Ciaran

Ciaran, by oblivionsdream

Known as a powerful Principality specialising in dream walking and wild magic, in reality Ciaran is Arcana, the true Magician, and leader of the Hex Court.

## **Appearance**

Ciaran has blue hair and blood red lips; his eyes have been described as, "...moving light, like sun on water...".

## **Personality**

Ciaran is playful by nature, taking great pleasure amusing himself by teasing friend and foe alike. Ciaran is prone to focussing on the trivial, and is easily distracted by the care, or lack thereof, that people take in their appearance. However this is often a mask to disguise his true powers of observation, and he is quick to see the potential in others, such as Quinn Saint Nicholas prophetic abilities and Layne Dawncreek's immolation magic.

Ciaran appears to have a distaste for authority figures. This is exemplified by his refusal to publicly claim his Throne, instead preferring to oversee it in secret whilst a Principality of his choosing masquerades as the Magician in his place.

Secretive by nature, Ciaran successfully hid his true nature as the Arcana of the Hex Throne for an undisclosed amount of time (suggested to be centuries), even fooling Lord Tower well into the present day that he was merely a powerful and eccentric Principality.

Though appearing quite slippery and aloof to many, Ciaran appears to have a soft spot for the less fortunate in Atlantean society, taking up the cause of the those in the Low Lands during Lady Time's March, and mentoring Layne in their emerging magic.

## **Background**

### *Early Life*

Little is known about Ciaran's life before the events of the Tarot Sequence. Born in Old Atlantis, Rune speculates that he is roughly the same age as Lord Tower, who himself is believed to be over 400 years old.

An Arcana by birth, and true leader of the Hex Throne, Ciaran, rather than assume the expected court duties and leadership of Atlantean society, instead placed an imposter on his throne. This false Magician ruled in his stead for what is implied to be centuries, reporting to Ciaran but having considerable freedom to run the Hex Court as he saw fit.

Ciaran, afforded the freedom to live as he wished, cultivated a reputation as a dangerous information broker in New Atlantis, and was known as a slippery but generally reliable source by Rune and Brand by the time of the events of The Last Sun.

### *The Hanged Man*

Ciaran shows up unexpectedly when Rune is about to attend his first meeting of Arcanum in the Convocation. Stating he will be attending the meeting after calling in undisclosed favours from Lord Magician, he uses his magic to change Rune into more Court appropriate clothing, including a cape he brought with him. Then, he enters the Iconsgison with him, Brand, and Addam.

After Rune proclaims himself Arcana, Ciaran confirms to the Arcanum that he bore witness to Rune's use of the Arcana Majure, cementing his right to claim the Sun Throne. The Magician, Rune notes, is visibly annoyed by Ciaran's presence throughout the entire meeting of the Arcanum.

### The Hourglass Throne

In the months after the fall of the Hanged Man's Court, Ciaran has taken to tutoring Layne Dawncreek in the emerging use of their immolation magic, and appears to have a fondness for the young man.

Whilst discussing the recent events at the rejuvenation centre, and his knowledge of Lord Fool and his Court, Rune confronts Ciaran about his true identity as Lord Magician, temporarily stunning him into silence. Confirming that he is indeed Lord Magician, and the public Magician to be only a figurehead, Rune vows not to reveal his secret.

Ciaran joins Rune, Brand, Addam, Lord Tower and Lady Death in exploring the Low Lands for Lady Time's compound. When they discover the Hanger where locations from Rune and Brand's lives had been painstakingly reconstructed, Ciaran pleads with Rune not to go into the reconstruction of the Carriage House where he had been repeatedly raped and tortured. When both Rune and Brand later emerged from the Carriage House, Ciaran, Lord Tower, and Lady Time surrounded them both in a protective circle as a symbol of their alliance.

During Lady Time's march on Farstryke Castle, Ciaran acts as a forward scout of the assembled Arcana. When Lord Tower moved to disperse the former members of the Revelry turned would-be soldiers, Ciaran, recognising them as little more than desperate people acting out of desperation, knocked Lord Tower to the ground and revealed his true nature. Floating above the crowd, he publicly vowed to act as the voice of the disenfranchised of Atlantis on the Arcanum, in doing so binding himself magically to his word, and preventing bloodshed. Lord Tower, Lady Death and Brand where noticeably shocked by this revelation.

When Rune and Addam became lost in the Time Stream, Ciaran and Lord Tower spent two days attempting to return them to the present without success.

Ciaran was present alongside Lady Death, Brand, Addam and Annalow Dawncreek, when Rune used the Arcana Majure to destroy Lady Time.

In the days and weeks after the fall of Lady Time and the death of Lord Tower, Ciaran was faced with the consequences of his actions. His puppet resented losing his status as an Arcana, and Ciaran was forced to put him in his place. Once alone, however, he confessed to Rune that he was unsure what to do with the false Magician, who, though not an Arcana, was a powerful Principality who was skilled at running the Hex Throne's vast business interests.

Alongside Lady Death, he helped moved the contents of Rune's investigation into the fall of the Sun Throne into Half House, and did one final check of the building for any remaining spy devices.

## **Abilities**

### Magical Abilities

Ciaran specializes in dreams and excels at wild magic. For example, colors and textures tend to change around him. He is able to manipulate dreams in others without a sigil.

Ciaran is able to dream walk. An ability to not only enter a persons dream, manipulate it, and communicate with them, but also to initiate a dream to facilitate communication. He was notably able to communicate with Quinn St Nicholas whilst he in a coma.

Strong in stealth magic, Ciaran is able to make himself invisible at will.

The Arcana of the Hex Throne, Ciaran's court is noted for its ability to create travel portals around the world. Ciaran has yet to be seen creating such a portal himself, though his frequent global travel implies the ability to be present.

He claims that his Seeing capabilities are akin to dreams and prophecies.

#### *Visions and True Seeings*

Ciaran seems to be briefly inhabited by experiences of future events while in Farstryke Castle:

* "You are only my face and voice, not my Will, and I will have you remember that!"
* "She fooled us all, like Russian dolls inside Russian dolls inside Russian dolls. The canny bitch!"
* "Their bodies have been lost to the waves. There is no more cause for hope."
* "The Westlands is advancing on us, we must prepare."
	+ This last may be a reference to the events in the Moral Certainties compound at the end of *The Last Sun*

While in the Moral Certainties Compound, Ciaran foresees:

* "They'll be in oilskins."
	+ This refers to the draugs that attack soon after.

## **Relationships**

#### **Rune St John**

Ciaran has a playful interest in Rune and his companion, Brand. Whilst Ciaran has a reputation as potentially dangerous, over the course of time, he grows to consider Rune a powerful ally and friend, and repeatedly puts himself in danger to assist Rune on his missions. Ciaran appears to find Rune interesting, and this interest only increases once Rune assumes the Sun Throne, and becomes an active an unorthodox Arcana.

Rune, for his part, considers Ciaran to be a close and trusted friend, perhaps most exemplified in his blessing Layne Dawncreek's request to leave the Sun Court to apprentice with Ciaran.

#### Brandon St John

Ciaran appears to enjoy teasing Brand, often commenting on his grumpy nature and aggressive tendencies. However this hides a deep respect for his loyalty and love for Rune, his skills as a bodyguard, and his strategic mind.

Brandon initially dislikes Ciaran for Mind-Fucking him during negotiations in a bar, leaving him temporarily unable to defend Rune. However their relationship evolves past this through numerous experiences, and Brand has come to trust and rely upon Ciaran as an ally and friend.

#### Quinn St Nicholas

The friendship between Quinn and Ciaran is based on the shared magic of prophecy. Whilst Ciaran's is limited to dreamlike glimpses, Quinn is a true-seer whose ability to foresee probabilities captures Ciaran's attention. Ciaran is motivated by concern for Quinn, whose abilities have shaped him into a naïve, reckless, and socially maladjusted boy. He provides much needed friendship to Quinn when they first meet, even acting as an interlocutor between Quinn and Rune whilst the former is in a coma.

Ciaran is more comfortable with Quinn's abilities and his attempts to steer the future than others, but still recognises the dangers of his powers. He helps Addam procure medicines to suppress his abilities to a lower state, though this later proves to be ineffective.

Quinn views Ciaran warmly and with trust.

## **References**

1. ↑ *The Last Sun*, Chapter 17, Siege
2. ↑ *The Last Sun*, Chapter 17, Siege