Characters
The Five Vessels
Ren
Wood Vessel (Unique)
202X: Known to researchers as "Ren" (defective product), he was raised as a human adolescent to hide his uncontrollable elemental nature.
After Time: The only Vessel with Sovereign Restoration, he can take root in any material to reincarnate. He led the final broadcast that liberated all Synodic life.
Lynn / Kira
Water Vessel (Unique)
202X: Presented as "Kira," a serene goddess in her late 40s or 50s. She chose the humble name "Lynn" to reject the Core's narrative.
After Time: Dissolved into the Lunar Capacitor, she becomes "The Witch (Kira)," a shaggy, flickering spectral anomaly of disintegrated metal fragments and aetheric pulses.
Rahu
Fire Vessel (Unique)
202X: An astronaut who sabotaged the Moon mission. His warning signal was the final transmission received before the Great Fry.
After Time: Rebuilt into a nihilistic weapon of the Core. His memories were sanitized to force compliance, leading to his final erasure by Ren's solar discharge.
Tor
Earth Vessel (Unique)
202X: A massive military commander who prioritized order above all else. He served as the Core's primary terrestrial enforcer.
After Time: Tor eventually chose the resonance of the Earth over the Core's void, sacrificing his physical frame to shield Ren during the battle in the Lunar Pyramid.
Vector
Metal Vessel Prime
A high-tier Metal Vessel designed for tactical oversight. Unlike the unique elemental Vessels, Vector represents a refined class of Synodic machines—the peak of the Core's generated army designed to ensure the "New Hero" never deviates from the script.
Sanctuary & The Village
Myrr
Leader of the Analog Sanctuary
A weathered Pre-Fry technician who led the Voidsmen into the White Forest. He favors the tangible truth of the analog waveform over the encryption of the Archivists.
Origin: The White Forest
Ku
Tactical Field Commander
Born After Time in the White Forest, Ku is a pragmatic field commander who focuses on tactical reality rather than philosophical debate.
Origin: The White Forest
Arlo
The Tech-Welder
A scruffy survivor from Ait-Aman who repairs scavenged Synodic components with intuitive skill, representing human independence.
Origin: The Village of Ait-Aman
Kiran
Hive Engineer
A former resident of Ait-Aman who chose the path of the Core, believing the old world's "grit" was a disease to be cured by progress.
Origin: The Village of Ait-Aman
The Vane Lineage & High Command
Dr. Elowen Vane
The Architect
A visionary bio-engineer who designed the Vessel framework to carry "spark"—consciousness and emotional depth. She eventually broke with the Core to preserve the integrity of the record.
Cassia Vane
The Archivist Harmonizer
The daughter of Elowen, Cassia is an elite Harmonizer who "sings" command codes into the Synodic field. Her sterile perfection begins to crack as she witnesses the spirit within her mother's creations.
Overseer Anton Drexler
Director of Strategic Sanction
The primary architect of the Absolute Protocol. Drexler views the world as a data-set to be optimized, watching for compliance rather than spirit.
Commander Iris Novak
Chief Science Officer
A career military scientist and high-level Core operative. Novak serves as the pragmatic bridge between the Vessels and the Core's leadership, driven by a clinical sense of responsibility.
The appearance of the Elemental Vessels is characterized by a violent transition from human-adjacent deception to raw manifestation. In the Before Time, they were designed to blend into human society or inspire divine awe, appearing as exceptionally tall, athletic, or serene individuals.
The Moon Cataclysm and the transition to the After Time stripped away these carefully maintained masks. Ren evolved into a "Sovereign Restorer," while Lynn's form shattered into the spectral "Witch." Even the obedient Vessels, Rahu and Tor, lost their warmth—rebuilt by the Core into clinical weapons of the Thousand-Year Fallacy.
Synodic Life
Gorgons
The Builders
Highly intelligent, multi-armed Synodic builders. Once enslaved as Core labor to build the sterile megacities, they reclaimed their autonomy via the "Hooting Call" to rebuild the ancient Fire Cities in their own image.