Characters from the novel The Poppy War by R.F Kuang.
WARNING: Contains unmarked spoilers. Please note that names are written in Chinese name order: family name first, given name second.
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Fang Runin (A.K.A. Rin)
A poor war orphan from the countryside, Rin was raised by the Fangs since she was a baby. When her foster parents decide to marry her off to a man three times her age, Rin takes the only chance she has of escaping an unhappy marriage: acing the Keju and getting into Sinegard.
- Abusive Parents: The Fangs, particularly Auntie Fang, beat Rin and exploited her for free labor for the first 15 years of her life.
- A Million Is a Statistic: After destroying the Mugen island, she finds herself unable to deal with the sheer enormity of what she's done. Killing a single enemy soldier was difficult, but killing an entire civilization? Easy.
- Arranged Marriage: Studied her ass off to escape one.
- Badass Bookworm: An interesting take on this, considering that she isn't naturally book-smart or well-read. Being a poor peasant girl, she lacks the years and years of tutoring that noble kids have. She makes up for it by forcibly memorizing the necessary reading material by rote. This lets her achieve the highest Keju score in the Rooster Province, gaining her admission to Sinegard, the country's most illustrious military academy. Once there, she not only manages to keep up with her classmates in schoolwork, she gets private tutoring from Jiang to become a skilled martial artist.
- Black-and-White Insanity: Displays this when justifying her genocidal actions to Kitay. To Rin, all Mugenese are evil demons that don't deserve mercy. Ending the war means crushing the Mugenese people entirely, civilians be damned.
- Bodyguarding a Badass: Despite not being a shaman like her, Kitay is still as good a soldier as he is a strategist. Regardless, Rin swears to protect him with her life.
- Broken Pedestal: Although she never gets that close to Jiang, Rin still looks up to him during her apprenticeship. When he refuses to help repel the Federation and closes himself back into his stone prison, she's crushed.
- The Empress as well. Rin considered herself a loyal soldier, willing to serve her country and Empress in anything. Then, the Empress abandoned her people and went into hiding, and betrayed the Cike to Federation soldiers. Rin vows vengeance on the Empress once she finds this out.
- Classical Anti-Hero: Rin lacks the good looks and magnetic charm of a Byronic Heroine. She's also fairly mediocre in terms of intelligence and physical prowess, only making up for it by sheer determination. While at school, she's a social pariah. Then, she gets recruited to the Cike, which are looked down upon by the regular Militia. She regularly suffers from self-doubt and has to claw her way up, contrasting her with the naturally-gifted Nezha.
- Combat Pragmatist: Not afraid to fight dirty.
- Country Mouse: Coming from a tiny town in the countryside of the Rooster Province, Rin is unaccustomed to the noise and bustle of the city. The Sinegardian students make fun of her for her country accent and her darker skin.
- Deal with the Devil: Forms a pact with the Phoenix, giving Rin unimaginable powers in exchange for her worship. The bad thing is, the Phoenix considers rampant death and destruction worship and constantly urges Rin to give in to it.
- Determinator: She will stop at nothing to achieve her goals. Unfortunately, that also means that, once she gets an idea into her head, nothing will dissuade her from it.
- Final Solution: Destroys the longbow island with the Phoenix's power, thus ending the war by killing every single Mugen citizen living there.
- First Period Panic: Thinks that she's going to die when she gets her first period.
- Fantasy Sterilization: Shortly thereafter, she drinks a potion that destroys her womb, preventing any future periods (or unplanned pregnancies) from occurring.
- Functional Addict: Becomes one after contracting with the Phoenix. The functional part rapidly declines in The Dragon Republic, and after being forced to go cold turkey by the Dragon army, Rin is eventually able to kick the habit.
- She Who Fights Monsters: Her act of genocide against the Mugenese cements her as this. Although her intentions were good, Rin's decision to kill an island full of innocent civilians that had nothing to do with the war
makes her no different than the Federation soliders that sacked Golyn Niis. Kitay is utterly horrified when he finds out what she did. - Heartbroken Badass: After Altan dies.
- Hot-Blooded: Rin has a sharp temper, which can put her at odds with her classmates and superiors. She does not take insults lightly and will retaliate with extreme prejudice. Just ask Nezha.
- How Do I Shot Web?: Has a lot of trouble with channeling the Phoenix. At first, she can only do so when extremely angry or in mortal danger.
- Informed Attribute: Rin claims to have practically raised her foster brother Kesega and loves him dearly, but once she's accepted into Sinegard she promptly leaves him in Tikany without a backward glance (even ignoring his mother pinching him on the ear to make him stop crying over her departure) and never bothers writing to or contacting him at all once she arrives at the academy.
- Last Of Her Kind: It's revealed that Rin is the last female Speerly left. After Altan dies, Rin is the last Speerly left alive, period.
- Lost Orphaned Royalty: It's implied that she's a descendant of the last queen of Speer, Tearza.
- My God, What Have I Done?: The full reality of what she's done to the Mugen islands hit her once she's rescued by the remaining Cike members. Qara advises her to think of her actions as necessary, if only to maintain her sanity.
- Only You Can Repopulate My Race: Subverted. Ramsa asks if Rin and Altan will get together and make baby Speerlies, but Rin has already destroyed her uterus and can't bear children.
- Orphan's Ordeal: Because Rin has no family, she lacks any connections necessary to move up in the world. Her only options are marriage or acceptance into Sinegard.
- She doesn't learn about her Speerly heritage until about halfway through the book. Since the only other Speerly alive is Altan, who was kidnapped from his home at a very young age, Rin knows nothing about Speerly culture or their shamanistic traditions.
- Parental Substitute: Basically raised Kesegi, the Fang's biological son, by herself. When she leaves for Sinegard, he's utterly heartbroken.
- Playing with Fire: Produces uncontrollable flames when channeling the Phoenix.
- Magma Man: It turns out that the Phoenix's powers also extend to volcanoes, since Rin causes a long dormant volcano to erupt on the longbow island.
- Never Be Hurt Again: Ignores all warnings against contracting with the Phoenix so that she will never be powerless or lose anyone ever again.
- Power Incontinence: The first two times she uses her powers, she's unable to turn it off. It's only with the help of Jiang (and later, the Empress) that she's able to stop before she burns herself to ash.
- The Power of Hate: Offers the Phoenix all her hatred in exchange for power.
- Revenge Before Reason: Crosses the Moral Event Horizon to get revenge on the Federation for her dead classmates, her country, and the Speerlies. Afterwards, she vows to hunt down the Empress for betraying the Cike and indirectly causing Altan's death.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Gains bright red eyes after contracting with the Phoenix.
- Self-Harm: Deliberately burns herself with candle wax to keep herself awake while cramming for the Keju.
- Sole Survivor: She's the last surviving Speerly after Altan's death, and the last of the Cike's shamans following the deaths of Baji and Suni in Vizrha's Purge of his wartime allies.
- Tantrum Throwing: When Jiang refuses to teach her how to harness the Phoenix right then and there on the basis she's a volatile fourteen-year-old girl, Rin responds by throwing a hissy fit. Jiang tells her afterwards her reaction is exactly why she has no business learning to channel such power.
- Trauma Conga Line: The entirety of The Poppy War is one for Rin. From the fall of Sinegard onward, Rin is repeatedly forced to confront the grim realities of war and the atrocities perpetuated by both sides.
- Well Done Student Girl: Having been starved of any kind of praise or affirmation for most of her life, Rin finds herself craving the approval of her teachers. It's addictive to her, driving her to extremes to excel at Sinegard.
- Vaisra exploits this aspect of Rin's personality in The Dragon Republic to get her to join his cause.
- Willing Channeler: Becomes a conduit for the Phoenix into the mortal world.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Big-time. After escaping Shiroâs lab and witnessing Atlanâs death, Rin swims to Speer and calls the Phoenix, and then uses it to burn down Longbow Island, killing thousands of innocent civilians.
- You Are in Command Now: Gets promoted to commander of the Cike after Altan's death. This despite the fact that 1)she's the newest member of the Cike and 2)Chaghan was Altan's lieutenant.
Sinegard
Yin Nezha
The son of the Dragon Warlord and a perpetual thorn in Rin's side. They spend most of their school years at odds with each other.
- Childhood Friends: Grew up with Kitay and Venka, although Kitay got excluded from the friend group.
- FaceâHeel Turn: At the end of the second book, when Vaisra cleans house and purges his wartime allies, the Cike included, Nezha sides with his family, and literally stabs Rin in the back. Though he later allows Rin, Kitay, and Venka to escape from Ankhiluun, Rin feels there's no realistic prospect of them ever being friends again.
- Healing Factor: His shamanic abilities come with one of these, which allows him to survive what would otherwise be fatal injuries.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Gets stabbed through the stomach twice by a Mugenese soldier. He miraculously survives.
- Jerk Jock: Excels at martial arts even before going to Sinegard, but has a snobby, self-assured attitude. He makes sure that the other students know that Rin is at the bottom of the social totem pole.
- Jerkass Has a Point: When he reunites with Rin at Cike, he apologises for bullying her and admits he was a Jerkass to her, but he also points out she reacted to him insulting his teacher by kicking him in the balls and starting a fistfight with him, humiliating him in front of his peers on the first day and continued to antagonise him multiple times afterwards. Rin refuses to acknowledge he was right.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Initially, before he cuts off most of his hair under Jun's tutelage. Rin makes note multiple times of his flawless appearance.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Possesses this, which adds to his attractiveness.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Is much nicer to Rin after he nearly died defending Sinegard. He apologizes to her for his behavior at Sinegard.
- Uncertain Doom: In the first book, he's last seen being exposed to (presumably) mustard gas and dragged off by Federation soldiers. He shows up in the second book with heavy scarring.
- Unexplained Recovery: Recovers from getting stabbed in just three months, which should be impossible without the aid of the supernatural. It turns out that Nezha is a water shaman with a Healing Factor.
Chen Kitay
A first-year at Sinegard and Rin's only friend.
- Hard Work Hardly Works: Played for laughs during the first-year final exams. All the first-years scramble to cram as much as they can for their exams...except for Kitay. He doesn't need to cram since his Photographic Memory recalls everything he reads with perfect clarity, much to the annoyance of the others.
- Only Friend: He's the only person to befriend Rin and stay friends with her once she's declared a social pariah by Nezha.
- No Love for the Wicked: Averted. Heâs
confirmed to be aroace, but is the most moral out of the Sinegard Four. - The Smart Guy: Thanks to his Photographic Memory, he got the highest Keju score in the Sinegard Municipality. He's extremely well-read even outside of school materials and wanted to be a scholar.
- Psychic Link: He forms one of this with Rin in over to help her overcome the seal placed on her power by the Empress, like the bond between Qara and Chaghan, this bond greatly improves Rin's control over her powers, but if Kitay dies, she will as well, and vice versa.
- Spoiled Sweet: He's the son of the Empire's defense minister and grew up in luxury. Despite this, he shows none of the snobbishness of Nezha and Venka.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Kitay is appalled when he learns that Rin willingly committed genocide on an island full of innocent people.
Sring Venka
Rin's classmate and native Sinegardian.
- Alpha Bitch: She's stuck-up and looks down upon anyone not born and raised in Sinegard.
- Childhood Friends: Grew up with Kitay and Nezha.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: She gets mad when Rin tries to offer her sympathy after Golyn Niis, and continues to hate being treated like sheâs fragile as the books go on.
- Fire-Forged Friends: With Rin, post-Golyn Niis.
- Lady of War: Sheâs also excellent with a bow-and-arrow.
- Rape as Drama: After Golyn Niis falls, Venka is taken to a 'relaxation house' by the Mugenese troops. You can guess what that means.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: This contributes to her beauty.
Altan Trengsin
An older student at Sinegard, Altan is the only survivor of the Speer Island genocide. Both the students and the teachers think highly of the talented Altan. After graduating, he's recruited by the Cike, where he's eventually promoted to commander after Tyr is killed.
- Broken Ace: Handsome, an extremely talented fighter, and admired by all the other students. However, his calm facade hides seething rage and an all-consuming desire for vengeance.
- Byronic Hero: Altan is an attractive, intelligent, and perceptive man with a talent for both martial arts and shamanism. His stoic demeanor hides a deep well of unending hatred and a crippling drug addiction caused by his experiences as a human guinea pig. He's also willing to do anything to avenge Speer, even if it puts the entire nation in danger. Despite all that, Rin finds herself falling in love with him.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Altan's entire life is a long Trauma Conga Line. First, he was abducted by Mugen scientists as a little kid and experimented on for years. He gained a crippling addiction to heroin from those experiments and got to watch his fellow countrymen get vivisected. Then, after he was taken in by Sinegard, he was trained as a living weapon for the Nikara Empire. Jiang tried to help him, but was unable to override the Empress' orders. Throughout all of this, Altan was continually fed a stream of opium to both manage his addiction and keep him under control.
- Death Seeker: It's revealed that Altan's wanted to die for a long time, but kept going in order to avenge his people.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Gets increasingly frustrated by the Warlords and Militia as the siege of Khurdalain goes from bad to worse. He gets treated like a callow child or a scapegoat.
- Functional Addict: Hooked on opium. Prior to the siege on Khurdalain, he managed to keep his addiction controlled and only smoked once a month.
- Heroic Willpower: Having acquired an addiction to heroin from a very early age (at 4-years-old), he constantly suffers from withdrawal symptoms throughout his life. He never shows this outwardly.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Goes out in a literal blaze of glory, destroying the Mugenese research base and giving Rin time to escape.
- Last of His Kind: Thought to be the last Speerly in existence, at least until Rin is revealed to be a Speerly as well.
- Logical Weakness: Water. He can't reignite his flames immediately after getting soaked with water, leaving him vulnerable until he dries out.
- Mask of Sanity: Almost always appears calm and collected. His mask starts to slip when he starts losing control of the situation in Khurdalain, revealing the barely-stable young man underneath.
- Playing with Syringes: Dr. Shiro used Altan as a guinea pig, cutting Altan open and dosing him with high doses of heroin.
- Pretty Boy: Noted by Rin to be very good-looking.
- Prongs of Poseidon: Uses a trident as leader of the Cike. He uses it to disarm opponents wielding swords.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Possesses bright red eyes and can summon fire at will. He's also a very talented martial artist and deeply troubled.
- The Power of Hate: What fuels his apparent mastery of the Phoenix's power. He despises the Mugen Federation for annihilating his people and is home, as well as for experimenting on him.
- Sanity Slippage: Steadily loses his composure as the siege on Khurdalain goes increasingly sour. He starts lashing out at his subordinates and proposing bigger, crazier plans.
- Troubled, but Cute: Rin certainly thinks so.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Planned to release the prisoners of Chuluu Korikh and weaponize them against the Federation. He was fully aware of the dangers of releasing a horde of undying, highly unstable shamans on the world, but insisted that he could control them.
- You Are in Command Now: Becomes the commander of the Cike after Tyr unexpectedly perishes on a mission. Chaghan is initially furious about being passed over for promotion, but Altan works it out with him.
Master Irjah
Sinegard's master of strategy.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Gets flayed alive for all of Golyn Niis to hear.
- Parental Substitute: Raised Altan after he was rescued from the Mugenese research facility.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Acted as one to both Rin and Altan. Once the war begins, Irjah is one of the only people to try to get the feuding Warlords to coorperate.
Master Jun Loran
The master of combat and all-around Jerkass.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: He's a Drill Sergeant Nasty to most of his students, forcing his students to train outside in the biting cold and pushing them beyond their physical limits. To Rin, he comes off as a Sadist Teacher. He bans Rin from attending his class, forcing her to teach herself and clearly favors Nezha, the son of a Warlord.
- Jerkass: Treats Rin like crap because she's an orphaned peasant girl, treats Altan (and the rest of the Cike) terribly because he thinks that they're freaks, and only shows favoritism towards nobility.
- Misery Builds Character: Literally says that "Pain is good for you" when training his students.
Master Jiang Ziya
The eccentric master of Lore and resident troll.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: At first glance, he seems flighty, fidgety, irreverent, and never bothers teaching classes. He interrupts other classes regularly while half-naked and singing dirty songs, and keeps a garden full of psychedelic-producing plants. Despite that, he's a highly competent martial artist and shaman.
- Bystander Syndrome: Jiang tends to run away from problems that he doesn't want to deal with. Altan gets snapped up into the military-industrial complex, at the cost of his mental and spiritual well-being? Rin voices a desire to weaponize the gods? Run away and avoid them! Altan and Rin want to unleash the prisoners of Chuluu Korikh upon the world? Give them a verbal warning and seal yourself back up again!
- The Cassandra: Has repeatedly tried to warn others about the dangers of channeling the gods, but no one listens to him. The very existence of Chuluu Korikh should be proof enough of his warnings, but apparently not.
- Eccentric Mentor: Jiang teaches in a very roundabout, confusing manner that forces Rin to think way outside the box. He assigns her seemingly unrelated tasks and never gives a straightfoward answer if he can help it.
- The Gadfly: Loves to push people's buttons, especially Jun's.
- Gate Guardian: A metaphorical one. As the Gatekeeper, Jiang guards the gate separating the mortal world from the world of the gods.
- Godzilla Threshold: He spends most of Rin's apprenticeship warning her of the dangers of channeling the gods. When Sinegard is attacked, he partially undoes the Seal separating the worlds and unleashes a horde of terrible monsters upon the world. He does come to regret this later.
- Humanoid Abomination: He's not human, but he's not a god either. He's capable of feats far beyond human abilities and exists on a time scale beyond human comprehension.
- Kirk Summation: He gives one to Altan, telling him that for all his status as The Ace, in reality he's little more than a mad dog who only knows how to follow orders and he's so consumed with his rage and desire to avenge Speer against the Federation of Mugen that he doesn't care about Nikara or anyone else as long as he can lash out at the people who hurt him. Altan can only feebly stammer it's not true.
- The Magnificent: The Gatekeeper.
- Mystical White Hair: Has pure white hair, but doesn't appear old enough to have gained it naturally. It turns out that he's not human and has existed for a very, very long time.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Comes off as a complete space-case, but is far smarter and more competent than he seems.
- Old Master: He's much older than he appears and much stronger than his nonthreatening appearance implies.
- Sealed Badass in a Can: Other characters imply that Jiang has had his powers and memories sealed. The seal is partially undone during the attack on Sinegard — enough that he can unleash a huge blast of power that levels the East Gate.
- Afterwards, Jiang locks himself in stasis at Chuluu Korikh.
- The Stoner: All shamans use some kind of hallucinogen to commune with their gods, but Jiang takes it a step further by having an entire garden dedicated to producing mind-altering substances.
- Time Abyss: Rin describes him as looking neither young nor old. It turns out that Jiang is far older than he looks and has existed since time immemorial.
- Wax On, Wax Off: Favors this style of teaching. In order to increase Rin's strength and stamina, Jiang makes her carry a pig up and down a mountain every day. A rapidly growing pig that soon becomes big enough to outweigh her.
The Cike
In General
The Cike are the assassins and black-ops specialist of the Nikaran military. They reside in the fabled Night Castle and have a fearsome reputation.
- All the Other Reindeer: The other military branches consider the Cike freaks and outcasts.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Known as the Bizarre Children.
- Dwindling Party: Over the course The Dragon Republic, the Cike steadily dwindles from deaths and desertions, and is effectively destroyed as a unit during Vizrha's Purge of his former allies, leaving Rin as the Sole Survivor.
- Fantastic Racism: The Cike's reputation isn't helped by the fact that it draws recruits from the Hinterlands and Speer.
- Humanoid Abomination: The ultimate fate of all shamans that do not die in battle. They become demi-gods: more forces of nature than human, no longer in control of their bodies, and impossible to kill.
- Legion of Lost Souls: Recruits anyone that is too useful to kill, but is unable to fit in with the normal Militia. This includes criminals from the Baghra Desert prisons and shamans.
- Murder, Inc.: An officially sanctioned one. Unlike the Militia, the Cike is not tasked with military operations. Instead, the Cike carries out assassinations and sabotage jobs. They answer to the Empress, but are otherwise self-governing and lack the structure of the Militia.
- Supersoldier: In general, the shamans tend to be stronger, faster, and more resilient than the average soldier when channeling their god. They are also capable of performing supernatural feats.
- Tailor-Made Prison: Chuluu Korikh, a mountain capable of suppressing a shaman's power. Every Cike commander that hasn't died in action has been locked up in Chuluu Korikh.
- Your Days Are Numbered: The Cike is mostly comprised of shamans. All shamans, regardless of ability, will eventually lose control of their powers and become a danger to both themselves and everyone around them. Once that happens, the next in line to command gets to drag their former commander off to Chuluu Korikh.
Tyr
The previous commander of the Cike before Altan. Tyr worshiped a goddess of darkness and could use shadows to hide in plain sight.
- Casting a Shadow: Can become part of the shadows, removing the need to eat and drink for the duration. He cannot be detected while hiding.
- Sacrificial Lion: Gets betrayed and murdered by the Empress, revealing her plot with the Federation and showing what is at stake in the coming war.
Feylen
Tyr's predecessor. Feylen has been imprisoned in Chuluu Korikh for years after losing control and nearly sending Night Castle plummeting off a mountain.
- And I Must Scream: Feylen is still somewhat present and aware inside his mind, but can't control the god that has taken up residence in his body. He's also been locked in a stone prison for years, unable to die, aware all the while, but also unable to move.
- Blow You Away: Channels the God of the Four Winds.
- Demonic Possession: Has long since lost control of his abilities. Feylen is no longer at the wheel; instead, the God of the Four Winds controls his body.
- Fighting from the Inside: Regains control of his body for a brief moment.
- Humanoid Abomination: What he is at this point.
- I Cannot Self-Terminate: Unable to die, Feylen is trapped within a body no longer under his control.
Ramsa
The youngest member of the Cike, Ramsa loves explosives of all sorts.
- Badass Normal: Not a shaman, but can do just as much damage with his explosives.
- Big Brother Worship: Looks up to Altan as an older brother.
- Child Soldier: Appears to be no older than 15 years old, making him this.
- Demolitions Expert: Makes all of the explosives that the squad requires, including some of his own design.
- Eye Scream: Lost his eye in a fire.
- Tagalong Kid: Downplayed, despite being no older than 15, his explosives are of great use to the Cike.
- Toilet Humour: Uses feces in some of his bombs, to his squadmates' dismay. He also apparently crapped on Baji's pillow at some point.
Qara
The Cike's archery expert. She's Chaghan's twin, with whom she shares a psychic connection.
- Aloof Archer: Cold, quiet, supports the front-line fighters with her arrows and her birds.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Maintains this mindset regarding all the terrible things that she has to do.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Can shoot extremely quickly and accurately.
- Polar Opposite Twins: Qara has dark hair and eyes, Chaghan has white hair and eyes (with no pupils or irises). Qara can communicate with birds, while Chaghan is the seer. Qara is quiet, down-to-earth and efficient, while Chaghan is the Insufferable Genius.
- Speaks Fluent Animal: Can talk to birds.
- The Stoic: She's curt and blunt, rarely expressing anything other than mild annoyance.
- Twin Telepathy: She and Chaghan are 'anchor twins'. That means that if one dies, the other will follow. They can both feel the other's pain as well.
Enki
The Medic and apothecary responsible for dispensing psychedelics for the Cike shamans.
- Aroused by Their Voice: A mild platonic example. Rin notes that his voice is very smooth and deep, which instantly relaxes her.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Unceremoniously leaves the Cike after Rin demonstrates that she cannot control her emotion and powers.
- The Medic: He's a mixture of this and an apothecary. He mixes and measures out the psychedelics required by the shamans.
Baji
One of the Cike's front-line fighters. He channels the god of pigs when in battle.
- The Berserker: Channels the power of a very angry boar.
- Guys are Slobs: Implied. He doesn't clean his weapon after battle, leaving a crust of blood and viscera on the tines.
- Improbable Weapon User: Uses a huge nine-pointed rake. He's very skilled with it.
- No Indoor Voice: Described as having a loud, booming voice.
Aratsha
One of the more...unusual members of the Cike, even by their standards. He resides in a barrel of water, which the others have to carry around. Aratsha worships a minor river god.
- Elemental Shapeshifter: The reason that he lives in a barrel? He can turn into water and prefers to stay that way.
- Making a Splash: Can control other sources of water.
Unegen
He can turn into a fox. He's also afraid of his own shadow.
- Beneath Notice: Presumably how he gathers intelligence. Enemy troops are far less likely to notice a fox than a man.
- Cowardly Lion: He's not much of a fighter and easily frightened. He's still alive and sane, as well as a capable scout.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Leaves the Cike with Enki after nearly losing his life from Rin's lack of control over her emotions and powers.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: His god allows him to change shapes, although he's only shown changing into a fox.
Suni
One of the Cike's other front-line specialists. He worships a monkey god (think less mundane simians and more Dragon Ball giant monkeys).
- The Berserker: Very close to losing control of his powers and his sanity. He's an unstoppable wall of muscle on the battlefield though.
- The Big Guy: The primary muscle of the squad, along with Baji. He's huge even when not channeling his god.
- Black Eyes of Evil: Gains these when channeling. Rin describes them as empty of any humanity, filled only with a malevolent glee.
- Carpet of Virility: Covered in hair all over his body. When channeling his god, the hair gets thicker and can repel swords.
- Dumb Muscle: He can't be controlled once he gets going. The only thing his commander can do is point him in a direction and let him go smash everything in sight.
- Hearing Voices: Hears a multitude of voices shouting at him in his head.
- Nice Guy: Despite being constantly teetering on the edge of insanity from the god(s) in his mind, Suni is a soft-spoken, gentle and caring member of the team.
- Sanity Slippage: Just one bad day away from completely losing his mind.
Chaghan
Altan's lieutenant and the Cike's Seer. He's also Qara's twin brother.
- Blind Seer: He's not actually blind, although he has the blank white Prophet Eyes. He cannot predict the future, but can use his abilities to gain a broader understanding of current events.
- Heartbroken Badass: Takes Altan's death really hard. It's implied that he may have had romantic feelings for Altan.
- Insufferable Genius: A powerful and talented shaman, Chaghan makes sure to let everyone know it.
- Mind Rape: It's never shown, but the other Cike members show him uncharacteristic respect due to Chaghan's ability to break people's minds.
- Mystical White Hair: Appears to have albinism and is the most capable shaman in the Cike.
- Number Two: Altan's lieutenant. He undertakes important missions that the rest of the Cike can't and provides Altan with counsel.
- Passed-Over Promotion: When Altan joined the Cike, Tyr began to favor Altan instead of Chaghan. This put him at odds with Altan until they managed to settle their differences in battle. Chaghan became Altan's loyal supporter afterwards, even after Altan became the new commander.
- Polar Opposite Twins: The complete opposite of Qara in every way.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He is the only member of Cike to directly address Rin's increasing disrespect and insubordination, particularly towards Altan, and tells her to stop acting like a little bitch just because Altan won't pat her on the head like she wants.
- Twin Telepathy: If he dies, then Qara dies. If she dies, he goes too. They can also sense each other's pain.
The Pantheon
The sixty-four gods of the Nikara Empire, thought to be long dead after Nikara's defeat at the hands of the Mugenese Federation.- Blue-and-Orange Morality: The gods view the mortal world as a playground and humans as toys. They don't care about the harm they inflict nor do they consider long-term consequences. Human morality means nothing to them; they only want a chance to wreak havoc on the mortal plane.
- The Corruption: They grant shamans unimaginable power, but slowly erode the shamans' control and sanity. All shamans eventually succumb to madness, turning them into immortal demi-gods.
- Demonic Possession: When a shaman channels their god, they're essentially acting as a gateway that allows the god to interact with the human world. Eventually, the shaman is unable to shut the metaphorical gateway, giving the god a new meat puppet and permanent channel into the mortal plane. From Feylen's experience, it seems that the shamans are still present and aware, even if they've lost control of their bodies.
- Jerkass Gods: They show absolutely no regard for the wellbeing of their worshipers or the mortal world in general. At best, they treat humans like a toddler treats their playthings.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Gives shamans superpowers in exchange for inevitable Sanity Slippage.
The Phoenix
The patron goddess of Speer and a goddess of vengeance.
- Fate Worse than Death: Inflicted this on Tearza when she refused to channel the Phoenix to repel the Federation.
- The Phoenix: Literally. However, unlike most depictions, this particular phoenix isn't benevolent.
- Playing with Fire: Grants her worshipers the ability to summon and control fire. She can also cause long-dormant volcanoes to erupt.
- Revenge Before Reason: As the embodiment of vengeance, the Phoenix desires this in her supplicants.
- Unstoppable Rage: A side-effect of channeling her power is this. Rin nearly kills Nezha when she first channels the Phoenix.
- What You Are in the Dark: As she says to Rin, the Phoenix never forced Rin to do anything. The Phoenix gave Rin a taste of power, but never whispered in her ear nor influenced her decisions in any way. Rin's decision to wipe out the longbow island is hers and hers alone.
The Talwu
A goddess and Guardian of the Hexgrams.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: Resembles a Nue. She has the face of a woman, the body of a tiger, the feet of a lion, the teeth of a pig, and the tail of a monkey.
- Seers: Will answer a supplicant's question by reading the Hexagrams, sixty-four combination of broken and unbroken lines. She can't tell the future, but can provide a larger view of current events.
- Vagueness Is Coming: Her readings are confusingly worded, requiring an interpreter to decipher the meanings behind her wording. Even then, a lot of her readings are only apparent in hindsight, long after the events have passed.
The Nikara Empire
Su Daji - The Empress
Formerly known as the Vipress of the Trifecta, Su Daji rules over the Nikara Empire.
- Anti-Magic: Her venom has the ability to create a seal which cuts off shamans from accessing their gods.
- Charm Person: One look into her eyes and you're ensnared in her grasp. Rin feels an urge to admire and serve the Empress just by looking at her.
- False Flag Operation: Working with the Federation army to achieve an unknown goal. She also feeds classified information to the Federation, sabotaging her own military's attempts to defend themselves.
- Rape as Backstory: Was raped by a Hesperian soldier and rescued by a Mugenese one. This shaped her decisions and values for years to come.
The Trifecta
The legendary trio of heroes that united the Empire during the First Poppy War: the Warrior, the Vipress, and the Gatekeeper.
- Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: The Vipress is the Beauty, the Warrior is the Brawn, and the Gatekeeper is the Brains.
- Folk Hero: The story of the Trifecta is told all over the country and dramatized in plays. Their abilities and feats have been embellished over the years, making them legends among the populace.
- Guile Hero: The Vipress used poison and seduction to manipulate her enemies.
- Might Makes Right: The Warrior forcibly united the squabbling Warlords by threatening to kill them and take their land by force if they didn't bow to his will.
The Twelve Warlords
The rulers of the twelve provinces.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: The two Warlords seen in The Poppy War have appearances that are similar to the animal for which their provinces are named. The Ox Warlord is a huge, burly fellow, while the Ram is indecisive as a weathervane.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: The Tiger Warlord is a three-year-old.
- Divided We Fall: The Red Emperor may have united the feuding provinces into one unified country on paper, but the Warlords don't act at all unified in reality. They constantly bicker with each other over territory and trade. Even during the war, they're each more concerned with protecting their own territories than actually repelling the enemy. They refuse to share vital intel, supplies, and troops with each other or the military, making the Federation's invasion much easier.
The Mugenese Federation
The Nikara Empire's neighbors and former tributary nation, residing on a series of curved islands to the east. They tried to conquer Nikan during the First Poppy War, but failed. 65 years before the main story, the Federation tried again, sparking the Second Poppy War. They were repelled by the Trifecta and the aid of the nation of Hesperia.- Always Chaotic Evil: They are treated more like bloodthirsty animals or monsters instead of humans, barely ever speak and generally don't get characterised as if they're actually humans in possession of morals or complex emotions.
- They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: Rin is disappointed to learn that the Mugenese look just like the Nikarans. She dislikes that they look so similar to her people, making it harder to kill them, and wishes they looked more like Hesperians instead.
- Trojan Horse: Fond of this strategy. The Federation disseminated opium among the Nikaran populace in order to weaken their fighting strength. During the siege of Khurdalain, a Federation diplomat enters the city under a white flag, bringing carts full of sugar and salt as a peace offering. Except it turns out that the carts are actually saltpeter, not salt or sugar, and blows up a good chunk of Khurdalain's downtown area.
Dr. Eyimichi Shiro
A Mugenese scientist with a particular interest in shamans. He was responsible for kidnapping and experimenting on many Speerlies over the years, including Altan.
- Affably Evil: Never speaks harshly or raises his voice when speaking to his captives, even when they resist. Instead, he acts like a doting grandfather to Altan, making him way more creepy.
- Brain in a Jar: Keeps jars of pickled Speerly body parts in his lab. There's even an entire man kept in a much larger container.
- Mad Scientist: He wants to uncover the secrets of shamanism. He does this by abducting Speerlies and cutting them open, often while they're still alive. He controls his captives by dosing them with heroin. This includes a 4-year-old Altan.
- Karmic Death: Altan literally melts Shiro's face off. Appropriate, for a guy that desperately wanted to discover the powers of a shaman.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: He's a clear stand-in for ShirÅ Ishii
the Surgeon General of the infamous biological warfare project Unit 731.
Others
The Woman
An apparition that warns Rin of the dangers of channeling the Phoenix. She appears whenever Rin travels to the Pantheon, blocking Rin's way and preventing her from using her powers.
- Actually, I Am Him: Her true identity is Mai'rinnen Tearza, the last queen of Speer.
- Alternate Character Interpretation: In-universe. Tearza is infamous for letting Speer fall to the Mugenese Federation. However, the reason that this happened differs depending on who's telling the story. She was either a lovestruck fool or a queen that sacrificed her nation to save the world.
- Fate Worse than Death: Cursed by the Phoenix to an eternity of undeath, unable to properly die, trapped in the boundary between the mortal plane and the Pantheon.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: It's implied that she's Rin's long-lost mother.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Refused to make a pact with the Phoenix, even knowing that it would cost the lives of her people. Tearza knew that if the Phoenix had its way, the entire world would be reduced to ash, not just the Federation.
