Isadora

**Isadora** is the main protagonist in *The Mystic Menace*. She is an aspiring inventor and the daughter of the farmhands Aurora and Dimas. After discovering King Elisyan's lost letter, Isadora embarks on a mission to dethrone the soul-stealing royals and restore peace to the plague-ridden kingdom of Camellia.

## Background

Isadora grew up at Petrocious' farmlands and worked there with her parents and her older brother, Theo. From a young age, Isadora was ostracized, ridiculed, and bullied by her peers, which Isadora claimed was because she was "too loud, too obnoxious, and all that horrible stuff." As a child, she got into several fights with the other farmhands, but lost every fight. Despite this, Isadora continued to intervene in her peers' affairs, particularly when she noticed the farmhands bullying or manipulating the younger farmhands. Isadora's parents were usually busy at work and Theo had friends of his own, so Isadora spent most of her time alone, building faulty gadgets that led to disastrous incidents, the most famous causing the Third Great Fire of Camellia. At the farm, Isadora was in charge of weed-pulling, a seemingly menial task, which caused her peers to torment her further.

Isadora liked to sneak into the Drum Theatre to watch the stage dramas, since she was too poor to afford play tickets. A soldier, Terrance Khan, caught her sneaking in and arrested her in hopes of getting a promotion. This first encounter led to a somewhat antagonistic relationship between the two, as Isadora continued to sneak into the theatre and Terrance continued to turn her in to the authorities. However, this didn't stop Isadora's trespassing, especially when her curiosity overwhelmed her.

One evening, after a healing session was prematurely cancelled, Isadora noticed a strange blue light coming from the royal gardens. She followed the light source into the gardens and found Elisyan's letter hidden inside a rooster statue, along with a black opal. The black opal cured Isadora of the plague and granted her the ability to wield lightning. Through Elisyan's letter, Isadora learned that only descendants of Elisyan, the true king of Camellia, could wield lightning, and discovered that she was the apparent heir to the throne.

## Personality

Isadora is inventive, adventurous, and curious, highly observant of the world around her. She never hesitates to explore, seek out, and investigate the unusual events that happen around her, being especially enthusiastic at any chance of adventure. Though Isadora gets scared easily, she doesn't let it stop her from completing the tasks she set out to do, preferring to face her opponents head-on rather than ignore them.

Having an interest in gadgets, tools, and other devices, Isadora is creative and resourceful. Throughout her journey, she builds a number of makeshift weapons using the resources around her, including a bow and arrow, mini-catapult, grappling yo-yo, and fire wire. She also shows an interest in mechanics, as seen when she wishes to observe how the moving gears work in Petrocious' windmills.

Because of her love for fairy tales and stage plays, Isadora tends to romanticize situations, no matter how dangerous they might be. For instance, she marvels at the idea of Theo and Chandra's 'forbidden love' as assassins, and at the idea of herself laying wounded in the river like a 'tragic hero.' Being sentimental, she collects souvenirs whenever possible, and is fascinated by magical or otherwordly items. Isadora is naive and idealistic, often daydreaming about fantastical, fairy-tale-like scenarios she would like to find herself in. Her imagination gets the better of her at times, particularly at Petrocious' farmlands. For instance, she accidentally broke a shovel while daydreaming about running away with a palace guard, and in an earlier instance also pulled out tomatoes instead of weeds.

Her dreams run deeper than seeking adventure, but also for the best life has to offer. Isadora's strong will and determination push her to achieve her dreams, no matter how impossible they seem. Unlike most of Camellia, Isadora refused to believe the plague was incurable and wished to stop the disease, long before she even discovered Elisyan's black opal. Although doubts come to her, she doesn't ponder over them long, instead holding onto the belief that there is "always something," always a solution or a path to take, even if she has to make the path herself. She is stubborn, insistent on doing what she wants and hates being told what to do. This leads her into trouble many times, such as when she insists on pursuing the phantom wolves in the forest and nearly gets killed. However, Isadora's unwavering resolve allows her to keep fighting even when she is outmatched, to keep going, to never give up or accept defeat. It is this quality that allows her to endure even the most difficult battles.

Isadora is impatient and impulsive, choosing to act on her instincts rather than waiting or thinking her actions over carefully first. She is scheming, quick to craft plans to her benefit, plans that often involve danger and breaking several laws. Isadora is also a bit thievish. Throughout the novel, Isadora either outright steals or "borrows" several items: orchids, mining tools, rolls of wire, a phantom skull mask, hairbrush, geode, and so on, though Isadora asserts that the items she takes are either already broken, damaged, or taken from "the bad guys," as in the case of the phantom wolf mask.

Her reckless, unpredictable nature makes her quite destructive, so much that the people of Camellia nicknamed her "the mystic menace." Whether in battle or running from authorities, Isadora tends to leave destruction in her wake, even more so when she is angered beyond control. This however, is unintentional, and Isadora takes responsibility for any damage she causes as a result.

While kind, Isadora is outspoken at times. She has a short temper, easy to react to those that insult her. As a young child, she frequently got into fights, and was labelled a troublemaker by her peers. Nevertheless, Isadora is friendly to everyone she meets, helping those in danger even if she doesn't know them. Isadora comforted an elderly man in his final moments of the plague, defended young farmhands from labour exploitation, and saved a woman from a fatal fall, despite the consequences that came to Isadora because of her actions. Likewise, Isadora cares deeply about her family and friends, often longing to spend more time with them, and never hesitates to protect and defend them. She is extremely loyal to the people she loves, so much that she is willing to risk everything to save them. At times, Isadora is overly trusting as well. Having a fairy tale view of the world, Isadora initially sees people as either pure good or "pure evil," failing to see that good people can do bad things and vice-versa. This view gets muddled after her interactions with Valerius, who both betrays and befriends her, and specifically from King Aeric, who shows moments of kindness despite his overall cruel nature.

Despite her upbeat, cheerful personality, Isadora is considerably insecure. She fears that she is unwanted and useless, only a burden to those around her. Compared to Theo, a prodigy in his own right, Isadora felt that she lacked any skills or talents of her own. Her failures with her inventions and difficulty making friends at Petrocious farms led Isadora to believe that she was only a bother to others, unworthy of attention unless she had something to offer. With Elisyan's powers, Isadora believed she had finally found her purpose, that she was finally somebody worthy of respect. When Isadora learns the truth, and realizes she is not the true heir or a lightning wielder at all, she again becomes disheartened. Eventually, with Theo and Elisyan's guidance, Isadora comes to realize her own worth, seeing that she does not need to be "useful" to be loved, nor does she need to be a princess. From then on, Isadora finds her own purpose by deciding to protect the kingdom at all costs, whether on the sidelines or in the background, no longer needing or wanting others' respect and admiration to do so.

## Appearance

Isadora is a small young woman with a slender frame. She has golden-brown hair, dark, upturned eyes, high cheekbones, and delicate facial features. In the beginning of the novel, Isadora's long, wavy hair is tangled and unkempt, and she has poison-ivy rashes on her face and skin. However, as the novel progresses, Isadora gets rid of her rashes and brushes her hair. It is noted that Isadora is quite pretty.

As a civilian, Isadora alternates between an old, patched-up quilt dress and a "milkmaid" outfit: a white bonnet, a baggy brown apron, an oversized, shapeless dress, and long, white gloves. As Amber, Isadora wears arm guards, a sleeveless dress with gold lace trimmings and slits along the sides, and a red sash tied tight around her waist. She also wears a red opera mask, painted with gold lips, gold eyeliner, and decorated with red camellias and ribbons along the top of the mask.

## Abilities

Isadora is a trained combatant, showing a mastery of weapons. She can wield swords, chain sickles, tridents, knives, axes, grappling hooks, spiked yo-yos, and chained flails with a high proficiency. She is particularly skilled with a grappling hook, using it like a whip or lasso to injure/disarm opponents, as well as to maneuver through the air with ease. Although not very athletic, Isadora is skilled at climbing, jumping, vaulting, and parkour, skills she acquired from years of exploring the forests and buildings of Camellia. She can do acrobatic flips with great complexity, although she has trouble perfecting the landing of her backflips while in combat. Isadora also has considerable agility, durability and endurance. She is able to fight for extended periods of time without stopping, even after being stabbed or struck by large amounts of blunt force trauma.

With the black opal, Isadora possesses materia levels equal to that of royalty, as well as the ability to summon lightning. Isadora can create and control electricity of varying magnitude: pale-yellow lightning, which can wake still hearts or knock people unconscious; bold, amber lightning, which can start fires; and bright gold lightning, which is strong enough to turn poison darts to ashes, destroy massive structures, and kill people with a single bolt. By the time of the thunder festival, Isadora is able to summon lightning from the clouds, the strongest, fastest, and deadliest form of lightning. She can likewise manipulate lightning to create spheres of electricity that serve as defensive borders.

Being highly driven and loyal to her friends, Isadora has notable leadership skills. She is able to delegate tasks and make decisions while under pressure, listening to the advice of her comrades and taking their opinions into account. Likewise, Isadora's sincere enthusiasm and optimism encourage others to trust her and follow her lead.

After the black opal loses its power, Isadora uses a red geode as her primary gemstone. With the geode, Isadora can summon any tool or weapon from thin air, as long as the weapon contains a geode crystal. The exact weapon that is summoned, however, is random, preventing Isadora from summoning the weapon of her choice. The dark side of the moon grants access to aither, and once Isadora extracts the moon's aither for herself, her soul energy becomes merged with the geode's energy. As a result, all objects containing a geode crystal become bound to her soul as well. This allows Isadora to summon the exact weapon she wishes, enabling her to switch quickly between weapons in battle.

Isadora is highly resourceful. She is a quick thinker, able to scan areas quickly, improvise, and use the items around her to her advantage. Often, Isadora combines her lightning powers with her weapons or surrounding objects to maximize its power, such as using the river to conduct electricity and using decorative diamond wall-hangings to produce light. Using discarded scraps or household items, Isadora can build an assortment of devices and structures. Most notably, she creates a voice-altering device out of waxy paper and broken onion flutes. At times, Isadora's inventions are faulty (as seen with the mini catapult and self-lightning fireworks) or break easily (as seen with her grappling hook, which is replaced several times throughout the novel). However, even though Isadora's inventions do not always work as initially planned, she adapts to them and gives them new purpose. Her bird whistle, initially meant to call pigeons, is instead used to summon hundreds of crows. Likewise, Isadora's self-lightning fireworks, initially meant for fireworks, is instead used as a massive fire-spark shooter.

After the plague is lifted, Isadora is able to harness small levels of materia in the form of magnetism, being able to levitate small magnetic/metallic objects (e.g., coins) in the air.

## Relationships

### Family

**Theo** - Isadora's older brother. As children, Isadora and Theo were very close, getting into play-fights and hanging out together at Petrocious farms. After Theo left the farmlands to work for the blacksmith, Isadora and Theo grew distant and saw each other less frequently. Isadora looks up to Theo, but sometimes feels like she lives under his shadow, often being compared to him or referred to as "the blacksmith striker's worthless little sister." She and Theo are initially reluctant to confide in each other, keeping their respective roles as Amber/Lykos a secret until their identities are accidentally revealed.

Even so, they have an extremely tight bond, and care deeply about each other's well-being. Their fights are short-lived and they make fun of each other good-naturedly. When Theo falls into a coma, Isadora is deeply worried, putting her missions as Amber on hold and refusing to give up on him. Likewise, when Isadora falls into a deep sleep after her battle with Aeric, Theo stays by her side, watching over her until she wakes up. Isadora notes that they have both changed since their childhood, an idea that pains her to think about. However, this doesn't stop either of them from placing their full trust in each other. Though Theo doesn't tell Isadora directly, he has great confidence in Isadora, always believing that she would save Camellia. During the thunder festival, Isadora eventually tells Theo about her self-doubts, and Theo consoles her, telling her that she was always enough. These words help put Isadora at ease, and the two continue to share a strong bond, acting not only as siblings, but also as good friends.

**Aurora** - Isadora's mother. Aurora and Isadora often have disagreements, mainly about Isadora getting into trouble at the farm. Isadora gets annoyed that her mother always scolds her, feeling that she fails to see Isadora's efforts. Although Aurora has trouble expressing herself at times, she loves Isadora and scolds her out of concern for Isadora's well-being. However, Isadora worries that her mother (and father) work too hard, particularly when they work overtime to make up for Isadora's blunders at Petrocious farms. Isadora misses spending time with them, a sentiment both Isadora and Aurora admit to each other by the end of the novel. Despite their disagreements, Isadora and Aurora have a very trusting relationship, with Aurora giving Isadora her blessing to pursue her missions as Amber, and with Isadora seeking her mother's assistance during her missions when needed.

**Dimas** - Isadora's father. Dimas' easygoing attitude makes it easy for Isadora to confide in her father. She wishes to tell him about her secret identity as Amber, but he is often too busy with work, saying that they will "talk later," which Isadora translates to "talk never." Isadora does not hold this against either of her parents, understanding that they work to provide for her, but still longs to be closer to them and does not want to burden them. Dimas tries to comfort Isadora's worries about the plague by telling her that the plague has always been around and is simply part of life. While Isadora tries to listen to his advice, she cannot bring herself to, instead believing that the plague can be cured and trying to convince Dimas of this. Isadora greatly respects her father and cares for his approval. After revealing herself as Amber, Isadora is afraid of what her father will think, particularly if he believes she is capable of succeeding. These fears are put to rest when Dimas gives Isadora his support to pursue her quest, and Isadora readily seeks Dimas' help during her missions when needed, the two of them putting a strong faith in each other's abilities.

**Chandra** - Isadora's sister-in-law. Chandra and Isadora have a very caring relationship. Chandra gets quite worried about Isadora's safety, especially when it comes to Isadora's dangerous plans. During Theo's coma, Isadora is particularly concerned about Chandra's well-being, and does her best to comfort her. Not wanting to be a burden, Isadora is hesitant at first to accept gifts or help from Chandra, usually refusing unless Chandra insists. However, as the story progresses, Isadora comes to depend on her like an older sister and seek her help during missions. Chandra was the first person to know about Isadora's feelings for Terrance, and Chandra encouraged her to confess to him. Isadora enjoys talking with Chandra about stage plays and the latest news in Camellia; both of them have a fondness for dressing up and festivals, which they tend to bond over. Though Chandra was concerned that Isadora is too inexperienced to fight, she comes to see that Isadora is a formidable fighter in her own right and trusts in her.

### Friends

**Terrance Khan** - Terrance is Isadora's love interest. Isadora and Terrance often playfully tease each other, sharing a close friendship. Initially, Isadora is distrustful of Terrance, especially after being arrested by him multiple times. Although Isadora claims they do not get along well, she accepts Terrance's offer to train her and become partners. At first, Isadora's short temper and impulsive nature causes her to clash with the laid-back, cautious Terrance. Even so, the two work well as a team, crafting successful plans and investigating places together. All the while, Isadora grows closer to Terrance, surprised to find that he is a much nicer person than she thought he was.

Following their disastrous battle with Aeric at the Heli Bank, Isadora and Terrance get into an argument and decide not to work together anymore. This greatly distresses Isadora; she finds herself missing Terrance and thinking of him often, though she refuses to admit it. After her near-fatal exploits in Quillwort, Isadora apologizes to Terrance, expressing her wish to be partners again. Terrance, in turn, apologizes to Isadora, and they spend the night talking at their secret training place—the waterfall cave—which comforts Isadora to the extent that she calls it a "small sanctuary." Though Isadora and Terrance try to hide their attraction to each other, they go out of their way to spend time together. This is seen when Isadora and Terrance meet in the secret cave on their night off just to be near each other, despite not needing to do any combat training that night.

Having strong feelings for Terrance, Isadora gets jealous when other girls flirt with him, such as Shuiyu and Shirley. Similarly, Terrance is very protective of Isadora and readily comes to her defense, as seen when he meets Valerius and Finnean. Isadora is easily flustered when Terrance is affectionate with her, such as when he hugs her, holds her hand, or compliments her. Isadora holds Terrance in high regard; when Valerius claims that Terrance is an inexperienced soldier, Isadora defends him, asserting that Terrance shouldn't be underestimated. More than anyone else, Isadora trusts Terrance the most. She depends on him in battle, seeks his input during missions, and is always the first person she confides in, speaking freely with him. Terrance is also able to best cheer Isadora up when she feels disheartened, often cracking jokes to make her smile. Even when Terrance's mysterious past raises suspicion, Isadora chooses to believe in Terrance rather than pry further.

At the thunder festival, Isadora is more aware of her feelings for Terrance, though she is reluctant to confess to him because she is afraid of being rejected. Isadora and Terrance attend the festival together, where they do many activities such as watching a shadow play, competing in games, and strolling through the kingdom. They run into Shirley and Finnean, who mockingly joke that Isadora and Terrance are on a date. The encounter turns increasingly hostile, causing Isadora and Terrance to flee the scene as guards chase them. The pair then come across a square filled with couples dancing. To Isadora's surprise, Terrance asks her to dance. During the dance, Terrance attempts to tell Isadora something, but is interrupted by the sudden commotion at the amphitheater.

Isadora gets worried whenever Terrance is injured, to the extent that the miasma flowers, which show a person's greatest fears, show Isadora a hallucination of Terrance dying. When Terrance actually is gravelly wounded, Isadora stops thinking rationally and goes berserk on the person who harmed him, distraught at the idea of losing Terrance. Likewise, in the final moments of the volcanic eruption, Isadora rushes to Terrance's aid when he collapses, being her first priority even in impending danger.

In the aftermath of the battle, with the plague finally lifted and the kingdom saved, Isadora admits her true feelings to Terrance, revealing that she wants to be with him. In embarrassment, Isadora turns away, but Terrance steps forward and kisses her. Despite the fire and debris falling around them, the two continue to kiss, no longer able to hide their love for each other. Later on, Theo and Chandra find Isadora and Terrance walking through the streets holding hands. When Theo asks if they're alright, Isadora assures him that she and Terrance are fine. Theo, noticing Isadora and Terrance's elated smiles, comments that they seem "a little more than fine." During Terrance's coronation, near the end of the novel, Terrance asks Isadora to rule Camellia with him, not wanting to be apart from her. Isadora happily accepts, and the two start anew, both as Camellia's protectors and as a couple.

**Caelum** **Tomi** - Caelum is Isadora's friend.

* **Valerius** **Nominari** -
* **Relia** **Sanziana Soarelui** - Relia is Isadora's boss at Tempest Castle.
* **Shuiyu** -

### Enemies

* **King Aeric -**
* **Queen Kinarra -**
* **Lord Petrocious -**
* **Shirley,** **Finnean, and the farmhands -**

## Trivia

* Isadora has been arrested by authorities at least eleven times: once by the Quillwort guards, twice by the phantom wolves, and eight times by Terrance.