"This Bethod is careful, clever, and ruthless. He is well supplied with horse, foot, and archers, and has sufficient organisation to use them together. He has excellent scouts and his forces are highly mobile, probably more so than ours, especially in difficult country, such as that we will face in the northern part of the province. He set a trap for the Anglanders and they fell into it. We must not do the same."
— Lord Marshal Burr on Bethod, Before They Are Hanged
Throughout the Circle of the World, there are kings, rogues and warriors galore, all trying to claw their way to the top, most of the time with little success. But you have to be realistic about these things, and realize that some of these schemers are clever, noble and sly enough to attain their goals.
All spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
Recurring characters
- Caul Shivers develops from a hotheaded young man with blind ideals and a chip on his shoulder, to a dangerous, dreaded killer of men and world shaker. After an alliance with the band of Logen Ninefingers that results in the overthrow of Bethod, Shivers leaves the North to find a new life in Styria, where he teams with Monza Murcatto to kill a multitude of evil nobles. Subjected to torture and heartbreak during his adventure with Monza, Shivers hardens himself and returns to the North, where he becomes one of the most feared men in the realm as he wages war on the Union; betrays and kills Black Dow to help Calder ascend to the throne; and expertly tracks Logen across the Far Country simply to let go of their long-time feud. Once he becomes the right-hand man to Rikke, Shivers serves as her chief advisor and muscle in her conquest of the North, personally wiping out many of her enemies while dedicating himself to her safekeeping and ambitions.
- Shylo Vitari is a spy and professional torturer who eventually flees the service of the Inquisition after a clash with Sand dan Glokta. Becoming a professional information broker, Vitari assists Monza Murcatto in her revenge against Orso before exiting her service and returning to her beloved children. Knowing her capabilities, Monza hires Vitari to be her official spymaster and Minister of Whispers to handle affairs in the shadows. Vitari performs her duties admirably, but also helps pursue the secret agendas of her husband Casimir dan Shenkt against the Union while providing a future for their children.
- Monzcarro "Monza" Murcatto, "the Snake of Talins", is a soldier who hides her inner pain behind cold sarcasm and bitterness. A brilliant mercenary soldier who organized countless victories, Monza must recover after her betrayal by Duke Orso. Organizing assassinations of Orso's inner circle, Monza later realizes Orso's reasons and the breadth of events she is involved in. Organizing a coup in Styria and passing her lover Shivers' child off as the legitimate Duke Rogont's heir, Monza becomes the regent of a united Styria and rules as a wise and capable leader. Still the brilliant soldier, Monza outgrows all who would manipulate her and organizes numerous military defeats of any who would try to take her nation while securing her son Jappo's future and reign.
- The assassin and Eater Shenkt is a former disciple of the monstrously evil Bayaz and dedicates his life to destroying what his mentor has built. In the guise of the Bone Thief, Shenkt rescues the crippled Monza Murcatto after Bayaz's pawn Duke Orso leaves her for death and nurses her back to heath, setting her to take revenge on Orso to serve his purposes while Shenkt allows Orso to hire him so he can play every side and clandestinely assist in keeping Monza alive. When revealing himself, Shenkt turns out to have been opposing Bayaz so subtly for so long that his nemesis is not even aware he still lives. A deadly assassin with a conscience, Shenkt also genuinely loves his wife and their children, constantly arranging the chessboard Bayaz has set up to stymie his hated foe.
- Bethod, King of the North, is the first Northman to rule the harsh northlands in two centuries. Once a chieftain just seeking to expand his domain a bit and make peace, the actions of the violent Logen Ninefingers made this dream impossible. Forced to fight for survival, Bethod brilliantly annihilated his enemies and conquered the north, removing Logen later on. Luring the Union into a battle, Bethod crushes their armies, proving his strategic brilliance on the field of battle more than once. Even when cornered by Logen at last, Bethod harshly tears down Logen's self-pitying delusions, while facing his end with no fear.
- Rudd Threetrees is the de facto leader of Logen Ninefingers' Northmen gang after the latter's apparent demise, and uses his mind for clever strategies to lead the group against Bethod and the Shanka. A brutal warrior who nonetheless has standards, Threetrees takes time to hunt down the butchers of an entire family and kill them all, even down to the youngest, innocent soldier. After a failed attempt at a truce with Bethod, Threetrees resolves to ally with enemy Union forces and wipe out Bethod once and for all, advising Union commanders on the best ways to strike at Bethod and his forces. Even though killed in battle, Threetrees goes down fighting the monstrous Fenris the Feared with bravery in a harsh duel, and it is Threetrees' tactics and efforts that save the Union from further losses after his demise.
- The Last Argument of Kings: Crummock-i-Phail is the boisterous, affable chief of the hillmen of the High Places, who hides a devious mind behind his exterior of silly insanity. Striding onto the scene when Logen Ninefingers and the Union are at an impasse with the forces of Bethod, Crummock offers an alliance and concocts a clever strategy to lure Bethod into a trap that claims a vast swathe of his forces. Further convincing Logen to challenge Bethod to a duel while sending Logen's allies to kill Bethod's powerful witch ally, Crummock takes advantage of Logen killing Bethod by quickly naming Logen the new king of the North. Crummock then reveals that right from the start, his goal was to displace Bethod with someone like Logen so that the North would no longer be united nor able to pose a threat to the High Places, Crummock calmly parting ways with Logen while nonetheless threatening to end him if he dares challenge the Hillmen.
- Rikke, daughter of the Dogman, begins the trilogy as an idealistic Northwoman gifted or cursed with the Long-Eyem the power of prophecy. When she assists her old friend Leonault "Leo" dan Brock in defeating warmongering prince Stour Nightfall, Rikke is soon abandoned by the egotistical Leo and works at uniting the North against the ruthless Stour. After betraying Leo in his rebellion to secure the victory of King Orso and enhancing her own position, Rikke has Stour overthrown in a trap to take control of the North and proceeds to prepare for war against Stour's clever father, Black Calder. Using a Fake Defector as a double agent, Rikke executes Stour in Calder's view to lure him into a fatal trap to win her civil war before ending up betraying even Orso himself to broker peace with a vengeful Leo and secure her position as undisputed ruler of the North.
- Best Served Cold: General Ganmark is Grand Duke Orso's right-hand man and top strategist, who has conquered a vast majority of Styria in Orso's name. Ganmark has run a variety of successful campaigns and sieges that have resulted in regular conquest, all as he amassed the treasured art of the fallen cities to add to his collection. When Monza tries to ambush him due to his part in her brother's death, Ganmark sees her coming and near-effortlessly duels her and Nicomo Cosca at the same time, delivering a harsh verbal deconstruction and beatdown to Monza the whole time.
- Red Country: Dab Sweet and Crying Rock are a pair of guides and adventurers who have spent years together looking out for themselves. They regularly lead large caravans on dangerous expeditions through the Far Country, getting them to their destinations but only after hiring native Ghosts to rob the caravans and split the proceeds. Sweet's status as a legend has grown to ridiculous sizes over the years thanks to his swagger and charm, and Crying Rock's aid in his rise to popularity often shines through. After they skillfully lead Cosca's army into an invasion of Ashranc, Sweet and Crying Rock ally with Shy and Lamb to whip up a stampede, rob Cosca blind, and save the town of Crease from his villainy. Sweet and Crying Rock ride into the sunset on another adventure, more moral, and more wealthy, than ever before thanks to their time with Shy.
