Ildirans in 'Saga of the Seven Suns'

This article describes fictional Ildiran characters featured in The Saga of Seven Suns, a series of science fiction novels written by Kevin J. Anderson. To see the list of Human characters in the series click here: Human Characters

In this epic space opera, Ildirans were the first extra terrestrials that humanity encountered once our species became space bound. The Ildiran Empire has existed for over ten thousand years, living peacefully due to a communal mental interconnectedness called the thism. Each Ildiran has what is called a soulthread, and these soulthreads are woven together by their leader, the Mage-Imperator. Ildirans have a very specialized society, with specific castes that are adept at performing particular tasks. The castes are physically different from one another, and have different suffixes at the end of their names.

Nobles

*Avi'h - The youngest son of Mage-Imperator Cyroc'h and was the designate of the splinter colony at Maratha. Avi'h maintained his position of designate after the ascension of Prime Designate Jora'h to Mage-Imperator as Jora'h did not have time to father enough noble born sons before the death of Cyroc'h for Maratha to have a designate-in-waiting. The designate appeared to always be accompanied by the bureaucratic kithsman Bhali'v, and was killed at the end of the trek from Maratha Prime to Maratha Secda that was undertaken after the Prime site was sabotaged. Avi'h's murderers were the Klikiss robots that were working on the Secda site.

*Cyroc'h was the Ildiran Mage-Imperator who ruled at the beginning of the series. In his race's timeline, he is the successor of Yura'h and was succeeded by Jora'h. Cyroc'h was a schemer who upheld all of the Ildirans' sinister secrets and policies without consideration for anything else. To Cyroc'h, the only thing that mattered was preserving the Ildiran Empire, regardless of how many people suffered or died in the process. As far as the public were concerned, Cyroc'h was an obese and kind ruler, yet in reality he was remarkably irascible. He was willing to kill anyone who he felt was a liberty (such as unsuspecting Dio'sh and various medical kithmen). Cyroc'h often voiced his disappointment in his Prime Designate, Jora'h, for being too sentimental. He did not feel that his first-born son would be up to the harsh duties of ruling the Empire, yet he had no other alternative. Instead, Cyroc'h found reassurance from Udru'h (his loyal second-born son, and Designate of Dobro) and his bodyguard. Cyroc'h felt that the green priest Nira could accelerate the Dobro breeding program, and thus had her kidnapped (having Ambassador Otema killed in the process) and taken to Dobro. He then informed Jora'h that the two priests had died in a fire, hoping to rid Jora'h of his foolish attachment to the green priest, instead it simply made Jora'h rather forlorn. Unbeknownst to the public, Mage-Imperator Cyroc'h was dying of a particularly fatal brain tumour. Though his condition was rapidly deteriorating, he still had a while to live. However, he chose to poison himself in order to force Jora'h to ascend to the throne, thus preventing him from freeing Nira (whom Jora'h had recently realised was still alive) from Dobro. In his years as Mage-Imperator, Jora'h grew to despise Cyroc'h even more for trapping him in a web of his race's own making.

*Jora'h - The eldest son of the Mage-Imperator Cyroc'h and Prime Designate of the Ildiran Empire.
*Pery'h - The Hyrillka Designate-in-waiting, third born noble purebreed son of Jora'h. Murdered during Rusa'h's rebellion due to his loyalty to his father.

*Rusa'h - The third born son of Mage-Imperator Cyroc'h, and therefore the assigned designate for the world of Hyrillka.

*Thor'h - The first-born son of Jora'h, and as such was destined to become the next Mage-Imperator of the Ildiran Empire. Thor'h often acted brash and spoilt, even in times of crisis, finding his father's lack of drive to be frustrating. He eventually joined with his corrupted uncle Rusa'h in his rebellion, betraying his father and watching the merciless killing of his younger brother Pery'h. As a result of his treacherous actions Thor'h was disowned by Jora'h and was removed from the line of Succession. He was then replaced by his older and mixed blood brother Zah'nh, who is also leader of the full force of the Illdiran Solar Navy.

*Udru'h - The second born son of Mage-Imperator Cyroc'h, and therefore the assigned designate for the world of Dobro. An unusually dull and dreary world for an Ildiran splinter colony, and the location of the "Dobro Experiments".

*Yazra'h - The only noble born daughter of Jora'h, but preferred to spend her time among warrior kithmen rather than nobles. Jora'h assigned her as his personal bodyguard, a decision which provoked uproar among orthodox Ildirans. She later accompanies Rememberer Vao'sh and Anton Colicos to Hyrillka to act as mentor to young Ridek'h, who was accelerated into the position of Hyrillka designate by the murder of designate-in-waiting Pery'h by the then designate, Rusa'h. She is also the proud owner of three well trained, but still vicious, Isix Cats.

Officers

*Qul Fan'nh - The commander of a maniple of Ildiran warliners and led a defence against the hydrogues at Hrel-oro, losing two of his ships there. Fan'nh died at Hyrillka when he was deceived by Thor'h.

*Kori'nh - The Adar (supreme commander) of the Solar Navy during the final years of the reign of Cryoc'h. He recognised the rigid and traditional ways of the millennia old navy had slowly undermined its ability to effectively wage war. He studied Earth military history vigorously and even used simplistic military games from Earth to test his commanders aptitude for battle. It was during one such test that he saw the potential and fresh thinking of Zan'nh, the first born son of the then Prime Designate Jora'h. He appointed Zan'nh his successor, and groomed his Prodige accordingly. Upon the death of the Mage-Imperator Cryoc'h and his subsequent lack of authority to answer to, Kori'nh recognised the freedom to act he had been awarded for a few days and subsequently planned an attack upon the Hydrogues. He used 49 warliners to ram and destroy 49 warglobes of the Hydrogue, thus clearing the gas giant of the aliens. His death at this battle secured his place as a glorious hero of the Empire in the great Illdiran epic, the Saga of the Seven Suns. Upon his death his prodige Zan'nh became Adar of the Solar Navy.

*Tal Lorie'nh - The commander of a cohort of warliners that were assigned to protect Ildira though he had to leave this post during the attack of earth as commanded by Mage-Imperator Jora'h to join Adar Zan'nh's two cohorts. Lorie'nh's cohort flew with a full crew of Ildirans unlike Zan'nh's yet he was still planning to perform suicide attacks against Hydrogue warglobes, however, with the arrival of doorbell-carrying Roamer vessels at Earth Lorie'nh was not forced to sacrifice himself.

*Tal O'nh - An officer in the Ildiran Solar Navy that was second only to Adar Zan'nh. The Ildiran had only one eye, the missing one having been lost in a starship explosion when he was only a septar and was replaced by a faceted jewel. O'nh was the officer assigned to Hyrillka when Designate Ridek'h was transported to the planet and aided the noble-born Ildiran in settling in on the planet as well as managing the evacuation of the planet when it became clear that the system's sun was becoming unstable. He died when he guided an industrial sky facility into the Ildira to buy time for others to leave the planet to save Mage-Imperator Jora'h.

*Rhe'nh -

*Zan'nh - The first born child of then Prime-Designate Jora'h. He is shown to be a capable military officer and revolutionary thinker within the Solar Navy. This is demonstrated during a military exercise where Zan'nh's tactics prevailed over that of a traditional higher ranking officer. The Adar (supreme commander) of the Illdiran Solar Navy recognised his potential and necessity in the old and rigidly traditional solar navy. So much so that the Adar Kori'nh made him his prodige and successor. When the Adar Kori'nh died during a battle with Hydrogues Zan'nh was appointed Adar of the Solar Navy. However when his younger noble born brother Thor'h joins the open rebellion against their father Mage-Imperator Jora'h, Jora'h appoints Zan'nh as the new Prime Designate in Thor'h's place due to his proven abilities and aptitude. Thus Zan'nh is an annomily in Illdiran history for he is both leader of the Solar Navy and next in line to be Mage-Imperator. He is also the first Prime-Designate to be of mixed Kith origin, his bloodline being of Noble and Soldier Kiths.

oldiers

*Bron'n - The body guard to Mage-Imperator Cryoc'h, he also saw to the more undesirable tasks Cryoc'h saw as necessary, including the kidnap of Green Priest Nira and the murder of her companion Otema. Upon the death of Cryoc'h Bron'n took it upon himself to commit an honourable death by plunging his diamond balded axe through his chest.

Rememberers

*Dio'sh - The Rememberer that sought information on the "Lost Times", a period of history unrecorded due to a supposed plague that wiped out an entire generation of rememberers. On discovering facts about a deal made by an ancient Mage-Imperator with the hydrogues, he was murdered by the then Mage-Imperator, Cyroc'h.

*Vao'sh - The Rememberer to the Mage-Imperator. Patron and friend of human scholar Anton Colicos, posted as official rememberer to the resort colony of Maratha Prime during its long night season. Quite forward thinking, perhaps due to his time spent with Anton.

*Ko'sh Chief Scibe of the Rememberer kith. Quite young, but unlike Vao'sh, has very orthodox views on the "Saga of Seven Suns".

Lens Kithmen

*Ilure'l - A Member of the Maratha Prime night season skeleton splinter crew.

*Tery'l - An Old lens kithman, friend to Kolker, who he taught about the "thism". Mortally wounded by a falling hydrogue warglobe.

Workers

Diggers

*Vik'k - One of the Ildirans from the Maratha Prime resort that managed to survive the treachery of the Klikiss robots in their sabotage of the transports the splinter colony were using to flee to Maratha Secda.

Agriculural Kithmen

*Syl'k - The mate of Mhas'k and one of the Ildirans from the Maratha Prime resort that managed to survive the treachery of the Klikiss robots in their sabotage of the transports the splinter colony were using to flee to Maratha Secda. Unfortunately on the walking leg of the journey to Secda Syl'k fell prey to giant ch'kanh plants which tore her apart.

*Mhas'k - The mate of Syl'k and one of the Ildirans from the Maratha Prime resort that managed to survive the treachery of the Klikiss robots in their sabotage of the transports the splinter colony were using to flee to Maratha Secda. Unfortunately on the walking leg of the journey to Secda Mhas'k fell prey to giant ch'kanh plants after leaping towards them in an attempt to save his mate.