrets. We’re opportunistic thieves and masters of making things happen. Menacing, murderous, and mysterious- we are powerful and feared by the few who know us.” -Grette's First Contact
A Charm is a woman of business. She is willing to trade anything for the information she desires including herself when all other options are gone. Even still, the image she projects of herself is more important than how good she is in bed or how well she holds a conversation. A Charm needs only a moment to create a lasting image that can haunt the mind until it’s gratified.
The Charms recognize themselves as part of a sisterhood and address each other as ‘sister’, acknowledging the elder Charms who have come before them as a ‘Mother Mistress’ or just ‘Mistress’. Historically, their leader was the eldest Charm, known as ‘Mother Matron’ however the Mother Matron is now not the eldest but is chosen by the Mistresses as the most powerful, the most knowledgeable, and the most feared among them.
⟡ The Cloister of the Sacred Court — The Cloister is the home of most of the Empress Charms. Some who refuse to identify live abroad but for most, the Cloister is a safe place for Empresses to live authentically.
“An Empress Charm is an uncommon girl who has no interest in men. She finds their touch repulsive and is not aroused in the least by them. To the contrary, she delights in the touch of another woman but will endure male companionship when it accompanies that of a woman. Completely absent of feelings towards men, Empress Charms are unstoppable and often work together consistently proving themselves as Charms that can get things done even when physical torture has failed” -Sister Bowstring
The Blackblades — The Blackblades is a local fraternity of mercenaries in the forest between the von Stoffen and von Denkle castles. They live in a semi-permanent camp replete with healer, kitchen, horse paddocks, and a blacksmith. They have no joining requirements though it is implied if you don’t speak German, work will be hard to find.
The Charms regard them as “lovers, brothers and sons” and frequently pair off with one as a “mate”- a no strings attached lover for as long or as short of time as fits their needs.
Blackblades have a habit of taking gruesome nicknames in hopes someday it will instill fear
The Waldkrabben — Literally “forest crab”, they are nomadic groups of the forest who have migrated into the area from the east. They are specifically of Romani descent and bear the historical stigma attached. The caravan that figures primarily in the series has an impressive level of bilingualism from the insistence of their leader Niccolo.
They have a historical pattern of taking in outsiders: Jerah, Rivel, Ehren, Linna, Mark, and Della
The Deep End — The stronghold of Evil in Lower Temal carved from the cliff face. Home of all Darkwakers in Temal, it is lorded over by The Darkness- a spectral being with an unusual falsetto voice. Tala stays here and eventually gets into trouble here
Master Inanka’s House (Sunshine Fairy’s House) — The stronghold of Good in Lower Temal, home and operational base of Emmer Inanka. Safehaven for Boriin. Tala deficated on its doorstep one night while strung out on drugs
Our Alliance — A secret coalition dedicated to preserving and restoring the royal bloodline of Temal. They correctly identify Tala as "Queen Expectant"
The Lantern House — Temple of Aelthyr, God of the Guarded Path. Always in a residential neighborhood. Always humble in appearance, marked only with Aelthyr’s sigil next to the door, a lantern hanging above the door and the door open wide from sunrise to late in the night.
⟡ House-Attendant — Followers of Aelthyr who have not yet (or do not wish) to rise to the service of Warden. They keep the Lantern Houses open and running. Most are former wards of the House who have chosen to stay in service
⟡ House-Elder — Highly respected members of the House who were once Wardens but have aged beyond service demands. They fill spiritual and physical needs of the House with the same devotion they have carried all their lives
⟡ Ward-Father/Mother — The administrative leader of a local Lantern House. Serves as the public face of the temple
Warden-Mother Selka — Rainarch
Warden-Father Caldus Renn — Wickarm City
Warden-Mother X — Southpoint
Ward-Knight Heatherton with ward Tobin
⟡ Ward-Knight — A Ward-Knight is the Lantern House’s quiet blade- a protector who carries the Lantern’s promise beyond its walls and into the restless streets, docks, and market roads of Wickarm Bay. They are not enforcers, not hunters, not clergy. A Ward-Knight is recognition: the House’s way of naming someone who walks a warden’s path with a sword at their side and a vow in their chest.
They stand between danger and the defenseless: children, travelers, runaways, anyone who has lost their footing — these are the people a Ward-Knight shields. When harm rises, they become the wall that danger hits first.
Their work is human, not heroic. They escort runaways to healers. They stand in court beside frightened children giving testimony. They sit outside doors through the long hours of the night because someone inside is terrified their past will come knocking.
To be named a Ward-Knight is to be trusted with the city’s fragile spaces and to hold ground when danger rises- to plant their feet and refuse to move, making the space behind them safe by sheer resolve.
Ward-Knights stand guard in the most awesome sense of the word: a watch kept for those who cannot keep it themselves
⟡ Warden — Wardens are protectors first, ritualists second. Wardens protect children who cross their paths, they don’t investigate households. Wardens escort children home after dark, provide safe passage through dangerous districts and maintain a map of the city’s safest and most dangerous routes.
“We’re here to protect, not escalate. If a situation gets loud, we make it quiet. If it gets dangerous, we make it safe.” -Warden Eerol
The Greymantle Elves
⟡ Mantlewardens — Not a title, but a role. To them, "warden" doesn’t mean authority; it means responsibility. They see themselves as the ones who keep the forest in balance, not rulers of it. Neither are they guards or soldiers. Wardens are those who walk the boundaries, interpret threats, and intervene when something breaks the peace.
They maintain the balance of the forest by clearing deadfall in ways that prevent unnatural fires. They guide the growth of certain groves and thin others. They maintain hidden paths that only they use.
They have a kinship with wolves and bears. They share territory, warn each other of danger, and occasionally hunt in parallel. A wolf pack might shadow an elven patrol for miles, not as pets but as neighbors.
They kill monsters and aberrations on sight. Anything twisted, unnatural, or corrupted is removed before it can take root. They do not boast about this. They do not explain it. It is simply the duty that keeps the forest alive.
⟡ Rootcallers — Elves of earth magic. Usually barefoot, they are keepers of all earthbound magic and lore tied to trees and plants. They maintain harmony with the forest's life force. This is the most common class of arcane elf
⟡ Windcallers — Elves of air magic. Their hair and cloaks perpetually dirft on a wind that isn't there. They serve as intermediaries with the Avarin and interpret bird and sky omens
⟡ Greenmenders — Elves of healing magic. Not featured in any books but their existence is undeniable
⟡ The Sira'len — A kindly old elf, the oldest of the colony, respected and honored. He is revered as their leader though elven government is more compicated than that. He seems to have a soft spot for tessirs and Corrin is absolutly taken with him. By his own reckoning he is a little over 3,000 years old
The Pact of Crowns — The Pact of Crowns is an alliance of rulers and leaders bound by ink and interest to pledge their strengths for the maintenance of civil order and prosperity. Houses and halls, guildmasters and magistrates, even those who wear no heraldry but hold the town’s respect, may be party to it.
Knights and paladins stand ready with steel and oath; soldiers and captains provide the muscle and the maps; common men, the likes of innkeepers, foremen, and watchmen supply knowledge of streets and habits. Together they form a network that can marshal forces, share intelligence, and enforce the peace in the name of their rulers.
The Pact’s power is social and structural: it grants the bearer recognition, access to aid, and the right to call for an audience when public safety is at stake. It obliges members to respond, to lend men, mounts, or sanctified hands when a town’s order is threatened. It is not a license for spectacle; it is a promise that, when invoked properly, the machinery of rule will turn toward remedy
Maris’ Operation — Lady Maris Halden operated a child trafficking ring based in Rainarch. Children were methodically abducted from the Conservatory and spirited across the city to hand-off locations, most notable the Gilded Cleaver, before they were held at Maris’ compound. Children were sold up and down the river and meticulously tracked in her ledger. Accomplices include Rusk, Tamsin, Merek, and Bramm. Loosely affiliated with the Night Market Syndicate
The Halden Conservatory Board of Governors — A committee of twelve rich and powerful memebers of Rainarch society who direct affairs at the Conservatory. Notable members include Maris Halden, Tarnell Vos, and Lady Lannic
The House of Hours — The most powerful of the three Vampire Houses in Wickarm City. Its member rolls are carefully curated and they are very selective about whom they claim. Access to thier Night Office is by invitation only and they offer no neutral ground- dealing with them is understood as a risk taken. Deeply entwined in both civic and provincial governance, the House of Hours is arguably the most powerful entity in Wickarm Bay
The House of the Shadow Barrows — A loose coalition rather than an organized House in Wickarm City, the Shadow Barrow claims vampires cast out from other houses, feral vampires, and even 'domesticated' lycanthropes. Headed by Solen, an elder vampire, the House of the Shadow Barrow is an undiciplined thorn in the side of civic government only marginally held at bay by Solen's iron fist. They run the Shadow Market in a cave under the Warrens
The House of the Third Vein — A comercial House filled with respectable, law-abiding vampires which is to say, most of the vampires in Wickarm City. They are more concerend with manipulating and profiting from trade than they are with politics- though they do make their voice heard when it matters. Shrazvati is a neophyte member here in good standing
Temple of Aelthyr - see The Lantern House
Temple of Aldamir — Despite being the god of the sun, Aldamir has a low profile in the pantheon of Wickarm because he is seen as an archaic god worshiped only by "backwards" farmers and people too uneducated to grasp "higher divinity"
Temple of Alevara - The Temple of the Quiet Standard — Rayaud Fort and other outposts
This frontier temple began as an extension of the fort’s chapel, built during a period when the frontier was unstable and raids were common. The fort needed a spiritual anchor and Alevara, The Quiet Standard, responded. She is a god of vigilance, endurance, and holding the line.
Alevara is the kind of deity whose worship can drift over generations without breaking. She’s sturdy. She’s quiet. She’s the god of people who hold the line because someone has to. As the frontier stabilized, she was reframed as “Guarding the peace we once fought to secure.” This allowed the temple to remain relevant without betraying their original purpose, though the home temple in Wickarm City is blissfully unaware of the temple’s loose interpretation of doctrine.
The temple operates an unsanctioned cultural exchange with the Skybound people of the northern grasslands hosting children at the fort and teaching them language and commerce.
Temple of Thariel — An obscure god referenced in The Inland Situation. Ashanti, an acolyte, is the only known disciple
Temple of Tyr — Various
The god of Justice once worshiped by Omree. He is severe and demanding of his disciples. Omree never felt a true calling having only second-hand devotion from a lifetime of growing up in the temple.
After training as a youth, Omree spent her early adult years in the service of the temple at the Wickarm Hall of Justice serving as both enforcer and advocate. Helping children through the legal system always held a special place for her
Temple of Veyrun - The Gloamspire — Lowharbor
A squat, windowless stone tower at the meeting of river and bay. Its single lantern burns with a cold, blue white flame that never gutters, even in storms. Locals say the light marks the boundary between the living and the lost.
Veyrun, the Lantern Bearer Beneath, is a river and sea deity worshipped mostly by sailors, ferrymen, smugglers, and anyone who makes their living on water. He is the god of safe passage, lost things, drowned souls, and bargains made in desperation. Depicted as a tall figure with a hood of dripping kelp, carrying a lantern whose flame burns underwater. He is fair, but not gentle and only answers prayers when paid in kind.
The Gloamspire has a special service: The Breath Oath Vigil. It is a magical rite performed for sailors, smugglers, or river folk before a dangerous journey. The supplicant kneels before a basin of river bay water while the Drowned Lantern is held over it. The participant must exhale fully into the basin, giving up a single breath willingly. If Veyrun accepts, the supplicant cannot drown for the next three days.
The Thornwardens — Commanded by a young woman named Lee, the Thornwardens are lookout rangers based out of an old treehouse at the foot of the mountains near Facound Dale. They are responsible for stopping the monsters of the mountains from coming down and preying on the cattle. Aside from the competent and capable Lee, the Thornwardens are young, inexperienced recruits who are terrible at drills and only marginally better at hunting monsters. Not exactly the laughing stock of the town, they’re not heavily relied on
