Allison (novel Series) - Main Characters

Main Characters

Wilhelm "Wil" Schultz

The male protagonist of the series, Wil is a fifth-year student at the prestigious Rowe Sneum Upper School, where he is one of the top students. Abandoned by his parents at a young age, he grew up under the watchful eye of "granny" Corason Moot at Future House, where he learned Bezelese and gained an interest in the West. Upon Allison's arrival ten years ago, he became her semi-willing "lackey" almost immediately. Now seventeen, he splits his school holidays between on-campus study and his friend's family's palatial estate. Though he is exceptionally bright, Wil's financial situation is tenuous at best and his scholarship dictates that he cannot skip grades or graduate early. When Allison insists on one of their adventures, he relies on her, or his friend's, financial backing.

Having spent much of his childhood with Allison, Wil knows her better than almost anyone, and despite getting roped into her schemes, finds himself able to deal with her impulsiveness and her idiosyncrasies better than most. Nevertheless, when he sees a familiar twinkle in her blue eyes, he knows that something is bound to happen, and it will probably involve him too.

Although Wil is not as physically strong or willing to be involved in the action as his companions, he has dead accurate aim with almost any kind of firearm, a photographic memory, and a strong sense of duty to protect the people and things he cares about, even if it means putting himself in harm's way.

Allison Whittington

The series' female protagonist and namesake, Allison is a corporal in the Roxche Air Force. Sent to Future House when her father Oscar Whittington went into battle, the strong-willed, adventurous girl became unlikely friends with the quiet, bookish Wil, making him her "lackey" and getting the two of them into situations with a regularity that would earn them a reputation among the other children. Like Wil, Allison speaks Bezelese fluently, but already knew it when the two met, having learned it from her father. Though she and Wil now spend most of their time apart, they exchange letters frequently and Allison works to arrange meetings between them in often-convoluted ways.

An ace pilot, Allison is fond of unnecessarily acrobatic stunts in missions that amount to delivering planes or engaging in joint emergency training with soldiers from "Across the River". Frequently worried about shrinking military budgets and the limitations of her current position, her ultimate goal is to become a test pilot, where she can have both job security and the opportunity to engage in even more wild maneuvers. She makes money on the side by smuggling and reselling goods from mission sites, and takes holiday more than once by claiming to be in hospital with various injuries, which would have serious consequences were she to be caught. In spite of this, she maintains a good relationship with her fellow soldiers, who actively cover for her during her adventure-related absences.

Though she finds it difficult to admit outright, Allison is in love with Wil and is continually trying to bring the two closer in ways that either Wil fails to notice or other events interrupt. Her current aim is to convince him to attend university in the Roxchean capital where the two can share an apartment, a move Wil resists on financial grounds. However, she refuses to give up, and is encouraged in her efforts by Benedict and (later) Fiona, whose own happy relationship only adds fuel to the fire.

Carr Benedict

(Note: as a resident of Sou Beil, "Carr" is his surname and "Benedict" his personal name.)

The third member of the core cast to appear, Benedict starts out in the series as a 24-year-old sublieutenant in the Sou Beil Air Force. Though an accomplished pilot, he is relegated to a mid-ranking soldier at a base of little note on the edge of the uninhabited Buffer Zone. With few duties of substance, he spends his time flirting with (and trying to pick up) the women of the base, which earns him the ire of his fellow male soldiers. He would even be relatively successful at it, if not for his potential dates discovering that he's asked out everyone else as well. In spite of this, he appears not to be a womanizer so much as genuinely interested in the women in his life, and unable to keep himself from acting on this impulse (albeit to a foolish degree). As a soldier, he is fiercely loyal to his comrades, but harbors a sense of justice that supersedes his official duties, leading him to disobey orders in favor of doing what he feels is right.

Benedict first encounters Allison during a joint training session between Roxche and Sou Beil and is quite taken with her, inviting her to dine with the Sou Beil soldiers in broken Roxchean and later asking her to exchange letters as a couple. Though Allison rebuffs him, he still recognizes her when she and Wil are involved in the incident with Captain Graz's "Gang of Thugs", and pursues them himself with the intent of stopping them non-lethally. Defeated in a one-on-one dogfight, Benedict becomes their ally and defends them against his own, while agreeing to take the credit for their discovery. It is at this point that his life turns upside-down. Lauded as a hero for single-handedly ending the War, Benedict finds himself promoted to the youngest-ever Major in Sou Beil history, recognized wherever he goes, and the recipient of admiration and scorn from fawning women and jealous fellow soldiers, respectively. He views Allison and Wil as the true heroes of the ordeal, and considers all the attention an inconvenience, which he feels he does not deserve anyway. However, his second adventure with them leads to his meeting Fiona, who not only had never heard of him, but forces him into doing something actually heroic. The relationship he forges with her in the process proves to be a lasting one.

Although he does not start out with much knowledge of Roxchean, Benedict studies hard and makes leaps in his command of the language over the course of the series. Nevertheless, he is prone to the occasional slip-up, and prefers to talk to Allison and Wil in Bezelese unless stealth warrants otherwise. At the very least, what he does know is enough for him to woo Fiona, who understands only Ikstovan and Roxchean.