## What are Mythos characters?
Characters are entities in Mythos that track every detail about the people in your story—from physical appearance to emotional state, relationships, and timeline of events.

**Available in:** Novel Workspace only

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## Creating characters
**To create a character:**
1. Go to the **Characters** board tab
2. Click "New Character"
3. Enter character details

**Basic information:**
- **Name** - Character's primary name
- **Aliases** - Nicknames, titles, or alternate names (Mythos tracks mentions of all aliases)
- **Photo** - Upload a character image (max 10MB)

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## What Mythos tracks
Mythos automatically tracks detailed information about your characters as you write:

### Timeline
When and where your character appears throughout your story, organized chronologically.

### Mentions
Every time the character is referenced in your manuscript, with document and context.

### Current location
Where the character was last mentioned in your story.

### Current state
What's happening with your character (traveling, injured, dead, alive, etc.).

### Who they're with
Other characters present in the same scene.

### Emotion
Current emotional state of the character.

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## Viewing character information
**Character profile:**
Open Characters board tab → Click character → View all details and tracking

**Mythos sidebar (while writing):**
Open AI sidebar → Mythos tab → See characters in current document

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## Color coding
Assign colors to characters to see them highlighted throughout your manuscript.

**How it works:**
1. Assign a color to a character
2. Character mentions appear highlighted in that color
3. Click highlighted text to view character details

**Use for:** Instantly identifying character presence, tracking multiple characters visually

[Learn more about Color Coding →](/content/help/docs/mythos/mythos-characters/mythos-color-coding/index.html)

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## Relationships
Create hierarchies and connections between characters and other entities.

**Examples:**
- Members within an organization
- Family structures
- Mentor-student relationships

Note: "Parent-child" relationships are organizational, not familial. They simply mean one entity belongs to or is part of another.

[Learn more about Relationships →](/content/help/docs/mythos/mythos-characters/mythos-relationships/index.html)

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## Using characters with AI
Reference characters with `@` in AI Chat for context-aware responses.

**Example:**
```plaintext
@JohnDoe just discovered @JaneSmith's secret. Write a confrontation scene.
```
AI knows all character details, relationships, timeline, current state, and location.

[Learn more about AI Chat →](/content/help/docs/mythos/ai/ai-chat/index.html)

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## Custom profile details
Beyond automatic tracking, add custom information to character profiles:
- Physical description
- Personality traits
- Background and history
- Goals and motivations
- Strengths and weaknesses
- Notes and reminders

The AI Chat has access to all of the information above. The more details you provide, the better it can assist you with accurate and context-aware responses.