Charles Marlow
Marlow's name may be inspired by the Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe. Conrad's father was a translator of William Shakespeare who doubtless would have known of Marlowe's work as well. Some intertextual interpretations of "Heart of Darkness" have suggested that Marlowe's "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" may have influenced Conrad. Charles Marlow describes a character as a "papier-mache Mephistopheles", a reference to the Faust legend. Marlow's and Kurtz's journey up the Congo River in "Heart of Darkness" also has similarities to another work by Marlowe, "Dido, Queen of Carthage", in which Aeneas is stranded on the shore of Libya and meets the African queen Dido.
List of The Sword of Truth characters
Verna Sauventreen is a main character in the series. She is a Sister of the Light and the only Sister, of the three who set out, to return to the Palace of the Prophets after discovering Richard. She helps him escape and fulfill prophecies and becomes one of his closest friends and advisors. She later becomes Prelate of the Sisters after Ann fakes her death and then becomes in charge of the gifted forces with the D'Haran Army.