Characters / The Tarsi

Return to the main character page here.

The Tarsi are the inhabitants of the Tarsian Empire — a vast empire which stretches across a long chain of islands. Despite being stuck in Medieval Stasis, they are a powerful people, capable of keeping up with their Redariam and dwarven allies.

In General

• The Ace: They're the living union of Lightning Bruiser and Genius Bruiser, for starters. The church takes this even further, as they're required to be scholars just to enter — and they gain access to supernatural powers, to boot! One gets the impression that the Tarsi could rule the world, if they wanted to.
• Bizarre Alien Biology: Tarsi are a reptilian race in direct contrast to the other High Races, which are all mammalian. They take several decades to reach full maturity — as a Tarsi, you're not considered an adult until roughly age fifty. On average, they stand 2.3 metres (just over 7 1/2 feet) in height, are even stronger than dwarves, and faster than elves.
  • They're also warm-blooded, despite being reptilian.
• Bizarre Sexual Dimorphism: Male Tarsi have green scales and long snouts; female Tarsi have grey scales and no snouts at all, merely a set of nostrils.
• Cool Airship: The one electrical device that (some) Tarsi use on anything resembling a regular basis is the airship...and what amazing airships they are. They're gigantic — large enough to accommodate crew's quarters, stables for the griffons, and any amount of plasma-based weaponry. Note that the Tarsi are apathetic enough to still use a bow and arrows in close quarters. And yes, they're from another planet (meaning that the story itself is set in a Constructed World, not that the Tarsi are aliens in-story), so they've got that trope covered at least literally. The most prominent example would be the Family Business.
• Lizard Folk: They're reptilian, although they're warm-blooded, and don't like being referred to as "lizards."

Empress Riko

The ruler of the Tarsian Empire.

• The High Empress
• Lady of War: Subverted. During the battles in Tarsia, she's been forcefully evacuated by her bodyguards, as she's too valuable a target. That said, it's almost certain that she'd be capable of fighting, if the need arose.

Prince Ryoichi

Prince of Tarsia and son of Empress Riko.

• Badass in Distress / Distressed Dude
• Warrior Prince: Downplayed. Like his mother, his bodyguards evacuate him, but only after he's already spent some time in the midst of the battle. He's certainly capable of putting up a fight... but not against the Diaboro.
• The Wise Prince

The Church

In General

• Authority Equals Asskicking: The higher church officials tend to be stronger in combat — a bishop is a tougher opponent than a priest; a cardinal is tougher than a biship; etc.
• Church Militant / Warrior Monk: They're all quite dedicated to their cause, and will fight for it if need be (which they inevitably end up doing).
• Glowing White Eyes: When a priest gets these, RUN!!!
• Heroes Prefer Swords / Katanas Are Just Better: They use katanas as melee weapons — holy katanas made of supernatural material.
• Irony: Blue is considered the colour of peace, which is why their sashes are blue. The only organization that sees more conflict than they do is the military (which they end up aiding regardless).
• Knight in Sour Armor: Nearly every one of them becomes increasingly bitter as the series progresses. Yet they never deviate from their cause, because it's the right thing to do.
• Magic Knight: Well, holy knight, but the concept is the same. They're equally adept in melee or spell-based combat.
  • They also avert Religion is Magic; magic is something utterly alien to them (for what it's worth, the demon's spells are magic).
• Master Swordsman: Using supernatural, semi-sapient katanas no less.
• Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: Despite being a setting in which nearly everthing is capable of at least putting a few plasma-holes into you, the priests are almost always at the top of the food chain, able to overcome any opponent or obstacle. That is, until the elves gain a new ally...namely, the demons. Even before the demons become the main threat, they've already torn the church — and, for that matter, the DRTA military — in half. And when the demons do become the dominant threat...things go From Bad to Worse pretty fast.
• Summon to Hand: Summon in hand. Their katanas appear in their hands when they need them.
• The Theocracy: A partial example. Quite a few church officials double as politicians, although there are plenty of political figures who are not priests.

Cardinal Noboyuki

The leader of the church in the absence of a pope or any cardinals older than he. It was due to him that the elven battlestations were finally confiscated.

• Big Good: Serves as this after Pope Takuma is killed.
  • Becomes Number Two after a new pope is elected.
• Blessed with Suck: After obtaining the Deoth-stone necklace from Cardinal Kiyoshi, he is granted permanent Sight Beyond Sight. However, it comes with several drawbacks. It turns out that "Perfect Vision" really IS perfect: he can see the germs on every surface, epidermal skin cells decaying and shedding, and electrons swirling about atomic nuclei. He says that he almost misses being blind. A person of lesser will than his would Go Mad from the Revelation.
• Eye Scream: Gets his eyes gouged out during the events of Gathering Forces.

Father Ichirou Later Bishop Ichirou

One of the priests who escaped Elderenn when the war first broke out.

• Rank Up: Is made a bishop after Gathering Forces.
• Survivor's Guilt: Blames himself for the deaths of his students during the elven attack.
• Sole Survivor: Was in charge of one of the seminaries in Elderenn before the war. None of his students or assistants survived.

Father Takashi

An inquisitor caught in the midst of the misunderstanding that caused war to break out in the first place.

• Anti-Hero: He is extremely bitter thanks to the elves' actions, and has no real hope that they will change. As such, he sees them as little more than trash, and is completely willing to kill them with little regard for innocents.
• The Cynic
• Dark Is Evil / Dark Is Not Evil: He manages to straddle the line between the two (inquisitor robes are black).
• Decoy Protagonist: He is the focus of the first book. After that, he becomes little more than a side character.
• Last of His Kind: After the elves declare war on the DRTA, they quickly wipe out all remaining inquisitors — Father Takashi is the only one left. He quickly becomes known as "The Last Inquisitor."
• Sinister Minister: He can be more than a little...rough, shall we say?
• Unwitting Pawn: His defence of his homeless shelter is used as an excuse to begin the war between the elves and the DRTA.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He ultimately wants what is best for everyone, but has no trouble with the deaths of those he deems unworthy.

Father Haruki

A fellow priest and best friend to Father Takashi. He and Father Takashi are trapped in Elderenn when the war breaks out.

• Decoy Protagonist: Acts as the Deuteragonist with Father Takashi in the first book. After that, he becomes a side character.
• Foil: To Father Takashi. Where the former is bitter and anti-heroic, he is optimistic and a bit of a doormat. For bonus points, Father Takashi wears black robes while Father Haruki wears white robes.
• The Pollyanna: His optimism never seems to break, not even after all he and Father Takashi go through. He actually has a mental disorder that literally keeps him from being a cynic.

Father Isamu and Father Arata

Two of the younger priests who become involved in the war after Pathruushke's return.

• Heterosexual Life-Partners: They're best friends
• Kid Hero: By Tarsian standards; they're in their thirties.
  • Tarsian males' voices become raspy once they reach full maturity; Fathers Isamu and Arata's voices do not yet rasp.