Dragon Jousters/Characters

Vetch/
The main character of the series. In the beginning, he was a "Serf", basically a step down from a slave. His father was murdered when he was very young and he was taken from his home to serve his new "master". He was basically the kid who did everything nobody else wants and still got beat up every day.

He didn't have any real friends, until he met Ari, a Tian Jouster, he befriend Vetch after he stands up for for him to "Khefti the Fat". Claiming he needs a strong able bodied lad, Ari takes Vetch to the Jousters Compound to serve as his 'Dragon Boy". Basically a Stable Boy for a Dragon instead of a horse. After that, things get complicated...

Vetch quickly manages to out preform every other boy in the compound with his diligence. And he and Ari eventually become friends. Then one night he gets very lucky. He witnesses the Tian dragons in a mating flight. After the business is over, Vetch forms a brilliant and daring plan.

Vetch manages to pull off every part of his plan perfectly.


 * Adorkable
 * Badass Normal
 * Bash Brothers: With Ari and Orest.
 * Big Damn Heroes
 * Determinator
 * Disappeared Dad: Dead dad... it was rather tear jerking actually.
 * The Hero: He is the main character after all.
 * Made a Slave: Made a Serf (which is pretty much the same thing, but explicitly worse) when he was only a child.
 * Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Granted he wasn't the Hulk when he was a kid but, he was surprisingly strong for someone his size.

Ari
Ari is a Tian Jouster. He was trained as a scribe as a boy, and it was in this capacity that he first entered the Compound of the Tian Jousters. He is a very honorable and decent man.

Kashet, Ari's dragon is the first tame dragon in history.


 * Anti-Hero: In appearances only, it's complicated.
 * Badass
 * Bash Brothers: With Haraket and later.
 * Big Brother Instinct: To Vetch.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Heroic BSOD: He'd get these a lot after having to participate in some nasty battle tactics.
 * Morality Pet: He figured being nice to Vetch would make him feel better about all the people he was causing to suffer.
 * Papa Wolf
 * Reasonable Authority Figure
 * Reasonable Authority Figure

Lord Haraket - Tia
Lord of the Jousters Compound in the land of Tia, basically he's a clerk. Haraket is initially distant towards Vetch, not certain if a Serf can handle the job. However, he soon becomes quite protective of him as well as Ari.


 * Badass
 * Badass Grandpa
 * Big Good: As Tian leaders go, he's one of the best.
 * A Father to His Men: All those who serve under him respect him, whether they're servant, slave, or serf.
 * Knight in Sour Armor
 * Jerkass Facade: He comes across as grumpy but once you prove yourself to him, he's as tame as a kitten.

Baken - Tia
He is a quiet serious young man who works well with animals. He used to work with Falcons until he decided to try his hand at Dragon training.


 * Friend to All Living Things: Always good with the dragons in training.
 * Not Good with People: Baken actively despises people who abuse animals and claim to be masters at working with said animals.

Lord Kuhmun - Alta
Lord of the Jousters Compound in the land of Alta. Unlike his Tian counterpart, he is a former soldier. He is firm, but not as strict with the Jousters as Haraket.


 * Big Good
 * A Father to His Men
 * Da Chief
 * Drill Sergeant Nasty: Once in a while.
 * Suspiciously Similar Substitute: For Haraket.

Heklatis - Alta
Heklatis is a doctor and a sorcerer from the land of Akkadia. Heklatis is a very practical and direct man, which sometimes leads to confrontation. He's also a homosexual.


 * Agent Peacock
 * Camp Gay: He played a rather Hammy performance to irritate and frighten a Magus once.
 * Healing Hands: He may have the "healing by touch power".
 * The Medic
 * The Obi-Wan: Indeed, a very wise and cunning old man.
 * Invisible to Gaydar: except for the above mentioned scene with the Magus, its very easy to forget that Heklatis prefers the company of his own gender

Primary villains of the series, though they're not "formally" introduced until the second book. An organization of powerful magicians. Almost nothing is known about them, except for the fanaticism to their self interest.


 * Frickin' Laser Beams: Their "Eye of Light" fires a laser beam.
 * Kick the Dog:
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast
 * The Unfettered
 * Utopia Justifies the Means: A utopia for them anyway.
 * Would Hit a Girl: Or drag one from her home if they believed it help their cause.

Aket-ten
Aket-ten is Orest's little sister and a "Winged One" of Alta. A powerful young girl with the ability to speak with animals. Unfortunately the Magi start to come after her for that very power. She faked losing her gifts as a way to hide from the Magi.


 * Action Girl: Sure, she may a bit of a spoiled crybaby at times, but she'll still be the first to charge into enemy teritory.
 * Annoying Younger Sibling: Orest certainly thinks so.
 * Beware the Nice Ones
 * Blessed with Suck: In the beginning many people didn't think her "Animal Speech" powers would amount to much, that quickly changed.
 * Cute Witch
 * Hair-Trigger Temper
 * Hot-Blooded
 * Intelligence Equals Isolation: She's very smart, but not as good at making friends as Orest.
 * Plucky Girl
 * Speaks Fluent Animal

Kaleth

 * Badass Bookworm
 * Lonely Rich Kid: Not as good at making friends as his more "out-going" brother Toreth.
 * Shrinking Violet: He's very shy and insecure during the second book.