History Characters / TheCinderSpires

* FriendlySniper: Affable and polite, and also Grimm's first choice when handing out the long guns. In the second book, he's given command of the Predator's [[BFG oversized chase gun]], and proves to be just as good a shot with that.

* AnAxeToGrind: Kettle's preferred weapon seems to be a boarding axe.

[[folder: Mr Stern]]

!!Mr Stern

One of Predator's officers, a midshipman who seved with Grimm on the Perilous, and followed him out of the fleet afterwards.

* FriendlySniper: Affable and polite, and also Grimm's first choice when handing out the long guns. He's capable of, in extremely poor light, delivering a long-distance BoomHeadshot in a scenario where, of the other three snipers firing, two missed their targets and the last was a leg hit. Shortly beforehand, Bridget describes what would be necessary to solve the situation favourably to Albion as someone being 'perfectly stealthy' and making the perfect shot at the correct target on his first attempt. She writes it off as being a very low probability of success - and Stern proceeds to do exactly that.

!!Spire Aurora
[[folder:Madame Cavendish]]
!! Madame Sycorax Cavendish
A very dangerous and utterly insane etherealist in league with "the Enemy", and principal antagonist of the first book.

* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: [[spoiler:She's a former student of Master Ferus, and they're now clearly enemies.]]
* AxCrazy: She hides it under a ''very'' rigid demeanour of old-school courtesy, but everyone can tell she's violently insane within seconds of meeting her. Compare, for example, Folly's endearingly weird way of dress with her immaculate lavender grey gown.
* CloudCuckooLander: {{Averted}}. This is a very bad sign, since there are only two kinds of etherealists: Cloudcuckoolander and AxCrazy.
* ColorCodedEyes: Has gray eyes which are used to symbolize her cold, relentless, and inhuman nature.
* DemonicPossession: A minion of some kind for the Enemy, [[spoiler: the Tyranima]], though it's unclear just how much free will she retains.
* {{Doublethink}}: A woman obsessed with manners who has absolutely no moral issue torturing, assaulting, and murdering people on the slightest pretext, including "because it's convenient" and "because they were slightly rude to me".
* EtiquetteNazi: Her particular (or at least, most obvious) quirk as an etherealist is an obsession with manners and protocol. To the point where she will horribly maim or kill anyone who is fails to meet her standards of courtesy in her presence.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: [[spoiler:She seems to be genuinely upset at Sark's death and at her inabiltiy to stop the surface world creatures from eating his corpse.]]
* EvilCounterpart:
** To Gwen: Both are obsessed with proper behavior and quite willing to use force, but Gwen sees The Rules as part of a noble's responsibility to protect people, while Cavendish uses the slightest breach as an excuse to violently harm others. Gwen is also aware of how her flaws hurt her and others.
** To Folly: Both women are etherialists, but Cavendish is nattily dressed, and almost always courteous, and a psychopath, while Folly dresses in mismatched clothes, is compassionate and friendly, and can ''only'' talk to her crystals, which is rude. Also, Folly is Ferus' apprentice and minder and is generally non-violent, while Cavendish has her own creepy servant who's violent at the drop of a hat.
** To Grimm: He's an travelling airship privateer captain who cares deeply about his men, his ship, his honor, and his spire. He let himself be drummed out of the service to protect others. She's a lunatic etherealist (redundant) who's themed after and works with spiders, who tend to let people come to them, and seems to care about nothing but herself and manners. Both of them are highly intelligent strategists who command others, but are personally capable of doing violence. Grimm has a stormy past with his more amoral ex-wife, and Cavendish has a lot of mutual enmity with [[spoiler:her former teacher...]]
** Ferus. He's [[spoiler:her former teacher]], he can be eccentrically charming, and hates to use violence. By contrast, Cavendish creeps out everyone she meets, and constantly has to restrain herself from harming others, which she enjoys. Like him, she's very good at it.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Always courteous and polite, and insists on other behaving the same way. Even while she's [[ColdBloodedTorture torturing]] or [[MindRape mind raping]] someone.
* TheManInFrontOfTheMan: It's revealed that, beyond being an Auroran agent, [[spoiler: she is working for an unknown but incredibly powerful being.]]
* MindRape: Her weapon of choice seems to be a psychic attack so severe that its victims claw out their own eyes.
* MundaneSolution: She is as vulnerable to high-velocity bits of metal as anyone else. In fact, shooting or some other physical attack is needed when she can manipulate ether energy, like a gauntlet's volley.
* PhotographicMemory: [[spoiler: As revealed in her final scene, her having lost the MacGuffin book only sets her back by the few days it takes her to write out hundreds of pages]].
* PolitenessJudo: Whether you're an enemy or ally, your best chance of surviving a meeting with her is to be pretty good at this. It's theorised that her particular etherealist's compulsion centres around this, so it's possible she actually finds it difficult to directly harm those who practise it, and difficult to ''not'' harm those who fail.
* PowerAtAPrice: For her power over etheric energy, she is compelled to follow the rules of polite society. If one keeps in form with them, and she maintains herself, even if she wants to hurt the person. Failure means any number of unpleasant responses.
* SoftSpokenSadist: Normally she's extremely calm, soft-spoken and obsessively polite, but when given an excuse to unleash her power on someone who's been rude to her, her expression is described as "absolute pleasure".
* SquishyWizard: She has immense power and is immune to the energy of ordinary gauntlets, but she's as vulnerable to being stunned or injured by other means as any other human.
* UncannyValleyGirl: Grimm's skin starts to crawl the second he sees her, and most people who talk to her don't even notice that she's actually quite physically attractive, as they get pre-occupied by how ''wrong'' everything about her feels.
* VillainousBreakdown: As her plans go wrong, she becomes somewhat more testy and has to visibly force herself back into bland politeness. Given how rigid her self-control is normally, her little slips tend to produce an OhCrap moment in those around her.
* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Her methods don't exactly inspire loyalty from anyone but Sark. Her own allies are speculating on whether or not to murder her [[EveryoneHasStandards because she sickens them just that much]] in the first book. And after one and a half books of [[spoiler: bullying Espira and terrorising/murdering/experimenting on his men, and making him accomplice to something truly awful by unleashing a [[{{Kaiju}} mistmaw]] on several colony spires, he turns on her and does his level best to kill her]].

[[folder:Major Espira]]
!! Major Espira
The commander of the Auroran marines infiltrating Spire Albion. The secondary villain of the first book, [[PunchClockVillain who's just doing his job]]. [[spoiler: In ''The Olympian Affair'', he is promoted to Colonel for his actions in the first book, and ultimately performs a HeelFaceTurn after becoming utterly disillusioned with what his superiors are willing to do - and make him do]].

* AFatherToHisMen: He cares about his marines deeply. [[spoiler: This is a key part of why he turns on Cavendish]].
* AffablyEvil: Genuinely polite to Bridget and Folly when they're captured, and regretful when he has to hand them over to Cavendish.
* CultureJustifiesAnything: Like most Aurorans, he justifies his actions as other Spires not deserving the prosperity they enjoy while Aurora suffers -- he sees the Albions as thieving rats because they became prosperous by building a new shipping dock for their spire, allowing more easy and plentiful trade. In the second book, it becomes clear that this is a rationalisation to deal with the often horrible things that he's ordered to do and has had to do.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He dislikes Madame Cavendish, and considers killing her when his mission is done, relenting as the leaders of Spire Aurora find her too valuable -- and he's not entirely sure that he could manage it before she retaliated. [[spoiler: In ''The Olympian Affair'', he gets sick of her and them and does his level best to pull it off]]. He also refuses to have a captive, who has to die to keep their secret and who is only technically alive after Cavendish {{Mind Rape}}d him for answers, fed to the silkweavers while alive.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Morphs into this over ''The Olympian Affair'' as he steadily performs a HeelFaceTurn - this time, his horror is at [[spoiler: the wholesale devouring of entire Spires by Cavendish's pet [[{{Kaiju}} mistmaw]], and her turning people into crystal zombies]], resulting in him [[spoiler: turning on her]].
* EvilCounterpart: To Grimm, being a skilled commander from a poor background who's AFatherToHisMen and an OfficerAndAGentleman.
* HeelFaceTurn: In ''The Olympian Affair'', being utterly appalled by what he's been ordered to do and sick of working with Cavendish.
* MyCountryRightOrWrong: He's a loyal son of Aurora, and a good man despite the often horrible things he's asked to do. In ''The Olympian Affair'', he becomes increasingly disillusioned with what he's asked to do, and later downright furious at how his sincere and idealistic patriotism has been used by amoral superiors to treat him as an attack dog. Cue HeelFaceTurn, and a determination to [[spoiler: return to Aurora and use his influence to bend his home spire onto a saner path]].
* OfficerAndAGentleman: A villainous variation, who's essentially just doing his job, much like Grimm. And much like Grimm, he came from a lower-class background. The associated mannerisms help keep him alive around Cavendish and, like Grimm, drive him to [[spoiler: turn on a brutal superior and take full responsibility and judgement for his actions]].
* PunchClockVillain: He's just doing his job, characterising it to himself at the end of the first book as trading the lives of people he doesn't know to protect those he does. However, his actions increasingly haunt him.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: During the endgame of ''The Olympian Affair'', Espira delivers a stinging verbal evisceraction to [[spoiler:Madame Cavendish]] as a distraction (and to [[WorthIt vent his spleen]]). The addresee is rendered apoplectic with rage.
* SelfMadeMan: Started out near the bottom of Spire Aurora and worked his way up through sheer skill.
* ShellShockedVeteran: He has definite shades of this in ''The Olympian Affair'', being haunted by a passing incident in the first book when during the escape he instinctively killed [[spoiler: a young apprentice]] who startled him. It plays a large role in his HeelFaceTurn.
* WouldHurtAChild: PlayedWith. He is reluctant to hand over Folly and Bridget to Cavendish, for good reason, even though both are legally enemy combatants, and while he instinctively cuts down [[spoiler: a young apprentice]] who startles him during his escape at the end of the first book, the incident haunts him all through the following book.
* WorthyOpponent: He's begrudgingly admiring of Grimm in the first book, and in the second, he outright wonders how the hell the Albion Fleet could have been so stupid as to cashier such a ridiculously competent officer.

[[folder: Ciriaco]]

!!Sergeant Ciriaco

A Warriorborn Auroran Sergeant, and Espira's de facto second-in-command, being the most featured villainous character after Cavendish and Espira. [[spoiler:Granted the Auroran rank of Hero after his action in ''Windlass''.]]

* BeastMan: As with all other Warriorborn.
* DueToTheDead: Gives Benedict his name and acknowledges his request to remember him when it looks like Benedict will have to die in exchange for sparing Gwen and Bridget (on the grounds that he's too dangerous for even Ciriaco to contain while occupied with the other two, let alone carry out his mission).
* EveryoneHasStandards: He's a PunchClockVillain at worst and while he's willing to do a lot for Aurora, there are lines he won't cross.
** Quietly all but begs Espira not to ask him to send a living man 'up the ropes' to be EatenAlive.
** He also has a very sincere and deep-rooted objection to rape, taking a moment to inform Bridget -- who was his prisoner and had assumed that she would be 'raped and murdered' -- that he'd gut any man who laid a hand on her, and if that she did have to die, he'd kill her quickly and cleanly. When Bridget observes that he is not a rapist, but he is a murderer, his response is, "you seem to have it just about surrounded, miss."
** He absolutely despises Cavendish and Sark (the former, at least, being absolutely vile), bluntly responding to Espira's comment that he should be glad they're on the same side that he absolutely isn't, and later quietly floating the possibility of murdering the former at a convenient moment. It's also hinted that [[spoiler: he intentionally left Bridget's weapons behind to give Bridget and Folly half a chance against Cavendish and Sark]]. He also [[spoiler: immediately backs Espira when the latter is sickened by Cavendish and her plans and decides to turn on her.]]
* EvilCounterpart: To Benedict, though he's a PunchClockVillain at worst.
* FantasticRacism: On the receiving end, as indicated by Espira's thoughts when he briefly wishes that he was a Warriorborn like Ciriaco with the associated stamina, before noting that if he were, he wouldn't have reached officer rank. This is elaborated upon in the second book, when his status as a Hero of Aurora thanks to the raid meant he was offered officer rank, but by following the unwritten rules and refusing, seeming to know his place, he gains more wealth and reward and popularity.
* HealingFactor: A limited one, like all Warriorborn, that lets him recover faster.
* MercyKill: To the young verminocitor who had stumbled across the Auroran encampment and was to be sent 'up the ropes.' He also states to Bridget that if she was taken as a hostage and her death was required, it would be clean and quick.
* PunchClockVillain: He's just doing his job, freely acknowledging that he's a murderer, and has no particular malice for any of the heroes, even after Gwen blows the head off the young Lieutenant he'd been mentoring -- like him, they're just doing their jobs.
* SergeantRock: Functions as this to Espira's Captain Smooth, and it's indicated that he was TheMentor to Espira when the former was just starting out.

[[folder: Captain Castillo]]

!! Captain Castillo

Captain of the fabled Auroran battlecruiser ''Itasca'', who serves as ''Predator's'' nemesis in ''The Aeronaut's Windlass.''

* TheAce: Clearly an extremely skilled captain, perhaps even the equal of Grimm himself; he doesn't put a foot wrong the entire book, his downfall only coming when he's outnumbered four to one--and even then he gives as hard as he gets. The crew of ''Predator'' are genuinely impressed by his ability.
* CoolAirship: The ''Itasca'' is noted as a very famous ship, and destroying it is considered a major morale-booster for the Albions even if its loss doesn't hurt the Armada all that much. It certainly lives up to its reputation, both as ''Itasca'' and [[spoiler: recommissioned as ''Belligerent'' in ''The Olympian Affair'']].
* EveryoneHasStandards: He works very hard to help rescue the stranded aeronauts of ''Thunderous''. According to Grimm, no aeronaut would ever willingly let another fall to the horrors of the surface.
* EvilCounterpart: To Grimm, although only in the sense that he's part of the Auroran Armada. He even wears his arm in a sling, just as Grimm does for most of the book.
* GoKartingWithBowser: Bayard mentions that the two of them play chess in ''The Olympian Affair''.
* GracefulLoser: Surrenders once he sees that victory or escape is no longer possible - and specifically surrenders to Grimm, recognising who was the ultimate architect of his defeat. Grimm notes that he could have fought on to a much bloodier end if he wanted, but didn't.
* PunchClockVillain: From what we see of him, he doesn't appear to be a bad guy at all, just on a different side.

!! Other
[[folder:Captain Ransom]]
!!Captain Calliope Ransom
The captain of the ''Mistshark'' and Grimm's ex-wife.

* AdvantageBall: In the climax, Ransom deals with [[spoiler: Madame Cavendish, and puts multiple layers of defense in place. Including explosives in the cabin floor and a second-in-command with orders to shoot ''her'' if she comes out of the cabin "acting weird."]] [[spoiler:By the sequel, Cavendish has apparently spent time reviewing her notes and uses Calliope's crew for leverage.]]
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Ransom is on the side of herself and her crew, and that's it. Anyone else is fair game to have the knife stuck in at some point.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: For all her flaws, she actually does care about Grimm (and ''Predator'', which was once her home), [[spoiler:As she tries to get Grimm to leave on a job so he and ''Predator'' are not there when the time will come for her to destroy the docks. She fires upon the ship last even though the ''Predator'' was closest to her position when her attack happened]]. She also cares very deeply about her crew, which Cavendish exploits.
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** Grimm notes that [[spoiler:her attack on Landing's port wouldn't include attacking civilians or non-merchant ships and non-Fleet ships. When she does attack, she only fires on legitimate targets that can help in Albion's economy or defense]].
** During ''The Olympian Affair'', [[spoiler:she, like Espira and Ciriaco, draws the line at wholesale slaughter of an established spire.]]
* ExtendedDisarming: She deliberately doesn't leave her weapons behind when boarding ''Predator''... just because it'll annoy Grimm to have to deal with her that much longer.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Grimm pays her back for sabotaging the ''Predator'' in the wind trials [[spoiler:by similarly sabotaging her ship, slowing her to a lesser speed and allowing the ''Predator'' to easily catch up]].
* PunchClockVillain: She's just doing what she's been paid for.
* TheRival: To Grimm, especially following a race in the past where she won by sabotaging ''Predator''. They were also married. Needless to say, that must have been a dysfunctional relationship.
* ShutUpHannibal: Is the only character in the book to successfully tell [[spoiler: Madame Cavendish]] to shut up.
* {{Troll}}: Spends most of her interactions with Grimm doing her best to annoy him as much as possible.

[[folder:Captain Ravenna]]
!!Capain Ravenna
Captain of the PAS ''Stormmaiden'' and influential member of the Pike Alliance fleet, introduced in ''The Olympian Affair''. A warriorborn and a [[TheDragonslayer hunter of dragons]]. Also a friend and lover to Captain Grimm.

* GoodCounterpart: To Madame Cavendish. Both are somewhat imperious and utterly obsessed with protocol, prone to reacting violently to insults, given the role of smoothing obstacles for their respective sides, and they're both classically attractive. The main difference is that Madame Cavendish is AxCrazy and takes breaches in protocol as an excuse to commit, while Gwen is perfectly sane, compassionate, and is only liable to demand an apology or satisfaction from those she believes to have been educated in the same proper manners as she has (in other words, those who she feels should know better).

* AdvantageBall: In the climax, Ransom deals with [[spoiler: Madame Cavendish, and puts multiple layers of defense in place. Including explosives in the cabin floor and a second-in-command with orders to shoot ''her'' if she comes out of the cabin "acting weird."]] [[spoiler:By the sequel, Cavendish has apparently spent time reviewing her notes and uses Callipe's crew for leverage.]]

** During ''The Olympian Affair, [[spoiler:she, like Espira and Ciriaco, draws the line at wholesale slaughter of an established spire.]]

* AdvantageBall: In the climax, Ransom deals with [[spoiler: Madame Cavendish, and puts multiple layers of defense in place. Including explosives in the cabin floor and a second-in-command with orders to shoot ''her'' if she comes out of the cabin "acting weird."]]

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: For all her flaws, she actually does care about Grimm (and ''Predator'', which was once her home), [[spoiler:As she tries to get Grimm to leave on a job so him and ''Predator'' are not there when the time will come for her to destroy the docks. She also fires upon the ship last even though the ''Predator'' was closest to her position when her attack happened]]. She also cares very deeply about her crew, which Cavendish exploits.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Grimm notes that [[spoiler:her attack on Landing's port wouldn't include attacking civilians or non-merchant ships and non-Fleet ships. When she does attack, she only fires on legitimate targets that can help in Albion's economy or defense]].

Captain of the PAS ''Stormmaiden'' and influential member of the Pike Alliance fleet, introduced in ''The Olympian Affair''. A warriorborn and a hunter of dragons. Also a friend and lover to Captain Grimm.

* MsFanservice: She dresses in daring leather outfits adorned with dragon feathers and is unabashedly sexually aggressive.

A Warriorborn Auroran Sergeant, and Espira's de facto second-in-command, being the most featured villainous character after Cavendish and Espira.

AnimalEyes: She is a warriorborn so she has feline eyes.
PirateGirl: Like most Piker aeronauts, she acts as a privateer against the designated enemies of her home fleet.
SuperSoldier: She has the enhanced strength, speed and senses of a warriorborn, besides being a skilled fighter in her own right.

* TheAce: He's an exceptionally skilled privateer captain who's the cause of 1/4 of the Auroran merchant fleet's losses in the previous two years, has the absolute loyalty of his very well trained (if somewhat disreputable looking) crew, is an intelligent political observer, a good judge of character (which saves his life when dealing with Cavendish), a decent fighter with a sword or a gauntlet [[spoiler: or a pistol (which he went to considerable trouble to master)]], and is inferred to be a tactician of truly legendary skill by an initially suspicious Gwen (who thought that with [[HeroWithBadPublicity his reputation,]] it was far more likely that he was a traitor). His main problem is that he's got a chronic case of HonourBeforeReason, which leads him to turn down the flag-captaincy of ''Valiant'', a heavy cruiser in Bayard's squadron (flag-captain, in this context, is only one rank below Commodore, and two below the Admiralty) in part because it wouldn't come with a full retraction of his unjust dismissal for cowardice.

* LethalChef: The captain is not the cook, thank goodness. It's partly deliberate, so no one asks him to cook unless it's serious.

* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: Even the villains know he was kicked out of the Fleet for cowardice thanks to the NoodleIncident aboard the ''Perilous''. Grimm himself even remarks on it. Of course, as events prove, he is a very long way from being a coward, and it's hinted that he was pressured into taking the fall for the ''Perilous'' incident, when the real culprit was the scion of a very politically powerful family.

* TheStrategist: He's an exceptionally talented commander, with his figuring out the true aim of the Auroran attack in a matter of moments in the midst of a firefight being described as putting him on a par with the legendary fleet admirals of the past. However, the person inwardly noting this, Gwen, initially considers it a reason to mistrust him, on the grounds that the alternative is that he was in on the attack and that she's been given very good reason to believe that there's an Albion mole in place working for the Aurorans -- a profile that Grimm's reputation as a privateer captain of a scruffy ship who was cashiered by the Fleet for cowardice fits better than the tactical genius one. Once she gets to know him and sees him in action, she realises that he's not a mole and really is that good (his discharge having been politically motivated).

* FantasticRacism: On the receiving end, as Gwen's POV implies, if to a lesser degree than Ciriaco is in Aurora (unlike Ciriaco, he can achieve high rank, but Gwen notes that none of the most eligible female bachelors would consider him as a prospect unless he were the heir of House Lancaster).
* IJustWantToBeNormal: His feelings towards his gifts are unclear, but he dislikes the distance it causes with his peers. So he often pretends to be normal when he knows he isn't, pretending to be weak and not eating enough for his accelerated metabolism.

* IShallTauntYou: Usually sings when entering a combat dive, but responds to a dive into the mist to escape ''Itasca'' in the prologue with what sounds like mocking laughter. Cue Grimm inwardly wishing that his ship (which he vaguely, and correctly, suspects is sentient) was a little more sensible.

* SapientShip: Grimm has vaguely suspected that ''Predator'' is alive for a long time, but it's finally proven when Folly has a conversation with the ship, and tells it how to sense her master's collection. [[spoiler: In ''The Olympian Affair'', she starts talking to Grimm directly. Grimm being Grimm, he's stunned, then just rolls with it]].

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: His first scenes are him disguised as a low rank citizen talking with a street vendor on very friendly terms. He then shows nothing but respect for Benedict, despite the man being warrior-born, and subtly orders Gwen to help protect House Tagwynn during their duel.

* KingIncognito: He regularly dons civilian's clothes to wander around parts of his spire. He frequents one restaurant whose owners have regularly refused to move to working on his kitchen staff because he loves their cooking. They refer to him simply as "Addy." He encounters Gwen in such a form and she doesn't recognize him at all.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: He hides his intellect and ruthlessness behind a friendly, harmless appearance of a dotty old man who mostly just fills ceremonial functions.

The commander of the Auroran marines infiltrating Spire Albion. The secondary villain of the first book, [[PunchClockVillain who's just doing his job]]. [[spoiler: In ''The Olympian Affair'', he performs a HeelFaceTurn after becoming utterly disillusioned with what his superiors are willing to do - and make him do]].

* MyCountryRightOrWrong: He's a loyal son of Aurora, and a good man despite the often horrible things he's asked to do. In ''The Olympian Affair'', he becomes increasingly disillusioned with what he's asked to do, and later downright furious at how his sincere and idealistic patriotism has been used by amoral superiors to treat him as an attack dog. Cue HeelFaceTurn.

* MercyKill: To the young verminocitor who had stumbled across the Auroran encampment and was to be sent 'up the ropes.'

* CoolAirship: The ''Itasca'' is noted as a very famous ship, and destroying it is considered a major morale-booster for the Albions even if its loss doesn't hurt the Armada all that much. It certainly lives up to its reputation.

* GracefulLoser: Surrenders once he sees that victory or escape is no longer possible. Grimm notes that he could have fought on to a much bloodier end if he wanted, but didn't.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: For all her flaws, she actually does care about Grimm (and ''Predator'', which was once her home), [[spoiler:As she tries to get Grimm to leave on a job so him and ''Predator'' are not there when the time will come for her to destroy the docks. She also fires upon the ship last even though the ''Predator'' was closest to her position when her attack happened]].

* CuttingTheKnot: Shows extreme tendencies towards this as a primary problem-solving method. When detailing the team's various duties, Spirearch Addison explains that Gwen's job will be "to avoid, overcome, or knock down any obstructions that may block [Master Ferus's] path."

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She's arrogant, a bit of a ControlFreak, not always the best with people in general by her own admission, and frequently blunt to the point of rudeness. However, she is also kind (though she admits she isn't always very good at it), has a supreme distaste for bullies, loyal to and protective of her friends, and extremely brave. Additionally, her obsession with protocol also relates to her habit of extending all courtesy and a sincere apology to Rowl, a cat, when she realises that she has not treated him with the respect that he is due as someone technically as noble as she is, seeking to make amends. She's also pretty self-aware to begin, blithely remarking to Bridget early on that she'd forgotten that Bridget hadn't been raised to be "devious and under-handed" like her and Benedict, and after the final battle comforts Bridget and explains to her that she's not very good at making friends because of her negative traits.

** The ''Perilous'' incident is also indicated to have been this, with it being remarked that he could have fought his dishonourable discharge -- apparently on very reasonable grounds -- but didn't for the sake of the Fleet.

* SapientShip: Grimm has vaguely suspected that ''Predator'' is alive for a long time, but it's finally proven when Folly has a conversation with the ship, and tells it how to sense her master's collection.

* TheChessmaster: He is an excellent judge of character. He will use whoever and whatever is available to protect his Spire from destruction. He does not think less of warrior-born, men who have been dishonorably discharged from service, a young lady who has a hot temper, a young lady who talks with cats, cats, and etherealists. He further respects the criminal elements and [[spoiler:knew ahead to bribe the guilds to make sure Habble Landing's citizens are safely evacuated should some attack happen there]]. Each one of these players or actions play a key role in the end [[spoiler:to mitigate the damage from fire bombing in Landing and taking down one of the enemy's oldest and most powerful ships]].

* GoodIsNotSoft: It is at one pointed noted, by Grimm when he works out just how dangerous Addison is, that a book titled ''Means of Execution Through the Ages'' is carefully placed at eye level of anyone entering his study.

!!Spire Aurora
[[folder:Madame Cavendish]]
!! Madame Sycorax Cavendish
A very dangerous and utterly insane etherealist in league with "the Enemy", and principal antagonist of the first book.

* DemonicPossession: A minion of some kind for the Enemy, though it's unclear just how much free will she retains.

The commander of the Auroran marines infiltrating Spire Albion. The secondary villain of the first book.

* AFatherToHisMen: He cares about his marines deeply.

* CultureJustifiesAnything: Like most Aurorans, he justifies his actions as other Spires not deserving the prosperity they enjoy while Aurora suffers -- he sees the Albions as thieving rats because they became prosperous by building a new shipping dock for their spire, allowing more easy and plentiful trade.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He dislikes Madame Cavendish, and considers killing her when his mission is done, relenting as the leaders of Spire Aurora find her too valuable -- and he's not entirely sure that he could manage it before she retaliated. He also refuses to have a captive fed to the silkweavers while alive.
* EvilCounterpart: To Grimm, being a skilled commander who's AFatherToHisMen and an OfficerAndAGentleman.
* OfficerAndAGentleman: A villainous variation, who's essentially just doing his job. The associated mannerisms help keep him alive around Cavendish.

** He also has a very sincere and deep-rooted objection to rape, taking a moment to inform Bridget -- who was his prisoner and had assumed that she would be 'raped and murdered' -- that he'd gut any man who laid a hand on her, and if that she did have to die, he'd kill her quickly and cleanly.
** He absolutely despises Cavendish and Sark (the former, at least, being absolutely vile), bluntly responding to Espira's comment that he should be glad they're on the same side that he absolutely isn't, and later quietly floating the possibility of murdering the former at a convenient moment. It's also hinted that [[spoiler: he intentionally left Bridget's weapons behind to give Bridget and Folly half a chance against Cavendish and Sark]].

* FantasticRacism: On the receiving end, as indicated by Espira's thoughts when he briefly wishes that he was a Warriorborn like Ciriaco with the associated stamina, before noting that if he were, he wouldn't have reached officer rank.

** To Grimm: He's an travelling airship privateer captain who cares deeply about his men, his ship, his honor, and his spire. He let himself be drummed out of the service to protect others. She's a lunatic etherealist (redundant) who's themed after and works with spiders, who tend to let people come to them, and seems to care about nothing but herself and manners. Both of them are highly intelligent strategists who command others, but are personally capable of doing violence. Grimm has a stormy past with his more amoral ex-wife, and Cavendish has a lot of mutual enmity with her former teacher...
** Ferus. He's her former teacher, he can be eccentrically charming, and hates to use violence. By contrast, Cavendish creeps out everyone she meets, and constantly has to restrain herself from harming others. Like him, she's very good at it.

* AdvantageBall: When dealing with [[spoiler: Madame Cavendish]], she has multiple layers of defense in place, including explosives in the cabin floor and a second-in-command with orders to shoot ''her'' if she comes out of the cabin "acting weird."

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Grimm notes that [[spoiler:her attack on Landing's port wouldn't including attacking civilians or non-merchant ships and non-Fleet ships. When she does attack, she only fires on legitimate targets that can help in Albion's economy or defense]].