THE CIRCLE OF NINEAdya is perhaps the shortest lived character in all of Elfquest. He was introduced to us in the opening pages of the Fire and Flight and killed shortly thereafter by the humans. Adya was one of the nine who guided the Palace on it's journey through space and he was the "Eyes of the Palace" guiding them where they needed to go. Adya and Timmain had a special relationship before their transformation from the "cone heads" into the "High Ones" and it was his death that prompted Timmain to shapechange into a wolf to help them survive on the World of Two Moons.
"Our ears, knowing why we should go." Aerth was perhaps the first of the elves to experience the beginnings of Recognition towards Timmain. He missed her more and more when she spent time away from the other elves. It was Aerth who found Timmain with a wolf and left her to do as she needed. It is speculated that Aerth may be the father of the blond haird child of Timmain. Aerth's hair was reddish-brown and his eyes were green and he was the first healer of the elves. He may be a distant relative of Mender, Rain and Leetah.
Deir was their "balance, giving order to all of our choices." Deir had short red hair and gray eyes and was probably the father of Vol.
"Caution, holding us back," that was Gibra. She refused to believe that Haken held any hatred for his fellow elves. Gibra left the group after giving birth to Vol to find Haken and show him the youngster. Gibra had yellow-gold hair and light blue eyes.
Haken was their "passion, driving us forward." He had jet-black hair and amber eyes and is reminiscent of both Winnowill and Rayek in appearance and attitude. He left the group after the initial attack by the humans to return to the Palace to find out what happened to the other elves. Once inside he found their remains and vowed revenge on their behalf, waging war against the humans. When Timmain and the others returned to the Palace to heal Kaslen, he fought them savagely until Timmain bit his arm off in battle. He left the area and it was Gibra who followed him later with her infant son, Vol.
Kalil was their "motion, propelling us through space." He had brown hair and eyes and was thought to be close with Kaslen.
"Our ship, protecting us through space," Kaslen was their protector. She was also a plantshaper and perhaps the direct ancestor of Goodtree and Redlance. It was Kaslen who helped them learn which plants were edible and would help them survive in the new harsh world that they had landed on. She had auburn hair and eyes.
Sefra was their timekeeper, "knowing when we should go." She was the first to notice that they had not landed when they should have by the position of the stars. She had silver hair and gray eyes and may be a direct ancestor of Skywise and Shale. She loved the stars and had them copied on her clothing.
"Mother of All", Timmain was one of the nine who guided the Palace, although it is not stated what she did exactly to help guide the High Ones. Timmain had a special relationshp with Adya, who was the first to fall to the human's brutality, and in his death was prompted to take action to insure that her people survived. She shapechanged herself into the creatures of the World of Two Moons in an attempt to understand the world and eventually changed into it's predators in an effort to feed her people. After being shapechanged for longer and longer periods of time as a wolf she found it harder to change back and stayed as a wolf. She mated with a "true" wolf of the planet and gave birth to Timmorn, the first of the firstborns with half their blood being elf, and half wolf. This change and mating created the Wolfriders and insured the survival of the elves. Timmain also had a daughter, possibly with Aerth, and she may have been Rellah. Aerth was a healer and so was Rellah, so it can be speculated that Timmain and Aerth were her parents. Timmain survived on the planet as a wolf for countless turns until the Wolfriders found her after the Troll War and winning of the Palace. She was changed back into an elf by Suntop who tried to comfort her, thinking that she was his wolf-friend. She then told the story of the Landing and it's aftermath and why the Wolfriders existed, changing history and future for all time. Since that time, she has changed back into a wolf to comfort both Cutter and Skywise in their times of need and it is widely accepted that at some point Skywise and Timmain will Recognize, that is if all the hints in the books are read correctly.
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