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Helena Canta
This 14-year-old girl has many things with Hélène Grimaud, the internationally renowned French musician and founder of a refuge for wolves. Helena is a young virtuoso pianist whose immense talent is tempered by obsessive confusion and aggravated sensitivity.
Her father is Victorio Canta, a conductor of Italian origin. Her mother, the beautiful Isolde, or "Tosca" Canta, has Corsican origins and is considered one of the finest lyric sopranos in the world (her nickname, "Tosca", was probably the result of a masterful performance in the title role of Puccini’s opera)
Helena Canta
Sohane Guereau
When you see Sohane for the first time, what strikes you is her beauty; her long,wavy hair and ebony eyes with their great power of persuasion. She is obviously very smart, but intelligence is not always synonymous with ambition, which Sohane sorely lacks.
She was adopted by a family with Madagascan origins which includes her father, Jean-Patrick, an engineer, and her mother, Annie Komboli-Guereau, ia researcher in fundamental physics with the immense advantage of working in her own lab, at home.
Sohane and Costia form energetic pair, who adore teasing each other. On the other hand, Sohane and Helena's relationship is smoother, more fraternal, because Helena's delirious tendencies and intelligence are perfectly suited to Sohane’s nature commands her admiration... Finally, Sohane’s mount is Fire, a horse of rare liveliness.
Sohane Guereau
Constantin Miref, "Costia"
"Intellectual face and boastful words" would give you a good clue to Costia's personality. He is the second of Helena's faithful and supportive friends, but his quick-wittedness, and sense of mockery, are in contrast with an athletic physical appearance, that seems to enable him to play the role of the jester more easily. He can be funny but also cutting.
His complicity with Sohane (expressed by intense vocal duels) and with Helena (thanks to his harmless mocking, to which Helena hardly answers) gives him a special role in the trio; that of the misunderstood genius: the brilliant dunce!
His mother is a teacher and his father a farmer. The latter takes care of horses, like Fire. Constantine ( or “Costia”) has to look after his younger sister (by three years) because of his parents' continuous absence.
Constantin Miref, "Costia"
The Riders
Led by Costia and Sohane, the troop of horseback riders will play an important role in Helena's life. During the fight, they are equipped with "Backfires" or "Regrew-flames". These strange weapons appear to be spears with a handle in the middle, on which two buttons ― one green and one red ― are set next to the thumb. The green button commands a very powerful and miniaturized battery which creates electric flashes at the end of the spear. Under the little finger there is a trigger which turns the spear into a thermal shield. It becomes a solar panel designed to absorb dragons' fire. One third of the energy is reflected, and the remaining two thirds are absorbed by thermal sensors connected to the battery. When this energy is captured, the battery is fully loaded and the red button is operational. When this button is pressed, almost all the stored energy is used to create an electric arc with a range of three meters. On the saddle, two telescopic horizontal sticks spread forward. Once stretched out, two tubes unbolt in a T shape. To give you a better idea, it looks like a stop sign at the end of railroad tracks. In addition to "backfires" riders have, electric whips; a high tension driver loaded with approximately 1500 volts which could kill an elephant...
The Riders
The Orchestra
The orchestra, consisting of four families of instruments, the strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. Its members (70 musicians among whom are Jean-Gaël Poussier, the first violin and Floriane, the flautist) are experiencing serious conflicts with the evil forces at work in the World of Mist. They try at all cost to protect themselves from Marx Igor and Queen Theresa's attacks, designed to capture as many musicians as possible and turn them into ghost slaves. So far, the orchestra has been totally helpless against Colonel Malitte’s soldiers' offensives.
The Orchestra
Wolfgang Amadeus, "Ama"
One of the other themes of the story lies in the relationship between Helena and her wolf friends. This part of the narration is freely inspired from Hélène Grimaud’s affection for "canis lupus". The main wolf in "Helena and the Orchestra of the World of Mist" is called Wolfgang Amadeus, also known as Ama. He is a very large grey dominant wolf with a naturally wild instinct. He seems to consider Helena as a member off his pack. He respects her and protects her from danger. His family will also be revealed during the course of the story. They include Alawa, a dominant white she-wolf, and a number of young wolves, and wolf cubs.
Wolfgang Amadeus, "Ama"
Fire
Fire is a white Spanish horse, a thoroughbred with a totally explosive personality. From a purely technical point of view, his accelerations are incredibly brutal, and his rider, ,Sohane, is literally catapulted forward. Even if one doesn’t believe thought transference, it is rather astonishing to see to what extent Sohane and her horse have the same ideas, share the same feelings and want the same things at the same moment! Although Fire is very energetic, he’s slower than Presto but he compensates for it by his exceptional fighting skills. He attacks by throwing his hooves forward like a boxer. His favorite pastime is racing Presto.
Fire
Presto
Presto is a magnificent black trotter with white hooves. He is very fast and has a rather quiet and sober temperament. When Constantin Miref rides him during an attack, Presto rushes forward violently, like a battering ram. The horse has terrific speed which makes him the perfect racing horse for. His relationship with Constantin is far from the clichés of master and animal. Both seem to know how to protect their independence and maintain perfect harmony.
Presto
Hawks
Hawks are sky fighters for the orchestra. Their mission is to parry the terrible attacks of the pterosaurs. The orchestra uses the biggest of all hawks, the peregrine falcons (38 to 48 cm), for a more powerful strike force. Although the use of these birds might seem ridiculous faced with gigantic Ptéros’, this is far from the case. The peregrine falcon is famous for its speed, because it is, indeed, the fastest animal of the world, and can dive at up to to 186 mph. It can therefore knock out its prey, thanks to its velocity. Nasal protectors block the nostrils when it dives, since without that ingenious reflex, its head would explode! So, we can see why our musician heroes have made these hawks their allies. They are truly fearsome opponents.
Hawks
Hector
Hector is a turkey, and one might wonder why he’s there. The reason is that this animal has a strong personality. He’s is the leader on Constantin Miref's farm! He is a kind of guard dog; the kind that frightens you when you get too close to an isolated property. Although a “guard turkey” doesn’t sound very reassuring, nobody can get in without his approval and especially the mailman, if he’s new and doesn’t know how to handle the temper and fickle humor of this unstable bird.
Hector
Marx Zerbher-Igorovitch, "Marx Igor"
When this sickly infant was born, the first thing that struck the doctors was his abnormal blood type. As an adult, it’s obvious that his physical weakness has increased over the years. Marx Igor is very thin and his movements have become very slow. His brain however, remains hyperactive. It is in fact, the only part of his sick body which seems truly alive.
When he was born, his mother, took one look at him, and decided that drinking would be a suitable consolation for the disappointment of having brought such a son into the world.. Marx was then totally abandoned by the old woman. One day, when she was particularly drunk, and, consequently, relatively absent-minded, the boy began cursing her with all his feeble strength. it was at that precise moment in his life that Marx Igor discovered his “gift” (obtained from who knows where ) to cast spells and curses. His mother was transformed into a ghost, a shadow without a soul, who would hereafter obey her son’s every wish. Marx Igor’s father ― upon returning home from work, could only bear witness to the demonic powers of his child, and, in a fit of temper, attacked his son. The boy defended himself by once again repeating the incantations he had used against his mother. The effect was immediate. His father was suddenly seized with the obsession to jump out the window. Marx was barely six when he was placed in an orphanage, and his mother was interned as mentally ill. The incredibly resourceful boy however, ran away from the orphanage, and began a long period of exile.
It was at that moment that his insane project was born: to construct the blackest fortress in the country.
Marx Zerbher-Igorovitch, "Marx Igor"
Queen Theresa Wagner
When she was young, the future queen, Theresa Wagner, developed a passion for dragon training, an activity which was, “strangely enough”, not very well perceived by her parents! Nevertheless, they weren’t able to protest for very long, since they were burnt to death during what one might call an "experiment that went wrong", with the precious and involuntary help of one of the world’s most magnificent flamethrowers, Theresa's dragon.
While still young, she acceded to the throne without being prepared forit and was quickly despised by everyone in the country. She ran away, turning her back on the throne, which was when she met Marx Igor in his black fortress. He promised her a great destiny and financial support. One might conclude, in the light of these revelations, that the queen was simply a victim of her fate.
Her cruelty was a necessity, given her situation as queen, because the authority in a feudal system implies a frequent and repeated use of violence for political purposes, for fear of losing a power constantly called into question. But when you distinguish the woman from the function she occupies, you can see a crack in the armor, the fate of dragon trainer demolished by parents who used their daughter to achieve their own personal ambitions. In short, we’re dealing with a very unfortunate childhood.
Queen Theresa Wagner
Colonel Malitte
A typical career soldier. As the commander of Theresa's infantry, he has huge respect for his men. He knows how to show authority. He is severe but not merciless, just, and anything but a coward. Ever since he joined the army, he felt that mutual trust was the key to success on the battlefield, as well as the assurance of longevity in a warring conflictual world where death can occur when you least expect it..
Colonel Malitte
Mrs. Fringer
Physics teacher. She is chidless and transfers her maternal instincts on her pupils, especially her favorite ones. Her size is in opposite proportion to her temperament. She is proud, and frequently makes the most contemptuous remarks in the gloomiest of tones.
Mrs. Fringer
Ember
This fearless and feared creature, is Queen Theresa Wagner's personal dragon. He is an immense male breeder who is almost twelve meters and weighs about ten tons. Ember has to be the most impressive, terrifying and powerful of all dragons.
In spite of differences in stature, dragons have many things in common. As weapons, they all possess a salivary gland which produces destructive napalm. Once they have stored enough saliva, they produce a spark with their teeth, and spit the napalm out, in flames at a distance of five meters. To create such a flow of "saliva", they have to "load" by rearing their necks way back and sending their head forward when firing. The weakness of an isolated dragon is obviously the reloading time, since they have to salivate for a number of seconds, during which they are in danger of an enemy attack. On the other hand, a tight group of dragons is just about invulnerable.
Ember
Fusion
Fusion seems rather insignificant compared with Ember, but this young dragon has all the same, very honorable characteristics as his larger counterpart. His total weight is five tons and he’s about six meters long from head to tail, and one can say that his rider, Colonel Malitte, has every right to be proud of riding such a beast.
Fusion
Pteros'
Pteros’ are an evolutionary version of the Pterodactyls of ancient times. These weapons of mass destruction are used by the armed forces of Queen Theresa in order to terrorize both enemy soldiers and civilians. The latter can only run when they face these monsters, which are very often synonymous with death and destruction. The Pteros’ are six meters long, and their wings consist of skin and, bones. and contrary to what is often claimed, ― they have no feathers. Their one meter long beak is a terrifying carnivorous jaw whose function is to crush any human bone.
Pteros'
Lussier and his gang
Marc Lussier is the perfect example of the pupil playing the role of the small harmful pest. Although he’s the leader of his little gang, he is endowed with the charisma of a refrigerator! ― He gives himself a sense of importance by playing the tough guy. He is followed and obeyed by Vincent Fréau, a kind but easily influenced youngster, who sticks to Marc to feel reassured, and Virginia Boiron, a brilliant pupil whose relationships with young men like Vincent, by a sort of constant and absurd magnetism, brings her closer to Vincent, who in turn gets closer to Marc. This is characteristic of the "gang effect".
Lussier and his gang
The World of Mist
The sky is never blue. It has rather purple hue. During the day, the wind blows constantly, and at night, the wind stops and the mists rise, thus giving the place its name.. To the west of the World of Mist, there’s a cathedral in which the musicians have taken refuge. This cathedral has neither benches nor armchairs in its main nave. The only furniture is a big organ placed way in the back of the nave. The forest surrounding this former place of worship gives way progressively to thick brown bramble bushes, a foreshadowing of Marx Igor's black fortress. Its name comes from the dark volcanic stones which cover it. Its constantly burning moats are surrounded by ominous walls, among them the facade which contains terrifying prisons. The fact that prisons lie at the edge of the fortress can be explained by the possibility of using prisoners as human shields in case of a surprise attack. This portrait of the World of Mist demonstrates that the place is not as romantic as its name.
The World of Mist
The Village of Bussy
This village of the real world is very common in its architecture. Bussy is surrounded by forests and hills in a peaceful poetic atmosphere. In rainy weather, the forest and its surroundings become muddy. Certain places at the bottom of valley have small brooks whose borders are sometimes transformed into large swamps into which one can easily sink. It’s interesting to observe that the abundant fauna in this environment allows for the cohabitation with a predator such as a wolf.
As for the Bussy’s, buildings two have a particular interest in Helena's story: her high school and her house. The high school in Bussy is an old construction dating from the beginning of the XXth century. It’s quite isolated in a corner of the village, and consists of a large rectangular building with a playground, and a small house for the grounds keeper. Classrooms are nothing special, and all look alike. Helena, with her discreet and distant nature, attends school regularly, but without any particular passion.
As for the Cantas’ house, things are quite different. It is a tall house, with sharp forms, and in fairly ramshackle condition, exemplifying the fact that its owners do not like perfect and absolute order, but prefer a certain balance with nature. The building is situated outside of the village, on the edge of the forest. Its interior is sober and functional. The atmosphere makes it easier to concentrate, which is necessary for any artistic creation. In Helena's room, on the first floor, there’s some old furniture painted in a naive, even childish style. The room on the other side of the house however, contains Helena's grand piano, arranged in such a way that the light goes directly from a window to the music stand, over the player's shoulder to keep the musical score out of the shade. Everything in this room is designed to maximize concentration: the carpets, the sober decorations, the walls covered with dark cloth, the curtains hung over the window, and the lighting, highlighting the music stand. It is into this artistic refuge that Helena comes to immerse herself in music.