DotA 2 is already a popular video game, and the successful Netflix series has expanded the franchise into television. Season 3 of DOTA: Dragon's Blood is now available, and it ties up some threads from the last season while leaving a few more open for the next. That means that some new characters have appeared, and with the plot twist of an alternate reality, a few are even new to themselves.
These characters might be new to fans of the show, but DOTA players, or those that know the lore of the game, might already know them. A few of them made brief appearances as dreams, memories, or flashbacks in previous seasons but didn't contribute any more than that.
7 Emporer Zal
Other than as a flashback in "The Burial of the Dead" episode in Season 2, the viewer only hears about Mirana's father and never meets him in the present. In the alternate reality of Season 3, however, Mirana's uncle Shabarra never usurped the throne, and Zal has more of a role to play in the story.
His representation is a tragic one either way. In the original reality, his throne was usurped by his brother and his daughter fled into exile. In the new reality created by the Invoker, he descends into senility and mistakes Mirana, now the Empress, for her mother. He's carefully guarded in his quarters and his condition is kept a secret.
6 Adult Filomena
The viewer sees Filomena as a child several times in the Invoker's memories in the first two seasons. Eventually, it is revealed that his motive this whole time was to create an alternate reality in which she didn't sicken and die of a mysterious illness but lived until adulthood. The two of them don't always get along and the Invoker carelessly overlooks that she's a lot like him, including possessing many of the same magical powers.
Mirana isn't the only one who makes a sacrifice at the end of the season to return the world to normal. It's not exactly clear what happens with this character at the very end credits, but there's an image of the Invoker's tower being remade and Filomena's skin healing. It's possible that Filomena found a way to survive after all, and might return.
5 Legatus Tihomir
A member of the Helio Imperium, and related to the royal family, Legatus Tihomer is a character that only appears in the Netflix series. She has nothing to do with the game, which isn't really about political intrigue or real-time strategy, the two things in which she excels.
It's strongly hinted that she's antagonistic to Mirana's rule, and although she gives the appearance of being helpful it's obvious she has two faces and several ulterior motives. She seems to be aligned with Shabarra, Emporer Zal's brother who usurped the throne and drove Mirana into the wilderness.
4 Zet, The Arc Warden
This being is never named when they appear, but DOTA 2 players have seen them before. Zet, the Arc Warden, gives a new meaning to the term "overpowered." This primordial being is as old as the universe itself, and according to his very extensive lore, he was one of the earliest and most powerful creatures in the universe.
Weakened at one point and split into three different pieces, it seems that the Invoker attempted to take advantage of this vulnerable moment and use Zet's power to create his perfect universe. His plan backfired in a big way, however, when the Arc Warden was too powerful to be contained. His destructive rage, even with a fraction of his potential strength, was almost enough to kill the Invoker and put an end to his plans.
3 Cochi
Cochi appeared early in the series, too, but only as an inanimate stuffed animal preserved in loving memory of Filomena. In season three, he's an actual character, and in a sad twist, he seems to fill the emotional void left by her distant father.
This little bunny is speechless, which isn't surprising for a stuffed animal, and seems to be enchanted but the nature of this spell is never explained. The lop-eared pet goes everywhere with Filomena and helps her with her studies and experiments, carrying papers and pens or fetching books. When Filomena speaks to the Althing, the Dark Moon Council, Cochi is with her.
2 The Oracle
Another character that is mentioned much earlier but doesn't make an appearance until Season 3, the Oracle is responsible for the prophecy that drove Fymryn to steal the lotuses. He plays an important role in the third episode, "This Stanger's Life" but other than that doesn't appear again.
Fans of the video game will recognize the Oracle as one of the playable heroes in the game. According to the lore, his name is Nerif, but he's only referred to as "The Oracle" in the Netflix series.
1 Brenen Ri
A completely new character that doesn't appear in the lore, Brenen Ri is referred to with several different titles, including Excellency and Her Highness. She's a person of importance in the Dark Moon Order, leader of a council called the Althing, and second only to the Moon Goddess herself.
She's introduced when Folimena presents her ideas about the mysterious red meteorites falling from the sky, only to be interrupted by her father. It seems that worshippers need her permission to visit or speak to Mene, the Moon Goddess, making her the second in command in elf society.