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House Cthonique
Mansemat Cthonique
- Dance Battler: Mansemat's fighting style emphasizes grace and speed—he even calls his practices 'sword dances'.
- Fluffy Tamer: he's this to his griffons. Everybody else can't stand them, he uses Baby Talk.
- Master Swordsman: One of the best, and possibly the best in the world.
- Warrior Poet: Tries to be one, at least.
Nisrioch Cthonique
- Half-Human Hybrid: Half-demon to be exact.
- Offered the Crown: By his father. He refused.
- Seers: A gift he shares with his mother.
- The Wonka: That eccentric nutter with the thing about hats? Is one of the most powerful wizards in the world, his brother's right hand, and a Dark Lord in his own right.
Morgaine Cthonique
- Necromancer: She can summon ghosts, and apparently reanimate the dead. Among other things.
- The Undead: Of the unkillable variety...
Shaddad Cthonique
The Cthonique siblings' father, and a former Big Bad.
- Archnemesis Dad: To each of his children in his own special way. But especially to Mansemat.
- Domestic Abuse: Emotionally and physically cruel to all his children.
- Hated by All: The Churches in the Nightlands—his home—are still praying for him to burn in Hell.
- Offingthe Offspring: Killed Morgaine in a bid for immortality. She got better. Sort of.
- Posthumous Character: Dead before the series proper starts.
- Smug Snake: Cruel, calm, and not half so clever as he imagines...
- Villainous Breakdown: Has an epic one when Mansemat shows up with the magic sword he thought he was going to wind up wielding...
House du Lac
Viviane du Lac
- Elemental Powers: Very fond of these.
- Lady of Black Magic: Pretty much her job description.
- Teen Pregnancy: She's in her late twenties, and has a daughter in her early teens. This turns out to be something of a plot point.
Elaine du Lac
- Bookworm: with a fondness for tragic love poems.
- Child by Rape: It turns out she's one of these.
- Emo Teen: Well... she gets better.
House Ashurana
Alcina Ashurana
- Old Flame: For Nisrioch.
- White Sheep: House Ashurana's sympathetic member.
Lands of Light
Justinian Sigma
A squire send to the Lands of Night to gather information.- Church Militant: In that he's a member of the Knightly Order of the Sacristy of Saint Julian.
- Fish out of Water: Has some difficulty adjusting to the Lands of Night
- Knight in Shining Armor: What he tries to be.
Prince Amfortas
- Dissonant Serenity: Talks about making gloves of human leather as if it were just another conversation.
- Evil Prince: Who looks very much like a Prince Charming.
- Faux Affably Evil: Amfortas has a very polite persona, but it's all a mask for his monstrous psychopathy—and frequently not even a very good mask, as he discusses atrocities the way most folk do the weather.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Something of a pastime for Amfortas. He's Elaine's father by this.
- Soft-Spoken Sadist: Almost never raises his voice. Even when administering a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown.
- Stepford Smiler: As some have noted, Amfortas is distressingly hollow as person beneath his placid demeanor.
- Tautological Templar: Believes himself to be the chosen of the Light and that by definition all his desires are good and holy.
Queen Yolande
- Break the Cutie: Happens to her in a big way.
- The High Queen: Her essential profession.
