History Characters / TheGoblinEmperor

* GutturalGrowler: He has a deep, gravelly voice [[VocalDissonance remarkably at odds with his demeanor and appearance otherwise]]. ''[[Literature/TheCemeteriesOfAmalo The Witness for the Dead]]'' reveals that it's due to damage from a serious respiratory disease he had when he was younger.

* HurtingHero: Despite grief, depression, and the inherently upsetting nature of witnessing for the dead, he carries on and does his best.

The older of Maia's two half-sisters and last surviving child of Varenechibal's second marriage, making her Prince Idra's full aunt.

* PickOnSomeoneYourOwnSize: Despite his skill and experience as a soldier, he has no compunction against assaulting unarmed teenagers. [[spoiler: Fortunately, Csevet and Maia both survive.]]

* ObnoxiousEntitledHousewife: By all accounts she was never terribly pleasant, but after her marriage to Varenechibel she got worse, especially once it became clear she wasn't going to get the political power she thought the marriage would bring her. She spends most of her time on the page contriving ways to be offended and making as large a scene as possible. Explaining that she is now a ''dowager'' empress and that her continued priviliges and presence at court are merely courtesies is one of the early headaches Maia has to deal with.

* AccentOnTheWrongSyllable: She makes a point of teaching her son how to properly pronounce her name according to her people's customs, not the elves's, with the stress on the first syllable, not the second.

* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: His temper occaisionally lead him to act against the law as written and order his preferences done. This is particularly frowned upon in the Ethuveraz, as the Emperor is supposed to be the ultimate arbiter and embodiment of the law - if he had wanted to do something against the law he should have committed to changing the law.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: He was horrified after one of his assaults left Maia with permeant scars and worked hard to keep from striking him after that.

* ResentfulGuardian: He deeply resented being stuck with Maia away from the court, his wife, and any chances of professional advancement, and made sure Maia knew it. (However, Setheris was relegated because he had alienated Varenechibel with an ill-advised attempt at political maneuvering - Maia was just a handy scapegoat.)

* MyBelovedSmother: To Idra, even though she has little to do with the day-to-day raising of the child. [[spoiler:She tries to set herself up as his regent during the coup attempt.]] As Indra explains, the main problem is that her society denies her any formal power due to her sex, so she has to exert power through her connections to her children.

* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler:His mother and Chaver had Maia at their mercy but then their coup on Idra's behalf fell apart as soon as Idra noted that he wanted no part of it.]]

* HeroOfAnotherStory: We get glimpses of his adventures as as wandering investigator-slash-cynical-burned-out-ex-priest, but only that. He gets more focus in ''The Witness for the Dead'', which focuses on him.

* HyperCompetentSidekick: He goes from being a courier to the emperor's secretary and personal aide over night and is well up to the challenge while Maia gets brought up to speed.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's an obstreperous reactionary curmudgeon who vocally disagrees with Maia's progressive policy goals, but his disagreement is based purely on his personal convictions, not a cynical plot to accrue more power. Before the story takes place, he repeatedly argued with Varenechibel that Maia should be brought out of exile and allowed into court life, not because he expected any sort of future political gain (or even to succeed in convincing him), but simply because it was wrong to punish Maia for being born.

[[folder:Prince Idra]]
The first-born child and only son of Prince Nemolis Drazhar, the first-born son of Varenechibel the Fourth. He was to have become Emperor someday if not for the death of his father and grandfather in the crash of the ''Wisdom of Choharo''. A boy of fourteen, he is more knowledgeable about court than his eighteen-year-old uncle, Maia Drazhar/Edrehasivar VII and many would prefer him to be emperor instead. [[spoiler:Idra himself has no desire to be emperor.]]

[[folder: Varenechibel IV]]

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's an obstreperous reactionary curmudgeon who vocally disagrees with Maia's progressive policy goals, but his disagreement is based purely on his personal convictions, not a cynical plot to accrue more power. Before the story takes place, he repeatedly argued with Varenechibel that Maia should be brought out of exile and allowed into court life, not because he expected any sort of future political gain (or even to succeed in convincing him), but simply because it was wrong to punish Maia simply for being born.

* AltarDiplomacy: She is one of the Great Avar's (the ruler of a powerful kingdom to th e north) legitimate daughters, and was married to Varenechibel in the hopes of improving diplomatic relations between the two. In the short term it [[UnwantedSpouse didn't work at all]], but with Maia's ascendancy perhaps more good will come of it than anyone thought.