CORNELIA FUNKE
INKDEATH
I am the song that sings the bird.
I am the leaf that grows the land.
I am the tide that moves the moon.
I am the stream that halts the sand.
I am the cloud that drives the storm
I am the earth that lights the sun.
I am the fire that strikes the stone.
I am the clay that shapes the hand.
I am the word that speaks the man.
– Charles Causley, "I Am the Song"
To Rolf, always – it was the best of things to be married to Dustfinger.
To Ileen, who knows all about loss and was always there to understand and ease the pain.
To Andrew, Angie, Antonia, Cam and James, Caroline, Elinor, and last but for sure not least, Lionel and Oliver, who all brought so much light, warmth, and true friendship to dark days.
And to the City of Angels, which fed me with beauty and wilderness and with the feeling that I had found my Inkworld.
An A-Z of the Inkworld
Adderhead, also known as the Silver Prince
The most cruel prince in the Inkworld, a warmongering tyrant who fears only death. Violante's father. Also known as the Adder. Wears rubies at the corners of his nostrils. Lives in the Castle of Night. In Inkspell, Mo binds the White Book for him, thereby granting him immortality, but by Inkdeath he is diseased, rotting, and desperate for a cure.
Anselmo
A young guard at the gates of Ombra Castle.
Badger's Earth
One of the robbers' hideouts.
Balbulus
Master illuminator of manuscripts at Ombra Castle. His right hand is cut off by the Piper as a punishment.
Barn Owl
Physician and friend to Dustfinger. Founder of the infirmary near the Castle of Night, later in Ombra.
Basta
One of Capricorn's most devoted henchmen. Superstitious and obsessed with his knife, he once slashed Dustfinger's face, leaving the fire-eater scarred. At the end of Inkheart, he made his escape, followed by Capricorn's mother, Mortola.
Battista
A strolling player, a mask-maker, disfigured by pockmarks.
Bear
The Black Prince's constant companion.
Bella
Healer in the Barn Owl's infirmary.
Benedicta
Minstrel woman.
Black Prince
King of the strolling players, leader of the Motley Folk and, later, of the noble robbers. A master knife-thrower, secretive champion of the poor, and Dustfinger's best friend from long ago. Accompanied wherever he goes by his faithful black bear. Also known simply as the Prince.
Bluejay
A legendary robber made up by Fenoglio. Recognizable by the scar on his left arm. The subject of many heroic songs. In Inkdeath, Mo – Fenoglio's inspiration for the character – takes over the name and the part. Also called the Jay.
Brianna
Willful daughter of Dustfinger and Roxane. Paramour of Cosimo the Fair. Worked for Violante as a maid until she was cast out for betraying her with her husband. Later worked for Orpheus.
Capricorn
The brutal leader of a gang of mercenary fire-raisers and extortionists, he was read out of the pages of Inkheart and into our world by Mo. Unlike Dustfinger, Capricorn was happy to escape the story and made it his mission to burn every remaining copy of the book in an attempt to prevent ever being read back into it. But eventually, with the help of Meggie and Fenoglio, he is destroyed by Mo. Son of Mortola.
Capricorn's Fortress
The hideout of Capricorn's robbers and fire-raisers in the Wayless Wood. The place where Mo and Resa first enter the Inkworld, and where Mortola wounds Mo.
Capricorn's Village
An isolated place in Liguria, Italy, where the final showdown of Inkheart takes place.
Carandrella
A deserted village below the strolling players' graveyard.
Carla
Assistant in the Barn Owl's infirmary.
Castle in the Lake
Childhood home of Violante's mother. Approached by the mist-covered Impregnable Bridge. Appears to float on the Black Lake, which is also known as the Giants' Mirror because the enormous creatures once came there to gaze at their reflections in the water. The castle has a windowless, multitowered facade, but the walls of some of the rooms inside are painted with wonderful, picture-book scenes, and the Hall of a Thousand Windows in the west wing is flooded with daylight. Scene of the final struggle in Inkdeath.
Castle of Night
The Adderhead's castle, where Mo binds the White Book in Inkspell.
Cerberus
Orpheus's slavering dog.
Cloud-Dancer
Strolling player. Former tightrope-walker. Message-carrier and friend of Dustfinger. Killed by Basta in Inkspell.
Cosimo the Fair
Beautiful son of the Laughing Prince. Violante's husband, Jacopo's father, Brianna's true love. Dies twice in Inkspell, which is why Dustfinger mentions seeing him twice when he, too, is dead.
Dana
One of Orpheus's maids. Not especially pretty, but nice. Fond of Farid.
Darius, also known as Stumbletongue
Capricorn's reader in Inkheart, he, like Mo and Meggie, possesses the ability to read characters out of stories, but he damages them if he stutters over the words. Becomes Elinor's librarian after Capricorn is vanquished.
Despina
Minerva's daughter.
Doria
One of the youngest members of the robbers' camp. A good spy. Half brother of Lazaro, the Strong Man. Friend of Luc. A fledgling inventor in spite of two stiff fingers on his left hand. In love with Meggie.
Dustfinger, also known as Fire-Dancer
Scar-faced fire-eater who has wandered between the two worlds. First husband of Roxane, father of Brianna. Lived for ten years in the real world after Mo accidentally read him out of the pages of Inkheart. At the end of the first book, he steals the last remaining copy from Mo. Sacrifices his life for his apprentice Farid's in Inkspell. Rarely without his tame marten, Gwin.
Elinor Loredan
Resa's aunt, Meggie's great-aunt. An avid book collector. She once preferred her books to the company of others, but she came to welcome Meggie, Mo, Resa, and Darius into her home. Opinionated, tart-tongued, and prone to speaking her mind! Once in the Inkworld, she prompts Fenoglio to reclaim control of his own story.
Fabio
A child of the strolling players.
Farid
A boy read out of Tales of the Arabian Nights by Mo. Nimble and quick-witted, he has a talent for petty theft, which he developed in his original story. Often barefoot! Devoted to Dustfinger; determined at first, in Inkspell, to learn the Fire-Dancer's craft of fire-eating, and later, in Inkdeath, to bring him back from the dead. Also in imitation of Dustfinger, he has his own marten, Jink. Fond of Meggie.