Isidore

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Isidore (伊西多)
Alias(es)	Soul Caller 46
Species/Race	Human; Southerner
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Kas's traveling companion; formerly Kas's slave
Occupation/Role	Former schoolteacher; soul-calling ritualist
Origin	Riverside Town, Bashkui Kingdom 24
Status	Alive 50
First Appearance	Chapter 24

Background

Isidore was a teacher in Riverside Town in the Bashkui Kingdom. His hometown was captured by Haman Mercenaries, who destroyed its churches, schools, and libraries, killed men, and abducted women and children; he was subsequently sold into slavery. 24

At the Black Ember Tribe, Kaike purchased a group of starving slaves as fuel for the Blood-Ash Furnace. Kas rejected Kaike's offered female slave and instead selected Isidore, taking the leash around his neck. 24

Appearance

Isidore is a comparatively frail Southerner in his mid-twenties, physically slight beside the Rishiman people.

• Described as brown-haired when introducing himself to Kas. 24
• Initially dirty, exhausted, and wearing a slave's leash; after washing, his worn features become clearer. 24 33
• Kas considers him thin and poorly suited to the Sorrow Mountains' cold. 39
• Carries a short blade roughly thirty centimeters long, which he considers his final dignity. 46

Personality

Isidore is cautious, observant, and strongly motivated to survive. Initially terrified of Kas, Seneya, and the supernatural conditions around him, he nonetheless assesses his circumstances pragmatically and repeatedly chooses immediate danger over certain death. 25 39 45 50

His education gives him unusual logical ability. He identifies Kas's question about an omnipotent god creating an unliftable stone as a linguistic contradiction rather than a theological puzzle, earning Kas's respect. 25

Though unfamiliar with Rishiman customs, death beliefs, and spirits, Isidore steadily adapts rather than rejecting what he sees. By the journey through the Sorrow Mountains, he can respond calmly to talking skulls and recognize that their strange attitudes toward life and death do not necessarily make them hostile. 48 50

Abilities & Skills

Education and Logical Reasoning

A former schoolteacher, Isidore is notably capable of analysis and abstract thought.

• Speaks some Reshman, learned by listening to Bashkui slaveholders. 24
• Correctly identifies the Omnipotence Paradox as a self-contradictory linguistic trap. 25
• Serves as Kas's baseline for a standard adult Southerner's physical attributes and intelligence; Kas considers his reasoning ability worthy of an intelligence score of 10. 25
• Recognizes the geometric interest of Kas's Sacred Number Theory pattern on the Soul-Calling Banner. 46

Craftsmanship and Ritual Work

Isidore can work quickly with simple materials, skills that become vital during Kas's soul-calling.

• Carves facial features into the rough wooden mask that becomes the Mask of the Departed. 43
• Draws the Golden-Branch Giant Antlered Deer on a blanket with Seneya's blood to create the Soul-Calling Banner. 43
• Wears the Mask of the Departed, allowing him to move among the dead as a living person. 43
• Improvises a soul-calling poem from Morse's instructions, using the banner to attract Kas's wandering soul and calm hostile spirits. 45
• Is not a shaman; the crude banner can ward off only weaker spirits and cannot guide him to the correct soul. 45

Survival Adaptation

Isidore endures the Sorrow Mountains despite his weak physique and inexperience.

• Chooses to travel to Ferode Canyon with Kas rather than remain in the Black Ember Tribe. 39
• Learns to prepare heavy clothing and blankets for the mountain climate. 39 49
• Continues forward during the Winter Vanguard evacuation after deciding he would rather “die later.” 50

Equipment / Items

• Short blade — His personal weapon and remaining symbol of dignity. 46
• Mask of the Departed — Blood-smeared wooden mask worn during the soul-calling ritual; it adheres to the wearer and permits passage among the dead. It is removed after Kas returns. 43 48
• Soul-Calling Banner — A blood-painted blanket bearing the Golden-Branch Giant Antlered Deer; used to protect against lesser spirits and call Kas's wandering soul. 43 45

Relationships

• Kas — Originally Isidore's purchaser and master. Kas tests his body and intellect, later recognizes him as his Soul Caller and grants him freedom after he helps recover Kas's soul. 24 25 46 48
• Seneya — Initially terrifies Isidore, though she gives him food and lets him wash after Kas leaves. She later provides the blood and materials needed for his ritual. 26 38 43
• Morse Ironbone — Guides Isidore through the soul-calling preparations and promises him a means to leave the Sorrow Mountains if he succeeds. 43 45
• Kaike Blood-Fire — Purchases Isidore from the foreign merchant and gives him to Kas as a slave. 24

Story Role / Major Arcs

Black Ember Tribe

Kas selects Isidore from a slave line at the Black Ember Tribe after witnessing the other captives being treated as fuel for the Blood-Ash Furnace. Isidore explains that he was once a Bashkui schoolteacher before war and enslavement destroyed his life. 24

Kas subjects him to physical tests and a logic problem while constructing a personal status panel. Isidore's answer to the Omnipotence Paradox reveals his exceptional reasoning, convincing Kas that the Southerner has practical value. 25

Journey from Iron Peak Mountain

When Kas prepares to leave for Ferode Canyon, Isidore chooses to accompany him despite being warned that survival is not guaranteed. He becomes part of the traveling group with Kas and Seneya, carrying only his own belongings due to his frailty. 39 49

Soul-Calling on Iron Peak Mountain

After Kas's wandering soul fails to return to his body, Isidore performs a dangerous soul-calling ritual under Morse's direction. Wearing the Mask of the Departed and carrying the Soul-Calling Banner, he climbs Iron Peak Mountain, confronts hostile spirits, and chants for Kas to return. 43 45

Kas acknowledges Isidore as his Soul Caller. After Isidore witnesses Kas's confrontation with Xipel Blackheart and succeeds in bringing him back, Kas grants him freedom in recognition of his courage. 46 48

Return through the Sorrow Mountains

Though free, Isidore continues traveling with Kas. The journey exposes him to mammoth herds, polar-night conditions, racing skulls, and the Winter Vanguard; each encounter further changes how he understands the mountains and their people. 49 50

Notable Quotes

“This is a linguistic trap. Regardless of whether I discuss the omnipotence of God or the stone that cannot be lifted, I will ultimately fall into a self-contradictory situation.” 25

“Back down!” 45

“Then I'll choose to die later.” 50