Rook

Rook (formerly known as John) is one of the four main protagonists of the Havemercy book, as well as a member of the Dragon Corps. He is rider of the eponymous dragon, as well as the protagonist of a short story called The Unstable Boy.

Early Life
Rook was born in Molly, the lowermost district of Thremedon, and had a younger brother named Hilary. However, an unfortunate fire in his early life (age 7) killed his family, leaving Rook (then known as John) to fend for himself. Not much is known about this period in his life, save for that he picked pockets and occasionally worked as a prostitute. At some point in his teenagerhood, Rook saw Havemercy for the first time, which started a love affair that would last his entire life.

Joining the Dragon Corps
Contrary to what Rook is likely to want you to believe, his joining of the Dragon Corps was not a glamorous event. In fact, Rook started as a muck-raker in the Airman, shoveling the crap left behind after the dragons were cleaned. In fact, it wasn't until he got caught stealing a sandwich from one of the Airmen that Rook even got to meet Havemercy face to face---Amery, Balfour's brother, dragged him by his collar into the hangar, sticking him in front of Havemercy, who had a well-known reputation for being brutal with her claws.

Of course, Rook did what he does best: Made a smart-ass comment. Havemercy liked it. The rest is, as they say, history.

In the Dragon Corps
As a memeber of the Dragon Corps, Rook provided undoubtedly invaluable service to th'Esar. Havemercy, being a Jacqueline, was one of the fastest and strongest dragons available, making Rook something of a powerhouse among his Dragon Corps companions. However, Rook's bad attitude never did quite leave, resulting in him getting in plenty of shit with Adamo. One such incident, arguably the incident that incites much of the plot of the book, is Rook's sleeping with a diplomat's wife and then publicly insinuating that she was a prostitute. This classy-as-usual act left the diplomat furious and th'Esar duly pissed off, meaning that the Dragon Corps finally got punished for their upstart behavior.

As their punishment, th'Esar assigned a young 'Versity student named Thom to act as an etiquette advisor to the Corps. However, because Thom's personality was so meek and nonconfrontational, Rook took great pleasure in tormenting him, doing everything from putting beetles in his clothes to painting his hand blue and then tickling his nose. (Hey, no one ever said Rook was mature.) This led to a somewhat strained relationship between the two, a relationship that is the focal point of the chapters involving both Thom and Rook throughout the novel.