Ko-Don Chronicles | Character Study | Sabel

Woman of silk and shadows—image, death, and desire.

LUMICRON CAPTURE | KOAL VILLAGE
LORD THADDEUS VAN KOAL TO HIS DAUGHTER, SARAH
“Three times the Sularan of Ralloc called upon me to pledge fealty, and I have yet to answer.”

Not every femme fatale wears a thong and leather, though Sabel might on the right occasion. I’m introducing a character to you from Vol. IV, revealing her inception, her impact on the story, and character details. Welcome to Ermaeyth, Sabel. The brimstones are calling for no mercy, just blood. And I’m going to give it to you.

Who is Sabel? Introduced in Vol. IV, this marks the second time she’s seen on the page. I’m sure this revelation might come as a shock for some and incite a treasure hunt that’ll have you scouring for endless hours. I’ll save you the time. Sabel’s first on-page appearance comes in Vol. III, when the Time Warden visits with Bylos. She’s never named, but she’s there if you read carefully.

So, how did she come to be? Well, in order to answer that, we have to back up a little bit to Vol. III. Long before it was published, I had beta readers tackle The Jackal of Shades—not many, a trio at most—but the reviews came in. They were pissed at me for killing Bylos, the assassin.

Fun fact, his original first name was actually Laket—spelled Leket. I can’t remember what his original last name was. Then it morphed into Leket Byson, and I thought that was too close and on the nose to M. Bison from Street Fighter, so I flopped the names around, but Byson didn’t seem like a good first name, so then it became Bylos (pronounced Bye-loss).

Anyway, the beta readers all said the same thing: “You can’t kill him. He’s too good to throw away.” And actually, that’s exactly what he was, a throw away character. I didn’t want to change the ending of Jackal because everything felt too right. His sacrifice, his choice, seemed too monumental, or at least, set in stone, to alter.

Enter Sabel.