Cade Quarter
Cade Quarter was a the son of Sensa and Thadeus Quarter and the nephew of Nate Quarter, the descender. He was the protagonist of the Cade Saga.
Before The Nameless One
Cade was born to Sensa and Thadeus Quarter in Great Glade. His mother, Sensa, died when he was three years old to a disease known as the 'wasters'. Thadeus claimed she got it from distributing alms to the down-and-outs of East Glade and Copperwood. He however had a happy and stable childhood. He lived in the Cloud Quarter and attended the Junior Academy alongside the other privileged children of academics. In the mornings he had chanted his cloud tables, learned wind currents and studied phrax crystals; in the afternoons he had played tensticks on the playing fields or raced sumpwood model skyships with his friends in the long gallery. His father worked most of his life at the Institute of Phrax Studies, part of the School of Flight. He at some point received perfume his mother once owned, and a spyglass from his uncle with the initials N.Q. One night, his father woke him and told him to pack his things, for he had to leave the Cloud Quarter that night. When Cade questioned why he had to leave, Thadeus informed him that his brother, Nate Quarter, had returned. Thadeus told him of how Quove Lentis, High Professor of Flight, considered descending heresy, and how he was using the return of Nate to purge the academy of any he suspects of supporting the descenders. Both Thadeus and Cade were at the top of the list of those Quove intended on taking out. Cade was instructed to make his way to The Ledges, where a cargo-handler who owed Thadeus a favour would help hide him. His father also gave him a group of barkscrolls, which he claimed was very important. Cade packed up his things hastily, including his mother's perfume, the spyglass from his uncle, and his father's barkscrolls, and made out for the Ledges. He had run through the deserted cloisters and courtyards of the Cloud Quarter and down the avenues of Ambristown to lose himself in the alleys and backstreets of the Ledges district. After an hour of searching he had found the small tumbledown house belonging to Lembit Flodd, a humble cargo-handler, and his young family. Lembit had been expecting him, and his wife had given him a warming mug of charlock tea before showing him to a hammock by the chimney place. The next day, Lembit had returned from the marketplace with an ashen place. He informed Cade that Quove Lentis was sweeping the district looking for him, and that his father was found dead at the bottom of the School of Flight. Not wanting to put their lives in danger, he made his way to the top of the Ledges, and became a forlorn hoper.
The Nameless One
Hoping to hop onto one of the skytavern, Cade waited in the top of the Ledges together with other forlorn hopers, who want to begin a new life in Hive. Cade, unlike the others, successfully jumped on a sky tavern, but was brought to the criminal Drax Adereth. Drax threatened to inform the guards of the blind passenger if he didn't pay off for the voyage. Cade agreed to steal when Drax Adereth showed him the fingers of other bling passengers. When released, Cade nevertheless struggled to steal and ended up helping Tillman Spoke with raising his prowlgrins when the pedigree grey prowlgrin Rumblix imprinted on him. When a fellow blind passenger gave Cade a pearl purse to conceal, Cade was caught and, having deeply disappointed Tillman Spoke, fled from the sky ship. He abandoned ship on the sky platform of the Farrow Ridges, where he settled down. Struggling with his life in the Deepwoods, he met new friends such as Gart Ironside who supplied him with tools, Thorne Lammergyre who helped him build his house and Celestia Helmstoft who introduced him to the secrets of and joys of a life at the Farrow Ridges and in the Deepwoods. A 'monster' in the Deepwoods turns out to be Tug, a Nameless One who along Rumblix became Cade's companion. When Celestia's father, Blatch Helmstoft, disappeared exploring the caves behind the Five Falls, Cade, Celestial and Thorne went in to search him. They encountered the White Trogs living behind Five Falls, but failed to rescue Blatch at first. It then turns out that Gart Ironside stole the red jewel the adventurers were supposed to be sacrificed for but came back because he regretted what he had done. Cade however was wounded and barely survived but a stranger who introduced himself as Goom sacrificed his last water from Riverrise to save Cade out of gratitude for saving Tug.
Doombringer
Events in Doombringer
Doombringer begins with Cade Quarter fishing in a lake, then suddenly a Snagtooth eats the fish on his line and almost kills him. We find out that the fish was put there by a Webfoot Goblin, Phineal Glyfphith, who came to Farrow Ridges to look for and to investigate the Great Blueshell Clam that has appeared at the bottom of the lake.
Phineal tells him of how their old home had been ruined by the Mire-pearlers, who killed all of the Clams, including the Great Blueshell Clam, for their pearls. The next morning Phineal takes him diving in the Lake to see the Clam for himself, Cade is amazed as he sees one of the three ancient ones for himself. Phineal makes him swear not to tell anyone of the Clam.
Then Celestia decides the next morning, that Rumblix is large enough for Cade to ride him, and they quickly discover that as a pedigree grey, he lives up to his name. They then go and see Thorne, who shows them how he has interpreted Cades fathers old Phrax drawings, they find that his fathers so called "Phrax force" could be enough to power up to 400 factories if the chamber was large enough.
They have a short run in with a Logworm, in which Phineal is injured, so Cade has to put up the rest of the lanterns, which will later tell the other water goblins where to land their second age Skycraft. They later have a party to welcome the new goblins, who are here to tend to the Blueshell Clam.
Phineal takes Cade for a ride in his skycraft, and tells him where he wishes to build the new Fifth Lake Village, named after the four lakes where Phineal comes from. Cade then wanders off into the woods to gather some wood when he meets a strange bearded man wearing a large coat and carrying a phrax pistol. He says his name is Merton Hoist, they instantly suspect him of being a mire pearler as his pistol had one on the handle.
They realise that Tug is missing and instantly go looking for him, they instantly suspect the strange man that Cade saw earlier. They go after him in Phineal's Skycraft, they soon catch up to him and get Tug back after nearly crashing his skycraft.
They then find a clearing full of logworms, and are captured by a clan of Hammerhead Goblins, called the Shadow Clan. They find the ring on Cades hand, given to him after rescuing a member of the Clan from a Bloodoak. The Shadow clan agree to help them in case of an invasion by the Mire Pearlers. They then go to the caves of the White Trogs, who say that as long as the Mire Pearlers stay out of their caves, they will not fight them.
Cade and Gart go up to Garts sky-platform, and have a quick run in with a couple of mire pealers, before spotting their ship, the Doombringer. Which has a phrax-cannon and lots of warriors on it. They quickly go back to Farrow Ridges to make a plan. They decide to go to Hive to sell Celestias necklace, which they use to enter the races in Hive, which they would then bet on Cade winning the race. On the way to Hive they come across some Shrykes who they trade with.
They then go to sell the necklace to Landris Bellwether, who gives them a good price of 500 hivers. The next day they enter the races, and make it to the final two, but then lose to Whisp, the rider of Tillman Spokes Prowlgrin. They realise that Gart made a bet on both racers, so they win the money anyway.
They then go and buy the Phrax-Muskets from Tove Gripply, who gives them 1000 Muskets and 25 cases of ammunition. But sadly they lose all of these in a huge storm on the way back to Farrow Ridges, and return with nothing.
They soon find out that Merton Hoist is still alive, and he intends to dam the falls and drain the lake to get to the Clams. He goes to see Tug and Celestia, and finds them defeated, as all the attacks they have made on the mines have been pushed back by the Mire-Pearlers Cannon.
They form a plan to cover the Hammerheads in mud, so they can approach the mines without being seen. The mire pearlers see them, and dispatch all of their Sloops, and focus the cannon on them, exactly what they wanted. They use this as a diversion to get up to the mines, yet the White Trogs are already there, fighting the pearlers.
Then suddenly, as all of the Mire Pearlers are right where they want them, the hammerheads fall flat to the floor, as they are covered in mud, they are essentially invisible. Then out of the tree line comes dozens of Logworms, who eat all of the Mire Pearlers and their ships. Cade is soon confronted by Merton Hoist, but Tug grabs him and they are safe at last.
The book ends with four things, firstly we see Fifth Lake village being built with the remains of the Doombringer, then Thorne shares with Cade another breakthrough on the Phrax-Chamber, we see Drax Adereth from the Xanth Filatine. Finally a strange woman appears off the ship, looking for Cade, she says that she is from Santaphrax.