Gods, ghosts and monsters

The Cast

Aman is our own creation, born of no myth. Everyone he meets walks out of the legends of Nepal. Here is who they are, and the story each one grows from.

The hero · The Fearless

Aman अमन

The most fearless warrior alive, and only a man. He has never lost a fight. Twelve years ago, as the hired champion of the yaksha legions, he burned a valley, then turned his mace on the army that paid him when he found a child in the ashes. Cursed with gold rage in his blood, he has been running from that night ever since. He starts the saga at thirty-one: arrogant, reckless, and sure that a mace solves everything. Every season costs him something and teaches him something, until the destroyer becomes a strategist, a scholar, and finally a sage.

An original hero, born of no myth. Every god, demon and spirit he meets has to make room for him. His name means "peace", the one thing he has never had.

How he changes

S1 · 31
The Destroyer
S2 · 34
The Student
S3 · 39
The General
S4 · 45
The Scholar-Warrior
S5 · 52
The Sage

The former Kumari

Nani

The living goddess until a single drop of blood made her "nobody". The goddess Taleju is still trapped inside her, and will burn her out in seven days. Sharp-tongued, proud, and braver than anyone expects.

Kumari, the living goddess of Kathmandu, and Taleju, the goddess who chose to return only inside a young girl.

First appears · Episode 1: The Exile

The Lakhe of Kantipur

Achedya

A centuries-old Lakhe demon sworn to guard the Valley's children. He fights beside Aman on the night of Indra Jatra, but a Lakhe cannot leave the Valley, so he hands Nani to the warrior.

Lakhe: the Newar guardian demon of Kathmandu, honored with masked dances at Indra Jatra.

First appears · Episode 1: The Exile

Lord of the yaksha host

Kanakaksha

The golden-eyed yaksha lord who gave the order to burn the valley, and who cursed Aman for disobeying it. He wants Taleju's fire for his treasury, and he has made a bargain with the Nagas to get it.

An original villain, drawn from the yaksha generals who serve Kubera, the lord of wealth, in the far north.

First appears · Episode 1: The Exile

King of the Nagas

Karkotak

His people lost their lake-kingdom when Manjushri drained the Valley. He needs a goddess's blood to seal the gorge and bring the water home. Not cruel, but a thousand years tired of waiting.

Karkotak Naga, the serpent king given the pond of Taudaha after the lake was drained.

First appears · Episode 1: The Exile

Naga assassin

Padmini

Karkotak's adopted daughter, fast and cold, the same age as Nani. After the caves beneath Taudaha, she is no longer sure who the monsters are.

Padma, one of the eight great Nagas worshipped in Nepal at Nag Panchami.

First appears · Episode 1: The Exile

The Khyak

Bhulu

A Khyak who lived forty years in a Bhaktapur potter's roof and heard every prayer and scream in it. Khyaks whisper from attic to attic across the whole Valley, and to the dead, so Bhulu always hears the bad news first.

Khyak: the furry household ghosts of Newar folklore, who live in the dark corners of old houses.

First appears · Episode 1: The Exile

The priestess

Ajima

The old priestess of the Kumari Ghar, and the only one who never stopped seeing Nani as a child. Her last gift is an iron bell.

Ajima: the Newar grandmother goddesses who protect children.

First appears · Episode 1: The Exile

The hunter

Gurumapa

A child-eating demon chained at Tundikhel for four hundred years, set free by Kanakaksha and the Nagas to hunt Aman north. At Gosaikunda the ice opened under him.

Gurumapa: the Newar demon who is given a feast at Tundikhel each year so he leaves the city's children alone.

First appears · Episode 1: The Exile

Eldest son of Karkotak

Kalinag

Padmini's eldest brother, guardian of the serpent road. He thought a few hundred eggs a fair price for an ocean. Padmini killed him with his own spear.

An original Naga prince of the story's own making, son of Karkotak, the Naga king of the Kathmandu lake.

First appears · Episode 9: Daughter of Serpents

Ghost of the white sari

The Kichkandi

One of Gurumapa's ghosts at Sundarijal. She called Nani in her mother's voice. Ajima's iron bell drove her off.

Kichkandi: a Nepali ghost of a woman in white whose feet point backward. Her footprints lead travelers away from home.

First appears · Episode 7: Lakhey Night

The blood seed

Raktabija

A demon Kali drank dry in the war of the gods, all but one drop that fell into the Bagmati. Every drop of his blood that touches the ground becomes another of him. Aman burned him on a pyre at Pashupati.

Raktabija: the asura of the Devi Mahatmya whose blood spawned copies of himself, until Kali drank it before it could fall.

First appears · Episode 6: Pashupati Burning

The sadhu

Gyan Baba

An old sadhu who sat at one fire on the Pashupati ghats for sixty years. He gave Nani his ash and his life on the same night.

Sadhus: Hindu ascetics. Shaiva sadhus gather at Pashupati, smear themselves with sacred ash, and keep a dhuni fire burning.

First appears · Episode 6: Pashupati Burning

Judge of the burning ground

Bhairav

Shiva in his most terrible form. He came to Pashupati to judge Aman, and marked him with ash over blood. He will be watching at the frozen lake.

Bhairav: the fierce form of Shiva, guardian of the Kathmandu Valley and of cremation grounds, attended by a black dog.

First appears · Episode 6: Pashupati Burning