Characters appearing in Ice

Horribly crippled by the mind-duel, Thermeon sees the Stairway of Ice, a miraculous structure leading toward the center of space and time, as his only hope for healing himself. Unfortunately, Resuvilus refuses to let him leave his tiny stone room in the imperial palace.

Gerde, captain of Golden Eagle, seeks the Stairway of Ice in the hopes of paying homage to the Earth-God, who is said to have remained on the steps beyond time ever since he guided the Dispersal of humanity throughout the galaxy. Gerde has picked up his crew during his travels.

Swotchal is a pilot from the future who was stranded when the Deep-five step of the stairway crumbled, taking out her ship.

Galena wea a peasant woman who cared for Thermeon after the mind-duel. Unfortunately, she crystallized and had to be euthanized.

Orgmorgan is head of the Pilots Guild. He has a ship that could take Thermeon to the Stairway of Ice.

Quixa is Thermeon's favorite daughter. He hasn't seen her for a while, because she's been living in the Code Empire.

Horl is Quixa's husband, and the reason she hasn't come to help Thermeon. Everything would be better if she divorced him.

Fuerida is a Deep-level pilot, daughter of Orgmorgan.

Wila is Thermeon's granddaughter, the child of Fuerida and Quixa. Living on the planet Lumocre, she hasn't seen him often since his unfusing, but their bond is strong nevertheless.

Brue is Wila's husband. He is a motivational speaker.

Dino is one of Thermeon's sons. He owns a big resort near the imperial capital named Meklodi.

Katora is Dino's wife. She is headmistress of the Mindsea Academy of Alonaton.

Kee is a daughter of Dino and Katora who has been managing Meklodi for her parents, who live on the planet Ulona.

Wuspo and Dilora are the youngest children of Dino and Katora. They live on the planet Ulona.

Vedina is Thermeon's second-favorite daughter. She is headmistress of the Mindsea Academy of Lal.

Mokra Dooni is the galactic empire's foremost fashion maven with a celebrated shop on the capital's main thoroughfare. As emperor, Thermeon counted on him to stroke his public image

Resuvilus, great-grandson of Thermeon, is galactic emperor. Everything important in life he learned from his great-grandmother Ix.

The Palace Branch is led by Resuvilus's son Hetcho. Eshina is a step-niece.

Fruora is Resuvilu's beloved, mother of Hetcho. Unfortunately, she and the Emperor have fallen out.

Biunset is a daughter of Thermeon and Galena. She tries to guide the galaxy toward a democratic future.

Maneg is Biunset's husband. He backs the movement for democracy, though he was an imperialist when he served in the Palace under Thermeon. His full brother Axosid was a Decadent Epoch emperor.

Saijee is a Member of the Circle of Experts. She joins her former husband Maneg in pushing for democracy.

Sonke Seon is Vedina's nephew and her husband. They have fourteen children together. Mind-river of Lal Eshina is his granddaughter, her mother his child with one of his previous wives. Most of his offspring are busy helping to manage his business intersts throughout the galaxy. The main products of SSS Industries are symbols. He claims to champion science and education in the Empire.

Maxuas was the son of Thremeon and the Code Empress. He started the Great War in an attempt to wrest the galaxy from his father, but he died, and his capital, Wamatu, was destroyed during the war.

Beof commands the armed forces of the Red Star Empire, which comprises fifty-nine planets Maxuas discovered and seeded with his genes before the Great War.

A daughter of Maxuas, Kima is empress of the Red Stars. Her people advocate unification with the Code Empire under her aegis, for they are all children of Ul.

Zerl commands the space fleets of the Code Empire, three-hundred seventeen planets Thermeon annexed during the Code War, which broke free again during the Great War.

People of the Code Empire would be willing to unite with the Red Stars, if their empress, Plishee, became empress for all of the people of the Code.

Anaxa is the eldest daughter of Thermeon and Code Empress Burnished Vision. A compromise party in the Code Keep advocates her accession as the united Code empress.

Vulmak, once king of Wamatu, heads the Wamatuan Resettlement Society. As a descendant of Ulonan refugees, he has ties with the Code Empire and the Red Star Empire.

Raolin is head of the Bureau Branch of the galactic government, with equal political power to the emperor. His is a voice of conservativism.

Rondo is one of the Six Sages who govern the planet Mosalno. He is said to be a copy of the Earth-God. Some people believe this makes him suited for the galactic throne.

Ix is Horl's daughter, and a great-grandmother of Resuvilus. She heads the biggest criminal organization in the galaxy, and has taught the Emperor many things.

Zap and Ix have divided the galaxy between them. Zap owns everything beyond one light second of inhabeted planetary or lunar surfaces, and Ix owns the rest. Zap's modus is to await, cloaked, until a ship uplevels on its approach to a spaceport, and then to attack and board. The chaos of the Contested Era weakened planetary defenses and made her, and Ix's, ventures profitable.

Zilf is a granddaughter of Horl and niece of Ix. Having some mindpowers, she has served as Ix's pilot

Tlilmang is the son of Zilf and the husband of Zap.

The mind-duel that crippled Thermeon and killed Quintillion occured before Shell was discharged from her incubator. Katora deserted both children as she moved on and married Dino. She excused her behavior with the claim that Quintillion's evil infected his offspring.

Soepe is the daughter of Vedina and Sonke Seon, the only one of their children who wants to devote herself to studies at the Mindsea Academy. Sebeng is her best friend.

Keoreen, Keomue, and Trorlilm are three of Thermeon's grandchildren, the daughters of Anaxa.

Akija,Feobia, and Heoba are members of a Red Star falconry team.

Kiadox is a pro-democracy daughter of Thermeon, and Othus is the nephew of Code Empress Plishee.

Vuproo is a daughter of Fuerida, and Yurnian is her husband.

Owik is a son of Vedina and Sonke Seon.

Zafau is a great-granddaughter of Vulmak.

Bisian is a great-grandson of Thermeon, and Ooga is one of his lovers.

Doowup is a son Dino had before his marriage to Katora. Rusti is a friend of the falconers from Rexros.

Zarapeth is a daughter of Horl who looks a lot like her half-sister Ix. Zepeth is the daughter of Zap and Tlilmang.

The worm is an enormous being visible to humans only when they fly Deep.

Skull-Guy is a shard of a human identity that escapes notice on Home-level. In the Deep, he becomes solid and active.

Rabbit is a small Mednean whale, about the side of the animal it's named after. Whales, of course, have their own names, unfathomable to humans.