History Characters / TheQueensThief

!'''Sophos'''

%%* BadLiar

* HenpeckedHusband: After the events in the second book he had to hide out his disgrace on his home estate, where his wife was ''spectcularly'' unimpressed with his attempt to marry Attolia. Can't blame her, really.

* BigBrotherIsWatching: He ''is'' Big Brother, as Attolia's spymaster.
* BiTheWay: He’s explicitly said to have many lovers, one a woman who betrays him in ''The King of Attolia,'' and implicitly [[spoiler:Teleus, in ''Return of the Thief''.]]

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Relius is his closest friend. This doesn't stop Teleus from carrying out his duty and arresting him when Relius fails.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Teleus.

* NoNameGiven: Thus far he has only been named as Minister of War or Eugenides' father.

* GoneHorriblyRight: Thinks this in ''King of Attolia''. Ornon had always wanted to see Eugenides humiliated, but seeing him swallow ever insult and humiliation hurled at him by the Attolians soon makes him seriously worried. (It's all according to plan.)

* Naytheist: For much of the second book.

* LikeBrotherAndSister: With [[spoiler: her cousin, Eugenides.]]

* ManipulativeBastard: His method of governance is to pit the barons against each other, raise taxes, declare war to unite the country against him and refill people's coffers with plunder, rinse and repeat.

* BadassArmy: She has one. She also leads it.

* GallowsHumor: When [[spoiler:Eugenides]] is outraged at an ambassador, she defuses it by offering him her goblet--which was how she killed her first husband. He finds this absolutely hilarious.

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Summed up best in the conversation she has with Eugenides in the boat when he makes his proposal, with her assuming that Attolia would become a tributary state of Eddis to be bled dry, taxed into oblivion, with the peasants left to starve while the king was well-fed.
--> '''Eugenides:''' Would that matter to you, if the queen was also well-fed?\\

* TheStrategist

* CultureClash: Frequently with Costis--as a slave he would never presume to sit before a free man, and as an Attolian Costis waits for his guest to sit first.

'''Eugenides'''

'''Eddis [[spoiler:Helen]]'''

* DreamingOfThingsToCome: The fourth book reveals that the gods have been sending her dreams [[spoiler:of an eruption of the Sacred Mountain that will kill everyone if she doesn't empty the country to the lowlands]]. It's not going to happen for another century, but given the event she has to start fixing it ''now''.

'''The Minister of War'''

'''Ambassador Ornon'''

'''Attolia [[spoiler:Irene]]'''

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething

'''Teleus'''

* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Relius.

'''Relius'''

'''Costis Ormentiedes'''

'''Aristogiton'''

'''Baron Erondites'''

'''Erondites the Younger (Dite)'''

'''Sejanus'''

'''Sounis'''

'''The Magus'''

'''Pol'''


'''Sophos'''

'''Ambiades'''

'''Nahuseresh'''

'''Kamet'''

* ObfuscatingStupidity: To her Mede ambassador. Leads to a CrowningMomentOfAwesome.

* StepfordSmiler: Inverted. After being wounded in ''King of Attolia'', he makes ''such'' a whining, hammy ruckus about how much pain he's in all the way across the palace that everyone is just exasperated or amused. It's only when the extent of the injury is revealed that Costis realizes that his childish complaining was a far more effective smokescreen than stoically gritting his teeth would have been. (A point further made when Eugenides is convinced to stoically grit his teeth, and only then does Irene faint.)

** When Costis makes his "which is more unlikely, your deaths or an heir?" comment, Eugenides finds it ''hilarious.'' [[spoiler: Of course, there's an extra layer of amusement for him because everyone in the palace thinks he has never once visited his wife's bedroom, which is not actually true.]]

** When Costis makes his "which is more unlikely, your deaths or an heir?" comment, Eugenides finds it ''hilarious.''

* DidISayThatOutLoud: Costis' response to the king saying the way he can get out of serving him is if both he and Attolia were killed and he instead served their heir, an option the king says is unlikely. To which Costis asks if he means both of them dying or them making a heir. It's only after the words leave his mouth that he realizes what a huge mistake he made in saying them...

* {{Determinator}}: As Attolia points out in the fourth book, Gen will whine, he'll complain, he'll wriggle and procrastinate, but in spite of all that he will ''never quit''.

* ImpossibleThief: [[spoiler: He goes from a lowly thief in the prisons of Sounis at the beginning of the series to the sovereign of ''all three countries by the end of the series; Eddis, Sounis and Attolia. Though to be fair, he was in prison by his own choice and only pretending to be "lowly".]]

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: When Costis makes his "which is more unlikely, your deaths or an heir?" comment, Eugenides finds it ''hilarious.''

* UndyingLoyalty: To Attolia. [[spoiler:Even after she imprisons and tortures him.]]

* HonorBeforeReason: Seems to be a theme with members of the Guard, but even ''they'' think Costis takes it too far.

* FirstPersonSmartass: In the first book only.

* ScarsAreForever: In escaping from the Attolians in ''The Thief'', a flying stone chip leaves a feather-shaped cut on his cheek. The magus sympathetically hopes it'll heal cleanly, but Eugenides recognizes it as a mark of approval from his patron god (albeit a bloody one).

* ShootTheDog: When he and Eugenides are taken prisoner, he uses his bonds to strangle his son until Attolia stops it--not because he hates Eugenides, but because it would be better for Eddis.

* BadLiar
* BigDamnHeroes

* HateSink: Oh so very much. He first appears in ''The Queen of Attolia'', the book where Attolia is revealed to be much more human than originally expected but not until ''after'' she cuts off the beloved main character's hand, so he mainly seems to exist so that the readers have someone to hate more than her. It works, as he's easily the most hated character in the entire series and as a smug, rude, sexist, KarmaHoudini who stirred up more trouble than just about any other single character, he deserves every bit of it.
** He's canonically this InUniverse as well, as Gen makes it clear that he blames and hates Nahuseresh for the loss of his hand, not Attolia.
* KarmaHoudini: So far he hasn't been truly punished for his misdeeds, apart from being disgraced for a time after the second book.

* {{Badass}}: In many ways. He's an excellent fighter, but his greatest strength is how much of a clever, conniving bastard he is.

* {{Badass}}

* {{Badass}}: Well, he's a soldier and squad leader for a reason.

* {{Badass}}

* QuitWhining: When he spends a little too long lamenting [[spoiler:his lost hand and the resulting war]] and visits the temple, the ''gods themselves'' tell him to get over it.

* SherlockScan

* [[spoiler:StalkerWithACrush: To Attolia.]]

* TricksterMentor: Towards Sophos, and towards some degree towards Costis.

* ModestRoyalty: She prefers soldiers' clothing and only wears finery when she's forced to by her attendants.

* DidISayThatOutLoud: Costis' response to [[spoiler: Eugneides]] saying the way he can get out of serving him is if both he and Attolia were killed and he instead served their heir, an option [[spoiler: Eugenides]] says is unlikely. To which Costis asks if he means both of them dying or them making a heir. It's only after the words leave his mouth that he realizes what a huge mistake he made in saying them...

* SmugSnake: He thinks himself very clever, smiling even as he's accused of treason. Unfortunately for him, his

* ImpoverishedPatrician: His family was disgraced a generation ago.

* ComesGreatResponsibility: As he tells Phresine, he has to keep his distaste for killing people a secret because he'll have to do it whether he wants to or not, [[spoiler:being the King]].

* CowardlyLion[=/=]TheSoCalledCoward: He doesn't like fighting which makes people tend to assume that he's a coward who isn't good at it. [[UnderestimatingBadassery They are very wrong]].

* [[spoiler:ReluctantRuler]]: [[spoiler: He married his wife because he loved her, not because he wanted her throne.]]

* [[ScrewThisIndexIHaveTropes Screw The Rules, I'm Eugenides!]]

* TookALevelInBadass

* ShootTheDog: When he and Eugenides are taken prisoner, he uses his bonds in an attempt to strangle his son until Attolia stops it--not because he hates Eugenides, but because it would be better for Eddis.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: He tries to win over the barons with an idealistic speech about how they need to ally with Eddis and Attolia. It doesn't work. [[spoiler:So he shoots the chief conspirator against him very dead and asks for a new vote. They confirm him as King unanimously.]]

* ComesGreatResponsibility: During the fourth book, he realizes that he's done his family, servants, and country a huge disservice by not putting any effort into being a plausible, intimidating heir to his uncle.

* BadassArmy: She has one.

* TheHighQueen

* MeaningfulName: Of the ironic variety.

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething

* [[TookALevelInBadass Took Another Level in Badass]]

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking
* {{Badass}}

* AfraidOfBlood: [[spoiler:Eugenides]]'s blood, at least.
* ArrangedMarriage: In her backstory.
* {{Badass}}

* DefrostingIceQueen: A major plot point in "The Queen of Attolia".

* GallowsHumor: When [[spoiler:Eugenides]] is outraged at an ambassador, she defuses it by offering him her goblet--which was how she killed her first husband. [[spoiler:Eugenides]] finds this hilarious.

* KickTheDog

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking
* {{Badass}}

* HonorBeforeReason
* PleaseSpareHimMyLiege

* BadLiar

* DiplomaticImpunity: He can get away with a lot because a wise ruler is reluctant to insult a Mede ambassador and give them even a flimsy pretext for invasion.