If you haven’t read Book 1, stop right here! This post will spoil… well… everything. Come back once you’ve finished Kingdom above the Cloud!
To get us all back into the story and ready for Book 2 (Queen of the Wild Range, launching on July 12th!), I’m going to spend the next few weeks checking in on the main characters (there are a lot of them!), interviewing a few of them, and refreshing our memory of where they are and what they are doing.
Here’s what I need from you: I would love to know what questions you’d like to ask either to me as the author OR to one of the characters. It can be literally anything. Calix, why are you such a jerk? Eryx, will you marry me? etc. 🙂 Next week, I’ll answer some of the questions I receive. Shoot me an email (info@maggieplatt.com) or a private message on Facebook or Instagram. The more questions, the better! Don’t hold back 🙂
In two weeks we’ll check in with the characters in lovely Adia. A couple weeks after that, we’ll take a look at the royal family and all four heirs. Today, we’ll get started with the characters who are my absolute favorites to write due to their secrets and sometimes vileness: The Council of Masters.
King Damien surrounded himself with seven of his brightest pupils, dubbing them the Council of Masters. Each of the masters specialized in one of the seven ideals that King Damien promotes in his Mountain Kingdom. At the end of Book 1, the group is in absolute disarray.
BiBi – Master of Prosperity
Last Appearance:
It was a small group. Leeto had been gone for several days now. Xanthe had been arrested, and Jairus was absent. The group consisted of hostess Rhaxma, Tovi, Calix, BiBi, Eryx, and Megara.
As everyone settled into the meal, the patio doors opened unexpectedly. Rhaxma stood and squealed, throwing herself into the arms of her brother. “Leeto! Where have you been!” she cried with unashamed joy.
The last we see BiBi, she is at the fateful party on Rhaxma’s balcony when Calix (BiBi’s brother) murders Leeto (Rhaxma’s brother). We don’t know much about BiBi by the end of Book 1. She is a Master of Prosperity, but she doesn’t revel in her status as some of the others do. She seems anxious and self-conscious most of the time, always fearing that she won’t live up to King Damien’s or her brother’s expectations.
Current Status: Loyal to King Damien
Location: Mount Damien
Calix – Master of Adoration
Last Appearance:
She was still within the confines of the square when an angry hand grabbed her and swung her around. Calix looked as if he was willing to murder again. “Where do you think you are going?”
His fingers digging into her arm, he dragged her to the palace, up the stairs, and in through the front doors. Her fighting and clawing didn’t seem to faze him. He didn’t stop as he took long strides through the hallways, finally reaching the throne room.
Calix is the character I hate the most (but it is SO fun to write him!). I’m sure there is something redeeming about him, but I sure haven’t found it yet. Damien’s most loyal servant, Calix will go to any lengths to impress his king. Moments after he pushes Leeto to his death, he captures Tovi as she makes a run for it. He takes her to the palace, where she is imprisoned as a traitor.
Current Status: Loyal to King Damien
Location: Mount Damien
Eryx – Master of Power
Last Appearance:
“Does Eryx have his true colors now, or does he have my new ones?”
Silas looked at Eryx as he spoke. “He still has yours. Be kind to him, Tovi. He doesn’t understand his own feelings or how to handle them. I hope he chooses to stay in Adia, and if he does, he will need some space. His pride is very wounded by his changing colors, which he sees as a sign of weakness. Be his friend if he allows you close enough. Otherwise, give him room to heal.”
Eryx is my favorite. I have such a soft spot for this hulking, lonely, misunderstood guy. He watches over Tovi and steps in when she needs him most, scooping her up and carrying her (unconscious) back to Adia. He is surly, moody, and tough, but there is an undeniable goodness inside. (More of his backstory coming in Book 2!) At the end of Book 1, he has defected from the Council of Masters, brought Tovi home to Adia, and is stubbornly refusing Ganya’s love and hospitality while he sleeps on the porch outside of Tovi’s window.
Current Status: Defected
Location: Adia
Leeto – Master of Control
Last Appearance:
Rhaxma stared at her brother’s lifeless body encased in glass. The parlor in the family home was brightly lit with candles, even at this hour of the night. They couldn’t leave their beloved Leeto in the dark.
Leeto’s victory in King Damien’s game was short-lived. After marking Tovi and convincing her to come to the mountain, his deceptions catch up to him. In a rage over Leeto’s betrayal and manipulations, Calix throws him from the balcony. He dies on the cobblestones below.
Current Status: Dead
Location: Glass coffin inside the Pyralis home
Megara – Master of Wisdom
Last Appearance:
A subtle cough roused his attention. “Excuse me, Your Majesty,” Megara said from the doorway. “May I interrupt your thoughts?”
“Come in, dear girl. What is it?”
She approached his throne swiftly, and he could tell by the shine in her normally dull eyes that she had something delicious to tell him. “I must report a heart. It’s Xanthe. I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I know she is almost family.”
Damien froze, staring intently at his weapon. “Xanthe? Have you seen it?”
“No. I heard her speak of it. She and Tovi have attended some sort of secret meeting for rebels with hearts in their hands. It’s disgusting, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you, you may go,” he declared.
“But, Your—”
“You may go,” he said more forcefully. Megara’s face crumpled in disappointment, but she turned around and exited the room.
Damien closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. He had never felt so tired.
The REAL last appearance of Megara is at that same balcony party where we see so many of them for the last time. But since she has no real part in that scene other than her presence, I went back a few chapters to her last big moment. It is Megara (miserable, terrible Megara) who informs King Damien that Xanthe is a traitor, setting off a chain of events that throws the entire kingdom into chaos.
Current Status: Loyal to King Damien
Location: Mount Damien
Rhaxma – Master of Perfection
Last Appearance:
Thad put his arm around Rhaxma and looked down at his cold brother. “I still can’t believe this is real,” he said.
Rhaxma rested her cheek against his shoulder. She didn’t say anything, but her mind raced with thoughts of Calix. Her breathing became ragged again as her hatred mingled with her deep, aching grief.
She kept returning to the word ruin. She must ruin him. She would get no satisfaction from killing him. She must find something worse.
Rhaxma is devastated and grief-stricken over her brother’s death, and she is hell-bent on revenge. Once the perky, colorful, hostess with the mostess, she is quickly spiraling into madness. She will play a HUGE role in Book 2… Get ready.
Current Status: Loyal to King Damien, but with new priorities of her own
Location: Mount Damien
Xanthe – Master of Pleasure
Last Appearance:
Nearly an hour ticked by. Finally, a servant entered, but it was not the butler who had left to find Jairus. It was a guard from the prison.
“Excuse me, Your Majesty,” he said, his face pale and sweaty. “I bring news from the dungeon.”
“Go on.”
“Another prisoner has escaped, Your Majesty. We don’t know when it happened. We have not left our post.”
Fury sped through his body. How many times must they search that prison for the way out? How many times must he replace his guards?
“Who was the prisoner?” he asked, not bothering to hide his anger.
“Master Xanthe,” he replied, unable to maintain eye contact with the king. He looked at the floor, and his hands shook.
Damien stared at the guard while his mind raced. Before he could recover himself, his butler returned. “Where have you been, and where is Jairus?” he bellowed, the veins in his eyes dark and pulsing.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. We have searched throughout the palace. Prince Jairus is not here.”
Xanthe—betrothed to Prince Jairus and a member of the secret resistance group, the Hidden Heart—is jailed for her traitorous beliefs. At the very end of Book 1, we learn that she and Jairus have both disappeared. In a world where disappearance can mean death, we are left not knowing what has become of them. Dead? Escaped? Together? Apart? Only Book 2 will tell 🙂
Current Status: Unknown – Most likely dead or defected
Location: Unknown
Do you have questions for any of the Masters or other characters? Send them my way in a private message or an email (info@maggieplatt.com). I’ll answer a few of them next week!