# The Roots of the Mountains — Character guide

> Key figures in The Roots of the Mountains by William Morris.

- [The Bride](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/the_bride.md): The Bride is Face-of-god's old playmate and pledged bride, beloved in Burgdale for her beauty and worthiness. At the Yule feast she steps forth in gold and fine web, bearing the sword beside the Holy Boar, only to find h
- [Face-of-god](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/face_of_god.md): Face-of-god is the son of Iron-face of the House of the Face, a young warrior who has wandered into the mountains and returned changed. He stands caught between two wayward women and a mighty folk, his oath to wed the Mo
- [Gold-mane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/gold_mane.md): Gold-mane is the name the Dalesfolk give Face-of-god, and it is by this name that the Mountain Woman greets him when he stumbles, weary and night-bound, into her hall. There he is welcomed with wine and washed feet by th
- [Stone-face](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/stone_face.md): Stone-face is the elder kinsman of the House of the Face who rises early to follow Gold-mane onto the bridge and speak with him apart. He knows his foster-son means to go to the wood, and his counsel to refrain is loaths
- [Bow-may](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/bow_may.md): Bow-may is a hunter of the mountain folk, appointed with Wood-wise as companion on the road, and known as a bowman surer than most. She watches the betrothal of Gold-mane and the Sun-beam with a laugh that flushes her ta
- [Iron-face](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/iron_face.md): Iron-face is the Alderman of Burgdale and father to Face-of-god, a leader whose cheerful Yuletide customs include welcoming armed strangers to the hall. When his son starts up at the Bride's masked entrance and shouts of
- [Dallach](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/dallach.md): Dallach belongs to Silverdale, the far country whose battles and losses shadow the Dalesmen's own war, and his messages knit the two peoples' fates together. He is the bringer of news rather than a wielder of the blade i
- [Hall-face](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/hall_face.md): Hall-face, called Hall-ward, is a leader of the Steer kindred, a veteran whose place is under the banner when the kindreds break the foe. When he believes the Bride has fallen, his bleak certainty—'she is dead'—strikes F
- [Folk-might](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/folk_might.md): Folk-might belongs to the Wolf kindred, a people whose fierceness is proverbial among the Dalesmen, and his byname the Sickle suggests a reaper in battle. He moves among the chieftains as a peer of Face-of-god and the wa
- [Sun-beam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/sun_beam.md): Sun-beam comes from Shadowy Vale, of lineage that once wielded power, and she has spent years striving toward a dream now fulfilled in the fair life of Silverdale. Leaving that Dale wrings her, yet she resolves to take u
- [Penny-thumb](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/penny_thumb.md): A lean and shrewd neighbour of Burgdale, often involved in local affairs.
- [Redesman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/redesman.md): A counsellor and speaker at the folk-motes, offering advice and judgment.
- [Crow](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/crow.md): A kinsman and messenger, often bearing tidings between the kindreds.
- [Rusty](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/rusty.md): A minor character, likely a warrior or retainer in Burgdale.
- [Wolf of Whitegarth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/wolf_of_whitegarth.md): The Wolf of Whitegarth takes his name from his holding and his kindred, the Wolf people whose fierceness the Dalesmen know well. As a chieftain he stands among the host's leaders, his authority rooted in the respect his 
- [Red-wolf](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/red_wolf.md): A warrior of the Wolf kindred, known for his red hair or cloak.
- [Bristler](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/bristler.md): A minor character, possibly a warrior or scout in the host.
- [Wildlake](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/wildlake.md): A minor character, possibly a place-name personified or a warrior.
- [Red-coat of Waterless](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/red_coat_of_waterless.md): A man from Waterless, likely a warrior or messenger.
- [Guest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/guest.md): A minor character, possibly a visitor or stranger in the dale.
- [Fox of Upton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters/fox_of_upton.md): A man from Upton, possibly a warrior or neighbour.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roots_of_the_mountains_se/characters