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Characters / Vorkosigan Saga Barrayarans

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Vorpatril House

    Ivan Vorpatril 

Ivan Xav Vorpatril

Ivan: You're acting just like you do when you play Admiral Naismith, except without the Betan accent. Full tilt forward, no inhibitions, innocent bystanders scramble for their lives. I suppose you'll say terror is good for me, clears the arteries or something.
Miles: Do you consider yourself an innocent bystander?
Ivan: God knows I try to be.
— Memory

Miles' second cousin and agemate, a handsome and clever but rather lazy young officer who is exceptionally popular with the ladies. Often answers to "Ivan, you idiot!", and is forever getting dragged into Miles' wild schemes, or so he claims.

  • Badass Bureaucrat: One of the best human paper shredders in the Emperor's Service.
  • Birthday Hater: Not surprising, given how it was usually celebrated. Since he was born an hour or so after his father died, his mother made the central event of his birthday celebration be a memorial service to the father he never knew. This was done every year that Ivan was in Vorbarr Sultana during his birthday until he was thirty-five.
  • Brilliant, but Lazy: Actually described as having a "sharp but lazy intellect" in Brothers in Arms. It's implied he deliberately downplays it; being pretty high up in line for the throne, it saves him from being targeted. By both ImpSec and enemies.
    • Miles isn’t completely fooled. He notes “I know you really work, though you pretend not to.”
  • Butt-Monkey: Is often called an idiot by his friends and relatives and tends to be the victim of humorously embarrassing circumstances.
  • The Casanova: He dates a lot of women, any age, for the first two decades of his sex life. However, he starts becoming a lonely bachelor when all of his former flings become married (and in one case, a man).
    Ivan: (internal monologue) Nobody ever notices that lots and lots of girlfriends entail lots and lots of breakups. Enough to learn all the road signs by heart.
  • Catchphrase: "It's not my fault."
  • Characterization Marches On: In his very first appearance, Ivan appears to be legitimately unkind and unintelligent, sexually harassing Elena and failing to recognize an obvious death order when he first sees it, neither of which is in keeping with his later personality. Some of this can be attributed to him growing up and becoming more worldly, but in general it feels that the writer adjusted his character after The Warrior's Apprentice to make him more likable and a better foil to Miles.
  • Chivalrous Pervert: As Miles once mused, when Ivan says charming things to a lady, he's absolutely sincere. Just like he will be with the next lady, and the one after her, and the one after her...
  • The Charmer: Ivan thinks of himself as this, and often succeeds. However, it's telling he's willing to endure twelve "no's" to get a thirteenth "yes", as he's also openly The Casanova.
  • A Day in the Limelight: Captain Vorpatril's Alliance is focused entirely on him and his new wife, Tej. Miles only appears in two scenes in the whole book: first to inform Ivan that Gregor wants to meet Tej and Rish, and second to be present at that meeting. He miraculously plays no part in the story's resolution. In fact, some versions of the book's cover even have the customary 'A Miles Vorkosigan Adventure' crossed out and 'Ivan Vorpatril' scribbled in as a replacement.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Living with his cousin has turned him into one — it's a survival/coping strategy from Miles' manipulation.
    Miles: I may be panicking prematurely.
    Ivan: I don't think so. I think you're panicking post-maturely. In fact if you were panicking any later, it would be practically posthumously. I've been panicking for days.
  • Drives Like Crazy
    Gregor: So, Lord Mark, what do you think of Vorbarr Sultana so far?
    Mark: It went by pretty fast.
    Gregor: Dear God, don't tell me you let Ivan drive.
  • Foil: To his cousin Miles. Ivan is tall, healthy, handsome, and has girls falling all over him without his even trying. He's also preternaturally lazy and uninterested in any kind of responsibility (including marriage, until later on when the shortage of Vor women his age becomes pressing). In Cetaganda, Miles ponders whether Ivan is with him to obfuscate Miles' physical state, or if he's with Ivan to obfuscate Ivan's callowness.
  • Genre Savvy: Ivan knows Miles entirely too well and can press his emotional buttons easily, rarely making a mistake (except one occasion that earns him a Death Glare that actually frightens him).
  • Handsome Lech: Tej's immediate impression of Ivan. Her smitten-but-married co-worker at the shop asks her why not take him up on his implied offer anyway?
  • Hero of Another Story: While not involved in Miles' exploits Ivan has had a fairly successful military career, usually getting promotions ahead of Miles (whose achievements are all highly classified and can't be publicly acknowledged without blowing his cover; he's also lost years of seniority in active service due to infirmary/hospital time, wounded (and occasionally killed) in the line of duty). (In addition, Ivan reminds Miles that Ivan tends to follow orders.) In Captain Vorpatril's Alliance we find out that Ivan is in fact a brilliant staff officer, largely because he insists on organizing everything to the point where it maximizes his comfort and minimizes his effort.
  • Hidden Depths: Ever before his Characterization Marches On kicks in, when the villain of "The Warrior's Apprentice" is threatening Gregor with a needle gun Ivan leads the charge to disarm him and actually rugby-tackles him to the floor.
  • History Repeats: Much like his maternal great-grandfather, Ivan ends up becoming a diplomat.
  • Hyper-Competent Sidekick: The brief glimpses the reader sees of Ivan as an aide-de-camp to Galeni and Admiral Desplains show him as this. However, this is in part to his bring Brilliant, but Lazy; he does all of his tasks quickly and efficiently, giving himself more free time (see Reassigned To Riviera below.) Naturally, Miles sees this in him, as does Aunt Alys, much to his annoyance, since they constantly recruit him against his will.
  • Idle Rich: Subversion. But goodness knows he wants few things more than to be idle.
  • Innocently Insensitive: Yes, he can be thoughtless, inappropriate, and about as sensitive as a brick, but he does care for his family (including his height-challenged terror of a cousin) and will go to the wall to help them. Snarking all the way, of course. When Miles is missing, presumed dead, Ivan gets so totally wrecked Lord Mark has to carry him home. This vanishes when Ivan hits his 30's, having become a) more of an adult, and b) having had extensive galactic experience, which suppresses his Barrayaran prejudices.
    Miles: Ivan, one of these days somebody is going to pull out a weapon and plug you, and you're going to die in bewilderment, crying, 'What did I say? What did I say?'
    Ivan: What did I say?
  • Laborious Laziness: Inverted: He does his work extremely well...because he worked out a long time ago that doing his work efficiently was less work in the long run.
  • Ladykiller in Love: In Captain Vorpatril's Alliance.
  • Likes Older Women: Ivan has a preference for older women, such as 40-something Lady Donna. He says with body mods, Tej could be anywhere between 10 and 60 — and Ivan states he wouldn't mind being with a 60 year old woman at all.
  • The Loins Sleep Tonight: Happens to him, to his abject horror, in Cetaganda as a result of a drink spiked with an "anti-aphrodisiac". He is in a threesome with two Cetagandan ghem-ladies when the effects take hold, but manages to avoid embarrassment thanks to some almost Miles-worthy bluffing about Barrayaran sexual customs and a couple of handy bedroom tricks taught to him by an old flame.note  Amusingly, in spite of his fears, once word of his performance gets around Ivan finds himself deluged with invitations by very interested ghem-ladies — both his original partners and their friends... Let's just say Ivan is apparently a cunning linguist.invoked
  • Manly Tears: Ivan is sobbing in a gazebo when he thinks Miles is dead for good.
  • Maternity Crisis: He was born in the poorest and dingiest part of a besieged city, tended by a half-sane (at best) soldier instead of a doctornote , and with a rebel Vor desperately looking for him and his mother to take them as hostages. The forces of said rebel Vor had gunned down his father in front of his mother's eyes just previously. One might say it was somewhat difficult circumstances.
  • Modest Royalty: Ivan is effectively the Crown Prince of the Barrayaran Empire for most of the series, as cousin to Gregor. While Aral and Miles have better effective claims, Miles's apparent genetic (actually teratogenic) damage makes him ineligible, and Aral already had enough being Regent so they would force Ivan to the throne if anything happened. People avoid mentioning this generally because either they don't want Ivan to get any ideas, or they want to use Ivan as a pawn. Ivan lacks any notable title beyond a courtesy title of Lord he inherited. Tej lampshades this when she mentions her bride price being more princely than anyone lets on.
  • Nice Guy: And Miles takes advantage of this more then a bit. On one occasion, he tells Miles that he won't be involved in whatever scheme he's cooking up. Miles, who has nothing on his plate, tells him that's okay. Ivan promptly gets offended at the idea that Miles doesn't need him.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: That time on Cetaganda when he thought he was freeing a kitten from a carnivorous plant, not realizing it was part of the plant.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Although Obfuscating Normality is probably more accurate. He's no less intelligent than any of his relatives, but he consciously chooses to appear less exceptional than they (not that this is terribly hard, considering who his closest relatives are). It's a matter of self-preservation, when you're third in line for the Imperium and really don't want the job. (With Gregor siring an heir, it's a moot concern.) His uncle once noted that he was never sure how much of it was genuine and how much of it was an act to help protect everyone around him. Apperently it's exactly the tactic he would have gone with himself, but it started when Ivan should have been too young to think of it and hasn't let up since.
  • Overshadowed by Awesome: Which is how he likes it. The ImpSec chief on Komarr notes that Ivan is only "middling" when compared to Aral, Miles and Emperor Gregor.
  • Phrase Catcher: "Ivan, you idiot!" One time, Miles is about to say it, but Ivan cuts him off, savoring having information Miles doesn't have, an extremely rare pleasure for him. Tej calls him an idiot when he's bound to a chair in Captain Vorpatril's Alliance and is confused as to why that makes him smile wider. It's also a Historical In-Joke to the classic Russian "idiot/fool Ivan".
  • Reassigned to Antarctica: At the end of Captain Vorpatril's Alliance The Emperor (who wasn't really mad at him but wanted him off-world until the Arquas' doings were forgotten) assigned him to a consulate on an obscure planet. Since the work only takes him three mornings a week and can be done over the comconsole (computer/phone hybrid), Ivan moves the consulate from the rainy capital to a tropical island and converts his posting into an extended working vacation/honeymoon.
  • Sarcastic Devotee: To Miles. This led to an amusing scene in A Civil Campaign, when he says he'll not be roped into whatever Miles is up to. Miles (who isn't actually up to anything) says that's okay. Ivan assumes he's being given the brush-off and leaves, mildly offended.
  • Spare to the Throne: Ivan was this before Gregor had heirs, as the Vorkosigan clan would have backed him if anything happened to Gregor. He really, really doesn't want the job.
    • He is openly thrilled when it's pointed out to him that having 1/4 Cetagandan children note  with Tej will permanently remove him and his family as serious contenders for the imperial camp stool in the event of a Succession Crisis; his entire reaction is "It's not a bug, it's a feature!" He's then somewhat irritated when he realizes that the person who pointed this out to him did so solely so he could judge Ivan's reaction—sure it seems like Ivan has no interest in the throne, but you can never be too careful, y'know.
  • Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Invoked by Tej when viewing him for the first time in Lord Vorpatril's Alliance. In previous books, Miles was fairly jealous of his cousin's physical gifts. However, Miles notes that it isn't just Ivan's looks that gets him dates; Ivan will endure a dozen "no's" to get to a thirteenth "yes". He's gotten over it, especially after starting a family of his own.
  • Technically a Smile: Growing up with Miles has made him an expert at this, whether smiling without a hint of mirth at his cousin, or Deadpan Snarking with the sweetest voice he can muster.

    Alys Vorpatril 

Lady Alys Vorpatril

Imperial Social Secretary, Miles' aunt (really a first cousin by marriage, once removed), Ivan's long-suffering mother, and a grand dame of the High Vor. Possibly more deadly than the male. (Emperor Gregor calls her "General Alys" and defies anyone to upset her plans, if they dare.)

  • Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Once she hooks up with Illyan, Ivan certainly feels this way.
  • The Consigliere: Even officially she is the Emperor's most trusted organizer of ceremonies and his Baba (that is, matchmaker). Taking her unofficial powers into account (after spending thirty years as Gregor's social secretary, she knows everybody in the government and has a way to directly or indirectly influence most of them), she is probably almost equivalent to a cabinet member or higher.
    • On at least two occasions (in Memory and in A Civil Campaign) an intriguer underestimates her by taking into account only her official powers. It does not end well for either of them.
    Miles: Richars Vorrutyer sat right there and informed me that Lady Alys held no vote in Council. The fact that she has spent more years in the Vorbarr Sultana political scene than all of us here put together seemed to escape him.
    • The last thing she wanted was Ivan to be part of a political plot to put him on the throne; it was a nightmare scenario for her. However, as close friends noted, if Ivan was somehow to become Emperor Ivan, she would work on overdrive to make sure he was up to speed and an effective ruler, regardless of (or in spite of) her relationship to him.
  • Cool Old Lady: In A Civil Campaign, it's hinted that she's working with ImpSec as By's handler. She's also implied to be the ringleader of all of the Cool Old Ladies among the high Vor.
  • Costume Porn: She once told Sgt. Taura that "Dresses are weapons." And by the time she's done, Taura believes it. (Her official tailor says to Tej and Rish that clothes are a language, and it is important their clothes not say something they don't mean.)
  • Dances and Balls/Fancy Dinner: She's the one who runs all of Gregor's parties. As this is both his public relations and his way of networking with movers and shakers, it's a far more important job than it sounds. Whenever something important is happening, she is in on it.
    • In Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, she establishes herself as badass by stating that not even master manipulator Miles dares crash one of her parties uninvited.
  • Grand Dame: Eventually becomes the Grand Dame of Barrayar.
  • Honorary Aunt: She is technically Miles' second cousin once removed by marriage (Her husband's mother was the sister of Miles' paternal grandmother), and is not blood related to him by any notable degree, but he still thinks of her as his aunt.
  • I Want Grand Kids: Regarding My Beloved Smother below, Cordelia notes that if Ivan really wanted Alys off his back, he should just have a grandkid or two and that would permanently distract Alys from him.
    Ivan: I shouldn’t think you would be in such a tearing hurry to become the Dowager Lady Vorpatril.
    Alys: My dear and only child, how did you come by that misapprehension?
  • More than Meets the Eye: Surprisingly for such a patriarchal culture, she is one of the most politically powerful people on Barrayar.
  • My Beloved Smother: Ivan thinks so, but she just wants grandkids, and backs off once Simon Illyan is in the picture and she no longer feels compelled to live through Ivan. The tearjerking reason she's protective is that he's an only child — and her husband died a nasty death during his birth. In Cetaganda, Ivan wistfully wishes for ship duty; Miles notes Ivan loves his comfy job and working in the capitol — and he probably wishes his mother was sent off on ship duty.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Illyan is injured in Memory, it's a mark of her irritation at not being told about it that she complains that none of "you three louts" saw fit to keep her in the loop. A bemused Miles is shocked when he realizes that the three louts are himself, Ivan and... Emperor Gregor.
  • Riddle for the Ages: How long had Alys and Simon been seeing each other? It's hinted in Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen that they'd been secretly seeing each other before the events of Memory, and Alys had been Simon's appointed handler for intelligence agents specializing in High Vor society.
  • Serious Business: Do not fuck up one of her parties. She treats them even more seriously than clothes.note 
  • Silk Hiding Steel: Alys is very much The Stoic, but she'd been through a Succession Crisis and survived being hunted by the usurper. She may be the epitome of upper class taste and manners, but she's not averse to getting down and dirty.
  • The Social Expert: She's Cordelia's guide during her early years of Barrayar. Luckily, she's related to Aral, so she was more than happy to escort Cordelia through the land mines that pepper High Vor society.
  • The Spymaster: She's the handler for ImpSec agents who keep tabs on High Vor, like Byerly.
  • Technician Versus Performer: She and Simon have a symbiosis at court events, with her being the performer providing the splendor, and Simon as the technician providing the security.

    Count Vorpatril 

Count Falco Vorpatril

Kinsman and Liege of Ivan who in judges and refuses Ivan's petition to be released from a Citizenship Marriage after having established that the ceremony was proper — if hurried — and that neither party is guilty of concealed mutation, adultery, neglect, physical abuse, denial of contact with kinfolk, denial of children, and certainly not denial of marital rights.

  • Cool Old Guy: Comes off as one during Ivan and Tej's divorce suit.
  • Good Old Ways: Most definitely. And to him they are the good old ways. In a succession suit he changed his vote in favor of a would-be count who had had a sex change to make him a viable candidate — simply because his opponent had used dishonorable means in his campaign.
  • Nepotism: Averted. Possibly even inverted. It is speculated that Ivan might have gotten a more sympathetic hearing from someone unfamiliar with his weaknesses.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Galactics might not think so, but he judges Barrayaran law fairly from the local point of view and has no favoritism for kinfolk. He's described as a "progressive Conservative or conservative Progressive" in A Civil Campaign.
  • Vor Who Actually Do Something: He acts as a judge in local disputes as a way to gauge what his subjects actually go through and keep abreast of their opinions and views.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives an epic one to Richars Vorrutyer.
    Falco: There is an unwritten rule among us, Richars; if you attempt any ploy on the far side of ethical, you'd damned well better be good enough at your game not to get caught. You're not good enough.
  • Shipper on Deck: He refuses to give an obviously in-love Ivan and Tej a convenient divorce, basically telling them a) come back in six months when you have real problems, and b) come over for dinner, the wife would love to meet Tej.

    Simon Illyan 

Simon Illyan

"[Illyan] does acerb better than almost anyone I know."
— Miles Vorkosigan on his boss, Mirror Dance

Miles' boss, the seemingly omniscient and implacable head of ImpSec. His mere name is enough to invoke dread in most people. Has a memory chip implanted in his head that lets him remember everything.

  • Berserk Button: Don't you dare falsify reports to cover your own wrongdoing!
  • Brought Down to Normal: Even Jacksonians heard of "the Barrayaran with the cyborg brain". Haroche's sabotage of the eidetic chip removed Illyan's instant recall — but not his cunning.
  • Bullying the Dragon: It's Illyan's job to take on powerful Vor and military bigwigs. When an ImpSec agent tangles with Admiral Desplains — Chief of Ops for the entirety of Barrayar's military — Simon approves, stating it was nice to see a Galactic Affairs agent take on someone so high ranking without fearing reprisal.
  • Crazy-Prepared:
    • In Memory, Miles castigates himself for not realizing that Illyan would have an agent in the Dendarii Mercenaries he didn't know of, which is how Simon discovered Miles falsified his report. Miles had found two of Simon's agents. Simon had three.
    • In the same book, he also confers with Gregor about cashiering Miles from ImpSec, cutting off any nepotism Miles might attempt. He also notes that trying his father would be pointless, since he would shut him down faster than Illyan and Gregor combined.
  • A Day in the Limelight: Captain Vorpatril's Alliance has him taking on a much larger role in the story than any other book, even Memory, as he engineers many of the events in the book.
  • Desperately Seeking A Purpose In Life: Being a retired Chief of ImpSec has made Illyan profoundly bored and purposeless, which is why he leaps at the chance to make a political bet with Shiv and Udine. Ivan hints to Gregor that Illyan needs work, even if it's in an unofficial role.
  • The Dreaded: Aside from leading what was originally the Secret Police, the eidetic chip made him very intimidating. Miles insists that it wasn't just the chip that made Simon unnerving, however.
  • Expy: Word of God states that Illyan's name, appearance and profession are somewhat inspired by Illya Kuryakin of The Man from U.N.C.L.E..
  • A Father to His Men: In a rather grim fashion, but yeah. He does know how to take care of his agents.
  • Honor Before Reason: He believes the opposite. He notes that the ImpSec agents who stayed at their post when HQ was sinking should be commended. The ones who fled, he recommends those are the ones to promote.
  • Honorary Uncle: Before joining ImpSec, Miles called him "Uncle Simon".
  • Love Redeems: Or at least, it helps you live a normal life after decades of being a kind of living computer.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Although he seems quiet and respectable, various characters have noted that to be in charge of "weasels" like Miles he'd have to be a bit sneaky himself. And so it proves in Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, where his boredom with his retirement leads him to arrange a scam of a bet with Ivan's new in-laws.
  • Neural Implanting: At least until the chip is sabotaged.
    • This adds to his image. On Jackson's Whole, one of the scary stories told about him claims he's actually a Cyborg.
  • The Nondescript: A useful thing for a junior ImpSec officer, which is how he began his career. Miles and Ivan note that his blankness makes him even scarier these days.
  • Note to Self: With his eidetic chip, Simon could repeat anything anyone said to the letter decades ago. After the chip was removed, he basically was given a planner he could make quick notes into.
  • Obfuscating Disability: In his retirement, he often finds it useful to play up how much cognitive damage yanking that chip did to his dangerously keen mind. He had to relearn how to remember things and consciously pay attention without the playback option in his skull, but that is it.
  • Papa Wolf: Do not hurt an ImpSec agent. Don't even do so by accident. Especially if you then try to lie about it. He will hunt you to the end of the galaxy.
  • Photographic Memory: Again, thanks to a recording chip that made nine out of ten implantees go into schizophrenic madness, since basically it gave the user two sets of realities to deal with.
  • The Quiet One: In his ImpSec days he used the trait to terrifying effect. After his chip's sabotage and subsequent retirement it provides a good cover for any awkward memory lapses. It does cause a little trouble though, as no one had quite realized how bored he was in retirement, leading to the misadventure with the Arquas and the secret bunker.
  • Riddle for the Ages: In-Universe, no one is quite sure how long Illyan and Alys have been romantically linked, only making it overt after his chip malfunction.
  • The Spymaster: A given, as chief of ImpSec.
  • The Stoic: See The Nondescript. Except...
    • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Simon actually breaks down and shows some real emotion when he has to boot Miles from ImpSec. Aside from being the son of one of his closest friends, he was fast-tracking Miles to be head of Imperial Security. Disappointment is far too mild a word for Simon's venting.

The Imperial Family

    Gregor Vorbarra 

Emperor Gregor Vorbarra

"Gregor, I'm sorry, but I just don't think Mad Emperor Gregor is in the cards. It's your advisors who are going to go crazy."
— Miles reassuring his cousin on his mental health. The Vor Game

Emperor of Barrayar, Komarr, and Sergyar, a soft-spoken, highly intelligent man and just the sort of person you'd want running your militarized feudal space empire.

  • Awesomeness by Analysis: Gregor does his homework. God help you if you don't.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: "Both of my parents died in political intrigue before I was six years old, a fact you might have researched. Did you think you were dealing with an amateur?"
  • Catchphrase: "Let's see what happens." He picked it up from Cordelia, his foster mother. Considering he's the absolute ruler of three planets, it tends to invoke horrified fascination in everyone nearby.
  • Character Development: Over the course of the series, goes from being used by various Barrayaran counts and politicians to out-playing them all and securing his own happiness, without losing his essential humanity or compromising his honour.
  • The Chessmaster: Eventually becomes this, as Shiv notes at the end of Captain Vorpatril's Alliance.
  • Child by Rape: Almost certainly, considering who his father was.
  • A Child Shall Lead Them: He has been Emperor of Barrayar since he was five.
  • Egopolis: The planet is named after his family's surname, Barra.
  • The Emperor: Is the absolute monarch of three planets (one of which he is also the legal owner of).
  • Foil: Both he and Fletchir Giaja became Emperor at unusually early ages (Gregor took power at 20, which was when Aral stepped down from the regency, Giaja at 30, which Miles mused was fantastically young for Cetaganda), both have aristocratic female advisors (Gregor has Cordelia and Alys, while Giaja has the Star Crèche), and both are managing multiplanet empires. They each have learned to appear above concerns, but both know how to use Batman Gambits and subtle political maneuvering. The only difference is Giaja is in his seventies while Gregor is approaching middle age, but both are just hitting their stride as rulers.
  • The Good King: Exemplifies this trope. Gregor is rigidly self-controlled, conscientious, favors quiet dignity over grandeur and sees his position as a duty to be performed to meet the incredibly high standards he sets for himself. Most people respect him because even though he expects a great deal from others, it is only because he expects even more from himself.
    Gregor: By some miracle, there was no loss of life in last weekend’s disasters.
    Shiv: Are you saying you wouldn’t trade in lives?
    Gregor: (coolly) On the contrary. I trade in lives every day. They are the coin in which Barrayar has paid for my mistakes since I was twenty years old.
  • Guile Hero: Particularly in The Vor Game.
  • Happily Adopted: By the Vorkosigans, after being orphaned during Vordarian's Pretendership.
  • Happily Married: To a nice, smart, wealthy, sane Komarran BBW. By the latest book, they've sprogged a brood of brainy kids.
  • Heroic BSoD: During the events of The Vor Game, he finds out his father, the supposed war hero Prince Serg, was actually a brutal, judgmentally impaired sadist whose death was possibly the best thing to happen to the Barrayaran Empire in a long time. Gregor becomes temporarily suicidal, then goes AWOL as a King Incognito, and only starts to snap out of it when he gets tangled up in a deadly plot involving dueling mercenary fleets and a potential Cetagandan invasion.
  • It Runs in the Family: Given his ancestral history, he's terrified of this happening to himself or his offspring, and vetoes a lot of potential Vor brides on the basis that inbreeding would bring out the crazy. As Miles puts it, "Gregor has a well-founded paranoia about, well, paranoia."
    Miles: I probably carry almost as many of Mad Yuri's genes as you do, through one line of descent or another.
    Gregor: Is that supposed to be reassuring?
  • Laser-Guided Karma: Gregor just loves dispensing this. He even hired Miles to focus the beam.
  • Parental Substitute: Cordelia became Gregor's tutor growing up, and essentially became Kareen's successor. Gregor had already bonded with her when they were being hunted by Vordarian, and Cordelia felt guilt over not being able to save Kareen. Cordelia, when told of her role of being his mentor before he was inducted into the military at 18, asked Aral if the Council of Counts knew how much power she was being given. Aral replied no, because the Council only saw power in terms of armament and strength. As Cordelia and Aral predicted, Gregor takes after Cordelia, and tends to have a more galactic view (though he downplays it in front of Barrayarans, to appear more traditional).
  • Pen-Pushing President: Or Emperor. As Ivan notes, many have coveted the emperor's throne, but none have coveted his desk.
  • The Quiet One: According to Miles, "He'd be shy if he could, but he's not allowed."
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Wants results that provide the greatest benefit to his people, and is willing to help make sure that he gets them.
  • Royal "We": Or, rather, Imperial. Gregor uses it very, very rarely, when he wants it extremely clear that he's speaking officially. He does say "Our" on occasion, and the "O" is capitalized. Tej Lampshades that Gregor technically wasn't a subject — so did that make him an object?
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Has very little free time, since he actually runs his empire and makes a point to keep abreast of everything that is going on. The Imperial Auditors exist mostly to address the fact that he cannot be everywhere at once and needs proxies who are directly accountable to him making sure that his authority is applied when and where it is needed. Early in his career, he insisted he lead the Barrayaran force dispatched to prevent a Cetagandan invasion of the Hegen Hub. Aral was both horrified and proud of Gregor's initiative.
  • Sarcasm Mode: Rarely gets to be a Deadpan Snarker, but Illyan gets exposed to it in a big way at the end of Captain Vorpatril's Alliance. He surmises Gregor was enjoying finally being able to unleash some snark, especially considering who he was snarking at.
  • Sheltered Aristocrat: Appears as this toward the beginning of The Vor Game. Turns out to be smarter than he appears though.
  • Tranquil Fury: The quieter he gets, the angrier he generally is. Miles notes that Gregor goes grey, rather than red, when furious.
  • Warrior Prince: He graduated from the Imperial Service Academy and ordered himself aboard Aral's flagship for the battle of the Hegen Hub, using the argument that a reputation for leading from the front would reap both military and diplomatic benefits for Barrayar. Aral is forced to admit that after being opposed the idea, Gregor's analysis appears to be paying off.
  • Warrior Therapist: Learned it at Cordelia's knee. He's even better at it than Miles, eventually a match for Cordelia herself.
  • The Wise Prince: In private life, Gregor is a kind, complex man, but his public persona makes him come across as The Stoic.

    Ezar Vorbarra 

Emperor Ezar Vorbarra

Gregor's grandfather, Serg's father, a highly subtle and dangerous old bastard.

  • The Chessmaster: the one man Aral acknowleges as his master in politics and war, which on Barrayar are often the same thing.
  • The Extremist Was Right: Or else he was really lucky. In any case, his plan did work as he wanted it to.
  • Four-Star Badass: Before becoming emperor.
  • Karma Houdini: But only to outside observers. "The emperor spares himself nothing."
  • Lesser of Two Evils: See below. In this case even the "lesser" was pretty extravagantly evil.
  • Offing the Offspring: Considering what a psycho his son Serg was, it's hard to blame him...until one considers he got thousands of Escobarans, Betans, and his own Barrayarans killed to cover the act. He was convinced it wasn't enough to kill Serg, he had to eliminate his entire political party.
  • Papa Wolf: When Prince Serg was becoming dangerous he protected Serg's wife from him.
  • Pragmatic Villainy: Ezar will do anything as long as it is expedient, but only as long as it is expedient.
  • Shoot the Dog: This and a Kick the Dog, all rolled up in one: see above.
  • Thanatos Gambit: Sets Aral up for the Regency of Barrayar with one of these. Aral gripes that Ezar will somehow continue to rule even after his death. Ezar promises to haunt him for the entirety of his Regency.
  • The Wrongful Heir to the Throne: He was a general from a cadet branch of the imperial family who removed Yuri when he became more than even Barrayar could tolerate. It's implied that as a direct great-grandson of Dorca (if through a female line), Aral technically had a better dynastic claim on a throne than Ezar, though being eleven at the time he wasn't considered the most fittting.

    Kareen Vorbarra 

Princess Kareen Vorbarra

Mother of Gregor and wife of Serg. Is killed during the War of Vordarian's Pretendership when Gregor is only five years old.

  • Beware the Quiet Ones: Known for being very reserved, even in stressful situations. She reaches her breaking point when she learns what really happened to her son, and tries to kill Vordarian with a stolen nerve disruptor.
  • Dead Guy Junior: Kareen Koudelka is named after her.
  • Deliberate Values Dissonance: Invoked when Cordelia questions her about her relationship with Vordarian, she replies he doesn't abuse his courtesans.
  • Domestic Abuse: Her relationship with her husband, at least until Ezar started protecting her from Serg after she became pregnant with Gregor.
  • Irony: The town named after her on a planet named after her The Caligula husband is situated next to a volcano that could explode at any moment.
  • Mama Bear: She protects Gregor at all costs. The only reason she allows herself to be Vordarian's partner is that she was told her son drowned, and when she finds proof Gregor is still alive — she is given her son's other (never immersed) shoe (she held onto the other one when Gregor was taken from her forcibly) — she becomes lethally protective of him again.
  • Questionable Consent: Vidal Vordarian stages a coup against Kareen's young son, holds her hostage, and tells her that Gregor is dead. She quietly goes along with his plans after that, including his public announcement of their betrothal. Later, when Cordelia, Drou, and Bothari break into the palace and find Kareen and Vordarian asleep in bed together, Drou is horrified and Cordelia reminds her of this trope.
    Cordelia: If you'll explain to me what power-base you imagine she has to resist the man right now, I'd be interested to hear it.
  • Silk Hiding Steel: Vordarian thought she was compliant: turns out she was just biding her time.
  • We Hardly Knew Ye: She only speaks in two scenes of one book, and much of her story happens in the background.
  • Woman Scorned: Cordelia states that if necessary, Kareen's revenge will be to outlive everyone and spit on their graves.
  • The Woobie: invoked Let's see: she's first married to The Caligula, she thinks her toddler son has been killed in a palace coup, then sleeps with the man who engineered the coup as a part of political pragmatism — and whose only saving grace to Kareen is that he doesn't torment the women he sleeps with — and when she finds out her son is alive, she's killed by a neural weapon to the head.

    Prince Serg Vorbarra 

Prince Serg Vorbarra

Son of Ezar Vorbarra, father of Gregor, husband of Kareen, and demonstrably about the worst thing to hit the imperial Vorbarra line since they took Mad Yuri apart. A cruel, spoiled sadist who fell in readily with the monstrous Ges Vorrutyer and eventually, in Kareen's bitter words, "surpassed the master". His father Ezar set up the entire Escobar fiasco to annihilate Serg's warmongering faction while giving his son a chance to die a warrior's death. Royally Screwed Up doesn't even start to cover it.

    Dorca the Just 

Dorca the Just

A legendary Emperor who united Barrayar and brought the Vor under submission. Called "the Just" for his competence but not necessarily for his gentleness. He seems to be regarded by most Barrayarans as Fair For His Day.

  • The Dreaded: Miles notes that he's known as "Dorca the Just" primarily because he was absolutely ruthless in dispensing rough justice.
  • The Extremist Was Right: His methods in unifying Barrayar were pretty much exactly as extreme as they get, but they did leave a much more stable society, and without him the Cetagandans would definitely have had a field day instead of the murderous La Résistance they encountered.
  • Founder of the Kingdom: Dorca turned Barrayar from a gaggle of constantly warring feudal states into a stable absolute monarchy.
  • Good Is Not Nice: Pierre "Le Sanguinaire" was afraid of him.
  • Gunboat Diplomacy: How Dorca unified the empire through Asskicking Leads to Leadership.
  • Long-Dead Badass: You'd think so, but this trope is actually subverted since Barrayar's local history isn't all that long. In fact, Aral is just his great-grandson, and at the start of the series there are probably people on Barrayar who still remember him personally.
  • Meaningful Name: He is called The Just for being competent, bringing peace and bringing the Vor to heel using the Barrayaran idea of justice. Perhaps galactics wouldn't have called that a good reason for the title, but Barrayarans didn't really have time to be squeamish.
  • Pay Evil unto Evil: The fate of Vor who insist on continuing banditry and private wars.

    Mad Emperor Yuri 

Mad Emperor Yuri

Predecessor to Ezar. Led war against Cetaganda but grew paranoid and ordered death squads after those he feared, including Aral's family.

  • The Caligula: He went crazy from paranoia and tried to massacre everyone who had a claim on the throne.
  • Death of a Thousand Cuts: Quite literally as his capital punishment, he was to be cut with a blade by just about every Vor who sided against him. It was later called "Yuri's Dismemberment". Aral got the first cut. Since he was a child at the time, however, Aral found he didn't want it as much as he'd thought.
  • Defiant to the End: He mocked Aral just before the latter started up Yuri's dismemberment, although he soon started screaming.
    Aral: He leered at me. "Strike, little boy. If you dare while you wear my uniform. My uniform on a child."
  • Didn't Think This Through: He seriously miscalculated in leaving Piotr Vorkosigan off his kill list when it came to ordering the slaughter of his relatives. Aral, recalling the massacre decades afterwards, muses that "I can’t imagine what old Yuri thought he was about, to kill my mother and leave my father alive."
  • Evil Uncle: To Aral's mother Olivia Vorbarra/Vorkosigan, and as extension an Evil Great-Uncle to Aral himself.
  • He Who Fights Monsters: After Dorca's death, he became the face of the La Résistance fighting the Cetagandans, and it screwed him hugely.
  • Mad Artist: He was famous for the absurd architectural projects he patronized, including the infamously ugly ImpSec building.
  • Rebel Leader: Of La Résistance fighting the Centagandan invaders.
  • Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: He sent out death squads to kill nobles he thought were plotting to overthrow him, along with their families. Funny thing about sending death squads after your nobles (and their families); after too many times, they start plotting to overthrow you — especially when one of them is Count Piotr Pierre Vorkosigan, whom you didn't think to have killed. They eventually succeeded and then some.

    Prince Xav Vorbarra 

Prince Xav Vorbarra

Brother of Yuri and ambassador for the resistance. Usually spoken of in a positive light even from the point of view of modern Barrayar. Miles' great grandfather through his daughter Princess Olivia and the source of Miles' (and Aral's) arguable claim to the throne.

  • Ambadassador: He was Barrayar's ambassador to Beta when the Cetagandans invaded, which is why he was off-world and may explain his relatively cosmopolitan attitudes for a man of his generation.
  • Heroic Bastard: According to Word of God, he was a bastard son of the Emperor who was legitimized later on.
  • Odd Friendship: With a Betan when offworld marriages were rare. As he works offworld it kind of makes sense.
  • Posthumous Character: He's long dead before Cordelia and Aral ever even meet, but his reputation and influence continue to hold weight even into his great-grandchildrens' generation.
  • Rebel Leader: Similar to his brother Yuri — he was the other face of Barrayaran Resistance, only for the wider Galactic community. Probably this was what let him remain a little more sane afterwards.
  • The Scrounger: Much of his job was getting Betan weapons for Barrayar to fight off the Cetagandans.
  • Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: References to him make him seem more amiable then the ferocious and sometimes bloodthirsty Vor of his time and one could imagine him being able to better fit into Gregor's court.
  • White Sheep: He objects to Honor Killing of the children of Barrayarans raped or seduced by Cetagandans.

Koudelka Family

    Koudelka 

Clement "Kou" Koudelka

Aral's subordinate and later personal secretary; wounded during the Escobar War, he uses a swordstick to get around. Happily married to Drou, he is the proud if slightly apprehensive father of four daughters. Eventually rises to the rank of Commodore.

  • Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: Morphs into one of these when Kareen and Mark are outed as a couple. He gets over it; helps that one of his other daughters hooks up with Count Dono Vorrutyer, who is Transgender during the same time period.
  • Driven to Suicide: Cordelia's gift of a Sword Cane nearly backfires tragically as Kou contemplates suicide with it. Cordelia's interruption probably saved his life.
  • Embarrassing First Name: Cordelia is told by a family friend that the one thing Kou shares with Drou is that they both hate their first name.
  • Handicapped Badass though this is downplayed in later volumes, apparently due to improving medical technology.
  • Meatgrinder Surgery: His nervous system has to be replaced with wires, which Cordelia notes is really shoddily done. He shows no signs of disability years later; one might wonder if Cordelia paid for him to get some real nerve replacement surgery at Beta Colony.
  • Sword Cane: Cordelia gives him one in Barrayar to try and help alleviate his feelings of being "crippled" and "useless" (after a disruptor shot completely screws up his nervous system and leaves him with trouble getting around and excruciating pain). It gets borrowed back and re-purposed later.

    Drou 

Ludmilla "Drou" Droushnakovi

Former bodyguard to Princess Kareen and then-heir to the throne Prince Gregor, Drou accompanied Cordelia on her shopping trip to the Capital. Now married to Clement Koudelka and the proud mother of four daughters.

  • Action Girl: She was a planetary martial arts champion and Emperor Gregor's childhood bodyguard. Captain Negri recognized the need for Princess Kareen to have a female bodyguard and made sure she was given the same training as any male bodyguard. She was even a finalist in a combat competition with Aral's own soldiers, and even scored a round against Bothari.
  • Embarrassing First Name: She keeps Drou as a nickname after her marriage. Even her husband calls her Drou. Hell, even the Emperor calls her Drou. Of course he does. He's known "Droushie" since he was two years old.
    Drou: My brothers used to call me Lud. Rhymes with mud. Also thud, blood, crud, dud, and cud.
    Kou: You’ll always be Drou to me.
  • Happily Married: To Kou, though that doesn't mean she doesn't want her daughters to have happier, saner courtships than she did.
  • Ninja Maid: To Princess Kareen. Her public title is "Servant of the Inner Chamber," but she's also on ImpSec's payroll, and was hired specifically for her fighting skills because Kareen wanted a female bodyguard.

    The Koudelka Girls 

The Koudelka Girls (AKA "Team Koudelka" AKA "Commodore Koudelka's All-Blonde Commando Team")

Kou and Drou's four daughters, Delia, Olivia, Martya, and Kareen.

  • Action Girl: All of them. Their mother was Kareen and young Gregor's personal bodyguard, and she was instrumental in training them, encouraged by Cordelia; their father approved.
    • Delia is an essential part of Miles' notorious "Assault on Cockroach Central" (specifically the part that involves protecting the falsely accused Duv Galeni from catching a bad case of involuntary suicide).
    • Martya and Kareen engineer a food fight that would put Blake Edwards to shame to protect Enrique Borgos (and their shares in Mark's company) from Escobaran law enforcement.
    • Olivia personally beats down a couple of armed thugs hired by Richars Vorrutyer to reverse his cousin Dono's Betan sex-change surgery with a vibra-knife. Barehanded. Dressed in a ball gown.
  • Amazon Brigade: The girls tend to go about in a herd by their own admission, and after watching Olivia clobber the thugs Ivan speculates that the mother-daughter wisdom passed down in the Koudelka clan extended to things a lot more dangerous than baking brownies. Junior officers at HQ refer to them as "Commodore Koudelka's all-blonde commando team." Kareen is the shortest of the sisters, and she's still 5'9".
  • Ambiguously Bi: Kareen notes that she could have met a nice girl in Beta Colony. She'd already had experience with Betan herms, so it's possible she experimented further, though she could just be jerking her parent's chains by reminding them that there are worse romantic options (by Barrayaran standards, anyway) than Lord Mark.
  • Beware the Quiet Ones: Proved, to Ivan's horror, when super-quiet Olivia takes down a couple of armed thugs single-handed.
  • Dead Guy Junior: Kareen, named after Gregor's mother, the deceased Princess Kareen. Olivia is named for Miles' long-deceased grandmother, Princess Olivia Vorbarra-Vorkosigan.
  • Four-Temperament Ensemble: Kareen is sanguine, Martya is choleric, Delia is melancholic, and Olivia is phlegmatic.
  • Gender Rarity Value: The Koudelkas went for girls after noticing that everyone else was going for boys, making their daughters about the hottest commodities on the Vorbarr Sultana dating scene — which was the advantage they needed since they were not Vor; Koudelka's status of being the former Regent's attaché made them socially acceptable, though.
    • In A Civil Campaign Kou explains to Mark Vorkosigan what was apparently his master plan: "... I always figured my girls would go for the bright young officers. I expected I'd end up owning the general staff, in my old age." Mark thoughtfully reflects instead that it appears the All-Blonde Commandos that Kou fathered have inadvertently managed to divvy up the world: Olivia marrying into the aristocracynote  with Count Dono, Delia the military with Duv (who at that point is rapidly heading to a major staff position at ImpSec, as one of the four primary heads reporting directly to the Emperor), Martya controlling the scientific sector through Enrique, and Kareen pinning down the economy with Mark himself. Mark decides the charitable thing to do is keep this to himself, however, and does not share the insight.
  • Named After Someone Famous: As mentioned before, Kareen and Olivia are named after famed princesses in Barrayaran history. Delia is named after her Honorary Aunt, Cordelia Vorkosigan.
  • Nice Girl: "Everyone liked Kareen, because Kareen liked everyone." Cordelia noted that her charisma was her superpower.
  • Sarcastic Devotee: Martya to Enrique. She snarks that he needs a keeper then promptly snares the job (and the good doctor) for herself. Even Kareen admits that level-headed Martya can "make the brains run on time." And he writes poetry!

Vorthys House

    Ekaterin 

Ekaterin Nile Vorvayne Vorsoisson

"Drat."
— Ekaterin Nile Vorvayne Vorsoisson, Komarr, after more than a decade of being married to Etienne Vorsoisson.

"Miles, if you die out here, I will not be grieved, I will be pissed!"
— Ekaterin, Diplomatic Immunity, after less than two years of being married to Miles Vorkosigan.

Unhappily married to a mid-level bureaucrat on Komarr, Ekaterin is a woman of remarkable personal strength who has been socialized by a restrictive upbringing and a true Jerkass of a husband into a shadow of herself... until she gets caught up in a dangerous case that may have interstellar consequences.

  • Beware the Nice Ones: This over-socialized stay-at-home mom used a Komarran super-weapon as an anti-grav basketball while laughing in the face of certain death.
    • In "Winterfair Gifts", someone tries to kill her with a toxin-laced wedding gift, a pearl necklace, and frame an old flame of Miles' for the deed. Once the toxin is detected and ImpSec cleans it out completely and marks the culprit for death, she wears the necklace to her wedding. A watching armsman decides at that point that she's going to make an excellent match for his nutty boss. When one of the guests compliments her on it, and comments that the giver must have spent a lot of money on it:
      Ekaterin: Yes, I expect it will cost him everything he has.
  • Catchphrase: "Unpack, Miles," referring to the way Miles' brain runs five steps ahead of his mouth.
  • Deadpan Snarker: She has her moments.
  • Domestic Abuse: Tien certainly emotionally abused her and stole money from her to pay back his bad investments that should have gone to the medical treatment of their young son, and Miles considers it verging on abuse that Tien talked Ekaterin into having her son Nikolai by body-birth when the much safer, painless uterine replicator was already widely available. (At the time Ekaterin claims that she saw it as a romantic adventure; she was twenty, Tien was thirty. Considering the age difference, power imbalance, and Tien's personality overall, the abuse label holds.) At one point, Ekaterin brings up in Tien's post-mortem defense that he had never hit her, and Miles prays to whatever god might be listening that his best beloved would have higher praise for him after his own death than "he never hit me".
  • Happily Married: Eventually. She has to wade through a lot of shit to get there.
  • Hated by All: Not Ekaterin, but Tien, whom nobody likes, even people who never met him.
    Mark: From everything I've been able to gather — between the lines, mostly, Ekaterin doesn't talk about him much — Tien Vorsoisson was a pretty complete waste of food, water, oxygen, and time.
  • I Gave My Word: Takes this as seriously as Miles does, which leads to her putting up with mountains of garbage from her husband Tien.
  • Let's Get Dangerous!: She is not a physical fighter, but when she feels it's a choice between risking her life or letting someone recreate the Time of Isolation, it's not even close.
  • Mama Bear: While she typically doesn't fight physically, she is more than willing to use her social connections and skills against anyone who threatens Nikki. As Alexi Vormoncrief found out when he was Reassigned to Antarctica.
  • Oblivious to Love: She is blissfully unaware that Miles has a crush on her. Justified because she has been emotionally traumatized by marriage to Tien and is in no hurry to be tied down by anyone else. She even writes off Miles' confession at the end of Komarr as a joke by the next novel. Better still, she is determinedly ignoring the fact that she is falling hard for Miles — to the point of grinding her teeth in fury at a hypothetical Vor débutante insulting him and feeling like crying at the thought of never again having physical contact with Miles.
  • Parenthetical Swearing: Coming from her, a single "twit" has the force of a Cluster F-Bomb from less repressed characters.
  • Proper Lady: Nearly a textbook example. No wonder Knight Errant Miles fell for her almost immediately.
  • Resentful Outnumbered Sibling: Ekaterin has several older brothers and no sisters, and this is mentioned as being common among Barrayarans of her generation as the result of newly-obtainable sex-selection technology. She specifically mentions this as being part of the reason why she's a Shrinking Violet. She then defies this in her own marriage to Miles with two sets of twins followed by one girl to balance her eldest son Nikki Vorsoisson.
  • Shout-Out:
    • Her maiden name is a tribute to Harriet Vane, wife of Lord Peter Wimsey.
    • Her middle name comes from Nile Etland, of the Federation of the Hub stories. It was originally planned as the name of Elena Bothari, but test readers convinced Lois that having characters named Miles and Nile in the same book was unwise.
  • Silk Hiding Steel: She appears to be the most proper of Barrayaran ladies, and yet she has the inner strength to fight Komarran terrorists at the risk of her own life.

Lord Auditor Professor Georg Vorthys

One of the eight permanent Imperial Auditors and Ekaterin's great uncle by marriage, Georg Vorthys is a Professor Emeritus of Engineering Failure Analysis at Vorbarr Sultana University and is generally regarded as the Empire's authority on the subject. He is Emperor Gregor's go-to Auditor for technical/scientific issues.

  • The Engineer: He specialized in failure analysis, and proceeded to use those skills as an Auditor.
  • Genius Sweet Tooth: The man loves his cookies.
  • Gentleman and a Scholar: Well, as much as an engineer can be, it seems; he tends to prefer having his custom-tailored suits made with "nice big pockets". His wife the Professora is a better example on the Distaff side.
  • Happily Married: Has been married to the Professora for decades.

Professora Helen Vorthys

Georg's wife, Ekaterin's great-aunt and a professor of History at Vorbarr Sultana University. A highly accomplished academic in her own right, Miles and Gregor alike have been known to employ her and her graduate students to research historical precedents. Implied to be one of Lady Alys' secret coterie of highly influential women.

  • Cool Old Lady: She's fairly progressive in her views, even moreso than Ekaterin in some ways.
  • Gentleman and a Scholar: Emperor Gregor values her advice on historical precedents.
  • Happily Married: Ekaterin is wistfully jealous of her aunt and uncle's relationship.

Vorrutyer House

    Byerly 

Byerly Vorrutyer

Town Clown, impoverished, imprudent, and impervious to put-downs, but very witty...if you care for a certain nasty type of humor.

  • Agent Provocateur: Manipulates his cousin Richars into prematurely sending goons to attack his other cousin Dono so as to sabotage his case against the other.
  • Always Someone Better: As payback for his agent provocateur antics at the end of A Civil Campaign, Miles offers him a critique. At length, with no opportunity for sarcasm spared.
  • Ambiguously Bi: Actually discussed in Captain Vorpatril's Alliance. The conclusion reached was that Ivan wanted to know as little about By's sex life as possible, no matter who it was with. Rish and Tej, with their advanced sense of smell, note that By just fooled around with a guy.
  • Batman Gambit: One of his favorite ploys as a high Vor intelligence agent who occasionally dabbles in agent provocateur-ing. It does sometimes bite him on the ass, though.
  • Continuity Nod: In Memory an exasperated Alys complains about a "certain nameless wit, or halfwit" suggesting she should start including boys in her bride search for Gregor. In A Civil Campaign we are introduced to Byerly.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Even manages to out-snark Miles.
  • Double Reverse Quadruple Agent: Especially in A Civil Campaign when By pretended to work for Richars when he was actually working with Lord Dono but his true loyalty was with ImpSec. Ivan once called him out on it, threatening to rearrange his face unless he spits out who he's really working for.
    By: Ah, now, that would be telling.
    (Ivan nearly does a Spit Take when he sees him nodding at his mother, Lady Alys.)
  • Excellent Judge of Character: Since many of his plots involve a Batman Gambit, By has turned out to be really good at reading people.
  • False Rape Accusation: He was accused by a jealous relative of raping his own sister — both insisted it wasn't true, but his already estranged father believed the accuser. According to Rish, that explains his choice of work: Seeker Archetype.
  • Guile Hero: For a given value of "hero". Guile Anti-Hero, perhaps?
  • Hidden Depths: By's backstory, when it finally comes out in Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, makes him a much more sympathetic character.
  • It's Personal: His underlying reason why he exceeded his brief in helping Dono against Richars. He tells Ivan as much, and then reveals ImpSec was really unhappy with him taking sides, bumping him down a pay grade.
  • Impoverished Patrician: Byerly is what is called by everyone (including himself) a "High Vor town clown". He gets his money being a spy among High Vor.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: A self-admitted weasel who plays for high stakes...but who actually cares, deep down, about protecting the weak and punishing the guilty.
  • Mirror Character: One of the reasons Rish and By are a match could that both are acclimated to and comfortable with aristocracy, and both spy on them, too.
  • Playing Drunk: Byerly is a master of faking intoxication. According to Rish, when he really is drunk, he becomes serious and detached, like a doctor discussing a medical condition.
  • The Stateless: Flees Barrayar to Jackson's Hole with the Cordonnah family. It's a cover... mostly.
  • Xanatos Gambit: By never hedges his bets. He covers an op by hiring a contract kidnapper. He also recruits Ivan to make sure the kidnapper doesn't find his prey, without telling Ivan why he was recruited. No matter what, By was going to have Tej delivered to him. (His sole mistake is that he didn't know Tej had her own personal armed bodyguard, so his plan could have gone tragically wrong.)

     Dono Vorrutyer 

Lord Dono Vorrutyer

Byerly's cousin, and another old friend of Ivan... who was once Lady Donna Vorrutyer, and more than just a friend. But when Donna's older brother dies under suspicious circumstances and she's faced with the prospect of her vile cousin Richars taking his place, she decides that extreme measures are called for. Now the new Lord Dono must engage both Richars and traditional Barrayaran society in a no-holds-barred political battle in the Council of Counts, where mutual interests inevitably lead him to ally with Miles and René.

  • Ain't No Rule: That a Count's sister can't get a sex change to contest the succession.
  • Behind Every Great Man: The rare familial variety. Ivan and By both note that Lady Donna was running her brother Pierre's day-to-day affairs as an unofficial district deputy.
  • Caligula's Horse: There's that Lord Midnight precedent again.
  • The Charmer: Several other characters — and not all of them women — note how dashing he is. Thanks to his knowledge of Vor society, he manages to gracefully convince Gregor not to block his claim on Pierre's countship despite the unusualness of circumstances. (That, and he and Miles both note that someone was going to try this at some point, so the Council needed to vote on a precedent.)
  • Gender Bender: Only men can inherit a District Countship, so needs must when the devil drives.
  • Grand Dame: What Lady Donna was becoming, thanks to her knowledge of District countship and her intimate knowledge of other Counts. Ivan noted that she was slowly becoming much like his mother till Pierre's untimely death.
  • Groin Attack: Since his testicles are scientifically the only XY part of his body, Richars' goons tried to castrate him.
  • Happily Married: To Olivia Koudelka!
  • It's Personal: Richars tried to rape Donna at age 13, then drowned her puppy after she fought him off.
  • Ladykiller in Love: After transitioning and while campaigning for the Countship, he befriends, and then quickly falls in love with, Olivia Koudelka, whom he later marries. Perhaps better phrased as Maneater In Love.
  • Open Secret: Everyone in Pierre's district knew she was in charge of day-to-day affairs of running the district.
  • Really Gets Around: Before his sex change, that is. Afterwards, in at least one case he privately visits the wife of a former lover, satisfying her that the change is permanent and prompting her to influence her husband in Dono's favour.
  • She Is the King: He, now, but many on Barrayar would still consider him a she even though he is Count Vorrutyer.
  • Tranquil Fury: Ekaterin muses that the sex change was backed by a lot of rage. Miles supports it, saying, "Lady Donna never suffered fools lightly."
  • Troll: He seems to enjoy it, highlighted by him telling Ivan that had he married him when he was still Lady Donna, We Could Have Avoided All This — pressing Ivan's Catchphrase "It's not my fault" and telling him the entire situation is entirely his fault.
  • Undying Loyalty: None of Pierre's armsmen, led by Szabo, wanted to see Richars take over the district as Count, and fully supported her sex change, overlooking any prejudices they might have about gender reassignment. They knew Donna was The Good Chancellor, and Richars would get rid of them "and replace [them] with his own creatures."

     Lord Richars Vorrutyer 

Lord Richars Vorrutyer

Dono and Byerly's cousin, and a real nasty piece of work. Suspected of murdering the previous Count Vorrutyer, and perhaps his fiancée before that. Appears to have inherited all of the Vorrutyer family's demons that somehow bypassed Byerly and Dono, only he's been sneaky enough not to get caught.

  • Big Bad Wannabe: Richars thinks himself as a Big Bad, but compared to every other antagonist in the Saga, he's a clumsy oaf.
  • Rape as Backstory: He's the rapist.
  • Smug Snake / Underestimating Badassery: He talks down to Miles — all he thinks is that Miles is a Vorkosigan in terms of Old Vor prestige. He forgets just why Vorkosigans became the de facto right-hand family to the Emperor.
    Richars: Come on, Vorkosigan. We're both as Old Vor as it's possible to be. It's stupid of us to be brangling when we should both be on the same side. Our interests march together. It's a tradition. Don't pretend your father and grandfather weren't top party horse-traders.
    Miles: My grandfather . . . learned his political science from the Cetagandans. Mad Emperor Yuri offered him postgraduate instruction after that. My grandfather schooled my father. (thinking) And both of them schooled me. This is the only warning you will receive, Richars.

     Ges Vorrutyer 

Ges Vorrutyer

Prince Serg's crony and teacher in cruelty, Aral's former brother-in-law, a vile man whose extremely foul proclivities proved to be his downfall. Killed by Bothari, though ultimately Cordelia Naismith had to take the credit.

  • Depraved Bisexual: Unlike his ex-boyfriend (and ex-brother in law) Aral, Ges plays this deadly straight. He even starts referencing the Marquis de Sade.
  • Finger in the Mail: Ges planned to have a long lock of Cordelia's very red hair with him during a staff meeting to taunt Aral. It never happens.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: Breaking Bothari and then turning him loose on Cordelia while armed was the last, if not the worst, mistake Ges ever made.
  • Smug Snake: Is entirely too convinced he has Cordelia Naismith at his mercy because she's tied down and naked.
  • Used to Be a Sweet Kid: After their marriage, Cordelia finds unsettling evidence of a kinder, gentler Ges in Aral's childhood bedroom.

     Le Sanguinaire 

Pierre "le Sanguinaire" Vorrutyer

Warleader of Emperor Dorca the Just who brought the Vor into submission.

  • The Butcher: His name in English means "Bloody Peter".
  • The Dragon: Dorca's favorite hatchet man and most feared liegeman.
  • The Dreaded: You don't earn the sobriquet "Le Sanguinaire" for hosting tea parties.
  • Four-Star Badass: So much so that Piotr Vorkosigan, who was himself a first-rate general in everything from cavalry tactics to space-age warfare, reminisced about him with enthusiastic awe.
  • Gunboat Diplomacy: Cavalry diplomacy, rather. But yeah.
  • Henpecked Husband: It's said that the only one he was afraid of besides the Emperor was his wife. And some weren't sure he actually feared the Emperor.
  • Long-Dead Badass: Not quite so long, the History of Barrayar from collapse to rediscovery was actually fairly short.
  • Names to Run Away from Really Fast: "Bloody Peter"

    The Mad Architect 

Lord Dono Vorrutyer the Mad Architect

Ancestor of Count Dono's. Famed for eccentric building styles and for building Imp Sec headquarters. A running joke of Barrayarans and the despair of Security officers who must work there.

  • Crazy-Prepared: His aesthetic style is questionable but from the security standpoint he is impeccable.
  • Mad Artist: All of this buildings definitely have his curious touch. For example, the ImpSec building he designed was essentially one big concrete block with no windows — at all — while the stairs were large and ungainly. It seems he took and ran with the idea of making the secret police's headquarters someplace no one would ever want to visit or look at; unfortunately, no one wanted to work there either, including poor Illyan.

Others

Count René Vorbretten

Academy classmate of Miles and Ivan, and one of Miles' stoutest allies on the Council of Counts. An upright, forthright, and diligent young aristocrat who was forced to give up a promising military career after his father's untimely death, only to discover that he's one eighth Cetagandan Ghem. On his father's father's side, unfortunately.

  • The Ace: He's described as being handsome, a capable administrator, hard-working, artistically talented, and even more charming to the ladies than Ivan.
  • Caligula's Horse: Once again, the Lord Midnight precedent. His grandfather's illegitimacy does not automatically disqualify René from succession (namely due to the fact that his father and René both were confirmed as heir/Count, and so legally were the Count). To further complicate matters, both sides claimed Lord Midnight as a precedent in their favor. He was removed from his position as the heir by a vote of the Council of Counts, establishing a precedent that an unfit inheritor could legally be ousted, making the suit against René at least worthy of official attention.
  • Les Collaborateurs: It is believed that his Cetagandan ancestry came not from rape but from an affair with a Ghem-soldier, either because of mutual loneliness or because of an exchange of protection for sex or both.
  • Embarrassing Nickname: He is sometimes called "Ghembretten".
  • Fantastic Racism:
    • He finds it quite creepy himself that he is part Cetagandan as he had grown up hating them for killing his father in battle. However, the attitude to his ancestry by others is a subversion. As several Vor including The Emperor are already marrying off-worlders anyway, it may be that the key point was that his ancestor had an affair with an invader, not just an off-worlder, and that it has legal ramifications in a hereditary aristocracy.
    • He does not share Barrayar's bias against "mutants", or at least Miles. It's strongly hinted René naturally doesn't see Miles as anything abnormal, rather than just being careful around a political power.
  • Happily Married: to Tatya, a classmate of Olivia Koudelka. Which pulls in the rest of Team Koudelka, and by extension, Miles, though Miles likely would have come to René's aid regardless.
  • High Vor Who Actually Do Something: Though it's always offscreen, no one ever seems to mention René without complimenting his diligence, competence, or decency.
  • Instant Expert: has an affinity for music due to his Cetagandan heritage.
  • Nothing Personal: Distant cousin Sigur, who's gunning for René's seat, doesn't have anything against him personally, but turnover in the Council of Counts is so rare he's forced to challenge him in Richars' scheme to capture the Vorrutyer seat. He cousin Sigur shows far more grace than Richars in defeat, and the first thing he does after the lawsuit is congratulate René.
  • Sickeningly Sweethearts: René and Tatya are exceedingly, abundantly, just plain cute together.
  • Tomato in the Mirror: He's rather hostile towards Cetagandans, only to discover that he has Cetagandans in his ancestry.
  • Tragic Bigot: Olivia notes that René hated the Cetagandans for killing his father, and is thoroughly spooked to learn he's part Cetagandan himself.

Count Vormuir

A conservative back-bencher who has hit on his own, wildly progressive scheme to improve his prospects in the never-ending demographic struggle between districts.

  • Ain't No Rule: Half of the basis of his plan. Luckily there were other rules that could apply to the situation that he had forgotten to take into account.
  • Baby Factory: His end goal, though not in any sense normally considered socially acceptable.
  • For Want Of A Nail: He's one nail, if not the nail, that undoes Richars Vorrutyer when the heroes arrange to have him occupied elsewhere during a crucial vote in the Council of Counts.
  • Gender Rarity Value: Another aspect of his plan. Given Barrayar's skewed demographics, any girl is practically guaranteed a husband if she wants one, making each a two for one deal.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: he's so focused on the Barrayaran tradition of paternal rights that he failed to consider Barrayar's equally strong notion of paternal responsibility that Miles and Gregor — at Ekaterin's suggestion — exploit to put the kibosh on his scheme. To his credit, Vormuir made sure every single daughter was happy, with a nanny assigned to every two of them, and didn't neglect his paternal duties in that regard.
  • Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: He's a pigheaded putz who is either blind or indifferent to the thorny emotional problems raised by the virtual-rape-by-proxy aspects of his scheme. But he does sincerely care for his many little girls, if only because unhappy badly-adjusted liege people would derail his plan... and because he knows the Emperor could terminate his parental rights if he abused or neglected them.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: "Dowries! Dowries!" — due to one of Barrayar's many legal quirks, the Emperor is able to set a minimum dowry (bride gift) for a Count's acknowledged female bastards. Gregor takes merciless advantage of this to punish Vormuir and discourage imitators until the relevant laws can be updated. The real icing on the cake is the fact that the dowries will make all 118 of them attractive marriage prospects even if Barrayar's demographic trends revert to something more balanced. This means Count Vormuir will almost certainly have to pay for each and every one of his transgressions.
  • Lysistrata Gambit: Countess Vormuir uses this to punish him for his extramarital activities, at least until Lord Dono convinces her to participate in their For Want Of A Nail scheme.
  • Refuge in Audacity: Gotta admit, his little plan is pretty ballsy. Even more radical than Dono's, in its own way.

Admiral Desplains

Chief of Operations for the Barrayaran Imperial Service. Ivan's boss at the beginning of Captain Vorpatril's Alliance. Visiting Komarr for fleet inspections.

  • Da Chief: As his main job at the time is investigating for military corruption, pretty much.
  • Deadpan Snarker: One of the things that keeps Ivan in line is the fear that if he doesn't the admiral will use sarcasm on him.
  • Happily Married: We meet his wife briefly when he returns to Barrayar with Ivan and Tej.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Values Ivan for the skills he uses to maintain his relatively low profile, as they make Ivan a competent adjutant.
  • Retired Badass: In Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen he gives Oliver the right of first refusal for his soon to be old job.
  • Tranquil Fury: He calls Ivan "Ivan" when he's in a good mood, "Vorpatril" when he's neutral, and a very edged "Captain" when he's pissed.

General Stanis Metzov

Barrayaran general assigned as commander of the most miserable base on the planet as punishment for suspected atrocities during the Komarr Revolt. Later gets it into his head to bully Miles, then orders a group of techs to risk unnecessary danger cleaning up gene-mutating poison. When they refuse, he orders them to strip naked in polar winter under the eyes of a firing squad made up of young, newly-recruited soldiers. Under the eyes of the son of the most powerful man in Barrayar (who, it must be noted, would be murderously offended by this behavior.) When he "somehow" finds himself in exile, he takes service under Cavilo, only to try to murder Admiral Naismith and get captured in the process.

Imperial Security (ImpSec)

Intelligence, counterintelligence, and paramilitary police for the Barrayaran Imperium. Employer of Miles during the first part of the series.

  • Almighty Janitor: Quite literally. All employees who work at ImpSec have extensive military training, including (and especially) janitors and maintenance.
  • Ambadassador: At one time a foreign diplomat they needed to bribe demanded an elephant as his price, even though the nearest elephant was several planets away. ImpSec, of course, provided an elephant.
  • Badass Army: They are one of the best secret services in the nexus and employ some of the scariest people on Barrayar. When Miles sees a Jacksonian crime lord viciously assassinated in Mirror Dance, he muses that it was probably not ImpSec — not because they wouldn't have done that, but because they would have been more efficient about it.
  • Big Labyrinthine Building: ImpSec headquarters.
  • Bizarrchitecture: The ImpSec building is a Running Gag on Barrayar for being so unconscionably hideous, it's hilarious, a massive block of concrete with no windows, too many steps that are set too highnote , and gargoyles carved into every outer face. The gargoyles are actually made into cartoon characters and it was Simon Illyan's greatest wish to be able to budget for a new building.
  • Creepy Good: A bunch of paranoid, conspiracy-obsessed spies with some extremely sinister methods and a disturbing history, but they're kept on a leash by Gregor.
  • Enigmatic Empowering Entity: ImpSec is the personality of Simon Illyan writ large.
  • Interservice Rivalry: Between Operations, Service Security, and Komarran police. With Komarran police, it has a nationalistic tinge, and the Auditors have a rivalry with everyone because that's their job.
  • Mad Artist: The building was designed by Yuri's favorite architect. Both men had extremely idiosyncratic taste. It shows.
  • Museum of the Strange and Unusual: The bottom floor of the headquarters contains weapons, drugs, poisons, and various and sundry nefarious things catalogued meticulously.
    • After it's sunken in Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, Mark has it raised and opens it up to the public for profit.
  • Praetorian Guard: They guard the Emperor and various dignitaries. They also train the Vorbarra armsmen. They are decidedly not to be screwed with.
  • Recycled In Space: Something like a more benign (if not exactly nice) Okhrana.
  • Secret Police: The organization started out as such, but after Mad Emperor Yuri was deposed, it became an apolitical government police agency, a cross between the CIA and the FBI. They still maintain being The Dreaded, however, and are hyper-focused on internal security.
  • Silent Partner: Only a few of the Dendarii know who Miles is or who his employer is.
  • Torture Cellar: Subverted. The lowest sub-basement was such a cellar, once upon a time. Yuri kept lots of people there, Ezar kept a few, mostly those whom he had a rational reason to fear, and Aral mostly closed down its function as a dungeon. During the early part of Gregor's reign it was converted into a forensic warehouse, and a new, modern detention facility was created in the upper section. During different conspiracy panics, both Simon and Duv end up there (Simon in the old facility, Duv in the new) for a week or two until an investigation is finished. On both occasions it's commented that it does well for the perspective of a spymaster to be on the other end of the process. In Miles' time, it's mostly used to keep seized items from ImpSec missions. Once in a while, a prisoner who is too important to put anywhere else ends up there until they figure out what to do with him.

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