Akiva

Warning!!! This page contains numerous spoilers. Read on at your own risk!

Akiva
Alias(es)	Angel of Annihilation Beast's Bane Prince of Bastards Lord Bastard (by Liraz) Lord of the Misbegotten
Gender	Male
Age	50
Classification	Seraph
Race	Half-Seraph, Half-Stelian
Place of Origin	Astrae, Eretz
Affiliation	Seraphim The Misbegotten (formerly)
Occupation	Soldier (formerly)
Relatives	Liraz (half-sister) Hazael † (half-brother) Joram † (father) Festival † (mother) Jael † (uncle) Japheth † (half-brother) Nightingale (grandmother) Melliel (half-sister)
Status	Alive
Significant Other(s)	Karou (lover) Madrigal † (lover)
Appears In	Daughter of Smoke & Bone Days of Blood & Starlight Dreams of Gods & Monsters

Akiva is a seraph soldier, a bastard son of Emperor Joram and thus a solider of the Misbegotten, and the half-sibling of Liraz and Hazael.

Appearance

Akiva, like all seraphim, is supernaturally beautiful. He is a tall young man who moves with a predatory grace. His skin is tanned, and his forearms are corded with muscle. His lean and callused hands are etched with white scars and black tattoos of lines hatched across the tops of his fingers. Each black line marks a chimaera he has killed in battle. His dark hair is cropped close to his skull, with a hairline that dips into a widow's peak. His golden skin is bronzed darker across the planes of his face. He has high ridges of cheekbones, brow, and the bridge of his nose. His eyes are the amber of a tiger's and rimmed in black with heavy lashes and kohl. His irises are gold. There's live fire in his eyes, but they lack humanity which makes them seem wrong.

Like all seraphim, Akiva has massive fiery wings that are stunningly beautiful, easily span twelve feet, and every feather is its own lick of fire. His vast shimmering wings have feathers with each "ike the wind-tugged lick of a candle flame." His flight is graceful and powerful. Akiva can use a glamour to hide his wings, although they will still appear in his shadow. Seraphim have an inner fire that causes heat to emanate off them and keeps them from feeling cold.

Akiva wears a pair of crossed swords sheathed on his back. The blade of his long sword gleams white from the incandescence of his wings. Despite his beauty, he is forbidding. It's difficult to imagine him smiling, something Akiva hasn't done in many years and doesn't imagine doing so ever again. Karou describes him as having "the living face of a dead soul."

Personality

Akiva is intelligent, having taught himself magic and hidden it from most, except for his two closest siblings and Madrigal. Due to his mother being a Stelian, Akiva has more magic than is typical for seraphim. A visionary, he dreams of a peaceful world where chimaera and angels can live together in harmony. He is a highly trained warrior and soldier and a skilled tracker. Akiva is considered a hero by the seraphim. He's known among the seraphim as "Beast's Bane" because of the amount of chimaera that he's killed.

Background

In the midst of the war between the seraphim and the chimaera, Akiva was born to Joram, the seraph emperor, and a Stelian concubine named Festival. Although his mother remains an unfamiliar figure to him, he did grow up with half-brother Hazael and half-sister Liraz. At five years of age, he and his two half-siblings were given over to train as soldiers. They stayed together, always fighting along side each other and carrying out the same missions in a world at war. At some point, Akiva learned the chimaera's language, or at least "enough of [it] to give orders to slaves."

But something would occur at the Battle of Bullfinch that would change his life and shatter his preconceptions about the chimaera. This particular battle inflicted grave injuries on him, and he was sure that he was going to die when a chimaera knelt next to his body and applied a tourniquet to his wound. This chimaera was Madrigal. Madrigal and Akiva began meeting in the temple of Ellai every night for a month, until Thiago, Madrigal's betrothed, found out and ambushed them. Akiva is held prisoner in Loramendi. where he was tortured until being forced to witness Madrigal's execution. He believes her to be permanently dead, or evanesced.

Plot

Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Akiva, Liraz, and Hazael have been traveling around the human world, scorching black handprints into the doors leading to Brimstone's shop. He is able to identify these doors because he can feel their "bitter aura of magic as an ache behind his eyes." Once all the doors are marked, "the end would begin." Akiva is seen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia burning yet another doorway to Brimstone's shop. Until a few days ago, humans had been little more than legend to Akiva. He finds Earth to be a world filled with color, fragrance, filth, and chaos. It is his mission to end the trade in teeth and eradicate resurrection, which he calls "the devil's dark magic."

Akiva sees Karou leave the portal to Brimstone's shop in Marrakesh, Morocco. He scorches his handprint onto the door. It's his final portal to mark. Hazael and Liraz are finishing their own set before they all meet in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where a portal to Eretz is. But, without really thinking about it, Akiva ends up following the mysterious blue-haired girl. He witnesses Karou meeting with Izîl for human teeth. When Razgut spots Akiva, he begins screaming for him to grant him mercy. Karou turns and sees Akiva for the first time. She is immediately lashed with adrenaline and her body begins pounding with the word "enemy." She flees. Akiva chases her down and attacks her. They fight one another. Just as Akiva is about to strike a killing blow, she cocks her head trying to understand why he wants to kill her, and he pauses. At the same time, she has an incredibly strong impulse to hold up her tattoos on her palms, not knowing they are hamsas, and she does. Akiva is flung back with devastating force twenty feet away. Karou runs away from the scene. She makes it to the portal but discovers the black handprint on the door and the portal no longer connected to it. Suddenly the portal reconnects, and Issa opens the door. Karou leaps through and pulls the door shut.

Karou and Akiva snap Brimstone's wishbone. This gives Madrigal's memories back to Karou. Karou realizes that she is Madrigal resurrected. A guilt-ridden and heartbroken Akiva tells Karou that he thought Brimstone and the others that lived with him were part of the other chimaera who were responsible for Madrigal's execution. He tells her that he killed them, not knowing they were the only family she had. Instead of killing Akiva, Karou just leaves him.

Days of Blood & Starlight

Akiva is separated from Karou after she is devastated by the discovery that he is the cause of Brimstone and her family's death. Akiva returns to Hazael and Liraz. While part of the legion charged with enslaving and killing the chimaera in the former free lands, Akiva spends every night warning the villages and farms to flee.

Liraz and Hazael gradually begin to agree with Akiva's idea of peace in Eretz. Akiva kills Joram to help achieve the goal that he and Madrigal desired, peace between seraphim and chimaera. Unfortunately, Akiva discovers that by doing so, he has also played a part in Jael's plans to make himself emperor. After the Dominion, Jael's troops kill Hazael, Akiva let out a scream that exploded the sword, and damaged the veil. Jael takes over the kingdom and sends the angels to the human world to gain support and ammunition. To stop Jael from enacting his plan to take over the human world, Akiva plans to burn all the portals connecting Eretz and Earth, but he is too late. Akiva and Karou are forced to unite their armies. 

Dreams of Gods & Monsters

When Jael travels to the human world in search of weapons of mass destruction, Akiva and Karou must unite their armies. Though the chimera and seraphim are united it is far from what the two had once dreamed of. Over time Karou learns to forgive Akiva and the armies must begin to respect each other regardless of their past. The rebellion has a plan but all goes south when the Dominion army locates their base. Regardless, Akiva and Karou must find Jael and carry out the mission. The two expect the worst when they return as they were largely outnumbered. Just as things are looking up for Akiva and Karou, Akiva discovers that he has been draining the veil, a mighty power source that has kept all the worlds safe from monsters and large as worlds, Nithilam. The two must separate again.

Akiva figures out how to make himself and the other Misbegotten immune to the hamsas, which also means he and Karou can touch each other without fear of her hurting him.

Relationships

Karou

At first glance, Akiva finds Karou to be a "shining beauty, lithe and vivid." She intrigues him. He feels as if "the air seems to gather around her." Some intuition tells him that she is important. When Karou first sees Akiva, she is immediately lashed with adrenaline and begins feelings a strange, chemical, and wild hum in her blood. The word "enemy" begins pounding through her. She is struck by his intensity. Looking in his eyes, she sees inhumanity and the absence of merry. She feels that he has "the living face of a dead soul."

Upon breaking Brimstone’s wishbone, Karou is given Madrigal’s memories, and learns the truth from Akiva about what has happened to Brimstone and the chimaera. Karou refuses to have anything to do with Akiva and leave him. Akiva is riddled with guilt and driven to atone for his past behavior and choices, but nothing seems to be enough to compensate for the horror of her lost family and the genocide and enslavement of her people. Karou, for her part, struggles with still having feelings for Akiva and feelings of shame and guilt for them, especially as she spends time living with the chimaera in the kasbah.

They reach an uneasy truce when Jael sets his sights on the human world, bringing the chimaera and the Misbegotten onto the same side. Akiva is able to find Karou by feeling and Karou can sense Akiva’s presence and absence.

Madrigal

Madrigal and Akiva meet when Madrigal rescues him from certain death by winching a torniquet and leading her fellow chimaera away from him. Akiva never forgets this. He sneaks into the Warlord’s ball and dances with Madrigal. When he reveals his identity, she is shocked, but nonetheless, their romance is ignited. They have an instant affinity with each other. Their relationship is complicated by the fact they’re on opposing sides of the war.

Madrigal and Akiva become lovers and spend every night together for a month at the temple of Ellai. During this time, they dream of a world of peace, where seraphim and chimaera live together in harmony. Just when they are planning to enact their plot to kill the war’s leaders and set their vision in motion, they are captured by Thiago and the chimaera. Akiva is tortured and made to watch as Madrigal is beheaded, and he believes is evanesced. Akiva is driven mad with grief and makes plans to avenge her. Having learned the chimaera’s secret of resurrection during his torture, Akiva is instrumental in the seraphim winning the war, resulting in the deaths of thousands of chimaera and enslavement of the survivors. Akiva is given the titles of “Beast’s Bane” and “Prince Bastard” and a newfound respect among the seraphim. Madrigal taught Akiva mercy, "only to have her own fate undo all her gentle teaching."

Hazael

Hazael is Akiva's half-brother. He is also very attractive and a dreamer, child-like, cheerful and very easy-going.

Liraz

Liraz is Akiva's half-sister. They are very close and are protective of one another. Sometimes, Akiva feels like he doesn't know Liraz at all.

Festival

Festival was Akiva's mother. Not much is known of her relationship with Akiva except that she did not fight the guards that came to take him away and that caused Akiva to believe that she was not any better than Joram. Akiva remembers Festival's last words to him were to be strong. But it was later revealed that Festival had a sensitive pull to destiny. She knew that it was Akiva's destiny and might have already resigned herself that Akiva had a greater fate ahead. Akiva inherited his magic from Festival.

Memorable Quotes

Daughter of Smoke & Bone

• "Long life is a burden, when it's spent in misery." - pg. 206
• "I didn't know. If I'd known, Karou, I would have believed in redemption..." - Akiva to Karou
• "Your soul sings to mine. My soul is yours, and it always will be, in any world." - Akiva to Karou

Days of Blood & Starlight

• “What can a soldier do when mercy is treason, and he is alone in it?”
• "As long as he had life, who deserved it so little, he would use it, wield it, and do whatever he could in its name, even if it was not, was never, enough."
• "Soon, everything else would come rushing at him. Like the ground to a falling man, it would come rushing up and hit him all at once - the place, the company, her words; one implication would lead to another and shatter him - but around that intake of breath the world hung silent and bright, so bright, and Akiva only knew this one thing, and held on to it and wanted to live inside of it and stay there forever. Karou was alive."

Dreams of Gods & Monsters

• "Who knows better than I? You betray everything you believe in. You drown your grief in vengeance. You kill and keep killing until there is no one left."
• "It was not a happy ending, but a happy middle-at last, after so many fraught beginnings."

Trivia

• The first time Akiva saw Thiago had been at Bath Kol in the Shadow Offensive. Akiva was a green soldier fresh from the training camp. Seeing Thiago on the battlefield is an image Akiva will never forget.

Gallery

By juliabruno82