The Royal College said it couldn’t be done. His head was too in the clouds, they said. Not tethered to the realities and limitations of science, they said. “Poppycock,” Wells said to that, and promptly proved all of them wrong by building his very own functioning time machine, and then not letting any of them try it out.

New Arboria is a futuristic city wrapped around the massive trees and forest of the planet, where the people have used biomimetics to mimic nature in their technological and architectural design. A place of financial disparity, those who are wealthy and powerful live in the rarified upper levels, leaving the less fortunate to rot in the lower levels in crime, poverty, and disrepair. Okoro was born and raised in the dregs of the lower city, living a hard and rough life which has led him to work to elevate his fellows and bring the societal elite down.

Qalmie is a member of a civilization from a frozen planet steeped in what some might consider magic, given their current understanding of the cosmos. As a member of the Skywatcher’s Guild, she serves as a researcher in the northernmost outpost of her world. Qalmie’s planet is in danger of sliding into an uninhabitable ice age, called the Big Chill, and she studies how her people’s use of arcane energies and technology is influencing global cooling.

Born from the primordial energy of probability, Risk is the embodiment of daring. All the best things in life have an element of risk associated with them, from dating to financial investment to starting a career. If things work out, there’s something great to win, but if they don’t, you lose something. That’s Risk, not just random chance, but rather playing probability with stakes. To him, nothing is as exciting as having something to lose.

Gaechka, a Russian nickname that rhymes with Fire, aka Red, was chosen as the Chief Engineer for Earth’s Proxima Centauri colonization efforts due to her intense ability to both perform and manage engineering, fabrication, and split-second problem-solving. At least, that’s the job she signed up for, but fate had other plans.

Lulu was, and still remains, the proprietor and hostess of the condemned Dead End Drive-In Theater, an old overgrown plot of land with a massive stage and movie screen. To this day, she cares for the venue and its spectral inhabitants and guests, keeping the shows running and adding her charm to every haunting evening. There are many performers who are just dying to get onto the playbill.

Far off in a dark corner of the multiverse is the winding otherworldly city of Carcosa, ruled by the enigmatic King in Yellow. A creature of enormous power, the King is a figure who floats through the streets, a wandering ruler who frightens even the most stalwart of inhabitants. There are those who believe the King in Yellow is the avatar of a much darker and more powerful entity, and that Carcosa is only one of its domains.

Axis-12, aka Adam Xandis, was an AI engineer in the distant future working with a team of neuroscientists at Twelve Point Labs, with the hope of finally achieving a lifelike artificial intelligence. Despite the high- grade talent of those working on the project, the team struggled to fully mimic the way the mind’s neurological pathways function.

On the parallel world where Maroc was born, plant life was the first to evolve to sentience and become mobile tool users. The Raken, as they came to call themselves, were a peaceful people who dedicated themselves to scholarship rather than war. They could never have imagined that generations later they would give birth to Maroc, the first multiversal traveler of their kind.

Centuries ago, in pre-colonial Tahiti, Malia was a Tahu’a and an ancient priestess of the sea. She felt one of the best ways she could serve her people was to study the oceans and life around them and share that knowledge to better their lives. Loved by the native Tahitians, Malia was seen as a bit of an adventurer, constantly running and swimming to the next mystery or wonder.

At first, Cato was just an idea. A high-minded idea they may have been, but they were still transitory and fleeting, until something miraculous happened. Cato experienced a moment of sentience, in which they willed themselves into existence with the burning question, “What is self?” With that one question, Cato came into existence as an avatar of the purest expression of mind.

The mystical dragons of Asia have always had natures which tie them to the multiverse, and the primary reason they are rarely seen is because they are often traveling through parallel Earths. One such dragon, Fu Yijun, is a dragon of wisdom who has tied himself to the season of Spring, and has a special interest in the development of life.

Plikplik is a small, furry creature from the harsh world of Proxima Centauri b, in the Alpha Centauri system. Surviving on fairly tasteless root vegetables, these small, furry creatures were constantly testy and fighting with each other, inspiring Plikplik to leave home and search the stars for a way to unite his people.

The Royal College said it couldn’t be done. His head was too in the clouds, they said. Not tethered to the realities and limitations of science, they said. “Poppycock,” Wells said to that, and promptly proved all of them wrong by building his very own functioning time machine, and then not letting any of them try it out.

Citrine, Sunflower Knight of the House of Yellow, is the Lady Protector of the Luminous Court, charged with the safety of the nobles who make the highest decisions of the Kingdom. One of the oldest members of her House, her power has not faded with age. Cynicism refuses to take root in her, and Citrine remains a ray of sunshine with a smile which can light up a room. Many a temper has been calmed in the chamber of nobles by Citrine’s aura of happiness and joy.