Hello all, and welcome back to another Sovereign Soul blog! Today I wanted to take the quick chance to showcase some of Sovereign Soul’s heroines in celebration of International Women’s Day! I did this last year at this time with some of Sovereign Soul’s characters, mostly being from Book One: Akin Minds. This time, with Book Two: Serpentine Empire closing in, I wanted to talk a little more about the women coming up in the next book!
Before I get much further, I wanted to clarify that I’m a male author, and as such it’s hard to speak on the subject of women and their rights with some authority. That being said, I hope that some female readers can find strength in my characters, whether attached to my books or not. They’ve inspired me (even as their situations are the author’s fault) and have been inspired by many of the various women in my life. I’d also love to hear back from any readers on what they think about the cast, what is strong or inappropriately cast about them, and what I could do better as a male author to contribute better.
I wanted to avoid overlap with some of the women from Akin Minds, having gone into quite a bit of detail last time in this post. Despite that, I feel like I should talk about them a little more at the end. Some details to their stories have changed in the second book, or they’re undergoing new challenges worth being discussed. Book Two’s writing draws to a close, but an editing stage or two still remains, meaning many of these stories can still be considered a work in progress.
Before I get into it, I wanted to mention the different banner for today. My latest artist has only completed two character arts of Ryoku and Will, neither of which felt appropriate for International Women’s Day, so I opted to use some older art that a good friend completed of some of the characters – @Rowansora! They did arts of several of my characters quite some time ago, and I chose to feature their renditions of Sira and Lusari as the banner today! They’re quite old, but I do still love the art Rowan made.
Without further ado, let’s get into it!
1. Ephora Harmony
Ephora is one of the more prominent characters in Book Two: Serpentine Empire. She appears early in Act Two, but scenes don’t begin to take place from her point of view until a little later on. Much of Balgena’s subplot takes place from her eyes.
The oldest of two sisters and the daughter of Syaoto’s Lord General, Ragekku Gero, Ephora has a lot to live up to. At a young age, she was enrolled in Balgena’s esteemed School of Black, an academy known for training their students in subterfuge, weapons, and stealth operations. Her knowledge of the underworld makes her an ideal assistant to her father, especially as the kingdom struggles to overcome the Shadowheart infestation while facing civil war and the upcoming battle in Orden.
Ephora is a short blond, about 5’2″, but her boots usually add a little to her height. Many remark that she looks a bit like Ryoku in passing. Her blond hair is usually done up in a high ponytail or braid, and she has bright green eyes. She wears very minimal clothing but expertly conceals multiple weapons on her person. Even after being searched thoroughly, Ephora often has several weapon choices available to her. Most of them are small blades, but she also uses caltrops, smoke bombs, throwing stars, and more small weapons. Her biggest weapons are flexible blades hidden in her boots and within her fabric bracers. She’s usually serious to a fault, but has moments where she finds humor in dark places and believes that love should prevail over all.
As capable as Ephora is, she’s assigned a constant and vigilant guardian by the name of Koteran Ruesto, an ex-knight of the King’s Own and a good friend of Ragekku. He practically helped raise her and is often by her side. Even when he is not, however, Ephora is often quite capable of defending herself. Her quick wit and carefully concealed weapons pull her and the others through a very sticky situation later in Book Two. Her familiarity with her father’s strategy in war allows her to pull together a fleet of scattered soldiers in a very dire battle as well.
Ephora faces discrimination often at the hands of many males in Syaoto’s army who think her less capable, one of the few exceptions being her father. Aside a general fatherly protectiveness, Ragekku puts a lot of faith and trust in his daughter and her skills. A few other higher-ups in the army only see her as a general’s daughter that must stay behind their front lines. Ephora also (for much of the second book) hides her attraction toward the fairer sex. She grew up training mostly alongside females in the School of Black, as well as spending most of her life with her mother, Melodia, and her sister, Sakura. She does form a relationship with another female in the cast, but I won’t get into that just yet!
2. Caryl Cerone
Caryl is a recurring character from very early in Book One: Akin Minds, who reprises her role in an unexpected fashion. She’s known as one of Bytold Village’s hardest-working women, running the Fallen Unicorn by night and working on her father’s farm during the day.
Her life is thrown into turmoil when the world of Harohto mysteriously falls early in Book Two and raiders take everything over, forcing her to run off into the woods to survive. Her father gives his life to ensure her escape alongside the blacksmith Kimball, who gets injured gravely by a poisoned raider arrow. Caryl has to search for a specific herb to treat his poison when she runs headlong into a band of raiders, who capture and rape her before a timely appearance by Ryoku’s group manages to interrupt.
Caryl doesn’t know much about fighting to begin with. After her encounter with the raiders, she begins to learn how to use a knife and bow from the other survivors as they attempt to flee the ruined Harohto. Time and patience lead to her becoming a capable fighter and able to defend herself. Later on, after escaping Harohto, she helps Ephora getting them out of a particularly sticky situation.
Caryl is perceived often as attractive, her long auburn hair something sought after in Bytold. She likes to dress in what she perceives as sexy, which slowly changes from dresses and skirts to skin-tight armor. She’s a very sexually driven girl by nature, but is also quick to tear apart men with her sharp tongue. Her sense of humor is usually dry and witty. When tragedy occurs, she has to live through it and learn to cope before she can put on a brave face.
She forms a relationship with outspoken but friendly soldier Alex Retton, which ends up cut short in a horrid fashion. Her type is generally a man who can take care of both of them in life, and she crushes equally on Ryoku and Will in this fashion. Whether anything will come of it, though, is uncertain. She can also be bicurious, depending on the woman.
3. Rena Stillwater
Rena is another character who was introduced in Book One. Ryoku and the others happen upon her caught in the thick of a gang brawl in Syaoto’s Capital. After saving her, Will insists on keeping her safe with them, especially after discovering she has nowhere to go. Her last name comes from the Balgenian orphanage, Stillwater, meaning she was never adopted by a family.
Prior to joining the heroes, Rena lived at the Stillwater Orphanage in Balgena and only recently left to start a life in the Capital. She had no real indicator of what she wanted to do in life beyond perhaps finding a husband and settling down. She’d been in the market when the war between the Syaotoan Bladerunners and the Balgena Flaming Arrows broke out, and she wound up caught in the middle and nearly killed. Upon being wrapped up with the others, she slowly finds her place in Syaoto Keep, learning to wield a sword from Brom and handling affairs under the Capital’s spymaster, Sover Brandhall. She also participates in the council that decided Syaoto’s next king in Book One.
As years go by in Syaoto, Rena slowly becomes more confident of her abilities and able to stand on her own. This doesn’t stop one of Balgena’s mercenary groups from capturing her and using her as bait, assuming (from their mistaken intel) that Will Ramun would be heading the mission to Balgena. The group is able to save her, and she winds up joining them in their descent of the Balgena Catacombs and being a valuable asset. Her story ends up taking a very important turn… but you’ll have to read the book to find that one out!
Rena has a bit of an unusual appearance, even for Syaoto. Her blue hair is often kept down, sometimes with a hairband or ribbon. She prefers to wear light dresses and skirts, usually in pastel colors, which she still will when given the opportunity. Her combat training did give her some appreciation for pants, but she finds them uncomfortable and only wears them for battle, if at all. Rena is usually serious to her superiors and quite shy, but she has a playful side and a bit of immaturity she likes to bring out around close friends. Despite appearing passive, she can easily reach out for what she really wants.
Rena initiates a romance with Will in early Book Two, a relationship that stays strong even as the two part ways for much of the book. Other than that, she has very little experience in the ways of men that wasn’t one-sided.
4. Annalia Rikalla
Anna is a fellow Defender and ex-girlfriend to Ryoku who was briefly featured in Book One. It is revealed that her parents had her move across the country early in the same year, bringing a premature end to her and Ryoku’s relationship.
Little is revealed about Anna’s background, and she prefers it that way. She moved to the city of Brooks when Ryoku and the others were near the end of middle school, becoming fast friends with Dawn first, then the others by slow association. Though under speculation by the current team and their altered memories, it’s believed that she joined the group because of some spirit-realm event that occurred around them. It is obvious in Book One that Anna has been a Defender for some time, alongside most of the others.
Besides her modern origins, Anna’s spirit comes from the same era as Ryoku, Katiel, and Dawn. She joined the group then around the time that Complex Shadow-breed Shadowhearts started being created, and was an immediate love interest for the early Ryoku Dragontalen. However, events seemed to lead toward an untimely and early demise for the warrior.
Anna’s spirit realm adventures largely take place apart from the others, and she has a set of Guardians she works with, one being a daughter of Loki. In Book Two, however, she finds a stranded Ryoku in the world of Brooklyn and works to help him find a method of travel to escape, leading them to the vain Kai Stele. Events lead to her becoming stranded in Brooklyn for quite some time, but she makes the most of it when she lands in the guild of an accomplice she quite distrusts: Dagoriph Neseru, or Dagger.
Anna is recognized as a pretty, if reserved, girl by many of the others. Her curly dark hair and eyes make her a stark contrast against her best friend, Dawn. She usually wears light leather armor and prefers leggings. Kai, the flirtatious actor introduced early in Book Two, dubs her as Squishy for… clear reasons. She’s typically a no-nonsense girl, but opens up a little bit of a softer side around certain people. Her combat skills are second to almost none, an adept of the bow and of her katana.
Like the rest of her, little is known about Anna’s relationships or her history. She dated Ryoku for a short time and Katiel in another situation, but she largely keeps to herself. Interestingly, she doesn’t seem to entire hate Kai for his flirtatious remarks – at least later on, she actually shows some concern for him. Given that she doesn’t do this with many people, it might amount to something.
5. Roxanne Mercy
For the sake of many, many spoilers, I’ll have to keep this one light, but she is perhaps one of the biggest embodiments of female strength to me. Roxanne is the half-sister of Ryoku and the daughter of Liliana Mercy and Darrold Vornaire.
Roxanne grew up as a youth of mixed race, putting her often at odds with her fellow students and family. Liliana’s side of the family looked down on her a little as being from her ex-boyfriend, even if Darrold was a respectable man of the law. Some of her fellow students thought she lied about being related to Ryoku, even though their skin color isn’t all too different. She faced excessive bullying at school, both for her different ethnicity and her easy temper.
After their mother’s side of the family perished in a fire, Roxanne and Ryoku were sent to live with Roxanne’s father, Darrold. When her mother died, she didn’t adjust to a new life and having to move as easily as Ryoku, which led to even more bullying at school. The difference was that Roxanne started fighting back, which her superiors at school weren’t too fond of. Even though Darrold was her blood father, she also didn’t take well to living under his roof with him and his new girlfriend, Candy. Her frustration with her life only grew.
Another tragic accident occurred, and Darrold was crushed under a huge metal shelf in his home. Candy started blaming the siblings, calling them cursed and spreading the word about them. This, combined with how Roxanne’s teachers thought of her, influenced the two of them being sent to different orphanages. Ryoku was adopted quickly, but it is presumed that Roxanne wasn’t, instead hopping from family to family as she became known as a problematic child.
Currently, in Book One and Book Two, Roxanne’s status is unknown. Ryoku believes he may have seen her in Orden, but it doesn’t match up with what he knows. His primary goal is to find out where she is, to keep her safe, then bring her in when he turns 18 and inherits the Mercy family estate and a trust fund. The conclusion of Book Two may shed more light on where she is and how he can reunite with her.
As of the timeframe that the books take place, Roxanne should be about 14. She was known for her long, unruly blond hair, bright green eyes, and slightly darker skin. When they were little, she was fond of dresses and long skirts, and it is unknown if that changed as she got older.
And now that some of Book Two: Serpentine Empire‘s female protagonists have been covered, let’s talk about some of the ones from my last post and how their role changes in the second book. (As a reminder, you can see that post from last year here!)
1. Sira Jessura
Sira is easily one of the physically strongest characters in the books, able to wield her mighty blade Sinistra with ease. She entered a hot-and-cold relationship with Ryoku, but who knows how that could be going?
For Sira, reaching Orden is both a goal and a realistic nightmare. Orden is the source of almost all her past trauma. It’s the place where her son, born from rape, rules the tyrannical empire. She previously failed to put a scratch on him in their last skirmish, and surely that determination to get stronger fuels her for her next attempt.
On her journey in Book Two, Sira spends a minute amount of time traveling with Ryoku, and winds up spearheading the Syaotoan mission to delve into the Balgena Catacombs on Will’s behalf. It’s unusual for Sira to do something that entirely benefits somebody else and doesn’t seem to net her much in return. Is she really doing this out of the kindness of her heart?
2. Lusari Atella
Lusari is a mysterious young mage girl hailing from Harohto. Her feelings have been conflicted between Ryoku and Will. After the traumatic events of Syaoto in Book One, Lusari disappeared. Where could she be now?
Lusari’s goals are a little unclear. She relishes the company of Ryoku and his friends, but a part of her wants to leave the adventure behind and return to safety. Getting to the battle of Orden means little to her besides helping her friends.
Lusari reappears early in Book Two with no real answers for where she’s been. She’s gotten a little older, her ice magic almost ten times as effective as it was – nearly sentient around her. An extremely dangerous character is in pursuit of her, and he doesn’t care who he might run through to get a hold of her. After being saved, Lusari asks Will to take her home to Harohto, and they find it in an unimaginably worse state. She ends up spending a lot longer with the group than she thought she ever would. But who is the man in pursuit of her, and why? What inner darkness does Lusari hide?
2. Cleria Nightfang
A vampire girl from a noble family in Lysvid, Cleria finds herself tangled up in the battle against Orden. She’s a pupil of the Timeless One and seems to have a crush on… well, a lot of people.
Cleria hides a traumatic past behind a flirty, girlish exterior. A relationship with cult leader Gale Destrow left her beaten within an inch of her life, the same man who turned her into a vampire. The Timeless One now protects her, though his own travels and perhaps personal interest brought him to join the battle in Syaoto.
In Book Two, Cleria spends most of her time with the Timeless One and helping train the unfortunate Blanc. She also butts heads with Sorha on a consistent basis. After a very close call later in the book, she finds herself under the protective wing of one of the last people she’d expect. A lot remains to her tale, and she has a long way to go before she’s a recovered pupil of the Timeless One.
4. Kaia Oceyen
A bubbly and happy girl, a near constant armpiece to the otherwise impassive Katiel Fereyen. In Book One, she mostly traveled with Katiel and taught Ryoku the beginnings of an extinct type of magic. It’s not really known if she has a crush on either of them, but she does keep awfully close to both. Ryoku, especially, she calls Little Storm as an apparently sibling-esque nickname.
Kaia’s motives seem to be little more than just keeping her friends company and helping them get through the darkest of times, particularly Katiel and Ryoku. She once sought to cure her sister, Reze, in a past life, but eventually learned that her sister preferred her new life as a sea serpent rather than being stuck as a disabled girl her whole life. As such, they now travel with the same pair that helped them in the past.
In Book Two, Kaia spends a short time traveling with Ryoku, continuing to teach him magic and helping him grow, while on a mission for Katiel of unknown origins. Perhaps traveling with Ryoku a little more will kill two birds with one stone.
5. Dawn Elethel
The cheerful and heartfelt Defender, Ryoku’s ex-girlfriend and close to all the Defenders. Dawn appeared late in Book One after hearing of Ryoku’s severe injuries, leaving Syaoto Capital in quite a state. From there, she settled into a position of helping Syaoto battle its growing strife.
Dawn shares a goal with the other Defenders to liberate Orden and discover the identity of those who seek to take over Gaia from far, far away. Her rocky and difficult past with not just her family, but the notorious gangster Varis, leaves her with a lot of trauma to recover from for her age. Even so, she acts as a counselor and healer in more than just a physical sense to her friends. In emotional moments, it’s clear that she has a lot of unresolved problems.
Dawn arrives early in Book Two at the head of Syaoto’s army, having taken on an active role to battle back their increasing hordes of Shadowhearts. However, roles quickly change when she learns about Ryoku’s whereabouts and rushes to his aid. He slips from her grasp in an unwilling manner, so she winds up back at Syaoto and signs up for the Balgenian mission. She continues on as a powerful asset for their journey, both magically and emotionally, and winds up far more invested than she cares to be. Dawn becomes so deeply entwined in Balgena’s drama that she’s unable to help when the lives of the other Defenders fall apart without her.
6. Blanc Fereyen
I chose to mention her as a bonus last time, when Book Two was in a considerably earlier draft. Blanc is the chemically-created daughter of Rasiel alongside her brother Shadux.
Blanc winds up first in Lysvid, then in Syaoto as she’s assaulted on a mission by one of Balgena’s mercenaries and her arms are lopped off. She finds herself in the care of the Timeless One, one of the few entities alive who could have helped her. He uses his magic to grant her new arms, albeit much weaker than her old, and begrudgingly helps her learn how to defend herself. Blanc’s goal is to avenge herself before she can face her creator again.
This is still just a small sampling of what the heroines of Sovereign Soul are all about – I haven’t even touched on some of the female villains yet! Still, I hope these characters can reach out beyond their pages and find a home in peoples’ hearts. I want their strife to grow and become something that motivates others going through similar dark patches in their lives. Often, they and others do the same for me. Best wishes for now!
My Linktree: https://linktr.ee/sovereignsoul7
Sovereign Soul 