Allain
Allain is a major supporting character in The Metalwood Saga. An elven youth from the village of Sylrantheas, Allain is a prodigious mistweaver and the son of the village's Construction Mentor, Orist.
Initially presented as a surly, insecure, and somewhat "creepy" classmate of Arra, Allain's journey is one of the most transformative in the series. Driven by grief and a desperate need to matter, he accidentally discovers the unprecedented, dangerous magic of "soulsplintering"—splitting his soul into living, physical clones of himself. He eventually matures into a fierce fighter and invents the teleportation technique known as "splinterleaping". He ultimately sacrifices his life to cast the greatest illusion ever created, temporarily halting the apocalyptic rampage of Orym.
Appearance and Personality
Allain is consistently described as a thickly built, muscular young elf (around fifty years old, the elven age of adulthood) with "large arms" from his years working as a blacksmith alongside his father. He possesses "lanky blond hair swept behind his head" and "expressionless" gray eyes. While he typically wears standard elven clothing, he is also seen wearing a "special tailored black jacket" in Ilyrion and a cloth wrapped haphazardly around his head to survive the desert sun.
Personality-wise, Allain is a complex mix of cocky arrogance and deep vulnerability. Early on, Arra finds him "creepy" and notes that he "always had a lecherous look" and "never seemed quite at home in his body". He is easily frustrated and jealous, particularly resenting his own lack of combat prowess compared to the Hunters. However, beneath his brooding and blunt exterior lies a profound desire to be loved and to do something important.
As he matures, others begin to see his hidden depths. Lorelei observes that despite his youth, he is "handsome, if a bit rough around the edges," possessing a "restless energy" and a "shadowed, moody edge" that hints at a spirit of adventure. She famously tells him that he has "a blacksmith's arms, but a carver's touch".
Biography
Early Life and the Archery Final
Allain grew up in Sylrantheas as the son of the blacksmith Orist. Though his true magical Alignment was mistweaving (the Way of the Builder/Creator, specifically Sculpture), Allain desperately wanted to be a Hunter and insisted on taking archery classes from Kharis.
During their final archery exam, Allain—embarrassed by his poor skills—secretly used mistweaving to project the illusion of three perfect bullseyes. Arra discovered the cheating, leading to a physical brawl between them where Allain bitterly called her a "spoiled bitch" and tried to choke her. Kharis intervened, forcing Allain to empty his pockets, revealing the primewood dust and the wooden carving he used to fake his shots. Despite his desire to be a warrior, Allain officially Chose the Way of Construction at his Waychoice ceremony.
Tragedy and The Soulsundering
When the Cothellon forces led by Quynn brutally attacked Sylrantheas, Allain’s life shattered. During the chaos, a burning roof collapsed onto his father, Orist. Despite the efforts of Trey and Kharis, Orist was crushed to death. Overwhelmed by grief, Allain irrationally blamed Trey for both his father's death and for "stealing" Arra's affections. He ambushed Trey with a knife, but Trey managed to talk him down, reminding Allain that he was needed to activate one of the Prime Trees for the planet's desperate soulsundering ritual.
Allain agreed to help, manning a Prime Maple tree. However, when Cothellon soldiers interrupted the ritual, a panicked Allain attempted to mistweave an armed illusion of himself to scare them away. The magic spiraled wildly out of control; his mind ripped apart, and the illusion solidified into a permanent, physical clone.
The Splintered Soul
This magical clone, dubbed Allain2, possessed half of Allain's soul, taking on his most aggressive, surly, and mean-spirited traits. Strangely, only the original Allain retained the ability to mistweave. As time passed, the physical connection between the splinters began to decay; Allain2's hair grew lighter and his nose wider, making the "identical" twins look completely different.
Disillusioned, the two Allains abandoned the elves and traveled to the floating United Sky Cities, where they briefly joined Shot and the Shock Crew. During a violent skirmish, Allain utilized his mistweaving to protect a deeply traumatized and amnesiac Lorelei. Seeking answers, Allain, Allain2, and Lorelei boarded an interplanetary spaceship to Valaralda, taking a captive Eglaria shadowmage with them.
The Desert War and Splinterleaping
On Valaralda, Allain discovered how to reverse his splintering. During a massive sandstorm in the Thesserin Desert, he realized that by creating a splinter and then casting an illusion of invisibility over himself, his scattered soul would forcefully "suck" back together, pulling him instantly to the splinter's location. He named this rapid teleportation technique splinterleaping.
He mastered this powerful new skill during the battle at the Palace of Memory. When Lorelei fainted in mid-air, Allain jumped off a falling platform, spawning up to six splinters of himself at once (the absolute limit of the soul's Aspects) to catch her and splinterleap safely to the desert floor. Later, he utilized this same technique to disarm the hulking rylak Prime Mage, Talon, saving Trey's life.
Romance and The Ultimate Illusion
Throughout their journey, Allain developed a profound, unlikely romance with Lorelei. Despite the hundred-thousand-year age gap, the two recognized a shared darkness and a desperate yearning for love within each other.
During the apocalyptic final battle against the awakened rogue god, Orym, Allain knew that conventional magic could not stop him. Drawing on Lorelei's soulsoothing magic to wake his exhausted body, Allain kissed her deeply and then unleashed the full, unbridled scope of his mistweaving. He projected a sprawling, impossible illusion of the destroyed planet of Starmist Prime—complete with oceans, floating rocks, lush jungles, and flying dragons.
The sheer beauty and scale of the illusion moved the villainous Orym to tears, halting his destructive rampage as he wept at the sight of the lost world. Tragically, this triumph was cut short. Although Orym was moved by the illusion and claimed he wanted to be a creator rather than a destroyer, he casually stated he needed a "clean workspace" for his experiments. With a wave of his hand, Orym unleashed a beam of red Destroyer magic that sliced directly through both Allain and Lorelei's waists. The two were cut in half and killed instantly, their bodies falling intertwined as the great illusion disintegrated around them. Allain was later mourned and honored as a hero during Tarathiel and Alleria's final recommitment ceremony.
Powers and Abilities
- Mistweaver (Light Maple): Allain is an exceptionally gifted mistweaver, utilizing the Way of the Builder (Sculpture). By rapidly carving wooden figures with his knife, he can project highly convincing, multi-sensory illusions, ranging from attacking bears and false arrows to the entirety of a resurrected planet.
- Soulsplintering: By over-investing his mistweaving magic, Allain discovered the forbidden art of soulsplintering. He can split his soul into multiple physical bodies (up to a maximum of six splinters).
- Splinterleaping: Allain invented a unique form of teleportation. By projecting a splinter forward and casting invisibility on his original body, the soul violently pulls itself back together, instantly dragging his physical form through the air to the splinter's location.
- Blacksmithing and Sculpture: Without magic, Allain is a highly talented artisan and blacksmith, capable of shaping metal and rendering intricate wooden carvings with near-perfect precision.
Key Relationships
- Orist: His father. Allain respected him deeply. Orist's death traumatized Allain, fueling his darkest impulses before he learned to harness his grief.
- Lorelei: His unlikely lover. Though initially serving as her protector while she was amnesiac, Allain eventually forms a deep, passionate bond with the ancient Cothellon leader. She recognizes his artistic soul and his underlying need for affection.
- Allain2: His primary soulsplinter. An autonomous, surly duplicate who acts as Allain's darker, more aggressive half. Allain eventually reabsorbs him.
- Arra: His childhood classmate. Allain harbored a toxic, jealous crush on her for years, deeply resenting her relationship with Fenian and later Trey. He ultimately moves past his obsession after witnessing her terrifying power as a Prime Mage.
- Trey (Tarathiel): Initially, Allain views Trey as a rival and blames him for Orist's death, repeatedly trying to murder him. Eventually, they become trusted allies in the fight against the Twins.