Erika Jade Ward (aka Reika)

Overview:

Erika Ward is the protagonist of August Anew. A gifted physics student, Erika is blind due to albinism and navigates both her physical world and emotional landscape with remarkable resilience.

When she travels to Texas to join a top-secret summer research program at a mysterious underground facility called the Desertron, her journey quickly spirals beyond known science into a multidimensional experience involving death, rebirth, magic, and cosmic transformation.

Personality & Traits:

Resilient: Erika constantly pushes back against condescension and pity from others. She insists on being treated as capable and independent despite her blindness.

Grounded but Adventurous: Initially skeptical and focused on science, Erika is eventually swept into mystical experiences far beyond her understanding. She resists at first but adapts with surprising grace.

Emotionally complex: Her inner voice reveals fear, longing, confusion, and courage. Her connection to Aiden (her partner) grounds her humanity and vulnerability.

Evolving identity: As the story unfolds, Erika transforms—literally and metaphorically—through spiritual and physical rebirths, questioning not only who she is, but what she is.

Character Arc:

Erika’s arc is one of transformation. She begins as a cautious, determined scientist, confronting the world through logic and accommodation. A catastrophic accident at the Desertron facility thrusts her into a metaphysical journey where she seems to die and is reborn multiple times—in body and spirit.

Key Themes in Her Story:

Identity and self-discovery: Erika’s transformations force her to question what defines the self—memory, body, soul?

Disability and perception: Her albinism and blindness shape how others see her, but Erika constantly reclaims agency and redefines how she interacts with the world.

Science meets mysticism: A physics internship becomes the gateway to existential and magical exploration, challenging Erika’s worldview.

Full Name: Erika Jade “Reika” Ward

Role: Protagonist

Background: Blind physics student from Park City, Utah.

Defining Traits: Resilient, introspective, intelligent, cautious, and deeply curious