Terrance

**Terrance Khan** is the deuteragonist in *The Mystic Menace*. He is the son of the nobleman Taran Khan and a soldier of Camellia's regiment. After learning that the vigilante Amber is actually Isadora, he joins her mission to dethrone the royals, serving as Isadora's combat trainer and close partner.

## Background

Terrance was born into the Khan noble house. When he was four years old, his mother died of the plague. His father, Taran, was heartbroken and furious. Taran suspected that the royals were responsible for the plague, so he conspired with his associates to kill King Aeric and Queen Kinarra. Taran managed to completely burn down Tempest Castle, but Aeric and Kinarra escaped, leaving their servants trapped in the castle to die. The phantom wolves arrested Taran and his accomplices and brought them to town square, where they were beheaded in front of everyone, including the four-year-old Terrance. Sometime before his death, Taran gave Terrance the family's heirloom: an enchanted flying scarf, which Terrance promised to keep a secret.

Terrance lived in the orphanage until he was old enough to be recruited into Camellia's military academy. He trained for eleven years before being assigned to Camelia's fifth legion as a foot soldier. There, he met Caelum Tomi, a fellow soldier, and the two quickly became friends. As a soldier, Terrance avoided dangerous tasks whenever possible. He usually stuck to simpler tasks like patrolling the healing session line-ups or catching petty trespassers. It was during his patrol of the Drum Theatre that he met the farm hand, Isadora, for the first time. He ran into her again multiple times afterwards, where he usually found her trespassing, stealing, or getting into fights, much to his bewilderment.

One night, while patrolling the courtyard with the other soldiers, Terrance learned about a witch, Amber, that had broken into the castle gardens. Ignoring the King's orders, Terrance entered the garden, determined to find out why Aeric was so adamant on keeping everyone out. He caught Amber wandering inside the garden, only to realize that the "witch" was Isadora, who was now suddenly able to wield powerful, amber-coloured lightning.

## Personality

> I like to avoid death whenever I can.
>
> —Terrance to Isadora

Terrance is sarcastic, fun-loving, and relaxed, with a somewhat crude humour. He likes to crack jokes, even if they aren't particularly funny, and maintains a lighthearted, playful attitude even in the most dangerous situations. He is confident to the point of arrogance, and while he tries to maintain a cool composure most of the time, he is highly reactive, quick to make remarks about the situations he encounters.

Although Terrance is friendly and sociable, he chooses to spend most of his free time alone, unfazed by what others think of him. He is fascinated with the moon, stars, and other celestial phenomena, using his spare time to learn more about them, though he tries to downplay this interest out of embarrassment. He has a temptation for wealth and riches, particularly gold, and will readily join missions if there is money involved.

Being raised and trained as a soldier, Terrance is highly disciplined, preferring to follow the rules rather than break them. He is extremely cautious and methodical, relying on careful planning and logic rather than impulse or instinct. His cautious nature often makes him hesitant to act, as seen when he refuses to pursue the phantom wolves at the risk of being caught. His first choice of action is usually to run from a fight rather than engage in one. Nevertheless, Terrance is brave and daring when he needs to be; he fought four phantom wolves on his own, as well as faced off against dragon-Kinarra one-on-one to protect Isadora.

Terrance tends to gets facts or phrases mixed up, such as confusing "Daina downer" with "Debbie downer," "bedhead" with "bedridden," and radishes for turnips. He is strong minded and stubborn, usually believing that he is always in the right. Like Isadora, Terrance tends to be short-tempered, especially when he (or someone he cares about) has been insulted. He prefers being practical and direct, and is generally distrustful of those he first meets, as seen when Terrance suspects Theo and Chandra of trying to double-cross him and Isadora.

In contrast to his upbringing in Camellia's military, Terrance highly values honour and integrity, asserting that true soldiers fight for something they value rather than just physical enemies. He is a perfectionist, concerned with mastery of martial arts and insistent on rigorous training, even for himself, despite already completing his formal training years ago. Although he claims to care only for himself and claims to be indifferent to Camellia's plights, Terrance is curious and observant. Unlike most of Camellia's civilians, Terrance was always skeptical of the king and queen, seeking out the castle garden even though he and the other guards were banned from entering. He has a natural desire to learn and seek knowledge, filling the secret cave with stacks of books and scrolls on different subjects.

While on missions, Terrance prefers simple tactics over complicated ones, such as when he destroys an axe-swing trap in the castle labyrinth rather than navigating around it. Despite his intense combat training, Terrance is easygoing, placing relaxation on an equal level with hard work. He goofs around with his friends, makes silly bets, and takes part in the kingdom's annual festivals. He teases his friends a lot, but he cares about them deeply. Terrance is unwavering in his desire to protect his friends; he is especially protective of Isadora and readily comes to her defense when Lord Petrocious or the farmhands mistreat her.

Because of his father's execution, Terrance has a deep-seeded fear of mortality, so much that he gets uneasy at the sight of blood. Initially, Terrance believes that nothing is worth dying for, opting to lay low, take the safe route, and avoid danger. This fear prevents Terrance from fully realizing his ambitions. He offers to train Isadora, but insists on staying out of combat so that he can live a "long, comfortable life." He is pained at seeing people die from the plague, but tells himself that it is better to do nothing and keep out of trouble. Throughout the novel, Terrance is at odds with himself—while he wants to avoid combat and look out for himself, he stills feels compelled to save Camellia. By the end of the novel, Terrance comes to terms with his past, realizing that one's cause is worth fighting for. He refuses to stand aside, no matter the risks, and decides to defend the kingdom against any threats that may come, serving not only as a soldier, but as the rightful king of Camellia.

## Appearance

Terrance is a tall young man with a lean build. He has a sharp, angular face, scruffy, coal-black hair, and russet-toned skin. He is noted to be quite attractive, catching the attention of many girls his age. He bears a striking resemblance to young Aeric and Elisyan, most notably from his grey eyes and crooked smile.

During the day, Terrance wears his military uniform: shiny iron-leather armour, black pants, and a surcoat emblazoned with the royal insignia, a winding sea dragon. He keeps the sleeves of his shirt rolled up and sometimes wears a straw hat. As Saros, Terrance wears purple arm guards and a sleeveless dark purple overcoat with silver hemlines; underneath the coat he wears a sleeveless *Shitagi*, a waist sash, pants, and a pair of silver pointed boots. He also wears dark purple scarves around his face to conceal his appearance.

## Abilities

Warning: This Article Contains Spoilers Below this Point

## Relationships

### Family

**Taran** - Terrance's father. Being so young when Taran died, Terrance had few memories of him, most of those memories muddled and unpleasant. Taran had spent his final months plotting to kill the royals instead of spending time with Terrance, so the most Terrance remembers were "all these big adults in [his] house, lots of secret talks." Because Taran's fire had caused the deaths of innocent servants, Terrance was ashamed to talk about him. Terrance thought of his father as a criminal, even believing that their family heirloom was actually a stolen relic from the eternal rulers. He couldn't agree with his father's willingness to die for a hopeless cause. However, as the novel progressed, and Terrance learned the truth of his lineage, he grew to understand his father and regarded him with a newfound respect.

### Friends

**Isadora *-*** Terrance's love interest. Isadora and Terrance have a rough relationship at first, with Terrance frequently arresting Isadora for the petty crimes she commits. Although Terrance is initially distrustful of Isadora, he offers to be her partner and train her to fight, claiming that he is doing so for the money. With Terrance being more reserved and methodical, and Isadora being more carefree and energetic, the two clash multiple times and get on each other's nerves. Even so, they work well as a team, at times understanding what the other is thinking without saying anything. Following their fight against Lykos, Terrance and Isadora open up to each other about their personal lives. Isadora tells him, "I thought you of all people would hate me," and Terrance responds, "I could never hate you."

After their disastrous first battle against Aeric, Isadora and Terrance get into an argument and stop working together. This greatly troubles Terrance, though he is reluctant to admit it, and he finds himself trying to help Isadora anyways. Following Isadora's trip to Quillwort, Terrance finds her unconscious and badly injured at the Tunet River. Alarmed, he carries Isadora in his arms and rushes her to safety. When Isadora awakens, Terrance tries to apologize, confessing that he missed her a lot. However, Isadora falls asleep mid-confession, and Terrance loses the nerve to repeat his words when she reawakens. Nevertheless, the two eventually apologize to each other and agree to be partners again, strengthening their growing bond.

More than anyone else, Terrance trusts Isadora the most. He tells only Isadora about his family heirloom—the enchanted flying scarf—despite promising he would keep it secret from everyone. Eventually he even confides in Isadora about his family's troubled past, and Isadora is best able to comfort Terrance. Isadora, similarly, finds comfort in Terrance's company and always confides in him first. Terrance holds Isadora in high regard; he comments that she is "amazing" and marvels at her skill and quick-thinking. He puts full faith in Isadora's abilities to the extent that, on the night of the dark moon, he makes a deal with Aeric in order to stall time until Isadora can heal her injuries and return.

Terrance frequently gets annoyed by Isadora's impulsiveness, but this is more out of worry rather than irritation. He is very protective of her, quickly coming Isadora's defence when people like Lord Petrocious speak poorly about her. He gets especially angry when Isadora is wounded, to the point that he attacks the person that harmed her without hesitation. Likewise, although Terrance hates fights and tries to avoid danger whenever possible, he never hesitates to put himself in harms way to protect Isadora. This is most evident during the thunder festival, when he takes a knife to the heart to save her.

Isadora and Terrance's feelings are obvious to everyone except each other. Lord Petrocious implies that Isadora and Terrance are in a relationship, which they both hastily deny. Similarly, Dimas mistakes Terrance for Isadora's suitor, making them both flustered and they again deny it. Later in the novel, Theo refers to Terrance as Isadora's boyfriend; this time, however, Terrance doesn't deny it. During the Thunder Festival, Terrance is more aware of his feelings for Isadora. The two attend the festival together, where Terrance asks Isadora to dance and attempts to confess to her, but is interrupted by sudden commotion at the amphitheatre.

In the aftermath of Aeric and Kinarra's defeat, Isadora reveals her true feelings to Terrance and they share their first kiss. From then on, they officially become a couple. They continue to tease each other, though it is often more flirtatious, as seen when Terrance freely tells Isadora that she is "cute" when she is embarrassed. After being crowned king of Camellia, Terrance asks Isadora to rule with her and she happily accepts. It is hinted that they might be married in the future, as Chandra ponders the subject with Theo and he responds, "Give them time, they'll figure it out eventually."

* **Caelum Tomi** -
* **Theo -**
* **Chandra -**
* **Valerius Nominari** -
* **Shuiyu** -

### Enemies

* **King Aeric** -
* **Queen Kinarra** -

## Trivia

* Terrance is the tallest main character in *The Mystic Menace*.
* Terrance's surname is derived from the historic Turko-Mongol title *khan,* referring to a military chief or ruler.