# Menlik — The Defiant Agents character guide

> Menlik in The Defiant Agents by Andre Norton.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Only Menlik

**First appearance:** 0003-ii

## Snapshot

A pole-thin Tatar shaman with sceptic's brows and tinkling charms, Menlik tests Travis with silence and sharp questions before ever offering trust.

## Who they are

Menlik stands behind Hulagur's war band as its real strategist, a man whose narrowed green eyes miss nothing and whose soft-spoken English betrays an education his people pretend to have shed. He fences with Travis over ancestry, territory, and the memory of Genghis Khan, weighing whether the Apache are scouts for an invasion or potential allies against the Reds. His wary intelligence makes him the hinge on which any Tatar-Apache understanding must turn.

## Relationships

### [Travis Fox](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/characters/travis_fox)

_friendship_

Menlik is a close ally and companion to Travis, often supporting him in leadership and conflict.

### [Shaman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/characters/shaman)

_professional_

Menlik and the Shaman interact as colleagues within the tribal hierarchy, sharing ceremonial duties.

### [This Red](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/characters/this_red)

_rivalry_

Menlik and This Red are antagonists, frequently clashing due to opposing loyalties.

### [Travis Fox](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/characters/travis_fox)

_friendship_

Menlik is a close ally and companion to Travis, often supporting him in leadership and conflict.

### [Travis Fox](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/characters/travis_fox)

_friendship_

Menlik is a close ally and companion to Travis, often supporting him in leadership and conflict.

### [This Red](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/characters/this_red)

_rivalry_

Menlik and This Red are antagonists, frequently clashing due to opposing loyalties.

### [Shaman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/characters/shaman)

_professional_

Menlik and the Shaman interact as colleagues within the tribal hierarchy, sharing ceremonial duties.

### [Shaman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/characters/shaman)

_professional_

Menlik and the Shaman interact as colleagues within the tribal hierarchy, sharing ceremonial duties.

## In the story

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/chapters/vi)

Mentioned as one of those who raided the horse herd with Hulagur.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/chapters/viii)

Shaman of the Tatar camp, challenges Travis's power and tests him with kumiss.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/chapters/ix)

Rides with Travis, observes the mirror signaling, and later draws a figure of the alien Baldies, expressing concern about the valley's power.

### [X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/chapters/x)

Tatar shaman and ally; warns of the Reds' caller and retreats due to vulnerability to the control.

### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/chapters/xi)

Tatar shaman leading the mind-controlled attack on the Apaches; after the Red's death, he negotiates a tense separation.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/chapters/xvii)

Shaman of the Mongol band, initially hostile but convinced by Travis's display of power and the promise of revenge against the Reds.

### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/chapters/xviii)

Proposes a common taboo on the alien towers, forging a bond between Apache and Mongol.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/characters/menlik
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_defiant_agents_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/characters