✦Crusaders✦

Oenon is Lorgon's squire.

Appearance: About 35 years old. Black hair, pulled back into a ponytail, shaved sides, and a thick beard; wears a fur cape, a white shirt, black pants, and brown boots.

Character: Brave, kind, diligent, but can be hot-tempered and lazy.

Backstory: Originally from the northern city of Rickrich, he worked as a charcoal burner. He suffered a personal tragedy: his wife died in childbirth, and his young daughter was killed by bandits in their home village. He later became a bandit himself. But a meeting with Lorgon turned his life upside down. Despite Oenon's background as a bandit, Lorgon saw potential in him and gave him a second chance, making him his squire.

Abilities: He wields a sword well. Lorgon promised to teach him the divine alphabet (he hasn't learned it yet).

Ruya Weller (title: God's Eye); a skeptical knight with dark blond hair tinged with burgundy; brown eyes. She is skilled with a sword and bow, can speak to birds and see through their eyes, and taught Oenon this skill.

Bertis Weller—pale skin, chestnut hair, gray-green eyes; dark shirt, blue pants, and a leather cape. She also has a rather masculine and strong character, despite being a girl. She leads several bandits and is an excellent archer.

Brani Weller - Title: Healer of God. He is known as the kindest and gentlest representative of the order. He is shy, always willing to help, and holds no ill will toward others. When speaking about himself, he uses his name rather than pronouns ("Brani, I'm glad I could help," "Brani, I must go, his brothers are waiting for him," etc.). He has a brown beard and brown eyes. He wears a gray shirt, gray-green trousers, brown shoes, and a matching belt bag with a shoulder strap.

Ceston is Brani's squire. A young man of approximately 20 years old, with chestnut hair and brown eyes, he wears a green shirt with multicolored sleeves—white and green—and black pants. He is caring, loyal to Brani, intelligent, and sensible; he works at the hospital and has assumed Brani's authority.

Zhelf Weller – title: Power of God; dark-haired, with a beard to match his hair, emerald eyes; a giant over 2 meters tall; vowed to wear no clothing at all, covering only his private parts with a cloth tied around his waist. His squire is Potapych. Innate superhuman physical strength – he can easily lift two horses; the power of the cross allows him to harden his skin to an impenetrable state.

Potapych is Zhelf's squire, a huge brown bear, presumably a grizzly; there is a gold cross on the fur near the shoulder on his left front paw.

Iglik Weller – title: Mind of God. Dark hair, turquoise eyes; dressed in a dark patterned leather cloak, a red jacket, light gray pants, and black shoes. This intellectual constantly studies and systematizes knowledge, and compiles bestiaries of local evil spirits and abominations. He possesses the Alphabet of God, which he uses to create artifacts, including two bestiaries that allow him to track those whose names are inscribed in the bestiaries by their own handwriting, but only if they pass near water. He can control gravity and gains knowledge through the cross.

Igmont Weller—title: Hater of God. A man aged approximately 60–70 years. When in church, he wears the canonical clerical attire; outside the church, he dons all-black clothing and a plague doctor's mask. His main characteristic is his dangerous blood, which harbors absolutely every existing disease and brings death to all living things.

Liaf Weller - Title: God's Master of the Seas; male, 40-50 years old, gray hair, tricorne, scar near his eye, blue naval jacket, white pants, and dark boots; mines Xon metal at sea and is part of the leadership group; presumably owns his own fleet, subordinate to the kingdom of Zegel.

Runborough Weller - Title: God's Will. A Xon by descent; clan tattoos on his face and a cross on his forehead. The Order's finest sculptor; his creativity helps him contain the madness of the cross. Appears to be around 30 years old. He has dark hair, pulled back into a small ponytail; dark blue eyes; wears a white shirt with a blue cape over it, trousers matching the cape, a belt around his waist, and black boots. He possesses the unique ability to alter the physical properties of objects—for example, turning stone into water or wood, and earth into steam. He fights with two unconventional swords.

Onun Weller - Title: God's Wrath. Gray hair, numerous scars all over his body; blue eyes, but when Onun enters a state of rage, his eyeballs turn black and his irises turn gold; dressed in a torn shirt and black pants; vowed to remain silent. Fights with twin axes, possesses immense physical strength, and the ability to "purify blood."

Zegel Weller - Title: Authority of God. A middle-aged man with pale skin, black hair, and gray eyes. Two crosses are visible on his forehead, allowing him to control the madness of the cross and take it from others. He is dressed in dark royal robes and a black crown. A proud, powerful, and despotic leader who deeply values ​​his brothers in the order. He is not subject to the madness of the cross and can also take it from other crusaders.

Lisa is the granddaughter of Meror, Ivan's long-time enemy, and is essentially a High Elf.

She came to Ivan because he saved her from a tiger in the forest while she was unconscious. The Great Hibernation was approaching, and as is well known, elves cannot move during hibernation, with the exception of Meror. Furthermore, they are hunted by the Blood Brotherhood, so Lisa, as the leader, went to the Baron for help finding shelter. However, while she was with the captain, the Baron was killed—a member of the Blood Brotherhood, who then tried to kill the elves herself. However, Lorgon killed him on Ivan's orders, and then the order was given to protect the elves.

Appearance: She looks 20 years old, but is actually 64 due to the longevity of her race. Her hair is white—her ears and tail, which appear when in danger, also match her hair color; her eyes are light blue; she wears a dark gray-green caftan with sewn-in Xon plates, black mittens, black pants, and black boots.

Character: changeable, proud, caustic, but kind.

Lorgon Weller—or Immortal Lorgon—is the second-in-command of the Crusader Order. Title: Warrior of God.

He joined the Order a day after Ivan. He looks 20-30 years old, although he is over 600 years old. He took a vow never to change his clothes, so they are constantly being repaired, even if they are severely damaged.

He was once consumed by the madness of the cross, causing him to slaughter an entire city—Montheart. Ivan was forced to kill Lorgon, leaving each of them with a scar from the battle—Ivan's on his back, Lorgon's on his stomach. The Mother of the Buried took an interest in this sacrifice and resurrected Lorgon. Because Lorgon is now bound to the Mother of the Buried, the deputy's hair and eyes turn black with rage.

He collects beetles and currently has 120 of them in his collection.

Appearance: Ash-blond hair pulled back into a ponytail with bangs down the side of his face; blue eyes, a gold cross on his forehead; wears a red coat over a black shirt, black pants, a belt with a gold ring, and black boots.

Personality: Cold, but this coldness is directed not at the people themselves, but at their souls. He doesn't become attached at first sight; it takes time, and even if he does, he doesn't show his emotions in front of everyone. Sometimes he makes sarcastic jokes directed at Ivan. A cold mind, a calculating gaze.

Abilities: Immortality—obtained through his connection with the Mother of the Buried; excellent swordsmanship, calling himself the best swordsman on the entire continent; basic knowledge of the Alphabet of God; possesses the power of Obsession—the creation of material illusions, which sometimes affect the world itself; can "extract" the souls of the dead for interrogation—another ability bestowed upon him by the Mother of the Buried.

Ivan Weller—also known as Red-Eyed Ivan—is a Captain of the Holy Knightly Order of the Crusaders. He joined the Order just a day before Lorgon. Title: God's Executioner. The surname Weller may only be borne by a Captain. He has taken a vow to take no life, a vow that does not extend to pursuits.

After the Church disbanded the Order, Ivan left his position as captain and settled on the outskirts of the village of Posiki, in a two-story wooden house near a river with a forest on the other bank. It was there that Ivan met Lisa (he saved her from a tiger; she was the granddaughter of Meror, Ivan's longtime enemy, who killed his "brother" (one of the Order members)). Over time, the captain, without realizing it, fell in love with her, whose family had once been enemies of the Crusaders. Later, he re-formed the Order, unbeknownst to the Church, and ordered it to protect the elves during their Great Sleep and help them restore the family they (the Crusaders) had once nearly exterminated on the Church's orders.

Appearance: Ivan has black hair and scarlet eyes (which can glow when he's extremely angry), which is where he got his nickname. He wears a brown coat that reaches roughly to his hips, under which he wears a white, tattered shirt and black trousers, complete with a belt, and heavy black boots. He wears a red headband on his forehead, concealing a cross.

Character: complex; does not trust anyone and is often hot-tempered, but if someone harms loved ones, then they (the ones who harmed) will automatically become enemies.

Abilities: He has a flawless command of the Alphabet of God, allowing him to manipulate reality; he can stop time, but only for a few seconds, as this ability drains a lot of power; he can sense other people's emotions through physical contact, so he doesn't particularly like physical contact (he made an agreement with Lorgon to shake hands every time they met, so Ivan could know that Lorgon doesn't have the madness of the cross).

The Elhi are a relatively ancient race of beast-like humans. Elhi have two forms—human and their natural form. In their human form, they are almost indistinguishable from humans; only those who know what an Elhi looks like can tell them apart. In their natural form, however, they have fox ears and a tail that matches their hair. These appear in times of danger for a high Elhi, even if she is in human form.

The Elkhs believe in the All-Father and the All-Mother.

Elkhs usually have light hair - white, silver and light brown, but there are rarer cases when only female Elkhs have chestnut-colored hair.

The Elkh are an interesting people—they can survive wounds that would be fatal for Crusaders, but they fear thunderstorms (lightning itself) and the cold. The Elkh's bodies are designed in such a way that when their body temperature drops to a certain point, they simply freeze. In the worst case, the Elkh can freeze for two to three days, which is why they say the cold is dangerous for them. They also fear lightning because lightning once destroyed their Tree of Life.

The Great Hibernation is the time when the elves have a better chance of conceiving offspring, but the downside is that during hibernation they cannot move, only Meror.

They look like crusaders, but they are not, although they also have crosses on their foreheads, but they are red and their strength also differs, and different members of the Brotherhood have different strengths; besides, the Brotherhood hunts the elves to finally eradicate their kind, treating them like objects.

The Brotherhood took over the Windspire Church to slaughter elves—both children and adults—in its basement. But the Church was burned, its people killed, and the elves freed.

The Holy Knightly Order of the Crusaders is a once-majestic Order of 20 warriors, each with a golden cross carved into their forehead; the squires wear their crosses just above the elbow.

Crusaders call each other brothers and sisters, even though they are not related. Crusaders also forget who their parents are after the ritual.

Why only 20? It's simple. Although Ivan and Lorgon wanted to gather a hundred warriors like themselves, the Church performed the ritual without their knowledge, and only 20 children survived, whom Ivan and Lorgon took under their wing to raise personally.

Crusaders cannot have offspring.

Crusaders believe in the Almighty, just like other believers. A loving crusader's duty to the Almighty is to kill any filth that crosses their path.

They are allowed to do almost everything: not to pray, not to visit the temple of their God, even to slander Him.

Crosses connect the Crusaders with the Higher One, granting them greater power, but they also have a major drawback: the madness of the cross. Crusaders aren't immortal (except perhaps Lorgon), but they possess power beyond human comprehension. Their power allows them to enter any human home as if it were their own, to bow the heads of kings, and to make enemies flee in terror.

The Crusaders can communicate through water, and can also hear the Supreme One, but not speak to him.

Because of their power, the Church, fearing that sooner or later the crusaders would capture it (the Church), gave the order to disband the Order of the Crusaders, after which the warriors dispersed to different places (some took the throne, some decided to help people with their power, and some simply wandered in search of pursuit or travel, learning something new).