Dramatis Personae

A spoiler-free listing of all the major characters

This list is slightly ahead of the chapters, and will continue to be updated as we go along, but I will always keep it free from all major (and most minor) spoilers

• Min San (called Min La) — Houseless beggar

• Sona Royal House

  • So Ga — the crown prince of Láokoth

  • Mŭ So — the king of Láokoth

  • Nă Mor Lăsoth — the deceased queen consort, wife of Mŭ So, mother of So Ga, older sister of Bo Han Lăsoth

  • Simna — So Ga’s deceased older sister, the former crown princess

  • Nŭ Vo — So Ga’s deceased younger brother

  • The Other Three Little Princes (technically not members of the Royal House, but treated as such)

    • Ăth Nan

    • Nolom

    • Ív Lin

• Hŏnol, The Palace House

  (The House of the Palace servants and maids and most Palace swords)

  • Solok — the aged Palace Housemaster

  • Éna Lí — the head of the king’s maids (also called Adníothan)

  • Sen Rin — the head of So Ga’s bodyswords

  • On Lŏn — So Ga’s bodysword

  • Hílo Hon — So Ga’s bodysword

  • Tá Sol — one of So Ga’s maids

  • Mŭ Ro — servant

• Lăsoth House

  (The oldest and most powerful of the Fourteen Ancient Houses)

  • Bo Han Lăsoth — the Housemaster of Lăsoth, younger brother of the deceased queen consort, Nă Mor

  • Sen Lan — Bo Han’s cousin, wife of Ŏvor, older sister of Sen Lí

  • Sen Lí — Bo Han’s cousin, younger brother of Sen Lan, (currently the master of the Lăsoth estate on the Ŭthol Na border)

  • Ŏvor — Sen Lan’s husband, son of Ŏv Onol

  • Ŏv Onol — deceased head of the Lăsoth estate at the Ŭthol Na border, father of Ŏvor (the heir to the Housemaster before his death)

  • Tova — Bo Han’s personal bodysword

  • Inohin — Bo Han’s adviser, a member of his Inner Hall

• Houseless Mercenaries

  • Táno Gín — captain of the mercenaries

  • Ŏlo Hin — Táno Gín’s current second, not an official member of the company

  • Sono Gín — his usual second

  • Namo Non

  • Tínok — brother of Ado Tín

  • Ado Tín — brother of Tínok

  • Hon Voloth

  • Hŏ So — youngest of the company, the messenger

• Ŏklo House

  (One of the Fourteen Ancient Houses)

  • Nŏnol — Housemaster of all Ŏklo (lives in Sălov)

  • Nŏl — son of Nŏnol

  • Von Ol — “Housemaster” of eastern Ŏklo estates, brother of Nŏnol

  • Sivo Hin — a royal officer, father of Ona Lín, brother-in-law of Von Ol and Nŏnol (he was married to their sister, he is Nŏl’s uncle by marriage)

  • Ona Lín — niece of Von Ol and Nŏnol (her mother was their sister), cousin of Nŏl, wife of Rin Holok So Hoth

  • Élo — stable master of Von Ol Ŏklo

• Ăvan House

  • Lŭ Lin — the king’s Grand Steward

  • Sen Na — Lŭ Lin’s personal maid

  • Tŭ Gin — Ăvan housesword, nephew of Or Lun

  • Or Lun — Ăvan housesword, uncle of Tŭ Gin

• Sonen House

  • Balo Sonen — a low-ranking official in the service of the Prime Minister

  • Ban Lo Sonen — son of Balo, clerk to the Minister of Defense

  • Nă Nen — wife of Ban Lo

• Koda House

  • Gin Ja — Housemaster of Koda, widow of the former Housemaster, mother of Tá Nom, Tola, and Săn Lí

  • Tá Nom — eldest son of Gin Ja, heir of the Housemaster

  • Tola — second son of Gin Ja, younger brother of Tá Nom

  • Săn Lí — daughter of Gin Ja, mistress of her House’s female spies

  • Nola Nan — wife of Tá Nom

• So Hoth House

  • Sigin So Hoth — So Hoth Housemaster, Hino Son’s uncle

  • Hino Son So Hoth — nephew of the So Hoth Housemaster, cousin of Rin Holok So Hoth

  • Rin Holok So Hoth — son of the So Hoth Housemaster, cousin of Hino Son, husband of Ona Lín Ŏklo

• Orin Han House (in Gŏhíth)

  • Ulno Ban — Housemaster of Orin Han; as Orin Han is the princely House of Gŏhíth, Ulno Ban is also the prince of Gŏhíth

  • Doma Orin Han — the Housemaster’s chosen heir

• Various

  • Vono Sengí — newlywed husband of Ăna San

  • Ăna San Sengí — newlywed wife of Vono

  • Lin Jenin — merchant from On Dŭn

  • Ŏhen — templemaster in Rensoth

  • Ko Gŏth Enlen — Commander of Osa Gate, the king’s Iron Hand

  • Kío En Tolen — the Prime Minister, the king’s Oak Hand, father of In Na, sister-in-law of Lŭ Lin Ăvan (he was married to her sister)

  • In Na Tolen — Kío En’s daughter, niece of Lŭ Lin Ăvan

  • Tíovok — warrior

  • Somasoth — warrior, Tíovok’s nephew

  • Éotol — warrior, Tíovok’s nephew, Somasoth’s brother

  • Soháth — keeper of an estate in the north

  • Ŏnin — a monk of Ávoth

  • Heno Vona Lí — the aged Minister of Defense

• The Ădol
  (not necessarily relevant, but for those who are interested)

  • The Four High Ădol

    • Héothenin — lord of the Ădol

      • Keeper of fate and of time

    • Íosolen — consort of Héothenin, sister of Ethádéoth

      • Guardian of the beasts and plants, made the birds of the air for her sister; keeper of medicine

    • Ávolendin — brother of Héothenin

      • Keeper of the seas

    • Ethádéoth — consort of Ávolendin

      • Fondest of the wind, the keeper of weather, the maker of language; Ethadux is named for her and is said to have been constructed by her and given to mankind in the earliest days

  • The Seven Lesser Ădol

    • Níoth — son of Héothenin and Íosolen

      • The one who made the world in which most men dwell, the understood leader of his siblings and cousins

    • Soranen — daughter of Héothenin and Íosolen

      • Timid and kind, she made music with tools forged by her brother Éokov, and is said to have played on them in order to soothe the first frightened souls to emerge from the Deep Light. Her husband was, according to legend, an attendant. But he was murdered by beings who had come from the Young Sea before her children were born. The sorrow of her labor covered the world in ice, creating the cycle of winter.

    • Imnethrun — daughter of Héothenin and Íosolen

      • Keeper of the forests, a huntress. Believed to have made the moth stone — a sacred object, lost to time — for her beloved to find his way back to her House.

    • Énan — son of Héothenin and Íosolen

      • The guardian of the Young Sea, his world is covered in orange trees and so is sometimes called the Orange Grove

    • Éokov — son of Héothenin and Íosolen

      • A blacksmith, his House is filled with volcanoes and tall mountains, in his forge were made all the stars, and even, it is said, fire itself
        (There is a House devoted to him who live on the slopes of a volcano, Mount Ŭkon Ov. They are the Hŭlba House and they are more ancient than any other House, but they are also shrouded in secrecy. Most call them the Éokovians, given their love for Éokov. It’s said that when Netholom went to them to see if they would support his unification of the peninsula, he also suggested that they relocate, given the proximity of the volcano. But they refused. Not an enemy of anyone, nor anyone’s ally, they are also wealthy, powerful, and well-fortified.)

    • Ávoth — son of Ávolendin and Ethádéoth, (guardian of the dead)

      • His House is made of rivers, thus rivers themselves and also the color blue have come to symbolize death and mourning

    • Ívo — daughter Ávolendin and Ethádéoth

      • Best known for having chosen a human man as a husband. This man, and their three children, shared a tragic fate that shaped — and doomed — all of human civilization.

  • Volhathin (born Unolreth) — son of Soranen

    not technically Ădol

  • Enlo — an attendant of Imnethrun