Diushi

First emperor - Qiangde Long

Language is called Diushan. The civilization it replaced was the Sheng Empire, so the original language was Old Sheng.

Kobolds

Broken Knives

14 members remain, none younger than Kaz

Katri - elder sister - pink fur, silver eyes, some scarring on chest

Oda - Chief, crimson fur, silver/blue eyes

Rega - den-mother and healer, garnet red fur, orange eyes

Killik - strongest adult male, brother of Oda and Rega - reddish-Brown fur

Lek - 2nd strongest adult male - dark green

Bik - female, recently became adult, about Katri's age

Gin - male - dead - older, contemporary of Oda and Ghazt, red fur

Kol - male - dead - only a few years older than Kaz and Katri, used to gather with Kaz, red fur

Lis - pup - dead

Palla - pup - dead

Kam - adult female, but not strong - Kol's mother - dark purple fur

Ghazt - Blue male - Katri and Kaz's father. He looked like Kaz but with silver eyes. Ghazt's last words were

"Listen to your mother."

Longtooth Tribe (Longknife)

Seventy or eighty members. lives a few levels deeper that Broken Knives, defeated Kaz's tribe in luegat

Mital - gray fur - leader - deceased

Daughter Maza - pale green - deceased

Daughter Mika - dark green - deceased

Daughter Mella - dark gray - deceased

Mital's mate - green fur - deceased

Latz - strongest male left after Mital's mate was killed. Bright green fur. (Katri's future mate)

Daughter Moru - pale gray, almost silver, still a pup when Mital was killed, Katri plans to have Kaz become her mate

Lem - male pup, dark gray, almost black - Moru wants him to be her mate

Jul - almost adult male, served Kaz breakfast

Nik - almost adult male - served Kaz breakfast

Palefurs

lives on the level between the Longtooths and the Broken Knives

Lorn, large white male mated to the tribe heir - wields a metal knife

Graybelly

Rule much of six levels under the Longtooths, including the elevator Ogden runs. Remained mostly neutral in the conflict between Broken Knife and Ironclaws. Wear yanching leather breastplates. Granite hammers. Kaz has free passage through their land for one year for delivering the message to Lignan from Ren. By the time the Broken Knives reached this level, they were already too weak to take any territory from another tribe, so they ended up living in the spaces between. In this case, between the Graybelly tribe and the Ironclaws. The Ironclaws were relatively new at that time as well, though they were going down, rather than up, and they hadn't yet settled in.

Lignan - chief - yellow and white ki

Ren - chief's heir, mate of Kellin

Kellin - copper fur, orange eyes - brother of Oda and Rega, mate of Ren, Kaz's uncle, he was traded as part of one of Oda's failed

luegats

Pol - male guard

Nat - male guard

Ironclaw

Warriors have iron sheaths on their claws, which they use to fight.

Idil - leader, hated Oda - maroon and gray - red and yellow ki

Blackbow

Black to gray fur, use bows and knives, control the level about 9 above the mid-levels, control the only stairs on that level

Vix - small male who runs to warn the tribe the humans are coming

Vida - dark gray female, daughter of the chief, low in the order of succession

Vilti - chief, mother of Vida

Stoneborn

Control the base of the stairs 8 above the mid-levels. Recently rose from mid. Green or greenish-yellow fur.

Listet - Chief female - gray-green fur, withered leg, grandmother of Lidi, bright core, can make her light hover, instead of being attached to an object

Lidi - Granddaughter of Listet, helps her grandmother, fur the color of green agate

??? - Powerful female, emerald fur, sulfur eyes

Pilik - male trainer of warriors, yellowish-green peridot fur

Lonti - dark green male (almost black), young, not much time for Kaz

Nadi - yellow female, den-mother

Yumi - eight-year-old female gatherer - fascinated by Li, orphan

Jek - older gatherer

Pim - older gatherer

Kir - male numb-mind pup, died during spirit hunt

Pia - lanky rust-colored female a little younger than Kaz. Helpful

Jin - oldest male pup, leader of the gatherers

Lan - yellow eyes, darker muddy (brownish) green male, brother to Lok - gatherer guard, doesn't like Li. 'Punished' by being assigned to help Nadi with the puppies.

Lok - slightly lighter muddy green male, brother to Lon - gatherer guard, indifferent. 'Punished' by being assigned to help Nadi with the puppies.

Copperstriker

Totem is a skull dyed gray and eyesockets filled with copper fuergar teeth. They use the same teeth embedded in hard bones as clubs. Last before mid. 'Captured' the humans. Short but very muscular, males have a thick ruff of fur protecting their throats.

Bek - male, squat and powerful, very long fangs, thick, dense ruff of fur around neck, silver-blue eyes, loyal to Pilla (mate is grayish-purple, has two identical older pups). Gray-speckled dark fur

Pilla - female leader- head and shoulders shorter than Kaz , long copper fur, droopy ears, brown eyes (may take a green-furred Bonewalker as mate)

Litz - female, wants to be/challenges for chief, mid-brown long fur, orange eyes (dead)

Golik - brown male with very long fur, brother to Pilla and Litz, red eyes (dead)

Namid, Poil, Dezre, Keil - rebels who supported Litz and were exiled with her (dead)

Baji and Mik - two males who escorted the party from the CS den to the mid-level stairs

Bronzearm

Tried to take over the mid-levels, drove out the Stoneborn through vara. Forced from Deep for unknown reasons. Totem bloody stone knife stuck in the skull of a woshi

Davik - dead. Mate to Scov Sharpjaw. Found in the

fulan

by our party

Rolpa - chief in the Deep. She refused to listen when told not to press into

mosui

territory and even managed to kill several

mosui

, leading to the

fulan

infestation.

Sharpjaw/Woodjaw

Mid-level tribe. Black fur, brown eyes dominant. Encountered when Kaz saved three of their warriors from an abomination.

Scov (mate to Davik) - dead - traded to the Bronzearms. Black fur, brown eyes

Pils

- youngest male saved by Kaz and the others. Zyle's son's last surviving pup. Dark brown fur.

Regz

- male saved by Kaz - went with the party - medium gray fur - likes to sing, left-handed

Civ

- male saved by Kaz - black fur, green eyes, tall and strong, considered very good-looking by kobold standards - engaged to Etle of the Redmane tribe - went with the party

Ilto

- male - went with the party, brown fur and eyes, looks like a corgi fluffy round ears and curly tail. Barely more than a puppy

Zyle - elderly male, gray fur and brown eyes, Pils' grandfather, mate of the former chief, father of the recent one, and the de facto leader of the Sharpjaws with no females left

Tekdu - dead chief, Zyle's daughter

Nuji - Tekdu's daughter, not adult, Tekdu wanted her to mate with Civ - deceased

Redmane

Blonde or golden fur, males dye the ruff around their necks red, while females have dyed 'tattoos' all over. their fur (kind of like henna) Use a combination of bows and red-dyed bone clubs lined with obsidian chips.

Etle - pretty, very pale blonde with green eyes - engaged to Civ, gold core, strong

Elvi - white fur, blue eyes, Etle's younger sister and Ehlan's second daughter, barely an adult - white and gold core, strong

Hod - mate of the chief, tall and strong, with light gray fur and dyed vivid red fur around his neck, green eyes

Ehlan - chief of the Redmanes, gold fur, light brown/gold eyes, yellow ki (mixed with black when Kaz meets her)

Huss - Hod and Ehlan's son. Silvery gray fur and silver-blue eyes.

Irondiggers/'Muckdiggers' (derogatory)

disrespected but serve as something like traders because they move around all the time. They wandered the edges of other tribe's territories, trading things that couldn't be found on one level with tribes living on the next. They never engaged in luegat or vara, and many of their members had been expelled from their birth tribes for being too weak or useless. Most tribes looked down on them, though their arrival was also a cause for excitement, since they always seemed to have something interesting or unique

Goldcoat tribe

Live in the first few levels of the Deep. Subsidiary to Goldblade tribe, totem is yellow-painted leather stretched over a kobold skull, use knives made of an alloy with a bit of gold for color. Wear gold armbands indicating their connection to the Goldblades.

Tezne - chief in the Deep

Senge - leader guarding the mid-levels after the

fulan

appeared. Tezne's younger daughter, yellow fur, yellow eyes, wants a Goldblade son for mate, gold and white ki

Brez - Senge's birth-brother (born at the same time as her), yellow fur and yellow eyes

Kibbiz - female with light brown fur

Berin - Senge's older sister, gold and white ki. She and Senge are rivals and seem to dislike each other intensely. There's a wide scar on her lower back, lost part of her tail and most of the feeling and movement in what's left

Dat - very large, sly and ambitious, male, mate to Berin - son of Goldblade chief, Idla, brother to Dett, yellow fur and dark eyes

Jul - old warrior healer, light brown fur with a white blaze between his eyes, orange fur, brown eyes, chief Tezne's mate's brother

Guni - male warrior

Loge - male warrior

Loor - Jul's assistant

Jia - orange-furred female, Jul's sister, strong in body and ki, with red and gold ki

Woodblade - weakest of the tribes, artists and crafters, allied with earth and water, but wary (at best) of the fire tribe, took care of

niu

and

yumi

fields (along with water knives) and grew other 'crops' and the Tree - first was Cyeba, Ghazt's mother was Enght

Mithrilblades

Great Tribe. smiths - steady and strong, historically supported Magmablades. First was Zren. Totem is a kobold skull upside down, with a knife driven through the jaw and into the brainpan, make abstract art sculptures with metal

"Mithrilblades are the greatest smiths among us. They use forges heated by molten stone, and are the only kobolds who can craft using mithril and adamantium. All the weapons used by the Great Tribes are created by them, and each one will last for centuries unless they're raised in battle against another of their own kind."

Avli - young female leader, very soft white fur, blue eyes. Likes Kaz (as a friend) and was friendly with Ija when they were younger.

Zava - deceased chief, mother of Avli

Tiga - a white female guard who guides our party to the human servant's quarters in the Deep city. Green eyes.

Narn - Tiga's mate, pale silvery gray

Shom - a great smith, possibly part of a family whose strongest female always takes the name Shom. Not talkative. Able to bend adamantium. Wears leather clothes, including pants, shirt, gloves, wrapped boots. Dark brown eyes and yellow-blonde fur. She has hairless/furless patches on her head and face, probably as a result of being burned while working. Habitual snarl. Short stump of a tail.

Waveblades

care for the yumi fields now that the Woodblades are gone, but used to just do the pools,. Run the equipment that raises and purifies water from the rivers beneath. Neutral to everyone else but have historical enmity for the Magmablades - First was Shibi

"The Waveblades control the water, drawing it up from the rivers that run beneath the Deep. Without them, we would only have what trickles down from above, and we would use that up within a hundred years. Waveblades can create a water source in any den, so tribes can settle wherever they wish, without having to hunt for a pool or spring."

Tisdi - black fur and eyes, even her claws were painted black, so only her teeth and the whites of her eyes are white

Khara - Tisdi and Chotta's adopted daughter, dark gray fur, black painted claws

Chotta - Tisdi's mate (this is unofficial, since they can't have pups, but everyone knows), a female, black fur with a white stripe from nose to tail-tip, black and white core, very strong

Magmablades

Magmablade - work with the Mithrilblades to keep the fires going, run the forges - first was Tegra (Princess Tiyang Long was actually the sister of the last emperor). Used to be a Great Tribe, but now officially subsidiaries of the new Woodblades

"Magmablades command the fires of the earth. They work with the Mithrilblades to run the ancient forges. They could heat a den without fire, or take control of an existing flame, turning it against those who started it. If they were still as strong as they once were, they could wipe out the fulan on this level in hours, and destroy the monsters born within it in seconds. Now, it's all they can do to make the forges hotter or colder as the Mithrilblades require, and the only reason they still exist at all is because the mountain created them."

Kyla - youngest daughter of Vega. Pink tufted fur, gold eyes, yellow, red, and blue core, very powerful. Burn scars on her right shoulder. Father Rudu is half Goldcoat and half Woodblade. Kaz's cousin.

Vega - Oda and Rega's sister, Kyla and Ija's mom, chief of the Magmablades after Oda was exiled from the Deep, crimson fur and very dark blue eyes, tall, slim, considered beautiful by kobolds

Rudu - Kyla's father, Vega's mate, half Goldcoat and half Woodblade, peridot/yellow-green fur and yellow eyes, brother to Tezne, Berin's uncle, tufted fur, short and wide

Ija - Kyla's older sister, assumed to be the next chief, red and yellow core with faint sparks of blue, dark red fur and yellow eyes

Gram - Ija and Kyla's little 'brother' (adopted), his father was Ija and Kyla's brother, but he and his mate died in a monster attack, and Gram has been living with Chix and Acha ever since, though Ija and Qhurg have been very involved. Bright blue fur and powerful blue core

Shoc - a bullying male puppy, larger than Gram

Vrak - a male puppy who tends to hog the toys

Chix - a grayish male puppy whose core isn't working and leaks mana, Qhurg's little brother

Acha - Chix and Qhurg's mother, takes care of Gram

Sika - female who serves as den-mother in the puppy den, dark red fur with lots of gray, sagging jowls, sister of Oda's mother (Kaz's great aunt), grandmother of Acha, great-grandmother of Chix and Qhurg

Qhurg - red male Ija likes, calm intelligent. Deep brown eyes. Chix's brother

Reit - female puppy, very young, still walks on all fours (crawls) most of the time. Greenish blue fur, gold core with a fair amount of blue.

Achi - young female pup with purplish-red fur, mischievous, father has red fur

Efna - Magmablade female who is kind and likes puppies

Goldblades

Miners - chief is Dett's mother (Idla). Closest allies of the Woodblades. First was Idje. Gold beads on their necklaces

"The Goldblades are the only kobolds who can mine the mid-levels and the Deep metals. Their females can shift immovable stone, and our most ancient howls say they could once pass through that stone, finding hidden veins of mithril and adamantium."

Idla - chief, Dett's mother, yellow fur and topaz eyes, tall, broad-shouldered, muscular, core no longer as strong as it was

Dett Goldblade - Captured by the

mosui

while on his spirit hunt. One of the oldest miners, claims to have found stairs in the

hoyi

nest. Light brown/"gold" fur, and blue eyes. Son of Idla. Engaged to Avli

Teck - Dett's father, small and slim, brownish fur and blue eyes, half Woodblade on his father's side, deadly and lean

Mila - Idla's oldest daughter, yellow fur, short and slim

Kric - big male, strong warrior, one of Idla's personal guard

Uzid - one of Idla's personal guard

Gren - one of Idla's personal guard

Woodblades

The 'weakest' of the Great Tribes. Very artistic - inclined to sculpture and painting. Males were treated as equals with females within the den, though they acted at least somewhat subservient in public spaces. They maintained the yumi fields and the Tree. Almost all of them (including all of the chief's family except Ghazt) died in a fire before the Broken Knives were exiled from the Deep. Now reinstated, since a new chief has been found. New members have been pulled from all of the tribes in the Deep.

Gram - young puppy with a powerful blue core. Formerly a Magmablade, but now the new Woodblade chief. He's being raised by Acha and trained by Ija and Idla.

Ghazt - The old chief's son. He was believed dead long before he actually died.

Random tribes:

Darkpelts - the tribe Katri plans to declare

luegat

on if Kaz doesn't come back or send someone for her. Their chief wants to hold a territory for her daughter, Katri is stronger, and the tribes are well-matched

Bonewater - vicious and strong

Bittergrub - reasonable

Coppertalons - higher

Coppermane - nearly destroyed by the Silverfists in

luegat

Silverfist

Unnamed - at least some males use two copper blades at once

Unnamed - females mount copper fuergar skulls on their shoulders

Gorebelly - paint their stomachs red. Live(d) at the very top level of the Deep. Oda challenged them and lost.

Goldfangs - controlled the stairs at the top of the nine

mosui

levels when the Broken Knives went through. Oda had the gatherers steal from them on the way.

Farpaws - a Magmablade subsidiary Kaz's family lived with

Kobold language/customs

birth brother/sister - a sibling born at the same time (twins or rarely triplets)

Two day mourning period, males packed in jejing moss and burned immediately or with their females, if applicable. Females are left in a closed hut with smoking jejing moss, so mourners can visit. Burned after the two days (with any males). Chapter 297 for kobold burial howls. Males are burned with a weapon, arms over their chest. Females have their hands by their sides.

Pups are naked, get first loincloth before gathering, get another decorated with teeth and claws after spirit hunt, and males get one from their mates, which comes from the family and will only be worn for ceremonial occasions

Bow to females, hand over heart to warriors

Bright howls - a farewell between friends (fair howls is more generic)

Fallen ones - Tribes who weren't able to hold territory in the mountain, so they leave. (they become unintelligent, with only the females capable of more than what you might expect of particularly intelligent dogs)

Numb-mind - a kobold who can't think properly

Luegat - ritual battle for territory, where the females fought each other, and the males fought to protect them. Many males usually die, but it's over when a female leader is killed or concedes. In case of death, after two days of mourning, the winning tribe can then:

take goods/males from the loser, leaving much/all of their territory

take over the territory of the loser, allowing the other tribe to flee

kill the adult females, leaving the adolescent ones to take the tribe and flee

kill all the females and absorb the tribe, usually then splitting off one of their own females as leader of a new tribe containing a mixture of males from the original and conquered tribes

Vara - basically war. Because of some insult, the leader just says, 'we're going to wipe you out', and then they come straight to the den and do it. Some members, especially pups or unmated males, might be taken into the conquering tribe.

Husede

Ogden - a Gray Dwarf/husede - bald, black eyes, pale gray skin - about the same height as Kaz - works the elevator, traded cloth handkerchief for passage (gharaklin - word Ogden uses as an epithet "not another gharaklin" could mean anything from idiot to human). Probably quite old, has high body cultivation, but only mana.

Jingli

- manager, what the

husede

who are given the devices that control other collars

Ziyou - word that means freedom, key word for the

husede

revolution

Trasig - male

husede

who should have been leader of the

husede

warriors

Kithrik - a male

husede

, brother's son/nephew to Thabil, wields a hammer, has one gold epaulet "a piece of carved gold attached to the shoulder of his shirt", leader of the

husede

warriors

Claikni - husede female who was watching the stairs with Orko and Grel (and two others)

Eritherlun 'Erith' - a male

husede

who wanted to delay firing the ki cannons

Lady Thabil Lothitsdottir - a female

husede

who wants to stay in the city, even as slaves. 8th level

jingli

Qiyi Thabilsson - Thabil's son

Mosui

Mole-men - Star-nosed mole-like beings. They live where there is no light at all, except that cast by the red ki-crystals. They have extremely refined sense of hearing, and walk hunched over. Their jaws and claws are very powerful, and they are independent and belligerent. Chitter and squeak, though some adults are able to produce very high-pitched speech. Huge, flat hands with wide claws. Broad, stubby arms covered in (usually dark) fur so short and fine it they look bald (though they're actually very, very soft and slightly fuzzy), Nose was longer than a human's, but shorter than a kobold's, and flat on the end. Several finger-length tentacles waved gently around its damp, pink nostrils, and tiny eyes stared at him from within heavy folds of skin. Have a hard time with sounds formed by the tongue, /t,d,n,l,s/ They walk slowly and waddle.

Yanshu - female silver

mosui

, albino. Torments Li and Lianhua. Zhangwo's 'granddaughter'.

Zhangwo/Pantu Lianren - ancient leader/creator of the

mosui

, also white furred, great great great etc grandfather of Yanshu. Not particularly organized, and probably at least a little crazy

Former kobold slaves

Eld -

yumi

reed gatherer, young warrior, very small, Nogz' brother, light brown fur with white spots. Former Bronzearm.

Nogz -

yumi

reed gatherer, Eld's younger brother, puppy, tan fur, soft white spots, light/golden brown eyes

Surta Redmane - gray male with a long, narrow muzzle. Brown eyes. Practical and manipulative/sneaky DEAD

Dax Bronzearm/Bronze City - dead-eyed, speaks little. Brown fur. Black eyes

Zargo - kobold who found a yellow crystal and hid it from Surta

Geru - former miner who leads Kaz et al to the stairs down. Has been helping burn

fulan

. Brown fur, brown eyes, muscular build

Ratre Woodclaw - male missing right paw, gray fur, older, one of the eight who came down to the Deep with Kaz - Ghazt's second cousin, his tribe were the Rockclaws until Ratre's grandmother, a Goldblade, mated and became their chief (chief when the Woodblades died was Nika), gray-blue

Vik - brown-furred male with only one hand, one of the eight who came down to the Deep with Kaz

Minc Darkbow- youngish male with dark brown fur, was scratched by a mosui during the battle, infected leg,

one of the eight, Darkbows serve the Wavefangs, who serve the Waveblades

Trig, Drel, Strem - three puppies in the mid-level puppy den

Dugo - a brown-furred older puppy who was captured very young. Green eyes, short muzzle that causes breathing problems, drooping ears, one leg shorter than the other. Very anxious. Quiet, gentle voice.

Grel - a male kobold with bright-yellow fur. He worked for a

mosui

family and wasn't treated badly.

Orko - an older gray-furred former miner whose attitude is basically "I do what I want", missing one ear, with a thick scar from his collar.

Vek (orange kobold) and Vakhus (orange mosui child). Vakhus saved Vek and Vek protected Vakhus during the uprising Vakhus calls

mosui

round-pups

Dragons and servants

Qiangde Long - first Diushi emperor, all five elements (born with gold and blue)

Renao - young female dragon with all runes gone except sticky. Yellowish-brown scales. Playful. Relatively small

Yanshi - a freed dragon, male, green scales, large, yellow eyes, still has the 'ephemeral' and 'viscid' runes because of a damaged upper dantian

Huoyan - red dragon assigned to watch over the humans and kobolds at the time of the rebellion

Dongwu - female human who created the canine kobolds

Nucai - male human(probably) who created the

xiyi

. Remains inside the Tree. Constantly writing with a magical pen.

Jianying - black dragon who aided the rebellion of the

xiyi

, and stayed to be their 'Emperor' after he was injured in the battle against Qiangde. Qiangde's brother. Born with only black ki, black tendrils that float around his face, now has black, white, yellow, and red, but hasn't managed to acquire blue, so the

xiyi

have been able to retain that color, since he can't steal it. Kind of an idiot. Can roar to carry his ki.

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Xiyi and servants

Xiyi - reptilian/Nucai's kobolds' name for themselves

Trunzas - the

xiyi

who killed Qiangde

Ganring - Jianying's son(?) with Guaruka, a

xiyi

queen. He wants to be emperor of the humans. Black, white, and yellow ki.

Guaruka -

xiyi

queen and Ganring's mother

Zhihs - small female, fierce, Snen's egg-sister

Kus

Ukark -

kus

is a respectful title for an elder/wise one. Ukark has dull blue-gray scales and drooping forehead spikes. Wears a long robe, much like Nucai. Eyes and claws are yellow. Knows and likes Snen. Lots of blue ki.

Chekdrusk - green

xiyi

, one of the two hunters who originally lost Mei, very cranky about being demoted. Wanted to have Zhihs as mate.

Snengriak (Snen) - xiyi, mottled brown and bronze, one of the two who originally lost Mei, Kaz removed the duqiu (rune-stone orb sphere) under his skin. Zhihs' egg-brother

Intong - bronze dragon with red (dominant) and yellow ki

Palcher - Human, man who's worked for the

xiyi

for three years, (two voluntarily) From Slavik

Jerit - Human, Squad A leader, almost as tall as Raff (There are squads a-e, with smaller, more dextrous men on E and bit, powerful men on A)

Doran - blonde man "hired" by scalies/

xiyi

, told that the runestone was just to track him. His cousin did the run the year before - speaks in slovak(ish). From Slavik. Grandmother/

babi

is from Holiander

"Wronged one" - what traditional xiyi call dragons

Zuzhou - the emperor's curse, the layer of runes blocking dragon's upper dantians

Xiongdi - dragon-brother/sister, what some xiyi call their dragons

Duqiu - poison rune-stone, can set limits and take the person's ki/mana. Can be used to send ki or mana to the person, but that usually kills the person and is painful. Can be used on anyone

Fangqiu - Can only be used on those of draconic heritage. Allows the user to copy their bodies and steal their ki

Fuzhi - the copies made by putting fangqiu beneath the skin of a person with draconic heritage, steals their image and their power

Sao - a common greeting between xiyi

Fengan meiyoushe, fengan yiqie - In risking nothing, you risk everything

Party

Kaz - blue fur, blue eyes - 4'6" fights with knife, then bare-handed - strong spiritual sense (can see others' ki) - too young for spirit hunt - Broken Knife tribe - mother Oda*, father Ghazt. Born with Wood, Fire, and Metal, and a tiny smidge of Earth. Nucai added Water and more Earth. He's choosing to lean into Wood

Li/Plum - gold dragon - starts with Earth/Metal/Water (gold/white/black) - mostly gold eyes with swirls of white and black, go silver-white when angry, larger parent was blue/white (probably dead), while smaller one (mother) was gold. Current wingspan about ten feet, still mostly gold, but with a dark obsidian nose, white toes on all four paws, a crown of ruby horns, and a deep sapphire patch over her heart (subject to change). Written name is the runes for fly and gold

Lianhua Long/ White Lotus(Flower) - scholar - 5'2" researching the Diushi- white hair, violet eyes - clothes are made of fuulong silk, which protects from almost everything except some crushing damage - wood/water/earth - Tin Body(became early Iron at end of book 2, and is Mid-Iron by chapter 300), Early to Late Foundation - first daughter of the Xiang leader's first wife's first daughter, who married into the Long (dragon) clan, considered a "fairy" for her beauty and power. Became Grandfather Long's adopted daughter after her ability to sense ki became known, and people kept trying to kidnap her. Favorite tea Longjing, Favorite flower lotus blossoms. Small dog Gao. Triple Life cultivator. 22 years old . Sometimes swears by the Enlightened Ones, but isn't devout.

Grandfather/Elder Yufei Long - just a little taller than Lianhua. Has yellow, white, and black ki, with a hint of red. Black eyes and long white hair and beard/mustache. Flies on a sword. Very powerful.

Grandmother Baihe Long - red and blue ki, calls her husband Yufei-ai (Yufei-love)

Chi Yincang/ Hidden Fang - Bodyguard - smells faintly dusty - 6'0" Black hair, black eyes, short black beard - short black robe with embroidered elephants (he changes this to pure black after Gaoda is gone) - spear wielder (a spear, with a leaf-shaped spearhead and a gold and blue tassel lashed just beneath it, stored in a ring on right middle finger) - Water/Metal (less than young master, son of an outer family) - Iron Body. Lianhua says he's Late Refining, but is almost certainly stronger. Duality. Uses Shadow Arts/art of shadow/Dao of the Shadow Calls Lianhua Li-xiao in his mind. Yingtao is Yingying. Kyla is Kyla-keai (Kyla-cutie) To My Little Flower: A Brother's Gift. Spear spirit is named Jinmao

Gaoda Xiang/ High Elephant - scholar/young master - 5'10" fuulong silk Blue robe with gold and silver embroidery of elephants - Mother is a granddaughter of Grandfather Long. Gaoda is the third son of the second son of the leader of the Xiang clan - Gold hair, blue eyes - Metal/Water - Tin Body, Early Foundation - Gaoda's power matched his hair and eyes; gold and blue leaped from his hands to his glowing orbs, while his body retained less of the light than that of Chi Yincang - Double Life cultivator

Yingtao - 5'5" Lianhua's attendant/bodyguard, who became sick and had to stay behind at an inn - mid-Refining (4th level) - garden image - daughter of a merchant family and one of the daughters of the Xiang clan's fifth wife. Chi Yincang calls her Yingying. Bright green eyes and long dark brown hair, usually in a high ponytail. Lianhua's father's mother's sister's granddaughter. Has Wood and a tiny bit of Water ki, like her brother, even though Lianhua tells people she only has Wood. Calls Lianhua Xing-an, and Chi Yincang Chi-ge. Expert in poisons, including gu, which is made by sealing venomous creatures in a container, where they would eat each other and concentrate their toxins into a single survivor. The survivor would then be fed on by larvae, and the final larva would contain the poison.

Chi Yincang is ten years older than Yingtao, and they have different mothers. Yingtao was brought into Chi Yincang's mother's house when her mother died (she was too young to remember) and his mother wasn't happy about it. Chi basically raised her, and he absolutely adores her with all the love of a father with a squishy-cheeked little girl who toddles up with a flower saying "Papa, I wuv you!" (except her flower was probably poison hemlock) When a member of the extended family was needed as a companion for Lianhua, they didn't even really get a choice, and off Yingtao went. Chi Yincang wasn't going to put up with that, and went to Elder Long to sell himself into servitude in exchange for continuing to care for his sister, even in secret.

Raff (Grafton) Fedorick Hillcroft - 6'6" Fighter, works for a mercenary group (Adamant Reach - chapters) - armor (including cuirass) over a regular tunic and pants - saber wielder (heavier and considered somewhat brutish) - orange hair, beard, gold eyes - would be considered mid-iron - swears by Pellis (Pellis-forgotten/cursed, Pellis' pants, Pellis' pits, Pellis' frigid nuggets) - his sword is self-cleaning and remains sharp, but otherwise isn't magical, mid-brown skin (think Hispanic or possibly Middle Eastern) - Calls father 'Da', five older brothers (two are/were decent, and three are obnoxious. Oldest is Ricard, probably obnoxious), one younger sister (Jeanne/Jinn - six years younger, 24 now), and left home because his parents were trying to force him into a (safe and prestigious) life he didn't want. He ran away at 16 (eventually got in contact again, so his family knows he's safe and where he is, but rarely visits - now almost 30) Mother is a Mariner (a member of a sea-going race who live on ships as traders and pirates) from the family Khoros (Khoros fleet), which is one of the largest and wealthiest, though there are no nobles, her family fills that role

Dragons and Dice - a card game with dice element, Ironic, because Raff was now sneaking a duo of kobolds and an ace of dragons into the guard's town.

Humans

Foss - redhead, male guard in Wheldrake

Helmund - owner of The Old Crow - an inn in a medium village (Wheldrake) on the way to the mountains. Raff led Lianhua and the others there on the way, but they stayed at the Jeweled Chalice because Gaoda wanted someplace fancy. a retired member of Adamant Reach. Left hand missing. Has many daughters. Married to Elena.

Theobold - a bearded part-dwarf (¾?) in the axe tournament. Friendly but loud, with moss in his beard

Aimee - a pretty brunette Raff flirts with at the tournament

Albert - runs a bad skewer shop and trades in information

Joneh - gray-haired man who died (scale-licker, guard)

Wymar Knucklebrand - inventor and seller of war wieners/dogs. He uses the Imperial spice

rougui

in his sauce (cinnamon)

Mignon - a friend of Raff's. He owns a house near the Cliff, but his wife didn't like it, so he never uses it anymore

Vesthar - a half-elf smith, brown hair, yellow eyes

Nadia and Mikal - a young girl (6yo, short brown hair) and her older brother. They live in Cliffcross. They have a large, shaggy dog named Brute (brown and white fur, round brown eyes, floppy ears, shaggy tail). Their mother's left shoulder was injured, Kaz and Li fixed it. Their mom and dad have brown hair.

Blythe - Nadia and Mikal's mom, wife of Corvin. Brown hair. Former merc.

Bard and Bee

Samara - barmaid and waitress, red hair

Joseph - Bald, bearded barman

Harper

- Slim, androgynous bard, short brown hair, soft mana

Genevieve

- curly black hair, half Mariner, husky voice, tall, likes Raff, calls women darling, calls Adara Ada

Adara - golden blonde (long hair), pale blue eyes, leader of an underground smuggling and information ring, swears by 'the gods' and has mentioned Rhydon

Bella

- half dwarf with lots of brown braids and wispy eyebrows, defensive, thinks all males are after her (it's her dad's fault), Joseph the barman's daughter, Samara's half-sister, wanted to join Order of Brass all-female mercs

Henriette and Glass - two females who were injured in the incursion, but would have been part of Harper, Genevieve, and Bella's fighting team

Mages

Praxar - a high-ranking mage who is also related to the royal family

Fabian - Reina's cousin, a mage, killed(?) by Chi Yincang

Eleus - a mage apprentice

Reginald - Adara's inside mage

Nobles

Lord Palmer - a nobleman of unknown rank who was supposed to lead Lianhua out of her rooms during the incursion, a crony of Prince Phillip's

Countess Greer - (wife of Earl Greer) - wears a blue wig and voluminous skirts, undoubtedly a

xiyi

, King Maleim's first cousin once removed, lives in the country because of her 'poor health'

Lord Hartton - was supposed to send guides (or guide them himself), but Gaoda pissed him off, so they had to hire Raff instead

Lord Demetri - a high-ranking Royal Guard, trusted by Ruben, third son, brown eyes

Baron Ruben - husband of Princess Isabel, smooth operator, perfectly cut brown hair and brown eyes, thick brows and long nose, usually looks disdainful

Royal family

King Maleim - first cousin once removed to Raff's dad

Queen Natalia - wears a blonde wig, actually has graying reddish-gold hair

Prince Lucas - heir, kind of a wuss, and a pushover, but not the villain, unmarried, used to wield the Wand of Gilthan

Prince Phillip - second son but ambitious (two kids)

Princess Isabel - married to Baron Ruben, fluff-headed (two kids)

Princess Anna - newly married no kids, likes to dance

Princess 3 - unmarried, likes to dance

Princess Reina - 19 - long pink hair and very blue eyes. A surprisingly tough cookie. Best friends with Jinn. Got stuck outside the palace when the

xiyi

took over.

Mariners who ended up at the same barracks as Kaz and Raff and provided info

Tollus - Master Defender for the Khoros family ship

Pellis Blessed

. Leader of five.

Cynric - had a small scar by his mouth.

Milton- was the shortest. More mana than the others. Can mildly sense magic. Pale brown eyes. Curly black hair.

Keane - was almost entirely one color, brown skin, brown eyes, brown hair, brown clothes, all the same shade. Soft voice. Practical.

Wakeman - had only one and a half ears, and the half remaining looked more like it had melted than been cut off.

Bear - flat-faced man working with Ellie and Lep at the Barrow

Lep - weaselly man, with bulbous blue eyes and thick lips, works with Bear and Ellie at the Barrow, deep voice

Two-Faced Ellie - a robber currently working out of the Barrow. She and Raff have a history. Head is shaved on the sides, wears the rest in a platinum blond curly ponytail. Dark chocolate brown eyes, golden freckles, an imposing nose. Not beautiful, but striking. Former member of Adamant Reach, who was caught stealing from her clients.

Raff's family - Hillcroft

Ma - Neris Khoros - tall, well-muscled, 60, but doesn't look it. Dark skin and iron-gray braids. Brown eyes

Da - Duke Jost - very bright red hair

Ricard - 43 - Verena's husband, can fight, daughter Rissa (6)

Phillipe - 42

Timon - 40 - retired at 35 after ten years in the military. Holds rank of Colonel. Auburn hair, tan skin. Crow's feet. Brown eyes. Thinning hair. Raff punched him in Wheldrake.

Guillaume 'Gil' - 38, works in Logistics (moving and storing goods)

Oliver - 36 - became a functionary at court

Raff (Grafton) Fedorick Hillcroft - 30

Jeanne/Jinn - 24 - curly red hair, little sister

Mison - Da's nephew?, can fight

Verena - 35 - Ricard's wife, daughter Rissa, can fight

Agrian - an old soldier who once trained all of the Hillcroft boys, and one of Duke Hillcroft's most trusted men. One blue eye. Still works for the Duke, but traveled with Timon to find Raff.

Adamant Reach

Miles - one of Raff's good friends from the Adamant Reach - once got tricked by some miners with Raff

Eugene - leader of the Adamant Reach. Old, gray hair, very imposing, described as very tall and broad

Groat - gold coin with copper. Worth less than an Imperial gold.

Places

The Barrow - a literal burial mound that a group of robbers found and made into their hideout.

Cape Locke - the far south-western point of Holiander. Raff says his mother came from past there.

Grimgar Wilds - west of Wheldrake. Beasts emerge from here, trapping Wheldrake between it and Mt. Scarabus. Good place for adventurers, but not much else. Wheldrake sits on a trade road protected by soldiers

The Old Crow - an inn in a medium village (Wheldrake) on the way to the mountains. Raff led Lianhua and the others there on the way. Innkeeper Helmund, a retired member of Adamant Reach.

The Jeweled Chalice - a relatively high-end inn and restaurant in Wheldrake. Gaoda insisted they stay there on the way to the mountain

Chaoxue - the central plaza of the city in the Deep, where the emperor used to rest (literally 'lair'). Leads to the Luzhijia (Law house) where Qiangde (and sometimes Dongwu) used to issue instructions

Shensheng (what Sheng calls it)/Mt. Scarabus (what Holiander calls it) - the mountain where Kaz lives - written about by the sage Tan Fong when he discovered the kobolds after the fall of the Diushi (in 'Scrolls of the Far Mountains')

Guanko/Warmane Mountains - the mountain range containing Shensheng

Holiander - the country around Shensheng Mountain, used to be part of the Sheng Empire. Raff's home. Lord Hartton was supposed to send guides, but Gaoda pissed him off, so they had to hire Raff instead

Sheng Empire - home of Gaoda, Chi, and Lianhua, original language Shengan - grows and rarely exports spiritual bamboo (cloth can only be gifted by high-ranking people)

Valile Desert/Lonely Waste - a desert Raff once had a mission in, where he picked up his darklenses (sunglasses made of smoked glass and wire)

Stairs - There were at least a hundred similar sets of stairs drilled down through the mountain. Many of them had been broken, either by rockfalls or backbreaking labor, but the ones that remained were the easiest and most impressive way to travel between levels.

Each stair was exactly nine inches high, and elaborately carved, though the carvings were too worn to be able to make out what they had originally represented. In the deeper levels, they were also topped with solid metal veneers that never seemed to wear down, even though every third step was golden, which was one of the softest metals. Up here, those veneers had been long since stripped off, and the unprotected edges of the stairs were chipped and cracked. Still, the tall steps were imposing. Eternal red flames that flickered from alcoves on each side (from ki-stones)

Empire Clans and sects

Yanse - Color clan - Color-weavers who control people who can see ki. exclusively trains Weavers, but their techniques are never shared. Any clan-member who can't learn is relegated to an outer family, and never learns the true secrets. Every now and then, someone will figure out how to do it spontaneously, but the Yanse clan always adopts or marries them. Emperor's grandmother was a Yanse.

Xiang - Elephant Clan - strength, protection, wisdom, good luck, determined, protective, good to family. Lianhua and Gaoda were both born into this clan, which marries members of the Long clan often. Xiang are politically ambitious.

Long clan - Lianhua's mother's clan. Very powerful, but reclusive. Live on the Long estate

Zhe - sect/school associated with the Xiang and Long clans. Has a warrior and a scholar track. Lianhua studied there. Live in the Zhe compound. Elder Jianyu opposes Lianhua's selection as a scholar.

Beasts

Shiyan

- word for the creatures formed when different cores come together under the influence of

fulan

Guang

- tiny insects who glow brightly. They live in the

yumi

pools

Glow-worms - The larvae dangle from single strands of webbing attached to ceilings above cave pools, and are bioluminescent. They become small flying insects, and are one of the few creatures in the mountain that aren't dangerous in any way. (Fun fact, these are real!)

Mande

- like a chameleon. Moves very slowly, but has almost perfect camouflage. Every part is poisonous, and it tracks the things it poisons until they die and it can eat them

Tunyu

- fish, tiny, hide in small spaces, covered in spikes that contain a nerve toxin causing paralysis

Renyu

- cave piranha

Niu

- beasts of burden. something like a yak. Very long fur that is used to make rough cloth in the Deep. These docile creatures are herd animals, and can't survive in the wild. Large, stolid, and strong, they have humped shoulders and four long, curved horns, two from the head and two from the nose. Primarily eat

yumi

reeds, which explains why they're never found anywhere without lots of water. Very long tongues and tend to lick people they like. They can be dangerous if angered, but are generally friendly.

Zhiwu

- spider/centipede. Makes webs and has eyes like a spider, but has segments like a centipede. Poisonous. They are very protective of their family, but are otherwise fairly docile. Kobolds gather their webs and egg sacs to use like gauze pads with antibacterial properties. Have one female and many males. The female can't move, and only lays eggs.

Dengyu

- lampfish on land - light on an extension - slimy black flesh, bulbous eyes, dim light, flying

jiyun/

poison moths- the grubs are a mildly poisonous tasty treat that make your mouth tingle slightly, but the powder on the wings of the metamorphosed adults (white moths) can paralyze or kill animals. They laid their eggs in bloodmoss, and when the larvae were ready to transform into adults, they found a patch of the moss and wove their cocoons nearby. In turn, the adults carried bloodmoss spores on their feet, and after a creature succumbed to their powder, they landed on the corpse, transferring the spores to the body, so a new patch of moss could grow.

Slime molds/

Muju

- slow and infest middle levels. Few kobolds live there, because the things are next to impossible to destroy, and move inevitably along their path.

Iron-fang rats/

Fuergar

- everywhere - rodents who can chew through stone with metal teeth. Mostly look like rats, but with stiff fur imbued with metal which serves to protect them. The metal their mother eats is deposited in bones and teeth, determining what type they'll be, though what kinds of metals they feed on can also affect how strong/fast/intelligent they are

screechers/

Janjio

- bats with huge mouths, no eyes who screech to paralyze and then eat their victims. Short brown fur. long , hollow wing bones are used as arrow shafts, but are too brittle to be reused.

??? - something like

janjio

but with two pairs of wings, longer dark gray fur and four small photosensitive eyes. Used as trackers/attack beasts by the

mosui

Woshi

/salamander - white, eyeless, fairly common around water, mildly poisonous slime, range from a few inches long to up to ten feet, swim around with mouths open, eating everything. Can spout water from their mouths when immersed. Generally not very dangerous until they grow larger or if you wander into their breeding cave

Lopo

- tentacled monsters that hang from the ceiling, looking like stalactites, until they pull their prey up into their mouths (think layers of teeth like a sandworm). Only have one eye, which mainly detects light and movement, no detail. Multiple tongue/tentacles with barbed tips. Tongue is gray and tough, and can extend three or four times as long as the

lopo

's body. May be the male or larval form of the

yanchong

.

Lanma

/Jack - appears as a small blue flame in the darkness. Can make a crackling or knocking noise. If they're treated with respect and given offerings (high-ki items), they may lead lost travelers home or miners to rich ore deposits. If they're attacked, they absorb all light, then lead the creature or traveler to their doom as they try to chase after them or run away.

Yanchong

/rockworm - a slug-like creature that can spit acid that causes metal and stone to crumble. Its slime is so sticky that it picks up some of the fallen rock, which forms a sort of armor. They can be covered in all kinds of stone/metal, providing them with different levels of resistance. Yanchong slime can be used as glue, and is applied with moss, which is then burned away, leaving the ash and slime hardened by the heat into something almost as hard as stone. If you cut one in half, both half grow into a whole worm. May be the female or adult form of

lopo

.

Jiachin

/stonegrub/stonebeetle - Beetles that burrow into stone, tasty when baked/steamed until the shell pops open

Haiz

/Stinger - electrical jellyfish living in the deep waters

Hoyi

- four-foot red ants, can literally spit ice and freeze anyone they bite. Blue chitin, covered in frost, no eyes. The workers are waist-high on Kaz and won't attack. Tap on the ground to summon more. The Queen is massive and lays hundreds of eggs a day. There are warrior, worker, queen, and a type that guards and tends the queen.

Binyi/Ice lizard

- very rare, long neck, crocodile-like head, lurks around water, very aggressive - ice breath and freezing bite. Scratches will infect people with ice ki that causes hypothermia and eventual death. Can be farmed as a source of ice (in the Deep) Can't be allowed to breed unchecked or they can render an entire level unlivable

Plants

Bloodmoss - a deep red moss that feeds on the corpses of dead beasts. It couldn't seek out or kill its food source, so it produces the only known 'flowers' in the mountain, which attract

Jiyun

large white moths that produced a poisonous powder, and the adults fed solely on the sweet liquid produced by the bloodmoss flowers.

Baimo

- white lichen

Zhitong

- a moss that works as a slow-acting painkiller, but can kill if taken in too large a dose. bioluminescent

Qingmai

- penicillin. A mold that grows on old meat, especially zhiwu. Can be dried and ground up into a powder. Gives off a very faint hint of blue ki

Chouchou

fungus - a mushroom that bursts when touched, dropping stinking spores over everything nearby

Tanuo

- a rare lichen that only grows in areas with high moisture and natural light provided by glow worms. Tastes sweet. Kind of puddingy when cooked/steamed, and is too sweet for most adults, so den-mothers everywhere bribe pups with whatever the females don't want.

Rougu

- deep brown mushroom with a rich, meaty flavor. Green gills. A favorite of many kobolds. Grows very large.

Yumao

- dark green moss with feathery fronds and brown nodes. Makes a good soup. Easily confused with

duyu

Duyu

- dark green moss with feathery fronds and red nodes. Poisonous (vomiting). Easily confused with

Yumao

Mamu -

fairly rare lichen that numbed any part of the body that touched it. Kobolds harvested it whenever they found it, and once it was boiled, it could be stored in a clean bladder for quite some time, though it grew less effective over time.

Mogu

- black mushrooms with bright red gills Poisonous in quantity, but works as a stimulant in small quantites

Fulan -

a rust-like powder rot that can infect many types of moss and lichen. Patches of this are burned as soon as they're found, since they can spread and render an entire level barren

Weiba -

powder gathered from the

yumi

plants (pollen - think cattail pollen). Smells faintly flowery and pleasant.

Yumi -

Grows near deep water, and can be used for many things. The stalks/reeds are used to make arrow shafts (though they're not great), and cut into strips and woven into baskets or rope.

Weiba

is a powder (pollen) that is produced by the flowers (which look like puffy yellow balls) and makes a fluff that can be used to stuff pillows and bedding. Grows best in special fields found in the mid-levels and the Deep, because of the abundance of water and the light of the blue and yellow crystals.

Toufa

- a dark brown fungus with hair-like spore-dispersal stalks. Edible. Looks similar to Kobold's ear when peeled

Kobold's ear - a dark brown, triangular fungus that looks slightly fuzzy. Looks similar to

Toufa

when peeled. Edible.

Jiao

/pepper moss - mainly used for spice, though it is edible. Most people throw it away because it's too spicy, but some eat it raw. Also used to clean blades and prevent rust, or to make it difficult to track someone (it's rubbed on the paws or worn on the body)

Jejing

/Cleansing moss - used for wounds, and smoked to cleanse bodies, musky scent is strong but soothing to kobolds. Resists

fulan

and other contaminants, and is packed into infected wounds to reduce inflammation. The single most culturally important plant for kobolds.

Firemoss - rusty red, commonly found near water. pound on it with a flat rock to quickly turn into a dense, fibrous paste, which he picked up and twisted, squeezing out a gelatinous goo. Usually, a female would heat this goo until the last of the fibers separated from the liquid, creating the 'oil', a few drops of which would then be combined with fresh moss to create torches

Xunma

/nettle moss - stings, but makes a nice soup

Outside world beasts

Wyvern - shorter neck and pointier nose than dragons, plates for mashing food rather than teeth, no forelimbs, and a wide chest. Grows to the size of a large dog (80-100 lbs), almost 6 feet tall, but much of that is neck. Long talons on the rear feet, including a few on the back of the legs, at least in males

Tinger (forests) - shy animal with the head of a rabbit (but with carnivore fangs), body of a squirrel, horns of a deer, and wings of an owl. Saliva causes hair growth (can be sold), and sprays foul-smelling liquid onto attackers that cannot be removed in any way for nine years. Can be captured by sprinkling salt on their tail.

Dog-Man

Tree Giant

Chimera? - Lion with snake for a tail, seen on posters in Cliffcross

Winged wolf - Flying wolves

Number

Animal

Traits

1

2 Rat OG he

Smart, resourceful, versatile, kind

2

3 Ox OG he

Diligent, dependable, strong, determined

3

Tiger

Brave, confident, competitive

4

1 Rabbit OG she

Quiet, elegant, kind, responsible

5

Dragon OG Loong she

Confident, intelligent, enthusiastic

6

* Snake OG She

Enigmatic, intelligent, wise

7

3 Horse OG he

Animated, active, energetic

8

2 Goat

Calm, gentle, sympathetic

9

4 Monkey

Sharp, smart, curious

10

4 Rooster

Observant, hardworking, courageous, arrogant

11

4 Dog (OG Xu, male, last was Zhong)

Lovely, honest, prudent

12

2 Pig OG he

Compassionate, generous, diligent

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