The Union
The Royal Family & Closed Council | Union Military | His Majesty's Inquisition | Nobility & Citizenry of the Union
The North
Northern Royalty | Logen's Band | Northern Protectorate | The North
Other Characters
The Magi | Gurkish Empire | Styria | Near & Far Countries | Adua | The First Law trilogy | Best Served Cold | The Heroes | Red Country
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The Protectorate
Leadership
The Dogman*
The Dogman
POV: The Blade Itself, Before They are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings
- "We’re all like children, Rikke. The older you get, the more you realise the grown-ups won’t suddenly walk in and set things right. You want things right, you have to put ’em right yourself."
Logen's oldest friend, a Named Man of some repute. He has sharp teeth, a sharp nose and an even sharper sense of smell. He's given control of a Protectorate in the North by King Jezal and continues to rule into the events of the Age of Madness trilogy.
- Combat Pragmatist: Pretty common among the Northmen.
- The Good King: He becomes leader of a Northern Protectorate by the end of The Heroes and is widely beloved by his people over fifteen years later in A Little Hatred.
- Good Parent: He's a loving and devoted father to his daughter Rikke, whom he provides with equal amounts of loving support and worldly wisdom.
- Humble Hero: In a world of oversized egos, he's one of the few meek and unassuming characters.
- Killed Offscreen: After getting her Long Eye under control, Rikke returns to Uffrith only to discover that her father passed away, walking in on his memorial.
- The Nose Knows: His namesake is his extremely sharp sense of smell.
- Old Flame Fizzle: A platonic version. But Dogman becomes disillusioned with Logen after the latter becomes King of the Northmen and their long time friendship is permanently fractured.
- Scarily Competent Tracker: Helped by his sense of smell.
- Spared, but Not Forgiven: He's willing to make peace with Calder, but warns him if he ever sets a single foot on his side of the Whiteflow, his life is forfeit. Not because of the rivalry between their parts of the North, or even because of the Dogman's bad blood with Calder's father Bethod, but because of Calder's senseless killing of Forley all the way back in the first book.
- Stealth Expert: Played with. He's famous for his stealth, but due to the relatively realistic nature of the series, we occasionally see Dogman trip over things or bump into people he wasn't expecting.
- Took a Level in Cynic: By the end of the First Law trilogy, he's left jaded by all of the death that he's seen and his friendship with Logen is permanently damaged.
- Universally Beloved Leader: Everyone likes the Dogman. Even his enemies admit that he's a good guy. After he dies, practically the entire population of Uffrith turns out to his funeral to express how much they loved him.
- Was It Really Worth It?: The Dogman is left wondering this by the time his part in the story is ending, left disillusioned by Logen's descent back into violence and bloodshed and all of the deaths of his friends.
Rikke*
Rikke
POV: A Little Hatred, The Trouble With Peace, The Wisdom of Crowds
- "A sorceress said she could make me more ordinary. Or she could make me less. Guess which I chose?"
The daughter of the Dogman, Rikke is blessed—or cursed—by the Long Eye, a kind of magic that allows her to see visions of the past and future. In order to better understand and control her power, she is being mentored by Isern-i-Phail, a hillwoman with the reputation of a mad witch, who believes Rikke's Long Eye is the key to freeing the North from those who seek to control it.
- Action Survivor: She starts off the Age of Madness trilogy spending weeks on the run from Stour Nightfall's forces after he razed Uffrith. She survives starving, freezing, exhaustion and fleeing enemy soldiers but manages to survive and reunite with her father, thanks to Isern-i-Phail and a little help from the Long Eye.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Her childhood was pretty lonely in Uffrith, with other kids steering clear of her, either believing she was crazy or afraid of her supernatural abilities. It wasn't until Leo dan Brock was fostered at Uffrith that she ever had a friend her own age.
- Ambiguous Disorder: Rikke is characterized often for her peculiar mannerisms and blithe social style, even for a Northerner. Along with her above average intelligence and talent for lateral thinking, she may in fact be a high functioning autistic person. Paired with her Long Eye, other conclusions could be drawn.
- Apologetic Attacker: In Wisdom of Crowds when Orso comes to her to ask for help escaping to the North, she agrees and the two sleep together again. The next morning she hands him over to Leo dan Brock as the price of peace between the Union and the North now that Leo has seized control of the Union and feels vengeful over Rikke betraying him. It's clear she hates doing it and wanted to save him, but could see no other option and apologizes for it. Orso, while obviously disappointed, admits he can't hold it against her and sincerely says it was nice seeing her again.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Rikke starts off as one of the most straightforwardly "good" characters in the setting, but after Stour Nightfall razes Uffrith and she overhears his plan for her gratuitous death, she shocks the people around her by how vengeful and merciless she is. In The Trouble With Peace she becomes willing to backstab her childhood friend Leo and make his rebellion even bloodier in order to protect her people from being oppressed by Stour and the Union.
- Blessed with Suck/Cursed with Awesome: The Long Eye can be both. On the one hand the visions she receives can be incredibly useful in planning ahead and saving her people, but they also induce fits that made her an outcast during her childhood and run the risk of killing her if she can't get them under control.
- The Chessmaster: By the end of The Trouble With Peace Rikke has successfully masterminded seizing control of both the Protectorate and Carleon through sheer cunning, manipulation and a dash of the Long Eye.
- Childhood Friend Romance: She gets romantically involved with Leo, who was her childhood friend when he was fostered in Uffrith. Unfortunately the relationship sours and they split up, with Leo eventually marrying Savine after a one-night stand results in her pregnancy.
- Daddy's Girl: She has an especially close relationship with her father, the Dogman, and is very protective of him.
- Eye Scream: When her Long Eye threatens to kill her, Rikke is forced to choose between having her Long Eye blinded—and losing her powers—or her normal one—and losing the potential for a normal life. She chooses to keep the Long Eye.
- Fainting Seer: A side effect of the Long Eye is paralyzing "fits" accompanying her visions. It's why she keeps a well-bitten dowel around her neck at all times.
- Fiery Redhead: She's a passionate person with red-brown hair.
- The Gadfly: She eventually turns into one, saying outrageous, ominous and frequently hilarious things, sometimes to mess with people, but mostly to lend herself an air of mystery, inspire friends and intimidate enemies with what she's seen—or claims to have seen—with the Long Eye.
- Good Is Not Soft: She has a conscience and a good heart but that doesn't mean she can't be ruthless in protecting her people. She tricks two old men, one of whom she liked and was her father's friend, into fighting to the death so her father's Protectorate can remain independent, and she betrays her childhood friend/ex-lover Leo in order to eliminate Stour Nightfall as a threat to her people.
- Guile Hero: She becomes this in The Trouble With Peace. After her father's death, she convinces the people of her protectorate to remain independent by manipulating the advocates for joining the Union and Stour to fight to the death in the Circle. Later, she agrees to join Leo and Savine's war against Orso, only to preempt Savine's inevitable betrayal by having her forces stay in the North so they can usurp Stour's lands when he goes to give Leo aid. She also sends an anonymous note warning Orso of the treason to make the resistance greater than Leo was expecting to deplete Stour's numbers, then brokers a deal with Jonas Clover to betray Stour to herself and her ally, the Nail. In The Wisdom of Crowds she manages to land an overwhelming victory over Black Calder's forces just by feeding misinformation to his mole Corleth and pretending to have fallen out with the Nail and Isern, only to have them laying in wait to attack.
- Heir Club for Men: People take it as a given that Rilke won't inherit control of the Northern Protectorate after her father's death because she isn't a man. Through magnificent cunning she not only becomes the leader of the Protectorate, but snatches Carleon from Stour, who she imprisons.
- He's All Grown Up: Leo's reaction to seeing her again as an adult is shock at how beautiful she is compared to the kid he remembers.
- Intergenerational Friendship: She has one with Shivers, who is old enough to be her father. She actually commented on how strange it must look when she was younger, and while Shivers said he didn't mind, she didn't want to belabor it at the time.
- Missing Mom: About the only information on her mother was that she died while Rikke was still a baby.
- Morality Chain: Shivers says Rikke is this for him, since her trusting him as an infant pulled him back from the darkness that was consuming him.
- Obfuscating Insanity: Once she's on the throne, she decides to embrace her reputation as a mad seeress to confound and terrify her enemies. She's actually more sane than ever, with her eye under control, and proves to be incredibly cunning and perceptive.
- Potty Failure: An unfortunate side-effect to the fits brought on by her Long Eye is losing control of her bowels.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: She shows all the signs of being one after becoming Queen of the North, showing mercy whenever possible but still being willing to make the hard decisions necessary to keep her people safe.
- Red Baron: She's given the name "Black Rikke" after defeating Black Calder, who himself earned the name after taking over from Black Dow.
- Unreliable Narrator: In The Wisdom of Crowds a lot of her POV segments neglects crucial information she knows so as not to spoil the twist that she's purposefully feeding misinformation to Corleth and Bayaz to make her forces seem weaker so she can destroy Calder's army in one curb stomp battle.
- We Used to Be Friends: Her and Leo's relationship sours irreparably after she pretends to join his rebellion only to supply crucial information to Orso, resulting in the death of two of Leo's True Companions and causes Leo to lose a leg and renders one of his arms useless. Leo doesn't feel any more forgiving after Rikke reveals she betrayed him because she assumed he knew about Savine's plans to betray her to Stour. The only way to guarantee Leo doesn't declare war on the North is for Rikke to hand over Orso as the price of peace.
- What Beautiful Eyes!: Her eyes are described as her most distinctive feature, huge, pale and almost overly-expressive.
- Wild Hair: Her hair is described as a messy being a red-brown tangle.
Dogman's War Chiefs
Red Hat
Red Hat
A Named man who turned against Bethod in disgust for his methods and joined the Dogman's rebellion against him. Decades later he's still loyal to the Dogman and his Protectorate.
- Defector from Decadence: Even though Bethod had taken control of the North, Red Hat defected from his side due to being unhappy with the extreme measures Bethod was taking to ensure victory.
- Duel to the Death: Red Hat fights Oxel in the Circle after the Dogman's death, as a way of settling whether the Protectorate will join the Union or Stour Nightfall. Unfortunately for Red Hat, he loses the fight.
- Everyone Has Standards: The reason why Red Hat defected from Bethod's side is because he was disgusted with the methods he used to dominate the North, the worst among them in his eyes being an alliance with the Shanka.
- In the Hood: His name comes from the red hood he wears.
- Mauve Shirt: He's been around since Last Argument of Kings as Dogman's second, but dies during a duel in The Trouble With Peace.
- Nice Mean And In Between: Of Dogman's war chiefs, Red Hat serves as the "nice" being the most loyal to Dogman compared to the jerkass Oxel and Hardbread, who's nice but has more fluid loyalties.
- Number Two: He's served as Dogman's second during all his reign.
- The Reliable One: He's one of the few Northmen to pick a cause and then remain committed to it for most of his life. He's been serving the Dogman for decades, ever since the rebellion against Method.
Hardbread
Hardbread
A Named Man fighting for the Dogman and the Union during the war against Black Dow. As an old-hand in the North, he's accustomed to the realities of shifting one's loyalties and avoiding violence despite the bloodlust of younger more inexperienced men. By the time of the Age of Madness trilogy, he's one of Dogman's War Chiefs.
- Friendly Enemy: During The Heroes, he and Curnden Craw don't let a little thing like being on opposite sides of the war spoil their friendship. They still like each other, show respect and mercy when they can, and reminisce about old times in between fighting.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: It's custom in the North for men to constantly be shifting loyalties. When Hardbread first appears in The Heroes, he's fighting for the Dogman's Protectorate, only to turn up in the epilogue serving King Scale Ironhand. By the start of the Age of Madness trilogy he's back to serving Dogman.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Hardbread starts off holding the hill called the Heroes, but when Curnden Craw arrives with his men, Hardbread willingly hands it over without a fight, both men knowing he'll just come back later with greater numbers.
- Nice Mean And In Between: Hardbread is the "in-between" among Dogman's war chiefs. While he's not an ass like Oxel, he's not as loyal as Red Hat and prefers to leave his options open to who he'll serve next.
- Old Soldier: His exact age in The Heroes isn't known but his hair's already grown grey and he's an established old hand. Decades later, he's still a fighter during the Age of Madness trilogy.
Oxel
Oxel
One of the Dogman's War Chiefs who has a reputation for being a bit of an ass.
- Defiant to the End: Even though he's exhausted and wounded from his last fight and he's facing off against one of the deadliest men in the North, Oxel surprises Rikke by attacking Caul Shivers without hesitation. It doesn't save him.
- Duel to the Death: Rikke manipulates him and Red Hat into fighting in the Circle to determine whether the Protectorate will join Stour Nightfall or the Union. Oxel manages to kill Red Hat but before he can celebrate for long, Rikke says before she'll only support him if he defeats her champion: Caul Shivers. This time Oxel doesn't win.
- Grumpy Old Man: He's an elderly ass who votes for joining their enemy, Stour Nightfall, after the Dogman's death.
- Jerkass: He's a surly prick who treats Rikke with barely hidden disdain.
- Nice Mean And In Between: As the biggest jerk, Oxel is the "mean" among the Dogman's War Chiefs, with Red Hat, as the most loyal and kind, counting as the "nice" and Hardbread, who's nice but more fluid with his loyalties, counting as the "in-Between."
- Off with His Head!: Shivers finishes their duel in the Circle by lopping Oxel's head off.
Citizens
Caul Shivers*
Caul Shivers
POV: Best Served Cold
- "If I can live with having this face, they can live with looking at it. That or they can get fucked."
A bitter Northman, he searches for vengeance against Logen for butchering his brother many years ago.
- Ascended Extra: Had a supporting role in the original trilogy before becoming a main character in Best Served Cold and a major player in the affairs of the North from The Heroes to The Age of Madness.
- Ax-Crazy: After his Face–Heel Turn.
- Barbarian Long Hair: He's introduced with lank black hair that hangs in his face. It's shorn in Styria, much to his dismay, to make him less noticeable and more presentable, but he grows it back out and still wears it long over his scarred eye by The Age Of Madness.
- Battle Couple: He and Monza become lovers during Best Served Cold. To say it ends poorly would be an understatement.
- Became Their Own Antithesis: From a well-intentioned man who was victimized by the Bloody Nine to an amoral barbarian who is a cut-price Bloody Nine.
- Bedmate Reveal: With Monza at one point. She demands he take payment in gold for the night and is quite annoyed when he tries to refuse.
- Being Tortured Makes You Evil: Shivers getting his eye burned away in a torture chamber finally pushes him over the edge.
- Big Brother Bully: It's revealed that far from loving his older brother, Shivers despised him, since he acted caring in public, only to mercilessly abuse him in private. Shivers wonders if he's mad at Logen for killing his brother, or mad at him for taking away Shivers' own chance at killing him.
- The Big Guy: Not his role in the group or story, but he often gets tagged with this stereotype due to being Northern.
- The Brute: His service to Monza is reduced to this after losing his eye, and he continues to be Black Dow's muscle and Scale and Calder's hitman throughout the books. Under Rikke he works as backup to her threats, and her de facto executioner when it's called for. According to him, fighting and killing are about all he's good for.
- Bodyguard Betrayal: He tries to kill Monza in Best Served Cold and successfully kills Black Dow in The Heroes.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Played with. He ends up betraying almost everyone he ever serves to some degree or another, but every time it's due to mistreatment, and the one time it isn't is also something of a redemptive moment for him.
- Cool Sword: He claims the Maker's sword after killing Black Dow, who had claimed it from Logen, and holds onto it for about twenty years, still having it at the end of The Wisdom of Crowds.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: He can't help but agree with Monza's assessment that he's essentially trying to kill her just because she slept with someone else.
- Deadpan Snarker: At the time of The Age of Madness, he's surprisingly sarcastic with his characteristic rasping whisper.
- The Dog Bites Back: Don't mistreat Shivers. Seriously. Don't.
- In Best Served Cold after Monza distances herself from him following his torture and mutilation, and starts sleeping with someone else, Shivers tries to kill her.
- In The Heroes Black Dow continually belittling him leads to Shivers murdering him.
- The Dragon: To Monza at first, until that falls apart. Then he's this to Black Dow.
- The Dreaded: By the time of The Heroes he's become one of the most feared men in the North, and is considered Black Dow's dog. It's outright said in The Trouble with Peace, and by one of Shivers' closest friends at that, that while the Bloody-Nine is the last man anybody would want to face in the circle, Shivers is a close second.
- Evil Sounds Raspy: Speaks in a raspy whisper following his torture, due to his vocal chords being damaged from his screams of pain.
- Eye Scream: One of his eyes is burnt out when he's captured and tortured by Salier's soldiers.
- Face of a Thug: After losing his eye and being left with a horrific scar, people are all terrified by the sight of him, even when he's on their side. He's once described as having a "face like a murderer's nightmare".
- Facial Horror: As a result of the aforementioned Eye Scream.
- Fatal Flaw: Pride. Shivers is an extremely proud man, and even during his early days in Styria when he was honestly trying to be a good man, the idea that he was nothing here when he'd once been a named man rankled him, and being disrespected always set him off. He fell in with Monza partially because he needed the money, but also because he was sick of being a nobody. It's telling that his betrayals of Monza and Dow, as well as his cruelest moments in The Heroes are always in response to being disrespected in some way.
- Good Feels Good: When he decides to let go of his feud with Logen, Shivers comments on how good it feels to let go of something.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: Throughout the entire series. He starts out as fairly heroic in the original trilogy, undergoes a Start of Darkness in Best Seved Cold, is firmly on the villainous side during The Heroes, and shows signs of his former idealism at the end of Red Country. By The Age of Madness, while he's still one of the most feared men in the north, and for good reason, he's grown quite the loyal streak, sticking by the Dogman's daughter Rikke through everything.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: He's one of the more heroic characters in the series, and uses a sword. He switches to an axe after his Face–Heel Turn in Best Served Cold. He goes back to the sword when he takes Logen's old blade from Black Dow.
- Knight in Sour Armor: More or less slides into this after leaving the North. He loses this attitude by the end of Best Served Cold and essentially becomes a straight-up villain.
- The Lancer/The Dragon: To Monza. And Black Dow. And Calder. And most recently the Dogman.
- Licked by the Dog: The first time we see Shivers in The Age of Madness, we're immediately shown that he's not the same man he was in The Heroes and Red Country when Rikke, who is being chased by Stour Nightfall's and Black Calder's men, reacts to Shivers' appearance by dropping her spear and hugging him. In The Trouble With Piece, Shivers tells Rikke that her immediate trust in him while she was a child, despite everything he was, was what brought him back to some semblance of decency.
- Madness Mantra: "It should have been you" to Monza after his torture.
- Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: Officially, Monza's child is said to be Duke Rogont's, though it could just as easily be Shivers. When we see Prince Jappo as an adult in The Age Of Madness, he's described as strongly built with large jaw, rasping voice and long black hair, and Orso notes that he looks more like a Northman than a Styrian, all but confirming his parentage to the reader.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Subverted. He claims that he's called Shivers because his enemies shiver in fear when they see him, but it's actually an Embarrassing Nickname he got after he fell into a freezing river on his first raid. However, after his Face–Heel Turn in Best Served Cold, people really start being afraid of him. By the time of The Age of Madness, his (deservedly) frightening reputation rivals the Bloody Nine's in his day.
- Pet the Dog: At the end of Red Country, when he finally decides to lay his feud with Logen to rest.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: At the end of the original trilogy, he decides not to participate in Dow's betrayal of Logen.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Monza has him get a haircut, cleans him up and gets him into fancy clothes. He looks rather dashing. It's implied, rather disturbingly, she's trying to make him look like Benna. In The Wisdom of Crowds, Rikke is alarmed to find Shivers the sole Northman completely at ease in finery and high society, having experienced such things in Styria.
- Sixth Ranger: Joins Threetrees' band of Named Men in Before They Are Hanged.
- Slowly Slipping Into Evil: During Best Served Cold, he goes from an idealistic trying to become a better person to a bitter, broken psychopath.
- Start of Darkness: Best Served Cold is this for him. He tries to be a good man, but when it proves difficult, he ends up falling in with Monza's revenge scheme for the money. He's continually disillusioned, ends up tortured and disfigured, and essentially ends the story as the new Bloody-Nine.
- Woman Scorned: The rare gender-flipped example. The final straw that causes Shivers to betray and attempt to murder Monza is because she she sleeps with another man. Though, being discarded and treated as an embarrassment after he repeatedly saved her life and ended up tortured because of her didn't help.
- You Killed My Father: The reason Shivers loathes Logen is because he murdered Shivers's brother even though he promised him mercy. Logan cut off his arms and legs and nailed his head on Bethod's standard. His father, Rattleneck, was driven to depression, alcoholism, and an early death as a result. It's later revealed Shivers hated his brother, who was an abusive bastard, and resented his father, who wished Shivers had been killed instead. Shivers wonders if he hates Logen just for killing his brother, or for making it so that Shivers could never kill his brother himself.
- You Should Have Died Instead: His father would've preferred if Shivers had died rather than his elder son. Later, after being tortured, Shivers tells Monza that she should've been the one tortured instead.
Isern-i-Phail
Isern-i-Phail
The daughter of Crummock-i-Phail, former chieftain of all the hillmen. When she was a girl Isern carried her father's warhammer throughout the First Northern War. As an adult, she's become a mentor to Rikke, the Dogman's daughter, and is helping her control the Long Eye. On account of her looks and temper, most consider her a mad witch.
- Abusive Parents: Isern may have been her father's favorite child but she has little kind to say about the man. Her father's response to crying was a slap and he would force his children to carry his weapons into battle, which led to the death of at least one of her brothers and Isern herself getting scarred.
- Action Girl: Isern is handy with a spear and knows how to use it in a fight.
- Ambiguously Bi: The majority of the people Isern expresses attraction to are men, with only one exception: Sholla.
- Ascended Extra: She goes from a bit character in The First Law trilogy to a major supporting character in the Age of Madness trilogy.
- Beware the Silly Ones: Like her father, she’s gained a bit of a reputation as a lunatic, but she's also someone you don't want to cross.
- Brutal Honesty: Honesty is apparently a trait much beloved by the moon, as Isern does not hold back when speaking her mind.
- Child Soldier: Her father would take Isern and her siblings with him when he went on campaign, having them carry his weapons into the heat of battle and kill his downed opponents.
- Children Forced to Kill: During the Battle in the High Places, she killed a man with her father's spear when she was just ten-years-old.
- Cynical Mentor: Isern has a low opinion on most people and the world at large, so she tries to teach Rikke to be tougher and more cynical herself so that she can better face the world.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Isern appeared as an unimportant minor character in Last Argument of Kings, it took three decades in-universe and an actual decade in real time before she would reappear as a supporting character in A Little Hatred.
- Eccentric Mentor: Isern is used to being the strangest person in the room at any given time.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: At one point while on the run from Stour's forces, Rikke begins to cry. Isern responds by slapping her and calling her a child who's been coddled her whole life, making Rikke angry enough to hit Isern back. Isern is pretty pleased to see the metal Rikke shows.
- Good Is Not Nice: Isern is "good" for the most part but she's also practical and will advocate for more brutal actions if it will solve her and her allies' problems.
- Good Is Not Soft: Isern is a firm believer in this, claiming that to be a good leader, "You must make of your heart a stone."
- Honest Advisor: She becomes one of Rikke's top advisors along with Caul Shivers, and she does not sugarcoat the truth.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Isern is blunt, sarcastic and advocates for ruthlessness, but she also gives Rikke the lion's share of food when they're on the run, repeatedly risks her life to save Rikke from Stour's men, and always keeps her word to the people she likes. Granted, there's only seven of those outside the hills. Luckily the Dogman's one of them.
- Massive Numbered Siblings: She has eleven brothers, each from different mothers. According to her, each of them is a bigger ass than the last.
- Parental Favoritism: Crummock confirmed it himself behind Isern's back in The First Law trilogy after pretending to forget her name and being amused by her kicking his shin in response. Isern herself argues against this as an adult, saying that her father hated her, to which her brother Scenn agrees, but then goes on to say she was still his favorite all the same.
- Sibling Team: She and her brothers bicker but they prove to be a capable ass-kicking team when they fight Stand-i'-the-Barrows's forces.
Corleth
Corleth
A girl who joins Rikke and becomes her standard-bearer.
- Double Standard: Noted by Rikke after she shows Corleth mercy, despite giving Flatstone mercy first. To the Northmen, a man trying to kill you is forgivable but a woman tricking you isn't.
- False Friend: She pretends to be Rikke's friend and confidant while really being Black Calder's spy.
- Feed the Mole: It turns out Rikke believes Isern's claims that she's a spy and takes advantage of this to feed false information to Black Calder, misleading Corleth and Calder into thinking Rikke has alienated all her allies when in reality Rikke is luring Calder's forces into one massive trap.
- Hero-Worshipper: According to Corleth's grandmother, Corleth is Rikke's biggest admirer. Except it turns out it's all a lie spun by Corleth's grandmother who's a spy too.
- Karma Houdini: Rikke spares her life even though she was Calder's spy, and even sends her and her granny to Ostenhorm to spy on the goings on at Angland for Rikke.
- The Mole: Isern claims she's this for Black Calder only for it to turn out to be a misunderstanding. Except Isern's absolutely right and Rikke trusts her mentor's instincts enough to dig a little deeper and prove her right.
- The Sixth Ranger: She joins Rikke's cause fairly late in The Trouble with Peace and becomes her standard-bearer throughout The Wisdom of Crowds.
- Sixth Ranger Traitor: Corleth joins Rikke's side fairly late and Isern believes her to be a spy only for her attempt to expose her to end in embarrassment as Corleth is revealed to not be reporting to fellow spies, just taking care of her grandmother. Of course, Rikke trusts Isern and some investigating reveals both Corleth and her grandmother are spies for Black Calder.
