Line #491 Characters/Dragaera


1	A character sheet for Steven Brust's ''Literature/{{Dragaera}}'' series.
2
3	[[foldercontrol]]
4
5	!Easterners (a.k.a. Humans)
6
7	[[folder: Vlad Taltos]]
8	The protagonist of the novels within the present timeline. Belongs to the House of the Jhereg because they're the only ones who sell noble titles to [[FantasticRacism Easterners]].
9
10	* AntiHero: Vlad has a definite cruel and selfish side to his character, but is loyal to his friends and generally makes the world slightly better by the end of each novel.
11	* BladeEnthusiast: He's carrying way less weaponry in ''Issola'' than he used to. This consists of a "mere" five knives and one sword.
12	* CharacterDevelopment
13	* CombatPragmatist
14	* ContractOnTheHitman: During the war with Laris in ''Yendi'', then from ''Phoenix'' onwards, and briefly in ''Jhereg''. [[spoiler: ''Hawk'' sees the Jhereg Council remove the price from Vlad's soul, but the Left Hand opening its own bids on his life.]]
15	* DeadpanSnarker
16	* [[spoiler:EmpathicWeapon: Godslayer, which can change from a sword to a dagger, heal Vlad, and nullify or turn back magic; is destined to kill Vlad's patron goddess Verra; and contains the soul of Lady Teldra.]]
17	* FantasticRacism: It's defined his whole life, being a despised human in a majority-Dragaeran society. Later books often feature, to greater or lesser degrees, Vlad's realization that he himself has become more Dragaeran than human in personality. [[spoiler:And always was one, in soul.]]
18	* FirstPersonSmartass: Essentially the TropeNamer.
19	* HiddenWeapons: During his time with the Organization, Vlad carried so many lethal "surprises" hidden all over his person that, when captured, his wiser enemies found it safer to re-dress him than to try to find them all.
20	* HitmanWithAHeart
21	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold
22	* TheMafia
23	* LittleHeroBigWar: Every book in a way, but especially ''Dragon''.
24	* LyingByOmission: He is required to testify "under the orb" (that is, under magical lie detection) when a neighboring boss disappears. Among other applications of this trope, Vlad tells the prosecutors "as far as I'm concerned, he committed suicide." [[spoiler:By treating Vlad like he wanted to die.]]
25	* MeaningfulName: "Táltós" is Hungarian for a witch or magic user, which he is.
26	* MustHaveCaffeine: Must Have Klava (Hungarian egg coffee)
27	* PragmaticHero: Best illustrated in ''Teckla'' where, while he admits to wanting the Empire overthrown, Vlad also sees (correctly) that the revolution is doomed and refuses to support it. At the end he uses money he's accumulated to buy the disputed neighborhood and put it under his protection.
28	* ProfessionalKiller
29	* ScrewYouElves: His primary motivation for much of his life.
30	* SupremeChef
31	* {{Tykebomb}}
32	[[/folder]]
33
34	[[folder: Cawti]]
35	Vlad's (now estranged) wife, another Easterner, formerly one half of Adrilankha's greatest team of assassins.
36
37	* ActionGirl
38	* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Norathar, the future Dragon Empress.
39	* HitmanWithAHeart
40	* InLoveWithTheMark: [[spoiler: Well, she only fell for Vlad after she'd killed him and had his friends kill her in revenge.]]
41	* LaResistance: She joined it. (Note, however, that they work more like a real-world radical group, organizing protests and such, than your standard fantasy rebels.)
42	* LovelyAngels: During her days as one half of a two-woman assassin team.
43	* MysteriousPast: She doesn't use a {{UsefulNotes/Patronymic}} anymore, and WordOfGod has mentioned some ''very'' interesting hints about her ancestry.
44	* RedBaron: The Dagger of the Jhereg.
45	* RetiredBadass: After deciding killing people for money is probably a bad thing.
46	* SoapboxSadie: She comes across this way to Vlad sometimes after joining what amounts to a group of Marxist revolutionaries.
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder: Noish-pa]]
50	Vlad's grandfather and teacher in the ways of witchcraft and swordplay.
51
52	* {{Familiar}}: His [[CatsAreMagic cat]] Ambrus is implied to be his bonded companion.
53	* TheMentor: He teaches Vlad both magic and melee.
54	* OldMaster: As old as he is he has much experience in the subjects that he teaches Vlad.
55	%%%%* MoralityPet: For Vlad.
56	* UnnamedParent: "Noish-Pa" is simply Fenarian (=Hungarian) for "Grandfather".
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	!Jhereg
60
61	[[folder: Loiosh]]
62	Vlad's {{Familiar}}, a [[ShoulderSizedDragon jhereg]] -- a small, venomous flying lizard, something like a miniature [[OurDragonsAreDifferent wyvern]]. He's fully sentient, and spends most of his time making snarky telepathic comments to Vlad. Raised from an egg by Vlad, he's completely at home in cities and among people, less so in the wild.
63
64	* BondCreatures: Telepathic bond-mate to Vlad
65	* {{Familiar}}: Every witch is expected to have one as a part of his training; Loiosh is Vlad's.
66	* HatesBeingTouched: Having strangers touch him - or worse, ''pet'' him - is very distasteful to Loiosh, to the point of him reacting to a sorceress's touch with a mental "''Ewwwwww!''". Only people he really, really trusts and respects are allowed to handle him.
67	* IntellectualAnimal
68	* PhraseCatcher: Expect the phrase "Shut up, Loiosh," to show up at least once per book.
69	* ServileSnarker: The snark comes from growing up around Vlad; 'servile' is from being a "familiar".
70	* ShoulderSizedDragon: Jhereg aren't "Dragaeran" dragons-- not enough tentacles-- but would qualify on Earth.
71	* SimpleMindedWisdom: Loiosh isn't as clever as Vlad, and his motivations are fairly basic (safety and food), but he's a lot more sensible. A key part of his job is warning Vlad when his emotions are interfering with his thinking or are too stirred up for him to safely perform witchcraft.
72	* SnarkyNonhumanSidekick: Let's see... snarks, is a flying 'lizard', calls Vlad "Boss"....
73	* TalkingAnimal: Telepathically, and (usually) only to Vlad.
74	* TheWatson: We aren't always privy to the details of Vlad's plans, but he makes sure to pass them on to Loiosh.
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[folder: Rocza]]
78	A wild-born female jhereg which Vlad summoned to help him when in dire straits, Rocza opted to remain with "the Provider" and become Loiosh's mate. She doesn't understand "soft ones" or their ways very well, so Loiosh acts as a middleman when Vlad needs to communicate with her.
79
80	* CountryMouse: Having lived wild before pairing with Loiosh, Rocza enjoys Vlad's time as a fugitive in the wilderness a lot more than her mate ''or'' Vlad.
81	* MoreDeadlyThanTheMale: Female jhereg are larger than males, and Loiosh sometimes has to remind Rocza to only ''distract'' Vlad's opponents, not necessarily poison them to death.
82	* ShoulderSizedDragon
83	* {{Xenofiction}}: Portions of ''Athyra'' are written from Rocza's point of view.
84
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	!Gods
88
89	[[folder: Verra, the Demon Goddess]]
90	The god of Elder Sorcery, Verra has been the patron goddess of Vlad's family for a long time. She was once a slave of the [[EldritchAbomination Jenoine]], but rebelled against them and helped to force them off the planet. She appears as a very tall Dragaeran woman with an extra joint on each finger.
91
92	* TheChessmaster: She's playing some kind of very long game, but nobody knows the details yet.
93	* DeadpanSnarker: Even -- actually, ''especially'' -- in council with the other gods.
94	* TheHecateSisters: Verra and her two sisters are the gods of the three branches of magic.
95	* InterspeciesRomance: Well, they're both gods, but her lover Barlen appears to be some kind of reptilian...thing.
96	** Also, Adron.
97	%%* JerkassGod: ''Maybe'' a JerkWithAHeartOfGold to some degree, but it's still really up in the air at this point.
98	* ManipulativeBastard: She's quite willing to treat mortals as pawns to get what she wants.
99	* OppositesAttract: Barlen is said to be Verra's opposite in some kind of metaphysical sense.
100	* RebelliousSpirit: Flouts the rules other gods follow.
101	* RightHandCat: A fluffy white one.
102	* SlapSlapKiss: Barlen is Verra's lover and her nemesis.
103	* TheScottishTrope: The only one of the gods who doesn't believe in it. At one point, the Jenoine are described as "Those We Do Not Name Except For Verra Who Does."
104	* WellIntentionedExtremist: Verra does plenty of ethically dubious things, but it's hard to argue with her apparent goal of keeping the Jenoine off the planet.
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	!Dragaerans
108
109	[[folder: Kragar]]
110	Vlad's secretary, known for being so mysterious and gifted with uncanny stealth that he is a major source of EpilepticTrees, including the belief that he is actually the legendary assassin, Mario Greymist [[spoiler: which he's not]]. Before joining House Jhereg, he was a Dragonlord.
111
112	* CursedWithAwesome: His amazing but unintentional ability to fade into the background made it impossible to command troops like a proper Dragon. It comes in very handy as a Jhereg, though.
113	* DeadpanSnarker
114	* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: the House of Dragon isn't really treated as evil, but Kragar is an example of a character who is an exile because he doesn't at all fit his group's [[PlanetOfHats "hat"]]. Dragons are known for their ambition and military prowess -- while he's no pacifist (he works for [[TheMafia Vlad]], after all), he is totally unambitious and did something that got him booted out of his House. Exactly ''what'' he did is shrouded in mystery.
115	* MysteriousPast: What did he do to get himself kicked out, anyway? And why does Aliera hate him? And where ''does'' his permanent stealth mode come from?
116	* TheNondescript
117	* RedHerring
118	* SassySecretary: A rare male version.
119	* ServileSnarker
120	* StealthHiBye: All the time, unintentionally.
121	* UndyingLoyalty: Despite the wealth, fame, and power that betraying Vlad would gain him, despite the fact that Vlad deliberately broke the rules of the Organization that Kragar still belongs to, and despite the fact that getting caught helping Vlad or even having contact with him would lead directly to his torture and death, Kragar has Vlad's back any time the latter is back in Adrilankha.
122	* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: He can be standing right in front of you, and you won't notice he's there until he speaks. And he can't turn it off.
123	[[/folder]]
124
125	[[folder: Kiera the Thief]]
126	By far the greatest thief in Adrilankha and possibly the whole Empire. One of Vlad's oldest friends, she was the first Dragaeran to ever treat him with kindness and played a role in getting him to join the [[TheMafia "business end"]] of House Jhereg. [[spoiler:She is actually an alter ego of Sethra Lavode.]]
127
128	* ClassyCatBurglar
129	* [[spoiler: GodWasMyCoPilot]]
130	* TheMentor
131	* PhantomThief
132	* StealthExpert
133	* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Not within the series, but within the Jhereg itself -- the group is divided between the Left Hand, an all-female group of magic users who deal in illegal spells and the Right Hand, an almost all-male group of assassins and professional criminals. Kiera is one of the few women in the latter group.
134	[[/folder]]
135
136	[[folder: Morrolan e'Drien]]
137	A high-ranking Dragonlord ([[spoiler:third in line after Aliera and Norathar]]) who Vlad meets in ''Taltos''. He hired Vlad as a security consultant for his [[OminousFloatingCastle home]], and they gradually become friends.
138
139	* BerserkButton: Insult his honor, or the memory of his uncle [[TheEvilPrince Adron]], and he will slice you to ribbons. (Although if you're lucky you won't be ''permanently'' dead.) Raid the town he calls home and he will sacrifice your entire village to Verra.
140	* DeadpanSnarker
141	* [[spoiler: DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: ''The Viscount of Adrilankha'', Chapter the Ninety-Fifth: ''How Morrolan Battled a God''.]]
142	* [[spoiler:DoNotTauntCthulhu -- Morrolan gets the attention of the aforementioned god by urinating on a statue of him.]]
143	* DarkIsNotEvil: He wears black all the time and lives in Castle Black -- black being the colour of magic -- but is not evil. Well, mostly.
144	* EmpathicWeapon: Blackwand, a longsword. Vlad describes its aura as [[BloodKnight very aggressive]] and somehow feminine. It seems to aid Morrolan's sorcery, and can act on its own while he's unconscious.
145	* HonorBeforeReason: He was willing to start a second Dragon-Jhereg War rather than give up a guest in his house -- and was willing to die to prevent it, since his death would allow said guest to be killed without impugning his honor.
146	* IGaveMyWord: No one dies in Castle Black. Permanently, that is.
147	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He gets to PetTheDog a couple of times per book.
148	* MagicKnight: One of the greatest sorcerers in the Empire, and an even ''better'' swordsman.
149	* MosesInTheBulrushes, leading to...
150	* ObliviousAdoption: Morrolan was around 100 years old by the time he finally learned that he wasn't an Easterner. He never seemed particularly curious about his abnormal height and agelessness.
151	* OminousFloatingCastle: Floating castles are out of fashion now, but he built one just to show off -- though he might not have if he hadn't been forced to levitate the under-construction building to escape an army.
152	* PretendPrejudice: He was raised by humans, so he's nowhere near as much of a [[FantasticRacism bigot]] towards them as most Dragaerans.
153	* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: He's fine starting a war, and leading the armies, just to get a sword back that was stolen from him. (Vlad thinks it could have just been settled with a personal duel, but the challenge had already been issued by the time he has a chance to mention it. Both sides were just fine with the war, anyway.)
154	* VitriolicBestBuds: With Aliera.
155	[[/folder]]
156
157	[[folder: Aliera e'Kieron]]
158	Morrolan's cousin, an even higher-ranking Dragonlord who displays traditional Dragon traits (i.e. being a ruthless, self-absorbed {{jerkass}}) to an even greater extent than he does.
159
160	* ActionGirl
161	* BerserkButton: Don't insult her late father, Adron. And don't mention her height. Seriously, just don't.
162	* {{BFS}}: For a while she was using her ancestor Kieron's greatsword, which was longer than she was tall.
163	* BlackMagicianGirl: She has absolutely no compunctions about studying (illegal) Elder Sorcery; she probably got it from her dad, who dissolved the capital city and threw the entire Empire into chaos for over 250 years with it.
164	* [[spoiler: BrotherSisterIncest]]: Played with and discussed in ''Tiassa''. [[spoiler: There are countless generations between present-day Aliera and Kieron, but since she has her original memories, and since Kieron is apparently the only one she's ever considered worthy of having a child with... Then again, she didn't have those memories when she first met him. It's all very confused.]]
165	* DaddysLittleVillain/[[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas Even Bad Women Love Their Daddies]]: She's absolutely devoted to her late father, Adron. The one who accidentally destroyed the Empire in an attempted coup d'etat.
166	* DeadpanSnarker
167	* DontYouDarePityMe: She doesn't accept sympathy well. See ''Iorich''.
168	* EmpathicWeapon: Pathfinder, another BFS. Vlad says its aura feels neuter where Blackwand is feminine, and dangerous but not actively aggressive. As the name implies, it can locate people and objects.
169	* HairTriggerTemper: Her temper is notoriously violent even for the House of the Dragon.
170	%%* HalfHumanHybrid: Her mother is [[spoiler:the Demon Goddess Verra]].
171	* HeightAngst: Aliera is short for her race, and you should never comment on this because she has an incredibly deadly weapon and will end you.
172	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Noticing a theme here?
173	* MagicKnight: She's a slightly better sorcerer than she is a swordfighter...but she's so extremely good at both that it hardly makes a difference.
174	* TheNapoleon: She's just a little over six feet tall, which is embarrassingly short for a Dragaeran. For a while she had a habit of wearing long skirts and levitating in order to look taller. Even after she got over that, she still has a HairTriggerTemper and mentioning her height is a particular BerserkButton.
175	* NobleBigot: While she's a loyal friend to Vlad, she doesn't think much of Easterners in general -- to the point of refusing to believe that [[spoiler:Dragaerans are descended from them]], despite being a brilliant geneticist who should know better.
176	** There's also some elements of [[InnocentBigot Innocent Bigotry]] here, as she sometimes seems genuinely oblivious to the fact that, for instance, talking about invading the East in front of Vlad might bother him.
177	* ParodySue: Aliera is beautiful, an amazing fighter, a powerful mage, [[spoiler:the daughter of a goddess]], has color-changing eyes...and is a real jerk.
178	* PretendPrejudice: As Vlad puts it, "Morrolan, who doesn't hate Easterners as much as you'd expect, and Aliera, who doesn't hate ''me'' as much as you'd expect." [[spoiler:But then again, Vlad IS her brother-in-soul.]]
179	* ProudWarriorRaceGirl: She's known for challenging people to duels for various "personal slights"; in one book she does it to help break up a different character's plan, and it's not seen as unusual by the crowd that she took apparent offence at a perceived "insult" to someone ''elses'' honor.
180	* RightHandCat
181	* [[SmallGirlBigGun Small Girl Big Sword]]: Aliera is very short for a Dragaeran, but for a while carries a massive two-handed sword that is as tall as she is.
182	* VitriolicBestBuds: With Morrolan.
183	* YearInsideHourOutside: Sort of. Because of spending a long time as a soul without a body, when restored to life, Aliera is as physically young as she was at the time she lost her body, whereas contemporaries who were alive the whole time are physically a lot older.
184	[[/folder]]
185
186	[[folder: Sethra Lavode]]
187	The legendary and feared Enchantress of Dzur Mountain, a figure who has been alive (and later undead) longer than ''anyone'' can remember, and is rumored to have actually come from the rock of Dzur Mountain itself. May be either a Dzur or a Dragon or some combination thereof; both houses have claimed she's a member at different points.
188
189	* TheArchmage: She's the most powerful sorcerer in the history of the Empire. According to Vlad, she's forgotten more about sorcery than anyone else has ever learned.
190	* TheChessmaster
191	* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Well, she's a vampire...but then again, no one ''noticed'' that she'd died for several thousand years.
192	* EmpathicWeapon: Iceflame, a dagger. It's linked to Dzur Mountain somehow, but we don't really know what that means.
193	* FighterMageThief: [[spoiler:Is apparently the best in the world at all three.]]
194	* ForcedTransformation: She's rumored to transform Dzur warriors who challenge her into animals.
195	* FourStarBadass: She's ''also'' considered one of the greatest war leaders of all time. Given half a chance to talk about military strategy, she can keep going for hours.
196	* GothGirlsKnowMagic: Possibly most powerful wizard alive, and dressed all in black and possessing an unsettling pallor.
197	* LadyOfBlackMagic
198	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: We don't know the details, though, save for the fact that vampirism is not TheVirus. It's implied that becoming undead as she did involves sneaking out of the Paths of the Dead ''on foot''.
199	* PalsWithJesus / DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu: Vlad's friendship with her.
200	* PerkyGoth: She's surprisingly friendly and down-to-earth, when she's not actively ''trying'' to scare you. In fact, she's probably one of the nicest Dragaerans Vlad knows.
201	* PersonOfMassDestruction
202	* PhysicalGod: Although she explicitly declined a chance to join the pantheon of the series, she might as well be a deity given how powerful and long-lived (for lack of a better term) she is.
203	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure
204	* TimeAbyss: She's older than the entire Empire.
205	[[/folder]]
206
207	[[folder: Lady Teldra]]
208	The Chatelaine of Castle Black, an Issola. Very polite, very smooth-talking, and an all-around wonderful person. During ''Issola'', [[spoiler:she was stabbed with a Morganti blade. Before her soul could be completely destroyed, Vlad managed to save most of it and use it to construct his [[EmpathicWeapon Great Weapon]], Godslayer, where it currently resides, dormant until she "awakens" in ''Hawk'']].
209
210	* AllLovingHero: Sort of. The key to Teldra's charm is that it isn't an act -- she really, genuinely likes almost everybody. That doesn't stop her from being just as ruthless as any of Vlad's other friends when she decides it's appropriate, however.
211	* BewareTheNiceOnes: She genuinely likes people and is probably the kindest of Vlad's friends, but that does ''not'' mean it's a good idea to underestimate her.
212	* CunningLinguist: She even speaks ''[[EldritchAbomination Jenoine]]''.
213	* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: She manages to disrupt a Jenoine's concentration and the spell it was performing by ''insulting'' it at precisely the right time. [[spoiler: Also, as befits her House, she struck without warning and managed to wound a Jenoine [[DyingMomentOfAwesome before she went down]].]]
214	* [[spoiler:EmpathicWeapon: No, she doesn't have one -- as of the end of ''Issola'', she ''is'' one.]]
215	* GuileHero: Not a trickster, but the kind of GuileHero who relies on diplomacy, negotiation, charm and finesse rather than deception.
216	* TheJeeves: For Morrolan.
217	* NonActionGuy: Okay, she's not a guy, but that doesn't usually matter for Dragaerans. She's pretty much the only major character who displays no combat skills of any kind.
218	* [[spoiler:PlatonicLifePartners: Her relationship with Vlad from ''Issola'' on.]]
219	* SilkHidingSteel: She acts with perfect courtesy at all times...but remember that "courtesy" as Teldra defines it means not giving harm or insult to anyone else ''except intentionally when you judge it to be appropriate''.
220	* TheSocialExpert
221	[[/folder]]
222
223	[[folder: Daymar]]
224	A Hawklord and master of psychic power whom Vlad turns to for aid with mind-reading and related matters. Reluctantly, because Daymar is socially-oblivious and really, ''really'' annoying.
225	* AdventurerArchaeologist: The short story "The Desecrator" revealed that Daymar investigates old ruins and locates buried artifacts. Subverted in that he's ''not'' into the "death-defying thrills" aspect of this trope, and is perfectly willing to teleport out at the first sign of danger ... at least, once he notices it's there. Also, he's honest enough to ''call'' himself a "desecrator" for robbing old burial grounds and such.
226	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Daymar can be extremely clueless and distracted by his own thoughts.
227	* GeniusDitz: Nobody knows more about psychics than Daymar, who serves as MrExposition when he's asked by Vlad to explain how mental powers work. He also can't keep track of minor details like, say, Vlad being hunted by Jhereg assassins.
228	* ItRunsInTheFamily: Evidently the case, as Daymar's uncle died of exhaustion shortly after inventing a magical wand that protects its bearer from falling asleep while working. It apparently never occurred to him that he still ''needed'' to sleep.
229	* LevitatingLotusPosition: How Daymar's always posed when he pops up via teleportation. Vlad isn't quite sure if he does it to show off, and if so, why he'd think it's impressive considering how easily it can be done via sorcery.
230	* LiteralMinded: Once you finish telling Daymar why you think his help will be useful, you still need to ''ask'' him to help or he'll just keep nodding that, yes, you're right about that.
231	* PsychicPowers: Daymar's specialty, which comes in handy if Vlad needs someone's mind read or if he needs to work with the Hawklord to trace someone's location.
232	[[/folder]]
233
234	[[folder: Telnan AKA Zugaron]]
235	A [[TheDitz ditzy]] and friendly young Dzur who Vlad meets in the novel ''Dzur'', and is an apprentice to Sethra Lavode. He wields a Great Weapon which it's implied that he was destined to hold. He also appears as narrator in the short story "The Desecrator", which explains how he got the sword.
236	* AffablyEvil: Well, he thinks of himself as evil, anyway, and takes great pride in it, but he's really very cheerful and friendly, especially for a Dzur.
237	* AxCrazy: His BloodKnight tendencies reach this level at some points in "The Desecrator".
238	* {{BFS}}: His Great Weapon is massive even by Dragaeran standards which Vlad finds typical of a Dzur.
239	* BloodKnight
240	* BadPowersGoodPeople: Carries a massively powerful EvilWeapon that wants to kill everything all the time, but he's a pretty decent guy anyway.
241	* EmpathicWeapon: With a side of EvilWeapon -- his sword Nightslayer, which in personality is an AxCrazy OmnicidalManiac that makes Blackwand seem friendly by comparison.
242	* EqualOpportunityEvil: Good and evil are rather ambiguous in the series, but Telnan sort of fits since his positive quality of having no species prejudice is sort of balanced by a negative one of being rather inclined to slaughter anyone who gets in his way.
243	* {{Expy}}: He isn't one, but "The Desecrator" shows his sword to be one of [[EvilWeapon Stormbringer]] in the ''Literature/TheElricSaga''.
244	* MultipleChoicePast: In ''Dzur'', he tells Vlad that he named his sword Nightslayer because it sounds [[EvilIsCool evil and]] [[RuleOfCool cool]]. However, in the chronologically earlier "The Desecrator", the sword itself [[TheSwordThatSpeaks tells him]] to call it that.
245	[[/folder]]
246
247	[[folder: Devera]]
248	A mysterious little girl who has appeared in most of the books. She many unusual powers, including an apparent ability to travel through time and space at will. [[spoiler: The daughter of Aliera and Kieron the Conqueror, conceived while her father was still dead. She may not have actually been born yet, but she's not one to let that stop her.]]
249
250	* TheCutie
251	* HaveWeMetYet: "We've met already, Uncle Vlad."
252	* KidFromTheFuture
253	* LittleMissAlmighty: Very strongly implied.
254	* MindScrewdriver: ''Tiassa'' clarifies certain puzzling details about Devera.
255	* NeverTheSelvesShallMeet: Aliera can't meet her yet.
256	* ScaledUp: Heroic example: although she's not named outright, the dragon that takes part in the closing battle of ''Issola'' is strongly implied to be her.
257	* ShoutOut: Due to Devera's powers, she pops up in many other Steven Brust books, such as ''To Reign In Hell''.
258	[[/folder]]
259
260	[[folder: Khaavren]]
261	TheHero in the Khaavren Romances and an {{Expy}} of D'Artagnan of ''Literature/TheThreeMusketeers''. By the time of the Vlad books, he has become the head of several good-ish SecretPolice / StateSec organizations. He's a Tiassa, meaning his specialties are creativity, resourcefulness, and insight.
262
263	* HappilyMarried: To the Countess of Adrilankha, Daro.
264	* HeroicBSOD: He went downhill as the Interregnum went on and his guilt over the Emperor's death caught up to him.
265	* HotBlooded: As a youth, but he cooled considerably as he grew older (much like D'Artagnan).
266	* LanternJawOfJustice
267	* MyGreatestFailure: Failing to prevent the assassination of the Emperor.
268	* TheQuietOne: By Tiassa standards, at least, he's incredibly reticent.
269	* TheSpymaster: As noted above, this is his role in the present.
270	[[/folder]]
271
272	[[folder: Aerich Temma, [[spoiler: Duke of Arylle]]]]
273	A Lyorn warrior who joined the Phoenix Guards with Khaavren, Pel, and Tazendra. TheLancer, and an {{Expy}} of Athos.
274
275	* BadassBookworm
276	* ClearMyName: [[spoiler:His father was falsely accused of treason, and he wants to win back the family's honor and get revenge on those that tarnished his name.]]
277	* GentlemanAndAScholar
278	* HonorBeforeReason: He's a Lyorn, so it's only to be expected.
279	* MissingMom: We eventually learn quite a bit about his father [[spoiler: and how Shaltre ruined him]], but Aerich's mother isn't ever mentioned.
280	* TheQuietOne
281	* RealMenWearPink: He always wears an ankle-length skirt when fighting (it's the traditional Lyorn warrior costume), and his hobby is crocheting.
282	* RashomonStyle: Either a sorcerer willing to furiously chase down a Teckla who dared stand up to him, or a nonmagical man of such dignity and calm that chastising a Teckla would be less proper than ignoring his insults, depending on who's telling the story. The actual events of that scene will likely never be known.
283	* StarcrossedLovers: [[spoiler: Tazendra]] loves him, though considering how ingrained his sense of propriety is, he likely never even considered returning it.
284	[[/folder]]
285
286	[[folder: Pel, a.k.a. the Duke of Galstan]]
287	TheSmartGuy, and an {{Expy}} of Aramis. House of the Yendi.
288
289	* BadassBookworm
290	* TheCasanova: Moreso in his youth.
291	* TheChessmaster
292	* TheDandy
293	* GentlemanAndAScholar
294	* GuileHero
295	* [[spoiler:FaceHeelTurn]]: Although unlike Aramis, [[spoiler:he turns back in time]].
296	* ManipulativeBastard: He's a Yendi. It goes with the territory.
297	* NoNameGiven: Pel also goes by the title of the Duke of Galstan, but Galstan doesn't actually have a duchy, and there is no one on the records of the House of Yendi named Pel. It's a very Yendi sort of title.
298	* TheSmartGuy
299	* TheSpymaster: In later books, and possibly in the present, too.
300	[[/folder]]
301
302	[[folder: Tazendra, Baroness of Daavya]]
303	A Dzurlord warrior and sorcerer, to whom a noble cause is secondary to a desire to hit people with big swords. The BigGuy and the {{Expy}} of Porthos.
304
305	* ActionGirl
306	* TheBigGuy
307	* BloodKnight: This is the [[PlanetOfHats hat]] of her House, and she definitely fits it.
308	* BluntMetaphorsTrauma
309	* BoisterousBruiser: A rare female version.
310	* [[spoiler:DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Goes out taking down a [[EldritchAbomination Jenoine]] in single combat.]]
311	* [[spoiler:DyingMomentOfAwesome: See above.]]
312	* GenderFlip: A female version of Porthos.
313	* GeniusDitz: Tazendra is something of a {{cloudcuckoolander}} and sees things in the simplistic terms of a Dzur. Her friends regularly have to explain what's going on when the plot thickens too much for her. In spite of all this, she's a genius wizard and prone to very penetrating insights.
314	* HardDrinkingPartyGirl
315	* HotBlooded
316	* LadyOfBlackMagic: An ageless beauty with a noble title as well as a powerful sorceress.
317	* NiceToTheWaiter: The ''Khaavren'' books as well as the testimony of one of Aerich's Teckla in ''Teckla'' (see above) indicate that she is kindly toward her Teckla servants and well-liked by the them.
318	* StarcrossedLovers: Tazendra casually mentions to Pel that the only man she would ever marry is [[spoiler:Aerich, who she couldn't pursue because they belonged to different Houses]].
319	* TookALevelInBadass: Not that she really needed another one, but she spent the Interregnum [[spoiler:training as a wizard under Sethra]].
320	* UnstoppableRage: Another Dzur trait. It's particularly awesome in the last book, [[spoiler:when she [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu punches out Cthulhu]] while [[MajorInjuryUnderreaction mortally wounded]]]].
321	[[/folder]]
322
323	[[folder: Empress Zerika IV]]
324	* ToHellAndBack: Voluntarily entered the Paths of the Dead and came back out alive.
325	* TheHighQueen
326	* InterspeciesRomance: Has a human lover.
327	* LastOfTheirKind: She's the only Phoenix left.
328	* ObliviousAdoption: Always knew she was an orphan raised by Dragonlords, but she didn't know she was a ''Phoenix'' rather than a Dragon until Sethra started training her.
329	* StaringDownCthulhu: Delivered an awesome TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to ''an assembly of the gods'' before claiming the Orb and taking it with her out of the Paths of the Dead.
330	* TrainingFromHell: Sethra put her through this so that she'd be able to make her journey into the Paths of the Dead.
331	[[/folder]]
332
333	[[folder: Mario Greymist]]
334	The greatest Jhereg assassin of Vlad's era, and possibly in the history of the Empire.
335
336	* HitmanWithAHeart: Mario seems like a decent guy, for a Jhereg. Paarfi also paints him as a soft-hearted guy, falling in love with Aliera while on the job.
337	* LukeNounverber: Although Greymist is a title, not a surname.
338	* MasterOfDisguise: In ''Five Hundred Years After'', Mario disguises himself as a Teckla peasant as well as a guardsman of some aristocratic background. It helps that Jhereg are generally a mixture of various Houses.
339	* MemeticBadass: InUniverse: Mario is unquestionably the greatest assassin alive, and he's the go-to example when someone wants to describe the best of the best. When the Phoenix Guards come across an unsolvable murder, they declare "Mario did it".
340	** One job mentioned in ''Dzur'' was shanking a sorceress in the brain-stem as she emerged from a teleport, requiring him to know exactly where and when she would arrive and even which way she would face. He well deserves the reputation.
341	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Grey is the color of death in Dragaeran culture, which makes "Mario Greymist" a ''much'' scarier name than it sounds like to humans.
342	* TheNondescript: As described by Vlad in ''Dzur'', Mario is a plain, kind of paunchy middle aged guy who looks completely harmless (which is why Vlad suspects correctly he's a dangerous assassin)
343	* RedBaron: Vlad and Paarfi give different explanations for why he's called Greymist, but either would count as EarnYourTitle.
344	* ShroudedInMyth: He's known as the greatest assassin ever and is a legend among Jhereg, with few knowing which stories about him are true.
345	* UglyGuyHotWife: Mario is very average looking, while his lover Aliera is noted for her beauty. (Of course, Mario is a MasterOfDisguise, so the plain guy Vlad meets might not actually be his true appearance.)
346	[[/folder]]
347
348	[[folder: Paarfi of Roundwood]]
349	A writer from the House of the Hawk, Paarfi is the in-universe author of the ''Khaavren Romances''. His first love is history, but scholarship doesn't pay the bills, and he's not too proud to turn his skills toward adventure novels -- especially not after his second book, ''The Phoenix Guards'', turned out to be wildly popular.
350	* AntiquatedLinguistics
351	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment
352	* PurpleProse
353	* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness
354	* SmallNameBigEgo
355	[[/folder]]
356
357	!Brokedown Palace
358
359	!!The Seventeen Houses
360
361	[[folder: Phoenix]]
362	--> ''...Phoenix rise from ashes, gray./Phoenix sinks into decay...''
363	The most noble of the Houses. Representing decay and rebirth, they reside at the beginning/end of the Cycle. Phoenix are the best and brightest of the Empire, but as they get older, they slide into decadence and hedonism. Due to the fact that only those born while an actual phoenix is flying overhead are actually counted as a member, they are the smallest house by far. During the Vlad books, only one is left.
364	* DecadentCourt: How most Phoenix reigns end up, with the exception of Zerika I (the first empress) and Zerika IV (the first post-Interregnum empress). Zerika IV opines that the key is knowing to abdicate before decadence sets in, while Paarfi writes Tortaalik's reign as hopelessly adrift from the literal start, though it grows worse with time.
365	* TheHedonist: All Phoenix have a hedonistic streak that gets stronger as they grow older, and eventually becomes overwhelming.
366	* LastOfTheirKind: Zerika IV, the Empress during the Vlad books.
367	[[/folder]]
368
369	[[folder: Dragon]]
370	--> ''...Haughty dragon yearns to slay...''
371	The House of war and conquest. These guys are leaders and warriors, and during the time of most of the books, the second most powerful House. Several major characters belong to the House of the Dragon.
372	* AuthorAppeal: The House of the Dragon gets more pagetime than a dozen other houses combined.
373	* HairTriggerTemper: Dragons tend to have a ''lot'' of {{Berserk Button}}s.
374	* HonorBeforeReason
375	* {{Pride}}: Pretty much their signature character trait.
376	* ProudWarriorRace: It's generally know that if you're going to fight a war, get a Dragon to head the army; and the more Dragons in the troops, the better. ''Dragon'' (the book) has one tell Vlad that he intends to keep fighting in as may wars as he can, just so he could move up the ranks and become a general some day.
377	* UnstoppableRage
378	[[/folder]]
379
380	[[folder: Lyorn]]
381	--> ''...Lyorn growls and lowers horn...''
382	Historians and record-keepers. The Lyorn interest in history comes from a passion for upholding tradition and honor; because of this, they're usually accorded automatic respect by other Dragaerans.
383	* BadassBookworm: The Lyorn warriors.
384	* GentlemanAndAScholar: Despite their propensity for scholarship, Lyorn are far too concerned about proper behavior to become [[EvilGenius creepy nerds]] like many Athyra or [[InsufferableGenius infuriatingly smug]] like many Hawklords.
385	* HonorBeforeReason: A Lyorn's personal integrity is absolutely impeccable.
386	[[/folder]]
387
388	[[folder: Tiassa]]
389	--> ''...Tiassa dreams and plots are born...''
390	[[HotBlooded Passionate and enthusiastic]], Tiassa are associated with creativity, inspiration, resourcefulness and insight. The usual assumption is that the Tiassa is the "idea guy."
391	* GuileHero
392	* HotBlooded: Despite their reputation for cleverness, Tiassa are almost never scholars -- they like to be in the middle of the action, and don't have the patience to sit around studying.
393	* TheSmartGuy
394	* TheStrategist
395	[[/folder]]
396
397	[[folder: Hawk]]
398	--> ''...Hawk looks down from lofty flight...''
399	One of the upper-middle-class Houses, Hawklords are curious, perceptive, and somewhat detached from the world around them. They seem to be mostly researchers or scholars.
400	* AbsentMindedProfessor
401	* InsufferableGenius: If Vlad is to be believed, most Hawklords tend toward "obnoxiously snobby."
402	* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness
403	* TheSpock
404	[[/folder]]
405
406	[[folder: Dzur]]
407	--> ''...Dzur stalks and blends with night...''
408	Where House Dragon are soldiers, Dzur are adventurers and gloryhounds. They love nothing more than a fight where the odds are against them, and the worse they're outmatched, the better.
409	* {{BFS}}: Endemic.
410	* BloodKnight: They like fights where the odds are ''against'' them, the closer to genuinely impossible the better.
411	* BoisterousBruiser: Dragons fight out of pride, Lyorn fight to defend tradition, Orca fight for money...Dzur fight for the sheer joy of it.
412	* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Not necessarily because they care about compassion or justice, but because ''nothing'' is more fun for a Dzur than a really dangerous adventure, and siding with the underdog makes for more of a challenge.
413	* TheDitz: Dzur tend to come across as stupid to most non-Dzur. This isn't exactly true; the Dzur just have a distinctive way of thinking that usually strikes others as straightforward to the point of simplicity.
414	** For this reason, clever Dzur often seem to have GeniusDitz tendencies.
415	* FearlessFool: By reputation -- non-Dzur tend to assume the reason Dzur are always charging headlong into obviously unwinnable battles is that they're TooDumbToLive. They're wrong, though -- it's not that Dzur don't understand impossible odds, they understand just fine ''and they like it that way''.
416	* GlorySeeker
417	* HonorBeforeReason: Taken as a point of pride.
418	* IWillFightSomeMoreForever: Dzur ''love'' doomed last stands.
419	* MartyrdomCulture: Everyone's gotta die sometime, and to the Dzur there's no better way to go than in glorious battle against a far more powerful opponent.
420	* ProudWarriorRace: They live for fighting against seemingly insurmountable odds (and sometimes if it's in support of an unpopular opinion or group, since it's more likely everyone would be against them). And there is a way to join the house: it includes fighting against 17 swordmasters in a row. If you fail, they're not interested.
421	* UnstoppableRage: Most of the time, Dzur in battle are enjoying themselves. If you actually manage to make them mad, though, they're scarier than Dragons.
422	[[/folder]]
423
424	[[folder: Issola]]
425	--> ''...Issola strikes from courtly bow...''
426	The courtier House. Issola tend to be polite, charming, and diplomatic. But don't get too comfortable -- the other thing they're associated with is ''surprise''.
427	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Issola are courteous and incredibly likeable, but it is not a good idea to start thinking of them as harmless.
428	* CunningLinguist: They try to be as politely helpful as possible, and this may include needing to translate between different group. Teldra even studied the language of the Jenoine, in case she ever found herself in the presence of one. It does help towards understanding someone's mindset.
429	* GuileHero: The diplomat kind.
430	* LadyOfWar: It's suggested, in ''the book'' "Issola", that members of the house (like the namesake animals) are graceful, beautiful, lovely... until they strike. Then they're graceful, beautiful, lovely....
431	* PassiveAggressiveKombat
432	* PolitenessJudo
433	* SilkHidingSteel: An issola is a beautiful white heron-like bird. But, as Vlad points out, it's also a predator, and when it hunts it'll strike so fast you never even see it move. And then it'll go right back to standing there, looking lovely and graceful. It's particularly notable that the bird strikes by ''bowing''.
434	* TheSocialExpert
435	* VerbalJudo
436	* WanderingMinstrel: Occasionally, although most well-off Issola view performing "social music" as slumming.
437	[[/folder]]
438
439	[[folder: Tsalmoth]]
440	--> ''...Tsalmoth maintains though none knows how...''
441	A middle-class House, associated with tenacity and unpredictability. And...that's about all we know.
442	* {{Determinator}}
443	[[/folder]]
444
445	[[folder: Vallista]]
446	--> ''...Vallista rends and then rebuilds...''
447	Builders and architects. However, they're also associated with destruction -- there's mention of book-burnings during previous Vallista reigns. The line summing them up in the verse about the Cycle says, "Vallista rends and then rebuilds."
448	* TheBlacksmith: A common Vallista occupation.
449	[[/folder]]
450
451	[[folder: Jhereg]]
452	--> ''...Jhereg feeds on others' kills...''
453	The house of corruption and greed, Jhereg are primarily associated with organized crime, although not every member of the house is a part of the criminal organization. Male Jhereg mostly join the "Right Hand," a.k.a. "the Organization," which handles your standard assassinations, protection rackets and other mundane crimes; women join "the Left Hand of the Jhereg," a.k.a. "the Bitch Patrol," a separate organization that specializes in illegal sorcery. The Jhereg is also one of two Houses that will openly accept half-breeds, outcasts, and Easterners, the other being House Teckla.
454	* BlackMage: The entire Left Hand.
455	** Note that, while they're pretty much all female, Left Hand Jhereg are generally not cute enough to qualify as [[BlackMagicianGirl Black Magician Girls]] and not classy enough to qualify as [[LadyOfBlackMagic Ladies of Black Magic]].
456	* HufflepuffHouse: They started out as one. While all sixteen of the other Houses were created by the Jeoine breeding various animal traits into Draegerans, they never bred jhereg genes into anyone. Instead, the Jhereg originated as a collection of outcasts and descendants of fallen Houses who banded together for mutual protection and started calling themselves "The House of the Jhereg" as a way of Lampshading their status as scavengers and outsiders. This is probably why they are still one of the two Houses who will accept half-breeds and Easterners into their ranks.
457	* TheDarkArts: A specialty of both sides of the House.
458	* TheMafia
459	* TheSyndicate
460	* ThievesGuild
461	[[/folder]]
462
463	[[folder: Iorich]]
464	--> ''...Quiet iorich won't forget...''
465	Associated with justice and retribution, this House runs the legal system. Judges, lawyers, jailers -- all Iorich.
466	* While we haven't really seen enough Iorich to give most of the relevant tropes, see TheCourtroomIndex and CrimeAndPunishmentTropes.
467	[[/folder]]
468
469	[[folder: Chreotha]]
470	--> ''...Sly chreotha weaves his net...''
471	A middle-class House, associated with planning and entrapment. Seems to include a lot of craftsmen -- weavers, carpenters, and cobblers have been mentioned. Both associations fit the House animal, which weaves enormous webs.
472	[[/folder]]
473
474	[[folder: Yendi]]
475	--> ''...Yendi coils and strikes, unseen...''
476	Need a ludicrously convoluted [[BatmanGambit scheme]]? These are the guys. Well summed up by Vlad's LightbulbJoke:
477	-->How many Yendi does it take to sharpen a sword? Three. One to sharpen it, and one to confuse the issue.
478	* TheChessmaster
479	* ComplexityAddiction
480	* GuileHero: The ones who choose to use their powers for good, anyway.
481	* ManipulativeBastard
482	* ThePlan: You can never tell if you're caught in a Yendi's scheme. The house is named after a poisonous serpent that bites people without them noticing until they suddenly die several minutes later.
483	[[/folder]]
484
485	[[folder: Orca]]
486	--> ''...Orca circles, hard and lean...''
487	A ruthlessly commercial House, Orca will do almost anything for money, and have a reputation as brutal thugs. Due to their focus on trade, they're often sailors, as befits their House animal.
488	* CorruptCorporateExecutive
489	* IntrepidMerchant: Although not always positively portrayed.
490	* {{Jerkass}}: They are often rather unpleasant both personally and in terms of activities. There's even a scene in ''Iorich'' where Vlad bonds with Dragearans of diverse classes and Houses over a shared hatred of the Orca. Not to mention that while Vlad usually learns a lesson about the complexity of a House's traits, the [[SpoofAesop lesson]] he learns in ''Orca'' is that he hates Orca even more than he did previously.
491	* [[FatherNeptune Father or Mother Neptune]]: It seems that most Orca, if they aren't involved in banks, end up as sailors or otherwise involved in shipping.
492	* {{Mooks}}: Although they're usually thought of as merchant sailors, the House of the Orca is also associated with brutality, so when you need to pay some goons to beat someone up, they're the House you go to. Vlad runs into a ''lot'' of Orca mooks.
493	* ProudMerchantRace
494	[[/folder]]
495
496	[[folder: Teckla]]
497	--> ''...Frightened Teckla hides in grass...''
498	The peasants. Most live in small rural farming communities; the rest serve nobles as maids or lackeys. The vast majority of Dragaerans are in House Teckla, since anyone can join, but they don't get much of a voice and are usually treated with disdain by all non-Teckla Dragaerans. Even so, they have their place in the Cycle like all other Houses; Teckla always take over through a peasant uprising, and rule the Empire as a Republic during their term in power.
499	%%zce* DirtyCoward: By reputation, anyway. The reality is sometimes more CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass.
500	* FantasticRacism: All the other Houses look down on Teckla. (Meanwhile, even Teckla look down on Easterners.)
501	%%zce* RedshirtArmy
502	[[/folder]]
503
504	[[folder: Jhegaala]]
505	--> ''...Jhegaala shifts as moments pass...''
506	A middle-class House, associated with metamorphosis, change, adaptation and endurance. As they're much less predictable than the other Houses, individual Jhegaala are sometimes treated with mild suspicion by people who don't know them well.
507	* CharacterDevelopment: The one trait all Jhegaala have in common is constantly growing and changing.
508	[[/folder]]
509
510	[[folder: Athyra]]
511	--> ''...Athyra rules minds' interplay...''
512	Wizards and philosophers.
513	* CourtMage: The Imperial Wizard usually comes from this House.
514	* EvilSorcerer: Some of the nastiest pieces of work in the Empire are Athyra. The Left Hand of the Jhereg was founded by some particularly corrupt Athyra who were booted out of the House.
515	* LackOfEmpathy: Vlad says the reason there are so many nasty Athyra out there is that they spend so much time in solitary study and contemplation that they start thinking of people as abstractions, becoming completely divorced from morality and empathy.
516	* ThePhilosopher: Most Athyra that aren't wizards.
517	[[/folder]]

Context Characters / Dragaera