Song for the day: Ruler of Everything by Tally Hall

Lux is a strange book.

Most of this strangeness centers around lategame reveals, which make the third act a chaotic hell that other books of mine that hinge on the third act turn could only aspire to match. In fact, this book is essentially "how far can I push these characters until they break" the book, except everyone is twelve. 

Here are all the main characters.

All of them.  

The sketch page for the cast. I'll go over each of them individually, but at least you guys get to see how chaotic my sketch pages are. The little names in the corner are joke names. 

SONYA

The elemental of ice. Sonya is driven and adheres strictly to principle, leading her to be stubborn and blunt, which is why almost no one in the grade will talk to her. Sonya raises her hand and then yells out the answer. Sonya spends most recesses and lunches reading books or talking about them. Her two friends, Dina and Sora, are tuned into her spontaneity, but other people tend to find her a bit much to handle.

More Sonya on the left side.

Sora (top right) is Daniel's older sister by a year and the elemental of air. She's a free spirit who loves gymnastics and big wide open spaces. She also loves her brother and her friends but sometimes personal drama is a little too much for her and she just wants to remove herself from the situation.

Aaron (bottom right) sits in a tree at recess every day with a book. He devours serials and one of his talents/passions/hobbies is seeking out and reading every book of long-running series with hundreds of short 200 page books (think Magic Tree House). His reading tastes amount to "if it's not true and there are words on it I'm in" so he can be seen reading classics, young adult, or books meant for six year olds. There is no distinction. There is only book. Sonya has been fascinated with him forever but he's definitely not leaving that tree anytime soon. He also has a window garden of succulents back at home. He loves them more than most people.

In case you couldn't tell he's the nature elemental, aka the resident plant guy. Catch him stanning plants. 

Jacob (bottom left) suffered from "I closed this notebook ten times and the pencil lead chaffed harder than my thighs on a hot day" syndrome but you can still see his long face and freckles. Jacob is the fire elemental which is ironic because he's a team player through and through. He treats the magic like a game of basketball. If anyone else has to hear another basketball reference they will die.

Dina (bottom right) is the water elemental. She just learned about those little rope hair extensions and is thrilled about it but less thrilled about being my art subject. She is cautious, as the emotional center of her group requires her to be... considering that one of her best friends is fairly reckless and the other acts like she's on a constant foaming at the mouth sugar high. Tends to put her own wants to the side, but she's also not entirely sure what those are. She's figuring herself out.

We're about to get to the top right.

Daniel, the dark elemental, is a fifth grade conspiracy theorist. Though he's Sora's little brother, he was moved up a grade when he was younger. Sora pretends that she's not embarrassed to be in a grade with him, but Sonya hates him and he tends to have rocky relations with other people. Daniel is as stubborn as Sonya is and will fight her regularly in the classroom, so no one else talks unless the teachers call both of them out on it. Daniel is prone to fits and nervous tics.

Nathan, the lightning elemental, is as loved as he is reclusive. His soft-spoken demeanor tends to drive him more towards the girls. He fits right in with Dina's group, but he's also a close friend of Daniel's and will nod as Daniel goes off about Sonya or the obvious cover-up of the mermaids in the school's plumbing system. Genny seems to be... fond of him.

Genny, the light elemental, is the indisputable leader of the group. Genny is everyone's best friend. Genny has the strongest powers and knows the most. Genny is loyal and would never let a friend down. She's also determined. Very determined. Genny is full of light.

Light and noise.