Character guide

Alveric

major

Also known as II Alveric, IV Alveric

Alveric is the lord of Erl who gathers a small, strange band — a lovesick lad, a shepherd, a moonstruck boy, a witless horse-tender — and rides past the fields we know to demand a bride from the King of Elfland. His love for Lirazel is real, but so is his restlessness: once she is in Erl he tries to make her earthly, and when she is gone his own thoughts turn daily more elvish. His divided nature drives the book's central question of whether the two worlds can ever be held at once.

Lirazel

major

Also known as Princess Lirazel, the Princess Lirazel, Thither Lirazel, Earth Lirazel

Lirazel walks dazzling onto the lawns of Elfland and, hearing Alveric tell of harvests, roses, and how to thatch, longs for a life that passes beautifully. She is bound by her father's ancient commands and by the silent knights who guard her, yet her curiosity about Earth is genuine and unguarded. Her longing sets the whole story in motion: what begins as wonder at mortal time becomes the ache that pulls her home again.

Orion

major

Also known as Threl, young Orion, Orion Threl

Orion grows up at the castle of Erl with hounds that speak to him in tails and paws and eyes, and with a mother whose blood is elvish. When he stands at the twilight boundary, the call of Elfland and the call of the chase pull him opposite ways, and the hounds usually win. His divided inheritance makes him the story's living bridge — and its most vulnerable one — between the fields we know and the land beyond.

Lurulu

supporting

Also known as XXIV Lurulu

Lurulu belongs to Elfland's older, stranger order, a creature at home among its timeless lawns and singing towers. Where the elves and the King move by ancient law, Lurulu observes the doings of mortal folk with a curiosity that is part mockery, part wonder. His presence keeps the reader aware that Elfland is not merely a romantic backdrop but a place with its own inhabitants, moods, and opinions about us.

Ziroonderel

supporting

Ziroonderel counsels Alveric before he rides, warns him plainly that her craft has no power over Elfland, and takes Orion into her care when his father departs. She is the practical, sorrowful anchor of the mortal world: she knows the limits of her spells, and she watches Lirazel drift away on the wind without any power to hold her. Her honesty about what magic can and cannot do gives the story its sober counterweight to wonder.

Oth

minor

A leather worker who speaks of the elfin mountains.

Vand

minor

A character associated with the parliament of Erl.

Niv

minor

A member of the parliament of Erl.

The Freer

minor

Also known as Good Freer

A religious figure who comments on magic and the elfin realm.

Zend

minor

A character from the parliament of Erl.

Narl

minor

A member of the parliament of Erl.

Erl

minor

The lord of Erl, father of Alveric.

Guhic

minor

A character from the parliament of Erl.

Mother Witch

minor

Also known as Witch

An old witch who appears in the story.

Thyl

minor

A minor character mentioned in the narrative.

Gazic

minor

A minor character from the parliament of Erl.

Rannok

minor

A character from the parliament of Erl.

Curst

minor

A character involved in the cursing of elfin things.