# Horpyna — With Fire and Sword character guide

> Horpyna in With Fire and Sword by Henryk Sienkiewicz.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the shameless Horpyna

**First appearance:** 0015-xvi

## Snapshot

A wild, cunning witch-woman whose uncanny gifts and shameless will serve the Cossack chief Bogun, keeping his captive Princess Helena hidden far from war and rescue.

## Who they are

Horpyna belongs to the shadowy borderland where folk magic, banditry, and Cossack raids blur together, and she places her strange powers at Bogun's disposal. Her bond with him is possessive and half-superstitious, and the drink she brews is what keeps his grief and violence stoked. She matters because Helena's captivity — and the loyalty Bogun commands through Horpyna — becomes one of the engines driving the search that pulls the novel's heroes deeper into the Ukraine.

## In the story

### [XXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/with_fire_and_sword_se/chapters/xxxii)

Performs soothsaying for Bogun, foretelling that 'the Pole is near her' (Helena).

### [XXXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/with_fire_and_sword_se/chapters/xxxiv)

The witch who advises Bogun on herbs and potions; commands the werewolves; leads the party to her dwelling in the Devil's Glen.

### [XXXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/with_fire_and_sword_se/chapters/xxxv)

The enchantress who cares for Helena after her faint, revealing her role as Bogun's servant and her own lively, insincere demeanor.

### [Chapter XXXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/with_fire_and_sword_se/chapters/xxxvi)

Agrees to guard Helena in the glen; mocks Bogun's hesitation and offers to kill Helena if he perishes.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/with_fire_and_sword_se/characters/horpyna
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/with_fire_and_sword_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/with_fire_and_sword_se/characters