Character guide

Tarzan

major

Also known as Tarzan of the Apes, Tarzan the Terrible, Jad-guru

Tarzan enters Pal-ul-don hunting for the abducted Jane, but the valley's warring tribes and prehistoric beasts turn the search into a trial of survival. His legend precedes him — allies and enemies alike measure the man against the myth — while his refusal to abandon Jane drives every risk he takes. He is the axis on which the whole strange world turns, and his reunion with Jane only raises the stakes for their escape.

Jane Clayton

major

Also known as Jane, Lady Greystoke, Lady Jane, Diana of the Jungle

Jane survives captivity in Tu-lur while Tarzan scours Pal-ul-don for her, her endurance a counterweight to his restless pursuit. When they reunite, her joy is shadowed by worry for their son Jack, fighting somewhere on the Argonne Front. Her presence transforms Tarzan's quest from vengeance into a deliberate, careful flight — she is the reason he will not risk another separation.

Erich Obergatz

major

Also known as Lieutenant Obergatz, Obergatz, the German

Obergatz is the last of the three German officers who destroyed Tarzan's home, and months of terror have reduced him to a gibbering wreck. When Lu-don needs a living deity to rival Tarzan's claim, the broken lieutenant is dressed up as Jad-ben-Otho — until Tarzan addresses him in German and the mask slips. His terror and sudden cunning make him both pathetic and dangerous, a living debt Tarzan has crossed a continent to collect.

Jad-ben-Otho

supporting

Also known as Jad, Jad-guru, Otho, Jad-ben-Otho The Great God

Every faction in Pal-ul-don claims Jad-ben-Otho's authority: Lu-don props up a false god in the temple, while Ja-don begs Tarzan to play the role of Dor-ul-Otho to rally the people. The god himself never speaks, but his name is the currency of legitimacy, and whoever controls it controls the valley. Tarzan's willingness to wear the divine title turns theology into strategy in the struggle for Pal-ul-don.

Pan-at-lee

supporting

Also known as Bu, Pan

Pan-at-lee moves between the Ho-don and Waz-don worlds with a familiarity that few outsiders possess, and her loyalty to Tarzan is tested against the feuds of her own people. She carries the gund word and the weight of Om-at's plans for her safe return, her fate tangled with the raids between Kor-ul-ja and Kor-ul-lul. Her presence gives Tarzan a foothold among the tribes and a debt to repay before he can leave Pal-ul-don.

Ja-don

supporting

Also known as Dor-ul-Otho, the false Dor-ul-Otho

Ja-don has watched Lu-don's priests tighten their grip on Pal-ul-don and knows the temple and the palace cannot both rule. When he meets Tarzan, he seizes on the ape-man as the Dor-ul-Otho whose blessing could break the high priest's hold — a gamble that costs him warriors and nearly his life. His loyalty, offered before Tarzan has proven anything, is the political hinge on which the valley's civil war turns.

Mo-sar

supporting

Also known as Mo

Mo-sar rules Tu-lur as a chief accustomed to taking what he wants, and what he wants now is the woman seized from the princess O-lo-a's apartments. When Tarzan strides alone into his city demanding her return, Mo-sar must hide his terror behind a chieftain's composure while the priests' whispered designs coil in his mind. His faltering nerve in that moment measures exactly how much the legend of the Dor-ul-Otho has already conquered Pal-ul-don.

Om-at

supporting

Also known as Om, the Waz-don

Om-at leads the Kor-ul-ja, a Waz-don tribe locked in feud with the neighboring Kor-ul-lul, and he measures every newcomer against the memory of Tarzan-jad-guru. When a speechless stranger arrives asking after the ape-man, Om-at tests him with a pointed knife before trusting him, then channels his grief over a slain ally into a plan to take prisoners rather than corpses. His caution and his capacity for alliance make him the hinge on which Tarzan's friends in Pal-ul-don can act.

Ko-tan

supporting

Also known as Ko, Mighty

Ko-tan sits atop a pyramid throne no other foot has touched in forgotten ages, and he offers that pinnacle to the stranger he believes is the son of Jad-ben-Otho. Yet when Tarzan seats himself on the sacred stone and invites the king to sit beside him as a servant honored, Ko-tan swallows an embarrassment he dares not voice. His divided heart—reverence against wounded pride—gives the high priest Lu-don the leverage he needs to move against the ape-man.

Lu-don

supporting

Also known as the high priest

Lu-don presides over altars where an adult dies at sunset and a newborn babe at dawn, and he knows better than any Ho-don that the faith he preaches is a machine he operates. When Tarzan claims to be the son of Jad-ben-Otho, Lu-don alone shows no terror, because he recognizes a rival rather than a god. His cold, theatrical prosecution—complete with a Waz-don witness and a floating corpse—forces Tarzan to fight for his life with words instead of steel.

O-lo-a

supporting

Also known as O-lo-a (Like-star-light)

O-lo-a, daughter of King Ko-tan, is the princess from whose apartments Jane was taken, making her the quiet cause of the confrontation at Tu-lur. Her name is the leverage Tarzan uses when he walks alone into Mo-sar's hostile city, and her position at court places her near every faction—king, priest, and foreign warrior—that will decide the fate of the ape-man's family. Even in absence, her presence shapes the alliances and resentments that drive the middle of the book.

Es-sat

minor

Also known as Es

A Ho-don warrior and priest loyal to Lu-don.

Ta-den

minor

Also known as Ta

A Waz-don warrior and friend of Om-at.

Tor-o-don

minor

Also known as the old Tor-o-don, Tor Beast

A primitive beast-man creature of the jungle.

Dak-at

minor

Also known as Dak, Dak-lot

A Ho-don warrior and guard in Tu-lur.

Pithecanthropus

minor

An ape-man creature encountered by Tarzan.

Gryf

minor

Also known as the gryf

A monstrous reptilian creature used as a beast of burden.

Numa

minor

The lion, a recurring jungle predator encountered by Tarzan.

Pal-ul-don

minor

Also known as Pal-ul-donians, King of Pal-ul-don

The land itself, sometimes personified as a ruler.

Ho-don

minor

Also known as Ho

The race of white-skinned people in Pal-ul-don.

Bara

minor

The deer, a common jungle animal.

Buto

minor

The hippopotamus, a dangerous river creature.

In-sad

minor

Also known as In, In-tan

A Waz-don warrior and ally of Tarzan.

Jack

minor

Tarzan's son, mentioned but not appearing in the story.

Jar-don

minor

A Ho-don warrior and priest.

John

minor

Tarzan's English name, Lord Greystoke.

Fritz Schneider

minor

Also known as Hauptmann Fritz Schneider, Schneider

A German officer who pursues Obergatz.

Id-an

minor

A Waz-don warrior.

Tarmangani

minor

The Waz-don term for white-skinned men like Tarzan.