Character guide

Khaled

major

Also known as Khaled Zehowah, O Khaled, Khaled ibn Abdullah, Khaled ibn Walad, Khaled ibn Walid, The Sultan Khaled

A stranger with no father, no gifts, and no possessions but a swift mare and a keen sword, he arrives at the Sultan's court asking for Zehowah's hand.

Zehowah

supporting

Also known as Khaled Zehowah

The Sultan's daughter, merry and unbothered by suitors, who laughs at the strange warrior but cannot be moved to love him or anyone.

Almasta

major

A captive woman with broken speech and a talent for song, whose husbands keep dying without a mark on them, and who loves Khaled with her whole soul.

Abdullah ibn Mohammed el Herir

major

Also known as Abdullah, Abdullah ibn Mohammed, Abdullah Sultan, Ya Abdullah, Mohammed

A leader who listens to Almasta's tale of Khaled as a Persian robber and a traitor, and who laughs at the idea of a Bedouin kingdom being handed to foreigners.

The Blind Man

supporting

A physician of great reputation in Arabia, the wisest of his time, who examines the dead and finds no mark, no wound, no explanation.

Abdul Kerim

supporting

Also known as Abdul

A lean, strong man in the prime of health, not given to surfeiting, who was to have married Almasta and died in the night without sign.

The Kadi

supporting

Also known as O Kadi, The aged Kadi

As the city's religious judge, the Kadi is called to the palace when Khaled gathers the chief men and refuses to reveal his lineage, a silence that unsettles the whole order of succession. He belongs to the class of elders whose counsel and legitimacy Abdullah's faction must either win or bypass. His presence at that tense summons marks how quickly private mystery becomes public crisis in Riad.

Asrael

supporting

Asrael sits motionless in the heaven of precious stones, inscribing the unborn and blotting out the dead, his eyes seventy thousand days' journey apart. When Khaled, a believing geni, appears before him on the night Al Kadr to beg for mortal life, the angel's displeasure gives way to wonder and then to listening. His pen and his patience frame the entire story: without Asrael's consent, Khaled never becomes a man, and the tale of Riad never begins.

Sultan of Nejed

supporting

Also known as Nejed, Sultan

Childless in his old age save for Zehowah, the Sultan rules a kingdom blessed in everything but an heir, which makes Khaled's arrival as a suitor and commander a matter of state as much as family. He is genial, unafraid, and easily pleased by a beautiful face or a rich spoil, as when he orders a captive beheaded to gratify Almasta. His willingness to let Khaled ride alone into Riad, loaded with praise but no gifts, quietly sets his son-in-law's strange and solitary path in motion.

The Shammars

minor

Also known as Shammars, Shammar

A tribal group or collective character that plays a role in the political landscape.

Ibn el Sheikh

minor

Also known as Sheikh, The Sheikh

A tribal or religious leader with limited but notable appearances.

A Stranger

minor

An unnamed mysterious figure who appears briefly in the narrative.

Hadji Mohammed

minor

Also known as Mohammed

A pilgrim or religious figure mentioned in passing.

The Bedouin

minor

Also known as This Bedouin

A generic Bedouin character representing the desert tribes.

Yallah

minor

An exclamation or personification, possibly a minor character or interjection.

Riad

minor

A place name used as a character or personification of the city.

Ismaïl

minor

A named individual, possibly a messenger or minor official.

Persians

minor

Also known as the Persians

A collective group of Persian characters appearing in the story.

Abdullah ibn Kelabah

minor

Also known as Abdullah

A minor character with a specific name, possibly a warrior or advisor.

Ali Hassan

minor

Also known as Ali, Hassan

A named individual with a brief role in the narrative.

Balaam ibn Beor

minor

A biblical figure referenced, possibly as a narrator or symbolic presence.

Haïl

minor

A location or personification of the city of Haïl.

Sultan Abdullah

minor

Also known as Abdullah

A ruler titled Sultan Abdullah, possibly distinct from other Abdullahs.