Name: Gareth Emmanuel Poe

Nicknames:  none

Age:  17

Bio:  Gareth is a quiet, introverted boy who seems forever pre-occupied with something or another, drifting through life with his eyes and mind elsewhere. He is well built, but doesn’t exercise much, yet is still abnormally strong for his age (or any age, for that matter). Other than this, his only real distinguishing feature is that he is being trained in his dreams by a powerful, otherworldly entity in order that he might fulfill some un-specified heroic destiny.  Gareth remains entirely unaware of this in his waking life, but since his training began, he has become something of a magnet for trouble…

Name: "The Trainer"

Nicknames: erm, yeah, The Trainer

Age: A lot longer than the universe has existed

Bio: The Trainer is less a person than a concept. It appears as a grey shrouded man in a strange realm it calls the ‘gym’. It embodies a powerful, multi universe spanning force known to itself as heroism. It exists utterly outside time, space and matter, in a further dimension that *is* it in more ways than not. The trainer appeared to Gareth in a dream and offered to show him the ropes, as it were, of becoming a hero, which Gareth accepted. The Trainer says it is entirely shaped by Gareth’s conceptions of what it should look like and how it should act, though this doesn’t explain why it seems to take so much pleasure in assortedly crushing, exploding, toppling and stabbing him in a variety of creative ways.

Name: Sanyiel D’Tyriona

Nicknames: San, Alien boy

Age: 11

Bio: Probably the oddest thing to turn up on earth in a few million years, Sanyiel hails from what seems to be another reality entirely. He was born, fully grown, as the product of a powerful enmity between two individuals from the part of the cosmos from which he hails. While that phenomenon is not uncommon there, Such creatures (known as Ivrid) usually don’t last long. Sanyiel managed to stabilize his form by splitting the conflicting essences that make him up and binding them into two swords- Aiglo and Choran. Despite being literally made of hatred, Sanyiel is timid, self-effacing and friendly, though he is inclined to occasional fits of instability. He appears to possess a number of seemingly magical abilities, notably the ability to understand and learn any language in moments, and the ability to change his shape. Sanyiel’s surname is merely a note of where he came into being, Tyriona.

Name: Anne Smith

Nicknames: none

Age: 17

Bio: Anne is a tall, raven haired girl of Scandinavian descent. Driven and serious, she rarely smiles and when she does crack a joke, it’s usually black or scathing humor. Despite this, she is well liked by both students and staff at Ashville high and is a senior (prefect) there. Anne met Gareth while they were both still very young and due to circumstance the two have formed an inseparable bond. Gareth helped Anne overcome her demons and in turn, Anne has looked out for him ever since, guiding him around the pitfalls he fails to see. Anne lives with her father and younger brother Jacob and practices several forms of martial arts to an extremely high standard, training at Ashville gym almost every day.

Name: Jack Alfred Cooper

Nicknames: Koops

Age: 16

Bio: Jack is a bit of a wild card, shortish and weedy to appearances, he’s nevertheless a bottle of energy, both physical and mental. Highly intelligent, Jack has a knack for science inherited from his father, particularly physics and chemistry. Since his parents are rarely home, Jack spends much of his time at Gareth’s house, and the two boys share an almost brother-like attachment to each other. Jack is rarely seen without his trench coat, a hand-me-down from his grandfather, and his red carry case, which holds enough chemicals and materials to blow up most of the city.

Name: Joel Blanche

Nicknames: Joey

Age: 16

Bio: Bio:  Joel is a soft-spoken girl of French descent who looks up to Anne as a mentor and good friend. She’s the nephew of Perry, the owner of Ashville Gym and regularly trains there alongside Anne, though she’s nowhere near as fit and competent. Despite first appearances, like all inhabitants of Ashville, Joel is remarkably self assured and streetwise for her age and can even be cocky at times. She’s much more forthright than Anne and can be quite a tease if she has a mind to do so.

Name: Rachel Donovan

Nicknames: Key-RYN, Kyrin

Age: 15

Bio: Kyrin is half freak accident, half miraculous discovery and entirely adorable. Though the scientists who birthed her still don’t fully understand what she is or how she exists, she seems to have been formed from a hitherto-unknown genetic pattern incorporating many times the chromosomal data of human DNA. This lattice seems to be super-evolutionary in that Kyrin, other than having eyes that are sensitive to bright light, is at once slender and short, tiny for her age in fact, but equally she is remarkably strong, has senses significantly greater than the average human, heals remarkably quickly and has an astonishingly efficient metabolism. She’s not overly intelligent compared with her father(s) but is perceptive and her instincts are more often than not dead on. She’s also curious, friendly and very social, liking nothing more than to cuddle up to someone. Her creators theorize that this is because part of the genetic material used in her creation was leonine, giving her both a highly social instinct and many rather obvious feline features.

Name: Tarah Delawny

Nicknames: None

Age: 15

Bio: Tarah was abandoned at birth by her parents due to damage to her brain that left her legs limp and gangrenous and her mind reclusive. She was adopted in a rare show of compassion by the chief scientist of GCI, Aldous Windsor, who recognized something strange in the girl’s eyes. Her legs were amputated shortly after birth and while she has been confined to a wheelchair for her whole life, the damage to her brain proved far more beneficial than initially anticipated. Though somewhat autistic, Tarah is savant, possessing a photographic memory and the ability to create systems and circuits as if she were twiddling her fingers. Windsor quickly put her to work at GCI, even as a child, and she has rarely seen the sky since, devoting herself to perfecting a machine that will allow her to walk.

Name: Herbet Normal

Nicknames: Norm

Age: 63

Bio: Norman calls himself a ‘Field Researcher’ for ISEC, the international scientific ethics committee. He feels secret agent is somewhat too provocative. Needless to say, he’s somewhat of an eccentric and prefers flannel shirts and vests to the espionage standard suit.  He went to university with Damien and holds a PHD in similar fields, but since then has taken a radically different path. While somewhat strange and unpredictable, Norm has unwavering moral vigour and compassion, complemented by a knack for teaching people things, making them feel uncomfortable and setting them on fire, not necessarily in that order


Name: Damien Cooper

Nicknames: none

Age: 58

Bio: Damien Cooper is a talented Biochemist working for Genesis Corporation International (usually referred to as GCI) a company specializing in cutting edge research on biotech, genetic research, robotics and AI. Damien is a hard working, firm man who is slow to anger and has a deep Christian faith. As his name suggests, he’s also Jack’s father, though he has rarely had the time to bring up, let alone see his son.

Name: Saul Ivanos Karamazov

Nicknames: Eagle Omega, Ender.

Age: 43

Bio: Saul spent his childhood in hardship and enlisted in the Russian army as soon as he was able. He proved a competent and stony soldier and quickly made his way into the elite ranks of the Russian Spetznatz. When his unit uncovered an Olympus outpost in the Urals, most were killed but Saul and a couple of his fellow soldiers were spared and recruited into the military wing of Olympus. The same traits that had made him a stellar commando soon elevated him into the ranks of the elite Eagles of Olympus. Despite the brutal training of the Russian army, Saul has never lost his compassion towards those who suffer and is remarkably perceptive and surprisingly thoughtful.

Name: Sebastian Lemancez

Nicknames: Bastian, Lord of Ashville High

Age: 17

Bio: A ruthless and dominating bully, Sebastian is the undisputed master of Ashville highschool. Somehow he manages to keep pretty much the entire student body under his heel while most of the teachers think he’s a saint. Sebastian revels in power and hates it being disputed and will usually go to huge lengths to crack down on anyone who stands up to him, though he does have his own twisted sense of honor, inherited from his predecessors. He is usually accompanied by at least two cronies, the most notable of whom are Beater and Biter

Name: Carter Vale

Nicknames: Beater

Age: 18

Bio: Big, strong and no smarter than the proverbial brick, Beater lives up to his name admirably and muscles around anyone who Sebastian tells him to. It’s legend that he repeated years twice just to stay around the head bully, but most students joke (privately) that it’s fairly likely he didn’t do it on purpose.

Name: Saran Paolin

Nicknames: Biter

Age: 17

Bio: Not the sort of boy you want to cross, Saran is a mafia hitman in miniature. Sneering, cruel, arrogant and generally about as friendly as a spitting cobra, Biter is the kick in the balls to Beater’s punch in the face. He is, however, surprisingly loyal to Sebastian and will go out of his way to severely damage anyone he catches speaking ill of his ‘boss’

Name: Jacob Smith

Nicknames: Jay

Age: 12

Bio: Jacob is Anne’s younger brother. He grew up never knowing his mother and hence the trauma and suffering of his sister. As a result he sees himself as something of a crutch for Anne at her weakest moments, somewhat correctly in fact. The siblings care for each other deeply and Anne is very protective of Jacob. Jacob himself probably doesn’t need caring for. Having spent his entire life in Ashville, he’s confident, quick on his feet and won’t take crap he doesn’t deserve.

Name: Jean-Pierre Israel

Nicknames: Perry

Age: 26

Bio: Jean Pierre came to Ashville with his family from France. He served in the military for a brief, uneventful term before returning to Ashville to found his own gym. Being right in the heart of Ashville has given Perry quite a compassionate, helpful mien, quite opposite to the rest of his family. His niece, Joel, has taken quite a liking to him and takes after him in more ways than one. Perry runs regular fitness classes for all comers at his gym and personally trains a few people he takes a liking to, Anne being one of these.

Name: Nikita Teresa

Nicknames: none

Age: 59

Bio: Nikita Teresa is the headmistress of Ashville high. Used to dealing with the tensions of the city and the more troublesome pupils, Nikita is a strict but caring woman who leads the school day to day with calm surety

Name: Ellen Tchen

Nicknames: none

Age: 31

Bio: Ellen teaches biology and life sciences at Ashville High. She is careful and measured, but can be fiery if angry. Ellen was once a researcher but decided that she would be more useful ensuring future generations had scientists like today’s.

Name: Kyle Ahaz

Nicknames: None

Age: 30

Bio: The most technically qualified but least realistically qualified teacher at Ashville, Kyle is a doctor of philosophy. Unfortunately he’s probably read a little too much and now thinks the world will end every other day. When he’s not teaching, he’s usually prophesying doom to whoever will listen

Name: Anton Merawake

Nicknames: None

Age: 27

Bio: Bio: Anton is Ashville high’s music and drama teacher. For some reason his classes always end up being entirely made of girls. This doesn’t put him off at all and, despite the fact that he has his own fan club and is usually tailed by a group looking for attention, he manages to stay mostly above it all…

Name: Steven Weston

Nicknames: None

Age: 35

Bio: Quick witted and incisive, Steven is the general science teacher at Ashville high. He’s tolerant of those who want to learn, but people mucking around in his classes are quickly subjected to a few lashings of the tongue.

Name: Randal Ballard

Nicknames: Old Walrus Face

Age: 56

Bio: Randal is Ashville’s mathematics teacher. He’s universally loathed by the students for being a grumpy, irascible and generally a pain in the ass. He returns the sentiment with interest, mostly because students never live up to his expectations. Except for Jack, who for some reason he likes even less…

Name: Jessica Thompson

Nicknames: None

Age: 26

Bio: Ashville high’s English teacher, Jessica is vivacious, energetic and almost surrealistically chirpy, especially given the dour countenances of her peers. She’s well liked by the students and always has a good word and a smile for anyone who looks like they need it

Name: Theodore Helles

Nicknames: Teddy

Age: 66

Bio: Theodore is a grumpy and often pugnacious history teacher who most students at Ashville despise. This is less because he lets his sour mood loose on others, or even that his teaching isn’t particularly stellar, but more simply because of a mutual sense of pervading dislike, where one side’s rancor elevates the other

Name: Melanie Ramon

Nicknames: Mel

Age: 17

Bio: You can’t help feel sorry for Melanie. Abused by her parents due to stringent beliefs and then subjected to years of self-enforced solitude and recrimination, she is a true monster, self created and otherwise. She was friends with Anne until a tragedy occurred that separated them for life and scarred Anne so deeply that she would not speak for years. Hard as it might be, Melanie was far worse off.