The Union
The Royal Family & Closed Council | Union Military | His Majesty's Inquisition | Nobility & Citizenry of the Union
The North
Northern Royalty | Logen's Band | Northern Protectorate | The North
Other Characters
The Magi | Gurkish Empire | Styria | Near & Far Countries | Adua | The First Law trilogy | Best Served Cold | The Heroes | Red Country
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The Royal Family
Reign of King Guslav the Fifth
Guslav
King Guslav the Fifth
The High King of the Union who has drifted into senility.
- Adipose Rex: The morbidly obese king of the Union who needs to be carried around on a litter.
- Hot Consort: He had a well-known affair with Carmee dan Roth, a lady-at-court who suddenly disappeared and was rumored to have died giving birth to Guslav's bastard child. Bayaz later claims that's the truth and that Jezal is that child. Then he reveals to Jezal that it was all a lie that Bayaz spread so Jezal would be planted on the throne.
- I Am Not Your Father: Bayaz spreads rumors that Jezal is the bastard son of Guslav and his mistress, Carmee dan Roth, but once Jezal tries standing up to him, the Magi reveals he lied about the whole thing, and that Jezal is the Son of a Whore he bribed a noble to raise just for the purpose of Bayaz having a Puppet King. He also reveals there are others he planted, which he’d use to take Jezal's place should the man try standing up to him again.
- Passed in Their Sleep: He passes away during the ceremony to greet Jezal after he returns to the Union. Everyone assumes he just fell asleep like he always does at official functions, before they realize he's dead.
- Puppet King: Due to his senility, the Closed Council rules in his stead with King Guslav himself only brought out for special political or public events.
- Scatterbrained Senior: After living so long, his mind is practically gone. When he's not busy sleeping during important events, he has no idea where he is or what's going on whenever he's awake.
Ladisla
Crown Prince Ladisla
The vain and foppish heir to the throne.
- The Dandy: Ladisla is described as the image of vanity who wears ever more frivolous garments and accessories.
- Disney Villain Death: West catches him trying to force himself on Cathil and immediately throws him off a cliff to his death.
- Entitled Bastard: Ladisla is a spoiled brat who believes he's owed respect because of his title without ever having done anything to earn it.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: His younger brother is intelligent and responsible while Ladisla is vain and foolish.
- General Failure: Ladisla has zero military experience and commands the least experienced and most poorly equipped soldiers in the army, but he still thinks he can take on ten thousand of Bethod's Northmen. He ignores all of West's pleas for caution and just decides to attack head-on, resulting in ten thousand of his men being slaughtered.
- Glory Hound: Ladisla can't even wield a sword, but he joins the Northern campaign as a commander solely to get glory for himself. Unsurprisingly, his only military engagement is a spectacular failure.
- Inadequate Inheritor: It's no secret that nearly everyone thinks his younger brother, Raynault, would be a far more suitable heir to the throne than Ladisla.
- The Millstone: Not only does he end up getting troops massacred in an astonishingly stupid tactical decision, but then, while being escorted to safety by Logen's Band, he's nothing but a liability who spends the entire time grumbling, whining, pleading for rest, and blaming others for his mistakes. The final straw comes when he tries to rape their female companion, Cathil, while the rest of the men are out fighting Bethod's scouts.
- Never My Fault: After his astonishing military failure against Bethod's army, he alternates between blaming himself then shifting the blame onto others.
- Oh, Crap!: When he sees the look on Collem West's face, Ladisla gets a moment to realize how much trouble he's in seconds before he's pushed off a hill to his death.
- Psychopathic Manchild: He proves to be this. He has naive and downright childish ideas on winning the war, but he's also vain, foolish, and entitled to such a degree that he attempts to rape Cathil for 'hitting him'. West has enough of him and murders him on the spot.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: When Collem catches Ladisla attempting to rape Cathil, it's the last straw. Collem is blinded by rage and immediately murders him.
- Serial Rapist: It's rumored that he's forced himself on many serving girls in the palace, with Arch Lector Sult covering it up.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: He and his younger brother, Raynault, are polar opposites in terms of personality. Ladisla is vain, foppish, spoiled and stupid, while Raynault is wise, compassionate and aware of the responsibilities of rulership.
- The Unfavorite: His father flat-out says that Ladisla is too weak to bear the crown and that Raynault will have to take care of him after Guslav is gone. Unfortunately he says this in public, during one of his senile outbursts.
- Upper-Class Twit: Ladisla is the Crown Prince of the Union and is quite possibly one of the dumbest men alive in it.
Raynault
Prince Raynault
The younger but far more qualified heir to the throne.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: His leg is broken, his throat is mauled and he's partially cannibalized by his killer.
- Eaten Alive: He ends up cannibalized by Yoru Sulfur.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: It's no secret that everyone believes Raynault would be a far more suitable heir than his vain, irresponsible older brother. Even his senile father tells Jezal—mistaking him for Raynault—that he must look after his older brother since he's "too weak to bare the crown."
- The Good Prince: He's a far wiser, kinder and more beloved prince than his brother.
- Loved by All: Raynault is much more popular than his elder brother, Ladisla.
- Modest Royalty: Another point of contrast between his brother, who's a dandy, Raynault dresses modestly and humbly for a prince.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Unlike his vain, irresponsible, foolish elder brother, Raynault is serious, conscientious, honest and thoughtful.
- The Wise Prince: One of the many reasons why Raynault is favored more than Ladisla is because he actually takes things seriously and thinks things through.
Reign of King Jezal the First
Jezal dan Luthar*
King Jezal dan Luthar
POV: The Blade Itself, Before They are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings
- "The more powerful you are, the less you can really do about anything."
A wealthy young Union nobleman and Captain in the King's Own. Bayaz orchestrates his rise to the throne by claiming him to be the bastard son of King Guslav.
- Ambiguous Situation: He's found dead at the end of A Little Hatred under mysterious circumstances. His councillors claimed he seemed perfectly healthy when they saw him hours before and Bayaz is barely concealing a smile when he ominously tells Orso, "Long live the king," however, despite how suspicious his death is, by the end of The Age of Madness it's never made clear if Jezal was murdered or if he simply died of natural causes.
- Arranged Marriage: After being crowned king following the death of King Guslav's legitimate heirs, Jezal is married to Prince Ladisla's former intended, Terez. It happens so fast, Jezal realizes he technically never agreed to it.
- Awful Wedded Life: His marriage to Terez is a nightmare. Not only does she hate him and make no secret of it, but unbeknownst to everyone, she's a lesbian who's in love with her childhood friend.
- Big Brother Worship: Jezal doesn't have good relationships with his biological brothers, but he comes to look up to Logen Ninefingers as a brother during their adventures in the second book. Even after they part ways, Jezal tries to follow Logen's example.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Downplayed, but Jezal is a genuinely talented swordsman, but he'd rather goof off and play cards with his friends. He grows out of that though.
- Character Development: Arguably the most significant of any of the main characters in the trilogy. He starts off as a shallow, self-centered jackass and ends the original trilogy a king who cares about his people and tries to look out for their best interests. Unfortunately, given the crapsack nature of the setting, he's a rendered a Puppet King by Bayaz, and limited in the reforms he wants to make to benefit the Union's people.
- The Chosen One: He's presented as the bastard son of the King of the Union and raised to the throne to rescue the royal line. In reality, Bayaz had a dozen different babies planted with different families to see which one would turn out the most kingly. He has no idea who Jezal's parents were and doesn't care.
- The Dandy: Very impressed by his own appearance.
- Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of The Chosen One and Hidden Back Up Prince tropes. By the end of Before They Are Hanged, Jezal is content to retire from his life in the military and have a simple life with Ardee. But then, Bayaz claims that Jezal showed great valor on their trip and is the bastard son of King Gustav and he is crowned king. This confuses Jezal, who hadn't done anything on the trip except bitch, complain, and almost get himself killed. But he reluctantly accepts this new challenge and tries to do the best he can under the circumstances he has. Then, Bayaz cruelly reveals that Jezal is a son of a common whore, and he only used him so he could be Bayaz's Puppet King, which ultimately leaves Jezal a hollow shell by the end of the series.
- Fake Ultimate Hero: Specifically built up as such by Bayaz for the reason above. Although he didn't do much besides whining and complaining during the entire quest for the Seed in the second book, when he returns to Adua, he hears stories about his glorious and heroic actions during a big battle in the Old Empire. Bayaz, of course, is the source of the rumours. Then, in the third book, he is credited as the man who ended the peasant rebellion although he had nothing whatsoever to do with it - again, it was ended by Bayaz, who also started it.
- Hidden Back Up Prince: Bayaz tells the Open Council that Jezal is the bastard son of King Guslav V and a lady-at-court, securing Jezal's rise to the throne. When Jezal defies Bayaz in private, Bayaz reveals Jezal is a Son of a Whore that Bayaz purchased and had raised by a noble family for his schemes, and that Jezal is only one among many "back-up princes," telling Jezal in no uncertain terms he'll have him killed if he keeps defying him.
- Jerkass: Starts the series as a vain and shallow jerk.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: His growth from selfish, spoiled jerk to a more mature and empathetic person takes up the first three books.
- Kick the Dog: Spends a lot of his initial chapters displaying his contempt for the lower classes and generally being an ass.
- Killed Offscreen: He's found dead at the end of A Little Hatred. Despite the suspicious circumstances surrounding his death, it's never made clear if he was murdered or died of natural causes.
- Lack of Empathy: He starts off the trilogy as a callous individual who barely cares about his "friends" let alone commoners. By the end of the first trilogy he's probably become the most empathetic of the POV characters.
- Laser-Guided Karma: An interesting take on this trope. Jezal started out as a smug jerkass who has everything handed to him. But by the time he becomes a more sympathetic character, he faces comeuppance when Bayaz manipulates his rise to being the king and bullies him into being his puppet, he's browbeaten by his wife, he cannot be with the woman he loves, and he's left as a hollow shell by the end of the series.
- Manchild: At the start of the series, he's interested only in money and girls, and wants the world to be handed to him on a platter.
- Master Swordsman: He's an excellent swordsman and makes it to the final round of the Contest, but would have lost to Bremer dan Gorst if not for the intervention of Bayaz.
- My Girl Is Not a Slut: Flips the fuck out on one of his friends for talking about Ardee West's reputation.
- Papa Wolf: Despite not being able to raise her as his own child, Jezal is still protective of his bastard daughter Savine. It's clear the real reason he orders Orso to take his army to liberate Valbeck from the Breakers is because Savine was there when the rebellion broke out.
- Puppet King: What he's reduced to. Jezal grows enough as a person that he truly wants to help his less fortunate subjects, but he's unable to enact his reforms after Bayaz makes it clear his life will be forfeit if Jezal doesn't cater to the instructions of Bayaz's mouthpiece, Sand dan Glokta.
- Scars Are Forever: His battle injury of a broken and scarred jaw is occasionally brought up.
- Son of a Whore: Bayaz reveals in private that Jezal has no noble blood and is really the son of a prostitute who sold Jezal to Bayaz as a baby.
- Took a Level in Kindness: After a near-death experience in the second book that leaves him permanently scarred, he realizes what a terrible person he's been and strives to be a better man.
- Undignified Death: Though his actual death isn't seen, he's found dead naked in his bed.
Terez
Queen Terez
The daughter of Grand Duke Orso of Talins, she's a celebrated beauty who's engaged to Crown Prince Ladisla. Following Ladisla's death and Jezal's coronation, she marries him instead.
- Arranged Marriage: Her father arranges her betrothal to Crown Prince Ladisla, and she makes it abundantly clear she's not happy about it. She later ends up betrothed and married to Jezal instead, following Ladisla's death and Jezal's coronation. She's just as unhappy as she was when she believed she was marrying Ladisla.
- Awful Wedded Life: Outside of the public eye, she displays nothing but contempt for her husband, mocking his bastard origins and forcing him to sleep on the couch. Her being a lesbian that her father forced into marriage against her wishes probably doesn't help.
- Childhood Friend Romance: She's secretly in love with her childhood friend, Countess Shalere.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Terez's one true-love Countless Shalere, was taken hostage by Glokta under threat of torture unless Terez provided King Jezal with heirs. After having three children, Terez sent Shalere away for her own protection so the couple were separated for years. Then, in one of the few unambiguously heartwarming moments in the series, Terez's son Orso arranges for Terez and Shalere to be reunited in Sipani, finally free to be with each other.
- Happy Marriage Charade: She puts on a parody of wifely affection to maintain her public image, but privately she's a haughty Jerkass to her husband.
- I Have Your Wife: Glokta takes her childhood friend/lover, Countess Shalere, hostage and threatens to torture her unless Terez performs her "wifely duties" and gives Jezal heirs.
- Ice Queen: She has an aloof and haughty demeanor.
- Jerkass: Mostly to her husband, Jezal, whom she makes it clear she despises despite his efforts to get her to warm up to him.
- Lipstick Lesbian: She's described as breathtakingly beautiful and impossibly regal. She's also in love with her female friend from childhood.
- Mama Bear: When Breakers launch an assassination attempt on her and Orso, her first instinct is to protect him. Orso also needs to command her to stay in Sipani after she discovers a coup is being plotted against him.
- Outliving One's Offspring: By The Wisdom of Crowds she's outlived her only son, Orso, following his betrayal and execution at the hands of Leo dan Brock.
- Rape as Drama: Glokta forces her to have sex with an unknowing Jezal against her will, otherwise he threatens to torture her lover, Countess Shalere.
- Rich Bitch: She's spoiled and haughty and comes from a rich and noble family.
- Secret Relationship: She and her childhood friend, Countess Shalere, are lovers, something they're forced to keep secret so her father can marry Terez off to a highborn man.
- Settle for Sibling: After Crown Prince Ladisla dies she ends up marrying his bastard brother, Jezal, instead. Then it turns out Bayaz was lying about Jezal being King Guslav's bastard son.
- Tough Leader Façade: At least part of her haughty, icy manner is a mask she uses to provide an example of strength for her son, Orso.
- Tragic Keepsake: After she sent her true-love, Countess Shalere, away to Styria for her protection, all that Terez has left to remember her is a bottle of her scent, which is almost depleted.
Orso*
Crown Prince Orso dan Luthar
POV: A Little Hatred, The Trouble With Peace, The Wisdom of Crowds
- "No one has a lower opinion of the royal family than me, and that is with some savage competition.
The son of Jezal and Terez and Crown Prince of the Union. He's notorious for his carousing and indolence, and is widely unpopular with his subjects. Underneath his hedonistic, cynical facade is a man with a good heart who can grow into a good king, if only circumstances would stop conspiring against him.
- 0% Approval Rating: By the start of the Age of Madness trilogy, he's seen as a lazy, hedonistic buffoon, admittedly due in no small part to actively cultivating that image for over twenty years. After the Inquisition goes behind his back and hangs two hundred citizens of Valbeck without his knowledge, he's universally reviled throughout the Union and given the disparaging nickname "the Young Lamb."
- The Alcoholic: He drinks to excess.
- Always Save the Girl: Though Orso was already ordered to take his soldiers to quell the revolt in Valbeck instead of fighting in the North as he wanted, he stops complaining about it the second he finds out Savine is in danger, heading off urgently to rescue her.
- Authority in Name Only: Much like his father, he finds that being King means having so many powerful people trying to influence you means that you rarely, if ever, get to do what you actually want.
- Big Brother Instinct: He doesn't get a chance to show it often but during his meeting with King Jappo he tells him that if he tries to go after Sipani, where his sister Carlot rules, he will fight him with everything he has, even if he knows he will lose. He displays equal protectiveness over Hildi, the thirteen-year-old girl he employs as his valet.
- Book Ends: His first appearance has him voicing his disdain for hangings while attending one. His last appearance has him repeating the sentiment at his own.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Orso has a lot of potential to be a great king but doesn't have the will to use it. At least at first. Jezal also tells Orso that he's a skilled enough fencer that he could win the Contest if he practiced more than once a month. Orso's internal narration reveals he practices once a week and frequently lets his father win their matches.
- Brother–Sister Incest: He's been unknowingly having an affair with his half-sister Savine. It's not a minor thing either as the two of them are genuinely in love with each other. At least until Savine breaks things off after discovering their shared parentage. Even after she reveals the truth to Orso, he can't shake off his feelings for her despite his horror.
- Cain and Abel: He's the Abel to his half-sister, Savine, who helps instigate a civil war against him with the full intent to kill and usurp him. Orso only finds out about their familial relationship after her attempt failed, and is appropriately shocked given that they're ex-lovers.
- The Chains of Commanding: His father tells him that when he's king he'll find out that the more power you have, the less you can actually accomplish. Upon assuming the throne, Orso forms a new appreciation for just how well his father was able to handle being king, even as Orso himself faces obstruction on all sides and can do nothing but pick the least horrible outcome.
- Classical Anti-Hero: He's introduced as such, a crown prince who would rather drink and whore because his laziness and dithering nature leave him without a sense of purpose. Halfway through the first book he becomes more conventionally heroic when he decides to finally start trying to improve the Union.
- Contrasting Sequel Protagonist: To his own father. Jezal was a condescending noble with a profoundly inflated ego and colossal levels of self-importance and self-pity who is unexpectedly thrust into the throne. Orso was born a prince, and while he's a drunkard and a rake, he has an extremely low opinion of himself and openly admires other people who he feels deserve more credit or power than he. He also has genuine care for his people in his heart, making his position quite painful at times.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: When he's pampered and has no real problems, Orso can't seem to do the simplest thing right. However, it turns out that when things start going badly, he becomes a cunning tactician and charismatic negotiator.
- Dead Guy Junior: He's named after his maternal grandfather, Grand Duke Orso of Talins. Orso mentions he's pretty sure she did it just to annoy the Grand Duke's killer, Monza.
- Deadpan Snarker: The First Law setting is a World of Snark but even then Orso stands out just for the sheer amount of snarking he does about near everything. It helps that the world just doesn't seem to want to stop throwing shit at him.
- Defiant to the End: His final words before his hanging are to bid a fond farewell to a horrified Savine before he simply reminds Leo of the time Orso beat him with a final jest: "How's your leg?"
- Dying Declaration of Love: As part of his final speech, Orso speaks directly to Savine, telling her she's the only woman he's ever loved.
- Embarrassing Nickname: In the aftermath of the uprising at Valbeck where two hundred people were hanged by Superior Pike in spite of Orso promising them amnesty, the citizens take to calling him "the Young Lamb."
- Enemy Mine: In order to retake Adua from the Burners and restore the monarchy, he forges an alliance with Savine and Leo, who had only recently attempted a rebellion against him. While Savine intended to follow through on her word, Leo decides to double-cross Orso once their common enemy is destroyed.
- Everyone Has Standards:
- He's appalled by the Inquisition hanging two hundred Valbeck citizens after he had successfully defused their rebellion nonviolently and promised them amnesty.
- He's genuinely disgusted by Lord Fedor dan Wetterlant who raped a woman and murdered her husband for demanding justice. When Wetterlant tries to justify himself by singling out Orso's hedonism, Orso screams that he "never fucking raped anyone!"
- Excellent Judge of Character: Unlike most royalty and aristocracy, he values and respects people based on their merits, not their station, and can quickly discern people of quality from sycophants and fools. He is possibly the only person to ever see beyond King Jappo's hedonistic facade, and does so within seconds of meeting him.
- Face Death with Dignity: He faces his hanging with dignity, grace, assures those who've condemned him he bears no ill will and even exchanges a last tender moment with Savine before mocking Leo one final time.
- Failure Hero: Orso isn't wrong when he believes "circumstances always conspired against him," as everything good he tries to do fails due to things he couldn't anticipate. Even his greatest victory, crushing the rebellion at the Battle of Stoffenbeck, becomes rendered moot when it's revealed the Breakers used the fighting as an opportunity to stage a massive uprising to take over the cities of the Union.
- First Person Snarker: He reserves some of his wittier remarks for his internal narration, particularly when dealing with people more intimidating than him or with people he can't afford to annoy.
- The Good Prince: Despite his poor reputation, world-weary cynicism, and constant self-deprecation, this is what Orso really is at heart. He wants to change the Union for the better and cares about the wellbeing of his people, only to have his efforts to help them thwarted by Bayaz and the Closed Council. In The Wisdom of Crowds he becomes more committed to this than ever after Judge and the Burners have been defeated, Orso promises to revamp the Union to a better place where they radically overhaul the old corrupt system for a more fair one. Leo, unfortunately, has other plans and usurps him.
- The Hero Dies: Possibly the most straightforward example in the series. While all other POV characters are morally ambiguous at best or villains at worst, Orso never does anything morally damning, never hurts anyone innocent beyond a biting retort or in self-defense, and attempts to do as much as good as possible. All of this just serves to make his death all the more tragic and unfair.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: Everybody in the kingdom sees Orso as an idiot prince who spends his time drinking and whoring, and, while he could do with a little less drinking and whoring, he's a much better person than everyone thinks as he genuinely wants to help the Union's citizens. Unfortunately his reputation only grows worse after Superior Pike goes behind his back and hangs two hundred Breakers who Orso promised mercy, saddling Orso with the name "the Young Lamb."
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Despite his poor reputation, Orso's most vocal critic is himself, to the point where his mother snaps at him to stop sulking like the lead in a tragic play.
- Holding the Floor: After Judge sentences Savine to death, Orso offers to make denouncements then plays to the crowd to mock Glokta, his father, Bayaz and himself as the guiltiest people in the Union. His efforts succeed as he buys enough time for his and Leo's forces to take Adua back from the Burners.
- Hookers and Blow: He's introduced snorting pearl dust with prostitutes at a public hanging.
- Hypocritical Heartwarming: He makes fun of his father a lot but he viciously tells off Yolk when he tries to do the same.
- Idle Rich: Orso is the Crown Prince of the Union but hasn't really done much during the first twenty-seven years of his life aside from drinking, doing drugs and sleeping with prostitutes. He finally decides to get off his ass and do something, just in time for things to start going to hell.
- Lazy Bum: Sometimes the pressure of doing anything at all with his tremendous power makes it hard for Orso to even get out of bed in the morning. Terez chastises him for spending all his time drinking and whoring, saying a little indolence is becoming of a Crown Prince in his youth, but when he turns twenty-seven it's just pathetic. By the time he does finally become more proactive, things start going to hell.
- Nerves of Steel: Orso is at his most fearless whenever he's placed in near death situations. An overwhelming calm comes over him and he faces the danger while ramping up his characteristic wit and self-deprecation. Even at his own execution, he never loses his composure or feels fear.
- Nice Guy: He's actually quite soft-hearted beneath his self-obsessed exterior, and hates seeing people suffer.
- Nice to the Waiter: A sign of Orso's better nature is that he treats his employees with genuine respect and kindness. Especially Hildi. She's on the warpath to avenge him to the point she's going to learn finance from Bayaz.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: A running theme throughout Orso's storyline is that he's a good person with the makings of a great king who is constantly trying to do good only to be punished for it every time. In A Little Hatred peacefully putting down an uprising in Valbeck leads to Superior Pike going behind Orso's back to murder two hundred people Orso had offered clemency, leading him to get all the blame for it. In The Wisdom of Crowds his decision to spare Leo's life in the previous book directly results in him being betrayed and usurped by Leo who then executes Orso without remorse.
- No Hero to His Valet: He has a sarcastic back-and-forth with his thirteen-year-old valet, Hildi, who never treats him with that much respect. Her POV segment confirms that she genuinely loves Orso like an older brother because he's the only person who ever treated her with kindness.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: While Orso doesn't see himself as very smart, he quickly learns that the smartest thing he can do as King is to come across as even dumber than he really is.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Orso puts aside his foppish nature, watch out. He's shockingly competent when he commits himself, as seen when he rescues Savine from the Breakers. Savine even believes that when she's a captive after Stoffenbeck, Orso's utter fury at her betrayal is a sign her life is in very real danger, which she never would have believed before that moment.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Not for the first twenty-seven years of his life, but it's the drive to actually accomplish something for once that spurs his decision to assist Angland and the Dogman's Protectorate in their war against the Northern invaders. At least until an uprising in Valbeck forces his attention elsewhere.
- Secret Relationship: Due to the disapproval of their parents, he and Savine conduct their affair in private, neither of them aware that the reason for this disapproval is because they're half-siblings.
- The Social Expert: Orso is bad at most things, but he's very good with people. His few successes all come from charming, manipulating or inspiring others.
- Spoiled Sweet: Orso was given every available luxury as the Crown Prince of the Union, and, despite some laziness and ennui, is one of the nicest people in power.
- Surprise Incest: After the Battle of Stoffenbeck, Savine reveals the reason she refused his marriage proposal is because she learned they're half-siblings. Orso is appropriately horrified.
- Tragic Hero: He wants to be a good prince and a good king after his father's death but all his efforts to do good end up failing due to the ruthlessness of those around him and his fatal flaw, which turns out to be mercy, as him giving Leo two chances to redeem himself directly result in Leo usurping and executing him.
- Undying Loyalty: Orso has an uncanny knack to inspire profound loyalty and devotion on most people who get to know him well enough, even on very jaded and/or cynical individuals. Noteworthy examples include Hildi, Tunny, Gorst, Forest and Vick. At one point he himself muses what he has ever done to deserve such intense loyalty.Hildi: Maybe you are a better man than you think you are.
- Upper-Class Twit: This is how he's viewed by the vast majority of people, and while Orso recognizes it's warranted to a degree, he's still willing to play up the image to get others to underestimate him.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: A case where the son seeks the approval of his mother. While Orso tells himself that he gave up on impressing his mother long ago, when he finally accomplishes it, he realizes it mattered to him far more than he wanted to believe.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: A trend throughout his story in the Age of Madness trilogy. Every time it looks like something will go his way, it ends in disaster. In A Little Hatred after managing to peacefully end the uprising in Valbeck, Superior Pike goes behind his back to murder two hundred people he promised clemency, leaving him with all the blame. In The Trouble With Peace he defeats Leo and Savine's rebellion at the Battle of Stoffenbeck only for the Breakers and Burners to launch their rebellion. In The Wisdom of Crowds after he and Leo team up to retake Adua from the Burners, Leo betrays him and his plot for the final act of the novel is Orso hopping from one lifeline to the next, seemingly finding a way to ensure his survival only to have his hope repeatedly dashed, ending in his execution.
Cathil
Princess Cathil
Daughter to King Jezal and Queen Terez, currently living in Starikland.
- Arranged Marriage: Terez mentions that Cathil married and moved to Starikland as part of fulfilling her "dynastic duties." Unlike Carlot, who is mentioned to be quite happy with her husband, it's implied Cathil is less than thrilled.
- The Ghost: She has yet to make an appearance as she lives in Starikland.
Carlot
Princess Carlot
Second daughter to King Jezal and Queen Terez. She's currently living in Sipani as the wife of Chancellor Sotorius.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Unlike Cathil, Carlot is quite delighted with her marriage. Though her husband is much older than her, he dotes on her and Carlot is very happy in Sipani.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Carlot is much more attractive than her husband who is just a few years younger than her mother and twice her weight.
Royal Court
Reign of King Guslav the Fourth
Smund
Smund
A rather intolerable member of Prince Ladisla's retinue
- The Alcoholic: Spends his nights drinking, and is still hung over at a strategy meeting the next morning.
- Hate Sink: Obnoxious with a far worse understandng of strategy than he thinks he does. Ladisla at least listens during the strategy mettings, albeit to furfill his fantasies of being a great general. Smund can't stop himself from yawning.
- Leeroy Jenkins:Seems to be the only strategy he knows, and is very intent with using it on the Northmen. Unfortunately for him, that's exactly what they wanted.
- Off with His Head!: Northern calvary disguised as Union calvary fools him, resulting in a sword cleaving his head in two.
Reign of King Jezal the First
Hildi
Hildi
The thirteen-year-old valet of Prince Orso.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: 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.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: 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.
- Big Brother Worship: Orso loves her like a little sister and she in return loves him like a big brother, to the point of undying loyalty. 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.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: 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 Bayaz.
- Hidden Disdain Reveal: 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.
- Little Miss Snarker: She cheerfully participates in the snark-laden banter between herself, Orso and Tunny.
- No Hero to His Valet: 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: 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.
- Signature Headgear: 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, only for her to snag a new one the second the Burners are defeated. Later, 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.
- Street Urchin: She's a thirteen-year-old girl who, prior to working as Orso's valet, was a laundress for a brothel.
- Tag Along Kid: 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. She eventually accompanies him to Stoffenbeck, where a civil war is about to take place.
- Undying Loyalty: Her loyalty to Orso is unbreakable even when the odds are against him. 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.
Tunny*
Yolk
Knights of the Body
In General
Knights of the Body
The elite bodyguards of the Royal Family
- Praetorian Guard: They accompany the king and are his primary defense against any threat that might appear.
Gorst*
Bremer dan Gorst
POV: The Heroes
- "It's an upside-down sham of a world in which men like these, if they can be called men at all, can look down on a man like me. I am worth twice the lot of you. And this is the best the Union has to offer? We deserve to lose."
A former member of the Knights of the Body, disgraced for his failure to adeqautely protect King Jezal in Styria, now a special observer on the war from the Closed Council of the Union. Introduced in The First Law, he becomes a POV character in The Heroes. By the time of The Age of Madness he is once again a memeber of the Knights of the Body.
- A Good Way to Die: He falls in Wisdom of Crowds buying time for Orso to flee. He could have escaped, but opted to sell his life and redeem himself for his failure years earlier.
- Ascended Extra: Had a minor role in the original trilogy before being promoted to a main character in The Heroes.
- The Atoner: Tries to redeem himself in battle after failing to protect his king in Best Served Cold.
- Benevolent Boss: He cares about his two servants, genuinely viewing them as two of his only friends. After one of them is scarred by a colonel, Gorst heads to his tent to demand satisfaction. Unfortunately, when the man turns out to be in awe of Gorst's display in an earlier battle, Gorst's need for recognition makes it so he can't bring himself to avenge his friend's honor.
- The Berserker: When he fights in battle, Gorst practically falls into trance as he gets in the rhythm of killing.
- Blood Knight: After his fall from grace, fighting is the only thing that makes him feel alive. He goes so far as to say that he loves war as it makes him feel like a God.
- The Big Guy: His role in the Union's army. He's quite possibly the best fighter in the series, with the exception of Logen Ninefingers.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Has been in love with Finree for years. When he finally does tell her, it goes disastrously.
- Death Seeker: One of the reasons why he throws himself so recklessly into war is because he wants to die. In The Wisdom of Crowds he's positively thrilled when the time comes for him to sacrifice himself in a blaze of glory.
- Death Equals Redemption: He views his death as this. Having failed to save one king, he sacrifices himself by holding off Leo's forces for as long as possible to buy Orso time to escape. As he's dying he asks Leo if he believes in redemption. When Leo acts dismissive, Gorst's final words are, "You're young. Give it time."
- Desperately Craves Affection: Gorst is starved for affection, whether romantic—like he wishes from Finree—or platonic—where he wants respect and recognition from his peers.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Bremer is a bit of a laughing stock due to his piping voice and his disgraceful exit from the King's service, but he's very intelligent and the best warrior the Union has. He silently rages about the lack of respect and appreciation he gets.
- The Eeyore: While his sour attitude initially seems like a natural reaction to the miserable state of both his life and the war, near the end he receives the royal forgiveness and reinstating into his previous position as royal bodyguard that he's spent the whole novel yearning for and working towards, and is happy for all of five minutes - after which he promptly finds new reasons to pity himself. His short story in Sharp Ends reveals he suffers from depression.
- Failure Knight: His failure to protect Jezal in Best Served Cold haunts him, as it caused his fall from grace. During, The Heroes, he seeks to prove himself in the Second Northern War in the hopes of regaining his position, which he does. He views sacrificing his life to save Orso's own as redemption for his failure.
- Faster Than They Look: It's remarked upon multiple times that for all of Gorst's massive size, he's much faster than he has any right to be.
- First-Person Smartass: Bremer doesn't talk often because he's ashamed of his high-pitched voice, but his inner monologue is full of biting commentary on the people who surround him.
- Graceful Loser: When he loses his duel against Jezal in The Blade Itself, he takes it in impressive stride, congratulating Jezal and presenting him to the cheering crowd.
- Green-Eyed Monster: His unrequited love for Finree has turned him into this, to the point where he attempts to murder the already wounded Harod dan Brock.
- Hero Killer: Gorst is this for his Northern opponents in The Heroes, even with the book's Gray-and-Gray Morality. He pulls Glama Golden from his horse and bashes his face in with ease, maims Scale and swats aside Curnden Craw, successfully kills Drofd, and is the only swordsman who can duel Whirrun of Bligh on even terms.
- Hopeless Suitor: Gorst is hopelessly in love with Finree, who, in addition to barely knowing him, is already married to Harod dan Brock. When Gorst reveals his feelings for her, it goes horribly wrong.
- Lightning Bruiser: Bremer is a hulk of a man and able to fight with amazing speed as well.
- Loving a Shadow: Though he believes himself to be in love with Finree, throughout The Heroes it becomes clear that he barely knows her and is just projecting his own desires onto her.
- Master Swordsman: Bremer is the best fighter the Union has, not that he gets much respect for it.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: While helping Finree search through the rubble of Osrung to find her husband, Gorst finds him first, unconscious but still alive. He attempts to strangle him to death so he can have Finree to himself, but stops when she arrives.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: Subverted, he's got nothing but contempt for Jezal. Ironically, Jezal is deeply loyal to Bremer.
- Mood-Swinger: While its harder to pin down just where Gorst sits in the moral spectrum, how acts in any situation largely depends on his mood. He can be one of the nicest characters in the army in one moment, to suddenly violent, and even murderous. Even he seems aware of his own flaw, rescuing a man shortly after his attempt to murder Finree's husband is interrupted and Gorst passes the incident off as simply discovering him. The man calls him a hero, while Gorst guiltily thinks "if only you knew".
- Moving the Goalposts: A sad, self-inflicted variant. At the end of The Heroes, he finally receives almost everything he had wanted throughout the entire story, and briefly finds himself happy with his life, and yet he still ends up feeling miserable. He ends up bitterly concluding that that's simply the way that he is.
- Never My Fault: Insists that he was wrongfully blamed for the disaster at Cardotti's House of Leisure in Best Served Cold. In fact, he was drunk out of his mind and whoring around when Jezal needed him, and Finree's "The Reason You Suck" Speech to him reveals that it wasn't the first time. However, in the short story Wrong Place, Wrong Time from the collection Sharp Ends, it's revealed that, rather than being passed out drunk and whoring, Gorst was sobbing on a prostitute's lap as she soothed him, showing that Gorst had been dealing with depression for quite some time before The Heroes. Once he heard the chaos break out, he immediately rushed to find the king, barreling into Shivers who promptly headbutts him, sending Gorst sprawling down the stairs.
- Professional Butt-Kisser: His notes to Jezal, reporting on the war, are filled with empty flattery and blatant lies about how well things are progressing. At one point he writes a letter expressing his real, contemptuous feelings towards Jezal, only for it to be revealed that he writes an honest letter every night then burns it.
- The Quiet One: Gorst usually keeps his thoughts to himself because he's ashamed of his child-like voice.
- Reassigned to Antarctica: Following the fiasco at Cardotti's House of Leisure, he's dismissed from the King's First Guard and is made Royal Observer for the Second Northern War. By the end of The Heroes, he's granted an opportunity to regain his old position due to his perceived heroics.
- The Scapegoat: Gorst claims this is why he was dismissed after failing Jezal at Sipani. In reality, it's because the Council believed he was drunk out of his mind and whoring when he should've been protecting his king. The truth is a little more complicated as he was actually sobbing in a prostitute's lap because of his depression.
- Undying Loyalty: As a result of his failures with Jezal, Gorst is painfully loyal to his son Orso. He gives his life for him, while Orso can only wonder how he inspired such loyalty.
- Vocal Dissonance: His high, child-like voice notably clashes with his brutish appearance, to his eternal shame.
- What You Are in the Dark: When no one else is around, he attempts to murder his romantic rival, only stopping because Finree came across him before he could finish the job.
- Worthy Opponent: He and Whirrun of Bligh consider each other to be this during their duel in The Heroes. Gorst is disappointed when a random spear kills Whirrun before they could finish their fight.
- You Shall Not Pass!: Gorst engages Leo's entire force to buy Orso time to escape. Bremer dan Gorst is one man, kills over eight soldiers, nearly gets to Leo himself and holds the fucking line.
The Closed Council
Reign of King Guslav the Fifth
Hoff
Lord Chamberlain Fortis dan Hoff
A loud and impatient man who conducts the duties of the otherwise incapable king.
- The Alcoholic: Hoff is almost never seen without a drink in his hand.
- Fat Bastard: He's an overweight jackass who treats all supplicants seeking an audience with the High King with equal disdain.
- Jerkass: Hoff is described as rude, unpleasant and quick to anger. All on top of being a drunkard.
- Lack of Empathy: He really could care less about why someone is petitioning the king, there's a 99% chance he'll refuse their request.
- No Indoor Voice: He's described as being a very loud man.
- Retired Badass: Surprisingly enough, in his youth, Hoff was once the champion of the national fencing Contest. You'd never be able to tell it from looking at him now.
- Would Hurt a Child: After finding out that Jezal fathered a bastard with Ardee, he subtly suggests that Sand dan Glokta, the new Arch Lector of the Inquisition, murder Ardee and her unborn child. Luckily, Glokta doesn't go through with it. Instead he marries Ardee to pass her child off as his own and threatens Hoff should anything befall his wife and child.
Marovia
High Justice Marovia
Leader of the King's Justice, an elderly man and Sult's bitter rival.
- Enemy Mine: In Last Argument of Kings, he teams up with Glokta to bring down Sult, provided the former can obtain evidence of the latter's treason.
- Internal Reformist: He wants to reform the way commoners are treated in the Union from within. Secretly, he wants to bring down the monarchy and replace it with a democracy.
- Kill and Replace: He's murdered by Yoru Sulfur who takes on his appearance to guard King Jezal during the Gurkish attack on the capital.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He's one of the few members of the Closed Council who actually cares about commoners in the Union, and he's even willing to work with Glokta to remove Sult providing Glokta can bring evidence of Sult's treason.
- The Rival: He despises Arch Lector Sult, as the two of them have diametrically opposed ideas of what's best for the Union. They head two different factions in the Closed Council and end up disagreeing about every subject in the Closed Council no matter how small.
- Token Good Teammate: He's one of the only members of the Closed Council who gives a damn about the commoners in the Union and believes people in power should use their status to help those less fortunate. Naturally in this series, he ends up murdered.
Feekt
Lord Chancellor Feekt
Known as the 'golden Chancellor' he was Lord Chancellor on the closed council before the start of the series, managing its factions and keeping the Union running. His death at the age of ninety kcks off the power struggles amougst the closed council throught the orginal trilogy.
- Chekhov's Gunman: His death is mentioned near the start of the trilogy, and is brought up again at the end of it for The Reveal that he was actually an agent of Bayaz.
- Plot-Triggering Death: For Glokta, as Feekt's death unbalances the Closed Coucil, resulting in Arch Lector Sult making power plays, using Glokta as one of his primary agents.
- Posthumous Character: Dies before we ever get to see him.
Reign of King Jezal the First
Hoff
Lord Chamberlain Hoff
- "Your Grace, I am Lord Chamberlain Hoff, son of Lord Chamberlain Hoff."
The self-important son of the previous Lord Chamberlain Hoff.
- Face Death with Dignity: He attempts to do this only for Judge to signal his execution before he can say his last words.
- Generation Xerox: Just like his father, Hoff serves as the Lord Chamberlain of the Closed Council and is a self-important, overweight, obstructive bureaucrat.
- Killed Mid-Sentence: Judge orders his execution while he's in the middle of asking to say some last words.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: It's the prerogative of Hoff and the Closed Council in general to prevent the King from ever actually accomplishing anything that could meaningfully improve the lives of the common folk.
- Public Execution: He's executed along with the rest of the Closed Council by the Breakers and Burners after they take control of Adua. Curnsbick was even forced to make a special device to hang them instead of relying on the conventional method.
- Undying Loyalty: Despite his obstructive nature, he is truly loyal to the monarchy. Minutes before his execution by the Breakers and Burners, he sees the captured Orso and begs, not for his help, but for his forgiveness that this is happening.
Bruckel
High Justice Bruckel
- "At this level. Your Majesty. Such concepts become... fluid. Justice cannot be stiff like iron, but... more of a jelly."
The woodpecker-like High Justice of the Union.
- A Death in the Limelight: Bruckel gets a brief POV segment in The Trouble with Peace in the moments leading up to his death. It manages to humanize him a great deal by showing that he wishes he could help the people he's meant to judge but is trapped by Glokta's expectations to set examples through brutal punishments.
- Animal Motifs: His appearance and mannerisms are described as woodpecker-like. In addition to having a "wattle" beneath his chin that wobbles when he speaks, and a beak-like nose, his conversational style has him stabbing out phrase like a woodpecker's rapid pecking.
- Hidden Depths:
- Bruckel is set up as just another Obstructive Bureaucrat in the Closed Council, but his brief POV segment reveals that he's surprisingly empathetic and compassionate towards the defendants that pass through his dock. His father told him he was too soft as a child and had to prevent a hard front, which he does because the Closed Council would rip him apart if they sensed any weakness. He expresses a desire to be lenient but Arch Lector Glokta wants examples to be made via harsh penalties, and Bruckel feels he has no choice but to deliver them.
- Bruckel knows about the situation Queen Terez is in and expresses a deep unspoken admiration for her and how she remains so strong in the face of others insults. He wishes he could express his empathy outwardly but feels like it'd be a betrayal to her to acknowledge it.
- Take a Third Option: In regards to the trial of Lord Wetterlant, who is obviously guilty of rape and murder, Bruckel recommends, instead of executing Wetterlant which would outrage the nobility, or acquitting him which would embolden the Breakers, he could simply tie up the legal procedure until Wetterlant dies in prison. Everybody on the Closed Council approves save for the king himself.
- Surprisingly Sudden Death: When the Breakers cause Curnsbick's steam engine to explode, Bruckel dies when a piece of shrapnel unexpectedly takes off half his skull.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He dies in the same book that he's introduced in after only a smattering of appearances.
