Cephiro Chapter
(Tenjou Academy)
Ancient and Illuminated Order of the Rose

Kanae Ohtori
Office: Grand Duelist (The End of the World)
Class: N/A; Deputy Chair, Tenjou Academy Board of Trustees
Homeland: Nihonia
Age: 20
Weapon of choice: Rapier

The last generation of the Ohtori family, hereditary guardians of the Academy at the Center of the World, Kanae was bewitched and seduced by the Fallen Prince as a young girl. Through his contrived engagement to her, Akio took the Ohtori name, and in so doing gained access to the inner workings of the ancient Duelists' Code - thus beginning the dark age known today as the Lost Tournament. Freed from Akio's influence by his death in 2406, she took up the mantle of her family's ancient obligation in an effort to atone for the crimes against Cephiro she made possible. Wholly committed - some would say driven - she sees the Order of the Rose as a sacred honor entrusted to her by her liege prince. It is a trust for which she would die.

Mitsuru Tsuwabuki
Office: Seneschal, Student Council president
Class: 2412 (sophomore)
Homeland: Nihonia
Age: 13
Weapon of choice: Scimitar

Tsuwabuki was the youngest participant in the Lost Tournament, and the experience left its mark on him as all the others, bringing him maturity at an early age. Wise beyond his years, he leads the student Duelists by acclamation despite being the youngest of them. Apprentice to Master Mage Clef and an accomplished mage-knight in his own right, he knows better than any of his fellow students what evil the Fallen Prince is capable of. Forced to grow up before his time, he remains lighthearted, carrying his responsibilities with grace and aplomb. Never rattled, never riled, he sets a calm example for the others.

Keiko Sonoda
Office: Student Council vice-president
Class: 2410 (senior)
Hoemeland: Nihonia
Age: 17
Weapon of choice: Katana

Acerbic Keiko used to be one of Nanami Kiryuu's minions, back when Nanami was the queen bee of the Ohtori Academy Junior High School Division's top clique, and an ardent pursuer of Nanami's elder brother Touga. Now older and wiser, she knows better than to judge friend or foe by appearances. Though she would probably never admit it outright, she considers looking after Tsuwabuki her charge in life, as a fellow veteran of both Black Rose bewitchment and Nanami's dysfunctional peer group. He doesn't need much watching, but Keiko's always ready to support him. Cool-headed and steady, she serves as a guide and counselor for the younger Duelists - though not without the occasional biting remark. She has a bit of a mean streak in battle, which may be because her dueling prowess originally came from Touga by way of the Black Rose enchantment.

Kardon Felz
Office: Student Council secretary
Class: 2412 (sophomore)
Homeland: Gothria
Age: 14
Weapon of choice: Hand-and-a-half sword

Tough, burly Kardon comes from Gothria, an industrial kingdom in the cold north of Cephiro that shares borders with Gaulia and Autozam. In older times, Gothria had a proud chivalric order, the Gothric Knights, whose members rode in support of the Pillar's Duelists. One of Kardon's ancestors was a Knight of Gothria, and Kard has inherited both his holy sword and his zeal to serve the Pillar's cause. At first glance, he's an unlikely candidate for knighthood: cheerful and irreverent, he seems to relish the excitement of battle more than the prospect of nobility... but there may be more to this young warrior than meets the eye. Kard is one of the few current Duelists with actual military (as opposed to sporting) training, and also possesses armor and a shield, though their use is prohibited on the dueling floor.

Peregrine Took
Office: Student Council treasurer
Class: 2413 (freshman)
Homeland: Vanaheim
Age: 24
Weapon of choice: Short sword

One of the vættir, or little folk (they dislike being called "halflings"), of western Vanaheim, Peregrine comes from a long line of Peregrin(e) Tooks: some male, some female (the female ones end the name with a silent "e"), adventurers all. Clan Took is famous throughout the Upper Worlds for its penchant for adventure, a reputation established by the original Peregrin Took's prominent appearance in The Red Book of Westmarch. The latest to bear the name is no exception. She is Tenjou Academy's first non-Cephirean student, drawn to the recently-opened Tenth World by the prospect of exploring the unknown and being the first of her kind to go somewhere. Though quite small (3'2", 30 lb.) and usually cheerful, she can be very fierce, and her sword, a Mainz-type gladius made by the dwarven smith Dannen Ironbridge, is no joke.

Lantar ib'Zalhir
Class: 2412 (sophomore)
Homeland: Shalhara
Age: 14
Weapon of choice: Halberd

Lantar is the first student from the far-flung desert kingdom of Shalhara ever to attend the school now known as Tenjou Academy. He is the son of a Shalharan merchant captain and has been handling the desert realm's famed flying ships since he was a small boy. Wiry and tough like almost all his people, Lantar finds the climate of Nihonia unpleasantly cool and damp, but he bears it gladly for the honor of representing his harsh but handsome homeland at the School at the Center of the World. He possesses a full measure of the famed Shalharan love for courtesy, hospitality, and humor. Unusual for a modern Duelist, he has experience of actual battle, having used his shalkava, or desert halberd, to defend his father's ships against the pirates of the Windam Archipelago.