A Drop of Corruption

Signum Dinios “Din” Kol is the narrator and protagonist of A Drop of Corruption. The Din of this installment in the series is more pessimistic than the version readers saw in The Tainted Cup, when he worked his first major cases with Ana. Din, in this installment, is more capable and confident in his detecting abilities, and he works more successfully alongside the peculiar and prickly Ana. Din is relatively young. Though his specific age in this book is not listed, the book is set approximately two years after the events of The Tainted Cup, when he was 20. He serves as a junior officer, a Signum, in the Iudex, the military Iyalet (division) responsible for investigations and enacting justice.

In A Drop of Corruption, Din struggles with the value of his work as an Iudexii. Din laments that the Iudex can only investigate crime after the fact and cannot prevent future harm. He contrasts this with the work of the Legion, the Iyalet that physically fights the titans that threaten Khanum each year. For much of the book, Din wants to transfer to the Legion, though even he is unsure whether this desire stems from love of the Empire or from his unrequited love for Legionnaire Captain Kephus Strovi in The Tainted Cup.