Main cast
Aly (Alianne) of Pirate's Swoop
Protagonist of the duology, Aly is the daughter of George Cooper, (Baron of Pirate's Swoop, second-in-command of Tortall's spies), and Alanna the Lioness of Pirate's Swoop and Olau, lady knight, King's Champion of Tortall, and a living legend. While journeying to a nearby town after a fight with her mother, who won't allow her to spy like her father, Aly is kidnapped by pirates and sold as a slave to the Balitangs, a noble family of the Copper Isles.
As a slave and maid, she soon discovers and gains access to a rebel conspiracy within the Balitang household, and takes charge as the rebellion's spymaster. At the end of the series she chooses to become the Royal Spymaster for the Isles. She marries Nawat Crow, and conceives triplets with him by the conclusion of the second book. Their names are Ochobai and Ulasu (girls) and Junim (boy).
Aly is quick, observant, and a skilled knife-wielder. She inherited the magical Sight from her father and its power from her mother. It enables her to see if a person is lying or an immortal, different types of magic, seeing far off things as if they are right in front of her, and a variety of other things. Aly is flirtatious and vivacious by nature, but also knows how to curb her witty tongue when needed.
She grows from the immature girl she is at the beginning of the series as she finds her place in life and her true calling. Despite the seriousness of her task at the Copper Isles, Aly is usually cheerful and her lighthearted attitude endears her to the other Raka—even though they are sometimes exasperated by her.
Her training under her father taught her a variety of useful skills, including lock-picking, hand-to-hand combat (though she loves knives the best), moving silently, observation, and code writing/breaking. She becomes the teacher to her "Pack," a group of elite spies that she utilizes for special missions. They call her "Duani," or boss lady (a sign of respect, despite all being older than her), and she treats them with affection, crying bitterly when some don't survive the overthrowing of the Luarin.
Royal Family
Bronau Jimajen
A Luarin prince, brother of prince Rubinyan. He has a close, romantic relationship with Sarai. He is originally a friend of the Balitangs, but at the end of Trickster's Choice he murders Duke Mequen and is killed by Sarai. Very ambitious and impulsive, he is well liked but not trusted. Despite being raised in the dangerous Jimajen family, he has not learned to curb his tongue. He is also a womanizer and deeply in debt.
Even while he courts Sarai, he sleeps with a different maid every night. Aly mentions that he's the kind of man who would "have her in his lap" if she looked at him the right way, so she keeps her distance. He once courted Duchess Winnamine, but claims that it would have been a "marriage of convenience," to Sarai.
Dunevon Rittevon
King Oron's youngest child, who becomes King after Hazarin. He is only five years old, but is killed in a magically created storm caused by the mages commanded by the boy-king's regents, Princess Imajane and Prince Runbinyan. Dunevon is characterized as a boy who is being forced to grow up too fast. Neglected by the regent, he is forced to stamp everything they propose and then placated with sweets and other rich treats that are harmful to children.
Due to this pampered yet unloving treatment, Dunevon can act extremely spoiled, though Tabur Sibigad, does his best to treat him like a regular boy.
Oron Rittevon
King of the Copper Isles at the beginning of the series, mentally unstable. It is because of his delusions that the Balitangs are exiled. He and his family are said to have a record of producing a mad child every couple generations, as shown with Princess Josiane in the Song of the Lioness series.
He dies in Trickster's Choice, and names his first-born son, Hazarin, as heir. His children all hate each other due to the fact that he, afraid that if they were united they would overthrow him, made their childhoods a constant competition between them.
Rubinyan Jimajen
Luarin brother of Prince Bronau, and husband of Princess Imajane. Killed by Ulasim and is Ulasim's murderer. More stable than his wife, Rubinyan's weakness is his greed for more land, which leads him to allow his wife to imprison powerful nobles such as Duke Nomru, who then becomes a part of the Luarin conspiracy.