NOON ONYX SERIES: WHO’S WHO
* In alphabetical order by first name
** There are SPOILERS in the descriptions below
Aristos “Ari” Carmine: Noon’s love interest in Dark Light of Day and Fiery Edge of Steel. Ari is another student at St. Luck’s. His magic is stronger than Noon’s and he almost never loses control, which directly contrasts with Noon’s wobbly hold over her magic. Ari is adopted. He was found floating in a basket on the river Lethe when he was an infant and was raised in Bradbury, a New Babylon neighborhood. He has reddish-brown hair and eyes that seem to change color from caramel to mulberry to coffee.
Aurelia Onyx nee Ferrum: Noon’s mother. Aurelia is a Mederi. She has waxing magic, the soft, nurturing, creative magic that is used to grow gardens and heal people. She was trained by the Hawthorn Tribe but she doesn’t practice medicine anymore. On the day her twins were born, she torched her garden with a can of gasoline and a match. It never grew back.
Brunus Olivine: Another Maegester-in-Training at St. Luck’s with Noon. Brunus is as disgusted by Noon as Ari is attracted to her. Brunus finds Noon’s waning magic repulsive. He views her as a mutant, gender-bending freak. During their first meeting, Brunus intentionally knocked Noon’s books on the floor and she accidentally gave him a bloody nose. Their relationship quickly deteriorated. Brunus’ favorite weapon in Dark Light of Day? A nadziak or “horseman’s pick.”
Fara Vanderlin: Fara is a Guardian Angel. She’s a “Gap Filler,” meaning she learns spells which will fill in the gaps of her ward’s experience level. She’s overly fond of glamorous glamours. She adores animal prints and All Things Dramatic (even more than most Angels). Most times, she appears as a voluptuous blonde with bright cherry red lips and emerald eyes. But Fara isn’t as shallow as her preferred glamour might have some believing. Her two favorite things? Her Book of Joshua and Virtus.
Ferenc Delgato: Captain of the dahabiya Cnawlece and Patron Demon of Shadows, Stealth, and Hiding. Delgato is a manticore. He’s nocturnal, loves fish, is a good fighter, and serves as an unofficial instructor to Noon during their voyage to the Shallows in Fiery Edge of Steel. Behind the Story: Delgato was inspired by Don Gato, the character from the children’s song “Señor Don Gato,” the cat who falls off the roof after he reads a letter from his lady-love saying she’ll marry him. He dies, but the smell of fish brings him back to life. I refer to the song in the Acknowledgements and allude to it in the last scene of the book, although I changed the song’s story events for purposes of my own story. See VIRTUS below for more on why cats were a motif in Fiery Edge of Steel.
Fitz: Ivy Jayne’s cousin. A Hyrke and close friend of Noon’s at St. Luck’s. “Fitz” is short for Fitzgerald. He grew up on the Seknecai estate, one of the few Host estates in New Babylon. His mother – Ivy’s aunt – is Waldron Seknecus’ head housekeeper. Seknecus may have pulled strings to get Fitz into St. Luck’s. Fitz has a ruddy complexion and copper-colored hair.
Grimasca: A legendary demon, who may or may not be real. Many Haljan mothers tell stories of Grimasca to frighten their children into listening. They talk of him as if he were the Haljan equivalent of the boogeyman. He has many monikers: the Demon of Hunger (“spawned before Armageddon… the biggest and baddest hellcnight that ever lived”), Lucifer’s Spy (“His favorite alias? A Hyrke butcher”), and the Grim Mask of Death.
Ivana “Ivy” Jaynes: Noon’s Hyrke roommate. The Hyrkes at St. Luck’s train to be Barristers (as opposed to Maegesters). Ivy’s family owns and operates a fleet of ferries, the flagship of which is the Alliance, which takes mechanized cabriolets and passengers to the outposts along the Lethe. Ivy is at St. Luck’s to study riparian rights and the law of navigable waters. She has flaming red hair, a mottled complexion, and green eyes.
Justica: The Demon Patron of Judgment, Punishment, and Mercy. Justica lived sometime in the middle ages. Some believe she was Metatron’s lover. Her legacy is clearer than her actual history. Behind the Story: Justica was inspired by Lady Justice and her predecessors: the Egyptian goddess Maat, Greek goddess Dike, and Roman goddess Justitia.
Karanos Onyx: Noon’s father and the executive of the Demon Council. He’s a Maegester and is one of the richest and most powerful people in Halja. He is devoted to his job – keeping peace in Halja. His relationship with Noon is frosty. Noon sees him as a shadowy figure who was never around much while she was growing up. Karanos, on the other hand, has no use for waning magic users who won’t embrace his version of Haljan noblesse oblige (“optimus obligatus”). He has little patience for Noon’s initial squeamishness.
Lamia: Nergal’s demon wife. She is old, blind, mad-as-a-hatter and infinitely more dangerous. Ari is assigned to represent her, opposite Noon, in their first semester clinic case.
Metatron: A medieval Angel scribe. Legend has it he was also a consummate showman, master entrepreneur, and perhaps the greatest – or the worst – Angel to have ever lived. He revered Justica (some say he was in love with her; others say he was an Angel who adored her as a Hyrke would). He commissioned a statue of her that he then placed in an oxcart and traveled around the whole of Halja with.
Nergal: The Demon of Pestilence, Prince of Drought, and Patron of Midsummer Death. In Dark Light of Day, Noon receives her first clinic assignment, a domestic matter. Nergal wants to divorce his demon wife, Lamia. Problem is… demons mate for life.
Nocturo/Nightshade Onyx: Noon’s twin brother – “Night.” Due to a birth mix-up, Night was born with waxing magic. He’s the only human male anyone’s ever heard of with waxing magic. But he had less trouble embracing his unusual magic than Noon did. He joined the Demeter Tribe, the southernmost Mederi tribe, which has a progressive reputation. Unlike the women he trains beside, he could care less about flowers, hates salad, and he tries to avoid the greenhouse at all costs. It’s not that he doesn’t like dirt under his fingernails. It’s that he prefers the hospital and healing people. Night has long, thick black hair, which he usually wears tied back. He has a widow’s peak and eyes so dark they’re almost black.
Nouiomo “Noon” Onyx: Titular character. At the start of the series, she’s inexperienced and über reluctant to embrace her dark, fiery, destructive magic. Her mother makes arrangements for her to attend St. Lucifer’s Law School (“St. Luck’s”) where waning magic users like her are trained to become Maegesters or demon peacekeepers. Noon grew up in Etincelle, a sleepy little village across the Lethe from New Babylon, the city where St. Luck’s is. Etincelle is old money & old magic. What does she look like? Long, black hair, bronze eyes. Pronunciation Tip: “N’we-omo” – first part rhymes with “oui,” the French word for “yes.”
Peter Aster: Noon’s childhood and adolescent best friend. Peter is an Angel and his family owns the estate on the other side of the lane from the Onyxes. Peter is ambitious, intelligent, and erudite. His specialty is “Power Polarities” – the reversal of power and negation. He took up this course of study to try to help Noon find a way to reverse her magic. Peter wants to help Noon achieve her childhood dream of becoming a Mederi. He always wanted to “cure her so that he could have her.” Peter’s actions in Dark Light of Day are a large part of why Noon is so reluctant to work with an Angel at the beginning of Fiery Edge of Steel. Peter has long, white blonde hair and ice blue eyes.
Quintus Rochester: Manipulation Professor at St. Lucifer’s. Manipulation teaches Maegesters-in-Training how to use their intellectual minds, as well as their waning magic, to control demons.
Raphael “Rafe” Sinclair: In Fiery Edge of Steel, the Maegesters-in-Training at St. Luck’s must select a Guardian Angel to partner with for their first field assignment. Rafe is possibly the worst choice for Noon… so, of course, he ends up being her Guardian Angel… somewhat by default… but Noon’s decision to work with Rafe strengthens over time. Rafe has a lionish mane of wheat-colored hair and taupe eyes. He creates many of his own spells, which he gives ridiculous titles to like Buck Up, Boot Strap, and Backbone. He is twenty-seven, which is older than all of the other Guardian Angel candidates. He wants to be seen as an academic slacker but he’s hiding some serious spellcasting skills.
Serafina: A demon familiar that Karanos gave to Noon her first semester at St. Luck’s. All demons have the power to enchant human waning magic users, but familiars are some of the best enchanters in Halja. Due to Noon’s inexperience, she quickly and easily succumbed. Serafina attacked Ivy and Noon was forced to kill her to protect Ivy. Noon regrets it, not just because she hates to kill, but because she views Serafina’s death as her fault. It might have been prevented had she acted differently.
Virtus: Fara’s pet tiger. In Fiery Edge of Steel, during Angel selection, Fara was asked, if she could only bring one thing to the Shallows, what it would be. She answered “Virtus.” Noon thought she meant courage. She meant her cat. Behind the Story: I picked a tiger for Fara’s pet because cats were a big motif in Fiery Edge of Steel. I sometimes associate cats with knowledge because of the phrase “curiosity killed the cat.” Knowledge (and more specifically the question “Are there some things you’re better off not knowing?”) was a big theme in the book. And the cat motif seemed to reinforce that. Plus – in a land ruled by demons – a natural beast seemed exotic and the perfect pet for Fara, a character who was partially inspired by circus ringmasters.
Vodnik: Patron Demon and Lord of the Shallows. In Fiery Edge of Steel, Noon and Ari are given their first field assignment: investigate the mysterious disappearances of a group of fishermen in a small, far off eastern outpost. One of the suspects is Vodnik, who is a vodanoy – a water demon.
Waldron Seknecus: The Dean of Demon Affairs at St. Lucifer’s. He oversees St. Luck’s waning magic students and their demon assignments. Pronunciation Tip: the “k” is silent. “Se-NEE-cuss.” I started with the Roman name Senecus and added the “k” just to be contrary and different.
JILL ARCHER 