Characters / The Lotus War

Protagonists

Yukiko:

The main character, daughter of the Shogun's hunting master, she possesses the ability to telepathically communicate with animals.

• Action Girl: She kills Oni with a six-inch knife
• Berserk Button: She doesn't tolerate insults to her family. Not even her father.
  • And never threaten her friends either. Just when Hiro was about to kill Kin, Yukiko tore his arm off and impaled him!
• Big Damn Heroes: Starts getting a (negative) reputation for this as she shows up late to a few too many battles. Even after the war, it's a case of Once Done, Never Forgotten.
  Michi: About godsdamned time. This dramatic entrance bullshit is getting out of hand...
• Bond Creatures: Used to have a dog in this role, then bonds with a thunder tiger.
• Deadpan Snarker: She likes to snark.
• Dented Iron: Even though she's only 27 at the epilogue, Yukiko is described as a fragile looking woman who had been helped around by her kids. While she didn't take too many injuries in battle, to repair the damaged land she resorted to sacrificing her blood on a regular basis in her pilgrimage across the land.
• Parental Abandonment: Her mother left her when she was young and her father is a drug addict. Actually, her mother was killed by the Shogun
• Pregnant Badass: Starting in Kinslayer. Interestingly, her power actually grows because of this.
• Psychic Nosebleed: Starts getting them in Kinslayer owing to her pregnancy
• Took a Level in Badass: Keeps on leveling throughout the series, going from girl who helped her father hunt to Stormdancer to someone who can psychically kill a man to ripping through a task force of sky ships to halting the attacks of three sea serpents to ripping through a whole fleet of sky ships to waking up Dragon Gods from slumber and commanding them to killing Hiro's entire retinue with a wave of her hand. It helps that she starts from trying to suppress and hide her power to embracing it to getting it amplified by her pregnancy

Buruu

A Thunder Tiger (griffon) who befriends Yukiko.

• Awesome Moment of Crowning: Becomes Khan of the Arisotoka after fighting single combat.
  Buruu: I am the get of Skaa. Khan-son, exiled and now returned. I am a child of Everstorm, and I claim its rule this day, in the eyes of father Rajjin, at the seat of his father, Susano-o.

  I am he who was Roahh, then Kinslayer, new reforged anew in blood and thunder.

  I am Khan

  I. Am. Buruu.
• Berserk Button: Threaten Yukiko at your own risk
• Broken Angel: His wings are clipped by Masaru. And then his replacements are clipped by Yoritomo
• Dark and Troubled Past: Finally learn about it in Endslinger: he slew his brothers as vengeance for his father's death despite his father's preaching against such acts and earning the name Kinslayer
• Deadpan Snarker: Possibly due to his bond with Yukiko; he has some of the best lines in the books.
• Last of His Kind: The last Thunder Tiger in Shima. But not, as we learn in Kinslayer, the last anywhere.

Shima

Yoritomo

Shogun of Shima

• Big Bad: Wants Buruu as his own pet for much of the first book. And then we learn about what he did to Yukiko's mother. Doesn't survive the first book.
• The Caligula: Let's see... has a bunch of employees for jobs he doesn't need, demands an Ashitora be delivered to him just because he dreamt it, orders two women sent to his room for "breakfast", cuts up a girl's face because he was denied her body, kills Yukiko's mother because she asked to depart amongst many others. Just plainly not a nice guy.
• Killed Off for Real: By Masaru and Yukiko psychically crushing him.

Aisha

Sister to Yoritomo. Really a Kage sympathizer.

• Cain and Abel: Both she and her brother attempt to murder each other in their own ways - she via fermenting a revolution to overthrow him and he via brutalizing her when discovering her treachery.
• The Mole: Kage sympathizer.

Masaru

Yukiko's father, huntmaster for the Shogun. Since virtually all wildlife is dead, he spends most of his time drinking or smoking Lotus.

• Born Lucky: "Kitsune looks after his own". Unfortunately, he's pretty much just lucky enough to get into really serious trouble.
• Cigarette of Anxiety: His wife left him, his daughter doesn't like him, and his job basically does not exist.
• Hidden Depths: It appears at first glance that he's just a wreck who turned to drugs and drove away his family, caring for nothing beyond his next hit. Turns out, his wife was executed as a warning by the Shogun, who threatened to have Yukiko tortured if Masaru didn't do what he was told

Akahito

Hunter who'd worked under Masaru for many years.

• Big Brother Mentor: To Yukiko.
• Handicapped Badass: Received a leg injury in Stormdancer and it continues to hobble him through the rest of the series.
• Nice Guy: Very conscious of his boundaries with Hana
• She Is Not My Girlfriend: Tells Piotr multiple times that he and Hana aren't a couple.

Hiro

Samurai to Yoritomo and lover of Yukiko.

• Artificial Limbs: After Buru chomps off his arm, he gets a mechanical one.

• Heroic Sacrifice: Dies during a delaying action to buy the Kage' time to close the Hellgate.
• Revenge Before Reason: No matter how much he claims its about honor, his continued survival and hunt against Yukiko is all about revenge. In private, he will not deny it
• Nightmare Sequence: He has flashbacks to getting his mechanical arm installed.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Played With. Kinslayer makes it clear that while he loved Yukiko, he despises everything she has done and seeks vengeance upon her - particularly because he loved her
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Has this relationship with his father.

Kage

Daichi

Leader of the Kage rebellion and former Samurai of Yoritomo.

• Dark and Troubled Past: Deeply ashamed of what he did in the service of Yoritomo.

Kaori

Daughter of Daichi, she had her face cut by Yoritomo when his advances on her were refused, declaring that if he couldn't have her, no man should want her.

• Foil: In Endsinger, she becomes one to Yukiko as Yukiko moves past her anger and desire for revenge while Kaori dwells in it. She gets better
• Hypocrite: In Endsinger, she accuses Yukiko's judge of character based upon her past relationships but it is quickly made clear that all her actions are driven by her relationship with Yoritomo.
• Revenge Before Reason: After her father's capture at the hands of Kin, she becomes unwilling to work with the Lotus Guild rebels even after being told that it was a planned defection

Michi

An agent of the Kage inside Yoritomo's palace.

• Star-Crossed Lovers: With Lord Ichizo.

Hana

A orphan living on the streets with her brother that also possesses the ability to talk with animals. Eventually she becomes Stormdancer and partner with Kaiah

• Berserk Button: Akahito. It took Yukiko, who'd known Akahito a lot longer, to calm her down
• But Not Too Foreign: Her mother is a gaijin witch and it shows up in Hana. She has to dye her hair and cover her mismatched eye to pass as a Shima local and even then people think she's a Fox clan bastard because of her pale skin. She also inherits her abilities to communicate with animals thru her mother.
• Eye Scream: One eye was assaulted by her father and she wears an eyepatch over it. Loses her other eye to the Yakuza. Thankfully, her father had not been successful at destroying her first eye - it just was an obviously Gaijin color
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Went from Street Rat to Kage agent to Stormdancer - at which point, she becomes extremely lethal.
• The Mole: Served in the Palace as the "shit girl" (hired cleaned the latrines every night). Easiest way for Kage to pass info in and out of the palace.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: After Akahito's death, she kills Mother Natassja and then demolishes the Morcheban air fleet. Yukiko talks her down.
• Took a Level in Badass: She fended for herself but didn't really fight and kill. Until her eye got ripped out. After that, she quickly becomes lethal before outright becoming a Stormdancer.

Yoshi

Hana's brother and street rat. While Hana tries to rise to the challenges of the times, Yoshi repeatedly rejects that its their fight as he seeks ways to solve his problems of life on the bottom rung of society.

• Happily Married: Has this relationship with Jurou though they aren't technically married.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He smashes himself to flinders on the Hellgate to close it. He gets an entire province named after him in the Distant Finale.
• Hypocrite: Criticizes Hana's recklessness but his actions cause the greatest harm to them ultimately resulting in Jurou and Daken's death and Hana's permanent injury
• Promoted to Parent: Takes on the role after the deaths of their parents.
• Refused the Call: On multiple occasions had the opportunity to be a hero but outright rejects them. Until he figures out how to end the war and chooses to sacrifice himself for his sister
• Revenge Before Reason: Very self-aware of this but seeks it anyways to avenge his lover's death
• Street Urchin: As with Hana
• Token Minority: One of the two homosexual characters in the series, and the surviving partner.

Lotus Guild

The guys who run the Blood Lotus fields.

The Guild

• Ancient Conspiracy: See "Path of Inspiration" below.
• Body Horror: Everyone else who knows of them thinks their cybernetics are disgusting.
• Cyborg: Guildsmen have their suits wired directly into their bodies at about 12 points. One is apparently for nutrient liquid.The other 11 aren't described, but when they fiddle with their control boxes, they feel it in their spines.
• Expy They're Tech-Priests, basically.
• Hive Mind: Their "mechabaci" (the control boxes on their chests) keep them connected to each other, and the thinking-engines in their chapterhouses.
• Human Resources: Sell a fertilizer made from processed corpses, called "Inochi".
• Path of Inspiration: Vague, but apparently they follow an interpretation of the holy texts where everyone with supernatural power must be burned alive. The entire organization was founded to bring about the Shiman version of the Apocalypse, and they burn people who can talk to animals because Yokai-Kin blood can purify Deadland taint and close Hellgates.
• Powered Armor: Every single guild member wears "skin" at all times outside of their strongholds.

Kin

A guild member who serves on an airship as an engineer. He develops a crush on Yukiko.

• Awesome Moment of Crowning: Prophesized to one day be First Bloom to a raucous cheering. Subverted in Endslinger when he crowns himself First Bloom only to use his power to tear down the Guild.
• Badass Bookworm: Doesn't know much about fighting, but demonstrates that skin is much, much more than an environment suit.
• Defector from Decadence: Becomes convinced the Lotus Guild is not in the right. Then defects back to the Lotus Guild after getting treated like crap by La Résistance.
• Powered Armor: His set is an artificer suit, which is covered with all sorts of tools such as a welder, a mini-crane, and many more. Also, it is impervious to chainkatanas.
• Prophecy Twist: Destined to become First Bloom. He does, for approximately ten seconds-as long as it takes to disband the organization.

Kensai

Second Bloom of the Lotus Guild and Voice of the Guild in Kigen City. He's also a surrogate father for Kin having been close friends with Kin's father.

• Driven to Suicide: After his Heel Realization.
• Glory Hound: Desperately wants to be on the bridge of the Earthcrusher and is not pleased when the Guild Inquisition tries to take it from him. He also imagines himself to be the next First Bloom and rejects entirely the possibility that Kin will be.
• Heel Realization: After the Hell Gate opens.
• Properly Paranoid: Figures out quickly how Yukiko could capture Buruu. Bugs Kin's skin because he doesn't trust that Kin has truly returned to the Guild as a loyal member.
• Spanner in the Works: To Kin's plan.

Ayane

A "False-Lifer" (a female Guild member specializing in robotics) who defects to the Kage rebellion.

• Baby Factory: When false-lifers aren't building A.I.s, they're breeding little guildsmen. She defects to escape this, ostensibly.
• Defector from Decadence: Defector from the Guild.
• The Mole: Planted by the Guild Inquisition to bring back Kin.
• Spider Limbs: One of her cybernetic implants, common to all FL's.

Morchebans

Piotr

Morcheban soldier who joins Yukiko as he tries to fulfill a promise.

• Accidental Pervert: When he tries to warn Yukiko that Iilytch is using her to get close to Buruu so he can take his pelt, all he can articulate is "Using you for body" and tracing the lines on her body one would cut to remove human skin. Yukiko mistakes this for Attempted Rape and beats da fuck out of him.
• Cyborg: Has a mechanical knee, built for him by a Guildsman he rescued.
• Nice Guy: While other Morchebans treat Yukiko with actions ranging from suspicion to actively hostile, Piotr is friendly and apologetic throughout her captivity and tries to warn her about the threat to Buruu. Yukiko does not recognize this initially.
  • Tells Kaori and Hana that he thinks they're pretty despite the scar and missing eye, respectively.
• Poor Communication Kills: Piotr provides advice multiple times that, if heeded, would've prevented multiple tragic events between the Morchebans and Shimans, but his limited Shiman vocabulary meant this advice was regularly misunderstood or outright ignored
• Rags to Riches: Was just a Morcheban medic, at the epilogue he marries Kaori who becomes ruler of Shima.
• The Unintelligible: His Shiman is very weak.

Sister Katya

A Zryachniye of Morcheba.

• Battle Trophy: Her clothes bear the battered helms of numerous Guildsmen.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Responds to Hana's sexual encounter by killing Akahito triggering the death of Mother Natassja leading to her declaring war against the Kitsune and later refusing to assist the Shimans
• Poor Communication Kills: Could have avoided a string of tragedies if she had taken five seconds to explain that being a Zryachniye is a Virgin Power.
• Revenge Before Reason: Does not take the death of Mother Natassja well, leading to her stubborn refusal to condone cooperation with Shiman forces

Iilytch

A boy working at the Morcheban lightning farm.

• Butt-Monkey: The local punching bag.
• Flaying Alive: Uses Yukio to get close to Buruu so he can take a Gryphon's pelt (and finally get some respect). Lucky for Buruu, there was another Ashatora nearby.

Kapitan Aleksandar

A commander in the Morcheban force that invades Shima and Uncle to Hana and Yoshi

• Luke, I Am Your Father: Uncle to Hana and Yoshi.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: His line rules one of the 12 Morcheban houses, he's a senior commander for the Morcheban invasion force, and he duels and defeats the Dragon Daiymo in his introductory chapter.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Is very quick to defend Hana's actions following her retaliation for Akahito's death and repeatedly petitions in favor of Yukiko and Hana's proposals.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Unofficially allies with the Shimans over the protest of Katya when the Hellgate opens and spews forth The Legions of Hell.

Arashitora

Kaiah

A female Arashitora who had fled the Everstorm following the death of her mate and children in a power struggle

• Berserk Button: Blames Buruu for the death of her family owing to the fact that only his family could have protected their people and he slew his brothers before fleeing in shame