Characters - The Blood of Dawnwalker Database

Albertus is a monk and historian who might know a thing or two about St. Mihai’s sword, the legendary weapon I’m looking for. The problem is that, according to Anca, Albertus has gone mad. Who knows if what he says is of any value.

Alin was my brother… but he’s not with us anymore.

One winter, there was an accident. The ice on the lake was thin. Alin fell through it. I saw it… but I froze, I couldn’t do anything. And then, when I finally… It was too late.

That day – it was a turning point. Mother has never recovered. None of us have, actually. I know I could have helped him. He would be alive now.

Ambrus is the youngest of Brencis’ henchmen, but just as corrupt as any of them.

Just a few years ago, he was a mercenary in Skender’s retinue – until he stood up to his liege lord, who then punished him by pouring boiling water down his throat.

Brencis found the dying Ambrus in a dungeon and offered to turn him in exchange for unquestioned loyalty. He didn’t have to ask twice.

Today, Ambrus is responsible for collecting, storing and distributing blood – and does his job with unparalleled zeal.

Anca is a herbalist, but she hasn’t always been one. For years she served God at St. Tyna’s convent. The nun’s life wasn’t a good fit for her, but the truth is, she’s far too clever to be where she is now, either. She speaks Latin, knows things about the world nobody else does… yet I wouldn’t call her happy.

We get along well, though. I enjoy her company, and – for whatever reason – the feeling seems to be mutual.

Brencis may be the knyaz of Vale Sangora, but when it comes to Svartrau’s underworld, he has serious competition. The gambling, black market and brothels are run by a certain Andrei. He’s a secretive man – even those who work for him know little about his origins. He can sometimes be found near the Eastern Gate, by the butcher’s shop – which seems fitting for a man of his reputation.

A beekeeper from Tantari. He doesn’t seem to lead a particularly interesting life, to be honest. Which is fine, but it makes me wonder why Crake takes so much interest in him.

Atanas is one of my neighbours from Laslea. He’s the sort of man who demands respect simply on account of his age. In Atanas’s case, it would be hard to find any other reasons. He’s a heavy drinker, and tries to raise his son Vasil mainly by reprimanding him, which only makes things worse.

Not all of Brencis’s henchmen are vrakhiri. An astrologer, scholar, and inventor named Aurelius seems to be of great service to the knyaz, too. He lives in an old, secluded watchtower where he performs his magical experiments. His greatest achievement is a sort of deadly flying creatures that may soon become Brencis’s ultimate weapon.

I don’t know if Bakir has always been this mad, or if years of feasting on humans have made him who he is. Either way, he’s a monster. He doesn’t just despise humans – he makes them into his playthings. His Lunar Tournament – the sick games he lures people into taking part in, end every single time in a bloodbath.

Two years ago, soon after the plague started, Brencis and his three vrakhir henchmen stepped out of the shadows. In just one night they killed the knyaz at the time, Skender Dragosti, and took over Vale Sangora.

When Brencis told us he was going to drink our blood and commanded us to drink his, people were terrified. But soon they got used to it.

Today, Brencis rules the valley from Greifberg Castle in Svartrau. He rarely leaves it, except to attend Blood Mass. He is old, there’s no hiding it – but even though his body may seem to be crumbling, he is powerful… and somehow his strength seems only to be growing.

Catalin, son of Skender, was the only member of the Dragosti family who survived the vrakhir takeover. He managed to flee from the valley, or – some say – was just lucky enough to be abroad when the coup started. Either way, he vanished. For two years, there’s been no word of him – not officially, at least. I’ve heard rumours of him travelling through Europe, meeting with barons, rulers and even the Pope, gathering an army and waiting for the right moment to reclaim his birthright.

But would the people of Vale Sangora greet him with joy and relief, after all the things his father did to us? I’m not so sure.

Not many of us get to decide our own fate, but Chariklea had less of a choice than most. Her mother, Xanthe, refuses to let her die. She uses dark magic to keep Chariklea alive, even though the girl’s body no longer even belongs to her – it’s been cobbled together from body parts stolen from other women. What a horrible fate…

Crina is one of my neighbours from Laslea. She looks older than she actually is – in part due to years of working in the fields, but also because she’s been struck by tragedy. Her only grandson, Kvet, died unexpectedly from what seemed to be a minor scratch – which then turned into a festering wound. Crina’s life fell apart after that. I know what she’s feeling and wish I could help her, but I’m not really sure how.

Drogos is Crake’s right-hand-man, and not a very pleasant guy, if you ask me. He questions Crake at every step, especially in matters concerning me. Then he does what he’s told anyway, but I keep wondering when he’ll finally snap.

I remember when my mother used to smile a lot, but that was a long, long time ago. Then life gradually started to take its toll. First Alin’s death, then the plague, and finally, the vrakhir takeover… She withdrew into herself, stopped speaking, eating, sometimes she wouldn’t even get out of bed. I hope she’ll come back to us one day, but is that even possible at this point?

Farkas pretends to be Bakir’s loyal servant, but he’s secretly devised a plan to kill his master. He needs an accomplice – and that’s why we met. He seems awfully determined. Let’s hope it isn’t a trap - or that he doesn’t get cold feet.

In the past, Father Florin was Knyaz Skender’s personal confessor. Today he is the key figure in Brencis’s church, the Blood Covenant. Whatever atrocity the vrakhiri commit, Florin always finds a way to convince his flock this is the way things should be. Most of the time he resides in Svartrau Cathedral, but he often visits villages throughout the valley, celebrating Mass and hearing confessions. He’s always known how to keep himself busy, that’s for sure.

Gavril is reliable. If he says he’ll do something, you can consider it done. This puzzles many people in Laslea, since Gavril’s brother, Lazar, is the exact opposite – to such a degree that some hardly believe they’re brothers at all.

Gremla is one of the oldest women in Laslea, and one with many talents. She’s a skilled weaver, a great cook and knows the history of our village better than anyone. But since Brencis turned up, she lives in constant apprehension. You can tell she despises the vrakhiri, but she thinks it isn’t her place to stand up to them. Instead, she tries to placate them so they’ll leave Laslea alone. Not everyone agrees with her, but a lot of us do.

Heile is a little girl who used to live with her brother Tonis in Oghasti. It seems like he was her whole world, but at some point they got separated. And I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something odd about her…

Iorgu thinks a lot. He keeps asking himself all sorts of questions, like: what’s a rainbow? Do mice really sprout from rotting hay? Why do clouds float? And I don’t think he’s really looking for answers. He just asks for the joy of it.

That doesn’t mean he’s some useless layabout. He owns plenty of animals, so he has no choice but to work from dawn till dusk. But he doesn’t seem to mind.

Every vrakhir has a sire, the one who turned them. For Brencis, that was Isbrand.

At some point, after many years of peaceful coexistence, the two of them grew apart. But Brencis didn’t just rebel against his sire, he did something much worse. After defeating Isbrand, he cast him into a mountain cave, where Isbrand was found by a group of kobolds. They kept him alive, but not out of mercy. They treated him as an endless source of food, feasting on him, then waiting for him to regenerate, and then feasting again, in a horrific, neverending cycle.

I helped Lacra find Isbrand, but I fear he’s beyond saving. I guess he wishes he could turn back time and never let Brencis live… but what’s done is done.

Iulian is a nobleman, one of the few Brencis spared. He pledged allegiance and became Boyar Ambrus’ vassal. This meant Iulian could keep his status and possessions.

But nonetheless, Iulian wishes the boyar dead. He knows, even though officially Brencis disapproves of feeding directly from humans, Ambrus feasts on his subjects whenever he pleases. Iuilian intends to use that to his advantage, killing his master by poisoning the blood of the vrakhir’s next victim.

Kostel acts before he thinks. He’s lucky he had a caring mum, Lina, who always took his side whenever things got out of hand, which usually meant him getting into a fight. My father said once, ‘the reason Kostel will never change is because there’s always someone to get him back on his feet’. I don’t know if he was right, but it continued even after Kostel’s mum died. Her nephew, Vlad, picked up where she left off, and started looking after the lad – partly because he’s family, but also as a friend, I think. Sometimes I get the feeling that Vlad encourages Kostel’s rashness instead of reining it in – but for what reason, I don’t know.

Seems like wherever one vrakhir turns up, more are sure to follow – some eager to serve, and others wanting to eliminate the new arrivals.

Lacra is the latter. Someone sent her here to get rid of Brencis, or so she claims. I don’t know much more about her, and she’s not exactly the outspoken type. But ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’, I guess…

Lazar is Gavril’s brother… and that might be the only reason he’s still alive. Of the two, Lazar has always been the freer spirit, some might say ‘absent-minded’ or ‘reckless’. But luckily, he’s had Gavril, who used to get him out of trouble every step of the way. Oddly enough, I’d say it does them both good. Lazar is free to live as he wants (or maybe the only way he knows how), secure in the knowledge that his brother is watching over him. And Gavril has somebody to look after. It’s not my place to judge them.

Leonica used to be Anca’s friend at Saint Tyna’s convent. When Anca discovered the secret library there, she told Leonica about it. Leonica lost her nerve and denounced Anca to the prioress, which then got Anca expelled from Saint Tyna’s. But this doesn’t seem to have stopped Leonica from taking an interest in the secret library after all.

Lunka is my sister. I remember when she was just a toddler, and now… She’s so perceptive and smart, always finding out how to get what she wants. But still, she’s just a child, chasing whatever fancy catches her.

And that combination has me worried sick. She can’t tell right from wrong, or safety from danger. I’m more of a parent to her now than mum or dad… and I haven’t got a clue how to do it. I don’t want to be watching her every step… But she can’t end up like Alin. She just can’t.

The manumits have many secrets, and their leader’s identity is one of the best kept ones. But, after quite a lot of effort, I managed to find him – even though he’d probably say he let himself be found.

And, though he pretends otherwise, he seems desperate. He’s running a tight ship, but also a sinking one. The manumits are outnumbered, hunted down without mercy… I could help them, and something tells me Crake already knows that.

Mert is a miller, and my friend Vlad’s cousin. I don’t know him well, but it seems he’s in league with the manumits, too. Maybe he could help me contact them.

The problem is, I have to be quick about it. Mert was arrested by Brencis’s soldiers and is now imprisoned in one of their outposts.

Mevasser is a Jewish rabbi, living in Neustadt district in Svartrau. Even though Brencis forbade practising any religion except the Blood Covenant, the Svartrau Jews continue to defy him – secretly. They’re taking a big risk, and that’s probably why Mevasser has been so cautious towards Crake and myself. He’s clearly a wise man, respected by his community and with vast knowledge. He’d be of great use for the manumits.

Mihai is the patron saint of Svartrau. According to stories I heard while growing up, he was a dragon-slayer who lived hundreds of years ago. As a child, I never questioned that, or gave it much thought at all… But it turns out the stories weren’t true. He wasn’t a Christian saint, but a pagan. He didn’t slay ‘dracones’, but ‘vrakhones’, meaning: ‘vrakhiri’.

And he wasn’t dead. I met him – and almost died by his hand. Right before he passed, he told me he had been betrayed, chained up and left to rot in Svartrau Cathedral’s catacombs. He also called himself a ‘dawnwalker’ and claimed that I was one myself. I don’t know what that truly means for me… but when I think about him, suffering for hundreds of years, unable to die or to break free of his chains… I can’t imagine enduring such a fate.

My little brother, Mirto, could hardly be more different from me. I was a pretty quiet child, while Mirto… Well, you know. He’s just a little ball of fire.

And I can’t blame him. Things have never been easy with our dad, and now, with mum’s withdrawal… I’m sure he’s dealing with a lot. I just wish I knew how to talk to him. Yanna keeps saying he’ll grow out of it – out of the anger and the attitude… but I worry she’s just told herself that so many times that she’s started believing it.

Anyway, being a young boy isn’t easy. I try to remember that every time he throws a tantrum.

While hiking through the mountains, I stumbled upon an uriash blacksmith. The place where she lived seemed secluded, even by uriash standards. I wonder what happened to her and why she isn’t with her people. Did she choose to live this way, or is she an outcast?

A mysterious man I met in Laslea. He claimed to have travelled from far away and seemed interested in me and what I’ve done.

I have a feeling I’m about to meet him again.

Nora is a working girl from Svartrau. She seems smart and resourceful and she definitely has a quick tongue. But that’s no use when you’re dealing with Andrei, the boss of Svartrau’s underworld. And yet Nora and her friend Ocha aren’t about to let him exploit them. They’ve got a plan and they need my help to make it work.

Most uriashi still live high in the mountains, but some chose to settle among humans. One of them is Bakr-Ocha, the daughter of clan Bakr’s matriarch. Her mother wants Ocha to be her successor, but she doesn’t seem interested.

Ocha is strong, even for an uriash, and enjoys brawling. But – unsurprisingly – she isn’t very good at reading people. She quickly got herself mixed up in some shady business with Andrei, the boss of Svartrau’s underworld. And she can’t just punch her way out this time.

My father… Where do I even start?

He’s complicated. He loves us all, for sure, but isn’t good at making us feel it. He’s the most hardworking man I know, but he may also be the most pigheaded. Life’s been hard on him, I get it, especially since mum got worse. But sometimes… there’s just no way to get through to him.

He’s taught me a lot, though. Everything I know about sword fighting I learned from him. We worked together in the silver mine, too, before it made me ill.

But his past is a mystery to me. People have told me he used to be a mercenary, but he refuses to talk about it. It’s strange – we’ve lived under one roof my whole life, and yet there’s so much about him I don’t know .

I don’t know the sanzhani Tsarina’s real name, but chances are I wouldn’t know how to pronounce it anyway. And calling her a tsarina may be an overstatement, since she lives in a burrow and doesn’t have many subjects… But then, for such a small and fragile creature, she’s very self-confident, so I’d guess she wields quite powerful magic.

Premysl is deeply religious. He has always taken the teachings of the Church to heart, maybe even more so than the priests who used to preach them. I imagine that every day under Brencis’s rule must be torture for him. Normally, he tries to hold back, but every now and then he’ll say something about ‘blasphemy’ and us being ‘lambs ready for the slaughter’ – which only adds to the tension between him and the more conciliatory of us.

Renna and her husband Mert own a water mill. They used to have two children, but the plague took them both. Renna works a lot – all the time, actually, and there’s always more to do. It’s even harder for her now, ever since Brencis’s soldiers accused Mert of aiding the manumits and arrested him.

Sara is with the manumits. She’s young – some might say, too young to risk her life like this. But if you asked her, I bet she’d say she’s exactly where she wants to be.

Skender Dragosti had ruled Vale Sangora for as long as I could remember. He ascended the throne in 1324, after his father died in a hunting accident. From his very first day, he ruled with an iron fist. He didn’t just exploit us all, like his forebears did. He was cruel and ruled entirely through fear.

It took nine years for people to muster the courage to revolt. But even then, he didn’t stop. He massacred the peasants at Shrike’s Crag, leaving no one alive. From that day on, nobody else dared to oppose him.

Until finally, Brencis did. And many people were grateful for that.

Tonis is a lumberjack and a brother of Heile’s. He thought his sister was dead, and was shocked to learn she wasn’t – especially since it had been many years since he last saw her. I don’t think he believed or trusted me in the beginning, but who could blame him? Still, he wanted to believe. I could tell he missed his sister a lot over all those years.

Uriash clans are led by powerful, magic-wielding women. And having met one, I can see where their reputation comes from. Bakr-Erga, the leader of clan Bakr, is a commanding presence. Could her spells make you sweat blood and drop your weapon? I don’t know, but I bet a piercing glance from her would do the job just fine.

In Laslea, Vasil has a reputation. He’s not keen on hard work, but does love giving other people a hard time. Me especially, on account of my friendship with Anca. Vasil’s father thinks he needs to beat this attitude out of his son, but I’m not sure he’s tried any other approach.

Vera is a herbalist. She lives in the swamps, and - as one might expect of someone dwelling in such seclusion - there is more to her than meets the eye. She is also a friend of Iulian Codrin’s and will hopefully help us carry out his plan.

Vicho, the owner of a curio shop in Svartrau, isn’t an ordinary man. He’s a vrakhir, but very different than the rest of them. He’s deeply religious, cares about his human friends and abstains from drinking human blood. But even so, I think he hates who he is, or at least struggles with it. He refused to get directly involved in my fight against Brencis, but offered some help nonetheless, and I hope that isn’t his last word on the matter.

Vlad is friends with both me and my father. And since the two of us are as different as night and day, this probably proves that Vlad could be friends with anyone. He’s almost twice my age, but the years haven’t weighed him down – which is an exception to the rule in Laslea.

Recently he’s become somewhat secretive, though. Some say he’s in touch with the manumits, the rebels preparing an uprising against Brencis. If that’s true, I bet he’ll want me and my father to get involved too.

Volk is an ex-mercenary and – supposedly – my father’s friend. In his youth he might have been a nimble warrior, but today he’s old, blind and always in search of a drink.

He claims he came to Vale Sangora after losing his sight, and asked my father for help. My father agreed, found him a place to live and – without anyone noticing – visited him every now and then, providing him with everything Volk needed to survive.

Since my father can’t confirm or deny any of this, I don’t know if Volk is even telling the truth. But made up or not, his stories about my father and their adventures are definitely amusing to listen to.