Sisters of the Shadows

Let’s celebrate the existence of a character dear to my heart: Kent Dimaculangan, one of the first Phebean demons to be conceptualized.

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Basic Info:

Age in Aquarius: 21
Height: 5’11 | Weight: 125 lbs.
Hair: chin-length, wavy, onyx black, side-swept bangs | Eyes: walnut brown
Human Race: Half-Filipino, half-Japanese | Species: demon
Hailing Planet: Semes
Ability: pyrokinesis
Rank: none
Specialties: heat resistance, level-headed, self-control, control of external flames (natural & generated by others)
Best friends: Gavin Moore, Jason Carr, Spencer Carr
Mentor: Jason Carr
Soul mate: Sorcha Quirke

Three facts about Kent:

1. Kent is the only member of the tribe to enter a relationship with his soul mate prior to his recruitment. He’s known Sorcha for years; their separation depresses him.
2. He’s one of five Phebeans with some level of pyrokinetic abilities, each one generating flames of a different color. Kent’s flames are shades of blue.
3. He and Jason have been considering starting their own band, but the only other member who plays an instrument is Fletcher. Kent is a skilled bassist.

My thoughts on Kent:

As I’ve mentioned several times by now, there are a handful of characters that I created back in my freshman year of high school when this series was still in its infancy and my friends were helping me by creating OCs based on them. These characters (which I affectionately refer to as generation one, or GEN-1) are as follows:

*Denotes characters created by friends for my story

Some characters–particularly younger siblings like Koji, Benji, and Gabby–were created by the same friends who made their older siblings. Since Gavin was my own creation, Gabby was the result of a brainstorm between Tawni and Cienna’s creators. Risk was also created by me, in spite of the fact that I had help with Rush, and both Connor and Cooper were made by me. All the characters are loosely based on friends and people I knew at some point, with the exception of Lucia and Clint, the latter of which originally had no name or description. Characters that haven’t been introduced yet in any capacity, such as Violetta and Larissa, will debut in a later trilogy.

If you’re wondering why I included all of that in this birthday bio, here’s the reason: Kent is one of the few characters to have remained largely the same since his conception. His forename, his appearance, his personality, his ability… And, most importantly, his role in the overarching story. As the story was revamped and more characters were created, other things about him shifted, but not by much.

Upon first glance, Kent looks to be a degenerate youth. His style is typical of mid- to late-2000s rock/alternative/emo teens; like the rest of the tribe, he’s always sporting hoodies, beanies, boots, and sometimes gloves (fingerless only for him). He has multiple ear piercings and wears homemade bracelets made by his friends (Gabby, Spencer, Karia, Tawni, and–surprisingly–Cienna), and Sorcha traded some food for a set of matching engagement rings, one of which Kent wears on his left ring finger and rarely takes off. In spite of his appearance, Kent is actually a diligent young man with an exceptional work ethic and a sense of honor and purpose, as evident by his choice to become a border scout after he graduated the colonial school. He’s fairly reserved, opting to listen when others think it best to speak, but he will share his opinions without any reservations once he has all the information he deems necessary. He didn’t get the best marks on regular school assignments but still managed to excel at exams, baffling his instructors. His athleticism was also average until his final year at the school when he began taking things more seriously.

Even though he is a responsible person, Kent has a tendency to be mischievous, pulling small pranks on his brother and friends. He knows when to joke and when to be serious; he’s loyal, standing up for his friends and for what he believes in. He calls Sorcha every night before bed and misses her greatly; Dane won’t let any member of the tribe return to Savannah, so their relationship has been solely long-distance for the time being. She is a scout and a strong defender of the colony, but Kent worries over her safety nonetheless.

Aside from Koji, Kent’s small family consists of his mother, Kaylin Mya Dimaculangan, and his maternal grandparents. His father either ran off or was killed, though Kaylin Mya won’t discuss him or his absence with her sons for unknown reasons. All Kent knows is that their father was of Japanese descent. Fun fact: though it will probably never be used in any blog or main series, Kent and Koji each have two first names per their mother’s Filipino heritage. Kent’s full name is Michael Kent Salem Dimaculangan.

Kent was the first Savannah colonist to be recruited following the tribe’s arrival in December 2139. Monty granted him the chance to wish his family goodbye, which is when he learned of Koji’s potential. By the time he brought Koji to Dane, the chief had already recruited Marilyn in his own time, inciting conflicting emotions in Kent. On one hand, he and Marilyn had romantic and sexual history, and his relationship with Sorcha put a strain on their attempt at friendship. On the other, he was grateful that she had found a partner who not only treated her well but put Walter, her ex, in his place. Kent continues to watch Marilyn and Dane from afar, still protective of his friend.

He uncovered his ability shortly after his recruitment and became the Semes Tribe’s second fire-wielding member, the first being Tripp, even though the porter’s pyrokinesis is limited to teleportation. His fire inexplicably burns hotter than that of the others, sporting blue flames while burning his target to ash. This makes him a powerful foe, but the amount of oxygen and energy required to generate his flames makes him only useful for two or three fights a day, depending on how many enemies he’s fighting and how much rest he has between each bout. He’s been training constantly in hopes that increasing his stamina will improve this weakness, but his progress has been slow on that front. He also has great control over any fire, be it his, that of another pyrokinetic, or one that is created naturally or artificially. This makes him the perfect mentor for Gavin and the other fire generators, all of whom can only control their own flames.

As much as it pained him to leave Sorcha and his family behind, Kent did as he was ordered because he thought that the true chief of his tribe knew best… Now he isn’t so sure. The Zulwini Tribe and Ninurta Court not only gained their true leaders but created an alliance, furthering their progress in their shared mission that Dane wants no part of. Will Kent be able to convince his headstrong chief otherwise? Or is there another way to get their tribe on the right path?

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For those of you who don’t know, Kent is a supporting character in my trilogy Saturn Rising, which is the first installment of The Chronicles of Life & Death. The first book, Aquarius, is available now on Amazon as an e-book and paperback. You can even read it all for free with Kindle Unlimited! Learn more here.

Want more Kent before his group becomes a major player in the main book series? Check out my blog series Lizzie’s Diary, where he and other members of the Semes Tribe made their debut!

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Photo by Samia Liamani on Unsplash

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