Rivain

The former rising star of the Knight Templar,  Rivain was expected to pass the Awakening Trial with flying colors and become a Templar Commander at the very young age of 32. Instead it is said that he went mad during the ceremony and left the order, killing an entire garrison of Knights on his way out. An unbelievable feat, even for one who was considered one of the finest swordsmen in an order of extremely skilled swordsmen.

Rivain is in flight at the start of the book, when he is intercepted by Glint (an exorcist also on the run) and his companion (a navigator). He escapes them but is weakened from their exchange. This proves to be bad timing, as three of his former Templar brothers catches up with him. Their orders? To murder him and leave no trace. One of them is doing it eagerly (the sub-leader), but one can tell that the other two (including the leader) are doing it reluctantly. The third one is quite young. But they are doing it nonetheless.

During the fight, Rivain is overwhelmed by the three soldiers and slowly begins to tap into a darker side whispering in his head, especially when the sub-leader comments that he is nothing special and that he cannot understand why they were going to send him as the Templar rep for the expedition to Solon. He adds that Nerea is much more deserving of the honor and is miles above him, even without her Awakening. Then he is rescued by Glint and his companion. They leave the leader alive, who asks Rivain why he killed the brothers they both used to cherish. The navigator takes them through the Paths to the desert, linking this with the story already written.

On that road we learn that Rivain was on the run to Maderit. The others assume that he is heading there to join the expedition (which is open to everyone, criminals included) and save his skin, but his true goal is to meet Nerea and save her from the order and the Awakening, whether she wants to or not.

As the story progresses, the discovery of the guest he is carrying (XXX) will lead him to realize that there is a greater and much more sinister plot at play: the Plane of Solon is not what it seems to be, the Demons are an actual society that must be liberated, Nerea must still be saved from the Awakening, he still needs to keep the Templars at bay, and once the gate to Solon is open, nether will slowly start poisoning all realms...and he will have to make a choice: whether to save the Outsiders, as the True Humans call all other races...or to let nether destroy them and give the White a foothold into their world.