Codex Alera/Characters: Difference between revisions

Tavi, raised by his Aunt Isana and Uncle Bernard in the Calderon Valley, is apparently the only Aleran in the world to not possess the power of Furycraft. While this is often a major disadvantage, in order to compensate he's learned to rely on something else -- his brain. After the events of the first book, he begins studying at Alera Imperia to join the imperial spy network known as the Cursors, and joins the newly-formed First Aleran Legion under the name Rufus Scipio.<br /><br /> {{spoiler|Tavi is really Octavian, son of the slain Princeps Septimus. Isana, actually his mother, deliberately suppressed his Furycraft so he wouldn't be obviously High Blood and therefore a target for assassins. Eventually he does develop some Crafting, though to a lesser extent than most Lords. In the final book, the [[Person of Mass Destruction|full potential]] of his powers emerges}}.

** And, say, ''every other thing he does''.

* [[Warrior Therapist]]: Against {{spoiler|Navaris.}}

Kitai is a girl of the humanoid Marat race, and Tavi's frequent partner, foil, and love interest. Tough and athletic, like Tavi she has learned to rely on her wits to beat powerful Crafters. Like all Marat, she has bonded telepathically with a being of another species, but is unique in that her [[Bond Creatures|''chala'']] is sentient (namely, Tavi). As a result, she often feels isolated from both cultures. {{spoiler|As Tavi develops his Furycrafting, she becomes able to share it through their bond}}.

Isana is Tavi's aunt {{spoiler|(well, actually, mother)}}. Born in the Calderon Valley, she is an incredibly powerful watercrafter but lacks access to other Furies. Isana distrusts Sextus {{spoiler|because he allowed her husband, his son Septimus, to die}}, but becomes increasingly entangled in Aleran politics as the series goes on.

Bernard is Tavi's uncle and Isana's brother, possessing the power of earth and woodcrafting. He begins the series as a steadholder (wealthy farmer), but ultimately takes on a noble title as Count of Calderon and passes his steadholt to Isana. He is in love with Amara, and the two are married (at first in secret, but later openly).

* [[Good Looking Privates]]: If he's hot now, then twenty or so years [[I Was Quite a Looker|ago]] we can only assume he was more so.

Amara is a windcrafter and a Cursor, one of the First Lord's elite messengers, spies, and general agents. She comes to the Calderon Valley while trying to return to the capital and warn Sextus of Aquitaine's plotting, thereby setting off much of the books' action. She is married to Bernard, but sometimes angsts about her fears of infertility (Alerans place great value on having children who will inherit their powers, to the point that a man of Bernard's rank is ''legally obliged'' to have children).

Fidelias was a Cursor and Amara's mentor, until he betrayed the First Lord for Aquitaine. A master spy and manipulator, he has greatly helped Aquitaine's bids for power {{spoiler|until deciding Tavi would make a better ruler. He is now Tavi's advisor, in a [[Secret Identity]]}}. In any event, Fidelias is absolutely loyal to only one thing -- his country -- and will do whatever he thinks is best for it, no matter how terrible others might think it.

* [[Famed in Story]]: Fidelias has a reputation as one of the best Cursors, which makes his defection a mass [[Oh Crap]] moment for his former colleagues. {{spoiler|Marcus was given the name Valiar in recognition of his bravery after the aforementioned raid. When Max learns that Valiar Marcus is the First Spear of the First Aleran, he becomes a lot more hopeful of the legion's chances.}}

* [[No-Nonsense Nemesis]]: Fidelias never gloats. He never does anything he hasn't thought out and planned ahead for, and he never offers his enemies any second chances or a dramatic showdown. {{spoiler|Best demonstrated when he decides to leave his resignation to lady Aquitane... With a balest bolt from several hundred metres away, laced with every lethal poison in the realm.}}

Doroga is Kitai's father and one of the most important Marat chieftains. He is blunt and earthy, but anyone who speaks with him for long realizes that he is surprisingly intelligent and canny. Doroga is the first to recognize the menace the Vord pose to the world, remembering them from old Marat legends, and also sends Kitai to learn about the Alerans, bringing her into contact with Tavi again.

Gaius is the ruler of Alera, the most powerful Crafter alive, and essentially [[Harry Potter|Albus Dumbledore]] without the [[Obfuscating Stupidity|facade of eccentric senility]]. While often [[Magnificent Bastard|ruthless]], he is both intelligent and wise and everything he does is for the greater good of Alera. All respect Gaius's abilities, but some (like Isana) think he's lost touch with the common people and is therefore dangerous. Others (like Aquitaine or Kalarus) want to take his throne themselves.

** When his character is introduced, hetakes a potshot: he admits he is willing to sacrifice a loyal retainer to test the fidelity of another one. He assumed the loyal one would lose the fight.

* [[Mood Whiplash]]: Causes it just by wandering in and out of scenes.

Another of Tavi's classmates, and a Cursor. Like Tavi, tends to rely more on his wits than his furies.

** [[Big Bad Duumvirate]]: With his wife. Technically most of her schemes are aimed at getting him the throne, but thats only because as a woman thats the closest she'll ever get to true power. In many ways Invidia was the [[Big Bad]] more than he ever was, since she was more actively involved in the plot {{spoiler|and unknown to him, was behind the murder of his best friend, Septimus. Attis is, in fact, motivated largely by vengeance on the men he holds responsible for that.}}

* [[Dark Action Girl]]: Only when she needs to in the first few books {{spoiler|but pretty much solidly after joining the Vord Queen}}.

* [[The Starscream]]: To pretty much everyone she's ever worked with. She doesn't seem to be happy unless she's plotting against ''someone'', even if that someone is on her same side.

* [[Out of Focus]]: Doesn't do much after the halfway point.

* [[Out of Focus]]: Doesn't do much after the halfway point.

Varg is the [[Wolf Man|Canim]] Ambassador to Alera. He's a lot smarter than most Alerans give him and his kind credit for, and recognizes Tavi's capabilities fairly quickly. {{spoiler|After getting [[The Starscream|doublecrossed by his advisor]], he spends some time in Aleran prison until Tavi breaks him out to get his aid.}}

* [[Badass Grandpa]]: literally and figuratively.

* [[Big Badass Wolf|Big Badass Wolfman]]

* [[Worthy Opponent]]: To Tavi, and the Alerans in general. The Canim actually prefer having worthy opponents to friends: they're people you can respect and even like, but will always keep you on your toes.

* [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]]: Subverted. Sarl's a Cane and therefore you'd ''expect'' him to be one of these, but he's really a coward who only fights after Tavi goads him into it.

* [[Wolf Man]]

Leader of the Canim warriors who arrive in Alera with Sarl, Nasaug is honorable yet ruthless and above all a highly competent military commander. He is one of Tavi's primary antagonists (albeit a [[Worthy Opponent|respected one]]) in the middle part of the series.

The other main candidate (besides Aquitainus) as the First Lord's successor. The province of Kalare is one of the few where slavery is still rampant, and Kalarus has taken the twisted furycrafting of slave collars and weaponised it.

* [[Orcus on His Throne]]: In ''Captain's Fury''- {{spoiler|Justified because Bernard and Amara crippled him at the end of ''Cursor's Fury''- he was quite an active villain before that}}.

Head of the Bloodcrows (Kalarus's equivalent of the Cursors), she is Kalarus's chief spy and assassin; a minor but important recurring character.

* [[Jerkass]]

Marat headman of the Herdbane tribe, and also a hordemaster (warleader of several tribes). Serves as one of the primary villains in ''Furies of Calderon''.

* [[Captain Ersatz]]: They are directly inspired by [[Starcraft]]'s Zerg.

** Later on, she takes measures to understand humanity more properly. Unfortunately, this tends to make things even worse. For instance, she attempts to serve dinner to people and have small talk, but is willing to brutally murder innocents because they are inconvenient. She doesn't understand why this is wrong.

* [[Waif Fu]]: She is able to tear through nine-foot tall Canim warriors, shred a Legion shieldwall, and take on the mightiest crafters in Alera with casual ease.

* {{spoiler|[[Mentor Occupational Hazard]]: Sextus's destruction of Alera Imperia destroyed the mosaic that called her into being as a discrete existence, and she's already fading away when she first meets Tavi.}}