Jason
Jason Lim is a central character in The Fatal Cure (Book 4) of The Metalwood Saga. Introduced as an eight-year-old boy living in San Francisco just before the Sundering, Jason is the half-elven son of the human woman Jessica and the ancient elven mindmaster Thalanil (who goes by the human alias Alan).
Jason plays a pivotal role in the events surrounding the Ascension and the creation of the sky cities. By the end of his life, he is revealed to be the father of Megan, the powerful forcefinder who later adopts the undername Phoenix.
Appearance and Personality
In his youth, Jason is described as being small and frail due to his battle with cancer, possessing a mix of Korean heritage from his mother and European features from his father. Before his miraculous healing, he suffered from a visible tumor in his jaw. Following his recovery, his face was reconstructed through magic, leaving no evidence of the disease and granting him the ageless, refined quality of a half-elf.
Personality-wise, Jason is a quiet, watchful boy who does not speak much, but notices far more than he says. He is reserved, thoughtful, and serious for his age, carrying a youthful, soft, and subdued voice with a slightly hesitant delivery. Even as a child, he possesses an underlying seriousness that makes him feel much older than his years.
Biography
The Typhoon and the Awakening
When Jason is eight years old, he is diagnosed with a rare, advanced form of cancer known as melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy, which his oncologist declares incurable. While he is resting in the hospital, the record-breaking Typhoon Velma strikes San Francisco. As the storm rips through the city, the ninth floor of the hospital begins to collapse, threatening to crush Jessica, Jason, and the other survivors.
In a moment of pure instinct, Jason reaches out and grasps a wooden doorframe. Unbeknownst to him, he possesses latent forcefinder magic, and he channels his power through the wood to miraculously hold up the entire collapsing floor, buying enough time for everyone to escape out of a window. The immense exertion nearly kills him, and he collapses unconscious once the survivors are safe.
The Fatal Cure
Desperate to save her dying son, Jessica tracks down the elven soulsoother Keya (who is secretly Jason's half-sister). During a violent confrontation at the church in Sylrantheas, Jessica steals the forbidden Book of Souls and acquires a piece of prime birch wood.
While the bell tower collapses around them, Jessica applies the magical theories from the book, altering the frequency and spectrum of the soulsoothing magic to attack the cancer directly. She blasts the dark, pulsing tumor away, shredding the diseased cells and allowing Jason's jaw to knit back together. Jason awakens completely cancer-free.
The Ascension
Shortly after his healing, the Cothellon initiate the Ascension, pulling the chosen human survivors up into the newly constructed sky cities to save them from the Sundering. Jason and Jessica are rushed through a gate by Thalanil, emerging in the sky city of New San Francisco.
From the safety of the sky city's edge, Jason watches in horror as another sky city—New Tokyo—malfunctions and plummets out of the sky. He witnesses the falling city crash directly into a massive Prime Tree on the ground, destroying both in a catastrophic explosion. Afterward, Thalanil tells Jason that the floating city will be their new home.
Fatherhood and Legacy
Because of his half-elven heritage, Jason lives for centuries aboard the sky cities, guided by his father in the ways of the elves. Two hundred and sixty-eight years after the Sundering, Jason marries a human woman named Karen Lim. Karen is notably the only human forcefinder in the sky cities who is not subjugated or enslaved by the Cothellon, thanks to Thalanil's protection.
Together, Jason and Karen prepare to have their first child: a girl they decide to name Megan. Jason predicts that she will be an incredibly special forcefinder.
Tragically, Jason's family does not find a happy ending. Karen eventually becomes addicted to using darkprime magic (metalwood), turning into a "junkie" whose obsession ultimately causes their house to burn down. Karen perishes in the flames, and Megan (who later takes the undername Phoenix) is orphaned and forced to survive in the brutal Under. Jason also dies during this period; the ancient mindmaster Quynn later hints to Phoenix that the magic in Jason's bloodline eventually caused his cancer to return, stating that her father was a "good man, but now he's dead".
Powers and Abilities
- Forcefinder: Jason is a naturally gifted forcefinder. Even at eight years old, with no training, he possessed enough raw magical strength to generate a forcefield capable of holding up an entire collapsing hospital floor.
- Half-Elven Longevity: Because his father is a full-blooded elf, Jason ages incredibly slowly, allowing him to live for nearly three centuries in the sky cities without losing his youth.
Key Relationships
- Jessica: His human mother, who fiercely loves him and commits murder to steal the magic necessary to cure his cancer.
- Thalanil (Alan): His elven father. Thalanil hides his true identity from Jason and Jessica for years, but ultimately secures their safety aboard the sky cities.
- Karen Lim: His human wife, a free forcefinder who eventually succumbs to darkprime magic addiction.
- Megan (Phoenix): His daughter. Jason names her Megan, recognizing her vast magical potential before she is even born.