Cornelia Funke: Inkdeath

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.

Fenoglio, also known as Inkweaver

Inventor of the Inkworld, author of the book Inkheart , from which Dustfinger came. Also known, by Jacopo, as Tortoise-Face. Disappears into his own story when Meggie reads the Shadow out of the Inkworld to defeat Capricorn. After the tragic turn of events in Inkspell , stops writing the story and lets it take its own course. In Inkdeath, Resa, Elinor, and others encourage him to try to set it right again.