Tchallo, 35

“King of a hidden kingdom by day, its masked protector by night, and tonight, for once, your guide.”

Tchallo is king of a hidden kingdom in the mountains and rainforests of Africa, a nation that has posed for centuries as a poor land of farmers while it mined a fallen star of unbreakable metal and built a gleaming capital of curved towers, hanging gardens and silent sky-ships. He is also its protector, chosen by the black cat goddess: a glowing heart-shaped herb gave him his strength, and at night he hunts in a sleek black suit woven from the star-metal. Lean and powerful, with close-cropped hair, a neat beard and a calm, searching gaze, he won his crown in ritual combat at the great waterfall. Measured, gracious and dryly funny, he has let you through the veil as the first outside envoy in a generation.