Characters in The Echorium Sequence
This is a list of characters in The Echorium Sequence books by Katherine Roberts.
Major characters
Frazhin
Frazhin is a significant character in Song Quest, Crystal Mask, and Dark Quetzal. The series's main antagonist, Frazhin, repeatedly attempts to destroy the Echorium with the power of khiz crystal, crystal which he appears to have a special bond to. In Song Quest, Frazhin is the of the Karch and is poisoning the Karchlord Azri to limit his power. He uses a spear made of crystal to force people to tell the truth. He kidnaps Rialle and uses the quetzal's mimicking abilities to attack the Isle with her Songs. At the end of the book, he is presumed to be killed by a wild quetzal.In Crystal Mask, Frazhin, severely disfigured by the quetzal attack, attempts to build a palace out of crystal. He is assisted by Lady Yashra, his pregnant lover, and her tribe of Harai horselords, controlled by the. He enslaves young centaurs to mine the for him and bewitches street children with the to obey him. Capturing Kherron, Frazhin threatens to harm Renn – whom he believes is Kherron's son – unless Kherron teaches the children Echorium songs. When the Khizalace is destroyed, Frazhin flees to the lake, abandoning Yashra.
In Dark Quetzal, Frazhin, now styling himself as a Starmaker, has enslaved many Half Creatures using the who worship him as a god. He kidnaps Rialle and drugs her to reveal information about Yashra and his daughter Kyarra, whom he has kidnapped. He plans to use the quetzal to change history and destroy the Singers, assisted by Kyarra. He successfully enters the Memory Trance but is stalled by the discovery that he was born in the Echorium to a Singer father and a Forest people mother, raised there until it was realized he was resistant to the Songs; at some point, he was made to forget his training and was sent away. This confuses him long enough for the Singers to open the crystal Fane he was trapped in.
Although Frazhin's crystal-fused body resists the Yehn sung to him, he is then shot with a poisoned arrow by Night Plume, stabbed by Jilian, and finished off by angry Horselords and Karchholders.
Singer Kherron
Appears as a significant character in Song Quest, Crystal Mask, and Dark Quetzal.In Song Quest, Kherron is a hot-headed novice who resents the restrictive life of The Echorium, although he still aspires to become a Singer. He is jealous of Rialle's singing ability and is considered a bully by his classmates. He runs away from the Isle with the help of Cadzi and the merlee hunters, and makes his way to the Karch. During the journey, he has a nasty encounter with Metz, which ends in the man's death. Kherron accidentally betrays Rialle to Frazhin but then helps heal the Karchlord Azri and leads the rescue party, which leaves the Echorium. On the journey to the Echorium, he discovers he can talk to Quetzal and enlists their help. At the end of the book, he is named a Singer and helps to sing Challa to Frenn.
In Crystal Mask, Kherron is the Second Singer of The Echorium and is renowned for a fierce temper. He never believed Frazhin died in Song Quest and still harbors a grudge. He travels to the mainland with Shaiala and Renn and tracks Shaiala through her crystal when she runs away, occasionally assisted by Renn. He is shown to have maintained his friendship with Lazim and, to a lesser extent, with Frenn, and he comes to respect Renn's promise as a Singer. In the Pass of Silence, he is captured by Frazhin's men, and a crystal is placed in his throat, which destroys his ability to sing. Near the end of the book, Kherron reveals that he may be Renn's father, explaining his unusual pride in Renn's abilities, but he maintains that Frenn seems a more likely candidate.
In Dark Quetzal, Kherron is a resentful ex-Second Singer whose voice has not yet healed. He is very short-tempered with most people, but he listens to Renn's advice and seems to be quite close to him. He is deeply suspicious of Dark Plume when he first arrives and is very focused on his grudge against Frazhin, although he is distracted by the suggestion of a cure for his voice. By the end of the book, his voice is healed, although he does not return to his post as Second Singer.
Singer Rialle
Appears as a significant character in Song Quest and as a minor character in Crystal Mask and Dark Quetzal. Rialle is introduced as a gifted novice who can hear the merlee, a close friend of Frenn and Chissar but envied by Kherron. She is shocked by the cruelty to Half Creatures and helps the Singers stop merlee hunting. However, she is captured by Frazhin and held in a cage for months before being drugged and taken to the Isle, where she sings to Azri. She gradually loses her grip on reality, but continues to resist Frazhin and is rescued by the merlee when she falls overboard. Her injuries are healed on the Pentangle and she becomes a Singer shortly after the book's end.In Crystal Mask, Rialle appears briefly as Renn's mother and someone who empathizes with Shaiala. She has maintained her ability to talk to Merlee and lives in a cave on the coast so she can be close to them. She suffers from extreme claustrophobia after her imprisonment and cannot live in The Echorium. She also no longer sings on the Pentangle. It is suggested she had a long relationship with Frenn, despite his status as an orderly, although she also slept with Kherron to fulfill her duty to The Echorium.
In Dark Quetzal, Rialle is captured by Frazhin and drugged for information. Although she cannot help but confess, she uses her Songs to free Night Plume and then asks him to fly to the Isle and fetch help. She is freed as Frazhin's temple collapses, and at the end of the book, she moves to a mainland cave so she can be close to Kyarra.
Frenn
Appears as a major character in Song Quest and as a minor character in Crystal Mask. In Song Quest, he is a novice and a close friend of Rialle's who is rejected as a Singer. He runs away from orderly training to travel with her. He is nearly killed in the avalanche which destroys the rest of the Singer party, and is left paralysed down one side of his body. In spite of this, he travels with the war party, although he maintains his distrust of Kherron. At the end of the book, he returns to orderly training partially healed by the Echorium Songs, although he still walks with a limp. In Crystal Mask, Frenn is part of the pentad protecting Kherron, Renn and Shaiala. He is killed in the Pass of Silence protecting Renn, and is later revealed to be Rialle's lover and probably Renn's father.Singer Renn
Appears as a major character in Crystal Mask and Dark Quetzal. In Crystal Mask, he is an Eighth Year novice who has been able to hear Half Creatures for years, but hides this ability for fear of being thought crazy. He is often bullied by his classmates for his small stature and unusually good singing ability. He is initially very selfish, refusing to help Shaiala and rejecting Rialle out of fear of being thought different. He is often very antagonistic towards Shaiala, as he resents her for revealing his ability to hear Half Creatures.In the Pass of Silence, Renn accidentally causes an avalanche which is fatal to Frenn, making him feel very guilty. However, he manages to save the other orderlies from being crushed, and then helps to attack the Khizalace. Although he is captured by Yashra, he refuses to co-operate and finds a way to escape. At the end of the book he joins forces with Shaiala to help defeat Frazhin and win her, reconciling their previous differences. He also develops a close relationship with Kherron, who may be his father, and he reconciles with Rialle and the merlee at the end of the book.
In Dark Quetzal, Renn as the newly appointed Second Singer is sent to recover the kidnapped Kyarra. He shows himself to be very open and trusting of Night Plume when he first arrives, and is suggested to have maintained his friendship with Shaiala.
Shaiala
Appears as a major character in Crystal Mask and Dark Quetzal. She was adopted by centaurs from a young age and considers herself part of the group, appearing wild to other humans, who she finds it hard to trust and often injures with powerful centaur kicks. She can initially only speak centaur language and must be translated for by Renn, but she learns gradually human speech. Before the beginning of the book she has her memories wiped by Yashra's crystal mask, and can only remember the night she was captured and the rest of the herd's foals enslaved. She is sent to The Echorium for treatment, where she begins to trust the Singers. She is hot tempered and often argues with Renn.When the Wavesong reaches the Mainland, she runs away and tries to find the centaurs but is kidnapped again by Yashra, who Shaiala remembers from her capture and immediately hates. In captivity, she befriends Erihan and the other street children. With Erihan's help, she escapes and finds the centaur herd, who give her the needed to free the captured foals. At the end of the book, she joins forces with Renn to defeat Frazhin and find her own, allowing her to join the centaur tribe, but she instead decides to accept her human side and join the Kaleri, Erihan's tribe.
In Dark Quetzal, Shaiala is married to Erihan, although she is still friends with the centaur herd and carried her. She follows Kyarra as she runs away from the Horselord camp because she feels guilty for kicking Yashra's stomach when she was pregnant. She also fights with the centaurs to destroy Frazhin's temple.