- Telmori
- Queen Ivartha the Skinner's hostage
The son of Black-Paws Hostralos, grandson of Kostajor Wolf-Champion, and great-great grandson of Sartar, Ostling chafes at his role as Queen Ivartha’s ill kept dog. Yet Ostling is a man of honor, who keeps Kostajor Wolf-Champion’s word. He detests Leikorl the Shadow, who killed his aunt and stepmother, Sihala Sweet-Laugh. He is determined to kill him in revenge. He is loyal to his grandfather’s kin — the House of Sartar.
He has few friends here, he knows their hatred for him, though Camille the Quick loves his stories of his homeland, and he has developed a taste for the drunken companionship of Vastyr Bloody-Shirt.
He has nothing but contempt for their soft ways, cutting Grandmother Earth with their plows, penning the Lady of the Wilds’ animals behind fences. He sees their spirits as dead, worn out by care.
Ostling often raises his ancestry, noting that: “The blood of the House of Sartar runs in my veins.” He is dismayed by what he believes the kingdom has become now Prince Temertain is on the throne.
Ostling tries to spend his time learning the ways his enemy fights so that he can better defeat them in battle. He has learnt how the Orlanthi fight in the shield wall, the riddle of the sword, and the use of cavalry.