Zara is the POV character of the first book, The Glass Lament. Her jewelry here isn’t accurate but this particular Picrew got closest. The red sun/burning moon represents the curse Zara and her people believe she’s inflicted with.
Nyela is half-human and half-Thashras. This Picrew allowed me to split skin color down the middle, but her hair and facial markings would be split as well (contrasting on opposite sides), her eyes would be darker, and none of the mouths quite fit her. Her teeth would be obsidian-black. Btw not all Thashras hybrids look like her - they come in many colors and patterns.
(I changed Picrews for the next few because they had more of the options I wanted.)
Liriloc is a Dracai’seng, though his name among humans is Jakobi. No Picrew I found could capture his sharp facial features, but this one had pretty accurate horns. The flowers represent his love of gardening and his plant magic.
Samèol is Jakobi’s older brother, a half-Dracai’seng, and a POV character of his own prequel. He has scars on his chest and back and was blinded in one eye; he uses a prosthetic one, but it’s mostly hidden by his paralyzed eyelid.
Rusef is Samèol’s love interest and another POV character in the prequel. His eyes were dyed permanently red by an alchemical experiment gone wrong (he blames his sister for that). Also his hair should be black but this Picrew just had really dark brown hair.
To better write some characters in my series I’ve been fleshing them out in the prequel. This scene is a conversation between Saméol and Rusef, who are close friends at this point. It’s set after a battle in which Saméol saved Rusef’s younger stepsister but, being a half-Dracai’seng, expended his flame’s energy and nearly died. Rusef visits him in the infirmary, where Saméol for once drops the cool, charismatic facade. This’ll be a long one!
In the candlelight Saméol looked as pallid and translucent as the sheets on which he slept. Seated by his bed in the infirmary, Rusef took in the lattice of scars on his narrow chest, the gaps between his bladed ribs. A wet cloth on his forehead obscured both eyes.
Seeing him arranged like this, in rare stillness, frightened Rusef. How could a man so imposing and full of life one day be so frail the next?
He didn’t have to wait long before Saméol stirred. He hauled in a breath, then burst into lung-raking coughs. Rusef lunged for the glass of water on the nightstand, and when the coughing had subsided raised it to Saméol’s lips. “Here.”
He drank, nudging the glass away when he had finished like a lord dismissing a servant. “Rusef?” he croaked, the light music of his voice ragged.
“No need to talk,” Rusef said. “Rest. I’m not leaving.”
Saméol groped at the cloth on his face. “Garceta said you would need that—” Rusef started, but Saméol ignored him, of course, and pulled the cloth away. The piercing blue of his left eye stood out like a shock against the dimly lit red stone of the room. He squinted, blinked a few times, winced. “No, I’m keeping that on.”
Rusef chuckled. “Hold on, give it to me.” He dipped the cloth in a bowl of water beside him, wrung it out, and smoothed it back over Saméol’s eyes and brow, fingers brushing a damp temple as he leaned back.
“I hate when Garceta’s right,” Saméol muttered.
“You get used to it, I’m afraid.”
“It must have been difficult, at times, to grow up with her.”
“Believe you me,” Rusef muttered, “it was infuriating. But speaking of family, I—” Overcome, he struggled for the words he’d planned to say. “I wanted to thank you. For saving my sister’s life.”
Saméol frowned beneath the cloth as though this were news to him. Rusef imagined him skimming through the battle in his head until he cracked a slow grin. “Ah, I did do that, hm? An act of political genius.” ((Note: Rusef’s stepfamily holds power among the Retjevu people))
Rusef laughed out loud, but it strained. Shaken by the sudden weight of worry and exhaustion, he covered his face with a muffled sigh.
“Are you alright?” Saméol asked.
Rusef composed himself. “I’m sorry. Nevermind me. I’ve just been in a state – about her, about...” He trailed off, gripping the arm of his chair.
Saméol reached out in his direction, hesitated, and pressed one long white hand against the back of Rusef’s. It was not fever-hot as he had expected, but cold as the wind above the clouds: a slash of snow against a tan backdrop. Rusef stared at it, struck by countless emotions he could not make sense of.
“I know how it feels,” Saméol said.
He loved his brother like a son, Garceta whispered in Rusef’s memory. And the Nemesi killed him. When he woke up here, he would not stop screaming, “Little one! They took my little one!”
Rusef swallowed. “What was his name?”
“Liriloc.” Saméol spoke with such deep, reverent tenderness and grief that the name seemed to contain a lifetime, a world. Without thinking Rusef clasped that lonely hand between his as Saméol went on, the dam broken. “He was my half-brother. I raised him. He loved books, about plants and history and Dracai’sang culture. He’d wear a hat over his horns to watch me sing in town, but when the crowd and noise overwhelmed him I would take him home and we’d read to each other until he fell asleep. We skated on the Tyzumak River when it froze. I taught him to swim there in the summer. He was… fifteen, when…” He pursed trembling lips, started to lift the cloth over his eye again, but decided to leave it.
Rusef released his other hand and missed its chill at once. “He had a beautiful name,” he said softly. “And he was so loved.”
Saméol nodded. Rusef felt almost ashamed at witnessing this moment, this surreal vulnerability, as though Saméol had stripped off the sheets and unmasked his very soul.
They sat together in silence: one blind, the other gazing out the window at the last flicker of sun. The only sounds were the occasional wingbeat or an echoing strain of music. One day had passed since the battle, yet the Retjevu, adaptable as ever, had settled back into familiar rhythms.
“Life goes on,” Saméol said with a note of bitterness.
Rusef faced him – the rawboned, ashen-haired man and the linen that matched his skin – and knew exactly what he would paint next.
Full name: Rusefino Belrevas, aka Rusef or Red-Winged Blackbird among the Retjevu people
Race: Human
Culture: ethnically Strasím, member of the Retjevu culture of the Volary
Age: mid-30s at start of prequel
Gender: he/him, cis man
Sexuality: homoromantic asexual
Hobbies: painting, sailing, taking long walks in nature, browsing the Volary’s markets for inspiration pieces
Appearance and Clothing:
Rusef is considered very handsome by other Retjevu. He’s 5’11” with a broad chest and toned arms and shoulders. His brown irises turned deep ruby-red after an alchemical experiment went wrong, which is why he and his sister Garceta are on poor terms now. He has a tan complexion, black hair in short curtain bangs, and a short neat beard.
Despite his coveted status as a fashion designer in the city of the Volary, Rusef usually dresses in plain black shirts and trousers with some splashes of red and gold. He prefers to stay out of the spotlight rather than flaunting himself. On missions for the Retjevu, however, he has worn a wide-brimmed hat and a long black coat with flashy red-and-gold epaulettes that resemble the markings of his bird namesake.
He speaks with a deep, husky voice. (If you’ve seen the critically acclaimed and widely beloved children’s classic, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, he sounds like Delgado but with a different accent. That's awfully specific but the most accurate voice I could find.)
Personality:
Somewhat secretive and guarded, naturally melancholy
Deep thinker and worrier
Compassionate; listens to everyone, no matter who they are or how small their troubles seem
Has a creative eye and sees beauty in every detail of the world, which he enjoys pointing out to others
Hard-working to the point of exhaustion
As a tailor and fashion designer (a position highly valued by the flamboyant Retjevu), he sketches, measures, sews, cuts, and matches clothing. Rusef wants to establish his own business but currently works for the tailoring guildmaster, Peacock, who abuses him and pushes him past his limit.
Rusef struggles with shame over his asexuality, because although he desires love and keeps attracting suitors, every past relationship required more than he could give. After one particularly ugly breakup Rusef placed the blame wholly on himself and thinks he is undeserving of romance. Maybe, as his parents demonstrated, that kind of love isn’t meant to last anyway.
Recently he has sunk into isolation and depression, bewildering his friends when he pushes them away.
Abilities:
Rusef is trained in melee, archery, and stealth and reconnaissance, though his skills are rusty. As a fledged Retjevu he is able to fly by summoning a pair of magical wings. His wings - and the smaller stabilizing "wings" that appear on his lower legs - are feathered black with splashes of red and gold on their leading edges.
Rusef speaks the Volary's most common dialect of Balso and understands eastern bekk-sign. Because many Retjevu are from the Tetrad or trade with people there, he can speak the Tetradic Alliance's lingua franca of Breligdan, but he isn't fluent.
Backstory:
Rusef grew up in the shadow of his cold and brilliant older sister, Garceta. He once attempted alchemy at her side, but an experiment gone awry stained his eyes scarlet and caused a rift between the two. He refuses to acknowledge that Garceta is even capable of caring for him.
Rusef’s parents divorced when he was eighteen. In an attempt to prove his worth to them and his new stepfather, he trained as a city guard and became a skilled fighter. But his insecurity led to him picking fights with fellow guards or civilians. His friend, Cassowary, recommended that he transfer to the Butcherbird assassins who defended the Volary from outside its perimeter. Rusef carried out several successful missions with them, but finally realized that his true dream was to create art, not violence. He eventually joined the tailoring guild instead, though he is still remembered for his prowess in combat.
Redbird is a clothing designer and tailor at a high-end shop, Pinions and Pearls. Lately his boss, Peacock, has escalated his unwanted advances on Rusef and lashes out at him with each rejection. Peacock is guildmaster of the Volary’s entire tailoring guild; if Rusef tries to leave, Peacock threatens to sabotage his career by revealing a secret that could ruin Rusef’s reputation...
Rusef has a sprawling family with deep roots in the Volary. His and Garceta’s parents, Sunbittern and Scarlet Ibis, split (mostly amicably) when the siblings were young adults. Ibis remarried to Raggiana, a wealthy “bird of paradise” and an advisor to the Volary’s ruler, the Golden Pheasant. Rusef is distrustful of Raggiana but always attends family gatherings to see his mother and twin stepsiblings, Satin and Flame Bowerbirds.
Rusef is very close to his almitad (sworn platonic partner), Weaver, whom he trusts more than anyone. They can communicate almost imperceptibly and work together in perfect tandem at the same shop. He is already preparing for the heartbreak of her loss, as a bekk’s lifespan is much shorter than a Lopenyan human’s. Weaver and Rusef share an apartment; before she moved in he added perches to the walls and an entrance just for bekk so she would feel more at home there. While Weaver has her own room she likes to sleep in a small hammock beside Rusef’s bed where he can reach over and stroke her fur or hold her tiny claw. He does not entertain anyone calling her his “pet”; he and Weaver are equals.
Other Facts:
Rusef's favorite color is pastel orange.
He keeps waking early to try and paint the sunrise, but every time he gives up and starts over the next day.
Like most Strasím Rusef worships prominent ancestors of both his family and the Retjevu in general. He believes these Guides are always watching over and influencing him. He chose three patron Guides in particular who represent steadiness, observance, and the freedom of the sea winds.
Rusef keeps his old longbow on display in his home. He has killed with it - he doesn’t want to again.
Other Retjevu think his eyes are a striking fashion statement, which even inspired later copycats, but he resents that it was not his choice to change them.
He regularly eats at the Kook’s Burrow restaurant with his close friends, including his old buddy Cassowary. Rusef sometimes goes rock-climbing with him to destress but has spent less and less time with friends in the past couple of years.
Rusef’s workspace always ends up cluttered no matter how he tries to clean and organize. He's rarely on time but that's a cultural norm in the Volary.
Btw Rusef's appearance was loosly inspired by this low-quality pic of young Andy Garcia:
Coincidentally, you know who voices Delgado in the iconic aforementioned Beverly Hills Chihuahua? That’s right - Andy Garcia.
Thank you for the tag, @memento-morri-writes! Her post can be found here.
I'll do this one for Rusef, his sister Garceta and their younger twin step-siblings, whose Retjevu bird names are Flame and Satin (both named after Bowerbirds. Those born into older families of the Retjevu culture get their traditional bird names at birth).
Who looks the most like Dad?
Satin looks like a teen miniature of his and Flame's dad, Raggiana, with his blonde hair and naturally sad eyes.
Who looks the most like Mom?
Rusef has his mom's silky black hair and softer features.
Who eats the most?
Flame, by far. Satin complains about it a lot.
Who has been in the weirdest situations?
Garceta has been all over the Lopenyan continent to gather information and alchemical supplies. She's had some wild encounters.
Who sleeps the most?
Satin. Of course Flame complains about this.
Most stable romantic life?
Rusef – he had a few relationships crash and burn before Saméol, but those two end up settling nicely together. The twins have only known brief puppy love and Garceta prefers to be single.
Worst habit of each one?
Rusef – isolates and works through his stress, which only stresses him out more
Garceta – treats others like pawns in some grand scheme (which they are, she's playing 4d chess rn)
Flame – attention-seeking
Satin – indecisive yet easily swayed by peers
Who's the most dramatic?
Flame exaggerates everything.
Who had a weird phase?
Rusef has always been the artistic type, but as an insecure young adult he joined the city guard to try and prove himself to his new mixed family. He was a skilled fighter but spent most of that time chest-beating and picking fights, which was quite out of character and led to him searching for a different career.
Best cook in the family?
Rusef by default. He can cook simple dishes but just eats out all the time. Meanwhile Garceta tends to snack on weird stuff from her alchemy stores, and the twins are used to others cooking for them.
Best memory together?
Rusef and Garceta have some good memories of visiting the seaside as kids, but that was a long time ago. The twins have good memories of hanging out with Rusef when he comes to visit their dad's estate.
Worst memory together?
Rusef used to help Garceta with her alchemy while searching for a trade of his own. One experiment (meant to let Retjevu temporarily change their eye color for fashion reasons) went wrong and left Rusef's irises permanently dyed red. He was devastated and blamed Garceta for adding the catalyst before he got his eyewear on. Garceta accused him of being dramatic for pity points because he knew the risks going in and still looks fine anyway.
They haven't talked to each other since.
Dream trip together?
Rusef would like to take the twins to visit the mountains of western Lopenya, where his partner Saméol is from.
Would they rather not being able to shower for a month or have the same clothes for a month?
Rusef, Garceta, and Satin - same clothes for a month
Flame - not shower for a month; she loves changing her style
Who's the oldest?
At the start of the prequel Garceta is in her late thirties, Rusef is in his early thirties, and the twins are in their teens.
How would they describe each other in three words?
Rusef would describe Garceta as cold, untrustworthy, and distant.
She would describe him as melancholy, secretive, and desperate.
How do they feel about their parents?
Rusef is good friends with his biological father, Sunbittern, but has a more complicated relationship with his mom, Scarlet Ibis, since she remarried and moved out of the city. Technically she did nothing wrong so he feels guilt for resenting her choices when she loves him with all her heart. He tries to visit her more often now. However, he doesn't trust her new partner Raggiana because of politics.
Garceta, on the other hand, rarely speaks to her biological parents but does keep in touch with Raggiana specifically for his political power and connections.
The twins are close to their parents, although Flame, as the heir to Raggiana's estate, does feel pressure to impress her father in everything she does.
Who usually has the worst ideas?
Flame, but Satin or one of their parents usually intervenes before she can do something stupid.
A GIANT insect is on the wall. Who's taking care of it?
Garceta would catch it for later alchemical experimentation. Flame would squish it on sight while Satin panics. Rusef would live and let live.
Tagging @sodaliteskull @orphanheirs @kaatiba @write-with-will @leahnardo-da-veggie and open tag!
Happy STS! What are some hobbies that your characters enjoy?
Happy STS! My characters have a variety of hobbies.
Zara enjoys cooking and telepathically weaving stories in the air with glowing gold sunthread. Jakobi likes reading and gardening. By night Nyela stargazes and by day she trains for combat with her silurg (a reptilian mount she rides into battle).
Saméol can sing, dance, and play a couple stringed instruments; he also collects little trinkets and knicknacks. Rusef paints and sails, sometimes both at the same time.
Tell me something that makes you laugh about your story. Something about the world or a line of dialogue or introduce me to your comedic relief character. Go crazy. :)
Happy WBW and April 1st!
There's a running gag in the prequel that makes me laugh when I write it. Saméol keeps trying to seduce Rusef but isn't aware (at first) that he's asexual and basically immune to his flirting.
Saméol's used to people being intimidated or charmed by him and crumbling quickly when he gets intense. But when he, say, eats something with a lot of tongue, or stretches to show off, or leans in to whisper suggestively, Rusef always reacts with a flat unimpressed expression or by raising his eyebrows like, "Really?"
Surprisingly, Saméol is delighted by this because for so long others have reduced him to either a fetishized object or an inhuman threat. He was a body, not a person; most of the time he wasn't allowed to be silly and relaxed and just talk about nothing. Rusef being so unfazed but still wanting to spend time with him makes Saméol fall in love more rather than discouraging him.
Rusef, for his part, is amused by the increasingly creative attempts at seduction, but he tries not to crack. And he isn't annoyed by it; he never asks Saméol to stop because he's falling in love, too.
Basically there's goofy moments where Saméol goes 😏, and Rusef replies with 😐 or 🥱, and they both really enjoy it.
Heya, Savvy. :> △ For Rusef? And the question is... if you had nightmares, what are they about? ~~ Sending you grand vibes, loads of creative energy, and luck your way. ~~ 🍀🍀🍀 - ✨️ Enc (@enchanted-lightning-aes)
Invasive OC Questions Ask Game
Thanks for the ask! You asked this about one of my most anxious characters, so this'll be fun.
Rusef has a pretty calm, ordinary life and his usual nonchalant apathy reflects that... until you remind him of the enormous secret he has concerning a certain tyrant, of course.
Rusef: By the Guides, what a question. I have enough worries in the day; must they torture me by night, too? Look, I- (He glances around furtively.) I know too much. (whispers: About her.) And I'm a Retjevu with the gift of enchanted wings, yes?
So in my nightmares, my secrets weigh on my wings until I fall into darkness with all my loved ones screaming past. Pleasant, I know. My deepest fear – if I crack under the pressure, everyone else will die with me.
Do not tell Saméol. He will insist that his nightmares are even worse and then refuse to leave my side for one breath. I cannot handle that right now.
Discomfort: 7.5/10. He's starting to panic. He's not upset at you – how could you know? – but the nightmares represent the core of his troubles and his helplessness in the face of the Golden Pheasant's power. She has eyes everywhere...
Will you tell me some random things about Rusef! I’m very curious about him :3 (no pressure)
ABSOLUTELY I WOULD LOVE TO! Thank you for the ask!
Rusefíno Belrevas, aka the Red-Winged Blackbird or Blackbird, is a character in The Glass Lament series and a POV character in the prequel. He’s the love interest of another main character, Saméol. Both are in their 40s, though Lopenyan humans live longer than we do.
Rusef is very handsome – broad shoulders, deep voice, short black curtain bangs and beard – and a high-profile figure. He’s also asexual, softspoken, kind, and an artist. He's a bit of a twist on romance genre tropes that I'm tired of. In our world he would probably be Colombian-Australian?
He enjoys painting, walks in nature, and sailing. He tends to exaggerate stories to leave people guessing what actually happened. His favorite color is sunset-orange. He dislikes being the center of attention and has a complicated relationship with his sprawling, mixed family (it’s why he has only one surname now).
His once-brown irises are ruby-red because of one of his sister’s alchemical experiments gone wrong. He hasn’t talked to Garceta since.
If you want to know even more, I have to yap a bit about his culture (I really need to get a WorldAnvil wiki for my world up and running).
The Retjevu are an eccentric but powerful society founded by outlaws who left the Tetradic Alliance centuries ago. They traditionally name themselves after birds and some can earn the privilege to fly using enchanted wings. Over time they started dressing to mimic birds’ plumage, which means they value fashion.
As the Blackbird, Rusef usually dresses in black with splashes of red and gold. He was once a guard trained to defend the Retjevu’s city, the Volary. Now he's a highly respected clothing designer, but prefers to keep his head down and focus on his work; in fact, in the prequel he’s become concerningly isolated and buried in work due to his domineering boss, the guildmaster Peacock.
Rusef is a hopeless romantic who has struggled to find a partner bc of his asexuality. He doesn’t like people looking too intensely at him or flirting because it feels one-sided. Luckily for him it’s common in Retjevu culture to have platonic life partners called almitades. Rusef’s almitad is his best friend Weaver, who unusually is not human, but a bekk. The two face some discrimination because she rather resembles a 3-foot-tall four-armed squirrel, but he treats her as a trusted equal.
Cute fact: Weaver lives with Rusef and often sleeps in a hammock next to his bed, close enough that he can reach over and hold her tiny claw as they fall asleep.
Finally, Rusef has a secret that’s important to the story. The Retjevu are ruled by the Golden Pheasant, who is deeply paranoid of outsiders and never seen without her unique golden armor. Rusef designed that armor and thus is one of two people who know its weakness/the reason she can never remove it. The Golden Pheasant has only allowed him to live because his stepfather is her most loyal advisor…
Welp, now I gotta make my wiki and start posting more character/world info. Maybe over the holiday break?
