• Kohlen: member of the Warrior Caste who is falsely accused by the high priestess of the Clerical Caste, Lisea, and branded as an “outcast.” He escapes with another outcast, Tryana, and they discover a “blond wizard” is selling unbelievable weapons to the different castes which is threatening the balance of power on their planet Orion. They are later joined by Rebecca, an RWC (Retro Worlds Commission) agent who finds out that Orion is a doomed world and wants to convince the RWC to help the people on the planet. Kohlen ends up sacrificing himself so that Rebecca and Tryana are able to convince the RWC to intervene and help.

• Tryana: she saw a “blond wizard” selling unbelievable weapons to the priests of the Clerical Caste, and when caught spying she’s labeled as an “outcast.” She and Kohlen manage to escape, join a traveling circus, and discover the blond wizard is selling these weapons to the different castes on the planet which threatens the balance of power. Resourceful and willing to help others for a larger purpose. She helps RWC agent Rebecca convince the RWC to help the people of Orion and later becomes an RWC agent herself.

• Rebecca: RWC agent who is going in search of her partner Rodrick (the “blond wizard” Kohlen & Tryana saw) who has gone MIA. She is captured by Captain Draan but Kohlen helps her escape once they realize they have a common goal – to stop Rodrick. When she intercepts Rodrick, he says that the RWC knows Orion is a doomed world but refuses to help which he sees as hypocritical of the organization. Rebecca takes action along with Kohlen and Tryana to try to convince the RWC to help.

• Rodrick: “the blond wizard” who is actually an RWC agent who went rogue. He found the RWC’s secret files which showed Orion is a doomed world and will soon be destroyed, wiping out all of humanity on the planet. He decides to sell weapons (laser guns) to the different castes in exchange for moon iron. When his former partner, Rebecca finds him, he tries to convince her to join him in an early retirement. He is attracted to her, but the feeling isn’t mutual. Rebecca says she’ll go with him but really is trying to get Rodrick to help. Rodrick gets violently upset when he realizes Rebecca isn’t coming with him, and Kohlen steps in throwing him off a cliff.

• Captain Draan: pirate who welcomes everyone to join his cause. He is also an outcast. He’s a former priest who lost his faith upon realizing how corrupt the Clerical Caste had become. Now all freed slaves are welcome to join his “movement” as he stirs up winds of rebellion on the oceans of Orion. He befriends Kohlen but Kohlen betrays him when he helps Rebecca escape.

• Lisea: high priestess of the Clerical Caste who falsely accuses Kohlen of trying to rape her which brands him as an “outcast.”

• Pisaak: leader of the Clerical Caste. Manipulative and power hungry.

• Joh Doolan: he welcomes Kohlen and Tryana into their traveling circus when he finds them after they’ve escaped. Later Tryana is able to help him safely leave Orion after they learn their planet will be destroyed soon.

• Janhol: Kohlen’s brother who betrays him when he leads him into a trap that allows the Clerical Caste to recapture Kohlen

• Arnham Azzk: merchant who purchases Tryana when she is captured and sold off by slave traders. He buys weapons from Rodrick who shows off the weapons’ power during a gladiatorial arena match.  

Retroworld Mythology & Context: When it’s discovered that an asteroid is on a collision course with Earth, part of mankind, the wealthy and the elite, flee aboard vast ships built with the hope of finding other worlds to colonize. As humans scattered and occupied the known universe for generations, many worlds have forgotten their true, earthly origins. The planets which retain the memory of the “formers” have allied together, creating a galactic federation known as the Brotherhood of the Stars. The “retros” are worlds that have returned to a more archaic, primitive, and isolationist way of life. The Retroworlds Commission (RWC) sends out agents to search for, monitor, and determine whether contact is possible with any Retroworlds, and whether such worlds can join the Brotherhood of the Stars.

Story: Kohlen, a member of the Warrior Caste is falsely accused of trying to rape the high priestess of the Clerical Caste, Lisea and is branded an “outcast” – a title, seared in flesh, which strips all rights, class and property from individuals. He is thrown in jail and another outcast Tryana tells him her story. She saw a “blond wizard” land in a strange metal chariot and sell unbelievable weapons to the clerical caste. She was caught spying and branded an outcast.

On their way to a forced labor camp, Kohlen and Tryana manage to escape and are taken in by Joh Doolan who has a traveling circus. They see the blond wizard making a deal with a businessman from the Merchant Caste. They track the businessman down and find out that the blond wizard is selling these unbelievable weapons in exchange for precious moon-iron.

Kohlen and Tryana are captured at the blond wizard’s behest and sold as slaves. Kohlen is an oarsman on a ship’s galley when it is attacked by Captain Draan’s pirate ship. Freed slaves are welcome to join Draan’s “movement.” Kohlen befriends Draan and finds out he’s also an outcast, a former priest who lost his faith upon realizing how corrupt the Clerical Caste had become. Now he stirs up the winds of rebellion on the oceans of Orion. Draan’s interest is piqued when he hears Kohlen mention a blond wizard as they intercepted a woman fitting a similar description. Draan has Kohlen speak with Rebecca, an agent of the RWC (Retro Worlds Commission), hoping he’ll have better luck finding out why she’s there.

She reveals the blond wizard is Rodrick, a fellow agent and past partner who had gone off the grid. Kohlen tells her Rodrick is threatening the balance of powers of Orion by supplying his weapons to various castes and he wants to stop him. With a common interest, the two decide to help each other. Kohlen helps Rebecca escape Draan’s lair and get her spaceship back.

Kohlen is floored by Rebecca’s spaceship. She brings him up to speed on humanity’s colonization of the stars, the Brotherhood of the Stars (a united human society which remembers their origins from Earth), and the RWC. She explains Rodrick’s actions are not authorized by the RWC as contact with Orion had been deemed forbidden.

Rebecca tracks down Rodrick in another province where Arnham Azzk, a merchant is buying weapons from Rodrick. Arnham also bought Tryana from the docks earlier. Rodrick explains to Rebecca that he found out from the Brotherhood’s secret files that the RWC knows Orion is a doomed world. Its two moons are on an imminent collision course which will destroy all life on the planet. Instead of trying to do everything they can to save the humans on Orion, the RWC has decided to stand idle, which Rodrick sees as a glaring hypocrisy of the Brotherhood.

Kohlen tries to free Tryana but Rebecca has to intervene to save their lives, breaking RWC protocol by revealing herself and her advanced weapons and technology. Back on her ship, Rebecca verifies Rodrick’s information that Orion is a doomed world – she decides to stop chasing Rodrick and instead focus her efforts on trying to get the RWC to save Orion with Kohlen and Tryana’s help as witnesses that Orion is a world worth saving. Tryana embraces her new role as emissary on the spot, but Kohlen wants to first get his father and brother. Rebecca agrees to go back to the capital Augheen to get them, but they must hurry.

Back in Augheen, Kohlen’s brother Janhol leads them right into the Clerical Caste’s hands, it’s a trap. Rebecca tries to reason with the priests by telling them of Orion’s imminent doom but to no avail. Pisaak, the leader of the Clerical Caste tortures Rebecca until Rodrick saves her. Rodrick says Rebecca should join him in an early retirement. She feigns interest but says he has to ensure Tryana, Kohlen and Kohlen’s father are freed. The group manages to escape. Rebecca says she won’t be joining Rodrick. He gets violent but Kohlen anticipating this throws him down a ravine to his death.

The group is being chased by Janhol, Lisea and a group of soldiers. Rebecca and Tryana push ahead to the ship while Kohlen and his father fight off the soldiers. Janhol, Kohlen and Kohlen’s father are all killed.

One month later, giant transporter ships have landed on Orion, and RWC agents are herding the entire population of Orion onto the ships. Rebecca was successful in her mission to convince the RWC to reconsider Orion’s fate. It’s a mass evacuation of the planet. Tryana, now an agent for the RWC, is helping in the effort and ensures Joh Doolan who welcomed them into the traveling circus is able to leave the planet safely.    

 Part of a shared universe based on the books of acclaimed sci fi novelist, Julia Verlanger

 Explores power struggles between different castes on the planet of Orion

 Underlying theme of religious persecution with the sham court branding innocent people as outcasts

 Combination of a futuristic sci fi story with the RWC agents and a society on Orion that has regressed without technology

 The climate/environment/global warming is briefly referred to

 Theme of the different ways people try to save humanity when faced with a crisis