A Reaper at the Gates

Laia is one of the three main protagonists in A Reaper at the Gates. As a Scholar, she has suffered incredible loss at the hands of the Empire, which has brutally enslaved her people. Despite this, Laia retains her sense of morality and empathy for people. Knowing the world treats the Scholars unfairly, Laia tries her best to help them whenever she can. However, in this book, Laia becomes more pragmatic about her destiny. She balances her need to conquer the Nightbringer with her responsibility to help Musa and the Scholar refugees of Adisa. She negotiates with the Tribes after giving them Serric steel, telling them, “I would ask that these blades, which are a gift, not be used to shed the blood of innocents.“ (177). Similarly, at the end of the book, Laia evacuates innocent Plebeians with the Scholars, even though she has no obligation to save them.

Laia shows her strength of character by confronting three major moments of character development: when she learns Cook is her mother, when she realizes Elias has changed, and when she joins with Helene to fight for the Empire. In each case, Laia puts hurt feelings aside for a greater cause. The only difficulty that Laia does not overcome is her conflict with the Nightbringer. She is angry that he betrayed her trust and tricked her into giving him the amulet containing Star, which made him stronger. Laia feels guilty for unwittingly helping the Nightbringer, and like her mother, she feels guilty about Elias, Izzi, Nan, and Pop’s deaths.

Elias is another one of the three main protagonists in A Reaper at the Gates. He used to be a Mask, but he gave up the Empire because of the injustice he saw. Throughout the book, Elias struggles to accept his role as the new Soul Catcher, which means abandoning his humanity.

As Soul Catcher, Elias represents impartiality. Though it seems cruel for him to neglect his friends and watch Keris breach the city, he can see the bigger picture, whereas his friends cannot. With Mauth’s help, Elias develops a deeper understanding of the jinn and how they have suffered. He knows that freeing them will restore the balance between worlds, even if it seems like he is helping the Nightbringer. Like other characters, Elias represents personal sacrifice for a greater cause. He gives up his love for Laia and his friend to fulfill a duty that only he can perform. By merging with Mauth, Elias gains great power, but he also becomes isolated as a human living among ghosts.

The Nightbringer, also known as Meherya, which means beloved, is the co-antagonist in A Reaper at the Gates. He is the king of the jinn and previously pretended to be Keenan, a member of the Scholar Resistance, to gain the amulet. This book reveals the Nightbringer’s tragic past, including the death of his family and the enslavement of his people, which allows readers to understand his motivations. Because of this, the Nightbringer is both a tragic character and a villain; though he is bent on destruction and revenge, he suffered great loss at the hands of humans and genuinely cares for his people.

The Nightbringer exists in a morally gray area because he punishes generations of Scholars and humans for the crimes that were committed hundreds of years ago. Similarly, though he despises humans, he admires both Helene and Laia, saving them multiple times. In some ways, Laia and the Nightbringer are foils of each other; they are both trying to liberate their people from oppression. However, unlike the Nightbringer, Laia does not believe in killing innocent people to achieve her goals. In the last chapter, the Nightbringer describes Laia as, “A girl I once loved” (457), which implies that despite his plans for revenge, he truly cared about Laia. This can be seen earlier in the book when he saves Laia from the blast of a missile by pushing her away from the impact point. The novel emphasizes this complexity by beginning and ending with chapters written from the Nightbringer’s perspective. This has plot and thematic implications, highlighting the moral complexity and high stakes that all the characters face.

Darin, Laia’s brother, is a secondary character. Finally free from Kauf prison, he is still haunted by his imprisonment and torture there. He is a support character who helps Laia with the raids and in her quest to stop the Nightbringer and makes Serric steel weapons for the Tribes to use in defending themselves. Though Laia and Darin are often seen arguing, Darin is very protective of Laia since she is his only remaining family member. While Laia understands and appreciates Darin’s concerns, she knows that she must stop the Nightbringer to keep her people safe. Their relationship exemplifies the theme of duty versus self-interest, as they both learn to put their personal desires aside to fight for a greater cause.

Musa, also known as the Beekeeper, is an important character introduced to the series in A Reaper at the Gates. Musa, like Laia, Elias, and Helene, has fey abilities; he can communicate with lesser creatures. He mainly uses his ability for spying with a loyal swarm of wights who reports to him when he needs information. Like Laia, Musa is a Scholar, and he also wants to liberate his people. He helps Darin and Laia in exchange for Darin’s Serric steel—making skills and Laia’s help in restarting the Scholar Resistance movement.

Musa is also the Prince Consort to Princess Nikla of Adisa; they eloped when they were 19 and 18, respectively, and were happy together until ghuls started to influence Nikla’s thinking. Musa is still in love with Nikla and is heartbroken about her situation. Though he is cunning, Musa is also kind, loyal, and very resourceful.

Avitas Harper is Helene’s second-in-command, and Elias’s half-brother, though Elias does not know that. As Helene’s confidant, he plays an essential role in Helene’s success against Keris. He is loyal and steadfast, helping Helene in whatever way possible, whenever he can. Though the two had a very rocky beginning in their relationship, they come to rely on each other, and are protective toward each other. By the end of A Reaper at the Gates, it is clear that Helene and Harper love each other. They kiss, but Helene, seeing that she could lose herself in him, refuses to engage in a relationship with him. Respecting Helene’s responsibilities as a leader, Harper accepts her decision.

Cook is actually Mirra of Serra, also known as the Lioness, and Laia’s mother. Mirra has a tragic backstory, since she had to kill her husband, Jahan, and older daughter, Lis, to save them from the trauma of being tortured. Mirra has never forgiven herself for the deaths of Jahan and Lis, and her guilt stops her from reaching out to Laia and Darin. She does not believe that she deserves their love anymore. In her guilt, Mirra becomes fixated on getting revenge on Keris. Toward the end of the book, Laia asks Mirra, “You’ll trade vengeance on Keris Veturia for thousands of lives?” (389), and Mirra replies that getting revenge on Mirra could save thousands more lives, and that she has waited for years for this moment. However, at the end of the book, Mirra chooses to save Laia’s life over getting revenge on Keris, proving that protecting her family is more important to her than satisfying her own sense of justice.

Marcus, the Emperor, is haunted by the ghost of his brother, Zak. Alongside Keris and the Nightbringer, Marcus is another antagonistic character in the book. Throughout the book, he continues to be violent toward Livia, using her vulnerability to threaten and control Helene. Marcus’s character arc mainly consists of reestablishing his relationship with Zak. At first, Zak’s ghost and Marcus are at odds with each other, but the Nightbringer advises Marcus to listen to Zak’s ghost since that is the only way he can find peace. Because of this, Marcus starts consulting with Zak’s ghost, rather than fighting with it. Marcus feels guilty for having killed his brother, and this can be seen in his erratic behavior and mental state. Despite his personal flaws, Marcus continues to defend Antium until the end and makes sure Livia gets to safety. Marcus’s death and his son’s birth represent the Empire’s new beginning.

Shaeva is the Soul Catcher at the Waiting Place, introduced in A Torch Against the Night. As Elias’s teacher, she shows him how to catch souls and pass them into the afterlife. Shaeva is a jinn. In A Reaper at the Gates, Shaeva’s past is also explored when Elias sees what happened to the jinn. Shaeva, having fallen in love with the Scholar King, gave him knowledge about how to kill and entrap the jinn, leading to the enslavement of her people. Shaeva, like Marcus and Mirra, is haunted by her actions and decisions since she feels guilty for what happened to the jinn. She is an important minor character since, before her death, she gives a final prophecy about the fate of the world.