The Twelfth Conclave characters

Appears from the start

A returning protector and Black Pyramid Inklord who escapes with Echo to the Death Tower after her father's apparent death. He stays with her through her first shock while assessing serious damage to the Destruction Realm.

Appears from the start

A Death-aspect wielder reeling from her father's apparent death. Ruwen regards her as a younger sister and remains beside her at the Death Tower while grief leaves her volatile and vulnerable.

Appears from the start

Echo's father, who detonates two crossing rings so she can escape. Ruwen presumes he died in the blast, though Echo still hopes he survived.

Appears from the start

An adversary whose survival after the crossing-ring blast remains uncertain when Ruwen Starfield and Echo reach the Death Tower.

Appears from the start

A manifestation of the Death Tower that arrives in the cavern where Ruwen Starfield and Echo have taken refuge.

First appears in chapter 2

Ruwen's partner and an Entanglement Priestess whose magic is rooted in the Creation Realm. She enters off-realm fortification with the expectation of facing a Creation trial afterward.

First appears in chapter 2

Ruwen's martial companion and a mystic developing a connection to the natural world. He is sent for Creation Realm fortification alongside Hamma and Lylan.

First appears in chapter 2

A blood witch and one of Ruwen's close companions. Her advancement requires carefully controlled exposure to destruction essence before she can proceed to a Creation trial.

First appears in chapter 3

A recovering Bamboo Viper trainee whom Echo calls her Sijun. Echo turns to finding and teaching him after losing her father, giving her a concrete purpose beyond grief.

First appears in chapter 3

Ash's grandfather and a Bamboo Viper elder already known to Ruwen. Echo and Ruwen seek him on Earth while looking for Ash and pursuing instruction in chakra practice.

Also known as Ruwen Starfield

First appears in chapter 4

Ruwen's destruction-seraph form, connected at this point to the restored human Ruwen Starfield. The form represents his second evolution and can be assumed separately from his human body.

First appears in chapter 5

A celestial who is protective of Rami and has expertise in dimensional mathematics. He teaches Ruwen Starfield to control phase and curvature so his teleportation creates a less detectable wake.

First appears in chapter 5

A close companion whose safety is confirmed while she studies with her father. She remains part of Ruwen's close circle.

First appears in chapter 6

A silver-bodied mental ally who can communicate with Ruwen from within his mental domain. He rejoins Ruwen's inner group on Earth.

First appears in chapter 6

An autonomous ally who resides in Ruwen's inner world and participates in its strategic discussions. Lir returns to Ruwen's mind to confer with him and the rest of the inner group.

First appears in chapter 6

A destruction-linked aspect tied to an assassinated former ruler of the Destruction Realm. The aspect resides in Ruwen’s mind, while its pants help mask spiritual signatures on Earth.

First appears in chapter 6

A member of Ruwen’s inner group whom Lir returns to Ruwen’s mind to consult alongside Overlord and the group’s other companions.

First appears in chapter 8

Ruwen's mother and owner of the pocket dimension called Creek of Plenty. She shelters Ruwen during his return to Earth, where they reunite after roughly two years apart.

First appears in chapter 8

Ruwen's father, reunited with him inside Clarissa's pocket dimension after a separation of roughly two years. He and Clarissa listen as Ruwen gives a guarded account of his recent life.

First appears in chapter 17

A ghostly member of Ruwen's inner group who appears with Overlord and can take material form within Ruwen's mental domain.

First appears in chapter 10

Ash’s father and Isabella’s husband. Master Pine regards him as profoundly abnormal and recalls that he arrived at the farm seeking death.

First appears in chapter 10

Master Pine’s daughter, Cain’s wife, and Ash’s mother. A skilled chakra practitioner, she awakened seven chakras.

First appears in chapter 24

A female watcher who scouts the jungle when Ruwen suspects a concealed ambush outside a chakra vault. Lir confirms her identity while she searches for the unseen threat.

First appears in chapter 32

The last of five Kiardi scouts in Ruwen’s immediate pursuit. This one speaks his language and fights with a magical loom, using unfamiliar musical intervals to bend space.

First appears in chapter 36

A returning ally who supplied Ruwen with a cursed carrot. Ruwen suspects that the object’s prolonged effect serves a purpose she has not disclosed.

First appears in chapter 44

The leprechaun ruler leading the defense of the crown vault. He confronts Ruwen among thousands of armed followers as their immense Vault Guardian begins to awaken.

First appears in chapter 44

A colossal construct awakening beside the Himalayan crown vault. Its emergence reveals that it holds the previously hidden divine vault.

First appears in chapter 46

Ruwen's flying mount, fast enough to help him evade the leprechaun Vault Guardian when ordinary spatial movement is being suppressed around the construct.

First appears in chapter 54

The figure whose sacrifice for Echo remains a source of grief for Ruwen after his chakras awaken.

First appears in chapter 61

Leader of twenty-nine Purgatory Grove Guardians. He brings the group into Ruwen Starfield’s mental domain, where they adopt the bamboo-viper steps and take part in the training battle.

First appears in chapter 67

A self-powered woman found under attack inside the conclave library. Her magic resonates with Ruwen Starfield’s chakras, and her red bracelet holds soul power associated with the Zealot.

First appears in chapter 68

The Red Librarian, who turns her attackers’ powers against them before forming a temporary alliance between the Library of Fragments and the Black Pyramid.

First appears in chapter 68

A conscious presence within Sarah's red bracelet. It recognizes Ruwen's steps and urgently seeks information about the old war.

First appears in chapter 76

Uru's Inklord and a returning ally who enters the conclave chamber with Una and others from Uru's group after a shadow ooze attacks.

First appears in chapter 76

One of Uru's champions, previously saved by Ruwen in the spirit realm. She enters the conclave with Tremine and other returning allies as the party faces a shadow ooze.

First appears in chapter 78

A deceased rival Inklord whose remembered knowledge of the library’s cross-indexes may help solve the conclave. Ruwen Starfield has kept the body in storage since killing him years earlier.

First appears in chapter 80

Hamma's quagmire companion, a fragmented presence able to appear in many places. Archie warns that Ruwen and Sift may be manifesting conceptual cards through advanced soul power.

First appears in chapter 81

The former Ink Lord raised by Echo after Hamma’s attempt to restore him fails. He awakens disoriented, and the extent of his preserved memories remains uncertain.

First appears in chapter 83

An unnamed agent pursuing Ruwen Starfield alongside Isaac's replacement Ink Lord.

First appears in chapter 83

Isaac's successor as Ink Lord, present in the conclave to pursue revenge against Ruwen Starfield and kill him rather than merely compete for books.

First appears in chapter 84

A psychic construct awakened at a catalog-node plaza in the lower stacks. It copies intruders’ techniques and memories and uses rune leeches to extract memories.

First appears in chapter 96

An undead military leader whose legendary portable barracks restores and improves her troops between deployments.