Robert Lynn Asprin
The Dead of Winter
Dramatis Personae
The Townspeople:
Ahdiovizun; Ahdiomer Viz; Ahdio Proprietor of Sly's Place, a legendary dive within the Maze.
Lalo the Limner
Street artist gifted with magic he does not fully understand.
Gilla His indomitable wife.
Alfi Their youngest son.
Latilla Their daughter.
Vanda Their daughter.
Wedemir Their son and eldest child.
Dubro Bazaar blacksmith and husband to Illyra.
Illyra Half-blood S'danzo seeress with True Sight.
Arton Their son, marked by the gods and magic as part of an emerging divinity known as the Storm Children.
Hakiem Storyteller and confidant extraordinaire.
Harran Overworked surgeon for the false Stepsons and one-time priest of the nearly forgotten goddess, Siveni.
Jubal Prematurely aged former gladiator. Once he openly ran Sanctuary's most visible criminal organization, the Hawkmasks. Now he works behind the scenes.
Kurd Vivisectionist slain by Tempus upon whom he had performed some of his viler experiments.
Lastel; One Thumb Proprietor of the Vulgar Unicorn. Betrayed by local magicians, he spent a small eternity in death's embrace. Freed when Cime wreaked havoc on the local Mageguild, he is a shadow of his former self.
Moruth King of the Downwind beggars. Myrtis-Madam of the Aphrodisia House.
Tamzen Young woman, daughter of a tavernkeeper, who loved Niko and was killed by Roxane.
Zip Bitter young terrorist. Leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Sanctuary (PFLS).
The Magicians:
Askelon The Entelechy of Dreams, a magician so powerful that the gods have set him apart from men to rule in Meridian, the source of dreams.
Datan Supreme of the Nisibisi wizards; slain by the Stepsons and Randal. His globe of power, which now belongs to Randal, was the foremost of such artifacts manufactured along Wizardwall.
Enas Yorl Quasi-immortal mage cursed with eternal life and constantly changing physical form.
Ischade Necromancer and thief. Her curse is passed to her lovers who die from it.
Haught Her apprentice. A Nisibisi dancer and freed slave.
Mor-am Her servant. A Hawkmask she saved from certain death, whose pain and torment she holds at bay in exchange for other services.
Moria Mor-am's sister, also a Hawkmask but now the somewhat alcoholic chatelaine of Ischade's uptown establishment.
Stilcho One of the Sanctuary natives chosen to replace the Stepsons when they followed Tempus to Wizardwall. He was tortured and killed by Moruth, then reanimated by Ischade.
Roxane; Death's Queen Nisibisi witch. Heiress to all Nisi power and enemies.
Snapper Jo A fiend summoned and controlled by Roxane.
Others:
Bashir A Free Nisi fighter and ally of the Stepsons during their sojourn at Wizardwall.
Brachis Supreme Archpriest of Vashanka, companion of Theron.
Mradhon Vis Nisibisi mercenary, adventurer and occasional spy.
Theron New military Emperor. An usurper placed on the throne with the aid of Tempus and his allies.
The Rankans living in Sanctuary:
Chenaya; Daughter of the Sun Daughter of Lowan Vigeles, a beautiful and powerful young woman who is fated never to lose a fight. Dayrne-Her companion and trainer.
Gyskouras One of the Storm Children, conceived during an ill-fated Ritual of the Ten-Slaying, a commemoration of Vashanka's vengeance on his brothers.
Seylalha His mother, a temple dancer chosen to be Azyuna in the Ritual of the Ten-Slaying.
Prince Kadakithis Charismatic but somewhat naive half-brother of the recently assassinated Emperor, Abakithis.
Daphne His official wife, missing since the arrival of the Beysib.
Lowan Vigeles Half-brother of Molin Torchholder, father of Chenaya, a wealthy aristocrat self-exiled to Sanctuary in the wake of Abakithis' assassination.
Molin Torchholder; Torch Archpriest and architect of Vashanka; Guardian of the Storm Children.
Rosanda His wife.
Rankan 3rd Commando Mercenary company founded by Tempus Thales and noted for its brutal efficiency.
Kama; Jes Tempus' barely acknowledged daughter.
Sync Commander of the 3rd.
Rashan; the Eye of Savankala Priest and Judge of Savankala. Highest-ranking Rankan in Sanctuary prior to the arrival of the Prince.
Razkuli Hell Hound slain for vengeance by Tempus.
Stepsons; Sacred Banders Members of a mercenary unit founded by Abarsis who willed their allegiance to Tempus Thales after his own death.
Critias; Crit Leftside leader paired with Straton. Second in command after Tempus.
Janni Nikodemos' rightside partner; tortured and killed by Roxane.
Nikodemos; Niko; Stealth Bandaran Adept skilled in mental and martial disciplines. Once a captive of Roxane and Datan.
Randal; Witchy-Ears The only mage ever trusted by Tempus or admitted into the Sacred Band.
Straton; Strat; Ace Rightside partner of Critias. Enamored of Ischade and, so far, immune to her curse.
Tempus Thales; the Riddler Nearly immortal mercenary, a partner of Vashanka before that god's demise; commander of the Stepsons; cursed with a fatal inability to give or receive love.
Walegrin Rankan army officer assigned to the Sanctuary garrison where his father had been slain by the S'danzo many years before.
Zalbar Captain of the Hell-Hounds which, since the arrival of the Beysib exiles, have lost most of their influence.
The Gods:
Enlil Storm God/wargod for the more recently conquered Northern parts of the Rankan Empire.
Mriga Mindless and crippled woman elevated to divinity during Harran's abortive attempt to resurrect Siveni Gray-Eyes.
Sabellia Mother goddess for the Rankan Empire. Savankala-Father god for the Rankan Empire.
Siveni Gray-Eyes Ilsigi goddess of wisdom, medicine and defense.
Stormbringer Primal Storm God/wargod. The pattern for all other such gods, he is not, himself, the object of organized worship.
Vashanka Storm God/wargod of the original Rankan lands; vanquished and exiled beyond the reach of his onetime worshippers.
The Beysib:
Monkel Setmur Young chief of clan Setmur, an extended kinship of fishermen and sailors.
Shupansea; Shu-sea Head of the Beysib exiles in Sanctuary; mortal avatar of the Beysib mother goddess.
INTRODUCTION by Robert Lynn Asprin
"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 of Sanctuary's numerous brothels ... though exactly which one he was unsure of. At his advanced age he did not frequent the town's houses of ill-repute even though he could now easily have afforded them, and therefore he was unfamiliar with their individual nuances. The memories of his youth, however, still lingered strong enough for him to recognize the generic aroma of a dwelling where women sold sex for a living and the incense used in a vain attempt to disguise that profession.
More important than the room's location was its inhabitant, and Hakiem had good reason to recognize the voice that now instructed him. It was Jubal, once Sanctuary's crimelord ... now the underground leader of one of the armed factions that fought overtly and covertly for control of the city.
"It takes longer to reach you these days," Hakiem said with a casualness that bordered on insolence as he removed his blindfold.
Jubal was sprawled across a large, throne-like chair which Hakiem recognized from earlier days when the black ex-gladiator/slaver had openly operated out of his Downwind mansion. He wondered briefly what it had taken to retrieve that piece of furniture; the Stepsons had attacked the dwelling, driven the crimelord into hiding. Of course, the "ersatz" Stepsons had been there for a while, which might have made the recovery easier ... but that would have to be a story to be purloined on another day.