Thorn
Table of Contents
In the comic: Thorn Estragon
Sir Thorn Estragon is a knight and national hero, having slain a dragon and (unlike most of his teammates) lived to tell the tale. If you do a cloudsearch on his name, you'll be inundated with articles that have more detail than you ever wanted to know.
After going through a lot of recuperation for serious burns (his left arm still has visible scarring and doesn't move like it used to), he's back on the job, and being rewarded with some nice uneventful guard duty at the Sønheim Embassy. There's a prophecy involved, but he doesn't know that.
Ethnicity: Iuilic
Affiliation: Knight of Ceannis (Order of the Chalice)
Heartsword type: Broadsword
Zodiac sign: Adharcach (the Horn)
Age (first appearance): 35
Languages: Northern Ceannic, Sønska (sort of)
Likes: Bhang lassi (not on the job, obviously), fish curry (used to be vegetable curry, but that was pre-cat-soulbond), bagels, Hedge and Grassie, Leachtric, cats, caretaking, Leif
Dislikes: Exploitation, the smell of cooking meat, singing in front of people (he knows he's terrible at it)
Special skills: Weapons training, hand-to-hand combat, mild resistance to memory spells, high emotional intelligence, killed a dragon that one time.
Debut: Homecoming 4/24
Major appearances: most of the comic – see Timeline
Relationships
Thorn slowly but steadily falls in love with Leif. At first he resists it, thanks in part to lingering denial about what caused stress in his moms' relationship. Doesn't grasp the full nature of Leif's legal situation at first; it comes up when Thorn tries to confess his feelings. Since then he's been actively trying to understand Leif's situation better, and to provide as much help/support as he can within the bounds of “not getting Leif in legal trouble.”
He also takes Leif's advice about ways to help the other Embassy servants. Katya is the most suspicious at first, but warms up to Thorn after he shows a willingness to learn Sonheim sign.
The knights on Thorn's team trust and admire him – especially the ones who survived the dragon, and saw firsthand how much damage he took in order to kill it. That group shares a less-extreme version of his fire-related trauma, and they miss their deceased teammates together. Thorn knows he can rely on all of them (…except Marula Sheaver).
He's on good terms with previous trainer Geranium Sureau. On bad terms with his former co-lead on the dragon mission, Heath Cornouiller. On polite but cautious terms with his current co-workers, the Embassy guards.
Members of the Secret Order of Monster Hunters keep having goals (professional and personal) that clash with Thorn's. The big exception is the Woman in Black, who he would trust if he ever remembered their previous interactions. (He's building up some resistance to the memory-blocking magic, but slowly.)
Thorn's family is close. He visits his sister regularly now that they're living in the same city, accepts her husband's wrestling challenges, helps take care of her kids, and defends them from the in-laws.
Thorn gets to know and like Kale before finding out about his sordid history, which makes it easier to put that in perspective. He's the first non-therapist person Kale talks openly about his past with; tends to put more value on Kale's life than the guy puts on his own; and suspects Kale has a crush on him, but tries to be cool and non-weird about it.
On the dragon mission, Thorn's mount was the unicorn Caoimhe. She's mostly-retired now, and Central has great public transport, but sometimes he calls her back into service anyway.
Tiernan
In the comic: Tiernan
Adorable and excellent cat. Has a therapeutic soulbond with Thorn, created as part of his post-dragon rehabilitation, to help him with PTSD and its complications. Voted the top fan-favorite character in 2020.
Breed: Domestic longhair
Likes: Laser pointers, tuna, being brushed, being petted, being picked up, being Thorn's confidante
Dislikes: Being separated from Thorn, vicarious repressed emotions, fire-spirit fueled storms
Special skills: Can see through the fourth wall
Major appearances
- Debut: Family Dinner 2/14
- Family Dinner: reunited with Thorn after being cared for by his sister's family
- An Incredibly Platonic Storyline: helps Thorn pick an outfit, patrols for danger after his flashback, gets cuddled by Leif
- Performance Review: accompanies Thorn to therapy
- Borrowing Limits: gets more cuddling from Leif, stops Kale from interrupting a kiss
- A Night To Remember: interacts with Niamh, mirroring Thorn's interactions with Kale
Alternate universes
- The One Where They're House Pets: human who owns Thorn-the-dog
- Magical Thorn: Thorn's big-eyed talking-animal sidekick
- In SPACE!: member of an alien species who has an ambiguous-but-close bond with Thorn
- Vampire (Hunter) Thorn: summoned by Thorn while practicing his new powers
Future Thorn
In the comic: Future Thorn
An unshaven, eyepatch-wearing, Sønska-fluent version of Thorn who keeps appearing in different parts of the timeline.
Of the present-day cast, so far only Holly Cerise knows about him. He also gave himself away on a historical Hedge & Grassie set.
Major appearances
- Debut: Fish Story 31/41
- Fish Story: bumps into Holly Cerise in a maintenance hallway
- Summer Sunshine: watches Leif sing from a balcony
- Grassie Knows Her History: appears in the Hedge and Grassie studio after an earthquake, inadvertently reveals some of the future to Grassie, stays overnight at their house
- Another Lengthy Flashback Storyline: appears in Sønheim, 200+ years ago
| Characters | |
|---|---|
| Ceannis | Thorn • Kale • Knights • Team Relatives • Mages • Historical • Other Ceannic characters |
| Sønheim | Leif • Embassy Staff • Vampires • Other Sønska characters |
| Other | Tamaputians • Other Characters |
