Suntop

Suntop is a fictional character originally created by Wendy and Richard Pini. He is a prominent character in the Elfquest comic book series. Suntop is a member of a fictional tribe of elves calling themselves the Wolfriders.

History

Suntop's character is actually a fraternal twin. He was born to Cutter, chief of the Wolfriders, and to Leetah, the healer of the Sorrow's End Sun Folk. His twin sister's name is Ember. Suntop and Ember were conceived with the assistance of the soul-linking bond known as Recognition. Suntop and Ember were also the first known set of twins to be born to either tribe of elves. (Although in the "Blood of Ten Chiefs" novels, Two-Spear's cousin Graywolf had a twin named Owl, and the rockshaper Windwhisper of Prey-Pacer's time had identical twin daughters by the High One Talen.)

Suntop lived the first five years of his life among the elves of Sorrow's End in their desert village. Suntop and Ember both drew different characteristics to themselves while in the womb. Ember, according to her mother, attracted the wolf blood of her father's people, the Wolfriders. Suntop attracted his mother's magic talents.

Special Characteristics:

Suntop is dark-skinned like his mother, Leetah, but has golden blond hair, likely inherited from his paternal grandmother, the Wolfrider Joyleaf. His eyes are an azure blue, inherited from his father. Like other elves, Suntop has four-fingered hands, large slanted eyes and pointed ears.

Like all of his father's tribe, Suntop has a soulname: Klynn.

Powers and Abilities:

Suntop has the ability to send, or communicate telepathically with other elves. He also has the rarer talent of astral projection and can send his soul traveling miles from his body, even to communicate with other elves' spirits. He used this talent to help rescue the soul of Savah, Sorrow's End's Mother of Memory. Savah had journeyed beyond the reaches of the Sun Village and encountered Winnowill by accident, subsequently becoming trapped. ("Captives of Blue Mountain") Suntop also manifests something he calls his "magic feeling", which allows him to sense when elves are using magical abilities, and when magic has been used on the environment (rock-shaping, tree-shaping [which actually refers to shaping plants in general, not just trees] ).

Relationships

Of all the members of his family, Suntop is closest to his twin sister Ember. It was said in one panel in" 'Kings Of The Broken Wheel' "'that Ember was with Cutter, Leetah and Suntop when they broke the spell over the Egg slaves in spirit, through her connection to her brother. Even though they now live a world apart, and although Ember lacks the ability to "go out" as her brother does, they still keep in touch over great distance.

Suntop always felt more akin to his mother's folk, even though he is half Wolfrider and has lived with them for most of his life. Rayek once stated that "but for Leetah, he is alone among the Wolfriders." His own mother once wondered if the two of them would ever feel at home in Cutter's world. And this was true in the recent storyline "Full Circle", in which Suntop clashed with his father Cutter, neither understanding the other's ways. However, after Suntop purged an ancient pool of dark magic, (incidentally the same that robbed Cutter of his own parents 10,000 years ago) they finally came to terms and Cutter gave his son the new tribename of Sunstream.

In the 2006 storyline "Discovery", Sunstream contacted the Wavedancer Brill through her dreams, and the two Recognized. Sunstream brought the Palace to the Wavedancer's home (despite their old Chief's misgivings) and the two met and consummated their Recognition. Though Sunstream cannot stay with Brill, as she must live under the waves and he on land, the magic-users of their tribes, using the power of the Palace of the High Ones, and temporarily transformed him into a gilled Wavedancer, so he could be with her for a short time in her home.