#azotus

Andronicus, the Exiled Prince.

The fifth son of the recently passed king of Arden, was exiled by his eldest brother out of paranoia. Ended up at the Lion Academy after his life was saved by Elgin, chieftain of the Forest Tribes. He is kind and noble, but can be a little rash in judgment and tends to find his worth in certain titles (or lack thereof). A good, noble figure who is still very, very human.

Biggest issues: Wants to prove/make something of himself; has a habit of always saying THE WORST POSSIBLE THING at any given time

Elowyn, the Forest Huntress

Daughter of Elgin, a skilled archer and woodswoman. She's currently training to be the Leader of the Women in her tribe (until her older brother finds a wife), and in the meantime goes to the Lion Academy, as her ancestors have done for generations. She's seeking to trade in her hunting for working as a healer, but blood somehow keeps coming back to haunt her.

Biggest issue: Pride, unwilling to do things any other way than the way her tribe does things

Isom, the Redeemed Slave

The former slave of Prince Naileom, who was bought off of him by Andronicus and set free. He then bound himself to Andronicus's service, not knowing how to live any life except slavery. Naileom's treatment of him left him really messed up in a lot of ways, and he spends most of his many sleepless nights on rooftops thinking about how he can stop the constant torment in his head. Still, he's fiercely devoted to Andronicus (at times in an unhealthy and worshipful way) and quietly serves him and any of the people Andronicus cares for.

Biggest issues: Severe depression and suicidality, struggling with sexuality and sexual desires (and afraid to talk to anyone about it)

Lulareshana, the Prideful Princess

Daughter of a sultan in the Lower Western country of Ja'val, a spoiled princess who is used to getting whatever material possessions she wants. Feeling that she has little control over her life due to the extremely misogynistic society in Ja'val, she tries to control her own life through whatever means she can, mainly being very picky and abusing her slaves.

Biggest issues: Pride/selfishness, fear of letting go of control because she's never had any

Ruslan, the Irreverent Stablehand

A slave of Lulareshana's father, Ruslan has spent his whole life taking care of his master's horses. He know his way around a stable like no other, but isn't great at swordfighting or most other skills. He has little respect for anything, whether it's the "gods" of his home country, his family, authority figures, or any person besides himself. Escorting Lulareshana to the Lion Academy has given him his first taste of freedom, and he's loathe to lose it.

Biggest issue: Self-centered, willing to sacrifice others for himself

Mason, the Hesitant Apprentice

Mason was taken and raised as a child by the sorcerer who murdered his parents. His whole life he's been raised around Magic, but due to his bloodline he's beem deemed "unworthy" of having any of the power for himself. Now, that sorcerer has sent him to the Lion Academy after a book of spells that was hidden there centuries ago. However, Mason never expected to make friends with the other students, and now he's got a serious choice to make.

Biggest issue: Chasing after power/Magic addiction, lying

Junia, the Romantic Scholar

Andronicus's little sister. She's autistic and her special interest is books, poems, and history. She has a intense love for nature and can often be found climbing trees or running barefoot through the Academy halls.

Biggest issue: Naive and too trusting

Azotus, the Devil Twin

Due to a superstition around identical twins in Arden, Azotus was deemed "cursed" and "a product of the devil". Despite his best efforts to fix himself, his anger issues keep getting the best of him until his village's religious leader excommunicates him. Sick of it and with nothing left to lose (or so he thinks), Azotus decides to fully embrace his curse and runs off to cause mayhem, dragging his "good" twin in tow.

Biggest issue: Convinced he's cursed and decided to lean into it

Aracus, the Golden Child

Got the "good" end of the identical twin curse, although it certainly doesn't seem that way when he has to watch his twin, his other half, constantly getting abused and beat down by their father and the rest of the people in the village and is powerless to stop them. When Azotus finally has enough and leaves, Aracus stays by his side just like he always has. He knows the only way this ends is in tragedy, but he's going to follow his brother all the way to the end if it means even a chance of saving him.

Biggest issue: Doomed to follow his twin brother into trouble

Naileom, the Hedonistic Party Animal

Isom's former master, the crown prince of Icytheocaea who has never been told "no" in his life. His world revolves solely around his own pleasure and getting it NOW. His partying lifestyle and mistreatment of others finally led his father to sending him into a temporary exile, which was unfortunately too little far too late. Ending up at the Lion Academy only served to make him better at hiding how awful he is from others. He's pretty good at putting on a charming facade but refuse to give him what he wants and you'll see the cruel side of him.

Biggest issues: He's basically the worst person alive Manipulative, abusive, only seeks his own pleasure at all times and will not take "no" for an answer.

Caedia, the Gentle Lover

Junia's lady-in-waiting, the ADHD to her autism. She's extremely passionate and has a deep love for life and the world around her, and is looking for someone to whom she can give the love in the vast depths of her heart. Although she's already been burned once in the romantic field, when she meets Isom she is immediately drawn to him. She just doesn't believe she's the type of person that anyone could ever love back.

Biggest issue: low self-esteem, believes she's "too much" for anyone

Like even from birth they were doomed. Victims of a superstition, a self-fulfilling 'curse', simply for being identical twins. That Azotus was evil, and Aracus good, and they could never escape those roles.

So of course they fulfilled them.

Azotus. The devil twin. Ill-tempered. Drunkard. Chronic runaway. Willing to do anything, fight anyone, because when you've been punished your entire life no matter what you do, why bother trying to be good anymore? Why not just throw yourself into whatever mischief that comes your way, since you've been told you're damned anyway? Because "no amount of scars or holy water would ever be enough to drive the devil out of him."

Aracus. The good twin. Gentle. Compassionate. The one with genre awareness. Will follow his brother to the ends of the earth, to hell and back, if it means there's even the slightest chance of saving him from himself. Because he knows how this ends. He's seen his twin spiral lower and lower their whole lives. He knows that one day, something's gonna break. And he knows he's the only one who any chance of pulling Azotus out of trouble, even if it costs him his life. He doesn't know exactly how things will end up, but he knows there's no way this ends well. "All tales of brothers are tragedies."

Both were born with a sinful inclination (Isom towards sexual sin, Azotus towards anger issues and pride) which was then exacerbated by the environments and people around them. Both were abused in various ways that made their issues WAY worse. Not that they wouldn't have struggled without it, but it turned from manageable impulses/inclinations into a huge aspect of their lives.

Both experienced religious trauma. Not merely from being told, "what you're doing is sinful," but being told "your sin is who you are, and who you are in unforgivable." For Isom, his sin was secret, but he heard enough sermons and others talking about "those" kinds of people to believe he was damned. For Azotus, everyone knew what he was and scorned him for it, and his priest outright told him he was damned. Both internalized a label: for Isom, being "gay"; for Azotus, being the "devil twin".

Both felt extreme shame, and for both of them, it led to self-harming and suicidal tendencies (to differing degrees).

But they each reacted a different way.

Isom attempted to hide his sin, afraid of complete and utter rejection. He struggled with his shame in private, his sinful desires all but strangling him, and he had no one to help. He couldn't even tell others about the abuse he went through because even that would reveal what he was. The darkness slowly suffocated him until he thought there was no way out.

Azotus embraced his sin, openly and proudly. If he was a devil twin, then why not life fast and die free? Once he lost Aracus, the "good" twin, he had nothing to hold him back. It didn't matter what it cost him or who ended up in the crossfire, as long as he could run faster than his consequences. He embraced the darkness and let it consume him, to the point of literally turning into a dragon.

TW blood/scarring/death