People of Note in ShadowFamilyJesse Falk - "Uncle Jesse was my favorite uncle, one of those guys you just liked to hang out with as a kid. He knew people in places I'd never heard of, and he was usually willing to bend the rules to let me have a little fun. On the other hand... from what Father said, it was Jesse's actions that made Senior Fallia put out a hit on the family. Never did find out what he did; he died the same night as Mom." "'What the hell did Jess DO to them anyway? Renege on a deal?'" Max Falk - "Uncle Max, for whatever reason, didn't go into the family business - or if he did, I didn't know about it. He had a forge in town and was one of the better local smiths. He made all my skates, right up until the year he died - I still have the last pair of skates he made me." "[Max] had some health issues, and died right after he gave [the blades for an ornate pair of skates] to me. He was a sweet guy." Salimon Falk - "I never spent much time with Uncle Salimon - mostly because he weaseled out of babysitting me every time someone suggested it. He was the third casualty of Fallia's hit." "Uncle [Salimon] is there too... you manage to get that he was found about the same time your mother was shot, at his home. Attacked by swordsmen... his personal guards [were] apparently not at their posts." Sofia Falk - "Mom. She was great to have around - but I wish she'd told me more about some things. Things like Father, and the fact that I belong to a family of smugglers... The last time we spoke was the night she died; I miss her still." (An image of Sofia - played by Gretchen Mol.) "I was late for the show, as usual - not like I hadn't seen El Daimondine before, or the Glacier Theatre, but Mom liked me to show up on time to play Rich Girl in the receiving line. Yeah, that didn't happen. She teased me about it when I got to our box..." FriendsBoris - "Boris is one of the brothers on my hockey team - the eldest and the shortest, I might add. Poor guy - he's been getting deeper and deeper into the weird shit that is part of my life. In the last year, he's been attacked and almost turned into walking undead in his workplace with a younger brother, lost his job, had me weird him out by appearing to die and then explain things poorly, had me drag him off into Shadow trying to explain myself better, ended up in the hospital because a rival turned out to be trying to kill me, had me admit that I was pretty damn freaked out, had me give him a cryptic warning or two... At this rate, I think I may offer him an all-expenses-paid, nice, quiet vacation somewhere when things calm down." "'The thought of someone from Out There still being here and you not - well, it doesn't exactly make me feel any safer...'" Byron - "Byron's my goalie. He's a good guy, and he's not afraid to take action when it's called for - even if it gets him into further trouble. He also picks locks - I finally just gave him my key. Definitely someone I want to keep around." "[Byron's] well-built, and that slouch is intentional; the more he moves like a massive seal, the less people believe his impossible flexibility. I don't know how the hell he bends like that, but it hurts to watch sometimes. [...] His lean, angular face lit up, and between that, the goatee, and hair that looks like Robbie's chin, he reminded me of Cortez's favorite devil." Carlo - "My second-string center - we play the same position. Nice guy off-ice, royal bastard on-ice. I'm glad he's on my side." "Carlo trotted in from down the street. He's tall, he's thin, he's about as flexible as your average cooked spaghetti (and about the same color), and he's a real good guy, unless you're across the ice from him. He's a mean bastard when he hits the ice; you'd better keep an eye on him or you're going to lose the puck and your stick - and your skates and a few teeth if you've really pissed him off." Cortez - "Cortez is the guy I've been friends with the longest - he played on my team for years, until he shattered his leg a while back. He's back on the ice now, but he's doing ref duties instead of playing. He's the organized one - and occasionally the voice of reason, even if I don't listen." "Cortez sat in his usual table in the corner, cup of tea in one hand and newspaper in the other, his long brown hair curtaining his face." Darius - "Darius is the youngest of the brothers - well, there's one more, but he doesn't play with us - and the tallest, too. He's one of those guys you can just joke around with most of the time. I think he was as freaked out as Boris by the garbage with the factory and the walking undead, but Boris was able to make him get a grip, so I don't have to involve him in the weird aspects of my life too." "Darius[...] has a good five [inches] on Kendrick - who has a good five on me, and I'm not short. Both [are] redheads, both [are] stronger than the ice (but not than me, though I try not to let on about that...), and [the're the] best two defensemen I've worked with in a long time." Jacqueline - "Joran's other ex-girlfriend. We're still friends - she lives pretty close and teaches figure skating near where the guys and I play. Nice girl." "Jacquie and I had a bit of a party of our own, but that was after [Joran had] moved; I found out then that she'd broken up with him for much the same reasons, only she had her eye on his best friend instead of my right-winger." Joran - "Ah, yes. One of my exes. The whole thing is a long story, but the short version is that he had four girls at once, and we were all friendly. Then he married one and kept one as a girlfriend; the other two of us broke up with him because we had too much pride to be mistresses to a married man. He's another death I owed Fallia." "His name was Joran; lived over in the next town. He was a big redheaded goalie, with a mean right hook, and he'd spend off-time coaching local figure skaters on how to move faster on the ice. But he was handsome, kind, and two-timing. Well, it wasn't so much that he was two-timing me as it was three- or four-timing. Four girls, all at once. I knew about them - hell, we even got together and had lunch a couple of times - but I didn't really care. [...] Joran's problem was that he couldn't say no." Kendrick - "The second eldest - and second shortest - of the brothers. He's a bit of a level head - but he's a fun guy, too. Great sense of humor." "Kendrick [...] has a good five [inches] on me, and I'm not short. Both [he and Darius are] redheads, both [are] stronger than the ice (but not than me, though I try not to let on about that...), and [they're the] best two defensemen I've worked with in a long time." Robbie - "Robbie's my right-winger. He reminds me of an otter, actually - all smooth, quick movement and light-hearted playfulness. Most of the time I have to shake my head and laugh at him, because there's nothing else to do when you're around his exuberance." "Robbie came from around the side of the house. He's about my height, with a wild mane of chocolate-brown hair he usually braids with multicolor strings and beads. I don't think I've ever seen him completely shaved; he's usually got this five-day-old stubble that's as dark as his hair and nearly as unruly. [...] Robbie bounced on his toes a couple of times. 'I feel great, Ori, don't worry about me.'" Rubin - "One of Carlos' wingers. He's a nice kid." "Rubin already had his helmet on, as usual; come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen his hair. If he's not helmeted, he's got a set of hats he'll rotate out. His eyes are green, his nose is bent, and his face looks like the glaciers up east of Northport." Valentine - "Carlos' other winger. Val's a little strange, but I like him anyway." "Valentine was sitting at one of the benches when I reached the shore, lacing up his skates. He's hard to miss from the back - short, broad, and dark, with a candy-apple-red buzzcut sprinkled with a handful of silver hearts. He gets all sorts of teasing about those hearts, but he just smiles and insists that the ladies like it. Never saw the attraction myself." Wyatt - "The middle of the brothers - middle in height and middle in age. He's quieter than the rest most of the time, but I don't spend as much time with him as I do with the other brothers." "'I think Wyatt's getting tired of serving your penalties.'" Enemies, Rivals, and Those of Uncertain StatusBlade - "Okay. I knew this guy called Blade in another Shadow, when I was playing at being a mercenary. Now he's left me a note that he replaced with a dagger later in my bedroom, and he's called my place to warn me that someone's hiring people to try and kill me. One of those hired was Blade, from what he says; he keeps telling me he respects me, but it's a business thing. I'm not sure which one of us is confused here..." "Rising Sun, I was surprised to see you so far from the lands we used to work. Let me say I am impressed. You never gave any clue you were from Amber. As a professional courtesy to a former ally, let me give you this warning. They know who you are now, and can reach you at any time or place. Be wary. The next time we meet it may not be as allies. This is not personal. As you should understand, it is Business. Your Brother in Arms... Blade of Chaos." Dane - "Don't even get me started. That little bastard had best be a thousand Shadows away and still running - because he's not going to survive our next meeting. He used to be a hockey rival; now he's tried to kill me and then framed me for attempted murder before he vanished again. He's not a rival anymore - he's a threat." "Dane, a tiny little black-haired guy with a face like a hawk and speed to match, looked up from his table in the far corner." Detective Taggart - "The cop that has been trying to pin a smuggling charge on me. I'm not a smuggler - I mean, hell, I didn't even know what Mom and my uncles did - but I'm pretty sure I'm never going to convince Taggart of that." "At the station, I met with the delightful Detective Taggart, who firmly believes that I’m a smuggler and a crime boss and that he’ll be able to prove this some day." Hunter - "I can't quite figure Hunter out right now. He was my left-winger for a while. Then came the business with the factory and the undead, and I suddenly learned he'd been hired by someone in the Family to keep an eye on me - 'to serve and protect,' he said. Father didn't hire him, and neither did Gerard, and no one else is supposed to know about me. I know I have to find out who hired him - but damn it, he's still a friend. We've got a long talk ahead of us, if I find him before Father does..." "Pretty average-looking, with a silver buzzcut I couldn't decide was natural or dyed. As he got closer, I could see that his eyes were a soft jade green, almost white. Not bad-looking, come to think of it, but not really what I want right now. He has an easy way of moving, but he gets some coverage out of those slow strides." Instiago DelMaricci - "The guy that killed Mom. Father killed him, but he wasn't quick enough to stop him." "It is a body... [There is] lots of blood from what are obviously blade wounds: one to the lower left kidney from behind, the other neatly slicing his neck." Senior Fallia - "The little gangland bastard that set in motion the hit that killed Mom, Jesse, and Salimon. He's dead now, at my hands." "The man who [set] the stairs [ablaze] shouted, 'Senior Fallia sends his regards!'" Lord Wilhek of Jesby - "The smug bastard of a sorcerer who was running the factory when all the bad shit went down. I hope they were sweeping up his pieces in the Sunlands after I blew the place up." "'I am sorry you find my manner less than ingratiating here on ‘your side of the line.’ No, I take that back... I do not. However, do not let it be said that Lord Wilhek of Jesby was found niggardly in his treatment of one of the ‘Royal’ house of Amber. You shall indeed have something special.'"  |
