This is the character sheet for The Saga of Darren Shan. All spoilers are unmarked, read on your own peril.
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Vampires
Tropes Applying to All Vampires:
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: They think execution is a good solution to just about anything. They execute elderly and disabled members for not being able to carry their own weight.
- No Periods, Period: Shan said a fan once asked him
if female vampires had periods. He decided no because they don't have working reproductive organs. - Proud Warrior Race: They believe fighting is "in their blood", their entire culture revolves around it.
- Unwitting Pawn: Mr. Tiny created them just to become an army for the Lord of the Shadows. He gave them magical gifts so that they would follow his commands and believe his prophecies.
Darren Shan
"I've always been fascinated by spiders."
A boy with a love for spiders. Darren was drawn to the Cirque du Freak show because of the spider tamer Larten Crepsley, and was deeply amazed by the performance; enough so that he stole the spider Madam Octa.However, when Steve was bitten by Madam Octa, Darren was forced to seek the help of Mr. Crepsley, who agreed on the condition that Darren become his vampire assistant instead. Forced to leave his family, Darren faked his death, became a vampire and joined the Cirque du Freak.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: While at 20 years old he isn't, strictly speaking, a child anymore when he becomes a Vampire Prince, he is one by vampire standards. Mika refers to him as a "cub prince".
- A Protagonist Shall Lead Them: As a Vampire Prince, and as one of the Hunters in books 7-12.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Darren in the novel is loyal, stubborn and witty and tends to snark a lot in his internal monologues. In the manga he's more naive and his insistence on fair play, honor and trying to help everyone will just get even more people killed and will lead him to being crushed by his ideals as the story progresses.
- All-Loving Hero: In the manga. He wants everyone to get along, and often is the one to interfere with and settle disputes between his people. This even extends to Steve, who Darren wants to forgive even after it's revealed that he's done some absolutely terrible things. However, this changes as the series progresses and becomes more cynical.
- Angst: First after Mr. Crepsley blooded him, and much later, following Mr. Crepsley's death, he sinks so deeply into it that he hides from his responsibilities for two whole years, until Steve attacks him and drags him back in.
- Anti Anti Christ: It was his destiny to become the Lord Of Shadows, should he manage to kill Steve. He rejected it.
- Back from the Dead: Briefly, just for long enough to Set Right What Once Went Wrong.
- Badass Cape: He has one, it's blue, and he was sorry he wasn't wearing it when Mr. Tiny showed up. After that, he leaves Vampire Mountain and wears clothes that pass for human, so we never get to see him with it.
- The Beastmaster: Spiders, wolves, dragons, he can tame all of them as part of his inheritance, and he can also tame rats courtesy of being a vampire.
- Broken Bird: Pretty much. First he becomes a vampire against his will in order to save his best friend's life. Then he is separated from his family and friends. Then he adjusts to his life as a vampire and meets new friends during his journey, only for most of them to end up dead or worse than before. Then Mr. Crepsley (who Darren had begun to see as a father figure) dies and he finds out his best friend now hates him and wants to kill him. It's after he finds out that he was a pawn in Mr. Tiny's plans that he breaks down.
- Break His Heart to Save Him: At the end of the manga Steve apologizes to Darren for all his actions, after finding out he was an Unwitting Pawn to Mr. Tiny. Darren coldly dismisses him and provokes him into killing him so that neither will become the Lord of the Shadows.
- The Chosen One: Played straight in that, he's one of three vampires who are allowed to kill the Vampaneze Lord. Subverted in that he was also chosen to destroy the world, should he, or the other two succeed in doing so. Subverted also in that he wasn't chosen for either of these — he was created for them.
- Conscience Makes You Go Back: When he chooses to go with Harkat to find his true identity, instead of with Debbie to Vampire Mountain.
- Dhampyr: Sort of. He's half-vampire, but he was transformed into one by blood transfusion, instead of being born one.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Towards Kurda in books 5 and 6. In the scene leading up to that reveal, you can see how Kurda and Darren had become incredibly good friends, with Kurda even telling him "you know I wouldn't leave you". And then... subverted in that when he does return and accuse Kurda, Kurda is never angry, he just gazes sadly at Darren, disappointed that his plan failed, but happy that Darren survived. During his trial, Kurda even looks directly at Darren and gives him the Death's Touch sign.
- The Eeyore: He's real gloomy and pessimistic after becoming a vampire. He hides well on a surface level, but it doesn't take much prodding before the mask begins to crack.
- Fate Worse than Death: Subverted. His soul spent a hundred thousand years in the Lake of Souls, before Evanna saved him, and after he Set Right What Once Went Wrong, he was finally allowed to enter Paradise.
- Heroic Sacrifice:
- Subverted in the first book. He gave up his humanity to save Steve's life, who was bitten by Madame Octa, the lethally poisonous spider.
- Subverted again, when he returned to the Vampire Mountain to warn the Princes about Kurda's betrayal, despite the fact that he had been sentenced to death for failing the Trials and escaping. The Vampires were so impressed by his selflessness in returning that they made him a Prince so that he would be above the law.
- Played straight in the last book. He gouged Steve into killing him, and let him to do it, to save the world — and himself — from the Lord Of Shadows.
- Heroism Equals Job Qualification: For a Vampire Prince, apparently.
- Go Out with a Smile: At the end of the manga, when he finds out him and Steve are still friends in the new timeline.
- I Hate You, Vampire Dad: Towards Crepsley at first. He eventually warms up to him and comes to see him as a father figure.
- Improvisational Ingenuity: He can be foolhardy and get himself into trouble with that, but he also has a way of coming up with plans that are just the thing, for better (e.g. book 3) or worse (e.g. book 6).
- Killed Off for Real: At the end of the series. He sacrifices himself in order to stop Mr. Tiny's plans, but has a happy normal life in the new timeline.
- Long-Lost Relative: At the end of the series, it's revealed he's Steve's half brother.
- Morality Chain: To Steve. Darren's "betrayal" combined with Crepsley refusing to make him into a vampire, it's what made him slide down the slippery slope. Invoked in the end of the manga. In the new timeline Steve gives up on his dream to become a vampire, realizing that he doesn't want to be separated from Darren.
- Nightmare Fetishist: He has an over fascination for spiders. In the prologue of the first book, he admitted that when he was little, he fantasized about a spider climbing down his throat, laying eggs in his stomach, which then would hatch and start eating him from inside out. Oh, and he fantasized about this when he went to bed.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: He doesn't want to be reminded that it was his trick with the spiders that enables the vampires to Leave No Survivors in book 6.
- Offered the Crown: Given a choice between a throne or a pit of stakes, guess which one he goes with...
- Older Than He Looks: He was blooded into a half-vampire at the age of twelve. At the end of the series, eighteen years later, he had apparently aged about six years, and only because he had a...
- Only One Me Allowed Right Now: In the end, Darren's Little Person body disintegrates because there is already one of him.
- Red Is Heroic: In the manga, he inherits Larten's red coat, and he wears it in the end. The image caught on, though in the novels he is always described as wearing blue.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Debbie was the only girl he was ever in love with. Even when they met again sixteen years later. and he looked like a teenager while she became an adult.
- Soul Jar: When his friend Sam is killed by the werewolf, Darren drank all of Sam's blood, and with it, he absorbed a part of Sam's soul, that became a part of him, until Darren's own eventual death, when it was set free. The manga goes further and has Sam's soul as a Spirit Advisor for Darren.
- The Smart Guy: He can be this at times — he came up with some rather impressive strategies, such as to save Evra in book 3, and he even outwitted Mr. Tiny in the final book. At the same time, he can be shockingly dumb, such as the time he escaped from prison, went into a store, saw his own wanted poster on TV, and didn't just stand there watching but actually turned up the volume. Not to mention trusting his childhood friend who a) tried to kill him and swore to do it someday before they parted, b) shows up and rescues him at an extremely convenient time and knows a lot about their enemies, c) exhibits peculiar strength for a human, d) won't let anyone smell him when vampires and vampaneze recognize each other by scent, and wears gloves with the palm cut out, to show one scar but hide the others, and e) they all know there's a guy named Mr. Destiny walking around.
- Take a Third Option: Mr. Tiny created Darren and Steve so that one or the other would become the Lord of the Shadows, and he created the vampires and vampaneze to be their armies. It backfired on him when Darren realized that that fate can be avoided if both candidates die.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: As one of the three Lord Hunters.
- Unwitting Pawn: To Mr. Tiny trough the entire series. Then he subverts it, by literally saying Screw Destiny to him.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Evanna implied he would've become the Lord of Shadows, because of all the horrible things he went through.
Larten Crepsley
"That is why I want you. A vampire's assistant must have spirit."
A vampire who works as a spider tamer at Cirque du Freak. Larten blackmailed Darren into becoming his half-vampire assistant when Steve was bitten by the spider, and helped Darren fake his death. Although Darren initially resents him, they learn to respect each other, developing a bond like a father and son. He's murdered by Steve at the end of "Killers of the Dawn".
The Saga of Larten Crepsley reveals about his past. He became a vampire after running away from his hometown and while at first he was irritated by the customs of vampires, he adapted soon and became a respected vampire. After killing his best friend, Larten chose to live a simple existence as a member of the Cirque du Freak, in self-imposed exile from the vampires until he met Darren.
- A Day in the Limelight: On the The Saga of Larten Crepsley prequel series.
- Badass Cape: He wears a red cape in Vampire Mountain...
- Badass Longcoat: ... and a red trenchcoat when adventuring outside in the human world. Darren inherits his in the manga.
- Book Dumb: He may not know how to read or write, but he's a capable strategist and can recognize words and numbers, sign his name, and read maps "quite accurately".
- Break the Haughty: Originally a cocky and headstrong boy that becomes a vampire because he had no choice after killing the man who murdered his cousin, he goes through pains of fighting alone for years, only to be forced to kill his best friend after he murders his girlfriend in order to instigate war against vampires and vampanezes. He also gave up on dreams and love to focus on his mission. By the time Darren meets him, he's a wise, aloof and solemn man.
- Breakout Character: Was so popular that he got his own prequel series.
- Broken Ace: In his youth, Larten has become highly respected as a vampire general, to the point he got offered a position as a prince. But after being forced to kill Wester, he feels that he would not find peace with such a high title.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: Fighting the highly skilled Vampaneze Gannen Harst, Steve and the Lord of the Vampaneze (both half-vampaneze) all at once, and apparently winning by killing the Vampaze Lord. Then it's revealed the guy he killed was only a ploy...
- Good Scars, Evil Scars Has a long scar running down on his cheek due to an attempt to flirt with one of Evanna's attractive forms.
- Hot-Blooded: In his younger days.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Mr. Crepsley is bitter, snarky, perfectly willing to let Steve die, and not averse to smacking Darren around to teach him a lesson, and yet he genuinely cares for Medames Truska and Octa, and comes to the rescue every time Darren gets into trouble (which is often).
- Kill the Ones You Love: At the end of The Saga of Larten Crepsley, he's forced to kill Wester after he kills Larten's girlfriend and puts the blame on a vampaneze in an attempt to start a war, due to his hatred for vampanezes.
- Killed Off for Real: Steve pushes him into a pit of fiery stakes at the end of Killers of the Dawn. He died believing he had killed the Lord of the Vampaneze, but in reality he had only killed a decoy, as the true lord was Steve all along.
- Living Emotional Crutch: To Darren, who starts to view him as a father figure and mentor.
- Never Learned to Read: He was born before public education was commonplace and never managed to learn how to read, though he can recognize numbers and sign his name.
- Noodle Incident: He treated the story behind his scar like this. As it eventually turned out Evanna scratched him.
- Offered the Crown: In the prequels, Paris Skyle nominated him to become a prince, but he declined the offer and resigned as a general to get revenge against Wester instead, and afterwards feels he doesn't deserve it.
- Parental Substitute: To Darren, after he got through his I Hate You, Vampire Dad period.
- Perpetual Frowner: He only laughed once, when he found out about Gavner's elephant underpants, and immediately felt sorry for it. But he often smirks.
- Platonic Declaration of Love: Multiple times between him and his mentor, Seba Nile, and between him and his assistants, Darren and Gavner (in the prequels).
- Senseless Sacrifice: He didn't take Steve down with himself to give his friends a chance to escape. After he died, Steve revealed to Darren that he is actually the real Vampaneze Lord.
- We Used to Be Friends: Let's just say he didn't take Wester's Face–Heel Turn very well. At the end of The Saga of Larten Crepsley, he pretends that Wester never existed and doesn't want to talk about him ever again.
- Withholding the Cure: To Madame Octa's poison, unless Darren becomes a half-vampire. Later this is acknowledged as being less than heroic, but it's justified in that Tiny made him do it.
- You Remind Me of X: As a kid he becomes attached to Wester because he reminds him of his dead cousin Vur.
Vancha March
One of the four Vampire Princes, and one of the three Hunters who're allowed to kill the Vampaneze Lord.- Adaptational Attractiveness: In the novels he was described as someone who could've been mistaken for the twin brother of a werewolf, while he's rather handsome in the manga.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In the manga, Vancha is more conflicted about him and Gannen being in opposite sides of the war. At the end of the novels he gets over it and fights against Gannen with no problem, but in the manga it gets him out of commission during the final battle.
- Anime Hair: In the manga, he has a quite ridiculous saiyan hairdo.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: The only weapons he uses are shurikens and his fists. However he only kills with the shurikens when he has to save someone, and has no other option.Vancha: Unarmed? I have two arms!
- Casanova Wannabe: Claims to be a ladies man, but they want nothing to do with him due to his dirty appearance and brash manners.
- Dark and Troubled Past: He and Gannen were orphaned at a young age before being adopted by Evanna. She then gave them away to a vampaneze who blooded the brothers, but Vancha didn't like killing people to survive and abandoned the vampaneze clan, forced to be separated from Gannen for years. Unable to control his vampaneze urges, he was on the verge of suicide before being saved by Paris, who made him a vampire.
- Determinator: See below at Windmill Crusader.
- The Pig-Pen: Hates baths, has Jabba Table Manners and wipes his phlegm on his hair to the point it looks green.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: He's an extremist in this regard even among the vampires. He only wears clothes he himself sewn together from the skins of animals he killed, he fights only with his hands, he carves out his shurikens, sleeps on his cloak, eats only raw meat, and drinks only water, milk and blood.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: As one of the three Lord Hunters.
- Only Sane Man: In The Saga of Larten Crepsley he often gives advice to the reckless Larten.
- Windmill Crusader: He regularly takes walks in the sunshine, trying to break the curse of vampires, which forces them to live in the dark. He's been doing it for over a century, without any success, but he's not willing to give up, despite the bad sunburns and sunstrokes he gets from it.
Paris Skyle
"Let us not speak rashly."
One of the three Vampire Princes and the oldest living vampire, at 800 years old. He's admired by his fellow vampires, not only for his immense age and position, but for his exploits when he was younger, as he met several historical figures and shaped the history of vampires.
He dies in Allies of the Night, found dead under the body of a lifeless bear, as old vampires would rather choose to fight a battle they know they possess no hope of winning rather than die peacefully.
- Been There, Shaped History: There are many legends surrounding him, including that he fought side-by-side with Jeanne D'Arc, he traveled with Christopher Columbus to America and introduced vampirism in the "New World" and was friends with Shakespeare. Larten Saga also shows him telling Bram Stoker about vampires in preparation for Dracula — so that Stoker would intentionally write the opposite of the truth, to protect real vampires.
- Cool Old Guy: He died wrestling a bear, and he took it down with him! At the biological age of eighty!
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: Subverted. He was the eldest living vampire during the time of the series, as highest ranking Prince, and indeed he was very badass, but due to his age he was no longer fit for active front service. Instead during the war he focused on coordinating the Generals.
- Soul Jar: He was friends with William Shakespeare, who on his deathbed asked Paris to drink all his blood, so that part of his soul can live on inside Paris. As a result, Paris was able to write down more of Will's work than was recorded when he was alive. Considering the historical fact that that applies to pretty much all of it, humans owe Paris a lot.
- Elderly Immortal: He's 800 years-old by the time of the series and appears to be an extremely fit 80 years-old.
Arrow
"Let's set a challenge for the boy."
One of the three Vampire Princes. He hates vampaneze because one of them killed his wife Sarah years ago. Having killed the culprit in revenge, he devoted all his energies to the clan from then on.
The Saga of Larten Crepsley shows how he defected from Vampire Mountain to marry Sarah and lived among humans for a time before a vampaneze killed her.
- Defecting for Love: In The Saga of Larten Crepsley he leaves Vampire Mountain in order to marry Sarah, a human girl. He only returns after she dies.
- Fantastic Racism: Towards vampaneze. His motive is that a vampaneze killed his wife, but not for prey, and even he admits that he would have done the same thing in that position. He's also not above killing innocent vampaneze.
- Large and in Charge: Even among the Vampire Princes, he stands out in this respect.
- Revenge Before Reason: In the prequel, he's so consumed by hatred that he kills any vampaneze he comes across; even innocent ones.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Since killing the vampaneze that murdered Sarah failed to bring him fulfillment, he sought to kill every vampaneze. He's fortunately talked out of it by Vancha, but he still retains his resentment towards vampaneze."But it wasn't enough. Sarah was worth ten of his foul kind. Fifty. A hundred. More. I won't stop until her death has been paid for it in full."
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Arrow becomes more surly and stoic after his wife is killed.
Mika Ver Leth
- Dark Is Not Evil: Always wears black and is frequently compared to a raven. He's a Proud Warrior Race Guy like all the other vampires, but he is by no means evil.
Gavner Purl
"Seems all I'm good for. Scaring children and little old ladies."
A cheerful and impulsive vampire and friend of Larten. He quickly becomes friends with Darren, encouraging the boy to trust Larten. He's also a vampire general. Gavner is killed by Kurda at the end of "Trials of Death", after accidentally encountering a vampaneze gang that were trying to infiltrate Vampire Mountain.
The Saga of Larten Crepsley reveals more about his past, showing that he was a human child adopted by Larten after he accidentally killed his biological parents.
- Dark and Troubled Past: The Saga of Larten Crepsley shows the guy had it rough since birth. First, his biological parents die in a vampire massacre and is almost left to die as a baby by Larten. Despite seeing Larten as a father, he's cold towards the boy, due to his involvement in his parents's deaths. After Larten is forced to leave France and blaming his surrogate mother for it, Gavner latches on to Tanish Eul, who makes him a vampire. He's then forced to watch Larten killing Tanish, suffers a mental breakdown when he finds out why Larten is so cold to him, and just when he's happily reunited with Larten and Alicia again, she's killed in mysterious circumstances that he never finds out. The poor guy has gone through a lot.
- Dies Different In Adaptation: In the novel, he's "surprised... annoyed... afraid" when he dies, and he's too surprised to react before Kurda kills him. In the manga, he has a Dying Dream when he's reunited with Liz and passes away smiling.
- Goofy Print Underwear: Yellow boxers with pink elephants, which were a break-up gift from his girlfriend Liz.
- Hates Being Alone: Gavner has an extreme fear of loneliness. And one can't blame him, after losing his biological parents, his adopted mother and sister and his girlfriend over the years.
- He Knows Too Much: He's killed by Kurda after accidentally encountering Glalda's gang hiding in the mountain.
- Hot-Blooded: He's arrogant, prideful and loud to annoying extremes, though he mellows out as he grows up.
- Interspecies Romance: With the human Liz Carr. Unfortunately she breaks up with him because she's getting too old for him.
- Nice Guy: Gavner is cheerful and friendly to everyone around him. He's also one of the few vampires that isn't an asshole to Kurda.
- Older Than They Look: He's actually the youngest of Larten's vampire friends, at 80-90 years old. He looks much older thanks to his rough lifestyle though.
- Shrinking Violet: As a child, due to being raised by the emotionally-distant Larten. He gets better thanks to Alicia though.
- Stepford Smiler: In the prequel, it's shown that even though he tries to pretend to be strong and plucky, Gavner is actually quite fragile inside and easily falls apart when he learns that Larten is so cold to him because he accidentally murdered his biological parents. Also, while he does have a social circle of people who care for him, he is still absolutely terrified of feeling abandoned again. You can see this a bit in Darren Saga by how readily he goes along with the majority in whatever room he's in at the moment, even after insisting on rules that would have those same people killed.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: One of the reasons he's so impulsive and obsessed with showing off was to get some measure of praise and acknowledgment from Larten. Unfortunately, it did not work very well thanks to Larten's guilt over killing Gavner's biological parents. This is all retcon from Larten Saga, and the author hadn't even come up with the idea until after he'd finished Ocean of Blood. Your mileage may vary as to how well it fits their interactions in Darren Saga.
Arra Sails
"Ours is a hard life, not suited to the weak."
A female vampire and Larten's love interest and ex-mate. She's hot-tempered, arrogant and impatient and her fellow vampires respect her for her strength and courage. She's killed by Glalda in "The Vampire Prince", but not before convincing Larten to make sure the Vampire Princes will spare Darren's life after failing the trials.
The Saga of Larten Crepsley reveals she used to be a human working for Evanna, but decided to become a vampire and worked as Mika's assistant.
- Action Girl: She remained undefeated in a game for eleven years, and even Larten considered it suicide to challenge her in it. She also took the Trials of Death multiple times to prove herself worthy of being a vampire. Effectively more of a deconstructed Faux Action Girl, as the only fights she wins are off-screen. She's driven more by personal reasons such as her refusal to Stay in the Kitchen than because she actually belongs on the battlefield.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She's dark-haired, pale-skinned, and acts as The Stoic most of the time.
- Amazonian Beauty: Played with. When Darren first meets Arra Sails, he remarks that she's not particularly beautiful, but looks like a supermodel compared to the other vampires.
- The Bully: One of many to Kurda, as she's always mocking him for being too soft-hearted.
- Defeating the Undefeatable: She was undefeated in a game for eleven years, until she underestimated Kurda in "Trials of Death". This doesn't show her as weak, it only shows that Kurda can fight even though he doesn't like to, a necessary element to make the twist at the end believable. Otherwise, the book would have had to waste time setting up another strongest-fighter character for Kurda to defeat, or have him defeat Vanez, who trained him, which strains credibility.
- Hot-Blooded: To the point she ran away from home when she was young because she craved for adventure. She also thought that working as Evanna's assistant was boring.
- Last Request: She made Larten swear that he wouldn't let the Vampire Princes sentence Darren to death.
- Proud Warrior Race Girl: She has internalized their toxic beliefs even more than the others, possibly because of having had to prove herself more than male vampires had to.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Arra only shows attraction towards Larten in the series and its prequel. Though they're both immortal and have plenty of time, there's still something to be said for the fact that Arra waited twenty years for him to agree to mate and waited for fifty more years after their mating contract ended."Don't be foolish. Of all the vampires here, you're the one I'd set my eye on if I was in the mood for setting."
- Sore Loser: She reacts badly upon losing to the "weak, pacifist" Kurda.
- The Smurfette Principle: She's one of the few female vampires.
Kurda Smahlt / Harkat Mulds
"Be your own person. Don't let the foolish pride of others cloud your judgment."
"I think good and evil exist... in all of us."
A pacifist vampire who supports unity between the vampires and vampanezes. He's considered an outcast because of his views and he's very intelligent, as opposed to the brawn and valor which vampires value. Kurda betrays the vampires in an effort to unite both races and prevent the War of the Scars, but is discovered and executed at the end of "The Vampire Prince". He is brought back to life as Harkat Mulds after striking a deal with Mr. Tiny.The Saga of Larten Crepsley shows that he supported the union of both races ever since first becoming a vampire. He also made hospitals for victims during World War II when no other vampires would help the humans.
- A Friend in Need: He seems almost compelled to protect Darren whenever the latter is in danger. This is why Mr. Tiny chooses him to be made into Harkat.
- Actual Pacifist: Only fights when forced to, and goes to extremes to save lives.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Kurda in the novels is kind, yet smart and sassy. He also has a moment of doubt after Mr. Tiny tells him that if he sacrifices Harkat, he'll get another chance to live. In the manga he acts more like a typical hero and nobly lets Harkat live without hesitation.
- All of the Other Reindeer: While he's highly regarded and admired for his intelligence and skills, his fellow vampires look down on him for being too soft-hearted by vampire standards and his support for the vampaneze.
- As the series progresses, it's shown that besides his assistants, Darren, Gavner and Vancha, none of the vampires particularly like him.
- The short story "Lonely Lefty" shows that as Harkat, too, he is an outcast from the rest of the Little People, because he's the only one with emotions. He tries to celebrate Christmas with them, only to be rejected.
- The Atoner: Why he agreed to become Harkat. Also, his reasons for staying in the Lake of Souls forever (in the manga, at least).
- Badass Pacifist: Most vampires consider him weak, because of his usual refusal to fight, so it came as a total surprise when he beat Arra Sails in a game she had been undefeated at for eleven years. As he put it to Darren:"I dislike fighting. But it doesn't mean I can't fight."
- Back from the Dead: In order to atone for his crimes, Kurda was brought back as Harkat to protect Darren. He loses his memory so that he doesn't warn himself about his own downfall (and, as he points out, actually "masterminds" the events in a way). While other characters, including Darren, the narrator, treat the two as separate people, and his past and future selves do appear together, both knowingly and unknowingly, he is still the same person after resurrection.
- Befriending the Enemy: His philosophy about the vampaneze... until the Vampaneze Lord actually appears.
- Blue Is Calm: Kurda is always described as wearing blue, as is Darren. It could be because of this, or it could be because they both become Little People, who also always wear blue.
- Body Horror: All of the Little People are small, have thick, grey, sutured skin, large green eyes, no nose, nor outer ears, and large mouth with grey tongue and sharp teeth. They also lack a sense of taste and smell, and their skin is also notably less sensitive than a human's or vampire's.
- Brick Joke: Almost every reference to the question of who Harkat was will make you kick yourself once you know. In "Hunters of the Dusk", for example, Harkat says that Vampire Mountain feels like home, and Mr Crepsley jokes that Harkat has vampire blood, to which he admitted that he had been wondering if he had been a vampire in his previous life. This caused Darren to wonder if he could had been a Prince, saying "If I can become a Prince, anyone can."
- Color-Coded Secret Identity: Kurda is always described as wearing blue... just like Harkat. Darren is also frequently described as wearing blue, and look what happens in book 12.
- Colorful Theme Naming: Smalt (no "h") is a blue potassium glass that is ground to make the pigment known as Cobalt Blue. The "h" is added for, well...
- Crucified Hero Shot: When Darren goes into Harkat's dreams, the novel describes him as "stretched on a bed of stakes", which might or might not involve this, but the way the manga draws it does fit. In his actual execution, he was strapped into a cage, and wouldn't have had room for it, but the symbolism (pacifist leader who is tortured to death and comes back?) is there regardless.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: The pit of stakes is actually a standard public execution method for the vampires, but it is most definitely cruel. Certain aspects of the traitor's death are made to be more brutal than usual, like the fact that only traitors are dropped face up, stabbed in the back for added humiliation.
- Deadpan Snarker: Can be surprisingly sassy when he wants to be.Vancha: "I might as well tell you straight up, Mulds - I don't trust Desmond Tiny or any of his stumpy disciples."Harkat: "And I don't trust vampires who... chew their toenails....Sire!"[beat]Vancha: *laughs* "I think we're going to get along fine, Mulds!"
- Defeating the Undefeatable: His win over Arra Sails by pretending an injury, causing Arra to underestimate him. Justified, as she challenged him with the intent to humilliate him.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: The manga is a largely faithful adaptation of the novels, but makes a distinct deviation about Kurda's fate in the Lake of Souls. In the novels, Kurda is sent to the afterlife by Mr. Tiny after letting Harkat live; in the manga, Kurda willingly stays in the Lake of Souls forever in order to be with the souls of his assistants and his vampaneze allies.
- Doomed Moral Victor: He knew that the vampires and vampaneze would both wish to execute him for treason no matter if his plan succeeded of not, but he did it anyway.
- Driving Question: In Harkat's very first (speaking) scene, he gives us two — "Who is Harkat?" and "Who is the Lord of the Vampaneze?". Try answering the question "Who are the top five most important characters in this series?" (or even "who's most important after Darren and Larten?") without spoiling either of those.
- Dudley Do-Right Stops to Help: He did things like making hospitals for humans when all the other vampires turned away.
- Good Feels Good: In The Saga of Larten Crepsley he sets up makeshift hospitals to help people at the time when World War II was just ending, just because he likes to help. Arra and Larten don't quite understand this, but they help out and contribute their healing vampire spit.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: In the manga, Kurda's ponytail breaks open right as he stabs Gavner. When Darren and Harkat pull him from the Lake of Souls, Harkat rips off a piece of his robe and ties Kurda's hair back with it. When Kurda helps Darren out of the Lake in book 12, that ribbon is still in his hair.
- Face Death with Dignity: Averted. While he stoically endures his trial, when he's executed, he is sobbing knowing he is about to die.
- Forgiveness Requires Death: And resurrection. And memory loss. And a different face.
- He Had a Name: About the vampaneze volunteers that he brought into the mountain for his plot. "They were brave men, whom you killed, like vermin." This is generally his conflict with other vampires over how to view the vampaneze.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He knew he would be executed for his plot, but he still did it in the hope that he could save even just some lives.Kurda:"There was nothing in it for me, Mika, and you're a fool if you believe otherwise."
- Identity Amnesia: Part of the deal which granted him a new chance to live.
- It's All My Fault: In the manga he blames himself for the death of his vampaneze allies and even requests Paris to honor their deaths. His request is rejected due to the rules of the vampires and he dies lamenting that his friends died in vain.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: In the manga. In the novel, his hair length is never stated, except that it's long enough for vampires in the angry mob to pull at while he's being brought into his trial, so it must be at least a little long. The manga uses it amazingly as a motif, though.
- The Medic: He went around making makeshift hospitals to help people during World War II, when the rest of the vampires refused to care about the humans suffering.
- Messianic Archetype: Here is a character who preaches a pacifist message in the middle of an extremely warlike culture, but surprisingly, he's gotten a big enough following to practically make him a king. At the height of his power, a friend turns him in to the authorities. When he is arrested, the youngest of his close followers tries to defend him, but the leader tells that follower to put away his sword and not shed blood. He is taken, beaten, tried, and executed in the most horrifically painful method in his society, which is also considered extremely shameful... and then he comes back.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Played with, as 54% of generals did vote for him, though the majority still seem to be against him even before he is accused of treason.
- Nice Guy: Kurda is friendly and helpful, and acts as a sort of big brother for Darren. This is particularly notable, as most of his fellow vampires are serious, aloof and hotheaded.
- Not So Above It All: For all his pacifism, in The Saga of Larten Crepsley he's shown enjoying the brawl between Vancha and Larten.
- Only One Me Allowed Right Now: Except for when he's under Tiny's protection. In book 10, this isn't the case, so Kurda and Harkat must choose which will return with Darren and which will return to the lake.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: In helping Darren escape from execution, even though the vampires basically have only one punishment for this. Well, he knows he's going to be executed anyway, so he might as well.
- Significant Anagram: Harkat's name is an anagram of his name in life, Kurda Smahlt.
- The Smart Guy: Part of why he was nominated to become a Prince. As Harkat, too, he notices things, solves riddles, etc. on several occasions quicker than any of the vampires.
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: Briefly, with himself.Kurda: "No offense, but if we were to decide on the basis of good looks, I'd win hands down.".Harkat: "And if we judged it on loyalty, I would win, since I have never betrayed my friends."
- Pyrrhic Victory: At the end of the series, he gets the peace he wanted through Harkat, who is succesfully working to unite vampires and vampaneze. However, Kurda is dead and so does all the vampaneze he personally knew and wanted to save.
- To Win Without Fighting: His plan would have allowed the vampaneze to do this. The vampires would have had to join them, but at least they would be alive.
- Turn the Other Cheek: The vampires beat him, cut him, pull "fistfuls" of his hair out "by the roots" as he's being brought into his trial, but he doesn't react.
- Undying Loyalty: Towards Darren, even before his death — see that trial scene, where he just kept looking at him, as if he doesn't even care about himself as long as Darren is safe. He even comes back from the dead specifically to protect Darren. In a more critical respect, after he gets his memory back, he tries with no avail to remind Darren of his duty, and he is horrified when Darren starts showing more violent traits in "Lord of the Shadows", and quick to call him out on this.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: His plan to merge the clans against the will of most of the members — "Many would rather die than join, but even so, at least I would have tried". The plan involved killing the other Vampire Princes, according to
Word of God even Vancha, his close friend who nominated him to become a Prince. Yet, it would have been the only thing to prevent the catastrophic war that did come to pass. Many vampires would rather die than shake hands, but as Tiny put it, "more fool you". Even Vancha says that Kurda wasn't really a traitor, since he had the best interests of the clan at heart.
- You Are Worth Hell: In the manga, he decides to return to the Lake of Souls in order to be with the souls of his two assistants and the vampaneze allies that died for his cause. However, in both the novels and manga, neither Darren and Harkat nor Kurda's earlier form understood the twisted, multiple levels of time travel in their situation. Kurda would return to the Lake, only to be pulled out some hundred thousand years later to become Harkat. When he asks Darren how long he's been dead, and Darren says 8 years, Kurda says "it seems like much longer" — neither of them knows that Darren and Harkat time-travelled to get there, and from Kurda's point of view, it really has been 200 years.
Cyrus
- Better to Die than Be Killed: His one appearance in the novels, though he appears in many more scenes in the manga.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the novels, he pulls a knife from a general to defend Kurda, and kills himself with that same knife. In the manga, he draws a sword that he already had on him to defend Kurda, and when Kurda tells him to stop, he draws a dagger that he had also already been carrying to kill himself with.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: in the manga, in contrast to his companion, who is bald.
Seba Nile
"Only the young have the energy to tend to the needs of spiders of such caliber."
Larten's former teacher and quartermaster of Vampire Mountain. It's shown that Larten looks up to him and he picked up his mannerisms and clothing style from him. He and Paris are the oldest vampires, with Seba being 700 years old.
The Saga of Larten Crepsley shows how he met the young Larten and Wester and raised the boys as his assistants.
- Cassandra Truth: Nobody takes him seriously when he warns everyone that Wester's resentment towards vampaneze will escalate in something worse.
- Deadpan Snarker: Especially when he has to deal with the hot-blooded and impulsive Larten. Even after he matures over the years, Seba still likes to take a rise out of him.
- Elderly Immortal: He's the second oldest living vampire when introduced with only Prince Paris being older than him.
- Game-Breaking Injury: His leg is damaged during the fight with Glalda's gang in "The Vampire Prince" and he walks with a limp through the rest of the series. He's still a capable fighter though.
- Mr. Exposition: In The Saga of Larten Crepsley, explaining to Larten and Wester about the customs of vampires. Continues to do so for Darren, providing him with exposition about the things Larten hadn't taught him yet.
- My Rule Fu Is Stronger than Yours: Quite a few times in book 5. With this, he might have saved Darren's life almost as many times as Kurda did.
- Parental Favoritism: Wester feels that Seba favored Larten more than him. However it's stated Seba loved them equally, but had to focus on the more reckless Larten.
- Sole Survivor: At the end of the series Seba has outlived his two assistants and his best friend Paris.
- Trickster Mentor: After Larten expressed his desire to speak elegantly like Seba, he takes the matter further by plucking a hair from inside of Larten's nose whenever he spoke informally.
Vanez Blane
- Handicapped Badass: He lost an eye wrestling a lion in his youth. He lost the other in the battle against Glalda.
Vampaneze
Steve Leonard ("Leopard")
"He said I was evil! And you chose his side over mine. You set that spider on me and tried to kill me!"
Steve is Darren's best friend, who has a deep interest in vampires. He discovered that Mr. Crepsley was a vampire, and begged him to turn him into one. Mr. Crepsley initially agrees, but changes his mind after tasting his blood, which he accuses of being evil. When Steve is poisoned as a result of Darren stealing Madame Octa, Darren agrees to become a half-vampire and Mr. Crepsley's assistant in exchange for the cure.
After Darren sacrifices his humanity to save Steve, he believes Darren stole away his dream to become a vampire and leaves to become a strong vampire hunter able to kill Darren. He returns as an antagonist in "Allies of the Night", where it's gradually revealed he's the Lord of the Vampaneze and has prepared a convoluted plan in order to get revenge on his former best friend.
- 0% Approval Rating: The vampaneze only followed him because Mr. Tiny told them that the vampires would exterminate them if they didn't.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Steve is a ruthless killer in both novels and manga, but the manga goes further by giving him more humanizing moments such as being more affectionate and protective of Darren before their fallout. It's not unusual to hear people say they hate him after reading the novels, then they read the manga and start sympathizing with him.
- Alas, Poor Villain: In the manga, after spending half of the series being vengeful over Mr. Crepsley for not making him a vampire and blaming Darren for his misery, he realizes he was an Unwitting Pawn to Mr. Tiny and tearfully apologizes to Darren. Darren still goads him into killing him though.
- Ax-Crazy: Initially he is wild, reckless and hot-tempered, with his love for Darren being his only redeeming quality. But after he becomes convinced that Darren took his dream away, he's gradually revealed to be cruel, vindictive, and self-centred to the point of outright sociopathy. Even the vampaneze, despite their preference for living victims and killing, are disgusted by him.
- Antichrist: Had he managed to kill Darren, he would've become the Lord of Shadows.
- Appropriated Appellation: His birth name was Leonard, nicknamed "Leopard" by his friends, both because it rhymed well, and because he was a wild child. He went by it as an adult as well.
- Combat Pragmatist: He uses ranged weapons and lies, both of which are both forbidden to his subjects the vampaneze, and he recruits humans to fight on his side, who are also allowed to do these things.
- Dying as Yourself: Steve almost gets this chance, as Darren recognizes that he has regained his humanity when Tiny relinquishes control of him after declaring Darren victorious... but in order to not live on to become Lord of the Shadows, Darren denies him this and goads Steve to kill him.
- Fate Worse than Death: After Darren tricks the dying Steve into killing him to prevent the Lord of the Shadows from being born, he is sent to the Lake of Souls, where escape is impossible, he has no body, can't communicate with the other souls, and he has nothing to do but reflect on all the mistakes he made in his life.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Used to be an irritable boy with an obsession with vampires and depended on Darren almost on Living Emotional Crutch levels. By the events of the series, he's an absolutely cruel, callous and sadistic man who's defined solely by his need for revenge on his former friend.
- Heel–Face Turn: At the end of the manga he finds out that Darren is his brother and that both were pawns in Mr. Tiny's plans and apologizes to Darren for his actions.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: Unfortunately for Steve, Darren still goads him into killing him so that none will become the Lord of Shadows.
- Hot-Blooded: Steve is hot-tempered, impatient and reckless. He gets worse after he returns as an adult.
- It's All About Me: Steve is constantly fixated on the idea that Darren became a vampire just to show him up, ignoring Darren's constant protests that he did it to save Steve's life. Tunnel vision courtesy of one Desmond Tiny.
- Long-Lost Relative: At the end of the series, it's revealed that he's Darren's half brother.
- Made of Evil: A sip of his blood almost made Mr. Crepsley throw up. However, it's later implied that "evil blood" is just a superstition", and it was all a part of Mr. Tiny's plan to break Steve and Darren's friendship.
- Not in This for Your Revolution: Couldn't care less about the vampires, the vampaneze or Mr. Tiny's plans. He just wants to get his revenge on Darren and Mr. Crepsley.
- The Patient Has Left the Building: Killing nurses and guards on the way out, in book 9.
- Sadist: Is overly delighted by just the thought of tormenting Darren. In the manga he's notably excited-looking when he reveals his convoluted revenge on Darren, and admits that he crafted such a complicated revenge gambit to make things more fun for himself. It seems restricted to only Darren, and shows nothing but anger and hatred for Mr. Crepsley.
- The Sociopath: Hits a few marks with his lack of empathy and remorse, his drive for sadistic stimulation, his manipulation of others, and his self-centeredness.
- Took a Level in Kindness: At the end of the manga. Steve in the alternate timeline decides to abandon his obsession with becoming a vampire, realizing that Darren would miss him if he were gone. All in all, it really looks as if Darren's "betrayal" brought out the worst in him, and with him never becoming a vampire and leaving with Mr. Crepsley in the first place, all this never happened.
- The Unfettered: Very much so. He will do anything to get his revenge, and he's not going to care what happens as a result, even if it means killing children, his former friends or manipulating his own son. He's been so conditioned to believe that evil is all he can be, he feels he has no choice.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Darren gave up his life as a human, and became Mr Crepsley's assistant to save Steve's life. He viewed this as Darren deliberately tried to kill him with Madame Octa, and then stole away his dream of becoming a vampire, and swore vengeance on both him and Mr Crepsley. Seems like this until you realize how much Tiny manipulated him to see it that way.
- Vampire Hunter: Posed as one who knew the difference between the Vampires and Vampaneze, and claims he hunted the latter. Wonder how he must have felt when Darren complimented his kill count of his own people.
- Vampire Wannabe: When Mr. Crepsley refused him, he feels betrayed.
- Would Hurt a Child: He killed Shancus, Evra's son. For the Evulz!
Gannen Harst
Vancha's older brother. Originally the two were vampaneze, but Vancha left the clan and was reblooded as a vampire. Years later, Gannen is Steve's personal protector and remains at his master's side whenever possible. It is clear that Gannen strongly disagrees with many of his master's decisions, but remains loyal to him out of his devotion to the vampaneze.- Big Brother Instinct: In the past, he pleaded for Vancha's life to be spared after he defected the vampaneze clan, despite respecting the strict Code of Honour of the vampaneze.
- Dark and Troubled Past: He and Vancha were orphaned at a young age before being adopted by Evanna. She then gave them away to a vampaneze who blooded the brothers, but Vancha abandoned the vampaneze clan and would have died if not for Gannen pleading for his life. They're forced to be separated from each other and the next time they do, they're enemies.
- The Dragon: He was chosen by Mr. Tiny to be Steve's bodyguard. Not that he's happy with it.
- Heel–Face Turn: After Steve dies at the end of "Sons of Destiny", it's stated Gannen makes peace with his brother and works to unite vampires and vampaneze.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: In the manga he's quite attractive, despite his purple skin and red eyes. The long hair is canon in the novel.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: He follows Steve because of the prophecies, even though he disagrees with what Steve does (and orders him to do) more often than not, and Steve treats him horribly.
- Noble Top Enforcer: Unlike Steve, Gannen adheres to the vampaneze code of honor, and he's not gratuitously cruel.
- Parental Substitute: Averted. While he was assigned by Mr. Tiny to mentor Steve, Gannen dislikes Steve for his cruelty and pettiness and never develops a father-son bond like Larten and Darren have.
- When She Smiles: Gannen always looks stoic and angry. The only time he cracks a smile is in the manga, when the war is over and he's shown reconciling with Vancha.
- Will Not Tell a Lie: When Vancha points out that the Hunters have no reason to believe anything Steve says, Steve immediately points to Gannen, who's a true vampaneze, and wouldn't lie even if his Lord ordered him to.
Reggie Veggie "R. V."
"We don't need to eat meat, man. We don't need to kill."
A hippie and self-called eco-warrior Darren and Sam befriend in The Vampire's Assistant. He is a vegetarian and sensitive about animal rights, and disapproves the way the Cirque "abuses" animals after seeing the caged werewolf and witnessing Darren killing animals as food for the Little People. He tries to liberate the werewolf, only for it to mauls his hands for his trouble. He later returns as an enemy in ''Allies of the Night"', having become a vampaneze.
- Animal Wrongs Group: He set the Cirque Du Freak's werewolf free, because he thought it was cruel to keep it chained in a cage all the time. Of course Darren was partially at fault, since he did tell R.V. that the werewolf wasn't really dangerous.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Somewhat hypocriticaly, he turns against Steve, after he kills Shancus For the Evulz, even though, he had (or at least attempted to) kill children in the past. Steve even calls him out on it.
- Face–Heel Turn: He starts of as Darren's friend, until he releases the werewolf, resulting in Sam's death and him losing his hands. Then Steve recruits him and makes him a vampaneze.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: In the end he becomes disgusted with Steve's needless cruelty and attacks Gannen, only for Steve to stab him in the throat.
- Hook Hand: He has a silver and a golden gauntlet with hooks for fingers. They were constructed by Steve, and are the main reason, why R.V is more co-operative with Steve, than others of their kind.
- Irony:
- Sam's bag has a note "hands off" written on it which Darren reads straight after R.V. runs of wondering where his went...
- In a more dramatic sense, he was a vegetarian before the incident with the werewolf. After becoming a vampaneze, he claims to have taken a liking for raw, bloody meat, heavily implying human meat.
- Let Them Die Happy: After being killed by Steve, he fantasizes he still has hands and dies happily believing he's returned back to normal.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Releasing the Cirque's werewolf resulted in him losing his hands and Sam's death.
- Verbal Tic: He always ends his sentences with "man".
Murlough
A mentally unstable vampaneze that terrorized Mr. Crepsley's hometown during "Tunnels of Blood".- Acrofatic: He's quite overweight, but he's surprisingly fast and agile, due to being a vampaneze.
- And I Must Scream: It's revealed he was sent to the Lake of Souls after he died.
- Ax-Crazy: He regularly directs massacres for sheer pleasure, and laughs when he kills humans.
- Cynicism Catalyst: His brutal slaughter of the Flack family resulted in Wester's lifelong hatred against vampaneze.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Murlough is an insane, sadistic serial killer, but even he keeps the vampaneze Code of Honour and never breaks his word.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: In Tunnels of Blood, Larten says he doesn't care who Murlough kills as long as they aren't from his hometown. Larten Saga retcons this to make Murlough the killer of Larten's best friend's family, making it a revenge mission.
- Only One Name: If he has a last name, we never find out what it is.
- Sadist: He delights in torturing people.
- Sanity Slippage: In the timeskip between the Larten and the Darren saga, it's shown that Murlough has become very unhinged, even talking in third person. This is a result of drinking the blood of too much people (and absorbing their memories as a result) over the years.
- Small Role, Big Impact: In The Saga of Larten Crepsley, see Cynicism Catalyst above.
- Third-Person Person: He frequently refers to himself as "Young Murlough". Word of God says this is a sign of his decaying sanity, as in the prequel he speaks normally.
- Villain in a White Suit: And he always has to kill his tailors...
Glalda
"Watch closely - I'll show you how we dispose of your kind!"
Kurda's friend and co-conspirator in their plan to infiltrate Vampire Mountain and reclaim the Stone of Blood in order to unite vampires and vampaneze. However Darren discovers this and him together with the rest of his vampaneze allies are killed at the end of "The Vampire Prince".
- Adaptational Nice Guy: In the novels he appears as an arrogant vampaneze, before being revealed as a Well-Intentioned Extremist. The manga gives him more moments with Kurda, showing that he's honorable and has faith in his plan. Justified, as in the novel we see him from Darren's point of view.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Darren gives the Death's Touch sign after killing him, and remarks that he looks like Gavner did when he died — "surprised... annoyed... afraid".
- And I Must Scream: He's sent to the Lake of Souls after he dies, together with the rest of his gang and Kurda's assistants. At least Kurda keeps them company in the manga.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the novel, he's afraid upon his immident death, with Darren remarking he looks like Gavner did. In the manga, he calmly accepts defeat and tells Darren than the vampires are doomed.
- Distinguishing Mark: He's noted for having a round, dark red birthmark on his left cheek.
- Everyone Has Standards: Despite his friendship with Kurda, it's stated that if their plan had succeeded, Glalda would have executed him for betraying the vampires, due to the vampaneze Code of Honour.
- Good All Along: At the end of ''The Vampire Prince"', it's revealed he was helping Kurda with his plan to unite vampires and vampaneze.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: He mocks Arra for her gender during their fight, essentially just to make him unsympathetic (though it's implied Arra received the same from the vampires before she proved herself). Darren notes that Glalda still does show respect for her, though.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Him warning Kurda about the upcoming Lord of the Vampaneze resulted in their ill-fated plan to infiltrate Vampire Mountain and their deaths.
Others
Desmond Tiny
It's only a watch.
A malevolent being who only wants to throw the world into chaos.
- All-Powerful Bystander: He hates it, but he can't directly interfere with the destiny of the world, because...
- Always a Bigger Fish:... that would unleash creatures even worse than he is.
- The Chessmaster: He set up the whole plot of the series, even as far back as the very existence of vampires — they exist entirely to be used as an army by one of his sons as Lord of the Shadows. Up until the climax, everything went exactly as he planned.
- Evil Can Not Comprehend Good: He explained his plan to Darren and the dying, but still alive Steve, because he was absolutely sure he's won, giving ahead the only way of stopping him. He didn't count on Darren allowing Steve to kill him, simply because he's so evil, he couldn't imagine a son of his could make such a selfless act.
- Faux Affably Evil: He seems to be a rather kind person... until you hear him stating that he hates drinking blood, except from infants, because their blood is...so sweet.
- For the Evulz: Most of his actions are based around him officially wanting to make life more 'interesting', but since this involves mass death, his definition of 'interesting' is very warped.
- Humanoid Abomination: It's implied that he's older than humanity itself, and that his humanoid form (and English punny name) are just taken on for convenience. Around vampires, at least, he doesn't care to hide his webbed feet.
- Meaningful Name: Desmond Tiny. Considering that he's older than the English language, he probably named himself that, just to be creepy.
- Nightmare Fetishist: In Book 7, he claims he is in a hurry to catch a volcano eruption, which will kill everyone in ten miles radius.
- Necromancer: The Little People that serve him are established as being essentially ghosts he brought back to some form of life in new bodies.
- This Is My Boomstick: The Hall of Princes and the Stone of Blood are parts of a genetically engineered dragon from the future. He uses them to demonstrate his great power to the vampires, and to get them to follow his command.
- Time Abyss: He's so old, that Seba Nile, the second oldest living vampire at the age of 700, was young the only time he saw Tiny before the series. Tiny even claims that he measures time in continental drifts.
- Time Master: He can move around through time and perceive the past and future apparently at will, allowing him to resurrect Kurda as Harkat and send him back in time to before his own death.
- Xanatos Gambit: He would've won regardless of the outcome of the final battle. The only thing he didn't expect was Darren's sacrifice.
Lady Evanna
- All-Powerful Bystander: Not as powerful as Mr. Tiny, but just like him, she can't interfere with the events no matter how much she would like for the same reasons.
- Berserk Button: She is quite volatile, so be careful around her:
- Don't call her a witch.
- Don't try to force yourself on her when she's in one of her beautiful forms.
- Don't try to mess with the fate of the world.
- Hairy Girl: In her usual form, she's extremely hairy. She even has a beard and a moustache.
- Lady of Black Magic: Blessed with powerful magic, and able to take on a beautiful form thanks to Voluntary Shapeshifting.
- Seers: She can look into the various possible futures.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: She can look however she wants to. She mostly looks like a short ugly hag, who wears nothing but ropes around her body, has stubby little fingers with claws on her pinkies, and eyes that are constantly switching their color.
Cirque du Freak Members
Evra Von
A snakeboy working at the cirque.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Is really good at learning languages.
- Dark and Troubled Past: his biological parents treated him like a monster and sold him to a circus where the ringmaster abused him, but was happily saved by Mr.Tall.
- Teen Genius
Truska
- Our Mermaids Are Different: In the prequels, it is revealed that she's actually a Skelk, this series' "creature that inspired the mermaid legends" species. Yes, our mermaids are very different.
Cormac Limbs
- Healing Factor: He can regenerate any of his body parts. When his head was cut off, two grew in its place.
Humans
Sam Grest
Debbie Hemlock
- Badass Teacher: When Steve suggested they let the Vampaneze kill some of her students, she slapped him hard enough to hurt him. Keep in mind, he was half-Vampaneze.
- Interspecies Romance: She fell in love with Darren, a half-vampire.
- Jail Bait Wait: She insists on this with Darren even though he's actually older than her. When Darren's second Purge started in Lord of Shadows, and he explained to her that he'd not only be turned into a full vampire, but will also grow up to look his actual age in a few weeks, she was quite happy to point out that this means he won't be a boy anymore, but a man.
- May–December Romance: Subverted. They are the same age, but by the time they met again sixteen years later, she was an adult, while Darren appeared to be around seventeen.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Hemlock is a poisonous plant. And she hates her family is named after it! Subverted however, as she's a very kindhearted person.
- Puppy Love: She and Darren were around twelve the first time they met and dated.
- She's All Grown Up: It took sometime for Darren to recognize her when they're reunited sixteen years after their first meeting.
- Teacher/Student Romance: Subverted. Despite their mutual attraction she refused to get involved with Darren.
Alice Burgess
Annie Shan
- Teen Pregnancy: She had Darius when she was sixteen.
