World & Characters

Three worlds · two pantheons · 35 novels · 1,000+ years of in-universe history. Midkemia and Kelewan span the Riftwar Cycle (1982–2013). Garn is the new world of the Firemane Saga (2018–2022).

Midkemia — Key Locations

Crydee — Frontier duchy on the Far Coast of the Kingdom. Pug and Tomas's home. Where the Tsurani rift first opened in Magician. Duke Borric's seat.
Krondor — Capital of the Principality of the West. Arutha's seat as Prince. Hub of the Riftwar Legacy game-novels and Jimmy the Hand's story. Destroyed and rebuilt in the Legacy arc.
Rillanon — Capital of the Kingdom of the Isles, on an island off the eastern coast. Seat of the King (Rodric IV, then Lyam, then Borric II, then Patrick). The political heart of the Kingdom.
Elvandar — Hidden forest realm of the eledhel (light) elves in the Green Heart. Aglaranna's court; Tomas's home after his transformation. Gathering point for elder races.
Sethanon — Remote northern city, site of the climactic battle in A Darkness at Sethanon. Built above the Lifestone, the Valheru's greatest artifact.
Stardock — Island in Lake Bitter Water (Keshian territory). Pug's magical Academy, founded after the Riftwar. Home to magicians of both paths studying free from Guild politics.
Sorcerer's Isle — Remote island in the Bitter Sea. Home of Macros the Black. Later the base of the Conclave of Shadows.
LaMut — City in the Duchy of Yabon, Northern Kingdom. Scene of Murder in LaMut; garrison town during the first Riftwar.
Great Kesh — Vast southern empire, Kingdom of the Isles' greatest rival and trading partner. Covers the continent's south. Internal politics and tribal factions recur throughout the series.
The Free Cities of Natal — Independent city-states on the southern coast. Politically neutral; important trade and smuggling hubs.
Moraelin — The Black Dragon Mountain, home of the moredhel (dark elves). Underground passages connect to dwarf mines. Site of major battles.
The Hall of Worlds — Interdimensional nexus between worlds accessible via rifts. Appears in the short story "Profit and the Grey Assassin" (Feist's first published fiction, 1982) and recurs in the later novels.

Kelewan

Kelewan — Second world connected to Midkemia by the Tsurani rift. A world with no iron (use of other metals and jade instead). Home of the Tsuranuanni Empire. Climate warm, influenced by East Asian and Mesoamerican aesthetics.
Kentosani / the Holy City — Capital of the Tsuranuanni Empire. Seat of the Light of Heaven (Emperor). Where the Great Game of the Council of Clans is played.
Chakaha / The Assembly of Magicians — The Tsurani magician order, politically apart from the noble houses. The "Great Ones" answer to no lord; they hold absolute power. Pug (as Milamber) is admitted as one.

Key Characters — Riftwar Cycle

Pug (Milamber)

Magician · Conclave Founder · Central Protagonist

Kitchen-boy of Crydee who becomes the most powerful magician of his age. Tsurani name: Milamber. Trained on Kelewan in the Greater Path. Founds the Academy at Stardock, then the Conclave of Shadows. Appears in all 30 Riftwar Cycle novels in some capacity.

Tomas (Ashen-Shugar)

Valheru Inheritor · Warrior · Consort of Elvandar

Pug's foster-brother. Dons ancient Valheru Dragon Lord armor and gradually merges with the identity of Ashen-Shugar, last of the Valheru. Consort of elf queen Aglaranna. Lives for centuries.

Arutha conDoin

Prince of Krondor · Tactician

Younger son of Duke Borric of Crydee. Somber, razor-sharp. Becomes Prince of Krondor. Protagonist of Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon. Husband of Princess Anita. Father of Borric II and Erland.

Jimmy the Hand (James)

Thief → Duke of Krondor

Boy thief in Krondor's Mockers guild who saves Arutha and rises through court service to Duke of Krondor. Protagonist of Riftwar Legacy and the novellas. Marries Gamina, Pug's adopted daughter.

Macros the Black

Master Sorcerer · Manipulator

Reclusive master of Sorcerer's Isle. Unbound by the two-Path system. Manipulates events across centuries to prevent Midkemia's destruction. Connected to the lost god of magic Sarig. Immortal until his sacrifice.

Miranda

Magician · Pug's Wife

Mysterious female magician who appears in Rise of a Merchant Prince. Actually the daughter of Macros the Black, born from the Hall of Worlds side. Trained independently outside the Two-Path system. Marries Pug; mother of Magnus. Killed by the Emerald Queen.

Magnus

Magician · Son of Pug & Miranda

Son of Pug and Miranda. Enormously powerful, trained by both parents outside any formal path. Called the "Nameless One" by the Conclave for his anomalous power. Central figure in the Demonwar and Chaoswar Sagas.

Nakor the Isalani

Gambler · Mystic · Joker

Eccentric gambler who insists "there is no magic, only tricks." Carries a fragment of trickster-god Ban-ath/Kalkin. Sage, Conclave member, comic relief. Deeply tied to the gods' game with reality. Dies in the Chaoswar Saga.

Guy du Bas-Tyra

Villain → Statesman

Duke of Bas-Tyra, Arutha's political enemy in the early novels. Ruthless, scheming, yet genuinely skilled. Redeemed in Darkness at Sethanon when he defends Sethanon. One of Feist's most nuanced antagonists-turned-allies.

Calis

Half-Elf Scout · Special Forces Leader

Son of Tomas and Aglaranna — half-human, half-elf with centuries-long lifespan. Commands Arutha's Pathfinders and later leads the Serpentwar reconnaissance into the enemy homeland. Protagonist alongside Erik von Darkmoor.

Erik von Darkmoor

Soldier → Knight-Marshal

Protagonist of the Serpentwar Saga. Bastard son of Baron von Darkmoor, convicted criminal who escapes death by joining the army. Rises to Knight-Marshal of the Kingdom. Practical, loyal, capable.

Kaspar of Olasko

Duke · Villain → Conclave Asset

Antagonist of the Conclave of Shadows series. A manipulative, power-hungry Duke who is eventually exiled and sent on a redemptive mission by Pug. Becomes a key Conclave operative in the Darkwar Saga, infiltrating the Nighthawks.

Mara of the Acoma

Ruling Lady · Game Player

Protagonist of the Empire Trilogy (Kelewan). Rises from teenage head of a minor house to challenger of the Tsuranuanni social order. Escapes the Great Game by changing the rules entirely — abolishing the system from within.

Key Characters — Firemane Saga / Garn

Hatushaly (Hatu)

Foundling · Sorcerer · Protagonist

Protagonist of the Firemane Saga. Raised on the island of Coalthur as a spy-assassin's son. Discovers he has dangerous, uncontrolled magical power. His true parentage ties him to the Firemane dynasty of Ithrace.

Hava

Warrior · Companion · Protagonist

Co-protagonist of the Firemane Saga alongside Hatu. Raised on the same island, skilled fighter and strategist. Her relationship with Hatu anchors the emotional core of all three Firemane books.

Donte

Warrior · Firemane companion

Third member of the trio from Coalthur island. Gregarious, physically powerful, loyal. Provides comic relief and muscle alongside Hatu and Hava's more cerebral partnership.

Magic System — The Two Paths

The Lesser Path — Also called the "low" or "minor" path. Practiced by most Kingdom magicians and court sorcerers. Based on memorized formulas, runes, and limited energy expenditure. Produces reliable, learnable effects. Not dependent on innate talent.
The Greater Path — Also called the "high" or "major" path. Requires rare innate talent — a "spark" that cannot be taught. Practitioners perceive and manipulate magical energies directly. Pug follows this path (trained on Kelewan as Milamber); Macros operates entirely outside both paths.
Kelewan parallel — The Tsurani Assembly of Magicians on Kelewan follows a path roughly equivalent to the Greater Path. Their "Great Ones" receive absolute social rank, above lords. Their practice differs in technique but parallels Greater Path power.
Stardock — Pug's Academy established after the First Riftwar. Sought to study magic outside traditional Guild constraints. Both paths studied. Later abandoned when Conclave of Shadows became the primary vehicle.
The Conclave of Shadows — Pug's secret organization, founded after Stardock disbanded. Monitors threats to Midkemia from all directions. Operates from Sorcerer's Isle. Members include Pug, Miranda, Magnus, Nakor, and many others.
Wild magic / Chaos magic — Unstable magical energies that neither Path can fully explain or contain. Associated with the Valheru's legacy and certain demon realms. Pug's son Magnus demonstrates power that defies both Paths.

The Valheru — Dragon Lords

Who they were — Ancient godlike beings who predated the current pantheon on Midkemia. Bred and rode dragons. Raided other worlds through rifts, returning with slaves and treasure. Essentially gods in their own time.
Their end — The Valheru were destroyed/transformed when the gods of Midkemia rose to take their place. The last Valheru were trapped in a form of metaphysical imprisonment. Their essence seeps into the world.
Ashen-Shugar — The last true Valheru, the "Ruler of the Eagles' Reaches." His armor, weapons, and identity are absorbed by Tomas. Tomas struggles throughout Magician to maintain his humanity against the Valheru personality.
The Lifestone — Greatest Valheru artifact, buried beneath Sethanon. Capable of destroying or reshaping all life on a world. The threat of its use by Murmandamus drives the plot of A Darkness at Sethanon.
Dragon riders — The Valheru bred and controlled multiple dragon species. Tomas inherits partial command of Midkemia's dragons through his connection to Ashen-Shugar.
Legacy in the cycle — The Valheru's ancient rifting technology is the source of all rift-based travel in the series. The Tsurani rift, Macros's machinations, and Pug's rifting all trace back to Valheru-era knowledge.

Gods of Midkemia

Ruthia — Lady of Luck. Patroness of gamblers, travelers, rogues. Nakor carries her favor.
Sung the White — God of purity and the healing arts. Clerics heal the sick.
Lims-Kragma — Death Goddess, the Drawer of Nets. Rules the Halls of the Dead. Not evil — death is portrayed as natural and her domain as fair. Appears in person in the narrative.
Ishap — The God of the gods, above all others. The one god acknowledged by all priests. Keepers of the one true faith. His priests hold special authority.
Ban-ath / Kalkin — Trickster god. Nakor's patron and, eventually, revealed connection. Deity of thieves, gamblers, and cunning. Known by different names in different cultures.
Sarig — The lost god of magic, vanished eons ago. Macros the Black carries some of Sarig's essence. Pug's lineage traces spiritual connections to Sarig's domain.
Killian — God of nature, woodlands, and the green world. Patron of rangers and hunters.
Guis-wa — The Red-Jawed God, deity of predators and warriors. Tsurani parallels exist.

Garn — Firemane Saga World

What it is — An entirely separate world from Midkemia — not connected by rifts in the Firemane trilogy. Has its own history, cultures, continents, and pantheon. The Firemane Saga (2018–2022) is set entirely on Garn until A Darkness Returns bridges the two worlds.
Ithrace — Kingdom of Garn destroyed at the start of King of Ashes. The ruling Firemane dynasty is massacred — or so the conquerors believe. Hatu is the hidden heir.
Coaltachin / Coalthur — Island nation that trains assassins, spies, and agents. Where Hatu, Hava, and Donte were raised. A powerful shadow organization in Garn's politics.
The Five Great Kingdoms — Political structure of Garn at the start of the Firemane Saga. Following Ithrace's destruction, balance of power shifts. The remaining kingdoms maneuver for dominance.
Connection to Midkemia — In A Darkness Returns (Dragonwar Saga #1, 2024), the two worlds converge for the first time. Characters from both sagas interact. The nature of the connection — rifts, chaos magic, or something else — is the central mystery.