Creation

Iona was created by Kelly Thompson and Meredith McClaren in Black Cloak 1.

Major Story Arcs

Iona is a Fairy kid who lives in Kiros. She is friends with Romu, Tomig, and Jessup. They often hang out near the wall that acts as a boundary to the Lagoon where the Maids, or mermaids, live. The Maids’ songs are hallucinatory and considered dangerous but the kids also think they are beautiful.

When an elf and a Maid are found dead in the Lagoon, Phaedra Essex, a Black Cloak, investigates and asks if the kids saw anything suspicious. They all try to act tough and talk about not being snitches. As they run off, they brag among themselves about how brave they were to talk with a Black Cloak.

Later, Romu and Iona, who feel a bond with the Maids, go to talk with Phaedra and her partner Pax in the Black Cloak station and relate what they saw.

They had stayed later than their friends the morning the bodies were left. They like to test their wills against the Maids’ songs and think they’re misunderstood and interesting. That morning they saw someone in a cloak floating toward the Lagoon, carrying something. Then there was a flash of light, and then the cloaked figure returned without whatever it was carrying.

After the kids tell Phaedra and Pax what they saw, there is a public alarm about a magic brownout in the area, and they run off to get home before they’re in trouble.

Later, Phaedra and Pax uncover a plot by the queen to absorb the magical energy from the beloved animals known as Taka to keep the magical infrastructure of Kiros going. Phaedra destroys the absorption machine, saving the Taka, but causing floods and fires through the most vulnerable parts of the city.

Five years later, Iona, who now seems to live in the same building as Pax, confronts Phaedra about the devastation caused in the Trees where she lives. She feels guilty that she helped Phaedra cause this destruction by giving her information. She wants to know if Phaedra would do it again now that she knows the consequences. Phaedra doesn’t know how to answer.

When Phaedra collects all her friends, family, and allies to keep them safe from another conspiracy, she brings Iona along. She stays with Pax’s kids and the others in Phaedra’s father’s old house.

After Phaedra and Pax solve the case, which restores magic to the Trees and other underserved areas, Iona, Pax’s kids, and Phaedra’s friends all happily hang out together and enjoy the nature.