Karen Lim
Karen Lim is a tragic but highly consequential character in the backstory of The Metalwood Saga. As a human living in the sky city of Newfris centuries after the Ascension, she is the wife of the half-elf Jason Lim and the mother of Megan (who later becomes the major protagonist Phoenix).
Notably, Karen is the only human forcefinder in the sky cities who managed to escape subjugation and enslavement by the Cothellon, a freedom secured for her by the protection of Jason’s elven father, Thalanil. Her subsequent struggle with darkprime magic addiction ultimately orphans her daughter and sets Phoenix on her harsh path in the Under.
Appearance and Personality
Karen is a human woman of Korean heritage, a trait she shares with her husband's mother, Jessica. In the early years of her marriage to Jason, she is depicted as a loving, happy wife who is thrilled at the prospect of becoming a mother, gently wondering if her unborn daughter will inherit their magical abilities.
However, her personality and life are eventually consumed by the insidious nature of darkprime magic. She becomes heavily addicted to burning metalash, a dependency that transforms her into a desperate "junkie" and blinds her to the safety of her own family.
Biography
Marriage and Motherhood
Karen lived aboard the floating sky city of Newfris. She married Jason Lim, a half-elf who had been saved during the ancient Sundering and who had aged incredibly slowly over the centuries. Because Karen possessed the exceedingly rare ability to use forcefinder magic, she would normally have been captured by the Department of Civil Service and forced to power the city's Shield. However, Jason's father protected her from the Cothellon, allowing her to live a free and happy life.
Two hundred and sixty-eight years after the Ascension, Karen and Jason prepared to have their first child. They decided to name their daughter Megan, with Jason confidently predicting that she would inherit their forcefinder magic and become someone very special.
Addiction and Death
Sometime after Megan and her younger brother Rylan were born, Karen fell victim to the addictive sweetness of darkprime magic. She became reliant on a supplier—the disguised Planner Quynn (operating under the alias of Eric/Den Boss)—to acquire the highly restricted metalash wood necessary to feed her habit.
Her addiction reached a fatal climax when Quynn visited their wooden home in one of the original New Queen Anne districts to confront her. Despising her as a "junkie," Quynn intentionally set the house on fire to burn her supply of metalash, calculating that the resulting traumatic event might force young Megan to break through her mental walls and unlock advanced magical powers.
Karen had already overdosed on metalash before the fire fully consumed the room. Trapped in the blaze, her hair and clothes caught fire as she stumbled through the kitchen, screaming in terror and coughing from the smoke. Gripped by the euphoria of her overdose, Karen slumped to the floor and died, clutching a final piece of metalash to her chest as the inferno destroyed their home and killed her youngest child. Megan narrowly escaped with the family dog, forever haunted by the memory of her mother burning.
Powers and Abilities
- Forcefinder (Dark Ash): Karen was a rare human mage capable of generating forcefields by burning darkprime ash. Unlike other human forcefinders who were enslaved by the Cothellon to maintain the city's magical barriers, Karen was able to live freely and practice her magic in secret.
Key Relationships
- Jason Lim: Her half-elven husband. They shared a deep, loving bond and looked forward to raising a family together, though her eventual addiction tore their family apart.
- Megan (Phoenix): Her daughter, who inherited her forcefinder magic. Karen’s horrific death traumatized Megan, giving her a deep-seated fear of fire and chaos that plagued her magical abilities for years.
- Quynn: Her supplier of darkprime wood. Disgusted by her addiction, Quynn callously ignited the fire that killed her, later coldly justifying his actions by claiming she would have died from the overdose anyway.