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Wolfriders
Descendants of a tribe of elves who sought to survive by emulating and bonding with local packs of wolves, a process aided by one of their members who retained enough transformative power to assume the form of a she-wolf. She gave birth to a half-elf, half-wolf hybrid creature, and the Wolfriders are all at least partially wolf-blooded as a result of this. It grants them superior senses and vitality, but also distinctly limited lifespans, in comparison to the virtual eternities of other elf species. General
- The Beastmaster: A defining trait of theirs; Wolfriders get their name from bonding with a chosen wolf.
- Howl of Sorrow: Another tradition; if a wolf partner or a Wolfrider dies, the other tribe members will howl as a way of mourning.
- Irony: Despite their general hatred of humans, the Wolfriders are really not so different in appearance and society.
- Telepathy: All Wolfriders have some degree of "mindspeak", thanks to descending from a Firstborn elf.
Cutter
Leader of the Wolfriders and main character of ElfQuest as a whole. Son of Bearclaw and Joyleaf. Blood of Ten Chiefs (or eight and two, going by fours). Recognized Lifemate of Leetah, sorta-Recognized Lifemate of Skywise, father to Ember and Suntop.
- Cool Sword: New Moon.
- Hot-Blooded Sideburns: They get even longer as he gets older.
- The Hero: Essentially the main character of the whole story.
- The Hero Dies: In the final issue of "Final Quest", Cutter is bitten by a venomous spider and slowly feels his life ebb away.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Skywise. Well, according to
Word of God they also shag, but since Everyone Is Bisexual the trope is in place. - Keeping the Handicap: At the end of the first series Kahvi hits Cutter with her gauntleted fist
in order to prove a point. Although Leetah could heal the scar, Cutter decides to keep it to remind him of the lesson. - The Leader: Of the Wolfriders. That is, until he dies via poisonous spider bite.
- Love Triangle: With Leetah and Rayek. Leetah eventually chooses Cutter.
- Papa Wolf: He loves his children dearly and he's also fiercely protective of them when they're in danger. This also extends to his whole tribe, since one of his biggest priorities is keeping them all safe.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He's deathly afraid of heights. He gets over it by the time of the Kings of the Broken Wheel arc.
Skywise
Cutter's best friend for all of their lives. The stargazer. Yun's father by an unnamed Go-Back.
- Berserk Button: Skywise is usually calmer and more collected than Cutter, but threatening Cutter's life is guaranteed to make him angry.
- Deadpan Snarker: If there's a snarky remark to be made, it's usually from Skywise.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Cutter, though the "heterosexual" part is questionable since all elves are bisexual and Word of God has confirmed that he and Cutter do have sex.
- The Lancer: For Cutter, who is The Hero.
- Lovable Rogue
- Lovable Sex Maniac: Probably the straightest of the Pini Elves, his best friend Cutter being the major exception.
- Parental Abandonment: Both his parents died on the day he was born (his father was killed before his birth, his mother shortly after). As a result, he was raised by the whole tribe.
- Sexy Man, Instant Harem: Whenever the Wolfriders meet a new group of elves, he always attracts at least one or two female elves.
- White Hair, Black Heart: Subverted; his identifiable trait is his short white hair, but he's not evil.
Ember
Cutter and Leetah's daughter, and Suntop's twin sister. Lovemate to Mender, lifemate to Teir. She later strikes a rather odd friendship with Trinket, a young female troll.
- Always Someone Better: She views her father Cutter as this. With some lessons, she learns to be her own person.
- The Chief's Daughter: Daughter of Cutter, and next in line as potential chieftess of the Wolfriders.
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: She shares this dynamic with her magic-inclined brother Suntop, as she's boisterous and bossy.
- Odd Friendship: Manages to become friends with Trinket, despite the fact Ember is a serious and hardworking girl whilst Trinket is a shameless Spoiled Brat. This is all the odder given Trinket's a troll, given elves and trolls share a mutual disdain for each other.
Treestump
Elder, Lifemate to Rillfisher (and later to Clearbrook), father to Dewshine, uncle to Cutter.
- Cool Old Guy: He's the oldest male member of the tribe (and the oldest overall) when the story starts, but he can still kick ass with the rest of them.
Rillfisher
Treestump's Lifemate and mother to Dewshine. A fever left her deaf, which led to her death by a falling branch as she didn't hear it.
- The Lost Lenore: For Treestump, who still mourns her death.
- Posthumous Character
Dewshine
Daughter to Treestump and Rillfisher. Recognized to Tyldak, neither were happy about it. Lifemate to Scouter and Tyleet. Mother to Windkin. Cutter's cousin.
- Fragile Speedster: Very lithe, very quick, very easily hurt.
- Love Triangle: First with Scouter and Tyldak; later, with Scouter and Tyleet.
- Marry Them All: Becomes lifemates with both Scouter and later Tyleet.
Nightfall
Lovemate to Redlance, later Lifemate when Leetah helps them force Recognition. Mother to Tyleet. Cutter's childhood friend and Leetah's best friend.
- Action Girl: Most of the female Wolfriders are this, but she's the most prominent example.
- Better as Friends: She and Cutter grew up together. The elders hoped they'd be lifemates, but she and Redlance turned out to be a match.
- I Owe You My Lifemate: Nightfall was the first Wolfrider to offer friendship to Leetah in gratitude for healing Redlance.
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Nightfall and Redlance.
- Screw Destiny: More than once, she offers her secret soul name to Redlance to bring him back from trauma. After he accepts, they ask Leetah to help them conceive, functionally choosing Recognition together.
- Weakness Turns Her On: She and Redlance first got together partly because she felt protective of him. She grew to adore him when he turned out to be a wild lover.
Redlance
Lovemate to Nightfall, later Lifemate when Leetah helps them force Recognition. Father to Tyleet.
- Angst Coma: He sometimes "retreats inside himself."
- Distressed Dude: The very first book started with the Wolfriders saving him from a human settlement after he was kidnapped during a hunt.
- Green Thumb: He's a tree-shaper, which gives him control over plants.
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: With Nightfall.
- Meaningful Rename: His name was originally Redmark, but it was changed to Redlance after he saved Bearclaw from a sabertooth by impaling it with a spear.
- Non-Action Guy: He's a good hunter, but not much of a warrior.
- Papa Wolf: Despite the above, he's typically the one left behind to guard the children, and admirably holds his own against a troll.
- Redhead In Green
- Wife Husbandry: Played with. In the novel it's revealed he was three times older than Nightfall when they started dating, but their long lives make that less important over time.
Tyleet
Daughter to Redlance and Nightfall, mother to Pool, lifemate of Scouter and Dewshine.
Strongbow
Lifemate to Moonshade. Father to Crescent, Dart and Chitter.
- Aloof Archer: An archer who's stoic and quiet.
- Master Archer: His entire tribe are expert marksmen, but they still call him when they absolutely need something dead in one shot.
- Papa Wolf: Don't threaten his children. He'll kill you, elf or no elf. (But he'll feel guilty about it for a while.)
- Perpetual Frowner: Even his heartfelt smiles tend to look sardonic.
- The Quiet One: Rarely speaks aloud, preferring to mindspeak. Amusingly, his daughter Chitter is a Motor Mouth who keeps demanding he speak to her instead.
- Single-Target Sexuality: He's probably the only truly monogamous elf. Moonshade is slightly less exclusive, but still mostly prefers her lifemate.
- The Stoic: When he shows emotion, things are bleak. (Or exceptionally joyful.)
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Even though Bearclaw wasn't his father.
Moonshade
Lifemate to Strongbow. Mother to Crescent, Dart and Chitter.
- Proper Lady: In one story, a besotted elf tries to mold her into one. She eventually puts on a Pimped-Out Dress to make him understand this just ain't her.
- In the Final Quest, she dons a silken gown made from preserver webbing, which she swiftly adapts to.
- Statuesque Stunner: Moonshade in the form of a Palace Dweller and high one.
- Undying Loyalty:
- She prefers exile or death to being parted from Strongbow, even when he's wrong. She gets quite irritable when she has to go off with Ember's group while her mate engages Djun's citadel.
- Her loyalty to Strongbow is hard pressed during the Final Quest arc, when she yields to the "pull of the call" from the Palace, and willingly gives up her mortality. This does not, however, change her love for him.
Dart
Strongbow and Moonshade's son. Lifemate to Mender.
- Training the Peaceful Villagers: When most of the Wolfriders leave Sorrow's End to meet up with Cutter, he stays behind to teach the Sun Folk archery.
One-Eye
Lifemate to Clearbrook, brother to Longbranch, father to Scouter.
- Came Back Wrong: Leetah tries to heal him long after his passing. It works, but this traps his soul in his effectively brain-dead body, causing Clearbrook to then give him a Mercy Kill.
- Empty Shell: This is basically the state he's left in after being healed. It restored his body, but his mind/soul wasn't "on".
- Meaningful Rename: His name was originally Woodhue, but it was changed after he lost his eye.
- Named After the Injury: He literally only has one eye. On the official Elfquest webpage, the comic's creators say that "First named Woodhue, One-Eye gained his new soubriquet after his right eye was put out by humans."
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Dies a short time after he's introduced, leaving Clearbrook a widow.
Clearbrook
Lifemate to One-Eye and then Treestump. Mother to Scouter.
- Cool Old Lady: She's the oldest female Wolfrider, but she's still friendly, amiable and can still fight alongside the others.
- Important Haircut: She cuts off her braid out of grief when One-Eye is killed.
Scouter
Son of One-Eye and Clearbrook. Lovemate to Dewshine, later Lifemate to both Dewshine and Tyleet. Father to Pool.
- Love Triangle: With Dewshine and Tyldak; later, with Dewshine and Tyleet.
- Marry Them All: Dewshine and Tyleet.
Pike
Keeper of the history. Son to Rain, half-brother to Rainsong.
- The Bard: Keeps the stories of the tribe alive through storytelling.
- Erudite Stoner: Doesn't see himself as one, and he'll laugh at you if you call him one.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: A male equivalent; Pike loves to drink and party and is never serious.
- Higher Understanding Through Drugs: Dreamberries unlock tribal memories to weave stories. Pike saved some when his forest home burned down.
Rain
Healer. Father of Pike and Rainsong.
- Posthumous Character: He became Madcoil's first victim in the attack that decimated the Wolfriders.
Rainsong
Half-sister of Pike, lifemate to Woodlock, mother to Newstar, Wing and Mender.
- Babies Ever After: She and Woodlock have two children at the first issue and a third later in the series, a huge family even by Wolfrider standards. Word of God confirms that at least part of this is a biological overcompensation after Madcoil decimated the tribe by killing Rain, Joyleaf, Bearclaw, Longbranch, and Brownberry.
- Baby Factory: From an elf point of view, three children makes her this.
Woodlock
Lifemate to Rainsong.
Newstar
Daughter of Woodlock and Rainsong, sister of Wing and Mender, lifemate of Lutei, mother of Kimo.
- Call to Agriculture: She eventually chooses to live with "the rootless ones", tending to herbs and plants along with her chosen lifemate Ohler, a sun villager who decided to stay behind.
Wing
Son of Woodlock and Rainsong, Lifemate to Behtia.
Bearclaw
Lifemate to Joyleaf, father to Cutter.
- The Alcoholic: Dreamberries aren't technically alcohol, but he fits this trope in every other way. It really screws up his life and his leadership of the tribe, and his swearing off the dreamberry wine comes off exactly like an alcoholic swearing off the booze.
- Disappeared Dad: For Cutter, due to being dead before the story starts.
- Domestic Abuse: In one prequel arc, Bearclaw is spending all his time below ground, coming back either drunk or hungover from the trolls' dreamberry wine. When Joyleaf tries to prod him into actually doing his job as chief, he turns around and hits her, hard. She promptly dumps him, particularly notable since they're lifemates. To try and win her back, he orders her on a bear hunt and then manipulates the hunt to put himself in danger, knowing she'll react with worry and come running. At that point, Recognition apparently figured it had better grab this chance and hits both of them, resulting in Cutter. Notable is the Wolfriders pretty much consider Bearclaw to be in the wrong (hitting other members of the tribe is acceptable, if shockingly extreme, but striking one's romantic partners is Just Not Done), although at least one tries to dismiss it as another of their every-few-decades spats. Joyleaf shuts him down.
- Drowning My Sorrows: He always loved his dreamberry wine, but he only really became The Alcoholic after a child of the tribe was killed by humans on his watch, as a result of the conflict he started.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The conflict between the elves and humans that's left several dead? It's pretty much completely his fault.
- Posthumous Character: He died six years before the story begins, having been killed in a fight with Madcoil.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Joyleaf's Blue.
Joyleaf
Lifemate to Bearclaw, sister to Treestump, mother to Cutter.
- Posthumous Character: Like Bearclaw, she died six years before the beginning of the story, being one of the first elves killed by Madcoil.
- Women Are Wiser: She helps Bearclaw control his temper.
Sun Folk
Descendants of an elven band that migrated to a harsh desert region. Unthreatened by humans or other dangers, they remained relatively pureblooded, other than developing darker skin and hair colors to cope with the scorching sun, and became gentle farmers. Leetah
Lifemate to Cutter, mother to the twins Ember and Suntop/Sunstream.
- Abduction Is Love: Well, not really. She didn't trust Cutter at first for trying to kidnap her, but she eventually warmed up to him enough to become his wife.
- The Chief's Daughter: The daughter of the local Chief.
- Healing Hands: The strongest healer in the series.
- Love Triangle: With Cutter and Rayek. She ends up choosing Cutter.
- Morality Chain: Rayek would probably be an out-and-out villain if it weren't for her influence.
- These Hands Have Killed: Leetah has a Heroic BSoD after killing a troll with a throwing knife. The fact he was seconds away from slaughtering her little Ember isn't enough to help Leetah forgive herself.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Leetah has a phobia about unusual natural phenomena completely out of her control, such as solar eclipses and being out in the open during violent storms.
Rayek
Lovemate of Leetah before Cutter shows up. Lifemate of Winnowill, father of Venka. Chooses the path of evil at first, but later repents.
- Brought Down to Normal: After his plan to save the High Ones fails, he loses his ability to use any power except sending for six years. He spends the time working out.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: He repeatedly goes from antagonist to ally and back.
- Insufferable Genius: He can't seem to explain anything without talking down to you.
- It's All About Me: Most of his other character flaws stem from this.Savah: He must be first... in all things... or he is nothing.
- Love Triangle: With Leetah and Cutter. She chose Cutter, leading to Rayek's leaving Sorrow's End. Note that given the elves' acceptance of Polyamory, she didn't necessarily have to choose between them at all, except that Rayek's pride couldn't cope with sharing.
- Mind over Matter: He's capable of levitation.
- Psychic Powers: Besides the racial telepathy, he can stun a creature or person by looking in their eyes, levitate things, eventually fly, and hold souls within himself. And that's when he doesn't have the Palace or the Gliders' power backing him up.
- The Rival: To Cutter, who won the affections of Rayek's lovemate, Leetah.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: He volunteers to become the "can" for Winnowill's hateful spirit after she is beheaded by a human. So as long as he stays awake, Winnowill will stay trapped forever.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He actually does mean well for his fellow elves, but only as he defines "well," and hang the elves who disagree, the ingrates.
Savah
Founder of the Sun Village, and Mother of the Sun Folk. Firstborn.
- Cool Old Lady: A wise mentor and compassionate leader figure for the Sun elves.
- Large and in Charge: A very tall and immortal Firstborn, and the founder and progenitor of the Sun elves.
- Psychic Powers: She can use Astral Projection, much like Suntop.
- Statuesque Stunner: Even though she's very old, due to being an immortal Firstborn, she manages to stay very beautiful.
Suntop/Sunstream
Son to Cutter and Leetah, twin brother to Ember. Lifemate to Brill. Father to Korafay.
- Badass Adorable: He stood up to Winnowill of all people, and entered her mind to save Savah's soul.
- Child Prodigy: He's a very adept psychic unlike any other elf, even as a young boy.
- Polar Opposite Twins: Ember is the hotheaded chief's daughter. Suntop is an adept psychic and generally not so active.
- Psychic Powers: Among them being Telepathy, Astral Projection, Psychometry, and the ability to sense magic (which helps determine if people were manipulated by magic). His powers are so potent that even Winnowill acknowledges his great power.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Towards Cutter; he wanted to prove he can be a wolfrider like his father's people, but nearly ends
Mender
Third child to Rainsong and Woodlock. Lovemate to Ember, later to Yun. Lifemate to Dart.
- For Science!: He's willing to have sex with humans for research reasons.
- Healing Hands: He's capable of healing magic. That's what he got his name for.
Ahdri
Savah's handmaiden. Rock-shaper.
- Dishing Out Dirt: She's a "rock-shaper".
- Statuesque Stunner: It is implied that she grows to full height under the Palace influence, but shapes back to "sensible" size when she helps Cutter in the Final Quest.
Shenshen
Leetah´s younger sister. Professional Midwife for elves and humans alike.
- A Form You Are Comfortable With: Shenshen is longing for more work, and after some consideration, she decides to use her midwife skills among humans. But to not alienate herself completely, she makes Leetah work some shapeshifter magic on her to make her human in appearance.
- The Medic: Her apprenticeship with Old Maggoty makes her a competent medic, using natural roots and herbs.
- Sassy Black Woman: Shenshen in human form, considering her natural skin color, comes out as this sometimes.
Gliders
The most "pureblooded" elves still alive in the World of Two Moons, retaining all of their ancestral magics (as much as that is possible on this world). Forming emotional bonds with giant eagles similar to those between the Wolfriders and their wolves, they have declined into a stagnant, vestigial race. General
- The Beastmaster: Much like the Wolfriders, except it's with giant eagles.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Black-haired, pale-skinned, and generally wear black and white clothes.
Winnowill
The series' Big Bad. Firstborn. Daughter of Haken and Gibra, Lifemate to Rayek, mother of Two-Edge.
- Abusive Parents: Her treatment of her half-troll son Two-Edge was horrendous, to put it mildly.
- Big Bad: Perhaps the biggest one in the entire series, due to her extreme power, even greater insanity, and personal animosity to main character Cutter and his Wolfriders. Not even her death changed this, as now she is a malevolent spirit who Rayak can barely contain.
- Biomanipulation: She started out as a healer but got into this over time; she became able to shapechange herself and create mutant monstrosities. Her power to heal is comprehensive enough that she can reshape organisms into mutant horrors.
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Why she became evil, combined with Go Mad from the Isolation: The Gliders not bearing any more children and losing her healer's purpose, combined with prolonged stay in Blue Mountain and Lord Voll's refusal to search for the elven Palace, gradually drove her completely insane and broke her mind. She would even engineer little "accidents" just so she could continue being the tribe healer she once was.
- Evil Wears Black: While the other Gliders primarily wear black, they're not evil. Winnowill, however, plays it straight.
- Fantastic Racism: She considers the existence of the Wolf Riders an abomination because they're genetically related to their wolves. Also fairly hypocritical when you consider her own activities, which produced Two-Edge.
- Fur and Loathing: She wears white fur on her outfit, and she's a villain.
- Go Mad from the Isolation: Her race's seclusion in Blue Mountain left her completely stir-crazy.
- Good Powers, Bad People: The most powerful healer alive; while most with this talent only know one way to apply it (lay on hands, subject gets better), Winnowill takes great pleasure in using her powers to twist and deform organisms, subjecting them to unimaginable tortures.
- Healing Hands: Subverted as she can use the same power to inflict pain and prefers to do so.
- Kick the Dog: Many, but one that stands out for pointless cruelty was how she made Tyldak's transformation an agonizing ordeal instead of the entirely painless experience she could have made it just as easily. She didn't even have any particular grudge against Tyldak at the time.
- Pretty in Mink: She absolutely looks gorgeous in those white furs.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Her ultimate fate, after she is decapitated and becomes a spirit of hate. Rayek sacrificed himself by using his own body to contain her; so long as he stays awake, Winnowill will remain trapped forever.
Lord Voll
Leader of the Gliders and Winnowill's husband. Firstborn.
- Affectionate Nickname: Ember calls him "Old Bird". It's rather appropriate, since he's a very ancient elf.
- Friend to All Children: He's very fond of elf children, mainly because the Gliders haven't had any children of their own for hundreds of years.
Aroree
Glider. Lovemate of Skywise.
- Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder: She becomes utterly love-sick for Skywise and ventures all over the world searching for him... then finds out he's been snatched thousands of years into the future.
- Desperately Craves Affection: It's implied that the reason she's so attached to Skywise is that she didn't even have any friends before meeting him, since she frequently refers to him as her Only Friend.
Tyldak
Glider who volunteered to be transformed into a pterodactyl-like flying creature by Winnowill. Recognized to Dewshine. Father of Windkin, Lovemate of Khavi.
- Cursed with Awesome: Tyldak was transformed at his own request into a flying creature that retains only a few elfin features. Leetah is shocked to make the connection between healing and other types of elfin "shaping" powers.
- Love Triangle: With Dewshine and Scouter. Dewshine wasn't happy when they Recognized.
Go-Backs
A tribe of elves who sought to track down the lost Castle of the High Ones, which brought them into conflict with a band of trolls that claimed the Castle's territory as their own. Taming giant deer as combat mounts, although the Go-Backs never interbred with animals the way the Wolfriders did, they turned their backs on magic entirely, even losing the ability to Recognize, which granted them a level of feral vitality and fecundity beyond that of even the Wolfriders. General
- Meaningful Name: They originally sought to "go back" to their ancestral origins by searching for the Castle of the High Ones.
Kahvi
Leader of the Go-Backs. Daughter of Two-Spear, but her Wolfrider side was removed by a cache of ancient magic. Lovemate to Tyldak, mother to Vaya, Venka and Teir.
- Parental Incest: She came disturbingly close. After Tyldak died, she had sex with his son so she could have a baby with at least some of the father's genes. Thus was Teir born.
Vaya
Go-Back. Daughter of Khavi, briefly Lovemate to Pike.
Venka
Daughter of Rayek and Khavi. Raised as a Wolfrider. Barrier Maiden who possesses anti-magic. Lovemate of Zhantee and Mirff. Mother of Satreeka.
- Morality Pet: For Two-Edge. He really betters himself for her sake.
- The Stoic: She's not big on showing emotion. Even when Two-Edge declared his (rather confused) affection for her, she barely blinked. But her conversations with others shows she feels; she just doesn't show much on the surface.
- Supernatural Gold Eyes: She is one of the most powerful magic users in the setting, and had gorgeous amber-golden eyes, just like her very magical father.
Yun
Daughter of Skywise and an unnamed Go-Back. Lovemate of Mender.
Skot
Lifemate to Pike and Krim. Father to Sust and possible father to Cheipar.
Krim
Lifemate to Pike and Skot. Mother to Sust and Cheipar.
Chot
Friend to Yun. Comes to live in Sorrow's End.
Humans
Adar
Friendly human who takes care of Cutter. Married to Nonna.
- Author Avatar: Of Richard Pini, co-creator of Elf Quest and Wendy's husband.
Nonna
Friendly human who takes care of Cutter. Married to Adar.
- Author Avatar: Of Wendy Pini, co-creator of Elf Quest and Richard's wife.
Shuna
A medieval human girl who first encounters Leetah on the brink of death, and becomes somewhat of zealous a freedom fighter due to her experience. She ends up leading an army against the Djun, and subsequently gets adopted by Cutter and Leetah. Married to Nunkah (though it didn't go well), later married to Bee, mother to Shukopek.
- Happily Adopted: By her Wolfrider parents, Cutter and Leetah.
Trolls
Another race introduced to Abode by the High Ones. The trolls evolved from small burrowing mammals that the High Ones rescued from their dying world; it's unclear if these "burrowers" were kept as pets or treated as slaves by the High Ones. However, the proto-trolls attacked the slumbering elves when they began to descend to Abode, causing the castle to crash and be stranded, then fleeing the wrath of the primal humans. Taking refuge underground, they evolved into their present state. General
- Fantastic Racism: Trolls and elves don't get on. After finding out their shared origins, this really becomes a source of contention between the races.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Trolls are skilled with the use of metal-work and have ironworks and primitive labor-saving devices despite their neighbors being stuck firmly in the Stone Age.
- Gold Digger: In troll society, all of their women are expected to act like this, and courting rituals involve getting as much gold as a male troll can in order to woo a potential mate.
- Jerkass: This seems to be a racial characteristic of all Elfquest Trolls.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Whether the High Ones didn't really notice their pets were becoming people, treated the proto-trolls like servants who are better seen and not heard, or flat out enslaved them, the proto-trolls did not like it, and screwed with the Palace's guidance system at a crucial juncture of space and time, landing the High Ones in Abode's distant past, thousands of years before the intended landing point.
Picknose
A troll from the Wolfriders' original forest home. After a long series of misadventures, he becomes the king of his own tribe of trolls.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He may be pushed around a lot, but he's a survivor. When Guttlekraw's northern trolls attacked Greymung's kingdom, he rescued Oddbit and Maggoty and fought his way to the surface, keeping them alive until eventually they fell into Guttlekraw's hands as well. He survived as a slave, escaped with the help of the Wolfriders, and then took command of Greymung's former clans to fight beside the elves to defeat Guttlekraw, after which he became king of the now-united trolls.
- Everyone Has Standards: He's clearly horrified by the cannibalistic traits of the northern trolls, to the point he can't even bear to admit outright what they did to the dead after conquering Greymung's kingdom.
- The Gambling Addict: Most trolls love to gamble, often for high stakes, but even by that standard, losing his throne in a game of toss-stone might just indicate he has a problem.
- Hidden Depths: Despite how trolls hate sunlight, he did pretty well at surviving on the surface. He's actually a very loving spouse and father. He gambles, but it's known he refuses to cheat when he does it. He even seems to have a very small, hidden respect for Cutter and Bearclaw.
- No-Respect Guy: He's pushed around by the elves, his wife, his grandmother-in-law and his daughter.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Despite how little respect he gets, he still has a huge sense of pride and tries to assert his authority, even if only self-perceived, whenever he can.
- Unfortunate Name: According to Word of God, his name is a very respectable one in trollish, as it refers to the size and shape of his pronounced nose. Unfortunately, humans tend to read it as a reference to a nasty personal habit.
Oddbit
A highly desirable female troll from the Wolfriders' original forest home, she eventually becomes Picknose's wife.
- Big Beautiful Woman: She's built like a Stone Age fertility goddess statue; wide hipped, big butted, round-bellied and with large, saggy breasts. By troll standards, she's the height of loveliness.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: As mentioned below, by Troll standards, she's the ideal woman, with her ample curves, large nose, thick lips and her "feminine charms" (read: being greedy, deceitful, opportunistic, manipulative, coy, vain and fickle). Elves and most human readers find her appearance and/or her attitude disgusting.
- Gold Digger: Is one, although to Trolls, this is just how their women should behave, since male trolls have to prove their worth to female trolls by giving them all the gold they desire.
- Gonk: By elf or human standards, anyway. To Trolls she's apparently Ms. Fanservice incarnate.
Maggotty
Oddbit's grandmother, the local troll mystic in the Wolfrider's forest. She used to trade her tonics and medicinal skills with the Wolfriders before the forest was burned down and Rayek took off, as they had no healers of their own.
- Alchemy Is Magic: She brews magical potions in an alchemical fashion. Her chemistry skills are high-level enough to pull Strongbow and his wolf intact through foaming sickness, a disease much like rabies.
- Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: Acts like this, although it's not like this makes her much different from your average troll.
Trinket
First-born daughter of Picknose and Oddbit. Becomes friends with Ember.
- Daddy's Girl: Picknose absolutely dotes on her.
- Interspecies Romance: She once considered the elf Mender as a potential lifemate, though that eventually ended.
- Odd Friendship: Elves and trolls generally hate each other, but she's formed a surprising friendship with Ember, despite the fact that Ember will have no truck with her spoiled attitude — or perhaps because Ember is strong-willed enough to stand up to her.
- Spoiled Brat: Both her parents have evidently spoiled her rotten. Ember is one of the few to befriend her because of her ability to criticize her for it.
- Third-Person Person: She never uses "I" or "Me" when she can use "Trinket" instead.She grows out of it as gets older.
Greymung
The King of the Trolls at the beginning of the series. Hostile and suspicious towards the Elves, Cutter led his people to safety in Greymung's caverns. Greymung tricked Cutter into leading the Wolfriders into the desert, thus helping to set off the entire series.
- Adipose Rex: King of the Trolls, and as fat as they come.
- Badass Decay: An in-universe example-in his youth, Greymung was an ambitious firebrand who personally led his supporters into rebellion against Guttlekraw, removing his monarch from power and becoming king himself. By the present time, centuries of kingly living have taken their toll, leaving Greymung fat, lazy and cowardly. By the time Guttlekraw and his forces invade, he is described by Picknose as not being fit to lead his warriors into battle.
- Dirty Coward: He talks tough and likes to throw his weight around, but the moment he comes face to face with actual danger he trembles like a leaf.
- Fat Bastard: Probably the poster child for this trope in the entire series. In retaliation for Cutter humiliating him, he attempted to have both Cutter and the entire Wolf Rider tribe killed via exposure by tricking them into the desert and then trapping them there. Before that, he was responsible for the loss of Ekuar's leg, a punishment for when Ekuar overheard him scheming against Guttlekraw, to say nothing of the abuses he continued to heap upon the old elf after he became king.
- Jerkass: Aptly described by Picknose as being a spiteful old toad, being demonstrably vindictive and mean-spirited even when compared to the other trolls.
- Karmic Death: He ousted Guttlekraw and usurped his kingdom. Centuries later, he would die at the hands of Guttlekraw.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Greymung appeared all of one times in the original quest, where his most notable action was to deceive the Wolf Riders and strand them in the desert. With this one action, Greymung indirectly set in motion virtually all the events of the series.
Guttlekraw
Leader of the mountain trolls living near the Go-Backs. Extraordinarily evil.
- Bad Boss: He believes in the principle of ruling through fear. He enslaved the southern trolls after eating their king alive.
- Evil Overlord: We're talking "mutilate your slaves repeatedly". Even his subjects don't shed so much as a tear when he's overthrown.
- I'm a Humanitarian: He eats the flesh of both elves and trolls.
- Would Hurt a Child: Enslaves and mutilates Ekuar and his young rock shaper companions.
Others
Timmain
The tribal mother of the wolfriders, after mating with a real wolf. She is an epitome of wisdom and ancient lore. After she is "found" at the end of the first story arc, she is given the role of mother to all elves on Abode.
- The Ageless: Timmain has lived from before the high ones left ther original homeworld.
- Godiva Hair: She is clothed only in her own hair, which is comparable to her height. It always covers her more - intimate - parts.
- Proper Lady: On par with Savah. The two of them team up after the Sun Folk settle in the Palace (Savah sees her as some kind of "honorary aunt", if not a right out parental replacement). In diminutive wolfrider form, she seems less proper, but no less revered.
- The Stoic: She very seldom cracks a smile, and even when she does, she is hard to fathom. She is actually less stoic in her wolf form.
- Team Mom: She becomes one for the entire elven race.
- Voluntary Shapeshifter: She goes through a number of shifts through the arc. Mostly from elf to wolf and back again. She also diminishes herself for a time to fit in with the regular wolfrider size, mostly to please Skywise.
Two-Edge
Hybrid son of Winnowill and a troll. Mad as a hatter for much of his life, and very upset about his life in general.
- Freudian Excuse: Oh gods yes! He's essentially a Child by Rape born of Double Standard Rape: Female on Male. His mother tortured his father, the troll Smelt, to death apparently for kicks after he tried to kidnap the male Door, and then locked Two-Edge up and tortured him both physically and with her Psychic Powers until he escaped from the prison cell she locked him in. He knew he would not be accepted by either species, so he began to play tricks on both in return, ultimately leading to his attempt to ignite a full-blown racial war between the two, so he could decide which race he should identify with.
- Gadgeteer Genius: He has a knack for forging metal that surpasses any other trollish smith. He invented the concept of full-plate armor.
- Meaningful Name: His name describes how he is the hybrid son of an elven woman and a male troll.
- Morality Pet: He becomes smitten with Venka, and she attempts to utilize this to make him cooperative. Though it's a little hit-or-miss.
- Nonhuman Humanoid Hybrid: Half elf, half troll.
- Psychopathic Manchild: Two-Edge is absolutely insane, and often acts in a very child-like manner.
- Rhymes on a Dime: A symptom of his mental illness. It stops after Leeta's partial cure.
- Ultimate Blacksmith: The trolls are pretty wary of him due to his half-elf nature, but they at least respect him for his skills in forging.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: As dangerous and deadly as he can be, it's hard not to pity him. In-Universe, even Leetah feels sorry for him once she touches his mind and learns of the horrors he suffered at Winnowill's hands.
Petalwing
Preserver from the dawn of elven time.
- Ambiguous Gender: Petalwing is never referred to with gendered pronouns, only as "it." It's likely that Petalwing and the other Preservers don't actually have genders or sexes.
- Our Fairies Are Different: They resemble fairies, but they're called Preservers since they can make a sticky web-like substance that puts anyone they wrap it in into a sort of suspended animation.
- Sidekick Creature Nuisance: Cutter definitely views Petalwing as such, specially when it's singing. Petalwing constantly says, "Petalwing help!", gets captured by Tyldak in Blue Mountain and squished during the last battle of the first Palace War.
- You No Take Candle: It talks like this, along with all the other preservers.
Ekuar
Ancient rock-shaper. Rayek's mentor.
- An Arm and a Leg: One of his arms and half of one leg is missing (along with one of the fingers on his remaining hand) thanks to the trolls torturing him since he was a child.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Generally a very kindly, eccentric old man who wouldn't hurt a fly. When it comes down to it though, he can use his powers to DEADLY effect if he so chooses, and he won't hesitate when the chips are down.
- Dishing Out Dirt: He's a rock-shaper, giving him the ability to manipulate rock.
- Friend to All Living Things: A kindly optimist, Ekuar is amiable to everyone and everything regardless of species, even the trolls who butchered him and stole his life. He is even willing to extend this kindness to Winnowill, not that she is appreciative of it.
- Honorary Uncle: An unwilling variation-Tinker has declared Ekuar to be a secondary papa, much to Ekuar's bemusement and Picknose's fury.
- Made a Slave: When he was young, he was captured by the trolls and forced to use his powers to serve them by digging tunnels. In order to keep him in his place, he was repeatedly tortured and mutilated.
- The Mentor: He served as this for Rayek, helping him to hone his powers.
- Old People are Nonsexual: Averted, he's depicted enjoying lovemaking a time or two. During the "Kings of the Broken Wheel" arc, when they visit the Sun Village, several ladies invite Rayek and Ekuar for some group sex. When Rayek bows out, Ekuar gives a disappointed "awwww."
- Old Master: Ekuar is an old, old elf and his rock-shaper abilities and willpower make him a force to be reckoned with if provoked.
- Trauma Conga Line: His entire life was just one horrible disaster after the other. First, after locating the palace of the High Ones with his friends, he was captured and enslaved by Guttlekraw and his trolls. Then, he would spend untold centuries laboring under the earth with little food or water, treated somewhere between a pack mule and a tool by his overseers. All of his escape attempts failed, and Guttlekraw responded by relieving him of body parts, one after the other. Then, for overhearing Greymung plotting against Guttlekraw, he lost his leg. He would be separated from his friends, and left to labor alone in the darkness of Greymung's kingdom. By the time Rayek found him, he was practically a torn up, breathing corpse. It's a miracle he has sanity at all after everything he has been through.
