DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Ahjvar—Consort and Rihswera or champion of the god of Nabban. Long ago and very briefly, a king of the Duina Catairna, a Praittanec tribe now forgotten and absorbed into the Taren Confederacy. Technically dead, by some lights; held undying in the world by his lover Ghu.

Ailan—Young man of the Taren city of Star River Crossing; viewed by Yeh-Lin as Ahjvar’s acolyte; viewed by Ahjvar as yet another stray who has bafflingly latched onto him.

The All-Holy—A supposed holy man, a hermit who became the embodiment of the Nameless God of the west, a supposed emissary sent from the Old Great Gods. Actually the devil Sien-Shava Jochiz. See also the nameless god.

Ambert, Primate—Priest of the seventh circle, spiritual leader and one of the All-Holy’s most valued lieutenants.

Anganurth Wanderer—A wizard from an unknown land, who bonded with the devil Jasberek.

Arpath—Teenage Westgrasslander wizard of the Sayanbarkash.

Attalissa—Goddess of the Lissavakail, a lake and town high in the Pillars of the Sky; once, incarnate as a human child, she was raised by Holla-Sayan as his daughter.

Aunty—Elderly relative of Nikeh gen’Emras.

Balba—A Knight-Commander of the Army of the South.

The Baobab goddess—The nameless goddess of an underground river or lake whose main physical presence in the world is an ancient baobab tree.

Besni—A child adopted into the clan of Kinsai’s folk; young brother of Rifat.

Birdy—Younger brother of Nikeh gen’Emras.

The Blackdog—See Holla-Sayan.

Caro—A Marakander caravaneer captaining the lancers in Reyka’s warband.

Clio, Primate—Commander of the All-Holy’s sacred guard, initiate of the seventh circle, lover of Sien-Shava Jochiz.

Danil—A Marakander street-guard, serving as a soldier on the Western Wall.

Deysanal—A wizard of Kinsai’s folk; daughter of Trout, mother of Iarka.

Dimas—Prince of Emrastepse; commander of the Army of the South.

Dorji, Sister—A warrior-priestess of Attalissa.

Dotemon Dreamshaper—One of the seven devils; bonded with the wizard Yeh-Lin, former empress and tyrant of Nabban.

Emras—A dead spring-goddess of Tiypur.

Enyal, Sister—A priestess and pilgrimmage-guide from the Temple of All Gods in Barrahe in the Nalzawan Commonwealth.

Floran, Sister—A Tiypurian physician of the Army of the South.

Forzra—A hill-god of the Nalzawan Commonwealth, who finds Ahjvar rather worrying.

Fury—Black Westgrasslander warhorse.

Gaguush—A Black Desert caravan-mistress and owner of a caravanserai in Marakand; late wife of Holla-Sayan, mother of Gultage.

Ghatai (Twice-betrayed Ghatai)—A devil, bonded with the wizard and Grasslander warlord Tamghiz; slain by Moth in Lissavakail.

Ghu—Personal name of the god of Nabban, who was once a human man. Lover of Ahjvar.

Gorthuerniaul—A Denanbaki horse belonging to Ahjvar, touched by Nabban’s holiness, an immortal servant of the god within Nabban.

Gultage—Marakander-born son of Gaguush and Holla-Sayan; a caravanserai master.

Gurhan—Hill-god of the city of Marakand.

Hani Jin—Lost cousin of Hani Kahren.

Hani Kahren—A caravaneer and former cavalry-trooper from Imperial Nabban riding with Reyka’s warband.

Hecta—Philon’s late wife.

Hezing—A prince of Nabban who stirred up trouble and was exiled to Pirakul, where he became a mercenary.

Hravnmod the Wise—One of the first three kings in the north. Elder brother of Ulfhild. Falsely said to have been slain by her; murdered by Heuslar Ogada.

Holla-Sayan—Westgrasslander caravaneer; foster-father of the incarnation of the goddess Attalissa; host of the Blackdog; now bonded with it as a devil.

Hyllanim—Ahjvar’s supposed half-brother and probable son, born of his adultery with his step-mother. A king of the Duina Catairna, whose misfortune-plagued reign was the subject of many songs.

Iarka—A wizard of the folk of the goddess Kinsai, daughter of Deysanal, daughter of Trout, son of Holla-Sayan and Kinsai.

Ilyan Dan—Ambassador of Nabban to Marakand.

Iri—Suliasra Iri, empress and high priestess of Nabban.

Istva—A Westgrasslander conscript camel-driver in the Army of the South; a spy for Yeh-Lin.

Ivah—Wizard, warrior, scholar, and late empress of Nabban, nearly two hundred years previously, in the days of Ghu’s advent.

Jang (Scholar Daro Jang)—Alias assumed by Yeh-Lin. (The name is taken from a former page of hers.)

Jasberek Fireborn—One of the seven devils, bonded with the wizard Anganurth.

Jayala—A river-goddess of the Western Grass.

Jiot—A shapeshifting dog/dragon, a servant of the god of Nabban.

Jochiz Stonebreaker—One of the seven devils; bonded with the wizard Sien-Shava.

Jolanan—A Westgrasslander warrior from the Jayala’arad, formerly a cowherd.

Jui—Another shapeshifting dog/dragon, a servant of the god of Nabban.

Kinsai—The goddess of the river Kinsai; patron of the ferry-folk of the Upper and Lower Castles and ancestress of many of them. Occasional lover of Holla-Sayan. (And not a few others over the years…)

The Lady of Marakand—A dead goddess of Marakand; an impersonation/possession of the goddess by Tu’usha.

Lark—Skewbald Westgrasslander warhorse.

Lazlan—A Westgrasslander man of the Sayanbarkash, brother of Reyka; second in command of the warband fighting the Army of the North.

The Leopard—An alias used by Ahjvar in the Five Cities in his former life as an assassin.

Lia Dur—A Marakander street-guard turned soldier, friend of Nikeh, lieutenant of the south-end tower of the Western Wall.

Little Squirrel—Nikeh’s baby-name.

Melnarka—A Tiypurian demon, lover of the goddess Emras, who was said to have appeared in the forms of eagle, man, and woman.

Mikki—A demon, bear by day and man by night. His mother was a bear-demon of the Hardenwald, his father a Northron sea-rover turned farmer originally from Selarskerrig. Partner of Moth.

Moraig—Bear-demon of the Hardenwald, mother of Mikki, slain by Heuslar Ogada in the beginning of it all.

Moth—Name adopted by Ulfhild Vartu, given to her by Mikki.

The nameless god—A god long worshipped in the lands of the former empire of Tiypur; possibly a cult that arose organically out of human need in those godless lands and was taken over by Jochiz, but more likely a creation of his from the start. See also the All-Holy.

Nang Lin—Yeh-Lin’s original name.

Narva—A mountain god of the Pillars of the Sky south of Lissavakail.

Nessa—A Westgrasslander of Reyka’s warband, friend of Jolanan.

Nikeh gen’Emras—A child from Emrastepse in Tiypur, adopted and raised by Yeh-Lin.

Nori—Goddess of the river that flows through Star River Crossing, invoked by Ailan; probably a corruption of her older name, Noreia.

Orhan—A Malagru hillman in the army defending Marakand.

Pakdhala—Name used by Attalissa incarnate as Holla-Sayan’s supposed daughter.

Pehma, Sister—Priestess of Attalissa; a wizard.

Philon—A man of Emrastepse in the former Tiypurian lands, counsellor to Prince Dimas, an initiate of the seventh circle and a devout believer in the All-Holy.

Rada—A murdered young woman of Star River Crossing in the Taren Confederacy.

Rat—The goddess of the Little Sister river, on the border between Nabban and Lathi, also called the Tigress.

Red Geir—One of the first three kings in the north.

Reyka—A woman of the Sayanbarkash in the Western Grass; warlord of the Westgrasslander band fighting the All-Holy’s Army of the North.

Rifat—Teenage wizard of Kinsai’s folk, originally from one of the Black Desert tribes.

Rigo, the prince of—The All-Holy’s governor of the Western Grass. His proper name is not recorded.

Rose—Wizard-surgeon of the folk of Kinsai, lover of Iarka and father of her unborn child.

Rose—Name given by Iarka to her unborn daughter, in honour of the child’s father.

Ruyi—Suliasra Ruyi, late empress and high priestess of Nabban, mother of Yuan, grandmother of Iri; great-granddaughter of Ivah.

Sammur—Mikki’s father, a Northron human originally from Selarskerrig.

Sarzahn—An ancient being bound in service to Jochiz, who looks on him as a brother.

Sato—A river-goddess of the Nalzawan Commonwealth.

Sayid Sevanim—A young man of Serakallash.

Scorpion—A camel of uncertain moods.

Sera—Goddess of the Red Desert town of Serakallash; sometimes appears in the form of a woman, sometimes a mare.

Sien-Shava the Outcast—A wizard of the Southern Isles, bonded with the devil Jochiz. Brother of Sien-Mor.

Sien-Mor the Outcast—A wizard of the Southern Isles, bonded with the devil Tu’usha. Sister of Sien-Mor. Murdered by her brother while imprisoned after the defeat of the seven devils.

Snow—A Denanbaki horse belonging to Ghu; like Gothuerniaul, became immortal as a servant of the god within Nabban.

Spider—Another camel of rather more benign disposition than Scorpion.

Storm—Bone-horse belonging to Moth. Translation of Styrma, his Northron name.

Styrma—See Storm.

Sulloso Dur—Marakander captain of the south-end tower of the Western Wall of the Pass of Marakand.

Swift—A small sprit-rigged ship.

Tamghiz—A chieftain and warlord of the Great Grass, bonded with the devil Ghatai. Divorced husband of Ulfhild. Slain by Moth.

Tashi—A miner of the Narvabarkash in the Pillars of the Sky.

Teacher—Nikeh’s term of address for her foster-mother and mistress in the scholar’s and warrior’s arts.

Tibor—A Westgrasslander caravaneer of the Jayala’arad; kinsman of Jolanan.

Timon—A Westron red priest and missionary of the All-Holy in Star River Crossing.

Tiy, Grandmother Tiy—Nearly forgotten dead goddess of the great river of Tiypur, once worshipped as a conductress of the dead to the Old Great Gods.

Trout—An exceptionally long-lived wizard, scholar, and ichthyologist of Kinsai’s folk, Warden of the Upper Castle, son of Holla-Sayan and Kinsai, father of Deysanal.

Tu’usha the Restless—One of the seven devils, bonded with Sien-Mor. Slain by Moth.

Ulfhild the King’s Sword—A wizard, sister and king’s sword of Hravnmod the Wise, bonded with the devil Vartu. Partner of Mikki. Also known as Moth.

Varro—A friend of Holla-Sayan’s long ago, a Northron caravaneer of Gaguush’s gang.

Vartu Kingsbane—One of the seven devils, bonded with Ulfhild; bearer of the sword Lakkariss. Moth.

Viga Forkbeard—One of the first three kings in the north.

The Wolf-Smith—A demon smith who came with the ancestors of the Northrons out of the west to the lands that became known after their destruction as the Drowned Isles. The demon who forged Moth’s sword Kepra (Keeper).

Yeh-Lin the Beautiful—Nang Yeh-Lin, wizard, scholar, general, empress, bonded with the devil Dotemon.

Yuan—Suliasra Yuan, late emperor and high priest of Nabban, father of the current empress, Iri.