http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/ForumOfThronesIndependentCharacters

Due to the numerous characters in Forum of Thrones there are several characters who can't exactly fit into one of the previous categories. They are sellswords, hired killers, travelers without a set home, in short, characters without much of a cultural identity, who have no set location in the story and who can be better distinguished by their occupation than their place of birth. These characters are gathered below.

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Sellswords

The Gutters

John Gutten*

John Gutten

The Bear

A sellsword and the leader and founder of the small group The Gutters, which consists of several close friends. Experienced and old for a sellsword, John has a relaxed attitude about life and no fear of death, yet he is fiercely protective of those he loves. He is also a Point-of-View character.

Accidental Murder: Years ago, he and his brother desired the same girl. They grew bitter over each other, until they challenged each other to a fight. It is not clear what exactly happened there, but John's brother and the girl herself did not survive it.
Anti-Hero: John is a kinslayer (if accidental), a sellsword fighting for those that pay him the most, a man with few morals, who openly threatens to harm even women. However, he remains a brave, somewhat well-intentioned man who cares deeply for his friends and is usually fighting for the more heroic side in a conflict.
Big Damn Heroes: During the fight for the Hammered Harp Inn, John personally comes to the rescue of Kyette, the barmaid, just as she has been cornered by two bandits.
Blood Knight: There are moments during which John gets very eager to fight. He is happy to prove his strength, to test his skill with that of his opponent and occasionally outright seeks a fight to the death.
Combat Pragmatist: Being a very experienced sellsword, John has given up on any honourable combat, having picked up a whole arsenal of mean tricks which he does not hesitate in the slightest to use.
Cool Old Guy: Old for sellsword standards, as he is nearing forty years of age. On top of that, he acts like a typical example of this trope, down to complaining about the youth of today.
Dark and Troubled Past: Once, as John had been a young man, he fell in love with a woman. Unfortunately for him, his brother had feelings for the same and as they were unable to come to a peaceful agreement, they fought against each other, with the woman trying to intervene and stop them from killing each other. Only John walked away from the scene, alive but broken, having lost his brother, the girl he loved, an eye and his home.
Deadpan Snarker: At his most positive, he gets a cheerful, snarky streak.
Everyone Has Standards: Despite his status as a sellsword and his brutal methods, John is fundamentally a man with standards. He is, for example, not happy with leaving people behind, even if he gets nothing in return. If pressed, he'd rather do the right thing than not.
Eyepatch of Power: After having lost his eye in the ill-fated fight against his brother, he covers it up with one of these.
Handicapped Badass: Despite missing an eye, John is more than capable of decimating his opponents, being generally one of the most dangerous men around, especially in a fight to the death.
Heartbroken Badass: The death of his lover all these years ago has left him a broken and changed man.
Hidden Depths: Though appearing rather simple at first, being a battle-hungry, jovial and laid-back man, John is actually a deep and thoughtful person, who has wisened up from the mistakes of his past and has become a successful sellsword.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Make no mistake, John is every bit the jerk he appears to be at first, there's no denying of it. At times, he becomes even more than a mere jerk. However, it is clear that there is something else about him as well, a caring, loyal side that firmly makes him this instead of a true Jerkass.
The Leader: Of the Gutters, the sellsword group he founded.
The Lost Lenore: The unnamed love of his life died many years ago, during the same fight that caused the death of his brother. John is still heartbroken over her, so much that he cannot truly reciprocate Cass' feelings for him.
May–December Romance: During chapter 2 and 3, he has an affair with the barmaid Cass, who is twenty years younger than him. While she genuinely falls for him, he is unable to truly reciprocate these feelings.
My Species Doth Protest Too Much: For all his flaws, John is still a likable, well-intentioned man. He has willingly left his people, the Ironborn, behind, abandoning their ways, which he sees as shameful traditions.
The Not-Love Interest: He and Janae have every aspect of being each other's love interest, save for any physical attraction or romantic feelings between them. Their role as each other's greatest supporter, closest friend and soulmate generally fills every role that is typically filled by a love interest though.
Odd Friendship: Once taking a closer look, the friendship between him and Janae is quite unusual. Though both are soulmates, there is a significant difference in their behaviour and outlook on life. John is generally the more laid-back and positive of the two.
Platonic Life-Partners: With Janae. Their relationship has absolutely nothing romantic about it, instead they are merely very close friends, almost like siblings in the way they see each other.
Pragmatic Hero: It is this pragmatism that has caused him to live for so long. John is an opportunist and though generally still not a bad man, he can get outright nasty even when doing heroic things.
Punch-Clock Hero: Typically for a sellsword, John cannot exactly be called a heroic figure. Instead, he fights for coin and stays loyal to the employer that pays him the best.
Roaring Rampage of Rescue: After Janae and Behara have been taken by Abbas and Bakr, John's first instinct is to gather his allies, by then narrowed down only to Temari, to chase after them and get them back, at any cost.
Team Dad: As the founder and leader of the Gutters, John is a father figure to Samantha, Behara and likely Temari as well. He is the oldest and most experienced, who has gained quite some wisdom on his travels.
Would Hit a Girl: One of his first scenes as a Point-of-View character establish this fact when he threatens Gunel to hit her if she continues to pester him. His narrative makes it clear this is not an empty threat.

Janae*

Janae

The Maiden Fair

A member from The Gutters and John Gutten's oldest and closest friend. Born a slave, forced to fight in the pits of Yunkai left her mentally scarred, cold and distant. She is brutal, yet unfailingly loyal to John. Towards the end of Book 1, she becomes a Point-of-View character.

Ambiguously Brown: Being a Ghiscari, Janae has a highly diverse ancestry, that manifests itself in her olive-brownish skin tone. Being Born into Slavery, it is likely there's even more diversity in her blood.
Anti-Hero: Janae is a cold, brutal and scarred woman, who has been greatly hardened by her harsh life. As a result, she can hardly be called a heroic person at all. However, over the course of the story, she is exclusively pitted against people who are unambiguously worse than she could ever be, making her the side to root for.
Ascended Extra: Initially merely a supporting character for John's parts for most of Book 1, Janae takes centre stage and becomes a Point-of-View in her own right just before the end of it, then going on to become a major character in Book 2.
Badass in Distress: At the end of Chapter 8 of Book 1, Janae encounters the slavers Abbas and Bakr. As it turns out, Abbas is the son of her former master and they recognize each other almost instantly. He reacts by capturing her, intending to bring her back to Yunkai to take his revenge on her for murdering his father.
Born into Slavery: The source of all her misery is her upbringing, as she was born in Yunkai and forced to fight in the pits, to the amusement of her masters. She eventually broke free during a slave uprising, killing her master in the process to escape.
Broken Bird: Her life up until meeting John has left its mark on her. Nowadays, even if she's slightly improved, she is broken, bitter and scarred by her past. It has left her a stern, cynical woman.
Cold Sniper: As the main archer of the Gutters, Janae lives this trope, with her skills and general personality.
Combat Pragmatist: It goes with being an archer. Janae might be skilled at close combat, but prefers ranged, so that she doesn't get herself into unnecessary danger.
Consummate Professional: Good or bad, Janae does not allow the morality of a mission to get to her. Even when she is not happy with an assignment, she carries through with it regardless.
The Cynic: It is perfectly justified due to her upbringing, but Janae has a very negative view on almost everything.
Dark and Troubled Past: Janae was Born into Slavery in the city of Yunkai. There, she was forced to fight in the pits for her master, who was noted to be very cruel. This life scarred her, in and out. It was only when she met John that she gained the courage to escape, killing the man that ruined her childhood in the process, but making herself a wanted woman in Yunkai, especially by her former master's vengeful family.
Deuteragonist: To John's storyline, as his best friend and greatest supporter.
Everyone Has Standards: Though Janae is a brutal and harsh person, she is utterly disgusted by the true villains, especially those who prey on the weak, such as Bear's bandits and the Ironborn raiders she fights.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Initially, Janae seems to be little better than Temari in her overall attitude. While this is certainly true at times, she also has a different side to hers. Her fierce loyalty to John is the first indicator to this better side of her personality, but there is also the way she cares for Behara and the disgust she feels at those that harm the weak.
The Lancer: Janae generally fills this role for John. She is his most important supporter, second-in-command, best friend, most trusted ally, all in one.
The Not-Love Interest: Despite the rumours, she and John have an entirely platonic relationship. That said, being the woman closest to him by far, she fits into the narrative role of a love interest even more than his actual love interest, the barmaid Cass.
Number Two: Her position amongst the Gutters is this without a doubt.
Oh, Crap!: She has a baffled, shocked reaction when she recognizes Abbas, son of her former master.
Perpetual Frowner: Due to being a very cold, cynical person, Janae isn't smiling all that often. In fact, John might be the only person who knows her smile at all.
Pet the Dog: Her interaction with Behara are full of this. Though dismissive of the girl's wishes to prove her worth in a fight, she is supportive of her general ambitions and even allows her to take part in the raid on Raylansfair, though not in the active fighting.
Platonic Life-Partners: Janae and John are old friends, behaving like an old married couple, but their relationship is entirely platonic. Separate from each other, they barely function.
Pragmatic Hero: Being taught how to fight in the pits, being a pragmatist was necessary for Janae to survive. Old habits die hard and she never quite got over this mindset. Among the Gutters she is even more pragmatic than Temari.
Punch-Clock Hero: Janae by herself is not quite a heroic person, it's only her affiliation with the Gutters that usually put her onto the more well-intentioned side of a conflict.
The Quiet One: Though the second-most prominent member of the Gutters after John itself, she is also the second-most silent, after Temari. Her own parts give her more of a vocal role though.
Straight Man: Compared to the more easy-going John and the other members of the Gutters, Janae is the most serious, level-headed of the entire group.
Undying Loyalty: To John, whom she knows the longest and owes the most.

Temari Keys

A sellsword and a trusted member of John Gutten's small group, the Gutters. Tough, pragmatic and cold, Temari is a man of few words, though he has a soft spot for his younger sister, Behara.

Ambiguously Brown: Temari and his sister are from Westeros and likely not from Dorne, which makes their darker skin colour quite odd. It is likely they have some mixed ancestry among their closer relatives.
Anti-Hero: The only thing about Temari that is truly heroic is his love for Behara and his affiliation with the similarly anti-heroic Gutters. Beyond that, he is merely a brutal jerk and he could just as easily be a Punch-Clock Villain if working for a different employer.
Armour Is Useless: He finds out the hard way that this trope does not always work. In his fight against Leonard, he himself is unarmoured, whereas Leonard wears light plate. He ends up getting his ass kicked as much as you'd expect.
Beware the Quiet Ones: Temari might be a man of few words, but he is also a deadly swordsman and experienced member of the Gutters. Even when wounded, he remains a force to be reckoned with.
Big Brother Instinct: The only person he truly cares for is his little sister, Behara. For her, he'd do anything and keeping her safe is a major part of his character.
The Big Guy: Among the Gutters, Temari is often seen as number three, after John the leader and Janae, the second-in-command. He is the most physical of his group, the most eager to fight and implied to be the strongest as well.
Eye Scream: Some time before the story started, he lost one eye, now sporting a disfiguring scar through it.
Hair-Trigger Temper: It doesn't really take much to get on Temari's bad side. Mistreating his sister, speaking against him or his protectiveness, bothering his friends and dozens of other things, he can be very quick to lash out.
Jerkass: Given a look at the other tropes here, it is not hard to see why Temari can come across as a severe jerk. While he has some redeeming qualities, it is overall not enough to make him a fullblown Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
Knight Templar Big Brother: Despite Behara being more than able to help herself, Temari insists on his protectiveness. He often takes things too far, beating men up just for flirting with her, or for what he perceives as insulting her.
My Sister Is Off-Limits: Though Temari does not mind flirting, he does mind it when his sister is involved in this. The fact that said sister is out of her teens by now seems to escape him there.
Out of Focus: Out of the Gutters, Temari is the one with the least focus or screentime. No choices revolve around him and even his little sister and the two Sixth Rangers Jaro and I'lian get more focus. As the last Gutter to remain by John's side at the end of Book 1, this is likely to change.
The Quiet One: Temari is the member of the Gutters with the fewest spoken lines in Book 1. Even Jaro and I'lian, who are introduced two chapters after him, have more involvement in discussions.
The Reliable One: For all his flaws, Temari is a loyal man, who would never abandon those he loves.
True Companions: He and John Gutten go way back and would always have each others back.
Underestimating Badassery: When picking on Leonard, he thinks of him as just a spoiled nobleman. He ignores the fact that Leonard is a trained knight who is wearing armour on top of that.
The Worf Effect: Though physically one of the strongest and most capable among the Gutters, Temari gets his ass handed twice in the span of just two chapters, first by Leonard and then by Bear. The wounds he suffers there slow him down for a long time.

Behara Keys

The younger sister of Temari Keys and accompanies him on his travels with the Gutters. Over the years, she became a valuable part of the group, doing all kinds of odd jobs the sellswords are incapable of, even if she herself takes no part in the fighting.

Ambiguously Brown: Behara's true heritage is not known, but she is from Westeros, which makes her olive skin colour a bit unusual unless she comes from Dorne.
Annoying Younger Siblings: Completely averted. Some moments of hers could easily drift off into this, especially her will to prove herself, but given how much Temari adores her, it is clear that he is not the slightest bit annoyed by her.
Beauty Equals Goodness: Behara is not only a very beautiful girl, she is also one of the nicest and kindest around.
Beware the Nice Ones: It is hard to make Behara lose her cool, but as Jaro and I'lian find out, she has every bit her brothers temper when she is angry. This is a stark contrast to her usual kindness.
Brainy Brunette: Behara's hair has a dark brown colour and coincidentally, she is probably among the smartest members of the Gutters, especially in the way she manages to prove her weight even when not a fighter herself.
The Load: Averted; as the only member of the Gutters who is not a fighter, Behara proves her worth by doing a great number of smaller jobs none of the Gutters can do or want to do, such as cooking their food or washing their clothes.
Damsel in Distress: Together with Janae and Harpy, Behara is taken by Abbas and Bakr, headed for Yunkai.
The Heart: Behara is the only one of the Gutters that qualifies as a truly good person. This, paired with her status as the team's Morality Pet put her into the position where she can successfully advocate for the morally right course of action.
I Just Want to Be Badass: Though not a fighter herself, Behara is sick at being belittled at every possible moment, noting that she is not a child anymore. This leads to her desperately wanting to prove that she can be helpful even when it comes to a fight.
Morality Pet: For the entire Gutters, as each member adores her, but especially for her brother Temari.
Nice Gal: She stands out for being the only Nice Gal in the entire group.
She's All Grown Up: Lucas certainly thinks so. The last time he had seen her, she has only been in her mid-teens and she grew up to be very beautiful, so much that he was quite smitten by her when meeting her again after years.
Tagalong Kid: Behara started out as one, but over the years, while still not becoming a fighter, she found a useful niche which allowed her to be helpful to the Gutters as much as possible.
Team Mom: Ironically while also being the youngest of them. Behara is The Heart of the Gutters, the most mature and sweet-natured, who cares for her friends and family deeply and does what she can to help them.
Token Good Teammate: The Gutters are a group of cutthroat sellswords, each of them a type of Anti-Hero, broken, cynical people with serious issues to drag around. Behara however is the nicest, kindest and least jaded of the entire group, the only one who genuinely seems to be a truly good person.
What the Hell, Hero?: When meeting Jaro and I'lian by accident weeks after they were supposed to meet up with them again, Behara vents at them, chewing them out for not staying true to their word and meeting them when they agreed to.

Samantha Ducard*

Samantha Ducard

A member of John Gutten's sellsword group "The Gutters". Jovial and with a good sense of humour, Samantha is likeable and gregarious, yet in her behaviour, she is known to cover up dark moments from her past that continue to affect her. She is a Point-of-View character.

Action Girl: Samantha is a new member of the Gutters, a small elite group of sellswords. Before joining them, she gained a lot of experience on her own. During the story, she is responsible for the only beatdown Bear ever suffered.
Amazon Chaser: So far, the women she shows explicit attraction to are Sasha and Nymeria, both well-built warrior women who are mostly defined by their physical badassery.
Anti-Hero: Though generally a heroic person, Samantha's severe fixation on revenge, her willingness to use harsh methods and how far she is willing to go to gain justice for her family make her quite a lot greyer than typical heroes.
Beauty Equals Goodness: Samantha's beauty is often mentioned favourably by other characters. Despite having a couple of serious character flaws, she also remains an overall well-intentioned character.
Belligerent Sexual Tension: She and Sasha alternate between snarking at each other and being annoyed at each other's flaws, as well as deeply caring for each other at times, showing just how close they are.
Best Served Cold: Her approach to revenge can be narrowed down to this. After having waited years to get her revenge on Butterfly, the man who murdered her family, she thinks it to be even sweeter when she finally has him at her mercy.
Big Damn Heroes: In Chapter 4, she is part of a larger group of heroes who come to the aid of Jaron and Harpy against the crimelord Butterfly. She pulls it again in Chapter 5, when she saves Leonard from Jaylon and his Solvers.
Cannot Spit It Out: Her feelings for Sasha have obviously grown a bit beyond mere friendship. That said, with her being quite unskilled at talking about her feelings, she constantly fails to even hint at this.
Chronic Hero Syndrome: Possibly due to the trauma of losing her family, Samantha is very eager to help others, especially those that have a family of their own. She proves herself to be unable to look the other way in such cases.
Dark and Troubled Past: Samantha had a relatively normal childhood once, having grown up in the North, before losing it all to a killer that was randomly sent to her parents' farm by Butterfly. Said killer murdered her entire family to prove his loyalty and skill to Butterfly, only sparing Samantha by accident as she had been out gathering mushrooms in the nearby forest. Gaining bloody revenge on Butterfly for ruining her family has been a driving factor for her ever since.
Deadpan Snarker: Though not all of it is genuine, Samantha is one of the more snarky characters in the cast.
Heroic BSoD: She falls into a short, but severe one when finding Lunett's dead body in Oldtown. A second one occurs later when she fails to protect Dairon.
Hidden Depths: At first glance, Samantha is an easy-going, humorous and brave sellsword. Behind this, she is a deeply troubled young woman whose struggle burdens her quite severely, who tries to maintain positive even in the wake of a loss so terrible that many other would have outright broken under it.
I Should Have Been Better: Whenever something bad happens, Samantha has the worrying tendency to blame herself for it.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: On her worst, Samantha can be quite a jerk, dishing out verbal and physical beatdowns, at times even to those that do not truly deserve it. Her obsession with revenge can also be off-putting. Yet behind this, she remains a well-intentioned woman who truly has a heart of gold, as evidenced by her dedication to save Lucas and Leonard.
Mirror Character: To her own surprise, she notices similarities with Jaylon Gordus, whom she previously considered to be nothing but a thug and a killer. Their hard childhoods and similar dreams are ultimately enough for her to treat him with kindness and him to pull a Heel–Face Turn.
My Greatest Failure: Failing to save Lunett weighs heavily on her conscience and is the main reason she is so eager to save Lucas and Leonard, so that she can achieve at least something in Lunett's name.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: She is the red oni to Sasha's blue. Where Sasha is calm, collected and analytical, Samantha is jovial, can be very energetic and is usually the more rash of the two.
Revenge Before Reason: This is far and above Samantha' primary flaw. She is obsessed with getting revenge for her murdered family and though she tries to be a better person, this is more important to her than anything else, even old friends.
Roaring Rampage of Rescue: Initially, she travels to Oldtown to save Lunett. However, in Chapter 5, her directive switches to save Lucas and Leonard from Butterfly, a mission she commits herself with dedication.
Ship Tease: With Sasha.
The Smart Gal: Among the Gutters, Samantha is known for her sly tactics, being one of the more cunning members of the group. She proves this by utilizing her own skills and surroundings perfectly to give herself an advantage in a situation she should naturally fail at.
Spanner in the Works: Her presence in Oldtown is one huge example of this trope for Butterfly. Up until her interference, everything has worked perfectly for Mullendore. He had captured the knights that were smuggling important information out of the city, he was about to capture Dairon and to gain a complete victory in Oldtown. Samantha manages to free Leonard and later Lucas, gain the information and prevent him from capturing Dairon all because she was ordered to find a girl he had murdered.
Stepford Smiler: One of Samantha's strongest traits is the fact that she seems to be smiling and in a good mood even in dire times. Her parts make it clear that these smiles couldn't be more fake. She has started this mannerism after the death of her entire family, to cope with the grief and to avoid having people taking pity on her.
Stepford Snarker: In addition to the trope above, Samantha also likes to be quite humorous and snarky. While it is probably more honest than her smiles, the essence is still that she tries to avoid deeper conversation with these jokes.
Straight Gay: Samantha is solely interested in women, but if it wouldn't be for the narrative of her parts, her thoughts and small actions making this obvious to the reader, nobody would guess. In fact, Davith mistakes her for being straight even.
What the Hell, Hero?: Though she helps him regardless, she delivers a vicious and well-deserved one to Leonard Constantine, making him realize how irresponsible he acted by bringing Lunett to Oldtown.

Jaro

A sellsword and old friend of John Gutten, with whom he worked together in the sellsword group known as The Gutters. A stern and hard man, Jaro is nonetheless sociable, even if it is hard for him to let people close to him. Family is very important to him, especially his younger brothers, I'lian and Akjen.

Big Brother Instinct: His brothers, I'lian and Akjen are so important to him that he'd do anything for them. He is so protective of them that even when presented with the atrocities Akjen commited, he vows to redeem his brother one day.
The Bus Came Back: In an In-Universe example, he and I'lian left the Gutters some time before the story started. They returned from their bus trip in the early Book 1.
Code of Honour: After spending his younger years as a common thug, he realized that this cannot continue in such a way. To make good use of his skills as a fighter, he developed a code he lived by ever since, about how to act honourably and decently in any situation. His brothers took the news with mixed opinions and while I'lian eventually agreed to follow the same code, Akjen left their Sibling Team.
Cultured Badass: Jaro is very much a badass, being a trained fighter and deadly swordsman. He is also a smart and well-read man, who knows literature and poetry and has developed a deep code of honour all by himself.
The Fettered: Not in his early years, where he was one step away from becoming a common bandit. Having realized this, he developed his Code of Honour and lived by it ever since.
Genius Bruiser: At first, he seems to be a typical sellsword, more brawn than brains. This is far from the truth however. Jaro is well-read, thoughtful and overall intelligent, something that becomes quickly apparent once he speaks.
Heel Realization: After an unspecified event in his past, Jaro realized that he was close to becoming a low-life thug. He vowed to change himself and successfuly became one of the more moral characters of the story.
Hero of Another Story: Though not appearing much, Jaro's exploits while away from the Gutters could qualify for a book of their own, such as his travels with I'lian and his alliance with Roger Hill to hunt for brigands in the northern Reach.
My Greatest Failure: Jaro personally blames himself for Akjen's messed up actions, viewing it as his failure for not raising him correctly. Instead of agreeing to kill his brother, he vows to redeem him instead, seeing it as redemption for himself as well.
Nice Guy: Even when he is angry, Jaro is still trying his best to at least act decent. Given his looks, he would be a straight Scary Black Man if not for his politeness.
Promotion to Parent: Being the oldest of the three brothers, he was already in his early teens when their parents died. As a result, he was the one who took up the role of a parent for I'lian and Akjen. By his own accord, he did a lousy job though.
The Quiet One: Compared to his brother, he rarely speaks.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue oni to I'lian's red. He is the brains of their team, the calm tactician and the one that holds his younger brother back whenever the man would get himself in trouble.
Scary Black Man: Averted. Jaro certainly looks the part, being a stoic, physically imposing black man. When angered, he'd likely play this trope straight. However, he is hard to anger and actually a perfectly decent Nice Guy.
Sibling Team: With I'lian and earlier with him and Akjen. The latter has left the team after a severe disagreement that nearly ended in violence, with none of the siblings seeing each other for half a decade since then.
Sixth Ranger: He and I'lian both serve this function in a narrative sense. They are the last Gutters to be introduced, after having spent some time away from the main group to do their own business.
Straight Man: Especially when compared to I'lian. Even when not paired with him, Jaro is typically the calm, silent type, the one who rarely cracks a joke or even just responds to them.
Those Two Guys: Together with I'lian.
What the Hell, Hero?: Them being late for their reunion with the Gutters had unexpected consequences. By staying longer at the Hammered Harp Inn, waiting for them, quite a number of bad things happened to the Gutters and the Kawl family. When they finally reunite with their old group, Behara wastes no time chewing them out on it.

I'lian

The younger brother of Jaro and like him, a sellsword and a member in John Gutten's group. Unlike his brother, he is witty and highly sarcastic, often jesting and trying to amuse those around him. He is charming, if a bit cocky, even though he follows a less rigid code of morals than Jaro.

Agent Peacock: I'lian dresses in flashy, vibrant colours and behaves flamboyantly and impish, yet he is nonetheless a deadly archer and seasoned member of the Gutters.
Ambiguously Brown: Being a dornishman, his dark skin can come from a number of origins. The fact that he is notably less black than both of his brothers raises the question of his parentage only more.
The Bus Came Back: In-Universe, he and Jaro have been veteran members of the Gutters, yet left the company temporarily some time before the story. They make their return during one of the early chapters of Book 1.
Camp Straight: From his general style to his mannerisms, a number of details about I'lian are stereotypically associated with homosexual behaviour. However, he is completely straight, if his flirts with Lenrianda are any implication.
Code of Honour: Years ago, Jaro has developed a very specific code which I'lian has been raised into. He takes it a bit less seriously than his brother, but nonetheless follows it loyally.
Deadpan Snarker: Almost every second sentence he utters is some snarky remark.
Fingore: During Rodrik's ambush, he gets wounded, losing two fingers on his left hand to a sword strike.
Friendly Sniper: I'lian is a skilled archer and deadly in ranged combat. However, he is also a friendly and likable guy, who gets along great with his companions.
Handicapped Badass: Despite losing two fingers, he soon gets a chance to prove that he can still wield a blade.
Handsome Lech: I'lian is surely a handsome man, as even Samantha has to admit. He takes great pride in this and constantly tries to flirt with women around him. The fact that the main object of his affections is only interested in women somewhat lessens his success.
Mauve Shirt: Unfortunately, we never get to learn much about I'lian. He sticks around for half a book as a secondary character, before being killed by Rodrik Stone during the man's attempt on Samantha's life.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: He and Jaro have this dynamic. The passionate and often rash and even foolish I'lian is clearly the red oni, whereas his brother serves as the blue one.
Sibling Team: Together with Jaro, his older brother. Their younger brother Akjen ^notebetter known as Bear nowadays used to work with them as well, but a severe fallout some time before the story starts saw him leaving them behind.
Sixth Ranger: Having taken some time off from the Gutters before the start of the story, he and Jaro are the last of the core members of the group to be introduced and to rejoin them.
Those Two Guys: Together with Jaro.
What the Hell, Hero?: He and his brother are on the receiving end, when Behara chews them out for not meeting up with them as promised. Their failure to do so caused the death of John's lover and though they are not at fault for this, they are nonetheless shaken by the revelation.

The Second Sons

Ser Rodrik Stone

The Kinslayer

Born as the bastard son of Lord Harrion Corbray, Rodrik grew up resentful of his father and trueborn siblings, to the point where he slew the former and stole his families ancestral sword, Lady Forlorn. He later became an officer in the sellsword company Second Sons, where he ended up working for the pirate Edward Anturion.He's also half-brother of Queen Regent Sharra Arryn, making him half-uncle of Ronnel and Jonos Arryn.

Absurdly Sharp Blade: After killing his father, Rodrik took Lady Forlorn, the ancestral sword of House Corbray, made of Valyrian Steel, from his corpse, wielding it ever since.
Arc Villain: First introduced in Chapter 3, he becomes the Arc Villain for John's and Samantha's storylines for the latter half of Book 1, starting with Chapter 5.
Attempted Rape: After capturing her and having her at his mercy, Rodrik intends to rape Samantha right away, in front of his men and in front of her dying friends. It gets thwarted by Orys Baratheon and his companions.
Bald of Evil: Rodrik is as bald as he is evil.
Bastard Bastard: He's a bastard of House Corbray who murdered his father and stole the family heirloom. Add to this his generally unpleasant personality, anger issues and smugness and you have a man with very few traits that can even be considered positive.
Beard of Evil: Though bald, he does wear a beard covering his lower jaw and chin.
Big Bad Wannabe: Introduced as a major threat for Raylansfair, Rodrik genuinely tries to be a menacing, dangerous presence. Key word being 'tries' here. Over the course of the story, Rodrik doesn't actually achieve anything major. Killing I'lian and Lenrianda, as well as coming close to kill Samantha and Sasha might make him a Not-So-Harmless Villain, but as far as his build-up goes, he is downright pathetic.
Black Sheep: Rodrik is this for House Corbray, being a Bastard Bastard and Self-Made Orphan. According to some quotes, the rest of House Corbray is known to consist of perfectly noble people, which means he sticks out like a sore thumb.
Boss Banter: One of Rodrik's greatest flaws is his habit of doing small talk during a fight. His taunts give Samantha a chance to fight back and outright put him at a disadvantage when fighting against the even more skilled Orys Baratheon.
Butt-Monkey: For a man as genuinely dangerous as he is, remarkably few things go Rodrik's way. Over the course of the story, he sacrifices his men by giving them poor orders, achieves almost nothing of note, gets beaten, humiliated and ultimately shot with a crossbow by Sasha, the same woman he wanted to kill just seconds before that.
Cool Sword: Lady Forlorn, the ancient Valyrian Steel sword of House Corbray.
The Dreaded: Lenrianda, who served under him, is absolutely terrified of him to the point where she is initially reluctant of betraying him even when offered a Heel–Face Turn. After accepting to John's conditions, she remains paranoid of Rodrik's revenge, for good reason.
Equal-Opportunity Evil: Perhaps one of the few redeeming traits he has is that he is free of sexism amongst his followers. Quite surprisingly, given that he does not shy away from trying to rape Samantha, he shows nothing but respect for Alisa, his female lieutenant and even defends her from Bear when the bandit leader questions her effectiveness based on her gender.
The Exile: After murdering his father, it's pretty clear that he is a wanted man in the Kingdom of Mountain and Vale. Ever since, he has lived in Essos, in the city of Vaes Khadokh.
Fair-Play Villain: Another positive trait of his is that he believes in a fair fight if challenged. Though Samantha refuses his offer, it was a genuine one, where he could have just as easily overpowered her with superior numbers. Of course, given that he uses an Absurdly Sharp Blade, the definition of fair play is up for debate.
Faux Affably Evil: As a knight, Rodrik was taught all kinds of polite manners and these lessons stuck. If a situation requires it, he knows how to act affably. It is, however, pretty clear that nothing of this is genuine.
Hero Killer: After finally showing just how dangerous he can be, he is the one to kill I'lian and Lenrianda.
Hoist by Their Own Petard: Rodrik is killed by his own insistence of taking revenge on Samantha for capturing him. He goes out of his way to reach her, killing two of her friends and forcing her to watch as he tries to kill the third one, only to be killed himself by said third victim when he drags it out for too long.
Jerkass: A major example of this, to an almost sociopathic degree.
Klingon Promotion: His lieutenant Carvin reveals that he gained the title of Captain of the Second Sons by killing the previous captain. Their current employer, Nain Anturion, found this highly amusing and promoted him for this.
The Magnificent: The Kinslayer, though technically not a title one should wear with pride. Rodrik being Rodrik, he does just that, considering it a title showing his finest deed.
Not-So-Harmless Villain: Rodrik is very much a Butt-Monkey and a Big Bad Wannabe, but that does not mean that he is not dangerous. He is still a trained knight, wielding one of the best swords in Westeros and commanding dozens of hired killers. He proves this when he breaks free from his captors and kills I'lian and Lenrianda, while fighting these two, Samantha and Davith at the same time.
Oh, Crap!: He has a very strong one when he realizes that Orys Baratheon is better than him, just about to defeat him and just about to give him a truly nasty beating for his troubles.
Revenge Before Reason: His habit of doing this is what puts Rodrik into bad situations way more than once. He could have just let Lenrianda and Nymeria go, but taking revenge on them for leaving him causes him being captured by Samantha and Orys. After his escape, he goes out of his way to kill Samantha, only to be killed himself when he drags his revenge out for too long.
Self-Made Orphan: Rodrik has personally murdered his father, Lord Harrion Corbray.

Alexander Botwerys

One of the Second Sons, serving under Rodrik Stone. Unlike most of the sellswords under Rodrik's command, Alexander is know to be a rather friendly person, who does not share his leader's disdain for others.

Big Damn Heroes: His arrival comes just in time to secure Ilish's survival when she is attacked by Wolfius.
Butt-Monkey: It seems that nothing can ever go in Alexander's favour. He is introduced when he goes against the will of his commanding officer, receiving a savage beatdown in the process, before going to to support Ilish in her desperate fight against Wolfius. This time, he receives a knife to the throat for his trouble.
Deadpan Snarker: Though he doesn't get to show it off all too much, he has a very dry sense of humour.
Everyone Has Standards: Though he is a Second Son, member of an amoral sellsword company serving a madman, he is not actually a bad guy and shown to draw the line at the senseless violence his commanding officer likes to indulge in.
Nice Guy: Unlike most of the Second Sons, Alexander is a genuinely nice, supportive and helpful person, especially seen in his interaction with Ilish.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: His defense of Ilish sees him getting beaten up by Rodrik Stone. Later on, this triggers a chain of events where he defends Ilish from Wolfius Woodbark, this time ending up not surviving the encounter.
Token Good Teammate: Out of the Second Sons encountered in the story, especially the ones seen in Raylansfair, Alexander is among the most well-intentioned and moral members, as seen when he saves Ilish and openly disagrees with his commanding officer.
We Hardly Knew Ye: Alexander is killed at the end of his only chapter.

Morgrem Dermont

Another of Rodrik's Second Sons. Morgrem is a very loyal sellsword, though not much is known about him beyond that, due to him merely appearing in a single part so far.

Ambiguously Evil: Due to how little characterization he receives, it is not quite clear if Morgrem is actually
Bit Character: One of the more extreme examples of the story, as he only appears in a single part.
Hero Killer: He kills Knightfang, the Canine Companion of Ser Aldrik Wolver. In his defense, it happened during the heat of battle and he had little chance to prevent it.
Kick the Dog: Kill the dog actually. And literally so. Morgrem is responsible for the death of Knightfang, Ser Aldrik's direwolf during the battle of Raylansfair.
Punch-Clock Villain: Being a sellsword, it is not too unusual for him to be one of these, or a Punch-Clock Hero if the job requires it. He works for the one that pays the best and during the time of the story, this just so happens to be Edward Anturion.
What Happened to the Mouse?: After his escape from Maya and her group, Morgrem's fate is left unanswered in the story proper. Word of God has it that he is alive and he is listed as part of the group that escaped with Edward Anturion.

Alisa Karstark

The thirdborn daughter and fifthborn child of Lord Brogar Karstark, although she abandoned her family long ago, to escape from a marriage she did not want. She joined the Second Sons and eventually became assigned to accompany the pirate Edward Anturion and to help him in his schemes.

Accidental Murder: As it is eventually revealed, she has accidentally killed her brother Rohar, who wanted to stop her from leaving Karhold against the will of her father. He remains the only kill she truly regrets.
Action Girl: Partially this and partially a Dark Action Girl, Alisa is certainly a deadly fighter.
Anti-Villain: The only thing truly villainous about Alisa is her allegiance with Anturion and the Second Sons. Of course, there is also her kinslaying, but all in all, she is very kind in her interactions with Alys and shows every sign of being a Noble Top Enforcer.
Arranged Marriage: One of these was the reason she ran away from Karhold.
Big Sister Instinct: While Alys is not her real sister, Alisa quickly develops such a bond to her, becoming highly protective of the younger girl and valuing her safety even above the one of her leader, Edward Anturion.
Brainy Brunette: Like most Northerners, Alisa has dark hair. She is also a clever strategist and serves as one of Edward Anturion's main officers in his fighting force.
Cool Big Sis: Surrogate sis, more like, but she is a cool, supportive sister figure for Alys.
Dark and Troubled Past: The above mentioned murder of her younger brother has put quite a heavy stain onto her past.
The Exile: For the murder of her younger brother, she was exiled from her father, who denounces her as his daughter.
In the Blood: Her blood is the key to being immune to the ancient protectionary runes that haunt the lower levels of Raylansfair's historical archive. Sharing her blood even protects others from the influence of the spell.
Massive Numbered Siblings: Alisa is the thirdborn daughter of Lord Karstark. Word of God says that she has five siblings.
Mirror Character: She realizes pretty quickly that she is this to Alys, whom she feels connected to. Both are notably escaping from an Arranged Marriage and Alisa notices that Alys holds the same naive dreams she once had.
My Master, Right or Wrong: Despite growing heavily disillusioned with Edward, she does not question his orders even once, showing absolute loyalty to him even though she knows that a man he is.
Noble Top Enforcer: Even more so than Carvin, Alisa is shown to have some serious standards and redeeming traits. She is also among Edward's and Rodrik's best and most trusted officers.
No-Sell: Being a pureblooded First Man, she is completely immune to the illusions that haunt the lower levels of the archive and are supposed to protect it from thieves.
Only in It for the Money: Much like most sellswords, the only reason she works for a guy as bad as Edward Anturion is the lucrative payment she is offered by him and his brother.
Punch-Clock Villain: Repeatedly, Alisa gets a chance to prove that she is actually quite alright. Sure, she got her flaws, but overall she remains quite an okay person whenever she is not working for Edward.
Runaway Fiancée: To avoid an unwanted Arranged Marriage, she became one.
The Smurfette Principle: So far, Alisa is the only female member of the Second Sons shown in the story. Bear, a known mysoginist, finds the mere thought highly amusing, though her commanding officer, Rodrik Stone, considers her to be a very useful officer.
Sour Supporter: Over the course of the story, she expresses disgust of Edward and the Anturion family as a whole, though she works with them for the payment.
Token Good Teammate: For the Second Sons, especially for the ones around Edward, as she is notably the most caring and moral of the group when it comes to her interaction with Alys.

Carvin Granver

The older brother of Ilish Granver, who disappeared out of her life several years ago, to join the sellsword company Second Sons. In this position, he was sent to accompany the pirate Edward Anturion in his schemes, which led him across a major part of Westeros.

Aloof Big Brother: His younger sister is Ilish Granver. Though she loves him a lot, he gets special aloof points when he leaves her behind after the death of their father, without as much as an explanation.
Anti-Villain: Aside from his work for the villainous Second Sons, there are few aspects of Carvin that make him necessarily more villainous than any common sellsword. He is, at worst, a Punch-Clock Villain.
Beware the Quiet Ones: Though Carvin rarely speaks, he is also the most dangerous member of Edward Anturion's group introduced so far. He is a crack shot with his crossbow and notably poses a threat to Willfred Reyne and Roger Hill, two very skilled knights.
Big Brother Instinct: Notably not to his actual sister, Ilish, whom he left alone years ago. Instead, he seems to develop a protective instinct to Alys, whom he starts to consider a replacement sister.
Cold Sniper: His weapon of choice is a crossbow
Dark and Troubled Past: Carvin's life certainly hasn't been easy up to now. The tragic death of his father and him leaving his sister Ilish behind, a move he heavily regrets, has left him a cold, quiet man.
Kick the Dog: Leaving Ilish behind after the death of their father certainly counts. Even beyond that, Carvin is generally way more willing to kick the dog than his colleague Alisa is.
My Greatest Failure: Certain moments in his interaction with Alys, especially how he starts to see her as a replacement sister show that he feels quite guilty over just abandoning. Ilish without a word.
My Master, Right or Wrong: He notably does not question Edward Anturion even once and shows the fiercest loyalty to him. While he might not always agree with his course of action, he nonetheless follows every order.
Noble Top Enforcer: Carvin is a more villainous member of the Second Sons. Nonetheless, he has noble traits, redeeming even and is not all that bad beneath his work for Anturion.
Only in It for the Money: As usual for a sellsword.
Parental Abandonment: His mother died when he and Ilish were very young. His father followed a few years later, when he was killed by men he had debts with. Finally, he himself, instead of getting a Promotion to Parent, decided to abandon Ilish.
Punch-Clock Villain: Like most members of the Second Sons, Carvin is actually not all that villainous in his personality and motives, he just happens to work for one of the bad guys. He himself is a bit aloof, yet otherwise friendly unless provoked and comes across as just an ordinary man in a field of work that generally can be morally questionable.
The Quiet One: Carvin is a very quitet man most of the time, rarely speaking more than necessary. It works well with his Cold Sniper personality trait.
Sour Supporter: More subdued than Alisa, but he does not disagree when she openly complains about their boss, Edward Anturion. In fact, he outright agrees with her on Nain and seems terrified of the unnamed Anturion sister.
Straight Gay: Until Alys found him in bed with Warmond Manderly, there weren't many indicators of his sexuality.

The Forgotten

Ser Leonard Hill

A bastard from the Lannisport branch of House Lannister and the leader of the sellsword group The Forgotten. Suffering under his family during his childhood left him with a deep-seated hatred towards noblemen in general and House Lannister in particular, though it also made him sympathetic to the concerns of the smallfolk.

Aristocrats Are Evil: A dark childhood among his trueborn family has given him such a deep hatred for noblemen that he firmly believes in this trope even when the truth can be a bit less clear at times.
Authority Equals Asskicking: Leonard is not only the leader of the Forsaken, he has also the most combat experience and is their best fighter by a country mile.
Big Damn Heroes: In a Zig-Zagged example of the trope, he saves Sadie from certain death when she loses her fight against Durren Stallhart, before wiping the floor with the Ironborn captain. However, he arrives too late to prevent the loss of her sword hand.
Combat Pragmatist: His harsh upbringing probably had a hand in this, but Leo follows a fighting style that is far from knightly, something so effective that it takes Durren Stallhart completely by surprise.
Dark and Troubled Past: The exact details of his upbringing have not been revealed yet, which is probably for the better. Judging by how severely he reacts to the presence of his trueborn cousin, his childhood in Lannisport couldn't have been pretty in any way.
The Dreaded: Baelor Bloodbane, himself a dreaded badass, has so much respect of him that his presence at the taproom of the Golden Gyles Inn is nearly enough for him to abandon their mision.
Everyone Has Standards: Sure, Leo is a brutal, ruthless sellsword, with a disturbing hatred for noblemen and a harsh temper. However, he is also a champion of the common people and draws the line at slavery or rape.
Genius Bruiser: Not only a skilled fighter, Leo is quite a lot smarter than he looks, being capable of complex chains of thoughts, such as uncovering Sadie's deception of him or Gyles' true nature. He is also a brilliant strategist and leader.
Heroic Bastard: Leonard's last name already shows that he is a bastard, a Lannister bastard to be precise. He is also a champion of the people, ready to protect them whenever necessary.
The Leader: Of the Forgotten, his sellsword company.
My Master, Right or Wrong: At least inititally, this is how Leo justifies his loyalty to Gyles, claiming that he has this standard of being faithful to his employer. Eventually, he grows so disgusted by him though that he ends up abandoning him in favour of the people of Maybros.
Noble Top Enforcer: At least initially, his role as Gyles head of security makes him this by default. He drops any top enforcer position after breaking ties with his employer though.
Number Two: He is this to Gyles in the organization of the Golden Gyles.
Pet the Dog: Even before proving his more heroic traits, Leo is shown to be very supportive of Sadie's quest to find and save her family, even going against his employer's will to help her.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Quite surprisingly for someone like him, who is introduced as someone to be afraid of, Leo is actually a very reasonable man, who cares for his people and is even willing to swallow his pride if it means he can achieve his goals.
Sherlock Scan: Unlike any other character in the story, he sees right through Sadie's lies, noticing that she is not whom she claims to be. His suspicion turns out to be true, even if she has no bad intention, as he initially fears.
Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: Leo believes in this trope, being heavily disgusted when he realizes that Gyles keeps his prostitutes basically as slaves. It is the final push for him to abandon his employer.
Younger Than They Look: Due to his beard, Leo appears like a man in his late thirties, when he is actually in his mid-twenties.

Edward Lancaster

A captain of the Forgotten, serving directly under Leo as one of his subleaders. He is a quiet, but friendly and likable man, who is quick to get on to friendly terms with new people.

The Face: His role among the Forgotten seems to be more people-oriented. In his role as Leo's sub-leader, he is mostly used to negotiate and communicate, a role his boss trusts him fully with.
The Lancer: Edward is among Leo's most trusted men, constantly seen by his side and serving as a sub-leader of the Forgotten. He shares this spot with Rhogarn Snow.
Number Two: Out of all the sub-leaders, Leo seems to trust Edward the most, as evidenced when he orders him to lead negotiations in his stead when he goes off to support Sadie instead.
One-Steve Limit: Averted, he shares his first name with Edward Anturion.
The Quiet One: Like his companion Rhogarn, Edward is not a very talkative man. This slightly changes in Book 2, where he becomes a bit more open once he gets a bit closer to Sadie, though he doesn't ever become all that vocal.
Sink or Swim Mentor: In Book 2, he becomes this to Sadie, when he offers to train her fighting with her left hand after she lost her right to Durren Stallhart. While a kind offer, he makes it clear that he won't treat her with softness and proves it to be right when he trains with her as he would train any able-bodied member of his company.

Rhogarn Snow

One of the captains of the Forgotten, who serves directly under Leo, much like his fellow captain, Edward Lancaster. As his name indicates, he's a bastard from the North. House Condon to be specific.

Bit Character: Even beyond his status as a character that has only been introduced in the final chapter of Book 1, Rhogarn is not a very present guy, mostly seen as muscle for Leo.
The Lancer: Rhogarn is one of several sub-leaders of the Forgotten.
Last Episode, New Character: Rhogarn is introduced in the final chapter of Book 1.
The Quiet One: The number of times Rhogarn actually speaks in his introductory chapter does not surpass half a dozen sentences at most. Safe to say, he is not a chatty man.

Blane Banefort

One of the higher-ranking members of the Forgotten, as well as the first to be introduced in the story. He is a friendly, yet slightly careless man, who quickly seems to take a liking towards the fellow sellsword Sadie. He is distantly related to House Banefort of the Westerlands.

Abhorrent Admirer: Though Sadie is not exactly squicked out by Blane and admits that he has a certain handsomeness to him, the utterly inappropriate moments he chooses for his flirting result in her having this reaction regardless.
Alliterative Name: Blane Banefort.
The Big Guy: Though not quite as high-ranking as Edward or Rhogarn, Blane is nonetheless trusted with leading small units of sellswords into battle. There, he is more aggressive and fight-oriented than most other of his companions.
Casanova Wannabe: Blane takes a lot of pride in his good looks and can even be quite charming when he wants to. Unfortunately for him, he has a horrible timing and no sense of tact, leading to him being less than successful with the ladies.
Deadpan Snarker: Surely one of his more prominent traits.
Handsome Lech: If his constant flirting with Sadie is any indication, Blane is quite eager to get into her pants. It is likely this trait that actually reduces his chances of ever landing with her.
Innocently Insensitive: As seen below, Blane is a perfectly Nice Guy. However, he has a bad sense of tact and as such his attempts at flirting with Sadie mere days after she lost a hand to Durren Stallhart end up insulting and hurting her.
Nice Guy: Though Innocently Insensitive at times, Blane is not a bad guy. In fact, he is quite a friendly, supportive person and seems to genuinely care for Sadie.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: A tragic example. He orders Sadie and Dan to attack the Ironborn host from behind, to bring them into disarray. What he does achieve is Dan's death and Sadie being crippled when she loses her sword hand.
Overshadowed by Awesome: Blane is not a bad fighter and seems to be a relatively capable leader as well, surely above average in any sense of the word. However, he lacks Leo's charisma and skill or Sadie's natural instincts and decisiveness, which causes him to mostly pale when compared to them.
Spanner in the Works: His crush on Sadie nearly causes him to jeopardize her mission to save her sister. By seeking to be close to her, he also puts her close to his boss, Leonard Hill, who quickly sees through her lies.
What the Hell, Hero?: He is on the receiving end, courtesy of Sadie, after he sleazily flirts with her while she copes with the traumatic loss of her sword hand, a situation in which she notes how little use she has for any sort of romance right now.

Aklen Pentas

Another high-ranking member of the Forgotten, Aklen is a rude, brutish man, who is nonetheless a valuable member of the company, if only because his brutal demeanor makes him perfect as the companies chief torturer.

Bald of Evil: There is not a hair on his head and he also happens to be the Token Evil Teammate of his company.
Beard of Evil: In contrast to his bald head, he has a scruffy, black beard.
Card-Carrying Villain: Aklen doesn't really try much to hide his nature. Already looking like a crude brute of a man, he is a jerk and gets particular evil points for being a torturer and apparently quite proud of his work.
Jerkass: From his introductory scene alone, it can be deduced that he is this. Needlessly rude to Sadie, he calls her a cripple to her face, outright interrupting his commanding officer in the process. There is also his nonchalant joy about his work as a torturer.
Token Evil Teammate: Surely, most other members of the Forgotten have their own moral ambiguity going on, united mostly in their hatred for noblemen, yet Aklen sticks out even from them by unashamedly enjoying his line of work, which just happens to be torture.
Torture Technician: As stated above, this is Aklen's main role among the Forgotten.

The Company of the Hawk

The Hawk*

The Hawk

An old veteran and sellsword, the founder and current leader of the Company of the Hawk and last of the three original founders to still be alive. He is a grizzled and strangely long-lived veteran, who demands absolute respect from his people and is not above employing underhanded tactics to beat his enemies. He is also a Point-of-View character.

Anti-Hero: More than any other Point-of-View character in the story, as it turns out. The Hawk might be an affable man, who lacks cruelty or any outright malice. However, he is a largely amoral sellsword leader who is willing to cross some pretty serious lines in his search for immortality.
Beware the Nice Ones: Mostly smiling, the Hawk is nonetheless not a man to take lightly, as he is in charge of the Company of the Hawk, consisting of spies, poisoners and other experts in guerilla tactics. Behind his kind smile lies a sharp and analytical mind.
Do Not Go Gentle: This is one of the main reasons for the Hawk's desperate attempts at prolonging his life at all cost. He knows that death is inevitable and will claim him in the next two decades, but he does all in his power to prolong his life and give death a proper fight.
The Face: Not only is the Hawk the most experienced of the sellswords in all the three companies, he is also the one in charge of dealing with those that hire them and generally the one to do the talking.
Glass Eye: One of his eyes has been lost in battle and he replaced it by a polished ball of dragonglass, giving him a truly fearsome stare, which he uses to his advantage.
Immortality Seeker: As it turns out, the Hawk is not just exceptionally long-lived, he is actively trying to find ways to extend his life, indefinitely if possible. It is the main reason why he employs Hadrax.
The Leader: Of the Company of the Hawk, but he also has some power over the Rat and the Pig and their respective companies.
Long-Lived: Not only is the Hawk exceptionally long-lived, especially for the setting, but unlike other old characters who appear in the story, he is still an active and capable warrior. It is implied and later confirmed that there is more to his almost unnatural youthfulness.
Magnetic Hero: He himself believes that the only reason the Pig and the Rat work together instead of being at each others throat is his own calming presence and he is the inofficial leader of all three companies.
Manly Facial Hair: A long and flowing one, fitting for the leader of a sellsword company.
Mortality Phobia: The Hawk has a deep-seated fear of dying and sees his entire life as one constant fight against death, one he is destined to lose eventually.
Old Soldier: A veteran of countless battles, the Hawk is a sellsword of much renown. As such, he is an old soldier of the highest degree, having served for many masters in his life and surviving everything thrown at him.
Only Known by Their Nickname: Like the Rat and the Pig, he is only known as the Hawk.
Sole Survivor: He is the only survivor of the original founders of the three companies, having served as leader of his company since their founding over sixty years ago.
Succession Crisis: It stands to fear that the Company of the Hawk will fall into one should the Hawk die. Due to leading the company for over sixty years, any successor has quite big shoes to fill and the Hawk himself isn't making thing any easier by his inability to properly pick someone to take over eventually.
Too Much Alike: The Hawk feels this way about Jaqiros Nestoris, the Iron Bank representative, whom he notes to be similar to himself. However, the Hawk knows better than to trust men like himself.

Montoya the Duelist

A member of the company of the Hawk and in fact the second-in-command of the entire company, standing just behind the Hawk himself. He is a handsome, sarcastic man, yet dangerous in combat.

Deadpan Snarker: Typically, Montoya is known for his sarcasm and carefree way with words. He even goes as far as to talk in such a casual way with the Hawk himself.
Handsome Lech: Though undeniably handsome, Montoya is also lecherous, as shown when he expresses the hope that Octavia Shett is good-looking and him taking a peek at Mirandra's cleavage.
Number Two: To the Hawk, as his second-in-command.

Hazar the Weak

The youngest member of the Company of the Hawk, Hazar serves as the Hawk's personal squire. He is merely a child and known for his fearful behaviour, but the Hawk sees potential for greatness in him.

Bit Character: Like most members of the three companies, he has only been mentioned in passing so far.
Shrinking Violet: A rare male example, as Hazar is still essentially a child, easily scared by some of the members of the Company of the Hawk. However, the Hawk sees potential in him.
The Squire: Of the Hawk, to be precise.

Mirandra the Sweet

A woman in service of the Company of the Hawk. Not a sellsword in the classical sense on account of not being a fighter, Mirandra is a prodigy with poison and supplies the entire company with her products.

Beware the Nice Ones: While she is a sweet and motherly woman, she is also an expert with different types of poison, which makes her one of the most feared members of the three companies.
Big Beautiful Woman: Mirandra is described as heavy-weight yet still beautiful.
Bit Character: Like most members of the three companies, she has only been mentioned in passing so far.
The Dreaded: Due to her affinity for poison, Mirandra is widely feared by the members of the three companies, with only the Hawk seeming at ease in her presence. Hazar in particular is absolutely terrified by her.

Timos the Hammer

A member of the Company of the Hawk, Timos is a tall, strong man who serves as the chief blacksmith of the company and all three companies by extension. Though known as an alcoholic, his skill in his craft is not lessened by this.

The Alcoholic: Timos is often drunken, as seen in his introductory scene, where he is shown with a bottle of wine in his hands even though the day had just started.
The Big Guy: Physically one of the tallest men in the Company of the Hawk, his blacksmith work also means that he absolutely has to be among the strongest as well.
Bit Character: Like most members of the three companies, he has only been mentioned in passing so far.
The Blacksmith: As his nickname implies, this is his task among the three companies.
Crippling Overspecialization: The Hawk considers him the finest blacksmith of the Three Companies and he can fulfil this duty even when he is drinking. However, his uncontrolled alcoholism is affecting his other duties, leaving him unable to reliable do even simple tasks such as standing guard.

Sharako the Orphan Mother

A member of the Company of the Hawk and the Hawk's personal spymaster. He is an enigmatic man, who uses fear and espionage to further his goals, employing children to do his spy work for him.

Bit Character: Like most members of the three companies, he has only been mentioned in passing so far.
The Spymaster: Spying on the enemies of the three companies is his task.
Would Hurt a Child: While not yet shown to personally harm a child, he employs them to do his spy work, means he is not hesitating to put them in harm's work when it is required of him.

Hadrax

A strangely youthful man who serves in the Company of the Hawk. His actual role in the company is currently still unknown, yet he is apparently of great importance to the Hawk himself.

Affably Evil: Hadrax is soft-spoken, polite and unfailingly loyal to the Hawk. He is also a fundamentally amoral man, who is willing to mutilate innocents for his experiments. Given, he pays them for taking a finger or two, but it is clear that he has no problem with even killing them if necessary.
Ascended Extra: At first, he was only mentioned in passing and remained a background presence in the Hawk's part. The late Chapter 3 of Book 2 finally fleshes him out considerably.
Enigmatic Minion: While Hadrax is officially the bookkeeper of the Company of the Hawk, the Hawk's inner thoughts reveal that this is definitely not the full truth and that there is more to him.
Even Evil Has Standards: He mentions in passing that he considers slavery utterly distasteful.
For Science!: His main motivation is to develop and refine his life-prolonging elixir. Since the Hawk is paying him well and offers himself as a guinea pig to do his research on, Hadrax is unfailingly loyal to him.
Lack of Empathy: While he might consider slavery to be a primitive and distasteful technique, he clearly lacks any sort of empathy for the slaves themselves and even mentions taking advantage of their plight for his research when possible. He also has no problems with paying desperate and starving people to cut off one of their fingers for his research.
Light Is Not Good: Hadrax is a good-looking and eternally youthful man with full blonde hair. In comparison, he lacks any sort of conventional morality and can by no means be considered good in any way.
Mad Scientist: Chapter 3 reveals that he is essentially this. While he seems sane enough, Hadrax has an unhealthy obsession with his elixir and seems fascinated by its possibilities. There are no things he wouldn't be willing to do to perfect it, including killing or mutilating innocent people.
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: While Hadrax insists that he is not a mage and that his elixir is merely sufficiently advanced alchemy, it includes a few ingredients that are frequently used by mages (such as basilisk blood) and its results are notably more potent than anything even our modern science can achieve.
Older Than They Look: The Hawk mentions he is in his sixties, but he has barely aged, still having full, blonde hair and fair skin completely untouched by age. This is revealed to be a result of his elixir.
Only in It for the Money: Hadrax is only remaining by the Hawk's side because he is paid. Whereas the other members of the Three Companies have some degree of loyalty to the old man, Hadrax has made it perfectly clear that he will be gone the moment the Hawk stops paying him for his elixir.

The Company of the Rat

The Rat

The leader of the company of the Rat. He is a dwarf with a deformed body, but a very sharp mind, which he uses as his main weapon when dealing with enemies and the other companies.

Dark and Troubled Past: During his conversation with Hadrax, the Rat mentions that he knows a lot about self-proclaimed miracle workers and that he has tried a lot of their elixirs in his youth, possibly in an attempt to cure his physical deformities.
Depraved Dwarf: As a dwarf, he gets depraved points by the tropes mentioned below, namely him being in a physical relationship with a girl at least two decades younger than him.
Ephebophile: The Rat is in a physical relationship with Vii the Innocent, who is young enough to be his daughter.
Evil Cripple: On top of his dwarfism, the Rat is further crippled by a hunched back and a large head, hinting at severe physical deformities. His morality is not fully known yet, but he is at least not above being in a sexual relationship with a woman who is just barely not a child anymore.
Inadequate Inheritor: At least where the current Pig is concerned, he is not worthy of being the Rat, compared to the previous leader of the company who was apparently a vastly different and more likeable man.
Legacy Character: He's the second carrier of the name, the original one was friends with The Hawk.
The Leader: Of the Company of the Rat, obviously.
May–December Romance: With Vii, who is barely sixteen years old, compared to him, a man in his forties.
The Napoleon: As a short man, he is clearly compensating this by surrounding himself exclusively with tall, skilled warriors, the ebst among the three companies.
Only Known by Their Nickname: Just like the Hawk and the Pig, he is only known as the Rat.
Pet the Dog: Surprisingly, the Rat seems to have taken a liking to the Hawk, even coming to his aid to keep his frail health a secret from the rest of his men.
Secret-Keeper: Out of the Three Companies, the Rat is currently the only one who knows for certain how the Hawk has managed to remain alive and in good health for such a long time.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With the Pig, whom he harbours a great dislike towards.

Vii the Innocent

A high-ranking member of the company of the Rat. Her young age does not hold her back when advancing in the company, as she is known as the mistress of the Rat himself.

Bit Character: Like most members of the three companies, she has only been mentioned in passing so far.
Broken Bird: Let's just say, it is not normal for a girl her age to be this cold, yet also in a physical relationship with a man more than twice her age, which hints at a very dark past of hers.
Ironic Nickname: As the Hawk notes, Vii is anything but innocent, not only due to her relationship with the Rat, but also due to her cold and dark personality.
May–December Romance: Vii is barely a woman out of her childhood and yet she is in a relationship with the Rat himself, who is at least two decades her senior.

Vogo the Axe

A bearded priest of Norvos and member of the Company of the Rat. Together with Vhassah, he is one of the Rat's personal bodyguards.

Bit Character: Like most members of the three companies, he has only been mentioned in passing so far.
Warrior Monk: It comes with being a bearded priest, a whole order built out of this trope.

Vhassah the Shield

Another Norvoshi in service of the Company of the Rat, she is one of the Rat's personal bodyguards.

Bit Character: Like most members of the three companies, she has only been mentioned in passing so far.
Impoverished Patrician: Her shaved head indicates that she is of high birth, as only noble women of Norvos follow this practice. Yet she is definitely not above being a mere sellsword and bodyguard of the Rat.

The Company of the Pig

The Pig

The leader of the Company of the Pig, a man who claims to be a Braavosi, yet is probably from some other place entirely. Fat, yet tall and strong, he is a passionate warrior, feared for his savagery in battle.

Acrofatic: While he is quite fat, the Pig is nonetheless an experienced warrior, more than capable of personally leading his company to battle.
Fake Nationality: The Pig is adamant with his claim that he is from Braavos, yet he shows none of the typical appearance traits of the Braavosi, making it possible that he is faking his place of birth due to vanity.
Hidden Depths: At first glance, the Pig is merely a brute who happens to be in a position of power. However, in his talk with the Hawk, he reveals quite some deep thoughts about his own position in the Three Companies, the matter of who succeeds the Hawk and thoughts on his own life.
Large and in Charge: He is one of the largest, yet also fattest people among the three companies and obviously the leader of the Company of the Pig.
Legacy Character: Like the Rat, he inherited the title from the original Pig, who was a friend of the Hawk. However, he is the fifth man to bear the title.
The Leader: Of the Company of the Pig.
Only Known by Their Nickname: Like the Hawk and the Rat, the Pig is only known as the Pig.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With the Rat, whom he has a strong dislike towards.

Agar the Cold

Second-in-Command to the Pig, Agar the Cold is a foreign savage, whose skill in battle have nonetheless made him invaluable to the Pig and the other members of the company.

Bit Character: Like most members of the three companies, he has only been mentioned in passing so far.
Number Two: The second-in-command to the Pig.
What the Hell Is That Accent?: Agar apparently hasn't fully mastered the Common Tongue spoken among the companies yet, or has no interest in learning it, but what little he can say is warped due to his accent, its origins a bit of a mystery.

Jorario the Beast

A sellsword in the Company of the Pig, Jorario is in charge of the Pig's beloved beasts of battle, a task he takes very seriously, keeping an eye on the elephants, hounds, zorses and other animals the companies use.

The Beastmaster: Jorario's main work for the three companies involves handling their war beasts.
Bit Character: Like most members of the three companies, he has only been mentioned in passing so far.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Admittedly, it comes from his profession as the beastmaster of the three companies, but with a name like Jorario the Beast, do you truly expect him to be good company?

Maldar the Quiver

A Summer Islander who is a sellsword in the Company of the Pig. He is an archer, leading the archers of all three companies to battle and training new recruits in his art.

Bit Character: Like most members of the three companies, he has only been mentioned in passing so far.

Other sellswords

Marak*

Marak

A sellsword from the Iron Islands, a boisterous, loud and foul-mouthed guy, whose initial friendliness and jolly behaviour hides a darker, more ruthless and violent nature, which comes up especially when he is angry. At the beginning of the story, he finds himself working for the enigmatic red priestess Noelle Mield. He is one of the Point-of-View characters.

Anti-Hero: On his good days, Marak is a violent Punch-Clock Hero with a shade of Everyone Has Standards. That is, if he is paid enough. His confrontation with Otis Shiff shows him as the heroic party as well, though at no point is he ever a clear hero.
The Berserker: Marak's fighting style is raw, powerful and highly effective, as he puts his axe to good use.
Beware the Silly Ones: On his own, Marak is a goofy guy, one of the silliest Point-of-View characters, with plenty of humorous scenes. However, he is also a brutal fighter, unrepentant kinslayer and willing to do nearly everything for coin.
The Big Guy: Not only is he a huge man, he is also explicitly hired by Noelle to be this, to protect her from any physical danger she encounters during her mission.
Brains and Brawn: He is quite clearly the brawns to Noelle's brains.
Cain and Abel: The Cain to his brother Agran's Abel. As it was quickly revealed, Marak killed not only his father out of jealousy, but also his brother when he confronted him over this.
Disney Villain Death: After a brutal fight with Terroma, Marak has his throat slit, before falling to his death down a cliff, the same one he throws Terroma down just seconds before.
Does Not Like Magic: One of his most prominent traits is his deep, almost paranoid fear of anything involved with magic, especially Noelle's fire magic and her prophecies.
Dumb Muscle: Marak is absolutely huge, packed with muscles, a strong and dangerous man. Unfortunately, he is also pretty simple-minded, which only makes it easier for Noelle to manipulate him.
Everyone Has Standards: Sure, Marak is hardly a moral man and capable of plenty bad things for coin. However, that is the thing, he insists on payment. He is enraged and disgusted at senseless violence, especially when he meets a man who murdered several children.
Fiery Redhead: Marak's most oustanding physical trait is not his size, but his flaming red hair and he has a personality to match, being a loud, boisterous sellsword and a brutal fighter.
Fish out of Water: While at home on the battlefield, Marak is way out of his league in the kind of situation Noelle drags him into. He hates magic, but is forced to work alongside a sorceress, something he is increasingly aware of and horrified by.
The Gadfly: Originally, he called Noelle's god R'hllor 'rollmop' by accident, legitimately mishearing her pronouncing it. However, every time he uses the rollmop nickname afterward is to get an annoyed reaction out of Noelle.
Hidden Depths: Behind his love for violence, his shady morals and simple mind, Marak shows instances of being quite thoughtful and deep, especially for his standards.
In the Blood: His early interaction with Noelle's fire and the vision he sees apparently does... something with him, according to Archmaester Wulvren, who is eager to get a sample of his blood.
The Juggernaut: Once he actually gets to fight, Marak is downright unstoppable. Even the similarly badass Terroma has a very hard time taking him down, ending up sacrificing his own life to make sure that Marak won't be a threat to his surrogate daughter Raenna.
Not-So-Harmless Villain: It is easy to think that Marak's goofy behaviour, affable moments and his Sympathetic P.O.V. make him an ineffectual villain. Then he goes and proves these assumptions wrong, showing that he is a violent, battle-hardened sellsword underneath it all.
Number Two for Brains: Being Noelle's sidekick, Marak is notably dumber than her, a fact he is the only one not to notice right away.
Only in It for the Money: Marak prides himself in being a sellsword, which means that he is willing to do any job as long as the coin is enough to justify it. If he isn't paid, he's out.
Punch-Clock Hero: A logical consequence of the trope above is that Marak is perfectly capable of committing heroic deeds if he is paid for it. On his own, he likely wouldn't do them.
Punch-Clock Villain: Similarly, his villainous acts, minus the kinslaying, are only a result of being paid by Noelle to do them. When not under her thrall, he is actually relatively decent.
Sacrificial Lion: Marak holds the dubious honour of being the first Point-of-View character to die.
Self-Made Orphan: Out of jealousy, Marak killed his father to inherit the man's boat.
Sympathetic P.O.V.: Benefits from this. If looked at on paper, Marak is a vile berserker, a villain with almost zero morals. However, he is also a goofy, at times even affable guy, who regularly has parts from his perspective that are entertaining and show him as a simple, yet friendly man.
Villain Protagonist: At his absolute worst, Marak becomes a terrifying villain, especially for Ellena, whom he has abducted. However, he remains one of the protagonists, especially as his more villainous traits come right when he grows more important to the narrative.
Would Hurt a Child: In a twist on this trope, the readers had the opportunity for him to decide whether or not he is willing to do this. They chose for him to reject any thought of guilt for hurting children if it is part of his job and sure enough, he is very willing to do it if Noelle orders him to. That said, he draws the line at senseless hurting of children and is livid with rage at the sight of a serial killer specialized on children.

Sasha

A sellsword, hailing from a small, unnamed village between the Kingdom of Sarnor and the Dothraki Sea, Sasha is hardened from a life of tragedy, something she hates talking about. She is cold and highly aloof, yet unquestionably loyal to those that manage to win her friendship.

Action Girl: As a female sellsword, Sasha is a major example of this and a highly experienced one on top.
Adopt the Dog: When encountering Samantha and learning that she is in the need of help, Sasha not only agrees to assist her, she also goes way beyond that, eventually befriending her and staying by her side.
Amazonian Beauty: Being a bona fide Action Girl, Sasha looks the part and is noted to have quite a lot of muscles for a woman. Nonetheless, she is seen as pretty, especially by Samantha.
Anti-Hero: Of the Good Is Not Nice variety. Though trying to appear like a tough, grumpy and uncaring sellsword, when the stakes are high, she does the right thing. She is still quite brutal and willing to Kick the Dog if necessary.
Awesome, but Impractical: Her arakh, unfortunately. On her native plains of Essos, on horseback, she'd be near unstoppable with it. In Westeros however, the weapon quickly loses its primary advantage and she is regularly outclassed by better weaponry. She makes up for it in skills, but nonetheless, the times she loses, it is because of her impractical weapon.
Badass in Distress: On her own, Sasha is one of the most capable female fighters in a story that is not exactly low on them. However, she is also often on the receiving end of serious beatdowns and in need of help from her friend Samantha.
Belligerent Sexual Tension: It is not immediately obvious, but there might be some feelings of this sort involved in her side of her Ship Tease with Samantha as well.
Butch Lesbian: Unlike the more feminine Samantha, Sasha is a muscled Action Girl, who behaves in a quite manly way. Though noted to be pretty, she also dresses more butch than her companion.
The Comically Serious: Especially when compared to Deadpan Snarker Samantha, her special flavour of seriousness is often the source of rather amusing and heartwarming scenes.
Defrosting Ice Queen: Starting off as a strong example of an Ice Queen, Sasha is reluctant to let anyone close to her. Her experiences with Samantha ultimately cause her to warm up to her, becoming more friendly and openly caring in the process.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Even if she is clearly a good person underneath, Sasha can be quite the jerk at times. Her unfairly harsh reaction towards Leonard might be the primary example of this.
The Lancer: After teaming up with her, she quickly becomes this to Samantha.
Loner-Turned-Friend: Starting of as a clear loner, Sasha slowly grows to trust Samantha and even befriends her. By the time of Chapter 6, she firmly considers them friends.
Never Be Hurt Again: After successfully defrosting, Sasha opens up about her cold attitude. As it turns out, she was close friends with a girl named Talia, a fellow orphan. They lived on their own in a small hut near the Dothraki Sea. This proved to be a mistake when a Dothraki scout stumbled upon them, raping and murdering Talia. Sasha tracked him down, killed him in revenge and has never allowed anyone to get truly close to her ever since.
Odd Friendship: The bond between her and Samantha can be described at this. On the one side, there is Sasha, a cold,
Only in It for the Money: Zig-Zagged and eventually completely averted. She starts off as this, claiming that she is only doing her good actions to be paid handsomely by Samantha. However, she ultimately proves herself to be a loyal friend even when not getting any coin. Notably, she hasn't been paid once since accepting the contract.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: She is the blue oni to Samantha's red, the calm, cold and analytic mind that is willing to Kick the Dog where Samantha is passionate, emotional and more idealistic.
Ship Tease: With Samantha, starting with Chapter 5.
Slashed Throat: A nonfatal example, but she is put out of commission for a while after Rodrik does this to her.

Lenrianda

A sellsword from the North, who travelled across Westeros, until eventually ended up doing odd jobs for the Second Sons. As a highly opportunistic and ruthless person, she never had a problem with this, despite the occasionally cruel nature of her tasks.

Action Girl: Lenrianda has a lot of experience as a sellsword and she is shown to be quite capable.
Anti-Villain: During her brief time with the Second Sons, Lenrianda is a villain of sorts, fighting against John and Daghan. She is quickly defeated though and performs a Heel–Face Turn after her life gets spared.
Birds of a Feather: With I'lian, which is the source of their Ship Tease.
Deadpan Snarker: Oh yes, she is.
The Gadfly: At times, her snark becomes even more obvious and goes into this direction.
Heel–Face Turn: Originally a minor villain, she is knocked out by John Gutten during their fight. Her life is spared and she is taken prisoner, which moves her to join their captors instead, providing them with valuable intel on Rodrik Stone.
Mauve Shirt: Lenrianda is killed by Rodrik Stone during the Raid on Raylansfair, only a few chapters after her introduction.
Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Originally a follower of Rodrik Stone and his sellswords, she turns on them for being left for dead, something she considers downright unforgivable.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Her agreeing to help out John and Samantha during their task of bringing down Rodrik Stone is what ultimately causes her death when she fights against the sellsword leader himself.
Odd Friendship: Lenrianda, a carefree, friendly and optimistic young woman is best friends with Nymeria, who is a stoic, brooding and often downright antisocial sellsword.
Only in It for the Money: This is her justification for running with Rodrik an his Second Sons. She explains that they pay well and that ultimately, this is all it takes for her to work for this morally questionable employer.
Only One Name: Her last name, if she has any, is never revealed.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: In her friendship with Nymeria, she is quite clearly the red oni, the passionate, energetic and often rash woman who is staunchly loyal to her friends and quick to make new ones.
Ship Tease: With I'lian. She quickly grows closer to him and seems to trust him the most out of John's group. The fact that he is the one that brought her to open up to the other sellswords qualifies as well.
Those Two Guys: Together with Nymeria, once reunited.
We Hardly Knew Ye: Unfortunately, Lenrianda is killed not too long after her introduction, when she dies fighting Rodrik Stone during his attempt to kill Samantha.

Nymeria Aspys

Though thirdborn child of the late Lord Trystan Aspys and a dornish noble lady, Nymeria is highly atypical for her kind. Born an albino, Nymeria has always been an outcast, which eventually led to her choosing the live of a sellsword.

Action Girl: As an experienced sellsword, Nymeria is required to be this. Sure enough, she proves herself to be a very competent fighter during her time in the story.
Amazonian Beauty: Nymeria is quite muscles and scarred, yet Samantha considers her to be quite cute.
Back-to-Back Badasses: Together with Lenrianda and Samantha during their fight against the Second Sons under Rodrik Stone, where they manage to hold off an impressive amount of sellswords.
The Exile: When questioned about her noble heritage, Nymeria implies that for reasons of her own, she does not wish to ever return to her home in Dorne.
Heroic BSoD: She hits it after Lenrianda's death.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Harsh and unforgiving, Nymeria can be brutal and scary towards her enemies. However, she is also fiercely loyal to those she likes, such as Lenrianda and not all that bad once warming up to someone.
Made of Iron: Out of the cast members, Nymeria receives some of the most heavy beatings, at one point even being nearly killed by a group of Second Sons. She shrugs it all off, no matter how badly she gets bruised.
Odd Friendship: With Lenrianda, who is almost completely the opposite of her in terms of character. Where Nymeria is cautious and quiet, Lenrianda is rash and loud, quick to befriend others in situations where Nymeria struggles.
One-Man Army: Nymeria has a seriously huge kill count, especially notable as she has way less time to get these kills than Samantha or Sasha. In a fight, she can take on multiple opponents at once.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: In contrast to the red oni, Lenrianda, Nymeria is the blue one. She is cold, distant and quite often downright antisocial, yet also a thoughtful person who rarely acts without a plan.
Riches to Rags: Nymeria is actually highborn. A member of the dornish House Aspys, she has left her family for reasons unknown. Nowadays, she lives the life of a simple sellsword and seems quite content with it.
The Quiet One: After her introductory scene, Nymeria is not a very talkative person, mostly answering with one-liners.
Straight Man: When compared to Deadpan Snarker Lenrianda, Nymeria is a stoic, brooding woman who rarely cracks a joke. Unlike Sasha, whom she shares some similarities with, she is also not quite The Comically Serious.
Those Two Guys: She is almost always seen by Lenrianda's side after they get reunited.
Undying Loyalty: To Lenrianda, who is her only friend.

Haar

A sellsword from the Free Cities, who is hired by Abbas al-Yunkari to escort him and his slaves back to Yunkai after the events of Book 1. Experienced at guarding slaves, Haar is loyal to whomever pays the most, yet has also taken a special taste for strong wine, which he values as much as gold.

The Alcoholic: Haar is frequently drunken and in fact, it is mentioned that Abbas partially pays him in wine. Whenever he is truly drunken, his worst traits come out.
Attempted Rape: After getting wasted on cheap wine, he eventually loses it an assaults Behara, with the clear intent of raping her. He is stopped by Ryder Harrington, but shows no remorse over his actions.
- When he tries it again on Harpy, she quickly stabs him in the stomach with a bone, leaving him to bleed to death.
Ephebophile: Being tasked with guarding three reasonably attractive women, he has apparently taken a special interest in Behara Keys, the youngest and most innocent of the trio, much to her horror. This culminates in him outright trying to rape her.
Jerkass: Apparently, Haar is quick to anger and makes good use of his whip. His introductory scene has him barking harsh orders at Janae and the other slaves, before taking pleasure in scaring Behara, whom he is apparently attracted to, by implying that Abbas might allow him to rape her.
Karmic Death: He's killed while trying to rape a woman who had volunteered to protect her friend.
Know When to Fold 'Em: A brutal jerk he might be, but Haar is not suicidally stupid. Even when he is utterly wasted on alcohol, Haar knows better than to pick a fight with Ryder Harrington. When confronted by Ryder about trying to rape Behara, he is quick to back off after being threatened, admitting that he wishes no trouble with the other man.
Nemean Skinning: He wears a lion's pelt around his shoulders.
Oh, Crap!: Very briefly, between trying to rape Behara and noticing the presence of Ryder Harrington, Haar has such a reaction. Then, Ryder's fist hits him straight in the face.

Arryn Blackwell

The brother of Ayden Blackwell, and a sellsword just like him. But unlike his brother, he likes fighting for the sake of it. He's encountered at Lys by Jaron and John's group.

Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Something he seems to believe, since he would only follow Jaron if he could beat him in a fist fight.
Blood Knight: He likes fighting more than anything else, and he even convinces Jaron to fight him if he wants his sword.
Defeat Means Friendship: Not exactly friendship, but he agrees to give his sword to Jaron and John's cause after Jaron withstands a fist fight against him.
Sibling Yin-Yang: While Ayden is friendly and more calm, Arryn likes fighting and would rather not settle with anything other than fighting.

Assassins

Clayton's group:

Clayton Teryl

An assassin in service of Butterfly and at the beginning of the story, he works in Raylansfair with his crew. A highly capable and determinant man, Clayton is a driving force behind much of the conflict that plagues Raylansfair.

An Arm and a Leg: Clayton loses the majority of his right arm to Harris Flowers during the raid on Raylansfair.
Apologetic Attacker: One of his habits is to apologize to his target before killing them. He even has the courtesy of asking them how exactly they would prefer to die.
A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil: His mentor is Terroma, himself a Hitman with a Heart, who tried to teach him morals and a conscience, so that he only accepts targets who are truly bad people. Clayton has abandoned just about every single one of these teachings by the time we meet him in the story.
Arch-Enemy: There is a one-sided rivalry between him and Kersea, who considers him her worst enemy. He has a twisted sort of affection for her instead. His own Arch-Enemy is Rayden, the man that took his eye many years ago.
Asshole Victim: Being a colossal Jerkass and given the horrific treatment he subjected Kersea to, it is hard to feel even an ounce of pity for him when he loses his sword arm.
Bad Boss: Clayton is not even the slightest bit afraid of ditching his subordinates the moment they become a liability. The only one he is willing to forgive messing up is Kersea, though she is subjected to severe abuse instead.
Bait the Dog: To the readers and Kersea as well, he appears like a despicable, yet still somewhat principled man, who is way better than the alternative and might actually have some redeeming traits. That is until his affability is revealed to be little more than Faux Affably Evil.
Berserk Button: Being rejected, not only by Kersea, is a reason for him to show his worst.
Career-Ending Injury: Losing his right arm basically ended his career as a Professional Killer.
The Corrupter: At least he tries to when it comes to Kersea. It has mixed results and ultimately largely fails.
Domestic Abuse: His crush at Kersea manifests itself in pretty clumsy, badly times and dishonest attempts at winning her over. Whenever she rejects him, or speaks against him, he beats her. Then there is the way he tortures her psychologically, slowly, but steadily wearing her down.
Even Evil Has Standards: Though a horrible person through and through, even he is horrified by the brutality of Wolfius Woodbark. Fearing for his mission, he even outright orders his capture, to deliver him to the city guard as a scapegoat for his own crimes.
Evil Is Petty: Clayton takes even the slightest bit of action against him personally and he never forgives, nor forgets. A tiny misstep is enough to provoke his wrath, trigerring the more unhinged side of his personality.
Eye Scream: A Noodle Incident years before the story cost him one of his eyes. Apparently, a moment of misplaced mercy and the assassin Rayden were involved in it.
Faux Affably Evil: Initially appearing polite and merely like an ordinary man in a line of work that is more villainous than others by nature, Clayton quickly reveals himself to be every bit as bad as one would expect from Butterfly's top assassin. It doesn't stop him from switching to his seemingly nice persona every once in a while though.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: To show that he is evi, he has a truly nasty scar across one side of his face, missing an eye.
Handicapped Badass: Despite having lost his eye and therefore his depth perception, he is a formidable fighter in close and ranged combat, barely slowed down by his injury.
Hate Sink: From the very beginning, it is clear that Clayton is not a character to be liked. His actions in the later parts of Book 1 turn him into one of the most universally loathed villains of the story though.
If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten!: Some of his attempts at corrupting Kersea involve him deliberately ordering her to do something messed up or evil, just to see how far she is willing to go for him. Usually, he is not pleased by the results.
I Have Your Wife: Kersea's sister, Briar, is a captive of him and his boss, Butterfly, the only man Kersea fears more than Clayton himself. He uses this fear to force her loyalty.
Jerkass: As an abusive and short-tempered killer with few morals, this trope is mandatory.
Jerkass Has a Point: That be said, he does bring up a legitimately good argument for being unhappy with Kersea. Her actions threaten his mission and they both work for a boss that is not known to tolerate failure. The fact that Kersea endangers him, herself and her little sister gives him a reason to be at least angry at her.
Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: Initially, Clayton is introduced as an affable and pragmatic villain. A Jerkass through and through, yes, but one who only acts on it when he can get away with it and who seems quite like the lesser evil when compared to Wolfius. As the story progresses, the threat of failing his mission in Raylansfair and Kersea's rejection drive him into becoming more and more self-destructive and unhinged.
Kick the Dog: Basically every single interaction he has with Kersea over the course of Book 1. Special mention goes to the time where he murders a child and cuts of her hand to present it to Kersea, to make her believe he ordered the mutilation of her little sister.
Mad Love: His feelings for Kersea are certainly neither healthy nor sane. They manifest themselves in horrific outbursts of violence, a short temper and psychological torture.
Not Good with Rejection: You might say so.
Pragmatic Villainy: At least before his Villainous Breakdown, Clayton holds some degree of pragmatism, especially when concerned about the needless brutality of Wolfius Woodbark.
Professional Killer: The leader of a whole band of these, working for the crimelord Butterfly.
Villainous Breakdown: Always dancing on the verge of it, he finally loses it in Chapter 8, when Kersea turns on him and fights him with help of Raenna, whom he previouslly believed dead. Losing his right arm to Harris probably did the rest.
Villainous Crush: Clayton has very prominent and obvious feelings for Kersea, whom he forces into being part of his group. In general, he shows his affection by hurting her, in a very twisted form of love.
What Happened to the Mouse?: After surviving the lighthouse fight, Clayton manages to escape, his fate at the end of Book 1 being unknown. However, given that he failed his mission, it is clear that he won't return to Butterfly, who does not tolerate such things.
Yandere: Clayton's feelings for Kersea might be genuine, but they quickly turn into a violent obsession, where he makes her life and the lives of those close to her a living hell because she refuses to be with him.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: He seems quite fond of pulling these. After Wolfius and Septon Corbin became liabilities, he was quick to mark them as targets for his group to kill. And then there is the implication that he plans to kill Kersea after she finished being useful to him, despite his feelings for her.

Alysanne Waters

One of the members of Clayton's group of assassins. Alysanne is unquestionably loyal to Clayton and mentally scarred from a terrible childhood and years of abuse, which has turned her into a psychotic killer. That said, she holds a fair share of redeeming qualities and has a complicated relationship to her fellow assassin Kersea.

Alas, Poor Villain: To a point where it is debatable if she qualifies as a villain at all at the time of her death. Her death is not only a Heroic Sacrifice, it sums up how tragic and pitiful her entire character has been, as she expressed regret over the way she lived, as well as gratitude for being able to call Kersea her friend.
Anti-Villain: While Alysanne is a messed up psychopath and surely capable and willing to inflict great harm onto others, she has only gotten this way because of how utterly terrible her own life has been, as she grew up without any warmth, forced to kill from an early age and put through genuinely traumatic situations. She shows high regret over how far she has come.
Ax-Crazy: Up until her more sympathetic traits become clearer, this appears to be her strongest trait. Due to a combination of hardships, each of them bad enough to break a person, Alysanne is damaged beyond repair, equal parts crazy and violent.
Berserk Button: Harming Kersea. Dear god, just implying to harm Kersea sends her into a homicidal rage.
Blood Lust: Alysanne seems to be visibly aroused by the sight of freshly spilled blood. It drives home that she has severe issues.
Child Soldiers: In her childhood, she was used as a pit slave, forced to fight other children for the amusement of the masters. It left a toll on her and is one of the main reasons she even becme the person she is during the time of the story.
Clingy Jealous Girl: Once growing closer to Kersea, she becomes fiercely protective of her, to a worrying degree. Others who threaten this friendship, either by harming Kersea or by getting close to her as well must be dealt with, as both, Clayton and Raenna find out.
Combat Sadomasochist: Though similarly enjoying the inflicting of pain onto others, Alysanne seems to be only aroused by her own pain in a fight. That is, unless she is harmed by fire.
Cute But Psycho: Having the emotional maturity of a small child, Alysanne can actually be very cute and adorable in some situations. In every other situation, she is unsettling and brutal, sometimes even overlapping with her cuter moments.
Dark and Troubled Past: Being a slave for almost her entire childhood, Alysanne was forced to fight and kill children for the amusement of her masters. She believes her own parents sold her into slavery and reacts accordingly to any thought of them. Forced to become a Child Soldier, she suffered deep psychological scars from this, as well as never truly reaching maturity in terms of emotions.
Fan Disservice: Her belly and waist are severely burned and covered in bandages. To make room for them, she does not wear any clothes over them, instead preferring a vest to cover her chest only.
Heel–Face Turn: Gradually, over the time of Book 1, Alysanne grows closer to Kersea, who has a high moral standard compared to her. From her, Alysanne learns values such as compassion and friendship, things she has lacked her entire life. In turn, she opens up to Kersea, becoming a genuine friend and even showing regret and doubt over her messed up life.
Heroic Sacrifice: During the raid on Raylansfair, Alysanne turns on Clayton, protecting Kersea from him and from the newly arrived Harris Flowers. She wounds the latter and allows Kersea to kill him, but receives a mortal wound of her own in the process.
I Just Want to Have Friends: As a result of her brutal past, Alysanne never had a genuine friend who wasn't using her in one way or the other. The genuine, selfless way Kersea treats her triggers something inside her and she realizes that she was indeed yearning for any sort of companionship her entire life.
The Nicknamer: Especially when it comes to Kersea, whom she almost exclusively names 'Puppy'.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Perhaps her most selfless and heroic deed in the entire story, saving Kersea from Harris, is what claims her own life. The irony of this is not lost on her as she lies dying.
Odd Friendship: With Kersea, who becomes her only friend as well. She is a borderline insane killer who lived a very messed up life and enjoys causing pain and misfortune. Kersea meanwhile has been Forced into Evil and is overall basically a good and moral person. They strike a friendship that is as deep as it is genuine, to everyone's surprise.
Professional Killer: Or just a killer, whatever works. Having a lust for killing, this line of work is perfect for Alysanne, so she has joined Clayton's group many years ago, proving herself to be one of the most useful and dangerous assets in Butterfly's arsenal.
Psycho for Hire: Alysanne is not only a Professional Killer, she is also a psychopath who relishes in causing pain and death. This makes her very happy to offer her services for coin.
Servile Snarker: Though she does follow every single one of Clayton' orders, she is very jovial about it all and near constantly snarks at her boss.
Slasher Smile: A very unsettling one, bordering on being an example of The Un-Smile.
Tyke-Bomb: Part of why she is so messed up as she is can be explained to her childhood, which was spent in the fighting pits of Astapor, where she killed other kids for the amusement of the masters. It clearly traumatized her just to speak about it.
Undying Loyalty: Though initially seeming to have this to Clayton, she eventually grows to genuinely support Kersea above all others.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Fire in her case. Ever since getting part of her body burned by an accident, Alysanne is terrified by fire, to the point where it becomes her biggest weakness, as she is almost paralyzed when things around her start to burn.
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Alysanne might be a brutal killer with a very bad understanding on how to function as a human being, but is ultimately a pitiable person, who lived a terrible life and lashes out at others partially for the pain she herself has been forced through for all these years.
Yandere: Over time, Alysanne expresses feelings for Kersea that possibly go even beyond friendship. Being the first person to show her kindness, Alysanne becomes obsessed with Kersea in a very unhealthy way, fixed at pleasing her and protecting her from all danger, often with violent force.

Kersea Catelins*

Kersea Catelins

Born into a normal life, she was forced to serve the crimelord Butterfly and the assassin Clayton Teryl to protect her younger sister Briar, the only living member of her family. Highly reluctant to follow Clayton's orders, she finds herself in an increasing dilemma, as she has to decide between her own morality and her life. She is a Point-of-View character.

Affectionate Nickname: 'Puppy', courtesy of Alysanne.
Anti-Villain: Kersea is far from evil and barely even qualifies as a villain. She is merely forced to serve the true bad guys in her storyline, Clayton and Butterfly, out of a desire to keep her sister, who is their captive, safe from harm.
The Atoner: After Briar is freed by Raenna and Terroma, Kersea vows to make up for the bad deeds she was forced to commit. She starts her atonement by saving Leonard's life.
Badass Adorable: Kersea is a petite, pretty woman in her early twenties and can certainly adorable. That however does not mean that she is not also a qualified badass. Training under Terroma has given her a peculiar set of skills to give her an advantage in any combat situation.
Big Damn Heroes: Surprisingly for someone who is technically part of the bad guys, Kersea got one such moment fairly early in the story, when she saved Ilish and Lawsen from Wolfius Woodbark, against Clayton's outspoken orders. She receives another moment in Chapter 8, when she turns on Clayton to save Leonard's life.
Broken Bird: Years of abuse and horror have taken a severe toll on Kersea. Once a happy and optimistic young woman, her outlook on life became darker and way more cynical at some point of her forced servitude for Butterfly.
Color-Coded Eyes: Her gray eyes are noted to be particularly dull and unhappy.
Conflicting Loyalty: Kersea regularly is forced between loyalty to Clayton and therefore her sister's safety or the morals her sister
Dance Battler: As usual with Terroma's pupils, she has such a fighting style.
Dark and Troubled Past: Kersea used to have a rather good, if simple life as the eldest daughter of a farmer's family in the North. Butterfly's habit of sending his trainee killers to random farms in the North, to test their loyalty and skill by orderong them to kill, hit her family by surprise. Her parents were murdered by the killer, though not before her mother mortally wounded the man as he tried to lay a hand on Briar. Kersea finished him, giving Clayton the impression that she overcame one of his assassins by herself. Seeing potential in her, he force her to train under Terroma, while keeping her sister hostage, afterwards ordering her to follow his orders and to work for her if she wants to have any chance at ever seeing Briar safe and sound again.
The Dog Bites Back: After breaking ties with Clayton's group, she is quick to attack him to make up for years of heavy abuse. Though she fails to kill him, she thwarts his plan to murder Leonard Constantine.
Domestic Abuse: Her relationship with Clayton is one-sidedly romantic, from Clayton's side. Her constant rejection puts him into a murderous mood more than often, during which he abuses her physically and mentally. It is absolutely never played for laughs.
Forced into Evil: On her own, Kersea certainly would have never joined a group as heinous as Clayton's killers. However, with her little sister being a captive of Clayton and his boss Butterfly, she had little choice but to follow.
Heel–Face Turn: [[spoiler: After her sister is finally freed by Terroma and Raenna, Kersea wastes no time to renounce her allegiance to Clayton, instantly performing one of these by saving Leonard Constantine's life.
I Have Your Wife: Her little sister, Briar, the last surviving member of her family, has been taken captive by Butterfly, with Clayton using her to force her loyalty.
Mercy Kill: A repeated theme in her storyline is her giving such mercy kills to her victims or those of others, showing that she cannot stand to see others suffering. Examples include Lady Halla, Septon Corbin and Rayden.
My God, What Have I Done?: Being a fundamentally good person, Kersea is regularly horrified by the atrocities she is forced to commit. A good example for this would be her reaction after nearly killing Jenna Harking, driving her very close to a Heroic BSoD.
Odd Friendship: With Alysanne. Kersea, a moral person Trapped in Villainy somehow manages to befriend the Ax-Crazy killer Alysanne, triggering a change in her and ultimately redeeming her.
Pint-Sized Powerhouse: The fighting style Kersea has been taught does not rely on physical strength all that much. Therefore, she can be highly effective despite having a slim frame.
Professional Killer: A reluctant one at that, but she still qualifies.
Punch-Clock Villain: Literally the only reason Kersea acted as a villain at all during the majority of Book 1 was because she was Forced into Evil. Whenever she is in a situation where Clayton is not around to control her, she is a fairly pleasant person to be around.
Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Kersea has the typical northern look of fair skin and dark hair. On top of that, she is mentioned to be quite easy on the eyes by a number of characters.
Redemption Earns Life: In Chapter 8, Kersea finally manages to win her freedom back. She ultimately manages to survive the chapter and complete her redemption, to no small part thanks to an act of mercy she showed to Richard Harking earlier, when he comes back to save her life.
Sadistic Choice: Kersea's entire storyline in Book 1 is a huge string of sadistic choices, for both her and the readers that choose her actions. More than once is she forced to decide between keeping her humanity and morals or staying safe by following Clayton's deliberately sadistic orders.
Trapped in Villainy: As long as her sister is in the hands of Butterfly, Kersea is forced to remain working for Clayton and Butterfly. She hates every moment of it, but feels that she has no choice.
Win Your Freedom: This is a major motivating factor for Kersea, winning back her freedom and freeing her little sister from the clutches of Butterfly. She finally succeeds in Chapter 8, though with help from Raenna and Terroma.

Other Assassins

Terroma

See Forum of Thrones - Essos

Raenna Minsworth*

Raenna Minsworth

Hailing from the island of Dragonstone, she is the bastard daughter of Arys Targaryen, uncle to the current Lord of Dragonstone, Aegon Targaryen, who is her cousin. She also trained under the feared assassin Terroma and travelled in the group of Clayton Teryl, though she abandoned both by the time Book 1 started. A free spirit, Raenna values her independence and constantly seeks to find a place for herself to live the peaceful life she yearns for.

All Girls Want Bad Boys: So far, the only person Raenna shows to be attracted to is Samuel Harrington, who has been a very dark Anti-Hero by the time she first met him.
Animal Motifs: Dragons, which is reflected in her ancestry. Whenever she is angry, she is also shown to have a very volatile, downright fiery temper, befitting of a dragon.
Badass Adorable: Raenna is a very pretty, petite and surely adorable woman. However, she was also taught by Terroma to kick major ass, making her one of the best fighters in the story.
Badass Family: A bastard from House Targaryen, and her cousins are Aegon, Rhaenys and Visenya, as well as Orys Baratheon.
Beauty Equals Goodness: Though she has her moments of being a borderline Anti-Hero, Raenna is still ultimately a very well-intentioned and moral person, which is also visually shown by her being a great beauty.
Bullying a Dragon: Just about every time someone is trying to intimidate her, they realize that she is a lot more than she seems. She mentioned this trope word for word when harassed by a group of drunkards.
Can't Hold Her Liquor: The first chapter of Book 2 shows that Raenna tends to get affected by alcohol quite quickly after being handed a bottle of strong wine. This is not only a result of her rather petite physique, but also a natural consequence of her having never been one to spend time socializing with others, which deprived her of situations in which alcohol is usually consumed.
Cruel Mercy: After her fight with Noelle, this is her reason for sparing the priestess. In one of the few moments in which she shows outright cruelty, Raenna wishes for Noelle to live broken and in despair.
Dance Battler: Her mentor, Terroma has taught her such a fighting style.
Dark and Troubled Past: Raenna grew up under very harsh conditions. Her father was a Targaryen during a time where her uncle was the lord of Dragonstone. Said man had a severe hatred for Targaryen bastards, killing them for considering them unclean. This forced her to spend the first decade of her life hidden in the brothel her mother worked in. Only after the woman's death did Raenna, now a full orphan, manage to leave to discover the world on her own.
Defector from Decadence: Initially, Raenna believed in the ideals Terroma's group upheld. However, after Clayton's takeover, she became increasingly disillusioned and disgusted by his methods, eventually resulting in her breaking off from them and searching for her own future.
Defrosting Ice Queen: During the course of Book 1, Raenna mostly stays an ice queen. However, there are moments in which she quite severely defrosts, mostly around friends, like Kersea, family, like Terroma, or her romantic interest, Samuel Harrington.
Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: This is Raenna's primary motivation. She is lonely and without purpose, something that upsets her greatly, to the point where she fakes her own death to get a chance to leave her unsatisfying life as one of Clayton's hired blades behind.
Disney Death: In Chapter 8, Raenna is thrown down the lighthouse of Raylansfair and into the sea below, seemingly to her death. Almost nobody believes that she has truly died though and indeed, she returns in Chapter 9, having been saved by Brandon Snow.
Everyone Has Standards: Raenna might be a cold-blooded killer if necessary, but she is also one of the more moral members of the cast, having a soft spot for children, especially if they are orphaned or in danger of being orphaned.
Faking the Dead: In the past, to escape from Clayton's group of killers, Raenna cleverly arranged for the others to believe her to have died. Kersea in particular is distraught by this. However, she comes to regret leaving her friend behind and eventually returns to help her.
Friendless Background: Spending her childhood hidden in a brothel, Raenna never learned many of the essential social skills. Her only positive social contacts were her Parental Substitute Terroma and her Only Friend Kersea.
Heroic Bastard: Raenna, though having taken her mother's name, is actually Raenna Waters, bastard daughter of Arys Targaryen and cousin of Aegon Targaryen. She is also a heroic and well-intentioned person, unable to turn her back on those in need.
Hitman with a Heart: Her Establishing Character Moment already shows off her heart of gold, when she is forced to fight and kill several thugs, but spares the one that recently fathered a child.
In the Hood: To conceal her very impressive features, Raenna constantly hides her hair beneath a dark hood.
Knight in Sour Armour: As a result of her harsh life, Raenna can become quite cynical at times. However, she is also ultimately believing in the difference her actions can cause and fights for a better world despite everything.
Mystical White Hair: Being a bastard member of House Targaryen and therefore having the blood of Old Valyria in her veins, it is natural that Raenna has silver-blonde hair.
No Social Skills: Surprisingly so, for someone who can also be stone cold and ruthless, Raenna's lack of advanced social skills leave her easily flustered around people.
The Quiet One: Raenna does not talk much and usually prefers the role of a silent observer. She gets involved, of course, but rarely does she become truly talkative.
Parental Abandonment: Her father never truly cared for her and barely met her before dying from a disease he got from a whore. Her mother meanwhile kept her hidden for half of her life, before a sudden illness killed her, leaving Raenna orphaned.
Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Beyond her deadliness, it is easy to forget that Raenna is actually a very petite woman, who uses her swiftness to get an advantage over physically stronger opponents.
Professional Killer: Though not quite willing to be one, Raenna was nonetheless trained in the ways of Terroma, who taught her how to kill those that deserve it. She seeks to leave this life behind though.
Ship Tease: With Samuel Harrington, with whom she just barely misses being an example of Birds of a Feather.
World's Most Beautiful Woman: Those who encounter her usually treat her as one of the most beautiful women they have encountered. Even the usually cold Samuel Harrington is simply smitten by her.

Rayden

One of the assassins in service of Butterfly and one of the few that do not work with Clayton's group. In fact, he is an old rival of Clayton and one of the few that are seen as an equal by the master assassin. He is a smug man, confident in his abilities, who hides a naturally cruel streak under an affable facade.

Asshole Victim: There is really not much good to say about Rayden. He simply is an asshole. As such, it is not a big loss when he is murdered by Clayton, Alysanne and Kersea.
Arch-Enemy: To Clayton, whom he partially blinded after a duel.
Arc Villain: For Kersea's storyline in the chapters 6 and 7.
Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Rayden is very confident in his abilities as a fighter, talking down similarly dangerous opponents such as Alysanne or even Clayton and believing himself to be nearly invincible.
Back for the Dead: A rare In-Universe only example of this trope, as Rayden has been gone from Clayton's life for many years, before promptly dying just as he finally returned.
Badass Longcoat: For a given value of badass, Rayden's longcoat does make for a nice image and being a professional killer that is treated as an equal to Clayton, he is likely to have quite some skills.
Big Bad Wannabe: Rayden likes to appear as a threatening and truly menacing guy, but his over-the-top jerkishness is so off-putting that barely anyone takes him truly seriously as a threat. Of course, dying very shortly after his introduction doesn't really help either.
Bit Character: He only appears in a handful of parts over the course of two chapters.
Cruel and Unusual Death: Clayton really messes him up before Kersea decides to give him a Mercy Kill. He is brutally blinded, before Clayton and Alysanne continue to mutilate him by cutting out small pieces of his flesh.
Dropped a Bridge on Him: After being set up as a major threat to Kersea and her unsteady allies, Rayden is dealt with surprisingly quickly, as the very first attempt on his life is successful without him getting a chance to fight back.
Eye Scream: He inflicted one on Clayton years ago, taking one of the man's eyes after a duel. Clayton repays him by cutting out both of his eyes when he finally gets his revenge.
Faux Affably Evil: Though he likes to appear as a classically Affably Evil gentleman killer, it is clear that Rayden is anything but. He is a smug jerk, who find great delight in tormenting others whenever he can get away with it.
Jerkass: Massively so, as well as completely unrepentant.
Kick The Son Of A Bitch: Yeah, Rayden is a massive Jerkass with few positive qualities. As such, it is downright cathartic when he gets betrayed and brutally murdered by his former victim Clayton.
Mercy Kill: He is on the receiving end of this when tortured by Clayton, as Kersea kills him out of pity.
Professional Killer: One of several that work for the crimelord Butterfly.
Small Role, Big Impact: Rayden himself is not a very major character in the story. However, his actions allegedly triggered Clayton's Start of Darkness, which already makes him majorly responsible for a lot of bad stuff happening in the story. His death also serves as the final push needed for Clayton to truly break Kersea's spirit, which in turn triggers Alysanne's Heel–Face Turn.
Smug Snake: Not only is Rayden a smug and arrogant man, he also loves to rub this into everyone's face whenever he sees an opportunity. This costs him dearly.
Walking Shirtless Scene: His wardrobe of choice is a long coat, which he wears open, showing off his bare chest.
We Hardly Knew Ye: He is killed only a few parts after first being introduced.

The Mask

A mysterious man, employed as an assassin by the Tourmaline Brotherhood of Qarth. Despite his line of work, however, he is a polite and reasonable man who is not above negotiating with those who might be in his way.

Affably Evil: Though he is an assassin and equal parts willing and capable to kill his targets, he is almost friendly in his talk with Irae, approaching her openly and engaging in honest negotiation.
Badass Boast: The Mask is so confident in his abilities that he boasts not even the warlock order could save his target, had he been tasked with killing him from the very beginning.
Malevolent Masked Man: It's right there in his name. His mask is not an elaborate facial mask such as the one worn by the Alley Cats, but a simple piece of cloth covering the lower half of his (otherwise unremarkable) face.
Pet the Dog: Technically, the Mask has been tasked with killing both, Kareq and Naela Orlatis. However, he makes it clear that he does not wish to harm the girl if there is another option to get her out of the way.
Pragmatic Villainy: The Mask is smart enough to realize that getting in the way of the warlock order could cut his career in Qarth dramatically short. As such, instead of trying to fight them, he prefers to approach Irae openly, to hopefully find a way to align their respective goals.

Deja

An assassin in service of the Tourmaline Brotherhood of Qarth, working alongside the Mask.

Affably Evil: Similar to the Mask, Deja is no comparison to the smug, belittling attitude assassins such as Clayton or Rayden display. Instead, she is affable and willing to talk, even if she comes across as less friendly than her partner.
Pragmatic Villainy: While she seems a little more willing to just go through with the task they have been given, Deja realizes just as well that getting in the way of the warlock order is a very bad idea. As such, she goes along with the Mask's attempt to negotiate with Irae.

Other characters

Edward Anturion

A self-proclaimed pirate and the younger prince of a ruined petty kingdom in Essos, Edward is a very ambitious man, who is in no way satisfied with his current position in life. Though not as ruthless as his brother, he pursues his plans with brutal precision and few qualms for those around him.

Affably Evil: Though evil and a major villain in the story, Edward is nonetheless unfailingly polite and friendly towards those he encounters. He remains so even when facing opponents.
A Lighter Shade of Black: When compared to his siblings, Edward is the sanest of the trio. He also appears positive next to the Ironborn he mostly interacts with over the course of Book 1.
Ambition Is Evil: All in all, Edward's position in life is not very high and he hates this. As such, he is driven to villainy solely by his high ambitions and he stops at almost nothing to achieve his goals.
Big Damn Heroes: Though typically a villain, Edward is introduced having such a moment, when he saves Alys from Harlan Hoare. It becomes one of the few genuinely selfless things he has ever done.
Big, Screwed-Up Family: To begin with, his father and grandfather are abusive or at least very neglectful. It gets worse when taking a look at his brother, the insane god-king of Vaes Khadokh, Nain Anturion, as well as his sister, who is worse than both of them.
Blood Magic: Not only has Edward great knowledge of such magic, he also knows how to use them, as shown when he draws protective runes that are supposed to keep a powerful illusion at bay.
Contrived Clumsiness: In a very dog-kicking moment, Edward purposefully screws up the drawing of a protective rune on the forehead of a man that insulted him earlier. This ends up causing the man's messy death.
Evil Genius: Out of the villains shown in the story so far, Edward is among the smartest. His knowledge and resourcefulness make him a genuine threat despite the limited power he holds.
Evil Is Petty: Though not too evil at times, the moments where Edward displays true villainy are also decidedly petty. He once kills a man solely because he was minorly insulted.
In the Back: After turning on Torvin Breaker, he kills him in this way.
Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Initially, Edward is introduced as a slightly arrogant, yet gallant man, whose darker and more jerkish nature only rarely shines through. Growing more jerkish over the course of Book 1, he eventually is revealed to be not even nearly as kind as he seemed to be at first.
Kick the Dog: The above-mentioned Contrived Clumsiness is not the only incident he severely kicks the dog. Perhaps worse is when he hurts his Morality Pet Alys by cutting her palms to get to her blood for a Blood Magic spell, only stopping when she is close to death.
Morality Pet: He has a very prominent one in Alys Boleyn.
Noble Demon: Though clearly a villain and a Jerk with a Heart of Jerk, Edward has some qualities that paint him in a more noble light. Him saving Alys simply for not wanting her to be raped by Harlan Hoare is probably the best example for this.
Out-Gambitted: Though an Evil Genius by nature, he does not expect becoming a pawn himself, when Harren Hoare and his allies in the Reach use him and his raid as an excuse to take the city of Raylansfair under the claim of protecting it from the Ironborn. It ends up costing him his victory in Raylansfair.
Pet the Dog: His Big Damn Heroes moment in which he saves Alys becomes a major example of this. As it turns out, he had no reason to help her, which makes it especially notable given his usual pragmatism.
Pirate: At least he is commonly referred to as one and he apparently works for the pirate king of the Stepstone Islands, Aeron Blacksails. However, during the story itself, he is not shown to do anything particularly pirate-like.
Pragmatic Villainy: Though capable of petty and scummy actions, Edward's villainy mostly revolves around things he can get away with. He is a pragmatist and if he has no benefit from an action, he simply does not do it.
Smug Snake: At his more villainous moments, Edward cannot stop himself from gloating, wether this is justified or not.
The Starscream: During the final stages of the Raid on Raylanfair, Edward is the first to realize that the battle is lost. He therefore asks of Torvin to sound the retreat. Faced with his own death due to the captain's stubborn refusal to end the fight, Edward finds himself forced to kill him to take command over the remaining raiders.
Tall, Dark, and Handsome: He is constantly described as a dark-haired and handsome man.
Token Good Teammate: Though very much a piece of work, Edward is somehow still the best member of his family, if his underlings can be believed. His strictly pragmatic reasons for joining the raid on Raylansfair also put him apart from the other leaders of this raid, Clint Volmark and Torvin Breaker.

Nain Anturion

God-King of Vaes Khadokh

The older brother of Edward Anturion. Nain is known as a dangerous madman, who has named himself 'God-King' over the domain of his family, the ruined kingdom of Essaria, now renamed Vaes Khadokh after having been destroyed by a Dothraki horde.

A God Am I: His title, the God-King of Vaes Khadokh, implies that he sees himself as one.
Big, Screwed-Up Family: Nain's family is far from a happy one. His father and grandparents have been shown to be abusive or neglectful, whereas his siblings are different shades of messed up.
Creepy Child: As a little boy, he showed no empathy or care for his family. Apparently, he grew up into an equall creepy adult, though his true nature can only be guessed at as long as he remains The Ghost.
The Dreaded: Nain and his rule over Vaes Khadokh are terrifying enough to make even hardened killers, such as Carvin or Vaasrand tremble in fear of him and what he is capable of.
The Ghost: Though frequently mentioned over the course of Book 1, he makes no physical appearance.

Wolfius Woodbark

A mysterious man and visitor to Raylansfair, who barely manages to hide his animalistic nature. Quickly, it is revealed that he is a deranged serial killer, though to make things worse, he is extremely vengeful and far more powerful than he initially shows.

Above Good and Evil: Wolfius does not believe in any conventional morality. Though clearly evil to the core, he does not consider himself to be such and does not think in such terms.
A God Am I: As a consequence of the trope above, Wolfius sees himself as something much better and stronger than ordinary human beings, closer to a god than a mortal, which he takes as additional justification for his atrocities. Of course, being an incredibly powerful skinchanger gives his claim at least some merit.
Alliterative Name: Wolfius Woodbark
Animal Motifs: As you can probably guess by his name, it's wolves.
Ax-Crazy: There is absolutely no aspect of Wolfius that is not hideously twisted and depraved. He is completely insane and murderous, which are his key traits as a character.
The Beastmaster: In Chapter 8, Wolfius is revealed to be a powerful skinchanger, who has bonded with a giant direwolf, whom he controls and uses against the people of Raylansfair.
Color-Coded Eyes: His eyes are a very light grey colour that is noted to be unsettling.
Death Glare: Thanks to his gray eyes, Wolfius has a piercing and very terrifying glare in general, though it gets worse once he gets angry. Once he packs out one of these, things usually get very serious.
Disproportionate Retribution: Wolfius only knows one kind of retribution for any wrong (real or perceived) he ever suffers. He will target this person, their family and anyone they ever loved, ruining them beyond return.
The Dreaded: After initially appearing as little more than a wacky side character, Wolfius eventually acquires this reputation among the people of Raylansfair, who are rightfully terrified of the danger he poses.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: A Zig-Zagged example with his son, Kreep. The only time Wolfius shows a relatable emotion is his clear joy at being reunited with his son in Chapter 5. He does go out of his way to make sure that Kreep won't get himself killed in a fight against Clayton and Kersea. However, how much a guy like him is even capable of having loved ones is very much up for debate.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Part of his greatest problem is his inability to understand virtue and morality. He expects everyone to be as rotten as he is and reacts with surprise and anger whenever he is proven wrong.
Eye Scream: As part of his Fatal Flaw, Wolfius botches his attempt on Jenna Harking's life, by giving her a chance to fight back. To her and his surprise, she actually manages to seriously wound him, clawing into his eye and permanently damaging it.
Fatal Flaw: His sadism is not only played as Nightmare Fuel, but also as a severe flaw for him. He has poor impulse control, so his love for violence often causes him to hurt others even in situations where a quick kill would be preferable. More than once, this causes his undoing.
For the Evulz: Wolfius really doesn't have or need any other sort of motivation for some of his worst actions.
Hair-Trigger Temper: It does not take much to get on Wolfius' bad side. At times, just looking at him the wrong way earns you a spot on his list, which will result in being mercilessly hunted down.
I Lied: Believing that Virtue Is Weakness, Wolfius has no sense of honour or honesty either. He considers it especially amusing if he manages to fool someone into believing his word. Of course, being motivated by impulse, he can also keep his word if he feels like it, though most of the time, he finds it more amusing to lie.
Insane Equals Violent: Wolfius is a very insane person, bordering on deranged. As a textbook example of this trope, he is also unhingedly violent and brutal in his actions.
It Amused Me: This is all the reason he needs to commit his crimes. Wolfius is amused and probably aroused by violence and bloodshed, so he uses every opportunity to cause as much of it as possible to the people around him.
Jerkass: Shockingly, this is still the least horrible of his character traits.
Kick the Dog: Even among his usual villainy, there is one example that stands out. During the raid on Raylansfair, he manages to stumble upon Lyria and Rosalie, as well as Urid, the latter of whom he quickly kills. He then proceeds to eat Lyria alive while warged into his direwolf, after taunting Rosalie and breaking her spirit, possibly beyond repair.
Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: Not only is Wolfius a terribly creepy guy in his looks and mannerisms, he also encourages this, as he loves to terrify his victim before killing them.
Politically Incorrect Villain: Though Wolfius targets men and women equally, he seems to hold an especially severe grudge against women who show strength of character or fight back at him, showering them with particularly crude and vicious insults while trying to kill them.
Prophet Eyes: Usually having grey eyes, they turn completely white when he is warging into an animal.
Psychopathic Manchild: One of the worst examples imaginable. Wolfius suffers from extreme moodswings, has a Hair-Trigger Temper and zero emotional maturity, is making decisions on a whim and shows zero remorse for just about anything he ever does.
Red Right Hand: His blinded eye is a pretty clear visual indication that Wolfius is both, dangerous and very, very evil.
Sadist: To the point where it poses a severe problem for himself. Wolfius enjoys causing pain so much that he starts to
Serial Killer: As it is quickly revealed, Wolfius is one of the most dangerous serial killers in the story, whose mere presence poses a considerable threat to the entire population of Raylansfair.
The Sociopath: On top of his other horrible traits, Wolfius shows every sign of being a clear sociopath.
The Unfettered: It is not only very easy to get on Wolfius' bad side, but once he has made his target, he is also virtually unable to stop or slow down in his pursuit in any way. There is absolutely no line he would not cross to get what he wants.
Virtue Is Weakness: Wolfius is positively proud of his lack of most conventional virtues. He mocks those that show such virtues and targets them especially severely, hating everyone who shows these morals he despises so much.
Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: The oddity of his name is repeatedly lampshaded and the characters that meet him for the first time occasionally even ridicule him for it. Of course, given what kind of a guy he is, this usually turns out to be a terrible mistake.
You Monster!: He usually instills this reaction in just about any character interacting with him and is outright called a monster several times in the story, something he seems to take great pride in.

Kreep

Not much is known about him beyond him being the bastard son of Wolfius Woodbark. He arrives in Raylansfair in search of his father, whom he is undyingly loyal to. Other than serving Wolfius, he doesn't seem to have any agenda of his own, which makes him a merciless, highly efficient killing machine.

Ax-Crazy: At least as badly as his father, Kreep is a violent killing machine at his worst. Usually relatively calm, he turns into an unstoppable monster when he gets into a fight, following any order his father gives him immediately and without hesitating.
Beware the Quiet Ones: There are few moments where Kreep says anything at all and even then, it's mostly one-liners or affirmative replies to his father. However, he is a strong, fast and ferocious beast of a fighter, easily capable of killing opponents much stronger than him.
Creepy Monotone: His voice is usually about as scary as his Nightmare Face, as it is devoid of any emotion, save for a slight delight when finding his father.
Dissonant Serenity: Even while carving a man up, he is keeping a calm, eerily emotionless demeanor, acting as if he doesn't do anything wrong. Considering who he is, he might genuinely believe that what he is doing is right.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Kreep genuinely loves his father and would do anything for him.
Facial Horror: One side of his lower face has been cut or chewed off in a very unclean way, leaving him horribly disfigured, with part of his cheek outright missing.
I Am a Humanitarian: While chewing up Lawsen's neck, Kreep shows a disturbing fondness for this act, which heavily implies it hasn't been the first time he tasted and actually enjoyed human flesh.
Like Father, Like Son: Kreep and Wolfius have quite a number of similarities. Both are creepy, physically and mentally, messed up killers without any empathy, who are driven by a single goal they pursue like a maniac.
Meaningful Appearance: His eyes are like his father and they also show a dull and emotionless nature.
Psychopathic Manchild: When it comes to his mental and emotional capacities, Kreep is little more than a child. His Undying Loyalty to his father also means that he is more than often in situations where he has to act like a complete psychopath.
Punch-Clock Villain: Actually, Kreep is not all that much of a bad guy when he's not around his father. Sure, he is creepy as hell, but he is not really dangerous and even relatively normal when talking to Ilish at the tavern. Contrast Wolfius, who harassed and threatened her from the moment he first appeared.
Tragic Villain: We might never know how Kreep could have turned out if his father is not Wolfius. Alas, as it is he is little more than Wolfius' muscle, someone who has been raised in circumstances so messed up that he never had a chance at being anything else.
Tyke-Bomb: From the moment of his birth, Kreep has been nothing but a fighting machine. By the time he is introduced in the story, this has left its mark, as he is little more than Wolfius' attack dog.
Undying Loyalty: To Wolfius, his father, whom he would never betray in the slightest.
"Well Done, Son" Guy: He lives for nothing else but this trope. Wolfius' approval and affection is so incredibly important to him that he loses any sense of morality he otherwise might have had. In a tragic twist, he is unlikely to ever get it, due to his father being a sociopath.
Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: Kreep is an... unusual name, to say the least. This fact is lampshaded even by his own father, who certainly hasn't given him this name. It is later revealed that it is a name he gave himself after mishearing a local girl calling him a creep.

Noelle Mield

A Red Priestess, sworn to the church of R'hllor and dedicated to the will of her god. Enigmatic and shady, Noelle barely talks about her true intentions and seemingly manipulates everyone around her for a goal that only she herself knows.

Affably Evil: Even at her worst, Noelle does not lose a certain politeness, a set of values she stick to and some slight redeeming traits, making her a classic case of this trope.
Ambiguously Evil: She starts the story off as one, when her shady goals are hinted at but never fully spelled out until much later. In Chapter 6 and 7 she crosses the line from Ambiguously Evil to fullblown villainy, though even then, how much of her actions are actually motivated by a genuinely evil nature is left up to interpretation.
Anti-Villain: Of the Well-Intentioned Extremist variety.
The Atoner: After her plans failed, with herself undergoing a Heel Realization followed by a Crisis of Faith, Noelle is genuinely shaken to the core. When being reunited with Ellena, she offers to take her along, giving her a better life to make up for her past actions.
Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Completely averted. After receiving a savage and much deserved beatdown from Raenna, she looks exactly as roughed up as you'd expect. Without access to medical aid, Ellena notices that part of her beauty is unlikely to ever return.
Because Destiny Says So: Noelle knows her visions come from a god and therefore she sticks with them and sees them as the only possible future.
Brains and Brawn: Very much the brains to Marak's brawn.
Crisis of Faith: After her defeat in Chapter 7, Noelle hits a very harsh one, when she realizes that her god, whom she associates with everything good in this world, has ordered her to do a fundamentally evil task, the murder of a child. Realizing that she is unable to go through with this, she surrenders to Raenna's mercy (receiving a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown as a consequence) and struggles with her faith afterwards. Next time she is encountered, her powers seem greatly reduced.
Evil Is Burning Hot: Being a Red Priestess of R'hllor, Noelle is very strongly associated with fire, able to conjure and control it. She is also morally ambiguous at best, or outright evil on some occasions.
Evil Redhead: Perhaps the most outstanding feature is her mane of red hair.
Evil Sorceress: Though her evil status is up for debate, the same thing does not apply to her magical skills. Over the course of the story, Noelle expresses some highly unusual talens, from prophecy to the outright conjuring and controling of fire.
Expy: Of Melisandre. That said, Noelle is a lot kinder than Melisandre, as well as surprisingly more rational, able to realize her mistakes before making them, unlike Melisandre, who only sees how wrong she was after doing her worst.
Fate Worse than Death: Raenna sincerely wishes this to her. It is the main reason she leaves her alive during her Crisis of Faith, in the hopes that Noelle will despair without something to believe in.
The Fundamentalist: Noelle is incredibly strict in her faith, able to fully believe in even the most heinous things she believes herself being tasked to do. Her interpretation of the will of R'hllor is strict and does not allow for any differing opinion.
Heel Realization: Her defeat is partially caused by having one just as she was about to achieve her goals. Having defeated Raenna, she prepars to burn Briar Catelins, only to realize that she is incapable of going through with this. It causes her great pain, as she sees that she cannot possibly justify her actions.
Hot Witch: Noelle is a very attractive woman, enough to enthrall Marak with her looks alone.
I Did What I Had to Do: For the most part, Noelle has such an approach when it comes to justify her more heinous actions. She genuinely believes that her actions, though terrible, are morally justified with this approach and she clings to this belief for a very long time.
Knight Templar: In a severe example of this trope, Noelle's intention is to be nothing less than the greatest hero the world has ever seen, saving tens of thousands of lives by preventing the War of Conquest itself. Unfortunately, she believes that the only way of doing so is to burn a child as a sacrifice to her god.
Lady in Red: It goes with being a red priestess.
My God, What Have I Done?: This is her reaction while having her Heel Realization. In her case, it is a very literal version of this trope, as she begs her god for forgiveness.
Not-So-Harmless Villain: Initially, Noelle doesn't seem particularly threatening in the greater narrative. She and her wacky sidekick Marak are secondary characters for the first half of Book 1, before stepping into centre stage in Chapter 6, massively rising in danger in the process. Ultimately, she ends up as a legitimate threat to several Point-of-View characters.
Older Than They Look: During her conversation with Archmaester Wulvren, it is heavily implied she has not aged in decades. She is notably also wearing an amulet not unlike other Red Priests do, who have been confirmed to hide their true age with its magic.
Pet the Dog: Even before her Heel Realization, Noelle has such a moment, when she wastes valuable time to prepare for her fight against Terroma, by insisting to bury the child victims of a serial killer she and Marak encounter.
Smug Snake: Is she ever, at least before her Crisis of Faith. She not only believes herself to be better than others, she also underestimates them in the process. Ultimately though, she does prove herself right, when its only her own morals that bring her down and not any effort her enemies could make.
Villainous Breakdown: A combined effect of having a Crisis Of Fait and a Heel Realization at the same time. The results are not pretty and almost push her into a Despair Event Horizon.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: The most notable example of this trope in the story. Noelle has the intention to stop the War of Conquest before beginning, ensuring a Targaryen victory without bloodshed, so that Westeros as a whole will remain strong against the threat of the White Walkers. Unfortunately, she believes that the only way of doing so is to burn a child, Briar Catelinsm alive at stake. In this particular case, she is as extreme as she is wrong.
Would Hurt a Child: Invoked, Zig-Zagged and ultimately subverted, as Noelle desperately wants to hurt a particular child ^note, but finds herself unable to truly go through with this plan. The realization that she cannot truly manage to harm a child triggers her Villainous Breakdown.

Bear

Akjen

Akjen, better known by his nickname Bear, is the leader of the Band of Claws, a feared group of bandits that operates in the Reach. As a violent psychopath, Bear enjoys nothing more than to cause mayhem, to kill, rape and to burn. His passion for violence and short temper make him a dangerous opponent towards those that are foolish enough to face him.

Awesome, but Impractical: His knife gloves are truly awesome weapons to look at, as well as terrifying. In hand-to-hand combat they even give him a heavy advantage over his opponents. However, they are not all that well-suited in a fight with weapons, where Bear is usually required to use his greatsword instead.
Bandit Clan: He is the leader of the Band of Claws, the most feared Bandit Clan in the Kingdom of Reach.

Big Little Brother: Bear is the younger brother of Jaro and I'lian, whom he both towers over. Even the already sturdy and tall Jaro is utterly dwarfed by him.
Blood Knight: Bear lives and breathes for a good fight. He shows some respect for a worthy challenger and the only time he is shown to actually enjoy himself is in the heat of a battle.
Blood Lust: Working together with the trope above, Bear doesn't consider a fight without blood to be a real fight. Considering that he loves to fight, he often leaves behind nothing but a bloody mess.
Cool Helmet: It is shaped like a bear's head, adding to his visual look.
Cluster F-Bomb: His notable Verbal Tic includes saying the word 'fuck' as often as possible.
Dark Is Evil: Let's see... he is a dornishman or Summer Islander, noted for their dark, almost completely black skin. He wears heavy armour made of blackened steel. He is a complete Jerkass and sociopath. Yeah, this trope describes him pretty well.
Genius Bruiser: Initially, Bear appears to be little more than dumb muscle. However, he does prove himself to be a very smart man when dealing with hopeless situations, realizing when it is better to flee and offering sound tactical advice if asked for.
Jerkass: From his introduction in Chapter 3 to his last appearance in Chapter 8, Bear has not even a single scene during which he is not either a complete jerk or an outright monster at worst, killing men for mere slights and gleefully using his knife gloves on anyone around him. His personality is unpleasant at best, showing plenty of sexist remarks and generally foul language.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Well, his nickname is Bear.
Only Known by Their Nickname: At least for the longest time in the story, he was only known by the name he gave himself, Bear. Later on, it was revealed that his true name is Akjen and that he is the brother of Jaro and I'lian.
Pet the Dog: Quite surprisingly so, Bear reveals himself to have a tiny shred of compassion left for his brother Jaro, whom he allows to escape unharmed and avoid a confrontation with him, though he made it clear that this is the only exception he is willing to make.
Scary Black Man: Bear has the dark skin of a dornishman or a Summer Islander, being almost completely black. He is also a terrifying and violent bandit leader without much of a redeeming trait.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: During the Raid on Raylansfair, he is among the first to realize that something does not go as planned. As a result, he orders his men to retreat long before the end of the battle, saving most of them in the process.
Soft-Spoken Sadist: Typically, Bear does not raise his voice, save for his Cluster F-Bomb moments, but speaks in a rather calm tone instead. It makes his brutality truly stand out.

Vaasrand of Lys

The Serpent

A professional hunter, specialized in extremely dangerous beasts. As a man who travelled across the entire known world and more, Vaasrand has knowledge about it that exceeds most people, as well as a highly professional attitude and a lot of skill when it comes to fight various beasts that trouble the local population.

Big Damn Heroes: During the final stages of the Raid on Raylansfair, Vaasrand dispatches several Ironborn raiders, just in time before they were able to kill Ilish.
Combat Pragmatist: Being used to fight animals, Vaasrand doesn't give much about honourable combat, knowing that his usual prey has no sense for it. This leads to him fighting with ruthless efficiency if pitted against human enemies.
Covered with Scars: As a result of his years of hunting, Vaasrand is covered in several nasty scars, getting one or several from each hunt he undergoes. They are all generally on the good side of the spectrum though.
Crazy-Prepared: Since he is usually fighting unpredictable and highly dangerous
Deadpan Snarker: Despite being The Stoic, Vaasrand is not without humour, though his is typically very much on the dry end of the trope, almost to The Comically Serious levels. He has some slight moments of light-heartedness though.
Expy: Of Geralt of Rivia.
The Fettered: Don't let his jerkish qualities fool you, Vaasrand has a strong sense of morality, something that comes quite surprising to Ilish and others. It sets him apart even more from true PunchClockHeroes, such as Garen.
Humans Are the Real Monsters: His experience at Vaes Kadokh made him more disturbed at the ruined city than the Shadow Lands, even if there's no magic or demons at the city of corpses.
Hunter of Monsters: It's basically his job to travel the lands and hunt dangerous animals that trouble the smallfolk, from direwolves to more supernatural kinds of beasts.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: At first, Vaasrand's outspoken Punch-Clock Hero tendencies make him look like a true jerk, if a useful one. However, he shows that he is capable of caring for others and even of acting selflessly if it is truly needed, even if he prefers not to.
Knight in Sour Armour: Vaasrand has absolutely no illusions about the Crapsack World he lives in. He is a cynic and hardened in face of human suffering. However, this does not mean that he is not fully capable and willing of selfless behaviour in times of need.
Manly Facial Hair: His beard is short and thick, befitting of a warrior and adding to his generally badass appearance.
Master Swordsman: There is no doubt that Vaasrand is one of the most talented fighters seen in the story so far, even if his true skill lies at fighting wild animals. He shows that he can easily dispatch several human opponents during the Raid on Raylansfair though.
Mystical White Hair: Being a Lysene, Vaasrand has almost pure Valyrian blood in his veins. His hair is platinum-blonde, appearing almost completely white in certain lights.
Punch-Clock Hero: A sellsword at heart, Vaasrand claims to be this and he usually demands quite a lot of coin before doing anything heroic. That said, if his help is truly needed, he subverts this trope, showing that he has the heart of a true hero after all.
Red Baron: Known as 'The Serpent'.
The Stoic: Vaasrand has a severe problem showing his emotions and while he likely has them, his face or voice don't give away even the slightest hint. As a result, he often appears completely devoid of emotions.

Magnus Silverstone

An illusionist, who tours through the lands with his adopted son and assistant Bennett. Shrewd and opportunistic, Magnus knows how to trick others for his personal gain and how to effectively lie to his audience.

Ambiguously Brown: Born in Slaver's Bay, Magnus is a Ghiscari, though the actual source of his darker teint has not been revealed yet. Given that his race as a whole is heavily mixed with other human races, it is unlikely to still be determinable.
Bit Character: So far, he only appeared in a single chapter in Book 1.
The Bus Came Back: Returns in Chapter 2 of Book 2 alongside Bennett.
Con Man: Magnus not only entertains his audience, he also steals from them, together with his assistant Bennett.
Fake Wizardry: Being a Stage Magician, this is only natural. Magnus genuinely claims to have magical powers but the more savvy characters are not fooled by it in the slightest.
I Have Many Names: Vanis zo Narrn list a lot of his known aliases.
Only Known by Their Nickname: Being of Ghiscari descent, Magnus Silverstone is almost guaranteed to not be his real name. However, it is the only one he is known by, likely to appeal to his Westerosi audience.
Parental Substitute: The revelation that he helped Bennett escape from slavery heavily implies he's this for the boy.
Stage Magician: This is his occupation.

Bennett

The assistant and adopted son of the illusionist Magnus Silverstone. Born a slave, Bennett is known for being crafty and cunning, as well as more than just a bit shady, often using Magnus' illusions to steal from the audience.

Ambiguously Brown: Bennett was born in Slaver's Bay and is likely of Ghiscari descent. Being a race of mixed ancestry, the modern Ghiscari all embody this trope.
Bit Character: So far, he only appeared in a single chapter in Book 1.
The Bus Came Back: Returns in Chapter 2 of Book 2 alongside Magnus.
Con Man: Together with Magnus. It is his job to steal from those that are distraced by his master.
Kid Sidekick: He is not only decades younger than Magnus, but also serves as his assistant and partner-in-crime.

Wylie

An old man who wanders the lands, Wylie is a healer of considerable skill, who has recently settled down in the town of Maybros. Due to his age, he has a lot of wisdom, which he readily shares with those that need it.

Cool Old Guy: Wylie is probably among the oldest characters in the entire story. Though his actual age is unknown, he is likely in his early nineties, as well as a cool, relaxed man, who readily offers help and advice.
Last Episode, New Character: He is introuced in the final chapter of Book 1.
The Medic: One of the best in the known world.
Old Master: When it comes to healing, nobody is better than Wylie. He knows tricks other characters can't even imagine and his knowledge on the topic exceeds the common knowledge in the setting quite notably. It is justified by his age though and by the fact that he is implied to have studied in Essos, which generally means a higher amount of knowledge.
White Mage: Though not a mage, he does fit the trope perfectly, as his incredible knowledge on medicine and healing makes him able to perform feats way above the typical healer in Westeros.
Wizard Beard: Wylie has one of the most impressive beards in the entire story, a long, bushy one that would not look too out of place on Gandalf the Grey. Though he is not a wizard, he is still a healer with almost supernatural skill.

Darla Vega

A woman that was taken as a captive by Harden Murphey in order to heal his father Haragard from a terrible disease that threatens his life.

Damsel in Distress: Darla is currently a captive of the Ironborn, being held as a de facto salt wife of Harden Murphey in Harrenhal, in order to force her into healing his sick father, Haragard.
Defiant Captive: A slightly more subdued version than possible, but while she shows appropriate fear at her meeting with Harren Hoare, she is not even nearly as terrified as she should be, something Harren himself even notices.
Morality Pet: While Haragard Murphey is by no means a good person, he has apparently a soft spot for her, even advicing his friend Harren to take it easy on her.

The Wonders of the World

Taenora

The leader of the showmen group Wonders of the World, which consists of several highly different artists. Among them is also her daughter, Nila. Taenora is a cheerful and generous woman, although a strange illness has recently taken a toll on her health.

Big Good: Oddly enough, Taenora is the closest example of this trope the people of Raylansfair have, while morally far less bright powers fight for control over the city, ignoring their plight. Taenora organizes a resistance against the brutal killer Wolfius Woodbark and even has some tiny success at it, more than any member of the smallfolk had before her.
Cool Old Lady: Not particularly old, but old-looking, Taenora nonetheless fits this trope perfectly.
Incurable Cough of Death: The nature of her cough and the illness that comes with it is not clarified, though it is concerning and a major physical trait of hers.
The Leader: Starting as the leader of the Wonders of the World troupe, she eventually steps up and personally leads the hunt for Kreep, the son of Wolfius, becoming the Big Good of Ilish's storyline in the process.
Mama Bear: Taenora would have very much preferred to remain neutral in the conflicts that plague Raylansfair. However, threatening her daughter is very much the only thing she does not tolerate, so she saw herself forced to act.
Morality Pet: Her daughter, Nila, who is the only one that convinces her to help the people of Raylansfair.
Neutral No Longer: Initially uncaring to the plight of the smallfolk of Raylansfair, she decides to take action when Wolfius and Kreep push her too far by stalking her beloved daughter.
Straight Man: Especially when compared to the Vitriolic Best Buds that are Philip Loren and Torold Stratford.
Walking the Earth: Together with her showman group, the Wonders of the World, Taenora has travelled far and wide, across a major part of Westeros and Essos.
Younger Than They Look: Technically, Taenora is only in her late thirties. However, her illness has left a toll on her and she looks a good decade older, yet still maintained a dignified look.

Melylea

A member of the showmen group The Wonders of the World and a trusted friend of its owner, Taenora. After being attacked several years ago, Melylea was left blind and unable to continue her profession as a dancer, so she instead settled to be a storyteller and bard.

The Bard: Occasionally, she tells her stories as songs.
Bit Character: So far, Melylea has only appeared in a single scene in Chapter 7.
Career-Ending Injury: When the group was attacked by a group of bandits, Melylea was blinded. This effectively ended her profession as a dancer and forced her to take on a new role among the group, as she settled down to become a storyteller.
The Storyteller: As stated above, this is her role among the group.

Nila

The only daughter of Taenora, the owner of the showmen group The Wonders of the World, where she also works as a dancer. However, it is her presence in the city of Raylansfair that leads to her mother getting involved in the events there as well.

Abhorrent Admirer: As it turns out, she has been stalked by Kreep, the son of Wolfius, one of the most abhorrent admirers imaginable. She reacts understandably freaked out.
Bit Character: So far, Nila has only appeared in a single scene in Chapter 7.
Morality Pet: She serves as this for her mother, whom she inspires to help the people of Raylansfair.

Irnas mo Akk

A nobleman from Meereen, who works as a tamer of wild beasts in the showmen group The Wonders of the World. Though a reclusive, hot-headed man, Irnas is highly protective of his animals, no matter how dangerous they are.

Ambiguously Brown: Like most Ghiscari, Irnas is of a mixed heritage, which results in him having an oddly brownish skin colour that cannot be surely linked to any race.
The Beastmaster: It's a requirement for his position at the Wonders of the World group.
Bit Character: Like most members of the showmen group, he has only appeared in a handful of scenes in Book 1, during which he barely interacts with other characters.
Nightmare Fetishist: A a tamer of wild beasts, Irnas regularly interacts with horrible animals, such as lizard lions or wild shadowcats. He finds nothing scary about them and adores them all.
Riches to Rags: As stated above, he used to be a nobleman from Meereen. Through means currently unknown, he ended up in the relatively humble position he is at the time of the story. That said, he seems to be very happy with it.

Ulaf

The strongest man in Westeros

Originally a raider from the mountain clans in the Mountains of the Moon, he eventually became a member of the showmen group Wonders of the World, where he works as the supposedly strongest man in the world. Ulaf is a man of few words and not exactly the brightest, but his strength and loyalty are out of question.

Barbarian Longhair: Being a mountain clan member, Ulaf wears his hair in a long, wild fashion.
The Big Guy: He is among the largest characters in the cast and claims to be the strongest man in the world.
Bit Character: So far, Ulaf has only appeared in two chapters, as little more than additional muscle, serving as Taenora's bodyguard and to carry the wounded Philip to the castle during the raid on Raylansfair.
Third-Person Person: At times, he falls into such a speech pattern.
World's Strongest Man: While the truth of this statement cannot be tested, Ulaf claims to be the strongest man alive. He certainly is extraordinarily strong and one had to search quite a lot to find someone with more physical strength than him.

Pirates of Merman's Rest

Aeron Blacksails

The self-proclaimed pirate king of the Narrow Sea, who's base is located at the island of Merman's Rest at the Stepstones, Aeron is no true king, but simply styles himself as such to impose his authority onto every pirate that wishes to operate in the Narrow Sea. This technically makes him the superior of Edward Anturion.

Affably Evil: Not raising his voice at all, Aeron is polite and soft-spoken to his underling Edward, greeting him with a hug and calming his council, all the while making it perfectly clear that he could kill him at any time.
The Artful Dodger: He started off as a more realistic version of the trope, being an orphan on the streets of Lys, where he formed a gang of other orphans, using them for crimes and not shying away from brutal violence. And as expected from the Crapsack World that is Westeros, Aeron's time as a child criminal ends with most of his equally young followers brutally killed and himself nearly murdered as well, forcing him to give up on this life and pick up a new one as a pirate, far away from Lys.
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Aeron has been pirate king for over a decade because no one else has been badass enough to challenge him, or at least not to actually overcome him. Having no authority by birth, it is pretty much mandatory for him to be some kind of a badass to defeat any potential challenger.
The Dreaded: The lesser pirates are all scared to him and even his captains tread lightly when he is around. Though he is affable most of the time, there are moments where he shows clear anger, managing to downright terrify even Edward Anturion.
The Ghost: Mentioned all the way back in chapter 3 of book 1, but didn't debut in the story until book 2.
Kick the Dog: On a surface level, he is polite and pleasant towards Alys. Behind all that, he actually considers the girl an obstacle, a means to get his revenge on Edward for failing him earlier. Despite their more pleasant conversations earlier, he eventually plots to have her killed without even thinking twice, not out of something she did wrong, but simply because it would hurt Edward without actually harming him.
Know When to Fold 'Em: His first mention also mentions that he used to have a lucrative operation in Oldtown, personally residing in the city for some time. However, once Butterfly's purging of the crimelords started, he was the only one with enough common sense to realize they were fighting a losing battle, resulting in him completely abandoning any work in Oldtown, but keeping his live and most of his wealth in the process, which is more than can be said for any other Oldtown crimelord.
Light Is Not Good: As a Valyrian, Aeron has silvery hair and he is dressed in white and light grey. However, he is also the pirate king of the Narrow Sea and has a dreaded reputation.
Modest Royalty: Aeron's outfit is more simple looking and less adorned than the rest of his council.
Mystical White Hair: He's of Valyrian descent, and as such he has silvery hair. He also goes out of his way to at least appear mysterious in some capacity.
Pirate: The self-proclaimed king of all pirates, to be precise.
Rags to Riches: Aeron comes from a low birth and grew up an orphan. Through cunning, charisma and the appliance of ruthless violence, he formed first a gang of other orphans and later took over a pirate crew, convincing several other captains to declare their loyalty to him and taking over the pirate isle of Merman's Rest.
Reasonable Authority Figure: For a pirate at least, Aeron is remarkably aware of the fact that the only way he can stay in power is by being reasonable and actually providing something for his subjects. As such, he looks out for the people of Merman's Rest, treating them fairly and punishing abuse against them with an iron fist.
Smoking Is Cool: His introductory scene shows him with an odd-looking smoking pipe. This is particularly notable because smoking is not practiced in Westeros and similarly rare in western Essos, meaning he took quite some effort to get something to smoke.
Tranquil Fury: Always calm and soft spoken, Aeron can nonetheless get viciously angry, as seen when one of Edward's men harms a prostitute in one of Merman's Rest's brothels. He does not raise his voice, but is notably livid with anger nonetheless.
White Hair, Black Heart: Considering that he is the king of the Stepstone pirates, Aeron is far from a good person. Given his reputation, it can even be argued that he has a deeply black heart.

Sargasso Saan

A Lyseni captain under Aeron Blacksails, who's considered the most powerful pirate in the alliance aside from Blacksails himself.

Adaptation Name Change: Sargasso is a rather unusual case. He is supposed to be a character who is named in some background material of the Ice and Fire setting, a pirate captain who goes by the name of Sargoso. However, by the time of his introduction into the story, Sargasso has still been the canonic way to write his name, before the character himself underwent a name change in later material.
Affably Evil: Though some accounts paint him in a more Faux Affably Evil light, his interactions with the other pirates and Alys are always unfailingly polite. He tries to appear friendly and helpful, though he still is a pirate captain with a terrifying reputation.
Alliterative Name: Sargasso Saan
Awesomeness by Analysis: Saan is the only pirate captain in Merman's Rest who manages to figure out that Alys is more than she claims to be, picking up subtle cracks in her cover story to deduce that she is a northern noblewoman on the run.
The Chessmaster: Sargasso keeps check on anything unusual that happens in Merman's Rest, to see if knowing about it comes in handy later on. He knows exactly how to manipulate the flaws of his fellow captains and is probably one of the biggest schemers among the Pirate King's court.
The Dreaded: When describing the notable pirates of Merman's Rest to Alys, Carvin is quite flattering when it comes to Sargasso, but the present Wilbur clarifies to her that he is the worst of them all, possibly even above Blacksails himself.
Expy: He has affable outward personality, is constantly scheming, keeps an eye on everyone else at court, is notably more dangerous and amoral than he appears at first, has the prostitutes of the city on his payroll and sports a well-groomed moustache. All of this gives him more than just a small resemblance to the show version of Littlefinger.
Famous Ancestor: Sargasso, being a powerful pirate lord of the Saan family, is this to his distant descendant Salladhor Saan, who follows in his footsteps.
Hidden Depths: Despite his otherwise ruthless and scheming behaviour, Saan ends up saving Alys from Blacksails' wrath, partially because he doesn't wish to become Edward's enemy, but partially out of what seems to be genuine gratitude for her saving his life earlier. This means that deep down, he has a sense of honour and loyalty despite what he claims and what others say about him.
Not Me This Time: Due to Warmond's manipulations, Alys believes him responsible for the attempt on her life. However, he claims to be innocent of this and manages to prove it later.
Number Two: He seems to hold this position, either officially or inofficially, when it comes to the court of Aeron Blacksails.
Pirate: Like all other members of the council of Merman's Rest.

Warmond Manderly

The Black Merman

A captain of Aeron Blacksails pirate alliance and member of House Manderly, although he doesn't belong to the White Harbor family, but to a branch of the house that settled in the Stepstones after their exile, although he's the last member of this branch.

Ambiguously Evil: It is unclear how complicit Warmond actually is in the pirate king's schemes. He knew there was an assassin sent to kill Alys and though he saved her from the man, he did so in the last minute and possibly only to pursue his own agenda. At best, he harbours genuine affection for her and Carvin, at worst he used them as mere tools, though this would still make him better than his king, who saw Alys as nothing but an obstacle to get through.
Black Sheep: Since his family's sigil is a white merman, is obvious he's this (at least to his mainland kin). He is also the only known Manderly to indulge into acts of piracy, which only further sets him apart from the honourable traders of the White Harbour branch.
False Friend: Played with. He genuinely saves Alys' life from the man sent to kill her and later offers to help her take down Saan, but actually, he merely framed Saan and was partially complicit in the attempt on Alys' life. It is unclear if he ever actually considered going through with Blacksails' plan to kill the girl, but at the very least, he was lying to her from start to finish.
Last of His Kind: He's the last Manderly of Merman's Rest, a once prideful branch of the family that ruled during the golden age of House Manderly over a vast dominion of sea and coastlines.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: The Black Merman doesn't really strike joy and trustworthines into the hearts of those Warmond has to deal with and given the people around him, this is likely perfectly intended.
Pirate: Naturally, this is mandatory for one of the Stepstone pirates.
The Remnant: Warmond belongs to an ancient branch of House Manderly that never settled in the North, and after thousands of years of gradual decline, he's all that's left.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Once cornered and outmatched by Saan and Alys, he briefly considers fighting, but when Melvan Tiren arrives to back Saan up, he realizes that he has lost and immediately turns to run. Alys allows him to escape, but Saan believes that he will be back eventually.

Jadith Linster

The only woman at the council of Merman's Rest, yet nonetheless a very accomplished pirate

Brawn Hilda: Jadith is very ugly, being heavy-set, muscular, flat-chested, with a broad face and a crooked nose.
Lady Looks Like a Dude: As a result of her ugly, mannish appearance, Jadith resembles a man so much that even Alys, who claims to have no problem spotting someone's gender, admits that she almost would have mistaken her for a man.
Perpetual Frowner: Her default expression seems to be a dour frown.
Pirate Girl: The natural consequence of being a female pirate at the court of Blacksails.
The Smurfette Principle: The only woman currently having a seat in Blacksails' council.

Melvan Tiren

Another captain of the pirate council of Aeron Blacksails, as well as his oldest acquaintance. Though a seemingly friendly man, he is one of the most feared men in the Narrow Sea.

Affably Evil: Melvan can be rather polite and pleasant for a pirate, yet he is among the most important pirates under Aeron Blacksails' command for a very good reason.
All Men Are Perverts: Apparently, Melvan is quite lustful and has a fondness for whores, to the point where he knowingly lets them into his chambers even if they are on Saan's payroll. During her talk with Saan, Alys hears him in the middle of having sex with one of them.
Undying Loyalty: Towards Aeron, whom he truly considers to be a king and a friend.
Villainous Friendship: He's on genuinely friendly terms with Aeron.

Aidan Storm

A bastard from the Stormalnds and the youngest member of Aeron Blacksails council. His most outstanding characteristic are his eyes, which are pale grey, nearly white, which gives the impression he's blind, although he can see just fine.

Affably Evil: While Aidan is a pirate and therefore anything but a good guy, he is also jovial and gets along very well with his fellow captain Gregor Harlaw. There is also his notable dislike for slavers, which is a decent trait for someone in his line of work.
Didn't Think This Through: He admits that when he had just arrived to Lys years prior, he got embroiled in some debts with the Rogare bank and didn't thought of the consequences until it was too late.
Only Sane Man: Aidan's quick refusal to have anything to do with the Targaryen's and the War of Conquest is similar to what his king eventually decides to do, yet unlike Aeron, he is humble enough to give up on his activities in the Narrow Sea while the war rages on, fearing what Aegon or his enemies could do if he becomes too much of a nuisance towards either of them.
Prophet Eyes: An interesting example, since his eyes almost look blind, but can still see, albeit with difficulty in differentiating colors.
Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: He would rather go to Essos than take his chances with the dragons or against them, effectively leaving Westeros behind entirely during the War of Conquest.
Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: Unlike many other pirates, who occasionally work with them, Aidan is shown to dislike slavers, to the point where hunting some of them down seems to be a regular thing for him.

Characters / Forum of Thrones - Independent Characters

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