Embassy Staff

A group that includes Leif. All working off debts which are currently owned by the Embassy, as signaled by the fact that their last names are replaced with “of Sønheim.”

Fitted with compulsion microchips embedded in the backs of their necks, with the position marked by an Embassy fleurcode. They use Sønheim Sign to communicate unobtrusively.

In the comic: Katya of Sønheim

Housekeeper and general-purpose servant. Stoic, cautious and quiet, she knows a lot more than she lets on. Covers for her fellow servants in rule-bending situations. Would be totally capable of poisoning someone in their sleep.

Katya was raised by adoptive parents. She's a different ethnicity than Leif, and most of the rest of the staff, though it’s hard for southerners to tell. She is also asexual.

• Age (first appearance): 30
• Likes: Lizards, peacetime, secrets
• Dislikes: Overt conflict, allergy-inducing flowers, certain politicians

• Debut: I Got Eight Problems 21/27
• Leaves That Are Green: helps Leif in his post-vampire return to work
• An Incredibly Platonic Storyline: helps Leif get ready for his first rental, cautions him about Thorn
• Landslide Bring Me Down: floats the idea of serious rule-breaking to Leif, backs off when he reacts badly
• Sweet Summer Children: adjusts Iona Nibelungsen's new clothes, gets Leif to keep quiet about his compulsion not working
• Watching Over Me: makes a surprise connection with Thorn
• Can't You Read The Signs: assures Elisa that her debt finishing early won't interrupt Katya's plans
• Leif in Lockdown: erases the Embassy's video of Leif's interrogation, while sending an encrypted copy to Leif's smartcrystal

In the comic: Elisa of Sønheim

Kitchen attendant and general-purpose servant. Likes romance novels, making photosets with fashion and cute aesthetics, baked goods, and fun memes. She's bi/pan, though she spends more time getting emotionally invested in fictional characters than real-life crushes.

Elisa's dads have the family name Svansson, which she gets back once her contract is up. She's a native speaker of Sønheim Sign, as one of her dads is deaf. The other was one of the trapped miners in Landslide Bring Me Down.

• Age (first appearance): 21
• Likes: cute fashion, fanciful romance novels, cooking
• Dislikes: uniforms, casual sex, doing dishes

• Debut: An Incredibly Platonic Storyline 6/64
• Landslide Bring Me Down: worries about one of her fathers, who was caught in the mine collapse
• Can't You Read The Signs: after initial misunderstanding, accepts Leif's plan to get her contract fulfilled early
• Half Of What You See: prepares to be rented by Thorn, discussing it with Katya and Leif
• Something's Cooking: shops at a convenience store with Thorn, teaches him to make crescent cookies
• Slow News Day: Fertility Clinics: reunited with her dads in Sønheim

In the comic: Tilda

Cleaner and general-purpose servant. Wants her allotted time on the net, please.

• Age (first appearance): late 20's
• Debut: International Singalong

In the comic: Torsten

Kitchen attendant and general-purpose servant. Avid fan of fantasy hockey.

Starts to get tremors in his hands, disrupting his ability to use sign language, and do a lot of general-purpose servitude.

• Age (first appearance): early 60's
• Debut: An Incredibly Platonic Storyline 5/64

The counterparts to Thorn and his team. Officially their allies, although unofficially they may have clashing goals.

Most of them have a high level of Ceannic understanding, although their ability to speak it varies.

Minor/unnamed guard appearances: Embassy guards

In the comic: Captain Sigrún

Stoic crack shot Captain of the guards. Has wings, which grew in her early 20s. Doesn't have much time for reading, but will watch the musical. Not good at holiday cheer.

Her last name is pronounced “story.”

• Age (first appearance): 35
• Likes: Adults, crossbows, musicals, tiny things, especially tiny food
• Dislikes: Disease, going out in nature

• Debut: Vampire Masquerade 30/66
• Vampire Masquerade: intervenes with vampires to rescue Iona and take her to her room
• Watching Over Me: discusses how to better spy on Thorn via Leif
• Sword Dancers: spars with Thorn (distracting both Leif and Geirölul Lilblomma), wrestles with Pascentia Zikos
• The Calling: is flustered at a misdialed call, but adapts
• Half Of What You See: recaps the Embassy's spying efforts, interrogates Thorn, checks on Lulen after her surgery
• This Storyline Is Canceled: is relieved she never did read the Holger Saga after Astrid Rødlund claims servants are privileged

In the comic: Alruna Haetta

Nonbinary guard (ze/zir). Another minority ethnicity, and the first person in zir district to be approved for foreign service. New to the team in the first year of the comic.

Speaks Ceannic with stilted grammar, but a strong vocabulary. Zir family name means “danger.”

• Age (first appearance): early 30's
• Debut: Sword Dancers 2/23

• Sword Dancers: spars with Rowan, wrestles Quince Malina, complains about foreign pronouns
• The Calling: plays the part of Szélanya for Ceannic-speaking callers

In the comic: Brynhildr Gyllenhallr

Shy large guard. Cheek/ear scar. Too embarrassed about her low Ceannic skill to speak it. Won the guards' Szélanyanatt contest with her knowledge of civics.

Her hairstyle is a reference to Topaz from Steven Universe, and her family name means “gold stone.”

• Age (first appearance): mid 20's
• Debut: Sword Dancers 2/23

• Sword Dancers: spars with Quince, wrestles with Thorn
• This Storyline Is Canceled: comforts Lulen after Astrid Rødlund claims servants are privileged

In the comic: Geirölul Lilblomma

Optimistic young guard. “Lulen” to her friends. Throat scar. Loves kids. As a child, she changed pronouns three times before settling on “she”.

Extremely talented archer, to the point where she can hit a target dead-center even with her vision compromised.

As a young(er) adult, Lulen spent some time as an indentured servant on a vampires' estate in Sønheim. Early in her service she was at the castle of Lady Fastný, where she encountered some of Stanczia and Imri's servants at the end of their servitude.

Her hairstyle is an homage to Seras Victoria, and her family name means “Mignonette.”

• Age (first appearance): mid 20's
• Likes: archery, the Drøfnsson Saga, children, holidays, wings
• Dislikes: undercover work, the nickname “Lulzya”, references to her past servitude

• Debut: Vampire Masquerade 63/66
• Sword Dancers: spars with Violet Dupont, wrestles with Rowan Muscade, follows orders to scold Leif in order to see how much it distracts Thorn
• The Calling: encourages Captain Sigrún to be nice to children who call them by accident
• Half Of What You See: follows orders to spy on Leif and Elisa but discovers she's nearsighted, accidentally discusses wing kinks with her captain, gets laser eye surgery
• This Storyline Is Canceled: gets comforted by her fellow guards after Astrid Rødlund claims servants are privileged, dodges the twins' questions about what servitude is really like
• Leif in Lockdown: watches Leif's interrogation, assures Róta he's done nothing wrong, calls in Katya to…do absolutely nothing suspicious
• AU: Vampire Hunter Thorn: member of a vampire-hunting guild, attempts to teach Leif to shoot

In the comic: Róta Loptfreyr

Cocky young guard. Low on patience. Same ethnicity as Katya.

Her hairstyle is an homage to Sailor Uranus, and her family name means “sky king.”

• Age (first appearance): early 20's
• Debut: Sword Dancers 2/23

• Sword Dancers: spars with Pascentia, wrestles Rowan Muscade, complains about foreign pronouns
• This Storyline Is Canceled: threatens to burn all her Holger Saga books in solidarity after Astrid Rødlund claims servants are privileged (but still believes servants at the Embassy aren't abused)
• Leif in Lockdown: oversees Leif's interrogation, struggles to keep believing servants at the Embassy aren't abused

All high-level officials are required to be fluent in both Sønska and Ceannic. They have accents in spoken Ceannic, but in writing you wouldn't know it wasn't their native language.

In the comic: Sven Nibelungsen

Culture Minister, reports directly to the ambassador. Single dad to twin girls, Ragnild and Iona.

• Age (first appearance): 37
• Likes: his daughters, traditional Sønska clothing and music, women who can bench-press him
• Dislikes: expensive souvenirs

• Debut: Vampire Masquerade 17/66
• Vampire Masquerade: organizes the party, develops a crush on Agent Delphinium
• Sweet Summer Children: gets his kids new clothes, takes lots of photos
• The Show Must Grow On (Overture): has his kids speak Ceannic to the knights, vetoes an expensive merch purchase, tries and fails to intercept a covert delivery
• The Show Must Grow On (Act II): gets his kids to safety, is taken into custody as a “possible witness” to a covert delivery
• The Show Must Grow On (Coda): released from custody, flirts with Delphinium some more
• This Storyline Is Canceled: assures his daughters that servitude isn't so bad, and besides, it's not like they'll ever be servants, so don't worry about it!

In the comic: Ambassador Beringar

Newly appointed head diplomat from Sønheim to Ceannis.

• Age (first appearance): 54
• Debut: Vampire Masquerade 19/66

In the comic: Ludolf Andersson

Coordinator of all the servants at the Embassy, making him the direct supervisor of Leif and the others. Shows a matter-of-fact disregard for their privacy and feelings. Bichromatic eyes (brown/purple), prematurely grey hair.

• Age (first appearance): 44
• Likes: throwing people off-balance
• Dislikes: being thrown off-balance

• Debut: Leaves That Are Green 6/21
• Leaves That Are Green: debriefs Leif on his post-vampire duties
• An Incredibly Platonic Storyline: adjusts Leif's compulsions, gives guidelines for not-date #1
• An Incredibly Platonic Shopping Day: interrupts Leif in the shower, gives guidelines for not-date #2
• Watching Over Me and Half Of What You See: discusses the advantages and issues of spying on Leif; adjusts Elisa's compulsions
• Leif in Lockdown: scolds, interrogates, belittles, steps on, and generally is awful to Leif

In the comic: Sigvard Blixt

Local tech support, spycraft tech included.

• Age (first appearance): mid 20's
• Debut: Watching Over Me 2/29

• Watching Over Me: gives spycraft and tech-support advice to Ludolf Andersson and Sigrún Storre
• Half Of What You See: more of the same
• Call and Answer: look, his life isn't that exciting, okay