Line #11 Characters/SwordOfShadows


1	[[foldercontrol]]
2
3	[[folder: The Clans]]
4
5	[[WMG: Clan Blackhail]]
6
7	One of the three great Clans, home to a good chunk of the cast. The murder of Hailsmen supposedly by Clan Bludd starts the war that keeps the Clans too occupied to deal with the threat of the Endlords. The Blackhail boast is "''We are Clan Blackhail, the first of all clans. We do not cower and we do not hide, and we will have our revenge''".
8
9	!!Raif Sevrance
10
11	The protagonist of the story. Raif is a Hailsman that has yet to take his first oath at the beginning of the story. While hunting ice hares in the Badlands with his brother Drey, his father Tem Sevrance and his Chief Dagro Blackhail were killed along with the rest of their hunting party. Refusing to take part in the massacre of Bludd children, he is left with no other choice but to travel south with his uncle Angus Lok, breaking his oath to Blackhail. In their travels, they meet Ash, and the adventure begins. Raif's lore is the raven, signaling his role as Watcher of the Dead.
12
13	* CurtainsMatchtheWindow: Raif has brown hair and brown eyes.
14	* {{Fingore}}: [[spoiler: Loses the tip of his pinky finger to join the Maimed Men]].
15
16	!!Drey Sevrance
17
18	!!Effie Sevrance
19
20	Raif's little sister, Effie is eight at the beginning of the series, but she is solemn and wise. Her lore is a stone, and her connection to it allows her to know when her family and friends are in danger.
21
22	!!Mace Blackhail
23
24	The Blackhail chief after Dagro Blackhail is killed. Mace is a Scarpe by birth, but is brought to Blackhail to be Dagro's foster son. Clever and ruthless, Mace's lore is the wolf. He is involved in the murder of Dagro and orchestrate the massacre of the Bludd children to secure his position as chief.
25
26	!!Raina Blackhail
27
28	Originally from Clan Dregg, proud and dignified Raina fully integrated herself into Clan Blackhail as Dagro's Blackhail second wife. After her husband is killed in the Badlands, Mace rapes her in the Oldwood and forces her to marry him in an attempt to nullify her as a threat. Raina's lore is the eagle.
29
30	[[WMG: Clan Bludd]]
31
32	One of the three great Clans. Clan Bludd's boast is ''" We are Clan Bludd, chosen by the Stone Gods to guard their borders. Death is our companion. A hard life long lived is our reward.”''. Their boast has a much greater meaning during the battle against the Endlords.
33
34	!!Vaylo Bludd/The Dog Lord
35
36	The powerful, aging chief of Clan Bludd, better known by his epithet "the Dog Lord". Driven by a lifelong ambition to become Lord of the Clans, Vaylo makes bargains with some very dangerous people, including Penthero Iss, and sets off a conflict that will engulf all the Clanholds - only to learn that there are much more important things at stake than his ambitions.
37
38	* AbusiveParents: His father treated him horribly when he was a child for being a bastard. In turn, Vaylo himself treated his own sons almost just as horribly for ''not'' being bastards and not having to struggle for anything in life. On the other hand, there is nothing but love and respect between him and [[spoiler: his adopted son Cluff Drybannock]].
39	* AntiVillain: Vaylo is ruthless, proud, and ambitious, but he has [[VillainousValor courage]], [[EveryoneHasStandards standards]], and a deep, abiding love for his family (except for his sons) and dogs that mark him as a far better man than many of his enemies.
40	* AppropriatedAppellation: "Dog Lord" was originally given as an insult, but Vaylo adopted it as a symbol of pride - after all, dogs have many positive qualities, so why ''wouldn't'' he want to be named for them?
41	* BarbarianHero: Deconstructed. Vaylo is an aging BarbarianHero who, in his determination to achieve the glory he dreamed of as a youth, makes some very bad bargains and sets off conflicts far beyond what he can control.
42	* BookDumb: Vaylo hasn't had much of an education - scholarship isn't something Clan Bludd is known for, in any case - but he's far from stupid.
43	* BraidsOfBarbarism: He's the chief of a clan that even other clansmen consider barbaric, and he wears his hair in several warrior braids.
44	* BrotherSisterIncest: Married his half-sister Angarad after killing his half-brothers. By Vaylo's own account, she did not love him back (although he thinks she did grow to care about him in the end of her life), but it had little to do with them being related and more to do with him killing the rest of her family.
45	* CainAndAbel: Killed his half-brothers to win his chiefdom. Of course, they were trying to kill ''him'' at the time too.
46	* CanineCompanion: He always keeps a pack of five dogs with him at all times, though the one he's closest to is his wolf dog - they are ''very'' loyal to him.
47	* ADogNamedDog: He doesn't bother giving his dogs individual names; he just calls them all "dog" and tells them apart by their individual descriptions.
48	* DealWithTheDevil: Thinks of his bargain with Penthero Iss in these terms, and considers [[MouthOfSauron Sarga Veys]] to be a "devil's helper".
49	* TheDreaded: He's described as the most feared man in all the Clanholds - and considering what [[ProudWarriorRace the clans]] are like, that takes some doing.
50	* EveryoneHasStandards: Despises assassination, and made sure Bludd never trained or deployed cowlmen (professional assassins) under his watch. He doesn't have much use for sorcery either, though he ''will'' use that if stakes are high enough.
51	* FreudianExcuse: As the unwanted bastard son of an uncaring father, Vaylo learned from a young age that if he wanted something he'd have to fight tooth and nail for it, a principle by which he's lived his life ever since.
52	* GeniusBruiser: Vaylo can come across as an uncultured brute, even by clan standards, but don't be fooled - there's a keen, penetrating intellect behind the muscle and old scars.
53	* HeelFaceTurn: After loosing the Dhoonehouse and realizing the futility of his ambitions, Vaylo shifts from trying to conquer the Clanholds and more towards being a better leader for his own clan - and preparing for [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt what's coming]].
54	* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: Subverted. When he captures Raif and Ash, he treats Raif brutally because he thinks Raif killed his grandchildren - but he's nothing but civil to Ash, who he has no quarrel with.
55	* InsistentTerminology: He's not the "Bludd Lord" and certainly not "Lord Bludd" - he's the ''Dog'' Lord, and don't you forget it!
56	* KickTheDog: Not his actual dogs, who he adores, but he never had much use for any of his sons, seeing them as little more than the second coming of his own father, and made that fact very clear. There's a reason they resent him.
57	* LargeAndInCharge: Played with. Bram notes that Vaylo isn't really a particularly big man, but his powerful build and the force of his personality make him ''seem'' much larger and more imposing than he is.
58	* MyGreatestFailure: Depending on his mood at the moment, either his cruel treatment of his sons (thus repeating the sins of his own abusive father) or his alliance with Iss that allowed the Surlord to use him as a tool to throw the clanholds into chaos.
59	* NotMeThisTime: The assassination of Dagro Blackhail gets blamed on him, and it's easy to swallow because it came at the same time as Vaylo launched his attack on Dhoone. But of course ''Vaylo'' knows he didn't do it, and finding out about it convinces him that Iss is playing all sides in this conflict.
60	* OldSoldier: A man in his fifties who's been chief of one of the most warlike clans for more than half of that, he's got a long, storied career as warrior and war leader behind him.
61	* PapaWolf: Don't underestimate what this man will do to protect his grandchildren - or, if necessary, to avenge their deaths.
62	* PetTheDog: Literally - Vaylo's dogs are one of the joys of his life. The other is his grandchildren. He happily dotes on both.
63	* PreAsskickingOneLiner: When escaping from the Dhoonehouse, Vaylo and his grandchildren are cornered by Robbie himself; Robbie can't help but gloat a bit, calling Vaylo "Bludd Lord." Vaylo calmly informs Robbie that he got the name wrong - he's the ''Dog'' Lord! Cue Vaylo's dog pack as they come barreling down the hall, tackling Robbie and his warriors and killing at least one of them, and buying Vaylo ''and'' the dogs time to escape.
64	* RedBaron: "Dog Lord."
65	* RefugeInAudacity: A trait the Clans, and Clan Bludd in particular, value - they call it "jaw". Vaylo - who made his name by stealing the sacred guidestone from the most powerful clan and then having it ''ground down to gravel and rebuilt into his personal outhouse''[[note]]Not really - the stone proved too heavy to move far, so Vaylo and his men dumped it in a nearby lake and he had the outhouse built from similar looking rock, but it's the thought that counts[[/note]] and hasn't slowed down since, has jaw to spare.
66	* RevengeBeforeReason: Blames Raif for the death of many of his grandchildren; even though it becomes increasingly clear to him that Raif didn't have anything to do with it, he still blames him for it, mostly because he needs to hate ''someone'' and Raif is the only person who he ''knows'' was there.
67	* WorthyOpponent: Though he despises treacherous and dishonorable enemies such as Iss, Mace Blackhail, or Robbie Dun Dhoone, he's usually quick to acknowledge respect for those opponents who he sees as honorable, including Bram, Angus Lok, and even briefly for Raif.
68
69	!!Cluff Drybannock
70
71	!!The Dog Lord's Sons
72
73	!!The Dog Lord's Grandchildren
74
75	[[WMG: Clan Dhoone]]
76
77	!!Robbie Dun Dhoone
78
79	The Dhoone Clan Chief - as soon as he get rid of his great-uncle Skinner Dhoone, that is. However, his ambitions are greater than chiefship of his own clan. After all, he is not called "Thorn King" for nothing. Robbie is charismatic and fearless, but behind his handsome face lies a ruthless man that would do anything to secure his own power.
80
81	!!Bram Cormac
82
83	Robbie Dun Dhoone's little brother, Bram has neither his brother Robbie's looks nor his charisma. Bram is easily overlooked, but he has a sharp mind and sharper eyes.
84
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder: The Cities]]
88
89	[[WMG: Spire Vanis]]
90
91	!!Asarhia "Ash" March / [[spoiler: Ash Mountain Born]]
92
93	Ward of the Surlord of Spire Vanis, Ash was found as an abandoned infant outside of the city and brought up as Penthero Iss's daughter. She's also the Reach, a rare individual born with the power to release the Endlords - a power her adoptive father covets, and which will eventually set her feet on a journey that will bring her in conflict with forces beyond imagining.
94
95	* ActionGirl: She eventually starts training in Sull fighting skills; she's especially effective against the Unmade because [[ManOfKryptonite her Reach powers can destroy them]].
96	* ActionSurvivor: In the first book she has no appreciable combat skills, but keeps on trucking through all manner of perils.
97	* BadPowersGoodPeople: Ash's magic is creepy and destructive even when it's ''not'' being used to release the Endlords, but she's an essentially decent person who wants to learn all she can so she can hopefully stop the world from ending.
98	* BarrierMaiden: As the Reach, she was born with a connection to the powers of the Blind and can potentially unleash the Endlords or reseal them.
99	* {{Deuteragonist}}: Though Raif is introduced first and gets more page-time, they share the role of central figure of the saga.
100	* FallenPrincess: Spends part of ''Cavern'' as a beggar on the streets of Spire Vanis after running away from Iss and before meeting Raif and Angus.
101	* IcyBlueEyes: After she discharges her power, her eyes turn from grey to a deep, cold blue. Referred to in-universe as "Sull eyes," since many Sull do in fact have eyes of that color.
102	* IJustWantToBeNormal: She's ''very'' envious of the Lok family's happy life when she meets them. Downplayed in that she's fully aware that ship sailed long ago, so her envy is more of a wistful nature than an actual desire.
103	* InSeriesNickname: Her full name is Asarhia, but everyone calls her "Ash".
104	* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: Let's see - her adoptive father took her in solely for her power, said power is slowly killing her, to save herself and the world she has to give up her only friend and her humanity and journey to the Heart of the Sull, the Endlords and their minions want her dead, most everyone else wants to use her, one of her ''other'' father figures dies in front of her... yeah, being the Reach is not fun ''at all''.
105	* MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter: Or "Creepy Dictator's Beautiful Ward," perhaps.
106	* ManOfKryptonite: Becomes this after discharging her power; her presence disrupts the powers of the Endlords and she can destroy their servants with a touch.
107	* MeaningfulRename: After reaching the Heart of the Sull, she renames herself in traditional [[LukeNounverber Sull Fashion]] as [[spoiler: Ash Mountain Born]].
108	* MysticalWhiteHair: Ash has silvery hair and is heir to an extremely potent magical power.
109	* OutOfFocus: She's got a lot less to do in ''A Sword From Red Ice'' and ''Watcher of the Dead'' compared to the earlier books.
110	* RandomlyGifted: Ash has no real idea ''why'' she's the Reach; she's just accepted that she is. [[spoiler: For those who have read ''The Book of Words'', it's fairly obvious her mother is Tarissa and her father is Jack, which would make her the daughter of a powerful sorcerer. Still no explanation of how she wound up with ''this'' particular magic]].
111	* SurvivalMantra: "I am Ash March, Foundling, left outside Vaingate to die." It may not sound very uplifting, but it does its job of reminding Ash of all she's already survived and giving her the strength to keep going.
112	* {{Transhuman}}: In addition to the various changes wrought on her body by her Reach powers, she's ritually transformed into a Sull by Ark and Mal, and it's clear this isn't just an empty ceremony since she starts getting flashes of ancestral memory and understanding of Sull BloodMagic afterwards.
113	* UnskilledButStrong: She's got no actual training as a sorceress, but her innate magic is volatile enough that she can cause devastation when she unleashes it. Even [[ArrogantKungFuGuy Sarga Veys]] is impressed.
114
115
116	!!Penthero Iss
117
118	The Surlord of Spire Vanis and Ash's adoptive father; Iss is cold-blooded and ambitious and dabbles in sorcery and occult knowledge as a means of increasing his power.
119
120	* AbusiveParents: Generally more cold and emotionally neglectful that outright abusive, but it's made very clear that Ash never volunteered to be his tame Reach and runs away rather than be forced to be the tool of her father's ambitions.
121	* ArcWords: "A Surlord is not a King" comes up repeatedly in Iss's scenes, reflecting the fact that he came to his throne through murder and almost certainly will leave it in the same way, leaving no legacy to a child or chosen heir.
122	* BloodMagic: He enhances his not-too-impressive natural magical skills by draining blood from the captive [[spoiler: Baralis]].
123	* TheChessmaster: Between his conniving with the Clans and his long-term goals for Ash, Iss runs lots of plans centered on increasing his power.
124	* DiscOneFinalBoss: [[spoiler: The first two books build him up as a major threat, but he gets killed off rather casually in the climax of ''Fortress'']].
125	* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler: Crope kills him almost incidentally while rescuing Baralis, barely realizing who he even is]].
126	* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Iss's inner monologue indicates he genuinely doesn't understand why Ash ended up turning against him or why she objected to being a tool in his long-term plans.
127	* EvilOverlord: He's the dictatorial ruler of one of the most powerful city-states in the region, and dreams of expanding his power further.
128	* EvilSorcerer: Not a terribly powerful one, true, but he still gets a fair bit of mileage from his magical abilities.
129	* EvilTowerOfOminousness: His stronghold, Mask Fortress, sports several of these.
130	* FangsAreEvil: Inverted; Iss has abnormally small, round teeth and generally tries to avoid opening his mouth too wide to show them, as he is embarrassed by this feature.
131	* FromNobodyToNightmare: From the son of an onion farmer to one of the most powerful rulers in the North.
132	* GenghisGambit: Inverted; his goal was to manipulate the clans into fighting each other, so that would be weak and unprepared when the armies of Spire Vanis marched north to conquer them. [[spoiler: This plan was cut short by Iss's death]].
133	* ImpoverishedPatrician: In his backstory; Iss comes from a noble bloodline, but by the time of his birth his family had been reduced to farming onions for a living. Iss began the long, hard process of clawing his house's way back into real power. He's frequently contrasted with [[TheDragon Marafice Eye]], who came from similarly humble origins but has no noble blood at all.
134	* KlingonPromotion: Iss won his throne by murdering his predecessor. He now lives in fear of someone doing the same to him.
135	* MalevolentMaskedMen: During executions and other major events, Iss appears in public wearing a mask made to resemble Spire Vanis's symbol, the [[FeatheredFiend killhound]].
136	* PetTheDog: Though he could have just as easily delegated the task to servants or tutors, Iss personally taught Ash to read when she was a young child. She reflects that whatever else he may have been, Iss genuinely loved knowledge and wanted his adopted daughter to share that love.
137	* RedOniBlueOni: Blue to Marafice Eye's Red. Iss is a cool, calculating sorcerer.
138	* RedRightHand: Iss's unusual teeth, mentioned above, tend to provoke a subliminally uncomfortable reaction in people.
139	* SorcerousOverlord: Downplayed; Iss is primarily an overlord who occasionally uses sorcery rather than a more even split between the two aspects.
140	* TheStarscream: In his backstory, he served as TheDragon to the previous Surlord while plotting (eventually, successfully) to overthrow him.
141	* WeakButSkilled: Iss's own talents for sorcery are fairly minor (Sarga Veys even thinks of him as a weakling), but he's very clever and uses BloodMagic to get a lot of mileage out of what he has.
142	* WickedCultured: Despite his humble origins, Iss is a highly intelligent, cultivated man who enjoys intellectual pursuits and the finer things in life, in contrast to his brutish [[TheDragon Dragon]], Marafice Eye.
143
144	!!Marafice Eye
145
146	The brutal Protector General of Spire Vanis and NumberTwo to Penthero Iss. A man of common origin who rose through the ranks to a position of power, he serves Iss loyally - so long as doing so also benefits his own ambitions.
147
148	* AFatherToHisMen: Whatever Eye's other faults (and they are many) he is very loyal to the men under his command and tries his hardest to protect them - and to avenge their deaths, if need be.
149	* BastardUnderstudy: Increasingly takes this dynamic with Iss as the story goes on; Eye wants to be Surlord after Iss, and Iss needs Eye's loyalty, so Iss takes Eye under his wing and works to help him build his political skills and power base, while knowing all the while that Eye would happily stick a knife in him if he decides that's a more expedient path to power.
150	* {{Determinator}}: When Eye has his gaze on a prize - whether a mission for the Surlord or his own personal ambitions - he never gives up. ''Never''.
151	* TheDragon: As Protector General, he's the second-most powerful man in Spire Vanis and chief enforcer of the Surlord's will.
152	* DragonAscendant: [[spoiler: Becomes Surlord in his own right after Crope kills Iss]].
153	* FourStarBadass: He's the highest-ranking military officer in Spire Vanis, and he's also more than capable of getting his hands dirty at need.
154	* FromNobodyToNightmare: From the son of a butcher to one of the most feared military commanders in the North.
155	* GeniusBruiser: You wouldn't think it to look at him, but Eye is a very smart man and knows his business well.
156	* LargeAndInCharge: Eye is an imposing, powerful man.
157	* MeaningfulName: Not initially, but his surname becomes this after he loses an eye at the end of the first book, leaving him [[{{Pun}} Marafice One-Eye]].
158	* ObfuscatingStupidity: Eye acts the part of a simple brute, but he's actually ''far'' more intelligent than he lets on; sometimes even Iss, who knows this fact full well, is surprised by it.
159	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Eye has a nasty misogynistic streak; Iss thinks he's actually intimidated by women and covers it with hostility.
160	* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Downplayed. Eye is never shown committing rape himself, but he's fully willing to permit his men to do so.
161	* RedBaron: "The Knife."
162	* RedOniBlueOni: Red to Iss's Blue. Eye is a HotBlooded, aggressive warrior.
163	* UpThroughTheRanks: As a commoner, he entered the Rive Watch at its lowest levels, but through fighting skill, ambition, ruthlessness, and cunning rose to be its commander.
164	* VillainousFriendship: Of a sort, with Iss. Their wildly different personalities can grate on each other, but the two men respect each others' skills and understand that they can best advance their mutual ambitions by working together and keeping each other alive.
165	* VillainousValor: Say what you will, but the man's no coward, fully willing to lead his men from the front.
166
167	!!Sarga Veys
168
169	A powerful, ambitious sorcerer in the service of Penthero Iss, who acts as his go-between in his dealings with the clans.
170
171	* TheAce: Magically speaking, he's just about the best there is; even Angus Lok admits it.
172	* AmbitionIsEvil: And Veys's ambitions are ''big'', so much that only service in the court of one of the most powerful rulers in the region can satisfy him - and he jumps off ''that'' ship when he gets a taste of what [[BigBad the Endlords]] can do.
173	* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Not remotely shy about reminding everyone how awesome his magical powers are. [[AwesomeEgo And he's fully capable of backing it up, too]].
174	* CoDragons: To Iss in the first book, shared with Marafice Eye.
175	* EvilSorcerer: He's incredibly magically gifted and completely ruthless and amoral.
176	* FauxAffablyEvil: Veys rarely loses his cool and maintains a cultured air, but inside, he's usually sneering.
177	* IgnoredExpert: Veys warns Marafice Eye that the drugs keeping Ash docile are close to running out. Eye blows him off. [[CurbStompBattle The predictable happens]].
178	* MasterPoisoner: In addition to his magical abilities, he has faculty with mundane drugs and poisons.
179	* MouthOfSauron: He serves as Iss's spokesman and representative in his dealings with the Dog Lord and, it's implied, in other under-the-table alliances.
180	* NoOneCouldHaveSurvivedThat: Discussed following the escape from Spire Vanis; Ash and Raif see him go under in the frozen river and assume he's dead, but Angus knows that a sorcerer of his caliber is fully capable of surviving that. He's right.
181	* SissyVillain: Well, manly men the Dog Lord and Marafice Eye think so, at any rate. He's more of a kindred spirit with Iss.
182	* SmugSnake: Veys is incredibly arrogant, and looks down on {{muggles}} - and even weaker sorcerers, including his own boss, Penthero Iss - with utter contempt.
183	* SquishyWizard: Outside of magic he's got no appreciable combat skills, one of the reasons Marafice Eye holds him in contempt.
184	* SwordAndSorcerer: He's the Glass Cannon to Eye's Fighter while they hunt Ash. The relationship is very, ''very'' tense.
185	* VillainExitStageLeft: He escapes Ash's destruction of his and Eye's sept near the end of ''Cavern'', seemingly leaving his service to the Surlord behind him.
186	* VillainRespect: He's grudgingly but genuinely impressed by the forces Ash is capable of unleashing.
187	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: He runs off at the end of ''Cavern'', having witnessed the power of the Reach firsthand and seeming determined to find some way to possesses the powers of the Endlords for himself. Nothing's been heard from him since.
188
189	!!Caydis Zerbina
190
191	!!Katia
192
193	!!Lisereth Hews
194
195	!!Garric Hews
196
197	[[WMG: Ille Glaive]]
198
199	!!Angus Lok
200
201	!!Lok Family
202
203	!!Heritas Cant
204
205	[[/folder]]
206
207	[[folder: The Sull]]
208
209	!!Mal Naysayer
210
211	Far Rider of Sull, Mal Naysayer is one of the two Sull who find Ash and Raif in their search for the Cavern of Black Ice. He is named Naysayer because he only answers questions in one way - "Nay".
212
213	!!Ark Veinsplitter
214
215	A Far Rider that Ash and Raif meet while searching for the Cavern of Black Ice. He is responsible for ritually transforming Ash into a Sull along with Mal and acts as a mentor and father-figure to her. He is named Veinsplitter for his numerous bloodletting scars.
216
217	!!Yiselle No-Knife
218
219	!!Lan Fallstar
220
221	[[/folder]]
222
223	[[folder: Maimed Men]]
224
225	!!Stillborn
226
227	!!Traggis Mole
228
229	!!Yustaffa
230
231	[[/folder]]
232
233	[[folder: Other Mortals]]
234
235	!!Baralis
236
237	!!Crope
238
239	!!Sadaluk
240
241	!!Magdalena Crouch/The Crouching Maiden
242
243	[[/folder]]
244
245	[[folder: Supernatural Beings]]
246
247	!!The Endlords
248
249	A group of nine ancient, immensely powerful beings who embody the concept of destruction and entropy, as opposed to the gods, who embody life and creation. They were imprisoned in the Blind countless millennia ago, but now their prison is cracking and their power has begun to be felt in the living world again.
250
251	* AboveGoodAndEvil: Possibly. Some information about them indicates they are pure evil, others that they just don't care about human morality. The Endlords themselves have yet to weigh in on the issue.
252	* TheAntiGod: The Endlords are explicitly defined as the opposite of the gods. Whether this is just in a general sense or if each Endlord is opposed to a specific god has not been stated.
253	* BigBad: The ultimate antagonists of the series.
254	** [[BigBadDuumvirate BigBadNonumvirate]]: There are nine of them, though so far they haven't shown any individual personality or identity. It's unclear which of them is the leader, or if they have one. However, Mal and Ark do note that all nine have never been known to take to the field at once - a fact for which the Sull are ''very'' greatful.
255	* CompleteImmortality: If there is any way to destroy them, it's yet to be revealed. [[spoiler: The Raven Lord slew one of them with Loss, but that just destroyed the Endlord's body; its spirit explicitly survived]].
256	* TheCorruption: Their touch alone is sufficient to turn a living being into an Unmade.
257	* DarkIsEvil: They're consistently associated with things like shadows, the night, and the void of space.
258	* DealWithTheDevil: [[spoiler: They help Baralis remember his name in return for him using his magic to widen the hairline crack Ash made in the Blindwall]].
259	* DimensionLord: They rule over the creatures of the Blind.
260	* TheDreaded: Most people have never heard of them. Those who ''have'' - Sull, Phage, or learned scholars - are ''terrified'' of them.
261	* EvilCounterpart: To the gods[[note]]And there are exactly nine Endlords ''and'' nine Stone Gods, implying a strong parallel of ''some'' sort[[/note]]
262	* EvilWeapon: Their swords are said to be forged from the absence of all things.
263	* HiddenVillain: Most of humanity is unaware that they exist; they reader isn't clued in to what exactly the creatures in Ash's visions are and why they're so important until almost two thirds of the way through the first book.
264	* HumanoidAbomination: They look (vaguely) humanoid on the rare occasions characters have seen them directly, but they are actually primordial voids who have taken on that shape.
265	* IHaveManyNames: Endlords, Lords of Shadow, Takers of Men, among others. The Sull know their true names, but [[TheScottishTrope know better than to say them casually]].
266	* KeystoneArmy: [[spoiler: Raven Lord's story indicates that even temporarily killing the commanding Endlord will send an Unmade army into disarray]].
267	* LeakingCanOfEvil: [[spoiler: After the Blindwall is damaged by Ash and Baralis, the Endlords themselves are still trapped (for now) but their influence and minions have begun to spread into the mortal world]].
268	* MadeOfEvil: Though Made of Destruction might be a more accurate way to put it.
269	* ObviouslyEvil: They make no attempts to present themselves as anything but the harbingers of the apocalypse.
270	* OmnicidalManiac: Their very nature is to seek the end of all things. Worse, various learned characters state that while they may not win this time, someday, their victory is inevitable.
271	* PhysicalGod: Or rather, Physical Anti-Gods.
272	* TheScottishTrope: The Sull know their true individual names, but will not speak them aloud so as to not draw their attention. As of ''Watcher of the Dead'', none of their names have been revealed to the reader.
273	* SealedEvilInACan: They were imprisoned by the ancient Sull in a hellish dimension called the Blind. Unfortunately, the walls are weakening...
274	* TimeAbyss: They are at least as old as the gods, making them older than both humans and Sull, and possibly the Old Ones. Their armies include Unmade versions of creatures that went extinct long before the present age.
275
276	!!The Unmade
277
278	The armies of the Endlords, an infinite horde of undead creatures their corruption has spawned. They were imprisoned along with their masters, but with the Blindwall crumbling, some have begun to invade the living world.
279
280	* AchillesHeel: Burning a corpse will keep it from rising as Unmade, stabbing an Unmade through the heart will destroy it, and [[spoiler: Ash can cause them to disintegrate with a touch from any part of her body]].
281	* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Their corruption drives them to hate the living and attempt to destroy them.
282	* DarkIsEvil: They resemble shadowy wraiths with cold eyes.
283	* TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget: According to Heritas Cant, all they remember of their mortal lives is that they were once something else - and they hate all living things for reminding them of that fact.
284	* EldritchAbomination: Those Unmade that are particularly ancient and created from particularly alien creatures verge into this, the Shatan Maer most especially.
285	* EvilWeapon: Their voided steel swords are more powerful than regular weapons, and anyone killed by one will rise as an Unmade unless cremated.
286	* IHaveManyNames: They are also known as taken, maeraiths and wralls.
287	* ImplacableMan: Apart from the Achilles Heels mentioned above, they're nearly indestructible.
288	* TheLegionsOfHell: Definitely give off this vibe, especially when Raif sees into the Blind and has a vision of the vast army of them waiting on the other side.
289	* {{Mooks}}: They compose the bulk of the Endlords' forces.
290	** EliteMooks: Between their voided steel swords and the fact that only fire or a direct blow to heart can kill them, they're much more formidable than living creatures.
291	** NightOfTheLivingMooks: Being undead and all.
292	** GiantMook: Some particularly powerful individual Unmade, most obviously the Shatan Maer.
293	* OmnicidalManiac: Just like their masters, they exist only to destroy.
294	* OneManArmy: Though the ordinary Unmade aren't as strong as their masters, they're still terrifyingly effective warriors, especially against opponents who don't understand what they're up against or how to fight them. Just ''one'' was enough to slaughter an entire outpost of Forsworn knights.
295	* TimeAbyss: Though not as old as their masters, some of them have been around a ''very'' long time and are older than humanity.
296	* TheUndead: Generally function as something of a cross between zombies and wraiths.
297	* TheVirus: Unlike the Endlords, they can't create more of their kind with a touch, but they ''can'' do it by killing living creatures with their voided steel swords.
298	* WasOnceAMan: Or any other number of living creatures, admittedly. They were all once ''something'' that they aren't anymore.
299
300	!!The Stone Gods
301
302	The pantheon of deities worshipped by the clans. None of them has yet appeared directly, but they speak their will to their worshippers through the sacred clan guidestones.
303
304	* ArcWords: "[The Stone Gods] answer no small prayers."
305	* TheDreaded: Behathmus, Stone God of death. Like Hades in Myth/ClassicalMythology, this is less because of who he is and more because of what he represents.
306	* ElementalEmbodiment: "Stone God" isn't a random title; it's made very clear that the clans draw a strong connection between their gods and the substance of the earth.
307	* EverybodyHatesHades: Averted. Behathmus, Stone God of death and darkness, is a feared figure, but he's also the god of justice, and so is respected as well. He's certainly no more evil than any other member of the pantheon.
308	* FantasyPantheon: Though most of their roles haven't been fleshed out.
309	* GoodIsNotSoft: How their followers regard them - they're just gods, but harsh and unforgiving ones nonetheless.
310	* HonorBeforeReason: Seems to be at the core of their morality. They are not compassionate or merciful deities, but they demand that their follows adhere to conduct befitting warriors, and according to clan myths will punish those who do not.
311	* PhysicalGod: Defied. So far, they haven't manifested any sort of physical form, if they are even capable of doing so.
312	* ThePowersThatBe: If they are capable of manifesting directly in the living world, they haven't done it yet; clan guides have to commune with them indirectly by reading the state of the clan guidestone (though judging by Inigar's POV, there's definitely ''something'' going on there).
313	* WarGod: Though each Stone God has his or her own area of influence, they are all gods of war.
314
315	!!Death
316
317	[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The embodiment of death]]. She has appeared to Raif a handful of times in visions. She may or may not be an Endlord.
318
319	* AboveGoodAndEvil: Implied; so long as people are dying, she doesn't care if they're good or bad.
320	* AmbiguouslyEvil: Death is, understandably, not a nice entity, but what her actual intentions are remain shrouded in mystery.
321	* AnthropomorphicPersonification: Of death, obviously.
322	* TheChessmaster: Has some sort of long-term plan going, and is also willing to use complex plans to try and ensnare Raif. [[spoiler: Using the moonsnake works]].
323	* DealWithTheDevil: She preserves Raif's life in exchange for him using his powers to kill countless other living things. "Kill an army for me, Raif Sevrance. Otherwise, I might just call you back."
324	* TheFaceless: Her actual appearance hasn't been described; she's usually just a voice and a sense of presence.
325	* TheGrimReaper: Of course.
326	* PhysicalGod: Though whether she's an ''actual'' god, an Endlord, or something else is yet to be established.
327	* WildCard: As the rest of this entry indicates, we know ''very'' little about her actual agenda or her motivation for courting Raif.
328	* VillainTakesAnInterest: Whether she's an actual ''villain'' remains up in the air, but she's definitely ominous and sinister and determined to have Raif as her champion.
329

Context Characters / SwordOfShadows