STORY

Excelsior is one of many cities that form Upworld, a secret utopia for wizards. Giftless---rare kids born with no magic potential---get their minds erased by LETHE (Upworld security/psych force/memory modifiers) and are abandoned on Earth. Unfortunately, Dahlia, the daughter of the head of LETHE, turns out to be one of them when she fails to display magic powers by age seven. Hoping it won't hurt their anticipated political career, John and Valentina Kylis have her erased and spin a cover story that she died. But the memory wipe doesn't quite take: “Lia” wakes up on Earth with no memories of her family, but a determination to get back to the sky.

Years later, Lia is on a routine job as a jump pilot when she, along with a skydiver who refused to jump, flies through a forgotten portal to the hidden city where she was born. As Lia's memories gradually return, she finds herself on the run from Kylis's assassins and a pair of recently-fired LETHE agents who think capturing her will get their jobs back. Eventually, she ends up being framed for her sister's kidnapping, getting involved with a magical crime syndicate, participating in a zeppelin heist with a mysterious masked stranger of ambiguous trustworthiness, and uncovering a sinister plot.

SETTING

Upworld has a decopunk look, as it was created during the 1920's-30's and officially split from Earth in 1939 led by a charismatic but sketchy American wizard known as John Smith, whose faction won the wizard civil war. It is currently governed by a senate, and each city and its surrounding district is under the jurisdiction of an Archon. The climate is magically controlled, so it's always roughly the same temperature (decided locally by vote.) There are no seasons, no animals (except on government farms), no electronics and no weapons. While Upworld in general probably resembles the 1930's most closely, it's noticeably eclectic, especially in regards to more mutable things like clothing and hairstyles.

Everything was built pre-1939 but runs on magic; crystal balls function like old-timey phones, flying vehicles are operated with telekinesis and/or elemental powers, and anything from Earth is outlawed to preserve the Founder's vision (meaning you can get bootleg batteries and generators, and you have to go to speakeasy-like establishments to access Earth tech. LETHE is cracking down on this when it's not too busy being corrupt.) At age seven, wizards are tested and given either an A, B, or C status depending on power level. Class C wizards are usually sent to do manual work in the industrial district.

Name: Dahlia Kylis/Lia
Gender: Female
Age: 24
Powers: None
Appearance: Tall (6'0) and lanky; olive skin, dark brown (almost black) eyes, rather angular face; dark brown hair in a choppy bob (she cuts her own hair)
Clothing: Usually the black coat/red scarf, but any of her pictured outfits are good
Background/Personality: 
-Middle child of John Kylis, has no magic powers and was abandoned on Earth
-Rookie pilot (she flies a Cessna 208 Caravan for a local dropzone) who accidentally flies through a portal and ends up back in the world where she used to live
-Currently on the run from LETHE (psychic agency), the wizard mafia, and the cops
-Does her best to project a cynical, closed-off demeanor, but underneath is kind of a lonely dork
-Has trust issues
-Bad temper
-Wants to be snarky, but doesn't have the wittiness for it
-Pretends she doesn't care about anything. No one is fooled
-She's...doing her best.
-Carries an unloaded gun to scare off wizards (there are no guns in the magic dimension) but is secretly a terrible shot

Name: Gavin Gray
Gender: Male
Age: 31
Powers: Class-C psychic
Appearance: 5'7 and on the scrawny side; slightly roundish face; light skin; black hair; brown eyes; kinda big ears
Clothing: Usually his uniform (see reference images.) He is obsessed with looking professional, so he's very meticulous about his clothes. Otherwise a gray suit and dark overcoat.
Background/Personality: 
-Dahlia's own personal Javert. He botched her mind erasure and is trying to find her and fix it before her dad, his boss, finds out
-Belongs to a small-town branch of LETHE (psychic agency) but has almost no capacity for magic
-Due to this he has difficulty performing everyday tasks, as everything in the wizard dimension runs on magic
-His goal in life is to be respected by the other wizards
-Low-key obsessed with the Kylis family. He's not related to them but he definitely photobombs their family portrait
-Takes himself way too seriously, has no chill
-Stupidly brave, refuses to quit
-Suffers from migraines and nosebleeds but is in denial that magic use is killing his brain
-Was secretly born on Earth, but taken to Upworld since he showed magic potential
-Darci is his intern/assistant

Name: John Kylis/The Archon
Gender: Male
Age: 55, but looks about 45 (magically wards off aging)
Powers: Class-A psychic
Appearance: Brown hair in a vintage slicked-back hairstyle, with gray at the temples; light skin; somewhat resembles Lia 
Clothing: White suit with a long white coat and white gloves. He wears a badge shaped like an eye.
Background/Personality: 
-Head of an affluent, magically-powerful family, as well as the local Archon (in charge of Excelsior District)
-Very image-conscious
-Overbearing personality but indecisive; not really as smart or politically adept as he thinks he is
-Erased and abandoned his daughter (Dahlia) for being born without magic and doesn't get along with his son (Cole)
-Smokes like a chimney but can afford to get his lungs magically regenerated every so often
-Currently running for senate and trying to get rid of Dahlia before anyone finds out about her

Name: Isla Darci
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Powers: Class-A psychic
Appearance: About 5'2; heart-shaped face; medium brown skin; short dark hair with a flyaway curl
Clothing: The same LETHE uniform, badge, and gloves as Gray, but with a white pencil skirt, black stockings and heels. Otherwise, a late-1930s-style day dress. (When out of uniform, she sometimes wears a flower in her hair, as her mother is a chlorokinetic with an affinity for creating flowers.)
Background/Personality:
-Gray's temporary intern
-Sheltered small-town homeschooler on her first job in the city
-Is actually very sweet but has the reputation of being a showoff due to her high magic level, so she tends to downplay it
-Undiagnosed ADHD, no social skills, and the power of a god
-Super upbeat and cheerful, compulsively honest, makes people around her a little uncomfortable
-She and Gray initially don't get along, but grow on each other eventually
-Is wary of but fascinated by Cole
-Everyone calls her by her last name

Name: James Carrigan
Gender: Male
Age: 50 (Can't afford magical age deceleration, so he looks it)
Powers: None, but passes as a Class-C psychic
Appearance: 6'5; has messy graying brown hair, blue eyes, and a broken nose
Clothing: Either a uniform similar to Kylis and Gray's but with glasses, or a black coat with black gloves and no glasses (see reference)
Background/Personality: 
-Mysterious masked guy who terrorizes/robs wizards using a drug that can temporarily block magic
-Secretly has no powers, but passes well enough to get a lower-level job with LETHE disposing of confiscated Earth items
-Doesn't need the glasses; they're just meant to screw with magical facial recognition 
-Once attempted to steal the artificial sun from the wizard dimension. It ended poorly
-If you're not a wizard, he will try to help you and that will also end poorly
-Friendly, kind, easygoing guy as long as you don't ask too many questions
-Patience of a saint, hubris of a mad scientist
-At the moment he has taken Dahlia (who is on the run from LETHE) under his wing. It's definitely either out of the goodness of his heart, or part of a convoluted revenge scheme against the wizards
-He and Julie are a couple

Name: Cole Kylis
Gender: Male
Age: 29
Powers: Class-A healer
Appearance: Dark hair and eyes; paler skin than his sisters; tall and angular. His hairstyle is on the messy side for an Upworlder
Clothing: Cole wears a healer's uniform (black button-up shirt, black formal jacket with no tie, black pants, and a white patch with a hand). When he's at the Descent, he (like all the members) wears a blank white paper mask (easy to burn in event of a raid, so it doesn't get psychometrized by cops)
Background/Personality:
-Only son of the Kylises, older brother of Dahlia and Ava
-Has healing powers and is able to instantly cure people, although he doesn't much enjoy it; he dislikes his job at a cosmetic healing business. Prefers to illegally experiment un-healing on Downworld animals, when he can get them on the black market
-Edgelord
-Secretly a member of the Descent, a wannabe-terrorist group trying to break the masquerade so wizards can colonize Earth
-Dabbles in Earth media; is basically the Upworld version of a hipster
-Unofficially disowned by his family who considers him weird and a little scary
-Hates Gray, whom his parents like better despite being low-magic, and messes with him whenever he gets the opportunity
-Trying without success to convert Darci to his group, due to her powerful telekinetic abilities

Mature Content

Name: Everett Shaw
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Powers: None
Appearance: Close fade, brown skin; 5'10; expressive eyebrows. Wears plastic-framed glasses.
Clothing: Either a T-shirt, cargo shorts, and sneakers or a slightly baggy white shirt, gray slacks, gray suspenders, optional tie (it's borrowed from a bigger guy, and he lost the suit jacket.)
Background/Personality: 
-Pre-med student from Earth
-Accidentally tags along when Lia flies through the portal, as he's the only skydiver who wouldn't jump
-Tries to be the voice of caution and/or sarcasm but tends to get talked into things easily
-Reluctant to take unnecessary risks, but always rises to the occasion during an actual emergency
-Finds that he's surprisingly good at conning wizards
-Caffeine lover
-Has a big secret, but that would spoil the twist

Name: Julie (Keeps her surname secret)
Gender: Female
Age: In her forties
Powers: None
Appearance: 5'4, light skin, high cheekbones, green eyes, and wavy red-gray hair in a messy braid or bun
Clothing: Any of her pictured outfits
Background/Personality:
-Mystery woman
-Originally from Earth, currently lives in a pocket dimension, and goes between worlds when she wants. She has no identity in Upworld, which gives her complete anonymity.
-Master of disguise
-Very practical
-Mad scientist vibes
-Invented anti-magic serum
-Like Everett, a walking spoiler

Name: Ava Kylis
Gender: Female
Age: 17
Powers: Class-A aerokinetic
Appearance: In coloring and features, like a younger version of Lia. But she's shorter and has a slightly rounder face. Sometimes wears her hair up with a white headband. Her hair tends to get messed up when she flies. Otherwise it's in a short curled style almost like Darci's.
Clothing: Orange short-sleeved bow blouse and high-waisted white shorts.
Background/Personality: 
-Cole and Dahlia's younger sister 
-Has aerokinesis and by proxy the ability to fly
-The favorite child and a little spoiled
-Hyper, athletic, and a little airheaded
-Currently going through a rebellious phase due to Kylis's overprotective attitude and secretly frequents Hyperion mob-sponsored bootleg Earth media arcades (she's not interested in actually going to Earth/Descent politics, she just likes the aesthetic)

Name: Valentina Zograf Kylis
Gender: Female
Age: 50, but looks about 40, if that (magically wards off aging)
Powers: Class-A sender
Appearance: Tall; olive skin and wavy dark hair puffed at the forehead. Has an Old Hollywood style to her appearance. 
Clothing: Classy vintage outfits, usually in green. Headscarves. Occasionally wears vintage sunglasses.
Background/Personality: 
-John Kylis's wife and Lia's biological mother
-Her family came to Upworld from Bulgaria
-Doesn't get along with Cole, goes along with the plan to kill Lia, likes Ava and Gray
-Has her own agenda
-Power of teleportation 
-Knows things

_______________________

Characters etc. belong to Professor-R. Images belong to the respective artists.