Chalky is the youngest prince of Saff Jugah, a small kingdom that for generations has prided itself on being a bastion of hope and beauty sequestered from the horrors of the Wasteland or the Red Plague. Located in a web of tributaries that pour into Lake Clearwater from the mountains, the kingdom has benefited from the spread of Paradise and become a beautiful garden court, walled with flowers and flowing streams.

Chalky was not born into the royal family, but adopted into it. He worked as a peasant "charmer", or courtesan, on the outskirts of the Jugah, before being brought to court to be raised as a sibling to the crown prince Abasahil. Chalky now works as a bodyguard for their brother, though they are a pacifist and much prefer a lifestyle of mingling with the court.

Quite unlike her brother, Chalkhassi is incredibly vain and prideful, caring immensely about their courtly position and beauty. She couldn't be further from her peasant upbringing, and lacks the tranquil airs of her adoptive family.