Main Character Biographies

Li Xiang (Western-style name: Sean)– Li Xiang is the first son of a man who would one day become an important minister and chief advisor to Emperor Wu. Since Zhang Shi Lei was viewed as a critical and powerful friend of the emperor as well as a skilled fighter, Li Xiang’s father sent his son to study under the man with the idea that Li Xiang would one day become a general or protector of the emperor.

Li Xiang spent the first decade of his life living in luxury in the royal capital of Chang’An. He enjoys the finer things in life and places a high importance on comfort. However, he is quite adept at living rough and lean when necessary without complaint.

Li Xiang and Zhang Junjie joined the Sword of the Heavenly Garden Sect at the same time and are the same age. Regardless of their different backgrounds, Xiang saw Junjie as an instant friend.

Kai (birth name: Yinglong)– Kai has been around since nearly the beginning of time. He came into existence not long after Pangu swung his great ax, separating the world from primeval chaos. There were others of his kind, but even in those early years when dragons were more numerous in the world, he didn’t encounter them often. Most had very specific jobs, dedicating themselves to protecting the heavens, the seas, or humans.

During his early years as Yinglong, he largely kept to himself. It was when the great Yellow Emperor fought Chiyou and needed help to save people from floods that Kai felt compelled to take action in the human world. He drank the water up, saving the humans, but he became so heavy he could no longer fly up to the heavens.

However, the Yellow Emperor’s generous gratitude drove Yinglong to keep an eye on the humans for several centuries, working to keep the flood waters under control and bring rain to the crops.

It was only in the past millennia that he grew bored and pulled away from the human world, preferring to hide in his hoard or sleep at the bottom of deep lakes and rivers. Of course, all of that changed when Xiang was brought to his hoard.

Wu Yichen (nickname: Didi, Yiyi)– Wu Yichen was one of the last disciples taken in by Zhang Shi Lei, though he didn’t have much choice at the time.

Yichen’s father, Wu Jinhai, was the king of the Wu vassal state. Emperor Wu was growing concerned (paranoid) about Wu Jinhai’s loyalty to the Dragon Throne, so he declared that Wu Jinhai’s only son (Wu Yichen) would be sent to the Sword of the Heavenly Garden Sect for training. Since Emperor Wu trusted in Zhang Shi Lei’s loyalty to him, he was confident that the young prince would be well cared for and learn proper obedience toward the throne while forcing Wu Jinhai to remain obedient if he ever wanted to see his son.

However, after settling in Luoyang and the sect, Prince Wu Yichen never saw his hometown of Guangling again.

Wu Yichen was only eight when he arrived at the sect, a year behind the arrival of Li Xiang and Zhang Junjie. When he arrived he was all arrogance, bluster, and big talk, but his gege Zhang Xiao Dan and Chen Bo Cheng, who were nineteen and fourteen years old, respectively, were able to firmly make it clear that he would see no special treatment because of who he was.

It took Yichen only a few months to settle in and start feeling the natural camaraderie that existed among the disciples. He loved studying at the sect and adored the grandmaster’s warm and compassionate nature. Zhang Shi Lei never made him feel like a political prisoner or a pawn, but a beloved disciple.

Wistari Elnaril Reymaris (nickname: Rei, my prince):Rei is the Crown Prince of the fae. Only living son of King Ash and Queen Belladonna—though he’s pretty sure neither of his parents would admit to spawning him now. Ever since they dragged Wu Yichen into their world and made him a plaything, Rei’s relationship with his parents and nearly all of his kind declined.

But then, he wasn’t the first crown prince, nor was his mother the first queen. Their predecessors had fallen thanks to the evil schemes of King Ash. After discovering that bitter truth, Rei began counting down the days until his father decided that he, too, wanted to steal the throne.

At first, he was indifferent to Yichen’s presence, but his stomach turned at the unrelenting torturing and mocking. When he interceded on Yichen’s behalf out of frustration, Ash took it as a sign that his son was rising against him, and ordered that he would take the rest of the vampire’s torture, resulting in countless scars and eventually an injury to his left knee that gave him a small but permanent limp.

That only strengthened Rei’s resolve against his father and fired his hatred for him.

Meanwhile, to prove her unwavering loyalty to her husband over her son, Queen Belladonna cut off Rei’s right pinky finger in another torture session.

From Rei’s first defense of Yichen, he stuck as close as he could to the vampire to protect him, vowing that he would return him to his clan when the door between worlds appeared. In return, Yichen told Rei countless stories of the clan mates who’d become his family, and about a warm world so unlike his own.

Rei fell in love with Yichen decades ago, his heart won over by his perseverance, strength, and wry sense of humor, but he has never told Yichen of his affection and never will. They are from two very different worlds, and there is no way for them to be together without one of them dying. He is content to just remain at Yichen’s side for as long as possible and return him to his family.

Chen Bo Cheng (nickname: Er-ge, Chen-ge, Shidi, Ah-Cheng) – Chen Bo Cheng was the second-born son of a wealthy family in Luoyang. His father was a politician, and his mother was the daughter of a wealthy silk merchant. While his older brother was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a politician as well, Bo Cheng was permitted a bit more freedom. They had hoped that he would go into business, but he showed an early interest and aptitude for martial arts and the military.

At the age of seven, he was permitted to join the Sword of the Heavenly Garden Sect under the guidance of Zhang Shi Lei, where he excelled in his studies.

Being close in age to Xiao Dan, they grew to be very close friends. He followed the older boy everywhere, obeyed his every word, and studied hard so that he could be as skilled and strong as his friend.

As they grew older, Bo Cheng became Xiao Dan’s right hand in the management and training of new disciples. He possessed a quick, brilliant mind that enabled him to become a skilled tactician and strategist.

While many would agree that he was smarter than Xiao Dan, Bo Cheng had no interest in leading the sect. He trusted Xiao Dan completely and was happy to follow him, using his skills to support his friend and brother.

Moon Mullins (nickname: Baobei)– Like most witches, Moon inherited his magical abilities from his mother, who was also a blood witch.

He was raised an only child. His mother was a witch and his father was human. Since his mother wasn’t part of a coven, Moon did not have the chance to interact with other witches while growing up. In fact, he didn’t actually meet another witch until he fell in with his current coven of Maddox, Redstone, and Skylar.

His mother warned him that blood witches were incredibly rare and that most witches distrusted them because they didn’t understand their powers.

His mother made sure he was comfortable around magic while growing up, but he didn’t actually begin practicing himself until he was thirteen. Most spells he knows were either taught to him by his mother or spells he came up with on his own.

His parents died in a car accident when he was nineteen.

Zhang Xiao Dan (nickname: Shixiong, Da-ge; Western-style name: Daniel) – He was an orphaned child, living on the streets of Luoyang at the age of six. He had little to no memory of his actual parents or what happened to them.

He was caught attempting to pick the pocket of Zhang Shi Lei when he was passing through the town on his way to the royal capital of Chang’An (present day Xi’An).

Grandmaster Zhang admired his spirit and strength, so he decided to take the child with him to Chang’An and then home again to his clan.

Zhang Shi Lei taught Xiao Dan all his clan’s fighting techniques and beliefs. Xiao Dan excelled, proving to be a dedicated pupil and filial son. He loved Shi Lei as if he were his father and was well loved and respected by the grandmaster as well as the other members of the sect.

All in the sect saw him as a natural successor to Zhang Shi Lei.

Su Ming Yu (nickname: Shijie, Jiejie)– Su Ming Yu began working as a servant in the Zhang household at the age of twelve. Her mother had worked there all her life and had taken ill. No longer able to serve the family, Ming Yu went to take her place.

She was very happy to have a job in the Zhang household. They had always treated her mother well and took care of the servants who worked for them. She started with odd jobs of sweeping and cleaning before moving up to sewing and helping in the kitchens during the holiday feasts.

The Zhang clan were an honorable and well-respected clan, making her very proud to serve them. When Jiang Chong arrived to turn all the disciples of the Sword of the Heavenly Garden Sect, she begged to be changed with them so she could continue to look after the clan.

Under the leadership of Zhang Xiao Dan, Ming Yu never felt like a servant, but part of a large family. Xiao Dan respected her opinion and asked her thoughts about many things over the years. After being a vampire for a century, she accepted Xiao Dan’s offer to learn some of the clan’s martial arts.

As a natural caretaker, she was soon regarded as Shijie or Jiejie (older sister) by all of the clan members.

Zhang Junjie (nickname: Jun-Jun) – Zhang Junjie is the illegitimate son of Zhang Yuxi, younger brother of Zhang Shi Lei. Yuxi left the sect in his late teens to travel and seek adventure. Along the way, he ended up with a son, who was dumped off on his older brother shortly after Yuxi’s untimely death.

Junjie was barely ten when he found himself handed off to an uncle he knew nothing of. He has no memories of his father and what little he remembers of his mother is of a small, withdrawn woman who was afraid of the world.

When Junjie arrived at the Sword of the Heavenly Garden Sect, he expected to be hated for his low birth and treated poorly.

But all he found with his uncle Shi Lei was love, compassion, and understanding.

Shi Lei loved Junjie as if he were his son. During all the years of study under the grandmaster, Junjie found support, love, patience, and understanding. From the other disciples around him, he found that plus brotherhood.

In particular, he formed a close bond with Li Xiang. Even though Li Xiang came from a prestigious family with an illustrious background, the boy never treated him differently. In fact, Li Xiang took one look at Junjie and declared to all who were within hearing that this was his brother and he’d fight anyone who dared to hurt him.

While Junjie is a blood relative of Zhang Shi Lei, he has never once shown a bit of interest in taking over the clan after the death of the grandmaster. He fully supports Xiao Dan and believes he is the best person to lead their sect forward. Xiao Dan was trained and selected by Shi Lei, and Junjie respects that choice without question.

Gao Mei Lian (nickname: Meimei)– Gao Mei Lian was the third and youngest daughter of a Luoyang merchant. Her father brokered a marriage arrangement with the father of Cao Zimo, who was a member of the Sword of the Heavenly Garden Sect.

When she arrived at the sect for her wedding, she discovered that Cao Zimo had been one of the men killed when Jiang Chong took over the clan. While not heartbroken—since she barely knew the man she was to marry—she was afraid to return home to an angry father and possibly another marriage she didn’t want.

She found herself swept up in the chaos and turned into a vampire by mistake. Not that she was complaining. It gave her an excuse to never return home, and she could now study martial arts with this sect.

Mei Lian has always had an adventurous, outspoken nature. She loves learning new things and adores her life as part of the sect. She gained so many new older brothers who spoiled her while she became everyone’s Meimei (younger sister).