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The Council of Ekundayo
Tarisai Idajo
An extremely intelligent girl who strives to be useful as a way of attracting love from people around her. For most of her childhood she was shut up in an isolated manor with no company but her tutors and- very occasionally- her emotionally abusive mother. Due to a wish extracted from Tarisai's father (Melu, the Genius Loci of Swana), Tarisai must obey "the Lady"'s commands, foremost of which is to murder the child Ekundayo and infiltrate his council of advisers. Tarisai despises this brainwashing and most of the first novel is centered around her attempts to escape it. Her feelings about her mother are more complicated.
On Ekundayo's council, Tarisai serves as Aritsar's High Judge. After The Reveal that she is also a Raybearer, she retains her position in it, but founds another council out of the realm's vassal monarchs.
Tarisai's Hallow is psychometry: the ability to "draw out" and relive the recent memories of an object. As her powers develop, she becomes something of a telepath, able to temporarily remove the memories of people she touches and/or give them new ones of her own creation.
- Big Brother Instinct: She believes that her purpose in life is to protect her cousin Dayo. And also their millions of imperial subjects, but mostly Dayo. (He is actually the same age as Tarisai, but she rarely mentions that.)
- Control Freak: Downplayed: she is genuinely benevolent and capable, but she has difficulty acknowledging that other people also have good ideas. During her Heroic BSoD in Redemptor, she verges dangerously close to believing that her friends are against her and that she is the only person who cares about improving Aritsar.
- The Dividual: Tar treats the part of her that is under the control of The Lady's wish as a separate being, calling her "the monster". At several points she has to mentally argue with the "monster" so she won't attack Dayo and only barely succeeds.
- Guile Hero: She circumvents brainwashing by giving herself amnesia, revolutionizes Aritsar's government before the age of 20, successfully renegotiates a Deal with the Devil, and publicly convicts her emperor of a crime so obscure nobody but legal scholars knew it existed.
- Guilt Complex: In Redemptor, any time she feels happiness ojiji appear to insist that she is selfish for enjoying life after all the suffering her ancestors have caused and that she has to "do more" for them. It gets under her skin and she starts blaming herself for everything her ancestors have done.
- In the Blood: Subverted. While the Lady sees Tar's overthrowing of Olugbade and radical changing of the empire as Tar sharing her rebellious nature, Tar herself denies this.
- Meaningful Name: Her name means "Behold what is coming", chosen by her father to symbolize the change she will bring to the realm. And she does indeed bring change to the Empire, in ways her mother could have never predicted.
Ekundayo Kunleo
A kind and idealistic boy who's the prince of Aritsar. He anoints his Council eagerly, seeing it as a way to gain the love that power-hungry courtiers and his neglectful father have been depriving him of all his life.
He leads the council of Aritsar.
- Good Is Not Dumb: Pretty much everyone around him assumes his compassion comes from naiveté and that it will be his downfall. Turns out, he knew almost immediately that Tarisai would try to assassinate him, but he chose to trust her anyway. He was right, as she was able to resist The Lady's wish.Dayo: You missed my heart. That means you’re stronger than her, Tar.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: He grew up with hundreds of children faking affection for power, and the few he did manage to befriend were eventually sent away. By the time he meets Tar he's so desperate he tries to connect to her immediately in the hopes that someone won't leave him.
- Lonely Together: Both he and Tar grew up wanting for nothing and surrounded by people who wanted their favor but refused to befriend them. They connect immediately over this. This bond only becomes stronger when he finds out Tar is the other Raybearer, after spending so long assuming he would be alone.
- Mandatory Motherhood: A rare gender flip. He must conceive an heir for the Empire, but he's sex-repulsed and is dreading the task. The ending implies he chooses adoption.
- Platonic Life-Partners: Despite gossiping courtiers insisting they're going to fall in love, Tar and Dayo's relationship is a deep friendship, not a romance. Good thing too, because they're actually cousins.
Kirah
Sanjeet
A former pitfighter from Dhyrma who is anointed to Dayo's Council. He is feared for his Hallow and his skill at fighting, but has significant Hidden Depths and is the first to connect to Dayo's Ray.
- Attack Its Weak Point: His Hallow is to see the weaknesses in a human body. His abusive father forced him to use it for pitfighting, but he wants to use it to heal people.
- Big Brother Instinct: He once had a younger brother who was kind and compassionate, but broke under their father's abuse and became cruel. He sees a lot of him in Dayo, and feels driven to protect him like he couldn't protect his brother.
- Love Interest: He is Tarisai's romantic interest, dating back to when they were children and she was the first who didn't fear him.
- Momma's Boy: Justified, as he's 13 and she was the only positive force in his life. He refuses to get anointed at first because it means he will never see his mother again. He only accepts when he receives word that she's died.
Ai Ling
High Lady Ambassador of Aritsar.
- Blessed with Suck: Her Hallow can be useful, but it makes everyone else distrust her. Her first real romance with a priest boy ended when they were caught, and the priest accused her of raping him with her magic.
- Compelling Voice: Her Hallow. She once talked an assassin into killing himself.
Umansa
High Lord Treasurer of Aritsar.- Blind Seer: The only images he can see are his prophetic tapestries.
- Seer: Umansa weaves prophetic tapestries, which he uses to warn others of upcoming disasters.
Mayazatyl
Therese
Zathulu
Kameron
High Lord of Husbandry of Aritsar.
- Friend to All Living Things: He's always got animal companions running around.
Theo
Emeronya
High Lady Magus of Aritsar.
- The Baby of the Bunch: At thirteen in the first book, she's the youngest of Ekundayo's council, though she often comes across as mature for her age.
- The Stoic: Almost always speaks in a blunt deadpan.
The Council of Tarisai
Min Ja
The princess and later on queen of Songland.- Brutal Honesty: Min Ja doesn't bother with pleasantries and always bluntly speaks her mind.
- Cain and Abel: Her father gave her the throne out of spite, which led to several assassination attempts by her snubbed brothers. She did her best to appease them, but after an attempt nearly killed her lover, she had them all killed in revenge.
- Cool Big Sis: When she becomes part of Tarisai's Council, she assumes this role.
Zuri
The king of Djbanti.
- Anti-Magic: His power is that other people's powers don't work on him.
- Manipulative Bastard: He tries to push and guilt Tar into becoming a cold, authoritarian empress for the entirety of Redemptor, to the point of using her attraction to him as leverage. Luckily he doesn't succeed.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: He pretends to be a hedonistic drunk, but is actually the Crocodile.
- Puppet King: The monarchy is mostly a figurehead, the Djbanti warlords being the real rulers.
Ji Huan
The king of Moreyao.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: He's no older than thirteen, but is already the king of one of Aritsar's vassal kingdoms, though it's implied that his uncles currently do a lot of the ruling for him.
- The Baby of the Bunch: For Tarisai's council, as he's the only child among them.
- Big Sister Worship: His form of love among Tarisai's council is looking up to her as a big sister figure with whom he can just be a regular kid.
Uriyah
Kwasi
Beatrix
The Queen of Nontes.
- Condescending Compassion: Among Tarisai's council, her form of love is like a condescending mother.
- Female Misogynist: She is doubtful about being on Tarisai's council because she thinks women are irrational. Tarisai is confused by this, and Ai Ling says Beatrix thinks "it's sexy to have an inferiority complex".Beatrix: Women together, we are...irrational. Emotional. I can't imagine ruling an empire with a woman.
The Council of Olugbade
Redemptors
Ye Eun
A Redemptor child from Songland.- Big Sister Instinct: She is very protective of little Ae Ri.
- Broken Pedestal: When she first meets Tar, she is convinced that Tar will be her and the other Redemptors' savior. After Tar fails to protect her form the Underworld like she'd promised, Ye Eun loses her admiration for her and treats her much more harshly when they meet again.
- Determinator: She is one of the few Redemptor-children who made it out of the Underworld, a feat that requires a lot of will-power.
- Flower Motifs: She gives Tarisai a crown of white lilies when they first meet. At the end of the series, she decides to start growing lilies again.
- Innocence Lost: She started out as an innocent little girl before being forced to travel through the Underworld. After that, she is much more jaded.
Mystical Beings
