Cast of The Arcane Prophecy don’t cash tokens and that’s fine
Tokenism plagues the literary world today, and you won’t find any in The Arcane Prophecy. That’ll get a rise outta weak minds.
Let’s face it: Identity politics and tokenism suck. That’s why you won’t find it in The Arcane Prophecy. Instead, each character’s physical makeup’s driven not by race, sexual orientation, or any of that nonsense.
I don’t live to check boxes, even if I’m not shy about the book’s blatant libertarian messaging. I’m here to tell a good story that those only too fine with dissenting against interventionism will love. So if that hurts your feelings, click the ‘X’ and get outta here.
Anyway, if you’re still here, it means you’re in a safe sane space, so feel free to learn a thing or two about The Arcane Prophecy’s main cast.
Yote Diamondback – the kick-ass protagonist
If you’re a returning reader, you know a thing or two about Yote Diamondback. If not, then definitely read my expanded take on the kid. Yote spent her youth letting her sister, Jett, shunt her to one side and outclass her in just about everything.
Sounds like the classic genre trope, right? But Yote’s not that girl who needs a support group when she’s down. Just a kick in the drawers. She’s got an ambitious, opportunistic streak, which is why old Chatty put her in Slytherin if she went to Hogwarts instead of Arcane.
Still, she’s got talent and she knows it. Both in element control and when she’s playing box thrashball. If I had an adjective for her playing style, I’d call her scrappy thanks to her small, skinny build. Her thrashball number, 13, is a nod to the late Johnny Gaudreau.
Jett Diamondback
Yote’s sister and resident ‘mean girl,’ Jett’s name comes from the Winnipeg Jets hockey club, just as the old Arizona Coyotes inspired Yote’s. Unlike Yote, Jett oozes that stereotypical popular girl look with a shiny curtain of raven-black hair, green, almond-shaped eyes, and ivory skin.
Also unlike Yote, Jett belongs in Gryffindor House if she lived in Rowling’s world. That said, she’s got that Cormac McLaggen vibe: Jealous when she’s losing to the point she’ll play dirty to gain an edge, and she might be the cockiest thing you’ll ever meet.
But if you think she’s as flat as McLaggen, you’re fooling yourself. Jett’s full of herself and she’s not afraid to let the world know it. Still, there’s also more to her “than meets the eye.”
Storm Sharpe
Take Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley and combine the two. Storm’s got the money and a bit of a Jett-like personality. That’s the Draco in him. But he’s loyal to a T and will go to bat for anyone he calls a friend. Just like Ron.
And if you’ve only watched the Harry Potter movies, I urge you to go back and read the books. If you do that, you’d see Ron in a new light. Anyway, Storm, like Yote and Jett, slides right into that ‘fit character’ persona. He’s a workout warrior and one ruthless thrashball player.
In The Arcane Prophecy, he’s also Yote’s love interest, even if she’s not afraid to call him out on his B.S. half the time. Of course, this just adds to Yote’s internal struggle of whether she should date the kid.
Cassara Darkwood
In Harry Potter, Severus Snape’s arguably the book’s most mysterious, complex character. He’s also my favorite. As for Cassara Darkwood?
She’s no professor at Arcane because, well, if Yote had a teacher who hated her, she’d have the freedom to drop the class or even switch schools within the academy to get away from the woman. That said, I had to take a different approach to Darkwood.
This is a woman who knows way more than she lets on, or at least she thinks she does. Darkwood targets Yote early in the book for reasons not known to anyone else. Why? Because Darkwood’s a little psychotic.
All the way to the point independent defense contractors don’t take a single one of her claims about Yote seriously. But Darkwood may not be as much of a maniac as you might think.
Loki Kahne
If Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood were a single character, you’d get Loki. He’s that fun character who’s better at dishing out comic relief than he is at mastering his elemental control or athleticism.
From his unorthodox style of clothes, disgusting eating habits, and strange mannerisms, you might just call Loki a dork and move on. And while he’s geeky and accident-prone, Loki shows a reckless streak, something Yote will learn.
He’s not afraid to fight on the thrashball court, and, like Storm, he’s someone who’ll stand beside a friend even when there’s lethal danger nearby. That said, don’t mistake Loki’s insecurities and weirdness as weakness. He’s by no means a weak character.
Rayne Grimbane
If there’s anyone close to a mentor for Yote, it’s Rayne Grimbane, who easily becomes her favorite teacher. Rayne, like most teachers at Arcane, is laid back to the point she insists students call her by her first name.
Like every teacher at Arcane, Rayne’s classes, or gatherings, feature optional attendance, and they’re always discussions that involve stories of past Elementals and how they reached elemental mastery. These gatherings involve a practical, hands-on approach, where students perform runic combos in hopes of manipulating earth, water, air, and fire elements.
But Rayne’s more than just a teacher. It’s often implied she had a similar life path as Yote’s. And it might be why Yote bonds so well with Rayne.
Archer Shade
Archer might be the most mysterious character in The Arcane Prophecy. He’s Yote and Jett’s unseen mentor before the girls go off to different schools – Yote to Arcane and Jett to Lamerth.
Even if you don’t see him for most of Book I, it’s clear early on that Yote thinks highly of Shade. Yote takes his elemental training advice to heart, and she respects him even more when she realizes he was right about recommending her to attend Arcane.
What you will know about Shade is that he’s relatively young, but approaching middle age. He’s a powerful Elemental and one of the few characters who can control each element in a single go. Shade is everything Yote sees herself evolving into.
Rass Vexx
And finally, we got Rass Vexx. He’s another one of Yote’s go-to people, and you can even call him one of her mentors alongside Rayne and Archer. Rass is a janitor at Arcane and an old friend of Yote’s parents who made a home for himself in Aurora Village.
He fell short in life, since it’s implied he came from a high-class family and is on the bottom rung. Despite his shortcomings, Rass is content with himself and his living situation. He’s got a sense of humor, and he’s always there when Yote needs advice, especially regarding her love life, or lack of it.
Other characters in The Arcane Prophecy
Zane and Willow Diamondback, Yote’s parents, appear in the first few chapters. Zane carries out Archer’s training program for the girls while Willow acts as the strong backbone for the family. Neither put up with Jett’s antics during those rare moments when Yote gets the best of her.
Imperia Frost is Yote’s suitemate, and one with such a flat personality that I’ll admit right now that I regret creating her. But she does move the plot forward a few times, so she’s got a nice little niche.
The Gang of Idiots is a trio of boys who hang around with Storm. While Yote barely tolerates the three when they’re up to no good, she’s on cordial terms with them. Overall, the Gang are good-hearted boys, but they don’t mind embarrassing other people (or one another) if it means creating viral videos on various platforms.
Ukko Sharpe is Storm’s dad and owner of the most prominent defense contracting company in the region. Think of Ukko as working for law enforcement, but he enforces not the state’s law, since no state or local government exists in the Northern Region.
Instead, he and his company enforce laws that private companies and their insurance providers set on their own property. Ukko’s company also serves individual property owners and work with their competition if disputes spring up.
Which character jumped out at you the most?
Now that you have a nice, little overview of who’s who in The Arcane Prophecy, it’s your turn to tell me which one you liked the most. Who do you relate to, and who can’t you wait to see in action?
Oh, and if you wanna meet a few of these characters, be sure to download the free prequel, Arcane Awakenings today. You might just find out how strained and awkward Yote and Jett are with one another.
