The cast of Thieves & Kings
Rubel
A Thief — which in this world is not a pickpocket, but a firmly established legendary rogue archetype, who is expected to have swashbuckling adventures, fight monsters, thumb his nose at authorities and woo pretty girls. People he meets are suitably impressed.Tropes:
- Action Hero
- Heroes Love Dogs: One of the three types of animal he can talk to (the other two are mice and horses).
- Impossible Thief
- The Lancer: To Heath, after the story starts to focus more on her.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Thieves are not good with magic.
Varkias
An imp, and Rubel's fiercely loyal sidekick. Not very bright, and with a limited memory, he often argues with Rubels goals and methods. In the past, he has sidekicked for Rubel's mentor Quinton, and a few of Katara's preincarnations, though he remembers little about it.Tropes:
- Deadpan Snarker
- Fairy Companion: He isn't an actual fairy, but still fits into this trope.
- Forgetful Jones
- Non-Human Sidekick
Katara
The princess and legal heir to the kingdom — and also the reincarnation of the powerful Red Sorceress. Rubel is her sworn Thief. At the outset of the series, Katara has disappeared, leaving her evil brother Kangar manoeuvering to seize control of the kingdom. By the time we see Katara again, she has taken several levels in badass, become leader of a horde of trolls, and is planning to retake her kingdom by force.Tropes:
- A Father to His Men: Her relationship with her troll army.
- Magical Girl Warrior
- Took a Level in Badass
- Unreliable Expositor: Because she may or may not be insane.
Soracia
Initially the main villain. Thousands of years old, wielding two oversized magical blades and wrapped in a cape of magical shadow, she acts as The Dragon for the Big Bad. She is the sister of the first incarnation (that we know of) of the Red Sorceress. While her sister has been reincarnated dozens of times, she's stayed alive all this time, growing in power and cunning.Tropes:
- Anti-Villain: Before her Heel–Face Turn.
- The Atoner: She becomes this after her Heel–Face Turn.
- Dark Magical Girl
- Evil Counterpart: To the Red Sorceress.
- Heel–Face Turn
- I Have Many Names: Also known as "the Shadow Lady", "the Queen of Halves", and "Sally".
- Lady of War
- Really 700 Years Old
- Time Abyss
- The Un-Favourite: Her father loved the Red Sorceress more (or at least she thought so).
- Villainous Crush: The reason why she wants to steal Rubel's soul.
Quinton Zempfester
The greatest wizard in the world (though we never see him doing any actual magic) and more than half crazy. He is generally at the center of a Gambit Roulette, aided by the fact that he can convince anyone to do nearly anything. Deceptively young looking, he's old enough to refer to Soracia as "Kiddo". The as-of-yet-unseen Big Bad is his brother.Tropes:
- Born Winner
- The Chessmaster
- Crazy-Prepared
- Forgetful Jones
- Guile Hero
- Obfuscating Stupidity: In The Walking Mage, at least. In the series proper he comes off as more Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass (though that could also be a put-on).
- Really 700 Years Old
- Robe and Wizard Hat
- Time Abyss: To give you an idea of just how old he is, ten thousand-year-old Soracia is young compared to him.
- Trickster Mentor: This is especially evident in The Walking Mage.
- Unreliable Expositor
- The Wonka
Heath Wingwit
A young peasant girl and another reincarnation of the Red Sorceress. Through Quinton's Time Travel shenanigans, this preincarnation of Katara is currently living in the same time period as her. This paradox is implied to do not-good things to Katara's sanity. Heath is currently studying magic, with mixed success.Tropes:
Kimithin
A girl who is studying magic under the Wicked Witch Locumire. She is the reincarnation of one of the souls bound to Soracia's magical swords. She and her best friend Leahanna met Rubel while he was tied to a pole at Locumire's, awaiting a grisly fate. Despite being on the villains' side, she is a nice and thoughtful girl who gets along quite well with Rubel and after her Heel–Face Turn, she eventually starts a romantic relationship with him.Tropes:
- Beware the Nice Ones: She's powerful enough to give Soracia trouble.
- Dark Magical Girl
- The Heart
- Heel–Face Turn
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Leahanna.
- I Know Your True Name: Her true name is Jale.
- Punch-Clock Villain
- Third-Option Love Interest
Leahanna
A girl who is studying magic under the Wicked Witch Locumire. She is the reincarnation of one of the souls bound to Soracia's magical swords.Tropes:
- Cloudcuckoolander: Sort of comes off this way in her first appearance. Later on, not so much.Leah: Paradise can only be achieved through PROOF OF BLOOD!Rubel: Is she always like this?Kim: It's less when she plays with her kitten.Leah: Don't tell him about Ginger!
- Dark Magical Girl
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Kimithin.
- I Know Your True Name: Her true name is Morthalanue.