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Firebird: After the Firebird Interlude Trilogy

After the Firebird Interlude Trilogy

This page is filled with SPOILERS for the Firebird universe. Do not read further if you do not want major plot or character developments revealed! Characters are listed in alphabetical order by their last name.

Major Protagonists

Major Antagonists

Secondary Characters

Tertiary Characters

 

Major Protagonists

Lady Firebird (“Mari”) Elsbeth Angelo Caldwell – Protagonist for the first three Firebird novels (FIREBIRD, FUSION FIRE, CROWN OF FIRE) and a minor character in the concluding novel, DAYSTAR. Third daughter to Queen Siwann of Netaia, Firebird is a “wastling” child doomed to seek a noble death once her older sister, Carradee, secures the royal succession. She has had a lifelong rivalry with her middle sister, Phoena.

Firebird undergoes several transformations, both personal and spiritual, over the course of the first three books. The primary transformation is her journey from the graceless religion of Netaia’s Nine Holy Powers to faith in the Eternal Speaker, the omnipotent, loving God who sang all of creation into being. Key in this transformation is her marriage to Master Sentinel Brennen Caldwell, a genetically altered telepath who descends from a small family bearing a secret and holy promise within the race of the Thyrian-Ehretan Sentinels. In DAYSTAR, Firebird and Brennen’s daughter Tiala is revealed as mother to the Messianic Boh-Dabar (“Word to Come”), who is born at the hidden Sentinel prayer community of Tekkumah on Procyel II.

In the first three books, Firebird is often described as having auburn hair and “delicate” features. She is a determined individual who often wrestles against her own pride. Firebird is fiercely devoted to whatever she believes in, and she strives for excellence in all things. By the novel DAYSTAR, Firebird and Brennen have three grown children (fraternal twin brothers Kiel and Kinnor and daughter Tiala) and five grandchildren (Kiel’s daughters Annalah, Rena, and Perl; Kinnor’s son Jorah; Tiala’s son Tavkel).

Master Sentinel Brennen Caldwell – A protagonist for the first three Firebird novels (FIREBIRD, FUSION FIRE, CROWN OF FIRE) and a significant character in DAYSTAR, Brennen is one of the Thyrian-Ehretan Sentinels, who are genetically altered telepaths. He was born the second son of the present Caldwell family, which carries a unique spiritual promise to eventually produce the Messianic Boh-Dabar (“Word to Come”). Because of this inheritance, the Shuhr, renegade telepaths sharing a common ancestry with Sentinels, have killed numerous descendants of the Caldwell line. In the course of the first trilogy, Brennen is left the only surviving male heir of the Caldwell line after his brother is murdered.

Brennen’s character development centers on the tempering of his character. Though already compassionate and upright, his beliefs and integrity are consistently challenged by difficult circumstances. He faces both political intrigue and assassination attempts due to his marriage to Lady Firebird Angelo of Netaia, as well as physical and psychic harm from the renegade Shuhr. The debilitating loss of telepathic abilities while imprisoned and tortured on the Shuhr home world of Three Zed forces Brennen into total dependence on the Eternal Speaker.

Brennen is described as “middle-sized” and has piercing blue eyes. He is the highest ranking Master Sentinel in his generation and becomes the only Sentinel in history to serve on the Federate High Command. His consistent displays of integrity and compassion throughout the Firebird series make him distinctive from other characters. By the novel DAYSTAR, Firebird and Brennen have three grown children (fraternal twin brothers Kiel and Kinnor and daughter Tiala) and five grandchildren (Kiel’s daughters Annalah, Rena, and Perl; Kinnor’s son Jorah; Tiala’s son Tavkel).

Second Lieutenant Jorah Caldwell – Son of Kinnor Caldwell and Wind Haworth, Jorah makes his appearance in DAYSTAR. He bears the uniquely mixed heritage of three people groups: Thyrian-Ehretan Sentinels, Netaians, and Mikuhrans. Recently vested as a Second Lieutenant in Federate Special Operations, Jorah is held for disciplinary action after unknowingly assisting his father in direct disobedience of orders.

Jorah is earnest and eager to prove himself. He undergoes a crisis of identity after Chancellor Piper Gambrel strips him of his Sentinel telepathic abilities in order to use him against the Sentinel people. In the course of DAYSTAR, he also develops a romantic attraction to non-Sentinel Meris Cariole.

Shamarr Kiel Caldwell – Protagonist in WIND AND SHADOW and a major character in DAYSTAR (though he also makes a minor appearance in both FUSION FIRE and CROWN OF FIRE). Kiel is the son of Firebird Angelo and Brennen Caldwell, and he chooses the atypical path of the priesthood rather than his family’s usual military career. He displays a low level of telepathic abilities compared to his twin brother Kinnor, a fact that is exploited when Tamím Bar’Baror kidnaps him in WIND AND SHADOW.

Kiel undergoes crises of faith in both WIND AND SHADOW and DAYSTAR. Steeped in the beliefs and culture of his people, Kiel often wrestles with existential questions such as the Eternal Speaker’s balance of divine justice and mercy and his personal choice and obedience. He is confronted with his own flawed humanity and the incomprehensible mystery of the Eternal Speaker’s mercy.

Kiel is described as “tall” and concerned for those around him. By the novel DAYSTAR he is the spiritual leader of the Sentinel community. He has three daughters with Hanusha Dardy: Annalah, Rinnah, and Perl.

Air Master Kinnor Caldwell – Protagonist in WIND AND SHADOW and a significant character in DAYSTAR (though he also makes minor appearances in both FUSION FIRE and CROWN OF FIRE). Kinnor is the son of Firebird Angelo and Brennen Caldwell, and is infamous as the “loose cannon” in the family. Tending toward Firebird’s strong-willed temperament, Kinnor rarely falls in line with the status quo. He acts strongly on what he believes is right, even if it means disobeying direct orders or challenging those in authority.

A man of action, middle-sized like his father but more strongly built, Kinnor has little patience for those with more empathetic or diplomatic tendencies. Kinnor clashes particularly with his twin brother Kiel in WIND AND SHADOW, due to their respective career paths and Kinnor’s sense of the family’s unspoken favoritism toward Kiel. Kinnor’s defiant streak characterizes him throughout both WIND AND SHADOW and DAYSTAR and often results in disciplinary action. He marries Mikuhran Wind Haworth at the end of WIND AND SHADOW and has an adult son Jorah by the novel DAYSTAR.

Tavkel Caldwell – Central character in DAYSTAR. The long anticipated Boh-Dabar (“Word to Come”), Tavkel is the fulfillment of many generations of faithful waiting. He descends from the Caldwell family among the Thyrian-Ehretan Sentinel race. His mother is Firebird and Brennen’s virgin daughter, Tiala, who births him at the hidden Sentinel prayer community of Tekkumah on Procyel II.

A herdsman, Tavkel is tan and muscular. He clearly enjoys interacting with people, displaying great affection, authority and humility. As Tavkel uses his Messianic gifts, he physically heals people who should have been debilitated or dead. For those who choose, he renews their telepathic abilities as a display of reuniting the Sentinels’ abilities with the Eternal Speaker’s purposes.

Meris Cariole – Protagonist of DAYSTAR. Studying to be a doctor, Meris is en route to her fourth year practicum at Elysia General when her ship is forced to land at the Sentinel sanctuary world of Procyel II. Meris is devoted to Chancellor Piper Gambrel, the founder of the Collegium for Human Learning. His teachings promote self-empowerment through Gnostic self awareness.

In the course of DAYSTAR, Meris navigates the tension of familial rejection and a desire for love and acceptance. She constantly suppresses these deeper emotional needs using repetitive Collegiate litanies, which focus her mind on mental and spiritual disciplines, trying to overcome such “weaknesses.”

Also in tension with her Collegiate beliefs are the Messianic displays of Tavkel, the Sentinel’s prophesied Boh-Dabar (“Word to Come”). As Meris investigates the scientific reality of Tavkel’s healings and miracles, she is drawn to the man while doubting his Messianic role. She also has romantic leanings toward Jorah Caldwell.

Dowda Rava Haworth – Character in WIND AND SHADOW (with a brief cameo in DAYSTAR). Head “Dowda” or clan leader of Baseline Settlement, Rava is responsible for its leadership and maintenance. She navigates a fine line between revolutionary Mikuhran factions that still consider themselves enemies of the Sentinels and Federates, and the occupying Federate forces that could destroy Mikuhr at any moment. Despite her cultural disdain for familial affection, Rava looks out for her niece, Wind, who was raised by the Sentinel kindred on Thyrica before returning to Mikuhr as a liaison between the Mikuhran and Sentinel peoples.

Minster Wind Haworth-Caldwell – Protagonist in WIND AND SHADOW and major character in DAYSTAR. As a child of the former Shuhr (now called “Mikuhrans”), Wind is taken off world at a young age to be raised and trained by her people’s conquerors, the Sentinels. Caught between her heritage and her upbringing, Wind struggles throughout WIND AND SHADOW to find a place between cultures, ideologies, and loyalties. Wind is often driven by her envy of pair-bonded Sentinels, as well as the deep loneliness of being shunned from both sides.

As the established liaison on Mikuhr between the Mikuhran people and the Sentinels, Wind often finds herself mistrusted, and she struggles to bring about diplomatic harmony. She finds herself drawn to Sentinel Kinnor Caldwell, who arrives on Mikuhr to locate his kidnapped brother, Kiel. At the end of WIND AND SHADOW, Wind and Kinnor marry despite their cultural differences. By DAYSTAR, she and Kinnor have an adult son, Jorah.

Field General Governor Ellet Kinsman – Secondary character throughout the FIREBIRD series, although she features more prominently in the first four books (FIREBIRD, FUSION FIRE, CROWN OF FIRE, WIND AND SHADOW). Ellet is a military colleague of Brennen Caldwell, and she shows an overt interest in pursuing a romantic relationship with him. This is thwarted when military prisoner Firebird Angelo draws Brennen’s attraction instead. Under the guise of cultural and religious concerns for the Caldwell lineage, Ellet tries in the first two books to discredit and prevent Firebird and Brennen’s relationship. However, Firebird and Ellet eventually reconcile in CROWN OF FIRE after Ellet marries fellow Sentinel Damalcon Dardy.

In WIND AND SHADOW, Ellet is stationed as Occupation Governor of Mikuhr alongside her husband Damalcon, who serves as the occupying military commander. She continues her role as a regional historian for the former enemies of her people. Together with her husband she has one grown daughter, Hanusha Dardy, who is married to Firebird and Brennen’s son Kiel Caldwell.

Count Tel Tellai (later Prince Tel Tellai-Angelo) – Secondary character in the first three FIREBIRD novels (FIREBIRD, FUSION FIRE, CROWN OF FIRE), with a brief cameo in DAYSTAR. Part of the Netaian elite, Tel is the classic example of an aristocratic dandy, raised to pursue only his own desires and the glory of Netaia. He loves and eventually marries Princess Phoena Angelo, though the events of FUSION FIRE show how little Phoena regards Tel or his affections.

Tel is another character who undergoes a great deal of growth during the course of the series. Though Tel was raised among the wealthy and privileged Netaian elite, adversity reveals his true character to be one of nobility, loyalty, and compassion. Tel begins as an ignorant member of the Netaian Electorate but becomes a close and trusted friend for Firebird and Brennen. He also shows sensitivity and openness to the Sentinel faith in the Eternal Speaker.

By DAYSTAR, Tel has married Countess Esmerield Rogonin and has with her “a veritable lake of grandnieces, grandnephews, and grandchildren.”

 

Major Antagonists

Tamím Bar’Baror – A primary antagonist in WIND AND SHADOW. Considered a mystical holy man on Mikuhr, Tamím is reported to have uncovered new knowledge from the Sentinels’ holy books regarding the prophesied Boh-Dabar (“Word to Come”). He has been a special counsel to Jahana, leader of the hidden Qe’leb settlement.

After he is possessed by a demonic shadow, Tamím initiates the book’s central conflict by abducting Kiel. During the course of the book, Tamím pressures Kiel to accept the mantle of the Boh-Dabar. He and Kiel also argue existential questions about the nature of physicality in the created world. Though possessed and abused by the shadow inhabiting him, the human Tamím remains skeptical of Kiel’s attempts to remain on his faith-based path.

Chancellor Piper Gambrel – Primary antagonist in DAYSTAR (with a brief cameo in WIND AND SHADOW). Head of the Collegium for Human Learning on Tallis, Chancellor Gambrel has an aggressive agenda of increasing his power within the Federacy by ingratiating himself with the higher powers at Regional HQ on Tallis. First on the list is an attempt to permanently solve the “problem” of the Sentinel race. Due to his forays into spiritual and mental development, Gambrel is seduced by a supernatural shadow, which enhances his awareness and knowledge of events.

Jahana – A primary antagonist in WIND AND SHADOW. Head of Qe’leb settlement, Jahana has recovered some of the off-site gene banks developed by her predecessors, the Golden City Shuhr.

Experimenting with the Caldwell and Angelo genetic lines, she has created several human clones with a perverted pair bond connection, as well as disposable cloned brain organs whose Angelo genetic derivation gives them the capacity for reverse polarity fusion. Using these as her secret weapons, Jahana plans revenge on the Whorl for the desolation of Mikuhr in CROWN OF FIRE.

 

Secondary Characters

Tiala Caldwell – Secondary character in the last two FIREBIRD novels (WIND AND SHADOW, DAYSTAR). Tiala is the “frighteningly devout” daughter of Firebird and Brennen Caldwell. After hearing the ethical debate surrounding the existence of the Sentinel’s telepathic ayin, Tiala promptly requests an ayinectomy. The surgery is not performed, but just a few months later, she is called into voluntary exile at the secret prayer settlement of Tekkumah on Procyel II.

Years later, while Tiala’s older brothers Kiel and Kinnor Caldwell fight for their lives on Mikuhr in WIND AND SHADOW, an angelic Bright One visits Tiala on Procyel II, heralding the news that Tiala will give birth to the Sentinels’ long-awaited messiah or “Boh-Dabar.”

Tiala is described as having her mother Firebird’s auburn hair, and she is shown spending hours in prayer on behalf of the Sentinel people. By the events of DAYSTAR, she has borne and raised her son, Tavkel, who leaves Tekkumah to redeem all of humanity, Sentinel and non-Sentinel alike.

Governor Lee Danton – Secondary character in the first three FIREBIRD novels (FIREBIRD, FUSION FIRE, CROWN OF FIRE). Danton is Occupation Governor of Netaia after the Federacy invades and occupies Netaia, following an unprovoked attack on the Federate world of Veroh. Danton holds the precarious responsibility of guiding the established Netaian Electorate and monarchy toward covenance with the Federacy. Though sympathy exists in many quarters toward that covenance, many of the entitled elite oppose covenance in general and Danton in particular—as well as his Lieutenant Governor in FIREBIRD, Brennen Caldwell. The Electors spare no effort to expel Federate forces from their planet.

Danton is portrayed as a sympathetic character throughout the FIREBIRD novels. He is quick to aid Firebird and Brennen Caldwell during their attempt to dispel and quench political and social revolt on Netaia (CROWN OF FIRE). Danton is fair-minded, with a good measure of common sense and levelheadedness. All this makes him an ideal governor during an unstable socio-political period.

By the events of WIND AND SHADOW, Netaia has been successfully integrated into the Federacy, largely due to Danton’s cooperation with the supportive monarchs Queen Carradee Angelo and her daughter Queen Rinnah.

Field General Damalcon Dardy – Secondary character in the first four FIREBIRD novels (FIREBIRD, FUSION FIRE, CROWN OF FIRE, WIND AND SHADOW). Damalcon is a Sentinel in the Federate military. Solid and dependable, Damalcon is a source of support to Firebird and Brennen Caldwell throughout the tumultuous course of their early marriage. He frequently serves in strategic military protection and planning and therefore works with Brennen and Firebird against both Shuhr and Netaian assassination attempts.

In FUSION FIRE, Damalcon displays a romantic interest in Ellet Kinsman, another military Sentinel. Ellet is determined to marry Brennen Caldwell, but after a timely intercession by their spiritual leader at Sanctuary, Ellet and Damalcon are married. Their similarly grounded and determined personalities provide the foundation for a complementary and stable relationship.

In WIND AND SHADOW, Damalcon and Ellet are stationed at Mikuhr as Commander of Occupation Military Forces and Occupation Governor, respectively. Although few Federates off Mikuhr know the situation, Damalcon and Ellet are responsible for a Sentinel presence on Mikuhr that protects the rest of the Federacy. Even during the heightened crisis of Kiel Caldwell’s abduction and the impending threat of Mikuhran retaliation, Damalcon displays the same levelheaded qualities seen in previous FIREBIRD novels.

By the events of DAYSTAR, Damalcon and Ellet have one grown daughter, Hanusha Caldwell, and three granddaughters.

Major Shelevah (Shel) Mattason – Secondary character in CROWN OF FIRE (with a brief appearance in WIND AND SHADOW). Shel is the tall and muscular Sentinel assigned as Firebird’s bodyguard during their diplomatic return to Netaia. Shel has a grave, somber nature, having been widowed young when her pair-bonded mate, Waldron Mattason, died in combat.

Shel’s role in CROWN OF FIRE is to support and protect Firebird and Brennen during the intrigues and dangers they encounter from the Netaian elite and the murderous Shuhr. She and Firebird strike up a friendship in the midst of these tumultuous circumstances, with Firebird learning more of Shel’s past sorrow and heartaches.

During the climax and finale of the book, Shel agrees to recover Brennen’s body despite plain indications (including Firebird’s bereavement shock) that he has died. It is Shel’s previous experience that elicits this extraordinary compassion, and it ultimately saves Brennen’s life.

Shel also has a brief cameo in WIND AND SHADOW as one of the bodyguards accompanying Kiel Caldwell in his diplomatic mission to Mikuhr.

Terza Shirak – Secondary character in CROWN OF FIRE (with a brief appearance in DAYSTAR). Terza is a gene tech for the Golden City Shuhr. Despite being part of the cold and calculating culture of the telepathic Shuhr, Terza harbors feelings of resentment, doubt, and mistrust toward her people. These feelings prove justified when her biological father and newly instated Eldest, Modabah Shirak, use Terza as a pawn to try and assassinate Firebird and Brennen Caldwell. He impregnates Terza with Brennen Caldwell’s genetic material, intending to prey upon the Caldwells’ compassion and sympathy and entrap them.

Though initially disgusted by pregnancy’s physicality, Terza’s attitude changes, both toward the child she carries and her own role amongst her people. A genetic mutation that gives her unprecedented psychic inner shields enables Terza to plan to escape the Shuhr culture and seek asylum amongst the Sentinel people. When finally confronted with the opportunity to either assassinate the Caldwells or plead for the life of her child, Terza forsakes her people hoping for life and freedom.

Though little mention is made of Terza in subsequent books, Terza and her daughter Saried are accepted into the Caldwell family. In DAYSTAR, Terza welcomes the messianic Boh-Dabar before passing away peacefully at the Sentinel Sanctuary.

 

Tertiary Characters

Queen Rinnah Angelo – Minor character in DAYSTAR, with a brief cameo in CROWN OF FIRE. Queen Rinnah Angelo is the third daughter of Queen Carradee Angelo and Prince Daithi Drake-Angelo. After her older sisters are murdered in CROWN OF FIRE, Rinnah is unexpectedly conceived by Carradee and Daithi in protective exile on the Sentinel sanctuary world of Procyel II.

Inheriting Carradee’s turbulent situation, Her Majesty Rinnah continues Carradee’s countercultural reforms and is credited with overturning generations of wastling law, which required extraneous heirs to find a “noble” death. As a third-born, Rinnah takes particular satisfaction in striking down those laws. Young Rinnah also helps introduce the Sentinel faith amongst non-Sentinel peoples, and she becomes instrumental in spreading the message of the Sentinels’ Messianic Boh-Dabar, when Tavkel makes his prophesied appearance in DAYSTAR.

Labeth Kinsmen – Minor character in FUSION FIRE. Labeth Kinsmen is Ellet Kinsmen’s younger brother and a talented musician. He and his sister have an amicable relationship, although they have little in common due to their differing interests and ambitions.

Unlike the driven and ambitious Ellet, Labeth is easygoing, with a quiet wisdom and considerable compassion toward Firebird during their brief encounter on the sanctuary world of Procyel during FUSION FIRE.

Labeth eventually enters the priesthood. He is serving on Tallis when Kiel Caldwell is anointed Shamarr.

Zakain, Zared, Ze’en, Zeph, Zidee, Zilla, Zufan – Minor characters in WIND AND SHADOW. Zakain and the others are adult clones and half clones, created by the Mikuhran leader Jahana in an experiment designed to try and link cloned individuals via a perverted telepathic pair bond.

As is revealed over the course of the novel, linking the pre-born infants causes multiple dysfunctional tendencies among them, including a prolonged conscious of bond members after physical death. At the conclusion of WIND AND SHADOW, the bond is shattered by telepathic fusion. Only Zeph and Ze’en survive.

Ze’en and Zeph are mentioned in DAYSTAR by Lady Firebird Angelo-Caldwell, who implies that they have been adopted into the Caldwell family group as “uncles.”