Tropes Media Browse Indexes Forums Videos Ask The Tropers Trope Finder Media Finder Trope Launch Pad Tech Wishlist Reviews Tools
Cut List New Edits Edit Reasons Launches Images List Crowner Activity Un-typed Pages Recent Page Type Changes Changelog
Tips
Creating New Redirects Cross Wicking Tips for Editing Text Formatting Rules Glossary Edit Reasons Handling Spoilers Word Cruft Administrivia FAQ
Tropes HQ
About Us Contact Us Advertise DMCA Notice Privacy Policy Report Bug
Go Ad-Free Changelog
  • Show Spoilers
  • Night Vision
  • Sticky Header
  • Highlight Links
 

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Characters / Belisarius Series

Go To

    open/close all folders 

Future Beings

    Aide 

A mysterious creature who goes back in time to seek the help of the Roman general Belisarius to rise against evil.

  • Alternate History Wank: Justifying this trope is part of its purpose in existence. Tropes Are Not Bad, because the result is AWESOME!
  • Chessmaster Sidekick: To Belisarius, as Aide is an AI from the future who come to assist the Romans into resisting Link and does so by acting through Belisarius.
  • The Chooser of the One: Since Aide can't exactly take control of Rome, it acts via Belisarius who was chosen for both his combat and political prowess.
  • The Consigliere: To Belisarius. Aide is his most trusted advisor; as a crystalline AI entity from the future, it has a lot of advice that Belisarius couldn't possibly get from anyone else.
  • Cunning Linguist: Teaches Belisarius language so fast that Belisarius is sometimes hard put to it to conceal his knowledge.
  • Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: Played with. Aide actually has to learn that he has a soul from being around humans.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Especially later on, as he develops his consciousness.
  • Giving Radio to the Romans: Literally. As well as firearms, medicine, and assorted other technologies.
  • The Smart Guy: For the heroes, as it an AI that has knowledge from the future

    Link 

The evil that Aide and Belisarius are fighting against. It is an AI from millions of years in the future that is influencing the Malwa in order to Take Over the World and change history.

  • Big Bad: The main antagonist of the series, being the malicious future entity that came to conquer the past.
  • The Chessmaster: It knows exactly what it has to do in order to achieve its goals.
  • Conqueror from the Future: It comes from the future to Take Over the World and change history.
  • Cyborg: Part machine, part possessed woman.
  • Demonic Possession: Of autistic girls no less.
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Its Achilles' Heel. Link thinks of people as large-scale social movements and as numbers on a list, and does not understand the genuine heroics of its enemies. Thus, Belisarius is constantly able to surprise it in ways that the Link had written off as nigh-impossible.
  • Evil Overlord: Rules over the tyrannical Malwa Empire from the shadows, orchestrating most of its atrocities.
  • Evilutionary Biologist: Plans to create a eugenic racist empire.
  • Giving Radio to the Romans: Kicked things off by giving future knowledge to the Malwa, so they would conquer the world.
  • God-Emperor: Of the Indian Malwa Empire. It poses as a spirit sent by their deities, although those closest to it know the basics of what it really is.
  • Insufferable Genius: A jackass genius who can act as a Living Lie Detector.
  • Living Lie Detector: Uses subconscious and physical cues to determine whether a human is lying. Comes to bite it in the ass when Narses, a man who lies for a living, manages to bullshit it through telling carefully-selected truths.
  • Meaningful Name: The obvious meaning is "link to its creators". Of course, links are also commonly found in chains, and it tries to enslave the world.
  • Scary Dogmatic Aliens: Well, the singular. It's a eugenic robot from the future whose sole function is to safeguard human "purity" and does so by creating a tyrannical world-conquering state.
  • The Spock: Well yeah, it's a computer. And its biggest flaw was being unwilling to learn how to understand human feelings. Humans were its slaves, not its comrades; it was not their "aide".
  • Vocal Dissonance: It uses specific women as host bodies, transferring to the next body whenever one dies. As a result, the age of its host bodies over the story ranges from seventy to eight, and while it can use its host's normal voice, it usually uses a vaguely described but utterly inhuman and emotionless voice that most people find highly unsettling.
  • Utopia Justifies the Means: For certain values of "utopia" that involve rigid caste hierarchies and blood purity, Link is willing to commit atrocities and even use unclean or low-caste tools to do the job.

Romans

    Romans In General 
  • Decadent Court: This is the culture that gave us the adjective "byzantine", remember? Belisarius sometimes seems to spend as much time manipulating the Emperor into letting him save the world rather than executing him as he does actually saving it.
  • Gadgeteer Genius: Romans have a scientific and technological tradition that out-paces all the other civilizations presented. The Malwa have technology but don't really know how to use it because it was just given them out of hand. They think about it the way a spoiled rich kid thinks about money. Romans, by contrast, once proper hints are given are able to take to modern technology like a duck to water.
  • Lightning Bruiser: When Belisarius' Cataphracts (heavy cavalry) are in the neighborhood, it is best for the enemy to be elsewhere.
  • National Weapon: none as such but the most notable is their heavy, armor-piercing Horse Archer bows.

    Belisarius 
Seek the general who is not a warrior

Roman General and the Title Character.

  • Animal Motifs: Is often compared to a mongoose, for his sideways approach to combat.
  • Battle Couple: with Antonia. Though only rarely do they appear on the same battlefield, they coordinate strategy together, and Rana Sanga once speculates that Antonia was assigned to the African theater because Belisarius knew that she would relieve him on time.
  • But I Read a Book About It: He is up on history, like many generals. As a bonus, he is also up on future history.
  • The Chessmaster: His overall tactical plan for fighting the Malwa involves a great deal of manipulating them into doing what he wants, sometimes involving actions set in motion years in advance.
  • Cincinnatus: He never would have considered usurping the throne even though he easily could have.
  • Consummate Professional: it is often commented on that he has a very craftsman-like approach to battle, unlike his fellow generals, who tend towards a warrior-like approach.
  • Country Mouse: It is noted that he is a Thracian and not a Greek. Thracians are pictured as the Byzantine equivalent of rednecks.
  • Four-Star Badass: In addition to being the best general of his time, he is also capable of kicking ass on the battlefield, and has a habit of leading decisive charges.
  • Frontline General: Which annoys his bodyguards Valentinian and Anastasius no end.
  • Genius Bruiser: In addition to being deadly with a blade, he's an intelligent tactician and strategist, occasionally to the point of being The Chessmaster.
  • Happily Married: He has a stable and loving relationship with his wife Antonia.
  • Historical Domain Character: Flavius Belisarius is an actual famous Roman general. Never visited by time travelers as far as we know, though.
  • I Just Want to Be Normal: Often comments that he doesn't want to be a general in charge of saving the world (and being involved in the suffering of countless people), he'd really rather be a village blacksmith somewhere.
  • Make an Example of Them: While not in Bad Boss levels, he is shown purging a few armies of incompetent or corrupt officers more or less terminally.
  • Omniglot: Is fluent in, at a minimum, Latin, Greek, Hunnish, Arabic, Ge'ez, Persian, Kushan, Marathi, Ye-Tai, and Hindi — the last of which he has to hide for a while, since there was no reasonable explanation for how he could learn to speak it fluently with a native accent in a matter of months. Justified in that his learning is being assisted by an AI from the future.
  • Phrase Catcher: "Deadly with a blade is Belisarius." Usually used ironically, when he's just outwitted someone. (Though he's good with a sword too.)
  • Plunder: Belisarius has strict rules about what is allowed to be pillaged and when it is to be divided. Nonetheless, his campaigns send his men home with plenty to spend.
  • The Strategist: He's a tactical genius who regularly manipulates his enemies, setting plans in motion years in advance and applying his knowledge of the past and the future to whichever situation he's currently in.
  • Touched by Vorlons: Aide doesn't just give him access to complete knowledge of the future that would have been. It also gives him nearly-supernatural perception and reflexes in combat.
  • Surpassed the Teacher: Became an even better tactician and strategist than his mentor Maurice.

    Antonina 
Purity in the whore

Former courtesan and Belisarius' wife.

  • Had to Be Sharp: A rather odd variation. Her experience as a courtesan allowed her to read the thoughts of the Malwa she was spying on when they decided to assassinate her. And growing up in the streets of Alexandria and being taught knife work by her father (a disreputable chariot-racer) helped her survive the assassination, not to mention help several of the "assassins" to NOT survive it.
  • Happily Married: Has a stable and loving relationship with her husband Belisarius.
  • Historical Domain Character: Interestingly enough, the Real Life Antonina sometimes accompanied Belisarius on campaigns and was trusted with important staff and diplomatic duties. She was also known as a skilled court intriguer who could watch his back when he left her in Constantinople.
  • Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Well, a retired hooker. She does have a heart of gold.
  • Improvised Weapon: Her murderous meat cleaver, which is destined to become a part of songs and legends.

    Photius 
Son of Antonina and adopted heir to the Roman Empire.

    Maurice 
Belisarius's former mentor in the craft of arms. Now his executive officer.
  • Catchphrase: "No plan survives the first contact with the enemy. That's why he's called the enemy". Phrased a bit more crudely though.
  • Genius Bruiser: He's a tough old soldier who has mastered the art of strategy and basic tactics (though once in the gunpowder age, he focuses more on the former).
  • Surpassed the Teacher: He was the teacher, and was surpassed by his student Belisarius.
  • The Watson: His primary function in the narrative is to tell the audience what the plan is while criticizing it, which in turn gives Belisarius someone to explain any apparent holes in the plan to.

    Sittas 
Aristocratic Roman General, known for his love of cataphract charges.
  • Combat Aestheticist: Has a disagreement with Maurice about this. When Sittas says that he dislikes the changes coming from technology, Maurice points out that he grew up in a war-torn countryside while Sittas grew up in a mansion in Constantinople, that if Maurice knew a better way of making a living he would take it, and that frankly he preferred just to survive thank you very much. Despite this, Sittas is sensible enough to be a skillful commander and actually does get to have some of his beloved cataphract charges.
  • Ephebophile: Never explicitly, but when Irene is introduced, she is described as apparently in her late twenties (though perhaps a little older) and differing from Sittas's usual female "friends" by about fifteen years of age (and twice the intelligence).
  • Fat Idiot: Definite subversion. Sittas is more than willing to act the part; he has comparatively little formal education and is a completely shameless hedonist. However, he still manages to be a strategist even Belisarius speaks highly of, as well as a very capable lancer.
  • Onrushing Army: Except when he does it, it works.

    Procopius 
Gossipy secretary who impugns Antonina's reputation for fidelity. Unaware that Belisarius and Antonina are playing him.
  • Historical Domain Character: In real life, he wrote The Secret History of the Court of Justinian, as well as other, more flattering works about Justinian's court.
  • Unreliable Narrator: He's presented as a shameless gossip whose book is full of slanderous nonsense. note 

    Valentinian 
Bodyguard of Belisarius
  • The Ace: He possesses great strength, even greater speed (he may be the fastest blade in the world), and a good amount of military knowledge. And he is perhaps THE most skilled combatant in the entire series (Raghunath Rao, Ousanas, Anastasius, and Rana Sanga are also top competitors, but in terms of sheer skill alone, he dominates).
  • Animal Motifs: Valentinian is often referred to as a human weasel, due to his pinched face, extreme speed, and complete lack of compunction when it comes to killing. Indians, however, refer to him as the Mongoose, which has similar characteristics, but with overtones of courage and loyalty.
  • Blade Enthusiast: Even though he prefers other kinds of fighting, he always has several knives around. Just in case. It's even rumored that he wipes his behind with a dagger.
  • Combat Pragmatist: This is almost a religion to him. He has utter intolerance for any thought of any hand-to-hand combat technique that does not contribute to victory and is noted for the economy of his style. The one time he deviates is when he meets Rana Sanga who believes in Let's Fight Like Gentlemen. Valentinian is so impressed by Rana Sanga (as well as the fact that he can tell he is being promoted in reputation from "the weasel" to "the mongoose") that he decides to use a more spectacular technique for once and gets a scar for his pains. If he hadn't, though, he might actually have killed Sanga, thus preventing Sanga's Heel–Face Turn that brings the Rajputs to the good side.
  • Crazy-Prepared: Again, his belief in perfectionism with regard to hand-to-hand combat is almost religious. He even took the time to train Rajiv Sanga how to fight with kitchen knives and household accessories. After all even a prince might find himself without a sword.
  • Everyone Has Standards: While his morality is minimal and he has no inhibitions about killing, he is actually horrified by the sight of a war-rape victim the party finds at a slave market (even though he had been in sacked cities before and she is hardly the first rape-victim that he has seen), and while he would stoop to a utilitarian Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique if need be, he would have resigned if ordered to torture people simply to amuse the perversions of Malwa courtiers.
  • Famed In-Story: One of two known people, on the entire planet, who go toe-to-toe with the World's Best Warrior Rana Sanga in a straight fight and not immediately die. Afterward, the Malwa call him "The Mongoose", which is a very honorable nickname by their standards.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Smaller than Anastasius, but still a big and strong man. He's also probably the single fastest warrior in the series, able to shoot two arrows to Anastasius's one and able to take on Rana Sanga, the greatest warrior in the entire series, on equal footing.
  • Phrase Catcher: When Belisarius wants someone disposed of he simply says "Valentinian."
  • Psycho Sidekick: He is not only Belisarius' bodyguard, he is his personal executioner.
  • Retired Badass: When last seen he is joining Shakuntala's Praetorian Guard. In other words his retirement ticket is to be a badass.
  • Sociopathic Hero: Many men lack the ability to kill at the drop of a hat. Valentinian kills without anyone having to even look at the hat.

    Anastasius 
Bodyguard of Belisarius
  • The Ace: Face it: when you possess enormous strength, an immense amount of skill, perfect fitness, a ridiculously large amount of knowledge, and more than 7 feet in height, as well as being as fast as most other cataphracts...
  • The Big Guy: Let's face it: if your strength is compared to that of a guy who ruptures bodies with a single spear thrust, and decapitates people with javelin throws… there's a good chance you'd be this. Even more so because of his immense skill (if not finesse) in combat.
  • Genius Bruiser: He tortures new recruits… by cornering them and making them discuss history and philosophy with him. He is more than able to quote a historical battle while he's decapitating someone with a mace.
  • Lightning Bruiser: You'd think he'd be a Mighty Glacier, but he has shown himself to be ridiculously fit and as fast as or faster than most other soldiers. And, well, he's a giant with immense fitness, loaded up with muscle and a master of the lance and mace.
  • Retired Badass: Like Valentinian he joins Shakuntala's personal guard at the end, thus making being a badass his actual retirement ticket.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: Played with. Like Rana Sanga, his strength is so great that he doesn't have any suitably strong opponents to practice against; while still a very skilled warrior, comparatively weaker men like Valentinian clearly have more advanced skills.

    Abbu 
Bedouin Chief and Auxiliary Light Cavalryman in Belisarius' army.
  • Had to Be Sharp: He's a bedouin darn it; he lives in the desert. That's why the Romans want him as a scout.
  • Noble Savage: Averted. He is not particularly more noble than anyone else. He is however a skilled warrior.
  • Puppet State: His tribe is a client of the Romans and sends warriors to serve in Belisarius' army.

    Narses 
Faith in the traitor.

Traitorous Roman Spymaster. Once Theodora's mentor, but betrays her and the Roman Empire because of his ambition.

    Irene 
  • Badass Bookworm: She has one of the biggest libraries in the entire world.
  • Happily Married: Gets married to Kungas halfway through the series, and they're very happy together.

    John of Rhodes 
Roman naval officer and weapons designer

    Eusibius 
Lieutenant of John of Rhodes
  • Drill Sergeant Nasty: Not as ruthless as some in this regard but has a strong belief in perfectionism.

    Menander 
One of the early companions of Belisarius. First seen as a naive young soldier. Latter becomes commander of Romes first high tech naval fleet.

    Justinian 
Emperor before being excluded due to blindness. Determined to rectify his failures in his historical reign.
  • The Emperor: Of the Byzantine Empire.
  • Emperor Scientist: Subverted. He is an emperor who is also a scientist, but he did not become emperor by being a scientist.
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Or at least his paranoid, suspicious nature cannot comprehend unconditional loyalty. In an Aide-supplied vision of a Bad Future featuring the fall of Constantinople, that Justinian wonders why Belisarius never usurped him since the empire would probably have been better off with him in charge, and he can only respond with anguished incomprehension to the latter's reply of "I swore an oath."
  • Gadgeteer Genius: He spends much of his spare time building gadgets, including various vanity projects like levitating thrones for himself and Theodora.
  • Genius Cripple: Being blinded hardly affects his status as a Gadgeteer Genius; he actually winds up believing that his lack of eyesight allows him to interact with his creations on a deeper level. He also remains a very competent legislator.
  • Good Is Not Nice: "He is not a nice man." "No, but he could be a great man."
  • Grumpy Old Man: Scarcely middle-aged, if that, but very, very grumpy.
  • Happily Married: Downplayed. He and Theodora are both pretty miserable and unpleasant most of the time, and neither of them can really be called "happy." That being said, their love for each other is genuine, and they make a good Ruling Couple.
  • Historical Domain Character: He's Justinian I, one of the most famous emperors of the Byzantine Empire.
  • Manly Tears: When he learns from Aide that his wife is doomed to die from cancer, he regrets not being able to weep over her more due to his blindness.
  • Rags to Royalty: In the Backstory, he was a peasant.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Usually, when his anger or suspicion aren't getting in his way.
  • Ruling Couple: He and Theodora rule the empire together, especially after he was blinded.
  • A Shared Suffering: With Theodora. They can't be considered Happily Married because they are both too grumpy to be happily anything. But there is nothing wrong with their relationship, and it is the only thing about either of them that can possibly be considered endearing.
  • Unable to Cry: Literally; his tear ducts were burnt out. He comes to resent this when he learns that Theodora will inevitably die of cancer. note 
  • Worrying for the Wrong Reason: Belisarius' popularity made him so nervous that Irene hinted that Belisarius would actually be safer on a long and dangerous fact-finding trip to India. He didn't notice the Malwa conspiracy.

    Theodora 
Murder in the wife

Justinian's devoted wife and Empress. Regent after his blindness.

  • Ambition Is Evil: Downplayed, as with with Justinian. Ambition doesn't make her evil, but it does make her not nice.
  • Broken Bird: As a result of her troubled childhood, she's intensely paranoid, cynical, and distrusting, as well as status-obsessed and arrogant due to her need to prove she's too powerful to be hurt again.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: According to Antonina, she was sexually abused as a child and ultimately forced into prostitution, and the things her pimp did to her were too awful to recount.
  • Does Not Like Men: She's distrustful of most men, for reasons that are understandable given her backstory. She does love Justinian, but she still doesn't trust him completely.
  • The Emperor: Gender-inverted. She ruled alongside Justinian, then became his regent after he was blinded.
  • Ermine Cape Effect: Deconstructed. She's obsessive about wearing her Imperial regalia as much as humanly possible, both to prove to herself and to everyone else that she's an Empress who can no longer be victimized the way she was as a child.
  • God Save Us from the Queen!: Downplayed. She's not exactly a tyrant (at least according to the standards of the time), but she's intensely paranoid, suspicious, and obsessed with maintaining her power and status thanks to her Dark and Troubled Past. After Justinian is blinded, she goes on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge that leads to dozens of violent executions and leaves the empire fearing for her sanity.
  • Good Is Not Nice: She's definitely on the heroes' side, and she's actually a (relatively) Reasonable Authority Figure much of the time. That being said, she's also incredibly paranoid, cruel, and resentful, especially after her husband is blinded, and it's implied that her Dark and Troubled Past combined with her rapid ascent to power have left her with serious emotional issues. Her default state is anger and misery, and Antonina and Justinian are the only people who can tolerate her personality long enough to actually get along with her.
  • Grumpy Old Woman: She is not quite 40, but the grumpiness more than makes up for it. Phoetius and Tahmina actually make a system for categorizing Theodora's moods. It mostly deals with the gradations of her bad moods, as the good ones are too rare to bother with.
  • Happily Married: Downplayed; Justinian and Theodora are both too paranoid, stressed, and cynical to be called "happy." That being said, there's nothing wrong with their relationship, and they seem to genuinely love each other as much as people in their positions really can.
  • Historical Domain Character: Like Justinian, Antonina, Belisarius, Narses, et cetera. Some of her dialogue is actually from Procopius's works about the real Theodora (for example, her statement about purple being the noblest shroud—in real life, Theodora supposedly said that during the Nika riots.)
  • Hooker with a Heart of Gold: She was one before she married, but her heart of gold is mostly for Justinian; almost everyone else gets one of iron.
  • Never Be Hurt Again: She is almost obsessive about her Ermine Cape Effect to reassure herself that she is too powerful to be oppressed like the street girl she once was.
  • Only Friend: She has Antonina due to their similar pasts, and...that's it. No one else can deal with her prickly personality. She can't even fake being a mother convincingly.
  • Rags to Royalty: She was not just a courtesan like Antonina, but an actual Sex Slave. Antonina comments that while whisperers are more charitable toward her because at least she was picky about her clients, it should have been the other way around because Theodora was forced rather then merely pressured by poverty.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Some of the time.
  • Ruling Couple: She ruled the empire together with Justinian and became his regent after he was blinded.
  • Violently Protective Girlfriend: After Justinian is blinded, she goes on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge. Beginning by urinating in the eyes of the torturer who blinded him.

    Michael of Macedonia 
Doubt in the prophet

The monk who first discovers Aide.

    Bishop Cassian 
Friend of Michael's. Theologian and cleric, part of a moderate branch of the Church that rises to prominence after failed Malwa manipulations discredit ultra-orthodox forces.
  • Odd Friendship: Cassian is a mild-mannered fellow and Michael is definitely not. Also Cassian is an important member of the Church bureaucracy while Michael is a solitary hermit.

    Calopodius the Blind 
Young soldier who becomes chronicler of Belisarius' exploits
  • Insatiable Newlyweds: Zigzagged. When first he saw his wife he had one night and then went off to war. When he met her later after being blinded in battle they were effectively still newlyweds. And this time they were insatiable.
  • The Magnificent: "The blind scribe", or "the blind." A bit of a subversion until one remembers how he got the nickname.
  • Nobility Marries Money: Calopodius's family is wealthy merchants. Anna's family is impoverished upper nobility.
  • Running Gag: He got very good marks in grammar and rhetoric.

    Anna 
Wife of Calopodius the Blind. Becomes famous for cleaning up hospitals in the rear area.
  • The Dulcinea Effect: Zig-Zagged. When first we meet her she is about to be raped and the two retired veterans nearby are too jaded to help until she offers money. Later she attracts this more and more.
  • Gilded Cage: In her backstory.
  • Good Is Not Soft: She wasn't a skilled medic as such. What she did do was hire a pair of soldiers as personal enforcers and then persuaded the staff of mismanaged millitary hospitals to observe proper sanitary conditions by the effective means of threatening to beat them up.
  • Jeanne d'Archétype: More a Florence Nightingale archetype, but yeah.
  • The Magnificent: She is called "The Wife". Perhaps also a subversion; not that badass sounding but the wounded soldiers who gave the name to her absolutely adore her
    • It also might imply respect for her determination in her quest to find Callopedius

    Agathius 
Wounded Roman officer, Belisarius' chief of staff

    Theodoran Cohort 
Syrian peasants recruited to be the first gunpowder unit in the Roman Army and the core of Antonia's force.
  • Battle Couple: Most of the men were young married and their wives came along

Maratha

    Maratha In General 

    Shakuntala 
Passion in the virgin

Indian Princess rescued by Belisarius so she can lead a revolt.

  • Rousing Speech: She does this to convince the Kushans to change sides. The fact that she is a more likable employer then Venandekatra helped quite a bit.
  • Virgin Power: Well, she was a powerful virgin in the first half of the series. It gives her no magical power except for making it easier for Belisarius to manipulate Venandekatra's Lust.
  • Waif-Fu: Shakuntala is Ragunath Rao's prize protegé, probably a more skilled fighter than her bodyguards and phenomenally fast and strong. For a 4'10'', 90 lb. teenage girl.
  • Wartime Wedding: Flaunted in front of the Malwa no less, with a delightfully gruesome chant about what this Battle Couple intends to do.
  • What Beautiful Eyes!: She is poetically called "The black-eyed pearl of the Satavahanas."

    Raghunath Rao 
One of the two most skilled fighters in India (the other is Rana Sanga), and a Maratha guerrilla commander.
  • Animal Motifs: He's heavily associated with Panthers, with one of his nicknames being "The Panther of Maharashtra".
  • Catchphrase: "Only the soul matters in the end"
  • Celibate Hero: Until he marries Shakuntala of course. Except for one embarrassing incident when he was fourteen.
  • Chastity Couple: With Shakuntala before marrying.
  • I Have Many Names: The Panther of Maharashtra, the Wind of the Great Country, the Shield of the Deccan.
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: He is perfectly prepared to enjoy a royal wedding feast for someone else if it helps Shakuntala defeat her foes. That of course turns out to be unnecessary.
  • Ninja: Rao isn't Japanese, obviously, but he proves very early on that he can ninja with the best of them.
  • Red Baron: "The Panther of Maharashtra" and "The Wind of the Great Country".
  • Wolverine Claws: He likes a lot of weapons, but his most singular one is his iron-clawed gauntlet.

    Dadaji Holkar 
Decision in the slave

  • Happiness in Slavery: To Belisarius before his service to Shakuntala. Justified because he would otherwise have had a worse slavery and Belisarius gave him a promise of future freedom and a cause to work for.
  • Made a Slave: As part of his backstory
  • Noble Bigot: He is more then a little uptight about caste sensibilities. To be fair he applies that even to himself; he is disturbed that Shakuntala wants him as a counselor as obviously only a Brahmin would be fit for such a job. In any case this prejudice interferes with his advice about Shakuntala's upcoming marriage.
  • Retired Badass Bookworm: In his backstory it is told that he was a Maratha warrior when he was young and saw the duel between Rao and Rana Sanga.
  • Parental Substitute: To Shakuntala. More like substitute uncle, or substitute grandparent but you get the point.

Rajputs

    Rajputs In General 
  • Heroic Lineage: Lampshaded. Rajputs say they are descended from heroes of Hindu Mythology which is why they call themselves Rajputs(sons of kings). Other tribes say they are descended from just another Barbarian Tribe. They do not say that around Rajputs though.
  • Honor Before Reason: Foreigners are in fact exasperated at the eccentric fanaticism with which they regard their personal honor at times.

    Rana Sanga 
The friend across the field

Rajput prince and vassal of the Malwan Empire. Generally regarded to be the best frontline warrior in India, other than Raghunath Rao.

  • The Ace: At warfare, his mix of great skill and great strength make him this. While slightly less skilled and possibly a little slower than Valentinian, Rana Sanga is probably the best all-around warrior in the world, handily defeating Belisarius in a short match on the battlefield and only being stopped by Valentinian.
  • Exact Words: Which Emperor did he pledge loyalty toward exactly?
  • Mighty Glacier: Although he's fast in an absolute sense, both his legendary duels featured Rana Sanga as a slow, heavy hitter facing a Lightning Bruiser.
  • One-Man Army: He is widely considered to be the single greatest hand-to-hand fighter in the world, has never been defeated outright, is strong enough to cut a man in half vertically, and easily destroys the Malwa garrison at Kausambi with minimal casualties on his side.
  • Trapped in Villainy: because of his oath and the threat to his family.
  • Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Inverted. Sanga is tall, strong, and described as the pinnacle of Rajput manhood. His wife is short, plump plain-looking and was grey-haired before her thirtieth birthday. Sanga loves her more than anything.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: Played with. His incredible strength means that he couldn't train against a proper opponent; while he's certainly no slouch in the skill department, it's made clear in their duel that the comparatively Weak, but Skilled Valentinian has the edge in speed and skill. Anastasius has a similar problem.
  • World's Best Warrior: Generally considered one of the greatest and deadliest warriors on Earth. There's precisely two other fighters in the entire series who can demonstrably match him.

    Lady Sanga 
The wife of Rana Sanga.
  • Happily Married: She and Rana are very much in love and in a happy marriage.
  • When She Smiles: Seeing her happy smile and the genuine warmth behind that smile is the reason Rana fell (and still is) madly in love with her.

    Rajiv Sanga 
Eldest Son of Rana Sanga
  • Combat Pragmatist: Has been imbued with this religion by Valentinian.
  • Deliberate Values Dissonance: To us, Rajiv is a child soldier. To the world around him, he's just another young rookie being trained to fight.
  • Kid Rajput
  • I Am Not My Father: Toyed with. Rajiv's best combat instructor is the one that gets it into the kid's skull that he will never match his father in size and power so he should adjust his style accordingly before he gets himself killed.
  • Improvised Weapon: He kills three trained mercenaries with a pick and shovel.
  • Nice to the Waiter: When Rana Sanga was storming the gate. He felt pity on several of the low-born Malwa mooks, rushed out and demanded fealty of them and then ordered them to get out of the way. When his father saw them he accepted their surrender. Whereupon Rajiv joined Rana Sanga in conquering the rest of the city.
  • My Dad Can Beat Up Your Dad: Quite true and Rajiv is very proud of that.
  • "Not So Different" Remark: After his first taste of combat, Rajiv realizes why his father was always so quiet.
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy: Per his culture's idiom.
  • Renowned Selective Mentor: One of the two people that survived a duel with his father winds up instructing him.
  • So Proud of You: Rana Sanga's reaction to Rajiv. Specifically, Rajiv standing in front of the thousand or so Malwa Slave Mooks who he's just convinced to swear loyalty to him. Rana Sanga is so proud that he orders Rajiv to ride with him to battle for the first time.

Axumites

    Axumites In General 
  • Ascetic Aesthetic: Especially compared to other empires. They can put on a good parade from time to time though.
  • Elective Monarchy: Sort of. While it is hereditary, the commanders of the Sarwen(regiments) have the right of veto.
  • Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Their emperor's list of titles is exactly the territories he is ruling at the time with no fol-de-rol about listing mythological claims and wishful thinking. When they conquer a territory it is added to the Emperor's title and when they lose it it is taken away. And that is that.
  • Father Neptune: Every Axumite is apparently a Father Neptune.
  • Modest Royalty: Compared to all the other nations they make a positive fetish of unpretentiousness. To the point where they resemble ancient Sparta.
  • National Weapon: Their spears are described as lovingly as if they were women.
  • Semper Fi: Sort of. Their national style of war is as marines with spears.

    Eon 
  • Cursed with Awesome: Part of Belisarius's plan to fool Venandakatra in book 1 involves Eon having sex with an endless train of Maratha and Kushan prostitutes. When Eon, a famously amorous young man, starts complaining about how much sex he's having, the other soldiers are completely unsympathetic.
  • Dying Moment of Awesome: It is magnificent. And indirectly results in the incredibly cathartic murder of Venandakatra.
  • Everyone Has Standards: Eon will fuck pretty much any woman who will willingly copulate with him, but he almost kills Belisarius when he discovers that the latest naked woman delivered to his room is a traumatized survivor of gang-rape.
  • Foreshadowing: The other Axumites speculate several times in the early books about what kind of a negusa negast Eon would be. They are all, sadly, correct.
  • The High King: His title is Nagusa Ngast meaning "King of Kings."
  • Historical Hero Upgrade: Lampshaded by himself, when he thinks while dying that his Dying Moment of Awesome was really youthful stupidity that would be blown out of proportion by storytellers. In fact it was very heroic, and a severe blow to Malwa as well as raising Axum to untold heights. Eon simply carried it out in an unprofessional manner.
  • Modest Royalty: He has moments of grandeur but most of the time he prefers to act as a high-spirited youth, and treats everyone else as comrades.
  • Nice to the Waiter: He always treats the palace servant girls well back home. And they respond gratefully. This is brought up when the sarwen judge his worthiness; the idea being that a King treats his country like he does his servants.
  • Perfectly Arranged Marriage: His first official wife was a representative of an influential Arab tribe in a marriage that helped appease a budding rebellion. As a bonus she was very pretty, vivacious, loved to read just like Eon, and was very useful at helping with paperwork.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The Malwa kill his father, his brother, and his beloved concubines. Eon's response is a full commitment of Axum's armed forces to the war effort, and a savage assault on the Malwa coastline that eventually results in his Dying Moment of Awesome.
  • Royal Brat: His cover in India was this. He managed to pull it off quite well though once or twice he couldn't stomach it.

    Ousanas 
The dawazz to Eon. A dawazz's job is to teach a member of the royal family the realities of the world, and teach them to overcome them and build morality. Along the way, it may be that the dawazz has to defend his charge. In both of these, Ousanas was the obvious choice.
  • The Ace: The guy who tracked down Raghunath Rao himself, and then began discussing advanced philosophy with him. His spear strikes can rupture human bodies, and the swings lop heads clean off.
  • Animal Motifs: Panther, like Rao. But also because he was once mauled by one.
  • Dope Slap: Prone to giving this to Eon. It's his job.
  • Elective Broken Language: He speaks like You No Take Candle at first, but it's really just an act.
  • Genius Bruiser: He mastered seven languages by the time he was 12. The other eighteen soon followed after. And did we mention that he's in the same league of strength as Anastasius?
  • Happiness in Slavery: Justified. He is a rather odd sort of slave.
  • Lightning Bruiser: He can track Raghunath Rao, and demonstrates that he is perfectly capable of killing him. His strength is also on par with Anastasius'.
  • Noble Savage: Subverted. He was originally from an uncivilized African tribe, but he is quite cultured, as well as one of the most intelligent characters in the series.
  • The Philosopher: He prefers Plato. This leads to a friendly rivalry with Raghunath Rao and Anastasius, who loudly and somewhat melodramatically disagree.
  • Scary Black Man: Not really; he usually doesn't appear very menacing, usually relying on the others in his party to put on a grand show. But then, the pirates start swarming on board, and you learn what a man who hunts lions, elephants, and buffalo can do to human flesh.

    Garmat 
Half-Ethiopian, Half-Arab. Formally a partisan fighter leading bedouin against Axumite incursions but decided the fight was hopeless. Later served Eon's father in the same role as Ousanas, and became a councilor of Eon.
  • Ambadassador: When first met he was an escort to Eon's mission to Constantinople.

    Rukaiya 
Wife of Eon. Chosen from a number of candidates by to cement relations between Axum and protectorate Arab tribes.
  • Beauty Contest: Winner of a political beauty pagent so to speak; she was chosen for political usefulness but beauty was a consideration because it makes it easier for the king to fulfill his duty.
  • The Chief's Daughter: Sort of. Her father is a sheik of a powerful merchant clan
  • The Consigliere: She helped with bookkeeping, both for her father and for Eon.
  • Culture Equals Costume: Eon insists that she be married without a veil because she is now an Axumite consort.
  • Daddy's Girl: She got along with her father so well that she almost was disappointed to marry a king and leave him. Her father was a Doting Parent who amazingly actually taught her to read.
  • Geeky Turn-On: One of the things that makes her love Eon is the fact that he has one of the biggest libraries in the world.
  • Mandatory Motherhood: She is almost rejected because she looks too skinny to produce heirs despite being beautiful and intelligent.
  • Succession Crisis: She lived through two major succession crises' in the series, one when Eon's family was killed (which she was called upon to solve) and one after the death of Eon when the only heir was a baby.

Persians

    Persians in General 

    Khusrau 
Emperor of Iran and non-Iran
  • The Good King: Plays this up, but is actually a very competent and intelligent ruler.
  • Historical Domain Character: Known to Sassanid history buffs as Khosrau I Anushiruwan, who reformed the Persian army and tax system, sacked Antioch, and is generally regarded as the greatest Sassanid Shahanshah. His tax code reforms were used for nearly a thousand years after his death by the various Persian and Muslim empires in the Middle East.
  • The Magnificent: Aide reveals to Belisarius that Khusrau will one day be known as Khusrau Anushirvan, or Khusrau of the immortal soul.

    Baresmanas 
Persian General and contact of Belisarius

    Kurush 
Commander of Persian troops serving beside Belisarius.
  • Man of Wealth and Taste: His wine goblets are so expensive that the Romans are reluctant to drink from them until told that he is so rich that he didn't need to think about the price, that he had two chests of them, and anyway if they dropped them his thick and gorgeous rug on his tent floor would keep them from breaking.
  • Non-Idle Rich: He looks just like a typical Upper-Class Twit, but Belisarius notes the scar on his thumb came from pulling a bow-string and the wrinkles around his eyes came from straining them examining the terrain of battlefields.
  • Young Bow: He is young and somewhat inexperienced compared to Baresmanas but still a Badasss

    Firuz 
Incompetant Persian general who commanded against Belisarius before the war with the Malwa. Goaded into making a stupid assault and presenting Belisarius with a great victory.

    Tahmina 
Persian Princess who marries Photius cementing alliance with Rome.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: Appears in Book 1 as the then-unnamed girl about to be ravaged by mercenaries. It's not until Book 3, when we meet her father Beresmanas, that we learn her name. From there, her character arc slowly grows until her marriage, at which point her and Photius's arcs join and continue to grow, becoming an independent story thread.
  • Damsel in Distress: When first met she is about to be raped by an stray mercenary in Belisarius' army. She is rescued from this fate by Belisarius and her tormentor is introduced to Valentinian.

    Sudaba 
Wife of Agathius who travels with him on campaign.

Kushans

    Kushans In General 
  • Happiness in Slavery : Played with. After being captured the defecting Kushan POWs insist on being called Belisarius' "slaves" for the sake of propriety even though they are obviously happier fighting against Malwa then for it.
  • Jack of All Trades: They are efficient as horsemen, as footmen, and as sappers; they can fight in both the plains and the mountains. The only thing they have a hard time adapting to is naval warfare and they can at least intimidate sailors on ships they requisition.
  • Proud Warrior Race: More of a Proud Soldier Race; their main strengths are that they fight as a unit and have iron discipline on top of their copious skill.
  • Rising Empire: The Kushans go from lower-mid ranking vassals of the Malwa to an independent regional empire that's rapidly reaching into central and northern Asia and tears a chunk of land out of the north of Malwa. In five years.

    Kungas 
  • Bodyguarding a Badass: He's Shakuntala bodyguard for a while, despite the fact she's a trained assassin.
  • Da Chief: Both as Shakuntula's jailor and later as head of her first Praetorian Guard.
  • Feudal Overlord: The Pathan call him "great king" instead of king because calling him king would imply that they are his subjects whereas "great king" means simply that their tribal chiefs do homage to him.
  • Founder of the Kingdom: Founder of a renewed Kushite empire that is.
  • Happily Married: Gets married to Irene halfway through the series, and they're very happy together.
  • Sex God: Irene describes he is by far the best lover she has ever had.
  • The Stoic: Kungas' expressions are so subtle that only those very familiar with him can tell what he is feeling.

Malwans

    Malwa in General 
  • The Empire: An Indian empire.
  • Empire with a Dark Secret: They are ruled by an evil robot.
  • Establishing Character Moment: They first appear in Aide's vision as a massive, unstoppable army subjecting the Roman Empire to Rape, Pillage, and Burn. The first time we see them for real, they're doing exactly that to Andhra, slaughtering just about everyone in the capital except for its teenage princess Shakuntala, who is then taken to be the concubine of the series' resident psychopath.
  • Fatal Flaw: Malwa discourages independence of thought and action, and relies on the their technological superiority and sheer size. Their tactics and strategy are usually "throw bodies at the problem" note . Contrast this with Belisarius and his allies, who pull off elaborate plans because they actually trust subordinates and went for quality over quantity.
  • Impaling With Extreme Prejudice: They seem to have an odd fascination with this.
  • Malwan Mook Hand-to-Hand Combat Academy
    • In-universe, the Malwa's military incompetence is the subject of much ribald comedy among the Roman soldiers.
  • Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Apparently no one else in the entire world is as fond of it as they. You'd think an empire led by a robot devoted to breeding purity would find a less erratic method.
  • Rape, Pillage, and Burn: They don't just do this because military discipline fails—they do this as a policy.
  • We Have Reserves: They even have a humorously long train of spare generals, going through at least six supreme commanders in the books. (Their fates: exiled for incompetence, exiled for incompetence, executed for incompetence, either executed to cover the Link's tracks or killed by the enemy, defected and stole the throne, and last but not least, Lord Samudra, who just hid in his fort and waited for everything to be over.)

    Great Lady Holi 
One of a series of women chosen to be the avatar or "sheath" of Link, and raised specifically for this purpose. When Link takes over, their personality is erased and they are simply Link.

Holi died during the Siege of Charax. She was replaced by Great Lady Sati.

  • Wicked Witch: Well, sort of. She fits the archetype, being an old crone with unearthly powers.

    Great Lady Sati 
Holi's intended successor, a young woman. Dies when her army is trapped by Belisarius while attempting to prevent Domadara's coup. Replaced by Great Lady Rani, an eight year old girl.

    Great Lady Rani 
Last potential sheath of Link. Eight years old. Captured by an assassination team after the storming of the Malwa capital and brought to Damodara where she is executed.

    Skandagupta 
  • The Caligula: It is not safe to be one of his immediate subordinates, at all.
  • The Emperor: The puppet emperor of the Malwa.
  • Epic Fail: His attempts to counter Lord and Lady Damodara's plots in book 6 essentially consist of "throw soldiers at problem", "execute officers when they fail", "promote untested junior officers", and "rinse and repeat". Predictably, he loses all support and is ousted.
  • Manchild: His evil ranting in book 6 can come off as this.
  • Pet the Dog: When he knows Big Bad Link might be transferred to a little girl's body, he's actually concerned about the girl, though he can't quite understand his own feelings. He also screams when it actually happens, though that might be because he realizes how screwed they are. This is his only sign of niceness in the entire series.

    Venandakatra the Vile 
A Malwan lord with quite the Decadent Court. Living exponent of every vice known to man and some that aren't.
  • 0% Approval Rating: Even the other Malwa think he's disgusting.
  • Bad Boss: All Malwa nobles except Damodara are this, but Venandakatra kicks it up a notch. He would be a parody if people didn't actually suffer as a result of his orders.
  • Brain Bleach: His presence requires a lot of this. He is not called the Vile One for nothing.
  • The Caligula: So much so that his being appointed to an important post is followed within mere months by a full-scale rebellion that eventually tears out a major state from Malwa's flank.
  • Conspicuous Consumption: A rather thinly-built man, who has become obese from too much feasting and not enough exercise.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: His response to any inconvenience. He has everyone who survived Raghunath Rao's rescue of Shakuntala impaled for failing at the impossible task of stopping him, including an old woman. His policy with regards to the rebellion in the Deccan is to punish every villager in areas where rebellions occur, and impalement is the least severe punishment he inflicts on them.
  • Dirty Coward: Fittingly for such an irredeemable character. His last moments are spent mostly whimpering in terror and wetting himself.
  • Dirty Old Man: He's described as being in his late middle years, and finds Shakuntala, then 17, to be too old for his tastes, not that he minds too much.
  • Epic Fail: His attempted siege of Deogiri, which ends with the humiliation of Raghunath Rao having a party on the city's walls with an Axumite battalion mooning Venandakatra's entire army. Nanda Lal comes by shortly thereafter to tell Venandakatra to pack up and head home.
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Part of why he's such a perfect dupe for Belisarius. Venandakatra, an accomplished practitioner of every conceivable depravity, assumes that other men are ruled by their vices and attempts to gain leverage over them through said vices. When confronted with a genuinely virtuous man who is willing to pretend to be a corrupt lecher (namely, Belisarius), Venandakatra is tricked into letting his guard down in exactly the way Belisarius wanted.
  • Evil Is Hammy: His Psychopathic Manchild antics come off as this, especially if you have a strong stomach. Helped by the protagonists regularly remarking on his idiocy and sadism.
  • Fat Bastard: His overeating has made him into one, despite his naturally thin build.
  • For the Evulz: Let's face it, pretty much every sick and twisted thing Venandakatra does, he does because he likes it.
  • General Failure: To the point that Belisarius lets him live because his very presence will forment rebellion in Malwa territory.
  • Gorn: He loves this. Anything to do with causing suffering and feeling power is his delight. Hey a man's got to have some hobbies doesn't he?
  • Hate Sink: To the audience and to the Maratha rebels, both due to his sheer brutality.
  • I Have You Now, My Pretty: He almost had Shakuntala, although a vision of a possible alternate future shows that if she hadn't been rescued, she would have killed him before being cut down by his bodyguards.
  • Karmic Death: Raghunath Rao emasculates and castrates Venandakatra, severs the nerves in Venandakatra's arms and legs, and impales Venandakatra on the short stake Rao carved Venandakatra's throne into.
  • It's All About Me: In one scene he doesn't care that the city is being stormed and everyone else has a battle to fight. He is going to have an escort to guard his precious sedan-chair and if he can't have that it is proof that his men are failing their duty.
  • The Load: To the Malwa. While actually rather devious, his sheer sadism and obnoxious evil makes him a walking encouragement for rebellion.
  • Lust: For Shakuntala. This makes him the perfect dupe for Belisarius and inadvertently leads to the demise of the Malwa Empire.
  • Man of Wealth and Taste: Subverted. He indeed has lots of wealth and he drags enough of it into the field with him to make a full-scale palace (which does little for his already negligible military effectiveness). However he has absolutely no taste in how he displays it.
  • Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Subverted. No he is not "The Ruthless", he is not "The Cruel", nor is he "The Terrible". He is the Vile One. People may fear his mooks but they will never respect him personally.
  • Pædo Hunt: Implied in his POV chapter in book 1, confirmed later on.
  • Rape, Pillage, and Burn: His favorite hobbies. As long as it doesn't require him to do any actual fighting.
  • Royal Brat: His Catchphrase is basically "I am the Emperor's first cousin!"
  • Sadist: He enjoys inflicting gruesome tortures for his own entertainment. He's a sadist in the sexual sense as well, brutalizing the pubescent girls he keeps as concubines so viciously that he often kills them.
  • Serial Killer: It is implied that he eventually kills most of his Sex Slaves.
  • Sex Slave: He tortures them in the process until they are completely traumatized even though he has enough power to have the minimal decency to just order them to have sex with him rather than physically ravishing them. It is specially noted that in other countries "concubine" means "aristocrat's pampered junior wife" whereas to him it means "Venandakatra's next rape victim".
  • The Sociopath: Venandakatra loves three things: being rich, eating himself into an early grave, and doing the most depraved things humanly imaginable to whatever poor bastard is within easy reach. Emotions like "love" and "respect" seem to be foreign to him.
  • Stupid Evil: Even for the Malwa. Nanda Lal even calls him out on it.

    Damodara 
A Malwan Lord and Belisarius' rival.
  • Anti-Villain: For his time, a decent and extremely competent leader and man... who's born and raised in a racist, authoritarian hellhole.
  • Becoming the Mask: With Rajputs. He puts on the mask of an honorable warrior until it starts to actually fit him.
  • The Emperor: After Skandagupta.
  • Going Native: With Rajputs to some degree. This only makes him more willing to throw Skandagupta under the bus.
  • Heel–Face Turn: And he ends up as The Emperor because of it.
  • Only Sane Man: To the Malwa. He's also their sole competent general, mostly since he actually listens to his subordinates and is more concerned with practicality than with comfort.
  • Pragmatic Villainy: He calls himself "practical". Rana Sanga notes that this means he doesn't consider himself honorable but that he does at least consider himself sane, and evil in Damodara's experience usually turns out to be Stupid Evil. Damodara is prepared to carry out schemes, assassinations, and even occasional war crimes. What he is not going to do is spectacular cruelty for the fun of it, especially when it is counterproductive.
    • As The Emperor of Malwa, he issues draconian punishments against the Amaravati garrison when it tracks a war-crime-laden trail of destruction across three Malwa vassal provinces.

    Lady Damodara 
Wife of Damodara. Generously granted a palace in the Malwa capital, Kausambi, while Damodara is on campaign.
  • Badass in Distress: Personally takes part in arranging her escape by having tunnels dug under the palace.
  • The Chessmaster: Arranges her family's escape from under Skandagupta's nose, causing the Emperor to experience a rather severe bout of childish rage.
  • Grande Dame: An stately older woman.
  • I Have Your Wife: Skandagupta tries this to keep Damodara in line. It does not work out very well at all.

    Nanda Lal 
Malwan spymaster.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Even Nanda Lal, a thoroughly ruthless and evil man who practically salivates at the thought of Raghunath Rao's flayed skin being delivered to him, is a little disgusted by Venandakatra's tastes.
    • Pet the Dog/Mercy Kill: Orders one of his bodyguards to quickly and cleanly behead some of Venandakatra's traumatized sex slaves when Venandakatra protests Nanda Lal's orders.
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Unlike most Malwa, subverted, but then double subverted in book 6. Belisarius initially fools him, but only because Nanda Lal was acting on false information that Belisarius had painstakingly concocted and the spymaster only had a few hours total to interact with Belisarius. Even so, Nanda Lal still took sensible precautions and later correctly asserted that eliminating Raghunath Rao would cripple the Maratha rebels. Unfortunately, the distraction of dealing with the rest of the Malwa, the Link's constant interference, and Narses's machinations left Nanda Lal unaware of a plot against him, and he was killed by a Ye-Tai general called Toramana, who Narses had subverted and brought in to his plot.

    Ajutasutra 
Mercy in the killer

Henchman of Narses, and one of the most skilled secret agents in India.

  • The Dragon: To Narses who in turn is one of Damodara's dragons.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: He considers pimps to be subhuman.
  • Hitman with a Heart: He actually seems to have a bit of compassion toward Holkar's daughters in his rather grim sort of way. He has rather less compassion toward the pimp who owned them.
  • Ninja: Not really a ninja as he is not Japanese, but the author implies that there is a similar attitude toward assassin skills in India.
  • Pet the Dog: To Holkar's children. It doesn't seem to be only motivated by Narses' desire to have a favor to call in at Shakuntala's court.
  • Professional Killer: Continues the Running Gag of pimp brutalization by complaining that his skills are getting rusty to Narses when ordered to recover Holkar's daughters. He's also a Consummate Professional.
  • Undying Loyalty: Toward a strong Malwa Empire, which is why he has no problem supporting Damodara's coup when he comes to see the Link-backed rule beginning to unravel. While he considers Narses a Parental Substitute, he declares he would kill the eunuch without hesitation should his plots turn against a strong Malwa Empire's interest—even if he'd regret having to do so.

Ye-Tai

    Ye-Tai In General 

Asian Steppe nomads serving as Military Police for the Malwa. Valiant but savage and dishonorable.

  • Always Chaotic Evil: Later somewhat subverted.
  • Barbarian Tribe: Of Asian Steppe nomads.
  • Drill Sergeant Nasty: To the Malwa Slave Mooks.
  • Hidden Depths: They're a lot smarter and more pragmatic than people give them credit for, and many Ye-Tai end up switching sides to the Kushans or Damodara when it's obvious that Malwa is no longer able to sustain itself.
  • The Horde: Described similarly to traditional depictions of the Huns and Mongols, although they are a different ethnic group.
  • Outscare the Enemy: The way the Malwa use them.
  • Pragmatic Villainy: Many switch sides at the end of the war when it's clear that Malwa is screwed.
  • Rape, Pillage, and Burn: Their popular pastime, as befitting the Malwa's most favored vassals.
  • Soldier Versus Warrior: Ye-Tai are big, terrifying, skilled, and undisciplined. Roman troops are a bit smaller, skilled, and highly disciplined. Ye-Tai forces take heavy casualties every time they face a solid Roman unit, though to their credit they never desert from battle.
  • Villainous Valour: Frequently commented upon by the heroes. Ye-Tai may be savage, undisciplined, and cruel, but not one Ye-Tai character is ever a coward, "on-screen" or off.

Previous

Index

Next

  • Show Spoilers
  • Night Vision
  • Sticky Header
  • Wide Load

Important Links

Ask The Tropers Trope Finder Media Finder Trope Launch Pad Tech Wishlist Reviews Go Ad Free!
Crucial Browsing
Resources
Top