The X's are the heroes of this story, though most of them don't think of themselves as such. They're simply people that have learned to think for themselves, that choose to do what is right even when it's not the easiest path. Their decisions and actions are based on a semi-uniform code of honor and integrity. Though gifted with more than natural physical prowess as a result of their freed minds, most of them have little or no desire to fight, nor do they wish to force anyone to be exactly like any one of them. They're only driving purpose is to show others still spiritually suffocating in The City that the world is a bigger, more wondrous place than the one observed through the muted haze of The City and what it's become.

Most often seen prowling about the darker alleys and streets of The City are the Faces, called so by the X's because of what appears to be a mask that each one wears. Perhaps the more disturbing reality is that they aren't masks at all, but a perversion of their flesh, their own visages warped and twisted by the Evil that's infected the city at its core. If they ever had names, those names have been forgotten, each responding to a number that coincides with the branded equivalent appearing on their foreheads. whether or not these numbers have any significance is not yet known. Though individually they are lacking in any real intelligence or strength, their tendency to travel in groups called "swarms" can make them potentially dangerous to any X that underestimates them. Their behavior is erratic and often violent. More interested in general mayhem and trouble making, they do not actively seek out X's to challenge, and indeed only seem to vaguely recognize that the X's are different from the general populace. They are at their most dangerous when driven by another will.

The Emir are the will that leads the Faces, and any other that finds themselves open to the dark influence they're able to exert. All pieces of the same ominous evil that contaminates the soul of this world, they share a group consciousness as well as a unified goal: the utter destruction of any thinking life they encounter. As time marches relentlessly on, their strength and influence grows. Once nothing more than an intangible malevolence, they've evolved into a festering malignancy not only possessing power and influence, but also the ability to inhabit a physical body, twisting it into what they view as a suitable vessel for their purposes. Normally, the Emir would be content to let their oppressive antipathy and apathy slowly smother The City and all it's inhabitants, their involvement in the death of society a drawn out passive, albeit inescapable, anchor. The appearance of the X's as counteractive agents of this decay has caused a shift in their tactics however, leading to an aggressive yet patient campaign to remove the threat.

Like the X's, Free Radicals have managed to tap into the more primitive, vital part of their souls that gives them the drive to fight the suffocating conformity offered by The City. Unlike the X's however, the Free Radicals do not subscribe to any consistent form of moral system, and often reject any idea that there is a higher authority than self. Selfish in their motivations, they are neither good nor evil, and each individual's personal preferences and feelings lead him or her in different directions. More akin to mercenaries that anything else, when they choose to enter a battle, they tend to enter on the side that will benefit them the most should it prove victorious.

While highly individualistic and often solitary in nature, each Free Radical belongs to one of four clans: Palpi, Nidor, Oculus, or Audio. Each clan has an unusually intimate connection with one of the four  primary senses, touch, smell, sight or hearing, respectively. In addition to having a supernaturally keen sense, as determined by their clan, there is also typically some sort of observational edge translated through this sense unique to the individual. This is normally broken down into an "active ability" and allows the individual to manipulate how others perceive their principal sense in some way, as well as a "passive ability," which allows them to use their sense to observe something well outside what could be considered natural. An example might be that a given Oculus, who can already see preternaturally well, can also distort the light surrounding him, making himself appear to be nearly invisible (active ability,) and seems to be able to "see" another's intentions (passive ability.)

Dracs is the term used to describe any one of many creatures that lives in the Foreverwood. More intelligent than a typical animal, they come in all shapes and sizes, with no standard diet or behavior of any kind. They are, for all intents and purposes, as numerous and diverse as the people that still inhabit this world. While these beings are quite obviously in possession of mental faculties well beyond the capabilities of a "normal" animal, their level of sapience is debated, perhaps because they lack the capacity for deception. Though they do not have a formal standardized method of verbal communication, most Dracs do emit various noises that seem to convey need or intent.

Evidence of a Drac being afraid of people in general is nonexistent, although the only beings the Dracs seem to be truly comfortable around are the X's, to the point of often "adopting" a favored X as a long term companion and caretaker. An X will always refuse the suggestion that they are the Dracs master or owner, as the Drac is allowed to come and go as they please and seems to select their own X, not the other way around. Within the X community, this dynamic is often referred to as a partnership. A family group of X's and Dracs is called a drive, and is the most common model of living for this motley assortment of individuals.

This section doesn't really need an explanation. Some of the pics in this gallery are already in others, and some of them evolved into new characters or just didn't go anywhere at all. Whatever. It's for those of you that are interested.