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Emperial Teal Atreides-Piett
Age: 22 (physically, at least)
Appearance: 5' 1.5", 100 lbs., dark brown hair and blue eyes. Wears glasses. Appearance varies somewhat by instance.
Special Skills: Ex-Creationary Deity, Emperial has limited control over the creation of dimensions. She is a skilled Praetorix who specializes in the dead and forgotten, which made it all the more appropriate that she stumbled into the Forgotten Library one day and found there the Document containing Third. Can be many people in many places at once.

Third's guardian, a somewhat irresponsible young lady who is prone to flights of fancy. Perhaps the only thing she is consistent about is her love for Third.




Douglas MacArthur Hein - Rescued by Emperial from an untimely death, Doug is the sole survivor of his family, his wife and daughter having been taken by plague. A career military officer, at the inception of the Fleet he became a General in the Army. Working closely with the Supreme Commander, he eventually became the Commander of the Army. A workaholic, he met Third when he was forced to take a vacation. During his vacation he also adopted a daughter, Shizue, a ghostly Gaian child. He and Shizue lived on World Zero with Third and Emperial for several months. He has since resumed his duties with the Fleet.

Shizue - Guided by the influence of ghosts, Shizue was found abandoned as a baby on Gaia. She was adopted by Doug and raised alongside Third. She and Third have a special bond of understanding; in some way each considers the other to be a sibling. Shizue can communicate with and see spirits, who often give her valuable wisdom and information. During the destruction of World Zero, this ability led her to the pool where Third and Constant resurfaced.

Though she does not talk much, Shizue is capable of saying a great deal through her actions alone.

Zevulon - A fa'e, Zevulon was found and adopted by Emperial, but the discovery of Third created a rift between him and Emperial, a rift that was only deepened when Emperial took Third to World Zero and left Zevulon with her father, Djerod.

Djerod - Emperial's father, a temporal deity. Though he finds his daughter extremely taxing at times, Djerod still loves her and does the best he can to pick up after his daughter's messes. He finds Third somewhat unsettling.



Pavel Pavlovich Antipov - A former revolutionary, Antipov has spent the past fifteen years of his life working as an intelligence officer for the Fleet. The Concordance provided him with a chance to retire from this grueling, emotionally-draining work and he now spends his time playing with trains: he is the self-appointed Lord Minister of Transportation in Greyhaven. He has taken tea with Emperial every day since the first time they met nearly twenty years ago, even during the times he was an undercover agent in the enemy's organization and they could not be together. Pavel is often called Pasha by his close friends, especially Emperial, though his best friend, Nikolai, is rather formal and usually addresses him as Pavel or Pavlovich, saving Pasha for times when emphasis is required. Pavel is the team's captain, though he's often resented for it, and he plays offense.

Nikolai Vasilivich Belyakov is a former naval officer who showed some talent for captaining a starship in the Fleet. He is quiet and well-mannered and usually too serious for his own good. He's easily embarrassed by his hobbies, which include figure skating and crochet. (He was raised by his grandmother.) Nikolai once had a wife and a daughter and he still misses them. Because he is rather polite and formal, he rarely uses pet names, so the others enjoy calling him Kolya in revenge. At the same time, his names seem to fit so well together on the tongue that he is also frequently called Nikolai Vasilivich in full. His skating has a delicacy that often puts him at odds with the rougher parts of hockey, but he's very agile and is usually at the front of any offense.

Boris Ivonin Milyukov is an engineer who enjoys the long cold stretches of space and the warm comforts of home in equal amounts and can never decide which to stick with. He's often very foul-mouthed, being a celestial sailor, and can be extremely crude and perverted. For these reasons, he's best friends with Viktor and Ladislav. Boris is much smarter than the buffoon he acts and can be very compassionate when the need arises. He cares deeply for his friends. He is a habitual smoker and has several gold teeth, which he is fond of displaying. He is sometimes called Ivonin or Borya, the latter usually when someone is trying to entice camaraderie from Boris. Boris is a good all-rounder, capable of playing any position well, but he usually tends towards defense. He is the reserve goalie, brought out when the goal needs extreme defending.

Rusak Petrovich Talietzin is also known as the Black Sword Captain, renowned for his ruthlessness and ferocity. He is as cold-hearted as a human can be without turning reptilian. Rusak is guilty of several war crimes and treason, but remains to this day convinced of the correctness of his actions in all respects. His only mistake, he claims, was in not killing his first officer soon enough. Rusak's cruel nature doesn't earn him many friends, but he has fallen into the company of the League as surely as a particle of dirt into a black hole. His relationship with the others is somewhat complicated and not fully understood by either side. Rusak has a particular affinity with dogs, as his father raised hunting and attack dogs. No one dares to call him by any nicknames. He only plays offensively; defense does not exist in his strategic volcabulary.

Dmitry Mikhaelov Petrov is a psychic, perhaps the best Russia ever produced, and former star of their program until it was dismantled. Generally calm and collected, most people find him unnerving. He can read minds as easily as printed words and spends more time listening to people's thoughts than conversing with them. He's acutely aware of his perceived freakishness, so he doesn't go out of his way to make any friends, but the others accept him. His aloofness can be mistaken for wisdom and maturity given his abilities, but it's important to remember that he's one of the younger members of the group at twenty-four years old. Because he can generally read the other team's minds, he goes wherever he thinks he'll be needed on the ice, and he's usually right. His presence has led to the Dmitry Rule, which states that during regular seasonal games he may only read the minds of his own teammates. The rule is enforced with varying success. Dmitry is sometimes called Mitka, which he likes, but would never admit to liking lest he be seen as childish.

Viktor Rusinov Demochev is half-Russian, half Chechen, and is as ardent a supporter of Chechnya as you will ever meet, perhaps fueled by a dislike of his Russian father. Loud, excitable, and foolish, Viktor has enthuasism in spades but lacks most everything else. He has never held a real job aside from "Chechen Rebel" and it must be said he was not even particularly good at that, being a poor marksman and lacking discipline. He believes that because of his Russian blood, he had twice as much to prove as the other Chechen rebels, so was always spouting off about the evils fo Russia and the unfairness of everything. He fancies himself a sort of Lenin or Gandhi, but he's really just a little man with a big mouth. He and Antipov argue ceaselessly about Russia and Chechnya, and for all the shouting between them, they enjoy it. Viktor hates being called Rusinov, so of course, the others call him by that name when teasing him. His nickname is Vitya. He's a bit of a spastic player, but he's supposed to be on defense.

Ladislav Kratochvil is not Russian, though he speaks the language. Born in the former Czechoslovakia, Ladislav made his way through life with odd jobs and a good, if perverted, nature. He can be quite a charmer in the company of an attainable woman and his life goal is to bed ten thousand women, after which point he will die "a happy and drooling old man." Ladislav is known for his incredibly raunchy sense of humor and hundreds of whore jokes. He makes it a point to always be jovial and never stay mad. He's also called Lado, though not frequently. He's good at both offensive and defensive positions but because he's not a very fast skater, usually ends up on defense.

Rustam Zakharov abandoned Soviet Russia for the United States. An engineer and scientist, he loves his adopted country, enough to work for its military, but he has recently been trying to reconnect to some of his roots. It is known that he once had a wife and son and that his wife, several years after being told he was dead, remarried, but there is some confusion as to whether or not his son is still alive. Rustam doesn't speak about himself if he can avoid it. He's rather shy and quiet and doesn't like much of the language the other men use. He's not a particularly good player, but every once in a while he manages to do something helpful. He's equally skilled at offense and defense, though that's not saying much. Rustam's nicname is Rusty, which Pavel jokes is because of his poor Russian and hockey skills, but which is actually a reference to his engineering background and a nickname his American colleagues gave him.

Milos Cermak is the youngest player, and Ladislav's cousin. He's very shy and nervous, but slowly is learning to come into his own and be more assertive. Despite looking liks a clumsy jumble of arms and legs on the ice, he's surprisingly good at offense, and is one of the team's best goal-scorers, able to hit the puck with great accuracy.

Pavel Zasloffski is more of a watcher than a talker, and would rather watch the others bicker than participate, unless his intervening can diffuse something potentially dangerous. Zasloffski has an adopted daughter, Nadejda, who is both mute and psychic and is genetically Dmitry's sister, though they come from different dimensions. Because of this, he has a bit of a stronger bond with Dmitry than the other players, though given his silent nature it is rarely seen. Zasloffski is the team's default goalie -- Boris is a better goalie, but Zasloffski manages in the position and Boris is usually better used out on the ice. He's not a particularly strong player, but the goal is without argument his strongest point.

Third's story begins not with Third at all but with a girl named Emperial. A longtime resident of Gaia, she was wandering around the town with her nose in a book when she discovered the Forgotten Library and decided to have a look. There among the old, worn tomes she chanced across a single book, The Book as it happened, and from the book were born Third and his daemon Constant.

When it was revealed that she was expected to play guardian to this child and his daemon, Emperial was forced to take Third home where she enlisted Doug's aid to help care for Third.

A few short weeks later, Emperial decided to leave her home and journey to World Zero with Third, Constant, Doug, and Shizue. A haven world, the small party lived amidst the planet-wide jungle, living off of the leaves and fruit and other supplies offered by the ancient trees. Cradled in this pocket of non-time, Third, Constant, Doug, Shizue, and Emperial relaxed in safety and comfort.

Then, a circumstance beyond Emperial's control corrupted her dimensional matrix and threatened World Zero. Third and Constant, perhaps picking up on the dimensional instability on some level, wandered off and began to change the world into something else, unconsciously patterning it after the path leading to the Giant's Drink. They wandered into a well where they were sucked underwater and encountered a series of rooms: first a room of gemstones, then a room of food, then a room of fantastical and wondrous creatures, and finally a room containing nothing at all. A door appeared in the wall with the words "the End of the World" on it. Third and Constant were then accosted by a ghostly visage who sang taunts at them and rescued by Emperial, who appeared at the bottom of the well in flowing white dress. Emperial told Third and Constant a story about a girl who was taken to the underworld and went through three rooms containing food, gems, and creatures. The ruler of the Underworld conspired to keep the girl there and fed her seeds from a pomegranate. When the girl's father returned to collect her it was too late: her essence was tainted by the food of the underworld and she would forever contain a piece of that darkness.

In telling the story, Emperial showed Third how it could be controlled and told him that once something was done, there was no going back. Armed with this knowledge, Third decided not to open the door to the End of the World and instead returned with Constant to the surface where he was reunited with Doug and Shizue. Emperial, unable to contain the matrix problems, stayed behind to hold together World Zero long enough to allow Third, Constant, Doug, and Shizue to escape.

Third and Constant then arrived at the Fleet where they met Wilbur, Antipov, and a mysterious uniformed stranger. Emperial instructed Third to say "Code Omega" to the first person he met, which turned out to be Wilbur. Not knowing the significance, Third did so, and in the process made Antipov and Doug both very angry. The uniformed man left without ever identifying himself and Antipov and Doug left shortly after, Doug taking Shizue with him,

Wilbur then informed Third he was a friend of Emperial's and would look after the boy and daemon for a while. He took Third and Constant to his home in North Carolina where Third stayed for a week with Wilbur and his wife Mellie. At the end of it, Dr. M arrived and Wilbur instructed Third to go with Dr. M and hide as the house was no longer safe. Confused, Third went with the doctor, but instead of leaving directly as Wilbur instructed they hid under the porch and overhead an altercation between Wilbur and the Supreme Commander. The Commander was looking for Third and was willing to do anything to find him. Then Third, Constant, and Dr. M left, returning to the Fleet.

There they rendezvoused with Billy and Lily, an unlikely pair of guardians, and Dr. M left Third and Constant in their care. Billy and Lily watched Third and Constant as best they could and secretly ferried the pair to Gaia, using Billy's job as a cover story. Lily instructed Third to wait across the street, giving him the Casebook of Sherlock Holmes to read.

While waiting, Third and Constant were interrupted by Trion Bartholomew, who identified himself as Emperial's brother. Trion told them that as good as Lily's intentions were, they had to run away or they would be caught and Lily and Gunn punished. Third and Constant followed this advice, wandering the streets of Barton Town until finally they decided to go seek out Trion. Constant tracked Trion to his house, Windhall, and Trion allowed them to stay with him.

Third and Constant spent several weeks with Trion hiking, swimming, biking, reading, and exploring to their heart's content. Then Trion informed them they would be going to the Conference.

At the Conference, Third was reunited with Em and Wilbur and saw Lily and Gunn. he also met the Lady Admiral (formerly the Supreme Commander) and Minnarkentanit Trant. Emperial then took Third and Constant to the Neighborhood, a newly-created multiversic dimension, where they moved into the Sunset House.

It was here that Third and Constant were further introduced to Minnarkentanit Trant, the strange grey-skinned alien who lived across the street. They also met several former Fleet members and friends of Emperial's, including Pavel Antipov, the ex-Communist, and Charles Aberdeen, the strategic genius who negotiated peace between the Fleet and Deity Command.

Life became something normal once again, but not for long. While out buying fireworks for the Fourth of July, Third found a strange necklace in the ground. He kept it, and several days later stumbled across the Medium's cottage, where he learned that his necklace contained a fallen angel.