Major Characters

The Jonathan Trilogy

Ben

One of Jonathan’s close friends. Ben tends to be a quiet observer who evaluates and weighs a person’s every word and action. His dreams of becoming an EMT were put on hold when the Ranker War broke out, and after trying to protect his friends, Ben was turned into a vampire. Or so the Rankers thought. In actuality, Ben’s griffin heart proved too strong to become completely lost to darkness, and now he works as a sort of double-agent, pretending to serve the Rankers while feeding information about them to Jonathan and his griffin-hearted loyalists.

Ben is a pseudo-griffin. His griffin form is blue with white hind paws, a dark, jagged beak, and, most bizarrely of all, great, webbed bat wings instead of feathered griffin wings.

Donovan

A sadistic vampire and Garrett’s right-hand-man. Donovan is responsible for Ben’s transformation. He is charming, handsome, and his unusual manner of speech excludes contractions. His friendly manner is only a predatory ruse meant to attract prey—Donovan is really a vicious and violent hunter who despises the griffin-hearted and will do anything he can to crush Jonathan’s spirits—including bringing harm to those closest to him.

Garrett

More than just your average school bully. He's sadistic, malicious, and for some reason intent on making Jonathan's life miserable. Ever since he publicly humiliated Nikki at school, saying crude, lewd things that still affect her even years later, Jonathan vowed to one day put Garrett in his place. Though the two of them have not yet engaged in a physical fight, it’s only a matter of time before the tension between them erupts.

Garrett has inky-black hair and emerald-green eyes. He also wears a golden ring in his ear that is studded with a red gem.

The Griffin Council

There is always a council of five griffin-hearted individuals who aid the griffin ruler by providing them with advice and overseeing certain matters. The current council is as follows:

Jade–An Australian girl with a penguin / tiger / seabird griffin form. Tasked with overseeing services and representing the needs of the people to the griffin king or queen.
Wambua–An African boy with a lion / marshall eagle griffin form. Tasked with overseeing farming and agriculture.
Damon–A young boy from Washington state with an intricate celtic pattern down the spine of his green-and-orange griffin form. Tasked with managing castle defense and military organization.
Peligro–An Argentinian boy with a harpy eagle griffin form. Tasked with overseeing trade and castle management.
Russel–A South Korean boy who grew up in the Bronx of New York with a rich, yellow griffin form. Tasked with overseeing finances.

Jonathan

A Coloradan teen whose life initially revolves around his girlfriend, football, going toe-to-toe with the school bully, and avoiding his abusive, drunk father. Noble and just, he is at times immature and harbors emotional scars from a history of abuse and bereavement. When he arrives in the dreamworld and the obligations of being the Griffin Prince are thrust upon him, he can't help but try his best to adjust to the new challenges and learn how best to protect those he loves.

In griffin form, Jonathan is a copper-brown color with a white underside and long, yellow, tendril-like feathers over his eyes. His pinions and secondaries are mahogany-brown, the insides of his wings are a rich, golden-yellow with red-brown speckles, and he has three extra-long tertials on each side.

Josiah

Jonathan’s school counselor, a young man with feathery, shoulder-length, dark hair and eyes that seem a mix of amber, green, gray, and brown. Josiah is also a messenger for the white griffin, tasked with keeping an eye on Jonathan and the other fledgeling griffin-hearted in his circle. Though no one knows the circumstances that led Josiah to work so closely with a Celestial, he takes his responsibilities very seriously. Josiah was also a close friend of King Brody’s.

Josiah’s griffin form is scarlet with a crest of long, mohawk-like black feathers atop his head and black curly-cue markings in his wings.

Kayle

Kayle is a young Irishman with a surly attitude and a fondness for fire. He keeps to himself, and treats Jonathan like an annoying child that no one has the time to care for. Kayle never goes anywhere without his lighter engraved with the image of a phoenix. As long as he has a firesource such as his lighter nearby, Kayle can manipulate the flame.

In griffin form, Kayle is black with tufted ears and midnight speckles inside of his wings. As a griffin, he can also become entirely covered in fire!

The Liege Master

The mysterious, evil being that haunts the foul Ranker isle. King Brody supposedly discovered the existence and identity of the Liege Master, but died before being able to share his thoughts. Until recently, he was thought of as an idol or god that the Rankers worshiped—Jonathan, however, harbors doubts. Dreamworld fables liken him to the father of sin and the king of nightmares, though these have long been credited as silly horror stories. It is Jonathan who personally discovers the truth behind these so-called myths…

Mariah

Mariah is a young French woman who is shy and kind but fiercely protective of her friends. It pains her to think of the life and family she has left behind. A beautiful gemstone necklace crafted by the dwarves of Boiling Point Mountain granted her the ability to create and regenerate organic matter. Mariah can touch the soil and grow a berry bush, touch a corncob and regrow the kernels, and even regrow a severed limb!

In griffin form, Mariah is pale pink with curly feathers that extend above her eyes and dusty-brown chevrons on the insides of her wings.

Michael

A Celestial that takes the form of a white griffin. Michael has guided and assisted griffin rulers since as far back as anyone can remember. He stands a foot or two taller than Peter, and strange, inky black markings cover his face and head. Unlike a normal griffin, Michael’s eyes glow yellow with black sclera. When he spreads his wings, images sometimes flicker through them—images from a person’s past, future, and perhaps even their deepest desires.

Nikki

Jonathan's girlfriend. Nikki does her best to survive in a broken world as the Rankers slowly encroach upon dreams and begin to lay waste to reality. Normally anxious, quiet, and reserved, she begins to develop into a brave leader and helps her friends to fight from the shadows, protecting dreamers as they sleep from Rankers and the monsters that work with them. Jonathan admires Nikki for her perseverance, quiet strength, selflessness, and loyalty.

Peter

Jonathan's mentor and a war veteran, Peter helps to train Jonathan and teach him how to cope with being a prince and a griffin. A father figure, Peter cares deeply for Jonathan--and seems to harbor a slew of mysterious secrets. A strong, burly man, and capable of transforming into a griffin just like Jonathan can, he is wise, powerful, and every bit as regal as the mythical creature whose form he can take.

Peter’s griffin form is large, shaggy, and chocolate-brown. He has silver eyes and the griffin ability to blend in with his surroundings in a way that renders him almost completely invisible!

The Squadron

A group of specially chosen warriors tasked with accompanying the griffin ruler on their ventures and protecting them. Members and numbers change every few years based on the location of the king or queen’s quest and the specializations required. Current lead members include Flaherty, a marine and dreamer from reality, Marcus, Tyson’s dream-creation and a rambunctious man from the gladiatorial province of Grechus, Agave, a fierce Amazonian woman, and Takeo-Kou, a kind-hearted and curious samurai.

A King Shall Rise

Abram

Abram is a minister who works in the palace. He’s seen the ascension of quite a few griffin kings and queens, as he plays a vital role in their coronation ceremonies, blessing them as they take the throne and praying for their wellbeing. Calm, quiet, and fatherly, Abram, like Josiah, is a dreamer from reality, not a dream-created being. Though there is pain in his past, Abram has a servant’s heart and a love for the king and the dreamworld. He boosts morale, sometimes with just a kind word or gesture, and everyone knows they can go to Abram for sage advice. Abram also cameos in Jonathan: King of Dreams as the pastor who welcomes Jonathan to his castle for the first time.

Abram’s griffin form is fir-tree-green and marked with stripes like a tabby cat.

Aydran

Aydran is one of the King’s Six companions. He is a bard, and if anyone can collect gossip it’s him. Aydran is part elf, which has blessed him with stunningly good looks. This doesn’t mean he stays out of trouble. A talented musician with a big mouth and a love of the finer things in life, Aydran’s features are marred by a scar going across his mouth. One can only wonder at the story behind it! Despite his roguish manner and the flirtatious winks he sends at the giggling maids in his audience, Aydran cares deeply for the kingdom and its king, and likes to help Brody relax with a quick joke, a silly story, or a clever tune.

Bloodlust

Bloodlust, or the Ranker of Lust, is one of the Seven Deadly Rankers that tormented the dreamworld in Brody’s time. Said to resemble a “mockery of the female form,” she is an ancient beast with long, powerful, animalian limbs that end in prehensile digits, each tipped with long claws. Her neck is serpentine, constantly twining and moving, growing longer or shorter as she wills it. Most alarming of all is the white harlequin mask she wears over her face. The purple-rimmed eyes, nothing more than black pits, and the red-rimmed mouth with its sharp teeth, move as if they are real features on a living face instead of painted onto a mask. Her ear-to-ear grin lingers in one’s nightmares long after the initial, unlucky meeting.

Brody (See the Former Griffin Rulers tab for more)

Brody is a young man just starting college and haunted by a traumatizing event from his childhood. This event left him disenchanted and grave, and he feels disconnected from the world around him. After a tragic accident sends him to the dreamworld, Brody realizes that there is much, still, to stand for. The more time he spends in the Land of Dreams, the more Brody transforms into an Arthurian sort of hero; a noble king willing to lay down his life for a righteous cause. If it weren’t for the discoveries King Brody made in his battles against the Rankers, and the information he uncovered in their fortresses, King Jonathan may not have won the Ranker War at all!

The Deadly Seven

Seven Rankers roaming the land and corrupting it. Each seems to have set up shop in one of the cities of the dreamworld and though their intentions are unclear, reports pour into the capital city detailing horrific fallout from these conquests. Brody swiftly leaves his kingdom with a group of six companions to find out more about these sinister, extra-powerful nightmares.

Domine

Domine is a titan. Titans are people who possess abilities that center around an animal totem. Domine’s is the mountain bear. A tall, gruff man with a penchant for smoking a pipe and trying to start innocent wrestling matches, Domine resembles a bear even when he isn’t taking the shape of one. At a whim, Domine can transform into a gigantic ursine with shaggy, black fur and slavering fangs. Like the others of his generation, he was left in the wilds when he came of age and had to learn to survive in a community of his peers, as is the way of the titans. This has left Domine a little apathetic toward what he perceives as “weak people,” and he would definitely prefer a brawl to a hug. But Domine recognizes a just cause when he sees it, and he doesn’t want the kingdom to fall anymore than his companions do.

Josiah

Josiah is Brody’s close confidante and one of the few to meet him after his arrival in the dreamworld. He serves as a sort of advisor to the young king, and cares deeply about his well being. Capable of transforming into a brilliant-scarlet griffin, Josiah is mysteriously indebted to the just-as-mysterious White Griffin known as Michael. Though no one knows how it happened or why, Josiah serves as a go-between or messenger between the ancient Celestial and reality.

Josiah’s griffin form is scarlet in color with black-tipped, curving ears and fox-like cheek tufts. His wing feathers are also black-tipped, and the interiors are marked with black curly-cue designs.

Khogar

Khogar is a member of the King’s Six. She is a snow leopard tribal; a bipedal feline with silvery fur and dark rosettes. A talented tanner, Khogar is fond of crafting beautiful saddles, belts, and other leather items. She is a creature of few words, but shrewd observations, and Brody holds her advice dear. She wears several, colorful ribbons around her tail, each different from the next, and some older than others. One can only guess as to why, but they obviously have deep meaning to her.

Michael

Also known as the “White Griffin,” Michael is an enigmatic character. Taking the form of a brilliantly white grizzly-bear-sized griffin, this appears only to be a disguise. Unlike the other griffins in the dreamworld, Michael is actually a Celestial—an angelic being who guides and trains the griffin rulers. A being of few words, Michael pushes others to put their trust in the Golden Griffin and find their own way, learning as they go. He is ageless, having worked alongside countless other griffin rulers before Brody and Jonathan, and harkens from a time when the Celestials themselves protected the dreamworld. Sometimes Michael will spread his wings and inside of them, one will see hundreds of images flashing in them like scenes from various films playing at once. Usually the experience leaves the viewer feeling unsettled, sad, or overjoyed the point of tears, but these images seem to hint at events that will unfold in a person’s future, or significant events that took place in the past.

Michael’s most distinguishing features are the strange black markings swirling across his face like loopy script or tattoos, and his eyes. The sclera of his eyes are black, and the irises a glowing gold. When the sun meets Michael’s eyes, his cat-like pupils don’t contract—instead they glow a molten-yellow and expand to fill his whole eye!

Rexus

Rexus is a young charlatan (a weasel-like creature with mule-like ears) constantly in Josiah’s company. The little critter is very kind and empathetic, and is quite shy when he meets Brody for the first time. Rexus is good at sneaking into buildings and keeping an eye on things, and he’s also stronger than he looks!

Sylph

Sylph is one of Brody’s only friends at college. She’s a young woman with a dry wit and acerbic manner, who hints at a dark past. Once Brody starts to have strange visions, Sylph helps him try to interpret them. She is also a sounding board for his concerns, and tries to bring him comfort as he struggles to find humanity’s redeeming qualities.