These are the seven main characters in the Unexpected Inspiration series, along with their animal sidekick. You can meet the secondary characters here.

Adair Cerulean is an arcane painter and cartographer whose illusion/illustration magic channels through art. (Magic is called "weaving" in these stories.) The trilogy starts with Adair's discovery that his graduation project, so close to completion, has been stolen. The theft-- and an embarrassing amount of sleepwalking-- lead him to a carnival where he meets a few performers who agree to help him track it down. These performers become his found family and he becomes the heart of their misfit group, even if he is absolutely hopeless at anything remotely dexterous. More than a little obsessed with food, particularly pies and desserts, Adair loves cooking almost as much as he loves drawing, spending time with his friends, and puns. Nothing can compare to his love of a groan-worthy joke! Just like a pie, he's sweet, a little flaky, and everyone's always happy to see him. Adair's a trans boy who wears his heart on his sleeve next to the paint stains that regularly splatter his clothes. | Bio Page / Bio Moodboard / Backstory Moodboard / Pinterest Board |

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Blythe Bladedancer has far too many careers on her plate for someone who is only in her mid-20s. Blythe has recently completed her year traveling the country as a sort of medical residency after getting her medical degree. This technically makes Blythe a doctor, but in Concordia magic is a part of medicine so they are called healers, contrasting to the medics who don't possess magic. (Blythe spent her teenage years learning how to be a medic on the streets of Galanvoth, Concordia's neighboring country, so she has that background, too.) While studying medicine, she took a sort of double major and gained a rank as a Protectorate, the elite group trained to guard art and artists. Blythe wasn't using this training prior to meeting Adair; she simply wanted to finish the study that had been interrupted by her time in Galanvoth. Blythe is nothing if not persistent. Along with Etri, she becomes one of Adair's sentinels. (Sentinels are the bodyguards to arcane artists.) She's strong-willed, quick at making decisions, and just as quick to speak her mind. She has a soft spot for those in need and will defend and help anyone who looks like they might need it, even if they insist they don't. Blythe doesn't fear much of anything, except maybe one of her friends doing something stupidly dangerous. In her defense, this seems to happen every five minutes. | Bio Page / Bio Moodboard / Backstory Moodboard / Pinterest Board |

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Dray started out as a ballet dancer in Galanvoth, gaining recognition and some amount of fame, which they won't mention was a cover for justifiable vengeance. A silver tongue, a pretty face, and a keen mind kept Dray largely undetected, but somewhere they slipped up. Luckily they had an escape plan and found their way into Concordia via a traveling carnival troupe, which is where they met Blythe. They took on a new identity as Firedrake, changing their stage persona to something dragon-like and switched over to fire dancing and gymnastics. They no longer have as much spotlight, but after joining a carnival troupe that doubles as thieves-of-thieves, Dray can have all of the mischief and deception they crave with only about a third of the danger. Dray is agender and glamorous, and doesn't care an iota about anyone's assumptions of gender. Their entire petite being is fueled by sarcasm, snark, and spite, and their moral compass has a habit of pointing a little off north. Dray tends to use their fire and mind-manipulation magics in retaliation against those who have hurt the innocent-- or against people they feel deserve it in some way, even if no one else agrees. Under all the bravado is someone who would do absolutely anything for the people they love. It’s just that their love frequently involves vaguely insulting nicknames and an insult contest or five.  | Bio Page / Bio Moodboard / Backstory Moodboard 1 & 2 / Pinterest Board |

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Etri Celeste was once in training to become a priest, much like Camille, only he never made it as far as she did. He learned enough to control his magic, however, and uses his shadows and darkness to snuff out light/fire and turn himself nearly invisible-- something that helps both his thieving career and his social anxiety immensely. Etri is currently one of Concordia's reverse thieves, but prior to this he worked as a sort of assistant and transcriber in Galanvoth. He has always loved words most of all and his favorite hobby is reading about anything and everything. Etri is the epitome of the expression "cold hands, warm heart"– and not just because his magic leaves his skin noticeably chilly. He keeps his emotions in check and his feelings behind an impassive expression, but while he's a reserved introvert with a fear of social situations, he's also kindhearted and intensely loyal to anyone who has gotten past his shy demeanor to earn his friendship. This loyalty and a fiercely protective streak lead him to become one of Adair's sentinels, alongside Blythe, with whom he also shares a carnival knife act. You can read his heart through the poetry he writes; on paper he allows himself to express the feelings only a select few are permitted to see. Etri is the brains of the group and the one most likely to think through a plan. Unfortunately, he's also the one most likely to dive headfirst into the first sign of danger without telling anyone about it. He'd much rather risk himself than have someone else potentially get hurt. | Bio Page / Bio Moodboard / Backstory Moodboard / Pinterest Board |

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Sol Celeste is a fire performer with light/fire magic, but you can usually find him swimming through a dumpster or garbage heap. He's an inventor who uses scraps that no one else wants and the heat from his magic to create objects ranging from useful to "what the heck is this thing?" He always has ideas, although whether they'll work or backfire spectacularly is up in the air– which is frequently where they end up when they backfire. He's something of a genius ditz; he comes off as a vapid, musclebound goofball, but inside that thick head of his is a mind that's always five steps ahead. It's just that they're five steps well off the beaten path and his Sol-ish comments tend to leave people bewildered. As sunny as his chosen name, he's always friendly and eager to help others even when his goofy flavor of help isn't always appreciated. He's Etri's identical twin and they intentionally play off each other's sun/moon, light/dark theme. | Bio Page / Bio Moodboard / Backstory Moodboard / Pinterest Board |

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Camille is a priestess who is great at summoning and controlling light elementals, not so great at listening. Like Rosalie, she has long since lost interest in the task assigned to them by their home temples. Unlike her colleague and closest friend, she is determined to someday go back. The messages they've received from their superiors have grown more and more contradicting and nonsensical over the years, which means something has clearly gone wrong back home. Not lacking in ambition or self-confidence, Camille is determined to prepare herself and Rosalie to take over as high priestesses of their respective Sanctuaries. Camille says it's because both are needed in order to change things, but in truth it's because she can't imagine life without Rosalie by her side. When Rosalie goes missing, Camille finds herself shaken and adrift for the first time in her life. | Bio Page / Bio Moodboard / Backstory Moodboard / Pinterest Board |

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Rosalie is technically a priestess, but she's spent years trying to find a way to tell her partner (Camille) that she'd rather not be, thanks. Seven years ago she and another priestess were sent away from the Sanctuaries of Shadow and Light in order to complete a specific assignment. This quickly became a task neither women were interested in. In Rosalie's case, she grew to love life far away from her restrictive and dangerous home. She wants nothing more than to stay in Concordia and live a normal life-- until she's pulled outside of linear time with no way to get back. Then she just wants any kind of life. At least she still has her pet shadow, an elemental with dog-like intelligence, and the burgeoning friendship with a strange woman who may also be a traveler in time. Life has become odd, but Rosalie's life has always been a little strange. | Bio Page / Bio Moodboard / Backstory Moodboard / Pinterest Board |

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Willow is the resident cat who sauntered into Blythe's home one day and never left. While technically Adair's cat, she claims ownership over his family to various degrees of agreement. She can frequently be found riding around on Adair's shoulders and nibbling his paint brushes, keeping mice out of Blythe's healing herbs and occasionally trying to eat her plants, snuggled up with Etri while he reads, and sleeping on a pile of Dray's costumes. However, the bulk of Willow's attention is saved for Sol. She's either his arch nemesis or best friend, but no one is sure which. Willow is highly curious and loves to climb into cabinets and pilfer anything shiny or ribbony. Her favorite game is swatting tiny light elementals. Consequently, this is the light elementals' least favorite game. | Moodboard |