Character Glossary & Dramatis Personae

Protagonists & Heroes

Anahita

Role: Primary protagonist of the novel
Background: Shepherd's daughter from the Zagros Mountains. Named after the Yazata of waters, meaning "immaculate" or "pure."
Gift: Water-finder ability (hereditary gift using natural Peyvand sensitivity). Receives day-blessing from the Broken Sun.
Journey: Travels to Mount Damavand over 33 days with mentor Zarin. Purifies the corrupted Simurgh by destroying the corruption seed planted by Zahhak.
Traits: Determined, compassionate, able to sense truth/lies naturally. Maintains her identity and memory even under corruption's influence.
Family: Mother Shirin (sick, healed by moon-blessed water), father (unnamed shepherd)
First Appearance: Chapter One of the novel

Zarin

Role: Mentor, guide, teacher
Background: One of the last Cryptographers of Isfahan. Wears saffron robes of a traveling magi.
Appearance: Old woman with young eyes. Described as "knowing."
Mission: Has been tracking corruption patterns across Persia for three months, following the taint back to its sources (Demavand and Ctesiphon).
Role in Story: Finds Anahita after her day-blessing. Teaches her the Pair of Threes and how to fight divs during their 33-day journey to Mount Damavand.
Skills: Expert in cryptography, magical theory, div lore, and tracking corruption
First Appearance: Appears after Anahita receives her day-blessing at the spring

Primary Antagonists

King Zahhak

Role: Primary mortal antagonist, corrupted king
Original Background: Minor prince from a small western province. United three warring territories through shrewd negotiation. Crowned in Ctesiphon Year 8,848 with cautious optimism. Described as "unremarkable, forgettable, human."
Corruption: Poisoned by Ahriman (div disguised as palace cook) approximately 2.5 years into his reign. Two serpents emerged from his shoulders 18 months later.
Current State (Year 9,200): Has ruled for 3 years since serpents fully emerged. No longer sleeps. Eyes are completely black (no whites). Face gaunt, skin stretched tight. Hands shake constantly. Voice is layered—original tenor plus two sibilant whispers.
The Serpents: Left serpent called "Hunger" (aggressive, tracks prey). Right serpent called "Silence" (appears dormant but equally deadly). Feed on human brains/"wisdom."
Personality Degradation: Loses more humanity with each feeding. Forgets childhood friends, brothers, teachers, first love. Speeches become fragmented and obsessive. Brief moments of horror at what he's become grow fewer and dimmer.
Goals: Originally sought power to unite and protect Persia. Now driven only by the serpents' endless hunger and Ahriman's whispered instructions.
Reign: Characterized by the Purges, Censorship Edicts, nightly arrests, public executions. Planted corruption seed in Simurgh three months before novel begins.
Family: Wife disappeared from public view (fate unknown, rumors vary)
Power Level: Approaching Tier 5 Angra with the Serpent-Engines

Ahriman

Role: True antagonist, div manipulator
Nature: A div. Fragment of Angra Mainyu itself, representing ultimate corruption.
First Appearance: Three years before novel as foreign palace cook (appeared as old woman with shifting accent).
Transformation: After poisoning Zahhak and serpents emerging, revealed true form—tall, ageless, smile that never reaches eyes.
Current Role: Prime Advisor to Zahhak. Manages day-to-day governance of the empire. Whispers suggestions that Zahhak proclaims as divine revelation.
Motivation: Cannot rule directly (sunlight burns divs, consciousness rejects them, Broken Sun's attention would shatter him). Uses Zahhak as human puppet.
Personality: Patient, eternal, manipulative. Speaks with honey, offers poison. Arranges concern for Zahhak while calculating next moves.
Methods: Corrupted Peyvand (parasitic connection), poison that feeds on identity, replacement of self with hunger
Long-term Goal: Force the Broken Sun to destroy the Simurgh, killing the last piece of his humanity so he becomes pure machine. Ultimate div victory.

Victims of Zahhak's Tyranny

Hormozd the Scribe

Role: Prologue POV character, first victim shown
Background: Son of Kaveh (possibly legendary blacksmith's descendant?). Age 23. Poet in spare time. Works as royal scribe.
Crime: Wrote two pamphlets asking questions about Zahhak's power source, the serpents' diet, and Ahriman's foreign origins. Called Zahhak "a puppet king, dancing on the strings of a foreign devil."
Family: Sister Darya (age 19, works in Palace Library, intelligent, dangerous reading habits)
Final Moments: Accepts quick death to protect his sister. Fed to the serpents. Last thought is a prayer for Darya's survival and cleverness.
Significance: Represents the countless innocent victims of Zahhak's regime. Shows the reader the stakes and horror of the tyranny.

Darya

Role: Hormozd's sister, potential resistance figure
Age: 19
Occupation: Works in Palace Library
Traits: Unmarried, intelligent, terrible singing voice. Reads histories of previous dynasties and treatises on legitimate succession—dangerous materials.
Relationship: Would sneak honey-cakes from kitchen to share with brother during late-night study sessions.
Status: Survives prologue (brother dies to protect her). Fate unknown, but Zahhak and Ahriman aware of her "dangerous reading habits."
Potential: Could become resistance figure or later ally to protagonists

Family Members

Shirin

Role: Anahita's mother
Condition: Sick with worsening cough for three weeks at story's start. Corruption from Simurgh spreading through water sources.
Personality: Lies about being fine ("Just the mountain air"). Protective of daughter.
Gift: Does not have the water-finder gift (skipped her generation).
Resolution: Healed by drinking moon-blessed water that Anahita brings back after her 33-day journey.
Family: Mother had the water-finder gift (Anahita's grandmother)

Anahita's Father

Role: Shepherd, Anahita's father
Occupation: Tends flock in Zagros Mountains. Prepares for seasonal migration to higher pastures.
Personality: Worried about wife's condition. Practical, hardworking.
Awareness: Anahita can sense his worry through newly awakened Peyvand during her water-finding experience

Anahita's Grandmother

Role: Previous generation water-finder
Gift: Had the old gift of sensing water sources.
Legacy: Gift skipped her daughter (Shirin) but awakened in granddaughter (Anahita)

Cosmic & Legendary Figures

The Broken Sun

Original Identity: A common soldier, Tier 1 magic user in the Army of Mazda during the Long War. Wall-guard. Defined by simple, steadfast nature, duty, and profound love for his wife.
The Loss: Survived suicide mission but returned to find safe zone annihilated by div incursion. Found wife's body (she was pregnant) in the rubble.
The Vow: "I will never be too far away to protect what I love again."
The Ascension: Walked into the Eternal River of Flame with his crew (Rostam, Leila, Darius). Fused with primordial energy and ascended.
Current State: Imprisoned within the Sun by Primal Gods as cosmic sentry. Consciousness has degraded—forgotten his name, his face, most emotions. Only the promise remains.
Function: Sees all threats and all suffering. Grants rare day-blessings. Shields humanity from Némand's worst effects. Eternal torment of witnessing suffering he cannot fully prevent.
Last Coherent Act: Created the Simurgh from his beloved wife's body as permanent guardian, placed in Mount Damavand.
Internal Refrain: "Protected. The guardian is protected. Threat contained."
Tragedy: His ultimate victory (godhood to protect all he loved) became eternal torment. Success at cost of humanity, peace, and rest.
True Name: Forgotten. Even he doesn't remember.

Golnar (The Beloved)

Role: The Broken Sun's wife, Simurgh's core
Life: Lived in cottage in Eternal City's safe zone with her soldier husband. Just revealed pregnancy before his final mission.
Death: Killed in stray div incursion while husband was away. Body found in rubble.
Legacy: Her body became the core of the Simurgh. The promise the soldier made was about never leaving her unprotected again.
Preserved Memory: A chamber in Simurgh's vault contains domestic scene—table, two chairs, fireplace, her headscarf, clay cup, bronze mirror. Place where "she lived."
The Corruption: Zahhak's poison made Simurgh forget her—face gone, name gone from memory. When purified, the Broken Sun remembered her for one terrible instant, causing solar flares worldwide.
True Name: Possibly Golnar, though the text hints it might be different. Protected, only whispered once after purification.

Rostam, Leila, and Darius

Role: The Broken Sun's crew, now Yazatas
Original Life: The soldier's surviving squad members. Accompanied him on mission to Eternal River of Flame.
The Choice: Followed him into the flames in "ultimate act of loyalty" despite knowing what it would cost.
Current State: Ascended to Némand. Now Yazatas (divine beings) fighting eternal war against divs on cosmic scale.
Connection: The Eternal Garrison. Continue the soldier's mission on cosmic frontline.

The Simurgh

Nature: Magnificent golden automaton, Tier 5 Demiurge entity
Location: Resides in vault within Mount Damavand
Core: Contains the Broken Sun's beloved wife's body
Purpose: Prime directive to protect the world. Living memorial and functional guardian.
The Corruption: Three months before novel, Zahhak planted parasitic Peyvand seed. Made her forget, rage, scream: "THE NAMES THE NAMES WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER THE NAMES?"
The Purification: Anahita entered vault, found domestic chamber at heart, touched corruption with Peyvand, learned all six laws from Simurgh, channeled Broken Sun's purification.
Resolution: Corruption shattered. Memory restored. Promise renewed. Golden feathers no longer tarnished. Black ichor stopped weeping from vault entrance.
Significance: Last piece of Broken Sun's humanity. If she fell, he would become pure machine and divs would win.

Divine Entities & Yazatas

Ahura Mazda

Title: The Warden of Final Order
Nature: Ancient Primal God embodying stasis and preservation
Domain: Order, structure, maintaining cosmic law
Role: One of two entities who created the 10,000-year cycles. Not good or evil, but representing fundamental force.
Army: During Long War, humanity was protected by the Army of Mazda (where the future Broken Sun served)

Angra Mainyu

Title: The Warden of Unleashed Chaos
Nature: Ancient Primal God embodying entropy and the breaking of bonds
Domain: Chaos, dissolution, transformation through destruction
Role: One of two entities who created the 10,000-year cycles. Not evil per se, but corrosive.
Fragments: Ahriman is a fragment/aspect of Angra Mainyu
Connection to Zahhak: The Serpent-Engines are described as "Serpent-Engines of Angra Mainyu"

Kaveh the Blacksmith

Role: Legendary engineer, mentor spirit
Current State: Exists as a Fravashi (ascended spirit)
Function: Acts as mentor and guide to worthy practitioners of Celestial Mechanics
Possible Connection: Hormozd is described as "son of Kaveh"—unclear if metaphorical or literal descendant

Rashnu

Domain: Judgment Yazata
Associated Law: Dāvar (Law of Judgment)
Role: Divine being of justice and soul-judgment

Mithra

Domain: Covenant, oaths, contracts, friendship
Associated Law: Dāvar (Law of Judgment) and aspects of Peyvand
Role: Divine being of binding agreements and sacred promises

Tishtrya (Tir)

Domain: Rain, storms, water
Connection: Related to water themes in story, possibly invoked by water-finders
Role: Divine being of precipitation and weather control

Historical Figures (Referenced)

Jamshid

Era: Years 7,000-8,500 of the cycle (Golden Age)
Achievement: Legendary king who systematically eliminated divs during Phase 4
Legacy: Civilization reached its zenith under his rule. His reign is the benchmark for greatness.
Significance: Contrast to current tyranny of Zahhak. Shows what Persian kingship should be.

Organizations & Groups

Order of Silence

Role: Secretive guardians
Location: Taftan Core, volcanic region
Duty: Guard the Eternal River of Flame. Maintain boundary between mortal realm and primordial forces.
Legend: The soldier walked through their defenses driven by intent that transcended magic. They could not stop him.

Cryptographers of Isfahan

Specialty: Masters of Daryāft (Comprehension) law
Role: Create locks, puzzles, authentication mechanisms. Track corruption patterns.
Status: Zarin is "one of the last"—implies order has been diminished, possibly by Zahhak's regime

Censorship Guard

Role: Zahhak's enforcers
Function: Patrol cities seeking dissidents. Enforce Censorship Edicts.
Recognition: Children learn to stay silent when they pass. Society has adapted to their presence through fear.

Army of Mazda

Era: The Long War
Function: Protected humanity against div incursions during Némand's last approach
Structure: Militarized society, fortified cities, suicide missions to hold breaches
Legacy: The soldier who became the Broken Sun served as Tier 1 magic user, wall-guard

Astronomers of Persepolis

Role: Scholars who track the 10,000-year cycles
Function: Monitor Némand's approach. Calculate phase transitions. Preserve knowledge of cycles.
Status: Still operating despite Zahhak's regime, though likely constrained by Censorship Edicts

Character Relationships & Connections

Primary Relationships:

• Anahita ↔ Shirin (mother): Deep love, protective care. Anahita's quest initially motivated by healing mother.
• Anahita ↔ Zarin: Mentor/student. Zarin teaches Pair of Threes and combat. Mutual respect develops over 33 days.
• Anahita ↔ Simurgh: Savior/saved. Simurgh teaches final laws, unites consciousness with Anahita for purification.
• Anahita ↔ Broken Sun: Blessed/blesser. He grants day-blessing, later channels purification through her hands.
• Zahhak ↔ Ahriman: Puppet/puppeteer. Ahriman manipulates through whispers, false concern, strategic advice.
• Zahhak ↔ Serpents: Host/parasites. They eat his humanity, demand endless feeding, whisper hunger into his mind.
• Broken Sun ↔ Golnar (beloved): Husband/wife. His love became cosmic force. Her death drove his ascension.
• Broken Sun ↔ Simurgh: Creator/creation. She is his last coherent act, contains his beloved, embodies his promise.
• Hormozd ↔ Darya: Siblings. He dies to protect her. She represents what he's trying to save.

Thematic Mirrors:

• Three beings forgetting: Broken Sun (name), Simurgh (beloved's name), Zahhak (humanity)
• One being remembering: Anahita (maintains identity, resists corruption)
• Shepherds & Guardians: Anahita's father (literal shepherd), Broken Sun (cosmic shepherd), Simurgh (world guardian)
• Water-finders: Grandmother → skipped Shirin → Anahita (gift returns, purification theme)

Character Development Arcs

Anahita's Journey:

1. Day 1: Discovers water-finder gift, receives day-blessing
2. Day 1 (later): Meets Zarin, learns about cosmic threat
3. Days 1-21: Travels, learns Pair of Threes, trains in combat
4. Day 21: First div kill (minor shadow-thing in market) using three laws
5. Day 28: Passes Trial of Connection on Demavand
6. Day 33: Reaches summit, enters Simurgh's vault
7. Climax: Finds domestic chamber, touches corruption, receives all six laws, channels purification
8. Resolution: Returns home (14 more days), mother healed, changed but determined

Zahhak's Degradation:

1. Year 8,848: Crowned as minor prince, hopeful beginning
2. 2.5 years later: Meets Ahriman (disguised cook), begins poison
3. 18 months later: Serpents emerge from shoulders, first feeding
4. Within weeks: Daily feedings begin, rapid knowledge gain
5. Within months: Stops questioning guilt of prisoners
6. 1 year after serpents: Purges begin, wife disappears
7. Current (3 years after serpents): Barely human, fragmented speech, forgotten most of past
8. Recent (3 months ago): Planted corruption in Simurgh
9. Current crisis: Corruption seed severed, serpents in agony, accelerating feedings