Jaycee Woods

It was much easier to get a sample image out of AI for Cyrus, head of operations for The Butcher’s general staff. Cyrus was a defector from Iran’s chemical weapons program who went on to become a chemistry professor at a small fictional college in Pennsylvania. At the start of the future Second American Civil War, he joins the army to be with his best friend Gideon Sheridan (later named The Butcher by the rebels).

During the siege of Pilgerruh (current day Cleveland, but renamed by the rebels as a native land acknowledgement ritual), Cyrus is The Butcher’s right hand man, sometimes challenger, and the “fairy godmother” behind Boudica’s efforts to save Gideon Sheridan’s soul from the consequences of the war. His background in chemistry becomes important to The Butcher’s efforts to exploit the chemical industry in Pilgerruh (aka Cleveland) as a resource to give him a force multiplier during the siege. Cyrus talks The Butcher out of a scheme to target the city with chemical gas as it would be a danger to their own men. However, Cyrus’ knowledge is critical to manufacturing explosives in the field to blow the river bridges and napalm to rain fire on the city.

While a severe military officer who generally enables The Butcher’s barbaric tactics, Cyrus is humanized through his relationship with Boudica’s mentor Olga, who is pregnant with Cyrus’ child. There are many references throughout the story of Cyrus’ habit of speaking tenderly to his unborn child in Olga’s belly.