Character guide

Tara of Helium

major

Also known as Helium, Tara, Princess Tara of Helium, The Princess of Helium, Princess

Tara of Helium moves through her father's palace trailed by suitors she refuses to take seriously, dismissing Djor Kantos's devotion as mere friendship with her brother. When she is captured and sold into slavery, her imperious temper collides with a world that punishes defiance — yet she kills her would-be attacker with a hidden blade and coolly tells the terrified slave girl beside her that honor matters more than life. Her refusal to be broken is what drives the novel's central journey.

Gahan of Gathol

major

Also known as Gahan, Gathol, Jed of Gathol, The Jed of Gathol, Jed

Gahan of Gathol is a ruler who would rather earn a woman's love than command it, so he sheds his identity and serves as a nameless wandering warrior. His pride and his secret cut both ways: Tara, not knowing who he is, treats him as a hireling, and his deception risks destroying the very trust he hopes to build. His masquerade places him at the center of every rescue and reversal in the story's middle arc.

Turan

major

Also known as Turan the panthan

Turan the panthan is a mercenary with no land and no lord, which makes him invisible to the highborn — exactly what he needs. He attaches himself to Tara's fate with a devotion that seems inexplicable for a hired blade, enduring her scorn and the perils of Bantoom and Manator at her side. His hidden identity creates the central tension of the romance: whether Tara can love the man rather than the title.

Ghek

supporting

Also known as Ghek the kaldane

Ghek belongs to a race that has abandoned individual feeling for cold collective efficiency, his kind treating their own bodies as disposable mounts. Exiled or estranged from that logic, he becomes fascinated by Tara's fear, courage, and grief, emotions his people consider defects. His strangeness makes him both threatening and pitiable, and his gradual loyalty gives the story one of its most unsettling and affecting partnerships.

O-Tar

supporting

Also known as O - Tar, the jeddak, Tar, Jeddak, The Jeddak, the wicked Jeddak, Manator, O - Tar of Manator

O-Tar rules Manator through fear and self-regard, but when danger touches him personally his nerve fails, and his own nobles watch him choose humiliation over courage. He has taken the unwilling Princess Haja and persecuted Gathol's slaves, feeding a resentment that U-Thor voices openly in his throne room. His paranoia and need to dominate make him the engine of the story's later dangers, and his weakness is the crack through which the heroes might escape.

Luud

minor

Also known as the Luud

The chief of the kaldanes in Bantoom, a powerful brain creature.

A-Kor

supporting

Also known as A - Kor, Kor, Kor the dwar

A-Kor is a Manatorian noble of conscience in a court ruled by a tyrant, and his refusal to bend has landed him in the pits alongside the very strangers he will help. U-Thor demands his release before the assembled jeds, making A-Kor's fate a test of whether Manator's nobility will finally check O-Tar's power. His loyalty and local knowledge give Gahan and Tara their best hope of surviving the city's games.

U-Dor

minor

Also known as U - Dor, Dor, The black haired U - Dor

A Manatorian chief who opposes A-Kor.

U-Thor

minor

Also known as Thor, U - Thor, Manatos, U - Thor of Manatos, Thor of Manatos

The Jed of Manatos, an ally of Gahan.

John Carter

minor

Also known as Barsoom, The Warlord, Warlord of Barsoom, The Warlord of Barsoom, Prelude John Carter

The Warlord of Barsoom and father of Tara, who appears in the prelude.

Tasor

minor

Also known as the Gatholian, The Gatholian, Tasor the Gatholian, Gatholian, Tasor of Gathol

A Gatholian warrior loyal to Gahan.

E-Thas

minor

Also known as E - Thas, Chiefs E - Thas

A Manatorian chief who serves O-Tar.

I-Gos

minor

Also known as old I - Gos, I - Gos, Gos

An old Manatorian who helps the heroes in the pits.

Uthia

minor

Also known as the privileged Uthia

A privileged woman of Manator who befriends Tara.

Djor Kantos

minor

Also known as Kantos

A Heliumite warrior and friend of Tara.

Val Dor

minor

Also known as Helium, Val Dor of Helium

A Heliumite warrior who accompanies Tara's rescue party.

Olvia Marthis

minor

Also known as the fair Olvia

A noblewoman of Helium and friend of Tara.

Lan-O

minor

Also known as Fetch Lan - O, Lan - O, Lan, Lan - O.

A Manatorian warrior who serves O-Tar.

Floran of Gathol

minor

Also known as Floran, Gathol

A Gatholian warrior loyal to Gahan.

Dejah Thoris

minor

Princess of Helium and mother of Tara, mentioned but not present.

E-Med

minor

Also known as E - Med, E - Med the dwar

A dwar of Manator who opposes A-Kor.

O-Mai

minor

Also known as O - Mai the Cruel, O - Mai, Mai, the dead O - Mai

A legendary dead jeddak of Manator whose tomb is discovered.

Kantos Kan

minor

A Heliumite noble and father of Djor Kantos.

Zav

minor

Also known as I - Zav

A Manatorian warrior who participates in the games.

Haja

minor

Also known as the Princess Haja, Haja of Gathol

A princess of Gathol and relative of Gahan.

O-Zar

minor

A Manatorian chief who serves O-Tar.

Moak

minor

Also known as a Moak

A Manatorian warrior who fights in the arena.

Carthoris

minor

Son of John Carter and brother of Tara, mentioned briefly.

A-Sor

minor

Also known as the Manatorian, A - Sor the Manatorian

A Manatorian warrior who aids the heroes.

U-Kal

minor

Also known as U - Kal, Manataj, U - Kal of Manataj

A warrior from Manataj who participates in the games.

Thuvia of Ptarth

minor

Also known as Ptarth

A princess of Ptarth, mentioned in passing.

Tanus

minor

A Heliumite warrior mentioned in the narrative.

Sept

minor

A Manatorian warrior who serves in the palace.