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Main Characters
Ringil Eskiath
A veteran from the war against the Scaled Folk, armed with a Kiriath sword and his own disdain for human nature. Ringil was born to a noble house from the League capital of Trelayne, but his male family members rejected him for his homosexuality, among other conflicts. He begins the series hunting corpsemites in a backwater village where he's taken up residence. Shortly after, his mother wakes him on Padrow's Day by throwing a stone through his window, begging him to rescue his distant cousin from slavery. Ringil's goals throughout the series remain more-or-less heroic, but he's capable of stunning brutality when those goals demand, or when confronted with men and women who truly disgust him. His actions grow progressively more extreme as the series unfolds.
- Antihero: Starts as an Unscrupulous Hero, and only gets worse from there.
- Cool Sword: The Ravensfriend, a sword forged from Kiriath steel.
- I Have No Son!: Gingren forswears blood vengeance on Ringil when he starts massacring the leaders of the (legal) slave trade. This allows anyone who wishes to kill Ringil to do so without facing retaliation from the rest of the Eskiath house, making it the ultimate rejection of his son. Fortunately for Ringil, he manages to defeat Klithren when he arrives to collect the opportunity, though not with losing the initial battle, getting dragged onboard a League naval vessel, and nearly finding himself tortured and killed.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Many examples. Perhaps the most disturbing involved allowing his men to gang rape Poppy Snarl in retaliation for her selling his cousin into sex slavery.
- Protagonist Journey to Villain: Not a villain, per se, but the events of the series take a toll on his morality.
- Rape as Backstory: Gang-raped by a group of senior students at the Trelayne Academy during adolescence. His attackers justified it partly as a form of shared traumatic bonding, and partly by mocking Ringil's sexuality. He only brings it up a handful of times in the series proper, but the event severely damaged his relationship with his younger brother (who walked away instead of helping him), and likely fed his hatred for his society.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Has much keener emotional senses than Egar, although his capacity for violence is just as high, if not greater.
- Straight Gay: Somewhat warmer than Morgan’s other male protagonists, but equally powerful in combat and even more vengeful.
- Superpowerful Genetics: Ringil is a descendant of the Dwenda race through his mother's side. He inherited a portion of their speed and looks, while his mother likely has some degree of longevity - she's known for looking younger than people decades her junior.
Archeth Indamaninarmal
A human-kiriath half-breed who was left behind when the rest of her race abandoned the world in their 'fireships' due to her mixed blood.
- Antihero: Sways between Pragmatic and Unscrupulous on the scale. She’s generally the most compassionate of the three main characters, but she can still be extremely violent under the right circumstances.
- Functional Addict: Addicted to krinzanz, a fictional stimulant and hallucinogen. She spends most of the series either high on it or suffering cravings and withdrawals. The Warhelm’s healing appears to cure her in the third novel.
- Token Good Teammate: Compared to Egar and Ringil. She's still an Antihero, but she's comparatively gentler and hasn't given up hope on improving her society, instead of losing herself in revenge like her companions.
Egar Dragonbane
Clan chief of the Skaranak. He received the title Dragonbane when he and Ringil killed a dragon together.
- Antihero: Not quite as vengeful as Ringil, but he often appears more comfortable with slavery and other casual forms of brutality their societies have embraced.
- The Berserker: Can ignore grave pain and injuries during combat through the sheer force of his rage.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Dies killing a dragon moments before it would have killed Archeth instead. He rips out the creature's throat, bathing himself in a lethal spray of acidic blood and venom.
- Odd Friendship: With both Archeth and Ringil, given his comparatively rougher and less philosophical outlook.
- Politically Incorrect Hero: Displays a certain level of disdain for Ringil’s sexuality, although they nonetheless formed a strong bond as comrades during the war against the Scaled Folk, and it holds until both of them die.
Trelayne League
Yhelteth Empire
Jhiral Khimran II
The current Emperor of Yhelteth.
- The Caligula: Zig-zagged. Jihral spends much of his time belittling his subordinates, sleeping with his harem of female slaves, and executing suspected traitors by feeding them to cages full of octopus-like carnivores, but he also displays a measure of vision and cunning, outwitting his enemies and playing his subjects against each other.
- Properly Paranoid: Jihral is quick to suspect his subjects of disloyalty, but quite a few nobles indeed wish to depose him.
