Shadow of a Dark Queen characters

Appears from the start

A blacksmith's apprentice in Ravensburg and the unacknowledged son of the local baron. Erik is large, patient, and gifted with horses and metalwork, but his birth leaves him exposed to the whims of his legitimate half-brother. He wants an ordinary place in the town and is forced into a much larger struggle instead.

Also known as Roo

Appears from the start

Erik's quick-tongued friend, the son of an innkeeper and already certain that trade offers a better future than honest labour. Roo is small, observant, ambitious, and able to turn almost any situation into a bargain, though his loyalty to Erik repeatedly outweighs his instinct for self-preservation.

Appears from the start

A young woman of Ravensburg who has grown up alongside Erik and Roo. She cares for Erik but has little protection from the town's hierarchy, making the rivalry between the baron's sons more dangerous for her than either young man first understands.

Appears from the start

The baron's acknowledged heir and Erik's older half-brother. Stefan treats his father's name as permission to dominate Ravensburg and regards Erik's mere presence as a challenge to his position.

First appears in chapter 4

A cheerful traveller from distant Kesh who calls himself a gambler and insists that his astonishing tricks are not magic. Nakor carries an apparently inexhaustible bag, notices far more than he explains, and helps the fugitives without asking them to trust him first.

First appears in chapter 8

The youthful-looking commander behind a secret royal mission. Calis is controlled, demanding, and prepared to recruit condemned men for an expedition whose true purpose he reveals only in stages. His appearance and endurance suggest that he is not an ordinary Kingdom officer.

Also known as Bobby

First appears in chapter 8

Calis's veteran sergeant and the recruits' principal trainer. De Loungville is harsh, practical, and deliberately unsentimental, using exhaustion and relentless discipline to turn a group of prisoners into soldiers who may survive the mission ahead.

First appears in chapter 10

A seasoned swordsman serving with Calis's company. Luis has the manners of a gentleman, the experience of a mercenary, and a steadiness that makes him one of the recruits' more dependable guides once training gives way to real danger.

First appears in chapter 11

A young monk from the distant east whose quiet manner conceals considerable skill. Sho Pi travels with the company and brings discipline, healing knowledge, and a perspective on Nakor that is unlike the soldiers' wary fascination.

First appears in chapter 17

The ruler in whose name a vast conquering army is sweeping across Novindus. She is known chiefly through reports, banners, and the terror inspired by her servants; neither her origin nor the power behind her title is yet clear to Calis's company.

First appears in chapter 21

The Emerald Queen's senior human general, a patient and capable conqueror who turns a mass of displaced peoples, mercenaries, and nonhuman troops into an organised army. He is dangerous because he understands supply, discipline, and siegecraft as well as terror.

First appears in chapter 24

Once an orphan of Crydee, Pug became a Great One on Kelewan and the most powerful magician associated with the Kingdom. Now an elder figure watching threats beyond ordinary politics, he receives Calis's survivors and understands that their warning concerns more than a distant war.