The Elenium / Characters

A list of characters appearing in the Elenium and Tamuli saga. Currently in progress.

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Elenium Main Characters

Sparhawk

A Pandion knight and main character of the story. Long story short, he's also Anakha, the man free from the bounds of destiny, destined to wield the legendary artifact Bhelliom.

Ancestral Weapon: Uses two of them over the course of the series. There's the Royal Sword of Elenia, which was given to his family by King Antor of Elenia, and the Spear of Aldreas, which was given to King Antor by Sparhawk's ultimate grandfather.

Black Knight: Looks like one: grim looking, black armor, black cape, nasty horse... and yet, is the hero.

The Champion: To the royal house of Elenia, but to Ehlana most of all.

Combat by Champion: His duel against Cyrgon at the climax of The Tamuli wherein he acts as Bhelliom's champion and Cyrgon as Klæl's.

Determinator: His strength of will is the single most intimidating thing about him. When Sparhawk starts pursuing someone, there is nowhere they can hide. Multiple people comment on him being 'implacable'.
Duel to the Death: Fights one against Martel near the climax of The Elenium and one against Cyrgon at the climax of The Tamuli.
The Dreaded: Prior to the destruction of Azash, he's simply feared as an incredible swordsman and a member of an Order famed for its ruthlessness. After blowing the top off a city, his reputation inflates somewhat. He's also feared by the gods for being free of destiny.
Face of a Thug: Sparhawk is a big scary man, and his broken nose is frequently described as making him look ugly and cruel. He's still The Hero.
Feeling Their Age: Sir Sparhawk is middle-aged at the beginning of the first book, and several times it's noted that he hasn't got the speed or stamina he had as a younger man.

Good Parents: to Danae who's an avatar of Aphrael the Child-Goddess. Aphrael tells Sparhawk he's the best father she's ever had (she chooses to get reborn every few centuries)
Guile Hero: Sparhawk is more than capable of solving problems with his sword, but he's intelligent, inventive, and a quick thinker; he often solves problems with some chicanery, and he has no problem with arranging political predicaments or using subterfuge to accomplish his goal.
Happily Married: He proposes to Ehlana by accident, and resists as best he can until it's clear he has no choice, but by The Tamuli it's clear that he and Ehlana are a very well-matched couple.
Immune to Fate: While Sparhawk is involved in fulfilling prophecies more than once, it seems that his actions can't be predicted, even by the Gods. Eventually, he learns that he is "Anakha", the one man in all the world who has no set destiny, so the normal rules of "fate" don't apply to him.

Laser-Guided Karma: All of his friends regard his marriage to Ehlana as this, funnily enough. As one of them puts it, "You created a woman of steel, and now she's strong enough to force you to marry her."
Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Always carries a shield in his off hand. At one point he's even able to use it to protect against a magical attack, by pressing Bhelliom's rings up against it.
Magic Knight: A powerful swordsman and an accomplished spellcaster. Vanion even admitted that Sparhawk is probably the most iconic example of a Pandion Knight. His Evil Counterpart Martel, describes him as 'What they had in mind when they founded the four Orders [of Church Knight].'
Master Swordsman: The Pandion Knights are, on average, the best swordsmen of the four orders of Church Knights. Sparhawk is the best swordsman in the Pandion Order. Among other things, it's mentioned he's able to change his point of aim in mid-swing without spoiling the stroke.
Morality Pet: Ehlana was this to Sparhawk in his exile and during the first two books, before she came out of the Diamond Throne and started taking a more... active... role in his life.
Older Than Dirt: Invokes the trope by name at one point. "—knights in the center, Atans on either side, and the Peloi out on the flanks. (...) (T)hat formation’s older than dirt."

Reasonable Authority Figure: To Elana given that he was her Mentor as a child. Even after that, when Sparhawk was in exile and Ehlana was a teenager growing up without any kind of support in a corrupt court, she states that what made her grow into a decent person was the thought of what would make Sparhawk proud and what actions he would approve - basically, Sparhawk was so much of a Reasonable Authority Figure for Ehlana that kept being The Mentor even in absence.
- Also for King Aldreas, of all people. He was murdered when he was about to do a Heel–Face Turn from corrupt monarch to an honest one for exacty the same reasons as Ehlana.
- Manages to be one for a certain Child Goddess, too. Even though she's usually the one ordering people around, Sparhawk manages to talk some sense into her, and even puts his foot down rather firmly a couple of times.

The Paladin: As a member of the Pandion Knights. In many ways, Sparhawk and his various ancestors are the pinnacle of what the Pandion Order was meant to be.
Ring of Power: Has Bhelliom's rings which command the stone and, independently, can imbue any weapon, be it the Spear of Aldreas, his sword, or even his shield, with enough power to withstand magical assaults and drive off sorcerous creatures.

Kurik

Sparhawk's trusty squire. A peasant rather than a nobleman he has a wide variety of practical skills, and is often the voice of reason within the group. Is killed by Adus near the end of the third book.

Death by Irony: Kurik's class prejudices always prevented him from letting Sparhawk knight him, and since he was not a knight, he refused to wear armour. In the end, this is what lets Adus kill him, by slicing through his leather vest with an axe.

Everyone Can See It: in a rare non-romantic example, his relationship to Talen, which he keeps quiet out of respect for his wife. Sparhawk figures it out roughly two minutes, and by the time Kurik openly acknowledges Talen, it's clear that everyone in the group already knew.
Good Parents: a very good father to all his sons - he sends Talen and his mother child support, and paid for Talen to go to school.
Killed Off for Real: Killed by Adus in Zemoch, he does reappear briefly when the Bhelliom is hidden and recovered.
Love at First Sight: Describes his affair with Talen's mother, Elys, as something very like this. He did - and still does - love his wife Aslade very much. Given what happens after his death, it's implied that if Kurik had been able to be honest with Aslade about Elys during his life, they might very well have ended up in a polyamourous situation.
Loved by All: Not everyone likes him, but everyone who's been around him for more than a day respects the hell out of him. At the beginning of their final duel, Martel is genuinely sorry to hear of Kurik's death, and asks Sparhawk to give Aslade his condolences.
Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Always carries a shield in his off-hand. Given his lack of armour, this is his only protection.

Underestimating Badassery: Kurik does it to Adus during their final duel, not realizing just how much stronger Adus' final mental collapse has left him, or that the giant is in fact setting him up for a fatal blow.

Kalten

Sparhawk's best friend, he too is a Pandion Knight. Possessed of no talent for languages or magic, he makes up for it by being one of the order's best fighters, and a loyal companion to Sparhawk.

Big Eater: To the point that, in The Tamuli, Vanion becomes worried when Kalten leaves a whole dish of mutton intact.

Book Dumb: Kalten has no talent for languages or scholastic pursuits, and struggles with literacy, but he's far from actually being stupid.
Carpet of Virility: Sephrenia compares him to a blond rug while patching up a sword cut.

Dumb Muscle: Kalten plays up this image. While he has no talent for book learning, he's actually quite bright and very fast on his feet.
Genius Ditz: He's really quite out of his depth in any scholarly matter and severely lacking in common sense, but he also has excellent social intelligence, allowing him to work as an impromptu therapist on a few occasions. Kurik also considers him the only member of the Companions who could actually work at something practical for a living.
Happily Adopted: informally, but Sparhawk's parents took Kalten in as a child after his own were killed, and raised him and Sparhawk like brothers.
Hidden Depths: Kalten's idiotic image conceals finely tuned social intelligence and an ability to think quickly that no other member of the cast possesses.
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: After managing to convince himself that Alean is in love with Berit, with a side order of If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her....
It's Personal: Seems to be obsessed with killing Adus. Ultimately subverted, as Adus is murdered by Talen and Sparhawk.

Love Makes You Dumb: When he believes that Alean is actually in love with Berit, he reacts quite immaturely for a while

Magic Knight: Averted. Despite being a Pandion Knight, Kalten has no talent for magic and can't use even the simplest of spells.
Obfuscating Stupidity: Discovers that life becomes much easier when people underestimate him, and does it so well that even his friends who know how smart he can be tend to forget.
The Paladin: Member of the Pandion Knights, and probably the Order's greatest swordsman after Sparhawk.
Unflinching Walk: He manages to do that in a medieval setting with an assault tower he just captured by filling the whole tower (whose body acts as chimney) with naphta and flipping a torch into the structure with a negligent-appearing toss as he's retrating back to their own walls.

Sephrenia

A powerful Styric sorceress, who taught magic to the Pandion Knights. She's the priestess of Aphrael the Child Goddess, and the one who put Ehlana in the Diamond Throne in the first place. She's also in love with Vanion.

Big Sister Instinct: to her Goddess, Aphrael. Which makes sense, since Aphrael - who chooses to be re-born every few centuries - actually was her little sister in her last incarnation.
Fantastic Racism: She is frequently condescending towards the Elenes. Sometimes it's implied to be a joke, but not always. However, she absolutely hates Delphae because she believes that they were responsible for the death of her family. After learning the truth, she gets over it.
The Heart: She's this for the whole Pandion order. That's why they call her "Little Mother". To the point that, in the Tamuli, tons of tough-as-nails knights (including Kalten) openly cry with joy when they meet her again.
Hypocrite: Xanetia accuses her of claiming to be a pacifist herself, while using Sparhawk and other Elenes to kill people for her.
Heroic BSoD: After learning of Zalasta's betrayal.
May–December Romance: Eventually confirmed with Vanion. He's an old man, but she's been alive for hundreds of years.
Never Learned to Read: Apparently, she can't read. Subverted when it's revealed that she never learned to read in Elenic, but she can read in Styric.

Really 700 Years Old: She often teases Sparhawk about her real age and refuses to reveal it. Eventually it comes out she's something over three hundred years old.
Squishy Wizard: She's one of the most powerful mages in the world, but she hasn't much stamina. This actually becomes a plot point in the first trilogy, as the spell she used on Ehlana will slowly take a toll on her body as the wraith of the deceased knights give their swords to her.

Vanion

The old head of the Pandion Knights, still efficient despite his old age. Is in love with Sephrenia.

Awesomeness by Analysis: Managed to learn the ludicrously difficult spell Sephrenia used to seal Ehlana just by carefully watching it.
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Implied that Vanion was appointed as Preceptor not just for his smarts, but because he was the paramount example of a Pandion at the time. It's telling that Sparhawk was the only one considered worthy to succeed him.
May–December Romance: With Sephrenia. However as they marry, the Bhellion makes them both young again.
The Mentor: To Sparhawk and Kalten among the main group specifically. The entire Pandion Order since his appointment as Preceptor generally.
Old Soldier: He may be old, but is still a force to be reckoned with. In The Tamuli he even manage to beat the entire population of Sarsos in a marathon, even after injuring his feet.

Your Days Are Numbered: Due to both his age and the effort of taking some of Sephrenia's swords with him, he's on his deathbed by the end of the first saga, but is ultimately saved by Aphrael.

Talen

Kurik's bastard son, and one of the best thieves in Cimmura, Talen joins up with Sparhawk's band early on, bringing his criminal talents and underworld connections to a party that's otherwise made up of noblemen and their retainers.

The Artful Dodger: He's more this than Street Urchin, though he sometimes plays up his urchinly qualities for sympathy so he can make a killing at begging.
Bastard Angst: Unlike his fellow thief Stragen, Talen averts this fairly hard, really only using it to needle his father in jest. It helps that later on, his father accepts him openly and proudly, and eventually he and his half-brothers are raised together by both of their mothers, who get along very well.

Everyone Can See It: his relationship to Kurik. Sparhawk figures it out in about two minutes of watching them interact, and everyone else in the group knew it long before Kurik formally claimed him.

Impossible Thief: Often it seems like a character just has to stand within ten feet of Talen and he'll have everything they own within seconds. Eventually Sparhawk just starts telling him to empty his pockets pre-emptively.
Refuge in Audacity: At one point the party faces down a band of aggressive and heavily-armed Peloi led by Kring, who makes the mistake of indulging in a belly-laugh and challenging Talen to steal what he can. He's too late: Talen got everything he owns while he was laughing. He then proceeds to take inventory of it, right down to appraising a fake gem on one of his bits of jewelry.

Wife Husbandry: There're some hints that Danae/Aphrael has set her sights on him as a future husband. Talen is too young to be interested in this side of human interactions, so he mostly shrugs it off as a girl being silly. That said, after a while he does start to get a frequent look of wild fear in his eyes as he recognizes she may be just as serious as her mother was at her age.
You Killed My Father: Knifes Adus through the kidneys, then, with Sparhawk's help, drives a sword through him after the brute kills Kurik.

Berit

A young Pandion knight who's initially chosen to act as Sparhawk's decoy, and later becomes a full fledged member of the group.

Badass Bookworm: A capable warrior like everyone else, he's also very erudite.
Clueless Chick-Magnet: In The Tamuli, a lot of ladies fall for his charms, though he's totally unaware of it, to the point where he almost causes a diplomatic incident. However, the cluelessness is apparently part of the charm, as Sparhawk gets decisively shouted down by every woman in hearing range when he suggests he talk to the lad.
Green-Eyed Monster: Becomes resentful of Sparhawk when Ehlana announces that she and Sparhawk are engaged. Eventually, Sparhawk manages to talk him out of it on the way to Zemoch.

Would Hurt a Child: He teaches manners to Talen... by smacking him hard when he badmouths him. Though given it's Talen, it's quite possibly the only way for an honest person to make him pay attention.

Bevier

A Knight of the Cyrinic Order, one of the other orders of Church Knights. He's by far the most devout of the main cast and tends to function as the straight man for the group.

Ax-Crazy: A bit of an odd case. Bevier is a deeply devout and moral man, and refuses to use violence wantonly. However, as soon as he is convinced that violence is morally and religiously justified, he is capable of violence on a level even the other Church Knights find unsettling. He'll go out of his way to give someone every chance to see things his way, and if they don't, he tends to chop off their head without batting an eyelash...and then force that enemy's comrades to join him in prayer over the person's soul while he shakes their blood off his ax.
Celibate Hero: implied, by choice due to his religious devotion. He even has vague plans to one day put aside his armour and join the priesthood proper so he can serve God more personally. The rest of the party has plans to dissuade him from that course of action, the men because he's too good with his axe to lose to a cassock, and Ehlana because she judges Bevier would make some woman 'fantastically' happy as a husband.

Knight in Shining Armor: This is his hat to a T, with a dose of Incorruptible Pure Pureness thrown in for good measure. He even wears literal shining armour: His armour is burnished to practically a mirror shine. Various characters are constantly trying to compromise his virtues.
Large Ham: He's one of these during The Tamuli, when the knights go undercover in the enemy base at Natayos. Bevier passes himself off as a lochaber-wielding mercenary, but hams it up so much he comes off as an Ax-Crazy lunatic and has everyone in the camp terrified of him.

Psycho for Hire: Invoked in The Tamuli. Bevier tries to pass himself off as a dangerously competent mercenary, but his Large Ham tendencies cause him to present instead as a homicidal maniac, terrifying the rest of Scarpa's soldiers.
Stupid Good: Strays into this now and then. It gets to its worst during the party's trip to Ghasek, but that's the hate plague talking and turning up the volume on his impulses and prejudices to a stupid degree.
Wide-Eyed Idealist: Starts off this way about Church matters, gets more accepting of reality as the plot goes on.
- He bows up at the suggestion of a Church patriarch making decisions for the Church when the Archprelate is the head of the Church, and gets gently told that the Archprelate is in his 80s, in poor health, and sleeps a great deal; the actual running of the Church had to move a rung downwards on the ladder given the Archprelate's inability to function.
- Similarly, when he finds out Annias is bribing his way to the Archprelacy, he exclaims that no decent churchman would take bribes. Sparhawks agrees with the sentiment but points out many Church members are far from decent and the Church has a problem with a streak of corruption that's come to a head in Annias.

Tynian

A Deiran knight from the Alcione Order, and something of a jokester, who also happens to carry the biggest sword and wear the biggest armour. He's usually seen with Ulath.

BFS: Wields a very large broadsword, noted for being very heavy.
The Big Guy: Shares this role with Ulath. While not as big as the Genidian Knight, his heavy armour makes him all but untouchable, and he's incredibly heavily muscled.
Boisterous Bruiser: A large guy who enjoys a good battle like Ulath, though he's also more cheerful.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Lampshaded by Sparhawk when Tynian is introduced. He's got a big dumb grin and pranks Kalten straight up, but Sparhawk doesn't miss that the guy's built like a brick shithouse.

Magic Knight: A huge man who carries a big sword and wears incredibly heavy armour, he's also a talented necromancer.
Mighty Glacier: Thanks to the sheer mass of his armor. To hear him tell it, the first time he put it on, he fell over and it took him an hour to get back up. He's become hardened by the weight of it all.
Necromancer: He's pretty skilled at necromancy, which comes in handy during the second book. Apparently, his huge build and stamina helps him in "fighting" the souls of the dead as he summons them.

Ulath

A Thalesian church knight from the Genidian Order. He's the biggest and burliest of the core group, and is probably their best expert on religious matters.

Armor Is Useless: Played with. Unlike the other knightly orders, the Genidians wear chainmail and not plate armour. When called on this, Ulath points out there are a lot of rivers in Thalesia and it's hard to pull off platemail if you fall in - which they demonstrated to a preceptor who demanded they wear plate by throwing him in a river in his armour. He never came back up. The armour matter was quickly dropped. It should be noted that Ulath's chainmail still covers most of his body and is an effective defense for most of the series.

Cool Helmet: Adorned with a set of Ogre's horns, which actually saves his life at one point.
Crazy-Prepared: In a small way. The Genidian Knights love mounting unbreakable ogre horns on their helmets, but Ulath also has a horn—the sort that makes noise—made from an ogre horn. It gets used quite often through both series, to issue challenges, get attention from a distance, and signal troops.

Genius Bruiser: He's introduced as a stoic, barbaric-looking giant of a man. And then it turns out he speaks Troll, knows Troll magic, has an at least cursory knowledge of a wide variety of topics ("not much else to do in the winter back home") as well as a fantastic sense of humor.
Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Completely subverted when he is axed in the head in the Siege of Chyrellos (see Tap On The Head below). The only reason he survives at all is his exceptionally tough ogre-horned helmet.

Hypocrite: Played with regarding his Catchphrase, "I hate sieges". When it's pointed how he's quite well versed in siegecraft, and that he's usually the first to suggest they fortify their position and such, his reply is basically "Yeah, but that doesn't mean I like them." Mainly played for laughs.
Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Usually carries a shield in his offhand, though he discards it during the battle against the Dawn-Men, and any other time when he needs to use his axe with both hands.
Magic Knight: Brutal fighter, expert in not only Styric, but Troll magic.
The Mentor: Mentors Berit in how to properly use an axe.

Only Sane Man: In Sarsos, he's the only knight who's not affected by the indignation caused by the sight of the local, free Styrics, and actually manage to distract and cheer Bevier up with a joke.

Tap on the Head: Subverted. He gets hit on the head by a Rendor with a battle axe and spends several chapters very confused and lying in a bed.

Ehlana

The Queen of Elenia since the death of her father, King Aldreas. Ehlana was poisoned because she refused to be a puppet like her father was; curing this is the focus of the first books. She is a forceful and effective ruler when healthy. She was in love with Sparhawk since her earliest childhood, when he was her caretaker.

Good Bad Girl: While a very good and kind woman, she herself admits that she shares some of her aunt Arissa's... passion. She quite regularly stages arguments with Sparhawk, sometimes flamboyant ones, just for the makeup sex (Sephrenia is somewhat surprised upon finding out that a long and furious tirade was nothing but an "invitation to the bedroom").
Good Is Not Nice: While good, she's an excellent politician, and very ruthless and manipulative when it comes to politics.

Wife Husbandry: She decided at a mere five years old that she would marry Sparhawk ^note, and even started to make schemes at the time, until when she came of age she was quite able to systematically eliminate every possible escape route he had.

Elenium Main Antagonists

Annias

The Primate of Cimmura and the most powerful churchman in Elenia, he's the mastermind behind what appears to be a power play for the throne.

Big Bad Wannabe: Would really like to be the main villain of the series and initially appears to be, but he's completely outclassed by both Martel and Azash.
Dirty Old Monk: It's revealed that Lycheas is his bastard. With Princess Arissa.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Goes out of his way to bring his family (Arissa and Lycheas) with him to Zemoch.
Face–Heel Turn: As noted by Vanion, Annias used to be a good, if zealous priest back when he was young and before falling to the dark side.
Family-Unfriendly Death: Azash picks him up and squeezes him to death like a piece of wet fabric.

The Heavy: Thwarting his ambitions take up a good portion of the first and third books, but he's little more than an expendable pawn to Azash.
Hijacked by Ganon: He starts off as the apparent Big Bad in The Elenium but actually the plot derives from the returning Azash, who wants another crack at Bhelliom.
Idiot Ball: Actually justified:since he's being manipulated by Azash, who is used to dealing with simple-minded Styrics, his early schemes appear clumsy and predictable to the much more sophisticated Elenes. When left to his own devices later on, he's far more effective.

Tragic Villain: In the final act of the first book, Sparhawk sneaks on Annias, wearing a humble friar robe and praying with a tormented look on his face, implying that, deep down, he feel remorse for his actions.

Martel

"I made my choice, Sparhawk. I won't demean myself by changing it now."

A former Pandion Knight known for his sublime skills and shock of white hair. He was exiled from the order in the backstory for dabbling in forbidden magic and now acts as a highly-trained mercenary - and Sparhawk's rival, his equal in every way.

Achilles' Heel: He broke his shoulder back when he was a youth, and since then that shoulder has become sensitive to pain. Sparhawk intentionally pats him on said shoulder several times when they're pretending to be good friends in front of Arasham.
Affably Evil: Martel's unfailingly polite to everyone he speaks to, and doesn't go out of his way to be a sadist. He's still a totally ruthless, amoral son-of-a-bitch.
Alas, Poor Villain: As he's dying after being run through by Sparhawk, he mends fences with Sephrenia and confesses he's going out surrounded by the only people he's ever loved.
Antagonist in Mourning: Is genuinely shocked and saddened when he finds out that Adus killed Kurik and offers his apologies to Sparhawk and his widow.
Archenemy: To Sparhawk. There is no one, not Annias, not Azash, whom Sparhawk hates more, and it's certainly personal, with Martel holding Sparhawk responsible for his disgrace and eviction from the Pandion Order.
Armor-Piercing Attack: During their climactic duel, Sparhawk figures out that Martel's heavy Deiran armour provides him with an admirable level of protection, but it also slows him down and wears him out. Sparhawk puts this to immediate use, launching a complex attack that requires rapid countermoves. When Martel can't keep up, Sparhawk is able to land a fatal blow.
Best Served Cold: Even years after being stripped of his knighthood and exiled, Martel is still motivated by a desire for revenge, namely against Sparhawk.
Bling of War: Buys a fancy suit of gilded Deiran armor shortly before the siege of Chyrellos after realizing that he had a huge amount of ill-gotten gains lying around that he barely spent. The armor ends up killing him - during his duel with Sparhawk the weight of all that extra-thick steel and decoration tires him out faster than usual, allowing Sparhawk to land the killing blow.
Card-Carrying Villain: Martel is fully aware that he's the villain of the story, repeatedly commenting that after Vanion and Sparhawk stripped him of his honour, he had nothing else left.

Cutting the Knot: In the first book, Martel has managed to become the trusted adviser of the Rendor prophet Arasham and plans to make him invade the continent to further Martel's plans. Sparhawk manages to convince Arasham that he represents a group of Elenes sympathetic to Arasham's cause, making the prophet determined to wait with his invasion until Sparhawk sends word that he's ready to support him. Cue the third book, where Arasham turns out to have suffered an unfortunate accident, and now the Rendor heretics are invading the continent under the leadership of Arasham's disciple Ulesim... assisted by his trusted adviser Martel, of course.
The Cynic: Following his expulsion from the Pandions Martel has given up on everything save money and power.
The Dark Arts: His dabbling in these in the backstory got him thrown out of the Pandion Order and set the stage for his grudge against Sparhawk. In the backstory, Sephrenia made an appeal to the Styric Gods, who stripped him of his more significant powers; during the story proper he's gotten a workaround thanks to some voluntary cooperation from Azash, who has his creatures aid Martel.
Death by Irony: His new armour slows him down enough to give Sparhawk and edge in their final duel. Martel himself acknowledges the irony of the situation as he dies.
Dragon-in-Chief: Martel is much, much more dangerous than Annias, the apparent ringleader of the plot against Ehlana. He's effectively this for Otha and Azash, too, since he understands people and they do not. Ultimately, in terms of intelligence, he's probably the most dangerous antagonist in the Elenium trilogy.
Duel to the Death: Fights one against Sparhawk in order to buy time for Azash to recover his focus.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Nearly chokes Annias when the latter badmouths Sephrenia.

Evil Former Friend: He and Sparhawk were friends when they were part of the Pandion Order together.
Graceful Loser: Takes his final defeat very well, in contrast to Azash.
Greed: Martel is extremely greedy, and cannot believe his greed is not universal.
Hired Guns: After being thrown out of the Pandion Order, Martel set himself up as a mercenary. He's got contacts throughout Cammoria, Lamorkand, and Rendor, and can raise an army at a moment's notice.
Hoist by His Own Petard: When Martel and Sparhawk finally duke it out, they're evenly matched. The deciding factor? Martel came in wearing a huge suit of gilded armour - and it's so heavy it exhausts him and slows him down just enough for Sparhawk to land the killing blow. When Sparhawk points this out, Martel invokes the trope on his deathbed.
Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: The final duel between he and Sparhawk. They even take a break to catch their breaths and chat a little.
Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Always carries a shield in his offhand.
Magic Knight: One of the only characters who can match Sparhawk in a swordfight, he's also a talented summoner of demons.
The Man Behind the Man: Rather "The Man In Front Of The Man". Annias thinks that he's in charge, but Martel is much more dangerous and during their escape from Chyrellos makes it clear to Annias that he, and not the Primate of Cimmura, is really in control.
Manipulative Bastard: Ruthlessly and effectively manipulates Arasham, Ulesim, Baron Alstrom and his son, Count Gerrich and his nephews, Sir Perraine, and even Annias.
Master Swordsman: One of the few characters who can match Sparhawk in this regard. During a breather in their final duel, they talk shop about how each other's respective techniques have evolved over the years and agree that Vanion would have some choice words for both of them.
Nice to the Waiter: Remembered by a Pelosian innkeeper as a nice enough fellow (though the innkeeper could not say the same for Adus).
Only in It for the Money: What he claims, though power and revenge are certainly motivations as well.
The Paladin: Inverted. As a former member of the Pandion Order turned outcast and servant of Azash, Martel is the antithesis of everything a paladin should be. If this were Dungeons & Dragons, he'd be an antipaladin or blackguard.
The Paragon Always Rebels: Martel was one of the best swordsmen and lancers that the Pandion Order ever produced, matched only by Sparhawk, and was likely the latter's superior when it came to magic and politics. He's of course the one who rebelled and had to be run out of the Order.
Private Military Contractors: Martel is a one-man PMC, capable of having an army in the field at the request of any client.
The Resenter: Martel's towering resentment towards the Order that disowned him is at the core of his motivation.
Revenge: Wants revenge against the Pandion Order in general and Sparhawk in particular.

Summon Magic: Has a thing for calling up Azash's creatures, most notably his tame Damork in the backstory. Sephrenia stripped him of the worst of his powers when he was exiled from the Pandion Order. During the series proper, he has contact with a Damork that Azash set to aid him but he doesn't command it, it just cooperates with him. According to Martel in a moment when he isn't inclined to lie, it shows up when it shows up and he doesn't know where it is otherwise.
Villainous Valour: According to Martel, he never had any doubts that Sparhawk was a better swordsman than he was. That did not stop him from challenging Sparhawk to a duel to buy time for Azash to awaken.
White Hair, Black Heart: Martel's white hair, which he's had since his twenties, is his distinguishing mark, and he's easily the worst person to ever come out of the Pandion Order.
Worthy Opponent: Martel can do everything Sparhawk can do and then some. It's repeatedly pointed out that no knight could really equal Sparhawk - except Martel.

Krager

The more cunning of Martel's two lieutenants. Krager is a shifty drunkard Martel entrusts with things too complicated for Adus to wrap his head around.

The Alcoholic: Deconstructed Trope: Would be a Karma Houdini, but his excessive drinking means he's got about another six months before dying painfully.
The Confidant: Part of his job is being the one person Martel can confide in when he gets lonely, seeing as Adus can barely talk.

Functional Addict: Ultimately subverted. Krager's functional enough despite his alcoholism, but by the end of The Tamuli his mind is going.
Karma Houdini: Subverted. Everyone is furious about Krager getting away, but it's irrelevant—his alcoholism has finally caught up to him and he has about half a year to live before liver failure and his fraying sanity kill him.
The Man Behind the Man: Revealed to be this to Martel in The Tamuli. Or so he claims - it's strongly implied he's exaggerating his role and importance in Martel's plans.
Not So Harmless: Turns out he was much more dangerous than he looks, and he can even speak Styric. Though to what extent this is true is up for debate—he's pretty clearly exaggerating his influence.

Sanity Slippage: As of the end of The Tamuli Krager's mind is finally going, the result of decades of alcoholism.

Trademark Favorite Food: Krager will take whatever booze he can get, but his drink of choice is Arcian red wine, and he'll pay top dollar to get it.

Adus

Kalten: "Adus is easy. Just put armour on a gorilla and you've got him."

The more brutal of Martel's two lieutenants. Adus is a massive barbarian Martel keeps around for when he needs things killed. He's notable for looking and sounding like an ape and for being basically a walking butcher knife.

Armour Is Useless: Played with, then justified. Adus' rusty, mismatched armour successfully wards off sword strokes and even blows from Kurik's flail, but it doesn't fit well enough to properly protect his lower back, enabling Talen to shank him in the kidneys.
Axe-Crazy: Violently and dangerously insane, Adus is a threat to everybody, whether you are an enemy or ally.
Bad Boss: Cuts through his own men to get to Kalten and Sparhawk.
The Berserker: Frequently descends into Unstoppable Rages during which he becomes even more deadly than usual.
Blood Knight: The guy is obsessed with gore and gratuitous violence, and even eats raw meat.
The Brute: A pretty archetypal example. Big, stupid, violent, obsessed with hurting people, totally without empathy, and subordinate to The Dragon.
Cold-Blooded Torture: Enjoys killing people slowly.
Decapitation Presentation: Sparhawk cuts his head off after helping Talen finish him, then has Kalten throw it at Martel's feet the next time they meet.
Dirty Coward: When lucid Adus will flee the moment he's injured. When he's not, see The Berserker, above.

Feel No Pain: A side effect of his berserker rage. During his duel with Kurik, Adus completely ignores several crushing blows from the squire's mace-and-chain, seemingly unable to even register he has been struck. It's not until Talen skewers him in the kidneys that his sense of pain returns (and in a big way at that).
Frazetta Man: Constantly described as looking like a gorilla, to the point where it becomes something of a running joke. When the heroes are distributing images of the villains to the people who'll be keeping an eye out for them, Kalten notes they don't need to bother creating a picture of Adus, then gives the quote from above.
Hero Killer: A feared combatant, he cuts down both Sir Parasim and Kurik.
Idiot Savant: Adus is almost unbearably stupid, but he's a gifted warrior and small-unit tactician. Give him an axe, and a manageable number of soldiers, and Adus becomes a force to be reckoned with.
In the Back: How Talen disables him, stabbing him first in the kidneys and then the back of the knee.

Kick Them While They Are Down: After mortally wounding Kurik he contemptuously kicks him across the room.

Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Usually carries a shield in his offhand, though he throws it away during his fight against Kurik so that he can use his axe with both hands.
The Mentally Disturbed: Adus can barely speak, eats raw meat, and doesn't bathe. He's got no grasp of appropriate social behaviour, and descends into a rage at a moment's notice. It's not hard to conclude that he is both intellectually disabled and mentally ill.
Mental Handicap, Moral Deficiency: The characters don't have the language to describe it, living as they do in a medieval society, but Adus is clearly mentally challenged, as evidenced by his struggles with speech, literacy, and hygiene. He's also one of the most evil characters in the story.

The Pig-Pen: To the point that Kalten stated that if they kill him, they'll have to wash him first, or the ground will spit him out. In The Tamuli Kalten notes that his distinctive fragrance made him useless as a spy.

Sanity Slippage: Adus was never sane, but by the time he confronts Sparhawk, Kurik, and Kalten near the climax of The Sapphire Rose there's nothing left save a screaming monster who will hack his way through his own troops to reach Kalten.
Say My Name: Kalten! which he roars as he hacks his way through his own men to reach the Pandion in question.

Serial Rapist: Adus will rape any woman he can get his hands on, and started a war in Lamorkand by getting his soldiers to gangrape Count Gerrich's sister.
Smarter Than You Look: Downplayed. Adus is very stupid, but he's not quite as stupid as his barely intelligible speech, apelike mannerisms, and lack of cleanliness would imply. This is how he's able to beat Kurik—the squire doesn't realise that Adus is setting him up for a fatal blow, because, well, it's Adus, and you don't expect that from him.
Villains Want Mercy: Begs Sparhawk and Talen not to kill him once he's been disabled.

Lycheas

The bastard prince of Cimmura, a spineless coward manipulated by Annias.

Butt-Monkey: No one even gives him respect. Not even his own supporters.

Off with His Head!: How Ulath puts him out of his misery.
Prince Charmless: A pathetic, spineless jackass who resembles an eel more than a man. When Annias suggested that Ehlana marry him she laughed in his face.

Arissa

The lascivous princess of Cimmura, mother of Lycheas.

Better to Die than Be Killed: Drinks poison when she sees Ulath ready to chop her head off. As it turns out, dying of poison isn't actually as painless as getting decapitated.

Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She definitely cares about her son, Lycheas, and while she and Annias have their differences, she's aghast when he dies.
Really Gets Around: Slept with nearly all the male population of Cimmura, and according to the following trilogy, she seduced Annias when she was twelve. Strongly implied to be a genuine Nymphomaniac in a world that doesn't recognize the condition.

The Seeker

One of the most dangerous servants of Azash, he takes the form of a disgusting man-sized insect capable of following his victims everywhere and putting the people he bites under mind control.

Big Creepy-Crawlies: Resembles a large, vaguely humanoid bug with four limbs and wings.
I Am a Humanitarian: Feeds on people by sucking them dry.
Mind Control: He turns everyone he bites into a mindless zombie puppet. The Seeker himself is controlled by Azash.
Muscles Are Meaningless: He's extremely thin, but can still send Kalten flying with a mere touch.
One-Winged Angel: How he's actually beaten: Flute casts a spell to make him evolve into his next stage... as a mouthless, winged bug whose only thought is to breed and will eventually die in a week, looking for a mate.
Power Glows: There's an eerie, sickly green glow coming from under his hood.
Scarily Competent Tracker: Can follow scents, even while on a galloping horse, with such certainty that the only way to make him lose the trail is to go across water. It can see in darkness and even in fog.

Weaksauce Weakness: Certain kinds of chemical smoke, because of his sensitive breathing apparatus.

Ghwerig

"Flee weak Man-Thing. All flesh is food for me."

The Troll who first carved Bhelliom into the shape of a rose, Ghwerig is a grotesquely disfigured dwarf who was lucky to survive childhood. Thousands of years old, he has a long-standing grudge against Aphrael, and anybody else who tries to steal his "blue-rose".

Achilles' Heel: Due to his deformed body he can't move around very fast and his flanks are vulnerable.
Badass Boast: See the page quote, and "Sparhawk-from-Elenia should have brought a hundred." Also, he threatens to cook and eat Azash.

Defiant to the End: Jumps off a cliff with a roar of triumph, Bhelliom in hand.
Depraved Dwarf: Thoroughly evil, and badly dwarfed, though since most Trolls stand nine-feet tall, this means he's still the size of Ulath.
Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Yes, he loudly threatens to hunt Azash, roast him and eat him, but the catch is: Azash himself was listening and reacted with a small earthquake. As Sephrenia notes "you almost have to admire that twisted thing out there. No one has ever thrown that kind of insult into the face of one of the Elder Gods."
Evil Cripple: His shoulders and hips don't turn right, his arms are twisted at odd angles, his back is crooked, and his legs are badly stunted. He can't swim, can barely stand, and it can take him days to climb any sort of sloped surface.
Genius Cripple: By Troll standards anyway. Ghwerig may be handicapped but he's far smarter than any of the other Trolls we meet, being capable of mining, metalworking, and gem-carving, working out deals with the Troll-Gods despite not being a priest, and having an actual understanding of the world outside his cave.
Greed: Loves treasure and is consumed with the need to be surrounded by wealth. This is mostly to fill the hole in his life left by being all alone.
Handicapped Badass: Can barely stand, yet proves to be the most physically dangerous adversary Sparhawk encounters over the course of all three books, besting both he and Kurik in a two-on-one fight and only losing when Aphrael intervenes. Sparhawk admits to himself halfway through the fight that he and Kurik are badly outmatched.
Hard Head: Takes a blow from Kurik's chain mace to the skull and pretty much ignores it.
Improvised Weapon: Smashes his club against his treasure horde, turning gold and gems into improvised projectiles.
I'm a Humanitarian: Threatens to eat, in no particular order, Azash, Aphrael, Sparhawk, and Kurik. Given that he's a Troll, that's not just an idle threat.
Loners Are Freaks: Avoided by all other Trolls due to his dwarfing and greed.
Made Of Titanium: Is bashed several times with a flail and impaled with a magical spear, but he only dies due to Disney Death. This is mostly due to Troll physiology, with a dose of his own personal crazy thrown in for good measure.
Non-Indicative Name: "Dwarf" for a Troll means "he's still taller than Sparhawk".
Villainous Valour: Easily the bravest antagonist Sparhawk encounters.
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: In reality, he is maddened by the loss of Bhelliom, and he devotes most of the rest of his life to searching for it, and he eventually finds it, but is killed by Sparhawk and Kurik. Even they feel a little sorry for him when he sobs about how lonely he is.

Otha

The Emperor of Zemoch, he was once a simple shepherd who stumbled upon the idol containing Azash, and became his servant in exchange for power and luxury, not to mention immortality.

Co-Dragons: To Azash, alongside Martel. He's his longest-running servant, and rules Zemoch for him.

Family-Unfriendly Death: Azash grabs him with his tentacles and squeeze and twists him like a wet piece of fabric.
Fat Bastard: He's so incredibly obese he has to be carried around by a squad of slaves.
Fat Idiot: Turns out, he's much less of a threat than anyone thought if his use of the undead guards is anything to go by.
From Nobody to Nightmare: From an oafish shepherd nobody knew to an equally oafish sorcerous overlord feared everywhere.
Immortality Immorality: Spends hundreds of years indulging in banquets, orgies and other depravities.
Necromancer: The front gate of his palace is guarded by an army of zombie soldiers.... who're arranged on a series of squared tiles and only attack whoever steps on said tiles, making them easy to avoid. To make matters worse, he didn't make them selective in their targets, so when a guard is pushed it lands on another guard, and the Disaster Dominoes ensue.
Orcus on His Throne: Due to the fact that he's so fat he can't even move from said throne.
Paper Tiger: For ages both the Elenes and the Styrics have been scared by a complete moron.
Sadist: We're told Otha enjoys watching people die.
Unskilled, but Strong: Otha's a moron with no concept of how to properly use his magic. Despite this, he can still go one-on-one with Sephrenia in a Wizard Duel due to the sheer amount of power he possesses because he's on a direct tap from Azash.

Azash

The evil Elder God of Styricum who was emasculated and sealed inside a clay idol. He's the main villain behind the events of the first trilogy and eventually the final enemy.

Archnemesis Dad: Thanks to an accident of chance, when Aphrael willed herself into existence, she made herself Azash's daughter. Azash often appeals to this to try and control her, but Aphrael does not care.

Beam-O-War: Engages in one against Sparhawk and the Bhelliom, and ultimately loses thanks to Berit throwing Bevier's axe at him.
Big Bad: Of The Elenium. Everything that Annias, Martel, the Damork, and the Seeker do can be traced back to him.

Combat Tentacles: Has an unspecified number of tentacles departing from his massive shoulders.
Crippling Castration: It's implied that the emasculation reduced his powers.
Eldritch Abomination: Even older than the known gods, he's sort of a twisted mass of pure greed and desire.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Azash is completely incapable of comprehending any sort of positive human emotion or desire.

Final Boss: He's the last foe Sparhawk confronts in The Elenium after slaying Martel.
Groin Attack: Was emasculated by Aphrael before being sealed. His idol still carries the scar.
Living Statue: Both his giant exterior shell and his real, pathetic clay form.
Lust: For power, sex, freedom, you name it. Azash is prone to all seven of the deadly sins, but this is the one that dominates him.
The Old Gods: He's one of the Elder Gods of Styricum, predating the Younger Gods by eons.
Sadist: When bloodlust and sexual perversion are a part of your portfolio, this is going to happen. Azash craves the suffering of his followers.
Sealed Evil in a Can: He's sealed inside a clay idol. Interestingly, it's said that if another clay idol is made and enchanted in the right way he can manifest in that idol as well.
Sympathy for the Devil: Sparhawk expresses a momentary pang of sympathy for the pathetic clay sculpture that is the real Azash, before obliterating him.

Elenium Secondary Characters

Flute/Aphrael

Apparently a Styric orphan, later revealed to be a Styric goddess.

Anti-Hero: Aphrael's morality is complex. She is a Goddess in a polytheistic universe where Gods Need Prayer Badly is in play, and she therefore competes with other Gods for worshippers. Her chosen form is that of an adorable little six year old girl, but it is frequently implied that her preference for said form is primarily due to its' effectiveness for psychological manipulation. Although she is on the side of the protagonists, (and does genuinely love several of the other characters, as well as being much kinder than the series' antagonists) she is still also very much a 4D Chessmaster who is playing a Long Game.
Beware the Nice Ones: She's a good-natured, affectionate Cuddle Bug... and the goddess who castrated the Elder God Azash to break his power when his evil got out of hand.
Cute Mute: For the first half of the Elenium, because she didn't feel like letting the knights know she could talk.
Deliberately Cute Child: Her favorite form, because she can get people (and other gods) to kiss her that way. She indicates Danae will be something of a new experience for her, as she can't really get away with not growing up in that form.
Flashy Teleportation: Invoked as a joke after people complain about her Stealthy Teleportation leading to Stealth Hi/Bye. The next time, she manifests with a celestial fanfare and shower of divine light.

Stealthy Teleportation: Allows her to perform repeated Stealth Hi/Bye. When people complain, she plays a joke and deliberate does Flashy Teleportation with a celestial fanfare and shower of divine light.
Trickster God: Steals the rings that let Ghwerig control Bhelliom well, that's what he thinks right off the Troll's fingers. It's implied that this wasn't the first time Aphrael played thief. Implies to Sparhawk that it's one of the reasons she chose Talen as her husband as Danae.

Platime

The chief of all the rogues, harlots and thieves of Cimmura. Courtesy of an old debt he's an ally of Sparhawk's and eventually joins the Elenian council.

Anti-Hero: He's a criminal and has committed many sins, but he still helps the good guys nevertheless.
Even Evil Has Standards: Played for laughs. Asked if there are any crimes he has never committed, he racks his brain and comes up with four: barratry, bestiality, witchcraft and treason.
List of Transgressions: Lists them himself when asking Ehlana for a pardon. "There were a few incidental murders, assorted thefts, robberies, extortions, burglaries, arsons, smuggling, highway robbery, cattle rustling, pillaging a couple of monasteries, operating unlicensed brothels—that sort of thing."
Lovable Rogue: Would be a Fat Bastard if he wasn't a man of honor.
Non-Action Guy: Used to be the best burglar of all Cimmura before getting so obese.
The Pardon: Granted one by Ehlana in exchange for his service to the crown. Though she uses Exact Words to rope him into a lifetime of government service.
Trading Bars for Stripes: An amusing proactive version, Platime became a general in Ehlana’s home guard in exchange for the above pardon, underestimating the queen when he didn’t realize she had him for as long as she needed him...

Stragen

The leader of the rogues of Thalesia, he's the bastard son of a nobleman, which bothers him to no end. He joins the group with his for the last book and becomes a full-blown member of the party in the following trilogy.

Ascended Extra: Plays a minor role in the first trilogy, but becomes an official protagonist in the sequel trilogy.
Cultured Badass: Noble, polyglot and affable, he's also the best thief in the world, and an excellent fencer.

Lovable Rogue: He's quite up front that he's a thief, murderer, swindler, patricide, and other things besides, but he's just so darn charming and helpful you can't help but like him.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers an awesome one to the racist Styric council of Sarsos, giving them a verbal, well-deserved beatdown and forcing them to side with the heroes by pointing out that, if they don't, the Elenes will use this as an excuse to exterminate them all. Many characters were impressed.

You Killed My Mother: Subverted, even though he resented his father for abandoning his mother, he did not blamed him for her demise. After all, she choked to death on a fish bone.

Dolmant

Dolmant is the Patriarch of Demos. He served a novitiate with the Pandions before entering the priesthood, a fact he tries to conceal.

Nice Guy: Dolmant's a good dude who really cares about people. His introduction sets the tone as a kindly, fatherly spiritual leader with a bit of gentle snark and wit in there to round him out; he'd rather set people the right way with a mild jibe and a compliment to encourage someone along rather than reprimand or shame them. There's an exchange with Kurik, who he knows quite well, where he asks Kurik if he's been to church lately. Kurik, visibly embarrassed because he's not a regular church-goer, says "Whenever there's time, Your Grace." And Dolmant's reply is "Excellent! I'm sure God's always glad to see you."
Oh, Crap!: When he realizes that Ehlana basically forced him to be the new Archprelate.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Dolmant is willing to bend the rules to make things come out right, and allows and even encourages his subordinates' subterfuges to that end.
Retired Badass: Used to be a Pandion novice, and was even a match for Sparhawk's father.
Took a Level in Jerkass: In the second trilogy, though it's implied that he's simply stressed due to his role as Archprelate.

Emban

The Patriarch of Ucera is a jolly, witty churchman who carries as much weight literally as he does figuratively. He is a mover and shaker in the Church, known for his political acumen.

Big Fun: Emban fills the stereotype of the jolly fat man.
Deadpan Snarker: He has a sarcastic word for most everyone.
Farm Boy: He's not a farmboy himself, but has similar humble origins—Emban's father was a tavern keeper. Unlike many other churchmen who come from nobility, Emban is a commoner by blood and rose in the ranks of the Church by talent.
Guile Hero: He makes his way by wits and diplomacy.
My Rule Fu Is Stronger than Yours: He publicly embarrasses Makova, Annias' chief representative and crony in the Hierocracy, by a series of legal technicalities and doesn't even have to think hard to do it.
Nice Guy: Sure, he's snarky and you definitely don't want to argue against him in a courtroom or when he's got an audience, but he's a kindly man. He also makes a special point, after a war, to open the Church's grain stores to the general public because he doesn't like to see people go hungry.

Ortzel

Patriarch of Kadach in Lamorkand, Ortzel is a rigid and fanatical churchman. He is the primary candidate for the Archprelacy among those opposing Annias.

Characterization Marches On: When we first see him he's grumpy, fanatical and stubborn. After spending some time with the Church Knights and later in Chyrellos he mellows out considerably.
Good Is Not Nice: He's strict and dogmatic, but he's a good person at heart, and surely a much better choice than Annias.
The Fundamentalist: Ortzel is utterly dogmatic, and declares his intention to end the Church Knights' practice of 'witchcraft' when he is Archprelate. He mellows out considerably once he actually meets some Church Knights and Styrics and sees their magic firsthand.
Know-Nothing Know-It-All: His hatred for sorcery is not backed by actual knowledge of how said sorcery works; he thought it was all deception and charlatanry. To his credit, upon witnessing spellcasting for real he admits that he has to reconsider his views and prejudices and goes to pray for guidance.
Mr. Exposition: In the second trilogy he tells the heroes the story of Drychtnath.
When He Smiles: Usually a Perpetual Frowner, a faint half-smile makes him look like a kindly, loving father and Emban advises him to practice that exact smile in a mirror.

Wargun

The King of Thalesia, Wargun is a thoroughly capable politician whose excessive drinking nonetheless makes him an unreliable and uneasy ally to the protagonists.

The Alcoholic: Wargun is almost always drunk, and the scenes in which he's not slurring words are few and far between.
Foreshadowing: During one conversation Sephrenia tells Wargun that if they give Krager 10,000 gold crowns he'll drink himself to death in a few months. Wargun doesn't think this sounds like a punishment and is told by Sephrenia that he might want to stop by an asylum sometime and watch the process. Ultimately, this is what happens to Wargun himself.
Functional Addict: Subverted in the end. Wargun's a very competent king and general when he's sober, but his periods of sobriety grow fewer and farther between, and by The Tamuli his alcoholism has destroyed his mind.
Sanity Slippage: By the end of The Elenium Wargun's mind is starting to go. By The Tamuli he's been locked in a wing of his palace, where he spends all his time raving.

Kring

The Domi (leader) of the Peloi riders, Tynian gets his friendship fairly quickly by knowing Peloi customs and speaking to Kring respectfully. He falls in love with Mirtai and follows the heroes to the Tamul Empire in the sequel trilogy.

Politically Incorrect Hero: Asks Sparhawk if he's allowed to loot the dead, rape the local women, and set fire to buildings during the Deiran campaign.

Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: The tiny guy to Mirtai's huge girl. He somewhat of somewhat shorter than average height, while she's a giantess.

Bergsten

The Patriarch of Emsat, Bergsten is an enormous, loud-voiced man who wears chainmail and an Ogre-horned helmet and carries a large axe.

Badass Preacher: He talks loudly and carries a big ax. He and the Preceptor of the Genidian Knights, Komier, were novices together in the knighthood in their younger days. When Komier objects to Bergsten's strong-arm treatment of their forces and says Bergsten was bossy even when they were novices before Bergsten put on a cassock, Bergsten says he can take his cassock off any time Komier wants to settle the issue. Komier wisely doesn't take him up on it.
Church Militant: Was once a Genidian Knight, and he's absolutely willing to don his chainmail and take his axe up when he thinks it's warranted. He is eventually appointed into a new role, a patriarch set to oversee and coordinate the four militant orders on behalf of the Archprelate.
Only-Child Syndrome: Ulath says the mountainous Patriarch Bergsten grew so big because he was an only child and didn't have fight nine siblings for his dinner.
Reasonable Authority Figure: While crossing Zemoch, he orders his subordinates to feed some hungry natives, claiming that they're just poor devils and that their enemy really was Azash, not them.
Religious Bruiser: His size impresses Ulath, he gets his way by yelling and waving an axe, and he's a Patriarch of the Church.

Mirtai

An Atana who was separated from her people by a slave raid in her childhood and eventually wound up as a personal assistant to Queen Ehlana. She is fanatically (and violently) devoted to her mistress' safety and honor, and will brutally kill anyone she even suspects of violating either.

Action Girl: Like all Atans, she is utterly deadly. She wears blades strapped to her arms and legs at all times, and goes as heavily armed as she can get away with.
Bodyguard Babes: Only one, but she can kick as much ass all by herself as the average Amazon Brigade.
The Fettered: Atans in general are this, but Mirtai's Fetters are a bit more personal. The Atans enslaved their whole culture so that someone else would have a check on their violent impulses, and Mirtai's slavery to Ehlana serves the same purpose. She notes that left to her own devices she'd have killed half the court within her first few weeks there. And not even because she necessarily wanted to, either. It's just that when one of them (for example) offers her the unforgivable insult of allowing his shadow to fall upon her (which he didn't even KNOW was an insult), the only way her honor can allow it to go unanswered is for her owner to command it.
Improvised Weapon: In her childhood, she managed to turn a spoon into a deadly weapon and killed a slave-owner, who tried to rape her, with it. After that, she carried the spoon with her as both a memento and a hidden weapon.
Little Miss Badass: In her backstory, we learn that she killed two men at the age of six (slavers who were kidnapping her). She doesn't slow down after that.
Statuesque Stunner: Stands about six-and-a-half feet tall.
Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: Stands about six-and-a-half feet tall. Marries Kring, who stands somewhat below average height.

Arasham

The illiterate, fanatical religious leader of Rendor's Eshandist Heresy, Arasham rules the desert nation with a grip so total that, in the words of Sir Voren, he makes Otha of Zemoch look like a liberal.

High Priest: Holds this position within Eshandism. Since the King of Rendor's power doesn't extend outside the capital city of Zand he's effectively the real ruler of Rendor as well.
The Theocracy: Under his control Rendor is somewhere between this and rule-by-mob.

Well-Intentioned Extremist: It's easy to forget, but Arasham believes the Elene Church is a Corrupt Church that imperils the souls of all those it "oppresses", and that he is going to liberate them. In an act of supreme irony, the willingness of many churchmen to vote for Annias means Arasham's not far wrong either. The Eshandist Heresy got its start during an even more corrupt period in the church's history, something Sparhawk acknowledges in a talk with Dolmant.

Ulesim

Most-Favored-Disciple-Of-Holy-Arasham, who never heard of him. Ulesim is an unwashed, incoherent fanatic, utterly devoted to the schismatic Eshandist version of the Elene Church. After Arasham's death, Ulesim succeeds him as spiritual leader of the Eshandists.

Dragon Ascendant: Invoked and subverted. Ulesim claims to be this, but Arasham had never heard of him.
The Fundamentalist: Ulesim sees absolutely everything through the lens of his peculiar religious beliefs.
High Priest: Takes Arasham's old job as spiritual leader of the Eshandist heresy—though his control over his followers doesn't match Arasham's.
Killed Mid-Sentence: Kurik puts a crossbow bolt through his head while he's in the middle of a speech.

Sorgi

A Cammorian merchant captain. Sparhawk first meets him when he needs to sail to Thalesia, using a cover story involving a forced marriage to a comically ugly woman.

The Captain: Sorgi owns his ship and there is no question who's in charge aboard it.
Father Neptune: Sorgi is elderly and graying, but is widely known as one of the best shipmasters around, and can adapt to most any maritime problem.
Running Gag: Every time he meets Sparhawk, reference is made to the tall tale Sparhawk told him to justify his secrecy.

The Troll Gods

The five Troll Gods are Ghworg, the God of Kill, Ghnomb, the God of Eat, Schlee, the God of Ice, Khwaj, the God of Fire, and Zoka, the God of 'Mating' (The Trolls probably use a cruder word). They were bound into the Bhelliom by Ghwerig in order to hide from the Younger Gods of Styricum. While powerful, they are more limited than other gods due to their limited intellect and extremely elemental personalities.

An Ice Person: Schlee possesses power over ice and blizzards, and has a snow falling on him wherever he goes.
Almighty Idiot: The Bhelliom notes that they are rather crude and incomplete on their own, but when they join forces and work together as one they become a force to be reckoned with.
Anthropomorphic Personification: All five of them embody their respective spheres, which together comprise all there is to Troll life.
Everyone Has Standards: They may be monsters with alien morality, but even they thought that kidnapping Ehlana was an incredibly low move.
A Fate Worse Than Death: Khwaj inflicts this on two bad guys, including Zalasta, by setting them ablaze and imprisoning them in the Timeless Space of Ghnomb so that they'll burn forever, unable to interact with the outside world.
Insane Troll Logic: Why can Tynian and Ulath be in the "time of broken moments" and be jumped slightly through time so they exist in only the smallest, tiniest fraction of every moment rendering them unable to be seen/heard by anyone else, and yet perfectly see and understand everyone else they are trying to spy on? Because the Troll God Ghnomb thinks it works that way.

Playing with Fire: Khwaj's shtick, he's able to summon flames and communicate or spy on people through flamescreens. He also has a penchant for punishing people by setting them ablaze for all eternity.
Super-Senses: Ghworg is able to see across the whole continent of Tamul just by looking at the horizon. Justified in that he's a god, after all.
Time Stands Still: Ghnomb can do this, by allowing people to travel in the suspended space between one second and the following. It has some drawbacks, namely the fact that you cannot interact with anything nor hear anything. Until Ghnomb decides that they can, because that's how he thinks it should work.

The God of the Elenes

The founder of the Elene church, officially worshiped by the Church Knights as well as most of the world, often referred to as simply "God", even though he's not the only god. The single most powerful god in the setting, but also the least actively involved in events. Presents the image of being a monotheistic deity, but this really isn't the case.

All-Powerful Bystander: Possibly justified, since there's no indication in the Elene faith that their god does anything, beyond having created the world, judging the dead, and managing the afterlife. No actual miracles or divine acts are attributed to him. Instead, the Elene god in their faith basically just exists to be worshipped, and is not expected to actually do anything.
Fantastic Catholicism: His church is clearly based on Catholicism, with the only notable exception being the lack of a Jesus Christ figure.
The Ghost: Never puts in a single appearance.
The Gods Must Be Lazy: He definitely exists, and is far more powerful than any other deity (excluding creator-spirits like Bhelliom and Klæl) but He does absolutely nothing tangible during the events of both trilogies.
Grumpy Old Man: According to Aphrael He's something of a stuffy grouch, who gets annoyed by the childish Tamuli gods when they meet at divine parties.
He Who Must Not Be Seen: Never appears or directly communicates to his followers.
Top God: Subverted - the Elenes believe Him to be an omnipotent supreme being who created the universe, but he didn't even create their world. That was Bhelliom. He is however the strongest god by a wide margin due to having far more worshipers than anyone else - it's mentioned that even Azash and Cyrgon wouldn't dare risk confronting Him directly due to this.
You Didn't Ask: The Church Knights use different Styric gods as sources of magical power. The Church isn't really happy about this practice, but doesn't forbid it, either. Once Aphrael mentions that the Elene god very probably could grant them spells, if they just thought to ask him.

Tamuli Main Characters

Khalad

The eldest son of Kurik and Aslade, he resists the notion of joining the Pandion Knights, sharing his father's disdain for the nobility.

The Ace: growing into this, much like Kurik turned out to be. Vanion talent-spots him as a potential future Preceptor (if they can get past his class prejudices and make him a knight).

Generation Xerox: While distinct from his father in many ways, he has enough similarities that the knights comment on it. This at times reminds Sparhawk of his loss, though he quickly pushes it aside.
Genius Bruiser: a brutal hand to hand fighter, and extremely observant, clever and practical. He works out how to replicate an unfamiliar model of stove by closely examining it, and Aphrael explictly confines him indoors during the ride on the fantastical ship (that's strongly implied to be literal aliens) because she's very worried he'll work out the ship's technical details that she agreed to keep secret (which he does, mostly to troll her)
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: In terms of his capabilities and role in the plot, he's exactly the same as his father. This is lampshaded several times.

Melidere

A baroness of Queen Ehlana's court, accompanying the Queen to Matherion. At first glance, she seems quite flighty and stupid, but there might be some hidden depths to her...

Distracted by the Sexy: Invokes this when she's used to send hidden messages to Sarabian: eventual spies are too distracted by her Supermodel Strut and Hartman Hips to notice something suspicious.
From Nobody to Nightmare: Melidere's father started as a simple blacksmith and ended up being a coin forger of incredible productivity. He was very reasonable about it, though, so it all worked out.

Obfuscating Stupidity: She only acts like a Brainless Beauty to get people to underestimate her. And Stragen, who finds himself attracted to her, gets quite mad trying to catch her at being smart.
An Offer You Can't Refuse: An offer of business cooperation from Melidere to Stragen. Incredibly lucrative and interesting for him—and it would be quite dangerous to refuse, too. Unusually, the offer included a marriage proposal, to which Stragen, after some initial reluctance, was happy to agree.

Supermodel Strut: Part of her act as a Brainless Beauty is to walk with a deliberate provocative strut. Sarabian compares her hips' swing to two cats fighting under her dress.

Alean

Ehlana's handmaid, a very sweet girl with a tragic past, becomes the love interest of Kalten.

Dark and Troubled Past: She was hired by a nobleman who then repeatedly raped her before firing her. This makes Kalten and Mirtai swear to track down the bastard and make him pay. Ehlana is just fine with that.
Humble Pie: She's incredibly sweet and modest, even when her suggestions regarding the investigation of the ministeries prove highly useful.

Shrinking Violet: She's rather shy, mostly because she knows that her social status is low compared to most of the people she interacts with.
Silk Hiding Steel: Not very prominent, best seen when she has a talk with Kalten after finding out that he thought she loved Berit, not him.

Oscagne

The Tamul ambassador sent to Chirellos to invite Sparhawk to the Empire, he travels with the party all the way to Matherion and more. He also has a brother named Itagne.

Overshadowed by Awesome:
- Oscagne is a trained observer of human behavior, very good at deducing the motivations of other people and charming them with his polite, urbane dry wit. It turns out he and all his fellow members of the Empire's ambassadorial corps were all trained by the same man, whose manner and style they all learned—but the old man has been doing it for a lot longer and the experience counts for a lot, as Stragen finds out when he tries to make a crack about how hard to read he is.
- In another case, his younger brother Itagne is even sharper and more creative than Oscagne, but Itagne prefers his chosen career in academia. Occasionally a crisis occurs and Oscagne needs another capable and creative brain to manage things so he press-gangs his brother into helping—and Itagne usually wrings something out of his brother to make the bother worthwhile.

Emperor Sarabian

The Emperor of the Tamul Empire, and far more perceptive than he first seems.

Obfuscating Stupidity: While not quite as clever as he thinks, he's very close to, if not an actual genius... and one of the signs of that was that he realized early on that an intelligent and perceptive Emperor is an Emperor that gets assassinated, so he played the foolish fop except for a rare few close allies in a successful bid to remain alive.

Royal Rapier: He actually schews traditional Tamul weaponry (or, in the case of Tamul Emperors, lack thereof) in favor of his trusty Western-style rapier. Complete with accompanying tight hose, full-sleeved linen shirt, and boots. He even knows how to use it.

Xanetia

Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Their god's plans for the Xanetia's people; many of her people believe she could do it already, but she's waiting for the rest to catch up. Bhelliom helps this to happen at the end of the sixth book
Cursed with Awesome: Quite literally. The god of her people wanted to give them some powers for protection and hiding, but couldn't use a blessing, as "A blessing rings and shimmers in the lucid air like bell-sound" and would be detectable for their enemies. So, the god put the same beneficial effects in a curse.
Fantastic Racism: With Styrics, and it's mutual. If anything, Styrics even more vehemently hate Xanetia's people.
Telepathy: One of Xanetia's powers, and the most useful for the protagonists. It's enough to say that only with Xanetia's telepathy they successfully identified the Big Bad.

Tamuli Antagonists

Saber

An Astellian "revolutionary" who tries to set the serfs against the nobles and the nobles against the Tamuls. Actually a hack poet named Elron who is hard at work on his "Ode to Blue".

Cool Mask: He certainly thinks so. The opinion of the rest of the cast is that he looks like an idiot.
Freak Out: When Bevier (pretending to be quoting Sparhawk) comes up with a description far more evocative than anything in his own writing.
Harmless Villain: Elron is a moron and his one attempt at killing somebody is spectacularly incompetent.
Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Elron is way out of his depth dealing with Zalasta, Cyrgon, and Klæl.
Karma Houdini: One of the few villains to survive past the end of the trilogy. His last appearance shows him cowering in fear as Scarpa gets killed. Though as Stragen is intent on killing him it's highly unlikely that will last for long.
Small Name, Big Ego: Has an overwhelmingly high opinion of how great his poetry is. Doesn't even manage to be Giftedly Bad.

Zalasta

An old friend of Sephrenia's and one of the most powerful magicians in Styricum. Revealed to have been in league with Azash during The Elenium, he has since joined up with Cyrgon, and is responsible for most of the worst events of The Tamuli.

Abusive Dad: To Scarpa, whom he tortures and later orders murdered.
The Archmage: The greatest magician Styricum has ever produced. Described as the only Styric magician in their forty-thousand-year history to understand the entirety of Styric magic.
Ascended Extra: Showed up for two pages in The Elenium. Revealed in The Tamuli to have been the mysterious Zemoch Styric who was working with Annias, Martel, Otha, and Azash, and goes onto become The Heavy of the series.
Big Bad: Tries to challenge Cyrgon for the title in The Tamuli, though they both lose out to Klæl.
The Chessmaster: The biggest one in the series with a plan stretching back centuries.
Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Betrays Sephrenia, his family and hometown, all of Styricum, Sparhawk and his companions, his son and allies, and was planning to backstab both Azash and Cyrgon. He admits he'd do it to Klæl too, but doesn't have the power.
Consummate Liar: He even fooled Aphrael. It took the presence of Xanetia, a mind-reader, to work through all the lies and deceptions Zalasta had tangled the cast up in.
Demoted to Dragon: Like Cyrgon, he ends up here once Klæl gets involved.
Didn't See That Coming: Unknown Unknown version. Safe to say, he didn't see Xanetia coming, or just what powers she has. This screws over his big plan big time.
Dragon Their Feet: Absent during the final confrontations between Bhelliom & Klæl and Sparhawk & Cyrgon, he returns in the finale to crash Sephrenia and Vanion's wedding.
Driven by Envy: Of Aphrael, and anybody else who Sephrenia cares about.

Evil Is Petty: Willing to end the world because he Did Not Get the Girl.
Evil Genius: Played this role in the conspiracy against the Tamuls, acting as a spy and idea man, even as he and Cyrgon jockeyed for position as The Big Bad. Winds up as The Dragon after Klæl is summoned and requires a mouthpiece.
Evil Old Folks: Looks to be in his eighties, is somewhat over three hundred years old, and has no conscience.
Evil Sorcerer: The strongest Styric magician around. Guilty of every crime from high treason through genocide and "consorting with ye powers of darknesse."
Fate Worse than Death: Set on fire by Khwaj, who keeps him alive so that he can burn and run forever.
The Heavy: Is the villain the heroes most interact with in The Tamuli, since neither Cyrgon nor Klæl is up to providing much in the way of leadership.
Love Makes You Evil: Driven by a near-insane obsession with Sephrenia.
Lust: For Sephrenia. His desire to possess her drives everything he does.
The Man Behind the Man: To Annias, Martel, and even Azash to a large-degree in The Elenium and to the entire conspiracy in The Tamuli.
Manipulative Bastard: A highly effective manipulator, he's able to earn Sparhawk and Ehlana's trust, and has Sephrenia almost totally under his thumb.

Offing the Offspring: Orders Cyzada to drag Scarpa's soul to Hell if he ever disobeys him again.
Tempting Fate: Making the whole 25,000 Pandion Knights (plus a large number of those of other orders) murderously angry at you for attacking their Little Mother isn't exactly a safe course of action. Had he survived his duel with Sparhawk, he would have had a very long line of people wanting to get entries in the Disproportionate Retribution and Cruel and Unusual Death pages - something that is discused, at some length, by several of them.

Self-Made Orphan: Arranges for his entire hometown, including his family, to be butchered.
Surrounded by Idiots: Invoked by Ehlana, who throws this in his face. Annias was obsessed with the archprelacy, Martel's resentment blinded him to all else, Otha was stupid as a stump, Azash so elemental that he could barely understand human beings, and that's just in The Elenium. By The Tamuli, she notes, he's surrounded himself with an alcoholic (Krager), a lunatic (Scarpa), an unthinking fossil (Cyrgon), and an Eldritch Abomination with even less understanding of humanity than Azash (Klæl). Zalasta is self-aware enough to concede the point.

Scarpa

Zalasta's bastard son, and a raving misogynist, he acts as the voice of the revolution in Arjuna.

Abusive Parents: Scarpa has some very unpleasant memories of his mother. Zalasta's treatment of him isn't exactly stellar either.

Bastard Bastard: An illegitimate child of Zalasta and a street prostitute, he's quite a nasty piece of work.
Freudian Excuse: Brutal, irrational, and generally horrifying as he is, it's evident that he became that way after extensive parental abuse.
He-Man Woman Hater: Scarpa is vehemently misogynistic, partially due to his abusive mother and sisters.

Large Ham: At one point one of the men in his warcamp states that whenever he's going to start a speech, it's advised to look for a comfortable place to sit, because he can go on for so long. This somewhat extends to his manner of speech.

Small Name, Big Ego: The guy is insanely narcissist and has a distorted view of his influence and power, seemingly unaware that the Imperial Atan army could shred his troops without breaking a sweat.

Ogerajin

An evil Styric magician who 'once' was extremely knowledge and cunning, and held second rank in Zalasta's conspiracy, he's on hard times by the time the story comes up.

Karmic STD: Ogerajin was an expert in debauchery and would teach others if they wanted to know. Unfortunately, the decades of wild unprotected sex eventually had the dice come up snakes eyes, and Ogerajin has at least one, possibly several, degenerative S.T.D.s that have him on his way to the grave by the time he shows up in the story.

Cyrgon

God of the Cyrgai, his portfolio consists of unthinking militarism and cultural stagnation. He's The Big Bad of the series, at least until he screws up and summons Klæl.

Affably Evil: In a formal way. His first words to Sparhawk are "Well-met Anakha," his last, "Hail and farewell."

Combat by Champion: His duel against Sparhawk, wherein he acts as Klæl's and Sparhawk as Bhelliom's.

Evil Is Not a Toy: He called Klæl, a creature which it took the combined might of the Elder Gods of Styricum to temporarily banish, and tried to force it into servitude. It didn't end well for him.
Friendly Enemy: He and Sparhawk only meet the one time, but they remain polite and friendly throughout their duel.
Graceful Loser: Takes his defeat and death in a stride, especially when compared to Azash. He and Sparhawk even have a brief, and fairly friendly chat, before he bleeds out.
Master Swordsman: Noted by Sparhawk. Cyrgon's actually one of the most skilled swordsmen Sparhawk's ever faced, and despite his dislike of change, he learns swiftly in a fight. It's only Sparhawk's greater familiarity with modern technique that gives him the edge.

Sorting Algorithm of Evil: Subverted - he's a lot less powerful than Azash, and nowhere near as frightening. In the end it seems than even he realized that he was seriously outmatched, which is what led him to summon Klæl to even the odds.
Stupid Evil: Invoked, discussed at length, and ultimately subverted. Cyrgon's a god of stagnation, and despises change and innovation, causing his people to idolise stupidity and execute anybody intelligent. Cyrgon himself refuses to admit the world has changed, confusing Trolls for Dawn-Men and arming himself and his people with bronze instead of iron or steel. That said, when push comes to shove, he's not actually deficient in IQ, and when he finds himself in a life-or-death situation against Sparhawk, he proves himself capable of innovating—just not fast enough.
War God: Chiefly concerned with unthinking and unchanging militarism.
Worthy Opponent: To Sparhawk. The two are extremely polite to one another throughout their last duel, complimenting one another on their style, and parting on comparatively friendly terms.

Klæl

The Big Bad of the setting, and Evil Counterpart to Behelliom. Takes the form of a hideous monster taller than a mountain.

Big Bad: Klæl was a force of total evil that remained in the background and offscreen. Then Cyrgon made the mistake of summoning him, and he proceeds to hijack the story.
Diabolus ex Nihilo: Never mentioned before he just randomly shows up in the last book. Considering Aphrael herself is terrified of him, it makes sense that it would never come up before.
The Dreaded: To gods. On Klæl's first appearance, humans just see a giant monster. But Aphrael is beside herself in fear, because she knows what Klæl is.

Evil Counterpart: To Bhelliom. Well, not exactly evil: Klæl is the destruction to Bhelliom's creation.

Pronoun Trouble: Bhelliom mentions that Klæl isn't "he", "she", or "it": Klæl is Klæl. What exactly this means, besides the complete alienness of Klæl, isn't explained.

Tamuli Secondary Characters

Engessa

An Atan commander, he eventually joins the heroes as a liaison between them and the Atan forces. As the first adult Atan to meet Mirtai, he automatically assumes the role of her father. He turns out to be a great dad.

Big Guy: Engessa is around seven and a half feet tall, possibly even taller. He is a warrior and descendent of warriors, trained from birth, and has risen in the ranks to command of a division of his fellow Atans.
Genius Bruiser: He is more-or-less fluent in Elene, but very unostentatious socially—he is a soldier who serves his emperor, obeys orders, and fights battles. He takes things literally and has a direct approach to life and power hierarchies (i.e., His emperor, or the emperor's duly appointed representative, tells him what to do and he then he does it). It turns out that Engessa has a certain sly wit, he's observant, he's a very kind man when he has the chance to be, and Aphrael comments she never realized what a remarkable man he was until she had him on her metaphorical operating table and had a chance to root through his brain and psyche.
Odd Friendship: Engessa and Kring. Both are warriors from a strong honor culture and men of rank among their people, but how they define honor and how they show that rank is wildly different; Kring is also a short man and the Atans value physical size as an indication of fighting prowess. They unite over their mutual respect and love for Mirtai, but everyone present at their first meeting is keenly aware it could have turned bloody very quickly.
Parental Substitute: Engessa, as the first adult Atan to meet Mirtai, is culturally expected to step in and serve as her parent. He does, with zero hesitation. He's a good father, he respects her life experience and her combat abilities (in point of fact, after a serious sparring bout to test her, he says having her as a daughter is going to reflect well on him, Mirtai being one of the most deadly warriors he's ever fought), and at the same time he helps her, and her surrogate family among the heroes, through the final emotionally significant rituals involving her formal passage to Atan adulthood. He also represents Mirtai in her betrothal negotiations.
Worf Effect: Engessa is almost killed by a blow to the skull by Klael's soldiers; given his standing as one of the most proficient fighters on the continent, this serves to highlight how dangerous the Klael-soldiers are.

Tikume

The domi of the eastern Peloi, essentially Kring's counterpart.

Javelin Thrower: Unlike Kring, his and the Eastern Peloi's weapon of choice, is a javelin, used both in melee and thrown.
The Lancer: To Kring. Tikume and Kring are the Domi of their respective halves of the Peloi, making them essentially kings of their own small nomadic nations. Tikume and Kring often work together in battle because they run from the same playbook. Being the bro that he is, Tikume also helps Kring's courtship of Mirtai along by having his people make much of Mirtai when the heroes are enjoying Peloi hospitality. Seeing firsthand that Kring—who isn't much to look at, admittedly—enjoys high status and Mirtai as his wife would also be respected helps Mirtai go on and decide to accept Kring's standing (and frequently renewed) offer to wed her.

Elysoun

One of Sarabian's wives, this one from Valesia. Notable for her unusual dress sense.

Femme Fatale Spy: Implied to pick up a lot of political gossip during her sexual adventures.
Good Bad Girl: According to the Valesian customs, free-love isn't frowned upon and she is allowed to pursue multiple partners.
Hidden Depths: In the last book, she's shown to be much smarter and more clever than her hedonistic lifestyle would make you think, with a great deal of social intelligence. When the conspiracy in the palace reaches its height, she's the one who works out what's going on first.
I Love You Because I Can't Control You: Elysoun's pursuit of Berit gets to the point where Ehlana asks Sarabian to intervene; Sarabian points out that Elysoun's so determined because Berit's literally the first man who's ever turned her down. Subverted in that once she catches him for some time, she gently sends him on his way.
My Girl Is a Slut: Out of all Sarabian's wives, she is the one closest to him emotionally and its implied they are legitimately in love, and he doesn't mind her practicing free love.
Ms. Fanservice: Elysoun wears dresses that exposes her boobs, which leads to an awkward moment during a banquet where everyone is ogling at her.
Our Nudity Is Different: Spends most of the trilogy topless, because that's just how women from her kingdom dress. (At least until their first pregnancy — in her last appearance, her gown covers her breasts, because she's now pregnant by Sarabian.)
Running Gag: During the early days of the Elenians stay at the Tamul Court, she's constantly chasing Berit much to Kalten's envy. Noted to have a resolution in that she actually catches him - several times - before gently telling him to 'go and love someone else for a while'.

Bhlokw

A priest of the Troll-Gods who acts as their emissary to Sparhawk's band. Despite reservations on both sides, he eventually strikes up a friendship with Ulath.

All Trolls Are Different: Unlike the dwarfed Ghwerig, Bhlokw is a proper Troll, standing nine-feet tall and having straighter arms and legs.
Badass Preacher: He's both a priest of the Troll-Gods and a giant, predatory killing machine.
Carry a Big Stick: Like most Trolls he's armed with a club.
Enemy Mine: His relationship with Ulath and Tynian begins as this though it eventually matures into an actual friendship.
Frazetta Man: Trolls in this setting are distantly related to humans, even if they look like nine foot tall, club-wielding apes.
Genius Bruiser: He's a Troll, and is seen fighting Klael's minions armed with nothing more than a club. He also debates Ulath on the nature of morality and the relationships between Gods and their worshipers.
I'm a Humanitarian: Like most Trolls Bhlokw will cheerfully eat humans. He discovers to his dismay that Klael's soldiers taste utterly revolting.

Trademark Favourite Food: Develops a taste for dogs, and even tells Ulath that he thinks dogs are even tastier than humans.

Romalic, Setras, Hanka

Three Styric Younger Gods that are Aphrael's counterparts for the other three Church Knight Orders, providing spells for the Cyrinic, Alcione and Genydian Knights, just like Aphrael does for the Pandions.

Stern Teacher: Hanka. Getting a chewing on from him for shoddy spellcasting is described as a rather undesirable experience.

Characters / The Elenium

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