| 1 | [[Characters/ForumOfThrones Click here to return to the main character page]] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Located on the southern coast of the Reach, the city of Oldtown is the largest in Westeros and one of the largest in the known world, as well as a major trading hub. It is a sprawling urban moloch, prone to corruption and with infamously high crime rates. In fact, the situation has gotten so out of hand that gang leaders, self-appointed crime lords, largely control the city instead of House Hightower, who are nominally in charge. |
| 4 | |
| 5 | [[AC: All spoilers are off from this point]] |
| 6 | |
| 7 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 8 | |
| 9 | ! House Hightower |
| 10 | -> ''"We Light The Way"'' |
| 11 | -->--'''Words of House Hightower''' |
| 12 | |
| 13 | The ruling house of Oldtown, House Hightower is among the principal bannermen of House Gardener of Highgarden, although they have a famously strained relationship with their overlords. Almost their equals in terms of power, the Hightower's still yearn for the old days, when they used to rule over Oldtown as kings. Many Hightowers have been ambitious and only reluctant to follow the orders of their Gardener kings. Under their rule, Oldtown became a massive sprawling hive and one of the most important locations in Westeros. Their current head is Manfred Hightower. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | [[folder: In General]] |
| 16 | * AlwaysSecondBest: Many Hightowers feel this way about their relationship with House Gardener. |
| 17 | * BigFancyCastle: Their seat is the Hightower, known as the highest building in Westeros, rumoured to be even higher than the Wall. |
| 18 | * FamousAncestor: They have several, such as Peremore Hightower, who helped set the foundations of the Citadel, and Lymond Hightower, the Sea Lion, who repelled an iron born invasion and became first lord of Oldtown. |
| 19 | * LighthousePoint: Their seat also doubles as a lighthouse, to allow ships to find the harbour of Oldtown. |
| 20 | * ViceCity: The city they rule over has devolved into one under the rule of the current Lord Hightower, Manfred. |
| 21 | [[/folder]] |
| 22 | [[folder: Lord Manfred Hightower]] |
| 23 | !!Lord Manfred Hightower: |
| 24 | !!!Lord of the Hightower, Lord of the Port, Voice of Oldtown, Defender of the Citadel, Beacon of the South |
| 25 | The Lord of Oldtown at the time of the story. He is an elderly lord and though the head of a powerful house, he doesn't govern his city too well, leading to it getting partially controled by criminal gangs. |
| 26 | ---- |
| 27 | * AuthorityInNameOnly: Played with. Manfred has a lot of authority, being the most powerful lord of the Reach and second only to the king himself. However, his authority in Oldtown is minor at the best. |
| 28 | * IdleRich: Doesn't really do a lot, safe for living a luxurious life inside his tower. |
| 29 | * IHaveManyNames: See the impressive number of titles above, which far exceeds those of a common noble lord in Westeros. |
| 30 | * MinorMajorCharacter: He is the Lord of Oldtown, which makes him one of the most powerful noblemen in the story. However, he only made one small personal appearance in Chapter 6, during the masquerade at Lord Vyrwel's estate in the city. |
| 31 | * OrcusOnHisThrone: As the head of the law in Oldtown, he is technically the villain from the Point-of-View of the criminal gangs. This includes the protagonist Jaron, who works for the Burned Man. Still, Manfred rarely leaves his tower and does little to personally stop anyone, leaving the defense of Oldtown in the hands of Maron Mullendore. |
| 32 | * TheRival: Thre have been hints that he and Robert Raylan used to be bitter rivals in their past. Apparently, it started when Morna, Robert's sister, rejected Manfred's proposal. |
| 33 | [[/folder]] |
| 34 | [[folder: Ser Arryk Bulwer]] |
| 35 | !!Ser Arryk Bulwer |
| 36 | A knight, originating from House Bulwer of Blackcrown, who eventually took a position at the court of House Hightower, as the personal bodyguard of Lord Manfred Hightower. |
| 37 | ---- |
| 38 | * ArmorIsUseless: Completly averted. During the attempt on Manfred Hightower's life, only his armour prevented him from getting killed by the Alley Cats. |
| 39 | * FaceOfAThug: Despite being noted to look ugly and thuggish, he is a loyal and brave knight without many flaws. |
| 40 | * PraetorianGuard: His role at the court of House Hightower is to be this. |
| 41 | * TheQuietOne: Arryk rarely speaks unless necessary, he prefers to observe. |
| 42 | * SherlockScan: Finds out quite quickly that his old acquaintance Jarek is not supposed to be at the masquerade. |
| 43 | [[/folder]] |
| 44 | |
| 45 | !!!The City Guard |
| 46 | [[folder: Ser Maron Mullendore]] |
| 47 | !!Ser Maron Mullendore |
| 48 | The commander of the city guard of Oldtown by the time of the story. Maron is a crude and hot-headed man, yet known for bravery and his strong convictions. Under his rule, the city guard was turned into a highly efficient task force, though he constanly wages war against the crimelords that have parts of the city under their control. |
| 49 | ---- |
| 50 | * AlliterativeName: '''M'''aron '''M'''ullendore. |
| 51 | * AlmightyJanitor: For all his power, Maron is technically barely a nobleman himself. He comes from the cadet branch of a lesser noble house, his father was merely a cavalry officer among the Hightower forces. Therefore, his social standing is far lower than that of most other noblemen in the Reach. However, as the commander of the city guard of Oldtown, he is a highly powerful man regardless. His status as the crimelord Butterfly also means that he is perhaps one of the most powerful men in the Reach. |
| 52 | * AmbiguousSituation: For a short while after being wounded by Harpy, his status was unclear and he was moved to the 'Unknown' section of the character list. A talk between the Sphynx and the Tom have since revealed that he survived. |
| 53 | * AmbitionIsEvil: His ambitions are what drive him to such extreme measures and acts of villainy. As a result, they are portrayed entirely in a negative light. |
| 54 | * AntiVillain: Of the WellIntentionedExtremist category. Maron doesn't have much speaking in his favour, but he isn't a clear villain, mostly because of his goals and his standards. |
| 55 | * ArchEnemy: He tends to be this to anyone that gets into a fight with him. His most serious arch-enemies are the crimelords of Oldtown. Or, only the Burned Man, since he himself is Butterfly. |
| 56 | * BadBoss: Since he is both, the crimelord Butterfly and the commander of the city guard, he regularly sacrifices men on both sides to make it seem as if Butterfly is at war with him. |
| 57 | * BeneathTheMask: Behind his crude facade, Maron is actually a highly intelligent man with big ambitions. He is also the crimelord Butterfly adding yet another layer behind his mask. |
| 58 | * BigBad: As the crimelord Butterfly, Maron is this to the Oldtown arc. All in all, his actions are the cause of a lot of bad things in the main storylines, which makes him the stories primary example of this trope. |
| 59 | * BookDumb: Even though parts of his persona is a result of ObfuscatingStupidity, there have been hints that Maron is not a particularly knowledgeable man when it comes to the classic fields, like history or science. However, he is a skilled and capable man, a tactician and commander. |
| 60 | * BrokenPedestal: Mern Gardener is this to him. He has once admired the man and fought in the war against the Storm King for him. However, Mern's surrendering, even after Mullendore suffered near-crippling wounds for him, has crushed his view on the king and made him see the man as weak and a failure. |
| 61 | * BrutalHonesty: Maron honestly doesn't seem to be bothered with hurting anyone's feelings. He never minces his words, no matter how insensitive he might appear with it. This is particularly clear in the way he treats Lucas, when he describes what Butterfly would do to his girlfriend if he ever catches them. |
| 62 | * ButForMeItWasTuesday: As it turns out he honestly doesn't remember how many he killed and whom. This strongly contrasts him with Harpy, who remembers all she lost by his hands and it only serves to make her more angry. |
| 63 | * CatchPhrase: "All will be well" is his. It used to be said by his father and he has made it his mantra. The fact that some of the Solvers say this phrase as well is a clue that he is secretly their leader. |
| 64 | * TheChessmaster: He is behind most of the major schemes in Oldtown, playing both, the city guard and the Solvers against each other, while convincing his enemies that he and Butterfly are two completely different persons. He does all of this with such a subtlety that no one even suspects him up until it is too late. |
| 65 | * ConsummateLiar: As seen above, he is such a skilled liar that absolutely no one even suspects him. Safe for the more paranoid characters, he can win anyone's trust and even those that don't trust him only do so as a matter of principle and have no suspicions against him being the crimelord Butterfly. |
| 66 | * DarkSecret: His entire identity as Butterfly is one big dark secret. |
| 67 | * DirtyOldMan: Maron has a taste for younger women, despite being in his fifties. It is so prominent that even his own guards are unsettled by it, as evidenced by one man who warned Lucas to keep Lunett away from him. |
| 68 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: Despite his own brutal actions, he absolutely despises organized crime, or evil acts that are just commited for the sake of evil, without any higher goal in mind. |
| 69 | * EvilAllAlong: The Chapter 4 finale reveals that he is the crimelord Butterfly, who has opposed the protagonists from the beginning of the story. |
| 70 | * EvilCannotComprehendGood: At several points in the story, Maron has shown himself to be incapable of understanding selfless or outright self-sacrificing acts. This always comes back to bite him, as he fails to protect himself against Harpy's attack, leaving him crippled. Later again, he fails to understand that Richard is trying to stall him, inevitably resulting in the escape of Leonard and Kersea. |
| 71 | * EvilGloating: One of his flaws is his fondness of this trope. Once he has won, he just can't ''not'' rub it in the faces of those he has beaten. He usually shows enough restraint to only do it when he has the upper hand though. |
| 72 | * EvilRedhead: His physically most distinctive feature is a head full with bright red hair. |
| 73 | * EyeScream: As a result of him underestimating Harpy's willingness to kill him, he receives a knife to the eye. It would have killed him if he wouldn't have moved his head in the right moment. |
| 74 | * FalseFlagOperation: It eventually turns out that he has run one of these for years, constantly luring members of his own city guard into ambushes if they refuse his offer of joining the Solvers. This resulted in the death of dozens of guardsmen and helped with maintaining the illusion that he is at war with Butterfly. |
| 75 | * FalseFriend: |
| 76 | ** He is rather friendly in his interaction with Lucas in Chapter 4, to the point where the knight is fully willing to trust him. It only makes his inevitable betrayal all the worse. |
| 77 | ** His interaction with Jaron is also jovial and he even gives him relationship advice with Harpy, which Jaron highly appreciates. |
| 78 | * FatalFlaw: His most prominent flaw is his tendency to belittle others. He sees himself, quite rightfully, as a master schemer and tactician, but he doesn't stop to consider that others can pose a threat to him. |
| 79 | * FauxAffablyEvil: Maron is introduced as a friendly, if somewhat crude-mannered man and some of his actions even after TheReveal come off as jovial and cheerful. However, he is TheUnfettered and all of his friendliness is gone the moment someone stands in his way. In such a situation, he shows the real Maron Mullendore, a brutal, unrepentant murderer. |
| 80 | * ForTheEvulz: While he tries to justify it as a case of NecessarilyEvil, some of his actions are so cruel that they cross the line to this trope. They always advance his goals in some way, but are still not necessary. Torturing and raping Lunett is only the most serious example of this. |
| 81 | * HoistByHisOwnPetard: His FatalFlaw comes to bite him in the back in the Chapter 6 finale. Not only does he underestimate Harpy, he also decides to [[IShallTauntYou taunt]] her, which enrages her to the point where she willingly risks her life to take him out. |
| 82 | * {{Hypocrite}}: For all his talk about moral superiority, he is actually this and a serious example of it. He wishes to stop the criminals in Oldtown, but employs methods that are worse than anything they have ever done. Many of the innocent citizens he seeks to protect have suffered from his men on top of all that. |
| 83 | * {{Jerkass}}: Even before TheReveal, Maron is hardly a pleasant person. Perhaps a bit jovial, but still with no manners and a very crude sense of humour. The reveal that he is Butterfly puts him way beyond Jerkass status and makes him a clear villain, on top of all his already unlikable qualities. |
| 84 | * JerkassHasAPoint: A jerk he might be, but he is vry much justified with his belief that the city of Oldtown won't have a future with the rival crimelords warring against each other. He also gave Lucas a lot of chances to work with him before making his move. |
| 85 | * KickTheDog: Not counting his usual villainous moments, which generally kick the dog quite seriously on their own, his murder of Lunett deserves special mention. He mutilates her and rapes her more than once before Lucas even arrives, which only serves to break her. Afterwards, he brutally blinds her on one eye and after Lucas gives in, cuts out her other one before killing her. Even in a story in which he does something horrible in every chapter, this act stands out. |
| 86 | * KnightTemplar: In his mind, Maron is a good guy, a hero and the only one who genuinely cares for the future of the city. In reality, he is a brutal murderer who doesn't have any moral qualms when it comes to achieving his goals. |
| 87 | * LightIsNotGood: The colours of House Mullendore are white and orange, though Maron is among the most villainous characters in the entire story. |
| 88 | * MoralityPet: Surprisingly, even he has one. It is Briar Catelins, Kersea's little sister, whom he treats with genuine care, up to the point where the girl is genuinely fond of him. |
| 89 | * NecessarilyEvil: He sees his own actions as this, though it is very much a case of YMMV how correct he actually is with this assumption. |
| 90 | * ObfuscatingStupidity: He is a bit BookDumb, but far from stupid. Nonetheless, he likes to pretend to be far less educated than he is, up to the point where he pretends to be illiterate, to give his enemies a seeming advantage over him and a false sense of security. |
| 91 | * OffingTheOffspring: His orders to bring Dairon to him explicitly included to bring him alive and unharmed. However, during the fight, one of his men accidentally wounded the boy mortally, which makes Maron indirectly responsible for his death. [[ParentalNeglect Not that he cares though]]. |
| 92 | * PetTheDog: |
| 93 | ** His treatmnt of Briar Catelins plays this straight. He is genuinely nice to the girl, unlike anything he has displayed before and she is genuinely fond of him. |
| 94 | ** In an odd variation, he goes out of his way to give Lucas chances to work with him and only makes his move after it became clear that he is never going to get the answers he hopes for otherwise. |
| 95 | * PyrrhicVictory: His situation at the end of Chapter 6 is a classical example of this. He has succeeded in defeating his last and greatest enemy, but in the process, said enemies adopted daughter crippled him and exposed his secret to the general public. While she had no evidence for her claims, she knew perfectly well that a rumour will suffice to ruin his reputation, effectively making his victory moot. |
| 96 | * RagsToRiches: Rags might stretch it a little bit, but he was born as a lowly nobleman, part of a cadet branch of the main line of House Mullendore, with no hopes of ever inheriting his families ancestral seat at Uplands. Through hard work, he eventually became a knight, a war-hero and the commander of the city guard of Oldtown. |
| 97 | * TheUnfettered: There is absolutely no line he is not willing to cross to achieve his goals. There might be some things he is hesitating to do, but he's never stepping back on his goals, even if it means [[KickTheDog to kick the dog]]. |
| 98 | * WalkingSpoiler: Almost every trope of his gives away the big spoiler that he is the crimelord Butterfly and the main villain of the story. |
| 99 | * WellIntentionedExtremist: Emphasis on the extreme part, but Maron's goals as Butterfly are genuinely good. He wishes to end the street war in Oldtown and organized crime in general, so that the city could gain a chance at peace, where no one has to fear for their lives anymore as long as they obey the law. Until then however, he is drowning the streets with blood. |
| 100 | * WouldHurtAChild: Would kill a child, to be precise. He has no problems with torturing and murdering Himani Sand to get the answers he wants and it has been outright stated that the other Solvers follow the same creed. |
| 101 | * XanatosGambit: Maron is a master of this. Special mention goes to his master plan. He sends one of his men to impersonate him during a meeting with Harpy, the Burned Man's adopted daughter. If this decoy succeeds in capturing her, he has someone to force the Burned Man out of hiding, where he would be killed in a heartbeat. If the decoy fails, he can fake the death of Butterfly, therefore making his enemies careless. One way or the other, he would be in a situation where victory is the only option. |
| 102 | [[/folder]] |
| 103 | [[folder: Ryder Harrington]] |
| 104 | !!Ryder Harrington |
| 105 | A high-ranking captain in the city guard and Maron Mullendore's right-hand man. He is also the brother of Samuel Harrington, one of Butterfly's sellswords. |
| 106 | ---- |
| 107 | * AffablyEvil: [[BreadEggsMilkSquick Well-mannered, friendly, helpful, serial kinslayer]]. |
| 108 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: He is this to Samuel. As children, he has already been the stronger and more skilled fighter and even when they meet again, many years later, Ryder still wipes the floor with his brother. |
| 109 | * AmbiguouslyEvil: Ryder's side of the story, the murder of his family and everything is currently not know. So far, all that is known is Samuel's story. According to several people he interacts with on a regular base, Ryder is a friendly, well-meaning man, who is far from the monster Samuel paints him as. |
| 110 | * BeneathTheMask: If Samuel's accusations are true, then Ryder must be truly murderous beneath his mask. |
| 111 | * BitchInSheepsClothing: As it turns out, the seemingly mild-mannered and fair guard captain is perfectly capable of murdering his entire family in what appears to be cold blood. In his talks to Lucas and Leonard, he comes off as perfectly reasonable, to the point where Samuel's accusations seem completely out-of-character for him. |
| 112 | * CainAndAbel: He is the Cain to Samuel's Abel. |
| 113 | * EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: If he is truly evil, then he at least is capable of feeling affection. He is genuine friends with Farris Flowers and seems to be very fond of Donna, one of the prostitutes at the Thousand Shades of Flowers. |
| 114 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: As amoral as he can be, he is disgusted by Haar attempting to rape Behara, and threatens to castrate him if he does it again. |
| 115 | * KickTheDog: His younger siblings have been completely incapable of defending themselves, yet he slaughtered them nonetheless. |
| 116 | * LockedOutOfTheLoop: It has been confirmed by Mullendore himself that Ryder has no idea about his boss actually being the crimelord Butterfly. |
| 117 | * PunchClockVillain: In Book 2, he begins to work for the Ghiscari slavers Abbas and Bakr, guarding them and their slaves on their way to Yunkai. He remains just as affable and friendly as ever and it is clear he is not working for Abbas out of any fondness for the man or out of any cruel intention, but simply because he needs a well-paid job while making his way east. |
| 118 | * ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After his climactic confrontation with Samuel, Ryder decides that the situation in Oldtown has grown too heated even for him and he leaves for Essos. It likely saves his life when Hishi returns and starts to purge Oldtown from the Solvers and anyone closely associated with Maron Mullendore. |
| 119 | * RetiredMonster: It seems like this at least. Though a serial kinslayer and the source of Samuel's hatred for the past twenty years, he has settled down as a captain of the city guard and now lives a normal life as a well-respected citizen of Oldtown. |
| 120 | * SelfMadeOrphan: He murdered his parents and younger siblings (save for Samuel, who hasn't been home at the time), for reasons that are currently unknown. |
| 121 | * TrueCompanions: With Farris Flowers, his best friend. |
| 122 | [[/folder]] |
| 123 | [[folder: Farris Flowers]] |
| 124 | !! Farris Flowers |
| 125 | Another captain of the city guard and a good friend of Ryder Harrington. |
| 126 | ---- |
| 127 | * AlliterativeName: '''F'''arris '''F'''lowers |
| 128 | * ByTheBookCop: He follows the rules strictly, which sets him apart from other guardsmen, who either serve Butterfly or lean more towards the CowboyCop variety. That said, he is willing to make a tiny exception for Samuel Harrington on his quest to find Ryder. |
| 129 | * TheCavalry: Towards the end of Book 1, he breaks off a fight between Ryder Harrington and his brother Samuel. Though he arrives slightly too late, he is still quick enough to take Samuel into custody. |
| 130 | * HeroicBastard: As his surname implies, he is a bastard. So far, he has also shown to be a caring and capable guardsman who is genuinely dedicated to make his city a better place. |
| 131 | * LockedOutOfTheLoop: There have been no indications that he knows anything about his boss actually being the crimelord Butterfly. |
| 132 | * ReasonableAuthorityFigure: By all accounts, Farris is a reasonable and well-meaning captain of the city guard. |
| 133 | * TrueCompanions: With Ryder Harrington, his best friend. |
| 134 | * YouAreInCommandNow: At the end of Book 1, there is no other way but for him to become the new commander of the city guard, since every other candidate is either dead or has left the city. |
| 135 | [[/folder]] |
| 136 | |
| 137 | ! The Criminal Underworld |
| 138 | !!!The Burned Man and Associates |
| 139 | [[folder: The Burned Man]] |
| 140 | !!Arkan Gorys, the Burned Man |
| 141 | Born as Arkan Gorys, the Burned Man is one of the crimelords of Oldtown and the most influential one at that. He has been heavily crippled as punishment by his former slave master and now has to use his wits to survive in the cutthroat world of Oldtown. |
| 142 | ---- |
| 143 | * AffablyEvil: If you see him as evil, the Burned Man is undeniably this, being a very affable and friendly man, who is capable of jovial talks with people he barely knows. His charisma makes him likeable in the eyes of Jaron and his sympathetic traits do the rest to paint him as this trope. |
| 144 | * AmbiguouslyEvil: It's not entirely clear if the Burned Man is truly evil. A lot of points can be made for both sides. |
| 145 | * AnArmAndALeg: When he is captured, his left hand is severed to send a message towards Harpy. It was the burned one, so he barely felt it, but it nonetheless brought Maron's point across. |
| 146 | * AntiHero: Though an overall benevolent man, the Burned Man is nonetheless a [[TheDon crimelord]], who is capable of a lot of brutality of forced to. He never commits a truly evil act if it isn't absolutely necessary though. |
| 147 | * AntiVillain: If you see him as a villain for being a criminal, he still deserves credit for caring about the lowest of the low in Oldtown's society, the ones no one else cares about. He employs children in his crimes, but cares highly for them at the same time, something that sets him apart from [[BadBoss Butterfly]]. |
| 148 | * ArchEnemy: He is this to Butterfly and the only one who is even accepted as such by the man himself. |
| 149 | * BecauseImGoodAtIt: This is eventually revealed to be his sole reason for still being in Oldtown. He is long sick of the war going on there |
| 150 | * BenevolentBoss: In stark contrast to Butterfly, he genuinely cares for the ones working for him, never gives up on any of them and makes sure they all have more or less stable lives. This is especially true for [[FriendToAllChildren children]]. |
| 151 | * BreakHerHeartToSaveHer: Realizing how dangerous Oldtown would become in the near future, he devises such a plan, in which he would send Harpy away from his side, a move that would obviously break her heart. With Jaron by her side, he was confident that she would never return, therefore being spared the worst Oldtown has to offer for her. Unfortunately, he comes up with this plan a little too late. |
| 152 | * TheChessmaster: His plans are usually long, complex and foolproof, making him a textbook example of this trope. |
| 153 | * DarkAndTroubledPast: Once, the Burned Man was known as Arkan Gorys, a gambler from Lorath. He lived a common life and even had a small family. Unfortunately, he had debts with the wrong people. They killed his family to make a statement and sold him as a slave to the city of Yunkai, to pay for his debts. There, he ended up as a slave for the cruel Razdal zo Yunzak. It was also there where he met the young girl that would grow up to be Harpy, his adopted daughter. When she, a girl of five at the time, made a fatal mistake that ended with the death of Razdal's favourite son, he took the blame and received the punishment. Said punishment resulted in him being tied above four braziers, each below one of his limbs, to slowly burn them to the point where he was permanently crippled. Afterwards, he was thrown out to die. The only reason he is still alive is that Harpy saved him, by escaping from Razdal with enough coin to buy a passage to Westeros for both. |
| 154 | * TheDon: His role in the criminal underworld of Oldtown has strong vibes of this. His introductory scene even could have gotten straight out of [[Film/TheGodfather the Godfather]] and he cultivates the image of a wealthy, tasteful criminal boss. |
| 155 | * EvilCripple: If you see him as evil, that is, but the Burned Man is at least a morally ambiguous and highly crippled man. |
| 156 | * TheFagin: A rare sympathetic form of the trope, as the Burned Man genuinely wishes to give otherwise homeless street urchins a new perspective and a place in life. He still uses them for criminal purposes though. |
| 157 | * FriendToAllChildren: By far his most redeeming trait is how much the Burned Man cares for the children of Oldtown. Not only Oldtown actually, as he even has the habit of buying child slaves from his contacts in Slaver's Bay, to free and employ them, giving them a better life than they ever would have had in Essos. |
| 158 | * GeniusCripple: After being tortured by the Masters of Yunkai, the Burned Man is left unable to properly use his limbs. As a result, he had to use his intelligence to achieve his goals, proving that he is in fact extremely intelligent. |
| 159 | * GuileHero: Being a GeniusCripple, he is basically forced to use his wits instead of raw power. All things considered, he also qualifies as a hero, for using his intelligence to better the lives of Oldtown's lowest of the low. |
| 160 | * IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer: He almost quotes this trope word for word when he gives Jaron his blessing for his relationship with Harpy. |
| 161 | * MercyKill: After getting captured by the Solvers, he is tortured to such a severe degree that moving him out of their dungeon is impossible. When Jaron and Harpy finally find him, they realize that they can't do anything for him anymore, aside from granting him a quick death, to spare him further torture. |
| 162 | * MoralityPet: He fully admits that Harpy serves as one to him. |
| 163 | * NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters: His entire organization is a group of these. They are criminals, very much so, but he and most of his men genuinely care for Oldtown and try to better the lives of its people. |
| 164 | * NobleDemon: The Burned Man is well-intentioned, affable and honestly polite, even towards enemies. That doesn't change the fact that he is a criminal, who uses dishonourable tactics to win. He knows that he, at best, qualifies as an example of this trope, so he fully embraces it. If a villainous act is not absolutely necessary, the Burnd Man simply won't take it. |
| 165 | * NonActionGuy: Naturally, the severe burns he suffered at the hands of the masters have crippled him to the point where he is absolutely unabl to fight, or even to do most things on his own. Instead, he relies on his underlings to fight for him. |
| 166 | * PapaWolf: Towards Harpy. There is no one the Burned Man loves more than her. It gets to the point where he doesn't allow her to do anything that could put her into danger. |
| 167 | * TallDarkAndHandsome: Apparently, he would have been this if not for his wounds. Jaron notices that he would have been a handsome man otherwise, though the gruesome burns on his limbs tarnish the effect quit seriously. |
| 168 | * WellIntentionedExtremist: To a slightly similar degree than Butterfly, but the Burned Man is still willing to use absolutely criminal tactics to achieve his goals, which often includes a willingness for violence, even if he ses it as a last resort. |
| 169 | [[/folder]] |
| 170 | [[folder: Harpy]] |
| 171 | !! Harpy |
| 172 | Harpy was born a slave and spent her early childhood in Yunkai, as a slave to Razdal zo Yunzak, before escaping together with the Burned Man, who acts as her father figure. She now serves as his handmaiden and confidante in his organization, actively working towards his goals. |
| 173 | ---- |
| 174 | * ActionGirl: Having grown up in Oldtown, Harpy is no stranger to combat and not afraid to fight herself. While not particularly skilled, she is fast, which is her main advantage in any fight. Over the course of the story, she is seen personally fighting at least three times, with the implication that it hasn't been her first fights in any way. |
| 175 | * AloofDarkHairedGirl: Initially. She grows out of it once she starts to trust Jaron a bit more. |
| 176 | * AntiHero: At the least, Harpy has good intentions, but her flaws, particularly her anger and vengefulness prevent her from becoming a full hero. Over the course of the story, she shows several darker shades of herself, proving that she is a PragmaticHero at best. |
| 177 | * TheAtoner: Harpy is clearly shaken by what she did to the fake Butterfly in a moment of weakness. She spends a majority of the next two chapters trying to atone for her actions, as much as Butterfly deserved them. This culminates in her willingness to die to take out the real Butterfly, Maron Mullendore. |
| 178 | * BeautifulSlaveGirl: PlayedWith. She used to be a slave girl, but was only a young child by the time she escaped. Eventually then, she grew up to be very beautiful. |
| 179 | * BornIntoSlavery: Harpy was born as the daughter of a Lysene slave and a slave from Ghis, being raised as property to Razdal zo Yunzak. She didn't get to know freedom until she was five years old, which was where she escaped with the Burned Man. |
| 180 | * BrokenBird: It's clear that years of emotional suffering so close to Butterfly have left a toll on Harpy, turning her from a formerly idealistic girl into a cynical young woman, [[StepfordSnarker who hides genuine feelings under a mask of snark]]. The events of the story do little to actually improve her situation. |
| 181 | * ButNotTooForeign: Harpy is of Ghiscari and Andal descent, with her mother being a native slave from Slaver's Bay and her father being a slave from Lys. As a result, she has the physical features of a Ghiscari, save for oddly fair skin. |
| 182 | * DarkAndTroubledPast: Being born into slavery is basically a guarantee for this. However, Harpy takes it a step further, as seen in the Burned Man's entry. To this day, she personally blames herself for his condition and she knows that she isn't even entirely wrong with this assumption. Seeing countless friends dying in agonizingly brutal ways at the hands of Butterfly and the Solvers do the rest to turn her into a massive case of a BrokenBird. |
| 183 | * DeadpanSnarker: After a slightly aloof beginning, Harpy quickly proves that she has her moments. |
| 184 | * DefrostingIceQueen: Though initially cold and distant, Harpy quickly grows to trust (and eventually love) Jaron. Her initial behaviour is likely very much a defense mechanism, to prevent getting close to someone who is going to die either way in the brutal street war in Oldtown. |
| 185 | * FriendToAllChildren: Like her adopted father, Harpy shows a high fondness for the children of Oldtown. |
| 186 | * GuileHeroine: Though Harpy knows how to [[ActionGirl fight]], she is not a particularly strong physical combatant. As such, and considering that she lives in the dangerous city of [[ViceCity Oldtown]], she had to rely mostly on her wits and her ability to think quickly and to improvise correctly. |
| 187 | * HappilyAdopted: Harpy is considered to be the Burned Man's daughter in all but blood. She is incredibly fond of him, a feeling that is mutual, since she serves as his MoralityPet. |
| 188 | * HeroicBSOD: She crosses it one big time after the Burned Man's death. |
| 189 | * MafiaPrincess: This is her role in the Burned Man's organization. It is partially subverted though, since she takes an active role at her adoptive father's side, managing the needs of the many people working for them, as well as showing signs of being trained as his designated leader. |
| 190 | * MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After realizing how horrifyngly brutal her murder of Butterfly was, she has such a reaction. While not feeling guilty for killing him, she feels nonetheless horrible for doing it in such an unnecessarily brutal way. It leads to her becoming TheAtoner in the following chapter. |
| 191 | * NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters: Much like her adopted father, Harpy cares for the city of Oldtown and for the ones living in it. Especially the street children of Oldtown know that she is always willing to help them. |
| 192 | * NiceJobBreakingItHero: Eventually, Harpy gets a chance to kill Butterfly and she gives in to it, delivering one of the stories most prominent examples of a CruelAndUnusualDeath. In doing so, she deprives the Burned Man of a chance to interrogate the crimelord, which would have resulted in a chance to learn that he is not the real Butterfly, but a FallGuy, installed by Maron Mullendore for exactly this situation. It gives him the opportunity to finish his plans, by luring the criminals of Oldtown out into the open and it results in the deaths of her adoptive father and most of her friends. |
| 193 | * PayEvilUntoEvil: Her killing of Butterfly, especially with how brutal it has been, would have been a massive KickTheDog moment or even a MoralEventHorizon if she would have killed any other character. However, Butterfly himself is not only responsible for a lot of emotional trauma she had to suffer, but also one of the most vile people in Oldtown, responsible for countless deaths or [[FateWorseThanDeath worse]]. While many, herself included, still consider her having gone too far, absolutely no one misses the man that actually suffered this death. |
| 194 | * RevengeBeforeReason: This is Harpy's biggest flaw. Years of suffering under Butterfly have turned her vengeful and bitter, especially towards him and she'd go very far to achieve her vengeance. Given the opportunity, she proves herself to be incapable of holding back. |
| 195 | * OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Harpy was born without a name, being treated as an object by her cruel master. Razdal never cared to give her a name. Instead, she gained her current name as a term of affection by the Burned Man. |
| 196 | * OppositesAttract: Harpy, the pragmatic MafiaPrincess, slowly develops feelings for Jaron, a naive KnightInShiningArmour. She lampshades this trope and states it as one of the reasons she is crushing on him, since his morals and views are so charmingly strange in her eyes. |
| 197 | * SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: She outright states that this is one of the reasons she initially got attracted to Jaron. In Oldtown, there is a heavy lack of good men, which is why she is fascinated by him pretty early after their first meeting. |
| 198 | * ShipTease: From Chapter 3 onwards, she gets copious amounts of it with Jaron. It results in an unsurprising RelationshipUpgrade in Chapter 5. |
| 199 | * StepfordSnarker: Jaron quickly realizes that Harpy, though with a genuinly sarcastic attitude, uses a lot of her humour as a mask to avoid having to talk about genuine feelings. |
| 200 | * {{Tsundere}}: Harpy shows signs of both types, though she is typically a Type B, sweet and friendly towards most people, but with a harsher, mocking side which she shows in her interactions with Jaron. It greatly decreases after their RelationshipUpgrade though. |
| 201 | * ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: After her RelationshipUpgrade with Jaron, Harpy shows a fiercely protective, perhaps even downright possessive side of hers, which shines through even before. Whenever he gets into danger, most prominently during the warehouse fight in Chapter 5, Harpy is capable of reacting with extreme anger and violence in her attempts to help him. |
| 202 | [[/folder]] |
| 203 | [[folder: Ser Jaron the Bastard*]] |
| 204 | !!Ser Jaron |
| 205 | !!!Ser Jaron the Bastard |
| 206 | A young, inexperienced hedge knight, who started to travel through the world on his own after the death of his mentor. He is a bastard, but unlike many others, he fully embraces his status as such and his proud of his heritage. He is also one of the primary Point-of-View characters in the story. |
| 207 | ---- |
| 208 | * AntiHero: After several chapters of character development, Jaron ends up as one, having started off as a KnightInShiningArmour. |
| 209 | * BackToBackBadasses: He prominently forms such a team-up with Ayden Blackwell in the Chapter 6 finale. |
| 210 | * BadassInDistress: Despite being quite a formidable fighter, three Solvers who took him by surprise are able to qound him heavily, up to the point where they would have surely killed him if not for [[BigDamnHeroes Terroma]]. |
| 211 | * BlingOfWar: As a reward for his loyal service and to ensure his safety, Harpy gifts him with a highly expensive and elaboretely crafted armour with extensive golden ornates on it. |
| 212 | * {{Determinator}}: One of Jaron's stronger character traits is his determination to finish a goal he sets for himself. This overlaps with HeroicResolve in a fight, where he refuses to go down. But even outside of a fight, his determination keeps him going even in situations that seem hopeless. |
| 213 | * DisappearedDad: Jaron never learned who his father was. His mother only told him that he was one of her customers and a lord, which Jaron believed her. Before her death, she never got to tell him more about it. |
| 214 | * FishOutOfWater: For Oldtown, where his naivety puts him into a lot of danger. Before arriving there, he had absolutely no experience with the reality of a huge city like this, or how to deal with members of a criminal underworld, who are not as easily put into the BlackAndWhiteMorality has been taught about. |
| 215 | * GlorySeeker: Jaron's primary motivation is to gain glory and fame, to prove that even he as a bastard is capable of great things. Arguably, he grows out of this mindset after a while, but a hint of his yearning for recognition remains. |
| 216 | * GoingNative: Eventually, he grows out of his more naive behaviour, partially compromising his honour in the process and becoming pragmatic enough to survive in Oldtown. He fully embraces the Oldtown lifestyle by the time he starts a relationship with Harpy. |
| 217 | * HeroicBastard: As his nickname implies, Jaron is a bastard and since his father never acknowledged him, he doesn't even have a bastard surname. He is also one of the more heroic and well-meaning characters in the story. |
| 218 | * HeroicResolve: In situations that seem particularly grim, Jaron just keeps going, way beyond his usual level of stamina and to the point of complete and utter exhaustion. He tends to get more angry and emotional in these situations and his sudden outburts of power, while not necessarily enough to defeat his enemy, is at least always enough to keep him going for quite a while. |
| 219 | * LoveMakesYouEvil: Evil is quite a stretch and Jaron never goes beyond PragmaticHero levels of evilness, but all of his more morally questionable actions are motivated by his love for Harpy. |
| 220 | * KnightInShiningArmour: He started the story as a morally uptight and well-meaning knight, who took all of his vows seriously and yearned for adventure. Interestingly, by the time he got an actual [[BlingOfWar shining armour]], he already turned down a path that would lead him to becoming more of a PragmaticHero. |
| 221 | * MadeOfIron: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] example, but Jaron seems to take quite a bit more punishment in a fight than many other characters. One of the early chapters sees him taking a crossbow bolt to the arm, which breaks it, but despite that, he continues to fight in the following chapters, despite his wound being barely healed. He makes it only worse by putting too much stress on the broken limb, but he still shows to be able to fight. |
| 222 | * NaiveNewcomer: He starts off as this to the world of Westeros in general and the city of Oldtown in particular. Before the death of his mentor, he never went on a journey on his own and never had to deal with many of the hardships a lonely traveller has to suffer. It gets only worse in Oldtown, where his WideEyedIdealist tendencies tend to bring quite some trouble for him at first. |
| 223 | * NiceJobBreakingItHero: He allows Harpy to kill Butterfly, in the attempt to grant her closure after years of suffering. This turns out to be a terrible mistake, when the man that seemed to be Butterfly ends up being revealed as a decoy. By killing him, Jaron lost a chance to gain valuable information. It also meant that the Burned Man and his associates walked right into a trap the real Butterfly lay for them, which ends in an ambush that results in half of the organization and the Burned Man himself being slaughtered by Butterfly's Solvers. |
| 224 | * OddFriendship: The naive KnightInShiningArmour Jaron forms one of these with the cocky sellsword Martin. |
| 225 | * OppositesAttract: This trope is the cause of his attraction to Harpy and also the reason why she is quite willing to reciprocate his feelings. They couldn't be more different, especially in the way they grew up and in their morality, but it makes their bond all the stronger. |
| 226 | * PayEvilUntoEvil: His refusal to stop Harpy from killing Butterfly might have been quite harsh, but there's no arguing that the man used to be a terrible racist and sexist, who fully earned the hatred people had for him. This makes Jaron's actions an example of this trope instead of being a KickTheDog-moment. |
| 227 | * PragmaticHero: Plenty of CharacterDevelopment is necessary for him to grow into this, but eventually, Jaron adopts a more pragmatic mindset, where he is willing to resort to trickery and dishonourable behaviour to ensure the survival of himself and his loved ones. Generally though, he still puts more emphasis on the hero part. |
| 228 | * SadisticChoice: The story in general features plenty of these, but Jaron seems to have an extraordinary amount of them in his storyline. Two examples would be his choice to allow Harpy to kill Butterfly or stop her and his later choice to MercyKill the Burned Man or let Harpy or [[TakeAThirdOption Samuel]] do it. |
| 229 | * ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: His storyline in a nutshell. It doesn't take him long to realize that the Burned Man is perhaps the least evil and least corrupt faction in Oldtown, despite being opposed to the law. As such, he joins him and his organization in their mission to defeat their [[BlackAndGreyMorality far worse]] opponents. |
| 230 | * ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After starting a relationship with Harpy, he realizes that he cares too much for her to let her die in Oldtown. For this, he devises a plan together with the Burned Man |
| 231 | * ShipTease: He has this going on with Harpy for quite a while, until their eventual RelationshipUpgrade at the end of Chapter 5. |
| 232 | * SonOfAWhore: Quite literally. His mother, Janissa, was a whore and Jaron's father has been one of her clients. According to her, he has been a high lord, something Jaron fully believes and embraces. |
| 233 | * TookALevelInCynic: The suffering Jaron undergoes in Oldtown not only hardens him and makes him more pragmatic, it also shatters his beliefs as an idealist and turns him into a far more noticeable cynic, even if he still clings to his key morals. |
| 234 | * TragicDream: Jaron has to learn the hard way that life is not like one of the stories he dreamt about. His attempts at being a noble hero in a vile and rotten city end just as well as you'd expect. |
| 235 | * VitriolicBestBuds: After surviving Tanner's Alley together, he forms one of these with Martin. |
| 236 | * TheWatson: As a newcomer to the situation in Oldtown, he is able to realistically ask questions that provide exposition about the differnt factions in the city for the readers, who know just as much as he does. |
| 237 | * WideEyedIdealist: At the very least, he starts at one. The longer he stays in Oldtown, the less wide-eyed he becomes, though he never gives up on his idealism completely. |
| 238 | * WrongGenreSavvy: He starts off believing that life is like the romantic tales he heard about as a child. Not only couldn't he be more wrong, the fact that his first exposure to the real world all on his own is his stay in [[ViceCity Oldtown]] makes things only worse. |
| 239 | * YoungerThanTheyLook: Jaron has quite an impressive stubble for someone his age. Looking like a man in his mid-twenties, he actually is only eighteen years old. |
| 240 | [[/folder]] |
| 241 | [[folder: Martin Wilshere]] |
| 242 | !!Martin Wilshere |
| 243 | Martin is among the highest-ranking sellswords in the Burned Man's organization. Originally from Braavos, he moved to Westeros years ago and arrived in the city of Oldtown, where he started working for the Burned Man, eventually becoming one of his most trusted associates. |
| 244 | ---- |
| 245 | * AntiHero: Despite the fact that he is portrayed as a likable and heroic man, he still serves a crimelord and is at best a PragmaticHero. |
| 246 | * BigBrotherInstinct: His feelings for Harpy are decidedly non-romantic, which makes them a part of this trope. |
| 247 | * BigDamnHeroes: He pulls one in the Chapter 4 finale, when he and his men arrive at the warehouse just in time to save Jaron and Harpy from meeting their untimely fates at the hands of Butterfly. |
| 248 | * ChivalrousPervert: Martin is known for dropping lewd comments, even towards Harpy, whom he sees more as a little sister than anything else. This doesn't stop him from being quite the hero if necessary though. |
| 249 | * DeadpanSnarker: Like most sellswords in Oldtown, Martin is no stranger to making snarky jokes. In his case, he rarely seems to say anything else, to the point where he comes off as completely unable to take things seriously. |
| 250 | * DefiantToTheEnd: Knowing that he has no chance to escape with his life, Martin decides to go down fighting, with the hopes that he will at least be able to cover his friends' escape. |
| 251 | * DisappearedDad: We never learn just what happened, but his father died years ago. Martin is quite fond of him, even keeping his ring as a memento, though he does not like to speak about it. |
| 252 | * HeroicBSOD: He hits it after Keira's death. |
| 253 | * HeroicSacrifice: He decides to buy a wounded Jaron time to escape. To do this, he fights the Tom, even though he himself is already mortally wounded. |
| 254 | * LadykillerInLove: In his earlier years, Martin has been very much a ladykiller. However, this changed when he met [[HookerWithAHeartOfGold Keira]], whom he genuinely fell in love with an who reciprocated his feelings. |
| 255 | * TheLancer: He starts off as having this role to Harpy, but eventually, he grows to becoming one for Jaron as well. |
| 256 | * MauveShirt: For all the characterization he gets, Martin ends up as one, when he dies only four chapters after he gets first introuced. During this time, he has been quite important to the plot in Oldtown though. |
| 257 | * OhCrap: Having a history with the man, Martin has such a reaction whenever he encounters [[MalevolentMaskedMan the Tom]]. |
| 258 | * PragmaticHero: To a slightly lesser degree than most of the other sellswords in Oldtown, but Martin has no problem using violence even against allies to succeed at his missions. Despite that, he is one of the more heroic characters in Oldtown. |
| 259 | * PrettyBoy: Martin is described as looking more like a pretty boy than a grown man. |
| 260 | * RoaringRampageOfRevenge: After Keira's death, Martin basically loses it. He goes onto a rampage to take down the Tom, not taking his personal health into account. It ultimately gets him killed. |
| 261 | * VitriolicBestBuds: After bashing heads with him initially, when his sarcasm rubbed him off the wrong way, Martin formed a genuine friendship with Jaron. It doubles as an OddFriendship. |
| 262 | [[/folder]] |
| 263 | [[folder: Himani Sand]] |
| 264 | !!Himani Sand |
| 265 | One of the children that work for the Burned Man. Himani is originally from Dorne, but was sold into slavery, until the Burned Man bought him and gave him his freedom. Ever since, he loyally worked for his organization. |
| 266 | ---- |
| 267 | * TheArtfulDodger: One of several kids who work as a thief for [[TheFagin the Burned Man]]. |
| 268 | * CheerfulChild: No matter the situation, Himani is cheerful, positive and energetic. |
| 269 | * ColdBloodedTorture: He suffers such a fate when he gets captured by the Alley Cats, who bring him to [[TortureTechnician the Sphynx]]. |
| 270 | * DeadpanSnarker: His humour is quite a prominent trait of his, especially when it comes to being snarky. |
| 271 | * DeathOfAChild: He gets killed during the events of the Chapter 6 finale, making him the first child to be killed on-screen. |
| 272 | * MadeASlave: He suffered this fate in his backstory. The new wife of his father had a heavy dislike for him and eventually arranged for him to be sold to slavers and brought to Slaver's Bay. He was supposed to undergo the training for an Unsullied, but fortunately for him, he was sold to the Burned Man instead, who freed him and gave him a new life. |
| 273 | * StreetSmart: Himani's main strength is how good he knows his way on the streets of Oldtown. He has contacts among the local beggars, knows which places to avoid or where to go for a good shortcut and his knowledge exceeds those of many adult characters in the story. |
| 274 | * StreetUrchin: He is outright referred as one at several points of the story. |
| 275 | [[/folder]] |
| 276 | [[folder: Jarek]] |
| 277 | !!Jarek |
| 278 | A sellsword and Oldtown native, who joined the Burned Man's group years ago, but who still takes on several freelance jobs as a sellsword. |
| 279 | ---- |
| 280 | * AbhorrentAdmirer: He clearly shows signs of being attracted to Keira. However, she is greatly disgusted at his more jerkish qualities and therefore has made it very clear that she's not into him. |
| 281 | * AntiHero: So much that he barely qualifies as a hero at all. However, during the events of the story, he firmly fights on the side of the good guys. Nonetheless, he is a pragmatist and more than willing to KickTheDog if necessary. |
| 282 | * DeadpanSnarker: Like most of the sellswords in Oldtown, Jarek can be quite witty. |
| 283 | * FragileSpeedster: His fighting style mostly relies on being faster than his opponent, to outmanuver them. Most of the time, this works very well for him. However, once someone actually manages to grab him, things tend to get messy pretty quickly. |
| 284 | * FriendToAllChildren: One of his most redeeming traits is how friendly he is with children. He quickly becomes a friend to Ellena after being assigned to guard her ship and he is one of the few characters that treat Himani with nothing but kindness. |
| 285 | * {{Jerkass}}: Usually, Jarek shows little nice traits. He is rude, coldly pragmatic and has very little patience. He doesn't even refrain from using slurs against Harpy, once he got the opinion that she would betray them. |
| 286 | ** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: However, he does have a softer side, as shown in his interaction with Ellena. |
| 287 | * MauveShirt: He only appeared in two chapters, where little of his backstory is revealed, before being killed off by the Moggy during the ambush at the end of Chapter 6. |
| 288 | * PragmaticHero: Jarek is a very pragmatic person and so much of an AntiHero that he barely qualifies as a hero at all. However, he has some sort of loyalty to his employers at the least. |
| 289 | * YourHeadAsplode: After the Moggy gets ahold of him, their fight quickly ends with this trope. |
| 290 | [[/folder]] |
| 291 | [[folder: Robb]] |
| 292 | !!Robb |
| 293 | One of the Burned Man's sellswords, Robb is a prime example of someone that has been broken by his life in a city as depraved as Oldtown. Once a proud warrior, he is now a shell of his former self, though still serving the Burned Man. |
| 294 | ---- |
| 295 | * TheAlcoholic: The brutal reality of Oldtown and getting constantly rejected by Harpy have taken a toll on him and he turned to the bottle for solace. This caused him to become a wreck, completely dependant on alcohol. |
| 296 | * AllLoveIsUnrequited: He used to and somehow still has strong feelings for Harpy. However, she has made it clear that she is not interested in him at several points in the past, which he is quite bitter about. |
| 297 | * AmbiguouslyEvil: During his time in the story, it remains a source of debate among the characters whom Robb is loyal to. Nominally a member of the ([[ALighterShadeOfGrey somewhat]]) heroic group of the Burned Man, he has also cultivated contacts with Butterfly's Solvers. Even his HeroicSacrifice opens the question if he ever genuinely intended to betray Jaron and Harpy and only got doubts about this during the act, or if he truly never considered betraying them. |
| 298 | * AntiHero: He barely qualifies as a hero at all, making him a HeroInNameOnly even [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor at the times he is on the heroes side]]. |
| 299 | * ButtMonkey: Robb is one of the biggest examples of this trope in the entire story. Two years ago, he used to be a handsome and charismatic sellsword. His unrequited feelings for Harpy turned him to alcoholism, which led to him losing control of his life. He gets zero respect from the other members of the Burned Man's group, up to the point where he is physically beaten and the girl he loves grows to downright hate him. Despite his claims of being loyal to them, nobody trusts him and the moment he gets a chance to prove himself, he is killed by Butterfly, becoming one of the characters with the shortest lifespan in the entire story. |
| 300 | * FakeDefector: He claims that his role in the Burned Man's organization is to be this towards the Solvers. The Burned Man backs up his claims, but it remains unclear if Robb remained true to his objective or if he became an actual defector. |
| 301 | * HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: One thing about Robb is that no one is exactly sure on whose side he is on. He is introduced when Jaron overhears a talk between him and the Tom, Butterfly's [[TheDragon dragon]], but later claims that it is part of [[FakeDefector a ruse]]. Later, he organizes a meeting between Butterfly, Jaron, himself and Harpy, during which he seemingly switches sides to Butterfly for good. He dies as a Face though, when pulling a HeroicSacrifice while turning against Butterfly. |
| 302 | * HeroicSacrifice: Surprisingly for being such a massive {{Jerkass}}, Robb goes out as a hero. After deciding to turn against Butterfly for good, he takes on the man himself, in order to buy Jaron time to save Harpy, the girl they both love. This act of selflessness actually switches the way both, Jaron and Harpy, see him from there on. |
| 303 | * {{Jerkass}}: Robb's most defining trait is that he is a massive example of this trope. During his time in the story, almost every single appearance of his involves him antagonizing Jaron, Harpy or Martin, even when he is clearly outmatched. It reaches levels where he almost [[KickTheDog kicks the dog]] in the way how far he goes with his douche behaviour. |
| 304 | * LoveMakesYouEvil: Much like Jaron, Robb is in love with Harpy. In his case, he claims that he did some pretty bad things out of love to her. Her rejection also drove him to his current {{Jerkass}} behaviour. Of course, he is a highly UnreliableNarrator, so how much of his actions are truly Harpy's fault can only be guessed, especially since she tells a completely different story. |
| 305 | * WeHardlyKnewYe: He only appears in a single chapter, [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor during which he switches between being an uneasy ally or an ambiguous enemy]], until he is killed by Butterfly during the events of the Chapter 4 finale. |
| 306 | * YoungerThanTheyLook: It's hard to imagine, but Robb is only two years older than Jaron, which would make him twenty years old. As a result of his destructive lifestyle, especially the [[TheAlcoholic excessive drinking]], he has aged prematurely and looks at least ten years older than he truly is. |
| 307 | [[/folder]] |
| 308 | [[folder: Ayden Blackwell]] |
| 309 | !! Ayden Blackwell |
| 310 | The newest addition to the Burned Man's group. Originally a freelancing sellsword, he reluctantly decided to take up work from the Burned Man during the events of the story, mostly for the payment, so that he can provide for his pregnant girlfriend Taria. |
| 311 | ----- |
| 312 | * BackToBackBadasses: He briefly has such a scene with Jaron during the Chapter 6 finale, where they fight off a group of city guardsmen in that way. While they are heavily outnumbered, they both manage to survive. |
| 313 | * BigDamnHeroes: Together with Martin Wilshere and Samantha Ducard, Ayden is one of several sellswords who arrive to save the day in the Chapter 4 finale. However, he isn't identified as being part of them until Chapter 5, where his involvement is confirmed, |
| 314 | * ColdBloodedTorture: After getting captured by Butterfly, he is subjected to some serious torture, which leaves him with painful wounds all over his chest and back. |
| 315 | * {{Determinator}}: No matter what, Ayden will not break if it means that he can keep his family safe. |
| 316 | * FamilyMan: Ayden is a dedicated family man and very much in love with his girlfriend, the singer Taria Templeton. At the time of the story, they even expect their first child together. |
| 317 | * HeroicSacrifice: He tries to pull one off in the Chapter 6 finale, when he lures away a number of guardsmen to cover the escape of his girlfriend and several others. While he survives, he fully expected to die. |
| 318 | * HiddenDepths: A common sellsword at first glance, Ayden is revealed to be not only a loving FamilyMan, which in itself is a rarity in the cutthroat reality of Oldtown, but also [[SmarterThanYouLook a lot smarter than he initially seems]]. |
| 319 | * NotQuiteDead: For a brief amount of time between Chapter 6 and 7, he was considered dead by his friends, after breaking free from the fight to lure away some of the guardsmen that would have otherwise overpowered the others. As it turns out, he has been captured and brought to the dungeons, though he is freed before anything truly bad could happen. |
| 320 | * PutOnABus: After helping Jaron out one last time in the first chapter of Book 2, he decides to stay behind with Taria and their soon-to-be-born baby instead of joining the knight's quest to save Harpy. However, he tells Jaron to seek out his estranged brother Arryn in Lys if he wishes to have another fighter on his side. |
| 321 | * SixthRanger: To the Burned Man's organization as a whole. He only joins them during the final days of the street war in Oldtown, just as they plan on taking down Butterfly once and for all. |
| 322 | * TheSmartGuy: His intelligence an tactical understanding far exceeds those of common sellswords. The Burned Man himself took note of that and decided to make him part of his advisors pretty quickly. |
| 323 | [[/folder]] |
| 324 | [[folder: Erik Inchfield]] |
| 325 | !!Erik Inchfield |
| 326 | One of the common sellswords in service of the Burned Man. Erik wisely keeps his distance to the higher-ups in his organization, though he is far from content with his low position, always seeking ways to improve it. |
| 327 | ---- |
| 328 | * AntiHero: A backstabbing, opportunistic and greedy man, yet nonetheless more or less heroic by Oldtown's standards. |
| 329 | * AscendedExtra: InUniverse. He started off as a lowly member of the Burned Man's organization. However, after recent events claimed a lot of lives among his companions, the higher-ups are eventually forced to directly rely on his help and he gets to accompany Jaron an Harpy during an important mission. |
| 330 | * DudeWheresMyRespect: Erik repeatedly puts his life on the line to help Jaron out in Book 1. As such, he is understandably a bit pissed off that the reward he was promised for this no longer exists and even more disappointed that Jaron is so quick to dismiss his contributions. |
| 331 | * InTheBack: He kills Jaqoreo Kotos, one of the sellswords that wished to collaborate with Butterfly, in that way, saving the lives of Jaron and Harpy in the process and winning their trust. |
| 332 | * OnlyInItForTheMoney: He never failes to point out that this is his sole motivation to help, since he hopes for extraproportionally huge rewards one the mision succeeds, knowing fully well that his employers are in no position to decline. |
| 333 | * PetTheDog: Even though he knows how dangerous it is, he joins the fight against Samuel Harrington, despite earlier reluctance. His intervention gives Jaron far more of a chance to win. |
| 334 | * PragmaticHero: Opportunistic to a high degree, especially in a fight. Erik has no problem stabbing a companion in the back to gain an advantage, yet he is still more or less one of the heroes of the story. |
| 335 | * SelfMadeOrphan: His cousin Gerald claims that he killed his own mother, though the circumstances behind this haven't been revealed yet. |
| 336 | * SixthRanger: For Jaron and Harpy, as he joins them only temporarily in Chapter 7, during their mission to free the Burned Man from Butterfly's dungeons. |
| 337 | * SocialClimber: Erik dreams of a rich, carefree life. Unfortunately for him, he is merely a lowly sellsword, though thanks to his pragmatism and ambition, he is slowly rising in the ranks. At the moment, he is working for Hishi, who is proving to be a far more benevolent and stable boss than the Burned Man has ever been, with chances to improve his standing in the future. |
| 338 | [[/folder]] |
| 339 | |
| 340 | !!!The Solvers |
| 341 | [[folder: Butterfly]] |
| 342 | !!Butterfly |
| 343 | The leader of the Solvers. Butterfly appeared in the city of Oldtown years ago and quickly made a name for himself for his utter ruthlessness with which he fought against the other crimelords. His ultimate goal is to rid Oldtown of the influence of organized crime, so that the city can advance into a golden future. |
| 344 | ---- |
| 345 | * AnArmAndALeg: Before his death, he loses his sword hand in his duel against Samantha. |
| 346 | * BigBad: Butterfly is the leader of the Solvers, one of Oldtown's big criminal gangs and through them quite likely the worst criminal in the entire city. His war against the more well-meaning Burned Man is a major story arc in Book 1 and directly affects a lot of the plot, making him (or rather, the actual Butterfly) one of the main villains of the entire story. |
| 347 | * CruelAndUnusualDeath: First he loses a hand and an eye, then he is slowly and viciously castrated by Harpy, before violently getting stabbed to death, a process that also claims his remaining eye. Finally, Harpy cuts his throat, killing him for good. |
| 348 | * DecoyLeader: As it turns out the man posing as Butterfly is in no way the true leader of the Solvers. This (questionable) honour goes to none other than Maron Mullendore. |
| 349 | * TheDreaded: For good reason, Butterfly is perhaps the most feared man in all of Oldtown. |
| 350 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: As little as they are in terms of standards, but Butterfly claims not to bring harm to law-abiding citizens. However, they more than often get in the crossfire during his fights, which he does not seem to particularly mind. |
| 351 | * FallGuy: The man that seems to be Butterfly is merely this to Maron Mullendore. His death gives Maron a chance to fake the death of Butterfly, to lure out his enemies, to kill them off and to put the Butterfly persona to rest at the same time. |
| 352 | * FromNobodyToNightmare: While Butterfly's real identity is not know, it can be agreed upon that absolutely no one heard of him before he and his movement came to Oldtown. Except not really. The real Butterfly is Maron Mullendore, who has been an important figure in the city for decades before taking on the role of Butterfly. |
| 353 | * HateSink: WordOfGod has been outright stated that nothing about this man was meant to be seen as likable in any way. The reason behind this was to make sure that the choice to kill him or spare him would be made harder than it otherwise would have been. |
| 354 | * {{Hypocrite}}: Though Butterfly claims to have good intentions and to only stop the crime in Oldtown |
| 355 | * IHaveYouNowMyPretty: Once he actually gets his hands on Harpy, he makes it clear just what he intends to do with her. On top of that, he reportedly has a history of raping his female prisoners. |
| 356 | * {{Jerkass}}: Perhaps the most foul-mouthed and hateful character in the entire story. |
| 357 | * KarmicDeath: Butterfly suffers one of the most horrible and painful deaths in the story, quite similar to the way he himself has killed countless of people. On top of that, he is killed by Harpy, whom he has constantly insulted and belittled for her heritage and allegiance. |
| 358 | * MinorMajorCharacter: He only appears in a single chapter, in three parts, even though he is among the most influential people in the city, whose offscreen actions drive a majority of the plot. Only that he isn't the real Butterfly, just one of his underlings, who poses as him to play the role of a FallGuy. |
| 359 | * OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: It's Butterfly. We never learn about his real name and he goes to great lengths to keep his identity a secret. He also hides the fact that even his nickname is not his own. He's not Butterfly at all, just one of his underlings. |
| 360 | * PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: A lot of his screentime in his introductory scene is spent hurling racial and sexistic slurs towards Harpy, whom he hates with a particular passion. Many of these slurs are meant to insult her personally, but it shines through that he really believes in them to a worrying degree. |
| 361 | * WalkingSpoiler: Many of the tropes here give away the twist that this man is not the real Butterfly, but merely a high-ranking member of the Solvers who willingly poses as the leader himself to avoid attention for the true Butterfly. |
| 362 | * WellIntentionedExtremist: With special emphasis on the extremist part, but Butterfly genuinely wants to change Oldtown for the better, by destroying organized crime at all cost. He has long since crossed the line in his fight though and became at least as bad as those he fights though. |
| 363 | * WouldHurtAChild: His entire organization is willing to even kill children if necessary and Butterfly has a particularly cruel habit of mutilating children who work for the Burned Man so much that their friends are only able to give them a MercyKill afterwards. |
| 364 | [[/folder]] |
| 365 | [[folder: Samuel Harrington]] |
| 366 | !!Samuel Harrington |
| 367 | !!!The Fang of Shadows |
| 368 | One of Butterfly's top henchmen, Samuel Harrington is among the most influential of the Solvers, as well as one of the most well-known of them. He is a famous sellsword, feared for his skill with the sword. |
| 369 | ---- |
| 370 | * AffablyEvil: By far the most affable of the Solvers, capable of being genuinely polite to a degree that is way above the FauxAffablyEvil tendencies of most others in his organization. |
| 371 | * AntiVillain: Of the NobleDemon variety. He eventually becomes an AntiHero after his HeelFaceTurn. |
| 372 | * CainAndAbel: He and his brother Ryder have such a rivalry going on. Samuel sees himself as the Abel, but how much he truly is remains up for intrpretation. |
| 373 | * CoDragons: Together with [[MalevolentMaskedMan the Tom]], Samuel serves as one of Butterfly's top enforcers. |
| 374 | * CombatPragmatist: This trope is one of the reasons why Samuel is such a dangerous fighter. He is pragmatic and cold-hearted, up to the point where he tricks his opponents and uses otherwise dishonourable and very painful attacks, literally anything to gain the upper hand. |
| 375 | * DarkAndTroubledPast: Eventually, he opens up and reveals the reason for him joining the Solvers. He wishes to gain information on his brother, who is supposed to hide somewhere in the city. Said brother, Ryder, is responsible for murdering his entire family, his parents, his older sister and his younger brother. Samuel has hunted him down ever since, finally cornering him somewhere in Oldtown. To gain the information he needs, he has agreed to join Butterfly, one of the most well-connected men in the city. |
| 376 | * TheDreaded: As befitting for a man that is a known MasterSwordsman to MemeticBadass degrees, people are usually terrified with the thought of having to face him. On top of that, he constantly proves that he earns this position. |
| 377 | * GoodIsNotNice: Even after his HeelFaceTurn, he remains a [[PragmaticHero pragmatist]], who is not afraid to do morally questionable things. The main difference is that he is doing them for better reasons now, such as harming his former employer. |
| 378 | * HasAType: As he himself claims towards a group of soldiers, he has a thing for Valyrians. His attraction to [[ShipTease Raenna]] seems to be a further indication to this, since Samuel doesn't have a reputation of being much of a ladies man otherwise. |
| 379 | * HeelFaceTurn: It doesn't come as much of a surprise when he decides to turn on Butterfly for good. Realizing that he has been tricked by his former employer makes him not only angry enough to turn on him, it also makes him so vengeful that he decides to cut ties with the Solvers and to help Jaron and Harpy with one final strike against Butterfly. |
| 380 | * LightningBruiser: Part of the reason that makes him so dangerous is that Samuel's fighting style has been perfected to the point where he has few obvious weaknessess. He is fast, he is strong and tough, which makes for a deadly combination. |
| 381 | * MasterSwordsman: One of the most famous examples in the entire story. |
| 382 | * MemeticBadass: InUniverse example, as Samuel is generally treated as one of the best swordsmen alive by the characters around him. This reputation seems to be well-deserved, since the instances where we see him fighting all have him [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomping]] his opponents, even if they outnumber him. Being a massive CombatPragmatist only helps. |
| 383 | * NobleDemon: Samuel isn't actually that much of a bad guy once you get to know him. He has plenty of redeeming traits and is a PunchClockVillain on top of that. He is also capable of remorse, something many of his companions lack, as evidenced by his genuine apology towards Ellena. |
| 384 | * NobleTopEnforcer: As part of his position as TheDragon to Butterfly, paired with his status as an AntiVillain, Samuel has shades of this. He is by far the most affable of the Solvers encountered, with genuinely redeeming traits and [[PunchClockVillain no signs of actual villainy outside of his work for Butterfly]]. |
| 385 | * PetTheDog: His apology towards Ellena after nearly killing her comes off as genuine, so genuine that she even accepts it. He genuinely feels bad for momentarily losing his cool and even reveals a bit of his DarkAndTroubledPast towards her. The fact that she actually accepts his apology moves him deeply and convinces him further to undergo a HeelFaceTurn. |
| 386 | * PragmaticVillainy: A major case. Samuel's main strength is not his skill as a LightningBruiser and MasterSwordsman, it's his intelligence and his ability to know exactly when it is better not to commit an evil act. In fact, he is so pragmatic that he barely qualifies as evil at all, since he never does anything villainous without reason. |
| 387 | * PunchClockVillain: Samuel plays this trope straight. He is by no means a bad guy when not on duty for Butterfly. While there are only few things he wouldn't do for his employer, he shows himself to be an affable and cultivated man whenever he is off-duty. |
| 388 | * OneSteveLimit: Averted with him and Samuel Puffer. For additional confusion, they both even appear in the same storyline for a short time. During these moments, this Samuel is commonly referred to as Harrington though, further indicating that Raenna and Terroma haven't warmed up to him yet. |
| 389 | * OnlyInItForTheMoney: Averted. It seems that his motivation is solely to gain the generous paycheck Butterfly gives him. As it turns out, he actually wishes to gain information on the whereabouts of his brother, which Butterfly, as one of the most well-connected men in the city, can surely provide him with. Little does he know that Butterfly is secretly employing his brother as well, playing them both against each other, for the sake of having two [[MastwerSwordsman master swordsmen]] at his disposal. |
| 390 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: The closer Samuel gets to find Ryder, the more unhinged and emotional he becomes, a far cry from his usual stoic self. This reaches its logical conclusion when he fights against Ryder, where he almost loses control over his actions. |
| 391 | * RedBaron: Among the criminals of Oldtown, he is known as "The Fang of Shadows". |
| 392 | * RidiculouslyAverageGuy: Physically at least. The characters who describe Samuel always find it hard to do, since he has a lack of truly distinctive features that cause him to stand out. This in turn means that he has absolutely no problem with blending in a crowd. |
| 393 | * SixthRanger: For a brief amount of time in Chapter 7, he joins Jaron and Harpy for their mission to free the Burned Man. However, he makes it clear that he [[YouOweMe expects them to help him in return once their mission is over]]. |
| 394 | * ShipTease: He gets plenty with Raenna during their mission together in Chapter 6. |
| 395 | * SuddenlyShouting: Usually bordering on being TheStoic, save for some rare moments, Samuel is shown to genuinely lose his cool in the Chapter 9 finale, when he even begins to shout and scream at Ryder, after finally confronting him. |
| 396 | * TallDarkAndSnarky: Despite his rather blank features, he is seen as handsome, by Raenna at least. He also has some moments where he displays a very dry sort of humour. |
| 397 | * TheWorfEffect: After being built up as one of the best fighters in Oldtown for six chapters and getting plenty of time to show off his skills, Samuel is defeated pretty soundly by his older brother, to show that despite all this, Ryder is still the better man in a combat situation. |
| 398 | * WouldHurtAChild: One of his first actions in the story is to slap Ellena, when she tried to attack him during his attempt to capture her. Later on, when she tried to run away, she only narrowly avoided a strike of his sword, which would have stopped her, but also would have put her into the danger of getting seriously wounded. |
| 399 | * YouOweMe: His reason for helping Jaron and Harpy is only partially the wish to get revenge on Butterfly and to deny him one final triumph. Most of it all, he wishes some competent help for a future favour. |
| 400 | [[/folder]] |
| 401 | [[folder: Jaylon Gordus]] |
| 402 | !!Jaylon Gordus |
| 403 | !!!Longbow Jaylon |
| 404 | A sellsword from the North, who ended up working for Butterfly as one of the higher ranking agents of the Solvers. He also poses as a member of the city guard, where he has become one of several captains. |
| 405 | ---- |
| 406 | * AlasPoorVillain: After spending much of the previous chapter in a road to redemption, during which a far more likable side of him gets revealed, the torture Jaylon has to suffer at the hands of Mullendore himself finally breaks him to the point where he becomes fiercely loyal to his boss once more. Then, he gets killed by Jaron in a completely unrelated situation, dying a highly undignified and unceremonious death. It is likely that the ones who got to see his more likable side, Samantha and her group, as never even going to hear of his death. |
| 407 | * AntiVillain: Quite surprisingly, he manages to be this and a {{Jerkass}}. Jaylon is a rude jerk through and through, but he has some redeeming qualities and eventually even gains a chance at becoming a better person. |
| 408 | * BeingEvilSucks: After spending years on the side of evil, he has grown sick of it. Unfortunately for him, he also regards himself as a case of being TrappedInVillainy, seeing no real way out. |
| 409 | * BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: Jaylon actually pulls a HeelFaceTurn in Chapter 5. However in the time between Chapter 5 and 6, he is captured and severely tortured. This results in him becoming once more a loyal member of the Solvers. |
| 410 | * ButtMonkey: What Robb is to the Burned Man's organization, Jaylon is to the Solvers. He is constantly ridiculed, beaten and humiliated, not only by his own men, but also by those he is supposed to take down. Few of his plans in the story actually work out in any way, with most of them ending with him beaten or worse. |
| 411 | * ConflictingLoyalty: Chapter 5 sees him having to choose between loyalty to Samantha, who treated him with kindness, or Butterfly, whom he swore loyalty to. He chooses Samantha, briefly, before going back to Butterfly's side after being on the receiving end of ColdBloodedTorture. |
| 412 | * DirtyCop: He poses as a member of the city guard, while ultimately loyal only to the Solvers. |
| 413 | * DudeWheresMyRespect: One of the reasons for his temporary HeelFaceTurn in Chapter 5 is the fact that he is a source of mockery from everyone he is supposed to work with, something he finds insufferable. |
| 414 | * EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: The first redeeming trait that is seen from him is when he reacts quite angrily when Samantha implies an insult to his mother in one of her comments. As it turns out, he loves her dearly and deeply regrets leaving her behind with his abusive father. |
| 415 | * {{Fingore}}: [[HeroicSacrifice After remaining behind to distract the Alley Cats]], he is not killed, but captured. We don't get to see the full extent of what Mullendore does to him afterwards, but he loses at the very least every finger on his left hand. The pain is also enough to cause him to undergo a FaceHeelTurn again. |
| 416 | * HeelFaceDoorSlam: He arguably undegoes a full-fledged HeelFaceTurn in Chapter 5, where he turns against Butterfly's men and remains behind to distract them. However, instantly afterwards, he is captured, tortured into submission and reprogrammed into a loyal Solver drone. His fate comes shortly afterwards, when he joins Mullendore during the ambush against Harpy and Jaron. He himself gets into a duel with Jaron and is eventually killed unceremoniously. |
| 417 | * HiddenDepths: Behind his jerkish facade lies a highly insecure and troubled man, who is capable of empathy and love, but who also considers himself too far gone to change his ways. |
| 418 | * InferioritySuperiorityComplex: Part of his jerkish behaviour is a result of him feeling absolutely inferior towards others, in terms of looks, in terms of skills and in terms of the respect they get. He channels this frustration in being as arrogant as possible. |
| 419 | * InformedAbility: From his nickname, it can be guessed that he is a talented archer. However, he is never shown using a bow during his entire time in the story. |
| 420 | * {{Jerkass}}: Jaylon is one of the most prominent examples of this trope in the entire story. Most of what he says is aimed to hurt and he is a thoroughly unpleasant person, without a genuine moral compass and not afraid to KickTheDog. |
| 421 | * KickTheDog: Many of his most jerkish moments result in one of these. Mocking and beating Lucas directly after Lunett's death arguably qualifies as his worst deed though. |
| 422 | * OhCrap: He has a massive one when he realizes that he is about to face [[TheJuggernaut the Moggy]]. |
| 423 | * PunchClockVillain: Outside of his work for Butterfly, Jaylon might still be a {{Jerkass}}, but he never showed any signs of open villainy in these occasions. |
| 424 | * TheDogBitesBack: His temporary betrayal of Butterfly is partially motivated by the wish to get back at those who mocked and belittled him for all these years. He even ends up killing some of the guardsmen who mock him. |
| 425 | * TrappedInVillainy: Jaylon came to the conclusion that BeingEvilSucks years ago. Unfortunately, he is already one of the key members of the Solvers and he knows that quitting is not easy. In fact, it is more work than he is willing to do and more danger than he is willing to risk, so he continues to go along with Butterfly's schemes. |
| 426 | [[/folder]] |
| 427 | [[folder: The Tom]] |
| 428 | !!The Tom/Erik Mogfield |
| 429 | The leader of the Alley Cats, a group of violent sellswords who hide their faces behind masks shape like the heads of cats. Little is known about him aside from this occupation and the fact that he allied his group with the Solvers. |
| 430 | ---- |
| 431 | * AffablyEvil: It is hard to say if he falls under this trope or under FauxAffablyEvil, but he is certainly an affable man, who respects a good fight and is capable of genuinely admiring his opponents, even if he wants them dead. |
| 432 | * BloodKnight: The Tom yearns for fighting, especially to the death and enjoys a good challenge. So far, duels against skillful opponents have ben the only moment he expressed genuine joy at a situation. |
| 433 | * TheCreon: As it turns out, he is highly satisfied with his position as Butterfly's [[TheDragon dragon]], since it gives him a position of importance, while still keeping him invisible from the worst enemies of his employer. |
| 434 | * CoDragons: Together with Samuel Harrington, he serves as TheDragon to Butterfly. After Samuel's HeelFaceTurn, he becomes the sole dragon, with a brief phase of DragonTheirFeet. |
| 435 | * CombatPragmatist: Interstingly, it overlaps with being a FairPlayVillain. The Tom loves a good fight, he absolutely does, but at the same tim, he uses tactics that are generally considered as unfair, like throwing knives at his opponents. |
| 436 | * CoolSword: Much attention has been put onto his weapon of choice, an exotic, curved sword from the east. |
| 437 | * DanceBattler: Once he actually gets to fight, he does so with remarkable speed, using swift, graceful moves to outmaneuver his opponent, before hitting with surgical precision. |
| 438 | * DarkIsEvil: Aside from his [[LightIsNotGood mask]] he dresses exclusively in dark colours, which puts further emphasis on his absolutely evil nature. |
| 439 | * DragonAscendant: After Butterfly's supposed death, the Tom seemingly took over the entire organization. As it turns out, it has been part of a ruse and in reality, Maron Mullendore still pulled the strings, but for a while, all of the Solvers and his enemies fully believed in this trope. |
| 440 | * TheDreaded: His reputation is tied to the Alley Cats, who are a collective group of TheDreaded. But even among them, he stands out for being absolutely terrifying. His reputation is even worse than those of the other Alley Cats, particularly for his unrivaled skill in combat. |
| 441 | * DuelToTheDeath: The Tom has a liking to these particular fights, especially against a WorthyOpponent. In such moments, he even displays honour, as he prefers fights that are, for a given value of the term, fair. |
| 442 | * FacialHorror: Chapter 9 reveals that his face beneath the mask is horribly disfigured after having been nearly completely flayed, the remaining flesh being ghastly pale and scarred. |
| 443 | * FairPlayVillain: In a strange variation, this overlaps with being a CombatPragmatist. The Tom loves a good fight and this goes so far that he even allows his opponents to take a break during their fight. It doesn't stop him from fighting dirty though if the fight actually starts. |
| 444 | * TheHeavy: The Tom is by far the most active underling of Butterfly, involved in a majority of the man's work, especially for the important tasks or when someone has to be killed. |
| 445 | * HeroKiller: The Tom directly kills Martin Wilshere and Keira during the events of the Masquerade. He later kills Lucas during the TrialByCombat. |
| 446 | * LightIsNotGood: His mask is white and golden, yet no one in their right mind would call the Tom a good person. |
| 447 | * MalevolentMaskedMan: Every member of the Alley Cats prefers to hide their face behind a mask that is shaped like the head of a cat. In case of the Tom, it is [[LightIsNotGood white and golden]]. |
| 448 | * MasterSwordsman: The Tom has a reputation for being one of the best swordsmen in Oldtown, a city in which being a badass fighter is almost mandatory. Sure enough, he has been shown to effortlessly win every fight he is thrown into, even when outnumbered. |
| 449 | * MysteriousPast: As of now, the only thing that has been revealed about him is his first name, which is Erik. Anything beyond that is quite the mystery, even if the author has stated that he has a rather rich backstory. The end of chapter 9 reveals his full name is Erik Mogfield, therefore related to House Frostborn through the marriage of Elizabeth Mogfield and Lionel Frostborn. |
| 450 | * PetTheDog: |
| 451 | ** Him allowing Lucas a moment to regain his footing and collect his sword definitely counts, given that they were in a DuelToTheDeath at the time. He notably defies his master's orders to kill Lucas immediately in order to give him a fighting chance and end the duel honourably. |
| 452 | ** Blink and you'll miss it, but during Richard's execution, he steps in and holds Nora Recton back, preventing her from intervening, which in turn would have likely caused her death as well. Unlike Lucas, who gave him the good fight he craved for, this decision has no apparent benefit to him at all. |
| 453 | * PragmaticVillain: The Tom's actions are motivated by pragmatism above all other things. He is a CombatPragmatist, but beyond that, this trope is the source of his loyalty for Butterfly. When Maron is wounded in a fight, the Tom remains loyal to him even though his advisors urge him to take the position as crimelord of Oldtown for himself. He refuses, since he knows that being a crimelord means being targeted by people whose full attention he prefers to avoid. |
| 454 | * SecretKeeper: He is among the few people who fully know about Butterfly's real identity. |
| 455 | * SoftSpokenSadist: His voice is deep and melodic, never raising beyond a soft, dark purr. |
| 456 | * SpellMyNameWithAThe: All of the Alley Cats have this trope going for them. In his case, it is ''The'' Tom. |
| 457 | * UndyingLoyalty: Towards Butterfly, even if most of it is a result of his PragmaticVillainy. He eventually explains that is baffling amount of loyalty to the man is part of a plan to become invaluable to him, while simultaneously remaining unimportant enough to avoid the attention of Butterfly's numerous enemies. |
| 458 | * WholeCostumeReference: The design of his clothes and mask has been heavily inspired by [[WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra Amon]]. |
| 459 | * WorthyOpponent: At the end of their trial by combat he has begun to see Lucas as such, complimenting the dying knight on the fight he put up. |
| 460 | [[/folder]] |
| 461 | [[folder: The Sphynx]] |
| 462 | !!The Sphynx/Rodrik Grimthorn |
| 463 | A high-ranking member of the Alley Cats and one of the few who know the Tom's real name. He serves as the groups medical officer and chief torturer. |
| 464 | ---- |
| 465 | * DissonantSerenity: Even when flaying someone alive, the Sphynx remains completely calm. Sometimes he even shows outright amusement at the suffering of his victims. |
| 466 | * TheDragon: Basically his role among the Alley Cats. He is the Tom's most trusted underling, the only one who seems to know more about his past and the go-to guy for the most difficult tasks. |
| 467 | * EnemyMine: He surprisingly offers Arthur and Ryler an alliance to hunt and kill Wolfius Woodbark. |
| 468 | * EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: The Sphynx surprisingly turns out to be Rodrik Grimthorn, the uncle of Ryler and Lucia and he claims to be highly protective of his nephew and niece. |
| 469 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: A brutal and cruel torturer he might be, but even he's actually disgusted with Lupin Frostborn's work and believes killing Wolfius is a MercyKill. |
| 470 | * EvilGenius: More than once did the Sphynx prove his vast intelligence. He has impressive knowledge about the human body, which he uses for healing purposes, for alchemistic modifications of the body and mostly for torture. |
| 471 | * FauxAffablyEvil: The Sphynx is unfailingly polite, even friendly towards all he encounters. That said, he even maintains these mannerisms while torturing someone, making it clear that none of them are genuine in any way. |
| 472 | * GoodPowersBadPeople: It has been shown that the Sphynx, on top of his clearly bad powers of torturing, is an incredibly gifted healer, able to bring back people from the brink of death, or maybe even beyond. His knowledge about the human body could do a lot of good in the medieval society of Westeros and he has also been implied to be involved in the alchemistic process of creating a Moggy, giving the recipient superhuman strength and endurance. |
| 473 | * IronicNurseryRhyme: He loves to sing nursery rhymes during his torture sessions, likely to appear even more creepy and unnerving than he already does by default. The effect is unsettling for everyone around him. |
| 474 | * LightIsNotGood: Save for his [[DarkIsEvil mask]] he is clad entirely in white robes. Given how much time he spends with torturing prisoners, keeping them clean must be one hell of a task. |
| 475 | * LongLostRelative: His original name is Rodrik Grimthorn, uncle of Ryler Grimthorn. |
| 476 | * MalevolentMaskedMan: As with all the Alley Cats, he constantly wears a mask shaped like a cat's head. His mask is black, with red markings on it. |
| 477 | * MysteriousPast: So far, the only thing known about his backstory is that his first name is Rodrik. Anything beyond that is a complete mystery. The second chapter of Book 2 reveals he's a survivor of House Grimthorn. |
| 478 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: The only time he has shown more than smug amusement is when Maron Mullendore is about to kill Lucas before receiving an answer. He goes from being a SoftSpokenSadist to SuddenlyShouting, trying to prevent his boss from killing a valuable prisoner already and he is dead serious about it. |
| 479 | ** He's also visibly ''disturbed'' at the idea of releasing The Fang into the general population to hunt Kersea, seeing him as more harm than good. |
| 480 | * PragmaticVillain: Despite having a sick fondness of torture, the Sphynx is a calm, analytical and always pragmatic man, who knows exactly how far he can go with his prisoners and never goes beyond that. |
| 481 | * TheReveal: He's a member of House Grimthorn, specifically uncle of Ryler and Lucia Grimthorn. |
| 482 | * SecretKeeper: Like his boss, the Tom, he is aware of Butterfly's real identity. |
| 483 | * TheSociopath: It seems to be that the Sphynx has absolutely no regards for anyone but himself, to the point where he seems virtually incapable of any empathy beyond curiosity. |
| 484 | * SoftSpokenSadist: Always speaks and sings in an eery, high-pitched an hoarsy voice. |
| 485 | * SpellMyNameWithAThe: It is ''The'' Sphynx. |
| 486 | * TortureTechnician: This is by far his main task among the Alley Cats and the Solvers. The Sphynx' already mentioned knowledge about the human body allowed him to know exactly how much he can torture somebody and it has been stated that he can break anyone. It's always only a question how long he needs for it. |
| 487 | [[/folder]] |
| 488 | [[folder: The Moggy]] |
| 489 | !!The Moggy |
| 490 | The Moggy is a hulking brute and the Tom's bodyguard and chief muscle. Little is known about him, but he rarely speaks and is by far the strongest character in the entire story. |
| 491 | ---- |
| 492 | * BewareTheQuietOnes: The Moggy doesn't talk much and what he says usually has little relevance, yet he is incredibly dangerous and short-tempered. |
| 493 | * BodyguardingABadass: He is the Tom's bodyguard, though the man has proven himself time and again to be incredibly dangerous in his own right and quite likely even more deadly than the Moggy. |
| 494 | * TheDreaded: Due to his size and strength, the Moggy has a terrifying reputation among his enemies, but also among his companions, who avoid him for his short temper. When Jaylon is confronted with the possibility of facing him, he almost pisses himself and those who mock him for it are quickly reminded why the Moggy is a straight example of this trope. |
| 495 | * DumbMuscle: The Moggy is outright stated to be dim-witted and his actions have not proven this statement wrong. His main use is to be the Tom's muscle and bodyguard. |
| 496 | * EvilIsBigger: The Moggy is by far the tallest character in the cast. His size is absolutely inhuman and it has been hinted that it is the result of a birth defect. |
| 497 | * HeroKiller: The Moggy is personally responsible for the deaths of Dairon and Jarek. He accidentally kills Dairon when the boy attacks him and he crushes Jarek's head after getting wounded by him. |
| 498 | * MalevolentMaskedMan: He is never seen without his Alley Cat mask. In his case, the mask is white and splattered with blood and of course, like every Alley Cat mask, shaped like the head of a cat. |
| 499 | * MysteriousPast: Typical for most of the Alley Cats, the Moggy's past before joining the group is a mystery. |
| 500 | * OneHandedZweihander: As a result of his strength, he is able to wield an enormous greatsword with one hand. |
| 501 | * PsychopathicManchild: It goes with being a DumbMuscle for him, as the Moggy never grew up beyond the mental state of a child. He has been compared to a sandbox bully in the body of an eight-feet tall giant. |
| 502 | * RedEyesTakeWarning: As a result of his albinism, he has red eyes. He is also one of the most physically dangerous characters in the story, due to his freakish strength. |
| 503 | * TheQuietOne: As a result of his mental handicap, the Moggy has trouble with speaking and his sentences are usually short and without much substance. He mainly communicates with grunts and screams. |
| 504 | * SpellMyNameWithAThe: As with all of the Alley Cats, it's ''The'' Moggy, not just Moggy. |
| 505 | * WhiteHairBlackHeart: It goes with being an albino villain. |
| 506 | [[/folder]] |
| 507 | [[folder: Connor Frostborn]] |
| 508 | !!Connor Frostborn |
| 509 | The youngest son of Lord and Lady Frostborn and younger brother to Alphyn, Lupin and Evelyn, Connor is a member of [[Characters/ForumOfThronesTheNorth House Frostborn]]. He ran away from home and found himself as the top student of the Sphynx. |
| 510 | ---- |
| 511 | * BigBrotherWorship: Connor absolutely worships his big brother, Lupin. Unfortunately, Lupin is the BlackSheep of the Frostborn family and known for his evil deeds, which led to him being banished. Certainly not the best role model for a boy in Connor's age. |
| 512 | * MalevolentMaskedMan: Averted. Despite being a member of the Alley Cats, he hasn't yet earned a mask, being merely a low-ranking apprentice for one of their members. |
| 513 | * SlasherSmile: His most unsettling physical trait is his wide, bloodthirsty smile. Since he is the only member of the Alley Cats with noteable facial expressions this is all the more obvious and those who see it consider it to be highly unsettling. |
| 514 | * TeensAreMonsters: He is only fourteen years old and already on his way to become just as messed up as his brother Lupin or his master, the Sphynx. |
| 515 | * TortureTechnician: His role as the Sphynx' apprentice is to learn how to become one. So far, he has shown a lot of potential, but at the same time, his temper often gets in his way there. |
| 516 | * TroublingUnchildlikeBehaviour: More a teen than a child, but his behaviour is nonetheless absolutely unsettling, especially as it has been implied to have gone on for a long time, since he was clearly still a child. |
| 517 | [[/folder]] |
| 518 | |
| 519 | [[folder: The Fang]] |
| 520 | !!The Fang |
| 521 | The last remaining creation of Lupin Frostborn. Released from captivity by The Tom to hunt down Leonard Constantine and Kersea Catelins. |
| 522 | ---- |
| 523 | * AxeCrazy: So much Arthur thinks he makes Wolfius Woodbark look ''sane'' in comparison. |
| 524 | * BaldOfEvil: Not at hair on his head, not even eyebrows which make him look even more disturbing, and is a beast in the skin of a man. |
| 525 | * GigglingVillain: Arthur describes his giggling as disturbing to hear. |
| 526 | * HumanoidAbomination: The way the Sphynx and Mullendore speak of him, and how he acts, he's more like a wild beast than an actual human being. |
| 527 | * ScaryTeeth: His teeth are sharpened like fangs. |
| 528 | * SlasherSmile: Gives an unnaturally wide smile when agreeing to hunt for Leonard and Kersea. |
| 529 | * ThirdPersonPerson: When he does speak, is in this way. |
| 530 | |
| 531 | [[/folder]] |
| 532 | |
| 533 | !Other inhabitants of Oldtown |
| 534 | [[folder: The High Septon]] |
| 535 | !!The High Septon |
| 536 | The head of the Faith of the Seven, the High Septon is an elderly man, who is notable and famous for his debauched lifestyle that stands against everything his Faith preaches. |
| 537 | ---- |
| 538 | * DirtyOldMan: His exact age is not stated, but he is at least in his sixties. It doesn't stop him from shamelessly flirting with any young woman he encounters during the masquerade at Lord Vyrwel's estate. |
| 539 | * EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Justified, since a High Septon is required to give up on his name when taking the title. |
| 540 | * FatBastard: A heavily overweight man who uses his religion as an excuse to get away with all kinds of disgusting and morally questionable acts of debauchery. |
| 541 | * HidingBehindReligion: The High Septon is not above using his faith to get immunity from the many sins he preaches against. |
| 542 | * MinorMajorCharacter: He only appears in a single chapter and barely gets any dialogue, yet as the head of the Faith of the Seven, he is a driving force in the world of Westeros. |
| 543 | * RefugeInAudacity: His sinning is especially shameless since he knows that no one has the guts to make a move against him. |
| 544 | [[/folder]] |
| 545 | [[folder: Davith Lanser]] |
| 546 | !!Davith Lanser |
| 547 | A former member of the city guard, who left them after his father, a famous guardsman, got killed by Butterfly's men. He now lives on his own as a vigilante in Oldtown. |
| 548 | ---- |
| 549 | * AmazonChaser: The first time his crush on Samantha becomes obvious is after her fight with the Moggy. In general, Davith seems to admire her skill as a fighter at least as much as her beauty. |
| 550 | * BigDamnHeroes: During the raid on Raylansfair, he momentarily distracts Ser Rodrik Stone, despite being heavily wounded, to give Sasha more time to save herself. |
| 551 | * DefectorFromDecadence: After his father got murdered, he left the city guard, being disgusted by their inaction to put the ones responsible up for trial. His decision gets cemented when he learns about the deal many of the guardsmen have made with Butterfly. |
| 552 | * DisappearedDad: Davith's father used to be a member of the city guard of Oldtown and Davith joined the guard to make him proud. However, not long afterwards, he was murdered by the Solvers, for refusing to join Butterfly's organization. |
| 553 | * ForcefulKiss: He gives on to Samantha before pulling his HeroicSacrifice. In his mind it was probably more of a BigDamnKiss, but [[StraightGay Samantha]] clearly did not enjoy it in the slightest and only went through with it due to being too stunne to resist. |
| 554 | * HeroicSacrifice: He attempts to pull one of these off, by luring the Ally Cats away from Samantha, Sasha and Leonard. However, he doesn't die and doesn't even get captured by them, making this nothing more than the attempt at this trope. |
| 555 | * IncompatibleOrientation: It becomes pretty obvious that he has a big crush on Samantha. Unfortunately for him, Samantha is solely into women and develops a bit of a crush on Sasha at the same time. |
| 556 | * LanternJawOfJustice: One physical trait of his that gets mentioned a lot is is broad jaw, which symbolizes his idealistic and heroic mindset. |
| 557 | * OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Surviving in the labyrinth below the Hightower for an entire week definitely qualifies. We never get to see how he managed to avoid the patrolling Alley Cats, but it was apparently a mixture of luck and sheer badassery. |
| 558 | * UndyingLoyalty: To Samantha. Even after getting separated from her, he crosses half a kingdom to get back. It shows just how deep his crush on her truly is, which makes it all the more tragic that she is unable to reciprocate it. |
| 559 | * ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: Eventually, it is his turn to get the offer to join Butterfly's men. He refuses and is the first known person to escape with his life from such a scene. |
| 560 | * VigilanteMan: After leaving the city guard, he turns to fight crime on his own. Ironically, this makes him a criminal in the eyes of his former comrades as well, to the point where they put a prize on his head. |
| 561 | [[/folder]] |
| 562 | [[folder: Taria Templeton]] |
| 563 | !! Taria Templeton: |
| 564 | A singer in Oldtown and Ayden Blackwell's girlfriend. She is also pregnant with his child by the time she is first seen in the story. She is very distantly related to House Templeton of the Vale. |
| 565 | ---- |
| 566 | * TheChanteuse: Her job in Oldtown is to be this. She is a skilled singer and looks very good, which makes her one of the most popular singers in Oldtown. |
| 567 | * ImperiledInPregnancy: At the time the story starts, she is pregnant. Naturally, she gets badly wounded by taking a throwing knife to the shoulder in her first chapter. However, she turns out fine and is expected to make a full recovery. |
| 568 | * LovableAlphaBitch: A haughty and snobbish young woman, who also turns out to be not all that bad once one gets to know her better. |
| 569 | * PutOnABus: In the first chapter of Book 2, she remains in Oldtown while Jaron leaves the city. Ayden decides to remain by her side and neither has been seen since. |
| 570 | * SomeoneToRememberHimBy: After Ayden gets missing during the ambush in Tanner's Alley, Taria believes their child to be this. Fortunately for her, it turns out that her beloved is not dead and they are eventually reunited. |
| 571 | * TheTease: In her role as a singer in Oldtown, it is absolutely required of her to have such a mindset. |
| 572 | * {{Tsundere}}: She has shades of a Type A, in that she is quite a bit rude and snobbish towards others at first. She drops this trope entirely once she gets to know someone a bit better. |
| 573 | [[/folder]] |
| 574 | [[folder: Samuel Puffer]] |
| 575 | !!Samuel Puffer |
| 576 | Introduced as simply an old friend of [[Characters/ForumOfThronesEssos Terroma]] and a resident of Oldtown, Samuel is eventually revealed to be far more than that. He is the son of one of Terroma's former companions and has been trained as an assassin by him. |
| 577 | ---- |
| 578 | * BadassInDistress: Make no mistake, Samuel is a major badass, capable of ending several foes at once. However, he bites off more than he can chew against the Solvers that occupy a house he wishes to clean. He gets wounded and has to barricade himself in a room, while the Solvers try to break in, having to wait for the help of Terroma to get him out of the situation. |
| 579 | * DisappearedDad: His father, Phoenix Puffer, was killed in his line of work when Samuel was only a small child. |
| 580 | * LikeFatherLikeSon: Similar to his father, Samuel ended up as a ProfessionalKiller. Terroma, who knew both, also points out their physical similarities and their matching attitudes. |
| 581 | * ProfessionalKiller: He was trained to be one and used to work as one for many years. Though he no longer operates in this field of work, he still has the necessary skills to qualify as one. |
| 582 | * OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: We never get to see it, but he somehow manages to kill quite a number of Solvers and clear one of their houses all by himself. While he receives a wound in the process, he gets an impressive amount of kills before that. |
| 583 | * OneSteveLimit: Averted with him and Samuel Harrington. They even appear in the same storyline at one point. |
| 584 | * OutOfFocus: He appears in three chapters and has an interesting connection with Terroma, but in two of these chapters, he only appears in one scene, while the third sees him getting wounded early on and spending a majority of the time away from the action. When Terroma and Raenna leave Oldtown, he remains behind, as a result of the abovementioned wounds. |
| 585 | * ReluctantHero: Samuel is very reluctant to actually step out of his comfortable retirement. The only reason he helps Terroma is because of the friendship between him and his father. |
| 586 | * RetiredBadass: Despite only being in his late twenties, Samuel has left his life as a ProfessionalKiller behind, to settle down for a far more mundane life as a butcher in Oldtown. |
| 587 | * ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After having to commit one too many murders he deemed unnecessary, Samuel left his old organization behind and settled down in Oldtown. This trope sums up his attitude while doing so. |
| 588 | [[/folder]] |
| 589 | [[folder: Roach]] |
| 590 | !!Roach |
| 591 | An eccentric homeless man who lives in the sewers beneath Oldtown. He is a loner, known for his antisocial behaviour and odd mannerisms, yet he also knows his way around the city like no other. |
| 592 | ---- |
| 593 | * AnimalMotifs: Take a look at his name and take a guess. |
| 594 | * CloudCuckoolander: Not to the extent of, say, [[Characters/ForumOfThronesRaylansfair Jarow]], but Roach's mind is clearly not all too bright. He doesn't really seem to be aware of his pathetic living conditions, for starters. |
| 595 | * CreepyLongFingers: As part of his insect motive, Roach has very long and thin limbs in general, but his fingers stand out. |
| 596 | * LonersAreFreaks: A creepy, antisocial man without any friends or positive social contacts. Even by the case of the story, he can be considered a freak, on top of that. |
| 597 | * NiceJobBreakingItHero: Stealing the Burned Man's letter from Ellena and Himani triggers a chain of events that leads to Himani's capture and the subsequent destruction of the Burned Man's group. It's obvious that he never planned for anything like this to happen. |
| 598 | * StickyFingers: Roach is a kleptomaniac, virtually incapable of stealing everything he wishes to steal, or at least to try it. Wether he succeeds at keeping the things he steals depends on the case. |
| 599 | * ThirdPersonPerson: Roach has a habit of speaking about Roach in the third person. |
| 600 | [[/folder]] |
| 601 | [[folder: Keat the Trickster*]] |
| 602 | !!Keat the Trickster |
| 603 | A thief who hails from Oldtown. Despite that, he is introduced as part of the Raylansfair storyline, where he offers his service to Maya Iresons and her group. He later becomes a POV character in Book 2, after his return to Oldtown. |
| 604 | ---- |
| 605 | * AscendedExtra: Keat goes from a supporting character in Maya's storyline in Book 1 to a POV character in book 2. |
| 606 | * TheBusCameBack: InUniverse example in Book 2, where Keat returns to Oldtown, his home town and where a majority of his friends live, after having been gone for half a year. |
| 607 | * DeadpanSnarker: Rarely says anything that isn't snarky in some way. |
| 608 | * EarAche: Thorrin Bannister cuts off his right ear and feeds it to his dogs to remind him they have more than his scent. |
| 609 | * GentlemanThief: He likes to be seen as one. YMMV if he actually succeeds, but he is at least a charming and charismatic thief with a personal code. Quite notably, he fulfils his contract even after things go sour while working for Maya. |
| 610 | * HiddenHeartOfGold: One interpretation of why Keat goes through with stealing the documents even after Maya stopped expecting it from him is that he actually wanted to help her, knowing how important they are for her. Sure, he was getting paid handsomely, but it was still a decent move. He is also shown to care deeply for his siblings. |
| 611 | * IGaveMyWord: His word is his only law, as Keat has demonstrated his willingness to go through with a contract even after being captured by the city guard once. And this second time, he even outright succeeds. |
| 612 | * LovableRogue: A result of his GentlemanThief antics and his code of honour, he crosses into this territory. |
| 613 | * TheMagnificent: Keat ''the Trickster''. Quite fittingly, he is one of the most crafty characters in the story. |
| 614 | * OhCrap: After returning to Oldtown, Keat quickly realizes that Thorrin Bannister has not forgotten about him and neither have his hounds forgotten his scent. His reaction to being hunted by them is quite fitting. |
| 615 | * ScrewThisImOuttaHere: During the raid on Raylansfair, he, quite rightfully brings up that this is not what he has been hired for by Maya's group. As a result, he leaves her and the others behind after they get into an ambush, to hide from the violence. |
| 616 | * SixthRanger: For Maya's group, as he only joins them when they make their move to rob the archive. |
| 617 | * TheSmartGuy: Keat knows that he is smart and he puts his intelligence to good use when necessary. This is especially shown after his return to Oldtown, where he is quick thinking even in the face of danger. |
| 618 | [[/folder]] |
| 619 | [[folder: Thorrin Bannister]] |
| 620 | !!Thorrin Bannister |
| 621 | One of several criminals in Oldtown, Thorrin has, unlike many, never joined one of the factions warring for control over the local underworld, instead preferring to remain independent. Not particularly powerful as a result, he is not to be underestimated regardless, as he is a strong, violent man always accompanied by two trained attack dogs. |
| 622 | ---- |
| 623 | * BeardOfEvil: A wild, bushy one, bordering on being a BeardOfBarbarism, considering the rest of his looks. |
| 624 | * TheBeastmaster: Thorrin's greatest asset in the day-to-day survival in Oldtown are his two dogs, Barh and Perfh, eastern breeds of attack dogs who share his temper, but are absolutely obedient to their master. |
| 625 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: Though he is a violent criminal, Thorrin has never been a part of the Solvers, despite having a temper to match theirs. This isn't even much of a pragmatic choice, apparently he had genuine ideological disagreements with their way of handling things. |
| 626 | * FauxAffablyEvil: Soft-spoken and polite on a surface level, Thorrin is not afraid to order his dogs to hunt someone down, threatening people or punching them without warning, all the while rarely raising his voice. |
| 627 | * ScarilyCompetentTracker: Completely justified due to owning two dogs trained precisely for this, yet he nonetheless manages to find Keat in an astonishingly short amount of time after the man's return to Oldtown, mostly due to his dogs picking up his scent. |
| 628 | * VillainHasAPoint: Sure, Thorrin is certainly not a nice guy and his method of dealing with opponents is more than questionable, but he actually has good reason to be angry at Keat. After all, the thief stole from him, cheating him out of what is implied to be a lot of coin, before leaving Oldtown without a trace. |
| 629 | [[/folder]] |
| 630 | !!!The Thousand Shades of Flowers |
| 631 | [[folder: Hishi]] |
| 632 | !!Hishi |
| 633 | !!!The Ambiguous Lover |
| 634 | Hishi is a mysterious and colourful person even by Oldtown's standards. As the owner of the Thousand Shades of Flowers, they more or less control the prostitution in Oldtown, by virtue of owning the largest and most well-known establishment in the city. Despite this, little is known about Hishi themselves, not even their gender. |
| 635 | ---- |
| 636 | * AmbiguousGender: Hishi is such a mysterious person that not even their gender is known. Apparently, it can't be guessed by their appearance. Hishi is aware of this and enjoys this trope so much that they even use gender-neutral pronouns. |
| 637 | * AmbiguouslyEvil: While perfectly affable and friendly around others, there are rumours Hishi is involved in Oldtown's underworld. How much of this is true and if Hishi is evil according to the setting (especially considering Oldtown's GreyAndGrayMorality), is not yet entirely clear. |
| 638 | * BewareTheNiceOnes: Hishi is definitely nice and friendly as long as people remain on their good side. However, messing with one of their workers is a safe way to provoke a terrifying wrath, as the Solvers eventually find out. |
| 639 | * TheGhost: Frequently mentioned in Chapter 6 and 7, where two of his workers are also playing important roles, but not appearing in the story in person. It is mentioned that Hishi has business in Dorne to attend to during these chapters. They finally make their first appearance in the second chapter of Book 2. |
| 640 | * ItsPersonal: Harming one of their underlings always makes it personal for Hishi. |
| 641 | * RavenHairIvorySkin: Hishi is described as pale-skinned, dark-haired and very beautiful. |
| 642 | * RoaringRampageOfRevenge: After Keira's death, Hishi is enraged. They take a page from their right-hand man Lanford's book and vow to hunt down the remaining Solvers, who are left leaderless, showing no mercy to them. |
| 643 | * ShroudedInMyth: A lot about Hishi is up for debate, from their past, to their morality, to their goals, even to their gender. They encourage this debate, as it keeps them more mysterious. |
| 644 | * TeamSwitzerland: One thing Hishi and their brothel are very proud of is their utmost neutrality in all cases. They serve those working for the Burned Man, those working for Butterfly and anyone else, without taking a side in the conflict. |
| 645 | [[/folder]] |
| 646 | [[folder: Lanford]] |
| 647 | !!Lanford |
| 648 | An old friend of Hishi and perhaps the only person that knows most of their secrets. He acts as the head of security for the Thousand Shades of Flowers and as Hishi's second-in-command in case they have to leave Oldtown for a business trip. |
| 649 | ---- |
| 650 | * ColdSniper: His weapon of choice is a crossbow and he has the cold attitude required for this trope. |
| 651 | * GrumpyOldMan: Overlaps with being TheQuietOne. Lanford is not a man of many words and those he speaks are not minced in the slightest. His exact age is not stated in the story, but he is nearing his fifties. |
| 652 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Lanford is a grumpy, cynical and rude man, but he undeniably has a weak spot for those that work for Hishi and is not afraid of doing the right thing if necessary. |
| 653 | * TheLancer: This is his role towards Hishi, being his oldest and most trusted underling. |
| 654 | * LoopholeAbuse: During Jaron's fight with Samuel, he hesitates to shoot the Fang of Shadows. However, he hands his weapon to Harpy, maintaining his neutrality by simply giving the choice to her. |
| 655 | * MoralityPet: Keira is this for him. By extension, he cares for everyone working for Hishi. It's the death of Keira that drives him to give up on Hishi's principle of remaining neutral at all costs. |
| 656 | * NeutralNoLonger: After Keira's death, he decides to join Harpy and what is left of the Burned Man's group in order to oppose Butterfly. |
| 657 | * NumberTwo: His role in Hishi's organization, as the captain of his personal guard and second-in-command to the organization as a whole. If Hishi is gone for a business trip, he even leads the organization, together with Joshawa. |
| 658 | * OldRetainer: He has served Hishi for many years, as their first and most loyal guard. It is also rumoured that Lanford is the only one who knows Hishi's [[AmbiguousGender real gender]]. |
| 659 | * PetTheDog: After the fight between Samuel and Ryder, which got crashed by the city guard, Lanford saves a wounded Jaron from being charged with attempted murder by the city guard. Though he has slightly pragmatic reasons for doing so, he also acts out of respect for Harpy and despite the fact that it would have been easy and without any consequences for him to just allow Jaron to be taken. |
| 660 | * PragmaticHero: For a given value of heroism. Lanford is not afraid of attacking his enemies from behind or from afar, giving little about having a fair fight and instead focussing simply on winning. |
| 661 | * SixthRanger: He briefly joins Jaron and Harpy in Chapter 7, on their quest to free the Burned Man from Butterfly's torture chambers. He does this mainly to deny Butterfly his ultimate victory, having grown to ahte the man due to the death of Keira. |
| 662 | * ThisIsUnforgivable: Keira's death is this for him. He outright refuses [[TheDreaded Samuel Harrington's]] offer to continue their neutrality because of how fond he was of her and his actions make it clear that he will never forgive Butterfly's men. |
| 663 | [[/folder]] |
| 664 | [[folder: Joshawa]] |
| 665 | !!Joshawa |
| 666 | One of the workers at the Thousand Shades of Flowers and a close confidant of Hishi, whom he serves as a sort-of second-in-command while the owner of the brothel is away for business trips. |
| 667 | ---- |
| 668 | * BewareTheNiceOnes: Being a prostitute and worker at the Thousand Shades of Flowers, Joshawa is unquestionably polite and kind. However, he is also a cunning schemer and shrewd businessman, who knows how to manipulate a situation to his favour. |
| 669 | * CampGay: Joshawa is a male prostitute who, while serving both genders, is specialized to male needs. As such, it is expected of him to behave in a campy way towards male customers. |
| 670 | * LastEpisodeNewCharacter: He is introduced in the final chapter of Book 1. |
| 671 | * LoopholeAbuse: After being confronted by Samuel and realizing that the man is there to kill his own brother, Ryder, Joshawa is willing to allow him to do this. When confronted by Lanford that they are obliged to keep Ryder, one of their guests, save, he replies that fighting Samuel or throwing him out will put every other guest at risk, therefore it would be far better for the guests as a whole if Samuel is allowed to confront Ryder. Of course, doing so also gives him access to the considerate amount of information Samuel possesses about the criminal underworld of Oldtown. |
| 672 | * NumberTwo: Joshawa serves as this for Hishi, together with Lanford. Whereas Lanford is the head of security and leader of the Thorns, Hishi's personal guard, Joshawa deals with the business itself. |
| 673 | * SilkHidingSteel: A seemingly soft man, campy and cheerful, Joshawa is actually a highly intelligent man, who shares Hishi's ice-cold scheming and is more than willing to achieve success through morally questionable ways. |
| 674 | * TheSmartGuy: As the one in charge of the business while Hishi is away, it's only natural that he is a cunning and scheming man, who can easily see the advantages a situation is giving him. |
| 675 | [[/folder]] |
| 676 | [[folder: Keira]] |
| 677 | !!Keira |
| 678 | !!!The Trustworthy Violet |
| 679 | One of Hishi's whores and among his most famous ones. She is well-liked for her beauty and secrecy. However, she actually uses her skills to spy for Hishi. Despite this, she is in a genuinely loving relationship with Martin Wilshere. |
| 680 | ---- |
| 681 | * FemmeFataleSpy: Her secondary role in Hishi's organization is to spy on her clients and to gather their secrets. The only one she ever refused to spy on is Martin, whom she has genuine feelings for. |
| 682 | * HighClassCallGirl: One of the most expensive and most talented prostitutes in Oldtown. |
| 683 | * HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Keira is a major example. While being a hooker and spying for Hishi on her clients, she is ultimately a good person, friendly and sociable, without much of a bad bone in her body. |
| 684 | * NiceGal: The only time Keira is decidedly not nice is when she is botherered by [[AbhorrentAdmirer Jarek]]. Other than these minor incidents, she is always unfailingly kind and generous. |
| 685 | * TakingTheBullet: She accidentally steps into the path of a throwing knife that was meant for Harpy. It hits her in the head and kills her almost immediately. |
| 686 | * WeHardlyKnewYe: Is killed only a chapter after her introduction. Over her time in the story, she barely contributed to the plot as well and arguably, her death brought up the first important thing about her, as it causes Hishi to rethink his/her neutrality in the war. |
| 687 | [[/folder]] |
| 688 | [[folder: Donna Flowers]] |
| 689 | !!Donna Flowers |
| 690 | !!!Rosemouth |
| 691 | One of the prostitutes at the Thousand Shades of Flowers, as well as the one generally seen as the most beautiful, most seductive and most wanted. These traits got her the attention and favour of Ryder Harrington, a captain of the city guard. |
| 692 | ---- |
| 693 | * ArousedByTheirVoice: Jaron notices that despite her considerate beauty, her most arousing feature is her highly pleasant and soothing voice, which also gave her her nickname. |
| 694 | * HookerWithAHeartOfGold: As detailed under NiceGal below, Donna is a fundamentally pleasant person. She genuinely cares for Ryder, her client, and even makes the attempt to prevent a fight between him and his brother even after she was told to leave them. |
| 695 | * LastEpisodeNewCharacter: She is introduced in the final chapter of Book 1. |
| 696 | * MoralityPet: Surprisingly, she is this to Ryder, who is at best AmbiguouslyEvil, at worst a full-blown RetiredMonster. He outright says that he is fond of her and goes out of his way to keep her safe during his fight with Samuel. |
| 697 | * NiceGal: In her brief appearance in Book 1 and 2, she shows herself to be this. |
| 698 | * OddFriendship: She got along surprisingly well with both Harrington brothers. |
| 699 | * PlatonicProstitution: While her relationship with Ryder has apparently been physical, she offers no sexual favours, but emotional comfort and support to his brother Samuel. |
| 700 | [[/folder]] |
| 701 | !!!The Citadel |
| 702 | [[folder: Archmaester Quent]] |
| 703 | !!Archmaester Quent |
| 704 | !!!The Archmaester of History |
| 705 | An elderly man, who is first introduced as the Archmaester of History. It is quickly revealed that he is none other than the younger brother of Maester Eaton, the maester of Raylansfair. |
| 706 | ---- |
| 707 | * BrokenPedestal: His talk with Lucas makes it clear that his brother is this for him. He looked up to Eaton, but the fact that he effortlessly succeeded at everything Quent had to work for made him quite bitter about it. On top of that, being appointed Maester of Raylansfair and denying him his final triumph as Archmaester of History made things only worse. |
| 708 | * ChekhovsGunman: First mentioned in a single sentence in the Prologue. As it turns out, he is Maester Eaton's brother and he turns into a major character in the first half of the Book. |
| 709 | * EvilTwin: Not exactly evil, but a colossal {{Jerkass}}, as well as the younger brother of Maester Eaton. |
| 710 | * GrumpyOldMan: By far the grumpiest character in the entire story, as well as one of the oldest. |
| 711 | * FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: At least in his youth, he used to be the responsible sibling to Eaton, who was carefree and a bit of a womanizer. As they grew older, both became responsible, arguably. |
| 712 | * {{Jerkass}}: Save to say, Quent is a jerk. His constant belittling and mocking of Lucas and Leonard, of whom he has heard far more than they are comfortably with, qualify him as one of the biggest non-evil jerks in the entire story. However, it bites him in the back when his attitude is precisely the reason Lucas and Leonard do not trust him and refuse to work with him. |
| 713 | * PetTheDog: After Lucas and Leonard refused to work with him, he was under no obligation to keep Dairon save. He did so regardless, out of a last bit of respect he had for his brother and when the boy came to get his help, he brought him to the only man in the Citadel whom he knew to be neutral in the street war in Oldtown. |
| 714 | * SiblingYinYang: In contrast to his talkative, caring and kind-hearted brother, Quent is a cold, abrasive and smug man. |
| 715 | * SmallRoleBigImpact: He only appears in a single chapter, in two parts at the beginning of Chapter 4, yet he has been a driving force in the plot until then and his actions heavily influence what happens after. |
| 716 | [[/folder]] |
| 717 | [[folder: Archmaester Wulvren]] |
| 718 | !!Archmaester Wulvren |
| 719 | !!!The Archmaester of Magic, Grand Maester |
| 720 | Born as a member of House Fossoway, Wulvren was always fascinated with magic. This fascination brought him to the Citadel, where he made it his life's work to study the arcane arts. His dedication to the craft caused him to become Archmaester of Magic a few years before the story starts. |
| 721 | ---- |
| 722 | * AgentMulder: He not only follows the common theory that magic once existed before fading away, he also believes that magic still exists and holds more than just a bit of power in the world. From what is seen from characters like [[EvilSorceress Noelle]], he is definitely not wrong with his belief. |
| 723 | * CoolOldGuy: A knowledgeable and quick-thinking old man with a firm set of morals and a couple of impressive tricks in his sleeve, that allow him to perform feats most would see as magic, despite not being a wizard himself. |
| 724 | * GrumpyOldMan: Wulvren is a highly grumpy and unfriendly man, with bad social skills and a bit of a temper. |
| 725 | * GuileHero: His complete absence of any physical skills makes it necessary for him to use his wits. Fortunately, he is one of the most knowledgeable men in Westeros, being an Archmaester of the Citadel. |
| 726 | * HeroicNeutral: If left alone, Wulvren would do nothing more than his research about magic. It takes him a bit, but if forced into action, he generally sticks to do things that would be expected from one of the good guys. |
| 727 | * HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: He trusts Noelle, at first out of friendship. Even after getting a glimpse of her plans, he continues to support her, out of the conviction that he is able to change her. |
| 728 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: A grumpy, harsh and antisocial old man who locks himself in his study and prefers books over people. However, he is also a man with strong morals, which come out in dangerous situations. |
| 729 | * PetTheDog: Freeing Ellena in Chapter 7 definitely counts. It is a completely altruistic deed that has, at the time, been guaranteed to give him immediate and serious repercussions. Surely enough, Marak almost kills him and Noelle leaves him to be killed by wolves. Fortunately for him, he is saved by Raenna. |
| 730 | * PutOnABus: Last seen leaving the western Reach, with the goal to travel to King Aegon Targaryen, whom he wishes to advice in the coming war. |
| 731 | ** TheBusCameBack: Arrives to Aegon's side mere days before Ellena and Noelle do, and is ''not'' happy to see the Red Priestess again. |
| 732 | * ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After Noelle and Marak nearly kill him for resisting their orders and freeing Ellena, he has enough of their schemes, especially after Noelle leaves him to die. He decides that he no longer wants anything to do with either of them. |
| 733 | * TheSmartGuy: Though not a strong fighter by any means, his knowledge about alchemy allows him to quickly build the Westerosi equivalent of a handgrenade, which he uses to heavily wound [[TheJuggernaut the Moggy]]. He is also way past his prime when it comes to his age. |
| 734 | * WizardClassic: He looks the part, being a tall, thin and old man with a long, grey beard. On top of that, he has more theoretical knowledge about magic than perhaps any other person in the known world. However, he does not possess any sort of magic himself. |
| 735 | * YoungerThanTheyLook: As a result of his studies in a small, dimly lit room, Wulvren has aged prematurely. He looks like a man in his late sixties, though is a good ten years younger than that. |
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