on a farseeker expedition to the West Coast. She acted as the protector of the ruins in Aborium, and used her abilities to project images into people's minds of things of which they were thinking. Her name was unknown, so Elspeth called her Dragon, not just for her flame-red hair and fiery temperament, but for the image she projected into all their minds on their first encounter in her attempt to scare them away. In The Keeping Place, Dragon falls into a comatose due to Elspeth's harsh mental probe and begins attacking Elspeth in her dreams due to her longing for her and supposed 'abandonment' but is eventually cured. Dragon is the daughter of the Red Queen from the distant and mysterious Land of the Red Queen, and as such she holds important clues to Elspeth's personal quests in the deep subconscious levels of her mind. Domick: Domick is one of Rushton's allies early in the series, and later a coercer guilden. Domick is sent to establish a safe house for Obernewtyn in Sutrium, the capital of The Land. There he infiltrates the council as Obernewtyn's spy, creating the alter-ego Mika for this purpose, and his espionage work sends him almost insane. He later renounces his ties to Obernewtyn. He was captured, along with Rushton, by Ariel and taken to Herder Island where he was physically and mentally tortured. He was brainwashed by Ariel, and was infected with disease so as to spread a plague throughout the land. Kella: Kella is a healer guilden, Elspeth's main female friend, and Domick's bondmate. She accompanies Domick to Sutrium, although his work at the Council cause the two to become estranged. Daffyd: Daffyd is an armsman for the Herder renegade Henry Druid, and a Misfit. Daffyd is sympathetic to Obernewtyn's cause and is friends with Elspeth and Rushton, and is required to search for his Misfits friends, who disappeared after the Druid's camp was destroyed by a firestorm. Pavo: Pavo is a tecknoguilder who died from the rotting sickness while trying to help Elspeth and the other Misfits when they went to Sutrium. Beasts Maruman: Maruman is a fey, battered cat, and the first being with whom Elspeth communicates mentally. Maruman endures frequent bouts of madness, and even at his most sane he is prone to making cryptic predictions about Elspeth's fate. It is from Maruman that Elspeth learns most about her roles