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The Lone Swordsman's Party
William
William of Greenbury, The Lone Swordsman
The first Callowan Hero to rise to any significance since the conquest. A gritty avenger type who flies under the radar by operating independently (as the Name implies) rather than gathering an army or party of Heroes.
When Catherine arrives in Summerholm she attempts to hunt him down in order to prove herself worthy of the Name of Squire. After she defeats him and the other claimants she sets him free, allowing him to start a rebellion against the empire and creating the chaos she believes is necessary to rise in the ranks. He becomes her recurring foe throughout the first two books.
The Lone Swordsmen's Aspects are: Rise, Triumph, and Swing.
- Adaptation Expansion: In the Yonder rewrite, his journey to Refuge after his defeat at Catherine's hands is expanded into the epilogue of Yonder Book 1. Notably, he meets several characters from his future Band of Five and Refuge ahead of time, including Hunter, Bumbling Conjurer, Archer, and Ranger, as well as Foreshadowing several plot points ahead of time.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Yup. William was once a bad boy. He then started trying to atone for what he'd done, but... Frankly, getting mind-raped into a Heroic Name, knowing you're always heading to the Fire Below whatever you do and getting very grim smiles painted on your soul enough that putting thousands of people through a similarly enforced turn to heroism like you're going through feels like a good idea? That's a bit excessive for a sentence for selfishly killing your sister in a bid to survive the militant crackdown her actions would cause, don't you think?
- Anti-Hero: Unscrupulous Hero verging on
Designated Hero. He's a racist Jerkass who sadistically tortures prisoners and doesn't really care about the impacts of his actions on ordinary people. He's also willing to Bring an Angel of Contrition into Creation in the City of Liesse, essentially brainwashing every man, woman, and child in the city into joining a Death or Glory crusade against evil. - Arch-Nemesis: To Catherine, shares the role with Heiress.
- Arc Villain: The Lone Swordsman is one of the leading figures of the rebellion in Book 2, making him one of Catherine's most important opponents alongside Akua. Though William is nominally a hero, his willingness to do whatever it takes to defeat Praes—even brainwashing an entire city of innocent civilians into starting the Tenth Crusade—make him just as dangerous as the Dread Empire itself.
- Brainwashing for the Greater Good: He may have been a victim of this when he first encountered the Hashmalim, and he tries to impose it on the entire city of Liesse.
- Cutting the Knot: This seems to be his default approach to problems in the Yonder rewrite, with a good helping of Murder Is the Best Solution added in:
- In his first adventure with Hunter during the epilogue of Book 1, he encounters a cult of bandits whose leader made a deal with a fae gone wrong. Hunter suggests slaying the fae to free her—instead, William waits until she gets drunk in a tavern, then locks her in and sets the place on fire.
- In a town taken over by possessing ghosts accidentally unleashed by the Bumbling Conjurer, both Bumbling Conjurer and an unnamed sister of the local vestry suggest luring the ghosts back to the vestry to purify them with Light. William instead captured one of the spirits and got it to talk by threatening it with the Penitent's Blade, learning that one ghost had been a necromancer responsible—then cut down that spirit, bringing the other spirits to their senses. That said ghost was possessing the sister's uncle at the time did not matter to William.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Let's just say it's grim. Plenty for Freud to get to grips with, here.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: After his humiliation in the second Summerholm arc, he starts to learn a bit more humility and humanity under pressure from his comrades, though this doesn't stop him from pulling his summoning gambit in Liesse.
- Fantastic Racism: Explicitly does not believe that Goblins and Orcs qualify as people, believing them to be simply Always Chaotic Evil monsters (Note: This is very much not the case in the Practical Guideverse). While he has his reasons (the Orcs have been subjecting Callow to Rape, Pillage, and Burn for almost two thousand years), it’s pretty clear that he wants to enact a Final Solution on them to stop this.
- Hopeless Boss Fight: He was fated to Win against Catherine in Liesse to the point that he literally got back up and stabbed her while she was ramming a knife through his throat. Unfortunately, she planned for this and turned it around on her in their next fight.
- Jerkass: He's like the anthropomorphic personification of sandpaper. By both intentionally and unintentionally grating on companions' and enemies' nerves alike, he wears most of them down until they stay as far away from him as possible... or, enjoy the thought of strangling him. Might be a Name thing. You can't do "Lone" if people easily flock to your sunny, gregarious personality, after all.
- One-Man Army: The Lone Swordsman is hands down one of the most physically dangerous people in the series at the time of his introduction and is shown mowing through Humans, Orcs, and Devils with equal ease.
- Starter Villain Stays: William is Catherine's first proper opponent, and foiling his initial rebellion is the catalyst for her claiming the Squire Name in full. He doesn't die, however, and instead forms a rivalry with Catherine that leads to him becoming one of the main antagonists of Book 2.
- Took a Level in Badass: After his first defeat by Catherine he spends a year in Arcadia being pursued by the Wild Hunt and other otherworldly dangers, which toughens him up and gives him his last two Aspects.
The Thief
Vivienne Dartwick, The Thief
For tropes relevant to The Thief, see her entry on the Villains page.
The Hunter
John, The Hunter
One of Ranger's people in Refuge, he violates Ranger's rules in order to interfere in the Callowan rebellion beside the Lone Swordsman. Succinctly described as a "Streetwalker with a Spear" The Hunter wears minimal clothing and is covered in 'tribal' tattoos.
- An Arm and a Leg: Catherine cuts one of his hands off in their second fight in Summerholm.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: It's so bad, even his ally, Archer, continually takes the piss out of him for his crimes against both fashion and hubris.
- Bling of War: Well, more "Ringing Of War". Lots of little, tinkling, very silver hawkbells in his hair to be "tribal". Along with pointless tats he goes shirtless to show off. Why?!
- Chainmail Bikini: Well, the male equivalent thereof. Leather pants, bells and eternally shirtless. He learns the hard way why skin-covering armour is a good thing in a fight.
- Cliché Storm: His dialogue consists mostly of bombastic boasts and overwrought condemnations of the depravity of his opponents. This gets even sillier after Catherine breaks his nose. A whole new meaning to Purple Prose, right there. So far averted in the Yonder rewrite, where he's mostly just genuinely nice (much to William's chagrin).
- Early-Bird Cameo: The epilogue of Book 1 of the Yonder rewrite sees him meet William after he wakes up, giving William the idea to travel back to Refuge with him. He also ends up being the only one to accompany William across his entire journey to Refuge.
- Enemy Mine: Reluctantly agrees to help the Legion against the Demon of Corruption when it gets loose in Marchford.
- Hidden Depths: In the Yonder rewrite, his knowledge of the Waning Woods and skill as a woodsman gets William to Refuge within days of entering the Woods.
- Speaks Fluent Animal: In the Yonder rewrite, he apparently gained the ability to talk to blue jays as a result of bungling the harvest of the heart of a solstice stag he was hunting. It's apparently how he learned that William had washed up ashore after his defeat at Catherine's hands.
- Stealth Expert: He's a Rogue-type. Somehow. Despite the pomposity and those stupid bells, he's still good at the sneak.
- Stripperiffic: He wears as little clothing as he can get away with, yet this doesn't impede him much when he can rely on the power of his Name to slaughter Red Shirts. It's a pretty serious disadvantage when he gets in a slugging match with a heavily-armored Catherine and her equally martial Name, however.
The Bumbling Conjurer
Symeon, The Bumbling Conjurer
The last and least of the Lone Swordsman's party, a comically inept mage whose Name allows him to succeed through fortuitous incompetence. When the Heroes infiltrate Summerholm he bumbles through a few fights with the Apprentice before being abruptly put down by The Warlock. And There Was Much Rejoicing.
- Achievements in Ignorance: His entire Name is apparently built around this. It has a rather large downside that makes him worse than inconsistent: the minute he gets a handle on whatever magic feat he's pulling, it fizzles out on him. Often at an awkward time, too.
- Crazy Enough to Work: When it works, it really, really works (well beyond established norms, even). But, when it does not, it goes really badly.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: He starts getting Curb Stomped the second Apprentice walks into the room and then gets stomped a few more times over the course of the evening. He refuses to stay down until Warlock shows up, however.
- Early-Bird Cameo: The epilogue of Book 1 of the Yonder rewrite sees him show up early as one of several Named William meets early, involved in a misadventure in a town taken over by ghosts. William tells him to lie low instead of joining him and Hunter, since three Named traveling together will get caught.
- Indy Ploy: Magic flavour. There's only so much prepping his Name will let him get away with, so he has to be all about the seat-of-pants, stabs-in-the-dark "plans".
The Wandering Bard
Almorava of Smyrna, The Wandering Bard
For tropes relevant to The Wandering Bard see their entry on the Morally Ambiguous Named page.
The White Knight's Party
Hanno
Hanno of Arwad, The White Knight
The Sword of Judgement, Prince White
A half-Soninke Hero from the Thalassocracy of Ashur who joins the war in the Free Cities upon completing training in the Titanomachy, bringing him into conflict with the Calamities. Though a Hero aligned with the Choir of Judgement, he abrogates the right to judge anyone himself, instead carrying out the judgment of the Heavens on those who engage in Evil. His Aspects include Ride and Recall.
Hanno later becomes the representative of Heroes, opposite Catherine Foundling, for the Truce & Terms in the war against the Dead King. Over that period he briefly gives up and regains the Name of White Knight, receiving a second set of Aspects that consists of Recall, Save, and Undo.
- Brought Down to Badass: He loses his ability to call on Judgement in Book 5, but he's still an incredibly skilled fighter with the ability to use Light.
- Cool Horse: One of his Aspects is Ride and along with presumably granting riding skills, it allows him to summon a horse made from holy light. Black thinks he massively under-utilises this Aspect, since he could conceivably do far, far more with a light-based mount than just use a lance or sword while riding it jouster-style. Think "laser", "flight", "drone" and way, way more.
- Creative Sterility: Black accuses him of this — because Hanno refuses to include his own opinions or personality in whatever he does, he cannot be original and is not that good at learning.
- Ghost Memory: He spent his time in the Titanomachy accessing the memories of past White Knights. He had never been in combat before Delos but had the memories of hundreds of battles. The downside: he cuts-and-pastes skills without really getting to the heart of the tactics and strategies he uses them with.
- Heads or Tails?: He uses a coin flip to divine the judgment of the seraphim in a disturbingly Harvey Dent-ish fashion—though it's implied that the Seraphim really are guiding what side it lands on.
- I've Never Seen Anything Like This Before: Provokes this kind of reaction from the Wandering Bard with his... idiosyncratic... take on what it means to be affiliated with Judgment without personally judging. And, when she practically sits up and leans forward to get a better look at the trope playing out in front of her, you know it's not a run-of-the-mill iteration.
- Jack of All Trades: His Recall ability makes him an expert with any weapon and gives him a huge variety of tricks with Light. Fight scenes often mention how the technique he's using is borrowed from a past Hero.
- Light 'em Up: In opposition to the Black Knight's Casting a Shadow powers, Hanno has the standard beams of damaging light attack.
- Skilled, but Naive: While outclassing the current Black Knight in every way when it comes to pure raw power, he turns out not to be very effective when it comes to actually fighting him. It is explained the first time we meet him that he was trained in seclusion by the Titans his whole life in order to become an unstoppable force of Good and to dedicate himself to the Heavens...but this ironically only hinders him since he lacks actual worldly experience when it comes to fighting flesh and blood Villains and because of that he expects every Villain to be like the ones in stories (something that Black clearly is not). Plus the Choir he draws his power from gives him Creative Sterility and an inability to learn leaving him to be nothing but a plaything to Black schemes the three times he fights him despite all of his power.
- The Smurfette Principle: Inverted, he's the only male member of his party.
- Summon Magic: As mentioned above, he can summon a horse made of light as part of his Ride Aspect.
The Valiant Champion
Rafaella, The Valiant Champion
A Hero from Levant that teams up with joins a band with the White Knight. Her Aspects include Oppose, Rally, and Exalt.- Achievements in Ignorance: She takes absolutely no damage from the Tyrant's ghost army, with her explanation being: "Ghosts no real, can't hurt". That is not how ghosts work in the Guideverse.
- The Big Guy: Functions as this. When you want the bold-and-simple solution to a knotty combat problem, she's got you covered.
- Blood Knight: Quite openly takes joy in getting into Evil's face by trying to slice as many of the poor mooks as she can.
- Boisterous Bruiser: See above. She's a sunny person to be around in a tight corner. As long as you're on the same side.
- Hulk Speak: Although this is due to not being completely fluent in the other members of her party's native language rather than lack of intelligence
- Innocently Insensitive: Rafaela flaying Captain's transformed corpse to obtain a wolf pelt. In Champion's mind, that was the honorable and logical option, partly because of the importance that Levantine culture puts on post-mortem tributes (as a show of respect for loved ones and powerful enemies); partly because Captain's beast form was Nigh-Invulnerable, allowing for one hell of a Cloak of Defense. Neither helps mitigate Cat's burning hatred for Champion skinning her Honorary Aunt.
- Nemean Skinning: She is fond of taking trophies, and takes to wearing a self-made fur cloak after killing Sabah.
The Ashen Priestess
Irene, The Ashen Priestess
A stern priest Named in the White Knight's team, and sister to Alkmene, the Hedge Wizard. From Delos. Her Aspects include Ignite, Heal, and Begone.- Disintegrator Ray: At least one of her powers allows her to cause enemies to disintegrate.
- Killed Offscreen: The Calamities thwart a ritual to kill Captain and replace the catalyst for the spell with a lock of her hair. The narration from Black puts emphasis on how the killing method of the ritual wasn't something quick and she probably died screaming. She becomes the first heroic casualty of her party as well.
- Properly Paranoid: Out of the four lines she speaks in their introductory chapter, three of them are her warning the rest of the party about imminent danger.
- Shoot the Medic First: The main reason why the Calamities kill her first, and ironically this end up backfiring on them.
- The Quiet One: She speaks four short sentences in the chapter that introduces the White Knight and the rest of the party, far fewer than any of the others.
The Hedge Wizard
Alkmene, The Hedge Wizard
An argumentative mage Named in the White Knight's band of five, sister to Irene, the Ashen Priestess, hails from Delos. Her Aspects are Learn, Repurpose and Reiterate.- Jack of All Trades: Her whole Name revolves around this. She has a spell for every school of sorcery that there is but she'll never become master of one of them and she can never use the same spell twice in a day.
- Killed Off for Real: She is defeated by the Warlock and to ensure that she doesn't return he burns her body to a crisp.
- The Red Mage: Described as having an 'eclectic' bag of magic tricks, rather than any one discipline.
- The Smart Guy: The team's resident magical expert.
- Squishy Wizard: Very powerful mage, but besides that, she doesn't have very much to show.
- Voluntary Shapeshifter: Can at the very least assume the shape of a giant eagle.
Aoede of Nicae
Aoede of Nicae, The Wandering Bard
For tropes relevant to The Wandering Bard see their entry on the Morally Ambiguous Named page.
The Tenth Crusade
Tariq Isbili
Tariq Isbili, The Grey Pilgrim
The Peregrine, Tariq Fleetfoot
A Hero from Levant who has been active for at least 60 years. He generally acts as The Mentor for other Heroes from the Dominion, and is widely respected and beloved there, to the point that he could claim the Tattered Throne without contest. He accompanies Prince Amadis' invasion of northern Callow, and later serves as the mouthpiece and de facto leader of Calernia's assembled Heroes, coming into contact and clashing with Cat several times.
As the Grey Pilgrim, his Aspects are Behold, Forgive, and Shine.
- Back from the Dead: His "Forgive" Aspect undoes people's deaths. This is limited by the stipulations that it can only be done once a day, requires the person's corpse, can only be done once per person, the death must have been somehow natural or willing, and the people it's used on are ''different'' somehow. In Book 5, Chapter 51, Cat steals this Aspect from his corpse so she can use it to revive him with it.
- Cry for the Devil: He tells Catherine that he views her this way.
- Dragon-in-Chief: Tariq is not the leader of the Tenth Crusade, but his sheer competence and respect among the nobles quickly propels him to the figurehead of the cause from Catherine's perspective, and it's his schemes that do the most to damage both her and Black.
- Genre Savvy: This is one of the main reasons that makes him such a dangerous foe to Catherine and the Woe. Not only he is powerful but, he also knows how to manipulate the countless histories about Heroes and Villains to produce a result. He tries to use this to steer Cat to a path of redemption that will probably end up in her death. as a way of defeating her, and is pretty much the reason how he avoided the Mentor Occupational Hazard form below.
- The Good Chancellor: In his backstory, Tariq ends up effectively reigning over Levant as its regent after his sister is assassinated, while his nephew Izil grows up to inherit the Tattered Throne.
- Heroic Suicide: In Book 5, chapter 50, he pulls this. It's later reversed.
- Good Is Not Nice: He is the first hero that Catherine has met who somewhat averts this.
- Played Straight. His Name allows him to create diseases just as easily as he can heal. He infects an unaware, Proceran fishing village with a deadly plague just before Black and several Legions arrive. Every single Proceran citizen and Praes Legionary in the area died, leaving Amadeus, the sole survivor, alone and cornered by six Heroes.
- Kinslaying Is a Special Kind of Evil: Subverted. Tariq winds up being forced to murder Izil, because it is clear to him that Izil plans on starting a continent-wide war between Levant and Procer.
- Mentor Occupational Hazard: He's somehow avoided ever falling into this despite being The Obi-Wan for decades. This is what leads Cat to take him seriously.
- The Needs of the Many: This is the driving force behind the Grey Pilgrim. At every turn, the Role he plays as an agent of Above is fundamentally about reducing suffering to the people of Calernia, no matter the cost.
- Old Superhero: The oldest Named Hero encountered in the story so far, and he is capable of truly awesome feats like calling entire pieces of heavenly firmament (read: stars) onto the battlefield. This is later revealed to be driven by Shine, his third Aspect.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: In contrast to William's racist Jerkass attitude, Tariq introduces himself to Catherine as a respectable opponent willing to negotiate and hold to terms of warfare. Though his sheer determination to kill or overthrow Catherine no matter the cost quickly sours her opinion of him, Book 5 does a lot to clarify why he has so much to fear from her, with his long history of villains faking or failing redemption making him less than willing to trust her even with the Dead King at their doorstep. Once she repeatedly proves herself to be an aberration compared to the villains he usually fights, Tariq pledges his support for her cause.
- Royal Blood: He is from the Isbili family, and thus the direct descendant of the first Grey Pilgrim, founder and first holy Seljun of Levante. In the Dominion, he is seen as royalty among royalty for being of the Blood of the first Pilgrim and also sharing the Name.
- Senseless Sacrifice: At the climax of Boox Six, Tariq reduces himself and his entire bloodline to ash to drop a star on the dead army invading the city Hainaut. Unfortunately, this gives the Dead King the narrative license to open three hellgates over the province, forcing further sacrifices on the Gigantes' part to seal the gates and buy the Alliance time.
- Not quite senseless since even though his sacrifice did let the Dead King open the hellgates, not committing the sacrifice would have meant giving him access to the Twilight Ways, which would basically mean losing the war entirely.
- Shout-Out: His Name 'The Grey Pilgrim' is one of Gandalf's nicknames (The English translation of 'Mithrandir').
- Technical Pacifist: Pilgrim does not kill his enemies directly - most of his on-screen appearances have featured him healing teammates as opposed to wielding his Light to kill. Furthermore, when he does use lethal means (see the example above), it's always as a last resort and for what he believes is a higher purpose.
Laurence de Montfort
Laurence de Montfort, The Saint of Swords (formerly Wanderer)
The Regicide
An old Proceran Hero who joins Amadis' invasion of northern Callow. Her Aspects are Sever, Listen, and Decree.
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Apparently she can cut through magic and miracles. Unknown whether there's anything special about her sword or if it's all in the way she wields it. As of Book 5, it's been revealed that her sword is a completely normal longsword. It's all in her skills and the fact that she's a living domain based on the Decree that Laurence embodies the concept of a "sword".
- Good Is Not Nice: Unlike her companion, Laurence is abrasive, ruthless, and utterly uncompromising in the face of any opposition. She has nothing but contempt for most of Prince Amadis' faction in the Tenth Crusade.
- Jerkass: To put it simply she's an old and wrinkly asshole that seems to take pleasure in making constant death threats to everyone, even her allies, and her go-to action to solve a problem is to insult it and try to kill it even when there may be a better solution. Catherine calls her a bully, and considering all of Cat's conversations with her and her overall personality she may be right.
- Knight Templar: She doesn't seem to be one at first but in the final extra chapter of Cordelia Hasenbach, Fatalism III, she leaves pretty clear that she is more than willing to sacrifice the entirety of the Principate of Procer to defeat the Dead King and Evil under the justification of: Good always wins . When Hasebanch confronts her about this she shrugs it off leaving it clear that she doesn't give a fuck about the countless dead Procerans and instead just tells her to focus on how a new thing will be born out of the massive destruction of her country. This ends up being her downfall, as her refusal to compromise eventually sets her against Catherine and Tariq, forcing the former to kill her.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: Her main method to everything.
- Not Afraid to Die: She's well aware that she's old and her time is running out against an enemy like the Dead King, but she has accepted that she's probably going to die and is okay with it as long she gets to take some undead with her.
- Old Master: She is old, but she has constantly refined her skills as a swordswoman to the point she can cut through armies.
- One-Man Army: This seems to be her shtick, along with Absurdly Sharp Blade.
- Rapid Aging: How she meets her end. Catherine afflicts her with a prepared curse that causes the already-elderly Heroine to rapidly age until it kills her.
- Red Baron: Regicide.
- Shout-Out: Her surname is probably a reference to Simon de Montfort the elder, one of the leaders of the Albigensian crusade.
Roland de Beaumarais
"Roland" de Beaumarais, The Rogue Sorcerer
A Proceran Hero and mage who is part of the Tenth Crusade. He first accompanies Amadis' Exploration Force, and advises Rozala Malanza in her strategy against Praesi/Callowan sorceries. His Aspects are Confiscate and Use.- Armor and Magic Don't Mix: Averted. Catherine notes he's one of the few mage Named she knows with the good sense to wear armor.
- Artifact of Power: He owns and uses a broad variety of artifacts when fighting.
- Badass Longcoat: He has a leather one with many pockets.
- Cain and Abel: Olivier was the Abel to Roland's Cain. Olivier having greater cunning, the gratitude of Beaumarais, and the love of Alisanne led to Roland's desire to distinguish himself. When things go horribly wrong, Olivier is forced to turn on his younger brother, becoming the Rogue Sorcerer in the process.
- Friendly Enemy: Considering Cat's enmity with Heroes like the Saint of Swords and Mirror Knight, it's fairly surprising that Roland and the Woe get along so well after the Prince's Graveyard.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Takes one of the Hawk's arrows meant for Catherine late in Book 7. It was unfortunately poisoned, leading to his demise.
- Klingon Scientists Get No Respect: In his hometown, Beaumarais, his family is ostracized for their use of magic, although they help people with their skills.
- Magical Society: He made great strides in creating a safe haven for mages in a town full of Fantastic Racism.
- Magic Eater: Has the ability to siphon off the magic of other mages, manipulate it, and imbue it in artifacts.
- Muggle Born of Mages: He was the The Unfavorite son of his parents for not (initially) having access to "The Gift."
- My Sibling Will Live Through Me: Olivier de Beaumarais took the face, name, and magic of his brother Roland shortly after the latter died during a failed attempt at Staged Heroics.
- Self-Made Man: While in Beaumarais, he first started copying and selling books, then he opens a refuge for mages that sells their products... practically singlehandedly making his hometown prosperous.
- Sibling Triangle: He and his brother shared affections for Alisanne Lassier, a noblewoman sent to the village of Beaumarais to learn from their House of Light. The Rogue Sorcerer eventually entering into a relationship with her led to his brother Jumping Off the Slippery Slope.
- Taking the Bullet: See Heroic Sacrifice above.
- The Unfavorite: His parents preferred his younger brother over him to pass on the family legacy.
- Weak, but Skilled: Compared to some other sorcerous Named such as Warlock, Hierophant, or the Witch of the Woods, the Rogue Sorcerer is weak as he can't use High Arcana. He makes it up in cunning, common sense, and the use of artifacts.
Christophe de Pavanie
Christophe de Pavanie, The Mirror Knight
A young Proceran Hero who is part of the Tenth Crusade. His Aspects include Dawn and Reflect.- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Gains custody of the Severance, an artifact made from the Saint of Swords' Sever Aspect that has the ability to cut almost anything. The only reason he was chosen is that the Mirror Knight's Nigh-Invulnerability means he won't accidentally lose a limb just by swinging it.
- Fastball Special: To his chagrin, his Super-Toughness means a predominant heroic strategy against the Dead King is "throw Christophe at it."
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Among Good-aligned Named, who already tend towards Headbutting Heroes status, Christophe's obnoxious smugness does him no favors. Basically, no one but the Blade of Mercy can stand him.
- Inferiority Superiority Complex: Beneath his arrogance and Innocent Bigotry, the Mirror Knight is very aware that his leadership position is purely the result of Asskicking Leads to Leadership. Christophe acknowledges that he lacks the ability to bring out the best in those under his command like Hanno can.
- The Lancer: To the White Knight as leaders of the new generation of Heroes. Christophe's Honor Before Reason tends to clash with Hanno's Pragmatic Heroism. Ideological differences eventually cause them to come to blows.
- Mighty Glacier: After obtaining the Severance, the Mirror Knight arguably has the strongest close-range offense and defense on the side of Good. Nevertheless, his mobility leaves a lot to be desired, a weakness that allows the White Knight to get the better of him.
- Stronger with Age: Every morning he becomes stronger than the day before, to the point that the Saint of Swords predicts that he will surpass her in a few years.
- Took a Level in Kindness: After several months serving under the Grey Pilgrim, he becomes much less of a dick.
Antigone
Antigone, The Witch of the Woods
A mage Heroine from the Titanomachy who is part of the Tenth Crusade. Her Aspects are Gather, Cradle, and Sing.- Divine Parentage: In a manner of speaking, as she's the adoptive daughter of Kreios Maker-of-Riddles, the oldest living thing on the continent and a deity to the giants.
- From Zero to Hero: Started out as a Stygian slave and ended up probably the strongest mage Hero on Calernia.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Sacrifices herself at the end of Book 7 to slay the Drakon that the Dead King left as a means of Taking You with Me for all of Calernia.
- Just Friends: She's implied to have romantic feelings for the White Knight, but Hanno only seems to view her as a close comrade.
- Nature Hero: Antigone has the ability to speak all languages, including those of animals, and is the protector of the forest where she grew up.
- Our Mages Are Different: Despite Hierophant and Warlock's science-based approach, Antigone equals them through viewing magic as a means of communicating with Creation itself.
- Solitary Sorceress: She was raised in near-total isolation by Kreios and her Name suggests that Antigone remained a recluse in adulthood.
- Wizard Duel: Nearly wins one with Warlock at the start of the Crusade and nearly destroys the Red Flower Vales in the process.
Other Heroes
Dorian Theodosian
Dorian Theodosian, The Exiled Prince
The rightful heir to the throne of the Free City of Helike, exiled by his Evil Uncle who usurped the throne from him. The Exiled Prince and his loyal band of mercenaries, the Silver Spears, join the Liesse rebellion early on, providing most of the Rebellion's professional soldiers.
After some initial success raiding the Legion's supply lines, the Prince is forced to retreat after an encounter with The Captain. After driving off the Exiled Prince in Summerholm the Fifteenth Legion's first field assignment is to hunt down the Silver Spears. The Silver Spears meet them in battle at one of the crossings of the Left Fork, and the Exiled Prince is treacherously and hilariously killed in the act of trying to challenge the Squire to single combat.
- Combat Pragmatist: He's a competent and ruthless commander, and the circumstances leading to his death were actually a result of his pragmatism. Specifically, he believed that The Squire would not be a match for him in single combat. His downfall was in underestimating the pragmatism of his opponent.
- Flat Character: Kairos outright calls him this to his face.
- Good Is Dumb: Did not apparently realize he needed to wear the helmet for his armor to turn away arrows from his face.
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: His adherence to this trope hilariously leads to his demise.
- Pet the Dog: He (rightfully) calls the Lone Swordsman out on his blatant racism.
- Prince Charming: Even by heroic standards, he's considered handsome. He also fits the personality portion of this trope since he's definitely not as much of a Jerkass as the Lone Swordsman, though he's willing to be ruthless in battle.
- Warrior Prince: It's kind of in the job description...
Semia
Semia, The Page
The Exiled Prince's (very) devoted sidekick, an androgynous young woman skilled with the rapier.
After the death of her master she leads the Silver Spears into battle against the fifteenth legion. Catherine grants her the single combat that was denied to the Exiled Prince and The Page becomes the first Hero to fall to the Squire.
- Ambiguous Gender: Seems to be a Name thing. Like a tarot Page or a cartomanic Jack, it seems like the Role wants to be two-for-the-price-of-one in person. Every character commenting on her looks rethinks her gender at some point. No exceptions.
- Designated Girl Fight: Catherine's first single combat against a Named is also against another woman.
- Everyone Can See It: Everyone can tell that she's totally in love with The Exiled Prince, except him... (possibly).
- Foe-Tossing Charge: She uses some sort of Name trick to tear a path through the stakes laid down by the Fifteenth's sappers and then cuts her way through their ranks until Catherine intervenes.
- Fragile Speedster: She's very quick with a rapier but she eschews heavy armor, making her vulnerable to Catherine's brutally straightforward tactics.
- Ignored Enamored Underling: Admittedly, it's unclear whether the Exiled Prince is playing dumb or actually that oblivious.
Agnes Hasenbach
Agnes Hasenbach, The Augur
The cousin of the current First Prince of Procer who assumed the Name of The Augur during that country's civil war. Her Name allows her to foretell the future and learn of distant events by observing the flight of birds.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Cordelia is one of the few people who accepted the odd Agnes, earning her the Augur's love and loyalty.
- Dead Man Writing: After triggering her Heroic RRoD, she leaves Cordelia a final note to be read "at the right time". It gives Cordelia the courage not to fire the Ealamel, saving all of Calernia.
- Go Mad from the Revelation: Is worried about this happening to her if she looks too deeply into the wrong things. The Bard says that this is not an uncommon end for seers.There would be a day where she went too deep, glimpsed things so far beyond her understanding, that there would be no coming back. Not whole, not even close to it.
- Heart Is an Awesome Power: Ornithomancy is her main method of getting her very detailed omens. With a huge side of aeromancy — predictions from weather.
- Heroic RRoD: She burns herself out with her final attempt to peer into the future, resulting in her death.
- Thicker Than Water: She has an intense bond with Cordelia, her only surviving close family."I will," Agnes said, "always, always bet on Cordelia Hasenbach."
- The Ophelia: She wears a skimpy sundress at court, has a pale, waifish appearance and spends long periods of time staring directly into the sun. Everyone at court just rolls with it because Names are weird that way.
- Oracular Urchin: She's locked into being this for as long as she lives. With exceptionally obtuse word salad into the bargain. She only misses Waif Prophet because she's got Blue Blood, decent health and personal status. She only looks spindly and pale enough to not survive a stiff breeze in full sunshine.
Frederic Goethal
Frederic Goethal, The Kingfisher Prince
The prince of the Proceran principality of Brus. His Aspects include Aid.- Agent Peacock: The Kingfisher Prince is known for being a Long-Haired Pretty Boy and a Cultured Warrior Prince.
- Friends with Benefits: With Cat, although their one encounter required mutual discretion, since a Proceran Prince/Hero can't really be seen sleeping with a Callowan Queen/Villain.
- Jumped at the Call: Is the only Proceran prince who takes his army north to help defend the passes against the dead. This earns him the undying love and respect of the Lycaonese.
- Gallows Humor: Enough to even make the stoic Otto burst into laughter.
- Knight in Shining Armor: His valor in battle led to his Name, while he is shown to be both kind and chivalrous; Frederic is near-unanimously respected as a result.
- Odd Friendship: With Otto Redcrown, a morose Lycaonese noble. Years fighting the Dead King (and Frederic's dedication to protecting Otto's subjects) see them go from Fire-Forged Friends to Heterosexual Life-Partners.
- Prince Charming: Cat certainly thinks so and she's hardly the only one.
- Undying Loyalty: To Cordelia Hasenbach, for foiling his cousin's coup attempt and reinstating him as Prince in the principality of Brus.
- Universally Beloved Leader: A rare heroic example. His defense of the Lycaonese people and personal valor in battle means he is immensely respected among the common people, soldiery, heroes and villains alike.
Adanna of Smyrna
Adanna of Smyrna, The Blessed Artificer
An Ashuran White Mage Heroine that has mutual enmity with the Hierophant.
- Defector from Decadence: Her family are Soninke immigrants (a Praesi ethnicity) to Ashur, yet she despises the nation of Praes and everything it stands for.
- Gadgeteer Genius: She's the mystical equivalent, applying the miracles she perceives and the Light she wields to make artifacts.
- Good Counterpart: To Hierophant as another Soninke using the scientific method to apply miracles to supernatural power sources. However, while Masego uses normal magic (and the Drow equivalent, Night), Adanna (as a Hero) uses Light, the weapon of the Gods Above, for her work.
- Insufferable Genius: Yet another reason why she and Hierophant are Too Much Alike. Admittedly, Masego tends to be more Innocently Insensitive, while Adanna is a bit more of a Commander Contrarian.
- Science Foils: She and Hierophant have slightly different approaches to Sufficiently Advanced Magic: while Masego usually focuses on spells and rituals, Adanna (as evidenced by her Name) creates Artifacts of Power.
Pascale
Pascale, The Stalwart Apostle
A Proceran Heroine whose bestowal was marked by successfully destroying a plague crafted by the Dead King.- Divine Intervention: Upon discovering the Dead King's plague, but being ignored by the townspeople, Pascale prayed to the Gods Above for guidance. She was "rewarded" for her faith by being made a Hero.
- Good Counterpart: To Tancred, another Child Mage whose power allowed them to perceive the Dead King's Mystical Plague, only to be ignored by those around them. Unlike Tancred, whose desperation drove him to remove the threat by any means possible, she was blessed with the ability to cure the sickness.
- Light 'em Up: Upon becoming the Apostle, Pascale's magic was converted into Light, the weapon of priests, giving her the ability to heal and destroy evil constructs.
- Moral Luck: Cat lampshades the fact that Pascale's choice to pray in a life-or-death situation should have logically resulted in every person for miles around dying. Instead, she was all but handed an Everybody Lives ending and the cosmic protection of young Heroes. Meanwhile, Tancred would've been left with lifelong guilt if he hadn't already died a violent death, solely because he made the tough call.
- Nice Girl: She's only ever shown to be a devout and kind-hearted young lady.
- White Mage: Another parallel with Tancred, her bestowal gave her healing abilities, allowing her to cure the Dead King's plague.
- You Should Have Died Instead: Still reeling from Tancred's death, Cat ends up denigrating Pascale for relying on prayer when 99.9% of the time, she should have been absolutely screwed. Hanno later calls her out for implicitly blaming a kid for a death she had nothing to do with because of personal beef with her religion.
Arthur Foundling
Arthur Foundling, The Knight Errant (formerly Squire)
A Callowan orphan serving in Catherine's forces. He becomes the Squire during a battle in the war against the Dead King. He later transitions into the Knight Errant during the Fall of the Tower. His first Aspect is Wound.- Armor-Piercing Attack: Wound is part this, part Wound That Will Not Heal. Its function appears to allow him to wound anything he chooses, overcoming any defense or ability to heal.
- Good Counterpart: Arthur is an invoked one to Cat, as a headstrong Callowan orphan born in Laure that becomes the Squire and, nonetheless, is shaping up to be a Hero. Cat intentionally keeps her distance to avoid the high number of death flags in a story about the Hero's Evil Predecessor.
- Plot-Triggering Death: He became the Squire shortly after the man he loved was killed in battle.
- The Rival: Arthur is manipulated by Cat into a Pattern of Three with Marshal Nim that was supposed to end with him killing her. He chooses to Take a Third Option upon concluding he has no reason besides nationality to want Nim dead in the first place, initiating his transition to the Knight Errant in the process.
- The Squire: Up until he transitions into his full Name.
- To Be Lawful or Good: Played with. The climax of Praes campaign sees Arthur put this situation in completing his pattern of three against Marshal Nim. On the one hand, Cat, his superior, has ordered him to kill Nim (Lawful). On the other hand, under the pattern of three, because she is a villain and he is a hero, providence also demands he kill Nim (Good). On the third hand, he has no actual reason to want her dead outside of their countries being enemies (good). In the end, the Squire chooses lowercase-g good, and in the process, transitions into the Knight Errant.
- Wound That Will Not Heal: Wound is part this, part Armor-Piercing Attack. Its function appears to allow him to wound anything he chooses, overcoming any defense or ability to heal.
Sapan
Sapan, The Mage (formerly Apprentice)
An Ashuran Heroine that works as the Hierophant's assistant in exchange for training. Late in Book 7 she transitions to becoming The Mage, and later the Archmage. She's ultimately Catherine's chosen successor for the position of Warden after she abdicates in the epilogue.- The Apprentice: Her Name as well as her role to Hierophant (the prior Apprentice), in that she operates as an unpaid assistant in exchange for the chance to learn from one of the most skilled mages on the continent.
- Merlin and Nimue: Hierophant ends up the older, male mentor to the young, female Sapan.
- Minored in Ass-Kicking: Is very capable in a direct fight and was briefly made bodyguard for a crippled Adjutant.
- Mirror Character: Cat lampshades the fact that Sapan is essentially Cat herself if she became a Hero/Mage. The main difference being, while Sapan rejected a role as a non-violent healer out of contempt for the Suicidal Pacifism of her contemporaries, Cat rejected the idea of becoming a Hero, period, out of contempt for the idea of Good Is Impotent. Nevertheless Sapan fittingly becomes Cat's replacement as Warden in the epilogue.
- Red Mage: She becomes this well before transitioning into the Mage. Rather than following the Mutually Exclusive Magic system of Ashur (by becoming the Black Mage, the White Mage, or The Navigator) the training she receives from the Hierophant allows her to go beyond those limits.
- Sword and Sorcerer: In combat, she has this dynamic with Arthur, just as Masego did with Cat and Wekesa did with Amadeus once upon a time.
- White Mage: Defied. While growing up in Ashur she initially trained to be a healer until her master was killed. Afterward she begins training to become more combat-capable and shows enough affinity to become the Apprentice.
