The Characters
A guide to some of the folks you'll meet on the streets of Bordertown.
Truebloods
Alison Gross: The gorgeous-but-vicious woman who runs The Body Shop gym on Brew Street. Avoid her.
Alaunus:
Once a human obsessed with elves, he invoked powerful magic to transform himself into an unusually charming Trueblood—but though he's become a Trueblood physically, he doesn't understand their culture, and now finds himself equally uncomfortable among humans and elves.Argentine:
A young man banished from the Realm for reasons he cannot remember due to Border spells. He survives as a thief and is haunted by ghosts: both real ghosts, and ghosts existing only in his damaged memory.Ash Bieucannon:
An exile from Realm (a status he milks for all its worth), a painter, a poet, and a notorious rake. He created the Mock Avenue Brotherhood (run from a squat in the Mock Avenue church): a collective of young Trueblood artists dedicated to pushing the boundaries of modern elfin art.Corwyn of Aldon House (a.k.a. Long Lankin):
a wealthy, titled, and deeply nasty character with homes and influence on both sides of the Border. He has his fingers in criminal activities ranging from drug dealing to slavery rings and dark magics involving human blood. Avoid, avoid, avoid.Dez:
Cast off by her powerful family in the Realm, she drives a fine vintage motorcycle and works as a B-town bike messenger.Druienna Whitehart:
Formerly a silly, flighty artists' model who coasted through life on her ethereal good looks, she found her inner Smart Girl and now runs the Wheat Sheaf—which is, under her direction, arguably the best music club downtown.Eadric Vole:
A blazing star in the Border music scene (first as lead singer for Magical Madness, then with the elfin emo band River of Blood), Vole vanished abruptly at the height of his success. Rumor has it that he's the heir to a title back in the Realm, and that politics called him home.Farrel Din:
An exile from the Realm (no one knows why), and owner of Soho's first and most famous music club, the Dancing Ferret. He is unusually portly (elves don't tend to run to fat), famously mercurial of disposition, and a wizard whose range of skills, good or bad, are an endless source of speculation.Fineagh Steel:
Street fighter, drug dealer, and former leader of the Bloods (the largest and worst of the elfin gangs). Deceased, but his legend lives on.Jenny Jingle:
A runaway from a servant-class family in the Realm, a penny-whistle player, dancer, and brown-belt in karate. She is both sweet and smart, and has friends across many different kinds of Soho circles.Leda:
The wild, troubled daughter of a prominent elfin family on Dragon's Tooth Hill. She's been stripped of her magic, has a serious drug problem, and runs with the Dead Warlocks.Linn:
An elfin detective with the Silver Suits (Bordertown's police force), partnered with the human detective Sunny Rico.Mat Bear:
The most talented painter in the Mock Avenue Brotherhood, and probably the nicest one too. His promising career ended abruptly however, for reasons that are still unknown.Moss:
An elfin nerd and aspiring novelist who wants to escape his highborn parents' politically motivated plans for his future.Nabber:
Former Blood member, thug, and drug dealer, he's now on the wagon and trying to go straight. These days, you'll find him working at The Mad River Cafe, and picking up the odd shift at the Hard Luck too.Nixi Farseer:
A wizard, an antiquarian, and the proprietor of Fair Folk Books in Soho.Page:
A well-bred young man from somewhere in the Realm whose real name, lineage, and memory have been swallowed by Border magic. His past seems to have been a colorful one, but he's focusing on his future.Poplar:
A self-reliant young woman with a mind as original as her sense of style. She was raised in the Realm, has traveled in the World, and now runs Snappin' Wizards Surplus and Salvage.Robbin Pearl:
Formerly a painter and a founding member of the Mock Avenue Brotherhood, he is now a gallery owner and dealer specializing in works by the M.A.B. and other Border artists.Sky:
Lead guitarist for Lambton Wyrm, a mixed Trueblood and human band. He's oblivious to the fact that women find him gorgeous. Older brother of Moss, who is nothing like him.Strider:
A member of the "Terrible Trio" of bouncers at Danceland. With his born-in-the-Realm manner and long silver hair, he manages to look like an effete Prince of Elfland no matter how rock 'n roll he dresses—but don't cross him in a fight. He's famously devoted to his partner (and fellow-bouncer) Sai.Thorne Leaf-and-Tree:
The handsome younger brother of singer Wicker Leaf-and-Tree, and leader of the most dangerous elfin gang, the Bloods.Tick-Tick:
Genius mechanic, inventor, and an absolute wizard with elfin-human hybrid machinery. She's often seen cruising the streets of Soho on her beloved motorcycle with her best friend, Orient, riding shotgun in the sidecar.Ysa Crane:
Formerly a major drug dealer in Soho, rumored to be in Long Lankin's employ, and a thoroughly nasty piece of work. She disappeared into the Realm after some kind of trouble involving Stick, Berlin, and the torching of a Diggers' House. Recently spotted back in Bordertown, which can't be good.Wicker Leaf-and-Tree:
An elfin singer as well known for her colorful love life and drunken escapades as she is for her voice. Though she has fronted famous bands, now she mostly sings solo and occasionally as a trio with Nightingale and Althea Windbreaker.
Humans
Allie Land: A singer and guitarist, and a recent immigrant to Bordertown, who wants to be the most famous musician in town. Occasional resident of Stargazer House.
Anush Patel:
A graduate student in anthropology, he came to the Border to do research among the Trueblood population. (Yeah, good luck with that.)Big Will Hernandez:
Raised in Bordertown's Barrio, he started the Pack (the human-only gang) with Sammy Tucker when he was younger and angrier. Now he's much happier rolling with The Horn Dance: a cross between a motorcycle gang, a band, and a Morris troupe. He's devoted to his cat, an old one-eyed Maine Coon called Little Will.Black Cat Mama:
B-town trader and the town's most reliable coffee supplier.Bramble:
A tall, willowy, red-haired musician who has played with a number of popular B-town bands, including The Horn Dance, Sandie's Barn, The Great Bear Cult, and (most recently) Lambton Wyrm. Her instruments include melodeon, hurdy gurdy, button accordion, and nyckelharpa.Bossman:
A handsome young man (known for the many rings he wears) who drums for the popular band Goblin Market. He lives in a squat run by his tough-cookie halfie girlfriend, Queen B.Captain Sherman:
Captain of The Madcap, one of the trading ships that ply the dangerous (and magic haunted) Mad River.Casey:
Raised in Letterville (a working class area of Bordertown), he is now both an artist and a community activist there. He is one of the founders of the Letterville Neighborhood Association (a growing political power downtown), and lives in the 'hood with his girlfriend Louisa and their young son, Frank.Charis:
The child of a politically prominent family on Dragon's Tooth Hill, involved in a big, hushed-up scandal in her teens. Now she's a young politician herself, already a rising power on the Bordertown High Council.Damiana:
a Trinidadian Canadian who insists that she didn't leave her hometown of Toronto for the Border; the Border came to her. She considers herself a community social worker (not an interfering busybody. Please.) She can smell the eddies of magic as they ebb and flow like weather through B-town, and Juju weather makes her sneeze.Dancer:
Former gangbanger. Now the respectable (and respected) owner of Danceland, one of the most popular music clubs in Soho.Gamen:
A very young street kid, and a former escapee from Oberon House. Though involved with both the Pack and the Diggers, she is as wild as an alley cat and doesn't live in any single place full-time. No one knows if she's ever had a real home or parents, including Gamen herself.Goldy:
One of the "Terrible Trio" of bouncers at Danceland. He's a powerfully built, young black man with bright gold hair, which explains the name he's known by.Gray:
A runaway from the World and a feline shape-shifter, she can be recognized by her distinctive hair—which is short, spiky, and striped gray and black like a tabby kitten. Her BFF is Wicker Leaf-and-Tree (the elfin singer), and she has a stormy relationship with Sammy Tucker (the elf-hating leader of the Pack).Hector Maris:
Formerly a petty thief who did time in Juvie Jail, then a misanthropic kitchen-worker at the Hard Luck Café, and now a pillar of community activism. He is one of the founders of Changeling Theatre, and directs most of the company's shows.Jack Orion:
An acerbic young P.I. with offices in the West Canal district (just above Soho), widely distrusted downtown because he specializes in tracking down runaway kids for parents back in the World and the Realm. He generally does more good than harm, but most people never know that.Jackie Won:
The leader of the Dragon gang; smart, ruthless, and already a major player in Bordertown's criminal underworld, despite his youth.Jimmy Fix-it:
A self-described "redneck" from the World, he has a rare gift for understanding the weird systems of magic-and-mechanics that make life in Bordertown run.Joey Green:
A young Native American mask maker with a troubled past and an affinity for trees. He was born in the World and raised on a reservation somewhere in the desert.Koga:
A martial artist of Japanese heritage and sensei of a well-regarded karate school. He is also known as Shoki the Demon Queller, for reasons he might tell you about.Laura:
A quiet young woman with a Mohawk haircut, a stubborn nature, and a demon in her soul. Formerly a waitress at the Dancing Ferret and a student at Koga's dojo; she's now Koga's partner, a well-respected teacher in her own right, and a bouncer at the Ferret on weekends.Lizzie Washington:
A prickly fugitive from the World, half white and half black but sometimes mistaken for part elf because of her height and her incongruously pale complexion, the result of being the victim of a Lankin. She works as a street artist in Soho and, though once a loner, can now often be seen with a bookish Trueblood called Moss. They always look like they are up to mischief.Locas:
A skinny Chinese/Puerto Rican kid who grew up rough in Bordertown. Though he's good at heart, he has a bad habit of getting involved with people who aren't.Maris:
Like many of the human kids who run away to Bordertown, she came with a longing to learn elfin magic. Unlike 99% of the others, however, she is succeeding.Marius:
Young street violinist who opened the store Art & Lies, which specializes in buying and selling books and pop culture items from the decades before the Way closed between Bordertown and the World.Maxwell:
A thoroughly unpleasant young woman with a Thor's Hammer tattoo on her face and a keen love of stirring up trouble. She's the erstwhile leader of the Real Pack, a splinter group that broke off from the larger Pack gang in order to be even more violent.Miranda:
Traded one border for another when she and BFF Analise followed the Arizona desert washes to B-town. Find Miranda running with the Bards if you want the whole story—or if you'd like to trade for a mean batch of habanero brownies.Mouse/Alek/Aleksander:
One of the Noobs who came to Bordertown after the Way reopened. After living with Marius and finding his feet in the city, he is now a rising leader in a small group of social revolutionaries on the Border.Nightingale:
Formerly called "Socks," she is widely regarded as one of the finest singers in the Border scene. Best known for her work with the band Goblin Market (in its various incarnations), lately she's been gigging as part of a trio with two other Soho legends: Althea Windbreaker and Wicker Leaf-and-Tree.Orient:
Also known as "the Human Compass," he can find the whereabouts of anything. It's got nothing to do with elfin magic--he was born that way--but it freaked people out back in the World, which is why he's in Bordertown instead.Ossian Feldenkrantz:
Harpist, storyteller, and an expert on folk ballads and traditional music for the harp, both human and fey.Patrick Hale:
An artist known for his paintings of Soho street scenes, associated with the Mock Avenue Brotherhood.Pazzo:
The white-haired, tattered-looking old hobo who runs Dogtown in the freight yards south of Soho.Peya Windbreaker:
Born in Bordertown after her pregnant mother (Althea Windbreaker) ran away from the American South, bringing her own mother along with her. Peya lives with her mother, her grandmother, and her aunt/sister Rabbit in a ramshackle house near Fare-You-Well Park, where you can get magical buttermilk biscuits and a song if you ask politely.Psyche Stargazer:
A former astronomer who now studies the peculiar night skies over the Border and makes a living doing astrological charts.Sammy Tucker:
Founder and leader of the all-human gang, the Pack. A deceptively quiet and soft-spoken young man, he is a ruthless street fighter and formidable strategist in Soho's baroque and endless gang wars.Sara:
With both parents dead, Sara has been supporting herself as a belly dancer at the Hot Club since she was fourteen. She's now a young mother and determined (with her partner, Trasher) to give her child a better upbringing than the one she had.Screaming Lord Neville:
The flamboyant, fabulously dressed proprietor of Cafe Cubana.Seal:
A runaway from the World who initially took refuge in her uncle's houseboat on the Mad River. She now works at Changeling Theatre and lives at the Chimera squat with her halfie girlfriend, Cam.Shannon Klod:
Founder of BINGO; the lad who brought networking to Bordertown.Soulja Grrrl:
A rapper who fancies herself the heroine of the old ballad Tam Lin.Sparks:
A former member of the Castle Pup squat, this sweet, smart, and funny young woman now runs Elsewhere Books on Mock Avenue with her hirsute partner, Wolfboy.Sunny Rico:
The daughter of a cop, she is a detective in the Silver Suits (Bordertown's police force), partnered with the elfin Detective Linn. She's young for her position, and therefore often assigned to cases involving the youth of Soho.Trish/Tara:
A runaway from a dreary industrial town out in World who loves fantasy novels, medieval legends, and harp music. Jimmy Fix-it was her baby brother before the thirteen year Gap, and is her older brother now.Wolfboy:
Formerly a river-water addict named Ron Vasquez, he's been part-wolf, part-boy ever since he ran foul of a drunken elf and a badly-timed spell. He runs Elsewhere Books with his partner, Sparks, and although he looks fierce, he's (mostly) harmless.Yidl Mitn Fidl:
A fiddle player so good that he's become something of a Soho legend. He performs solo and with a variety of bands: usually klezmer, gypsy, or Celtic groups, but also with the rock band Widdershins.
Halfies and Others
Berlin: Works with the Diggers, drives a beat-up scooter, has friends among the hobo and canine populations of Dogtown, and plays a mean blues guitar. Her tough-girl demeanor hides a big heart, and a secret past.
Beti:
Cute, fearless, black baby butch who may or may not be 100% elf, and may or may not have fled from the Realm in order to escape the wrath of someone who may or may not be her brother, or her betrothed.Billy Buttons:
Formerly a gang-banger with the Bloods under Fineagh Steel, reformed (he claims) after a stint in Juvie Jail, he's now a street trader and wheeler-dealer involved with the downtown art and music scene.Cam:
Born to dust-addicted parents, she grew up on the streets of Bordertown with her best friend and fellow halfie, Taash. She's a waitress at the Hard Luck Café, does tech work and prop scavenging for Changeling Theatre, and now lives with her human girlfriend, Seal, at the Chimera squat.Camphire:
A painter of canvases and sidewalks, creator of art in traditional and magical forms who lives uptown in a charming old cottage surrounded by a garden of herbs and flowers squeezed incongruously between two tall urban buildings.Deki:
A young skateboard punk of Tibetan heritage. She is a member of the Khandromas, a female skateboard gang named after the trickster Tibetan sky goddesses.Eli Hurt:
A runaway from the Realm, where he was a slave of Corwyn of Aldon House. He is a "Dreamer" (despite his half-human parentage), a rare and valuable form of Trueblood magic.Fukumori:
An elegant and shrewd old Japanese woman who teaches koto (a Japanese stringed instrument) and is almost certainly a kitsune (a Trickster fox shape-shifter). She shares her house with a badger named Tenuki, who is also a Trickster.Gladstone:
A wicked hot butch with warm brown skin, silver eyes, and a silver brush haircut. She has a way with the ladies—and unfortunately she also has a way with her favorite flavor of self-pity in a bottle: Mad River water chased with anisette.Jetfuel:
A smart, scruffy, beautiful young woman (with long green dreads and extensive tattoos and piercings) who works for BINGO, B-town's computer network. Her half-sister, Synack, was raised in Realm.Liza Malone:
Known for her trademark fuchsia-colored hair, she runs the Mad River Cafe and is one of Bordertown's most sought-after young chefs.Maggie and Manda Woodsdatter:
Two sisters raised in the suburbs of Bordertown, where their parents' mixed marriage made them social pariahs. Both are musical: Maggie, the eldest, plays drums with many different bands (rock, jazz, elf-pop, and trance), while Manda plays electric guitar with The Horn Dance exclusively.Milo the Fence:
A dangerous, subterranean character with pale skin that never sees the sun, copper-colored hair, and amber eyes. He is the biggest fence in Bordertown, operating his extensive business from the sub cellar of an old brewery.Milo Chevrolet:
Not to be confused with Milo the Fence, this Milo lives in a former auto dealership and is one of Bordertown's most powerful magicians. He is short, pale, bat-eared, near-sighted, and obsessed with making new things. He's clueless about people, but he would do anything to help a friend.Perdita:
A sharp young woman who claims she was raised by a highborn Trueblood mother who had run away to the World. She is a "Teller" (a performer of a highly ritualized style of elfin storytelling), and also a healer, among other magical talents.Queen B.:
A rather hard young woman who sells old clothes out of a barrow, and runs a squat full of homeless young children who source, clean, and mend the clothes she sells.Rabbit Windbreaker:
Technically she is Peya's aunt (her mother is Peya's grandmother), but because Rabbit is younger than Peya, she's more like a strange little sister. A small girl with dark, shimmery skin, pointed ears, and wild hair, she has a habit of seeing things that aren't there, conversing with dogs, and making deals with statues.Sai:
A member of the "Terrible Trio" of bouncers at Danceland. She is a tall, plump woman with straight black hair and pointed ears. She's very good at her job, deeply in love with her partner Strider, and intolerant of bigots of any kind.Spider:
The lead musician/mage in a popular band (Widdershins), the founder of a well-known squat (the Chimera), and the center of a vibrant circle of artists and misfits. He was brought up in the Realm (which is unusual for a halfie), but is notoriously closed-mouthed about his past.Stick:
A taciturn young black man who lives in an old museum at the edge of Soho, recognized by his long black dreads, his martial arts staff, and his constant companion, a ferret-like animal named Lubin.Taash:
A sweet and funny young man with a mop of purple hair. He plays guitar, and works (as a cook) at the Hard Luck Café alongside his best friend, Cam.