A listing of characters from The Grace of Kings.
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Kuni and Associates
Kuni Garu
A layabout slacker turned upright citizen turned outlaw, Kuni recognizes the rebellion as an opportunity for adventure and capitalizes on it to rise high in society.
- The Extremist Was Right: Although he disagrees with the cruelty with which he ruled, Kuni believes that Mapidéré's goal of unifying the Dara states was a good one and wants to maintain/continue this, but in a manner that is not oppressive and betters the lives of the common people.
- Just Like Robin Hood: When he first becomes an outlaw he tries to follow the path of the honorable bandit, teaching his men not to harm innocents as they rob. He also distributes his spoils to the woodsmen who live in the mountains so they don't rat him out to authorities.
- Lovable Rogue: Jia develops an interest in Kuni after watching him con an officer into not harming an innocent widow and her son. Jia notes that he does good without being good himself, and expresses a desire to get to know him. After Kuni becomes an outlaw he develops popularity as a folk hero for his supposed virtues and charm.
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: As a young man, Kuni is described as a "gangster", and while he was definitely a ne'er-do-well and mooch, he never actually does anything gangstery (i.e. extortion, violence, etc.). The closest he gets is one scene where he's pressed about paying a bar tab and Kuni responds in a threatening manner- but rather than offering "protection" as a gangster would be expected to do, he instead points out that the liveliness of he and his friends helps bring in and keep customers, and their presence dissuades troublemakers from causing trouble. Later on, Kuni does become an actual bandit, but still a friendly one who aims to completely avoid deaths and injuries- and most of his ideas of what banditry involves come from fictional books about noble bandits he read in school.
- Rags to Royalty: He goes from poor slacker/outlaw to King of all Tiro states.
Jia Matiza
Kuni's first wife and the daughter of a rich rancher from Faça. Jia is an expert herbalist and reliable source of advice for Kuni.
- Marry for Love: Jia's wealthy father tried to set her up with several men of equal or greater social class, but to his surprise she liked and married Kuni, a rogue with no history of being an upstanding citizen.
- Significant Greeneyed Redhead: Her early appearances emphasize her bright red hair and her deep green eyes, instantly signifying her as a remarkable beauty and major character.
- Silk Hiding Steel: While she retains her ladylike mien as the war goes on, she matures into a strongwilled political wife with astute instincts for intrigue. She stays strong throughout the years she spends as Mata's hostage, and after staying behind after Mata invades so Kuni, Risana, and the children can escale, Soto commends her on making herself come off as a selfless woman while keeping both Kuni and Risana in her debt.
- Spirited Young Lady: Before marrying Kuni she was the daughter of a rich man who mocked her suitors and matchmakers in turn. She happily lives a relatively humble life with him after they wed.
Rin Coda
A childhood friend of Kuni's who becomes one of his brothers-in-arms.
- Childhood Friends: He and Kuni have been close since their schoolboy days. Rin reasons that this long friendship is why he can call Kuni out for his hedonism in the wake of the fall of Pan.
- Friend in the Black Market: After Kuni conquers Pan Rin is the one who keeps in touch with less savory business associates and does underhanded things in Kuni's name.
- The Spymaster: Rin's penchant for dabbling with unsavory sorts later makes him a good fit for spymaster when Kuni declares himself king. He is the one who comes up with the idea for Kuni's allies to send their families to Kuni, as royal hostages are great to spy on.
Risana
A dancer and illusionist who becomes Kuni's second wife.
- Master of Illusion: She is skilled at casting illusions, which aid Kuni and his circle in manipulating allies and enemies.
Mata and Associates
Mata Zyndu
The warrior grandson of the deposed Duke Zyndu, Mata was raised by his uncle Phin to avenge the deaths and humiliation of the Zyndu clan.
- Blood Knight: Mata enjoys striking down people in combat a little too much.
- Dual Wielding: Mata Zyndu wields a pair of ancestral weapons, a One-Handed Zweihänder and a tooth-studded cudgel — a choice that would be wildly impractical for anyone not an eight-foot-tall Lightning Bruiser One-Man Army.
- Fatal Flaw: Mata Zyndu's Black-and-White Insanity. He lives like a warrior out of legend, distrusts any deviation from that ideal, and is quick to assume he's being betrayed. This repeatedly causes him to turn against his friends and allies and ultimately costs him his empire and his life.
- Honor Before Reason: Mata sticks to the old aristocratic codes of honor and propriety, in contrast to Kuni's more casual attitudes. For example, he doesn't understand why Kuni would pardon a traitor, only to be surprised when Kuni is able to parlay this into something advantageous.
- Hypocrite: For a man who laments how his faithless allies keep betraying him, he turns against his allies at the slightest pretext without ever questioning his own self-righteousness.
- Large and in Charge: At almost eight feet tall, he towers over everyone else, and puts his imposing figure to full use as a Warrior Prince.
- Meaningful Name: He's noted to have extra pupils. Mata is the word for eye in Malay.
- Moral Myopia: He lives like a Warrior Prince out of legend and doesn't understand how other people might have different priorities — like, say, living in peace and safety or escaping an oppressive caste system. He's described as a man who would weep for a dead horse but not know why civilians might object to having all their food seized for the war effort.
- Politically Incorrect Hero: Mata starts out as a heroic figure, but displays contempt for women/"feminine pursuits" and his primary issue with Mapidéré's rule was how it displaced the old aristocracy and replaced them with "lowly bureaucrats".
- Red Right Hand: Played with. Mata has double-pupiled eyes and is almost eight feet tall, suggesting an appearance bordering on Humanoid Abomination. While Mata and his uncle think of his eyes and build as representing his foresight and ties to the heroes of old, as he becomes increasingly unsympathetic, they instead are a mark of his Obviously Evil-ness (even though Mata thinks of himself as a good guy).
Phin Zyndu
Mata's uncle. He survived the deaths of his family and raised his nephew Mata in exile.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Phin was the friendly and well-read second son of the Zyndu clan, intentionally kept from their family's martial traditions by his father and brother who wanted him to find independent happiness. But when his entire family save for his baby nephew were slaughtered when Phin was thirteen, he cursed his weakness. Phin spends the rest of his life as a hardened warrior and raises Mata to be the same.
Mira
A woman whose brother died fighting in Mata's army. She later becomes Mata's lover.
- The Confidant: By the end, she's the only person Mata will open up to, and she speaks frankly to him in return.
- Textile Work Is Feminine: She is frequently seen doing needlepoint, which Mata initially dismisses as a useless feminine pursuit. She points out that its artistry is similar to his battlefield victories, only much less bloody.
Xana Empire
Mapidéré
Initially King Réon of Xana, he annexed the other six Tiro States into a united Dara and crowned himself Emperor Mapidéré.
- Dismembering the Body: When Mata Zyndu's rebel army reaches the outskirts of Pan, they disinter Mapidéré's body from its ostentatious mausoleum and allow an angry mob to tear it apart.
- The Emperor: Initially just king of Xana, he united the other Tiro States into the Empire of Xana. He is a visionary whose brutal methods proved unpopular among his new subjects.
- King on His Deathbed: By the end of the first act, he's gravely ill and as he deteriorates his ministers plot and scheme as to who will succeed him.
- Visionary Villain: Despite his ruthless methods, Mapidéré had admirable goals, wanting to end the continual wars among the island states and bring peace to the region, achieving respect for his homeland in the process.
Erishi
Formerly called Prince Loshi. Mapidéré's son and successor.
- Puppet King: He only became the second emperor because his teacher Lügo Crupo wanted to hold on to power after the Emperor's health seriously began deteriorating, and deployed a coup to make him king. Erishi ascended the throne at twelve and is otherwise kept complacent and entertained while Lügo and Goran enjoy being in charge.
- Unexpected Successor: He had several other brothers ahead of him in succession, but after Lügo Crupo decided he liked being prime minister too much to give it up after Mapidéré's death he leapfrogs his student Erishi to the throne. Post hoc, Erishi's brothers were conveniently all rebels who committed suicide after their plots were found out.
Goran Pira
The chatelain.
- Childhood Friends: He was a childhood friend of the emperor and stuck by him throughout the wars of conquest, which makes his planned betrayal more notable.
- Didn't Think This Through: He kills Lügo Crupo to seize power, then quickly comes to realize he knows very little about all of Crupo's duties.
- The Starscream: He is the chatelain of Pan and one of Emperor Mapidere's inner circle, but has secretly been plotting the Empire's downfall and his takeover ever since Mapidere killed a concubine Goran had loved.
Lügo Crupo
A high-ranking bureaucrat who becomes regent during the reign of Emperor Erishi.
- Corrupt Politician: Made himself regent and is content to swan around enjoying the benefits of regency and ignoring the rebellion.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Goran Pira makes a grab for power and brutally tortures Lügo before having his heart cut out.
- Handwriting as Characterization: Good calligraphy is considered a mark of refinement and is judged in the qualifying exams for state office. Lügo Crupo is renowned for the beauty of his writing as well as for the elegance and intelligence of his words — both of which hide a morally bankrupt character.
Tanno Namen
An old general who is called on to lead the military campaign against the rebel forces.
- Four-Star Badass: After being brought out of retirement, General Namen immediately proceeds to deal blow after blow to the fledgling rebellion.
- My Country, Right or Wrong: General Namen never wed, and the Xana Empire is described as his 'great love'. He regrets several actions that he has to take to keep the empire going, but does them anyway.
- Old Soldier: He made his mark during the reunification wars, and is dragged out of retirement decades later to crush the rebels after the imperial court got rid of all the other generals who weren't on their side.
The Tiro States
Huno Krima
Initially a peasant from Cocru, he initiates the rebellion against the imperial regime in an attempt to get out of conscripted labor.
- He Who Fights Monsters: His rebellion against the tyrannical Xana throne is initially welcomed by the populace, but in his efforts to depose the imperials and maintain his own power he becomes just as bad as the empire he seeks to overthrow. Rebel soldiers grumble that they are fighting against Xana because they hate its policy of forced labor, only for Krima to force them to build monuments in honor of his reign anyway.
- Internal Affairs: As Huno Krima becomes a paranoid Caligula, he forms the elite Black Caps to root out subversive elements within his forces, then the White Caps to spy on the Black Caps, and finally the Grey Caps to spy on the White Caps. He's then unexpectedly decapitated.
- Off with His Head!: He's eventually beheaded by a disgruntled follower.
- The Paranoiac: Krima eventually becomes more and more paranoid and entitled. He begins abusing his "soldiers", becomes convinced that his inner circle is out to get him (to the point of establishing a secret police, then distrusting this force and establishing yet another force to keep tabs on them, and attributing his forces' defeats to infiltration by the empire instead of his own incompetence.
- Rebel Leader: Played With. Krima and his co-conspirator Zopa Shigin establish the rebellion and enjoy early success against the empire, but Krima's failings cause the force to crumble. The protagonists Kuni and Mata eventually take over.
Dafiro and Ratho Miro
Two brothers who are one of Huno Krima and Zopa Shigin's initial band of rebels.
- Alcoholic Parent: They lost their father to conscription, and their mother to drink. Dafiro took the brunt of her intoxicated abuse.
- Those Two Guys: In the first half of the story they pop up occasionally to provide the current foot-soldier perspective to the rebel leaders' actions.
Thufi
Heir to the throne of Cocru at the time of the rebellion.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Knows well enough that he just happened to be born the son of the right man and that he has no martial experience. He is all too happy to hand the reins over to Huno Krima and later the protagonists. He also internally expresses frustration with the ass-kissing of the other Tiro ambassadors.
Jizu
Heir to the throne of Rima at the time of the rebellion.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: Sets himself on fire rather than to be taken as a trophy by the Xana military.
- Self-Immolation: He self-immolates rather than be taken as a prisoner of war and his horrific screams are described by the narration.
- The Wise Prince: Tanno Namen notes that Jizu, in his parlay with the Xana military, truly understands the weight of leadership and regrets that the young king has to die.
Luan Zya
An assassin from Haan who joins Kuni and the rebellion.
- Cultured Badass: Luan was born into a family with close ties to the royal family of Haan (itself the most learned of the Tiro states), and thus grew up surrounded by scholars, poets, artists, politicians, and other great thinkers. The loss of culture as a result of the Xana conquest is part of what spurs him to assassinate the emperor (and nearly succeed) via kite-riding.
Kikomi
The princess of Amu, who is renowned for her beauty.
- Heir Club for Men: Despite being the granddaughter of the previous Amu king, her country's succession rules forbid women from inheriting, and so it's her great-uncle who rules.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: Invoked. She seduces and assassinates one of the rebel army leaders, Phin, in an attempt to save her nation from desecration if Xana wins, but realizes that if Xana loses, the rebels may still destroy Amu. So she casts herself as a lovesick idiot to ensure her memory will be denigrated, but her country will live on.
- In Love with the Mark: She is tasked with assassinating either Mata or his uncle Phin. She chooses the latter, wondering if her developing feelings for Mata are not coloring this decision.
- Princess Classic: Invoked. Kikomi's great beauty was apparent from a young age, and so she was shoehorned into the role of beautiful and docile princess because her people needed a symbol. She expresses frustration that her interests in mathematics and governance were forgone by her guardians in favor of fashion, manners, and elocution.
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Lampshaded. "It was a cliché for a beautiful woman to complain about being cursed with beauty, Kikomi knew, but just because it was a cliché didn't mean it wasn't true."
Gin Mazoti
A talented strategist.
- Bald Head of Toughness: Gin Mazoti first started shaving her head to pass as a man, but continues after openly becoming the Dara States' first female Marshall. Getting there involved a harrowing Orphan's Ordeal, a hard life on the streets, and years of determined work to rise to power.
- Little Miss Con Artist: When she was a young, she was taken in by a gang of thieves who taught her to exploit the perceived innocence of her youth and gender to distract potential marks before robbing them blind.
Dara Pantheon
Kiji
The patron of Xana and god of the winds.
- Ethereal White Dress: He wears a spotless white cloak, an incongruous element when he disguises himself as a grimy beggar. It's a tipoff to his divine nature.
- Noble Bird of Prey: He's the god of winds, and his totem is the dignified falcon.
Kana and Rapa
Twin patronesses of Cocru. Kana is the goddess of fire and death, and Rapa the goddess of ice and sleep.
- Fire/Ice Duo: Kana is the goddess of fire and volcanoes. Her twin Rapa is the goddess of ice and glaciers. Despite this dichotomy they act in tandem and are mentioned to be as close as their other domains, death and sleep.
Rufizo
Healing god, patron of Faça.
- Doves Mean Peace: The most pacifistic of the gods in accordance with his domain of healing. His pawi is accordingly the dove.
Tazu
The unpredictable god of sea currents and treasure, and the patron of Gan.
- Consistent Clothing Style: His human incarnations can be identified by their shark-tooth jewellery.
- Divine Date: He disguises himself as a concubine to seduce Kuni Garu in Pan. The dalliance appears to serve no purpose other than delaying him and amusing Tazu.
- God of Chaos: He is the chaotic god of tsunamis, sea currents, and sunken treasures. He's prayed to by gamblers who put their faith in pure chance, whereas those who prefer more strategy pray to Lutho.
- Lord of the Ocean: A jovial and unpredictable god whose domain includes sea currents, whirlpools, and sunken treasure.
- Mega Maelstrom: There's a giant and apparently permanent whirlpool that moves around Wolf's Paw attributed to Tazu that drowns any ship in its path. By sacrificing 20 000 prisoners to the whirlpool, Matu Zyndu not only wins safe passage for his own army but entices Tazu to consume his enemy's ships instead.
Lutho
The patron of Haan and the wise god of mathematics and divination.
- God in Human Form: He appears to Luan as a trickster fisherman to inspire the scholar on his travels.
- Wise Old Turtle: He has the sea turtle as his "pawi" (totem) and is the god of fishermen, divination, mathematics, and knowledge, and in practice basically the good Trickster God counterpart to the God of Chaos Tazu. Lutho, like the other gods, manipulates humans behind the scenes to achieve his desired (benevolent) ends, and in one instance plays the role of Old Master to the intellectual master-strategist Luan Zya, and gifts him with a magical Great Big Book of Everything. The reader is clued into the fact that the wise old man is Lutho, partly because he's described as looking rather like a turtle.
Fithowéo
The god of the hunt and war, as well as the patron of Rima.
- Irony: The narration considers it ironic that the least martial of the seven Tiro states has the god of war as its patron.
- Noble Wolf: A dignified and noble war god whose symbol is the wolf.
Tututika
The youngest of the Dara pantheon and the goddess of agriculture and beauty. She is the patroness of Amu.
- Silk Hiding Steel: She is often considered the youngest and weakest of her godly family, but Kikomi recalls an anecdote about her in which she used her beauty and feminine wiles to seduce an enemy hero before killing him with her poisoned hairpin.
