Temeraire/Characters

Humans

Captain William Laurence
Main (human) character and primary narrator. Initially skipper of the HMS Reliant, where Riley was his Second Lieutenant, he became captain of dragon Temeraire nearly by accident. However, he and Temeraire quickly became inseperable.

A Father to His Men
The Fettered
Fish Out of Water: At the beginning of the series, he had no idea how to function in the Air Corps. Later, he is excruciatingly uncomfortable as the Emperor's adopted son.
The Hero
Honor Before Reason
Ho Yay: Calls Granby and Tharkay by their first names. This is quite unusual for the time period.
My Country, Right or Wrong: unless they're about to start a campaign of biological terrorism
Officer and a Gentleman
Screw the Money, I Have Rules
Ten-Minute Retirement: Crucible Of Gold opens with Laurence being called back into service.
The Unfavorite: To his father, for joining the military, and the military, for giving France a vaccine.

Tenzing Tharkay
Half white and half asian, Tharkay is an exceptional guide and translator. Due to the era's views, however, he cannot follow his father into English politics.

Deadpan Snarker
Stealth Hi Bye: described as a defense mechanism: since no one trusts him anyway, he might as well earn it by disappearing unexpectedly.
Tragic Mulatto: Unfortunately, in this time, there isn't much he can do about it.
The Unfettered: The one upshot to not being accepted into western society.

Rankin
A more conventionally raised captain - meaning he treats dragons like idiotic beasts and sneers at anyone who seeks civil rights for anyone.

Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: The sheep's clothing is entirely off by Tongues of Serpents however.
Jerkass

John Granby
Lt. Granby was initially hostile to Laurence, as he was friends with the aviator chosen by the Corps to take over Temeraire. However, they got their bickering sorted out and he later became both Number Two and close friend to Laurence. In this capacity he also became Captain of Iskierka, a fire-breathing Kazilik, in Black Powder War.

Bling of War: At Iskierka's insistance and to his mortification
Butt Monkey: Poor Granby!
Handicapped Badass: Has lost an arm by the end of Crucible of Gold; is no less awesome.
The Lancer
Invisible to Gaydar: Comes out to Laurence in Crucible of Gold when Iskierka arranges for a marriage with the Inca Empress. Laurence, to his credit, never really makes a big deal out of it.
The Woobie: He gets beaten up so much, you really feel bad for the guy.

Tom Riley
Naval captain of the HMS Reliant, Riley inhereted his ship from Laurence. Later takes on the Allegiance, a huge ship built specifically to transport dragons.

Heroic Sacrifice: He dies trying to save the Allegiance from sinking in Crucible of Gold. Depending on your feelings, this may be an Alas, Poor Scrappy moment.
Officer and a Gentleman
Shotgun Wedding: At his own insistance, to Harcourt

Berkley
Captain of Maximus.

Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As gruff as he is, he really does care about Maximus

Catherine Harcourt
Captain of Lily, one of the Longwings who will not accept anything but female captains. Her existence (a female serving offcer) is kept rather secret by the Aerial Corps.

Jane Roland
Captain of the Longwing Excidium. Roland serves as the Reasonable Authority Figure for the Aerial Corps, and Laurence enjoys serving under her.

Emily Roland
Jane's illegitimate daughter, who is being groomed to take over Excidium when her mother retires. She doesn't know who her father is (Jane doesn't much care), and on at least one occasion she has been mistaken as Laurence's natural daughter, to his embarrassment and Jane's amusement.

Plucky Middie
Tomboy
She's All Grown Up: Or rather, she's getting there fast--and causing Laurence a lot of headaches.

Demane
An African child who aids Laurence during the adventures of Empire of Ivory. For lack of any other option, Laurence ends up taking him and his brother Sipho home with him to Britain, where they become members of Temeraire's flight crew.

Jumped Into The Cockpit: How he got Kulingile
Puppy Love: He and Emily may or may not have a thing going on.

Dragons

Temeraire
Also known as Ling Tien Xiang, second son of Lung Tien Qian, Temeraire was given by the Chinese to the French and then captured in the egg by the English, with whom he serves alongside Captain Laurence. The reason the Chinese would give so valuable a dragon to the French makes up the crux of the second book.

Adult Child: As of the third book, he has reached his full growth, but is only 18 months old and has an appropriately simplistic worldview.
Boisterous Bruiser
Cunning Linguist: One of the advantages of being a Celestial.
- Omniglot
Genius Bruiser
The Hero
- Lightning Bruiser
Like Brother and Sister: With Iskierka, even though she keeps trying to get an egg from him. He does get really ticked off at Iskierka striking up a friendship with another male dragon in Crucible of Gold, leading Laurence and Granby to speculate.
Make Me Wanna Shout: The divine wind.
Undying Loyalty: like most dragons, he is deeply protective of his crew (especially Laurence), which provides an effective source of comedy relief.
Warrior Poet

Lien
An albino dragon--white is the color of death in traditional Chinese culture, and is considered horribly unlucky. Despite being one of the very few Celestials available to the nation, Lien was treated as an outcast... until a prince named Yingxiong took pity on her, and the two became inseparable. Too bad Yingxiong was plotting to have Laurence killed, which Temeraire of course wasn't going to stand for...

Maximus
A Regal Copper, the largest breed of dragon available to Britain (though French Grand Chevaliers are known to be larger, and sometimes Petit Chevaliers as well). Like his captain Berkley, Maximus can be grumpy, but their hearts are in the right place.

The Big Guy

Lily
A Longwing, one of a breed that spits acidic venom, much prized in Britain due to their lack of firebreathers. Lilly is typically the center of any formation so that she can deploy her ranged attacks unmolested.

Perscitia
A dragon who disdained harnassing when she was hatched, Perscitia was relegated to the breeding grounds, where she and her prodigious intellect wasted away for at least four books. Then Temeraire happened.

The Smart Guy / Gadgeteer Genius

Levitas
A Grey Winchester, one of the small speedy dragons used for courier services. Of course, his master is Rankin, so you can imagine how well he's treated.

Died in Your Arms Tonight: Well, emotionally, in Rankin's.
The Woobie

Iskierka
Enters into the series as an egg promised the British by the Sultan in Instanbul. The egg hatches on the way home, and Granby takes custody of her. Iskierka is impulsive, undisciplined and self-aggrandizing, but as Britain's one and only firebreather, the Corps is forced to give her a fair bit of leeway.

Bling of War
Blood Knight: The only thing she likes better than fighting is looting the prizes she wins by fighting.
Bratty Half-Pint
Hot-Blooded
The Lancer
Playing with Fire
Stalker with a Crush / Stalker with a Test Tube: Wants an egg by Temeraire that would have both her flames and his Divine Wind

Caesar

Kulingile