Never Ending Quest
The Cast of Characters

THE NOBLES

Kings, Dukes, Lords and Ladies move in and out of nearly every single storyline of The Never Ending Quest. Whether the hero is Lord Fred or Princess Astra or Lady Andrea or if the villain is King Emry or Duke Zular or Lady Constance, a noble is almost always at the heart of what is going on. Political power plays, courtly conspiracies, and royal rivalries are often the backdrop for the addventures of Fred and co., and many times are at the very forefront of the action.

It is no wonder then that a large majority of the characters who inhabit the NEQ are of one aristocratic stripe or another.

And even though the particulars of a character does change from one storyline to another most of the characters follow a general pattern throughout the NEQ which makes segregating them by their aristocratic station a helpful and relatively accurate system of introducing the reader to just who these people are.

Again, not every character is identical from storyline to storyline, thread to thread. Don't assume anything but always read the particular branch of the story you are adding to before you add to it. Not every character exists in every storyline for instance. But these descriptions will give you a basic idea of what the characters are like.

To make it easier to see who's who I've taken the liberty of breaking up the list by Nation. Be aware that these nations are conventions which have sprung up over time in the NEQ and, while for the most part they are accepted and used by NEQ's writers, like everything else in an Addventure they may not apply to every storyline.

ALLARIA
Often referred to as the Kingdom or the Great Kingdom, Fred's mother country was first called Allaria
in Ep.# 1855 (5/29/99), by MSG.

The KING

The King was introduced in the very first episode of NEQ, Ep.# 2 (2/9/99), by Toby. The King is the one who sent Fred on his Quest. A rather ambiguous character, the King is not very important in most storylines. Likewise, the size and importance of his kingdom is left up to the reader's imagination as well. But in a few storylines the King does play a more prominent role, whether in person or in influence. Since the King was not given a name when he was first introduced, more than one appelation has been given to Fred's monarch.

The QUEEN

The Queen plays even less a role in the NEQ than does the King, with two or three exceptions. She was first mentioned in March 1999, a full month after the NEQ had begun. And since then she has proven to be quite uninspiring to most writers. In fact, in most storylines where she is mentioned she is said to be dead.

The ROYAL FAMILY

The children of the King and Queen vary from story to story. Most of the time though they simply don't play any part whatsoever to the point of not even being mentioned. In some stories it is stated that the King and Queen are childless. But, at least in the case of Exotica, the Royal Princess takes on a major role as she quests alongside Fred as he seeks to find and kill the evil Dragon.

LORDS and LADIES

I've segregated the Lords and Ladies of Allaria by Duchy, beginning with the King's "duchy" - his royal court. While some versions of Allaria sport a great many duchies other versions of the Great Kingdom have only a few. I have attempted to list every Allarian duchy referred to which means that no version of Allaria incorporates all of the duchies listed. And please do not confuse these Allarian duchies with the independent duchies that border her.

The Royal Court
The Royal Insignia is the Lion. The capitol of Allaria is Caemlyn.

Duchy of Suffex
The Ducal Insignia is the Golden Gryphon. The Duchy's capitol is Bannock. The Duke's residence is the castle of Montefort.

Duchy of Collins
The Ducal Insignia is the Osprey, a.k.a. the Sea-Hawk. The Duke's residence is The Great House at Collinswood. The Duchy's capitol is the port city of Collins. Collins is Allaria's only coastal Duchy.

Duchy of Farmoor

Duchy of Hindsight
The Ducal Insignia is the All-Seeing Eye. The Duke's residence is the Iris Estate.

Duchy of Hillton

Duchy of Trescent
The Ducal Insignia is the Shrike. The capitol city is Obsallom.

Lordship of North Umbria

Knights of the Realm

AQUALARIA
Considering the fact that Astra, the first Aqualarian introduced into the NEQ, was described as a warrior princess and an amazon, it is no surprise that her country, Aqualaria, has since then been most often depicted as a matriarchal society, sometimes to the point where men are little more than slaves. Happily, not all versions of Aqualaria are so polarized along the lines of gender

The ROYAL FAMILY

The most popular and written about member of the Aqualarian royal family is Princess Astra. But she is by no means the only member of the family.

LORDS and LADIES

Unlike Allaria, Aqualarian doesn't seem to be divided up into duchies and fiefs. Political dominion seems to be the sole domain of the Queen (or sometimes the King). As for the socio-political hierarchy of the nation, unlike Allaria which is predicated upon geographically defined boundaries lorded over by hereditary blood-lines, Aqualaria seems to use a system of military-religious orders who's members gain advancement through merit and service. While not rigidly based upon any particular religious mythos, Greco-Roman myth is most often found interwoven into the culture and character of the people of Aqualaria.

THE OTHER NATIONS

Ethiopia

Gala

Gana

Mornom