Characters / Kushiel's Legacy - Tsingani

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The Tsingani

Anasztaizia

Anasztaizia

Hyacinthe's mother, a former Tsingani princess who was cast out of the nation when her cousin Csavin gambled away her virginity to a D'Angeline nobleman when gambling in the Night Court. Hyacinthe was born as a result.

King Manoj

Csavin

Hyacinthe

Hyacinthe

A Tsingano (Roma) who is Phèdre's oldest and dearest friend. Hyacinthe and Phèdre meet as children and stay friends well into adulthood. Hyacinthe has the ability to see the future (called the dromonde), which his mother taught him despite it being forbidden to men by Tsingano law. Towards the end of Dart, Hyacinthe takes Phèdre's place to become the new Master of the Straits so that the Alban army can reach Terre d'Ange. Phèdre spends the next two books searching for a way to free him from his curse, which she eventually does.

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Tropes applying to Hyacinthe:

• Babies Ever After: Has two children with Sibeal.
• Badass in Distress: In Dart he becomes the apprentice to the Master of the Straits, and is subject to a geis which binds him to the Third Sister for all enternity. Twelve years later Hyacinthe is Master of the Straits and is forced to wait as Phedre travels across the earth to find the Name of God, which she claims will save him from his fate.
• Black Sheep: He ends up being rejected and disowned by his long-lost family when he speaks the dromonde in front of them. The dromonde is strictly forbidden to men in Tsingani culture.
• Cheerful Child: Was this when he was younger.
• Child by Rape: His mother was raped and impregnated by a Bryony House patron who was paid to seduce a Tsingani virgin.
• Childhood Friend: He and Phedre are this to one another.

• Curse: Inherits the curse of the Master of the Straits. He has power over the sea, but he is bound to the Three Sisters and can never leave.
• Elemental Powers: His are water/air.
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: The Tsingani are this to the Romani.
• Fate Worse than Death: But he gets better!
• First Love: He and Phedre are this for each other.
• Fortune Teller: His mother was one. She passes her skills on to him, despite it being forbidden for a male Tsingano to prophesy.
• Happily Married: To Sibeal, after the events of Kushiel's Avatar.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Taking Phèdre's place and becoming the new Master of the Straits, condemning himself to a cursed, miserable and lonely existence.
• Hope Spot
• I Have Many Names: The Prince of Travelers, Master of the Straits, Younger Brother, Elder Brother, sea kralis.
• I Have No Son!: Is on the receiving end of this after meeting his family for the first time. They initially welcome him, but turn on him instantly once they see him speak the dromonde. They even start mourning him while he's standing there.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Hyacinthe's reason for wedding Sibeal (aside from what is listed below) is that he sees how happy Phedre is with Joscelin and doesn't want to get between them in any way.
• In-Series Nickname: The Prince of Travelers, Master of the Straits, Younger Brother, Elder Brother. Hyacinthe has a lot of nicknames.
• Intergenerational Friendship: With the old Master of the Straits, who Hyacinthe viewed as a sort-of father figure to him.
• Last Girl Wins: Sibeal is the last girl Hyacinthe is introduced to before he is islanded, and he later chooses to marry her due to their common interests and his own love for her.
• Long-Lost Relative: He meets his grandfather and many other family members while traveling to Alba. They welcome him into their midst, but it unfortunately doesn't last long, as Hyacinthe speaks the forbidden dromonde in front of them, causing them to cast him out.

• Manly Tears: Weeps when hearing the story of Phedre and Joscelin's quest to find the Name of God and realising how much hell they went through for him.
• The Only Person I Can Trust
• Oracular Urchin
• Parental Substitute: He hoped to see Manoj as this, but was cast out of the kumpania before he could get the chance. Later while trapped on the Third Sister he comes to view the old Master of the Straits as a father figure to him.
• The Power of Friendship: He takes Phèdre's place to become the next Master of the Straits. She spends years of study and faces countless dangers to find a way to free him.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Is considered this after becoming the Master of the Straits. Though he seems fearsome and can control the elements and oceans, he is also fair and reasonable.
• Resigned to the Call: Hyacinthe is resigned to his fate as Master of the Straits and all that comes with it, and is fully prepared to let himself wither away into eternity to prevent anyone else from taking his place. He even begs Phedre (in a round about way) to forget about him and stop trying to break the curse. Luckily Phedre refuses to give up on him.
• Screw Destiny: Phèdre saves him from his destiny as the Master of the Straits.
• Second Love: With Sibeal, the second of Drustan's sisters.
• Seers: Uses the dromonde to see into the future.
• Take Me Instead: He offers to take Phèdre's place and become the next Master of the Straits. The Master accepts. It's eventually revealed that he meant to take Hyacinthe all along anyway.
• Thousand-Yard Stare: Has shades of this after he is trapped on the Third Sister and takes on the burdens of being the Master of the Straits.
• Took a Level in Badass: He goes from being an ordinary Tsingano in the City of Elua to a man who can control the weather and the oceans. With the sheer amount of power he has he can sink entire cities beneath the waves.
• True Companions: Him and Phèdre.
• Unlucky Childhood Friend: He and Phèdre end up being this to one another. They aren't too unhappy about it, since they have their own lives to lead and their own romantic interests. But there will always be a place in their hearts for each other.