ASTA: Eighteen- year-old priestess who feels like she must walk doubly faster than everyone to keep up with her mother Dyktenna, the Potnia Theron (goddess incarnate) of the Aegean island of Thera (modern Santorini). Asta has been groomed to be her mother's heir, but though she received non-stop training, she didn't feel particularly loved. Lucky for her, she had a strong grandmother, best friend and cousin Julla, and her mother's partner Annora. Asta is preparing to lose her virginity in the Rites: the most important ritual on the island that ensures fertile crops. Unfortunately, the man her mother chose to be her partner is not the man she has chosen for herself.

Asta's story was inspired by the picture of the Wounded Girl from Xeste 3 in Akrotiri.

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KYAN: Nineteen-year-old Kyan was chosen as a child to leave his family and train as a priest to the sea god Poseda. When his mother is killed and his sisters enslaved, he is determined to find them, no matter what. Circumstances bring him to Knossos, where he studies and and learns to paint frescoes. Never quite belonging to any world, he falls hard for Asta, and is convinced they can have a life together, even if it hasn't been done before. Her mother, the high priestess, has other plans.

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AGENOR: Is the bull dancing phenomenon of Knossos, and Kyan's foster brother. His penchant for saving slave girls from dockside brothels earns him the reputation for debauchery and kindness. He is always willing to help his friend out, especially if pretty girls are part of the problem.

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JULLA: Asta's pretty cousin and another Descendant of the goddess Razija through her daughter Britomartis. She never intended on falling in love with an already married man, but Ikanos's suave behavior has all the Ladies swooning. She can't believe Asta can be so foolish about a foreigner, but at least she doesn't want Ikanos.

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POTNIA THERON DYKTENNA: Asta's mother and head of the House of the Ladies of Akrotiri. She likes men fine, especially in the Rites when she can let go and act like a wildcat. Aside from sexual pleasure, though, she thinks they're overrated and can't imagine why someone would want one around full-time. Especially when they could share their lives with another woman who can be best friend and lover with no headache.