This week, I’ve been celebrating my characters—all part of also celebrating NZ Women’s Suffrage week and the 121st anniversary of women getting the vote on 19 September, 1893.

On Monday, I looked at women characters from The Heir Of Night (The Wall Of Night Book One), and yesterday it was Thornspell’s turn—including my favourite villain, the Margravine zu Malvolin. 😉

Today, it’s time to meet the fabulous, feisty, female cast from The Gathering Of The Lost (The Wall Of Night Book Two).

So again, in honor of Suffrage Week and 19 September 1893:

Meet Some Of The Women Characters From The Gathering Of The Lost:

The Old Friends…

Meet Malian:

Malian is the lead character in The Wall Of Night series, so although you got to meet her on Monday, she’s also very much part of The Gathering Of The Lost (Gathering). I chose an adventurous introduction for Malian on Monday, so thought I might continue that theme today. 🙂

“…Malian sprang to catch up, feeling a rush of exhilaration, so darkly fierce it was almost joy, as they cleared the first narrow street, cobbles flashing beneath them. To fall would be to die—but they were not going to fall. Her blood sang as they ran on, keeping to the narrow lanes and close-packed houses of the poorer quarters where there were plenty of sharp angles and deep shadows to hide in.

Soon they were running as one, each knowing intuitively how the other would move, racing up roof slopes without hesitation and plunging down the far side, floating effortlessly across the gaps between buildings until Malian felt as though she were flying above Caer Argent. The pale gold moon kept pace alongside, so close it seemed she might touch it … if only she stretched out her hand at the right moment.

…it was a long time after that when she noticed the stars growing pale, a reminder that the midsummer dawn came early. She knew they must have crossed half the city and by rights she should feel tired, but instead she felt wonderfully and gloriously alive.”

Meet Jehane Mor

You also met the herald, Jehane Mor, on Monday, but she plays an even more important part in Gathering than she did in The Heir Of Night (Heir).

“…Jehane Mor had taken her first step into deeper shadow, away from the circle of light cast by the nearest gate lantern. Cautiously, she moved along the street, staying out of the light and keeping her psychic shield up, but nothing disturbed its outer edge. She stopped in another pool of shadow ten paces from the Guild House gate, which gaped at her, silent as an unanswered question.

The minutes lengthened, but Jehane Mor remained motionless…The moment she broke cover, slipping out of the shadows and toward the unlit entrance, she caught movement from the corner of her eye. Her head whipped around as a dense inky blot, with long tendrils trailing beneath it, detached from an eave diagonally opposite the gate. The tendrils exploded toward her in a jet of black matter and she sprang back, gathering her power to counterattack—only to drop to the ground for the second time that night as an arrow sang.”

Meet Asantir:

Yes, you also met the Honor Captain, Asantir, on Monday—and although her role in Gathering is not so extensive, it is pivotal.

“Asantir was still watching Torlun… [whose]…stance remained assured as he met Asantir’s gaze, but the line of his mouth had tightened. He frowned sideways at his second-in-command. “Boras, this is taking too long.” …

“Fool!” The old woman spoke with asperity despite her cut and bruised mouth. “She’s carrying black blades—that’s how she defeated the siren worm five years ago. That’s where all your power is going now, too, unless I much mistake the matter.”

“Black blades—fables for children!” Boras said, but Garan noticed they had all taken a step back.

Torlun looked openly doubtful now, his eyes shifting to the sword hilts beneath Asantir’s hands. Slowly, he took another step back. “You know this isn’t over.”

“No?” said Asantir, “I think that it is. Quite over.”

I hope you may be starting to get a feeling for why one reader renamed her “Kick-As(s)antir.” 😉

Incidentally, you also just met the Old Lady, a senior priestess from the Derai House of Morning.

And The New…

But besides these old friends, there’s also a host of new women characters for you to meet. As with the other days, I shall try to introduce them in the order they appear in the story, as they first appear…

Meet Lady Sarifa, the Demonhunter

“…but it was the woman who slipped into the tent in his shadow who caught and held all eyes. She was clad in a full, deep-red robe, her hair concealed by a coif of gold mesh worked with garnet and seed pearls. The face within the coif was quartered with crimson and charcoal paint, both eyelids and lips darkened to black. The effect was both rich and a little frightening, and Jehane Mor heard more than one indrawn breath, although no one spoke.

Demonhunter tricks, the herald thought… The Lady Sarifa’s painted lids were half lowered, but Jehane Mor knew that she would be sensing the room. The demonhunter looked young, although it was difficult to be sure behind the painted mask. She would undoubtedly be strong, having been sent so far from Ishnapur alone—”

Meet Yris, Patroler & River Pilot

“Aravenor nodded to the Patroler on his left. “This is Yris. She is one of our river pilots and will take you upriver from Farelle.”

Yris bowed, but did not speak. She wore the same long black tunic and visored helm as the riders, but the sword at her side was short and she had a quilted gambeson rather than a mail shirt. When she bowed, the light reflected off what looked like a stylized wave on her visor.”

Meet Jarna, the Emerian Knight-In-Training

“…one of them, Carick saw with surprise, was a young woman. Her helmet was tucked under one arm, revealing a dark braid wrapped around her head. She seemed shy, Carick thought, watching her stare at the ground while Audin spoke, nodding in response to his words.”

Meet Manan, the Innkeeper & Lay Priestess Of Imuln

‘ “Aha, so you are awake at last!” said a voice so smooth and rich it made Carick think of cream. The door opened wider, admitting one of the largest women he had ever seen. She must have been at least six feet tall, with a mass of curling, dark brown hair piled up haphazardly and kept in place by combs. The body between shoulder and ankle billowed generously and was arrayed in layers of blouse, kirtle, and a lavishly embroidered cote that made her seem larger still. There were some, Carick knew, who would have called her blowsy, but he thought she was beautiful, with skin as creamy as her voice and the largest, merriest, velvet-brown eyes he had ever seen. It was only when she came to stand by the bed and smiled down at him that he saw the deeply etched crow’s-feet at the corners of her eyes, and threads of silver in her dark hair. “Well, well,” the woman said, smiling still, “we were starting to think your sleep was going to last forty years, like the young man in the fable.” ‘

Meet Malisande, Companion to the Countess of Ormond

‘ “I’m still alive,” he whispered, feeling the wonder of it after his flight through the pass.

“Yes.” A grave voice spoke from beside the bed. “But your lip is bleeding again. You will have to remember not to bite it for the next few days.” The owner of the voice moved so he could see her more easily, holding back a heavy, russet curtain that fell from a wooden rail overhead. He blinked, trying to focus, and this time saw a young woman with a cloud of dark hair framing a delicate face. “Drink this,” she said, lifting a cup to his lips. “It will help you recover.”

The drink was as cool as her voice, but with an edge of bitterness, and Carick fell asleep again as soon as he had drunk it down.’

Meet Solaan, Arms Instructor

‘The instructor’s name, Carick learned, was Solaan, and she was as cool and businesslike as Raven, although considerably older. Her cropped hair was gray as iron, and there were deep tracks around both eyes and mouth in her weather-beaten face.

“The tattooing?” Carick murmured to Raven. “Is that usual here?”

“She is of the Hills,” Raven replied, as though that explained everything. “More importantly, she is a master of this weapon.” ‘

Meet Ghiselaine, Countess Of Ormond

“The young women rode as lightly as the squires, most with long braids trailing from beneath caps of leather or steel. Only the central rider was bare headed, sitting straight and slender in the saddle while the bell of her red-gold hair lifted in the breeze.

“Ghiselaine, Countess of Ormond,” Raven murmured, although Carick had already guessed: she sat amongst the other riders like a queen among her knights. He also knew that the youthful countess was famous for her beauty—and this girl was undoubtedly beautiful, with clear, apricot-tinted skin, a perfect oval face, and fine gold-brown eyes beneath arched brows. Like a painting of beauty, Carick thought, as he sketched a bow.”

Meet Hawk, Hill Chieftain

“The new arrivals formed themselves into two loose groups in the castle’s main hall: the first around a grizzled, powerful, middle-aged man standing beneath a white, horsetail banner; the second in a half circle about a weather-beaten woman of similar years, below a standard crowned with antlers …

The two chieftains inclined their heads, a gesture that was respectful yet without servility. “Our scouts,” said Hawk, “tell us that raider bands are gathering on the borders of our hunting runs. We fear they will strike soon and strike hard, and our numbers are few. So we invoke the bond sworn between us. Let the shade of Emer’s oak be cast over our hills, as was promised, against those who seek our destruction.”

Meet Rhike, Darksworn Adept

“A second figure came walking out of the wood and up the hill, long robes trailing and the hood pushed back to reveal a pale, high-boned face and shadowed eyes. The newcomer’s head was completely shaven except for one long hank of hair that was plaited from the crown and curved down the right side of the face.

A woman, Carick thought, although he could not have said why, since the bones of the face, the body beneath the long robes, and the hissing voice were all androgynous …

The pale face contorted, then smoothed out as the mist crept around the woman and her shape began to fade. “…But the next time you thwart our work we will bring you down.”

Meet Zhineve-An, Priestess-Queen of Jhaine

“The priestess-queen, Malian thought… She wore no crown; needed none, in fact, although a narrow gold fillet circled her brow. A border of goldwork edged the pale mantle, and the broad, linked belt around the queen’s waist was also gold. …her crimson gown was slit for ease of riding, so that everyone could see the tanned legs extending into boots of honey leather, rolled to above the knee. Malian could sense the men around her, all trying not to stare. She would have smiled openly except for the proud lift of that wheat-gold head and the austere young stare—although the queen’s eyes, the shadowed gray of dawn skies, were fixed on the Duke.”

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So there you are: a suitable selection, I hope, of women characters to make a fitting celebration of suffrage week. 😉

And of course, the big S for Suffrage Day, 19 September, is tomorrow—although I’ve gotten in a little ahead of the game with my celebratory posts because tomorrow is A Geography Of Haarth day. (Although there may be an ‘Easter Egg’—watch this space!)

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To check out the cast of leading women from The Heir Of Night, click on:

I Celebrate NZ Women’s Suffrage—By Celebrating My Women Characters: Part 1, The Heir Of Night

And Thornspell is here:

I Celebrate NZ Women’s Suffrage—By Celebrating My Women Characters: Part 2, Thornspell
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To read more about September 19 and NZ women’s suffrage, try:

Christchurch City Libraries: Votes For Women — 19 September 1893

Te Ara, The Encyclopedia of New Zealand: Voting Rights