Jess Brightwell

**Jess Brightwell** is the son of Callum Brightwell, the head of family of black market book smugglers.

## Biography

### Early Life

Jess was born and raised in London. He has a twin brother named Brendan Brightwell, and his mother is Celia Brightwell. He's trained as a member of his family's smuggling syndicate since he was old enough to walk. He knows all the routes and all the runs that his family holds against competitors throughout the city of London. His childhood was difficult as a result of his father's physical and emotional abuse.

### *Ink and Bone*

Jess is sixteen years old. Callum has decided to send Jess to train for service to the Great Library of Alexandria in hopes of using Jess' future position to benefit the family. He tells Jess that he knows Jess never wanted to take over the family business and that he's not suited to running it either. So he bought Jess a placement in the Library, which costs a small fortune, provided Jess makes the training. Callum makes sure Jess understands that he better pass the training as he will not welcome him back home. Before leaving for his training, Jess is shocked when Brendan tells him he doesn't Jess to go to the Library because they'll lose him forever if he does.

On the train to Alexandria, Jess meets Thomas Schreiber, Khalila Seif, and Glain Wathen. Dario Santiago is assigned to be Jess's roommate, and the two immediately find themselves at odds.

Jess is surprised and worried when he learns Brendan is in Alexandria on Callum's orders to collect the Aristophanes play from Jess and deliver it to its buyer.

Jess meets Morgan Hault when she arrives weeks late to training due to the siege in Oxford. Later, Jess discovers that Morgan is an Obscurist. He tells her that his family smuggles original texts. The two are almost immediately attracted to each other.

Jess learns he can translate a large number of texts at once, more than the average person. During the raid staged by Scholar Christopher Wolfe, Jess translates twenty items, when most librarians pass out from managing five tags one after another. Wolfe explains this merely means Jess can withstand the drawing of energy by the Obscurists' processes better than most. It's a curious talent and could be valuable. Wolfe further thinks this means Jess will find it easier than usual to use other Library tools. This proves to be true for the special Library restraints.

When Thomas tells Khalila and Jess about his invention that "will make the Codex obsolete," Khalila becomes worried, saying it sounds like heresy. Thomas brushes her worries off.

Captain Niccolo Santi and Jess discover that the personal journal Jess got in the Welsh camp was mirrored to send everything he wrote back to the Library and the Artifex Magnus, even though personal journals are supposed to remain private until the owner's death. Santi tells Jess that he had been willing to let Morgan slip away, as long as there was no proof that they were complicit, but now they can't and he has to take her into custody. Later that night, Morgan reveals to Jess the existence of the breeding program for Obscurists led by the Library. He is understandably horrified and can't quite believe it. On the way back to Alexandria from Oxford, Wolfe tells Jess that he "wants him to feel the knife at the back of his neck, because it will always be there. And he won't always be able to protect him."

Upon returning to Alexandria, Thomas shows Jess his invention, it's a printing press. Jess immediately realizes how dangerous this is and tells Thomas to hide and not tell anyone else about it while he goes to Wolfe. Santi tells Jess about Wolfe's own invention of the printing press and his subsequent imprisonment and torture as a result. After telling Wolfe and Santi about Thomas's invention, they rush back to Ptolemy House, but everyone is gone and there's a pool of blood in Thomas's room. Jess, Santi, and Wolfe are brought to the Serapeum where the others, except for Thomas, are waiting. Jess is brought before the Artifex Magnus. The Artifex Magnus leads Jess and the others to believe that Thomas was killed. The Artifex forces Jess to become his spy and report to him about Wolfe.

Jess is rejected by the Library as a Scholar. Instead, he is given an appointment to the High Garda at the entry rank of private for the period of one year. This makes him a copper band, the lowest rank in the Library. He intends to work his way up the ladder and avenge Thomas.

### *Paper and Fire*

Glain is assigned as Jess's squad leader. Later, Jess is assigned to Captain Santi's squad.

Jess figures out how to shut down the automata. When Jess is reunited with Callum, Jess refuses to call him "Da" and refers to him by his first name.

### *Ash and Quill*

Circumstances force Jess and Callum back together and Jess has to play nice in order to secure his father's help. Jess and Dario make a plan to get the team safely out of England in anticipation of the Brightwell's betrayal. They talk about playing chess and the long game. Jess knows his father and thus knows that at a certain point, it will be in Callum's best interests to appease the Library and sell Jess's friends back to the Archivist.

Brendan and Jess switch places so that Jess can accompany his friends to Alexandria while Brendan protects the printing press and the Black Archive books from their father.

### *Smoke and Iron*

Jess has disguised himself as Brendan and transported Morgan and Wolfe to the Archivist. Morgan and Dario know what Jess is doing, but Wolfe and the rest of the group don't. Jess believes that he can create an opportunity to destroy the Archivist from within and he intends to take it.

### *Sword and Pen*

Celia tells Jess that Brendan will be buried on a hillside on the family castle's grounds. She knew he liked it there and sometimes sat there to read and watch the sea. Jess stands up to his father, and is shocked when not only Wolfe, but his mother, also stands up to Callum. Celia announces that she intends to be a true mother to Jess from now on.

Santi releases Jess from his contract with the High Garda and Archivist Khalila orders that he receive his full salary for the rest of his life. Thomas invites Jess to work with him, and makes him Chief Printer.

## Physical Description

Jess has brown hair. He is identical in appearance to Brendan. He has a light coating of translucent tan to his pale skin from months of sun exposure.

## Personality

Jess is intelligent, brave, ruthless, stubborn, adventurous, and loyal. Growing up in the Brightwell business has made him unable "to see brightness, and afraid of the constantly looming shadows." It has also made him a great runner and a very good liar. He grew up never trusting people. Trust was a skill he only acquires as a postulant. Jess is proud of the skills he's learned as a criminal, but has no real love for the family business. His love of reading sets him apart from the rest of his family. He has an excellent memory. Jess is outgoing and kind. He has a strong sense of right and wrong. His father says he has "more spine and cunning than is comfortable for a father." Jess likes challenges and "finds it boring to always be smarter than those around him." As a child, his father's approval was all he wanted. As he got older, this slowly starts to fade. Jess has felt used by his family since the day he'd been old enough to run. Morgan says he's someone who doesn't understand his own limits.

Jess is willing to throw everything away, including any support from his family, to rescue Thomas. He grows more accustomed to his role as both smuggler and soldier, but not to making difficult and costly decisions. He doesn't want to be a leader as he is reluctant to take on the required responsibility. With Brendan's death, Jess says he doesn't know who he is without his twin, but he supposes he will now have to learn, which Brendan would have demanded. In the end, Jess realizes that he's finally grown a shield against his father's rage and violence.

## Relationships

### Brendan Brightwell

Jess and Brendan are identical twins, but are as different as can be. The brothers are loyal to one another despite not getting along. Jess always loses when he and Brendan fight because deep down he doesn't want to hurt his brother while Brendan doesn't seem to have this same attitude. Brendan surprises Jess when he says he doesn't want Jess to to go to the Library, saying they'll lose him forever if he does. Each brother sees the other as always being better than themselves. Unbeknownst to Jess, Brendan is actually projecting his self-loathing onto Jess. Brendan is also treated as the "backup twin" in comparison to Jess by their father. Brendan tries to deal with his major inferiority complex by trying to set himself apart from Jess. They brothers get a few moments of true teamwork as they work against the Great Library. Their relationships gets some healing and moves in a more positive direction. Despite their sibling rivalry, they work well together. With Brendan's death, Jess says he doesn't know who he is without his twin, but he supposes he will now have to learn, which Brendan would have demanded.

### Morgan Hault

Morgan and Jess feel safe for the first time in a long time when they each reveal their secrets. They realize they have a great deal in common.

## Trivia

* Jess comes to view Wolfe and Santi as father-figures. They are certainly more like a father to him than Callum. Both men return the sentiment, seeing Jess like a son.
* He's an early riser.
* Jess speaks English, Greek, and is learning German from Thomas. His Greek is more than passable.
* The Scholar’s Codex his parents gift him is leather bound, with his name inscribed in gold Egyptian hieroglyphs on the front. After a year, its surface is roughened, scratched, and battered. The first section of the Codex holds the standard Library listing of volumes available for reading and research. Behind that is the contents of the latest reading he’d requested. Behind his reading is a separate tabbed page where messages that come in handwritten directly to him appear.