Meet the Characters of Onyx & Ivory

Dear Readers,

We’re exactly one month away from the release of Onyx & Ivory, and today we’re taking an in-depth look at the characters, and even more specifically, the character trading cards! In case you haven’t heard, these cards, along with a free short story, are up for grabs in the preorder giveaway going on right now. Everyone gets the story and your chances of winning the cards are extremely high!

All the cards were designed by the amazing Jenny Zemanek of Seedlings Design Studio. But before we get into the details, a little about the cards themselves. The look and feel of the deck is inspired by the gaming cards played throughout the kingdom of Rime. Like our modern decks, Rime’s cards have 4 suites – Jars, Flutes, Stone, and Candles. There are also four “Shade” cards, which are outside of the four decks, and are often used as wildcards.

Kate Brighton is representing the Jars suit, hence the blue color and the water drops. Kate is the main character in Onyx & Ivory. She’s known throughout Rime as Traitor Kate. Her father tried to assassinate the high king three years ago, and she’s been living with that infamy ever since. But her infamy would be even worse if people knew the truth about her–she’s a wilder with an ability to communicate with animals. But wilder magic is outlawed in Rime (learn more here).

Next we have Corwin Tomane. He’s representing the Flutes card as indicated by the yellow and the wind symbols. Like Kate, Corwin is also the main character. His father is high king, and Kate is his ex. Which makes sense, considering her father tried to kill his. Corwin is known as the Errant Prince, because for the last few years no one has seen or heard of him. After his father nearly died, Corwin fled the kingdom to parts unknown. But now he’s back. Corwin also has an older brother, but in Rime the line of succession isn’t quite what you would expect.

Bonner is representing the Stones cards. His real name is Thomas, same as his father, but he prefers to be called Bonner. He’s a blacksmith and best friends with Kate. He’s also one of the few people who knows she’s a wilder. That’s because Bonner is one, too. He’s an earthist with a specific affinity for controlling metals. The skill comes in handy in his profession, and it’s also led him to develop a new weapon, one that will have a resounding impact across Rime once discovered.

Signe Leth is representing the Candles card as indicated by the red color and the flames. Signe works with Kate in the Relay, the royal courier service of Rime, and the two are best friends. Like Bonner, Signe knows about Kate’s magic. Signe is from the Esh Islands, a nation to the south of Rime. She loves to tell tall tales about her past, so many that her friends know very little about her background. Kate believes she was either a former circus performer or a thief. Either way, she’s always got Kate’s back.

Lastly, we have Raith, representing the Shade card. Like the card, he’s an enigmatic character. Raith is a magist, one of the sanctioned magic-users of Rime (learn more here). He is a member of the Blue Order, charged with the defense of Rime, especially from the nightdrakes that hunt anything human wandering around outside the cities after nightfall. All magists carry a mace, the head imbedded with magestones, all capable of holding a magical spell.

And there you have it. Each card will also have this lovely design on the back.