World of the Five Gods / Characters

Organized by the novel they first take a major role in.

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The Curse of Chalion

Lupe dy Cazaril

A former military commander, betrayed and sold as a galley slave, and newly freed as of the start of the book. He finds himself unwillingly drawn into intrigue both political and divine.

Badass Bookworm: Although he's not very good at holding a pen anymore, he's hired as a secretary and a tutor of languages. He even winds up writing poetry.
Beware the Honest Ones:
- He regularly refuses bribes, from the Roknari during the siege of Gotorget, from Dondo dy Jironal, and from the Fox of Ibra, cementing his reputation as an unimpeachable courtier.
- Imparting to Iselle an understanding of how to recognize self-serving flattery helps her deflect Dondo's initial wooing attempts.
- Finally, he rides across Chalion and Ibra to persuade Royse Bergon to marry Iselle, so she can legally become the Royina upon Orico's death without triggering a civil war.
Blessed with Suck: Becomes a living saint, hosting two miracles from different gods. This is less awesome than it sounds, because saints are the gods' tools, not their work, and tools get damaged.
Broken Bird: Nineteen months of backbreaking slavery on a galley will do that to a guy. He gets better.
Combat Pragmatist: Having witnessed both courtly duels and real combat, Caz knows exactly how far knowledge of the former will take you in the latter. The answer is: not very.
Determinator: Once he sets his mind on a goal he will see it through, no matter how much pain he might be in.
Humble Hero: To the point where it seems to be a symptom of depression. To hear Caz tell it, he's failed at everything he's ever done in his life and is just generally worthless and useless. Other characters frequently point out his praiseworthy qualities and many achievements, but he always dismisses them as irrelevant.
Mister Seahorse: It's left vague whether he's literally pregnant with some kind of ghost-demon-hybrid that will eventually claw its way out of his body (when his tumour is punctured at the end of the novel there is no demonic fetus to be found within it, but Caz dourly notes that the demon might just have taken its half-formed body with it as it vacated the premises), but he does in fact carry the spirits of a ghost and a demon within him, and they manifest physically as an abdominal tumour that makes his stomach look swollen.
Younger Than They Look: Even without the demonic cancer thing, his greying beard makes him seem rather older than his mid thirties.

March dy Palliar

Cazaril's best friend and loyal lieutenant; a lord dedicat of the Order of the Daughter.

The Lancer: To Cazaril. He's also his best friend.
Beware the Honest Ones: He's genuinely shocked when his case against a corrupt official in the Daughter's Order is summarily thrown out, and is uneasy when Iselle recruits him to help in arranging her marriage to Bergon. However...
Palli: I, I, I... I can swear my fealty in addition to what I have sworn to your brother Orico, lady. I cannot swear to you instead of to him.
Iselle: I do not ask for your service before what you give to Orico. I only ask for your service before what you give to Orico's chancellor.
Palli: Now that I can do. And with a will.
Good-Looking Privates: He's described as being a very handsome soldier of the Daughter's Order, to the point that Caz wonders why Betriz isn't attracted more to him.
Only Known by Their Nickname: He's only ever called Palli; his first name is never given.

Royesse Iselle dy Chalion

Royesse (princess) of Chalion, second in line for the throne behind her younger brother. A spirited young woman, about to turn sixteen at the start of the book.

The Ingenue: Though with Cazaril's help she quickly sheds her maidenly ignorance and becomes very sophisticated, clever and bordering on wily.
The High Queen: The High Royina. She's heading there toward the end of the book, with her native intelligence, carefully schooled demeanor, heroic husband and clever advisors. She's got great PR.
No Historical Figures Were Harmed: This world's version of Isabella of Castile.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: She's determined to become this, even though tradition is for highborn women to be demure and passive. After a few stumbles along the way, she succeeds admirably.

Betriz dy Ferrej

Iselle's best friend and confidante, daughter of the Castle Warder of Cardegoss.

A Friend in Need: Is unfailingly loyal to Iselle, even in the face of deadly court intrigues or other dangers, and it's not out of any ambition for when Iselle may ascend the throne—this is pure friendship and devotion. Iselle grants Betriz the highest reward for her loyalty: Cazaril's hand in marriage.
Age-Gap Romance: Falls in love with Cazaril, much to the older man's disbelief.
The Ingenue: She's a high-born young woman who has been sheltered. She doesn't realize, for example, what a dangerous idea it is to humiliate Dondo dy Jironal.
The Lancer: To Iselle.

Royse Bergon dy Ibra

Royse (prince) of Ibra, second in line for the throne behind his half-brother.

Adipose Rex: Averted. One year before the novel's events he had a "peck of puppy fat", while by the time he appears in the story Cazaril notes him to be "a little stocky, but fit, not fat".
Because You Were Nice to Me: Caz gave him water and defended him from a rape attempt, earning himself a vicious flogging, while they were on the galley together — all with no clue who the boy truly was until they met again over a year later. Not only does this win Bergon's eternal gratitude, it deeply shapes him as a person.
Chekhov's Gunman: He's mentioned briefly in the early chapters as background detail, and then re-enters the plot at a crucial point late in the book.
No Historical Figures Were Harmed: This world's version of Ferdinand of Aragon.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Well grounded and a thoughtful strategic and tactical planner.
Warrior Prince: Almost the Wise Prince, but without the associated melancholy. He's cunning but not cynical.

Martou dy Jironal

Chancellor of Chalion, general of the Order of the Son in Chalion, and March (Marquis) of Jironal. Orico has handed control of Chalion over to him in an (unsuccessful) attempt at evading the curse.

Ambiguously Evil: It's difficult to tell whether his worst actions, convincing Orico to force Iselle to marry Dondo, or his attack on Iselle and Bergon's wedding celebration, are driven by his natural impulses, or twisted by the curse. Cazaril theorizes that he might have been a decent person originally, but that the curse used his own virtues against him, such as his love for his family.
Evil Chancellor: Downplayed. He is loyal to Orico, but devotes his authority to the benefit of his family over the rest of the country.
No Historical Figures Were Harmed: A Composite Character, he is this world's version of two successive favorites of Henry IV, Juan Pacheco (brother of Pedro Girón Acuña Pacheco) and Beltrán de la Cueva (allegedly the father of Henry IV's daughter, corresponding to Martou being asked to impregnate Royina Sara).

Dondo dy Jironal

Younger brother of Martou, and new general of the Order of the Daughter in Chalion. Heavily involved in Cazaril's betrayal, but not a man to cross. Known for sybaritic excesses in food and drink, and for using and abusing women.

The Corrupter: When the royse (prince) Teidez arrives at the court, he promptly becomes this to him. He befriends him, surrounds him with his men, offers him all the best pleasures the court has to offer (even pleasures unfit to the boy's age, such as whores and binge-drinking), and feeds him all sorts of lies to make sure he will become the perfect tool in his plans.
Hate Sink: Even compared to his Evil Chancellor brother, Dondo has no redeeming features, and only his brother and hangers on mourn his death.
Irony: A rapist made head of the Order of the Daughter, a holy order pledged to the goddess of protection and virginity. When he dies, her holy animal makes it known exactly how much she approved of him, by defecating on him and flying away.
No Historical Figures Were Harmed: This world's version of Pedro Girón Acuña Pacheco.
Smug Snake: He makes his older brother look good.
The Sociopath: He enjoys hurting people, and seems to view people as tools to be used.

Roya Orico dy Chalion

Roya (king) of Chalion, and older half-sibling of Iselle and Teidez. Overweight, sickly, and weak, handing off control of the country to Martou dy Jironal in hopes of bypassing the curse.

Adipose Rex: Obese and sickly, he's diabetic, and only sustained by the Menagerie.
Animal Lover: The only thing that Orico cares about is his menagerie of exotic pets, that he regularly visits and that brings him joy and energy. It borders on Friend to All Living Things, as he has such a good relationship with his animals he can hand-feed bears without any protection, and treats a leopard like a simple house-cat. It is revealed that the menagerie is composed of sacred animals and that their presence weakens the effects of the curse Orico suffers from. The minute the animals are killed, Orico's health fails dramatically.
Formerly Fit: When Cazaril meets him again in The Curse of Chalion, he barely recognizes him due to all of the weight he put on. As Cazaril recalls, Orico might not have been a beautiful man in his youth, but at least he was fit.
Happily Married: In spite of the curse, in spite of Orico's illness, in spite of everything, Orico and Sara do genuinely love and find comfort in one another.
Law of Inverse Fertility: He and his royina, Sara, have been trying to conceive for years. At the book's start, the fact that Orico invites his brother and sister to the Zangre indicates that the royal couple have officially given up. As it turns out, it is Orico's curse that turned Sara infertile.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: As it turns out, all of Orico's attempts at avoiding the curse not only proved vain, but only made the situation worse. His refusal to engage or take an active part in his royal duties led him to become a lazy, apathetic, weak and cowardly figure, while his delegation of authority and power over the dy Jironal brothers merely had the curse twist them into a pair of Evil Chancellor. In fact most of the What the Hell, Hero? moments the protagonists have towards him are explained by his misguided and backfiring attempts at fighting the curse: the reason why he let his wife be raped by the dy Jironal brothers wasn't just out of an obsession to have an heir, but in hope to have an heir that wouldn't be of his blood and thus ensure the curse couldn't continue.
No Historical Figures Were Harmed: This world's version of Henry IV of Castile.

Royse Teidez dy Chalion

Younger brother of Iselle, and younger half-brother of Roya Orico; heir to the throne of Chalion. A bored teenage boy who dreams of doing things, but the focus of forces well beyond his control.

Adipose Rex: He is the royal heir of the throne of Charion, and described as a plump teenage boy. When he actually starts living at the royal court, it is noted that the scheming courtiers arrange for him a diet of "all candy and no meat", to turn him into a royal as "sodden and sickly" as Orico; and when Cazaril notes that the boy grew as tall as his half-brother, he also adds that his round face hints he might grow as broad as him as well.
Farm Boy: A royal equivalent. Teidez was born a prince and raised as nobility, but until his fourteenth birthday he lived with his mother and grandmother in the latter's remote countryside castle, far away from the royal court or big cities. When he settles in Chalion's Decadent Court, Cazaril notes that this makes him the perfect prey for the scheming courtiers: as he was not raised at court, Teidez lacks the knowledge of its social codes and devious ways, and being too young to have fully built his own character, he is gullible and easily-impressed enough to fall for the other noblemen's manipulations.
Hot-Blooded: Teidez is impatient and passionate, and not easily swayed by reason. This ends up being his downfall.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Manipulated by Dondo's lies, Teidez becomes convinced that the curse Orico suffers from originates from the animals of his menagerie, and he promptly kills them all to save his half-brother from the evil spell. Cazaril immediately makes him regret his gesture by revealing that the menagerie was a good spell, as these sacred animals were the only thing keeping Orico's curse at bay.
No Historical Figures Were Harmed: This world's version of Alfonso, Prince of Asturias.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He is only a teenager, struggling with machinations laid before he was born. Though he commits a grievous sacrilege, he did so under the impression he was saving his kingdom, and dies young for it.

Umegat

Roknari Saint of the Bastard, in charge of the Menagerie that is the delight of Roya Orico. He becomes a friend and mentor for Cazaril.

Hard Head: Averted. The wound to the head he receives during Teidez's attack on the menagerie actually causes a brain injury that makes him lose the ability to read or write, though he can still speak normally, understand languages and play musical instruments.
Hidden Depths: He seems to just be the keeper of the Menagerie, except to those who know that it is secretly a miracle of the Bastard.
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It is left unclear if Umegat's head injury causing him to lose the ability to read is a natural consequence of his injury or an action of the gods. Umegat claims it is the latter (and is anguished by it), his physician suspects the former. Cazaril thinks it is both.
Mentor Occupational Hazard: Downplayed. He is injured when Teidez attacks the menagerie, and loses his sainthood, but doesn't die.
Straight Gay: If it wasn't for him confessing his backstory to Cazaril, one wouldn't know he is homosexual.

The Fox of Ibra

Roya of Ibra, and Bergon's father. Has been at war with his elder son in South Ibra for several years, off-and-on.

Royals Who Actually Do Something: Leader of his country and devoted to keeping it whole, despite the restive province of South Ibra.
Too Clever by Half: As befits someone called "the fox". Bergon comments that nobody can cheat his father, but he's seen his father cheat himself.

Paladin of Souls

Ista dy Chalion

Dowager Royina (Queen) of Chalion, mother of Iselle and Teidez, and former Saint of the Mother. She attempted to fix the curse, leading to the death of her husband's lover and, ultimately, her husband. She undertakes a false pilgrimage in an attempt to flee from her former life.

Blessed with Suck: Sainthood ain't all it's cracked up to be...
Broken Bird: ...as a matter of fact, it drove her mad the first time around.
Dark and Troubled Past: Adultery, betrayal, treason, murder, madness... she's got it all.
I Was Quite a Looker: It's how she feels now that she's reached forty, though Illvin seems to think she's still got it.
Lying by Omission: When she tells the story of the death of Arvol dy Lutez four times across both The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls. In all but the last, she conceals the underlying reason he died, that in the heat of the moment, when she was going to call down a miracle of healing to resurrect dy Lutez for their threefold sacrifice scheme, she hated him and excluded the Mother from her heart, preventing the miracle.
May–December Romance: She was eighteen when she married the fifty-something Ias.
Mistaken for Insane: She was broken by her failure, but not insane by the point of Curse. However, her Gods-touched perspective often seemed insane when viewed by others who did not understand her.
Rage Against the Heavens: After a series of very, very painful experiences, Ista has no interest whatsoever in being the gods' tool again, and often appends any talk of them with curses. (As it happens, the latest god to choose her as a champion finds this hilarious.)
Rebellious Princess: Rebellious Dowager Royina by the time of the books, but we clearly see where Iselle got it from.
The Snark Knight: Spends a lot of time insulting the Bastard, even as she works for his goals.

Annaliss of Labran

Called "Liss". A chancellery courier that Ista drafts as her lady-in-waiting for her pilgrimage.

Action Girl: In typical LMB manner, realistically. She doesn't wield any weapons, but as a courier, Liss is an expert rider, lightweight with access to the fastest horses. She uses her skills to materially affect the outcome of events in the book.
Obfuscating Stupidity: Liss can be very deliberately dense when a higher born character, particularly Lady dy Hueltar, tries to get her to shove off.
Tomboy: She's far more comfortable in her riding gear than dresses. She carries a skirt on the back of her saddle while she rides, and only puts it on when forced to pay lip-service to conventional attire.
Pony Express Rider: Medieval Fantasy Edition!

Ferda dy Gura

A soldier in the Order of the Daughter, assigned to escort Ista on her pilgrimage.

Ascended Extra: The dy Gura brothers had a minor role in The Curse of Chalion, escorting Cazaril to Ibra and back.
Cultured Warrior: Though he's not the avid reader Foix is, he's very much a gentleman.
Sibling Team: Rarely encountered without his brother Foix.

Foix dy Gura

Ferda's brother, also a soldier in the Order of the Daughter.

Ascended Extra: With Ferda.
Badass Bookworm: He's built like a brick, er...house, but is an avid reader and has a mind like a steel trap.
Cultured Warrior: When Ista finds him in Arhys' library, she's surprised to find him reading a book of poetry.
Genius Bruiser: At first glance Foix looks like little more than his brother's faithful shadow; in truth, while he is very close to his brother and aids him loyally, Ferda relies heavily on Foix's intelligence and analytical ability.
Hidden Depths: The point of his characterization, if you weren't getting that by now.
Sibling Team: Rarely encountered without his brother Ferda.

Lord Arhys dy Lutez

Son of Roya Ias's boon companion and lover, and March (marquis) of Porifors, a critical fortress on the Roknari border. Often described as "Blessed by the Father", he's incredibly handsome, good at everything, and has a magnetic personality. And he's dead.

The Ace: He's good at everything.
Can't Live Without You: He's dead, but his soul remains in his body and keeps it from rotting so long as a spiritual "link" exists between him and a living person — currently Illvin. Any injuries sustained by Arhys close up and reappear on Illvin. Unfortunately, the body is a limited vessel; there just isn't enough spirit in one person to sustain two living people at full strength. Typically Arhys is upright and in the prime of health while Illvin lies comatose, though the link can be manipulated. There's a more significant downside: he is sundered from the gods, denied his proper place in the afterlife.
Chick Magnet: An important plot point. Cattilara set her sights on marrying him, an early sign of her status as Determinator. The sorceress sent to suborn Illvin switched targets to Arhys at first sight, leading to the deaths of both the sorceress and Arhys.
Disappeared Dad: Arhys and his mother were well provided-for but completely ignored by Lord Arvol dy Lutez.
"Well Done, Son" Guy: Illvin confides to Ista that Arhys believed as a boy that if only he was good enough, his father would call him to court. In the end, it is not his father but the Father who calls him, through Ista.

Lord Illvin dy Arbanos

Arhys's illegitimate half-brother, best friend, and master of horse.

Always Second Best: But not The Resenter. He adores his brother and pities his fatherless upbringing.
Bastard Angst: Averted; Illvin regards himself as the lucky one when it came to parentage, since his father was a constant presence in his life while Arhys never even met his father.
Heroic Bastard: Lady dy Lutez and the Castle Warder were... close.
The Lancer: To Arhys.
The Smart Guy: He's a medieval version of an intelligence analyst and field agent.

Lady Cattilara dy Lutez

Daughter of the March of Oby, and wife of Arhys. A spoiled girl with a hidden will of iron.

Clingy Jealous Girl: She really does not want anything to come between her and Arhys. Not even death...
Determinator: An untrained noblewoman barely out of her teens with no grasp of theology whatsoever kept an experienced demon under control with sheer grit.
Foil: She's Ista. More precisely, Ista as she was before she suffered the pain that made her who she is: a young woman elevated by a brilliant older husband she's terrified of losing. Ista finds her annoying but cannot properly despise her. The primary difference is that Ista was utterly alone and helpless, losing everything because the men tried to "protect" her from knowing about it or making a choice. Ista refuses to inflict that upon Cattilara out of a harshly expressed, but sincere, sympathy. Sure enough, and to her credit, Catti proves she can be strong even without Arhys to defend.
Spoiled Brat: Illvin and Ista regard her as such, and not without reason.
Took a Level in Badass: By the end, she rallies the castle to repel invaders and finally starts to ditch her spoiled traits.

Princess Joen of Jokona

Daughter of the Golden General, and inhabited by an old demon that can control other demons. She wishes to raise her son, Prince Sordso, into becoming the next Golden General, and ruthlessly uses her other children and anyone else convenient to that end.

Education Mama: A very creepy version who feeds people with useful skills to demons, then tears the demons out and stuffs them into Sordso, conferring their skills on him and leaving the demon-eaten shells to rot. Ista notes that Sordso, formerly a surprisingly good poet, has not one single poet demon suffusing his soul.
Evil Matriarch: Type 2 (dramatic), with Mind Control pushing her toward Hive Queen. She has a bevy of sorcerers under her control through their demons, carefully creating agents with the skills she needs to infiltrate and conquer.
Last-Second Chance: Ista offers her one, trying to remove Joen's great demon from the world without taking Joen's soul with it. But Joen has invested so much in her idea of the demon as the Golden General's legacy that she refuses to let it go, and her soul is obliterated in the formless chaos of the Bastard's Hell. The Bastard himself seems to regret this, but he says the choice was Joen's to make.
Vicariously Ambitious: The Golden General himself was toppled when she was still a girl, and Joen is a great strategist who could well have been a general herself if she hadn't been born a woman. All her malice and frustrated brilliance is bent on restoring this legacy in her son through the ancient and extremely powerful demon that possessed her when she was a child, which she views as her rightful inheritance. It's certainly not going to be stymied by inconvenient things like piety to the gods or the welfare of her children or her subjects.

The Hallowed Hunt

Ingrey kin Wolfcliff

A troubleshooter for Sealmaster Hetwar, unwillingly made into a wolf shaman by his father, and forced to keep his wolf restrained for years.

Amazon Chaser: Ingrey thinks so of Ijada.
The Berserker: When his spirit-wolf takes over, he becomes insatiably blood-thirsty.
Cursed with Awesome: Ingrey's "defilement" gives him superhuman strength, a Compelling Voice and a dangerous, angsty air.
The Fettered: In more ways than two. Ingrey is constrained by his honor code and his oath of service, which in the course of the novel begins to conflict with his equally ironclad sense of chivalry. His wolf adds yet a third dimension — he must keep its wild tendencies "bound" by a vaguely spiritual mental discipline.
Knight in Sour Armor: Incredibly cynical, especially about power and its abuses.
Troubled, but Cute: At least Ijada thinks so.

Ijada dy Castos

A young heiress and lady-in-waiting to the Hallow King's daughter, left with Prince Boleso, who placed a spirit leopard in her as part of an attempt to control her mind. She prayed to the Gods for assistance, and the Son gave her the strength to beat in his head with a war hammer. Child of a Chalionese father and a Wealdean mother, related to kin Badgerbank.

Cursed with Awesome: Ijada's spirit animal.
The Ingenue: Though she's highly intelligent and practical-minded, Ijada had lived a sheltered, provincial life.
Spirited Young Lady: On the ride to Easthome she dresses primly in riding habits suitable to a noblewomen's hunting party, but she is easily able to handle a restive horse, her backstory reveals that she was a bit of a tomboy as a girl, she turns out to be able to swim, and she's determined to do the right thing, whether that right thing is "Stand trial for murder," or "Stand by the maimed ghosts of several thousand barbarian warriors."

Wencel kin Horseriver

Earl Horseriver, and a descendant of the last Hallow King of the Old Weald, before Audar's conquest and reforms. Actually the last Hallow King, who has been stealing the bodies of his descendants ever since.

Blessed with Suck: Congrats! You can bespell people around you, control animals, and have powers to thwart the gods themselves... what could go wrong? Well, the way you did it was to involuntarily steal the bodies of your descendants and lock them in a sensory-deprived mental prison. Also, you are incapable of death, though you can still feel pain and you still have all your memories. Enjoy!
Blue Blood: Ijada and Ingrey are nobility, but Wencel outranks them quite a bit, as an Earl.
Rage Against the Heavens: He knows perfectly well how much the gods love all human souls, which is why he's going to sunder as many of them as he can before he goes. There is very little left in him at all except spite.

Prince Boleso kin Stagthorne

Youngest son of the Hallow King, banished from the capital for murdering a manservant. Died just before the beginning of the book; his death sparks the plot.

Dead Guy on Display: For various reasons, but mainly as a member of the royal family, his death must be universally confirmed because of its effect on the order of succession.
The Evil Prince: Conspired to take in many animal spirits in an attempt to gain power over all of kin clans, as part of his plan to murder his brother and take the Hallow Kingship for himself.
Hated by All: Even Ingrey's silver-tongued employer can't come up with anything nice to say at his funeral, having to settle for something vague about "young lives cut short."
Royally Screwed Up: He murdered a manservant, then skinned and butchered his kill, and got away with just being sent away from the capital to let things blow over, because he's the youngest son of the Hallow King.

Jokol Skullsplitter

A prince from the lands far to the south, akin to Scandinavia in our world. He has brought an ice bear along in an attempt to find a proper Divine to marry him to his beautiful Breiga.

Blue Blood: A barbarian prince is still a prince. Jokol's casual interaction with Ingrey belies his rank, but is underscored when he meets Prince Biast for the first time and they greet each other as equals.
Cultured Warrior: He's either a barbarian prince or possibly a pirate — no one's quite sure — yet poetry drips from his lips like kisses from the Goddess of Spring.
Heroic Build: He's big.
Meaningful Name: Though not what you'd think, and Bujold gets a good bit of mileage out of the joke.

Learned Hallana

A "double divine", a physician-divine of the Mother and sorceress-divine of the Bastard, and an old friend of Ijada's. Married to Oswin, and heavily pregnant at the start of the book.

Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Oswin. The two of them spent all their time arguing, then got married so they could continue.
Born Lucky: Unclear if she was born to it, but with two Gods actively helping her, things just happen to fall her way, and she knows it. Her plan for finding Ijada in Easthome is "just go there and something will happen to show the way," and it works.
The Illegible: Lewko, reading her letter, comments that he pities the spy that tried to decipher it.
Pregnant Badass: When first encountered. She's very pregnant, and a double-divine that's touched by two Gods, as one of Boleso's retainers discovers to his dismay.

Learned Oswin

A divine of the Father, married to Hallana. Described as a "most perfect servant of the Father", extremely uptight and rule-bound, but caring deeply about justice over rules.

Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Hallana. The two of them spent all their time arguing, then got married so they could continue.
Reasonable Authority Figure: His goal is justice more than bowing to any particular court faction.
Rules Lawyer: He knows the law quite well, and what the boundaries of it are.

Learned Lewko

A petty saint of the Bastard, former sorcerer, and supervisor of the Bastard's sorcerers in Easthome.

Noodle Incident: How he came to lose his demon and become a saint.

Prince Biast kin Stagthorne

Middle son of the Hallow King, and heir after his older brother's death. Older brother of Boleso and Fara.

Sealmaster Hetwar

Maintainer of the Royal Seal for the Hallow King, and fixer for both the King and his son Biast. Ingrey's employer.

The Consigliere: He does all sorts of unofficial jobs for the King and Biast, typically around making sure that threats to the smooth operation of their government don't occur.

Princess Fara kin Horseriver

Daughter of the Hallow King, sister of Biast and Boleso, and wife of Earl Wencel kin Horseriver.

The Penric stories

Penric kin Jurald

Youngest son of a baron in the Cantons (counterpart to Switzerland), with pale skin and a long braid of light blond hair. On his way to be betrothed to the daughter of a local cheese merchant, he stops to aid an older woman who has fallen ill while traveling, and ends up inheriting her demon.

The Ageless: As of "Demon Daughter" where at the end it's revealed that Desdemona has been independently using uphill magic for several years to stop Pen from aging. Despite the breach of medical ethics and the implication he's going to outlive Nikys and their children, he and Nikys are remarkably okay with it.
Badass Bookworm: A young man with a love of learning, who happens to be a sorcerer with a powerful and protective demon.
Beware the Nice Ones: Penric usually is the most generous, forgiving person in the world. That is until the events of The Orphans of Raspay, when being betrayed twice while trying to escape an island of pirates leads to him letting Desdemona off the leash, burning the pirate base to the ground, and sinking five of their ships in a whirlwind of Chaos Magic.
Broken Bird: In between Penric's Fox and Penric's Mission, Penric tries to commit suicide, thanks to being assigned the most desperate cases to heal and repeatedly losing patients. Fortunately he gets better, but he quits being a full-time healer and he's still leery of healing extreme cases when he does get roped into healing.
Character Tic: He double-taps his thumb on his lips when doing the five-fold sign of the Gods, for luck.
Chekhov's Hobby: Averted. Despite Penric's archery skills being mentioned often, he never actually uses them for anything.
Happily Married: To Nikys, as of The Orphans of Raspay.
Impoverished Patrician: Penric's family are the barons of a valley whose peasantry's main pastimes seem to be "archery, poaching, and tax evasion". His father was fond of drinking and gambling; his older brother, the current baron, is a sucker for any "pious beggar, whether in rags or Temple robes."
Insistent Terminology: Thanks to some bad experiences and not taking the proper oaths, (see above) Penric is adamant that he is not a physician. He just has all the training and heals the ill and injured at every opportunity.
Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Penric has light blond hair usually pulled into a long braid. It gets a lot of attention in Mira's Last Dance, especially when he starts dressing as a woman.
Nobility Marries Money: His intended marriage to Preita, the daughter of a wealthy cheese merchant. The marriage is cancelled when he becomes a sorcerer.
The Smart Guy: Even before he obtained a demon with twelve previous lives, four of which went to the university.
Uncertified Expert: Technically correct, as Penric never took his final oaths as a sorcerer physician. In practice it's ignored by everyone who isn't Penric, as he's recognized as a highly skilled healer, even if he chooses not to identify himself as such.
Wholesome Crossdresser: In Mira's Last Dance he dresses as a high class prostitute to help disguise his party's escape to Orbas. Later in The Prisoner of Limnos he dresses up again to rescue Nikys' mother from the titular island.

Desdemona

A chaos demon, cultivated by the Bastard's Order. Her previous riders included doctors and spies, all of whom were female.

Chaotic Good: Des is friendly, helpful, loyal to Penric and fairly wise, but she is still an elemental force of chaos and destruction.
Many Spirits Inside of One: Twelve of her, referred to by one name that Penric gave her. The individuals sometimes are referred to separately as well; in order, not including the mare and the lioness, they are Sugane, Litikone, Vasia, Rogaska, Mira, Umelan, Aulia, Amberein, Helvia and Ruchia.
Really 700 Years Old: She's lived through twelve lives already, including a lioness, a mare, and ten women of varying nationalities, social classes, and professions.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Due to the fate of her first human host (mortally wounded falling off a cliff, barely hung on long enough for her next host to find), Des has an unreasoning terror of heights. More to the point the panic this causes is accompanied by the Chaos she commands building up rapidly, her ability to contain same deteriorating, and her fine control falling apart completely; not the best combination when one's current host is being hauled up a cliff face by what boils down to a cunning arrangement of knotted ropes during a prison break. She's also absolutely terrified of the gods—more reasonably, as they're the only thing that can actually destroy her rather than her hosts—and does the demonic equivalent of curling into a Troubled Fetal Position whenever they show up.

Locator Oswyl

An investigator for the Hallow King's law enforcement, and a dedicated servant of the Father

Cowboy Cop: When Oswyl disagrees with the first sorcerer assigned to him during his pursuit of Inglis, he splits off on his own to pursue his hunch.
My Greatest Failure: A seemingly inconsequential delay on the road resulted in Oswyl being too late to save an innocent woman from being burned at the stake by her neighbors when they suspected her of being a hedge sorcerer.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Oswyl is easily irritated by Penric and distrustful of Desdemona, but he's careful not to be too rigid or judgmental when pursuing his quarry.

Inglis kin Wolfcliff

A shaman of the Weald, who is on the run from the murder/Mercy Kill of his best friend.

Compelling Voice: Being a shaman, Inglis can compel people using his weirding voice.
Drunk with Power: Part of the reason Inglis ends up in the mess he created was because he wanted to test his newly invested shamanic abilities.
Easily Forgiven: Despite his numerous screwups, Inglis is merely put on probation for his actions and his family has to pay a financial penalty to Tollin's surviving kin.
Famous Ancestor: A descendant of Ingrey kin Wolfcliff, though Inglis doesn't bring it up much, since he's on the run.
Gentleman and a Scholar: Before he went on the run, Inglis was a scholar in the Wealdian king's shamanic university, trying to recreate ancient shamanic healing techniques.
My God, What Have I Done?: He ends up Mercy Killing his best friend Tollin after the man was gored by a wild boar, because Inglis wanted to help invest Tollin with a shamanic animal to get closer to Tollin's sister.

General Adelis Arisaydia

A loyal and dependable general of Cedonia (Greece/Byzantine Empire), whose skill has drawn unwelcome attention from those who don't trust him.

A Father to His Men: He seems one of those generals who truly inspires his soldiers.
Horrible Judge of Character: Under house arrest on a false charge of treason, he continues to believe that he will be found innocent by those who trumped up the treason charge in the first place.
No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Fantasy Counterpart Culture version of Flavius Belisarius.

Madame Nikys Khatai

Adelis's half-sister and "twin", born to their father's concubine on the same day as his wife bore Adelis.

Big Beautiful Woman: As a Bujold love interest, she's definitely not skinny. Her roundness is often contrasted to long, lean Penric.
Heroic Bastard: Technically, because her mother was the concubine to the late General. In practice, Nikys is treated in all ways as though she is Adelis' full sister. Nikys does have a certain extra respect for the Bastard, as she was born under his purview.
Impoverished Patrician: Loses all of her wealth and goods when she and Adelis have to flee Cedonia with Penric. Even when she finds a position as a lady in waiting in Orbas, she has to borrow hand-me-down clothes for a time.
Silk Hiding Steel: Thrown from Penric's Mission onward into a series of frightening and uncanny escapades, but keeps a level head and shows great courage throughout. At one point, Desdemona implies that Nikys' will is even stronger than that of her brother, the General.

Surakos Bosha

Loyal retainer of Lady Tanar Xarre, Adelis's betrothed. An albino eunuch who worked for the Imperial Court, and is now trained as a bodyguard.

Albinos Are Freaks: He was castrated at least partly because he's albino; his father considered that the most likely way for him to be useful to the family.
Badass Bookworm: Keeps Lady Tanar's household accounts, writes her letters, and occasionally murders overly persistent suitors for her.
Battle Butler: As Lady Tanar's secretary and bodyguard, Bosha certainly qualifies as this.
Devious Daggers: An assassin and bodyguard whose weapon of choice is poisoned daggers.
Eunuchs Are Evil: Played with. While he's a dangerous assassin, Bosha is also fiercely loyal to Tanar and has no wish to go back to his former life at the Court of Cedonia.
Hidden Weapons: Has at least five poisoned daggers on his person at all times.
Hitman with a Heart: He's a cold blooded killer, but chastely loves Lady Tanar.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Tends to give an ironic bow when emphasizing a point. When he does it sincerely Bosha is genuinely worried about something.
Wicked Cultured: Being both an assassin and a former member of the Imperial Court of Cedonia, he's very erudite and very dangerous.

Lady Tanar Xarre

A wealthy noble who lives in the Cedonian capital of Thasalon, heir to a family made rich from shipping. Adelis's betrothed.

Cheerful Child: When, as a child, she first met Bosha, she made a little game out of hiding her new friend. She ended the game when Bosha's condition worsened; still, her cheer and kindliness is what endeared her to him even then.
Renaissance Man: Woman, but still. She spends her time investigating everything she can, from poisons to navigation and more.
Silk Hiding Steel: An elegant noble young lady, who coolly commits a premeditated murder.
Sympathetic Murderer: The only regret over her murder of Methani is that Bosha didn't get out of the way and got himself blamed for it.

Minister Methani

A high minister in the Cedonian government; he ordered the blinding of Adelis and the arrest of Idrene, and used Alixtra as an assassin to consolidate power.

Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: He trusts almost nobody, and will label anyone he distrusts enough a traitor.
Do Unto Others Before They Do Unto Us: He pre-emptively attacks people who aren't a threat on the grounds that they might become one. He had the loyal Adelis blinded because he was afraid Adelis's popularity with the troops would lead him to attempt a coup; he had Prince Ragat assassinated while claiming that Ragat was planning to seize the throne, with no evidence to that effect. Penric refers to him as "iatrogenic", a cure that creates a disease.
Eunuchs Are Evil: As with many ministers in the Cedonian government, Methani is a eunuch. Unlike Bosha, he's very clearly on the side of evil, to the point where after his death, none of the Gods will accept him.
The Ghost: While he is the driving force behind at least four of the Penric stories, he never shows up in them while alive. When he finally does show up, he's literally a ghost.
Would Hurt a Child: Threatened to have Alixtra's son castrated and sold as a slave if she failed.

Learned Dubro

A retired soldier and farmer who got a demon from his beloved farm dog, Maska, and was sworn to the Bastard's Order to train it up.

Call to Agriculture: He took a veteran's allotment of land near his birthplace after twenty years in the army.
Canine Companion: Maska was a beloved dog who caught a demon from a weasel that it killed while protecting Dubro's hens. He then died of a tumor, in Dubro's arms, transferring his demon. Dubro refers to his demon as Maska, because it's like a part of his dog that's still with him.
Romancing the Widow: After he retired from the military, he met a young widow he'd known when they were children. They wed and had two more children.

Alixtra

A poor Cedonian widow who was set up by Methani and Tronio to become a sorceress-assassin for them, with her son Kittio held as hostage.

The Exile: While she is given a divine pardon for her crimes, she is exiled from Cedonia.
Heel–Face Turn: After the Bastard refuses to claim her demon, she works with Penric and Iroki to take down Tronio.
Mama Bear: Willing to commit murder to protect her son. Her foremost goal upon arriving in Thasalon is to rescue him, and her response to being accused by Tronio is to ask whose idea it was to threaten her child.
Struggling Single Mother: She was paid the same as her peers, but her added expenses for Kittio left her unable to make ends meet.
Sympathetic Murderer: Resorts to petty theft to pay for her son's education, gets trapped by Methani, and is forced to become an assassin under threat of her son being castrated and enslaved.
Trapped in Villainy: She's forced to become an assassin to protect her son.

Blessed Iroki

A poor fisherman from Pef who became a Saint of the Bastard. He's very laid back and casual, even as everyone around him rushes to pay him obeisance.

Basement-Dweller: He lived with his parents until he became a Saint and received a stipend from the church.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He's just a lazy fisherman...who happens to be a conduit for the Bastard.
Lazy Bum: He's described as "the laziest man in Pef", and all he wants to do is sit by the river and fish. (Actually catching fish is optional; he's been known to just throw in a line with a rock at the end.) That said, when his God calls, he answers.

Learned Tronio

A Cedonian sorcerer, loyal to Minister Methani. He helped Methani with his sorcerous assassination plan, setting up Alixtra with several demons.

Just Following Orders: Tries to blame the worst parts of the scheme on Methani.
Obliviously Evil: Fails to understand why what he's done is wrong, even after the Bastard himself arrives to remove his demon.

The Gods

All Gods

Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Grey for the Father, green for the Mother, red for the Son, blue for the Daughter, and white for the Bastard.
Eldritch Abomination: As revealed by Cazaril's encounter with The Daughter at the end of The Curse of Chalion, they are a positive kind. They are not horrifying, but encountering one will change a person forever: they are entities of pure energy and color who are living surrounded by all the souls and emotions of every living being in the world, their blood is "metaphorical" (one drop of Father Winter's blood turns out to be the curse of Chalion), they exist outside of space and time (to the point Cazaril needs some time to readjust to the concept of chronological time and human proportions after his encounter), and the closest a human can come to describe them faithfully is through other means than simple words - such as poetry for the Daughter or music for the Bastard. They could be a type of Benevolent Abomination... if their "benevolence" wasn't actually put to doubt in-universe. Not that they are evil, but as their saints themselves point out, their "miracles" can be terrifying and they always act out of interest, bordering on the Magnificent Bastard.
The Evils of Free Will: What the gods have to constantly deal with when it comes to influencing the world, since they cannot interact directly with the physical world. The gods can only guide people through various things, such as dreams or coincidences, not force them to do anything. Similarly a human can only be a saint and become a god's direct agent and servant if they abandon their body and life to the god, but if someone refuses to open up to them, the gods will be unable to create any miracles. When a deity wants something to be taken care of, it isn't a question of them having to send someone to do it, because they have a great power of influence over the world: it is a question of them sending someone who they are sure will not fail. As revealed to Ista in Paladin of Souls, the Son actually sent many men to try and save Teidez from his tragic doom in The Curse of Chalion, but they all failed to perform their mission in one way or another.
Glamour Failure: Ista notes in Paladin of Souls that, no matter what shapes they take, the gods can always be recognized by their eyes, which are ''infinite''.
God's Hands Are Tied: Here's the thing. The five gods hold absolute power over the realm of spirit. Souls can be manipulated by them as easily as a human being manipulates matter. What they can't do is, well, manipulate matter. Even lifting a pebble is beyond all measure of their powers. For this reason, they need saints: mortal agents who consciously surrender their souls to the gods and act as living conduits into reality. Most people aren't psychologically capable of yielding so utterly even if they want to, and the moments of surrender happen under painful/traumatic circumstances, which is one reason why saints seems to be just a little bit odd to anyone who is not a fellow saint.
Physical God: Averted for the "physical" part. As described in God's Hands Are Tied, it is revealed that the gods solely exist in the realm of spirits. This means they are beings of pure abstract force and magical power, incapable of manifesting or interacting in any direct way with the physical world. They can influence animals, people and fate itself, and can create various reality-altering miracles and curses... But they can't lift a pebble or a leaf by themselves, can only appear to humans as visions, and can only give powers to people if said person allows the god to enter their body. Which is why they are paradoxically the most powerful and yet weakest beings in the universe. Members of their religions and the various myths surrounding them tend however to play straight this trope in their depictions of the deities.
Psychopomp: All five take up mortal souls after death; funerals determine which one by observing the reactions of sacred animals brought close to the body. Usually it's whichever would best fit the personality or preference of the deceased. However, if the first four shun that soul, it must be taken by the Bastard; if even he refuses (or is refused), or under certain other unusual circumstances, the soul is sundered from heaven and trapped in the mortal world until it fades into nothingness. The gods prefer to avoid that, and so do most mortals.

The Father of Winter

God of winter, justice, leadership, natural deaths, male sexuality, and fatherhood. Default god of males who have sired children. His colors are black and gray, and his signature body part is the genitalia.

A Form You Are Comfortable With: He appears to one character in the shape of someone she knew to be a comforting and stolid presence.
Dark Is Not Evil: His domain is winter and his colours are black and gray, but he is the god of fatherhood, justice, fairness and leadership.
Don't Fear the Reaper: The god of natural and peaceful deaths (others fall under the governance of the Bastard). Like winter itself, he brings rest and dormancy so that life can be renewed.
Hot God: An especially attractive and manly man is said to be "blessed by the Father" — so, yes, masculine allure, virility and sexuality are also his domains. To hammer home that point, the area on the human body associated with the Father is the genitalia.

The Mother of Summer

Goddess of summer, love, motherhood, female sexuality, medicine, and renewal. Default god of females who have borne children. Her color is green, and her signature body part is the navel.

Love Goddess: Of love and the results of love, but especially motherly love.
The Medic: Her dedicats are often physicians or midwives.
Mother Nature: She governs healing, renewal and birth, as well as holding domain over general motherly qualities. When invoking the gods, she is represented by touching the navel; the only place everyone was once connected to his or her mother.

The Son of Autumn

God of autumn, hunting, warfare, courage, harvest, and emotion. Default god of males who have not yet sired children. His colors are red and orange, and his signature body part is the heart.

Cardiovascular Love: The god of passionate emotion and overt displays of such, as well as friendship, has the heart as his symbolic point in the body. Naturally.
Friend to All Living Things: The Son is often invoked with regards to animals. In The Physicians of Vilnoc, Penric sees a shrine to the Son in a kitchen slaughtering pen. The butchers say a brief prayer every morning to remind themselves to treat their animals with respect and care.
Knight in Shining Armor: Heroism, courage, action and the emotions behind such things are his gifts. His Order defends a nation's borders from invasion and, of course, makes invasions of its own. Soldiers pay at least lip-service to him.
War God: A kindly one, governing more the camaraderie and nobility of soldiers than violence for its own sake. He is also god of the hunt and the harvest, and the one most often associated with animals.

The Daughter of Spring

Goddess of spring, protection, education, planting, and virginity. Default god of females who have not yet borne children. Her color is blue, often trimmed with white, and her signature body part is the forehead.

A Form You Are Comfortable With: Notable in that she doesn't bother to take one when appearing to a human character (he was fortunate in that his perception was altered enough to bear it). He specifically describes how he'd come to imagine her, from childhood sermons, as a "nice immortal lady" — nothing at all like the magnificent and incomprehensibly powerful being he perceives.
Guile Hero: Or...well, god. Thought, learning, logic, subtlety and long-laid plans are her specialities. When performing the Quintarian gesture to invoke the gods' protection, touching the forehead is representative of the Daughter.
- It should surprise no one that the goddess of the planting season is a gardener of more than just plants...
Nature Spirit: As the Son is heralded by animals, she is heralded by plants, especially flowers in bloom.
True Blue Femininity: Associated with the color blue, so blue is worn on her holy days and by her acolytes.
War God: Her Order is much like the Son's, but turned inward; it pursues bandits, hunts down murderers, investigates crime, roots out corruption and defends those who can't defend themselves (such as, for example, maidens who are not trained in combat — hence their patron deity). Those who pledge themselves to the Daughter in this regard are fewer than the followers of the Son, but what they lack in numbers they make up for with a certain romantic dedication.

The Bastard

Son of the Mother and a demon - exactly how this happened depends on which side of the Quadrene/Quintarian line you fall on. God of demons, chaos, orphans, bastards, gays, executioners, and "all things out of season". God of divine justice when mortal justice fails. His color is white, and his signature body part is the mouth, and (to a lesser degree) the thumb.

Divine–Infernal Family: As far as the Quadrenes are concerned he's basically Satan, but they still recognize him as the son of the Mother.
Dragged Off to Hell: When demons escape his hell, this is the fate that ultimately finds them — and the souls of those unwise enough to entangle themselves in such forces tend to go with them.
For Want Of A Nail: When a nail is needed, it's his job to provide it.
Love Goddess: Specifically, homosexual love (or perhaps any form of romantic attraction that doesn't conform to the traditional sort). Not coincidentally, nations that revile the Bastard tend also to regard homosexuality as heretical.
Hero with Bad Publicity: Well, God with bad publicity, especially in the Rokanari Princedoms.
Light Is Not Good: His signature color is white, and the sight of a sorcerer's white braids can evoke fear and dread. Downplayed, however, because the Bastard isn't evil, he's just tricksy.
Odd Job Gods: "All things out of season" covers everything from Foundling Hospitals to Executioners and those they execute.
Satan Is Good: It's clear that he, like his fellow gods, really likes humans, and works to help them. How he helps them may not be what they would have chosen, of course.
Satanic Archetype: His domains are disasters and chaos; "all things out of season". When calling a demon, one prays to the Bastard. Most other prayers beseech him to steer clear. When cursing, one invokes "the Bastard's Hell." Deaths by violence, accident or sickness — lives cut short — are his. He actually is reviled as a Satanic figure in some regions. He fulfils the role only up to a point, however — he may be inscrutable and his blessings hard to parse as such, but he loves humanity as much as the rest of his family. Orphanages are run by his dedicates (since unwanted children are often bastards), and unexpected windfalls are also his purview.
Speak of the Devil: Those wishing to avoid his attention may refer to him as the White God to avoid saying his name.
Trickster Mentor: And of course, any trickster's best tool is his or her mouth, which is the Bastard's holy symbol. Invoking him requires touching one's lips. (Since blessing from the gods are conferred with a kiss, the Bastard has great fun with this metaphor by smooching the hell out of his saints. Or into them, as may be required.) Various comments are made by his followers about how his miracles are somewhat...distinctive in their peculiarity.

Characters / World of the Five Gods

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