open/close all folders

The King's Inquisition

Arch Lector

Sult

Arch Lector Sult

"Rising early. Of course. The second greatest virtue. It comes just behind ruthlessness."

The elderly leader of the Inquisition, manipulative and greedy.

Bad Boss: His primary management technique seems to be threatening his subordinates with torture and death.
Big Bad Wannabe: While he thinks that he's running the Union, he's actually just another of Bayaz's pawns. His plot to summon demons to destroy his enemies pitifully fizzles out and when Glokta uncovers it he's disappointed at how childish it is. The whole affair is treated as a mere nuisance during the world-changing war between two ancient Magi.
The Chessmaster: He appears to be a canny political operative, but he gets Out-Gambitted pretty regularly and his grand plan in the end involves a demon-summoning spell that doesn't actually do anything.
Evil Old Folks: He's in his sixties and is the ruthless head of the Inquisition and its torturer s.
Fate Worse than Death: He ends the original trilogy as the captive of the new Arch Lector, Sand dan Glokta, who, along with his new Practical, Pike aka Salem Rews, are about to torture Sult for revenge and amusement.
High Collar of Doom: Wears a long white robe with high collar.
Knight Templar: Fanatically devoted to maintaining what he sees as the natural order, aristocrats on top, everyone else down in the gutter.
Laser-Guided Karma: His plans blow up in his face, he is arrested and stripped of all of his rights, and at the end of the series he's left at the mercy of Glokta and Pike.
Politically Incorrect Villain: Furious that common peasants and laborers have the cheek to demand any sort of rights.
The Rival: Has a bitter rivalry with High Justice Marovia, at least partially because Marovia champions the rights of commoners, while Sult wants to suppress them.
Smug Snake: Sult is highly arrogant but all of his machinations amount to nothing, including his master plan to summon demons. In the end, he's just another unwitting pawn of Bayaz.
Uncertain Doom: By the end of the trilogy, he's at the mercy of Glokta and Pike. Whatever they have planned for him is unlikely to be good.

Glokta*

Arch Lector Sand dan Glokta

POV: The Blade Itself, Before They are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings

"Why do I do this?"

A former Union war hero, now a crippled member of the Inquisition.

A Lighter Shade of Black: By The Age of Madness Glokta no longer serves Bayaz and actually engineers events so that his daughter rules with his guidance. However, this does not make Glokta a good person. He's still an unrepentant torturer and mass-murderer who used his daughter as a pawn and doesn't seem to care about the pain he's put her through. As Savine notes, Glokta engineered the Great Change to get rid of Bayaz, so Glokta could become Bayaz. Glokta's only "better" in the sense that he's capable of love, admits he does want at least some positive change for the Union and would intends to advise his daughter instead of using her as a puppet, whereas Bayaz is a sociopath who only cares about empowering himself and glorifying his ego.
Abusive Parents: Though he does love his adopted daughter Savine in his own twisted way, he doesn't feel any guilt over the emotional and physical trauma she endured as a result of the Great Change and seems more annoyed that she's holding him orchestrating the revolution against him rather than just moving on and being pragmatic.
Be Careful What You Wish For: Glokta is often Disappointed by the Motive when performing his interrogations, and wishes he'd get an answer more interesting than the questions he poses. When Practical Frost reveals he's a traitor and prepares to kill him, Glokta demands to know why. Frost simply shrugs, and Glokta reflects that sometimes there really are no answers.
Being Tortured Makes You Evil: Played with. Glokta spent two years being tortured by the Gurkish Empire, and was mutilated and crippled. After he returned home, he joined the Inquisition and started torturing others for a living. However, according to others and Glokta himself, he was as big an asshole in his youth as Jezal was pre-Character Development, and the story about him in Sharp Ends seems to confirm that if anything he was far worse than Jezal. His pain didn't make him a bad person, it just turned his enormous pride and ego into cynicism and self-pity, rather than empathy for the people he tortures or anyone else.
Broken Ace: He was a champion swordsman, war hero and renowned ladies man. Now he's a shunned cripple that inspires pity at best, and disgust or fear at worst.
The Chessmaster: Glokta is an incredibly skilled planner.
Cold-Blooded Torture: He spent two years being tortured by the Gurkish Empire, and now he's become an expert at performing torture on others.
Consummate Professional:
- He tortures and investigates as ordered, even when he doubts his superiors or sympathizes with his victims. He has no problem forcing false confessions from the relatively innocent, mutilating and even murdering them in the process, as long as he's following his orders. Unlike many cases of this trope, however, he doesn't have much love for his institution or his superiors, and often finds himself wondering how and why he became the man he is.
- During his time in Dagoska, he found himself privately sympathizing with the oppressed natives and sharing their disdain for the Inquisitors and Union administration in the city, but as the ranking representative of both kept these thoughts to himself. He worked to better the conditions of the natives and remedy the corruption in the city, but for practical reasons more than moral, and still played the part of the unflinching Unionist in his duty.
Cornered Rattlesnake: Without his Practicals, everyone expects Glokta to be a helpless cripple. But when his back's against the wall, he reveals his cane is secretly a sword that he's still handy with. He DID win the Contest in his youth, after all. Jab, jab.
Death Seeker: A version. He doesn't go out actively looking for his death, but he never really seems particularly worried that someone might kill him either. He spends a big chunk of the first trilogy basically waiting for the Archlector to decide he's outlived his usefulness (Body found floating by the docks...) and he's positively thrilled when Ferro and Salem Rews hold his life in the palm of their hands and thinks they're about to kill him. He can't stand to lose though...
Deconstructed Character Archetype: Glokta is a deconstruction of the Punch-Clock Villain or Just Following Orders; the series goes into in-depth exploration of how messed up you would have to be to keep "working" as a villain. He constantly questions himself and his superiors (in fact his Catchphrase is "Why do I do this?") but also doesn't think he's capable of doing anything else because of what his own torture and his work for the Inquisition turned him into.
Deadpan Snarker: He could be the headliner of the page...
Determinator: nothing will stop Glokta in his quest to getting to the bottom of a case. Not his ruined body nor the orders of his superiors. This impresses Bayaz, who gives him the job as the Arch Lector and basically becoming his Mouth of Sauron.
Disabled Snarker: Especially in his inner monologue.
Disappointed by the Motive: After spending so much of his life questioning others and hearing their motivations, he often finds himself disappointed at how petty their reasons are for their actions. Even discovering that Arch Lector Sult is secretly trying to control demons is seen as a surprisingly childish scheme by Glokta.
The Dreaded: By the time of Age of Madness Glokta has become the most feared man in the Union, with all commoners living in fear of "Old Sticks" coming to get them.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Glokta is a bad, bad man, but by A Little Hatred, he loves his adopted daughter Savine beyond anything else in the world. He also genuinely loves his wife, Ardee, whom he married to protect from the threats against her life that would come from bearing the king's bastard, and Glokta truly valued Collem West, his only friend.
Even Evil Has Standards: Even Glokta thinks the Superiors are assholes. Not to mention his professional disgust when he learned an Inquisitor had tortured someone to death and not even bothered to ask any questions.
Evil Chancellor: He becomes this at the end of The First Law trilogy. His efforts have earned him some respect from Bayaz, who makes him de facto ruler of the Union in his absence. Though he's technically an "advisor" even King Jezal obeys the instructions Glokta relays on behalf of Bayaz.
Evil Cripple: Although "amoral cripple" would be more accurate, this is how people tend to perceive him. He definitely plays up the image to frighten others.
Evil Mentor: He serves as one to Vick dan Teufel who serves as both a protege to him and a warped kind of morality pet, despite the fact that he's the one who arranged her entire family to be locked up in the prison camps of Angland and only released her once she agreed to join the Inquisition.
First-Person Smartass: His inner monologue is entertaining in just how much snark he can dole out, especially when dealing with people either more powerful than himself or less untrustworthy.
Handicapped Badass: A distinct subversion. Being tortured for two years has made him a wreck of ineffective bodily functions. Then subverted again when he reveals he possesses a Sword Cane and stabs Frost to death.
Happily Ever After: Though he's certainly not happy about it.
Happily Married: Though their marriage certainly took place under strange circumstances—she's the sister of his only friend and was pregnant with the king's bastard which made her vulnerable to possible assassinations—Glokta and Ardee already had some kind of bond beforehand and seem genuinely happy together after their marriage.
It Gets Easier: He expounds on the theme in Before They are Hanged:
"You could not even guess at the things that I have done. Awful, evil, obscene. The telling of them alone could make you puke... They nag at me from time to time, but I tell myself I had good reasons. The years pass, the unimaginable becomes everyday, the hideous becomes tedious, the unbearable becomes routine. I push it all into the dark corners of my mind. And it's incredible; the room back there. Amazing. What one can live with."
Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: It's his speciality. His victims confess to their crimes, even if they're innocent, after spending some time with him and his instruments.
Just Following Orders: Harshly deconstructed, as The First Law shows just how messed up someone has to be in order to continue working for the Inquisition, which often requires him to torture confessions out of people, even if they're innocent. Glokta, deep down, is disgusted with himself and how far he's sunk. But he doesn't know how to get himself out of this trap that he's found himself in.
Karma Houdini:
- A notable example in the original trilogy. Whether or not you think he is, Glokta certainly thinks so. He commits horrific crimes but ends the original trilogy as the new Arch Lector of the Inquisition, married to Ardee West, a beautiful woman who's one of the few people to treat him decently, and the second most powerful man in the Union as Bayaz's Mouth of Sauron.
- In the sequel trilogy, he ends more victorious than ever. Not only did he and his wife engineer the Great Change, but now they accomplished their goal of breaking Bayaz's hold on the Union and putting Savine in power. Savine is understandably disgusted and horrified to learn of their actions, but realizes she can't manage things without their guidance.
Master Swordsman: He won the Contest in his youth and was widely considered one of the best swordsmen of his age. Before he was crippled by torture at least.
Morality Pet: Collem and Ardee West are the only two people Glokta shows consistent kindness to, especially when he finds out Collem didn't abandon him after his mutilation, but was driven away by Glokta's own mother. Glokta even refuses to murder Ardee, who's presence risks a scandal after she becomes pregnant with Jezal's bastard child. Instead, Glokta marries Ardee to protect her from any attempts on her life by other members of the Closed Council.
Mouth of Sauron: After Bayaz lets Jezal and the Closed Council know who's really in charge, he leaves Glokta behind as his mouthpiece to relay his orders, since everyone knows that disobeying Glokta and causing Bayaz to return to the Union would be a bad thing for everyone.
My Beloved Smother: Following his torture, mutilation and crippling, he was returned home to his mother's to heal. Unbeknownst to Glokta, his mother sent away his friend, Collem West, on account of West being lowborn, driving away the only person who hadn't abandoned Glokta, which convinced Glokta that he was truly friendless.
Papa Wolf: His daughter Savine? You don't touch her. Ever.
Pet the Dog: In spite of seeing himself as a monster, he does show mercy many times. It usually comes back to bite him.
Punch-Clock Villain: Glokta's a nasty bastard, but he isn't generally malicious and has Nothing Personal against the people he tortures, viewing his work as just another job.
Psychological Projection: Glokta can be prone to this, particularly when it comes to Jezel, who reminds him of his former younger self.
Only Friend: Collem West was this for him. Glokta assumed West abandoned him like all the rest of his so-called friends after Glokta's torture, mutilation and crippling at the hands of the Gurkish Empire. In actuality, West tried to visit Glokta twice only to be turned away by Glokta's elitist mother. When he finds out the truth, Glokta eagerly tries to mend fences with him.
Sadist: Averted. While it doesn't bother him, Glokta gets no pleasure out of torturing people. Indeed, many times he asks himself why he does what he does.
Scars Are Forever: Inside and out. Worse, they still cause him terrible agony.
Shoot the Dog: All the time. As a professional torturer, Glokta doesn't pretend that the things he does aren't vile, but feels they are nevertheless a necessary evil for the greater good (or sometimes just to save his own skin). One of his most monstrous deeds is forcing a Scarpia Ultimatum on Queen Terez, threatening to torture her childhood love unless she essentially becomes a baby-farm to an unknowing King Jezal to ensure the Union remains stable.
Sword Cane: It's revealed in The Last Argument of Kings that is cane secretly contains a fencing sword, which he uses to great effect on the treacherous Practical Frost.
The Tooth Hurts: Had half of his teeth broken as part of his torture. Its now one of his favourite methods of interrogation.
Then Let Me Be Evil: Downplayed as Glokta doesn't really want to be an evil person, but after a few too many Pet the Dog moments blow up in his face and being so broken by his ruined body and the corrupt system, he decides it's better to be a monster.
Torture Technician: Thanks to his firsthand experience of torture at the hands of true professionals, he's very good at extracting answers from people.
Too Kinky to Torture: After what he went through in the Gurkish prisons, amateurs don't exactly bother him. Nor is he afraid of death either.
To the Pain: What his torture sessions often boil down to before he gets to work.
Unholy Matrimony: While Glokta is a ruthless monster, his wife Ardee can be just as ruthless herself, given that they both admit the Great Change which killed so many was her idea. They're still rather happy together.
Villainous Friendship: His Practicals, Severard and Frost, are the closest thing he has to friends in his line of work. He takes it hard when he finds out both of them betrayed him, for separate parties and for separate reasons.
Villain Respect: Zigzagged as he respects Bayaz's manipulative acumen and his schemes to gain power, but he's disgusted by his boasting and vanity.
Younger Than They Look: He's thirty-five, but seems far older due to his disabilities. In his sixties he looks like a living corpse.

Superiors

Pike

Superior Pike

A disfigured prisoner in an Angland penal colony, he was recruited by Collem West due to the need for capable smiths in the war and acts as an ally to him. Following the Battle of Adua, Pike becomes a member of the Inquisition. By the Age of Madness trilogy he's second-in-command of the organization.

Being Tortured Makes You Evil: The hardships and disfigurements he endured as a prisoner at an Inquisition penal colony have hardened him. By the end of Last Argument of Kings, he takes Glokta's offer to join the Inquisition, just so he can be the one with his boot on someone else's neck for once.
Best Served Cold: He waited the entire length of two bloody campaigns, one in the North, and one against the Gurkish invasion, before trying to get revenge against the man who ruined his life. When he finds himself in a room alone with Glokta, he immediately tries to kill him, only for his victim to talk him out of it by letting him take his anger out on someone more deserving.
Boxed Crook: He's a prisoner in an Inquisition penal colony recruited by West to make up for the lack of capable smiths in the army.
Chekhov's Gunman: Pike actually appears very early on in the story but his identity isn't revealed until Last Argument of Kings. Who knew Salem Rews, the merchant Glokta tortured in his first chapter and exiled to Angland, would go on to be such an integral character for the series?
Corrupt Corporate Executive: Not that corrupt as Salem Rews, a successful merchant in the Guild of Mercers. In fact, he's targeted for avoiding the King's taxes but it's really just a pretense for Sult's vendetta against his Guild.
The Dragon: He becomes Glokta's right-hand man following the events of Last Argument of Kings.
The Dreaded: If Arch Lector Glokta is the most feared man in the Union, Pike is the second-most feared.
Facial Horror: His face is horribly burned during an accident in his penal colony. Even Glokta is unnerved by it.
Formerly Fat: As Salem Rews he was described as being very fat. His time in a penal colony caused him to lose a lot of weight and become lean and sinewy.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: His face is a melted ruin of burn scars, but while serving Collem West he comes across as a fairly decent man. Then he joins the Inquisition and he fully embraces the bad side of this trope.
Hero-Worshipper: In his old life, he both loved and hated Sand dan Glokta who he viewed as everything he wanted to be even as Glokta singled him out for public mockery.
Make an Example of Them: He hangs two hundred Breakers from Valbeck who Orso had already promised amnesty as a warning to what will happen to those who rebel against the Crown.
Necessarily Evil: How he justifies his actions, at least to himself, choosing to believe that the horrible things he's done have saved more lives in the long run than the ones he's killed.
No Doubt the Years Have Changed Me: Forced servitude and horrific burns have changed his appearance quite a lot. When he confronts the object of his vengeance, Glokta, he doesn't even recognize Pike until Pike spells out just who he is, and his would-be victim laughs at the absurdity of being killed by Salem Rews of all people.
Number Two: He's become Arch Lector Glokta's right-hand man in the Time Skip between The First Law and Age of Madness trilogies.
Papa Wolf: Towards Cathil, a female prisoner he befriended and whom he pretends to be the father of to protect her from being raped by others in the penal colony.
Pet the Dog:
- He pretended that his fellow prisoner, Cathil, was his daughter in order to protect her from the lascivious intentions of the guards and other prisoners.
- Just before the Battle at Stoffenbeck, a young man is brought before him as a deserter. Inquisitor Vick dan Teufel sadly notes to herself that the nearby tree would be a great place to hang him as an example, and that killing someone so young would impress upon the rest of the soldiers how cowardice would be dealt with. Instead, Pike gives the kid a pep talk and steers him back to his post. When Vick expresses her shock, Pike simply responds that it can't all be darkness. There must be some light. At the very least, when no one is around to see.
Rank Up: After Glokta resigns upon learning his daughter is involved in a conspiracy against the Crown, Pike is appointed the new Arch Lector in his place.
That Man Is Dead: Pike isn't his real name, but he adopts it as his permanent identity rather than going back to Salem Rews.
Took a Level in Badass: The hardships he's endured as Pike has made him tough and unflinching, a far cry from the coward who caved easily under Glokta's torture.
Two Aliases, One Character: "Pike" isn't his real name. His real name is Salem Rews.
Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Before being imprisoned he had a young and beautiful wife while he was morbidly obese. It's implied the marriage was due to his wealth.
Walking Spoiler: His true identity is that of Salem Rews, the merchant Glokta tortured in the beginning of The Blade Itself who was shipped off to Angland.

Goyle

Superior Goyle

The head of the Inquisition in Angland until his promotion to Superior of Adua. Glokta views him as a spiteful torturer with no brains and a disinterest in the truth, and competes against him for influence with Arch Lector Sult.

The Dragon: Goyle becomes the right-hand man in Sult's scheme to contact the Other Side and summon demons in the hopes of using them to destroy Sult's enemies.
The Rival: Throughout The First Law trilogy, Goyle and Glokta compete against each other to gain influence with Arch Lector Sult, eventually becoming Co-Superiors of Adua after Glokta's success in Dagoska. Goyle eventually becomes Sult's right-hand man, only to be killed in the crossfire when Glokta arrests Sult for treason.
Unfriendly Fire: Glokta takes Goyle prisoner when going to arrest Arch Lector Sult at the University. Before raiding the chambers, Glokta forces Goyle in first, resulting in Goyle's own allies killing him with a flatbow bolt.

Davoust

Superior Davoust

The Superior of the Inquisition in Dagoska until his mysterious disappearance, which Glokta is sent to investigate.

Asshole Victim: The investigation of his disappearance is entirely a matter of protocol due to his high status. Everyone despised him and are outright delighted at not having to deal with him any longer.
Eaten Alive: Glokta discovers Davoust's ultimate fate was being cannibalized by Shickel, the Eater working undercover as his servant.
Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: When he found out about the plot to sell Dagoska out to the Gurkish Empire, Davoust didn't plan on exposing it. He just wanted a bribe. But it was more money than the Gurkish were willing to pay.

Lorsen

Superior Lorsen

"No one likes to shake hands with the man who empties the latrine pits either, but pits have to be emptied all the same. Otherwise the world fills up with shit. You can have your dozen smiths, but don't try to take the high ground with me. There is no high ground here."

The Inquisitor who also serves as the commandant of a prison/penal labour camp in Angland. He returns with a large role in Red Country as part of the Union's plans to expand their reach in the Near and Far Countries. By the time of Age of Madness, he's become Superior of Westport.

Big Bad Wannabe: In Red Country, theoretically he's the one in charge of the Union's activities in the Near and Far Country. In practice, his hired mercenary commander, Nicomo Cosca, plays him like a fiddle to pursue a fabled treasure rather than find and eliminate the rebellion as Lorsen intended. In the end, Lorsen is able to outmaneuver and arrest Cosca by taking advantage of the low morale of Cosca's men.
The Dog Bites Back: After being manipulated by Cosca into going on a wild goose chase for the rebel leader, Conthus, Lorsen convinces one of Cosca's lieutenants to turn on and arrest Cosca so he can use him as a scapegoat for the expedition's failure.
Even Evil Has Standards: He's disgusted by Cosca for leading their men on a campaign of pointless slaughter all for the sake of money. Cosca, for his part, sees no difference between mass murder for ideals or for profit, and thinks he's at least honest about what he does and why he does it.
Know When to Fold Them: When he's tricked into thinking the Old Empire has made a treaty with Crease, Lorsen decides to take his forces and go rather than risk an entanglement with the Old Empire that could spell war for the Union.
Necessarily Evil: How Lorsen views the Inquisition and their actions. Torture, forced labour and mass murder are all an ugly business, but Lorsen believes it's all necessary to maintain and advance civilization.
Rank Up: Age of Madness reveals he's become a Superior of Westport. By the final book in the trilogy he's become Arch Lector when Vick turns the job down.
Torture Technician: Like all members of the Inquisition, however, Lorsen isn't a very good one. It's not that he's a sadist, just that he apparently isn't good at keeping his victims alive.
Utopia Justifies the Means: How Lorsen justifies the Inquisition's brutal practices, the horrific conditions of his prison camp, and his bloody actions in the Near and Far Countries. Everything he does is for the sake of a better civilization in the future.
What Happened to the Mouse?: In Red Country he's last seen arresting Cosca and vacating the Near and Far Countries after being duped into believing the Old Empire had signed a treaty with Crease. Not much later, Cosca reappears, having freed himself from his imprisonment, with no clue as to what happened to Lorsen and the rest of his captors. It isn't until the Age of Madness that it's revealed he survived and rose to the post of Superior of Westport.

Risinau

Superior Risinau

The current Superior in-charge of Valbeck who turns out to be a mole for the Breakers.

A Lighter Shade of Black: He may betray his allies and execute political prisoners, but he's more of a blustering buffoon too blinded by ideas to think of pragmatic ways to help the Union. In contrast, the Weaver's other right-hand, Judge, is a dangerous psychopath. While Risinau's reign is ineffectual, Judge's is marked by mass murder, terror and fanaticism.
Co-Dragons: Risinau and Judge act as the right and left hands of their boss, the Weaver. At least until Risinau's way of doing things ends up solving nothing and the Weaver allows Judge to kill him and take control.
Disney Villain Death: He and his supporters are the first Judge sentences to be thrown off the Tower of Chains.
Fat Bastard: An overweight revolutionary who's still perfectly fine with abandoning his followers to die when the king's forces come to take back the city from the uprising he instigated.
Ignorant of His Own Ignorance: Just about the only person who doesn't know Risinau is an idiot is Risinau himself.
Insufferable Imbecile: He fancies himself a great thinker but everyone agrees that he's an idiot, posing banal questions as if they're grand truths. Once he's given power following the Great Change, he spends most of his time prattling instead of implementing any practical changes to benefit the Union's citizens. The people end up getting so restless that Judge is given leave to kill and usurp him.
Killed Mid-Sentence: He tries to say some last words only for Sarlby to tell him he's "said enough" and force him off the Tower of Chains.
Legacy Character: The Weaver allows Risinau to use his name to better spread their message and gather people to their cause.
Mole in Charge: The Inquisition Superior in charge of managing Valbeck turns out to be a high-ranking member of the very rebel group he's supposed to be quelling.
Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Risinau does truly seem to believe in the Great Change that is supposed to improve the lives of the Union's citizens, but he often gets wrapped up in the glory and romanticism of it instead of devoting his time to actually helping those people.
Right Hand Versus Left Hand: Though he and Judge are allies in the Weaver's cause, they clearly don't like each other. Judge sees him as an idiot and he sees her as a madwoman. They're both right but Judge is given permission to kill and supplant him since Risinau's way fails to control the people.
Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: He and Judge flee from Valbeck before the king's forces can reclaim the city, abandoning their allies and the city's citizens.
You Have Failed Me: When the Weaver sees Risinau's way of doing things isn't working, he lets Judge kill him and take his place.

Inquisitors

Harker

Inquisitor Harker

A senior Inquisitor in Dagoska who worked for the now-missing Superior Davoust.

Do Wrong, Right: Part of what gets Glokta's goat about Harker is that the man isn't just needlessly cruel, he's stupid, allowing his only leads to die in captivity.
Laser-Guided Karma: He ends up occupying the same wretched cells he lets prisoners die in.
Politically Incorrect Villain: He's proudly and openly racist, deriding the natives as savages whom he can torture on a whim.
Right for the Wrong Reasons: Harker did have the correct suspect in custody, but it was a complete mistake and a byproduct of his own racism, as opposed to any investigative instincts.

Vick*

Inquisitor Exempt Victarine "Vick" dan Teufel

POV: A Little Hatred, The Trouble With Peace, The Wisdom of Crowds

"Because if I learned one thing in the camps... it's that you stand with the winners."

When Sand dan Glokta convicted Sepp dan Teufel, the Master of the Mints, on trumped up charges, he sentenced the man and his entire family to penal mining camps of Angland, including the eight-year-old Vick. Though her family died, Vick somehow gained her freedom from the camps, and now works as Glokta's top spy.

Being Tortured Makes You Evil: Vick spent twelves years working in the nightmarish penal camps of Angland, watching as all of her family members died one-by-one. She endured sickness, starvation, exposure, and deadly and dangerous forced labor, and the experiences hardened her to the point where she joined the Inquisition after gaining her freedom, if only for the chance to finally be the one standing on the necks of others after others spent so long stepping on hers.
Beneath the Mask: Vick presents a hard exterior to the world around her when she's acting as herself, and cultivates and adopts a myriad of personas to blend in with her latest targets. Her POV sections reveal just how much guilt she keeps locked away, along with her empathy for her targets and the rest of her feelings.
Big Sister Instinct:
- She did everything she could to keep her siblings alive in the camps but was unable to save them. She frequently remembers her little brother in particular, and it's eventually revealed that Vick earned her freedom by ratting out her brother's planned prisoners' revolution, something that haunts her to this day.
- She shows mercy to a Breaker named Tallow and takes him under her wing largely because he reminds her so much of her brother who died. Throughout the trilogy she finds herself risking more and more to keep him safe. Unfortunately it's revealed "Tallow" never existed, he was just an Inquisitor serving the Weaver who modeled himself after her brother to pray on her guilt and manipulate her to act in accordance with his master's wishes. Though it doesn't end in her death, she's still surprised to find someone who's an even better actor than herself.
Combat Pragmatist: To Vick, a "fight" is defined as doing the cheapest, dirtiest, most unexpected trick as soon as possible to cause as much pain as possible to end the fight as quickly as possible.
Consummate Liar: What makes Vick such an effective spy is her ability to sprinkle enough truth in her lies to make herself sound all the more convincing. She's also mastered the art of mimicking telltale ticks and expressions to keep her real feelings hidden.
Dark and Troubled Past: Her father was convicted by Glokta on trumped up charges and sentenced to the penal camps in Angland, along with his innocent wife and children, the eight-year-old Vick among them. Vick survived brutal conditions for twelve years, watching as her family died one by one, with her powerless to save them. She eventually resorted to betraying her own brother to the Inquisition to secure her own freedom.
Double Agent: Vick has been sent to infiltrate the Breakers in order to undermine their efforts on behalf of the Inquisition.
Engineered Heroics: Her solution to preventing Westport from seceding from the Union and joining Styria instead. She stages an assassination attempt on Solumeo Shudra, the popular leader of the pro-Styrian faction, thwarts it, then frames the Styrians for it by saying they wanted to turn him into a martyr to guarantee Westport joined Styria instead. Ironically, the Styrians were planning on assassinating Solumeo and framing the Union to make him into a martyr. Vick just beat them to the punch.
Everyone Has Standards: She works for the Inquisition and regularly sees and does horrible things but even she thinks Judge is a monster. So monstrous in fact, that once Judge takes control of Adua, Vick goes against her personal philosophy to always stand with the winners and instead puts her life on the line to overthrow her.
I Did What I Had to Do: The justification Vick gives for her actions. In truth, Vick knows that no one is forcing her to stay in the Inquisition but she does so anyway out of an odd sense of obligation to Glokta for getting her out of the camps, even though he was the one responsible for putting her and her family in there.
I Fight for the Strongest Side!: Her justification for joining the Inquisition in spite of what they did to her is because of her most valuable takeaway from the camps. To survive, you have to side with the winners.
I Owe You My Life: Vick serves Glokta because he arranged for her to get out of the camps, in spite of the fact that Glokta was the one who sent her and her entire family there in the first place. Glokta speculates that because Vick has made a life for herself by betraying others, it's very important for her to be loyal to at least one person.
In Love with the Mark: She develops a romantic relationship with the Breaker leader, Sibalt, and her feelings for him are stronger than she expected. He commits suicide upon being ambushed by the Inquisition, oblivious to the fact that his lover sold him out. Glokta congratulates Vick on putting her duty before sentiment, and Vick frequently thinks of Sibalt after his death.
Master Actor: As a child, Vick was always good at hiding her feelings to the point where everyone around her had no idea what was going on in her head. Vick studied facial ticks and expressions, then made a game out of using her talents to trick everyone around her. After she was sent to the camps, it became a survival tactic, and Vick is capable of manipulating and deceiving others by the strength of her acting alone.
Morality Pet: Tallow becomes one to her, as she goes out of her way to make sure he's recruited by the Inquisition so that he won't be tortured and executed as a traitor. Even though it means threatening his sister's life to keep Tallow in line, Vick gets her a job where she's treated so well that she actually thanks Vick for making her a hostage.
Punch-Clock Villain: She may work as a spy for the Inquisition but she's not exactly happy about it, serving out of a sense of misplaced loyalty to Glokta and uncertainty over what else she can do.
Regretful Traitor: Vick makes a living off of deceiving and betraying others, but she's never happy about it, and often empathizes with her targets, even if it doesn't stop her from completing her assignments. Sometimes she'll try to get mercy for them, but only makes small efforts as she doesn't want her own loyalty called into question.
Replacement Goldfish: The reason she becomes so protective of Tallow is because he reminds her of her brother who died in the camps. It turns out this was invoked by Tallow and the Weaver, who paired the former with Vick so she could serve the latter's plans.
Riches to Rags: She went from a child of one of the wealthiest families in the Union to a prisoner in the labor camps of Angland to an Inquisitor living in Glokta's old apartments.
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: After finding out that Judge plans on turning the Union into a police state that regularly murders thousands by the day, essentially turning the nation into one giant Angland prison camp, Vick forgoes her philosophy to "stand with the winners" and instead engineers a conspiracy to restore Orso to the throne.
Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: In The Wisdom of Crowds she's offered the opportunity to become Arch Lector of the Inquisition. After everything that's happened and with no one left worthy of her loyalty, Vick decides she's had enough and instead leaves the Union to pursue her dead lover Sibalt's dream of forging a new life in the Far Country.
Sole Survivor: She was the only member of the dan Teufel family to survive the brutal penal camps of Angland.
The Stoic: Vick presents a hard, seemingly unfeeling exterior to mask her emotions from those she's been sent to infiltrate.
We Can Rule Together: After revealing his identity and the success of his plans, the Weaver offers her the option to join him in his crusade. Vick agrees, if only because she knows he'll kill her otherwise.

Practicals

Frost

Practical Frost

One of Sand dan Glokta's Practicals, a hulking albino with a speech impediment.

Beware the Quiet Ones: Frost doesn't speak much due to his speech impediment, usually reserving his words for either when he has to, or when he can't a resist a joke. This becomes especially terrifying when Glokta realizes he betrayed him to Sult, at the same time that Frost realizes he's figured it out. Frost snaps Severard's neck without a word before trying to finish off his old boss. When Glokta demands to know why, Frost simply shrugs.
Brains and Brawn: Subverted. While Severard is the smirking quipster and Frost is a hulking lisper, Frost shows Hidden Depths in a few occasions, including excellent penmanship and being a mole for Arch Lector Sult.
The Brute: Frost is an especially strong bruiser who provides the muscle for Glokta.
Deadpan Snarker/Disabled Snarker: Frost's speech impediment doesn't stop him from occasionally making snide remarks.
Did Not See That Coming: When Frost tries to kill Glokta he's shocked to discover that Glokta's cane secretly doubles as a fencing sword, which his ex-employer uses to fatally stab him. Frost has just enough time to express mild surprise before dying.
Dissonant Serenity: Frost is always impassive, even during torture sessions, even when the victim is his long-time co-worker, Severard.
Hidden Depths: Frost, the lisping albino brute, has beautiful penmanship. He's also the one who identifies the mural of the Magi fighting the Master Maker.
The Mole: Glokta begins to suspect that either he or Severard is a traitor. It turns out, both of them are but for separate reasons and employers. Severard was forced to betray Glokta because he was threatened into it by Valint and Balk. Frost was willingly informing for Arch Lector Sult and never gives a reason why he betrayed Glokta.
Not So Above It All: Despite being mostly grim and silent, he will quip on occasion.
The Sociopath: Unlike Glokta and Severard who are capable of some kindness, Frost really is just an emotionless killer. He shows no hesitancy in torturing Severard, and even less in snapping his neck. When Glokta demands to know why Frost turned on him, Frost shrugs, implying he did it for no reason.
The Stoic: Frost rarely displays any kind of reaction to anything. Even his own death doesn't elicit much more than a mildly surprised reaction.
Speech Impediment: Frost has a chronically swollen tongue that causes him to slur his speech.
Terrible Trio: He makes up one with his boss, Glokta, and his fellow Practical, Severard.
Torture Technician: Since he works for the Inquisition, this is a given.

Severard

Practical Severard

One of Sand dan Glokta's Practicals, a smart-mouthed joker who's in it for the money.

Alas, Poor Villain: Despite being a professional torturer, it's hard not to pity him considering he was forced to betray Glokta and then ends up tortured by Glokta and killed by Frost, the two people he had that were closest to friends.
Brains and Brawn: Subverted. While Severard is the smirking quipster and Frost is a hulking lisper, Frost shows Hidden Depths in a few occasions, and is smart enough to act as a mole for Sult.
Dissonant Serenity: Severard is often smiling and humming to himself when he engages in acts of violence.
Hidden Depths: When Ferro threatens to kill him for spying on her and demands a reason why she should spare him, he says he doesn't deserve mercy, but no one will feed his birds if he dies. It's enough for Ferro to let him live.
Laser-Guided Karma: He aides Glokta in his tortures, even complimenting him on his precision in using a meat cleaver to cut off bits off fingers. When Glokta finds out he's a mole, he uses the cleaver to cut off Severard's own fingers. Glokta even asks if Severard still values his precision.
The Mole: Glokta begins to suspect that either he or Frost is a traitor. It turns out, both of them are but for separate reasons and employers. Severard was forced to betray Glokta because he was threatened into it by Valint and Balk. Frost was willingly informing for Arch Lector Sult and never gives a reason why he betrayed Glokta.
Neck Snap: When Glokta realizes Frost has betrayed him to Sult, Frost snaps Severard's neck.
Pet the Dog: Severard likes to feed stray birds.
Terrible Trio: He makes up one with his boss, Glokta, and his fellow Practical, Frost.
Torture Technician: Since he works for the Inquisition, this is a given.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: A short story in Sharp Ends reveals that Severard was a nice, loyal, naive kid before an incident taught him what doing good deeds gets you.

Vitari

Practical Shylo Vitari

See Styria

Tallow

Practical Tallow

A member of the Breakers who Vick takes pity on and gives the option to join the Inquisition instead. Or face the consequences.

Always Someone Better: Vick, who by all accounts is a master actor herself, is amazed to find out the seemingly helpless, sad-eyed teenager is an even better actor than her.
Big Brother Instinct: Tallow is very protective of his sister, which Vick takes advantage of to ensure his loyalty by turning her into an oblivious hostage through arranging housing and employment for her. It turns out to be another act, as his "sister" is just another person playing a part for the Inquisition.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: The innocent, sad-eyed Tallow who viewed Vick as a friend is eventually revealed to all be an act by a deep-cover Inquisitor. From what little is seen of his true personality, he appears much colder and ruthless.
False Friend: Any care or friendship he displayed towards Vick turns out to have all been just an act since "Tallow" never really existed. It was just a false identity adopted by an Inquisitor who was assigned to manipulate and spy on Vick, and he doesn't display a hint of remorse when he drops the act.
I Have Your Wife: One of the reasons he becomes Vick's protege in the Inquisition is because his sister is made into an unknowing hostage.
Join or Die: The "job offer" Vick extends to him is really just a choice between joining the Inquisition or being tortured and executed by them for being a Breaker.
Master Actor: Vick comes to this conclusion when he drops the act as there's not a trace of the wide-eyed innocent he masqueraded as for so long. She even thinks he may be better than herself.
The Mole: It turns out Vick wasn't the only Inquisitor planted into the Breakers. In fact, he was placed there specifically to prey on her guilt over betraying her brother and to steer her in the right direction to influence the Weaver's plans.
Morality Pet: Vick tries to keep herself emotionally distant to avoid being hurt, but she can't help but become protective over the teenage Tallow due to him reminding her of her dead brother.
Punch-Clock Villain: He's probably the least threatening and malicious Practical in the series, given that he's a teenager with puppy-dog-eyes who's been forced to work for the Inquisition so he and his sister won't be hurt.
Puppy-Dog Eyes: His most defining physical characteristic are his big, sad eyes. He drops them when he reveals he's a spy to Vick.
Replacement Goldfish: The reason why Vick becomes so attached to him is because he reminds her of her little brother who died in the camps. It turns out he's invoking this in order to gain her trust and manipulate her by preying on her feelings of guilt over betraying her brother in the camps.
The Spook: It's revealed "Tallow" never existed, he's really an Inquisitor working for Glokta sent to spy on Vick. When Vick asks who he is, Glokta says he doubts even "Tallow" remembers what his original name was. He's just another prisoner of the camps who made the same deal that Vick did in order to be free.
Stockholm Syndrome: Even though Vick recruited him into the Inquisition under pain of torture and execution if he refused, and holds his sister hostage to ensure his cooperation, Tallow seems to genuinely grow to care about his mentor over time, viewing her as a friend. Subverted when it's revealed it's all a ploy to spy on her.

Characters / The First Law Union Inquisition

The King's Inquisition

Arch Lector

Arch Lector Sult

Arch Lector Sand dan Glokta

POV: The Blade Itself, Before They are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings

Superiors

Superior Pike

Superior Goyle

Superior Davoust

Superior Lorsen

Superior Risinau

Inquisitors

Inquisitor Harker

Inquisitor Exempt Victarine "Vick" dan Teufel

POV: A Little Hatred, The Trouble With Peace, The Wisdom of Crowds

Practicals

Practical Frost

Practical Severard

Practical Shylo Vitari

Practical Tallow

Previous

Index

Next

Characters / The First Law Union Inquisition

Edit Locked

The King's Inquisition

Arch Lector

Arch Lector Sult

Arch Lector Sand dan Glokta

POV: The Blade Itself, Before They are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings

Superiors

Superior Pike

Superior Goyle

Superior Davoust

Superior Lorsen

Superior Risinau

Inquisitors

Inquisitor Harker

Inquisitor Exempt Victarine "Vick" dan Teufel

POV: A Little Hatred, The Trouble With Peace, The Wisdom of Crowds

Practicals

Practical Frost

Practical Severard

Practical Shylo Vitari

Practical Tallow

Previous

Index

Next