History Characters / TheFirstLawUnionCitizens

* {{Foil}}: To [[spoiler:Glokta. Both are Union patriots who started off as vainglorious military commanders, both were injured and crippled to near death after foolhardy charges on the battlefield, and both became manipulative schemers who decided to betray others in order to secure their own safety and power. Unlike Glokta, Leo isn't as quick with his wits, doesn't plan ahead for the long-term, and is too proud and vain to have any major introspection. At the end of the Age of Madness trilogy, Savine notes that while both men had done horrible things, Glokta never wanted to have any heroic paintings made of himself.]]

* {Foil:} To [[spoiler:Glokta. Both are Union patriots who started off as vainglorious military commanders, both were injured and crippled to near death after foolhardy charges on the battlefield, and both became manipulative schemers who decided to betray others in order to secure their own safety and power. Unlike Glokta, Leo isn't as quick with his wits, doesn't plan ahead for the long-term, and is too proud and vain to have any major introspection. At the end of the Age of Madness trilogy, Savine notes that while both men had done horrible things, Glokta never wanted to have any heroic paintings made of himself.]]

* {{Foil:}} To [[spoiler:Glokta. Both are Union patriots who started off as vainglorious military commanders, both were injured and crippled to near death after foolhardy charges on the battlefield, and both became manipulative schemers who decided to betray others in order to secure their own safety and power. Unlike Glokta, Leo isn't as quick with his wits, doesn't plan ahead for the long-term, and is too proud and vain to have any major introspection. At the end of the Age of Madness trilogy, Savine notes that while both men had done horrible things, Glokta never wanted to have any heroic paintings made of himself.]]

* Foil: To [[spoiler:Glokta. Both are Union patriots who started off as vainglorious military commanders, both were injured and crippled to near death, and both became manipulative schemers who decided to betray others in order to secure their own safety and power. Unlike Glokta, Leo isn't as quick with his wits, doesn't plan ahead for the long-term, and is too proud to have any introspection. At the end of the Age of Madness trilogy, Savine notes that both men had done horrible things, but at least Glokta never had heroic paintings made of himself.]]

* Foil: To, of all people, Glokta.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hildi]]
!!Hildi

The thirteen-year-old valet of Prince Orso.
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* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: She and Orso aren't related, but they have a playful pretend dynamic like this, with Hildi being brutally honest towards Orso, more than a bit snarky and trying to get out of assignments by claiming he owes her money. In reality, Orso is fiercely protective of her, and Hildi admits to herself that she loves him like an older brother. Admittedly, a clueless older brother who needs all the help he can get but still.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: The reason she's so fiercely loyal to Orso is because he's the only person in her life who ever treated her with any decency or like she actually mattered.
* BigBrotherWorship: Orso loves her like a little sister and she in return loves him like a big brother, to the point of undying loyalty. [[spoiler:Even after he tells her he'd rather she live a good life than try to get revenge for his death, she plans on avenging him under Bayaz's tutelage.]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: [[spoiler:The final chapter of ''Wisdom of Crowds'' features a vision where Hildi has grown to a woman, who has mastered finance and smothers all the North in a cage. It doesn't help that the person who's taken her in after Orso's execution is [[BigBad Bayaz]].]]
* HiddenDisdainReveal: Hildi runs messages between Orso and Savine without complaint, even selling her hair to the latter for some quick cash, but it's eventually revealed that she's always despised Savine for how fake she is.
* LittleMissSnarker: She cheerfully participates in the snark-laden banter between herself, Orso and Tunny.
* NoHeroToHisValet: Hildi works as Orso's valet but doesn't treat him with much respect even if he is Crown Prince of the Union. This is mostly just playful banter as privately she does show a lot of respect and loyalty for Orso.
* {{Revenge}}: [[spoiler:Leo hanged Orso at the end of ''Wisdom of Crowds'' and despite Orso's wish for Hildi not to seek vengeance, she ain't listening. She's studying at the feet of ''Bayaz'' for it.]]
* SignatureHeadgear: Hildi is almost always seen wearing a battered old soldier's cap. When the Great Change starts, the Breakers and Burners force her to abandon it, [[spoiler:only for her to snag a new one the second the Burners are defeated.]] Later, [[spoiler:Rikke has a cryptic vision of an adult Hildi wearing a tophat that turns into a smokestack. Much like the one Rikke wore the night before she betrayed Orso.]]
* StreetUrchin: She's a thirteen-year-old girl who, prior to working as Orso's valet, was a laundress for a brothel.
* TagAlongKid: She accompanies Orso practically everywhere, no matter how dangerous. She planned on accompanying him to the Northern war, until the uprising in Valbeck sent them there instead. [[spoiler:She eventually accompanies him to Stoffenbeck, where a civil war is about to take place.]]
* UndyingLoyalty: Her loyalty to Orso is unbreakable even when the odds are against him. [[spoiler:During his imprisonment throughout the Great Change, she refuses to abandon her position as his valet no matter how much danger it puts her in and his repeated instructions for her to disappear to save herself. After Orso is executed because Rikke betrays him to Leo, her tutelage under Bayaz and Rikke's vision implies Hildi fully intends to follow through on her promises of vengeance.]]

* RatedMForManly: It's frequently commented on that Leo is the manliest man who ever manned. Deconstructed in that his love for all things MANLY!!! is strongly hinted to include being sexually attracted to men, and that he's very conflicted and insecure beneath the rugged exterior.

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Despite being one of the more "heroic"--or, at least, well-intentioned--protagonists, Leo's incredibly homophobic, to the point of [[spoiler:sending away two of his TrueCompanions, including his best friend, after discovering they're gay]]. He's also racist towards non-whites and openly voices his displeasure at seeing so many dark skinned people in Adua, which Orso and Savine are quick to call him on. His bigotry even extends to white people of other ethnicities, at one point thinking of Orso as a "half Styrian mongrel". [[spoiler:Later, the "Hero" part goes away entirely.]]

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Despite being one of the more "heroic"--or, at least, well-intentioned--protagonists, Leo's incredibly homophobic, to the point of [[spoiler:sending away two of his TrueCompanions, including his best friend, after discovering they're gay]]. He's also racist towards non-whites and openly voices his displeasure at seeing so many dark skinned people in Adua, which Orso and Savine are quick to call him on. [[spoiler:Later, the "Hero" part goes away entirely.]]

* BuxomIsBetter: Selest is quite well endowed, and she doesn't miss an opportunity to dress in ways that show this off.

* TheRedBaron: His exploits on the battlefield earned him the name "the Young Lion" among his troops, a name which becomes beloved among the citizens of the Union.