ZahraAn overachieving but brash high-schooler, ZAHRA DARWESH is the last of THE BIRTH WEEPERS: a familial line of mystically-powered women who are the resurrected souls of the child-daughters sacrificed in ancient Arabia. Zahra can command fire, a fact she must keep hidden so she will not be hunted as a witch as her ancestors were.
All she really wants is to get out-- to escape the trappings of adolescence, of school, of her traditional parents and the life they have planned for her-- and build a path for herself on her own terms. But the path that she takes may not be the path she expected... |
Councilman Suliman DarweshSULIMAN DARWESH possesses no royal blood, a fact he always felt was God’s only error. Zahra’s charismatic but vindictive father is a councilman on one of the United Arabian President’s advisory boards (a post he feels is far beneath him) while being one of the leaders of the TIDESMEN, a group of extremists who believe they are the "coming tide" of God's judgment. Suliman has no qualms about doing whatever is necessary to acquire the power he is certain he deserves. |
DuhaDUHA DARWESH has led a life in the dark. Haunted by the death of her sister, Duha has lived in fear of being outed as a BIRTH WEEPER for practically her entire life. It's a fear that her daughter, Zahra, can't understand. Duha's attempts to push Zahra towards an unassuming and safe life have, instead, simply pushed Zahra away. Despite Duha's devotion to keeping her abilities a secret, she is very skilled in the use of her projected force fields. She's always known that one day, when they come for her, her abilities will be all she has.
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AmaniAMANI NEJEM has been Zahra’s trouble-making best friend since they were small children growing up in Jeddah. Sarcastic and confrontational, Amani is obsessed with Western pop culture and wants nothing in the world more than a tattoo, in large part because she knows no one but her will ever be able to see it. Amani would do anything for Zahra, and she knows Zahra would do the same for her.
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