Kythaela (Kira the Prime)
Kythaela—originally known as Kaela or Kira the Prime—is a profoundly ancient being from the planet Starmist Prime and one of the most enigmatic figures in The Metalwood Saga. She is the older sister of the Twins (Nelenor and Velion).
Throughout the series, the narrative repeatedly obscures her true identity, presenting her through various aliases (including Keya and Kila) and placing her in situations where she seemingly perishes, only to miraculously survive. Operating behind the scenes across tens of thousands of years, Kira’s ultimate goal is to ensure the continuity of life, magic, and culture from her destroyed homeworld, quietly guiding the various Seed Planets toward a future where species can coexist.
Appearance and Personality
Kythaela’s appearance is remarkably consistent across her millennia-spanning life, possessing an ethereal, "timeless" quality. She is a tall, statuesque woman with brownish-blonde hair (often swept back or kept in a braid), finely-pointed ears, high cheekbones, and striking, intelligent blue eyes. Her voice carries a calm resonance, described as melodic and haunting—"like wind through ancient stone".
Personality-wise, she is serene, composed, and outwardly sweet, though she remains emotionally guarded and somewhat distant. Because she carries the weight of millions of years of memory, magic, and loss behind her eyes, she is often perceived as an "old soul," regardless of what age she is pretending to be. Despite the apocalyptic events she witnesses, she maintains a deep compassion for living things and a steadfast dedication to preserving history through storytelling.
Biography
Starmist Prime and Arrival on the Seed Planets
Before the Starmist system was destroyed by the warlike Xelle, Kaela (Kira) was a resident of Starmist Prime, living in harmony with elves, humans, rylak, and dragons. Known as "Kira the Prime" by her younger siblings, she was considered the smartest and "first among us". When it became clear that their world would fall, Kira departed Starmist Prime before the Twins, traveling in a much faster spacecraft.
Drawn by the souls of the Seed Planets, Kira arrived in the Valaralda system thousands of years before the Twins caught up to her.
The Great Awakening (Valaralda)
One hundred thousand years ago, during the era of the Great Awakening on Valaralda, Kira lived in the village of Errenmel under the name Kila. Posing as a mysterious church official and storyteller, she attempted to share the true history of the universe with the villagers. However, when the celestial orange light of her siblings' arrival (carrying the god-machine Xyclami) appeared in the sky, the frightened villagers blamed her, branding her a witch and locking her in the village jail. She vanished from her cell shortly after, eluding the Twins, who had come to Valaralda specifically searching for her.
The False Daughter (Earth)
Tens of thousands of years later, Kira arrived on Earth (Mar) with her memories temporarily clouded. She wandered out of the forest near Sylrantheas just two days after the tragic suicide of the elf Aelynthi. The elves Tanyl and Silanar, finding the amnesiac girl, decided to raise her as Tanyl's daughter to cover up Aelynthi's death and her affair with the mindmaster Thalanil.
Taking the name Keya, she lived for decades believing she was a 75-year-old elven soulsoother. Working as a nurse at the American Cancer Society in San Francisco, she tried in vain to cure human ailments with her lightprime magic. When the apocalyptic Typhoon Velma struck, she miraculously healed a human coworker, inadvertently revealing her magic to Jessica Lim.
Desperate to stop Silanar from using the Book of Souls to execute the Sundering against humanity, Keya fought Jessica in the Sylrantheas church bell tower. During the struggle, Jessica pushed her off the ledge. Keya plummeted to the sanctuary floor, seemingly falling to her death.
The Ascension and the Truth
Surviving the fall through her soulsoothing magic, Keya infiltrated the ascending sky city of Newfris. Confronting Thalanil—whom she believed to be her traitorous father—she engaged him in a fierce sword fight while the city’s gravity failed. During the chaos, Keya slipped and fell out of the floating city, plummeting toward the Earth. She was miraculously saved from the fatal drop by the latent forcefinder magic of the eight-year-old Jason Lim.
Returning to the surface, Keya confronted Tanyl and finally learned the truth: she was not his daughter, nor Thalanil's. Realizing her entire identity was a fabrication and feeling ancient memories stirring within her, she abandoned the name Keya. She formally introduced herself to Silanar as Kythaela, taking her place in the rebuilt village of Sylrantheas to guide the survivors as their Recitation Mentor.
The Storyteller of Sylrantheas
For three centuries, Kythaela served as the beloved storyteller and Prophet of Sylrantheas. She presided over the Alignment ceremonies, delivering cryptic, perfectly accurate prophecies regarding the souls of the young elves (including recognizing Trey as a Prime Mage).
The Splinter Soul: Starmist Reborn
Following the final defeat of the Twins and the deactivation of Xyclami, Kythaela (now openly embracing the name Kira) returned to Eryn. Deep in the jungle, she reunited peacefully with her now-mortal siblings, Nelenor and Velion.
Revealing her ultimate, eons-long plan, Kira unveiled a massive egg that had been preserved by Xyclami's hidden protocols. As the egg cracked open to reveal a baby dragon, Kira declared her intention to restore the lost ecosystem of their destroyed homeworld. Together with her siblings, she set out to make Eryn a sanctuary where elves, humans, rylak, and dragons could finally live in peace—"Starmist reborn".
The Savage Wild
When the god-machine Xyclami was reactivated, Kythaela was on the brutal jungle planet of Eryn, once again using the name Kila. She acted as a guide for the Triad—Lysa, Jascyn, and the dragon Aena—teaching them about their demisouls and the ancient threat of Calarel. When pressed by Lysa about her identity, she finally admitted the truth: she was the sister of the Twins, having lived through the entire hundred-thousand-year War.
Powers and Abilities
- Immortality: As an original inhabitant of Starmist Prime, Kythaela is biologically immortal and immeasurably old. She has survived for millions of years, outliving even the oldest of the Eldrim.
- Soulsoother: Operating under the guise of Keya, she demonstrated immense proficiency with lightprime birch magic, capable of knitting together shattered bones, repairing veins, and bringing individuals back from the brink of death.
- Prophecy and Soulspection: Kythaela possesses a deep, innate connection to the souls of others. During the elven Alignment ceremonies, she falls into a trance, accurately reading the "Aspects" and sparkthreads of a person's soul to determine their magical capabilities.
- Omniscience / Storytelling: Through a combination of her immense lifespan and her profound connection to the universe's souls, Kythaela possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of history across all the Seed Planets. She uses this knowledge to subtly steer events through the art of storytelling.
Key Relationships
- Nelenor and Velion (The Twins): Her younger siblings. While they sought to dominate the Seed Planets using Xyclami, Kira sought to preserve life and guide the worlds peacefully. They are eventually reunited in harmony after the Twins are stripped of their godhood.
- Tanyl and Thalanil: The elves who believed themselves to be her fathers during her time as Keya. She deeply loved Tanyl for raising her, but resented Thalanil until she learned the truth of her amnesia.
- Arra and Trey: She serves as a mentor figure to them in Sylrantheas, providing crucial prophecies and stories that ultimately guide them toward discovering the truth of their past lives.
- Lysa, Jascyn, and Aena: The Triad of Eryn. She appears to them in the jungle to explain their unique "demisoul" natures and guide them in their fight against Calarel.