The Mongoliad: Book Two (The Foreworld Saga) (54 page)

Giovanni Colonna

The cardinal priest of Sant’Prassede, Giovanni Colona has participated in papal elections since 1216. During his service as legate in Speyer, his faith was strenuously tested.

Vera

A
skjalddis—
Shield-Maiden
—
of Kiev, Vera commands the garrison that protects the city after the Mongol assault.

Benjamin

A Silk Road merchant, Benjamin has traded goods from Byzantium to China. His knowledge of the peoples of the steppes is invaluable to the Shield-Brethren party traveling east.

Andreas

A fiercely independent member of the Shield-Brethren, Andreas is a knight initiate of the Order, though his resistance to authority and his continued questioning of the adherence to the old ways has made him somewhat of a pariah within the Order.

Rutger

The quartermaster of Týrshammar, Rutger accompanies the Shield-Brethren to the Circus of Swords at Legnica. After Feronantus’s departure, he becomes the master of the young recruits who stay behind to fight in the arena.

Hans

An orphan of Legnica, Hans is a member of the gang of street rats in Hünern. He befriends both Kim and Andreas, becoming the key conduit between the two sides of the conspiracy.

Father Pius

A devout Roman Catholic priest, Father Pius hopes to save souls in the wreckage of Hünern but finds himself embroiled in a feud between the Shield-Brethren and the Livonian Order.

Dietrich von Grüningen

The
Heermeister
of the Livonian Order, Dietrich von Grüningen seeks to restore his order’s maligned name. He has pledged his allegiance to Pope Gregory IX and the secret order that stands behind the Pope.

Kristaps

The First Sword of Fellin, Kristaps is a survivor of the battle of Schaulen, a black mark on the history of the Livonian Order.

Zugaikotsu no Yama
(“Zug”)

Onghwe Khan’s grand champion in the Circus of Swords, Zugaikotsu no Yama is a Nipponese
ronin
. His name means “Mountain of Skulls,” and he allows people to call him “Zug.” He does not speak of his past or his real name.

Kim Alcheon

Kim Alcheon hails from Korea and is the last of an order known as the Flower Knights. Along with Zug, he was captured by the Mongols in Byeokrando and has been a gladiator in Onghwe Khan’s circus ever since.

ERIK BEAR

Thanks to my family, to my friends, and to everyone who’s fought alongside me on this book both metaphorically and literally. Thanks to all the other writers, especially Mark, for working harder than any one person should. Thanks to my dad and my grandpa, for guiding me down the path of writing.

GREG BEAR

It’s been terrific working with all of these fine writers, clashing steel in the mornings under Neal’s guidance, then quaffing coffee and breakfasting out of pink boxes of muffins while plotting at a mad pace...watching Mark outline and organize chapters on our blackboard while Joe and Cooper paced and swung and flashed their blades, shooting ideas back and forth with Neal across our writers’ table, talking across the continent with Nicole (and wickedly offering her virtual muffins), collaborating with son Erik on both fight strategies and chapters...while we all ventured on foot and horse through untold carnage and across wide plains of rippling grass, straight into the fabulous territories of Harold Lamb, Talbot Mundy, and Robert E. Howard...Thanks to all for the amazing experience!