• Welcome to the fantasy realm of Avenan!

    Please select a destination below to discover the world, to meet the characters and learn their tales, and to browse the various illustration and story archives.

  • The World of Avenan
  • The Characters of Avenan
  • The Art of Avenan
  • Not All Kings Wear Gold
  • MeadowHaven
  • Minor Characters

    ADURO
    Info coming soon…

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    CAYDEN
    Info coming soon…

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    DASRA (pronounced: Daz-rah)
    Race: Silene
    Eye color: Green
    Hair color: Blue-black

    Bright-eyed and spunky, she was the only child of Widdenwael Sanctuary who preferred the company of the surrounding Marcale Forest to other children her age. With a love for flowers and the gift of forest-speak, an ability long forgotten by most silenes, she could disappear for hours or days at a time–the envy of every boy her age. Falen was the only boy she trusted, however, and the only one who could somehow always find her secret places in the woods.

    When Widdenwael falls to invasion in a night of terror and fire, she narrowly escapes the fate of the other children by fleeing into the woods, where she is eventually discovered by Tim, an endearing young scout of the elusive forest-dwelling marcale. He takes her back to his underground village, one of the very few safe places in all of Avenan, and personally sees to her comfort, treating her like an older sister and later as a possible mate, though she never returns his advances. She has contact with Falen after the war and sees him from time to time when he comes to visit the forest, but she has little interest in the ways of the outside world or her own people, and prefers to remain in the quiet, secret solitude of the woods. She hardly remembers that a place called Widdenwael ever existed.

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    DRAYX
    Info coming soon…

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    GALLE (pronounced: Gal-lay)
    Race: Silene
    Eye color: Turning gray with age and health issues
    Hair color: What’s left of it, white

    A wiry, middle-aged man with a single tuft of white hair on his otherwise bald head, Galle is, by local consideration, an eccentric. An old acquaintance of Niel‘s, he devotes his entire life to dabbling in things he calls ‘great inventions,’ and makes a modest living by selling his unconventional trinkets and gadgets to the curious and wealthy in the small town on Saberondan. His interest in tinkering began in his early teens, and grew into such a passion that he shunned all other trades to continue with it. Sarcastic but friendly, he will help anyone in need, though his aid is not often reciprocated. He lives alone, his strange choice of trade discouraging most friends or suitors, but it cannot deter the wandering minstrel Semiyar, a man who is nearly as eccentric in his own lifestyle. Though he discourages Semiyar from pursuing the young princess Mereet, believing all women to be wily and full of trouble, he befriends the minstrel on his visits to the island and will eventually help him to escape with Mereet when her husband seeks her life and that of her child. It will ultimately be one of Galle’s own misunderstood inventions that saves him from the disaster soon to befall the doomed isle, and he will retire on the mainland with some measure of respectable grace.

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    JESSY
    Race: Silene
    Eye color: Blue
    Hair color: Dark brown

    A humble country girl often prone to giddiness and naïveté, she strives to be cheerful in all facets of life. Though she is merely a cleaning maid, her open nature appeals to Faeren and wins his affection. She assists in his transformation from lost child to demure nobility, brightening the low moments of his life and lending him her courage when he needs it most. Though she never learns what becomes of him after he goes missing in the initial skirmish against Morgan, she feels that he is still alive somewhere, and never allows Faldevon to give up hope or the search for him.

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    COMMANDER KAIIT (pronounced: Kah-yeet)
    Race: Silene
    Eye color: Blue-green
    Hair color: Dark-blonde
    Distinctions: Wears a simple leather collar around his neck

    General Nanye’s apprentice and commander of Silon’s army during the reign of Meliek and the latter part of the old king’s life, Kaiit is capable and courteous, with a strict sense of leadership. He can sometimes be quick to anger, but will always listen to counsel and concede to wiser decisions. An ardent believer in order, he is a responsible commander committed to his duty. Together with his eldest son Denham, he fights a losing battle to defend Silon against invasion and to prevent his youngest son Jason from following in his footsteps.

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    KIENDE
    Info coming soon…

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    LUCIN
    Info coming soon…

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    MANEA (pronounced: Mah-nee-ah)
    Eye color: Brown
    Hair color: Flaxen
    Distinctions: A speckled little roan mare who dreams of being so much more. She has four white socks and a stripe down her nose

    ~Story~
    If ever there was an animal who wished to be a silene, it was Manea. To most she was just an ordinary and rather small roan mare, but to young Faeren, she was his world. At twelve years of age, he was given Manea as a gift from his adopted father, Faldevon. He adored the little mare, and she likewise adored him, thinking him special among masters. When they raced the wind across the fields together, they used to pretend that they had wings to fly. It was one of their most cherished little secrets. Manea quickly became jealous of Faeren’s companionship with others of his kind, especially other girls, fearing that he would make new secrets with them and forget about her. But she need not have worried. As Faeren grew and became a respectable soldier in the army and later a knight, so Manea also grew in strength, tenacity, and intelligence, and he relied on her ever more to carry him safely through any terrain, protect him in battle, and find her way home no matter how far they strayed into unfamiliar territory.

    But there would come a time she could not honor that trust, when her beloved master was lost in a battle against strange forces and could not be found. Grief-stricken, Faldevon refused to give Manea to any other master, keeping her among his personal stock and often setting her free in hopes she would find Faeren on her own. But to no avail. She would return each time, bedraggled and worn from wandering the wilderness for days, and alone.

    She would not encounter Faeren again until many years later, when he escaped his mysterious confinement in the Forest of Illusions and returned briefly to his former home. She knew him by his touch and by his voice, even if his smell and appearance had changed, and followed him without hesitation. She would not be separated from him again. Strangely, she found that she could communicate with him on a level that was never possible before, though he was different now and often too distracted to respond. Oh, how she longed to tell him all of her secrets, to remind him of who he was and how much she loved him, if only he would be still and listen…

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    MACOMANY (pronounced: Mah-kaw-mah-nee)
    Race: Craven
    Eye color: Yellow
    Hair color: Sandy brown, with red highlights

    She is one of several governors of Craven, usually stationed at the Gatepost City. A haughty and defiant spirit coupled with a strategic intelligence, she flaunts her status as she does her body, reputed for more than her fighting skill. Rumored lover of the craven prince Vaughan (who had an unfavorable encounter with Morgan), she hunts his attacker to gain favor with the king. She is quick to laugh, and that rather loudly. A natural leader, confident and commanding, she is one of the few craven willing to aid the silenes in matters of war, and becomes one of Faldevon‘s most valuable allies.

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    MERA
    Info coming soon…

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    MIRKYN (pronounced: Mur-kin. Also frequently called ‘sick fool’)
    Race: Thauron
    Eye color: Smoky, sometimes white, though he is not blind
    Hair color: White, and rather wispy
    Distinctions: A pallid, perpetually gaunt and feverish appearance

    With little ambition of his own and seemingly born to serve, Mirkyn claims to see premonitions of things to come. Dark, unadorned robes accentuate his thin height, and he wears numerous silver chains around his neck. A little conceited and demented, he is ever wracked by a tempestuous fever that refuses to be cured. As a member of the thauron party sent to Saberondan with Ryvan and the young prince Iliauben, his prattling, devious nature evokes cautious skepticism and even pity from some. After evidence of his foresight is revealed at the untimely death of Iliauben and the devastation of Thauron’s forces during the Great Tragedy, Ryvan uses him as a cautionary advisor in matters of revenge. He does not trust Mirkyn entirely, though, and often alters the meaning of the seer’s visions to suit his own purposes, a mistake which will bring about his own downfall in years to come.

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    GENERAL NANYE (pronounced: Non-yay)
    Race: Silene
    Eye color: Blue-gray
    Hair color: Red

    Stern and outspoken in opinion and counsel, Nanye has a soft side for Princess Mereet that rivals her father’s affection. Capable, trustworthy, and highly influential in the court, he is a man austere in appearance but lenient to the point where many wonder why he is the commander of men. He is also Nomi’s mentor and son to Jether, the old caretaker of Widdenwael that trained Falen. Later in life, he steps down from his rank of general to become Mereet’s bodyguard and shield her against the scornful, degrading influences of Thauron. During the Great Tragedy, he will give his life defending her.

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    NIEL
    Race: Silene
    Eye color: Brown
    Hair color: Gray
    Distinctions: Spectacles perch atop his hooked nose, and he wears heavy green and gold embroidered robes

    Just as anti-social and nearly as eccentric as Galle, Niel is the old scholar and librarian of Silon. He resides permanently in the great Library of Redgate, a place that reminds most people of a cramped and musty closet, where he thrives amid mountains of musty books, scrolls, maps, plaques and other things hidden under layers of dust. Aside from librarian, he also serves as the queen’s mapmaker, mayor of Redgate City, and the overseer of all marriages and events of importance, though he rarely enjoys leaving his beloved library. He is far more comfortable seated behind a desk nearly buried in scrolls and sniffing with allergies at the dust than venturing out into the open air.

    When Ryvan ransacks the city during the Outcast War, Niel is imprisoned inside his library with the windows boarded up. But it is only a temporary hibernation for him, and he emerges virtually unscathed after the war, if a little more gaunt and cranky. The Rover occasionally speaks to him in dreams, and he faithfully records all the cryptic riddles and visions he is shown, one of which foretells the coming of the very Echana that freed him from his forced confinement. An old childhood friend of Galle’s, the two rarely see each other after they part ways, but they keep informed of each other’s unique lifestyles by way of messenger birds…once in a very long while.

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    ROAN
    Info coming soon…

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    ROBIN
    Race: Illusionist
    Eye color: Green
    Hair color: Red
    Distinctions: Stutters uncontrollably when nervous

    Tricked into becoming Illusionist by a girl he fancied, Robin has little memory of his former life. Nervous and antisocial, he spends most of his time evading the other Illusionist tribes and their conflicting morals. That is, until he stumbles into a trap and finds himself face to face with Morgan’s prized captive, a woman named Nimri. Unable to escape once his presence is known to Morgan, Robin joins the Illusionist rebellion to save his life, and is assigned the unenviable position of guarding and entertaining Nimri while Morgan is away. Plagued by a speech impediment and an immobilizing fear of Morgan, he tries repeatedly to prove himself trustworthy, but his youth and emotion constantly undermine his best efforts. He is sympathetic to Nimri’s people and their fight to save their world, and is almost persuaded to help sabotage the Illusionists by fleeing Morgan’s band in search of a rival leader called Faeren. His bravery is too evenly matched by his cowardice, however, often resulting in frustrated, unpredictable actions and the inability to communicate. Though he is honest and willing, he fears he is all but helpless.

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    THE ROVER
    Info coming soon…

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    SHADA
    Race: Mimic
    Eye color: Black
    Fur color: Black
    Distinctions: Earrings in both ears, and later a disfiguring scar across his face and neck

    Born to a silene mother and a thauron father before the wars broke out, Shada is a pesky, willful character who refuses to learn his place and has no concept of the meaning of decency. He tries to blend into Morgan’s rebel band, but his blatant display of egotism and disregard for rank thwart his best attempts. His conduct is that of a spoiled aristocrat in a jester’s body. He usually wears his wiry hair bound, and dresses in a ratty ensemble of two colors. Like many of the gypsy-like mimic, he is gifted in the art of language, and as such, Morgan reluctantly uses him as a translator and negotiator. But his tolerance of Shada’s antics will reach its limit when the man disregards his authority and tries to escape with one of the women under Morgan’s command. Morgan kills Shada’s would-be mate and disfigures him with a brutal scar, forcing him to flee into the mountains for his life. Shada barely recovers, ravaged by infection and delirious with starvation, and ever afterward he cares for nothing but revenge, searching far and wide for a means to destroy Morgan. Quick to learn new skills and hone in on any rumor, he uses his talent with languages and his tracking skills to keep pace with Morgan’s every move, watching obsessively from a distance for the perfect moment to sabotage everything.

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    SIMI
    Info coming soon…

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    TANDEL
    Info coming soon…

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    THE SINGER
    Info coming soon…

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    SOLO K’NILLY
    Race: Ghirna
    Eye color: Yellow
    Fur color: Tawny and white
    Distinctions: Unusually large for his kind

    Wise-cracking but limited in wit, he delights in terrorizing creatures smaller than himself, and most especially Falen, an odd silene boy he encounters on a hunt one day. Though he pledges himself to aid the silenes in their war against the thaurons, he is too playful and careless to take such things seriously. He claims to be of the ancient noble family of K’nilly, which served the past kings of Silon as spies and hunters, but with so few ghirna left in the craggy mountains of Vael and Nefar, such a claim is easy to doubt and impossible to verify. Solo’s name is derived from his solitary lifestyle, being tossed from the nest at an early age due to his abnormally large size.