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Spark Iskra is the host of Lindaer, a world created from isolation. She seeks out other forming worlds like hers to prevent them from being finished, as they are created from negative emotions. When she has to return to the human world after 13 years to prevent the formation of such new worlds, she becomes entangled in the lives of the residents of a small town, unable to escape the one thing that could destroy Lindaer forever: connection.
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Spark is rather short, with long ivory white hair that fades into orange, and eyes that are entirely white. She wears a white blouse with black lace on the collar and sleeves, a sunset orange corset, and two black ribbons in her hair. She wears an orange ruffled headband. Her skirt is checkered and has a petticoat under it, and it has layers of white ruffles on the front. Two white panels display star designs, as do her tights. Two checkered panels trail behind her skirt. She wears glassy orange shoes. She wears a necklace that has a pendant shaped like a checkered lightning bolt.
In the human world, Catherine's hair is entirely ivory, and she wears an ivory knit sweater and matching knit socks. She wears a black ribbon in her hair. At one point, she is given two black ribbons by Miss Flame, which she keeps tied in her sleeves from that point onward.
Spark is fairly quiet and somewhat observant, with her demeanor caused by her lack of knowledge on how to talk to others. She's somewhere between polite and demanding. However, she takes whatever answer she's given, and she's unusually compliant -- this might be because she seems to lack any emotion of her own, although below the surface she is incredibly sentimental. She expects others not to question her motives, but in turn she never questions the motives of others unless they want someone to save them from themselves.
She has a very soft but firm voice, to match her demeanor. She doesn't speculate often, but when she does, she often keeps it to herself. She doesn't like to pry much into the lives of others, unless it is absolutely necessary to prevent a new world from being created.
She doesn't seem to have any interests of her own yet. 13 years in a mostly empty world doesn't allow for much in that regard. She doesn't appear to notice beauty in much, seeing herself as an observer, but she has taken interest in the drawing that Emma made for her, and is overcome with emotion when others give her a token of their appreciation. She is reluctant to admit her ties to the human world, whether it's connections to others or reasons to stay, but this is because she's aware that she has to go back to Lindaer eventually, and a lack of isolation will cause the world to disappear.
Spark is first seen in Lindaer, a world made of her own isolation. The clocks around her toll, and she notes that a new world like hers is forming. While she wonders if the host might be like her, she decides she must destroy it, so she views the host remotely to see who she has to find. She sees a wind-up doll. With this information, Spark leaves Lindaer for the first time in 13 years. She finds a woman named Roselie Gardner washing a wedding veil in a fountain in a garden, and questions the suspicious woman about why she's washing blood from it. Upon being asked for her name, she notes that Roselie may recognize her as also having a world if she gives the name Spark Iskra, so she introduces herself as Catherine Sparks. Roselie tells Catherine that she was left at the altar during her wedding earlier in the day. Catherine uses her white eyes to hypnotize Roselie to coax her into elaborating. Roselie says that her sister Emma objected to the wedding, so she stabbed Emma with her gardening shears, and with this infomation Catherine deduces that Roselie's world must be made of envy. Roselie takes fright and flees to her world, and Catherine follows. Now in Rosallegro, the envy world, Spark finds that Roselie's name as given to her by her world is Rose Angel. Rose tries to convince Spark not to take her world, but Spark assures her that Rose doesn't want a world like Rosallegro. Upset by this, Rose makes flutes erupt out of the ground. Although they were just meant to keep her trapped in place, they cut Spark's face; Rose is shocked to see this and flees again. Spark, however, remains calm, realizing that Rosallegro is tricking Rose into thinking it is the perfect world. She asks Rose if she would be all the things that caused her envy outside of Rosallegro, and when Rose says no one would care, Spark assures her that by having someone come after her into her world, someone must care. She convinces Rose that Emma is also worthy of the things Rose envied her for, and now regretting hurting her sister, Rose takes Spark's hand and accepts that Rosallegro isn't what she needs. Spark twists her wind-up key on her back as a gesture of recognition, and as Rosallegro disappears around them, Spark hands Roselie a flute that Rosallegro left for her, and reassures her that her world was only trying to help. They return to the human world. Roselie reunited with Emma, and Spark meets Roselie's husband, Graymalkin Gardner. However, she tries to keep her distance from everyone and decides she must go back home, and she worries that if they get too close with her, she will somehow hurt them with Lindaer. She notes she doesn't think her own world has much time left after that encounter.
Although Spark intended to return to Lindaer right away, Emma convinced her to come downstairs below her perfume shop to her studio, so Emma could paint her as a cat as an example to show commissioners. Spark agrees and lets Emma pose her and paint her as a cat, and when shown the painting, she loves it and struggles to express this affection. However, this is cut short by Graymalkin visiting -- Graymalkin is the local pharmacist, and he is there to let Emma know that Lyall's prescription has an issue being filled, because his assistant Claire has gone missing. Spark thinks this may be another world, so the three of them go to Midnight Pharmacy. They are greeted by Claire's older sister, Miss Flame, who accuses Graymalkin of being responsible for Claire's disappearance. Graymalkin laughs it off nervously. Miss Flame recognizes Spark, but Spark denies having met before, and introduces herself as Catherine instead, although she admits to herself she's lying and she does know Miss Flame. As they enter the pharmacy, Graymalkin says there is no jewelry allowed in the back for safety reasons, and so Spark hands her necklace to him to keep safe. She finds that Claire's body still hasn't disappeared although she is in her world. Miss Flame tells Spark she's counting on her as Spark enters Arlanis, the perfectionism world. There, she sees host Clairida Lune attempting to turn her away, claiming the world isn't ready yet. Spark can't see anything in the world, and for a moment she thinks the world has already been destroyed, but she feels a blank curtain and realizes everything is hidden. Spark begins pulling the curtains while Clairida begs her not to, because the statues beneath them aren't perfect enough to show anyone. Spark decides she likes each statue, and Clairida says she will eventually find one she hates. Spark, unusually stern, tells Clairida she is attempting to put herself below Spark, and not to do so. She says she wishes she didn't have to destroy Arlanis. They bond over the ache the world brings them, and finally Clairida realizes that ache is care. They return to the human world and Arlanis is destroyed.
As Catherine lingers on the thought of care, and Lindaer begins to fall apart, Miss Flame thanks Catherine for bringing Claire back safely. Miss Flame gives her two ribbons, which she ties into Catherine's sweater sleeves. Grateful but fearful for what this means for her world, Catherine tries to dismiss herself, but Miss Flame is already aware of why Catherine is acting elusive. She watches as Catherine is stopped by Emma, who had received a message from Lyall as they were talking. Emma accuses Catherine of stealing her paintings, and Graymalkin backs her up. Catherine can't defend herself because her necklace, which she handed to Graymalkin earlier, was used as proof. Catherine returns to Lindaer, hurt and intending to stay in Lindaer forever. Time passes. Eventally, Miss Flame arrives in Lindaer with Spark's necklace and returns it to her, asking her to remember the promise she made the day the two first met. At this, Spark recalls when she met Miss Flame: it was 13 years ago when they were both 16, Spark worked doing set-up for a carnival, and Miss Flame was sent by her parents who invested in the fair to see the theatre tent's show. Spark's boss Mr. Henrie had encouraged Spark to try to connect with this new visitor, so Spark showed her around the fair for a few hours. When they went on the ferris wheel, Miss Flame admitted that she was there to escape an attack on her aristocratic family. She realized Spark had hypnosis abilities and wished she also had an ability. Spark showed her Lindaer, and then showed her how to make a world, resulting in the two ending up in Canarilainia, the escapism world. They realized someday they might not wish to leave their worlds, so Miss Flame gave Spark a necklace she got from the claw machine earlier, and Spark wanted her to keep the matching one. They shared a kiss, and Spark promised that if ever she never wanted to come back to the human world, she would destroy Lindaer. However, at some point she did go to Lindaer for a long time, unsure if ever she would return. As Spark finishes this recollection, Miss Flame tells her that she still can come back.
After Miss Flame gets a call from Roselie and meets with her in the human world, Spark stays in Lindaer. She senses Emma is forming a world, but she doesn't want to destroy it since she is still upset about her last encounter with Emma. She watches remotely as Miss Flame and Roselie seem uneasy about whatever they are discussing, so she decides to return one more time. She realizes they are discussing that Graymalkin has trapped Lyall in a glass figurine, and that Graymalkin was the one who attacked Miss Flame's family years prior, causing her to move to the town in the first place. They try to determine if stopping Graymalkin or finding Emma would fix things sooner, and Catherine agrees to stop Graymalkin with Miss Flame. They find Graymalkin in his and Roselie's basement, where he has a glass figurine to trap Catherine, Roselie, and Claire in. He traps Roselie, leaving only himself, Catherine, and Miss Flame in the basement. When he threatens to kidnap Miss Flame, Catherine pleads with her to leave for her safety, and Miss Flame reluctantly agrees. Graymalkin then says Catherine can either get trapped in a figure, or go with him to Emma's world Arcathedral.
Spark decides to go to Arcathedral, the desperation world. There, she sees Emma chained to a large bell, and that Graymalkin has taken over the world. Spark tries to convince Emma to destroy the world, but she is unable to do so. Graymalkin tells Spark to merge it with Lindaer, and although she doesn't want to, she realizes she could destroy the merged world if she could destroy the part of it that is Lindaer. She merges the worlds, which are now the merged world Linara. Spark is overtaken by the world, and strange points appear over her head. She is suspended in the air. Miss Flame returns, unable to let the others deal with things alone. Graymalkin says that Spark is part of the world now, and that he chose Lindaer to be merged with Arcathedral knowing Spark doesn't have it in her to give up isolation forever. Spark, unable to convey her feelings, begs in her own mind for someone to take her isolation away from her. When Graymalkin tries to turn the whole world to glass, Emma turns it back around on him and he becomes a figurine instead. Free from his threats, Miss Flame gets Emma to fly her up to Spark, and Miss Flame embraces Spark, giving her the feelings of connection she needed to destroy her isolation. They return to the human world for good this time. They are greeted by Roselie, Claire, and Lyall, now out of the figures. Miss Flame offers for Spark to live with her from now on, Roselie decides to make tea for them, and Spark resolves to stay with everyone, and this time not just to prevent new worlds. Spark is left a bronze pocket watch by Lindaer, given the painting by Emma, and is given the glass figure of herself as a cat by Roselie, who wants to give her a token of appreciation as well. Wanting to go somewhere very important once again, Spark and Miss Flame visit the carnival together again at last.
Lindaer is a vast expanse of emptiness, interrupted only by tilted clocks. As the world of isolation, these clocks are the only thing that keep Spark company or break up the otherwise blank space around her. They all display different times. Although the clocks remained undamaged for the 13 years that Spark remained there, they begin to crumble once she leaves Lindaer, although they repair again when her isolation is reinforced. When the world first formed, there was only one clock, so it seems as if more clocks appear the longer she has stayed there. The floor is distorted -- sometimes blank, sometimes, glassy, and sometimes rippling.
Miss Flame
Miss Flame is the person Spark cares about the most. Meeting 13 years prior to the events of 'Of Spark and Cats' at the fair, Miss Flame was an important guest and Spark was a fair employee. They spent the day together and agreed to keep meeting at the ferris wheel, and Spark showed Miss Flame her world and taught her how to make one. Though they were incredibly close and even shared a kiss, it didn't stop Spark from eventually retreating to Lindaer for years, never intending to be gone forever. In the time she was gone, Miss Flame remembered her fondly, destroyed her own world, and kept her matching necklace to Spark's. Though Spark was distant with her upon reuniting, Miss Flame stuck with Spark to the point of going into Lindaer to return Spark's necklace and remind her of their shared past. Spark returned to the human world when seeing Miss Flame in danger. Complying with Graymalkin Gardner's demands to buy Miss Flame time, Spark gave herself up to the merged world of Linara, but Miss Flame found her and embraced her, freeing her from the hold the worlds had on her. With no chance to return to Lindaer from them on, Spark moves in with Miss Flame, and the two visit the fair where they met once more.
Rose Angel
Rose and Spark initially do not connect with each other quickly, with Rose fearing Spark's attempt to free her from her world. However, when she finds Spark intends to help her repair her relationship with her sister Emma, Rose is grateful towards Spark. She sees Spark as her best friend immediately, while Spark sees her fondly, but keeps a bit of emotional distance to keep Lindaer from being destroyed. Spark has felt guilt at not listening to Rose's suggestions in favor of Miss Flame's, and she is relieved that Rose sees her as a close friend.
Emma Angel
Emma and Spark start out somewhat close before Graymalkin tricks Emma. Thankful for reuniting her with Rose, Emma befriends Spark and paints her as a cat. While Spark doesn't show much of an external reaction, she cherishes the painting more than almost anything else. However, once Graymalkin convinces Emma that Spark stole her paintings, Emma feels betrayed and angry with Spark, and this reinforces to Spark that she should have stayed isolated. However, once Emma learns too late that she was lied to, and Spark is forced to merge both of their worlds, they make amends and work towards stopping Graymalkin from hurting anyone else, putting any hard feelings behind them in the process.
Clairida Lune
Spark and Clairida had a rough start, as Spark posed a threat to Clairida's world simply by trying to observe it. Spark's stubborn will to see it and Clairida's refusal to accept it as worthy of being seen my anyone, and as a bad reflection of herself, initially clashed. Because of this, Spark was more stern with Clairida than she was to any of the other hosts. However, when Clairida was finally willing to listen to the fact that Spark genuinely wished she didn't have to destroy the world, she took Spark's words to heart. While the two didn't get the chance to talk after that, Clairida later was seen with a more experimental fashion style, suggesting she was willing to let go of her attempt at what others might see as perfection. Both of them see each other kindly.
Graymalkin Gardner
Spark initially saw Graymalkin as harmless and a little foolish, and her main concern was making sure his wife and his assistant going missing didn't cause him to create a world of his own. However, this trust was used against her, as Graymalkin needed Spark out of the way to get to Emma, knowing Spark would cause a disruption in his plan if she knew he intended to make a world she couldn't destroy. When she was aware that he was a serious threat, he stopped laughing off any details she noticed, but by that point his plan was too far through for her to do anything about it. Spark is afraid of Graymalkin for what he can do to the people she has grown close to, and Graymalkin sees Spark as his pawn.
Mr. Henrie
Mr. Henrie was Spark's boss when she worked at the fair when she was 16 years old. He looked out for her as if she was his daughter, but sometimes he gave advice she didn't particularly want to hear. However, she remembers him fondly, and his advice was what got her to connect with Miss Flame.
- Spark was designed on January 30th, 2010. Her original name was Spark Cat, which is where the name Catherine Sparks comes from. She used to be an orange and white cat with white eyes, as well as the checkerboard pattern lightning bolt tail that later became her necklace. This design shows up in the manga as the cat painting Emma makes for Spark.
- Spark has had her hypnosis abilities through every version of her design. It was originally an excuse for why her eyes were white. The true reason is that they were drawn with a thick marker and the pupil was excluded to avoid ruining the original drawing, but she has had a canonical reason of those hypnosis abilities since the very first day she was designed.
- Spark spent 13 years in Lindaer to parallel the 13 years from original design to publication that it took for Spark's story to be completed. Writing the manga only took 4 months, but the year of its release was the 13th anniversary of her creation.
