History Characters / APracticalGuideToEvil

* HeroicSacrifice: Infiltrates the giant necromantic construct known as Crab to destroy it from the inside with [[{{HellFire}} Goblinfire]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Claimants to the Name of Squire]]

! Claimants to the Name of Squire

When Black Knight chooses Catherine as his Squire there are already several candidates vying for the role. When Black and Catherine pass through Summerholm on the way to Praes she meets the other claimants and they compete for the Name by hunting the Lone Swordsman. Catherine is the only survivor.

[[folder:Kreois]]
!!Kreois Maker-of-Riddles

* TheArchmage: Kreois is the greatest living practitioner of the Ligurian magic, the first school of magic on the continent.

* TimeMaster: This is suggested to be his specialty as the Warlock indicates that a spell of Antigone's called the Riddle of Kreois is based on Time magic. WordOfGod implies that the destruction of the Titans resulted from an attempt by him to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong.

* WeHardlyKnewYe: They are mentioned in one scene of the [=WordPress=] version as a HandWave for Calernia's MedievalStasis, providing an early conflict for Catherine to follow Black to, and do not show up otherwise.

* AdaptationDeviation: Halflings as a concept are exclusive to the Yonder rewrite, replacing gnomes as a discussed people that don't actually show up in the series. Instead of the scene where Black takes Catherine along while handling a gnomish red letter, [[spoiler:they're discussed by Hopps in the Foxtails' hideout as having been the extinct people who built it, along with their ruins being present throughout Callow's southeast]].

! Named Characters

! Characters Without Names

[[folder:Lesser Gods and Ancient Beings ('''Spoilers Unmarked!''')]]
! The King of Winter/The Prince of Bleak Solstice

! The Queen of Summer/The Princess of the Morning Star

! Sve Noc (Komena and Andronike)

! Kreois Maker-of-Riddles

! The Forever King

! Unnamed Orc god/"The Other"

!! The Dread Empire of Praes

! Barika Unonti

[[spoiler:Catherine murders Barika during the first battle of Liesse.]]

! Rafiq Muraqib

!! The Kingdom of Callow

!! Elizabeth Talbot, The Countess of Marchford

!! The Principate of Procer

!! First Prince Cordelia Hasenbach

!! Villains
[[folder:Main Characters (The Woe)]]
! ''The Squire''[[spoiler:/''The Warden'']] (Catherine Foundling[[spoiler:/The Black Queen]])

The protagonist of ''A Practical Guide to Evil''. Born in the years following the Praesi conquest of Callow and raised at the Imperial House for Tragically Orphaned Girls, Catherine was an excellent example of exactly what those facilities were designed to throttle in the crib. Stubborn, driven, and precociously clever and charismatic, Catherine had all the signs of a Hero in the making. Black Knight was working a longer game however, and when they encounter each other [[TheCall one fateful night]], he offers her the Name of The Squire and the power to make the changes she seeks from within the institutions of the empire. [[JumpedAtTheCall Catherine accepts]], becoming one of the Empire's most powerful agents at a stroke.

Catherine's first Aspect was '''[[InstantExpert Learn]]''', and after her [[spoiler:confrontation with Heiress on the Blessed Isle]], she gained a second Aspect: '''[[HeroicSecondWind Struggle]]'''. [[spoiler:During the Battle of Marchford, her third Aspect, '''[[GutFeeling Seek]]''', was corrupted by the demon and had to be permanently removed by Masego.]]

[[spoiler:Following the events of the Battle of Liesse, in which her Name was stripped from her and she had to win it back from Chider, she lost all of her Aspects but regained the empty slot that she’d lost to the demon. The first new Aspect she gained was '''[[PowerParasite Take]]''', the second Aspect was '''[[FingerPokeOfDoom Break]]''', and the third was '''[[DomainHolder Fall]]'''.]]

[[spoiler:After the second Battle of Liesse, Catherine loses her connection to the Name of Squire, retaining only a shadow of her previous Aspects and her Mantle as the new Queen of Winter. She then gains the title (not Name) of 'The Black Queen'.]]

[[spoiler:During a trip into the Everdark to recruit the Drow as a fighting force, she finds herself locked in battle with a pair of nascent goddesses and, despairing over how no one is willing to work together, surrenders her Mantle as the Queen of Winter to them. After they interrogate her and find her to be true in her motives, the Drow goddesses make her the head priestess of their religion.]]

[[spoiler:Following the fall of the Tower, Cat finally receives her new Name: Warden of the East. However, both candidates for the role of her counterpart, the Warden of the West, refuse the title. As a result, Cat ascends to the Name of the Warden. The Aspects she gains are '''[[ImpededCommunication Silence]]''', '''{{See|rs}}''', and '''[[OutsourcingFate Sentence]]'''.]]

* AbdicateTheThrone: Promises to do this after the perils facing Calernia pass. [[spoiler:She makes good on her promise in Epilogue I, and abdicates from the position of the Warden at the end of Epilogue II, decades after the war against Keter ends.]]
* ActionGirl: This. Only two years after becoming Named, she already had two hero kills to her Name, a third was done at her order and she won every battle she was involved in. She's a walking ball of death to anything she fights, from other Named to devils to demons. And she's just getting started.
* ActionSurvivor: During the Summerholm arc. Afterwards she develops her combat skills and becomes acclimated to her Name abilities so that she's more of a straightforward badass
* AGodIAmNot: She is shocked and immediately denies it when The Dead King lists her as a [[PhysicalGod fellow immortal]], stating that all Villains are [[TheAgeless ''technically'' immortal already]], and even he can still be killed.
* AntiMagic: [[spoiler:Cat's '''Silence''' Aspect allows her to silence even access to Night, presumably on the basis that it cuts off the mental communication of {{Willing Channeler}}s.]]
* AntiVillain: Somewhere between Well-Intentioned and In-Name-Only. She becomes more ruthless as time goes on but she still avoids clearly reprehensible practices like human sacrifice, torture, etc. and does her best to preserve innocent life. Her villainy is almost entirely a factor of being aligned with the Evil side. [[spoiler:This however changes when she does become more willing to sacrifice innocents by the thousands just to maintain her power.]]
** This is remarked on in Kairos's internal monologue: [[spoiler:By using his Aspect of '''Wish''', he is able to see a person's most fervent desire, and has a laugh at Catherine's intense desire for peace in her country. Were circumstances different, she could easily have been a hero]].
* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: Zig-zagged. When she is first granted command of Rat Company it is in recognition of her achievement in taking command of the company and leading it to victory against truly ridiculous odds. In order to earn the command of the Legion, Catherine then has to come out victorious in a five-way melee commanding her own company. However she subverts this trope when she wins by cutting a deal with her most competent competitor rather than carrying the fight through to the bitter end. Once the Fifteenth Legion enters the field this becomes inverted: Although she's technically in charge, her physical power as The Squire forces her to focus on front-line combat, and she delegates most tactical planning to Juniper, while still clearly being in command.
* BadassCreed: [[ArcWords "Justifications only matter to the just."]]
* BadassBoast: She gets a few.
** "I don't win fights because I'm the Squire – I win them because I'm Catherine Foundling. Watch them take a swing. See where it gets them."
** "Whether they be gods or kings or all the armies in Creation."
* BlackComedy: Catherine has a distinctly dark sense of humour. Mind you, a cynical take on life with bonus GallowsHumor are par for the course with a job in the armed forces of anywhere.
* BrokenPedestal: Goes so far as to [[spoiler:stab Black in the gut and banish him from Callow due to his [[TheChessmaster manipulations]]]].
* BroughtDownToBadass: ''Repeatedly''.
** Covered in burns by HellFire and a cut by an AbsurdlySharpBlade? [[spoiler:Use your Necromatic abilities on yourself.]]
** Have your Name ripped out of your soul? [[spoiler:Deliver a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on the person who is now struggling to cope with the Super Senses they just stole.]]
** Book Four takes this further. [[spoiler:She willingly feeds her status as a PhysicalGod to Sve Noc. Shocked by this, Sve Noc saves her life and makes Catherine her [[HighPriest first priestess]], and allies with Callow.]]
* BrutalHonesty: Cat tends to tell it to you in ways both blunt and straight. Why lie when truth can get the job done?
* CameBackWrong: She's [[spoiler:had part of her soul amputated due to [[TheCorruption demonic corruption]], was killed by The Lone Swordsman (with her [[DeaderThanDead corpse's head cut off]]), and was turned into a HumanoidAbomination and had her literal heart ripped out by the Winter King]]. Several characters [[TheseusShipParadox question how much of the original Catherine is actually left]].
* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: Catherine grows up without ever knowing her parents in an imperial orphanage, and thus can leave with no obligations, regrets or even a goodbye. Furthermore, in a universe that runs on stories, being an orphan ''is'' often an advantage: Cat uses it in Arcadia to wriggle herself in a story of a lost daughter tragically killing her unknown father as foretold by an ancient (read: written this evening) prophecy.
* CoolHorse: Later in the story, her mount is an undead murderous Pegasus that she killed and reanimated herself.
* DaddysGirl / DaddysLittleVillain: Technically, she and Black aren't at all related. But, just ''you'' try telling all of his mates that, as most of them spend (or, in Catherine and Black's opinions, waste) time twitting both about how alike in attitude and humour they are. Down to mannerisms. The rest of the Calamities have a point, though -- whatever their victims say.
* DeadpanSnarker: She has to be one just to keep up with her [[SnarkToSnarkCombat officers]].
* {{Determinator}}: Woe betide foes who think that because she's bleeding out, she's ''got'' to be out for the count. It gets to the point where The Lone Swordsman repeatedly tries to warn others of what he's found out about her the hard way.
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: Has a bit of a habit of doing this, and has done it to [[AngelicAbomination angels]], [[TheDreaded The]] [[OurLichesAreDifferent Dead]] [[TheNecrocracy King]], and [[GodOfEvil Sve]] [[DeityofHumanOrigin Noc]].
* DiscardAndDraw: Cat cycles through powers frequently in the first four books. [[spoiler:Late in Book 2, during First Liesse, she loses the Name of Squire to Chider but takes it back with a new set of Aspects. During Second Liesse, at the end of Book 3, she embraces her Mantle of Queen of Winter, which immediately consumes the Name of Squire but brings her nearly to the level of being a PhysicalGod. She loses Winter at the end of Book 4 to Sve Noc, but she convinces the Drow goddesses to pact with her, making her First Under the Night and empowering her with the Night. Averted with that last one: though she obtains the Name of the Warden in Book 7, she still largely relies on Night for her heavy lifting, and though she passes on the position of Warden to Sapan at the end of the series, she never loses her connection to Night.]]
* DontMakeMeDestroyYou: Her pleas for compromise to [[spoiler:the First Prince and the Grey Pilgrim]] are both turned down. Unfortunately, this was her attempt at searching for an excuse not to pursue her third option: [[spoiler:[[DealWithTheDevil an invitation to Keter]] by the [[TheDreaded King of the Dead]] himself]].
* TheDreaded: It takes some time, but Catherine eventually earns her reputation as the heir to the most successful tyrant in Calernia. By the time the Tenth Crusade rolls around, the Proceran commanders are clearly terrified of her.
* EatingTheEyecandy: Catherine is ''very'' fond of ogling attractive people around herself.
* ExtraDimensionalShortcut: After [[spoiler:becoming the new Queen of Winter]], she and her forces can use these to dramatically, if unpredictably, shorten the time it takes to march somewhere with no risk of being attacked en route.
* FisherQueen: [[spoiler:After becoming the [[InsistentTerminology Queen in Callow]], Grey Pilgrim claims this as the reason why negotiation is not an option]]. According to him, the people of Callow living under the rule of a Villain will be influenced into Evil themselves, regardless of her intentions.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: She starts as an orphan who works as a waitress, but raises ''fast'' to become TheDreaded.
* FrontlineGeneral: The power of Catherine's Name means that she is frequently needed on the front lines, however she usually prefers to stay out of the fray as long as possible, only getting directly involved in combat at the most decisive point in a given engagement. Over time, [[spoiler:she stops embracing this trope so whole-heartedly, as her new powers and roles require her to be more of TheChessmaster]].
* GodzillaThreshold: The power of Winter. After the Arcadia arc, Catherine [[spoiler:is the sole titled noble in the fae Winter Court. Pulling on its power in a controlled way is easy enough, but when she breaks the bindings that connect her soul to this raw power, ''watch out''.]]
* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: Uses a dragonbone pipe to smoke medicinal herbs.
* GoodThingYouCanHeal: Cat fights very recklessly as [[spoiler:Queen of Winter]], causing her to lean on her HealingFactor frequently. She has to train herself out of this behavior as [[spoiler:First Under the Night,]] as she's become considerably easier to kill.
* HealingFactor: As [[spoiler:Queen of Winter]] she acquires something akin to this, capable of regenerating entire parts of her body in a manner of seconds. [[spoiler:She compares it to her body being "smoke and mirrors", and it's later confirmed that her form as Queen of Winter was a fixed state that Creation would simply replenish when any part of it was lost.]]
* HeroKiller: [[spoiler:She cripples the Hunter in the second Summerholm arc, then goes on to order the death of the Exiled Prince and then kills The Page in single combat at the battle of Three Hills. However, her credentials arguably aren't fully secure until she kills The Lone Swordsman in Liesse.]]
** By the beginning of Book 4, she has killed at least half a dozen heroic incursions into Callow, cementing her place as this.
%%* High Priestess: She [[spoiler:gets this position to Sve Noc]].
* HonestyIsTheBestPolicy: When caught with her hand in the cookie jar, she tends to head for sheer audacity (and, at the very least, [[MetaphoricallyTrue ~50+% truth]], perhaps [[MetaphoricallyTrue ~25% twisty omission]] and ''maybe'' 10-25% outright fib... give or take) over [[BlatantLies completely weaseling out of it]]. She owns both her faults and her strengths, thanks -- including accepting the price of not being awesome enough to get out unscathed. And, she does get herself dinged; just, not as badly as you'd expect given the situations. This is mainly thanks to ducking the worst due to ''mostly'' going for this trope and combining it with CrazyIsCool.
* [[spoiler:HumanoidAbomination]]: [[spoiler:After breaking Masego's shackles that held her Mantle in check Catherine fully comes into her powers as the Queen of the Winter Fae. As a result becomes less a person than a person-shaped magical construct that can bend, exploit or flat-out ignore normal Creational Laws.]]
* ItsPersonal: To Akua, one of her Nemeses: when Akua attacks the 15th legion and Marchford, Catherine takes it ''personally'' (instead of (as Praesi do) to see it as a part of the political game).
** Other than the fact she played a major role in the Doom of Liesse, a large part of Catherine's enmity with Malicia stems from her instigating the Night of Knives, and murder of [[spoiler:Ratface]].
* KidWithTheLeash: While certainly not helpless in her own right, she becomes this for [[spoiler:the Wild Hunt after claiming the Mantle of Winter, and for Akua after binding her SoulJar to her cloak. Being the HighPriest for Sve Noc also counts, as they (usually) listen to her advice, despite not being under her control]].
* LamePunReaction: She absolutely ''hates'' puns and is none too happy that she's recruited a lot of people who ''love'' them.
* LesCollaborateurs: Catherine is a Callowan who willingly works with the Dread Empire, albeit for the sympathetic reason of keeping Praes from ruining her nation any further.
* TheLeader: She's mostly a mix of The Charismatic and The Headstrong but she's been known to pull some clever plans and manipulations in the mold of the Mastermind as well.
* LineOfSightName: She calls her first horse Zombie, as she'd just brought it back from the dead when told to name it. She carries on the tradition for all subsequent mounts - all ''six'' of them.
* MoralityChain: She's an odd version of this for [[spoiler:Sve Noc. In large part, they keep her so that they can socialize with someone not their enemy or raised to worship them. This is so they won't get too detached from mortals and lose their Genre Savviness, as old [[GodOfEvil gods like them]] often do.]]
* NonIndicativeName: She calls her personal mounts "Zombie", even though a few of them (most notably Zombie II, who never actually becomes undead as its body is destroyed beyond resurrection when it's killed by the Summer Fae) were still alive.
* {{Patricide}}: [[spoiler:At the end of the Praesi arc in Book 7, Black forces this on Cat so that she will not be unable to kill Alaya as she had sworn to do. Praes needed a Chancellor, and without him, Alaya would be the only candidate left. Though this act doesn't damage her feelings for the man, she has nightmares about it for some time afterward.]]
* PragmaticVillainy: She's still got L-plates on, but is well on the way to getting her license.
* RebuiltPedestal: [[spoiler:See BrokenPedestal above. She and Black mend their wounded relationship in book 5.]]
* RedheadsAreRavishing: Cuddly redheaded mages to be precise, as evidenced by her [[spoiler:brief]] relationship with Killian.
* RefusalOfTheCall: [[spoiler:When the Hashmallim try to turn her into the heroic Queen of Callow in Liesse, she flatly refuses and calls them out for being hypocrites.]]
* RulerProtagonist: Starting from Book 4, after she achieves her goal of becoming the queen of Callow.
* SpontaneousWeaponCreation: After getting the power of Winter, she creates swords out of ice whenever she loses or breaks her sword.
* TakeAThirdOption: At the end of Book Four, [[spoiler:she's stuck in the middle of a pitched battle between Akua and Sve Noc over her soul's worthiness. Mortally wounded, missing a large part of her soul, and having just come out of a VillainousBSOD, she interrupts. Catherine [[SelfSacrificeScheme freely offers her unconditional surrender]] to Sve Noc, and humbly begs for aid for her people from the new deity. Sve Noc decides to not only spare her, but allies with her against the Dead King, technically fulfilling Catherine's obligations to the Dwarves, and gaining the army she went there to gather in the first place]].
* ThenLetMeBeEvil: She tries to play nice and limit casualties during the Tenth Crusade's [[spoiler:initial push into Callow. She refused a plan that would have crippled Procer in the first few months of the Crusade as well as the use of any large rituals out of [[MachiavelliWasWrong hope that being cordial would enable peace talks]]. The House of Light promptly [[AbominationAccusationAttack declares her Arch-heretic of the East]]. She then decides to take [[TheDreaded The Dead King]] up on ''his'' offer of negotiations]].
* ThrowingDownTheGauntlet: She challenges the Duke of Violent Squalls to a duel while at a party in his estate by stealing another guest's glove and throwing it against his head.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: People keep thinking she's a minor threat and paying a hard price for it. [[spoiler:Even angels.]]
* UnresolvedSexualTension: Cat and Akua go through this song-and-dance for most of the Tenth Crusade. [[spoiler:Cat goes from being annoyed at how attractive she finds [[FoeRomanceSubtext a person she hates]], to being annoyed at how she's starting to like [[FriendshipDenial a reluctant ally]], to considering her a [[StupidSexyFriend close friend]] whose past crimes she can't overlook, to falling in ([[StarCrossedLovers ill-fated]]) love with her]].
* VillainHasAPoint: ''Many'' of her criticisms of the Heroes are completely valid, seeing how at least some (read:William) tend to view Evil races (like, say, Orcs) as AlwaysChaoticEvil beings that deserve to be wiped out.
* VillainsNeverLie: She certainly prefers to use truth, but isn't about to shackle herself to the practice. She tells the unvarnished truth most of the time -- particularly if she knows her opponent is resistant to the idea that straightforward truth is even a thing. However, it just makes her lies harder to catch or refute when she does deploy them. Later on, [[spoiler:her fae power makes any promise relatively binding. She can still be [[LiteralGenie very specific with the wording though]]]].
* VillainProtagonist: With everything she has done up to this point for her own selfish gain, as well as what "side" she's technically on, she definitely fits this.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: After getting [[spoiler:the Mantle of Winter, its power makes her more "traditionally evil" the longer she uses it in a battle]]. When this is [[spoiler:devoured by Sve Noc at the end of Book Four, Cat enters an on-and-off VillainousBSOD out of horror over her actions.]]

! ''The Adjutant''[[spoiler:/''The Warlord'']] (Hakram of the Howling Wolves)

Catherine's sergeant in the academy wargames, Hakram quickly proves himself indispensable with his quiet competence and uncanny encyclopedic knowledge of the social dynamics of the academy students. After she assumes command of the Fifteenth Legion Catherine names Hakram her adjutant, which unexpectedly develops into a new Name, the first to appear among the orcs in generations.

Adjutant has three Aspects: '''[[NighInvulnerable Stand]]''', '''[[MagicCompass Find]]''', and '''[[ImplacableMan Rampage]]'''.

[[spoiler:While on a diplomatic mission to the Orc tribes, Hakram experiences a fair amount of inner turmoil from the combination of losing two limbs to a demon, Cat's subsequent CondescendingCompassion, and the realization that Adjutant had gained no personal goals outside of Cat's ambitions. Hakram responds by reluctantly leaving Cat's service and relinquishing the Name Adjutant in order to place a successful bid as the first Orc Warlord in centuries. The first new Aspects he gains in the position are '''[[MookCommander Lead]]''' and '''[[UnstoppableRage Rage]]''']].

* AnArmAndALeg: Had his hand cut off by William's sword. Warlock gives him a replacement made via Necromancy.
* AffablyEvil: Hakram is quite suave and sophisticated in a smoothly jovial way. And, not just in a case of "for an orc": for practically anybody. Still has the whole "will kill you easily" air, though.
* BadassBureaucrat: He wasn't what anybody would call bad at juggling the admin before he got his Name, but afterwards? Yikes: turbocharged! Also, Orc -- pity anybody who tries to mess with his filing system...
* BattleButler: Of a distinctly [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_(military) batman]] variety (no, not Batman -- don't give Pickler ideas). He has a higher status than you'd expect, but he basically functions as this in his role as Adjunct to Catherine.
* BrokenAce: At first glance, Hakram is pretty much the ideal Orc male -- physically imposing, skilled at violence, stoic, and sexually successful. He doesn't let on to anyone except Catherine that he doesn't like that role -- he doesn't feel the bloodlust that normally defines his people and was essentially going through the motions until he ran into Catherine.
* CulturedWarrior: Has a love of Kharsum poetry, and occasionally recites poems when fighting a particularly difficult opponent.
* DeadpanSnarker: Yup. Tusks greatly help with your deadpan delivery, apparently.
* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: As Hakram tells it, this was where he was at the time he met Catherine. He'd been coasting through life on the back of others' expectations and his own competence without ever finding something he cared enough about to fight for. It was only when Catherine showed him both how truly messed up the imperial system was and that it was possible to change it that he truly dedicated himself to something for the first time in his life.
* {{Determinator}}: Meeting Catherine put a fire under him. So much so, he not only shrugged off a major injury for her, but wrestled a new, and appropriate, Name from the ungrateful cosmos.
* FriendOrIdolDecision: [[spoiler:Book 7 sees his loyalty to Cat challenged when Hakram has the opportunity to become a claimant for the Warlord Name. Ultimately, he chooses the latter as it provides a chance to return the currently-subjugated Orc race to their former strength.]]
* TheLancer and/or TheDragon: Catherine's all-purpose right-hand man. His nascent Name seems to be built as a supporting role to the Squire.
* TheOathBreaker: [[spoiler:Regretfully breaks his oath of loyalty to Cat in order to take up [[ElectiveMonarchy leadership]] of the Orc clans and the ancient Name of [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership Warlord]].]]
* PhraseCatcher: Among the former members of Rat Company: "Hakram, you gossipy bitch!"
-->'''Hakram:''' I don't know why people keep telling me things.
* TheReliableOne: Seems to have as large a part in running the Fifteenth as Catherine herself sometimes, and she's commented several times she lucked out majorly when she first got him as a sergeant. We see in the extra chapters that he's not above cleaning up messes before they ever get to her attention, including his own attempted assassination.
* RedBaron: got nicknamed "Hakram Deadhand" after losing a hand to the Lone Swordsman in Summerholm and quickly proved the nickname right by strangling an enemy priest to death at the Battle of Three Hills.
* SkeletalAppendage: After Hakram loses a hand in a fight with the Lone Swordsman, Warlock creates a skeletal hand instead, granting Hakram the moniker Deadhand. The skeletal limb apparently makes him a hit with the Orkish ladies and also helps him intimidate people (most notably Thief).

! ''The Apprentice''[[spoiler:/''The Hierophant'']] (Masego)

Warlock's adopted son who joins the Fifteenth Legion after fighting with them in Summerholm. An extremely gifted mage who is largely apathetic about all non-magical matters. He quickly proves himself indispensable. His Aspects are '''[[AwesomenessByAnalysis Glimpse]]''' and '''[[DispelMagic Deconstruct]]'''. [[spoiler:His Aspects as The Hierophant are '''[[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic Witness]]''', '''[[DisintegratorRay Ruin]]''', and '''[[VictorGainsLosersPowers Wrest]]'''.]]

* AutismInMedia: It's heavily implied that Masego would be on the spectrum by our world's standards, though it's depicted with enough nuance to avert HollywoodAutism:
** At one point early in Book 4, as a result of entering Masego's MentalWorld to help him wake up from the backlash of [[spoiler:Gray Pilgrim disrupting a massive working]], Catherine accidentally finds herself experiencing some of Masego's memories from his perspective. The second time around, she notes that he finds faces hard to read before immediately wondering about his aversion to touch--which she speculates is about not understanding why people are touching him:
---> '''Catherine''': I still remembered what it felt like, people’s faces being so hard to read. Was that how he felt all the time? I’d thought he was uncomfortable with touching because it was the way Warlock had raised him, but that hadn’t been the way at all. I just… hadn’t known what the touching was for, and I’d hesitated to act until I could correctly identify the reason. It’d been like living a world full of masks, so very few of which I could read.
** He is highly LiteralMinded. It's noted repeatedly that he is by far the most sincere of the Woe without even trying.
** His focus on magic and magical theory is implied to be a fixation.
* BadassBookworm: Masego had reportedly never been in actual combat before he met Catherine. Despite this he wipes the floor with pretty much every mage he comes up against. This was, perhaps, only to be expected when he was up against The Bumbling Conjurer but he also sends Heiress running and goes several rounds against a [[EldritchAbomination Demon of Corruption.]]
* DePower: Book 5 has him [[spoiler: see his magic '''Severed''' from him by Saint of Swords during his possession by the Dead King. It's downplayed, though: he soon gains a replacement in the form of '''Wresting''' magic from outside sources instead]]. In Book 7, [[spoiler:Akua uses a small part of Sve Noc's reforged godhood to reforge Masego's soul and with it his connection to his magic.]]
* DeityOfHumanOrigin: Masego's overarching goal is to obtain sufficient knowledge to achieve apotheosis. [[spoiler:Upon [[IngestingKnowledge subsuming]] Neshamah's godhead, he succeeds.]]
* ForScience: Well, "for empirical thaumatic studies", at least. Poking at Creation to see how it ticks! Yay!
* FreudianExcuse: He wants to dissect Creation to see how it works. The reason? He was raised in a pocket dimension and at quite a tender age saw his world end.
* FriendlessBackground: Hinted at. Also hinted that both his dads have tried several times to socialise him in various ways with others around his own age, only to have it not stick until relatively recently.
* GlassEye: Gets a pair of glass eyes during the Arcadia arc, made from his [[GogglesDoSomethingUnusual magic spectacles]] after they [[EyeScream blew up in his original eyes]] due to seeing the Sun of Summer up close. He can see with them at least as well as he could with his original eyes, [[BlindfoldedVision even through the blindfold he wears over them.]]
* GodhoodSeeker: Becomes this after meeting the Dead King at the latest. What he hopes for is not power, no, but the understanding and knowledge it would bring. [[spoiler:He succeeds, consuming the Dead King's godhood to attain it--in the epilogue, he uses it to develop a new theory of magic]].
* GogglesDoSomethingUnusual: His spectacles let him capture images and easily see spellwork, among other things.
* GrammarNazi: He is obsessed with being exact when he talks. Catherine has theorized it's a weakness driven by his Name and he's literally incapable of letting imprecision go.
* HappilyAdopted: At some point, Warlock bumped into a promising, very little lad (a 2 year old, according to WordOfGod) with a propensity to learn magic. And, Tikoloshe promptly started a "we can adopt and train him -- oh, go on, you know you could do a much better job as a real Daddy to your apprentice than your master did with the whole master-pupil thing!" campaign. It worked (ulterior motives or not): Apprentice wouldn't have it any other way.
* ImpliedLoveInterest: Subverted. [[spoiler:Admittedly, Archer makes clear that she ''is'' in love with him during Book 4, while Masego cares for her the most out of [[TrueCompanions the Woe]]. After their RelationshipUpgrade, Indrani also refers to Masego as her "partner"; nevertheless, their relationship is later shown to be non-romantic. On top of the fact that Masego doesn't consider it his concern who Indrani sleeps with ([[{{Polyamory}} itself]] not dispositive), Cat explicitly distinguishes her friends' relationship dynamic from the [[ChastityCouple non-sexual romantic relationships]] she's seen. That, in addition to Masego's unique views on love, suggests the two are actually in a [[PlatonicLifePartners Queerplatonic]] [[https://lgbta.wikia.org/wiki/Queerplatonic_Relationship relationship]]]]:
-->Hierophant spared an irritated thought for Trismegistus as well, irked by the presumption [that he was not "in love" with Archer]. As if a cursory reading of his memories would be enough to understand the sum of him.... [[spoiler:''Not every kind of love involves [[SingleTargetSexuality bedplay]] or poetry,'' Uncle Amadeus had told him. ''You can crave closeness with someone without craving them in other ways. Sometimes it just… fits.'']]
--->--'''Masego'''
* NotDistractedByTheSexy: Heiress makes a brief attempt to ShowSomeLeg hoping to bring him over to her side. He responds by deadpanning about vivisecting her. It's all but stated that Masego is [[{{UsefulNotes/Asexual}} asexual]], to the point of fellow ace-spec Black being brought in to give him a talk about it.
** He does seem to be at least a little attracted to The Archer, however -- or flummoxed: one of the two or both. And, Malicia can crack his chronic disinterest a little, too (but, she does that with ''everybody'').
* OddFriendship: He, Cat, and Hakram rub along surprisingly well, considering their various differences. It seems to surprise him a little, too. In Book 3, he is also the first of the Woe to befriend Archer.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Where Masego goes, the Fifteenth's enemies die.
* SignatureMove: Most of his magic spells are one-offs, but he has a signature binding ritual, "Seven pillars hold up the sky...", which he uses several times throughout the series.
* SquishyWizard: In fights, the rest of the Woe usually provides frontline support and protects him while Masego spends time calling down the equivalent of a magical nuke. He takes time to build up, but once he gets going none of the Woe can match him in raw offensive power.
* VariantPowerCopying: The central ability of the Hierophant: almost any "miracle" (which seemingly encompasses most non-Aspect-based unique abilities) that Masego '''Witnesses''' can be reverse-engineered using magic, up to and including the [[SmiteEvil smiting]] of ''an angelic choir''.

! ''The Archer''[[spoiler:/''The Ranger'']] (Indrani)

One of Ranger's minions, a young woman who is sent to retrieve The Hunter after the Empire agrees to return him to Refuge. By Book 3, she has decided to join Catherine's cause and has been bound as one of the Woe. Her Aspects are '''[[SuperSenses See]]''', '''[[SuperMode Flow]]''', and '''[[SuperSpeed Stride]]'''. [[spoiler:During the fall of the Tower, Indrani decides to challenge Hye Sue, becoming a claimant to the Name Ranger. Partway through the final battle against the Dead King, she succeeds and transitions into the new Ranger.]]

* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: [[spoiler:She's one of several characters from Refuge who meet William during the epilogue of the Yonder rewrite's Book 1, encountering the Lone Swordsman in Refuge and calling him [[EmbarrassingNickname Lonely Hand]].]]
* AloofBigSister: Seems to be her relationship with Hunter, roughly.
* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Averted. In Book 5, [[spoiler:she casually states that ThePowerOfLove should help a plan, as she is in love with Masego]].
* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Her version of saying 'hi' is to deliver a casual beat-down to Adjutant, Apprentice, and Squire while the latter is convalescing from a battle with devils.
* TheBigGuy / TheBrute: It's not evident right away, but Archer fills this role within the Woe as the most skilled fighter of the crew. She was trained by Ranger, after all.
* BoisterousBruiser: Female version, an arrogant, hard-drinking badass who picks fights and takes passes at people left and right.
* BoomHeadshot: As one would expect for someone Named Archer. Book 5 has her [[spoiler:on the receiving end of one courtesy of a Dead King-possessed Masego]].
* BowAndSwordInAccord: More of a long knife than a sword really (Legolas-style) but still fits the basic concept.
* ChangedMyMindKid: [[spoiler:At the last minute she and Hunter show up to help fight the Demon.]]
* DeadpanSnarker: OK, Tinkles really does deserve it, let's face it. The poor, dumb fool.
* DualWielding: In melee, she wields two longknives and is scarily competent with them.
* FirstNameBasis: She tells Catherine to call her by her given name (Indrani) at the end of Book 3, as a sign of loyalty.
* FriendsWithBenefits: With [[spoiler:Catherine, starting in Book 4]].
* TheHedonist: When quizzed she points out that Named tend to get more of everything, power and danger, which means she's likely not destined for old age and should enjoy life while she can.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: She once manages to shoot five running horses in the head from a mile away before the riders even comprehend what is happening.
--> "When I can see it, I can shoot it."
* MasterArcher: As befitting somebody with the Name Archer, her skill with a bow is supernaturally good.
* TheNicknamer: Downplayed. While she does refer to some characters by their full name (e.g. Hakram, Ranger, Beastmaster), she refers to many characters by shorthand names or nicknames (e.g. Masego as "Zeze", Concocter as "Cocky"), and it's a running gag while both [[spoiler:Akua Sahelian]] and Indrani are in the party for Archer to call her a wide variety of [[EmbarrassingNickname insulting nicknames]].
* OddFriendship: With Masego. [[spoiler:They later have a RelationshipUpgrade]].
--> “I know he’s not interested in bedplay, Cat,” Indrani snorted. “Come on. Last time he saw me shirtless he asked if I needed healing.”
* ReformedBully: Archer's initial SocialDarwinist ways meant he was a major bully to the other Refuge students as they grew up. A few years with [[TrueCompanions the Woe]] largely remedies this, though her old tendencies sometimes pop up.
* SuperiorSuccessor: [[spoiler:She successfully steals the Name of Ranger upon proving herself this to Hye Su. The latter, upon finding [[AlwaysABiggerFish a monster]] that she couldn't defeat (an undead [[DraconicAbomination Drakon]]), immediately ditched her companions (including two of her students) to save herself. In contrast, Indrani pulled the mother of all BigDamnHeroes moments, claimed her master's Name, and proceeded to fight the {{Dracolich}} god to a standstill.]]


! ''The Thief''[[spoiler:/''The Princess of Callow'']] (Vivienne Dartwick)

A Hero of Callowan origin that joins the Lone Swordsman's party for the rebellion in Callow. Although she is arguably the most effective member of the Swordsman's party (besides William himself) we know relatively little about her. She has an independent streak, tending to leave the party and operate solo for long stretches. This has continued in her role among the Woe as well. Her Aspects are '''[[{{Hammerspace}} Hold]]''', '''[[PerceptionFilter Hide]]''', and '''[[ImpossibleTheft Steal]]'''.
[[spoiler:During the Tenth Crusade, wherein she spent more time as an [[WhatExactlyIsHisJob unofficial spymistress and a diplomat]] than a thief, Vivienne lost her hold over the Name. However, over the same period, she gained the role of Cat's intended post-war successor as Queen of Callow. This eventually led her to gain a new Name: Princess. As the Princess, she gains the Aspect '''[[PowerCopying Trick]]''']].

* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: [[spoiler:In the Yonder rewrite's first book, she's mentioned by The Baron as a hero who isn't responding to his communications. She later shows up as one of several heroic Named William encounters on the way to Refuge during the Yonder Book 1 epilogue, apparently having absconded with an entire hold of wyvern meat on an island he and Hunter were getting bogged down on.]]
* AscendedExtra: She's a side character in the main plot of Book 2, with slightly more importance in William's Interludes. In Book 3 she steps up to face off with Cat directly, and becomes a member of her growing party.
* BroughtDownToBadass: She begins to fear she is losing [[spoiler:her Name as her driving motivations change. This leads to some positive CharacterDevelopment where she lets go of the anger that caused her to start stealing in the first place. This leads to her becoming the politician and diplomat of The Woe. She's skilled enough at this to be made heir apparent to the Crown]].
* CombatPragmatist: The Thief tends to avoid direct conflict, preferring to strike from surprise. In a stand-up fight, she isn't able to defeat Hakram even before he comes into his Name.
* HiddenDepths: Quickly works out that the Wandering Bard isn't as spoony as she looks -- and, starts surreptitiously sidling away from ground zero without drawing attention to it, beyond warning William he should think about getting out of dodge.
* ImpossibleThief: Thief's '''Hold''' Aspect makes this relatively easy, letting her steal objects into a [[{{Hammerspace}} pocket dimension]] and take them out later. She uses it to steal a fleet of river galleys, somehow cramming them all into a BagOfHolding, then uses them to form a makeshift barricade at the battle of Liesse. She later one-ups herself when she uses '''Hold''' to steal [[spoiler:the ''Sun'' from the [[TheFairFolk Princess]] [[PhysicalGod of High Noon]]]]
* {{Irony}}: During her time with William, she calls him out on being an AntiHero who tries to use Evil's methods against it. She would later come to be the TokenGoodTeammate of a band of villains, and it's implied that [[spoiler:Assassin spared her]] because she was seen as more likely to become a villain than a hero.
* KarmicThief: Apparently, the underground thieving community of Callow follows this general principle, with scams that rely on the mark's own greed being preferred, and scams that don't being expressly forbidden from being used on innocent Callowan citizens. Praesi are fair targets for anything, of course.
* KingOfThieves: Becomes the "king" of the Callowan thieving underground.
* KleptomaniacHero: Doesn't hesitate to steal from her teammates.
* MoralityChain: Catherine trusts Thief with several code phrases that could be used to control, contain, or even kill her because she believes Thief has the firmest moral compass of the Woe, and has an actual worldly goal that would cause her to be directly opposed to measures that are ''too'' Evil.
* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Thief is ultimately loyal to Callow itself. This is the very reason she joins the Woe, as she realizes that Catherine truly has the country's best interests at heart.
* PowerLossMakesYouStrong: Prior to losing her Name, Thief is one of the weakest Named in a straight fight that isn't a complete noncombatant like Scribe or the Wandering Bard. [[spoiler:After losing her PerceptionFilter it becomes a lot more urgent that she be able to defend herself, so Vivienne ends training herself up to WeakButSkilled territory.]]
* ShutUpHannibal: Akua delivers a BreakingSpeech about how [[spoiler:Catherine's ambition would eventually drive her to become a new Empress in a bid to [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans "fix" the world]]]]. Thief promptly retorts that Akua has gotten obsessed with justifying [[spoiler:her defeat by convincing herself that Catherine was a WorthyOpponent who will succeed where she failed]]. Later, [[spoiler:she calls Akua out for intentionally losing arguments like this in order to become more personable to the Woe]].
* TokenGoodTeammate: Of the Woe. Adjutant has UndyingLoyalty to Cat, not any particular ideals. Masego's a MadScientist with a total LackOfEmpathy towards anyone who isn't a close friend or family member. Archer is an unapologetic [[TheHedonist Hedonist]] and ThrillSeeker. Cat has similar goals for saving Callow, but mentions several times that Vivienne is simply a ''better'' person than her.
* UnexpectedSuccessor: Catherine [[spoiler:declares her heir to the Crown of Callow]].
* UtilityPartyMember: She's very useful for stealth, as a spy-mistress, and removing enemy supplies and trump cards from the equation, but, much to her frustration, is a very poor combatant for a Named.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Calamities]]

! ''The Black Knight [[spoiler:(formerly)]]'' (Amadeus of the Green Stretch)
The Empress Malicia's right-hand man and de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Callow since the Conquest.
The son of a small freeholder in the Empire's Green Stretch (and one of the light-skinned Duni minority), Black spent decades rising to the pinnacle of the imperial hierarchy along with his allies, the Five Calamities and the Empress Malicia I (formerly an imperial concubine named Alaya). After leading Malicia's forces to victory in a brutal civil war, Black set about re-organizing the imperial legions of terror into a highly competent professional army loyal to him, a weapon which he then used to annex the Kingdom of Callow. The past twenty years have been spent consolidating these gains: Stomping on any hero that raises their head in Callow while managing the kingdom well enough to prevent widespread rebellious sentiment from spreading among the masses.
As the story begins his efforts are beginning to fail as the narrative arc of the universe turns against the upstart empire. Heroes are popping up like mad- two or three a year at a rate that is only increasing and will soon overtake the calamities' capability to suppress. Meanwhile, the DecadentCourt in Praes gets more mutinous by the day and the [[TheFederation Principate of Procer]] is gathering its forces looking to finally drive the Praesi back to the wasteland. But Black has [[ThePlan a plan.]] [[GenreSavvy A plan to turn the rules of storytelling back against themselves.]] What he needs is an Anti-hero, a Callowan with a Praesi name who can change the story of Callow forever and bind the two nations together. Enter Catherine Foundling.

Black's Aspects are '''[[MookCommander Lead]]''', '''[[OneManArmy Conquer]]''', and '''[[TouchOfDeath Destroy]]'''.

* AffablyEvil: Like all the Calamities, he's a reasonably pleasant guy to be around. But... there is a distinct limit: show your StupidEvil, BondVillainStupidity or particularly egregious StupidGood off near him, and he'll quickly show you how little he appreciates it. Graphically and ''geo''graphically, if needed.

* BlackComedy: His sense of humour is both ''dark'' and very, ''very'' cynical. Beware when he breaks out in some kind of smile. If somewhat lighter, kind of playful version, it's probably closer to a CheshireCatGrin. If playful in a completely different way, it's a disturbing SlasherSmile. In both cases... something is about to go very badly and ironically wrong for somebody he thinks deserves it.
* BloodKnight: All his Aspects power up when he's brutally crushing his enemies in an open battle. Loathe though he is to openly admit it, it's a rush he can't avoid getting.
* ChildhoodFriends: Alaya the tavern-girl and Amadeus the farm-boy were friends long before Dread Empress Malacia and The Black Knight were allies.
* ColdHam: He has a very cold and restrained affect but that doesn't cover up the fact that he '''loves''' his melodrama. He also is so careful not to act smug that it loops around and comes off as smugness.
* TheCreon: After leading the rebellion to get control of the tower, Black is quite content to let his good friend Alaya have the throne and serves her faithfully as TheDragon for decades.
* DangerousDeserter: Amadeus enlisted in the Legions of Terror, where he was so inconsequential that [[AccidentalMisnaming they even misspelled his name]] on the roster. He then deserted after his first battle out of disgust for how [[DefectorFromDecadence incompetently it was conducted]]. Alone and far away from home, this teenage boy decided he was going to [[DelayedOhCrap fix things]].
* {{Deuteragonist}}: In the earlier books. WordOfGod is that in early drafts Black was even the original protagonist of the story.
* DoomedHometown: Or rather, doomed homestead. A while after he becomes the Squire, the Heir has his remaining family back on his home farm killed. As Amadeus remarks at their burial, it was inevitable that something would kill them- Squires don't have a home to return to.
* DragonInChief: Malicia won the throne in large part due to his military skills and both the standing armies and the most powerful Named in the empire are loyal to Malicia only through their connection to Black. In many ways Black is more powerful than his mistress.
* EvilIsSterile: He lives to break this trope so hard that it dies a death. The cycle of fabulously pointless creative schemes that are doomed to end in big, empty nothing since StatusQuoIsGod ''must go''.
* TheGadfly / {{Troll}}: If you know what's healthy for you, you don't mess up enough for him to come at you in fully remote Troll Mode. May all the Gods, those both Below and Above, help you if he's decided to hound you, because he will make a years-long campaign out of it to make a point, rather than just ending you quickly -- those who wind up on the receiving end of this probably welcome Assassin eventually showing up. However, ''nothing'' stops him casually having a little subdued fun with you for the shared, companionable (if still somewhat spikey) giggles. Just ask Cat and Masego. And Malicia. And any other Calamity.
* GenreSavvy: Black knows all the genre cliches that run his universe, and he long ago worked out [[TheMunchkin how best to exploit them]]--or simply avoid them. Just a few examples:
** He knows that trying to [[IControlMyMinionsThrough recruit by deceit or threats]] will inevitably lead [[TheDogBitesBack to betrayal]] and so is careful to always be honest, generous and polite to those he works with long-term.
** He knows that it's pointless to try to pursue heroes after they flee a dramatic confrontation as it would clearly be too anticlimactic for them to be defeated that way and therefore the universe would not permit it.
** His empire has a well-run and effective system of orphanages, ensuring that any disaffected orphans who might be inclined to become rebellious heroes can receive a good education and prospects in life without rebellions or, failing that, can be carefully monitored by his agents and suffocated in their sleep if they appear intractable.
** It's also flat-out stated that his actions and general lack of [[CardCarryingVillain self-destructive tendencies]] has actually significantly limited the power of his Name. In terms of raw power he's probably the weakest Black Knight in centuries, but he views the trade-off as being worthwhile.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: Oh, so played with. On the one hand, we do get ''some'' significant segments of his VillainProtagonist tale, from his own and others' perspectives, but our story is not his. On the other, he actively chose to be the Black Knight over becoming the White Knight, reasonably considering a White Knight to be incapable of changing anything in Praes' borked system permanently. On the gripping hand, willing to sacrifice all of yourself (and those around you) to improve a broken system of governance so it functions for those being governed and not just the crazy arseholes who get to the top isn't exactly a straightforwardly Villainous thing, now, is it? And, he's not that powerful a Black Knight, to boot. [[spoiler:Cat may not be the only twisted, battered and self-mutilating almost-Hero- definitely-monster in this tale, Pilgrim, dearest.]]
** An important thing to note is that Black's goal is NOT "to improve a broken system of governance so it functions for those being governed," that's a side effect. Black just wants Evil to win over Good. More precisely he wants Good to lose, just once, just to show it can be done. What makes Black far more villainous than his protege is that his goal is selfish and not good - he's just willing to do anything, good or evil, to accomplish it.
* HeroKiller: So often it's become routine, though Assassin has an even higher body count according to WordOfGod.
* HeroicSacrifice: Black disdains these as a concept. [[spoiler:He eventually ends up performing one for Malicia, using his [[DyingCurse dues to Below]] to force Cat to let her live for a time.]]
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: To Captain definitely, and possibly the other Calamities as well. When he is trapped in another Plane for a few days at one point Captain reacts by [[NoKillLikeOverkill slaughtering an entire village in a fit of rage]] while Warlock mutilates the soul of an informant trying to locate him.
* LukeIAmYourFather: Parodied. Catherine is sure to ask him if she's his long-lost daughter the morning after they first meet. She's somewhat disappointed when he informs her that she is not. It's also played with: eventually, Cat comes to treat Black as her adoptive father while Black comes to consider her his adoptive daughter.
* MayflyDecemberRomance: When he started his relationship with Ranger he was in his twenties and she was several hundred years old. Of course since Black doesn't age either he's now pushing 60 so they're on somewhat more even footing.
* MoralityChain: To Wekesa. Has implemented explicit rules limiting how much he's allowed to go all-out, and it's his potential displeasure that Wekesa thinks of when pondering civilian casualties (and that appears to be the only reason Wekesa notices those at all).
* MoralMyopia:
** Black has killed ''thousands'' of people, including many innocents, with a methodical detachment to achieve his goal of a successful Praes. Nevertheless, he despises [[spoiler:the Grey Pilgrim and Wandering Bard]] for their respective roles in killing [[spoiler:Marshal Ranker and Captain]]. This despite the fact that (in both cases) he had instigated the conflict by invading rival foreign powers in order to cause widespread disorder and destruction (killing many people in the process).
** He similarly looks down on the concept of the HeroicSacrifice as a cowardly attempt to avoid spending the time and effort to enact one’s goals. However, [[spoiler:his own death is a sacrifice to save his closest friend, Alaya, from execution.]]
* ParentalSubstitute: While he and Catherine are not blood-related, by the fourth book she refers to him as her father, and he regards her as the closest thing to a daughter he's ever had.
* PermaShave: As the Squire and later the Black Knight, he does not see himself as someone who has facial hair. So his Name means that he doesn't grow a beard. [[spoiler:Averted once he loses his Name.]]
* PleaseKillMeIfItSatisfiesYou: After [[spoiler:the Second Battle of Liesse, he offers this to Catherine [[DeathEqualsRedemption to apologize]] for [[TheChessmaster using her the way he did]]]]. The response is a non-lethal stab to the gut because [[spoiler:[[AnguishedDeclarationOfLove she still sees him as her father]], and he probably had a XanatosGambit set up anyway]].
* PracticalJoke: He's not above getting into a prank contest with his friends to blow off steam. Particularly Wekesa. Be afraid.
* PragmaticVillainy: Most of his philosophy. This is especially apparent in the "One Sin, One Grace" principle he drills into the Legions of Terror
* RedBaron: Said by Catherine to have a bunch of those. Most notable is "The Carrion Lord", usually used by his opponents.
* SingleTargetSexuality: The only person he's ever had sexual feelings for is apparently The Ranger. WordOfGod is that he was written as [[{{UsefulNotes/Asexual}} demisexual/demiromantic]], meaning he needs a close emotional bond to develop sexual/romantic feelings for someone, and the closest he came to developing feelings for someone other than Ranger was [[IncompatibleOrientation Alaya]].
* SinkOrSwimMentor: He does provide some basic swordsmanship lessons and plenty of books to read. However he has no idea how to teach Catherine to use the powers of her Name and actually never intended to as it would stunt her growth. Invoked, when he sends Catherine to Imperial College, putting her into a lieutenant position in the company with the worst results... pitted against the company with best results. [[spoiler:It works.]]
* ShoutOut: His title of 'Carrion Lord' is one shared by [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings The Witch King of Angmar]], who is sometimes called 'Lord of Carrion', similarly to the Grey Pilgrim's Name being a shoutout to Gandalf. His Name of Black Knight may be one as well, though the Witch King is usually called the 'Black Captain'.
* SoProudOfYou: If Cat continues going the way she is, he might just start ambushing his friends with his subdued equivalent of videos and baby pictures... [[spoiler:Slapping demons down a few pegs and mugging angels makes for a very Proud Papa -- not that he'll ever gush about it, as such. His not-gushing is about as obvious as his not-smug.]]
--> “She [[spoiler:stabbed you]], Black,” he growled. “Don’t wave that away as youthful enthusiasm, because we certainly haven’t.”
--> “One who rears a tiger should not complain of stripes,” Amadeus quoted in Mtethwa.
--> “Your tiger [[spoiler:put on a crown and raised an army after stealing three legions]],” Grem growled in Kharsum. “We’re past stripes.”
--> “My tiger [[spoiler:beat back an army twice the size of hers strengthened by the two most famous living heroes on Calernia]],” the dark-haired man laughed.“Three legions, one of which was always hers, is a paltry price to pay for that.”
* TeacherStudentRomance: The love of his life is his mentor, The Ranger.
* TheUnfettered: Amadeus has been demonstrated to be utterly ruthless in the pursuit of his objective, up to and including using ''himself'' and his allies as merely sacrificial playing pieces in a long-term gambit. The whole "ignore morality" aspect unusually swings both sides, however, since he's done arguably moral things as well as smothered children in their cribs.
* VillainousFriendship: With the Calamities, his Squire and the Dread Empress herself.

! ''The Ranger'' (Hye Su)
For tropes relevant to ''The Ranger'', see her entry in the Morally Ambiguous Names folder.

! ''The Captain'' (Sabah)

The BlackKnight's [[TheDragon Right-hand woman]] and second in command of the Legions of Terror. An eight-foot-tall Taghreb woman who's disarmingly easy-going and friendly but capable of bouts of extreme violence. Captain originally held the Name of The Cursed, as she had inherited a bloodline curse that turned her into a werewolf. For a long time [[LivingEmotionalCrutch Amadeus was the only one who could calm her down when she transformed]] but sometime after he took the Name of Black Knight and before the crowning of Empress Malicia she underwent an ordeal, taking the Name of The Captain and learning to control her transformations.

Her first known Aspect, present from her days as the Cursed, is '''[[MyMasterRightOrWrong Obey]]''' which grants her more power when doing what Black tells her. Her second Aspect, '''[[OneWingedAngel Unleash]]''', triggers her transformation into an unstoppable beast, and is likely another remnant of the Cursed.

* TheBigGuy / TheBrute: Enormous for a human (over eight feet tall) to the extent that some people think she has ogre blood. As the largest and physically strongest melee combatant of the group, Sabah clearly fills this role in the Calamities.
* BrutishCharacterBrutishWeapon: Captain, somewhat predictably, uses a warhammer when she's not in savage wolf-mode.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: She is [[spoiler:killed in an offscreen resolution to a confrontation with Valiant Champion, which was engineered by Bard through story tropes to ensure her death.]]
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: She has a husband and two children she loves deeply.
* EvilMeScaresMe: Strictly speaking she's always evil but she certainly didn't appreciate being turned into a berserk killing machine back when she was The Cursed. Even today she shows signs of personality change when she is forced to transform several times during the Liesse rebellion and is clearly ashamed of it.
* GentleGiant: Certainly a giant at over eight feet, and while she is evil, she is still the nicest of the Calamities: She is the only one who cares about innocents they kill, and can be quite motherly at times.
* HappilyMarried: To a mid-ranking imperial bureaucrat of all things.
* ImpossiblyGracefulGiant: She's ''far'' too agile and stealthy for an eight-foot-tall woman who's almost always decked out in full plate. Even Black is a little unnerved by how quiet she can be when she chooses to.
* MadeOfIron: Very hard to hurt/kill. Especially when in werewolf form, where Ranger of notes she no-sells hits that would have dropped a stone golem.
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: Due to her curse, she turns into a gigantic, man-eating wolf at will or when agitated (especially when still the Cursed). However, as one character who fought against werewolves before notes, she isn't really a werewolf but something different and more dangerous.
* UndyingLoyalty: To Black. An anecdote early in the story describes her slaughtering an entire village in rage when he goes missing.
* UnstoppableRage: When she's in beast mode she's fully capable of slaughtering entire armies. Even the Silver Spears, with hundreds of Heavy Cavalry led by two heroes, fled rather than attempt to fight her.
* SuperSenses: Has an acute sense of smell as a werewolf and directly after, probably in addition to the heightened senses common for Named.
* VillainousFriendship: With the rest of the Calamities, but mostly with Black. It's telling that when [[spoiler:she dies, Black becomes noticeably off-balance and loses his edge.]]
* VillainRespect: She is polite to the enemies she fights and mentally compliments their progress at their young ages.

! ''The Warlock'' (Wekesa)

An extremely powerful mage, Wekesa was the first member of the Calamities to join Black (when Wekesa was still the Apprentice and Amadeus was still The Squire). A magical prodigy born to an uncultivated Soninke bloodline, Wekesa became a fugitive when his master, the previous Warlock, attempted to murder him and eliminate a threat to his Name. Wekesa would later kill his master during the civil war to place Malicia on the throne and claim the Name of The Warlock for himself. As the Warlock, his Aspects are '''[[{{Synchronization}} Link]]''', '''[[RealityBleed Reflect]]''', and '''[[ThinDimensionalBarrier Imbricate]]'''.

* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler:He dies in Book 4 in order to protect his son from the unleashed miracles of the Ashurans attacking Thalassina.]]
* ColonyDrop: Reasons not to piss him off... He can play cosmic, inter-dimensional, exhibition snooker aimed right at you, given enough prep time.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: If his son dies on your watch, he will outright ''end'' you. If you betray his friends, [[AndIMustScream you won't be that lucky.]]
* EvilSorcerer: Acts halfway between this and the MadScientist, running magical experiments and having apparently dissected gods in his basement at some point. Said to be massively powerful, and certainly wiped the floor with the heroes from the moment he started fighting them in Book II.
* HappilyMarried: He and Tikoloshe have a very close, harmonious [[DealWithTheDevil pact]] together. To all intents and purposes, they're happily married with solid, mutual goals which also stretch to child-rearing. Being a fly in their ointment is not recommended, because if Wekesa doesn't get you, Tikoloshe probably will.
* HeroKiller: He took out The Wizard of the West in the backstory and he puts down the Bumbling Conjurer with a single gesture.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:How he dies in Book 4: sacrificing himself to banish the power of a summoned entity in order to save Masego's life.]]
* LivingMacGuffin: During the second Summerholm arc Catherine's objective is to [[BodyguardingABadass prevent the heroes from killing him]].
* PracticalJoke: He has an almost pathological need to pull annoyingly petty pranks with high arcana when he's missing his husband or is just getting a bit bored or anxious. Nothing seriously deadly, mind you; particularly given the durability of his friends. Gets seriously silly when he and Amadeus start tit-for-tatting.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: To the point that he's actually unable to avoid massive collateral damage when he uses combat magic. Presumably this is related to one of his Aspects though we don't know which one.
* PragmaticVillainy: He could have kidnapped and forcefully raised the boy who grew to be Apprentice using standard [[BastardUnderstudy Sith-like]] [[AbusiveParents child-rearing]] [[TrainingFromHell tactics]]. But, he quickly said "screw that inevitable death by his hands, thank you" by knuckling down and learning how to be the [[GoodParents joint Dad of the Year]] for successive years in a row. Sure, the mage-training is still [[SternTeacher tricky and tough]], but he's made a point of it also [[CoolTeacher being both fair and interesting]]. Evil: hard, but fun!
* RedBaron: The Sovereign of the Red Skies.
* SilverFox: Catherine needs to remind herself rather forcefully that he's A) gay and B) more than 3 times her age. She still can't stop herself from staring even while telling herself to quit it.
* TheSmartGuy: Wekesa's role in the Calamities is to be the researcher, and he's the one most knowledgeable about magic. With Ranger gone, however, his role in the present storyline is closer to TheDragon.


! ''The Assassin'' (?)

The most mysterious of the Calamities and the only one who has yet to be seen even in flashback ([[ParanoiaFuel as far as we know...]]). They spend most of their time outside the country dealing with the Empire's enemies or undercover in the Kingdom of Callow eliminating heroes before they can become a nuisance.

* GenreSavvy: Assassin [[spoiler:deliberately sets up a modus operandi in the way they kill, to throw the scent off of their other murders.]]
* TheGhost: PlayedWith as, according to WordOfGod, apparently they've appeared "on screen" in some [[ShapeShifting form]] by [[https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2015/11/18/chapter-2-demand/#comment-437 Book 2 Chapter 2.]]
* RevenantZombie: [[spoiler:In Book Seven, they are revealed to be a manifestation of Scribe's '''[[ThePowerOfLanguage Inscribe]]''' Aspect, which can be used to successfully revive corpses and impute them with [[IntrinsicVow overarching directives]]. After years of refining her Aspect, and upon finding corpses that were sufficiently powerful, Scribe was eventually able to use her directives to create a Named.]]
* ShapeDiesShifterSurvives: Black has been known to use Assassin as an impromptu body double, as the latter is near impossible to put down for good. When temporarily experiencing an AlternateUniverse, Cat notably discovers that [[GreekFire Goblinfire]] is capable of permanently killing them. [[spoiler:It's later confirmed that Assassin only "survives" their deaths in a manner of speaking, and that their actual form is more PossessingADeadBody.]]
* {{Shapeshifter}}: Highly implied to be one, skilled enough to fool Name sight. [[spoiler:Confirmed in Book 3, where they briefly adopt Black's form to dupe Diabolist.]]
* UndignifiedDeath: Their preferred method of operation. While the deaths appear natural, they're also unlikely and undignified enough to not be. For example, drowning in your own ''chamber pot''.
** It's later revealed that [[spoiler:Assassin ''doesn't'' always kill this way: they set up a subtle pattern in their kills so that the rest of their murders would go unnoticed.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other Villains]]

! ''Dread Empress Malicia I'' (Alaya of Satus)
-->''Power is mostly a matter of making the right corpses at the right time.''

The current ruler of the Dread Empire of Praes. Alaya began her career as a barmaid in her father's inn, conscripted into the Harem of the [[TheCaligula Dread Emperor Nefarious]] for her beauty. Alaya was able to use her position at court and her friendship with the young Black Knight to accumulate influence and ultimately to arrange the murder of Nefarious herself. After the Emperor's death, Alaya claimed the throne with the assistance of Black Knight and the Calamities, defeating The Chancellor and would-be-emperor Baleful I in a civil war. Since then Malicia has ruled the empire in concert with Black, using her political skills to carefully manage the nobility while fear of Black's brutal reprisals keeps them in line. Her Aspects are '''[[MoreThanMindControl Rule]]''' and '''[[PsychicLink Connect]]'''.

* BeneathTheMask: She projects an image of an insanely sexy and whimsically violent temptress when she's actually a fairly conservative, calculating and pragmatic policy geek. Essentially she's Hillary Clinton pretending to be Catherine the Great while looking like Nefertiti wished she looked.
* ChildhoodFriends: Alaya the tavern-girl and Amadeus the farm-boy were friends long before Dread Empress Malacia and The Black Knight were allies.
* CompellingVoice: Many Names have some of this capability but Malicia's is apparently so potent that any agent that has been in the same room as her must be assumed to be compromised.
* DistractedByTheSexy: She's gorgeous in her own right but she uses glamoured dresses and some kind of Name shenanigans to accentuate the effect, ensuring that no one ever has their wits about them when dealing with her.
* ErmineCapeEffect: Played with. She sometimes shows up to private scrying sessions with her best friend in a court dress and crowned to signify that she is there in her capacity as the Dread Empress, not as Alaya.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: She was a ''waitress'' before she usurped the throne.
* ManipulativeBastard: No Empress can afford to be merely a pretty face relying on a group of heavies to keep alive at the top. And, she isn't: she's into chess -- [[XanatosSpeedChess speedy]] or [[TheChessmaster slow]]. Only the dimmest of Truebloods don't understand this.
* NonActionBigBad: She has no combat or military skills and does not seem to be a mage of any kind. Even her Name powers are geared towards politics and social manipulation rather than any kind of direct conflict.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Spent ''forty years'' slowly regulating the Truebloods into bankruptcy and irrelevance.
* ToWinWithoutFighting: Her strategy in the Tenth Crusade has shades of this. She initially [[spoiler:tries to steal Akua's DoomsdayDevice in order to stop the Good nations from invading and [[WeaponForIntimidation taking the risk of it being used]]]]. Her next strategy is to [[spoiler:have the rebellious Callow and invading Crusaders wear each other down, while allying herself with [[TheDreaded The Dead King]] to split the Grand Alliance's forces against a bigger threat]].
* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: Quite possibly, her beauty certainly defies easy description and she outstrips the Heiress and the Baroness Dormer by a fair margin.

! ''The Heiress''[[spoiler:/''The Diabolist'']] (Akua Sahelian)

The Heiress to the High Lordship of Wolof (the home city of Dread Empress Triumphant and the most fabled center of black magic and the old Praesi ways), Akua Sahelian was raised and educated in the DecadentCourt of Praes. Heiress adheres to the old school of Praesi villainy, and uses tools as diverse as bribery, blood magic, assassination, demon-summoning, slave soldiers and good old-fashioned mean girl shenanigans in her seemingly open-ended quest for ultimate power. Heiress first comes on to Catherine's radar as a possible rival claimant for the title of Squire. After Catherine defies and defeats her, Heiress makes a point of undermining her at every turn.

[[spoiler:Her motivations and drives have been expanded upon in Book 3, giving her both a morality pet in the form of her father to whom she would go to any length for and a wish to be free, from both her mother and the Empress. As the Diabolist, her Aspects are '''[[BondCreatures Bind]]''', '''[[EnergyAbsorption Claim]]''', and '''[[SummonMagic Call]]'''.]]

* AlphaBitch: She always gets herself a posse of Betas to smug through, ASAP.
* ArchNemesis: One of two for Catherine, the other being the Lone Swordsman.
* [[spoiler:BecomingTheMask: After she begins to act more genuinely loyal and friendly towards Catherine and the Woe, Catherine considers this to be inevitable.]]
-->[[spoiler:And I knew, of course, that she was not beyond such exquisite deception. That she might have been weaving that intricate web around me since the moment she saved my life in the Everdark. But it wouldn’t matter, I thought, watching Akua Sahelian letting out a snort of laughter at some pointed comment Indrani had made. It wouldn’t matter because she’d want it to be true]]
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler:Akua's final fate is to become the EvilCounterpart to the Wandering Bard in order to enforce the eternal BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil.]]
* BigBad: For Book 1, seeing as how all the forces aligned against Catherine for most of the book are directed by her. In Book 2 she's more of a BigBadEnsemble with The Lone Swordsman. She goes right back to being the central villain for Book 3, [[spoiler:though it's mitigated by the fact that she's unknowingly being supported by Malicia.]]
* ConsummateLiar: She can seem so genuine when she wishes to! She should: she's obviously practiced for years. The effectiveness of it is somewhat mitigated by the fact she does it so often, a lot of people quickly catch wise, though. It means she has to double down and produce a whole web of fibs and half-truths to back her lies up with.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: How does Catherine punish the ghost of one of her most ruthless and hated foes? [[spoiler:She invites her to a pleasant, friendly get-together with Catherine's other friends. It's much crueler than it sounds, as it forces Akua to confront the fact that genuine companionship was what she truly needed and the only person she ever really cared about was sacrificed by her to attain power she now knows would not have truly made her happy. She now has to live with the knowledge that she could have had all of this years ago and it is entirely her own fault that she didn't.]]
-->[[spoiler:“The closest I have to match to last night is a girl I sent to die. You’ve devised a poison so sweet I will crave the taste of it.”]]
* CreateYourOwnHero: Well, your own protagonist nemesis, at any rate. Had she not gone out of her way to make Cat an enemy, it's likely the Squire wouldn't have cared enough about her to spend time wondering what she's up to and trying to thwart her plots. It's also likely that Catherine wouldn't have had the narrative weight to stop the Lone Swordsman without Akua providing Cat multiple chances to prove herself as genuinely caring about Callow (instead of being yet another example of LesCollaborateurs).
* DaddysLittleVillain: Oddly subverted. Akua is following in her scheming super-evil mother's footsteps but she doesn't have any real loyalty or affection for her and ultimately views her as a future enemy. It's actually her less-evil father who is her favorite parent.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Akua's only positive relationship seems to be with her father. It comes too little too late to humanize her much.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Her FatalFlaw; she doesn't get how PragmaticVillainy is often the smart option as well as the moral one.
* EvilMentor: Becomes a political, magical, and historical adviser to [[spoiler:Catherine of all people. Justified in that her shade is bound to Catherine's cloak and is only let out when she's useful. It is later revealed that she wants Cat to become her SuperiorSuccessor and one day seize the throne. This is justified by her SocialDarwinist worldview rejecting the idea that she could be defeated by someone unimportant]]. However, she'll still escape and pursue her own ambitions if given a chance.
* EyeScream: [[spoiler:When Akua's shade seizes control of Catherine's unconscious body]], Thief forces her to [[spoiler:rip out her own constantly-regenerating left eye. Ten times]].
* FantasticRacism: She smugly reflects on how progressive and flexible she is, compared to many of her race and class. But, in reality, she's still got the Soninke blinkers and attitude in spades; she just doesn't realize it.
* FauxAffablyEvil: After [[spoiler:dying and having her shade trapped in Catherine's collar]], Akua becomes a lot more pleasant and servile. It's an act, of course.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: She's a finely-tuned political shark... as long as she's swimming in Praesi Trueblood waters. When dealing with others, though; [[FishOutOfWater not-so-much]]. She totally misread Catherine's threat-level because of her low birth, she disregards most of the Fifteenth's officers because of their status or species, she somehow thinks she can eventually wrap ''Black'' around her pinkie finger... and, writes Scribe and the Wandering Bard off as being fairly nonthreatening. These are not the hallmarks of good judgment.
* IAmNotLeftHanded: She's a very skilled mage, but keeps it largely under wraps so that her enemies will underestimate her.
* MagicKnight: She's trained in sword-fighting, but she considers it beneath her and it shows- Catherine trounces her with minimal effort when it comes to blows.
* NominalHero: [[spoiler:Suprisingly, is interested in becoming this by the end of Book Four. More than anything, she wants to be influential and remembered. ''Literally'' citing ThePowerOfFriendship when fighting a dark god helps accomplish that.]]
* OhCrap!: Her reaction in a nutshell when [[spoiler:Catherine breaks free of her Aspects by giving herself over fully to the power of Winter, which ends predictably with her demise.]]
* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: [[spoiler:Admittedly who ''could'' forget the sacrifice of a city of 100 thousand? Nevertheless, the first part of Cat's plan to facilitate Akua's atonement is to emphasize the sheer gravity of what her old foe had done. The second part is to make her realize that, even if Akua can't make up for her crimes, it's still worth the effort to ''try''.]]
* OurLichesAreDifferent: She has herself a get-out-of-death-free card in the shape of a SoulJar. Which... kind of makes her sort of a lich.
* PassedOverPromotion: She becomes Catherine's enemy because Black chose Catherine to be his Squire instead of her, blocking a possible path for her plan to rise to power.
* SixthRanger: [[spoiler:After she's been bound to Catherine's Mantle of Winter as a shade, she becomes a spiritual advisor on all things political to the Woe, eventually becoming a sort of pseudo-member.]]
* SmugSnake: Heiress is insufferably arrogant and almost all of her plans lean heavily on her family's wealth and connections to protect her from blowback. She's like a slightly more competent [[Literature/HarryPotter Draco Malfoy]] without any qualms about mass murder.
* StupidEvil: She isn't stupid, but, if given a choice between Bond Villainy or "just get the job done", she'll go for the "convoluted acid pit full of demon-sharks with mandatory gloating" route every damn time.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: Cat and Akua go through this song-and-dance for most of the Tenth Crusade. [[spoiler:Akua goes from using her sexuality to manipulate Cat, to making a genuine pass at her, to performing a FaceHeelTurn when [[WomanScorned scorned]], to falling in ([[StarCrossedLovers ill-fated]]) love with her]].
* WeHaveReserves: She views all of her assets that are not Praesi nobles as completely expendable. (The Praesi nobles are only mostly expendable.)
* WickedCultured: She certainly has the bearing, breeding, and class. Even better, she prides herself on being this trope and goes out of her way to emphasize how tastefully, classically Evil she is. Catherine and Black just see BondVillainStupidity, though.

! ''The Scribe'' (Eudokia)

The unofficial sixth Calamity, The Scribe is never far from the Black Knight's side, serving as his chief administrator and Spymaster. Her Aspects are '''[[TheNondescript Fade]]''' and '''[[WordsCanBreakMyBones Inscribe]]'''.

* AlreadyDoneForYou: One of her signature tricks is carrying out a particular function before the person it's intended for can even think to ask. Need a messenger to deliver news to the capital? Already left two hours ago. Want a disguise so you can discreetly sneak into town? Folded and ready. Catherine is both impressed and a little annoyed by this.
-->'''Black:''' What would I do without you, Scribe?\\
'''Scribe:''' The same things. Just slower.
* BadassBureaucrat: The Black Knight's rule of Callow is able to function effectively largely because he has Scribe serving as a compact, one-woman civil service, and intelligence agency.
* BewareTheQuietOnes: She's usually found in the corner with a lapdesk, quietly catching up on correspondence or whatever. Don't bug her by making her come over there herself to sort things out, though; it's ''scary''. [[spoiler:She got her Name taking down the assassin school/guild that raised her with nothing but subtle tricks and words on paper.]]
* FriendlyRivalry: Seems to have something like this going on with Assassin, of all people. [[spoiler:Subverted; Assassin is a part of her--specifically, a manifestation of her '''Inscribe''' aspect.]]
* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: A few words in the right ears at the right time, the correct paperwork filled out and verified -- [redacted] was, officially, never even a little problem to have managed existing.
* HiddenDepths: There are more than a few hints that she can be just as bad to get on the wrong side of as Black, Warlock or Assassin. So, annoy this mouse librarian-type at your own risk: she'll probably write you out of existence if she thinks it's worth the bother.
* HypercompetentSidekick: To the Calamities, and by extension the entirety of Praes. She might not be a warrior, but her capacity to act as a tireless one-woman bureaucracy is one of the chief reasons the Empire runs as efficiently as it does.
* IgnoredEnamoredUnderling: Lady Ime implies her loyalty to Amadeus goes beyond friendship, but he [[SingleTargetSexuality only]] has eyes for Ranger.
* MyMasterRightOrWrong: Scribe is loyal to Black, not to the Empire and certainly not to the Empress.
* NonActionGuy: She's not a warrior by any means (Black notes in the prologue that it's unusual to see her on a battlefield that's already mostly deserted), and her Name doesn't lend itself to fighting. Doesn't mean she isn't dangerous in her own way, though.
* PerceptionFilter: '''Fade''' leaves her appearance almost impossible to remember, save for her [[RedRightHand ink-stained hands]].
* SecretaryOfEvil: Scribe plays this role for the Calamities [[spoiler:and later, the Woe,]] taking care of all their administrative needs. During her chapter, Scriven, [[spoiler:we learn that she was apprenticed to a prior Scribe who did bookwork for a Delosi [[SpySchool assassin school/guild]].]]
* SixthRanger: Not an official member of the Calamities as far as the history books are concerned, but they all treat Scribe as one of their own, and her contributions were a key factor in the success of the Conquest and its fallout.
* SpySchool: ''Scriven'' reveals that she started as a street urchin who was tricked into joining an assassin's school/guild hybrid. [[spoiler:She eventually assassinates the school itself, using nothing but words on paper, clever tricks, and a dying gift from her mentor.]]
* TheSpymaster: She runs a continent-spanning network of informants for Black.
* StealthHiBye: Catherine spends time trying to work out how she can just turn up at your elbow unexpectedly from a starting position right across the room or the square.
* TheStoic: Almost constantly sports an emotionless demeanor. Catherine, who prides herself in her ability to get a rise out of others, can barely provoke a slight change in mood from Scribe at the best of times.

! ''The Tyrant of Helike'' (Kairos Theodosian)

The Exiled Prince's precociously EvilUncle who usurped the throne of the Free City of Helike from him three years before the events of the story ([[EnfanteTerrible at the age of twelve]]). The young Tyrant quickly began what can only be described as a reign of terror, which apparently included making [[StraightEdgeEvil profanity and alcohol possession both capital offenses.]] He also evidently idolizes his famous predecessor Theodosius The Unconquered to the point that he appears to be attempting to duplicate his military exploits through the provocation of the Principate of Procer. His Aspects are '''[[RealityWarper Rule]]''', '''[[YourHeartsDesire Wish]]''', and '''[[OnlyFleshIsSafe Rend]]'''.

[[spoiler:At the end of book two he murders the emissaries of all the Good Free Cities to the League Council, sparking an all-out war between the Good- and Evil-aligned Free Cities. It is revealed in Book 3 by The Wandering Bard that he is living a juggler's life. Keeping as many balls and plot threads up in the air as possible in order to ensure effective immortality because the first step never fails. It is nearly outright stated that Dread Emperor Irritant "The strangely successful" employed similar tactics.]]

* AxCrazy: At first, he seems to have some kind of MoralSociopathy what with his strange moralistic decrees... But, he's actually just gone all-in on the theme of being totally evil and appears to be having the time of his life with it.
* TheCaligula: Well, yeah. Seems to have decided on the old-school Julio-Claudian model of tyranny as a template (poison included), so this is a natural byproduct.
* CannotTellALie: After betraying everyone involved in the battle for the shard of Arcadia at least once, [[spoiler:The Grey Pilgrim curses him with this]].
* CardCarryingVillain: To a tee. His whole philosophy seems to be that, if you're going to be evil, you might as well go all-out and enjoy it before your inevitable demise.
* CastFromLifespan: [[spoiler:The downside of using '''Wish''' actively--each Wish spends a portion of Kairos's 13 bought years of life after coming into his Name. This catches up to him at the end of Book 5.]]
* ContractualGenreBlindness: In contrast to Amadeus’s GenreSavvy, Kairos does all he can to play ''into'' every possible Villain trope and is just as effective as a result. For one example, since YouCantThwartStageOne, he has multiple multi-step plans going on in parallel at all times.
-->'''Kairos''': Gods Below, act Evil for once in your life. It’s like it’s a hobby with you people…. We’re the villains, my friends. We’re the things out there in the night that they’re all afraid of, the reason they bar their doors and shutter their windows.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: At first he just looks like some kind of insane RoyalBrat in the mold of a Joffrey Baratheon. It takes him less than a chapter to show how he earned his Name. And, he keeps his foot on the accelerator.
* DisabledSnarker: Prior to ascending to the throne and gaining a Name he was a particularly bitter version of this. As Tyrant he's a flat-out LargeHam though he still retains his snarky sense of humor.
* EnfanteTerrible: He was 12 when he usurped the throne from his (older) nephew and 16 when he started what appears to be the first of the Uncivil Wars.
* EvilMinions: His gargoyles function as this.
* EvilUncle: Subverted. He's actually younger than the nephew whose throne he usurped, which rather goes against the idea of an experienced and powerful uncle usurping the throne from the virtuous, but young and vulnerable, true heir.
* ForTheEvulz: Roughly 60% of what he gets up to is spur-of-the-moment [[KickTheDog dog kicking]] for funsies. The rest is [[ComplexityAddiction long-term]] dog kicking for funsies.
* GoshDarnItToHeck: Downplayed. He's generally pretty direct in stating his meaning, but he avoids actual profanity and tends to beg pardon for any brusque language he uses.
* LargeHam: Whether he's acting the LaughablyEvil whackjob or giving an intense MotiveRant, Kairos qualifies:
--> I am Kairos Theodosian, Tyrant of Helike. And I say that my '''Rule''' extends even to the sky. Come servants of the heavens, the Age of Wonders is not dead yet. ''Not while I breathe.''
* LikeYouWereDying: When he was twelve, he received a prophecy saying he would die at the age of thirteen. This caused him to stop caring about the propriety expected of a royal spare and start doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, which has enabled him to live beyond his expected time of death.
* NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine: He sets up a banquet for the heroes in Delos with an extra helping of arsenic.
* OneManArmy: He routs Atalante's mercenary army single-handedly with the power of his Name.
* PragmaticEvil: Surprised? This cackling font of ostentatiously [[BondVillainStupidity Classic Evil]] is quite deliberately hiding a metric tonne of meta-awareness under all that ham, [[spoiler:which means that he can sneak the pragmatically moral or steely rational in amidst all the flamboyant bonkers he throws around. For starters, he's actively using his appearance of being "just another nutso Tyrant" to hide the extent of what he's capable of not just from the Calamities, but ''the Wandering Bard'' as well.]] Every hard-core, very nasty trick he's pulled has been a shell game used to attain goals beyond the obvious ones, yet others have been slow to realise this thanks to the show he makes of juggling obvious [[VillainBall villain balls]]. And, when he does pull something moral-looking, such as the decree to reduce inebriation and drunkenness in the population at large, it just looks... like an eccentricity of no real note.
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: He brings back the old Praesi trick of mass human sacrifice to power flying fortresses. Cue the tutting of the Calamities; his outdated techniques work, but they're hideously inefficient, so it offends their sensibilities to see such a waste of that many victims. He could power so many other defenses or weapons with that!
* ProphecyTwist: [[spoiler:It was prophecied that he die on his thirteenth name-day. When he came into his Name, the prophecy twisted in two ways: he would die when he'd been Named for thirteen years, but he could also [[CastFromLifespan spend those years]] on '''Wishes'''.]]
* RedRightHand / RedEyesTakeWarning: Both. He has one seriously creepy red ''eye'', rather than a clawed hand to tip you off that he's batting for Team Evil. And, it's not simply conjunctivitis.
* ScrewDestiny: His motivation for going FromNobodyToNightmare. As TheUnFavourite cripple child to his heroic relative, he desperately sought out his family's oracle temple for a source of hope. When he was informed that his destiny was to [[spoiler:die within the year and not be remembered, he decided that if nothing he did would matter, he might as well have fun]]. Over four years later, he's still alive, and ''everyone'' knows of him.
** In Book 5, Chapter 43, [[spoiler:The Skein tried to use his [[BecauseDestinySaidSo Spool]] Aspect on him several times. The sudden influx of constantly shifting futures overwhelmed the Ratling.]]
---> '''Tyrant''': Fate is a tug of war, you raggedly old thing. Do you think that the wishes of the conquered matter more than the contenders?\\
[[spoiler:'''Skein''']]: You die laughing. Or. You flee. Or. I am broken. Or. Everything burns. Or. Or. ''Why does it keep changing''?
* ScrewTheRulesTheyreNotReal: Tyrant believes in this so strongly that he ''despises'' anyone who would compromise or ignore their own desires in favor of adhering to some external rule. This includes the Exiled Prince's [[IncorruptiblePurePureness moral code]], Adjutant's [[MyMasterRightOrWrong oath of loyalty]], and (especially) Black's [[PragmaticVillainy commitment to pragmatic villainy]].
* SlasherSmile: He never seems to stop ''smiling''.
* StraightEdgeEvil: He's not fond of profanity, or alcohol.
* ThanatosGambit: [[spoiler:At the end of Book 5, knowing that he's [[CastFromLifespan almost used up his borrowed time]], he engineers one [[DeathIsDramatic final, glorious ending]] for himself. He helps set up a court for Anaxares to try the White Knight and the Choir of Judgement, then when Catherine, the White Knight, Gray Pilgrim, and several others show up he deliberately triggers [[BoltOfDivineRetribution Pilgrim's curse of honesty]] by telling a lie. This prevents the Choir of Mercy from stopping Hierarch's '''Indictment''' of the Choir of Judgement (until Hierarch decides to [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence come over to Judgement directly]]), forcing Cat to use Night to stop the angelic backlash from incinerating everyone around. This puts Kairos in a situation where he can deliver his FinalSpeech to Cat one on one: he uses his villain's last words to tell her the broad strokes of the [[HolyHandGrenade Intercessor's plan]], the way his actions [[SpannerInTheWorks messed with that plan]], and gives Cat the reason she asked for to not make truce with the Dead King or the Intercessor. He uses his [[DyingCurse dues to Below]] to "slay the Age of Wonders," before leaving one final posthumous message to his people: [[Creator/AleisterCrowley "do as thou wilt."]]]]
* YourHeartsDesire: Kairos's Wish Aspect gives him the ability to read a person's most intense desire.

! ''The Dead King'' (Neshamah Be-Iakim/Trismegistus)

A millennia-old lich overlord who rules over TheNecrocracy of Keter in the north, and one of the most powerful people on Calernia. Thousands of years ago, he was known as Neshamah, the last Prince of Sephirah, before gradually sacrificing the lion's share of his kingdom in order to fuel his ascension to power. Today, he rules his kingdom from the Serenity, his own personal slice of Hell. His plans and motives are a great mystery for the first three books, but he becomes a major player in Book 4. [[spoiler:His Aspects are '''[[AnimateDead Raise]]''', '''[[ImmortalRuler Reign]]''', and '''[[ResurrectiveImmortality Return]]''']].

* ArchEnemy: The ancient enemy of the Procerans, although the fear and rancor is completely one-sided. His enmity with the Wandering Bard is more mutual.
* AGodAmI: Believes himself to be a god due to his vast power and immortality. Notable in that his proclamation seems to imply that the difference between gods and mortals simply seems to be having true power and not being beholden to death.
* BigBadEnsemble: From the end of Book 4 onwards he becomes one part of this with ''someone'', though the other antagonists change. Either way, he is the largest threat to Calernia and every character has to contend with his choice to wage war on the rest of the continent.
* DimensionLord: He rules his own personal dimension of Hell (called 'the Serenity' by his followers).
* TheDragon: He was Dread Empress Triumphant's most powerful and reliable ally during her conquest of Calernia. While he was in no way considered her equal, it's also noted that he managed to avoid getting reduced to a mere vassal, suggesting a high degree of trust between the two of them (or, at the very least, he held enough power to make doing so not worth the effort).
* TheDreaded: The Dead King is one of - if not ''the''- scariest Villains on Calernia.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Flashbacks show Neshamah had a loving mother whom he deeply cared for. Although he denies her death being his FreudianExcuse, the event is still indicated to be a "messy affair" that didn't do any wonders for his psyche.
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: For all that you could argue the Bard's constant hounding was what drove him to the extreme, omnicidal lengths he goes to in the present, Catherine has absolutely no sympathy for him, readily pointing out that wiping out an entire kingdom for any reason is nothing but pure madness. Neshamah, for his part, actively denies even needing a FreudianExcuse, looking upon his actions as merely the logical next step in his quest for freedom.
* GenreSavvy: Neshamah is undoubtedly genre-savvy. There aren't many characters in the Guide-verse who can outmaneuver the Wandering Bard for as long as he has.
* EvilSorcerer: A powerful mage with centuries of experience.
* FriendlyEnemy: He and [[spoiler:The Wandering Bard (aka: "The Intercessor", but [[IHaveManyNames that's not her ''real'' name either]])]]. They've been thwarting each other for centuries, and can still hold cordial conversations. She's one of the few people he considers to be a fellow immortal.
** He and Ranger have... an understanding? A frenemyship? He treats her like a neighbourhood cat he's grown attached to and is training up? She's only a half-elf, so technically not immortal, but she could drop by to eat the food he puts out for her when she challenges the security systems for centuries, at least.
* ImmortalitySeeker: As a living man, he sacrificed his entire kingdom in order to ascend to undead lichdom. [[spoiler:His ''real'' goal is being the only entity standing at the end of the world, escaping the game of the gods once and for all. In his own words:]]
--> [[spoiler:"When the Gods end it all, when the last soul passes and the last of Creation is unmade, then I will stride alone into a sky of cold and distant stars. And in that empty void between worlds, moving to no purpose but mine, I will at last know the taste of freedom."]]
* LandOfOneCity: His kingdom of Keter is a subversion because while his foothold on Calernia is more or less one city, he ''also'' rules an entire dimension of Hell.
* MoreThanMindControl: He has conditioned entire generations of humans within the Serenity to more or less worship him.
* MortalityPhobia: At his heart, Neshamah fears his own death above all things. It is remarked several times in later chapters that for all his power, he is the greatest coward on Calernia. They don't call him the Hidden Horror for nothing.
* {{Necromancer}}: He's ''the'' necromancer.
* OurLichesAreDifferent: As an undead, millennia-old, being who seeks immortality, he's probably closer to an Archlich than an [[TheArchmage Archmage]].
* PhysicalGod: Considers himself to be an immortal of this calibre, and counts very few others to be in the same category; namely [[spoiler:The Wandering Bard and, recently, Catherine]].
* RasputinianDeath: [[spoiler:Naturally, it takes one of these, performed through a CombinationAttack by several of the most powerful living Named, to kill him. In order:]]
** [[spoiler:Cat's third Aspect, allows her to '''Sentence''' the Dead King [[WordsCanBreakMyBones to death]], empowered with her Role as [[JudgeJuryAndExecutioner Warden]] and the narrative weight of being the [[VillainProtagonist lynchpin]] of the Grand Alliance against Neshamah;]]
** [[spoiler:The Mirror Knight, attacked with a [[MakeThemRot rotting]] curse, uses a [[BigGuyFatalitySyndrome dying attack]] (with all the [[TakingYouWithMe narrative weight]] that provides) to '''Reflect''' the curse back onto the Dead King;]]
** [[spoiler:As Christophe falls, the White Knight grabs [[AbsurdCuttingPower the Severance]] (made with the power of the [[OldSoldier Saint of Swords]]) and uses ''his'' Aspect, '''Undo''', to [[MortalityEnsues reverse]] Neshamah's lichdom;]]
** [[spoiler:Cat uses her first Aspect, '''Silence''', to [[AntiMagic negate]] Neshamah's attempted killing spell as Hanno cuts off the Dead King's head; and]]
** [[spoiler:Masego [[YourSoulIsMine catches]] and [[SoulEating eats]] the Dead King's fleeing soul.]]
* [[spoiler:SelfSacrificeScheme]]: In Book 5, he [[spoiler:willingly loses an unrecoverable piece of his soul to make his "defeat" against the Intercessor appear authentic, so that a smaller piece of his soul can get back to his main body with knowledge of her real plans]].
* SoulJar: As a lich, he has one. [[spoiler:It's the entire city of Keter, which will bring his soul back to his body each time he is 'killed'.]]
* TimeAbyss: It's unknown just exactly how old he is, but it's clear by the historical treatises that his original kingdom of Sephirah was destroyed at least several millennia ago.
* WeWait: The crux of his plan is to quietly build an army in his own personal hellscape while the rest of Calernia burns, until he's the only power left on the board. To quote Catherine:
--> "He's not after the quickest or most effective way to rise... [he's after] the one that leaves no openings."

! ''The Barrow Sword'' (Ishaq)
A crafty Levantine Villain that joins the truce against the Dead King in the hopes of winning renown.

* BastardUnderstudy: Subverted, upon joining the truce, he initially seeks a KlingonPromotion by assassinating Cat (she takes it in stride as an [[TheFarmerAndTheViper inevitable result]] of dealing with Villains). After she kicks his butt, he becomes a fairly reliable subordinate (and even expresses [[TheCreon relief]] that he doesn't have to deal with all the responsibility Cat does).
* GlorySeeker: His primary motivation is to be added to "the Rolls," a Levantine record of achievements historically reserved for nobles and Heroes.
* GraveRobbing: Ishaq got his Name upon finding the magical, SoulEating blade Pinon buried in a barrow.
* TheReliableOne: Among the Villains facing the Dead King, Ishaq is one of the few that isn't AxCrazy, StupidEvil, or a NonActionGuy, so Cat makes him her primary [[NumberTwo lieutenant]] during battles.
* YourSoulIsMine: Using his Aspect, '''[[SoulEating Drink]]''', his sword collects souls and [[SoulPower uses them]] to heal Ishaq's otherwise mortal injuries.

! ''The Scorched Apostate'' (Tancred)
An untrained Proceran mage that becomes a Villain and uses his newfound power to burn down the town of Marserac. Cat recruits him to the crusade against the Dead King.

* BlackMage: He's a young mage who's only shown an affinity for PlayingWithFire spells.
* BirdsOfAFeather: With Cat, as another young person who fell into Evil out of the belief that HoldingOutForAHero or hoping for a miracle would only cause undue suffering. She feels more than a little [[JuniorCounterpart kinship]] with him as a result.
* FinalSolution: Tancred got his Name when he chose to burn down a town [[KillItWithFire killing]] almost every man, woman, and child within, to prevent them from spreading a MysticalPlague created by the Dead King.
* GoodScarsEvilScars Two-thirds of his face is covered in harsh and unhealing burns. Tancred views them as divine punishment for his actions.
* HolyHandGrenade: He wields a mixture of [[PlayingWithFire flame]] and [[LightEmUp light]], useful only for smiting.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Only [[YankTheDogsChain hours]] after meeting one of the only Named that could sympathize with his choices, and even obtaining the chance to be formally trained in magic, one of the Dead King's assassins [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie kills him]]. Cat ends up having to put her zombified charge out of his misery.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: The Scorched Apostate's act of mass murder was done only to prevent the deaths that would result from a plague spreading through an already war-torn Procer. He believes the villagers' refusal to wait for a priest that could provide a cure (before leaving to seek refuge in neighboring cities) forced his hand. Cat [[TheExtremistWasRight agrees]], as he likely saved tens of thousands in the process.

! ''The Black Knight'' (Nim Mardottir)
An Ogress that is one of the only remaining Marshals of Praes following a mass desertion. Afterward, the Dread Empress Malicia appoints Nim High Marshal of Praes and she takes on the Name of The BlackKnight. Her Aspects include '''{{Surve|illance As The Plot Demands}}y''' and '''[[BodySurf Delegate]]'''.

* TheBrute: In contrast to Amadeus, Malicia ensures Nim is kept in the dark regarding her political maneuvering as well as the finer points of Namelore. As a result, she's only really used for combat and military strategy.
* MyCountryRightOrWrong: The only reason Nim continues to work for Malicia is loyalty to the stability of Praes. Specifically, she subscribes to Amadeus's belief that a standing army loyal exclusively to the position of Dread Emperor/Empress would curb the civil wars that break out each time a noble wants to play TheStarscream.
* TheRival: To Arthur, as Cat purposefully manipulates the Squire into a Pattern of Three with the Black Knight. On a military level, she serves as this to [[TheStrategist Juniper]], handing the Marshal of Callow multiple defeats during the Praes campaign.
* SkilledButNaive: She's a capable fighter and excellent strategist, but her ignorance regarding the LawOfNarrativeCausality bites her repeatedly.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: With Malicia and [[spoiler:Akua]] given that their {{Manipulative Bastard}}ry encapsulates everything she hates about the governance of Praes.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Past Dread Emperors and Empresses]]
The Villains who have ruled Praes in the centuries before Malicia. Many have fleshed-out histories but some are known only by their page-quotes at the beginning of the Serial's chapters -- only Dread Emperors and Empresses with a greater impact on the setting or the story will be listed here, those that are only known by their quotations are listed on the Quotes page.

! ''Dread Empress Maleficent I''
The Founder of the Dread Empire. A Taghreb who united the Orcs, Goblins, Taghreb, and Soninke tribes after the Miezan empire withdrew. Assassinated by an ancestor of the Sahelians who became the second Dread Empress.

! ''Dread Empress Triumphant'' ([[spoiler:'''MAY SHE NEVER RETURN''']])
The Greatest and most Terrible of all the Tyrants of Praes and perhaps of all Calernia's Villains. Conquered the entire continent of Calernia 700 years prior to the story only to be defeated by the combined might of the First Crusade and an invasion of the Yan Tei Empire from across the sea. Following her death most of Praes was annexed into crusader states and the Empire would not regain its original borders until Dread Emperor Terribilis II drove out the crusaders a generation later.
Liked to summon demons, which she generally bound to the standards of her Legions, [[SealedEvilInACan some of which are still lying around]]. Also made a habit of crucifying people or better yet, forcing people to crucify their own loved ones which led to the cross being used as the Crusader symbol in Calernia (though not the symbol of any religion).

* ClassicVillain: She was {{Pride}} all the way.
* TheDreaded: She was probably the most successful and notorious Dread Empress of all time, and Praesi are extremely proud of her - and just as eager to ''never be terrorized by her again.''
* EscapedFromHell: Whenever her name is mentioned most Praesi will make a prayer that she never return in order to ward off this possibility. Since a different Villain has actually managed to pull off something like this at least once in Calernia's history it may not be as improbable as it sounds.
* HellHasNewManagement: The belief of most of Praes is that she is almost certainly the new ruler of the damned - she conquered the entire continent and nearly another with much less resources than "the theoretically infinite hordes of the damned."

! ''Dread Emperor Terribilis II''
Probably the best ruler the Empire had before Malicia. He took power a generation after Triumphant's fall and succeeded in reconquering the home territory of the empire and annexing part of Callow, reducing the kingdom to a Proceran client state. The only ruler prior to Black and Malicia to come close to solving the demographic problems that forced Praes into repeated, self-destructive invasions of Callow but he was assassinated before his plan could be fully implemented and the empire contracted back to its prior borders afterwards.

* BigBookOfWar: He wrote one of the setting's two best-regarded books on warcraft.
* {{Expy}}: As the Emperor who united his people to drive out the crusader states, he resembles the real-life Egyptian King Saladin.
* PragmaticVillainy: Calernia's Ur-example. Black is arguably his spiritual successor.
* VillainousValor: His story was one of reconquering his homeland from the occupying crusader states, despite being firmly on the side of evil.

! ''Dread Emperor Tenebrous''
The Emperor who built the Imperial Road. Had a promising early reign but is now mostly remembered for coming to hold the belief that he was actually a GiantSpider in a human body and using magic to physically transform himself into such a form before taking up residence in Ater's sewers. Rumored to still be alive down there.

* BigCreepyCrawlies: Believed that he was one, and took steps to make physical reality conform to this belief.
* MotherOfMonsters: It's implied she's the ancestor of the Giant Spiders that still infest the sewers of the Empire's capital.
* NeverFoundTheBody: [[spoiler:In Book 7, Amadeus and Ranger call her up from the sewers during the Battle of the Spiders, where she ends up serving as a setpiece in Archer, Concocter, and Silver Huntress's reunion with Ranger before dying for real. Cat later uses her corpse as a Night puppet.]]
* NeverLiveItDown: Weirdly enough nobody seems to remember his infrastructure projects, impressive though they were.

! ''Dread Emperor Malignant II''
One of the less impressive Dread Emperors. Best known for creating a subspecies of aquatic orcs for a failed invasion of Callow.

! ''Dread Emperor Nefarious''
The Dread Emperor prior to Malicia. Notable mostly for his skill with magic, his incompetence in most other matters, and his venality. Attempted an invasion of Callow 20 years before Black's conquest that resulted in disaster when he was defeated by the Wizard of the West on the Field of Streges. After limping back from that defeat he spent the remainder of his reign abusing his concubines one of whom, a woman named Alaya, murdered him in order to ascend as Dread Empress Malicia.

* AssholeVictim: Let's just say few politically minded people were all that surprised when a member of his harem was involved in his downfall. And, just as many mourned his loss. If that. Not generally considered a high point of Praesi style, this guy.
* DirtyOldMan: After his invasion of Callow was defeated he spent the remainder of his reign indulging his lechery with whatever attractive women his soldiers could bring him.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Murdered by one of the women he abducted and raped, who would then go on to become a far greater ruler than he.
* SorcerousOverlord: Nefarious was apparently an unusually skilled mage, though not as skilled as the contemporary Wizard of the West.

! ''Dread Emperor Traitorous''
One of the more colorful Dread Emperors, he has ended up as something of a historical folk hero for the people of Praes. Most commonly known for his habit of double-crossing just about everybody.

* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: He named himself Traitorous for a reason. He performed over a hundred different acts of treachery over the course of his reign. Most notably, he successfully betrayed a Villain whose Name was Betrayer.
* DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent: A common aspect of his plans involves him pretending to play a bunch of sides at once.
* FullCircleRevolution: On at least one occasion, rebels who managed to overthrow the Dread Emperor Treacherous found too late that their leader ''was'' the Dread Emperor Traitorous in disguise.
* PaperThinDisguise: Once managed to disguise himself as his (female) Chancellor using a wig and falsies made from a pair of melons.
* RefugeInAudacity: Openly announced to the world that he was an untrustworthy backstabber with his choice of reign name, and yet still managed to successfully betray over a hundred different people and groups over the course of his reign. The fact that he was somehow able to pull this off is a major factor in why he is so fondly remembered by the people of Praes.
* ThanatosGambit: In his final betrayal, he committed suicide while framing over a hundred different people for his murder.

! ''Dread Emperor Benevolent''
The only Hero to ever rule the Dread Empire.

* TokenGoodTeammate: His entire thing was this, though downplayed in that he was ''still'' a Dread Emperor and ruled the part. His rule was not particularly stable.

! ''Dread Empress Massacre''
A Dread Empress known for [[LeaveNoSurvivors her namesake.]]

* LeaveNoSurvivors: Apparently she only had to do it once to gain a reputation for it.
* MakeOutPoint: During Book 2 of the Yonder rewrite (an extended version of [=WordPress=] Book 1's War College arc), it's revealed that Massacre's rosestone shrine in Ater is a popular destination for seductions--because apparently, she took the lord of Mapai as a consort instead of torching Mapai because he was apparently [[SexGod just that good in bed]]. [[spoiler:Cat ends up at her rendezvous with her highborn minder Rafiq Muraqib there, who quickly [[DefiedTrope defies]] it by noting that all pretense of subtlety was abandoned when his uncle chose that location in the first place.]]

! ''Dread Emperor Malignant II, the Particularly Petty''
A Dread Emperor known for experimentation and pettiness.

* LiteralMinded: Most {{Epigraph}}s taken from his journal see him take idioms literally, performing an experiment that comedically misses the point of the phrase in question.

[[folder:Yonder-exclusive Villains]]
! ''The Baron'' (Vernon Angler)

The only living Callowan Villain at the start of the story. He's currently attempting to come into a story that lets him replace Black as the Governor-General of Callow. His only known Aspect is '''[[HatePlague Foment]]'''.

* AdaptationalOriginConnection: He [[{{Foreshadowing}} mentions]] several Callowan Named and plot elements that would not show up in person until later in the series. While most show up in Book 2 or Book 3 of the [=WordPress=] version, ''The Fox in the Woods'' doesn't appear until Book 6.
* AdaptationExpansion: Aside from being part of a new arc exclusive to the Yonder rewrite, his goal in infiltrating the Foxtails is to obtain one of the three legendary swords of Callow--an element exclusive to the rewrite.
* OvertRendezvous: He starts an impromptu one with Catherine at the Foxtail hideout, as both independently developed the idea to infiltrate the resistance in Peren Woods for their own ends before finding themselves at the same bar. He even uses a CacophonyCoverUp to hide their conversation by goading the Foxtails into singing ''The Fox in the Woods''.
* TheRival: Seems to be shaping up as another one for Cat.

! ''The Summoner (Praesi)''

A female, Sanke[[note]]Yonder rename of Soninke[[/note]] Praesi villain who [[spoiler:is behind the string of Agrinya assassinations Black is investigating.]]

%%* EnemyMine: [[spoiler:Akua attempts to recruit her, but Catherine's party interrupts them.]]
* ForegoneConclusion: [[spoiler:The existence of a male, ethnically Callowan Summoner in Book 6 implies she probably won't survive until the Yonder version reaches that point in the story.]]

[[/folder]]
!! Heroes

[[folder:The Lone Swordsman and his Party]]

! ''The Lone Swordsman'' (William of Greenbury)

The first Callowan Hero to rise to any significance since the conquest. A gritty avenger type who flies under the radar by operating independently ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin as the Name implies]]) rather than gathering an army or party of Heroes.

When Catherine arrives in Summerholm [[spoiler:She attempts to hunt him down in order to prove herself worthy of the Name of Squire. After she defeats him and the other claimants she sets him free, allowing him to start a rebellion against the empire and creating the chaos she believes is necessary to rise in the ranks. He becomes her recurring foe throughout the first two books.]]

The Lone Swordsmen's Aspects are: '''[[HealingFactor Rise]]''', '''[[TheGoodGuysAlwaysWin Triumph]]''', and '''[[ImplausibleFencingPowers Swing]]'''.

* AdaptationExpansion: In the Yonder rewrite, [[spoiler:his journey to Refuge after his defeat at Catherine's hands is expanded into the epilogue of Yonder Book 1. Notably, he meets several characters from his future Band of Five and Refuge ahead of time, including Hunter, Bumbling Conjurer, Archer, and Ranger, as well as {{Foreshadowing}} several plot points ahead of time.]]
* AlasPoorVillain: Yup. William was once a bad boy. He then started trying to atone for what he'd done, but... [[spoiler:Frankly, getting mind-raped into a Heroic Name, knowing you're always heading to the Fire Below whatever you do ''and'' getting very grim smiles painted on your soul enough that putting thousands of people through a similarly enforced turn to heroism like you're going through feels like a good idea? That's a bit excessive for a sentence for selfishly killing your sister in a bid to survive the militant crackdown her actions would cause, don't you think?]]
* AntiHero: UnscrupulousHero verging on DesignatedHero. He's a racist JerkAss who sadistically tortures prisoners and doesn't really care about the impacts of his actions on ordinary people. He's also willing to [[spoiler:[[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans Bring an Angel of Contrition into Creation in the City of Liesse, essentially brainwashing every man, woman, and child in the city into joining a Death or Glory crusade against evil.]]]]
* ArchNemesis: To Catherine, shares the role with Heiress.
* BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood: [[spoiler:He may have been a victim of this when he first encountered the Hashmalim, and he tries to impose it on the entire city of Liesse.]]
* CuttingTheKnot: This seems to be his default approach to problems in the Yonder rewrite, with a good helping of MurderIsTheBestSolution added in:
** [[spoiler:In his first adventure with Hunter during the epilogue of Book 1, he encounters a cult of bandits whose leader made a deal with a fae gone wrong. Hunter suggests slaying the fae to free her--instead, William waits until she gets drunk in a tavern, then locks her in and sets the place on fire.]]
** [[spoiler:In a town taken over by possessing ghosts [[NiceJobBreakingItHero accidentally unleashed]] by the Bumbling Conjurer, both Bumbling Conjurer and an unnamed sister of the local vestry suggest luring the ghosts back to the vestry to purify them with Light. William instead captured one of the spirits and got it to talk by threatening it with the Penitent's Blade, learning that one ghost had been a necromancer responsible--then cut down that spirit, bringing the other spirits to their senses. That said ghost was possessing the sister's uncle at the time did not matter to William.]]
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Let's just say it's grim. Plenty for [[FreudianExcuse Freud]] to get to grips with, here.
* DefrostingIceQueen: After his humiliation in the second Summerholm arc, he starts to learn a bit more humility and humanity under pressure from his comrades, though this doesn't stop him from pulling his summoning gambit in Liesse.
* FantasticRacism: Explicitly does not believe that Goblins and Orcs qualify as people, believing them to be simply AlwaysChaoticEvil monsters (Note: This is very much not the case in the Practical Guideverse). While he has his reasons (the Orcs have been subjecting Callow to RapePillageAndBurn for almost two thousand years), it’s pretty clear that he wants to enact a FinalSolution on them to stop this.
* HopelessBossFight: [[spoiler:He was fated to Win against Catherine in Liesse to the point that he literally got back up and stabbed her while she was ramming a knife through his throat. Unfortunately, she planned for this and turned it around on her in their next fight.]]
* {{Jerkass}}: He's like the anthropomorphic personification of sandpaper. By both intentionally and unintentionally grating on companions' and enemies' nerves alike, he wears most of them down until they stay as far away from him as possible... or, enjoy the thought of strangling him. Might be a Name thing. You can't do "Lone" if people easily flock to your sunny, gregarious personality, after all.
* OneManArmy: The Lone Swordsman is hands down one of the most physically dangerous people in the series at the time of his introduction and is shown mowing through Humans, Orcs, and Devils with equal ease.
* TookALevelInBadass: After his first defeat by Catherine he [[spoiler:spends a year in Arcadia being pursued by the Wild Hunt and other otherworldly dangers, which toughens him up and gives him his last two Aspects.]]

! ''The Thief'' (Vivienne Dartwick)
For tropes relevant to ''The Thief'', see her entry in the Woe folder.

! ''The Hunter'' ([[SomeCallMeTim John]])

One of Ranger's people in Refuge, he violates Ranger's rules in order to interfere in the Callowan rebellion beside the Lone Swordsman. Succinctly described as a "Streetwalker with a Spear" The Hunter wears minimal clothing and is covered in 'tribal' tattoos.

* AnArmAndALeg: [[spoiler:Catherine cuts one of his hands off in their second fight in Summerholm.]]
* ArrogantKungFuGuy: It's so bad, even his ally, Archer, continually takes the piss out of him for his crimes against both fashion and hubris.
* BlingOfWar: Well, more "Ringing Of War". Lots of little, tinkling, very silver hawkbells in his hair to be "tribal". Along with pointless tats he goes shirtless to show off. Why?!
* ChainmailBikini: Well, the male equivalent thereof. Leather pants, bells and eternally shirtless. He learns the hard way why skin-covering armour is a good thing in a fight.
* ClicheStorm: His dialogue consists mostly of bombastic boasts and overwrought condemnations of the depravity of his opponents. This gets even sillier after Catherine breaks his nose. A whole new meaning to PurpleProse, right there. So far averted in the Yonder rewrite, where he's mostly just genuinely nice (much to William's chagrin).
* EarlyBirdCameo: [[spoiler:The epilogue of Book 1 of the Yonder rewrite sees him meet William after he wakes up, giving William the idea to travel back to Refuge with him. He also ends up being the only one to accompany William across his entire journey to Refuge.]]
* EnemyMine: [[spoiler:Reluctantly agrees to help the Legion against the Demon of Corruption when it gets loose in Marchford.]]
* HiddenDepths: In the Yonder rewrite, [[spoiler:his knowledge of the Waning Woods and skill as a woodsman gets William to Refuge within days of entering the Woods]].
* SpeaksFluentAnimal: In the Yonder rewrite, he apparently gained the ability to talk to blue jays as a result of bungling the harvest of the heart of a solstice stag he was hunting. [[spoiler: It's apparently how he learned that William had washed up ashore after his defeat at Catherine's hands.]]
* StealthExpert: He's a Rogue-type. Somehow. Despite the pomposity and those ''stupid'' bells, he's still good at the sneak.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: He wears as little clothing as he can get away with, yet this doesn't impede him much when he can rely on the power of his Name to slaughter RedShirts. It's a pretty serious disadvantage when he gets in a slugging match with a heavily-armored Catherine and her equally martial Name, however.

! ''The Bumbling Conjurer'' (Symeon)

The last and least of the Lone Swordsman's party, a comically inept mage whose Name allows him to succeed through fortuitous incompetence. [[spoiler:When the Heroes infiltrate Summerholm he bumbles through a few fights with the Apprentice before being abruptly put down by The Warlock. AndThereWasMuchRejoicing.]]

* AchievementsInIgnorance: His entire Name is apparently built around this. It has a rather large downside that makes him worse than inconsistent: the minute he gets a handle on whatever magic feat he's pulling, it fizzles out on him. Often at an awkward time, too.
* CrazyEnoughToWork: When it works, it really, ''really'' works (well beyond established norms, even). But, when it does not, it goes really ''badly''.
* CurbStompBattle: He starts getting Curb Stomped the second Apprentice walks into the room and then gets stomped a few more times over the course of the evening. He refuses to stay down until Warlock shows up, however.
* EarlyBirdCameo: [[spoiler:The epilogue of Book 1 of the Yonder rewrite sees him show up early as one of several Named William meets early, involved in a misadventure in a town taken over by ghosts. William tells him to lie low instead of joining him and Hunter, since three Named traveling together will get caught.]]
* IndyPloy: Magic flavour. There's only so much prepping his Name will let him get away with, so he ''has'' to be all about the seat-of-pants, stabs-in-the-dark "plans".

! ''The Wandering Bard'' (Almorava of Smyrna)

For tropes relevant to ''The Wandering Bard'' see their entry in the [[spoiler:''Other Morally Ambiguous Named'']] folder.

[[folder:The White Knight's Party]]

! ''The White Knight'' (Hanno of Arwad)

A half-Soninke Hero from the Thalassocracy of Ashur who joins the war in the Free Cities upon completing training in the Titanomachy, bringing him into conflict with the Calamities. Though a Hero aligned with the Choir of Judgement, he abrogates the right to judge anyone himself, instead carrying out the judgment of the Heavens on those who engage in Evil. His Aspects include '''[[HorsebackHeroism Ride]]''' and '''[[GhostMemory Recall]]'''.

[[spoiler:Hanno later becomes the [[SupportingLeader representative]] of Heroes, opposite Catherine Foundling, for the [[EnemyMine Truce & Terms]] in the war against the Dead King. Over that period he briefly gives up and regains the Name of White Knight, receiving a second set of Aspects that consists of '''[[GhostMemory Recall]]''', '''[[JustInTime Save]]''', and '''[[ResetButton Undo]]'''.]]

* BroughtDownToBadass: He loses [[spoiler:his ability to call on Judgement]] in Book 5, but he's still an incredibly skilled fighter with the ability to use Light.
* CoolHorse: One of his Aspects is '''Ride''' and along with presumably granting riding skills, it allows him to summon a horse made from holy light. [[spoiler:Black thinks he massively under-utilises this Aspect, since he could conceivably do far, far more with a light-based mount than just use a lance or sword while riding it jouster-style. Think "laser", "flight", "drone" and way, way more.]]
* CreativeSterility: Black accuses him of this -- because Hanno refuses to include his own opinions or personality in whatever he does, he cannot be original and is not that good at learning.
* GhostMemory: He spent his time in the Titanomachy accessing the memories of past White Knights. He had never been in combat before Delos but had the memories of hundreds of battles. The downside: he cuts-and-pastes skills without really getting to the heart of the tactics and strategies he uses them with.
* HeadsOrTails: He uses a coin flip to divine the judgment of the seraphim in a disturbingly [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Harvey Dent-ish]] fashion--though it's implied that the Seraphim really are guiding what side it lands on.
* IveNeverSeenAnythingLikeThisBefore: Provokes this kind of reaction from the Wandering Bard with his... idiosyncratic... take on what it means to be affiliated with Judgment without personally judging. And, when ''she'' practically sits up and leans forward to get a better look at the trope playing out in front of her, you ''know'' it's not a run-of-the-mill iteration.
* JackOfAllTrades: His '''Recall''' ability makes him an expert with any weapon and gives him a huge variety of tricks with Light. Fight scenes often mention how the technique he's using is borrowed from a past Hero.
* LightEmUp: In opposition to the Black Knight's CastingAShadow powers, Hanno has the standard beams of damaging light attack.
* SkilledButNaive: While outclassing the current Black Knight in every way when it comes to pure raw power, he turns out not to be very effective when it comes to actually ''fighting him''. It is explained the first time we meet him that he was trained in seclusion by the Titans his whole life in order to become an unstoppable force of Good and to dedicate himself to the Heavens...but this ironically only hinders him since he lacks actual worldly experience when it comes to fighting flesh and blood Villains and because of that he expects every Villain to be like the ones in stories (something that Black clearly is not). Plus the Choir he draws his power from gives him CreativeSterility and an inability to learn leaving him to be nothing but a plaything to Black schemes the three times he fights him despite all of his power.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: {{Inverted}}, he's the only male member of his party.
* SummonMagic: As mentioned above, he can summon a horse made of light as part of his '''Ride''' Aspect.

! ''The Valiant Champion'' (Rafaella)
A Hero from Levant that teams up with joins a band with the White Knight. Her Aspects include '''[[CounterAttack Oppose]]''', '''[[HeroicSpirit Rally]]''', and '''[[FieldPowerEffect Exalt]]'''.

* AchievementsInIgnorance: She takes absolutely no damage from the Tyrant's ghost army, with her explanation being: "Ghosts no real, can't hurt". ''That is not how ghosts work in the Guideverse.''
* TheBigGuy: Functions as this. When you want the bold-and-simple solution to a knotty combat problem, she's got you covered.
* BloodKnight: Quite openly takes joy in getting into Evil's face by trying to slice as many of the poor mooks as she can.
* BoisterousBruiser: See above. She's a sunny person to be around in a tight corner. As long as you're on the same side.
* HulkSpeak: Although this is due to not being completely fluent in the other members of her party's native language rather than lack of intelligence
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Rafaela flaying [[spoiler:Captain's transformed corpse]] to obtain a wolf pelt. In Champion's mind, that was the honorable and logical option, partly because of the importance that Levantine [[GlorySeeker culture]] puts on post-mortem tributes (as a show of respect for loved ones ''and'' powerful enemies); partly because [[spoiler:Captain's [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent beast form]] was NighInvulnerable, allowing for one hell of a CloakOfDefense. Neither helps mitigate Cat's burning hatred for Champion ''skinning'' her HonoraryAunt.]]
* NemeanSkinning: She is fond of taking trophies, and takes to wearing a self-made fur cloak after [[spoiler:killing Sabah]].

! ''The Ashen Priestess'' (Irene)
A stern priest Named in the White Knight's team, and sister to Alkmene, the Hedge Wizard. From Delos. Her Aspects include '''[[PlayingWithFire Ignite]]''', '''[[HealingHands Heal]]''', and '''[[DeaderThanDead Begone]]'''.

* DisintegratorRay: At least one of her powers allows her to cause enemies to disintegrate.
* KilledOffscreen: [[spoiler:The Calamities thwart a ritual to kill Captain and replace the catalyst for the spell with a lock of her hair. The narration from Black puts emphasis on how the killing method of the ritual wasn't something quick and she probably died screaming. She becomes the first heroic casualty of her party as well.]]
* ProperlyParanoid: Out of the four lines she speaks in their introductory chapter, three of them are her warning the rest of the party about imminent danger.
* ShootTheMedicFirst: [[spoiler:The main reason why the Calamities kill her first, and ironically this end up backfiring on them.]]
* TheQuietOne: She speaks four short sentences in the chapter that introduces the White Knight and the rest of the party, far fewer than any of the others.

! ''The Hedge Wizard'' (Alkmene)
An argumentative mage Named in the White Knight's band of five, sister to Irene, the Ashen Priestess, hails from Delos. Her Aspects are '''[[InstantExpert Learn]]''', '''[[CatchAndReturn Repurpose]]''' and '''[[VancianMagic Reiterate]]'''.

* JackOfAllTrades: Her whole Name revolves around this. She has a spell for every school of sorcery that there is but she'll never become master of one of them and she can never use the same spell twice in a day.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:She is defeated by the Warlock and to ensure that she doesn't return he burns her body to a crisp.]]
* TheRedMage: Described as having an 'eclectic' bag of magic tricks, rather than any one discipline.
* TheSmartGuy: The team's resident magical expert.
* SquishyWizard: Very powerful mage, but besides that, she doesn't have very much to show.
* VoluntaryShapeshifter: Can at the very least assume the shape of a giant eagle.

! ''The Wandering Bard'' ([[spoiler:Aoede of Nicae]])

For tropes relevant to ''The Wandering Bard'' see their entry in the [[spoiler:''Other Morally Ambiguous Named'']] folder.


[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Tenth Crusade]]

When Cordelia Hasenbach calls the Tenth Crusade against Procer and Callow, dozens of Heroes from across Calernia answer the call.

! ''The Grey Pilgrim'' (Tariq Isbili)

A Hero from Levant who has been active for at least 60 years. He generally acts as TheMentor for other Heroes from the Dominion, and is widely respected and beloved there, to the point that he could claim the Tattered Throne without contest. He accompanies Prince Amadis' invasion of northern Callow, and later serves as the mouthpiece and de facto leader of Calernia's assembled Heroes, coming into contact and clashing with Cat several times.

As the Grey Pilgrim, his Aspects are '''[[TheEmpath Behold]]''', '''[[BackFromTheDead Forgive]]''', and '''[[StarPower Shine]]'''.

* BackFromTheDead: His "Forgive" Aspect undoes people's deaths. This is limited by the stipulations that it can only be done once a day, requires the person's corpse, can only be done once per person, the death must have been somehow natural or willing, and the people it's used on are [[CameBackWrong ''different'' somehow]]. In Book 5, Chapter 51, [[spoiler:Cat steals this Aspect from his corpse so she can use it to revive him with it]].
* CryForTheDevil: He tells Catherine that he views her this way.

* GenreSavvy: This is one of the main reasons that makes him such a dangerous foe to Catherine and the Woe. Not only he is powerful but, he also knows how to manipulate the countless histories about Heroes and Villains to produce a result. He tries to use this to steer Cat to a path of [[spoiler:redemption that will probably end up in her death.]] as a way of defeating her, and is pretty much the reason how he avoided the MentorOccupationalHazard form below.
* TheGoodChancellor: In his backstory, Tariq ends up effectively reigning over Levant as its regent after his sister is assassinated, while his nephew Izil grows up to inherit the Tattered Throne.
* [[spoiler:HeroicSuicide]]: In Book 5, chapter 50, he pulls this. [[spoiler:It's later reversed.]]
* GoodIsNotNice: He is the first hero that Catherine has met who somewhat averts this.
** [[WhamEpisode Played Straight]]. [[spoiler:His Name allows him to create [[MysticalPlague diseases]] just as easily as he can [[HealingHands heal]]. He infects an unaware, ''Proceran'' fishing village with a deadly plague just before Black and several Legions arrive. [[LeaveNoSurvivors Every single]] Proceran citizen and Praes Legionary in the area died, leaving Amadeus, the sole survivor, alone and [[DoNotGoGentle cornered by]] [[VillainousValour six Heroes]]]].
* KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Subverted. [[spoiler:Tariq winds up being forced to murder Izil, because it is clear to him that Izil plans on starting a continent-wide war between Levant and Procer]].
* MentorOccupationalHazard: He's somehow avoided ever falling into this despite being TheObiWan for decades. This is what leads Cat to take him seriously.
* TheNeedsOfTheMany: This is the driving force behind the Grey Pilgrim. At every turn, the Role he plays as an agent of Above is fundamentally about reducing suffering to the people of Calernia, [[ColdEquation no matter the cost]].
* OldSuperhero: The oldest Named Hero encountered in the story so far, and he is capable of truly awesome feats like calling entire pieces of heavenly firmament (read: stars) onto the battlefield. This is later revealed to be driven by '''Shine''', his third Aspect.
* RoyalBlood: He is from the Isbili family, and thus the direct descendant of the first Grey Pilgrim, founder and first holy Seljun of Levante. In the Dominion, he is seen as royalty among royalty for being of the Blood of the first Pilgrim and also sharing the Name.
* SenselessSacrifice: [[spoiler:At the climax of Boox Six, Tariq reduces himself and his entire bloodline to ash to drop a star on the dead army invading the city Hainaut. Unfortunately, this gives the Dead King the [[SortingAlgorithmOfEvil narrative license]] to open ''three hellgates'' over the province, forcing further sacrifices on the Gigantes' part to seal the gates and buy the Alliance time.]]
** [[spoiler:Not quite senseless since even though his sacrifice did let the Dead King open the hellgates, not committing the sacrifice would have meant giving him access to the Twilight Ways, which would basically mean losing the war entirely.]]
* ShoutOut: His Name 'The Grey Pilgrim' is one of [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Gandalf's]] nicknames (The English translation of 'Mithrandir').
* TechnicalPacifist: Pilgrim does not kill his enemies directly - most of his on-screen appearances have featured him healing teammates as opposed to wielding his Light to kill. Furthermore, when he ''does'' use lethal means (see the example above), it's always as a last resort and for what he believes is a higher purpose.

! ''The Saint of Swords'' (Laurence de Montfort)

An old Proceran Hero who joins Amadis' invasion of northern Callow. Her Aspects are '''[[AbsurdCuttingPower Sever]]''', '''[[SpiderSense Listen]]''', and '''[[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve Decree]]'''.

* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Apparently she can cut through magic and miracles. Unknown whether there's anything special about her sword or if it's all in the way she wields it. As of Book 5, it's been revealed that her sword is a completely normal longsword. It's all in her skills and the fact that she's [[spoiler:a living domain based on the '''Decree''' that Laurence [[AnthropomorphicPersonification embodies]] the concept of a "sword"]].
* GoodIsNotNice: Unlike her companion, Laurence is abrasive, ruthless, and utterly uncompromising in the face of any opposition. She has nothing but contempt for most of Prince Amadis' faction in the Tenth Crusade.
* JerkAss: To put it simply she's an old and wrinkly asshole that seems to take pleasure in making constant death threats to everyone, even her allies, and her go-to action to solve a problem is to insult it and try to kill it even when there may be a better solution. Catherine calls her a bully, and considering all of Cat's conversations with her and her overall personality she may be right.
* KnightTemplar: She doesn't seem to be one at first but in the final extra chapter of Cordelia Hasenbach, Fatalism III, she leaves pretty clear that she is more than willing to sacrifice the ''entirety of the Principate of Procer'' to defeat the Dead King and Evil under the justification of: '' Good always wins ''. When Hasebanch confronts her about this she ''shrugs it off'' leaving it clear that she doesn't give a fuck about the countless dead Procerans and instead just tells her to focus on how a new thing will be born out of the massive destruction of her country. [[spoiler:This ends up being her downfall, as her refusal to compromise eventually sets her against Catherine and Tariq, forcing the former to kill her.]]
* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Her main method to ''everything''.
* NotAfraidToDie: She's well aware that she's old and her time is running out against an enemy like the [[spoiler:Dead King]], but she has accepted that she's probably going to die and is okay with it as long she gets to take some undead with her.
* OldMaster: She is ''old'', but she has constantly refined her skills as a swordswoman to the point she can cut through armies.
* OneManArmy: This seems to be her shtick, along with AbsurdlySharpBlade.
* RapidAging: [[spoiler:How she meets her end. Catherine afflicts her with a prepared curse that causes the already-elderly Heroine to rapidly age until it kills her.]]
* RedBaron: ''Regicide''.
* ShoutOut: Her surname is probably a reference to Simon de Montfort the elder, one of the leaders of the Albigensian crusade.

! ''The Rogue Sorcerer'' (Roland de Beaumarais[[spoiler:, né Olivier de Beaumarais]])
A Proceran Hero and mage who is part of the Tenth Crusade. He first accompanies Amadis' Exploration Force, and advises Rozala Malanza in her strategy against Praesi/Callowan sorceries. His Aspects are '''[[MagicEater Confiscate]]''' and '''[[TheRedMage Use]]'''.
----
* ArmorAndMagicDontMix: Averted. Catherine notes he's one of the few mage Named she knows with the good sense to wear armor.
* ArtifactOfPower: He owns and uses a broad variety of artifacts when fighting.
* BadassLongcoat: He has a leather one with many pockets.
* CainAndAbel: [[spoiler:Olivier was the Abel to Roland's Cain. Olivier having greater cunning, the gratitude of Beaumarais, and the love of Alisanne led to Roland's desire [[GlorySeeker to distinguish himself]]. When things go horribly wrong, Olivier is forced to turn on his younger brother, becoming the Rogue Sorcerer in the process.]]
* FriendlyEnemy: Considering Cat's enmity with Heroes like the Saint of Swords and Mirror Knight, it's fairly surprising that Roland and the Woe get along so well after the Prince's Graveyard.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Takes one of the Hawk's arrows meant for Catherine late in Book 7. It was unfortunately poisoned, leading to his demise.]]
* KlingonScientistsGetNoRespect: In his hometown, Beaumarais, his family is ostracized for their use of magic, although they help people with their skills.
* MagicalSociety: He made great strides in creating a safe haven for mages in a town full of FantasticRacism.
* MagicEater: Has the ability to siphon off the magic of other mages, manipulate it, and imbue it in artifacts.
* MuggleBornOfMages: [[spoiler:He was the TheUnfavorite son of his parents for not (initially) having access to "The Gift."]]
* MySiblingWillLiveThroughMe: [[spoiler:Olivier de Beaumarais took the face, name, and magic of his brother Roland shortly after the latter died during a failed attempt at StagedHeroics.]]
* SelfMadeMan: While in Beaumarais, he first started copying and selling books, then he opens a refuge for mages that sells their products... practically singlehandedly making his hometown prosperous.
* SiblingTriangle: He and his brother shared affections for Alisanne Lassier, a noblewoman sent to the village of Beaumarais to learn from their [[FantasyCounterpartReligion House of Light]]. The Rogue Sorcerer eventually entering into a relationship with her led to his brother JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope.
* TakingTheBullet: [[spoiler:See HeroicSacrifice above.]]
* TheUnfavorite: His parents preferred his younger brother over him to pass on the family legacy.
* WeakButSkilled: Compared to some other sorcerous Named such as Warlock, Hierophant, or the Witch of the Woods, the Rogue Sorcerer is weak as he can't use High Arcana. He makes it up in cunning, common sense, and the use of artifacts.

! ''The Mirror Knight'' (Christophe de Pavanie)
A young Proceran Hero who is part of the Tenth Crusade. His Aspects include '''[[StrongerWithAge Dawn]]''' and '''[[AttackReflector Reflect]]'''.
----
* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Gains custody of the Severance, an artifact [[spoiler:made from the Saint of Swords' '''[[AbsurdCuttingPower Sever]]''' Aspect]] that has the ability to cut almost anything. The only reason he was chosen is that the Mirror Knight's NighInvulnerability means he won't accidentally [[HarmfulToTouch lose a limb]] just by swinging it.
* FastballSpecial: To his chagrin, his SuperToughness means a predominant heroic strategy against [[spoiler:the Dead King]] is "throw Christophe at it."
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Among Good-aligned Named, who already tend towards HeadbuttingHeroes status, Christophe's obnoxious smugness does him no favors. Basically, no one but the Blade of Mercy can stand him.
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: Beneath his arrogance and {{Innocent Bigot}}ry, the Mirror Knight is very aware that his leadership position is purely the result of AsskickingLeadsToLeadership. Christophe acknowledges that he lacks the ability to bring out the best in those under his command like [[TheParagon Hanno]] can.
* TheLancer: To the White Knight as leaders of the new generation of Heroes. Christophe's HonorBeforeReason tends to clash with Hanno's {{Pragmatic Hero}}ism. Ideological differences eventually cause them to [[FightingTheLancer come to blows]].
* MightyGlacier: After obtaining [[InfinityPlusOneSword the Severance]], the Mirror Knight arguably has the strongest close-range offense and defense on the side of Good. Nevertheless, his mobility leaves a lot to be desired, [[spoiler:a weakness that allows the White Knight to get the better of him.]]
* StrongerWithAge: Every morning he becomes stronger than the day before, to the point that [[OldMaster the Saint of Swords]] predicts that he will surpass her in a few years.
* TookALevelInKindness: After several months serving under the Grey Pilgrim, he becomes ''much'' less of a dick.

! ''The Witch of the Woods'' (Antigone)
A mage Heroine from the Titanomachy who is part of the Tenth Crusade. Her Aspects are '''[[ChargedAttack Gather]]''', '''[[EnergyAbsorption Cradle]]''', and '''[[MagicMusic Sing]]'''.
----
* DivineParentage: In a manner of speaking, as she's the adoptive daughter of Kreios Maker-of-Riddles, the [[TimeAbyss oldest living thing]] on the continent and [[DeityOfHumanOrigin a deity]] to the giants.
* FromZeroToHero: Started out as a Stygian [[MadeASlave slave]] and ended up probably the strongest mage Hero on Calernia.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Sacrifices herself at the end of Book 7 to slay the Drakon that the Dead King left as a means of TakingYouWithMe for all of Calernia.]]
* JustFriends: She's implied to have romantic feelings for the White Knight, but Hanno only seems to view her as a close comrade.
* NatureHero: Antigone has the ability to speak all languages, including those of animals, and is the protector of the forest where she grew up.
* OurMagesAreDifferent: Despite Hierophant and Warlock's [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic science-based]] approach, Antigone equals them through viewing magic as a means of communicating with [[WildMagic Creation itself]].
* SolitarySorceress: She was raised in near-total isolation by Kreios and her Name suggests that Antigone remained a recluse in adulthood.
* WizardDuel: [[spoiler:Nearly wins one with [[EvilSorcerer Warlock]] at the start of the Crusade and nearly [[DestructiveSaviour destroys the Red Flower Vales]] in the process.]]

[[folder:Other Heroes]]

! ''The Exiled Prince'' (Dorian Theodosian)

The rightful heir to the throne of the Free City of Helike, exiled by his EvilUncle who usurped the throne from him. The Exiled Prince and his loyal band of mercenaries, the Silver Spears, join the Liesse rebellion early on, providing most of the Rebellion's professional soldiers.

[[spoiler:After some initial success raiding the Legion's supply lines, the Prince is forced to retreat after an encounter with The Captain. After driving off the Exiled Prince in Summerholm the Fifteenth Legion's first field assignment is to hunt down the Silver Spears. The Silver Spears meet them in battle at one of the crossings of the Left Fork, and the Exiled Prince is treacherously and hilariously killed in the act of trying to challenge the Squire to single combat.]]
----
* CombatPragmatist: He's a competent and ruthless commander, and the circumstances leading to his death were actually a result of his pragmatism. Specifically, he believed that The Squire would not be a match for him in single combat. His downfall was in underestimating the pragmatism of his opponent.
* FlatCharacter: Kairos outright calls him this to his face.
* GoodIsDumb: [[spoiler:Did not apparently realize he needed to wear the ''helmet'' for his armor to turn away arrows from his face.]]
* HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic: [[spoiler:His adherence to this trope hilariously leads to his demise.]]
* PetTheDog: He (rightfully) calls the Lone Swordsman out on his blatant racism.
* PrinceCharming: Even by heroic standards, he's considered handsome. He also fits the personality portion of this trope since he's definitely not as much of a JerkAss as the Lone Swordsman, though he's willing to be ruthless in battle.
* WarriorPrince: It's kind of in the job description...

! ''The Page'' (Semia)

The Exiled Prince's ([[{{UST}} very]]) devoted sidekick, an androgynous young woman skilled with the rapier.

[[spoiler:After the death of her master she leads the Silver Spears into battle against the fifteenth legion. Catherine grants her the single combat that was denied to the Exiled Prince and The Page becomes the first Hero to fall to the Squire.]]
----
* AmbiguousGender: Seems to be a Name thing. Like a tarot Page or a cartomanic Jack, it seems like the Role wants to be two-for-the-price-of-one in person. Every character commenting on her looks rethinks her gender at some point. No exceptions.
* DesignatedGirlFight: Catherine's first single combat against a Named is also against another woman.
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Everyone can tell that she's totally in love with The Exiled Prince, except him... ([[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation possibly]]).
* FoeTossingCharge: She uses some sort of Name trick to tear a path through the stakes laid down by the Fifteenth's sappers and then cuts her way through their ranks until Catherine intervenes.
* FragileSpeedster: She's very quick with a rapier but she eschews heavy armor, making her vulnerable to Catherine's brutally straightforward tactics.
* IgnoredEnamoredUnderling: Admittedly, it's unclear whether the Exiled Prince is playing dumb or actually that oblivious.

! ''The Augur'' (Agnes Hasenbach)

The cousin of the current First Prince of Procer who assumed the Name of The Augur during that country's civil war. Her Name allows her to foretell the future and learn of distant events by observing the flight of birds.
----
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Cordelia is one of the few people who accepted the odd Agnes, earning her the Augur's love and loyalty.
* DeadManWriting: [[spoiler:After triggering her HeroicRROD, she leaves Cordelia a final note to be read "at the right time". It gives Cordelia the courage not to fire the Ealamel, saving all of Calernia.]]
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Is worried about this happening to her if she looks too deeply into the wrong things. The Bard says that this is not an uncommon end for seers.
--> There would be a day where she went too deep, glimpsed things so far beyond her understanding, that there would be no coming back. Not whole, not even close to it.
* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: Ornithomancy is her main method of getting her very detailed omens. With a huge side of aeromancy -- predictions from weather.
* HeroicRROD: [[spoiler:She burns herself out with her final attempt to peer into the future, resulting in her death.]]
* ThickerThanWater: She has an intense bond with Cordelia, her only surviving close family.
--> "I will," Agnes said, "always, ''always'' bet on Cordelia Hasenbach."
* TheOphelia: She wears a skimpy sundress at court, has a pale, waifish appearance and spends long periods of time staring directly into the sun. Everyone at court just rolls with it because Names are weird that way.
* OracularUrchin: She's locked into being this for as long as she lives. With exceptionally obtuse word salad into the bargain. She only misses WaifProphet because she's got BlueBlood, decent health and personal status. She only ''looks'' spindly and pale enough to not survive a stiff breeze in full sunshine.

! ''The Kingfisher Prince'' (Frederic Goethal)
The prince of the Proceran principality of Brus. His Aspects include '''[[BigDamnHeroes Aid]]'''.
----
* AgentPeacock: The Kingfisher Prince is known for being a LongHairedPrettyBoy and a {{Cultured|Warrior}} WarriorPrince.
* FriendsWithBenefits: With Cat, although their one encounter required mutual discretion, since a Proceran Prince/Hero [[AnchoredShip can't really]] be seen sleeping with a Callowan Queen/Villain.
* JumpedAtTheCall: Is the only Proceran prince who takes his army north to help defend the passes against the dead. This earns him the undying love and respect of the Lycaonese.
* GallowsHumor: Enough to even make the stoic Otto burst into laughter.
* KnightInShiningArmor: His valor in battle led to his Name, while he is shown to be both kind and chivalrous; Frederic is near-unanimously respected as a result.
* OddFriendship: With Otto Redcrown, a [[GrimUpNorth morose Lycaonese]] noble. Years fighting the Dead King (and Frederic's dedication to protecting Otto's subjects) see them go from FireForgedFriends to HeterosexualLifePartners.
* PrinceCharming: Cat certainly thinks so and she's hardly the only one.
* UndyingLoyalty: To Cordelia Hasenbach, for foiling his cousin's coup attempt and reinstating him as Prince in the principality of Brus.
* UniversallyBelovedLeader: A rare heroic example. His defense of the Lycaonese people and personal valor in battle means he is immensely respected among the common people, soldiery, heroes and villains alike.

! ''The Blessed Artificer'' (Adanna of Smyrna)
An Ashuran WhiteMage Heroine that has mutual enmity with the Hierophant.
----
* DefectorFromDecadence: Her family are Soninke immigrants (a Praesi ethnicity) to Ashur, yet she despises the nation of [[TheEmpire Praes]] and [[PunchClockVillain everything]] it stands for.
* GadgeteerGenius: She's the [[{{Magitek}} mystical]] equivalent, applying the miracles she perceives and the [[WhiteMagic Light]] she wields to make artifacts.
* GoodCounterpart: To Hierophant as another [[BlackAndNerdy Soninke]] [[ScienceWizard using the scientific method]] to apply miracles to supernatural power sources. However, while Masego uses normal magic (and the Drow equivalent, [[BlackMagic Night]]), Adanna (as a Hero) uses [[LightIsGood Light]], the weapon of the Gods Above, for her work.
* InsufferableGenius: Yet another reason why she and Hierophant are TooMuchAlike. Admittedly, Masego tends to be more InnocentlyInsensitive, while Adanna is a bit more of a CommanderContrarian.
* ScienceFoils: She and Hierophant have slightly different approaches to SufficientlyAdvancedMagic: while Masego usually focuses on spells and rituals, Adanna (as evidenced by her Name) creates [[ArtifactOfPower Artifacts of Power]].

! ''The Stalwart Apostle'' (Pascale)
A Proceran Heroine whose bestowal was marked by successfully destroying a plague crafted by the Dead King.
----
* DivineIntervention: Upon discovering the Dead King's plague, but being ignored by the townspeople, Pascale prayed to the Gods Above for guidance. She was "rewarded" for her faith by [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve being made a Hero]].
* GoodCounterpart: To Tancred, another ChildMage whose power allowed them to perceive the Dead King's MysticalPlague, only to be [[CassandraTruth ignored]] by those around them. Unlike Tancred, whose desperation drove him to remove the threat by any means possible, she was blessed with the ability to [[HealingHands cure the sickness]].
* LightEmUp: Upon becoming the Apostle, Pascale's magic was converted into Light, the weapon of priests, giving her the ability to heal and [[HolyBurnsEvil destroy evil constructs]].
* MoralLuck: Cat lampshades the fact that Pascale's choice to pray in a life-or-death situation should have logically resulted in every person for miles around dying. Instead, she was all but handed an EverybodyLives ending and the [[SerendipitousSurvival cosmic protection of young Heroes]]. Meanwhile, Tancred would've been left with lifelong guilt if he hadn't already died a violent death, solely because he [[IDidWhatIHadToDo made the tough call]].
* NiceGirl: She's only ever shown to be a devout and kind-hearted young lady.
* WhiteMage: Another parallel with Tancred, her bestowal gave her healing abilities, allowing her to cure the Dead King's plague.
* YouShouldHaveDiedInstead: Still reeling from Tancred's death, Cat ends up denigrating Pascale for relying on prayer when 99.9% of the time, she should have been absolutely screwed. Hanno later calls her out for [[KickTheDog implicitly blaming]] a kid for a death she had nothing to do with because of [[NayTheist personal beef]] with her religion.

! ''The Squire''[[spoiler:/''The Knight Errant'']] (Arthur Foundling)
A Callowan orphan serving in Catherine's forces. He becomes the Squire during a battle in the war against the Dead King. [[spoiler:He later transitions into the KnightErrant during the Fall of the Tower.]] His first Aspect is '''{{Wound|ThatWillNotHeal}}'''.
----
* ArmorPiercingAttack: Wound is part this, part WoundThatWillNotHeal. Its function appears to allow him to wound anything he chooses, overcoming any defense or ability to heal.
* GoodCounterpart: Arthur is an invoked one to Cat, as a headstrong Callowan [[ConvenientlyAnOrphan orphan]] born in Laure that becomes the Squire and, nonetheless, is shaping up to be a Hero. Cat intentionally keeps her distance to avoid the high number of death flags in a [[RedemptionEqualsDeath story]] about the HerosEvilPredecessor.
* PlotTriggeringDeath: He became the Squire shortly after the man he loved was killed in battle.
* TheRival: Arthur is manipulated by Cat into a [[ThirdTimesTheCharm Pattern of Three]] with Marshal Nim that was supposed to end with him killing her. [[spoiler:He chooses to TakeAThirdOption upon concluding he has [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight no reason]] besides nationality to want Nim dead in the first place, initiating his transition to the Knight Errant in the process.]]
* TheSquire: Up until he transitions into his full Name.
* ToBeLawfulOrGood: Played with. [[spoiler:The climax of Praes campaign sees Arthur put this situation in completing his [[ThirdTimesTheCharm pattern of three]] against Marshal Nim. On the one hand, Cat, his superior, has ordered him to kill Nim ([[MyCountryRightOrWrong Lawful]]). On the other hand, under the pattern of three, because she is a villain and he is a hero, providence also demands he kill Nim ([[TheoryOfNarrativeCausality Good]]). On the third hand, he has no actual reason to want her dead outside of their countries being enemies ([[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight good]]). In the end, the Squire chooses lowercase-g good, and in the process, transitions into the Knight Errant.]]
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: Wound is part this, part ArmorPiercingAttack. Its function appears to allow him to wound anything he chooses, overcoming any defense or ability to heal.

! ''The Apprentice''[[spoiler:/''The Mage'']] (Sapan)
An Ashuran Heroine that works as the Hierophant's assistant in exchange for training. [[spoiler:Late in Book 7 she transitions to becoming The Mage, and later the Archmage. She's ultimately Catherine's chosen successor for the position of Warden after she abdicates in the epilogue.]]
----
* TheApprentice: Her Name as well as her role to Hierophant (the prior Apprentice), in that she operates as an unpaid assistant in exchange for the chance to learn from one of the most skilled mages on the continent.
* MerlinAndNimue: Hierophant ends up the older, male mentor to the [[ChildMage young]], female Sapan.
* MinoredInAsskicking: Is very capable in a direct fight and was briefly made bodyguard for [[spoiler:a crippled Adjutant]].
* MirrorCharacter: Cat lampshades the fact that Sapan is essentially Cat herself if she became a Hero/Mage. The main difference being, while Sapan rejected a role as a non-violent healer out of contempt for the SuicidalPacifism of her contemporaries, Cat rejected the idea of becoming a Hero, period, out of contempt for the idea of GoodIsSoft. [[spoiler:Nevertheless Sapan fittingly becomes Cat's replacement as Warden in the epilogue.]]
* RedMage: [[spoiler:She becomes this well before transitioning into the Mage. Rather than following the MutuallyExclusiveMagic system of Ashur (by becoming the BlackMage, the WhiteMage, or TheNavigator) the training she receives from the Hierophant allows her to go beyond those limits]].
* SwordAndSorcerer: In combat, she has this dynamic with Arthur, just as Masego did with Cat and Wekesa did with Amadeus once upon a time.
* WhiteMage: Defied. While growing up in Ashur she initially trained to be a healer until her master was killed. Afterward she begins training to become more [[RedMage combat-capable]] and shows enough affinity to become the Apprentice.

!! Morally Ambiguous Names

[[folder:Refuge]]
! ''The Ranger'' (Hye Su)

The Fifth Calamity and Black's lover. The offspring of an exiled admiral from across the Tyrian Sea and one of the few elves on the continent ever to leave the Golden Bloom, Hye Su was [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld several centuries old]] by the time she met the Calamities. The Ranger doesn't fit neatly into the role of either Hero or Villain and prefers to go her own way, which she is able to do quite successfully both through her friendship with the Calamities and the fact that she is quite possibly the most dangerous fighter on the continent of Calernia. The Ranger fought with the Calamities to place Malicia on the throne of Praes but left the empire forever after the second Field of Streges, apparently out of disgust for the Empress. She now rules the woodland settlement of Refuge as The Lady of The Lake. Her Aspects are '''[[CombatClairvoyance Learn]]''', '''[[InstantExpert Perfect]]''', and '''[[CrisisMakesPerfect Transcend]]'''.
----
* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Although she takes pride in ''not'' living up to the whole [[CantArgueWithElves Jerkass Elf]] package, she is still ''way'' better than most when it comes to stealth and combat. And, she will let you know that with depressing ease.
* BadassNormal: Subverted hilariously. She has a Name but where other Named get a raw power boost or spectacular and destructive abilities her Aspects just make her really *really* good. Throw 200 years of training and fighting the strongest opponents she can find on top for good measure and you have the strongest fighter on the continent who breaks into the City of the Dead for *fun*.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Though she wants to kill [[spoiler:Catherine]] immediately to avenge [[spoiler:Black, she notes that doing so while the war against Keter was still ongoing or in the immediate aftermath would bring her more trouble than it was worth. As a compromise, she helps Catherine infiltrate Keter if the latter swears to meet her for a DuelToTheDeath ten years later.]]
* ChallengeSeeker: The Bonus Chapter focusing on her implies that this is basically what she lived for before meeting Black and joining the Calamities.
---> “I am the Ranger,” she said. “I hunt those worth hunting. Rejoice, you qualify.”
* DuelToTheDeath: In exchange for [[spoiler:helping them infiltrate Keter,]] she arranges one a decade later with [[spoiler:Catherine. She loses.]]
* EarlyBirdCameo: Downplayed in the Yonder rewrite. [[spoiler:Unlike most characters who receive early appearances in the Yonder version, she shows up at about the same time she did in the original--the only difference is that she's seen on camera early, as William's meeting with her is shown in the epilogue of Yonder Book 1.]]
* EleventhHourRanger: [[spoiler:Briefly aids Catherine very late in Book 7, helping her to infiltrate Keter.]]
* FriendVersusLover: She was the lover to Malicia's friend and when Black ultimately chose his friend she left.
* ImmortalityBeginsAtTwenty: Gets the standard fantasy elf package.
* KilledOffScreen: [[spoiler:We never see her promised DuelToTheDeath with Catherine, but since Catherine is shown alive and well afterward, the result is clear.]]
* LastOfHisKind: [[spoiler:As of the second half of Book 7, she becomes the last of the Calamites. In a more abstract sense, she's one of the last Named or former Named not to accept the Age of Order Catherine established, leaving her a relic of the past.]]
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Well, at least two hundred.
* RenownedSelectiveMentor: A few years back, Hye Su took in five young Named with the intent to train them. As one of the greatest fighters on the continent, she had somewhat [[WellDoneSonGuy high standards]] for her charges.
* StrongGirlSmartGuy: She has this dynamic with Amadeus, as Ranger is probably the strongest close-quarters fighter on Calernia. Meanwhile, Black (while a skilled fighter) is one of the weakest Black Knights in recent history, relying more on tactical intelligence and GenreSavvy than martial power.
* VitriolicBestBuds: [[spoiler:With the Dead King, of all people.]]

! ''The Archer'' (Indrani)
For tropes relevant to ''The Archer'', see her entry in the ''Woe'' folder.

! ''The Hunter'' (John)
For tropes relevant to ''The Hunter'', see his entry in the ''Lone Swordsman'' folder.

! ''The Silver Huntress'' (Alexis the Argent)
A Heroine from Refuge with a grudge against the Archer who fights in the Tenth Crusade.
----
* FieryRedhead: She's the most HotBlooded of the Refuge students and has the hair to match.
* GoodCounterpart: To Indrani as a combative archer Heroine trained by The Ranger. The two naturally despise each other.
* HatesTheirParent: Huntress hates Ranger, who's effectively her adoptive mother, for the dog-eat-dog dynamic she constantly fostered in her pupils.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: Nearly as good as Archer with a bow.
* SiblingYinYang: Is the serious and straightlaced rival to the more laid back and irreverent Archer. It is implied that their dynamic in the past was closer to CainAndAbel.
* StrippedToTheBone: [[spoiler:The Dead King does this to her with a curse during the final battle with him.]]
* TokenGoodTeammate: Following Hunter's death, she's the only Hero out of Refuge.

! ''The Beastmaster'' (Lysander)
A Named from Refuge that joins the Truce & Terms as a Villain after the Ranger withdraws her patronage to ally with Amadeus. His Aspects include '''[[{{Familiar}} Master]]'''.
----
* AnimalEyeSpy: Beastmaster has the ability to co-opt his creatures' senses when needed.
* TheBeastmaster: Obviously. His Aspect gives him the ability to turn various creatures into his servants.
* CallForward: He's mentioned early [[spoiler: by Archer]] in the Yonder rewrite, [[spoiler: during the epilogue of Book 1]].
* IneffectualLoner: He's a bit of an isolationist jerk and has limited social skills.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Killed by the Pale Knight midway through Book 6.]]
* MountainMan. Has this aesthetic, being burly, unhygienic, and caustic, having a VagueAge and [[AmbiguouslyBrown race]], and covering himself in animal pelts.
* ThePigPen: Rarely bathes and has a constant layer of dirt on him.
* TheSocialDarwinist: Has taken this lesson from Ranger, being even less empathetic than Archer was upon joining the Woe.

! ''The Concoctor'' ([[spoiler:Constanza]])
A Named from Refuge that joins the Truce & Terms as a Villain after the Ranger withdraws her patronage to ally with Amadeus.
----
* ClandestineChemist: The magical equivalent, being a master of potions.
* DoomedHometown: Her family was slaughtered by bandits before she was taken in by Ranger. Ranger ''could'' have stopped it, but her insistence on neutrality meant she [[BystanderSyndrome couldn't be bothered.]]
* KaleidoscopeHair: Regularly dyes her hair in different colors.
* MinoredInAssKicking: Isn't a fighter-type, but she's capable of scrapping with non-Named at least.
* WithholdingTheirName: She keeps her birth name a secret, going exclusively by her "Name," The Concoctor, or [[EmbarrassingNickname Cocky]] among those she grew up with.

[[folder:Other Morally Ambiguous Named ('''Spoilers Unmarked!''')]]
! ''The Wandering Bard'' (Almorava of Symra/Aoede of Nicae/Marguerite of Baillons/Yara of Nowhere/The Intercessor)

An Ashuran Hero who joins The Lone Swordsman's party before the rebellion begins in southern Callow. Ridiculously dressed, constantly throwing back enough alcohol to kill a herd of livestock and a less-than-competent musician and singer, The Bard at first appears to be little more than comic relief. The jury's still out on how much of her silliness is an act, but there's certainly more to Almorava of Smyrna than meets the eye. She has the GenreSavvy that is the hallmark of her profession, with an understanding of the workings of fate rivaled only by the Black Knight. She has a tendency to appear (literally) whenever anything particularly plot-relevant is going on; no matter how much violence is directed her way she always manages to escape just in time; she seems to know intimate details of events she should be far too young to have witnessed and if nothing else, her liver must be superhuman.

The epilogue of Book 2 reveals that The Wandering Bard is actually some kind of body-hopping immortal entity that has lived since long before elves arrived on Calernia. The precise nature of this entity is still mysterious but it seems to always exist as a storytelling-based Name and although it switches bodies and identities it retains all of its memories. It's also apparently scary enough to bully the Forever King. Her Aspects are '''[[FunctionalGenreSavvy Narrate]]''', '''[[OffScreenTeleportation Wander]]''', and '''[[ItBeganWithATwistOfFate Guide]]'''.
----
* TheAlcoholic: You'd be forgiven for thinking her powers simply ''have'' to be fueled by the sheer amount of ethanol she chugs. The Lone Swordsman is pretty disgusted by this trait; Thief, not so much, no -- she picks up on some of the undertones to this habit. Almorava dies, likely partially due to the effects of substance abuse as much as the plot demanding the Name get a new face at that dramatic instant. Short may live the next dying liver of the Wandering Bard: Aoede Edition -- depending on how you map that continuity snarl of a "life".
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: The Intercessor's true purpose is to act as a tool of the Gods and maintain the balance of power on Calernia. However, since the [[EvilOverlord Dead King's]] rise to power as Calernia's greatest evil, she's been forced into the role of his GoodCounterpart.
-->'''Tariq''': I know that across the faces she has worn she has [[ExactWords warred against Keter]] wherever there was war to be had, and ever done good over evil whenever the choice was given to her.
* BewareTheSillyOnes: That weaving-drunk, toppling-off-furniture-or-rooftop-shingles, totally random strummer and quipper? She can tell holier-than-thou, xenophobic Elves to eff off out of her business... and, have them to do it, too. Not. Harmless.
** We later learn why the elves fear her. She manipulated them into a war with the Dead King leading to the Elf King's son being killed and turned into an undead servant. All because she thought both the Dead King and the elves were getting too uppity.
* BigBad: As the story progresses we get hints that the Bard is playing a much bigger game than anyone else with the possible exception of the Dead King, manipulating events, toppling kingdoms, causing empires to fall into madness and bloodshed all for some nebulous goal that would turn everyone Good or Evil against her if they knew it according to the Dead King once he discovers it. [[spoiler:Turns out it's [[EvilVsOblivion destroying the continent]].]]
* BodyBackupDrive: The Intercessor's form of immortality: whenever she dies, her spirit moves to a new body.
* TheCynic: She might be fighting the Good fight (or something like it), but she holds absolutely no illusions about how clean and tidy it all is.
* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:Being forced to live again and again to oversee a Wager she's come to view as pointless has driven her to insane despair, and now she wands ''any'' excuse to have the story end, and make the gods let her finally die.]]
* DefaultToGood: [[spoiler:Surprisingly, this turns out to be the downfall of her plan. The fact that, whenever given the option, the Intercessor helps the side of Good allows Akua to convince the Gods that their "Wager" was never fair. In doing so, she gets them to make her the Bard's counterpart (and the counterbalance to Yara's power).]]
* DidntSeeThatComing: For all her GenreSavvy, she can, very occasionally, get hit with this when people subvert the heck out of expected norms -- or, absolutely ''insist'' on deconstructive SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome. Hierarch calling her out using statecraft and legal means and, thereby, dismissing her existence until, presumably, she gets a date and time to pitch up for her court appearance... kind of hit her like a bucket of ice-cold water from nowhere. That's on top of Tyrant basically setting her up for that little stunt in the first place.
* DidYouJustScamCthulhu: Apparently, the Wandering Bard performed this on the Gods [[spoiler:to achieve her current immortality, only to find that spending eternity in the VoidBetweenTheWorlds until intermittently called forth to manipulate Named as the [[MouthOfSauron Gods' mouthpiece]] is kind of a shitty existence.]]
* TheDogWasTheMastermind: Who would have guessed that the ''bard'' of the Lone Swordsman's band was the architect of most of Calernia's turmoil? Nevertheless, if there is a major [[TheClimax Pivot]] to be had, she will influence it in some way.
-->'''Neshamah''': Fortune and misfortune both draw you like carrion.
* DrowningMySorrows: This seems to be a ''very'' significant part of why she drinks, well beyond the whole "bards get sloshed a lot" expectations heaped on the Role. Although, there are strong hints that she often plays this up for effect, too, by not nearly being as inebriated as her blood-alcohol number should suggest. It's clear that being the Wandering Bard is a ''horrible'' existence to have to endure, either sober or drunk.
* TheFettered: There are apparently hard rules about what she can and cannot do. One of them is that she cannot directly involve herself in the affairs of people without Names unless invited to.
* FriendlyEnemy: Is surprisingly very cordial with The Dead King. They have been thwarting each other for so long that both appear to not take it personally anymore.
* GenreSavvy: Unquestionably the most savvy character in an entire cast full of them. That's including ''Black''.
* GreatGazoo: She certainly functions as a seedy, cut-price model of the breed, which makes her easy to both write-off or to try to teeth-clenchingly "ignore" as she ambles through doing or saying whatever. Only Black (and possibly Scribe) seems able to squelch her random show-ups and "charm". Other Calamities may also be able to trump her effects, but most people aren't as able to.
* HistoricalRapSheet: The Wandering Bard has done a fair amount of harm to Calernia on the behalf of the Gods Below over the centuries. For one, it was her who gifted [[CannibalismSuperpower Night]] to the Drow (admittedly that was in an EvilVersusOblivion SadisticChoice scenario). For another, she encouraged the mass-sacrifice of the Kingship of Sephirah that turned Neshamah into the Dead King.
-->'''Cat''': Was there a single horror in this continent’s history the Wandering Bard did not have a hand in?
* InvisibleToNormals: She can only influence the actions of Named or entities at or above that [[SuperWeight power]] level.
* LogicalWeakness: As the Intercessor’s primary M.O. is to achieve her objectives through [[ManipulativeBastard inducing]] other Named to act, there are three main ways to fight back against her:
** Like Anaxares, have such an [[TheFettered iron-clad]] ideal that you cannot be made to bend on it for any reason;
** Like Amadeus, either [[CuttingTheKnot kill or otherwise silence]] her before she can get her [[DealWithTheDevil offer]] out; or
** Like Kairos or Cat, out-do her in manipulation and [[GenreSavvy genre-savviness]].
* ManipulativeBastard: Thanks to her weaponized genre-savviness and ability to be wherever the plot needs her to go, she is uniquely placed to manipulate the destinies of Villains and Heroes alike to great effect.
* MysteriousBacker: She's been indirectly influencing Creation for so long that even [[AncientEvil The Dead King]] himself considers her ancient.
* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Less new powers and more new locations as the plot demands. Black notes that she probably blinks out of Creation when she's not needed anywhere. Seems to be able to, among other things, peek at the 'script' and somehow even scares the Elves. Seems to be specifically able to follow the threads of the Story (and even tweak it indirectly) by showing up at anything particularly important or relevant... though this is not without limits.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Played with. Although it's initially implied to just be a personality quirk, the end of Book 2 reveals that she's essentially a body-hopping immortal entity that predates the arrival of the Elves or the Miezans on the continent of Calerina. Her body is exactly as old as it looks, her mind on the other hand.
* QuirkyBard: In spades. She contributes little, if anything in terms of obviously useful skills to her party. Unless you count snark, terrible humour, drunken stupors or random, barely applicable general knowledge "useful" when trying to, e.g. hunt Calamities. She's a LethalJokeCharacter who happens to be juggling a whole drawer full of bigger picture spoons.
* RealityWarper: Amadeus is of the opinion it's actually inverted: reality warps ''her'' more than she does it. He's 100%, ''horrifically'' right about this. The Wandering Bard wears a lot of [[HighTurnoverRate unfortunate faces]], but she still isn't free to do as she pleases.
* SeenItAll: Has this attitude, just to add to her general air of unreliable cynicism. Little, if anything, is ever going to be totally novel for a Bard in a world running on narrative. Let alone one as old as she is.
* StealthHiBye: She has the least conspicuous Name of any we've seen. The only one sensitive enough to notice her presence with Name-Sense, so far, is Black Knight. She also regularly pulls this trope on her teammates, not just the Villains.
* StepfordSnarker: She's snarky, alright. But, it's as much of a defense mechanism as it is part of the job description.
* SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum: [[spoiler:Yara reveals that this is her end goal: specifically, she hopes to cause a situation in which the [[HolyHandGrenade power of an angel]] can be co-opted to extinguish nearly all life on the continent. She does this in the hopes that, without a need for the BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil, the Gods Above and Below will finally end her PurposeDrivenImmortality.]]
* TimeAbyss: She's one of the oldest beings on the continent, having spent ''millennia'' in her role. In fact, she may have been one of the first humans on Calernia.
* TortureIsIneffective: The Dead King once dissected her to try to figure out how her powers work. Not only did he find nothing, but she snarked at him through the entire process.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Not exactly unwitting, but she seems to literally only be able to give advice, not control people's actions. She can nudge the rock, but there are inevitably going to be paths down the mountain that take it places she'd rather not see it go.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: The only thing that's known about her personal objectives is that she ''really'' doesn't want to be immortal. In fact, she expends a good amount of time trying to find someone to take over the spot.
* WildCard: Although always on Team Good, how she goes about it looks pretty random to outsiders. She does things her way and for what she deems the greater good, even if it screws herself and her teammates over in some capacity.

! ''The Hierarch'' (Anaxares of Bellerophon)
One of the diplomats of Bellerophon, a member state of the League of Free Cities. By virtue of his position, Anaxares has had a shrunken boulder implanted into his body which will expand and [[ExplosiveLeash brutally kill him]] if he acts against the Will of the People. He first meets Kairos Theodosian, the Tyrant of Helike at a meeting of representatives, wherein Kairos declares a war against the remainder of the Free Cities by killing each of the diplomats in attendance (sparing Anaxares for an unknown reason and forcibly conscripting him as an advisor). Once he wins the resulting civil war, Kairos decides against taking power himself. Instead, the Tyrant of Helike has Anaxares elected the Hierarch of the Free Cities in a gambit that ends with the former diplomat becoming the second person in history to be granted the corresponding Name. Hierarch's Aspects are '''[[HealingFactor Mend]]''', '''[[{{Telepathy}} Receive]]''', and '''[[TrialOfTheMysticalJury Indict]]'''.
----
* AbdicateTheThrone: Sort of. [[spoiler:He never wanted the position of Hierarch anyway, so when he refuses to return to the League later in book 7, even Bellerophon accepts it as his resignation. Nevertheless, he inexplicably keeps the [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Name]] Hierarch afterward.
* AchievementsInIgnorance: Probably the most extreme example to date given that Hierarch's complete faith in the law allows him to consistently warp reality to enforce it.
** First he holds a trial for the physical embodiment of divine mandate on the basis that, as elected Hierarch, there's no conceivable reason why he wouldn't have jurisdiction over them for actions performed in the Free Cities.
** Shortly after, he reconstructs his body after being hit four times by an attack that should've left him DeaderThanDead[[labelnote:*]]keep in mind the full power of a single Seraphim is capable of vaporizing the left half of the continent[[/labelnote]]. Simply because there's no way he can render a verdict if he's been turned into a pink mist.
** Finally, as Hierarch cannot enforce his sentence against a Choir if his power can't reach it, he fully AscendsToAHigherPlaneOfExistence to track them down.
* AwakeningTheSleepingGiant: After becoming the Hierarch against his will, seeing the city he loves bend its ideals in response to danger, and being forbidden from taking his own life, Anaxares officially hits the DespairEventHorizon. After living as an aimless beggar for several months, he's approached by the [[TheChessmaster Wandering Bard]], who demands he chooses an Alignment/Role/Objective (as manipulating him would be too much of a hassle otherwise). At this point, after constant behind-the-scenes manipulation by Named, tyrannical monarchs, Gods, and whatever the hell the Bard is, Anaxares loses his shit, decides that this system will not stand, picks the side of [[ChoosingNeutrality justice]] and endeavors to force them all (yes, Gods included) before a tribunal of the People. {{Nice|JobBreakingItHero}}ly done, Bard.
* BadassCreed: One the Hierarch believes in so strongly it gives him the will to face down a choir of angels.
-->''All are free, or none. Suffer no compromise in this.''
* DramaticIrony: A pre-bestowal Anaxares briefly expresses surprise that the AxCrazy [[DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans Tyrant of Helike]] can somehow inspire the same UndyingLoyalty from General Basilia, as the Free City of [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans Bellerophon]] does from him.
* TheDreaded: Pretty much the only two things every Named that meets him acknowledge are (1) He is all the way out of his entire godsdamned mind; and (2) getting his attention is terrible for your health.
* HatePlague: Hierarch's '''Indict''' Aspect will cause a slightly more guided version to people caught in its wake. Specifically, it amplifies social unrest and induces citizens to be overcome with the intense desire to [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized judge and punish]] authority figures who abuse their power.
* HijackingCthulhu: To enforce his sentence against the Seraphim, Anaxares enters into a battle of wills on the [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence astral plane]], pitting the faith of the [[{{Determinator}} Hierarch]] (and, by extension, the people of Bellerophon) in man-made laws against the Choir for whom passing judgment is their ''reason for existence''. Their clash persists for years until Yara finally gives the Seraphim an out, bringing about his return to Calernia.
* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Originally, [[SanitySlippage at least]], he recognizes both his own brainwashing and the absurd system of governance that Bellerophon has. However, he is such a strong believer in its guiding principle of democracy, that the city has his perpetual loyalty regardless.
* NeutralNoLonger: Played with. At first, Anaxares is ostensibly neutral because, despite being a Named and an elected monarch, he refuses to exercise power wrongfully obtained. However, even after Anaxares takes a more active role, he does so in [[AboveGoodAndEvil unaligned]] support for the laws of men.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Rather than actually ruling the League, Anaxares chooses to use the position of Hierarch to unerringly enforce each and every law in the Free Cities with their full power without exception.
* PleaseKillMeIfItSatisfiesYou: Upon coming face to face with the kanenas, bound to execute any government official who acts against the Will of the People, Anaxares makes a full confession of every violation he's performed since being forcibly made Kairos's advisor. Only to find that, due to the Tyrant's machinations, not only has he received a stay of execution but he's been given the title "Person of Value." Anaxares ends up literally begging the kanenas to execute him rather than compromise the ideal of equality that operates as their city's foundation.
* PowerBornOfMadness: Somehow, one brainwashed diplomat's extreme patriotism turned him into a RealityWarper.
-->''A madman thinks the world other than what it is, and in a mortal that is a harmless thing. Not so in one who moulds Creation to their will, as all Named do.''
-->-- '''King Edmund of Callow, the Inkhand'''
* PrinciplesZealot: He's this for the laws of Bellerophon even before his ascension to the Name Hierarch. Unfortunately said laws consist of 50% {{Doublethink}} and 50% InsaneTrollLogic.
* RageAgainstTheHeavens: The White Knight's trial (for killing citizens of the League of Free Cities) hinges on Hanno's belief that the Seraphim give him the jurisdiction to [[GoodIsNotSoft enact justice]] on their behalf. Anaxares proceeds to castigate literal angels for the assumption that their word supersedes the law, before holding the Choir of Judgement guilty of despotism, illegal foreign intervention, attempted regicide (of [[TheCaligula Kairos]]), and attempted murder (of him) as the Choir attempts to [[BoltOfDivineRetribution smite him]] four separate times for his insolence.
-->'''Hierarch''': [[DissonantSerenity Given the overwhelming evidence]] the verdict cannot be in doubt. I pronounce you guilty and sentence you to... death.
* ReluctantRuler: Exaggerated, as Anaxares's refusal to be a pawn means he would rather live in BarefootPoverty than enforce his power as Hierarch.
* VillainRespect: Upon watching Anaxares vanish from Creation to RageAgainstTheHeavens indefinitely, the Tyrant of Helike expresses his admiration thusly:
-->'''Kairos''': Gods Below keep you, Anaxares of Bellerophon, and it is a pride to call you Hierarch of the Free Cities. Die as you lived, my friend, without peer in your madness.
* WalkingTheEarth: His final fate after returning to Calernia late in book 7. He roams the land, appearing when the powerful abuse their authority to lead the masses into revolt.
* WrongContextMagic: According to the Wandering Bard, even the PowersThatBe can't parse what his deal is. Despite being a Named, he doesn't follow the Role of either [[RightMakesMight receiving power to improve the lives of others]] (Good) or [[RightMakesMight cultivating power to achieve personal goals]] (Evil). Instead, he, like almost every Bellerophon citizen, puts his faith in the Will of [[MyCountryRightOrWrong the People]]. As the Tyrant of Helike puts it, as the first Named from Bellerophon, his power is "a thousand years of [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve fury and madness]] [[TheoryOfNarrativeCausality poured into]] a single man."

! Characters Without Names

[[folder:Lesser Gods and Ancient Beings ('''Spoilers Unmarked!''')]]
! The King of Winter/The Prince of Bleak Solstice
Sovereign of the [[FaerieCourt Winter Fae Court]]. In response to the Black Knight’s seemingly successful attempts at averting the EvilIsSterile nature of Praes, the King of Winter attempts to take advantage of the cascading effects to avoid the EternalRecurrence of Fae existence. This ends up leading him to declare war on Callow.
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* AnIcePerson: As the leader of the Winter Fae, he has the ability to control ice on a broad scale.
* BatmanGambit: The war that he masterminds is shown to be an attempt to [[RecursiveReality forcibly mimic]] the alliance between Praes and Callow. In the process, the King hopes to be able to break out of the Winter Fae’s ForeverWar with the Summer Court. By using Cat as an UnwittingPawn he succeeds.
* CastingAShadow: The King of Winter uses this ability on occasion. Cat naturally shows an affinity for it upon becoming Sovereign of Moonless Nights.
* GodCouple: The King of Winter’s alliance with the Queen of Summer is sealed with [[AltarDiplomacy their marriage]].
* ImmortalRuler: Of the Winter Fae in the form of ResurrectiveImmortality.
* PatronGod: He becomes this to Cat once she takes the role of Duchess of Moonless Nights, granting her power over ice, illusion, and shadow.
* ScrewDestiny: The reason for his machinations is to piggyback off the Black Knight’s plans to break the eternal process of defeating and being defeated by the Summer Fae, all while being psychologically forced into ContractualGenreBlindness.
* StrongGirlSmartGuy: The Smart Guy to the Queen of Summer’s Strong Girl as a ManipulativeBastard and MasterOfIllusion who is never shown to fight directly.
! The Queen of Summer/The Princess of the Morning Star
Sovereign of the [[FaerieCourt Summer Fae Court]]. Following the Winter Court’s invasion of Callow, she, as his counterpart, is forced to do [[CosmicChessGame the same]].
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* AlwaysABiggerFish: Despite [[EgomaniacHunter the Ranger’s]] confidence in hunting her, the Queen of Summer turns out to be a bit more than the Calamity can handle. The next time Ranger is seen, she’s been afflicted with a few nasty burns while the Fae Sovereign is no worse for wear.
* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: The climax of Book Three sees her essentially forced into marrying the King of Winter due to his schemes.
* GreenThumb: Implied, as control over flora is the second most common Summer Fae ability.
* ImmortalRuler: Of the Summer Fae in the form of ResurrectiveImmortality.
* LittleMissAlmighty: According to Cat, she looks like a fourteen-year-old, golden-haired farm girl despite being a PhysicalGod and borderline TimeAbyss.
* OutGambitted: She is forced into the alliance with the Winter Fae due to her [[IntrinsicVow three duties]] as Summer Fae sovereign leaving no other option:
** '''Destroy the Winter Court''': An alliance between the Winter and Summer Courts would destroy both and create a new FaerieCourt in its wake.
** '''Protect the capital of the Summer Court (Aine)''': During the negotiation, the Winter Court is engaging in a siege on Aine and an alliance would prevent this.
** '''See the Sun victorious''': Thanks to the [[ImpossibleThief Thief]], Cat is in possession of the Sun and gives the Summer Sovereign an ultimatum – she agrees to the Winter King’s plan or Cat uses her Aspect to engage in some StarKilling.
* ThePowerOfTheSun: The Summer Fae’s manipulation of flame stems from the Sun, which is under her control.
* StrongGirlSmartGuy: She seems more overtly powerful than the King of Winter, having several high-level magical feats, including obliterating hundreds of soldiers in an instant, burning out Masego’s eyes, and defeating the Ranger.
! Sve Noc (Komena and Andronike)
Drow sisters who, in a plea to save their race from extinction, made [[DealWithTheDevil a deal]] with the Gods Below that turned them into quasi-deities. After besting Catherine Foundling, the Sovereign of Moonless Nights, in a battle, they [[CannibalismSuperpower ingest]] the power of Winter, complete their apotheosis, and make a deal with the Black Queen to become her PatronGod.
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* AlwaysABiggerFish: Sve Noc ends up handing the Sovereign of Moonless Nights one of her most substantial defeats, despite the power of Winter making her a PhysicalGod at that point.
* AnarchoTyranny: Their pre-godhood rulership of the Drow has hints of this. As the Priestesses of Night, Sve Noc’s authority is absolute; however, their only mandate is to follow the Tenets of Night. These rules essentially boil down to ''The worthy take, the worthy rise''. As a result, the Drow are complete SocialDarwinists, and the only law is the will of the strong.
* ArtificialGod: They started out as normal Drow with a standard lifespan and after gaining the power of [[BlackMagic Night]] and [[ElementalEmbodiment Winter]], they became gods.
* CreepyCrows: Sve Noc’s physical [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm manifestation]] is of a pair of crows after assimilating the Winter godhead. However, they also tend to be a SupernaturalFearInducer to most mortals who look directly at them for more than a second at a time.
* DealWithTheDevil: Sve Noc has been on both sides of this deal:
** Upon making a plea to the Gods to save the Drow from extinction, the Wandering Bard arrived giving them the ability to [[CannibalismSuperpower manipulate]] [[BlackMagic Night]].
** After absorbing the Winter godhead, they enter into an agreement with Catherine, making her their [[DarkMessiah prophet]], the "First Under the Night," as well as their representative to the human nations, in exchange for power over Night. Later they begin offering power over Night to other non-Drow.
* DomainHolder: The Drow homeland is surrounded by an invisible boundary making the tunnels to the Empire Everdark inaccessible to outsiders and leading intruders down dead ends. It’s implied that this boundary, termed "the Gloom," is their domain as even Named as strong as the Ranger can’t bypass it.
* EldritchAbomination: Looking into their feathers is enough for the [[TheEmpath Grey]] [[SeenItAll Pilgrim]] to hear distant screams and begin to smell blood, while [[PsychoSupporter Robber]] was given some of the most horrifying nightmares of his life just by being near them.
* ModernizedGod: They invoke this in making Cat "First Under the Night"; regularly interacting with a (relatively) normal human is intended to keep them more tuned into the state of their society and less set in their ways.
* PsychicBlockDefense: They provide this for Catherine. The sisters can ward off the Choir of Mercy's attempt to peer into her and their connection to her makes it impossible for Agnes to see into her future directly. They can also, with greater effort, protect Catherine from The Hierarch's '''[[HatePlague Indict]]'''.
* ReasoningWithGod: The climax of Book Four has Cat not only convincing them not to kill her but getting them to make her their prophet.
* ReligionOfEvil: Considering they tend to be informally referred to as the goddesses of theft and murder and their society is built on the tenets of forcibly taking all the power you can, it’s no surprise that Heroes aren’t huge fans of them.
* TheSacredDarkness: After experiencing their second apotheosis, Sve Noc begins to move into this role while Night advances from being the clear inferior to Light and the quintessential PowerAtAPrice (exclusive and essential to the Drow), to being Light’s equal and opposite and being the SharedLifeEnergy of all believers in Sve Noc (capable of [[CursedWithAwesome use]] by anyone).
* SiblingYinYang: The siblings have a RedOniBlueOni dynamic with Komena being an aggressive warrior and Andronike being a reserved priest.
* SwordAndSorcerer: Andronike, a former [[ReligionIsMagic Twilight Sage]] (Drow mage-priest) is the sorcerer to Komena, a former member of the Empire Everdark’s [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy warrior caste]].
* WellIntentionedExtremist: They aren’t exactly happy about watching the Drow [[VestigialEmpire devolve]] into a pack of [[DividedWeFall squabbling]] sigils, wherein 90% of the population are actively subjugated; however, the alternative was total extinction, so they have no real choice.

! Kreois Maker-of-Riddles
The last living Titan and an ancestor of the [[OurGiantsAreBigger Gigantes]] that live in what is currently called the Titanomachy.
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* AllPowerfulBystander: He mostly sits out the war against the Dead King despite Antigote’s requests.
* TheArchmage: Kreois is the greatest living practitioner of the Ligurian magic, the first school of magic on the continent.
* EthnicGod: He is considered a god by the Giant race.
* GreatOffscreenWar: He and the Titans won one such war millennia ago against an ancient race called the Drakoi, saving Calernia in the process.
* MyGreatestFailure: A ritual undergone by the eight remaining Titans led to an [[{{Gotterdammerung}} apocalyptic event]] that Kreios refers to as "the Fall." The event wiped several cities from existence and left Kreios the sole survivor of his race.
* NeutralNoLonger: He finally involves himself in the war against Keter late in book 7, arriving just in time to revert a lethal trap set against the Grand Alliance.
* ParentalSubstitute: He adopts and names Antigone, The Witch of the Woods, when she comes upon his home ([[DownTheRabbitHole seemingly]] by divine providence).
* {{Precursors}}: He’s the direct precursor of the Gigantes and predates most of the Calernian races.
* TheRightOfASuperiorSpecies: After defeating the [[AncientEvil Drakoi]] he, and all but one of the Titans, originally planned to bring the entirety of the continent under their dominion.
* SelfImposedExile: He seems to have lived in near-complete isolation out of shame over his responsibility for "the Fall" up until meeting Antigone.
* TimeAbyss: He’s lived for millennia and is the oldest being on Calernia, even older than the Wandering Bard.
* TimeMaster: This is suggested to be his specialty as the Warlock indicates that a spell of Antigone’s called the Riddle of Kreois is based on Time magic. WordOfGod implies that the destruction of the Titans resulted from an attempt by him to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong.

! The Forever King
The ruler of the Elves of Calernia, living in the [[HiddenElfVillage Golden Bloom]].
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* ArchEnemy: Ranger is implied to be his. Specifically, the half-elf Hye Su is the daughter of one of the few Elves to ever leave the fiercely isolationist Golden Bloom. The Forever King’s HalfBreedDiscrimination has led him to repeatedly send the [[PraetorianGuard Emerald Swords]] to assassinate her for years without success.
* FantasticRacism: Like all Calernian Elves, he maintains that HumansAreInsects and has any non-Named human that even approaches the Elf homeland killed.
* GodEmperor: Despite, or presumably because of, their traditional arrogance, the Elves treat the Forever King with a reverence that has religious undertones.
* TheGhost: He has yet to directly appear and seems to exclusively operate through proxies like the Emerald Swords.
* ImmortalRuler: He has ruled his people since before they arrived on Calernia and shows no signs of abdicating (especially given that his only heir is dead).
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Repeatedly:
** First, when the Dread Empress Triumphant conquered the rest of Calernia, he chose to cut his losses and [[RealityBleed phase]] the Golden Bloom into Arcadia.
** When Akua Sahelian shows signs of taking the Name of Diabolist (the first person since Triumphant to take the role) the Forever King sends two Emerald Swords to kill her before HistoryRepeats. The Wandering Bard intercepts them and gives them a message to pass on: screwing around with fate is ''her'' schtick and a second attempt by him will not be tolerated. He takes the hint.
** Apparently the reason for his wariness around the Intercessor is well-founded. When he last got on her bad side, she manipulated him into a war with the Dead King (ending with his son, the Spellblade being killed and turned into a RevenantZombie by the latter). The Elf king makes the logical choice not to mess with either again.
* TheOlderImmortal: All Elves are TheAgeless, but the Forever King is suggested to be the oldest one alive on Calernia.
* RealityWarper: The Elf species is described as adding "more weight to their presence in the Pattern the longer they live" to the extent that older Elves can ignore one rule of Creation and (according to Warlock) even become living {{domain|Holder}}s. Since Elves become StrongerWithAge and he is the oldest of the ones in the Golden Bloom, it’s safe to say he’s one of the most powerful magic practitioners on the continent.
* {{Seers}}: He is alleged to have the ability to see the threads of fate but the Wandering Bard [[PretenderDiss derides him]] as a rank amateur.

! Unnamed Orc god/"The Other"
A being that is only accessible from the holy grounds of the Broken Antler Horde. The Calamities are informed that he guides Orcs to master the [[UnstoppableRage Red Rage]], so they visit him in the hopes that Sabah can learn to control her abilities as the Cursed.
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* AnimateDead: To push Sabah to the point of exhaustion, he uses an army of Orc corpses as a continuous ZergRush.
* ArrogantGodVsRagingMonster: He ends up the arrogant god to the [[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent Captain’s]] raging monster. It goes [[KillTheGod poorly]] for him.
-->'''Sabah''': You’re going to need another god. I broke this one.
* DeathOfTheOldGods: Given the [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly subjugation]] of Orcs over centuries, [[TheCycleOfEmpires first by Miezans, then by Praesi]], this god is suggested to be a shadow of his former self.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Technically "Did you just punch out Cthulhu, rip open their chest cavity, and eat their tasty heart?" but close enough.
* EthnicGod: He’s suggested to be a god of the Orc people, but it is unconfirmed if he is the ''sole'' god.
* PatronGod: Subverted, he makes the offer, implying he can give her the power needed to destroy Praes, lead an army of Named, and obtain eternal glory. Sabah refuses, as she only takes orders from [[MyMasterRightOrWrong one person]].
* TameHisAnger: His immediate purpose is to teach Orcs to control themselves in the Red Rage. Although he dies in the process, he also ends up teaching Sabah to control her beast state (and facilitating her gaining the Name Captain).
* WarGod: In his own words:
-->''I am war…I am blood and bronze and glory. I am the horde that was and will be.''
* WeHardlyKnewYe: He dies in the only interlude he appears in.

!! The Dread Empire of Praes

[[folder:Nobles]]
The contentious and untrustworthy nobility of Praes, driven primarily by the goals of increasing the standing of their families and one day producing a Dread Emperor or Empress. Everything else, including the stability and wellbeing of Praes itself, is a ''very'' distant consideration for them, if it rates at all. They are led by the High Lords and Ladies that (in addition to the Dread Emperor that rules the capital of Ater) rule the largest cities of Praes: Wolof, Okoro, Aksum, Nok, Thalassina, and Kahtan.
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* AristocratsAreEvil: They are the top dogs in an evil empire for a reason. They treat murder as an often practiced artform and make deals with demons and devils.
* TheBeautifulElite: Nobles in the Wasteland breed for looks, as well as longevity, magic power, and intelligence. As a result, members of the old families such as the High Lords are often incredibly handsome/beautiful and can afford to dress accordingly.
* DecadentCourt: At the imperial court in Ater, nobles dress like peacocks, chairs are inlaid with gold and fist-sized rubies, murder is completely acceptable when done the right way, and all the wine and food is poisoned: definitively as deadly as decadent.

! Barika Unonti

The heiress to a minor Praesi holding and one of Akua Sahelian's retinue, as well as a mediocre mage. Barika is valued by Akua more for loyalty than connections or competence.

[[spoiler:Catherine murders Barika during the first battle of Liesse.]]
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* ButtMonkey: Barika gets the shit kicked out of her quite a bit. On her first meeting with Catherine the Squire breaks her fingers just to make a point. Ultimately culminates in [[spoiler:Catherine executing Barika with a crossbow after finally getting completely fed up with her bullshit]].
* DeaderThanDead: After killing her Catherine goes the extra mile by having her buried in some nearby consecrated ground to make sure she won't be coming back.
* FinGore: Catherine breaks one of her fingers the first time they meet.
* SmugSnake: Contributes very little to Team Heiress besides smugness.
* VillainousFriendship: Akua seems to have been closer with Barika than her other flunkies, though this didn't stop Akua from using her as a decoy in a manner that ultimately got her killed.

! Rafiq Muraqib

A young noble of House Muraqib.

* AdaptationExpansion: In the original [=WordPress=] version, he only shows up in Book 7 as a minor character, one of two possible candidates squabbling for [[spoiler:control of Empress-Claimant Sephulcral's army after her death]]. In the Yonder rewrite, he appears in [[spoiler:early Volume 2, acting as Cat's minder in Praes while Black investigates a string of political assassinations, later appearing at the Tower and joining Cat's mission into the sewers to find the (Praesi) Summoner]].

[[folder:The Legions of Terror]]
! The Legions of Terror

The Empire's standing army. Previously considered [[WeHaveReserves expendable cannon fodder]] by the Dread Emperors and their Noble peers, the Legions underwent major reforms overseen by The Black Knight after Malicia I gained the throne. The legions now incorporate non-humans as both regular troopers and officers rather than solely as auxiliaries and are now one of the highest-quality professional armies on Calernia, with a particular focus on magical support and siege warfare utilizing goblin alchemy. Their philosophy has changed as well organized around the Black Knight's Maxim of 'One Sin (Defeat), One Grace (victory)'.
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* CombatPragmatist: One Sin, One Grace.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: Key to the philosophy of the reformed legions. All of the empire's species and cultures are represented among the Legion's officers and their upper ranks include even stranger creatures such as a Dragon and a Vampire as generals.
* MagicKnight: Magical support is an area of particular focus for them. Magic is the only area where the modern legions emphasize quantity over quality however.

!! Marshal Grem One-Eye

One of the three marshals of Praes and commander of the First Legion, ''Invicta''. The first Orc Chieftain to pledge his support to Empress Malicia's rebellion. He spends the first half of the series off-screen, commanding the Imperial armies defending the Procer/Callow border at the Red Flower Vales. [[spoiler:He and the Legions-in-Exile join Black in his raids on southern Procer, but is forcibly brought back under Malicia's fold via mind control and spends much of the rest of the series under house arrest. Following the war against Keter, he becomes the commander of Cardinal's armies before retiring and being succeeded by Juniper.]]

!! General Jainaya Seket

The human commander of the Second Legion, ''Redshell''. Commander of one of the Legions stationed in Praes, she makes a minor appearance in book 7 as one of the leaders of the rebel legions against Malicia. She's assassinated offscreen on Malicia's orders to insight discord among the rebels.

!! General Mok

The ogre commaner of the Third Legion, ''Kingmakers''. Like Grem, he spends much of the first half of the series stationed at the Red Flower Vales, participates in the fight against the Tenth Crusade, and joins Black in raiding Procer. Upon being forced home to Praes, he joins Seket and Sacker in forming rebel legions against Malicia, and is assassinated on Malicia's orders in order to ferment disunity among the rebels.

!! Marshal Ranker

One of the three marshals of Praes and commander of the Fourth Legion, ''Blackhands''. A goblin matron whose tribe supported Black and Malicia in the civil war. She spends the first part of the series supervising the Daoine, and assists Catherine in her struggles against the Summer Fae and Akua before taking part in the battle of the Red Flower Vales against the Tenth Crusade. [[spoiler:Like Grem One-Eye, she joins Black in raiding southern Procer as part of his Legions-in-Exile, but is one of the many victims of the plague sparked by Tariq intended to isolate and capture Black.]]

!! General Orim

The orc commander of the Fifth Legion, ''Exterminatus''. Stationed at Laure, he participates in Second Liesse, where he meets his end. Earned his Cognomen for executing 5000 Praesi prisoners during the civil war, which is why he was stationed away from Praes.

!! General Istrid Knightsbane

The orc commander of the Sixth Legion, ''Ironsides''. The second Orc Chieftain to join Malicia's rebellion. Appears early in the series as the commander of one of the two legions stationed at Summerholm. Juniper is her daughter. [[spoiler:Participates in Second Liesse, where she's assassinated via a poisoned dagger.]]
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* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Embarrasses Juniper during official war gatherings.
* BrainsAndBrawn: The brawn to Sacker's brain, below.
* StoneWall: Not her, necessarily, but her legion. They gained their name for their impenetrable shield wall that humbled the knights of Callow during the Conquest.

!! Marshal Nim

One of the three marshals of Praes and commander of the Seventh Legion, ''Hammerfall''. As the only marshal stationed in Praes proper, she spends much of the series off-screen, only becoming important in book 7. For more information, see her entry in the ''Other Villains'' folder.

!! General Wheeler

The goblin commander of the Eighth Legion, ''Trailblazers''. Next to nothing is known about them or their legion.

!! General Sacker

The goblin commander of the Ninth Legion, ''Regicides''. The other legion commander stationed at Summerholm at the start of the series, often serving as the [[BrainsAndBrawn brain to Istrid's brawn]]. She participates in the battle of Second Liesse and the defense of the Red Flower Vales against the Tenth Crusade, but ends up stuck on the eastern side of the ruined mountain pass and thus misses much of the rest of the war. She returns in book 7 as one of the three leaders of the rebel legions against Malicia.
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* BrainsAndBrawn: The brain to Istrid's brawn, above.
* HeroKiller: Her legion got their name for killing the Shining Prince during the Conquest.

!! General Nekheb

The dragon commander of the Tenth Legion, ''Horribilis''. Like Grem and Mok, it's stationed at the Red Flower Vales and participates in the battle against the Tenth Crusade. Afterward, it deserts to take a nap in the Brocelian forest and misses the entire rest of the series.
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* AwesomeButImpractical: It's a flying, fire-breathing dragon with all the advantages that entails, but it's also very hard to control, prone to days or even months-long naps without warning, and is exceptionally vulnerable to Heroes. Its legion is comprised mostly of undead and necromancers to limit the risk of friendly fire.

!! General Lucretia

The vampire commander of the Eleventh Legion, ''Tenebrous''. She's stationed in the Praesi homeland and makes a rather limited appearance fighting under Marshal Nim's command against Catherine and the Army of Callow in book 7.

!! General Afolabi Magoro

The human commander of the Twelfth Legion, ''Holdfast''. He's stationed at Summerholm after Istrid and Sacker are reassigned. He spends much of book 2 and 3 bristling against Catherine when forced to work alongside her, and ultimately dies at Second Liess.

!! General Jeremiah Holt

The human commander of the Thirteenth Legion, ''Auxilia''. A former Callowan rebel against the Fairfax dynasty, he and his men defect to Praes during the Conquest. In Book 7 he fights against the Army of Callow under Marshal Nim, [[spoiler:but is convinced to defect back to Callow by Vivienne, cementing her transition into the Princess.]]

[[folder:The Fifteenth Legion]]
! The Fifteenth Legion

The newest of the Legions of Terror, formed just as the Liesse rebellion begins and drawn almost entirely from new recruits and war college graduates. Catherine wins the command over the legion in the melee at the end of book one, and leads it into battle in book two.
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* MildlyMilitary: Dating back to the academy, the former officers of [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits Rat Company]] don't take very well to things like "military decorum," while Cat tends to undervalue advice from higher-ranked subordinates if they aren't her TrueCompanions. She occasionally clashes with Juniper on both and later realizes the value of an explicit chain of command.
* RagTagBunchOfMisfits: Much of the officer pool is drawn from Rat Company, which was the worst company at the war college with a years-long losing streak. Furthermore about half of the rank-and-file are Callowan, largely recruited from criminals. Fortunately the XO is the War College's most successful graduate in living memory, and she's eager to whip it into shape. Also, the Rat Company officers, for all their endearing flaws, are generally competent within their own areas of expertise as long as they are well-managed. Perhaps most importantly the Legion has a charismatic Callowan leader to bring them all together, and a small but growing group of Named to lead the charge.

!! Legate Juniper of the Red Shields

The leader of the most successful company at the Praesi war college. Catherine's company is pitted against her in Catherine's first battle, which Catherine barely manages to turn into a victory. After the wargame Catherine discovers that Juniper is the daughter of famous general Istrid Knightsbane, but determined to make a name for herself without special treatment. In the great melee ordered by Empress Malicia, Catherine and Juniper are pitted against each other a second time, but Catherine manages to bring Juniper to terms, agreeing to a draw in exchange for naming Juniper her Legate (Second-in-command) when she takes command of the Fifteenth Legion.

[[spoiler:In recognition of her role in Catherine's victories at Three Hills, Marchford and Liesse, Juniper is made the youngest Praesi General since the reforms after the end of the Liesse Rebellion.]]
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* BloodKnight: A more subtle version of this than is typical for orcs: there's nothing Juniper loves more than war and crushing her enemies, albeit with superior tactics instead of bloody melee. She blames her [[TheBerserker her mother]] for it.
* ClimaxBoss: She's the climactic enemy of book one.
* ColonelBadass:
** The nearest approximation of her rank, a legate is supposed to command a roughly regiment-sized unit of 2000 troops. In the idiosyncratic organization of the Fifteenth she's effectively the Legion's Executive Officer with Catherine as CO.
** [[spoiler:Later a FourStarBadass.]]
* CommanderContrarian: When she puts her foot down, there's no budging her without a lot of work.
* OddFriendship: She and Aisha rub along surprisingly well, given their respective species. The common denominator being "smart women who like things ship shape and Bristol fashion, yet are surrounded by chronically riotous mess pups".
* OverrankedSoldier: Appointed as Legate straight out of the War College (as part of a quid pro quo with Cat, who received a generalship straight out of the college for political and/or Named reasons). [[spoiler:Gets promoted to General within a year as a reward for her extreme competence in the field.]]
* TheStraightMan: Has a regulation-approved stick up her ass.
* TheStrategist: Since the moment she was introduced as a student in the War College, Juniper has lost exactly once -- to Catherine, who used a Name to scrape by with a technical win. She's been in two battles since she joined the Fifteenth, commanding a pure infantry force against an army that outnumbered it two to one (with cavalry) and a horrifying force of devils and corrupted mercenaries. Both were a CurbStompBattle due to her superior tactics. Later battles continued this trend.

!! Commander Nauk of the Waxing Moons

A lieutenant in Rat company and the only officer besides Catherine to escape the rout at the beginning of the war games. Nauk is an aggressive and somewhat headstrong orc but he is not too proud to recognize Catherine's leadership when she directs the survivors to safety. With Hakram he becomes the first of her core of support within Rat Company and is rewarded with command of a Kabili in the newly-formed Fifteenth legion.
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* TheBerserker: Noted specifically not to be this, as Berserker Orcs can at least somewhat control and direct it. He has the "Red Rage" and will attack anything, including allies, if he gets significant emotional or physical trauma.
* BookDumb: Relatively. He's hopeless with the paperwork, being far more an active and enthusiastic coal-face kind of people-person.
* BruiserWithASoftCenter: By orc standards, Nauk is actually a big ol' softy, especially with [[spoiler:his emotional reaction to Nilin's death.]]
* CameBackWrong: After [[spoiler:a Summer Court fae burns over half his head, the healing mages were initially going to leave him to die, but Catherine refused. Eventually brought back by Warlock, but his perspective in the Battle of the Camps shows he now has severe anger issues, difficulty remembering things, and a profoundly warped view of the world. He's later killed for good offscreen at the hands of Levantine warrior priests. Catherine later regrets not letting him die the first time.]]
* AFatherToHisMen: A gruff and liable to growl at them when his lads and lasses fluff it one, sure -- but, he'll slog through the worst with them and defend them to the hilt if they're wronged.

!! Commander Hune

The ogre Commander of the Legion's second Kabili, Hune was the commander of a company at War College (though not one of the top five). Fairly introverted and a stickler for rules. [[spoiler:She's killed late in book 6 by the Varlet, one of the Scourges.]]
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* GeniusBruiser
* PunchClockVillain: She does her job, and she does it well. That doesn't mean she likes it.
* TheQuietOne

!! Staff Tribune Aisha Bishara

The Commander of one of the War College's top five companies, Aisha is a Taghreb noblewoman who has nevertheless completely assimilated into the culture of the Legions of Terror. Ratface's Ex-girlfriend and Juniper's best friend, Aisha nevertheless allies with Catherine during the melee, and subsequently [[XanatosSpeedChess betrays and is betrayed]] by her. When Catherine assumes command of the Fifteenth she brings Aisha into her general staff at Juniper's insistence, making Aisha the legion's only highborn senior officer.
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* ADayInTheLimelight: Along with Ratface she gets a lot more than her usual amount of focus during the Conspiracy short story. Hakram and Robber too, but it's less noticeable since they already get more screentime.
* BlueBlood: Her bloodline is one of the oldest and most powerful ones native to the Taghreb -- for all it isn't one of the, currently, more important ones. She doesn't like to highlight this, even though she knows her way around Tower politics.
* GoodLookingPrivates: She's the Tarhgreb equivalent of a bombshell (think every last over-sensualised version of Sheherazade, ever). And, an IceQueen.
* OddFriendship: She and Juniper, being often the calm voices of sweet reason, get along surprisingly well, considering their backgrounds.
* PlayingWithFire: Downplayed, as she's got no active flame-throwing magic to her. However, there is a djinn in her family tree. She never gets sunburnt, and good luck trying to burn her at the stake without assistance...
* SpareToTheThrone: She's the spare- third in line to a minor lordship.
* TheSpymaster: She gets assigned this role near the end of the Liesse campaign.

!! Supply Tribune Ratface (Hasan Qara)

The Captain of Rat Company, to which Catherine is assigned when she arrives at War College. After suffering a twelfth humiliating defeat, barely redeemed by Catherine leading a small remnant of the company to victory, he graciously surrenders command of the Company to Catherine and continues to serve as one of her lieutenants.

The bastard son of a Taghreb noble, Ratface (real name Hasan Qara) fled from his father's holdings when his father attempted to have him murdered to tidy up the line of succession. He stole enough money on his way out to fund his first year at war college, then turned to smuggling arms and drugs into Ater in order to fund the remainder of his education.

Although his tactical skills leave something to be desired, Ratface's 'unusual' background makes him well suited to a role as Quartermaster and his underworld connections also come in useful for intelligence gathering on campaign. Catherine recruits him into the Fifteenth as Supply Tribune.
----
* ArchnemesisDad: Let's just say their relationship is a little fraught and involves attempted murder on both sides...
* BastardBastard: Sure, he's our bastard, but still. When he's having a great day, somebody else generally isn't.
* ButtMonkey: Oh yeah. He gets his ass handed to him in the first wargame, then gets abandoned to the enemy halfway through the second. Not to mention his continued, unrequited love for Aisha. He does get several chances to shine in Book Two and the Conspiracy short story.
* CorruptQuartermaster: He'll find a way to get ''anything''. Just... don't ask questions you don't want answers to about ''how''.
* HighSchoolHustler: Was this... continues the hustle after he leaves.
* [[spoiler:KilledOffscreen]]: [[spoiler:A knife to the back of the neck courtesy of Malacia's assassination campaign against the new Kingdom of Callow]].
* TheScrounger: Getting things is his thing.

!! Senior Mage Killian

The Lieutenant commanding Rat Company's mage line, Killian is captured early in the first war game, but is rescued halfway through and helps Catherine to pull off a win. A Duni from the Green Stretch, Killian's magical ability is handicapped by her Fey ancestry which causes her to lose consciousness if she draws too much power. [[TheWoobie It also doesn't help with the discrimination she already suffers for being Duni.]] Nevertheless Killian is a skilled mage, and her power proves critically important in the final battle of the second war game. After assuming command of the Fifteenth legion, Catherine names Killian to her general staff as Senior Mage.

Catherine starts to nurse a crush on the redheaded mage during the second war game and sexual tension builds during the march from Ater to Summerholm. After the confrontation with the Lone Swordsman there the two begin a relationship that becomes increasingly adorable even as the campaign gets more dark and brutal and Catherine's actions become increasingly ruthless. Killian also forms a friendship with Masego.
----
* AmbiguouslyBi: Like Catherine, there are hints that she swings predominantly girl-wards, though not exclusively so.
* DemotedToExtra: She was one of Catherine's closest allies in book 1 and remains important to her through books 2 and 3, but the end of their relationship also sees Killian swiftly relegated to the background.
* EvilRedhead: Technically. She is an officer in the Legions of Terror after all.
* FieryRedhead: Again, in the sense that she can literally set you on fire.
* HalfHumanHybrid: She's quarter-Fae.
* HealingHands: One of her skills lies in having decent healing magic.
* PlayingWithFire: Although, she's a little better than throwing fireballs about.
* RedHerring: Early in the series, it's implied she might be able to become fully one of the Fae and become much stronger as a mage, but nothing ever comes of it.
* RomanticFalseLead: She's Catherine's first romantic partner, but their relationship doesn't last.
* ShockAndAwe: Her SignatureMove.
* UnderstandingBoyfriend: To Catherine as of shortly into the second book.
* WeakButSkilled: Her Fey blood gives her increased control when using magic but if she tries to draw power above a certain threshold it tries to modify her body to reflect her Fey heritage (growing wings, etc.). It's speculated that if she could overcome this handicap she might be capable of high arcana.

!! Senior Sapper Pickler

The last of Rat company's lieutenants, in command of the Sapper line. Like the rest of [[RagTagBunchOfMisfits Rat Company's officers]] Pickler has a quirk that prevents her from advancing above her rank, in her case she's obsessed with the technical aspect of her craft and has minimal competence and less skill in the tactical or strategic aspects of officer training. That said, as long as she has competent subordinates to manage her unit on the battlefield she is an ingenious siege engineer, capable of innovations that can turn entire battles around. Consequently she is recruited into the Fifteenth's General Staff as senior sapper.
----
* BlueBlood: Well, technically her blood is black like most goblins but she is a matron's daughter.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Think a greener, smaller, madder and female Q...
* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: can utter colourful threats for mishandling her "lovelies", i. e. siege engines.
* DudeMagnet: She's the object of affection of both Nauk and Robber, this has her somewhat bemused as Goblins generally only mate as part of a highly structured breeding program.
* SkewedPriorities: Pickler may perversely enjoy the attention she's getting, but neither lad chasing her (although both have charms) meets her own, personal standards. Neither can build a trebuchet from scratch to save their lives. Still, mother would not approve: a trebuchet is not as good a sign of dependability as a sound dam or some other form of structural engineering. Pickler feels vaguely guilty for not finding things that aren't tactical or chemical engineering all that thrilling in a potential mate.

!! Senior Tribune Nilin

Nauk's sergeant in Rat Company, a mild-mannered Soninke boy with an interest in architecture. Drafted into the Fifteenth legion as second-in-command of Nauk's Kabili.

[[spoiler:Nilin is killed fighting the Silver Spears at the Battle of Three Hills. Several weeks later, Ratface discovers by investigating his effects that he was a spy for the Truebloods since before he entered the War College.]]
----
* BlackDudeDiesFirst: Downplayed, as most of Praes, and the Fifteenth, are dark-skinned, but he's notable as the only prominent black male.
* NiceGuy: Nilin is so universally liked that [[spoiler:the revelation that he was a traitor]] does serious damage to morale even weeks after [[spoiler:his death.]]
* PunchClockVillain: [[spoiler:It's implied it was working for Akua's house or never graduating the academy for him.]]

!! Tribune Robber

Best described as the sentient equivalent of a walking sack of razor blades, Robber is a Goblin's Goblin's Goblin. Irreverent, homicidal and so infuriatingly clever that a council of goblin matrons opted to let him join the Legions pretty much just to make him somebody else's problem. Catherine first enters the story of Tribune Robber when she stumbles into a last-minute appointment as a lieutenant in Rat Company on the eve of a war game against Juniper's First company. Ambushed and surrounded on the first night of the games, Callow and her desperate troopers are rescued from certain defeat by then-Sergeant Robber and his bold tenth of goblin scouts, who lead them to safety in the night. Robber later inadvertently provides Catherine with the idea for the Suicide Goats as well as leading the group that provides the necessary corpses. He is later appointed a Tribune in the newly formed 15th Legion under Senior Sapper Pickler. He is later given command of a detached goblin cohort dedicated to reconnaissance, sabotage, assassination, and all forms of irregular warfare.
----
* CasualDangerDialogue: Always has a witty remark even in the middle of a pitched fight.
* CollectorOfTheStrange: Repeated references are made to his jar of eyeballs, though it's never clearly stated whether this is an exaggeration or not.
* DeathSeeker: Goblin males usually live short lives, but as the series rolls on and Robber manages to survive deadly situation after deadly situation, he begins to feel his age and starts throwing himself into ever-greater peril searching for his GloriousDeath.
--> "He was thirteen, now, going on fourteen. About time he started taking some serious risks."
* HeroicComedicSociopath: Cat is eternally grateful he's pointed at her enemies rather than her.
* HeroicSacrifice: Infiltrates the giant necromantic construct known as Crab to destroy it from the inside with [[{{HellFire}} Goblinfire]].
* KilledOffForReal: Salvaging the disaster that was the Battle of Hainaut.
* MadBomber: Few things in life cheer him up quite like a large explosion.
* MildlyMilitary: Has a 'unique' approach to military courtesy.
* NotAfraidToDie: It's a goblin male thing.
--> "You know what they say, Captain – only cowards live to fifteen."
* PungeonMaster: When he starts pun chains, the conversation runs downhill fast.

[[folder:Claimants to the Name of Squire]]

! Claimants to the Name of Squire

When Black Knight chooses Catherine as his Squire there are already several candidates vying for the role. When Black and Catherine pass through Summerholm on the way to Praes she meets the other claimants and they compete for the Name by hunting the Lone Swordsman. Catherine is the only survivor.
----
* DiscOneFinalBoss: Along with William the Claimants are the main antagonists of the first arc of the story.
* FiveTokenBand: Between the three of them and Catherine, they have one of each of the empire's major human ethnic groups (Soninke, Taghreb, and Callowan, though no Duni or Deoraithe unless Catherine counts as a TwoferTokenMinority) plus a goblin to represent the non-humans.
* QuirkyMinibossSquad

!! Chider ([[spoiler:The Squire]])

The first goblin ever to claim the Name of Squire, Chider is the one to suggest the claimants form a truce and agree to settle their claims by competing to capture the Lone Swordsman. She takes a bribe from Heiress to kill Catherine, but fails and she is killed by the Lone Swordsman.

[[spoiler:The Heiress reanimates Chider's corpse for later use as a weapon against Catherine. During the First Battle of Liesse Heiress is able to trap Catherine and strip her Name from her, causing the Name to revert to the Undead Chider. However Chider does not have time to develop her power as the Squire before she is destroyed permanently by Catherine.]]

[[spoiler:As the Squire, Chider's first Aspect would have been '''Survive''' [[{{Irony}} except that Catherine destroyed her]] [[KilledMidSentence before she could finish saying the word.]]]]
----
* DeathIsCheap: Heiress uses necromancy to raise Chider from the dead at the end of book 1. Catherine makes sure to kill the goblin ''permanently'' during the climax of book 2.
* TheDragon: Serves this role for Heiress in the climax of book 2.
* KillItWithFire: First character in the series to use Goblinfire.
* RedRightHand: She's entirely red, unlike most goblins who are generally green or yellow.
* ShadowArchetype: She becomes this to Catherine after she takes up the mantle of Squire- Catherine has to defeat her without the use of her Name, and in doing so she heals the damage that the Demon of Corruption did to her Name.

!! Tamika

A Soninke girl who wears a white veil and fights with a spear. Also another Soninke girl who wears black and fights with a crossbow. It isn't clear whether they're sisters or duplicates or what, but it probably doesn't matter because both are killed in Summerholm- one by Catherine and the other by The Lone Swordsman. Oh well.
----
* FantasticRacism: Very racist. [[HypocriticalHumor Even for a Soninke.]]
* MesACrowd: In-universe, it's unclear why there were two of her but Name powers seemed to be involved somehow.
* SiblingTeam: WordOfGod is the two are twin sisters and that they would have shared the Name of Squire if they defeated all of the other claimants.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Unceremoniously so, too.

!! Rashid

A Taghreb boy who wears robes and a clay mask and fights with a scimitar.
----
* {{Jerkass}}: Would it kill him to not speak Bigot for five minutes? Well, indirectly, it ''did'' kill him by alienating every last candidate, so there's that.
* MalevolentMaskedMan: He tries ever so hard. All the other candidates for the Name find it rather more annoying than the intended scary, however.
* SmugSnake: It actually seems to have been one of his aspects- he became more powerful when he was taunting and tormenting a wounded Catherine.
%%* WeHardlyKnewYe: Welp, [[AssholeVictim he earned it]]...

!! The Kingdom of Callow

[[folder:Rulers and Nobles]]

!! Elizabeth Talbot, The Countess of Marchford

The best commander among the surviving Callowan nobles. She becomes the ''de facto'' leader of the first Liesse Rebellion.

[[spoiler:Marchford is betrayed by her peasant levies, who surrender her to Black Knight in exchange for mercy. She is executed along with the Marchioness of Vale after both refuse to serve the Empire.]]
----
* ActionGirl: Supposedly. She ends up being a FauxActionGirl due to Black manipulating the rebellion to make her an AntiClimaxBoss so that Catherine will have the narrative spotlight.
* AntiClimaxBoss: Invoked. Black manipulates events so that the defeat of her main Rebel army becomes a total Anti-Climax, which means that the narrative weight shifts to Catherine's confrontation with the Lone Swordsman and Heiress in Liesse.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: She's willing to hang rather than submit to Black and the Empress, Black lets her die painlessly from poison instead.
* LadyOfWar: She's got the decorum to be one, though she never gets a chance to bare her teeth.
* SupportingLeader: She leads the military side of the Liesse Rebellion, the Aragorn to the Lone Swordsman's Frodo.

!! Gaston Caen, Duke of Liesse

The exiled Duke of Liesse and the figurehead of the First Liesse Rebellion. A generally shiftless and incompetent leader, remarkable only for his foresight in fleeing Callow before Laure had fallen to the Empire in the Conquest.

[[spoiler:The Duke is killed by Assassin outside Vale, precipitating the collapse of the Rebel army.]]
----
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: The reason why he's the only Callowan Duke outside of Daoine to survive the conquest.
* UpperClassTwit: He prioritizes many trivial affairs over ''actually winning the rebellion''.

!! Anne Kendal, the Baroness Dormer

One of the mid-ranking nobles among the Liesse Rebels ([[spoiler:and the only one to survive the war.]]), The Heiress invades Callow with her mercenaries and sacks Dormer early in the war, forcing the baroness to spend most of the war defending her own lands. When the Fifteenth reaches Liesse she is in command of the Callowans in the garrison.

[[spoiler:After the Legion breaches her walls, Catherine offers terms to the Baroness (which she accepts), bringing the rebellion to its final conclusion. After the war, Catherine arranges for the Baroness' life to be spared and she is the first Callowan, after the Squire, to be offered a seat on the new Ruling Council of Callow.]]
----
* CelebCrush: Catherine's gotten over it, but a brief glimpse of the baroness as a child was what taught Catherine that she was into girls.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler:She surrenders to the Squire rather than condemn her men to death.]]
* LaserGuidedKarma: She was the only major leader of the rebellion who wasn't in it for her own political gain, and ends up being the only one who gets the opportunity to surrender to the Squire and thereby [[spoiler:survive the war]].
* LastOfHisKind: [[spoiler:She's the only Callowan noble in the rebellion to survive, as she has the grace to KnowWhenToFoldEm]].
* LesCollaborateurs: [[spoiler:She becomes one after the rebellion fails as a member of the Empire's ruling council.]]
* PragmaticHero: Although not a Named, officially official "Hero", she's actually this. She always keeps a level head. As a result, although Good to her toenails, she bows her head to the reality of Evil being currently far too entrenched in Callow to defeat directly without destroying not just the sociopolitical entity that is Callow, but the people and countryside, too. Would that more official Heroes thought that way. She's working to mitigate the effects of Evil running things as much as possible, in the hope of Good prevailing down the line and Callow still being there to save.
* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: At least the most beautiful woman in Callow. Whenever Catherine has to formulate a list of the hottest women she's ever seen, Dormer is the first one she thinks of. However she admits that even the Baroness has nothing on the Empress.

[[folder:The Duchy of Daoine]]

! The Duchy of Daoine

An ethnically distinct, autonomous region in the north of Callow, bordering the elven kingdom in the Golden Bloom. The Deoraithe (as its people are called) are the descendants of the original human inhabitants of the Golden Bloom, who were driven from their land centuries ago by the elves. They guard Callow's border with the orcs of the steppes while making plans to return to their homeland one day.
----
* BadassArmy: The Watch uses some unknown magical means to grant themselves superhuman abilities. In addition to ludicrous amounts of training.
** [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that the source of the Watch's power is a necromantic construct made from the spirits of all the Deoraithe that have died since the loss of the Golden Bloom to the elves.]]
* CombatPragmatist: The Deoraithe, and especially [[BadAssArmy The Watch]] are known for a brutally efficient approach to war and politics.

!! Duchess Kegan

The ruler of Daoine since before the conquest. Kegan was able to negotiate a fair amount of autonomy in her relationship with the Praes and has so far been reluctant to compromise that by involving herself in any rebellion or other mischief.
----
* LadyOfWar
* LesCollaborateurs: In some ways. She fought against the empire (and lost) during the initial conquest but since then has been content to rule her Duchy with minimal interference from the tower.

!! The Principate of Procer

[[folder:Rulers and Nobles]]

!! First Prince Cordelia Hasenbach

The ruler of the Principate of Procer, [[TheFederation the ranking great power of Calernia and the most powerful nation aligned with the side of Good]]. The ruler of one of the Principate's Northern principalities, Hasenbach ascended to the throne of the Principate in the wake of a long and bloody civil war and has spent the time since engaged in a cold war against the Empress Malicia's agents across the continent.

[[spoiler:The First Prince believes that the Praesi cannot be permitted to hold Callow, and is plotting to launch a tenth crusade in order to drive them back to the wasteland and unite the forces of Good behind herself.]]
----
* AbdicateTheThrone: [[spoiler:As part of a compromise to Catherine and the rest of the Highest Assembly, Cordelia abdicates the position of First Prince to Rozala Malanza.]]
* AintTooProudToBeg: When faced with the impossible task of turning back the undead armies of the Dead King, Cordelia [[spoiler:gets on her knees and begs Catherine, the same woman whose country she declared a Crusade on and had routinely underestimated and talked down to, for help in saving Procer from annihilation. It works.]]
* ArchNemesis: To Empress Malicia.
* BadassNormal: Cordelia might not be a Named or even a competent warrior in her own right, but she's still a ruthless and capable politician who can play XanatosSpeedChess with the best of them.
* GoodIsNotNice: Governing Procer is a balancing act, and she's definitely not afraid to chop bits of it off or up to stabilise it.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: To Agnes Hasenbach, who similarly treasures her dearly.
* MirrorCharacter: Cordelia and Malicia are really very similar, both being political pragmatists in similar political situations. Her dedication to her country is also comparable to Catherine's.
* MoralMyopia: Swears vengeance against Black for invading Iserre and bloodying and starving Procer. But conveniently forgets that this atrocity wasn't committed in a vacuum, but rather as a direct response to Procer invading first. And as Catherine puts it, got into a fight with a monster then is surprised when he behaved monstrously.
* MyCountryRightOrWrong: While she has no appetite for power or conquest herself, and is by no means religiously-motivated, she understands that unless something is done about the massive amounts of soldiers and mercenary companies in Procer left destitute by the end of the Civil War, and unless the many Princes whose feathers she ruffled assuming power are allowed to expand into Callow, giving her time to consolidate her own power, the days of Procer as a political entity are numbered. What's more she perceives a resurgent, highly-militarized Dread Empire with Callow as its bread basket as an existential threat to not only Procer, but all of Calernia. All these reasons combined lead her to bankrolling the Tenth Crusade. That innocent Callowans must bleed for this is inconsequential.
* OddFriendship: [[spoiler:Cordelia is a refined noblewoman who favors diplomacy and good grace. Catherine is a blunt, common-born warlord queen who prefers just telling people what she's going to make them do. They become friends following the end of the Salia arc in Book 7 and even develop something of a romantic relationship in Epilogue II, though the details are left vague.]]
* RefusalOfTheCall: In Book 5 Interlude: And Yet We Stand, [[spoiler:Cordelia refuses the opportunity to gain a heroic Name, and refuses a villainous one as well mere moments later.]]
--> '''Cordelia:''' "This land will know no queen, no empress, no pale-clad warden to stand above all others."
* SheIsTheKing: That's First ''Prince'' to you, peasant.
* ToughLeaderFacade: Inverted. She's a ruthless and determined political operator pretending to be a demure [[TheHighQueen High Queen]].

!! Prince Klaus Papenheim

The Prince of Hannoven and Cordelia Hasenbach's main general. Prince Klaus grew up defending the Lycaonese Principalities from the Ratmen and the Kingdom of the Dead, then went on to lead his niece, Cordelia's forces to victory in the Proceran Civil War.

With the inauguration of the 10th Crusade, Klaus is placed in command of the Proceran forces sent into the Red Flower Vales.
----
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:In trying to extricate the Alliance army from the disastrous battle of Hainaut]].
* OddFriendship: With Catherine of all people, being both hardened soldiers and leaders.
* TheStrategist: One of the finest military commanders in Calernia, decisively winning the Proceran civil war starting from a position of weakness, with the smallest force of all contenders to boot.
* WarriorPrince: He leaves the political niceties to his niece and focuses on the military side of things

!! Prince Amadis Millenan

The Prince of Iserre. He kept his principality largely out of the Civil War and became the main leader of the opposition after Cordelia Hasenbach rose to power. Amadis supports an expansionist policy for the Principate, against the directives of the First Prince.

[[spoiler:Prince Amadis is placed in command of the Proceran army that invades Callow by way of the Staircase at the start of the 10th crusade.]]

!! Princess Rozala Malanza
The princess of the principality of Aequitan. In the Highest Assembly, she belongs to the opposition against Cordelia Hasenbach because the First Prince had her mother, the former princess of Aequitan, commit suicide. Malanza stems from a long line of military commanders and is one of the finest generals in Procer. [[spoiler:She is the field commander of the army that invades Callow in the 10th crusade. After Cordelia abdicates from the position of First Prince, Rozala succeeds her as First Princess.]]
----
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: she is an accomplished general.
* WarriorPrincess: She grew up during the civil war in Procer and leads her mother's armies. As a result she is one of the finest generals of the country, but less adept than other princes(ses) at the "Ebb and Flow."
* WorthyOpponent: As a general for [[spoiler:for Catherine and Juniper.]] She is the only royal in the invading army that takes the [[spoiler:Callowan]] army seriously, and she implements smart measures to counter their strengths, like their field engines and mages.

!! Prince Otto ‘Redcrown’ Reitzenburg
The prince of the principality of Bremen. In fact third in line of succession behind his two sisters. He loses them both and his father on the same day, repelling the Dead King’s forces at the Twilight’s Pass, earning him the moniker ‘Redcrown’. Ever since, he leads a fierce, desperate defense of the passes with [[{{HeterosexualLifePartners}} his friend Frederic Goethal]].
----
* BadassNormal: Always found wherever the battle is fiercest. There is a reason his men will follow him anywhere.
* FireForgedFriends: With flamboyant, sunny Frederic of Brus.
* ReluctantRuler: The day his crown is passed to him is also the day his father and sisters die defending the Twilight's Pass. To say he feels unworthy and unequal to the task is an understatement. Though he does grow into his role, becoming a capable commander and beacon of hope to his people.
* YouShallNotPass: His people's epic resistance against the tide of undead is the only reason there is a Procer left to save.
* LastStand: Offers to hold the Twilight's Pass with a few thousand men, while Frederic evacuates everyone else further south. Frederic is insulted at the prospect of abandoning his friend, saying it'll come to swords between them should he suggest that again.

!! Species

[[folder:Drow]]

! The Empire Ever Dark

* AmbiguousGender: Drow consider the powerful ("The Mighty") to be above such concepts as gender. Referring to powerful Drow with anything other than a gender-neutral term is seen as an insult.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: When you gain another Drow's life force/magical energy/knowledge by killing them and harvesting the "Night" from their corpse, and your society is based around AsskickingLeadsToLeadership, the concept of loyalty or swearing oaths seems rather odd.
* CombatByChampion: Their society emphasizes the powerful tribal chief (Sigil-Holders), lieutenants (Rylleh), and other "Mighty" in the hierarchy over the "cattle" of the rest of the citizens and soldiers in a Sigil. As a result, if the Sigil-Holder and Lieutenants are killed, the majority of a Sigil will surrender.
* FantasticRankSystem: The Drow under the leadership of Sve Noc and ideal of AsskickingLeadsToLeadership roughly follow this. As such, in a given Sigil (~tribe), the ranks from least to most Night are:
** '''Nisi''': The lowest class of drow, meaning "meat" in the language of Crepuscular. This refers to a drow that has had most-to-all of their Night taken. They can be killed for roughly any reason and often leave the Everdark to avoid this fate. Their lifespan is around 60 years.
** '''Dzulu''': "Person" in Crepusucular, generally denoting they have the same amount of Night they had at birth.
** '''Ipse''': The lowest class of Mighty, drow warriors. They have a handful of interesting tricks but none of the dangerous {{Secret|Art}}s. Roughly as dangerous in a fight as the average fae soldier.
** '''Pravnat''': Drow that hold one or two dangerous Secrets; essentially, ipse that show promise.
** '''Jawor''': The middle ranks of Mighty with the most variance in ability. Pretty much the "officer" tier of a Sigil.
** '''Rylleh''': A sigil-holder's most powerful subordinates and their inner circle. Must have twelve Secrets to their name and [[KlingonPromotion kill]] an existing rylleh to advance here. They also tend to pull a [[TheStarscream starscream]] at some point to take over the Sigil. As a result, they have a very high turnover rate.
** '''Sigil-holder''': The chief of their own independent Sigil whose word is law. They can live for thousands of years.
* KlingonPromotion: Drow can only gain status by harvesting the Night from the bodies of others. The more powerful, the more Night a Drow has. This makes it ''very'' tempting to take out one's leader and absorb his power.
* ShadowWalker: One of the more common tricks for drow to use Night is to turn into/slink into a puddle of darkness and re-emerge later -- for example to dodge an attack. Some drow, like the Longstrider-Cabal, take this one step further and use the Night for long-distance travel.
* SoldierVsWarrior: Firmly on the "Warrior" side, much to their detriment when the organized, better equipped "Soldier" Dwarves invade.
* VestigialEmpire: They live in the ruins of the massive [[UndergroundCity Underground Cities]] carved with ancient poetry and the defaced art of their once-great civilization.

!! Mighty Rumena

* TimeAbyss: The last remaining general of the Empire Ever Dark's armies before Night existed, and thus one of the oldest drow in existence.
* TheSnarkKnight: The only person in all the continent to consistently get the better of Catherine via mockery.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dwarves]]

! The Kingdom Under

* AdamSmithHatesYourGuts: They make the best weaponry, and siege engines known in this [[MedievalStasis world]]. They definitely do ''not'' sell those to surface-dwellers though. Instead, they sell cheaper, less-powerful models, and keep the good stuff for their own armies. This is the main reason the Praesans value Gobinsteel and Goblin-made siege engines so much.
** They also have a habit of stealing magical artifacts, and then selling them back to surface-dwellers as "miracles of dwarven blacksmithing" a couple of decades later.
* DugTooDeep: Usually the ''cause'' of this. They claim rights to anything below a certain depth. A mine belonging to another species going too deep is seen as theft, and isn't taken well.
* FantasticRacism: They generally view their short-lived, technologically-backwards upstairs neighbors as inherently inferior, in an InnocentlyInsensitive way. They don't consider humans sentient enough to actually hold property, and are visibly bemused when Catherine claims someone is her subordinate. To them, all humans are so primitive that the idea of them having a hierarchy within themselves is amusing.
* GuiltFreeExterminationWar: Against the Drow, who occupy the underground territories of the North-East. They hold no real ill-will towards the Drow, but want the territory and view Drow as nothing more than pests.
* HigherTechSpecies: Much more advanced in this aspect than any known society, except of course the mysterious [[TheDreaded Gnomes]].
* TheNeedForMead: They consider it poor form to drink liquor while negotiating... because it's too ''light''. They have harder stuff to drink over business.
* OneGenderRace: Implied to be this, as no one is really sure how they reproduce. There are rumors that they can swallow a stone and spit up a dwarven baby a few months later though.
* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: Slightly below average human height, rock-like skin, ambiguously long lifespans, rather secretive, and sporting beards.
* StickyFingers: [[BlueAndOrangeMorality Since other species can't own property in their eyes]], anything on the surface is free game. Since resisting can be met with [[DisproportionateRetribution entire cities being sunk into the ground and the survivors slaughtered]], surface-dwellers allow it.
** One notable example is a Human Nobleman almost becoming completely bankrupt after having to buy back his own family jewels from a Dwarf.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Elves]]

!The Golden Bloom
* AbsoluteXenophobe: Elves on other continents actually live alongside other species and semi-often interbreed. The Golden Bloom Elves are an extremely racist splinter group.
* AmbiguousGender: Their marble-like skin, slim physiques, and generally inhuman appearance make them appear rather androgynous.
* ChildlessDystopia: No elf has been born on the Calernia since they arrived.
* FantasticRacism: They view all non-elves, and non-Heroes as vermin, and will kill any who approach The Golden Bloom.
* GenocideBackfire: When they arrived on Calernia, they slaughtered all of the previous inhabitants of their forest. This earned the absolute hatred of the surviving Deoraithe, and accidentally cursed the land into a ChildlessDystopia.
* GoodIsNotNice: Technically are considered Good-aligned, but definitely not friendly.
* HalfHumanHybrid: These are rare, with the only known one being Ranger. The Elves of The Golden Bloom view them as an insult to their MasterRace and try to kill them.
* OurElvesAreDifferent: They are relatively immortal, impossibly fast and strong, and better at magic than any other race.
* SacredLanguage: If they have to interact with non-Elves for some reason, they use supernatural body language or mental projections of concepts. Using "inferior" tongues is seen as degrading. The idea of a Human speaking the Elvish Tongue, however, is seen as absolutely horrifying blasphemy.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Their reaction to Dread Empress Triumphant's Conquest and the Tenth Crusade was to phase The Golden Bloom out of Creation so they wouldn't have to get involved.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fae]]

!Seasonal Courts
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: They run on tropes, not morals. Unless a very specific trope they have as their embodiment lets them, of course. In a highly specific way that must be tailored by the story being played out.
* BornAgainImmortality: Fae are reborn when their Seasonal Court is reformed in an ever-repeating cycle.
* ColdIron: Iron weaponry causes them immense, often debilitating pain.
* TheFairFolk: Boy, howdy. They're rather more ideas and themes than they are actual personalities. Very powerful, very extreme ideas.
* PhysicalGod: The more powerful Fae nobles are more or less this. Especially true of the King and Queen.
* SeasonalBaggage: The two Courts of Fae present at any one time always represent two opposing seasons in a continuous cycle. The Summer Court Fae generally have [[PlayingWithFire fire]] or [[GreenThumb nature]] powers, while the Winter Court Fae often have [[CastingAShadow darkness]], [[AnIcePerson ice]], or [[BlowYouAway wind]] powers. They ''really'' don't like each other.

!The Wild Hunt
* CarnivalOfKillers: They are sociopaths who will watch happily as one of their own is tortured and humiliated in front of them. They have no stake in mortal conflicts or moral codes. They just really [[BloodKnight like to kill]].
* DoomTroops: For [[spoiler:Catherine]]. They'd been sadistically hunting humans and other creatures in the Waning Woods for millennia. Humanity's recent wars are just an opportunity to hunt more entertaining game.
* MookLieutenant: Larat, a former Prince of the Winter Court, is their current leader. He holds no love for the others, but keeps them in line to avoid punishment on himself. Catherine actually refers to him as her "Treacherous Lieutenant".
* MountedCombat / LightningBruiser: Their specialty due to their surprisingly vicious [[{{Unicorn}} Unicorns]] and ability to use [[ExtraDimensionalShortcut portals between dimensions]].
* SeasonalBaggage: Seemingly [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]. They are made up of Fae from both the Summer and Winter Court, and show no internal division along these lines. Masego wants to dissect some to figure out just what it is that sets them apart from other Fae.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Giants]]

!The Titanomachy
* BodyLanguage: Giants are implied to have a complex and meaningful system of nonverbal communication. The White Knight and The Witch of the Woods, two Heroes trained by Giants, can use it to communicate.
* GreatOffscreenWar: Procer apparently attacked the Titanomachy in a particularly brutal or unexpected way a few generations ago. Whatever happened, The First Prince was not at all surprised when the Giants did not show up to join the Proceran-centered Tenth Crusade.
* MagicMusic: The Witch of the Woods is a spellsinger taught by the Giants. This form of magic can become so powerful that a practitioner once created a large lake (now named The Titan's Pond) as collateral damage from a battle.
* TheNoseKnows: When The White Knight was ship-wrecked on the shores of the Titanomachy, the first Giant to find him could immediately smell the lingering scent of the [[KnightTemplar Seraphim]] on him.
* OnlyFriend: The [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Dominion of Levant]] is the only country they tend to interact with. Others, they tend to attack on sight.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Gnomes]]

!Unknown
* AdaptedOut: The Yonder rewrite of Book 1 removes the one scene gnomes are mentioned in. [[AdaptationDeviation Instead]], halflings are discussed.
* BunglingInventor: [[InvertedTrope Heavily Inverted]]. They are scarily competent.
* TheDreaded: Their location, territory, and government are all entirely unknown. They are apparently watching everything everyone is doing, including underground, secluded Goblin researchers. They are the ones responsible for utterly destroying this world's version of Atlantis in one day. '''No one''' wants to cross them.
** The BlackKnight immediately hurried off to destroy the Goblin Tribe responsible for earning a red letter to Praes, only to find out upon arriving that the tribe had already killed all of their researchers and destroyed the findings.
* HigherTechSpecies: They have flying machines and civilization-eradicating weaponry, while all other species are still mastering siege weaponry and medieval warfare.
* MedievalStasis / EnforcedTechnologyLevels: Their sole apparent reason to interact with other species is to prevent any civilization from getting too technologically advanced.
* RuleOfThree: They send a red letter of warning the first time a country is progressing too much in a given field of technology. The second time, they send a more strongly-worded red letter. The third time? They LeaveNoSurvivors.
* ShroudedInMyth: Most of the population thinks that they are a make-believe race of tinkerers. Those in power know nothing about them except the danger they pose.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: They are mentioned in one scene of the [=WordPress=] version as a HandWave for Calernia's MedievalStasis, providing an early conflict for Catherine to follow Black to, and do not show up otherwise.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Goblins]]

!The Tribes
* BoisterousWeakling: As a rule, they are smaller and weaker than humans or orcs, but make up for it with agility, tenacity, and generally over-the-top personalities.
* ComedicSociopathy: Their culture holds secrecy, ruthlessness and opportunism as core virtues, and generally [[BlueAndOrangeMorality do not fit into]] Human concepts of morality.
* FantasticRacism: Humans outside of Praes often believe them to be corrupted Dwarves and therefore inherently Evil abominations.
* HumansAreUgly: Due to their blunt teeth, odd morals, and apparently gangly appearance, humans are considered unattractive by Goblins.
* {{Matriarchy}}: Goblin Tribes are led by Matrons. Females are given "important" duties such as leadership, and raising children, while hard labor and warfare are reserved for the subservient males.
* TheMigration: An unspecifically long time ago, the Goblins were evicted from their subterranean homeland and forced to their current, shallower homes and mines. The dwarves saw the act of ''not'' [[WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide killing all the Goblins]] before taking their land to be very generous.
* PyroManiac: Their alchemy-manufactured explosives make them very valuable to TheEmpire of Praes. They come in four main kinds: poisonous gas, general explosives, flash grenades, and Goblinfire: a supernatural green fire that burns for seven days and will consume anything, including magic, in a kind of combination between {{Hellfire}} and AntiMagic.
* SacredLanguage: Goblins refuse to share their language "stone-tongue" with outsiders. Any Goblin who speaks it where outsiders can hear is killed, and the compromised words are soon changed to prevent any attempts at translation.
** The Matrons have their own, even more secret dialect that uses the same words, but draws slightly different meanings from them.
* TheSneakyGuy: Due to their small size, night-vision, and generally [[StickyFingers cunning nature]], they are the Praes' go-to troops for scouting, harassment of enemy forces, and infiltrating enemy strongholds.
* WeAreAsMayflies: Goblins have shorter natural lifespans than most other species. Living into one's thirties is seen as ancient, and some Goblins are sent to the War College at the fairly mature age of ten.
** [[InvertedTrope Partly Inverted]] by the Matrons and their immediate descendants, who are somehow usually larger and live longer than the average Goblin (through means apparently only known to the matrons). Marshal Ranker takes this further by living into her sixties through some unknown alchemical procedures.
* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Played with. Goblins have a different view of romance than most sentient species. Physical affection is alien to their culture, and two Goblins can be considered "together" romantically while breeding with others and never breeding with each other. One's fangs are considered a prominent sign of beauty to them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ogres]]

!Non-Specified Settlements
* TheJuggernaut: Much larger than Orcs (though presumably smaller than the Giants) at over ten feet tall, soldiers from this species always act as Heavies. While very hard to put down, they are vulnerable to being overrun by [[ZergRush superior numbers]], so are usually used as [[EliteMooks shock troops]].
* PunchClockVillain: Due to their small population and foreign origin, it is implied that they generally have no real stake in Praes. Still, they have a quota of soldiers to send to the Legions of Terror, and they do their job well.
* SlaveRace: They were one of these for The [[SpaceRomans Miezan Empire]]. A small number were brought over to Calernia after The War of Chains, where they were absorbed into TheEmpire of Praes after the occupier's empire collapsed.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Orcs]]

!The Tribes
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Played with. They are a human-eating race that glorifies war, but also possess human-level intelligence, often have a NobleDemon nature, and are usually quite friendly to comrades-in-arms, regardless of species.
* TheBerserker: Some orcs are prone to entering a [[BloodKnight state of euphoric fury]] in battle. Those with the condition of "Blood Rage" have similar symptoms, only so uncontrollably triggered by taking enough physical damage or a great enough emotional shock. An Orc in a Blood Rage is unable to distinguish friend from foe, and is almost impossible to put down non-lethally.
* AFatherToHisMen: Orcs as a whole hold The Black Knight Amadeus in ''very'' high regard for his military reforms which prevented Orc soldiers from being used as CannonFodder, allowed [[EqualOpportunityEvil all races into the War College]], and led them to great victories.
* FantasticRacism: Usually viewed as illiterate brutes by the Praesan nobility, and as outright monsters by the rest of the continent.
* HumansAreUgly: Orcs see sharp and large fangs as attractive, and are generally put-off by humanity's comparatively frail bodies and "cow teeth".
* HungryMenace: Long ago, TheEmpire of Praes learned ''exactly'' the amount of meat that needs to be given to Orc troops to prevent starvation, but enough for them to be [[AttackAttackAttack too bloodthirsty to question]] how they were being used as cannon-fodder and meat-shields for the rest of the army.
* ImAHumanitarian: Orcs are largely carnivorous and usually prefer their meat raw. They also instinctively view any living thing as a possible meal, including Humans, Goblins, and other Orcs. Since the Reforms by The BlackKnight, they're only allowed to eat enemy corpses to supplement their rations.
* LookOnMyWorksYeMightyAndDespair: The Orc warbands used to RapePillageAndBurn across the Steppes and surrounding areas, with all of their human neighbors living in terror and subjugation. When the [[SpaceRomans Mezian Empire]] invaded in The War of Chains, many peoples were subjugated, but none hit harder than the Orcs. Their population was decimated, their warbands destroyed, their warrior-priest [[TheRedMage Shamans]] wiped out to the point that magical ability was almost entirely removed from the gene pool, and they became a [[SmashMook slave/warrior race]].
** Things weren't much better under TheEmpire of Praes. For millennia, they didn't even develop Named due to their decimated culture.
* SoldierVsWarrior: Before the Military Reforms of The BlackKnight, Orcs were "warriors" wielding broadswords and battle-axes. After The Black Knight's Reforms, they immediately started adopting "soldier" tactics, with a corresponding dramatic increase in life-span and effectiveness.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ratlings]]

!The Chain of Hunger
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: They have no concept of morality, society, or mercy: only hunger.
* EvolutionPowerUp: Ratlings grow throughout their entire lives due to their unique biology. The bipedal [[{{Mooks}} Ratlings]] who last long enough grow into larger quadrupedal [[RodentsOfUnusualSize Ancient Ones]]. Ancient Ones who last long enough turn into the near-mythical Horned Lords: bipedal rats that are over sixty feet tall and capable of human speech.
* HordeOfAlienLocusts: Are sentient, but have no concept of anything except feeding their hunger.
* HorrorHunger: Their characterizing trait is always being on the verge of starvation due to their unique biology. They'll eat literally anything, often leading to MonstrousCannibalism, and Humans being DevouredByTheHorde.
* HufflepuffHouse: The Ratlings don't have any significant impact on the events of the book.
* LargeAndInCharge: The bigger a Ratling, the older they are, and smarter.
* LeaveNoSurvivors: They have no concept of giving or receiving surrender. Dread Empress Triumphant famously killed over ninety percent of their population, and they would still not stop attacking.
* MonsterLord: The last known stage of Ratling growth is the mysterious Horned Lords. They have human-equivalent intelligence, the capability for human speech, and are over sixty feet tall. The scariest part about them though? [[spoiler:They can become Named]].
* PoisonedWeapons: They often coat their primitive, barbed weaponry in poison.
* RatMen: ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Ratlings are a savage, bipedal, semi-intelligent species of rodent-like humanoids.
* RodentsOfUnusualSize: The average Ratling is already larger than any rodent found on earth, but those who survive long enough evolve into Ancient Ones, which are large enough to act as siege engines.
* TheSwarm: Constantly on the verge of starvation, these semi-intelligent beings often surge southwards on a murderous search for food. Because of this, they're often referred to as "The Ratling Plague".
* ZergRush: Their main tactic. Considering their attacks are due to chronic overpopulation and comparative lack of food, the huge death toll that this usually results in only helps matters.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Halflings (Yonder-exclusive)]]
!Callow, currently extinct
An extinct people that once lived in Callow mentioned during the Yonder-exclusive Peren Woods arc.

* AdaptationDeviation: Halflings as a concept are exclusive to the Yonder rewrite, replacing gnomes as a discussed people that don't actually show up in the series. Instead of the scene where Black takes Catherine along while handling a gnomish red letter, [[spoiler:they're discussed by Hopps in the Foxtails' hideout as having been the extinct people who built it, along with their ruins being present throughout Callow's southeast]].
* ArborealAbode: It's suggested they were responsible for building the giant tree hollow [[spoiler:that serves as the Foxtails' base]].
* ContrastingReplacementCharacter: While the gnomes were TheDreaded and implied to live on another continent, the halflings are an extinct people who once lived in Callow who are implied to have been [[SuicidalPacifism suicidal pacifists]]. Additionally, while the red letter scene involved enforcing the gnomes' [[MedievalStasis restrictions on advanced technology]], the Peren Woods arc is mostly set in a magically-hidden, abandoned halfling settlement.
* DiscussedTrope: Unlike the gnomes, which in the [=WordPress=] version were a threat Black needed to take action on immediately, halflings are only discussed.
* HiddenElfVillage: It's implied that they specialized in making these when they were extant, including the [[spoiler:Foxtail hideout]]--apparently, it's why there are so many hiding places in the Peren Woods. The [[spoiler:Foxtail hideout tree]] is still hidden, accessible only to those who know the path there--or, [[spoiler:if you burn the tree so the smoke shows at its location, or if you put a tracking spell on someone who enters beforehand]].
* {{Hobbits}}: Like their inspiration, they apparently built burrows and were pacifists.
* ShroudedInMyth: Cat thinks that halflings are just a story, rumors of little skeletons found in the Marchford hills. Hopps, [[spoiler:the bartender at the Foxtail hideout]], disagrees: apparently they left burrows all over Callow's southeast, with Peren Woods having had many living there once.
* SuicidalPacifism: Discussed as the likely reason the halflings went extinct, killed off by Callowans long ago--Dormer was apparently built on top of one of their cities.
--> '''Hopps''': "Creation's not always kind to those who don't fight."
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Halflings get even less direct mention than gnomes did in the original, though it's plausible their ruins or hideouts could show up again in the rewrite's version of [=WordPress=] Book 2 or Book 3.
[[/folder]]

[[spoiler:Following the events of the Battle of Liesse, in which her Name was stripped from her and she had to win it back from Chider, she lost all of her aspects but regained the empty slot that she’d lost to the demon. The first new Aspect she gained was '''[[PowerParasite Take]]''', the second Aspect was '''[[FingerPokeOfDoom Break]]''', and the third was '''[[DomainHolder Fall]]'''.]]

* AntiMagic: [[spoiler:Cat's Silence Aspect allows her to silence even access to Night, presumably on the basis that it cuts off the mental communication of {{Willing Channeler}}s.]]

** This is remarked on in Kairos's internal monologue: [[spoiler:By using his Aspect of Wish, he is able to see a person's most fervent desire, and has a laugh at Catherine's intense desire for peace in her country. Were circumstances different, she could easily have been a hero]].

* HeroesPreferRedheads: Cuddly redheaded mages to be precise. [[spoiler:Averted though, since their relationship doesn't last.]]

* VillainsNeverLie: She certainly prefers to use truth, but isn't about to shackle herself to the practice. She tells the unvarnished truth most of the time -- particularly if she knows her opponent is resistant to the idea that straightforward truth is even a thing. However, it just makes her lies harder to catch or refute when she does deploy them. Later on, [[spoiler:her fae aspect makes any promise relatively binding. She can still be [[LiteralGenie very specific with the wording though]]]].

* ImpossibleThief: Thief's '''Hold''' aspect makes this relatively easy, letting her steal objects into a [[{{Hammerspace}} pocket dimension]] and take them out later. She uses it to steal a fleet of river galleys, somehow cramming them all into a BagOfHolding, then uses them to form a makeshift barricade at the battle of Liesse. She later one-ups herself when she uses '''Hold''' to steal [[spoiler:the ''Sun'' from the [[TheFairFolk Princess]] [[PhysicalGod of High Noon]]]]

* ShutUpHannibal: Akua delivers a BreakingSpeech about how [[spoiler:Catherine's ambition would eventually drive her to become a new Empress in a bid to [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans "fix" the world]]]]. Thief promptly retorts that Akua has gotten obsessed with justifying [[spoiler:her defeat by convincing herself that Catherine was a WorthyOpponent who will succeed where she failed]].
** Later, [[spoiler:she calls Akua out for intentionally losing arguments like this in order to become more personable to the Woe]].

* DropTheHammer: When she's not in wolf-mode.

* RevenantZombie: [[spoiler:In Book Seven, they are revealed to be a manifestation of Scribe's [[ThePowerOfLanguage Inscribe]] Aspect, which can be used to successfully revive corpses and impute them with [[IntrinsicVow overarching directives]]. After years of refining her Aspect, and upon finding corpses that were sufficiently powerful, Scribe was eventually able to use her directives to create a Named.]]

* WordOfGod: Apparently we've met them "on screen" by [[https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2015/11/18/chapter-2-demand/#comment-437 Book 2 Chapter 2.]]

* LargeHam

** [[spoiler:As Christophe falls, the White Knight grabs [[AbsurdCuttingPower the Severance]] (made with the power of the [[OldSoldier Saint of Swords]]) and uses ''his'' Aspect, '''Undo''' to [[MortalityEnsues reverse]] Neshamah's lichdom;]]

* WellIntentionedExtremist: The Scorched Apostate's act of mass-murder was done only to prevent the deaths that would result from a plague spreading through an already war-torn Procer. He believes the villagers' refusal to wait for a priest that could provide a cure (before leaving to seek refuge in neighboring cities) forced his hand. Cat [[TheExtremistWasRight agrees]], as he likely saved tens of thousands in the process.

--

The only living Callowan Villain at the start of the story. He's currently attempting to come into a story that lets him replace Black as the Governor-General of Callow. His only known aspect is '''[[HatePlague Foment]]'''.

* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: He [[{{Foreshadowing}} mentions]] several Callowan Named and plot elements that would not show up in-person until later in the series. While most show up in Book 2 or Book 3 of the [=WordPress=] version, ''The Fox in the Woods'' doesn't appear until Book 6.

The Lone Swordsmen's Aspects are: '''[[HealingFactor Rise]]''', '''[[TheGoodGuysAlwaysWin Triumph]]''', and '''[[ImplausibleFencingPowers Swing]]'''

* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: [[spoiler:The epilogue of Book 1 of the Yonder rewrite sees him meet William after he wakes up, giving William the idea to travel back to Refuge with him. He also ends up being the only one to accompany William across his entire journey to Refuge.]]

* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: [[spoiler:The epilogue of Book 1 of the Yonder rewrite sees him show up early as one of several Named William meets early, involved in a misadventure in a town taken over by ghosts. William tells him to lie low instead of joining him and Hunter, since three Named traveling together will get caught.]]

Hanno later becomes the [[SupportingLeader representative]] of Heroes, opposite Catherine Foundling, for the [[EnemyMine Truce & Terms]] in the war against the Dead King. Over that period he briefly gives up and regains the Name of White Knight, receiving a second set of Aspects that consists of '''[[GhostMemory Recall]]''', '''[[JustInTime Save]]''', and '''[[ResetButton Undo]]'''.

* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Apparently she can cut through magic and miracles. Unknown whether there's anything special about her sword or if it's all in the way she wields it. As of Book 5, it's been revealed that her sword is a completely normal longsword. It's all in her skills and the fact that she's [[spoiler:a living domain [[AnthropomorphicPersonification embodying]] the concept of "sword"]].
* GoodIsNotNice: Unlike her companion, Laurence is abrasive, ruthless, and utterly uncompromising in the face of any opposition. She has nothing but contempt for most of Prince Amadis' faction among the Tenth Crusade.

* RapidAging: [[spoiler:How she meets her end. Catherine aflicts with her a prepared curse that causes the already-elderly Heroine to rapidly age until it kills her.]]

* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Gains custody of the Severance, an artifact [[spoiler:made from the Saint of Sword's Aspect]] that has the ability to cut almost anything. The only reason he was chosen is that the Mirror Knight's NighInvulnerability means he won't accidentally [[HarmfulToTouch lose a limb]] just by swinging it.

* AdaptationEarlyAppearance: Downplayed in the Yonder rewrite. [[spoiler:Unlike most characters who receive early appearances in the Yonder version, she shows up at about the same time she did in the original--the only difference is that she's seen on camera early, as William's meeting with her is shown in the epilogue of Yonder Book 1.]]

* AdaptationEarlyExpansion: He's mentioned early [[spoiler: by Archer]] in the Yonder rewrite, [[spoiler: during the epilogue of Book 1]].

* DoomedHometown: Her family was slaughtered by bandits before she was taken in by Ranger. Its suggested Ranger ''could'' have stopped it, but her insistence on neutrality meant she [[BystanderSyndrome couldn't be bothered.]]

The epilogue of Book 2 reveals that The Wandering Bard is actually some kind of body-hopping immortal entity that has lived since long before elves arrived on Calernia. The precise nature of this entity is still mysterious but it seems to always exist as a storytelling-based Name and although it switches bodies and identities it retains all of its memories. It's also apparently scary enough to bully the Forever King. Her Aspects are '''[[FunctionalGenreSavvy Narrate]]''', '''[[OffScreenTeleportation Wander]]''', and '''[[ForWantOfANail Guide]]'''.

* OlderThanTheyLook: Played with. Although it's initially implied to just be a personality quirk, the end of Book 2 reveals that she's essentially a body-hopping immortal entity that predates the arrival of the Elves or the Miezans on the continent of Calerina. Her body is exactly as old as it looks, her mind on the other hand...

* SpoonyBard: In spades. She contributes little, if anything in terms of obviously useful skills to her party. Unless you count snark, terrible humour, drunken stupors or random, barely applicable general knowledge "useful" when trying to, e.g. hunt Calamities. She's a LethalJokeCharacter who happens to be juggling a whole drawer full of bigger picture spoons.

* HatePlague: Hierarch's Indict Aspect will cause a slightly more guided version to people caught in its wake. Specifically, it amplifies social unrest and induces citizens to be overcome with the intense desire to [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized judge and punish]] authority figures who abuse their power.

* RealityWarper: The Elf species is described as adding "more weight to their presence in the Pattern the longer they live" to the extent that older Elves can ignore one rule of Creation and (according to Warlock) even become living {{domain|Holder}}s. Since Elves become StrongerWithAge and he is the oldest of them, it’s safe to say he’s one of the most powerful magic practitioners on the continent.

One of the three marshals of Praes and commander of the First Legion, ''Invicta''. The first Orc Chieftain to pledge his support to Empress Malicia's rebellion. He spends the first half of the series off-screen, commanding the Imperial armies defending the Procer/Callow border at the Red Flower Vales. [[spoiler:He and the Legions-in-Exile join Black in his raids on southern Procer, but is forcibly brought back under Malicia's fold via mind control and spends much of the rest of the series under hourse arrest. Following the war against Keter, he becomes the commander of Cardinal's armies before retiring and begin succeeded by Juniper.]]

The human commander of the Second Legion, ''Redshell''. Commander of one the Legions stationed in Praes, she makes a minor appearance in book 7 as one of the leaders of the rebel legions against Malicia. She's assassinated offscreen on Malicia's orders to insight discord among the rebels.

The dragon commander of the Tenth Legion, ''Horribilis''. Like Grem and Mok, it's stationed at the Red Flower Vales and participates the battle against the Tenth Crusade. Afterward, it deserts to take a nap in the Brocelian forest and misses the entire rest of the series.

[[spoiler:As the Squire Chider's first aspect would have been '''Survive''' [[{{Irony}} except that Catherine destroyed her]] [[KilledMidSentence before she could finish saying the word.]]]]

The ruler of the Principate of Procer, [[TheFederation the ranking great power of Calernia and the most powerful nation aligned with the side of Good]]. The ruler of one of the Principate's Northern principalities, Hasenbach ascended to the throne of the Principate in the wake of a long and bloody civil war and has spent the time sense engaged in a cold war against the Empress Malicia's agents across the continent.

* ToughLeaderFacade: Inverted. She's a ruthless and determined political operator pretending to be a demure HighQueen.

* Time Abyss: The last remaining general of the Empire Ever Dark's armies before Night existed, and thus one of the oldest drow in existence.
* Troll: The only person in all the world to consistently get the better of Catherine via wordplay.

* EvilIsSexy: Much to Catherine's annoyance, she almost always appears this way. In part due to the Wastelander's [[SuperBreedingProgram habit of selectively breeding with]] talented mages, people with beautiful appearances, and the occasional [[{{Squick}} magical monster]].