SHUNA
A tad predicatable, I know. But Shuna's status as the most-written-about-non-evil-human makes it pretty hard not to make her my favorite. I liked her more in the beginning of Shards, by the end she was getting a little too preachy and a little too clingy. However, after a plummetting self-esteem and several bad choices in The Searcher and the Sword, Shuna's back and ass-kicking. Ya gotta love a girl who overthrows an entire society at age eighteen. A pity she didn't stay in the Citadel, murder Grohmul and set herself up as Shuna Djun. Let's see a benevolent dictator at work. She could have hunted down Angrif Djun, slowly tortured him to death, and saved the Wild Hunt a lot of trouble. But then... if she hadn't come back to Father Tree, she never would have met Bee....
 
 

 
BEE
Shuna's second husband, Bee's a "horse messenger", a trader among the various Insect clans that inhabit the Old Land. Respectful of "wood spirits" and hopelessly in love with Shuna, Bee suffered in silence during Shuna's first marriage to Nunkah (aka Spider), but risked his own life to help Shuna escape when Nunkah turned violent. I love Bee. He's sweet, he's got the funniest looking hair, and he's a firm believer in matriarchy. Bee helped Shuna plan out her quest to carry the wisdom of the elves to all human tribes, and after Shuna's "divorce" from Nunkah, followed her. It's pretty safe to say they had a long and happy marriage with lots of daughters.
 
 
 

CHANDRA DAVENKEE
Okay, I'll admit it. I have not read any of the future series and I know next to nothing about the Future Folk. If it ain't in the Wolfrider's Guide, then I don't know about it. But even based on just that, I love Chandra. She's got those cool glasses, the funky clothes, and the lodestone! The lodestone! That makes her Skywise's inheritrix. And that little gleam in her eye makes he wonder if she's not his illegitimate quarter-elfin granddaughter. Plus she appears to have quite the thing for Scorch - despite everything in her that tells her she ought to like Cosmo - he being the studly hero type and all. Please, someone email me if they got together at the end of the EQ2 comics.
 
 

SCORCH CHIRELL
Omigod, Omigod it's Archie Andrews and he's gone berserk! Tee hee. Another character I love simply because I read his bio in the Wolfrider's Guide. "Hotheaded throwback to a more romantic time" makes me think of a sexy human Go-Back, like some kind of non-bisexual Skot with a penchant for mechas! Little wonder he idolizes Cam Triompe. And he has those cool Star Wars ripoff clothes - and a giant laser gun! Yee-hah! Nothing like a futuristic pirate boy. Come on, you and Chandra belong together! Skywise's successor and the unholy spawn of Skot!
 

SELAH and MALAK
Naww, I just love these kids. They're like a monogamous Redlance and Nightfall for the human world. Malak's such a cute little pacifist, and you have to admire a girl who will stand up to Olbar the Mountain-Tall, especially when he's a very anxious and over-protective daddy! (And were they the first couple to get the Preservers hooked on voyeurism? - if so they have a lot to answer for!) I wish I knew what happened to them after they ran away from the wolves. They probably took over Nonna and Aldar's old cave and raised about thirty kids.
 
 

KHORBASI
Yun's adopted son and the token human of the Wild Hunt. When he's not posing as the mythical Khulki and terrifying young children, he's paling around with his Mother Yun and Teir. He must hold the record as the youngest human with premature baldness (granted, I haven't seen all the comics, but I've never seen Khorbasi with even hair follicle above his beard scruff). And it's so utterly charming to have an elf besides Tyleet raising a son. Understandable that Khorbasi's got way more kick-ass than Little Patch.
 
 
 
 
 

OLBAR
Speaking of Olbar the Mountain-Tall... here he is! Anyone who calls Skywise "bird-bones" is all right in my book. Why is he so high up on the list? 1) He allowed the Quest to go on by saving Cutter and Skywise. 2) His character helped Richard thwart the conspiracy to kill off Skywise. 3) He's quite the lady's man - just ask Graysha. 4) He picks Cutter up and throws him on his shoulder and most importantly: 5) He unnerves Nonna and Adar! Kudos, man!
 

CAM TRIOMPE
Please to forgive the terrible enlargement - a good colour scan of Cam is hard to find. As Skywise says in my Survivor:ElfQuest, I get total Lando Calrissian vibes whenever I see him. Something about bluffing his way to the top of the ladder, smoothing the way with a Winning Smile™. And you have to love his utter murder of the Elven language. I wish we knew more about Hearthstone where he came from. Are they all such loveable posers there?
 
 
 

BOLLI
AKA The Woodcutter's Wife (isn't it interesting that she and the baby have a name but he doesn't?). Why do I like Bolli? Because she's so pragmatic. She doesn't go into long soliliquies about the Hidden Ones when she sees Tyleet, but wants to know what she'll eat for dinner, how long she's staying, and if she's going to be doing any freaky magic. She presents such a nice middle ground in human-elf relationships. It's heartening to know that humans and elves can be friends without the humans falling down and worshipping them! I really love her reaction to finding out Tyleet's pregnant. The Woodcutter is still beaming with wonder that the Hidden One is with child, and Bolli is screwing up her face at the idea of a pregnant chick bouncing about the house like a squirrel on speed!

GIFA
Grohmul Djun's daughter, and Angrif Djun's twin sister. Now, I make it a policy to hate people who try to kill entire tribes of elves, but I have to pity Gifa. She's just an archetypal battered daughter. High Ones know what Grohmul did to her mom, and she's been psychologically abused since she could crawl. Her father lets her go off and die without a second glance. Her brother has her beaten and possible raped (look at the panels - it's creepily ambiguous at best). And yet her family loyalty is so much that she turns down a half-dozen chances to reform. A great character study in an unwilling villian.
 

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