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Refuge
Hye Su
Hye Su, The Ranger
The Lady of the Lake
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 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 Learn, Perfect, and Transcend.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Although she takes pride in not living up to the whole 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.
- Badass Normal: 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 in 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*.
- Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Though she wants to kill Catherine immediately to avenge 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 Duel to the Death ten years later.
- Challenge Seeker: 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.”
- Duel to the Death: In exchange for helping them infiltrate Keter, she arranges one a decade later with Catherine. She loses.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Downplayed in the Yonder rewrite. 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.
- 11th-Hour Ranger: Briefly aids Catherine very late in Book 7, helping her to infiltrate Keter.
- Friend Versus Lover: She was the lover to Malicia's friend and when Black ultimately chose his friend she left.
- Immortality Begins at Twenty: Gets the standard fantasy elf package.
- Killed Offscreen: We never see her promised Duel to the Death with Catherine, but since Catherine is shown alive and well afterward, the result is clear.
- Last of His Kind: 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.
- Really 700 Years Old: Well, at least two hundred.
- Renowned Selective Mentor: 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 high standards for her charges.
- Strong Girl, Smart Guy: 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 Genre Savvy than martial power.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With the Dead King, of all people.
Indrani
Indrani, The Archer
For tropes relevant to The Archer, see her entry on the Villains page. The Hunter
John, The Hunter
For tropes relevant to The Hunter, see his entry on the Heroes page. Alexis
Alexis the Argent, The Silver Huntress
A Heroine from Refuge with a grudge against the Archer who fights in the Tenth Crusade.- Fiery Redhead: She's the most Hot-Blooded of the Refuge students and has the hair to match.
- Good Counterpart: To Indrani as a combative archer Heroine trained by The Ranger. The two naturally despise each other.
- Hates Their Parent: Huntress hates Ranger, who's effectively her adoptive mother, for the dog-eat-dog dynamic she constantly fostered in her pupils.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Nearly as good as Archer with a bow.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: 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 Cain and Abel.
- Stripped to the Bone: The Dead King does this to her with a curse during the final battle with him.
- Token Good Teammate: Following Hunter's death, she's the only Hero out of Refuge.
Lysander
Lysander, The Beastmaster
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 Master.- Animal Eye Spy: Beastmaster has the ability to co-opt his creatures' senses when needed.
- The Beastmaster: Obviously. His Aspect gives him the ability to turn various creatures into his servants.
- Call-Forward: He's mentioned early by Archer in the Yonder rewrite, during the epilogue of Book 1.
- Ineffectual Loner: He's a bit of an isolationist jerk and has limited social skills.
- Killed Off for Real: Killed by the Pale Knight midway through Book 6.
- Mountain Man. Has this aesthetic, being burly, unhygienic, and caustic, having a Vague Age and race, and covering himself in animal pelts.
- The Pig-Pen: Rarely bathes and has a constant layer of dirt on him.
- The Social Darwinist: Has taken this lesson from Ranger, being even less empathetic than Archer was upon joining the Woe.
The Concoctor
Constanza, The Concoctor
A Named from Refuge that joins the Truce & Terms as a Villain after the Ranger withdraws her patronage to ally with Amadeus.- Clandestine Chemist: The magical equivalent, being a master of potions.
- Doomed Hometown: 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 couldn't be bothered.
- Kaleidoscope Hair: Regularly dyes her hair in different colors.
- Minored In Ass Kicking: Isn't a fighter-type, but she's capable of scrapping with non-Named at least.
- Withholding Their Name: She keeps her birth name a secret, going exclusively by her "Name," The Concoctor, or Cocky among those she grew up with.
Other Named (Spoilers Unmarked!)
The Wandering Bard
Yara of Nowhere, The Intercessor
The Wandering Bard, Almorava of Symra, Aoede of Nicae, Marguerite of Baillons
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 Genre Savvy 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 Narrate, Wander, and Guide.
- The Alcoholic: 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".
- Balance Between Good and Evil: 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 Dead King's rise to power as Calernia's greatest evil, she's been forced into the role of his Good Counterpart.Tariq: I know that across the faces she has worn she has warred against Keter wherever there was war to be had, and ever done good over evil whenever the choice was given to her.
- Beware the Silly Ones: 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.
- Big Bad Ensemble: The Bard and the Dead King are the two overarching antagonists of the series, which takes place during the culmination of their respective centuries-long schemes to defeat each other and wipe out all life on Calernia. Of the two, the Bard was introduced first, appearing at the beginning of Book 2 as a shady hero helping William's rebellion—only for the epilogue to reveal that her plan was to give Liesse to Akua so she can create her doomsday weapon. Her manipulations further lead to Black and Malicia's falling out; the escalation of the Tenth Crusade via the Saint of Swords and Cordelia's growing displeasure with heroes; and a continental war with the Dead King. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that her ultimate goal is to get Cordelia to use her ealamal on a nebulous Evil—first the doomsday weapon, then Neshamah—so that the Intercessor can amplify its blast to destroy the continent.
- Body Backup Drive: The Intercessor's form of immortality: whenever she dies, her spirit moves to a new body.
- The Cynic: 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.
- Death Seeker: 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.
- Default to Good: 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).
- Didn't See That Coming: For all her Genre Savvy, she can, very occasionally, get hit with this when people subvert the heck out of expected norms — or, absolutely insist on deconstructive Surprisingly Realistic Outcome. 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.
- Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?: Apparently, the Wandering Bard performed this on the Gods to achieve her current immortality, only to find that spending eternity in the Void Between the Worlds until intermittently called forth to manipulate Named as the Gods' mouthpiece is kind of a shitty existence.
- The Dog Was the Mastermind: 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 Pivot to be had, she will influence it in some way.Neshamah: Fortune and misfortune both draw you like carrion.
- Drowning My Sorrows: 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.
- The Fettered: 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.
- Final Boss: The Dead King is the most immediate threat for most of the series, but the Intercessor's plans have always been just as dangerous to Calernia's continued survival, and Catherine has been dealing with her machinations ever since the first battle of Liesse. It should come as no surprise that she's the final opponent once the Dead King and his pet drakon have finally been slain, with Catherine and her allies needing to pull on all their narrative weight and genre-savviness to unravel Yara's legion of backup schemes to end the world.
- Friendly Enemy: 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.
- Genre Savvy: Unquestionably the most savvy character in an entire cast full of them. That's including Black.
- Great Gazoo: 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.
- Historical Rap Sheet: 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 Night to the Drow (admittedly that was in an Evil Versus Oblivion Sadistic Choice 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?
- Invisible to Normals: She can only influence the actions of Named or entities at or above that power level.
- Logical Weakness: As the Intercessor’s primary M.O. is to achieve her objectives through inducing other Named to act, there are three main ways to fight back against her:
- Like Anaxares, have such an iron-clad ideal that you cannot be made to bend on it for any reason;
- Like Amadeus, either kill or otherwise silence her before she can get her offer out; or
- Like Kairos or Cat, out-do her in manipulation and genre-savviness.
- Manipulative Bastard: 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.
- Mysterious Backer: She's been indirectly influencing Creation for so long that even The Dead King himself considers her ancient.
- New Powers as the Plot Demands: 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.
- Older Than They Look: 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.
- Quirky Bard: 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 Lethal Joke Character who happens to be juggling a whole drawer full of bigger picture spoons.
- Reality Warper: 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 unfortunate faces, but she still isn't free to do as she pleases.
- Seen It All: 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.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: 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.
- Stepford Snarker: She's snarky, alright. But, it's as much of a defense mechanism as it is part of the job description.
- Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum: Yara reveals that this is her end goal: specifically, she hopes to cause a situation in which the 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 Balance Between Good and Evil, the Gods Above and Below will finally end her Purpose-Driven Immortality.
- Time Abyss: 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.
- Torture Is Ineffective: 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.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: 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.
- Who Wants to Live Forever?: 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.
- Wild Card: 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.
Anaxares
Anaxares of Bellerophon, The Hierarch
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 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 Mend, Receive, and Indict.
- Abdicate the Throne: Sort of. 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 Name Hierarch afterward.
- Achievements in Ignorance: 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 Deader than Dead* . 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 Ascends to a Higher Plane of Existence to track them down.
- Awakening the Sleeping Giant: 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 Despair Event Horizon. After living as an aimless beggar for several months, he's approached by the 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 justice and endeavors to force them all (yes, Gods included) before a tribunal of the People. Nicely done, Bard.
- Badass Creed: 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.
- Dramatic Irony: A pre-bestowal Anaxares briefly expresses surprise that the Ax-Crazy Tyrant of Helike can somehow inspire the same Undying Loyalty from General Basilia, as the Free City of Bellerophon does from him.
- The Dreaded: Pretty much the only two things every Named that meets him acknowledges are (1) He is all the way out of his entire godsdamned mind; and (2) getting his attention is terrible for your health.
- Hate Plague: 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 judge and punish authority figures who abuse their power.
- Hijacking Cthulhu: To enforce his sentence against the Seraphim, Anaxares enters into a battle of wills on the astral plane, pitting the faith of the 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.
- My Country, Right or Wrong: Originally, 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.
- Neutral No Longer: 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 unaligned support for the laws of men.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: 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.
- Please Kill Me if It Satisfies You: 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.
- Power Born of Madness: Somehow, one brainwashed diplomat's extreme patriotism turned him into a Reality Warper.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
- Principles Zealot: 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% Insane Troll Logic.
- Rage Against the Heavens: 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 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 Kairos), and attempted murder (of him) as the Choir attempts to smite him four separate times for his insolence.Hierarch: Given the overwhelming evidence the verdict cannot be in doubt. I pronounce you guilty and sentence you to... death.
- Reluctant Ruler: Exaggerated, as Anaxares's refusal to be a pawn means he would rather live in Barefoot Poverty than enforce his power as Hierarch.
- Villain Respect: Upon watching Anaxares vanish from Creation to Rage Against the Heavens 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.
- Walking the Earth: 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.
- Wrong Context Magic: According to the Wandering Bard, even the Powers That Be can't parse what his deal is. Despite being a Named, he doesn't follow the Role of either receiving power to improve the lives of others (Good) or cultivating power to achieve personal goals (Evil). Instead, he, like almost every Bellerophon citizen, puts his faith in the Will of the People. As the Tyrant of Helike puts it, as the first Named from Bellerophon, his power is "a thousand years of fury and madness poured into a single man."
