Altair

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Education and Literary Identity

Originally named Brett, Altair adopted a new name and established himself as a respected writer. He held a genuine history degree from Backlund University and read extensively, treating history, popular literature, and everyday events as sources of useful insight 99 203.

According to Miles, Altair was a successful writer who had moved into Empress Borough on his royalties within a few years, earning the envy of his peers 47.

His literary salons deliberately excluded singers, dancers, and bands to preserve an atmosphere focused on literature. As host, he greeted guests personally and knew Raven as the author of Young Roselle. He also obtained wine from Duke Negan’s Meager Manor and offered Fors a bottle after she praised it 48.

The Mountain Estate Case

Altair wrote The Earl’s Revenge to lure Baron Percival by creating parallels between fiction and reality. Randolph’s Brain, his contracted creature, later confirmed that it had attacked Raven on Altair’s orders rather than serving Falk 99.

His connections to Parliamentarian Begat and Director Damik also drew Lorry’s attention. Mia Pierce reported that Altair and Begat had visited Damik’s Hunting Forest roughly a month and a half earlier, leading Lorry to suspect links among the Koyar Village case, the Baron Percival case, and Damik’s death 85.

After Randolph’s Brain was destroyed, Lorry and Vera pursued Altair to his villa but found that he had already fled. MI9 seized his considerable wealth, and he was subsequently confirmed as a cultist jointly wanted by the Three Great Churches and the kingdom 101 108.

The seized holdings included the Mountain Estate, a factory investment, jewelry, and cash, together valued at more than ten thousand pounds. Despite his concealed collaboration with Altair, Begat presided over MI9’s commendation meeting for the case. The Mountain Estate massacre was to be publicly treated as an ordinary murder case while MI9 continued searching for Altair 101 108 109.

Revenge from Hiding

Altair remained hidden in Backlund rather than abandoning the city. While staying in the East Borough, he uncovered human trafficking connected to MI9 and learned from Begat that the organization contained rival factions. He attempted to use those divisions to turn Lorry and Vera into casualties of an internal political struggle 118 132.

His arrangement used Miles’s circumstances to draw Lorry toward Hayes, a pawn of one MI9 faction who managed East Borough gangs, gathered intelligence, and secretly bought and sold people. Altair expected Lorry’s concern for his neighbor and desire for merit to push him into an investigation that would antagonize Hayes’s backers 132.

His written arrangement failed when Lorry chose not to share his clues about Hayes with Vera. The Book of Dimensions revised its text to reflect that decision, shocking Altair, who had believed his god-given artifact would enforce the outcome. Furious over his exposed identity and financial losses, he cut his wrist and resumed writing in blood 132.

Lorry later suspected Altair of arranging the misfortunes of two detectives hired to investigate him: one suffered a disabling injury, while Detective Polian was killed following an apparently trivial dispute 175.

Fantasy Society and the Catastrophe

After repeated failures, Altair investigated Lorry’s relationships to construct more convincing arrangements. He considered targeting Fors and Xio, but the Lord of Dimensions instructed him not to provoke the great being watching over them. He instead arranged for Miles to discover the deity’s honorific name 203.

Miles became a believer, suffered mental contamination while receiving a boon, and founded the Fantasy Society. Altair supplied money and advice while privately dismissing Miles’s proposed sacrificial operation as crude. He anticipated its discovery by official forces, bought Miles a burial plot, and prepared an epitaph before the operation began 203.

Before his death, Miles warned Lorry that Altair had another scheme and additional helpers, although he did not know the details 202.

Meanwhile, Altair established a separate organization loyal to himself and the Lord of Dimensions: the Eye of Truth. His larger plan sought to open a fissure in the barrier blocking his deity, permit an Angel to descend, enhance the Book of Dimensions, and ultimately allow him to become a demigod 204.

His spiritual intuition suggested naming the organization True News, but he preferred Eye of Truth 204.

The Fantasy Society’s operation drew official forces toward the East Borough, leaving them poorly positioned to respond to Altair’s attack on the Factory District. His intended sacrifices included the Eye of Truth’s own believers 204.

The resulting catastrophe devastated the East Borough and Factory District. Later tallies placed the toll above twenty thousand dead and at least fifty thousand injured. Although the intended Angel did not descend, the Lord of Dimensions still raised the Book of Dimensions to the demigod level 214 229 252.

Following the catastrophe, the Three Great Churches resolved to intensify their pursuit. Archbishop Horamick Haydn had Ikanser Bernard consult Arrodes about Altair, but the mirror answered that he was not in Backlund. Altair’s dimensional concealment subsequently explained why such inquiries failed to establish his continued presence in the city 209 214 235.

Vera’s Death

Altair renewed his alliance with Begat after demonstrating that his enhanced powers could influence even a Sequence 5 target. He proposed killing Vera and requested an appearance-changing item, offering Vera’s Sequence 5 Disciplinary Paladin characteristic as compensation. Begat agreed on the condition that Altair leave Backlund afterward 215.

Lorry warned Vera that Altair could manipulate coincidences and questioned whether Vera’s unexpected attendance at his book launch and meeting with Ms. Beyoncé were part of an arrangement. Lorry subsequently commissioned Xio to investigate Beyoncé, relying on the divine protection that had deterred Altair from targeting Fors and Xio 215 220.

The Book of Dimensions then described a chain of events in which Jon uncovered MI9’s trafficking operation, sought Vera’s help, and died. Vera’s investigation subsequently brought him into conflict with Lieutenant General Bendit and into Begat’s trap 229.

The written story identified Major General Qonas Kilgor as the trafficking operation’s mastermind. After Jon discovered the convoy, Qonas branded him a traitor and enlisted Bendit to pursue him. Jon’s sacrifice enabled Vera to obtain the convoy’s location through spirit channeling, but Vera was defeated by Bendit before falling into Begat’s trap 229.

Official investigators mistakenly concluded that Altair had left Backlund. His ability to occupy another dimension had concealed his continued presence, leaving Lorry and Vera less vigilant than they otherwise would have been 224 235.

Final Battle and Death

Lorry confronted Altair beside an enormous altar in a small valley. Altair initially appeared untouchable: a bullet passed through both him and the altar. He then used the Book of Dimensions to create false versions of Vera, Miles, and Old Perry, combining attacks with accusations that Lorry was responsible for their deaths 232 233.

Despite the extensive conflict between them, this confrontation was only their second face-to-face meeting; their first had been at Altair’s literary salon 232.

Rather than engage directly, Altair attempted to exhaust Lorry’s spirituality through successive manifestations. Lorry countered by amplifying a Decree that weakened mysticism and strengthened reality, suppressing Altair’s powers and preventing him from escaping through the book 233 234.

Altair fled toward the valley’s exit, but Albert intercepted him and dragged him back. With both men deprived of their supernatural advantages, Lorry defeated Altair in close combat and beat him to death 234.

Through spirit channeling, Lorry learned about Altair’s alliance with Begat and the Book of Dimensions. He then took the artifact, disguised Altair’s corpse as himself using False Face and a blood ritual, and destroyed the altar. He subsequently reported Altair’s death and confessions to Arianna 235 236.

Altair’s final disclosures included Begat’s suggestion that they again exploit the Percival family’s loyalists, who had secretly returned to Backlund to avenge their master. Altair had been confident in his own plan and emphasized that his objective was to sacrifice Lorry to the Lord of Dimensions, not merely kill him 235.

In his report to Arianna, Lorry attributed to Altair’s confession information that Begat controlled human traffickers who traded with Arbiter-pathway Beyonders from MI9, with Qonas Kilgor in charge 236.

Posthumous Influence

Altair’s blood became a source of knowledge about his boon-based abilities. The White Bone Ring’s reverse-engineering of it supplied information that Lorry later taught Fors, including Text Resonance, Story Weaving, and Inspiration Absorption 235 252.

His schemes also continued to affect Lorry’s relationships. When Fors confronted Lorry over concealing his survival, he explained that Altair had never left Backlund, had killed the superior who protected him, and had made him fear that those close to him would suffer the same fate 245.

The intelligence obtained from Altair’s spirit remained relevant to the search for Begat. Much later, Lorry combined it with newly acquired clues to compile a profile of the fugitive, including his Southern Continent origins, physical features, Sequence 5 Wraith status, and suspected Marionettist-related mystical item 409.

Altair’s former collaborator Adrian later expressed shock that Lorry was still alive and mistook his use of Sun-pathway powers for a change of pathway. Pali observed that Adrian did not understand a Painter’s abilities despite his cooperation with Altair, reasoning that their different faiths and expedient partnership did not entail sharing pathway secrets 503.

Appearance

• Build: Tall, with regular facial features 48 234.
• Hair: Blond and medium-length 48 214.
• Manner: Frequently presented himself with a broad or leisurely smile, including while negotiating with allies and threatening opponents 48 215 232.
• Disguise: During his revenge operation, he appeared in an East Borough café with a thin, withered hand after obtaining Begat’s appearance-altering item 229.

Personality

Altair combined literary pride with careful planning. He valued the intellectual atmosphere of his salons and regarded himself as a genuine Literature Lover, dismissing Miles’s abilities and schemes as inferior. Repeated failures prompted him to gather more intelligence and reconsider his methods rather than abandon his goals 48 203.

His revenge was persistent and deeply personal. He resented losing the respectable identity he had cultivated and blamed Lorry and Vera for ruining his arrangements. His apparent generosity toward Miles concealed a willingness to use the man’s downfall as a distraction, while his alliance with Begat continued despite the immense civilian cost of his schemes 132 203 204 214.

In combat, Altair was cautious despite his smugness. He preferred to wear Lorry down from safety, exploited memories of the dead to destabilize him, and fled immediately when his supernatural advantage disappeared. His devotion nevertheless imposed limits on his choices: he obeyed the instruction to avoid Fors and Xio and intended to sacrifice Lorry rather than simply kill him 203 232 233 234 235.

His written accounts employed self-justifying irony, portraying his assistance to Miles as generosity and respect for boundaries while anticipating the man’s destruction. He similarly framed mass sacrifice as a theatrical production in which he was the playwright deserving divine reward 203 204.

Abilities & Skills

Literature Lover

Altair could make fantasy affect reality, but successful arrangements depended on suitable circumstances rather than unrestricted wish fulfillment 175 203.

• Story Weaving: Rewrites localized reality so that events follow a story to a limited extent 252.
• Text Resonance: Activates mystical power within words through reading or writing 252.
• Inspiration Absorption: Uses other people’s emotions and experiences to strengthen fantasy abilities 252.
• Materialization: Drew a dagger in the air with a paintbrush, causing it to become a physical object 132.
• Limitations: His attempts to determine Lorry’s actions repeatedly failed; the Book of Dimensions could revise passages when events diverged from his intended course 132 233 235.

Investigation and Manipulation

His former Reporter experience supported the information-gathering required for his arrangements 203.

• Traced East Borough trafficking operations back to MI9 132.
• Investigated Lorry’s friends and acquaintances to identify people capable of influencing him 203.
• Used fictional manifestations and accusations to attack Lorry’s emotional stability 232 233.
• Identified Lorry’s limited spirituality as a tactical weakness and attempted to exploit it by forcing repeated use of powerful Sealed Artifacts 233.

Physical Enhancement

Altair stated that boon recipients, like conventional Beyonders, received stronger bodies with each Sequence advancement 234.

• Retained enough speed and strength to deflect Lorry’s opening attack after supernatural abilities were suppressed 234.
• Admitted that he had never specifically studied combat; his superior rank did not prevent Lorry from defeating him in a physical fight 234.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

Book of Dimensions

A dark-gold book bestowed by the Lord of Dimensions. Originally equivalent to Sequence 5, it was later enhanced to the demigod level 229 235.

During the final battle, Lorry observed that the first false Vera appeared to be Sequence 6, whereas the simultaneous manifestations of Miles, Vera, and Old Perry were individually weaker. He inferred that the number and strength of manifestations Altair could maintain were constrained, though this remained his battlefield assessment rather than a fully established rule 233.

After Altair’s death, Lorry retained and used the book. He transferred the surroundings of a cabin into another dimension during his investigation on an island and later created an imagined visitor to transact with Leonard for the Fire Seed glove. The latter maneuver helped him avoid Pallez’s attempted parasitism after Truth Insight detected a Worm of Time hidden in the glove 275 289.

Following his advancement to Mystery Pryer, Lorry discovered that the book’s dimensional space shielded him from Amon’s influence. He also recognized that the book enabled Exceptional Observation to reveal minute clues 246.

Other Possessions

• Appearance-changing item: Obtained through Begat for his revenge operation. Begat offered a single-use item whose effect would last no more than three months 215 229.
• Paintbrush, fountain pen, and ink bottle: Used to materialize a dagger and collect blood for further writing 132.
• Villa and wealth: His villa was abandoned before Lorry and Vera arrived; MI9 seized his substantial assets 101.
• Wallet: Contained over two hundred pounds when Lorry searched his corpse 235.

Relationships

• Lord of Dimensions — Patron deity and source of boons. Gave him the Book of Dimensions, directed his cooperation with Begat, and ordered him to offer Lorry as a sacrifice 204 234 235.
• Lorry / Raven — Principal target of his revenge. Altair repeatedly tried to arrange his downfall before being killed by him 99 132 234.
• Vera — MI9 officer whom Altair blamed for disrupting his plans. Altair organized the chain of events leading to his death 204 215 229.
• Parliamentarian Begat — Long-standing collaborator and financial supporter. Their partnership included political schemes, funding, and the operation against Vera. Altair’s spirit identified him as a Rose School member and Sequence 5 Wraith with a powerful Sealed Artifact 214 215 234 235.
• Adrian — Identified as a former collaborator of Altair. Their cooperation crossed religious affiliations and did not necessarily include disclosure of their respective pathway abilities; Adrian’s unfamiliarity with Painter abilities was noted during his later confrontation with Lorry 503.
• Miles — Fellow writer whom Altair guided into worshipping the Lord of Dimensions. Supported his Fantasy Society while anticipating and exploiting its failure 203.
• Fors — Literary acquaintance who believed him to be an ordinary person until Randolph’s Brain exposed him. Altair later avoided targeting her because of his deity’s warning 99 203.
• Xio — Fors’s roommate, whom Altair considered a useful means of influencing Lorry. He refrained from targeting either woman after his deity’s warning 203.
• Randolph’s Brain — Contracted creature that obeyed Altair’s orders and revealed his identity during spirit channeling 99.
• Albert — Lorry’s black dog, whose interception prevented Altair from escaping the final battle 234.

Notable Quotes

“All things are illusory. See through to the truth!” 204

“And you call yourself a writer. Don’t you know that ‘villains die from talking too much’ is just a deliberate plot device?” 232

“This is the price of drawing close to others when you lack the strength to protect them!” 232

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