THE LIGHTLESS Character Profiles #2: Redshift Allacora

Born to Kateri and Joy Allacora in Age 40 of the 2nd Era, her given name was Iffora, and she had an older sister named Yattora. They made their living as street musicians, though rarely had enough to feed themselves and have a place to stay—most times it was one or the other. Her mother, sister, and her had a debilitating condition that five ages later would claim her sister and mother’s lives. The left side of Iffora’s face was permanently numbed, and she had to come to terms with the fact that the condition was going to claim her life next. Her father lived one age past that tragedy, but his life was claimed by a voracious plague that tore through the Copper City, the capitol of the Kingdom Vestean. Iffora was only a child when these horrific events happened, leaving her an orphan. She would continue to scrounge for her survival, barely holding onto hope, as her sorrow and condition progressively worsened. Even back then the Copper City was a harsh place to live, it hadn’t lived up to its name and renown in many, many ages.

Queen Matoaka Hisimbri

Too malnourished and cold to find the energy to move one afternoon, Iffora resolved herself to her fate, sitting in the cold muck the Copper City’s ground was made of. The setting Sun had turned the sky red, as Queen Matoaka Hisimbri walked her streets. Everyday she took a new path, and was beginning to know each and every nook and cranny of her city. On that day, she happened upon Iffora, and couldn’t leave the young child there to die—and she was near death. Pitying Iffora, Hisimbri tried to talk to her, the red sky at her back. Iffora couldn’t speak much beyond a squeaking whisper, unable to tell the queen her name, nor where her parents were, her skin was red from the bite of the cold, she was shaking horribly, and the left side of her face was hanging lower than the right. Hisimbri scooped her up, and took her back to Castle Darkcholy, with plans only to get her nourished, and then to try and find where and to where she belonged. Iffora shifted in Hisimbri’s arms, the girl seemed to glow in the red light, even as dirty as she was. “Redshift,” Hisimbri said. “Such a shifty little thing. She almost looks like a fallen star, still energetic, optimistic even in its falling.”

Princess Redshift

Hisimbri wasn’t able to find anyone who knew about the girl she had rescued, but she couldn’t in good conscience set her back in the streets—not with plague mounting again, and then there was the cold. The girl she named Redshift was allowed to live in Darkcholy under the queen’s watchful eyes, and made a miraculous recovery from the condition she had been found in. Redshift’s facial features wouldn’t recover like the rest of her, but Hisimbri called it her love mark, a reminder that she had and always will be loved. A few ages after this, Hisimbri took Redshift on as her daughter, and rightful heir to the throne of Vestean, a princess of the Copper City. This of course caused a raucous in the nobility, as lords and ladies reminded Hisimbri that no one outside of Darkcholy had ever been given the chance to rule. Hisimbri simply told them that Redshift was a part of them now, and that since she herself could not produce an heir, Mother Nature had provided one for her. The two of them would become the best of friends, Hisimbri nurturing Redshift’s sharp intellect and curiosity, admitting her into the university as soon as she was old enough, and filling her mind with facts about the Gardens of Prosperity and the Soul Luck Fountains, as well as imparting her own love for the stars into the budding young woman.

Age 53 of the 2nd Era

The age when Redshift’s life was forever changed. How and why? You’ll have to read THE LIGHTLESS to find out.

Redshift, Queen of Vestean

Matoaka Hisimbri fell in battle in Age 65, and to the dismay of many, Redshift took the throne for her, becoming queen of the Kingdom Vestean, Lady of the Copper City. With the kingdom still in disarray, Redshift was thrust into a difficult role, during a difficult time, and all eyes were on her, waiting and wishing for her to crumble under the pressure. In order for her to take the throne she had to take a lord from the nobility as her king. Begrudgingly, she chose Gallenthrall Honchar. While she could hardly stand the man at first, she eventually found him alluring in short doses, and on October 5th, Age 92 of the 2nd Era, their daughter Lumi-Nova was born. Gallenthrall had been adamant about naming her, while Redshift honestly showed little concern or care for the life she had created, and was nearly sickened by the whole experience. And sick was how Nova was born, terribly, terribly sick.