Robert Asprin - The Dead of Winter

The Townspeople:

Ahdiovizun; Ahdiomer Viz; AhdioProprietor of Sly's Place, a legendary dive within the Maze.

Lalo the Limner

Street artist gifted with magic he does not fully understand.

GillaHis indomitable wife.

AlfiTheir youngest son.

LatillaTheir daughter.

VandaTheir daughter.

WedemirTheir son and eldest child.

DubroBazaar blacksmith and husband to Illyra.

IllyraHalf-blood S'danzo seeress with True Sight.

ArtonTheir son, marked by the gods and magic as part of anemerging divinity known as the Storm Children.

HakiemStoryteller and confidant extraordinaire.

HarranOverworked surgeon for the false Stepsons and one-time priest of thenearly forgotten goddess, Siveni.

JubalPrematurely aged former gladiator. Once he openly ran Sanctuary's mostvisible criminal organization, the Hawkmasks. Now he works behind thescenes.

KurdVivisectionist slain by Tempus upon whom he had performed some of hisviler experiments.

Lastel; One ThumbProprietor of the Vulgar Unicorn. Betrayed by localmagicians, he spent a small eternity in death's embrace. Freed when Cimewreaked havoc on the local Mageguild, he is a shadow of his former self.

MoruthKing of the Downwind beggars. Myrtis-Madam of the Aphrodisia House.

TamzenYoung woman, daughter of a tavernkeeper, who loved Niko and was killedby Roxane.

ZipBitter young terrorist. Leader of the Popular Front for the Liberationof Sanctuary (PFLS).

The Magicians:

AskelonThe Entelechy of Dreams, a magician so powerful that the gods have sethim apart from men to rule in Meridian, the source of dreams.

DatanSupreme of the Nisibisi wizards; slain by the Stepsons and Randal. Hisglobe of power, which now belongs to Randal, was the foremost of suchartifacts manufactured along Wizardwall.

Enas YorlQuasi-immortal mage cursed with eternal life and constantlychanging physical form.

IschadeNecromancer and thief. Her curse is passed to her lovers who die fromit.

HaughtHer apprentice. A Nisibisi dancer and freed slave.

Mor-amHer servant. A Hawkmask she saved from certain death, whosepain and torment she holds at bay in exchange for otherservices.

MoriaMor-am's sister, also a Hawkmask but now the somewhat alcoholicchatelaine of Ischade's uptown establishment.

StilchoOne of the Sanctuary natives chosen to replace the Stepsonswhen they followed Tempus to Wizardwall. He was torturedand killed by Moruth, then reanimated by Ischade.

Roxane; Death's QueenNisibisi witch. Heiress to all Nisi power and enemies.

Snapper JoA fiend summoned and controlled by Roxane.

Others:

BashirA Free Nisi fighter and ally of the Stepsons during their sojourn atWizardwall.

BrachisSupreme Archpriest of Vashanka, companion of Theron.

Mradhon VisNisibisi mercenary, adventurer and occasional spy.

TheronNew military Emperor. An usurper placed on the throne with the aid ofTempus and his allies.

The Rankans living in Sanctuary:

Chenaya; Daughter of the Sun Daughter of Lowan Vigeles, a beautiful andpowerful young woman who is fated never to lose a fight. Dayrne-Hercompanion and trainer.

GyskourasOne of the Storm Children, conceived during an ill-fated Ritualof the Ten-Slaying, a commemoration of Vashanka's vengeance on hisbrothers.

SeylalhaHis mother, a temple dancer chosen to be Azyuna in theRitual of the Ten-Slaying.

Prince Kadakithis Charismatic but somewhat naive half-brother of therecently assassinated Emperor, Abakithis.

DaphneHis official wife, missing since the arrival of the Beysib.

Lowan VigelesHalf-brother of Molin Torchholder, father of Chenaya, a wealthyaristocrat self-exiled to Sanctuary in the wake of Abakithis'assassination.

Molin Torchholder; TorchArchpriest and architect of Vashanka; Guardianof the Storm Children.

RosandaHis wife.

Rankan 3rd CommandoMercenary company founded by Tempus Thales and noted forits brutal efficiency.

Kama; JesTempus' barely acknowledged daughter.

SyncCommander of the 3rd.

Rashan; the Eye of Savankala Priest and Judge of Savankala. Highest-rankingRankan in Sanctuary prior to the arrival of the Prince.

RazkuliHellHound slain for vengeance by Tempus.

Stepsons; Sacred BandersMembers of a mercenary unit founded by Abarsiswho willed their allegiance to Tempus Thales after his own death.

Critias; Crit Leftside leader paired with Straton. Second incommand after Tempus.

JanniNikodemos' rightside partner; tortured and killed by Roxane.

Nikodemos; Niko; Stealth Bandaran Adept skilled in mental andmartial disciplines. Once a captive of Roxane and Datan.

Randal; Witchy-Ears The only mage ever trusted by Tempus oradmitted into the Sacred Band.

Straton; Strat; AceRightside partner of Critias. Enamored ofIschade and, so far, immune to her curse.

Tempus Thales; the RiddlerNearly immortal mercenary, a partner of Vashankabefore that god's demise; commander of the Stepsons; cursed witha fatal inability to give or receive love.

WalegrinRankan army officer assigned to the Sanctuary garrison where hisfather had been slain by the S'danzo many years before.

ZalbarCaptain of the Hell-Hounds which, since the arrival of the Beysibexiles, have lost most of their influence.

The Gods:

EnlilStorm God/wargod for the more recently conquered Northern parts of theRankan Empire.

Mriga Mindless and crippled woman elevated to divinity during Harran'sabortive attempt to resurrect Siveni Gray-Eyes.

SabelliaMother goddess for the Rankan Empire. Savankala-Father god forthe Rankan Empire.

Siveni Gray-EyesIlsigi goddess of wisdom, medicine and defense.

StormbringerPrimal Storm God/wargod. The pattern for all other such gods, heis not, himself, the object of organized worship.

VashankaStorm God/wargod of the original Rankan lands; vanquished andexiled beyond the reach of his onetime worshippers.

The Beysib:

Monkel SetmurYoung chief of clan Setmur, an extended kinship of fishermen andsailors.

Shupansea; Shu-seaHead of the Beysib exiles in Sanctuary; mortal avatar ofthe Beysib mother goddess.

"You may remove your blindfold now, old one."

Even as he fumbled with the knot binding the strip of cloth over his eyes,Hakiem knew much of his surroundings. His nose told him that he was in one ofSanctuary's numerous brothels ... though exactly which one he was unsure of. Athis advanced age he did not frequent the town's houses of ill-repute even thoughhe could now easily have afforded them, and therefore he was unfamiliar withtheir individual nuances. The memories of his youth, however, still lingeredstrong enough for him to recognize the generic aroma of a dwelling where womensold sex for a living and the incense used in a vain attempt to disguise thatprofession.

More important than the room's location was its inhabitant, and Hakiem had goodreason to recognize the voice that now instructed him. It was Jubal, onceSanctuary's crimelord ... now the underground leader of one of the armedfactions that fought overtly and covertly for control of the city.

"It takes longer to reach you these days," Hakiem said with a casualness thatbordered on insolence as he removed his blindfold.

Jubal was sprawled across a large, throne-like chair which Hakiem recognizedfrom earlier days when the black ex-gladiator/slaver had openly operated out ofhis Downwind mansion. He wondered briefly what it had taken to retrieve thatpiece of furniture; the Stepsons had attacked the dwelling, driven the crimelordinto hiding. Of course, the "ersatz" Stepsons had been there for a while, whichmight have made the recovery easier ... but that would have to be a story to bepurloined on another day.