Characters

Name - Pronunciation

**Eisa - *(ay-sah)***Eisa is the middle of three children, elder to brother Luca, and junior to elder brother Hunter.  Eisa's father, Henri, is a goods merchant in Shale.  Eisa is strong willed and fiercely protective of her younger brother.

**Luca - (*loo-kah*)**Eisa's little brother.  Luca is like so many other little boys.  He plays, he fights, and he slays invisible monsters with the small oak sword his father gave him.

**Hunter - (*hun-ter*)**Hunter is elder to Eisa by several seasons, and never shies away from reminding his sister of that fact.  Hunter is strong and capable, and has matured in the past seasons, thanks to his father's regular absences.  He provides discipline and tutoring for his younger brother, if not for the occasional teasing.

**Roman - (*row-man*)** Roman is a bit of a paradox.  His mother died during childbirth, and his father a number of seasons later.  He lived with Garon and Greta Olfson for a time after his father passed, which only added to his sense of isolation.  He struggles with the void created by his lost parents, and yearns for an understanding of who they were, to understand who he is supposed to become.

**Julian - (*jew-lee-an)***Julian is the only child of a fairly prominent family.  Hailing from the capitol, he grew up a child of luxury and security.  When he came of age, Julian became an initiate in the illustrious Silver Guard, Denoril's elite royal guard.  His initiation forced him away from home, to advance his training as a warrior, and forge his independence as a man.

**Dennah - (*den-ah)***Dennah was born into a very modest home in Yarborough.  Being the youngest, and only girl of seven siblings, she spent her formative years rough-housing, exploring, and fighting with her six older brothers.  When Dennah's parents came up short, the Council's tax collectors presented her parents with two options, a jail cell and forced labor, or two, they pledged their only daughter into their provincial Lord's service.

**Tusk - (*tusk)****Oh furry bane of pigs.*  Roman found Tusk while hunting boar north of Bardstown.  He is a sizable, and adequately shaggy hound, who has retained some of his puppy boisterousness, despite his age.  Tusk is loyal, and fiercely protective.  Roman considers him to be more than just a companion, but family.

**Balin - (*bay-lin)***Balin is a creature of the shadows.  He grew up in the gutter, fighting against others like him to survive.  Over the winter thaws he has amassed an impressive array of skills.  As an adult he quickly learned that if he was to survive, he needed to obtain favor from those in power, and use any means possible to keep it.

**Frenin - (*fren-in)***Frenin is the town elder of Bardstown.  As an aged man, he can count the wisdom of his many winter thaws as his greatest asset.  He as taken great interest in Roman's well-being, and served as a paternal figure, if only from a distance.

**Banus - (*ban-us)***Banus would never be mistaken for brave, or chivalrous.  He was forced into Lord Thatcher's service after he was thrown into the stocks for his vicious behavior.  He now operates under the protection of their provincial Lord, protecting and escorting the tax collection caravans.  He is unsavory, and worse, unpredictable.

**Brother Dalman - (*doll-man)***  Brother Dahlman appears before Councilman Gladeus DuChamp in Ban Turin to argue against the Council's stifling edicts.  He is a poised, articulate figure.  One that shows considerably more life than his aged appearance might suggest.

**Herja -**(*her-sha)*Herja is a mysterious figure. She appears to Henri several times in Within, but only momentarily. Sometimes in the guise of a glimmering, armor clad warrior, and at others, a giant, fear-inspiring bird. Her purpose is as mysterious as the land itself.

**The Crow - (*krow)***Roman and Dennah encounter the Crow at Fort Falksgraad. He is a dark figure, used by the lord constable to see through to a person's true nature. And yet, like Roman, there might be more to him.

**Rat -**Rat is a boy. A gentle flicker of light trapped in a wretched, dark place. He is but a boy, and represents innocence to Roman. Something he wishes to protect at all cost.

**Haybear - (***Hey-bear)*Haybear is an eccentric, rambling old man. He often speaks in riddles, and favorites odd stories. And yet, there is more to the old man than first appears.

**Cassida - (***Kasida)*Luca first encounters the withered old woman in the waterside markets in Pinehall. She is peculiar in both appearance and behavior, and seems to know more about the crippled, amnesiac little boy than seems possible. Luca will have to decide quickly if he can trust the old woman, and the wild tales and promises she spins.

**Gaston -**Julian first learns of the half-blood dwarf from the shamed Silver Guard blacksmith. He lives far up Mt. Bahlman, in the remnants of an abandoned dwarf mining community. His presence, and Tanea's disappearance are more than a coincidence.