Shade's First Rule: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure characters

Appears from the start

A sixteen-year-old who expects to become a Mage and use that path to investigate his missing parents. Their expedition companions accused them of murder and tyrium theft. High Priest Fusil instead forces Ruwen into the Worker class and orders his Ascendancy drowning.

Appears from the start

Deepwell's protector deity, responsible for the local systems of Ascendancy and revival. Her temple is where Ruwen reports for class selection, and her protection defines the area in which the ascended can return after death.

Also known as Fusil

Appears from the start

An Order priest who blames Ruwen's family for the expedition disaster that injured his son-in-law. He bypasses the normal Ascendancy choice, assigns Ruwen the Worker class, and has him drowned despite his protest.

Appears from the start

A local tormentor from Ruwen Starfield's past who has just completed Ascendancy as a Mage.

First appears in chapter 2

A novice Order priestess working in the temple's revival area. She retrieves Ruwen after his Ascendancy and immediately notices that he returned in minutes, far faster than the normal revival interval.

Also known as Crew Chief Bliz

First appears in chapter 4

A high-level Worker Collector and crew chief at the Workers' Lodge. He welcomes Ruwen, recommends the travel-oriented Collector path, and explains the benefits and lethal energy risks of the rare Voidband Ruwen chooses to bind to his soul.

First appears in chapter 4

Deepwell's librarian and the closest thing Ruwen has had to a father since his parents disappeared. Tremine educated him, knows his ambitions, and becomes the person the Workers' Lodge directs him to consult about preparing for travel.

Also known as Big D

First appears in chapter 5

A senior Worker planner who advocates greater equality for the class. He schedules Ruwen for a mandatory wilderness orientation and promises to prioritize his safety after the Voidband makes the young Worker essential to an unusually broad expedition.

First appears in chapter 8

A powerful divine adversary identified by Uru after hostile magic users target Ruwen. Uru warns that Ruwen's concealed class has attracted this enemy's attention and activates chosen helpers to keep him alive.

First appears in chapter 9

A formidable woman who finds Ruwen through his public location setting and makes him hide it. She bears Uru's Hand mark, gives him a paired Jaga Wedding Band, and takes charge when a disguised attacker strikes the Fainting Goat.

First appears in chapter 9

The owner of the Fainting Goat. An enemy assumes his likeness during the tavern assault; Ruwen and Hamma later discover Bala unconscious but alive.

Also known as High Mistress of the Black Pyramid, Keeper of the Silent Blade

First appears in chapter 11

The true identity of the fighter Ruwen knew as Kai. Kysandra leads the Black Pyramid and carries the Silent Blade. After protecting Ruwen from Naktos' assassins, she agrees to train him for the dangerous expedition he cannot avoid.

First appears in chapter 13

A Black Pyramid member first identified as the person responsible for tending the dangerous blood moss at Bloodgate. Kysandra sends Ruwen toward him after Ruwen uses his new mark to distinguish safe gates from lethal ones.

Also known as the Silent Blade

First appears in chapter 14

Kysandra's elder sentient dagger. Sift calls the weapon Io while explaining the old naming customs surrounding himself and the blade. Its intelligence and its place beside the Black Pyramid's High Mistress are already apparent.

First appears in chapter 15

A former Black Pyramid helper whose death weighs heavily on Sift as he prepares Ruwen for the dungeon sweep. At this point, she is known through Sift's guilt and the warning her fate provides about the risks of serving as his partner.

Also known as Black Pyramid quartermaster

First appears in chapter 15

The quartermaster who controls novice supplies and token exchanges inside the Black Pyramid. Fluffy withholds equipment that Ruwen's visible level and Worker class should not permit him to use, then negotiates substitute gear without exposing his secret.

Also known as the Black Pyramid

First appears in chapter 16

The sentient entity embodied by the Black Pyramid. Sift calls the dungeon Blapy while teaching Ruwen how its guarded rooms, quests, rewards, and escalating challenges operate during his first descent.

Also known as Bamboo Viper grandmaster, stepmaster

First appears in chapter 25

Sift's mother and one of the Bamboo Viper clan's grandmasters. She works with Kysandra, recognizes that Ruwen's energy has become intertwined with Sift's, and helps decide whether her son may face the danger beyond Bloodgate.

Also known as Bamboo Viper grandmaster, stepmaster

First appears in chapter 25

Sift's father and one of the Bamboo Viper clan's grandmasters. He works with Kysandra, perceives the unusual connection between Sift's energy and Ruwen's, and shares responsibility for the clan oath and training arrangement offered to Ruwen.