< Labyrinths of Echo

Labyrinths of Echo/Characters


Following is a list of characters featured in the the Labyrinths of Echo and Chronicles of Echo novel series.


Lesser Secret Investigations Force

The magical police of Echo. Tropes associated with the SI include:

  • Mage Killer: This is basically what the Secret Investigations are. Since most Magisters who return to Echo from their exiles usually come for blood, the SI's deployment often entails the use of deadly force. In particular, Juffin and Shurf are renowned for their mage-slaying achievements. The team's reputation usually is enough to end with a hasty surrender most cases when deadly force is not needed. Unlike most examples, however, they use magic to combat magic--they just minimize its use.
  • Non-Indicative Name: Despite the SI's full title of "Lesser Secret Investigations Force", there is no "Greater SIF"; their existence are hardly a secret to anyone (what they do frequently ends up a state secret, but they are no Secret Police); and the "Force" (the corresponding Russian term can be also translated as "Army") consists of less than ten individuals.
  • Oddly Small Organization: The Secret Investigations. At the beginning of the story, it is just six people charged with enforcing the Codex within a vast city. By the end of the series, it's still nine persons strong.
  • Who You Gonna Call?: The Secret Investigations. Regular police deals with regular troublemakers and untrained mages, but when something majorly supernatural happens or involvement of a strong mage is suspected, the SI is called in.

Sir Max

The protagonist of the series, currently holding the title and the gold-on-black garments of "Death in King's Service".

  • Author Avatar: Sir Max is an avatar of Max Frei, who is a fake persona of Martynchik.
  • Big Friendly Dog: Droopy, Max's Wasteland Shepherd. Named by Max as a tribute to a certain white dog with long ears who solves crimes. Very protective of Max and at least borderline sentient. Already the size of a St.Bernard's dog as a puppy and now grown up.
  • Blessed with Suck: Max is an "Arbiter", which is incredibly rare in Echo. The last Arbiter is King Mönin, while our world has many more of them. Arbiters are BornWinners in regard to power, luck and intuition, their words actually shape reality on the Dark Side of the world. The downside is that all the wishes of an Arbiter, regardless how small, become reality - without conscious control over when, where, and under which circumstances this will happen. Death also supposedly considers Arbiters a prized morsel, and they are exempt from any and all ways to cheat... although the Keyifaya elves think otherwise.
  • Brought Down to Normal: Happens to Max in Nests of the Chimerae, although an ancient wind falls in love with him, rendering Max a Weirdness Magnet. Also, subverted during his first return to our world in Volunteers of Eternity: he first thinks his life in Echo was All Just a Dream, but then decides to try out his magic powers and finds them in working order.
  • But Now I Must Go: Max escapes the Quiet City, yet finds himself incapable of staying in Echo. Max's very glance is now deleting objects from reality in Echo - he tells Juffin that only by chance he found it out staring at his bedroom's roof. Later Max will confess that the whole story was a cover-up - he simply was rejected by the world.
  • Cosmic Plaything: Max, oh so much.
  • Cute Kitten: Max acquires two kittens who in his care grow up into magnificent "carpet tigers", Ella (female) and Armstrong (male). (Incidentally, Max named them after Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, though there's nobody to appreciate the reference in Echo. As common cats kept on farms are mean and lean, the general public of Echo assumes Max has imported a rare breed of cats and makes a beeline for the first litter, starting a new fad.
  • The Empath: While not a Healer, Max is capable of feeling and sharing the pain of others.
  • I Choose to Stay: Not that much of a choice, given how much Max likes his new home from the start.
  • Mind Control: Probably due to Max Arbiter status, Max's Death Orbs, otherwise a reliable One-Hit Kill spell, instead turn people into obedient slaves. There is a small chance that they will function as originally intended, however, so Max always has to make sure there isn't a part of him that wants his target dead before casting this spell. As Death Orbs manifest the Arbiter status of Max, they also affect the undead, some landscapes, at least some magic devices, some really weird entities and potentially Max himself. Once again due to Arbiter status, those under Max's control can perform feats beyond their power, beyond Max's power and sometimes simply beyond limits of reality.
  • New Powers as the Plot Demands: You name it, Max can do it (eventually). And then some things nobody knows how to replicate. Sometimes including himself. The status of a Cosmic Plaything occasionally gives crazy perks.
  • Unwanted Harem: the Khenkha tribe assumed Max was their lost king and dumped three twin sisters on him.
  • Wild Magic: How any magic tends to behave around Max. Juffin sometimes refers to him as "Wild Wind".

Sir Juffin Hally

The chief of SI (a.k.a. the Most Honorable Chief of the Lesser Secret Investigations Force) and Max's primary mentor.

  • Big Friendly Dog: Khuf, Juffin Hally's dog. Looks like a shaggy bulldog and lacks in size what he makes up in friendliness. At least borderline sentient and capable of telepathic Calls.
  • The Dreaded: He used to be high in the Echo's Most Hated list among the Orders' mages. As the Most Honorable Chief, he even had to change appearance for more aged and less predatory looks because people were too scared to ask for help (which also means the problems would be left to escalate, and early on LSIF was insanely busy even without that).
  • Professional Gambler: Juffin's skill at card games is legendary. He used to play for living and is now forbidden from playing with money at stakes by royal decree. His fellow Kettarians who lead merchant caravans to and from Echo also earn their bonuses by playing with traders and tourists en route.
  • Professional Killers: Juffin Hally worked as one for a time. His real motivation was elimination of powerful irresponsible mages to stave off the end of the world. Also, his two apprentices in prequels.
  • Sobriquet: "Chiffa" (after the local silver fox) when he pretended to be a professional gambler, then "The Kettarian Hunter" or just "The Kettarian" (after his hometown) when he pretended to be a hired killer.
  • Shattering the Illusion with a fair helping of Epiphanic Prison: this is Juffin's preferred teaching and motivation method - he does the shattering and watches those affected struggle towards their epiphany of the day.
    • After Max returns from the Swamps of Gugland, he tells Juffin that the Swamps made him doubt the very existence of Echo. Juffin answers: "Echo is your favorite illusion!", then makes some spell with a gesture, and Max is treated to a glimpse of whatever is the next layer beyond / beneath Echo.
  • Sink or Swim Mentor: Juffin, in spades.
  • Sparing the Aces: The reason Juffin couldn't bring himself to kill Loyso Pondokhva, the most dangerous Grand Magister of the entire Age of the Orders, who unlike ignorant majority actively worked to achieve The End of the World as We Know It - because Loyso demonstrated a small capacity for True Magic. Much the same happened with "the Mad Fishmonger".

Sir Melifaro

One of Juffin's two deputies in SI (the Day Face of the Most Reverent Chief; Max is the Night Face). Youngest son of sir Manga Melifaro. Referencing Manga Melifaro's Encyclopedia of the World in 8 tomes, Max will jokingly adress his colleague as "Ninth tome".

  • Last-Name Basis: Sir Melifaro. He doesn't have a name.
  • The Omniscient by being Blessed with Suck: Melifaro sometimes acts as a type 2, being able to accurately guess things from insufficient data. The suck comes from Melifaro having absolutely no control over triggering this skill.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: With Shurf Lonli-Lokli, no less. Not that either of them fully qualifies for "Vitriolic" (for different reasons), but he does what he can to stay sane in the presence of an admirably talented, but infuriatingly perfect human being. Results vary.

Sir Kofa Yokh

Master Listener of SI.

  • Blessed with Suck: Kofa's ability to be where he needs to be isn't consciously controlled and has no regard for the well-being of the pursued.
  • Da Chief: In the Backstory.
  • Disability Superpower: Kofa Yokh never sees dreams unless Max is involved and therefore has no capacity for True Magic. According to True Magic experts, this is what makes Kofa extremely competent at Plain Magic.
  • Involuntary Shapeshifter and Voluntary Shapeshifting in one: Humkha Yokh, one of the seven founding masters of the Order of the Seven-Leaf, enchanted his only son Kofa to improve Kofa's character and appetite. The resulting sir Kofa Yokh in Echo is in his default appearance an elder, wise, patient and jolly gentleman of somewhat round proportions. If sir Kofa leaves the vicinity of Echo, Humkha's enchantment fades and the world is treated to the original Kofa Yokh, whom Max described as a "Lord of the British Empire ... arriving at an Arabian royal court". The aptitude at shapeshifting seems to be hereditary, as sir Kofa can change his own and others' appearances at will, although the out-of-Echo Kofa dislikes doing so.
  • Living Legend: Not only he made a very nice contrast with both preceeding and succeeding police chiefs, but managed to keep the city mostly inhabitable and functional during an all-out high magic civil war in general and saved untold number of specific people in particular.
  • Merlin and Nimue: He and Lady Kekki Tuotli end up an a relationship, both professional and personal. It goes surprisingly well.
  • Sobriquet : The seldom used epithet "Right-Bank Dragon" (from the time when he worked as the police chief of the right bank of Khuron, the river Echo stands upon). Consider that this nickname was earned during the Epoch of the Orders.
  • Retired Badass: Kofa considers his new job to be much more comfortable, as his old one contained such merry tasks as hunting Chiffa. Nonetheless it was Chiffa a.k.a. Juffin who had to evade Kofa by using True Magic (though Kofa later did mention that he's quite happy it wasn't the other way around).
  • Scarily Competent Tracker: Sir Kofa Yokh in his position as the Master Listener, and as Echo's closest approximation to a P.I. in the prequels. His ability is literally being where his current interest works best, and that includes tracking an otherwise unknown person just by wanting to arrest them.

Sir Shurf Lonli-Lokli

Master Interrupter of Unnecessary Lives, currently holding the title and the white garments of "Truth in King's Service".

  • Badass Bookworm: Collecting the knowledge in general and hunting for lost lore through the books in particular is his Call.
  • Big Friendly Dog: Drimarondo, the only part of the eponymous bequest Shurf Lonli-Lokli took to Echo from the Khotta county. When standing on hind legs, the size of Melamori. Fully sentient and capable of speech after imbibing some experimental potions.
  • Eyes Do Not Belong There: After Time Skip, sir Shurf gets one embedded into his glove. The way he managed to do it remains obscured.
  • Hand Blast: Gloves of Death. The properly made left projects an almost unstoppable instant incinerating "snowball" of white fire. The right glove was made "merely" of a wizard's hand bitten off mid-spellcasting and paralyzes the victim instead.
  • Implacable Man: Very, very few have ever escaped Shurf when he was going for the kill.
  • Join or Die: How Juffin secured Shurf's cooperation. It was a Fate Worse Than Death he threatened him with, namely, leaving Shurf at the mercy of two undead Magisters whom Shurf doomed to a Fate Worse Than Death himself.
  • No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: In-Universe - Shurf was never expelled from the Order of the Holey Chalice, owing to the fact that his antics greatly improved the Order's standing even if he no longer answered to them.
  • Obfuscating Insanity: Early on, Juffin advised him to exploit the reputation and pretend that he's still batshit insane "Mad Fishmonger" - so that others would as long as possible still see him as something like a roaming mad dog rather than a cold-blooded and competent enemy.
  • Phlebotinum Handling Equipment: Sir Shurf's protection gloves, designed to handle everything else while wearing two pieces of weapons-grade Applied Phlebotinum on his hands. Also, his fingernails are covered in the same protective runes as on the protective gloves (inked with an indelible ink) and another one he had to write on his palate with enough of poisonous ink to forever change his blood, but not kill him - so that the inside of his killer gloves doesn't kill him, too.
  • Photographic Memory: Juffin offhandedly mentions that Shurf is able to recall, word by word, any conversation he has been privy to.
  • The Stoic: Shurf Lonli-Lokli's ability to keep a cool head is legendary. Max later learns that both the current Shurf and the Mad Fishmonger are mask-like aspects, and the true Shurf, as possibly seen on the Dark Side, is above that sliding scale.
  • That Man Is Dead: Deliberately self-induced, to prevent the ghosts strange remnants of those murdered by his wilder, younger self from catching up with him.
  • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Shurf took the Fishmonger (keeper of holey fish bassins) job of the Holey Chalice Order and drank all the water in the bassins, taking up the power supposed to be slowly distributed to about 600 fellow order members. The things he pulled off earned him the "Mad Fishmonger" monicker. And that was during the Order wars - when, as he mused later, not only it was incredibly hard to stand out in this regard between the antics of other mages, but no one in right mind would want to stay in Echo at all. He pulled the That Man Is Dead listed above to survive some consequences and returned to his original name, Shurf Lonli-Lokli.

Lady Melamori Blimm

Master of Tracking the Hiding and the Fleeing Ones.

  • Armor-Piercing Slap: to Max after his Arbiter powers combined with her own talent for dream magic caused Melamori a nasty Bedmate Reveal.
  • Can't Catch Up: It is eventually revealed that Juffin, Shurf, and even Max (with some quirks, as usual) have the same Tracking ability as herself (if not a talent for this), which leads to a massive loss of confidence and inferiority complex for Melamori and eventually, a self-imposed exile to Arvarokh (from where she returns wielding powers that nobody can even begin to replicate).
  • Commander Contrarian/Rebellious Princess: She's from an old noble family connected to the Order of the Seven-Leaf. She also inherited her father's stubbornness and competes with him in "who's more disagreeable" from her early childhood (the family joke says she does it longer than that - because he wanted a boy in the first place) or simply seeks to shock her parents - she admits that this was why she ditched the traditions of deadpan self-control and became quite impulsive, and in part why she works in King's service. Though she's not contrary all the time, and occasionally ran with the tradition - for one, studying basics of outdoor survival early (her father's consideration was "for now the times are peaceful, but who knows what may happen?", while Melamori did this simply because it was fun). Her uncle (who is in the Order) mostly watches these two with mild amusement and occasionally tries to calm their squabbles a little.
  • Dream Weaver: Being the love interest of a True Magic user and a True Magic user herself, Melamori more than once finds herself waking up where she dreamt, not where she actually slept. She got a talent, but the first time it expressed in an obvious way she panicked. And then, Tubur tradition which everyone else uses is a bad match for her, because it focuses on living mostly in the dreams seen as an improved substitute of the waking world[1] while she is naturally inclined to throw herself into action. Of course, this also means it's a good source to pick those few little things that could complement her restless attitude with its downsides, but it took a lot of hard shaking before she tried, long after receiving advanced training elsewhere.
  • Flight: Melamori was admitted into the burivukh society at Arvarokh and gained the power to turn into a burivukh herself.
  • Hot-Blooded: She is prone to angry reaction and often overreaction at whatever scares or frustrates her, and so on. And easily fires up for a challenge. Which is a part of what makes one a good Master of Tracking, but also makes this particular job more dangerous.
  • I Just Want to Be Badass: And also sometimes frighten people, preferably by turning into something scary (though carrying an exotic spider-like creature on her shoulder was an acceptable substitute for a while). She learned to fight long ago, but while hanging out with several legendary mages it became less than satisfying.
  • Put on a Bus: Her stay on Arvarokh between Simple Magical Items and Swamps of Gugland.
  • Scarily Competent Tracker: by having the Tracking gift.
  • Spirited Competitor
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: Max and Melamori. Max claims a mutual That Man Is Dead after Melamori returns from Arvarokh, saying that where two lonely kids were, now reside a wise burivukh lady and an Arbiter gone utterly crazy. And then Max gets stuck in The Quiet City. And then he flees the inescapable place, but has a reason to not return to the World of Rod.

Sir Luukfi Pentz

Master Keeper of Knowledge.

  • Absent-Minded Professor: he knows how many feathers each burivukh in his care has, but never notices such mundane things as a cup of kamra falling down because he swept it from the table with his clothes.
  • Berserk Button: Do not offend the burivukhs where sir Luukfi can hear them.
  • True Sight: Luukfi's gift is to see things as they are. He can tell individual burivukhs apart and simply doesn't notice an elaborate magical disguise worn by Max. This is not a spell, but an incredibly rare innate ability, as Max is told that currently there is only one more person in the Kingdom known to possess it.

Sir Skalduar van Dufunbukh

Master Escorter of the Dead (mortician of the LSIF). Technically member of the LSIF, he appears very rarely and never participates in any field work. A connoisseur of poetry.

Sir Totokhatta Shlomm

The previous Master of Tracking and Shurf's friend. Killed on duty - ambushed by an adversary with a few tricks up the sleeve and a Glove of Death on the hand - and avenged with the same weapon soon after, naturally.

  • I Let Gwen Stacy Die: Shurf couldn't be there in time for Totokhatta, and mentions this when watching out for the younger colleagues.

Sir Numminorikh Kuta

Master Scenter, who joins SI in Green Waters of Ishma.

  • Dream Weaver: While Max was absent, Juffin refused to teach him "important" things because he is Max's apprentice and Juffin is superstitious like this (and also insists that Max performed the appropriate ritual, step by step, without even knowing). But this wasn't a problem if Numminorikh learns something almost completely unrelated. And then it turned out that he learned from mother the language of dream masters.
  • The Nose Knows: Scenters are rare individuals with this power. Calling upon a Scenter is a viable alternative to calling upon a Master of Tracking, as Masters of Tracking have different limitations and are vulnerable to other side-effects and countermeasures.
  • The Pollyanna: He's no fool, but habitually and enthusiastically expects anything unexpected to be good news... and this works for him often enough to bewilder Max.
  • Renaissance Man: He didn't need income, and thus lived as an eternal student. First as a habitual mental exercise [2], then for fun, but he ended up learning a lot of potentially useful stuff in process.
  • Scarily Competent Tracker: Numminorikh's family was strongly tied with the Order of the Clock of Backwarding Time. His mother held the position of Master Opener of Doors. Numminorikh learned from her, and with his ability to open and pass any door, including doors on the Dark Way and doors between worlds, exceeds at tracking beyond the capabilities of a Master of Tracking.
  • Superpowerful Genetics: His mother was a prominent witch in the Order of the Clock of Backward Time, and father a Junior Magister in Order of the Water Crow. Which says something, since Loyso enlisted mostly young prodigies, and his Junior Magisters often could stand against Senior Magisters of many other orders in a single combat (i.e. had comparable power, plus "a little" extra to make up for being several centuries behind in experience).

City Police of Echo

The ordinary, non-magical police force of Echo. Tropes common to them include:

  • Badass Normal
  • Brats with Slingshots / Bayonet Ya: The Baboom slingshots are standard issue sidearms for police and non-magical criminals alike. Max finds them quite funny... until he sees them used in combat (explosive pellet hits tend to be messy). And when out of ammo, the slingshots are used as melee weapons - all 3 ends of the slingshot are sharpened to this end.

General Bubuta Bokh

The thoroughly incompetent police chief of Echo. Promoted to his current position due to the previous Chief's promotion to LSIF and as recognition for his commendable services during the War of Codex.

  • Bad Boss: He is not a bad man, but incompetent and rather insecure about it. As such, for the rest of police he quickly became a problem second only to his mean relative, until the latter was unlucky enough to be seen by Sir Max in a dream and retired the next day.
    • Eventually, Bubuta met a potential assistant both capable of getting along with him and competent as a detective, hired the guy and semi-retired into purely decorative role, to great relief of everyone involved.
  • Boisterous Bruiser: He's a big, loud and generally benign lout of a warrior.
  • Cigar Chomper: General Bubuta Bokh, after Max gives him a box of cigars he accidentally acquired for a present.
  • Da Chief
  • Hollywood Tourette's: Played for laughs.
  • Unfit for Greatness: He was good in the war, and even personally saved the old King, but as a chief of police he's an embarrassment.

Kekki Tuotli

One of police lieutenants who first appears in A Ship from Arvarokh and Other Bad News. She is secretly in love with Kofa Yokh and eventually works her way up to the SI to become his assistant as the second Master Listener.

Order of the Seven-Leaf

Grand Magister Nuflin Moni-Mach

Successor to the Order's original Seven founders who has steered it through the War of the Codex and until present day. Nuflin is often described as greedy and paranoid. His telepathic Calls are barely noticeable - Max describes the feeling as having an extra thought, and only later noticing it wasn't his own. He abdicates in favor of Max or whoever Max chooses as a successor in White Stones of Kharumba.

  • Greed: His deeds deserve legends, but he's more prone to inspiring anecdotes - about what a miser he is. The people who know him better are certain that his reputation is not exaggerated. He's not stupid about this and can throw as much resources as it takes at something he considers worth the expense - but would also make sure his rich Order embedded into the most prosperous state in the world doesn't waste even a worthless crumb for no gain.
  • Jerkass: He got his vices, and is almost universally distrusted and/or hated, except by very few friends and people far above it all - for many different reasons, from petty to quite good ones. He got a sense of humour, though.

Lady Sotofa Hanemer

The "chief witch" of the Order of the Seven-Leaf, though she rarely engages in politics like Nuflin. This is common for all Orders.

  • Cool Old Lady: she rivals Nuflin and Juffin in terms of power and effectively the Seven-Leaf's decision-maker in all things outside of politics.
  • Involuntary Shapeshifter: on the Dark Side, lady Sotofa automatically regains the stunning young look. Or rather loses her usual "grandmotherly" look deliberately chosen to set people at ease.
  • Really Seven Hundred Years Old: Lady Sotofa is about as old as Juffin, they grew up together in Kettari.
  • Voluntary Shapeshifting: Lady Sotofa's default appearance is a nice and friendly white-haired lady looking like everyone's favorite grandmother. With a simple gesture, Lady Sotofa can shift to her juvenile appearance. Max describes the young Sotofa as utterly stunning.

Lady Reniva

An apprentice of Sotofa, whom Max met together. Juffin's personal secretary in the early years of LSIF. Nuflin insisted that LSIF must have an observer from the Order attached... and Sotofa sent her favorite apprentice, who greatly helped with papers.

Lady Tinna

Another apprentice of Sotofa. A former member of the Beggars' Foremen guild (which requires no small prowess of character and magic) in Gazhin and a hereditary member of an old culinary tradition. She had a brief romance with Shurf, then expressed interest in further magical learning and joined the Order.

Melifaro family

Sir Filo Melifaro.

Elder Magister in the Order of Hidden Grass. Left Echo to search for his order's voluntarily exiled Grand Magister. Father of Manga Melifaro, paternal grandfather to Melifaro and his brothers. Filo built parts of the house at the family's homestead, creating at least one bedroom with restorative and protective spells woven in the building.

Sir Manga Melifaro.

Former member of the Order of Hidden Grass. Left Echo for several expeditions and wrote the Encyclopedia of the World in 8 tomes from data obtained on his travels. Echo's foremost and sometimes only expert on various subjects. Sir Manga is bound by numerous oaths of silence - the information withheld from the encyclopedia would easily double its volume. During an especially dire situation somewhere on Arvarokh on his last expedition, sir Manga swore an oath "to the sky above" to never leave the Uguland province of Echo again if he was to survive, thus ending his career.

Babkha Melifaro.

Firstborn son of Manga. Gentle Giant of the family, possibly due to ekhl blood.

Anchifa Melifaro,

Second son. Anchifa accompanied his father on the expedition to Ukkumbi, and there became involved with the rites of the Naval Hunt. The shamans of Ukkumbi "turned the wheel of his destiny" - Anchifa became something unheard of in Echo, a pirate.

  • Don't Fear the Reaper: After Anchifa started his career as a pirate and amassed a fairly large bodycount, Death herself (at least Anchifa claims the avatar to be female) made a deal with him, saying that it is not his destiny to serve her. Now Anchifa can suppress the fight instincts of his victims with a mere glance, thus avoiding unnecessary bloodshed, and in exchange Death sometimes looks at the world through his eyes and walks within him.
  • You Can't Fight Fate: After passing the Initiation Ceremony he cannot be anything but a pirate, and bound to slowly go insane if he tries to resist - or is prevented from acting on - the urge to sail and plunder. But he's fine with this, at least now that his reputation and strange ability made fighting mostly avoidable. One former Ukkumbian pirate managed to get training of a Master of Dreams and as such prove that to do something else and stay sane it's enough to regularly practice piracy in controlled dreams... Anchifa found this out, but wasn't interested in doing the same.

Melifaro.

See his entry at LSIF.

Other residents of Echo

His Majesty Gurig VIII

The incumbent King of the United Kingdom, son of Gurig VII who won the War of the Codex. Described as pretty and fairly young, friendly and easy-going to a fault. Bisexual, as often seen with elves and elven descendants.

  • The Chains of Commanding: The full set of Court ceremonies is far beyond capabilities of almost anyone in right mind, and even with "tricks of the trade" like sending Body Doubles to unimportant formal ceremonies, it's a quite busy and inconvenient life. After a few "informal" audiences on which Juffin congratulated the King for achievements in his struggle against the Court traditions, Max began to wonder why anyone in right mind would ever want to usurp the Throne, much less take risk fighting for the right to be fed by the kitchen infamous for using the worst tasting recipes in the whole city.
  • Government Conspiracy: He created one. As an unofficial part of checks and balances.
  • Royalty Super Power
  • Training from Hell: "It's not because he is the King, it's because he was a crown prince..."
    • Determinator: Iron will is what gives half of the other perks. The monarch shows impenetrable courtesy and good humour, no matter what. Also, he used to dislike puzzles, but then exercised his intellect because he thought it's useful to do so - much like one would sharpen a sword. And so on.

Lady Tehhi Shekk

Proprietor of an inn named Armstrong and Ella (after Max's cats) and Max's girlfriend between A Ship from Arvarokh and Other Bad News and The Return of Ugurbado. Also, the only daughter of Loyso Pondokhva.

  • Artificial Human: Doubly so! First, she's a magical construct 'child' of a certain Magister, second, due to "inherited" properties she's a personification of Max's wish for perfect girlfriend. Or rather, she likes Max's company because she enjoys reflecting his mood and becoming the one as whom Max wishes to see her. And chooses other friends using the same approach, of course.

Sir Rogro Zhiil'

Owner of Echo's newspapers.

  • Blood Knight: during the War of Codex, sir Rogro Zhiil' was a novice in the Order of the Seven-Leaf popular with the others. According to fellow combatants' testimonies, he was there not out of loyalty, but just for the thrill. He got kicked out of the Order and sentenced to a decade in Kholomi for using Forbidden Magic in a street brawl just a few days into the Epoch of the Codex, and while doing time invented the daily newspaper out of boredom.
    • He got an opportunity for a brawl again after he had a romantic involvement on another continent - since he always was too enthusiastic and tried to be involved, the assistants weren't capable of handling the business on their own for more than a few days, which soon led to things like trying to milk a weird incident for attention by publishing series of random speculations of increasing inanity, and not stopping until the King told them to. So when the boss returned, the employees he found responsible for introduction of yellow journalism in Echo got thrown out. Out of a window. And this time the local judiciary on his case was rather easy and understanding - for one, they weren't amused by dropping quality of the only available newspapers either.
  • Da Editor: subverted. Rogro Zhiil' is the editor and owner of Echo's respectable newspaper, "King's Voice", and unknown to the general population, also the editor and the owner of Echo's somewhat tabloid "Fuss of Echo". Yet he is a refined gentleman, a skilled astrologist[3] and among the favorite lovers of His Majesty Gurig VIII, much to Max's surprise.
  • Propaganda Machine: What his media empire is when he feels need to. After all, the paper is even named "King's Voice"... Most blatant use of it takes place in A Talkative Dead Man.

Sir Andä Pu.

Journalist for the "King's Voice" and poet. Grandson of retired Ukkumbian pirate Zokhma Pu. Zokhma settled down in Echo as the chief cook for the Order of Green Moons, as the Grand Master of the order was very fond of ukkumbian food. Andä befriended Max and Max's cats as he barged into Max's home in a desperate attempt to get an article / interview after a foolish boast to pull said interview off. Emigrated to Tasher and started his own newspaper in comic format. Max later finds one of those newspapers on board of a Tasherian commercial ship.

Others

His Majesty Mönin

An ancient King from the Age of the Orders.

  • Barrier Maiden: Actually, a Barrier Guy: King Mönin, the only known Arbiter in the history of Echo, was asked by the ancient time-traveling Magisters to exile himself to the inescapable Quiet City. The reasoning was that a prisoner's desire to get home is the strongest wish there is, and when coming from an Arbiter, it will ensure the continued existence of the world for him to return to, thus preventing the apocalypse. Max was brought to Echo with explicit purpose to relieve Mönin, but Juffin didn't expect the latter to escape just seven years after Max's arrival.
  • Shrouded in Myth: By the late Epoch of the Orders, people were more than fuzzy about most crazy stuff he was doing, but he certainly remained one of the most memorable Kings. In part, because his antics were outstanding even in Echo standards. In part, thanks to Ancient Conspiracy doing this on purpose.

Loyso Pondokhva

  • Bad Boss: He was quite charming just being around, fascinating to talk with, and perhaps a good teacher at least in fair weather to another prodigy... but even his "favorite" apprentices were never sure the Great Magister won't just blast them into ashes in a fit of annoyance the next time they meet. This didn't exactly create a cheerful atmosphere.
  • Beware the Superman / The Paragon Always Rebels: Loyso Pondokhva was the greatest Plain Magic talent of the later millennia. The generation of Kholomi High Royal School absolvents intended to destroy the ancient Orders to strengthen the King's position. Loyso and his comrades disposed of the ancient Orders and then went on to found their own Orders or take existing ones over. Loyso acknowledged the threat of The End of the World as We Know It, yet actively worked to this end, in part because he wanted to try grabbing the world's power (which is theoretically possibly for those witnessing the destruction), in part out of rage he habitually used to sweep away fear and other mental nuisances. Loyso is later shown to explain his motivations to Shurf as coming to the conclusion that history is a meaningless repetition, the World's Heart inevitably drives the best and brightest insane (he did include himself), while those who aren't any good at magic are sad fools beneath his notice.
  • Child Prodigy
  • The Dreaded: To the point that about a century and half after the war ended the older locals argue whether recreating the outside appearance of his Order's residence for use as a Horror House attraction is going too far.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: Juffin understood that to have any chance of real peace Loyso Pondokhva really needs to go, but at the same time wanted to spare him if possible due to his unique talents. Thus he devised the trap to remove Loyso from the world and trap in a "heavy dream".
  • Tailor-Made Prison: Juffin pulled him into tiny world of "a moribund crone's dream" and sealed the entrance to Khumgat. Loyso survives by funneling his power into prolonging the woman's life, thus keeping his "world" from vanishing.
  1. ↑ Master Eshi was an exception - but then, he left his homeland due to irreconcilable philosophical differences and very few know of him
  2. ↑ Scenters not doing this as children get somewhat bestial - when The Nose Knows, its owner doesn't need to think much, or ask questions, and is constantly distracted by sensory input
  3. ↑ in Echo, astrology is an exact mathematical science, as their very moon cycle is too variable to be used for calendar purpose
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