Theo Kratom
First appearance: Timeless, chapter 27
Last appearance: Timeless, chapter 46
Appears in: TimelessLatest status
anxious old guard avatar taking the human threat seriously, collaborating with a rival
Theo Kratom is a merfolk noble and one of the original avatars of water, a vain, comfort-loving old-guard figure who has settled into luxury and passive entertainment rather than active responsibility. Charming and self-satisfied, he pursues romantic rivalries and status among his peers while carrying an unresolved history of past failure involving humans under his care. When evidence forces him to confront a fast-changing world, his complacency gives way to real unease and a tentative willingness to set old rivalries aside.
Book 7: Timeless
Theo Kratom appears at the Half Mile Club as a former avatar of water living in comfort within a private viewing box, vain and self-satisfied, preferring luxury and passive entertainment to active responsibility or divine politics. At the club’s networking events he turns his renowned beauty and charm on Cady, competing with Ignis for her attention; the rivalry takes on a territorial, possessive edge, and he is noted to have a dark history tied to a past water park tragedy involving humans.
As the summit continues he grows visibly preoccupied, splitting his attention between courting Cady and processing new evidence that humans are developing magical ability far faster than expected. When Cady presents proof that a human mage trained in three months, he initially scoffs, insisting even fledgling mages of his own kind require years or decades of training, but the evidence and a pointed reference to his own past failures at a theme park leave him increasingly anxious, manifesting as defensive water barriers conjured under stress. Despite his rivalry with Ignis, he sets it aside to work alongside him analyzing the threat, showing some openness to the idea of redemption for past mistakes.
Status: comfortable, self-satisfied former water avatar avoiding responsibility → anxious old guard avatar taking the human threat seriously, collaborating with a rival
Ignis: a territorial rivalry over Cady’s attention gives way to grudging collaboration once both must assess the human threat together.
Cady: shifts from pursuing her romantically and competitively to reluctantly accepting the evidence she presents about human magical development.
Key quote: “Three months? That’s not possible. Even our fledgling mages require years of training. Possibly even decades.”
Appears in
- Timeless — 4 chapters