Young Writers Society

Name: Alainna

Age: 32 at the start of book 4, though she LOOKS 16 still because... um... BLOOD.

Height: 5'5"

Eye colour: Brown

Physical appearance: She's blond and has pretty straight hair.

Strange or unique physical attributes:

Favourite clothing style/outfit: She wears a cool black cloak that's made from some of Alonso's molted feathers! She also has a cord made from Alonso's feather as a necklace. Otherwise, she likes to wear gowns that are made for royalty and are bright and colorful. The clothes cannot have a corset though because that would hurt her side.

Where does he/she live? What is it like there? ...she's sort of on a quest in book 4, so she's not really stationary. But she used to live in a palace of sorts, and she is very grumpy to have to leave such a comfortable place, lol.

Pet peeves: TOO MANY TO NAME.

Hobbies/interests: She doesn't have a lot of hobbies or interests as she bores of things quickly and doesn't want to sit down and learn. However, she knows several different languages and is fluent at both sign language and the Swan language.

Insecurities: It is a sore point that she has an old stab wound that has basically ruined her life.

Quirks/eccentricities: She would claim that she has no quirks and eccentricities. But she would be wrong.

Temperament: She is... temperamental, lol.

Negative traits: She can be purposely cruel at times. She has a biting tongue.

Family (describe): She... has a complicated family life, lol. They all do. She is Solea's stepsister, though because of Lady stuff it's more complicated than that. Still, she treats Solea as a sister! Her mother is Francine and her stepfather is Theron, though she is mainly on polite terms with him and not overly close. She considers Uclepidies more of a father figure to her than Theron. Her husband is Alonso and at this point in time, they are happy with each other.

Other people's opinions of this character: She comes across as strong and disagreeable when you first meet her, so most people dislike her when they first meet her. Though, she can be intensely loyal and kind when she wants to be and the people whom she loves are loved fiercely by her. The people whom she doesn't like are usually hated by her.

Favourite bands/songs/types of music: She likes music but doesn't really care about this sort of stuff. They don't have a lot of bands that they follow, really. All the music is live.

Favourite movies/TV shows/books: She's not really a huge reader, but she has read all of the books that she was given for birthday at this point, so yay for Alainna!

Favourite foods: She at this point is an avowed vegetarian. Though she doesn't want to be. Because of this, she tends to like desserts more because it's less of a change, and she is still quite salty about the fact that she had to give up meat.

Dream holiday: Romantic couples vacation with plenty of servants about to take care of whatever needs that she has, lol.

Any pets? Nope.

Best thing that has ever happened to this character: Probably getting unofficially adopted by Uclepidies. It was never a formal adoption -- legally, Theron is her stepfather. But it was through this unofficial adoption where she became basically royalty, even before she was declared to be the Lady.

Worst thing that has ever happened to this character: She was stabbed.

Three words to describe this character: Loyal, Petty, Strong

If a song played every time this character walked into a room, what song would it be? Unstoppable, by Sia

Name: Solea

Age: 31

Height: 5'3"
Eye colour: blue
Physical appearance: dark curly hair, somewhat small and petite.


Strange or unique physical attributes: She has some nasty scars which she generally covers up.

Favourite clothing style/outfit: She covers up pretty much completely so that only her eyes and her hands show, though when she's eating she'll pull back the scarf around her face in order to eat. The fabric is a grayish color, which looks fairly boring from afar, but if you look closely you'll see that the fabric is made from Swan feathers, both Black and White, so it's actually priceless. She wears very sensible boots underneath so she can tromp around wherever. She wears a simple ring on her finger.

Where does he/she live? What is it like there? She and Alainna share three same palace actually. But. They're traveling now. Unlike Alainna, Solea is quite happy to be moving around.

Pet peeves: She's generally pretty chill, but she gets angry when people tell her what she needs to do. Nor does she handle blatant selfishness well.

Hobbies/interests: She is an accomplished zither player! She loves sewing and embroidery. She understands a lot of different languages, even though she can't really speak them.

Insecurities: She doesn't like that she is still unmarried. Her stepmother rags on her about this, though her guardians protect her.

Quirks/eccentricities: She is plenty eccentric, lol.

Temperament: She's very mild mannered and quiet, though she does have a mischievous steak.

Negative traits: She is mischievous and sometimes arranges for people to be put in these incredibly awkward situations without explaining why she is doing some of the things that she is doing or asking for their consent.

Family (describe): Um. It's complicated??? Again, the Lady stuff makes this confusing, haha. We'll just talk about the biological stuff here, I guess?? Her biological father is Uclepidies, her biological mother (whom died at her birth) is Ellie. Her stepmother is Francine, whom... um... she has a complicated relationship with and her adopted father, whom she loves dearly, is Theron. Archondid and Eurodities are her godparents. She is unmarried. She is very close to her stepsister, Alainna. Cyrus is a distant cousin of hers.

Other people's opinions of this character: most people see her as quiet and unassuming.

Favourite bands/songs/types of music: She loves playing dances and jigs. Lively music! She also sometimes puts bells on her hands and feet because she likes the music.

Favourite movies/TV shows/books: She... likes hearing stories.

Favourite foods: soft foods that don't hurt her throat.

Dream holiday: a wild and crazy adventure.

Any pets? No, though occasionally Ally will come to visit and get ear scruffles.

Best thing that has ever happened to this character: finding love...

Worst thing that has ever happened to this character: ... only to lose it.

Three words to describe this character: quiet, generous, merciful

If a song played every time this character walked into a room, what song would it be?

Name: Cyrus

Age: 35 (though he looks 19 because BLOOD)

Height: 6'1"

Eye colour: One eye is blind and is gray/silvery, the other eye is blue.

Physical appearance: brown hair, lanky and thin, has a lot of old scars. His face has bits of red shrapnel in it from when SOMEONE exploded something in his face.

Strange or unique physical attributes: His eyes are strange and many people notice the two-tone colors.

Favourite clothing style/outfit: He likes to dress as smartly as possible to make up for looking like an awkward, lanky teenager. So lots of layers (so as to bulk up a bit!) and fancy suits, usually black and white kind. The craziest thing that he likes to wear is a green woman's cloak with flower embroidery all over it (he liked the woman who wore it, so he stole it from her) but at this point of the story, that cloak has been destroyed (rip... in both senses, hahah) so he's wearing a silvery cloak instead, which makes him feel very uncomfortable. But also! He is quite poor, so often he will just wear whatever he can find that is somewhat wearable.

Where does he/she live? What is it like there? He doesn't have a home at all and is also wandering.

Pet peeves: He is annoyed at people who act as if the world revolves around them. He doesn't really like people who aren't very creative and can't appreciate art. Also, he detests classism.

Hobbies/interests: Not a lot of hobbies or interests for himself, but he is fascinated with learning as much as he can and he can survive out in the wilderness fairly easily, even though he is half-blind.

Insecurities: He is... actually quite insecure. He is insecure about his looks, his odd family situation, being viewed as weak, and a bunch of other things. He overcompensates majorly on pretty much everything, haha.

Quirks/eccentricities: He also is quite eccentric. He can put on quite a show if he wants to be dramatic!

Temperament: He is very bitter and angry. But if you show him even a little affection and kindness, he will do anything for you.

Negative traits: ...he is a very negative person, haha. He is bitter, resentful, and angry to a fault. He will hold grudges for a long time. It would probably be easier to describe his positive traits, really, since they are fewer.

Family (describe): ...again, we're going to do strictly biological relations, haha. He loved his mother and sister, Nessa, very much, though they're both dead. He hated his father... who is also dead. He has a daughter, Asha, from a brief affair with Clarise, though they are not together anymore. Solea is a distant cousin of his. He is technically Tiziano's heir, though he has a hard time considering Tiziano as his great-grandfather of sorts because of all the family drama. Adelore was a cousin of his.

Other people's opinions of this character: Most people hate him, actually. There have been a couple of people who have treated him kindly though and he loves them fiercely. The people who treat him kindly do so either because of blind pity or they know enough of his story that they feel sorry for him.

Favourite bands/songs/types of music: He likes music, though he is quite poor and can't really afford to listen to music too much, haha. But he likes it all the same. He can sing fairly well, though he would prefer not to.

Favourite movies/TV shows/books: Anything he can get his hands on... he is quite poor, so he can't really choose what entertainment he gets.

Favourite foods: Apples.

Dream holiday: There's not really much that he's looking forward to, honestly, and no place where he wants to go but a place he can call home. But he has no home. So.

Any pets? ...Sergius???

Best thing that has ever happened to this character: He was forgiven.

Worst thing that has ever happened to this character: His mother and sister were killed.

Three words to describe this character: Resentful, Angry... but also hopeful??

If a song played every time this character walked into a room, what song would it be? Ways and Means, by Snow Patrol

Maybe I can do it if I put my back into it
I can leave here if I wanted
But there's nowhere else I can go
Maybe I won't suffer, if I find a way to love her
I'd be lying to myself
But there is no way out that I can see

"Sergius isn't a threat to any Black Swan, of course! But he is dangerous to you! Or would you like him to give you a hug and see how much you like his poison?"

Sergius hissed at the man who spoke and raised his wings.

"I'm not afraid of his poison!" the man stammered. "I am immune to their poison! Swan blood runs through my veins!"

"Then you should be even more afraid!" Cyrus said, laughing. "Or did you not hear the story of what I did to one poor Indeterminate who crossed me? He told me his story not too long ago! Apparently, I ripped up off his hands since my Black Swans couldn't poison him. A White Swan tried to reattach his hands back, but they never worked properly again." Cyrus paused. "Of course, he's dead now. He didn't live much longer after I met up with him last."

The man stepped back.

“I’ll give my sword to my wife. How does that sound?” Then, when Fletcher hesitated, Cyrus winked. “Unless you’re afraid of fighting a woman.”

Immediately, the men looked annoyed by the accusation.

But Fletcher still looked nervous. “She’ll hand you the blade as soon as she can!” he declared. “Then you’ll slice us up into bits!”

Cyrus laughed suddenly. “Me? Slice you into bits? I’m a Conqueror! I don’t need weapons to hurt you. Or have you forgotten?” Then, while Fletcher watched, frustrated, Cyrus handed the sword to Lyda. “To you, my lady,” he said, kissing her cheek. “Don’t let them annoy you.”

Lyda’s eyes widened as she felt the weight of the sword and struggled to hold it up. And yet, her cheeks flushed with pleasure and just the tiniest smile came to the corner of her lips.

And so, Cyrus stepped forward and bowed politely to the fat Swans. In the Swan language, he said, "You have every reason to distrust me! After all, am I not Cyrus the Conqueror? However, would you distrust the Lady? For you must have recognized her as such when you saw her distinctive wounds! Why not have her make the decision of where she would like to go? Bring her and her companions here and have her decide which Cyrus she would rather follow! The Imposter — or me!"