Fireborne

Leo is the “son of Leon, dragon lord of Stormscourge House and Drakarch of the Far Highlands” (10). Despite his official identity, Leo began identifying as the anonymous Lee—an orphan from Albans Orphanage—nine years ago when the First Protector supposedly spared his life after his family was massacred and sent him away. Lee is described as having dark hair, gray eyes, and high cheekbones. Annie describes him as looking “more like a warlord from a tapestry of the Bassilean Wars than an opponent to trash-talk” leading up to the Firstrider Tournament (28). Though Lee hails from a long line of Stormscourge riders, Lee rides an Aurelian dragon named Pallor with depthless black eyes, a “silver-scaled neck,” and translucent wings. Pallor is a white Aurelian due to a color mutation; he is silver whereas most Aurelians are shades of amber and gold.

Lee is a relatively stagnant character in terms of growth. While he deals with internal conflicts about whether or not to participate in the battle against his family when they threaten to take back Callipolis, he remains steadfast in his own beliefs and values. Lee’s willingness to see the wrongs that the Triarchy, dragonlords, and his father in particular committed illustrates his ability to choose Acceptance Over Revenge where most others would not. However, his decision to support the new regime following the Revolution does not mean he fails to see The Moral Ambiguity of Revolution, for he sees the wrongdoings of both sides even while recognizing the positive changes made after the dismantling of the dragonlord’s power.

Crissa is a peer of Lee and Annie, who faces similar social conflicts as Duck. While she is good friends with Lee, she also has romantic feelings for him that, while reciprocated when he needs a distraction, are not genuinely reciprocated when compared to the way he feels deeply for Annie. Crissa has a sun-flushed face with dark gold-blond curls and rides a Skyfish dragon that is described as “long, slender, and pale enough blue to blend with the morning sky” (9).

Cor, 17, and Duck, 16, are brothers and both dragonriders. Cor rides a Stormscourge named Maurana while Duck rides a Skyfish named Crete. The brothers share olive skin and wavy hair, yet Cor tends to scowl whereas Duck wears an open smile. Duck is a close friend of Annie’s. Though he has romantic feelings for her, she does not reciprocate them. However, their friendship remains strong, for “it’s hard to get Annie to smile, and Duck’s good at it” (12). Duck is the only person Annie voluntarily touches. Though she used to initiate contact with Lee at their shared orphanage as children, she hasn’t done so in a long while.

Power is a minor antagonist in the novel. He serves as the stereotypical school bully for characters such as Duck, Cor, Crissa, Annie, and Lee. This is because Power “holds the usual patrician disdain for commoners like Cor and Crissa and, most damningly, Annie, who is not only a commoner but a former serf” (14). Though Power expresses disdain for those lower than him in station, he himself is adopted and not a true-born patrician. Whereas Lee secretly comes from the elite dragonlord families of the former regime, Power has grown up in a patrician family—families a tier below dragonborns in the social hierarchy and wealthy, but dragonless. Power’s dragon and riding abilities mirror his personality and role in the story. He rides a Stormscourge and flies “lithe and predatorily as a slinking cat” (26). This description of his character earlier on in the novel hints at his behavior toward the novel’s conclusion when he discovers Lee’s true identity.