Iris is an eighteen-year-old high school dropout working as a journalist at the Oath Gazette. She writes obituaries and reports on a distant war, striving to secure a promotion to a columnist position to support her household. Feeling abandoned after her older brother enlists, she relies on her grandmother's enchanted typewriter as an emotional outlet, typing letters that mysteriously disappear. She possesses a fierce dedication to the truth and strongly opposes the state-sponsored censorship in eastern Cambria.

Nineteen-year-old Roman is a privileged journalist at the Oath Gazette and the main workplace competitor to Iris. Though he displays an arrogant and composed exterior, he feels trapped in a restrictive life orchestrated by his wealthy father. He carries profound guilt over the drowning death of his sister four years ago, a tragedy that causes him to deny his true passion for literature and submit to a socially advantageous arranged marriage.

Forest is Iris's older brother and a former horologist's apprentice. Driven by a strong sense of duty, he enlists in Enva's army after hearing the goddess's musical call to arms. His abrupt departure to the front lines leaves a massive void in his family, deeply affecting both his mother and sister.

Aster is the mother of Iris and Forest. Overwhelmed by grief and anxiety after her son departs for the western front, she struggles with severe alcohol addiction. Her dependence alters the household dynamics, forcing her daughter to become the primary financial and emotional provider.

Thea, known as Attie, is a twenty-year-old war correspondent working for the Inkridden Tribune. Originally an aspiring violinist, she lost her musical ambitions when stringed instruments were outlawed due to the war. She channels her passion into journalism, determined to expose the harsh realities of the conflict and prove her former detractors wrong.

Marisol is the thirty-three-year-old owner of a bed-and-breakfast in Avalon Bluff. She acts as a nurturing host for the war correspondents arriving in the dangerous western territory. She tends to a beautiful garden, treating it as a symbol of hope while she waits for her wife to return from fighting the Underling forces.

Keegan is a captain in Enva's military forces and Marisol's wife. She possesses short blond hair and a gaunt face, demonstrating fierce bravery and a strict commitment to fighting against the Underling god's army in the west.

Zeb is the editor at the Oath Gazette. He actively enforces the chancellor's censorship by pushing a false, biased narrative about the distant war. He dismisses the severity of the conflict and forces his staff to write materials that align with his narrow worldview.

Sarah is an assistant at the Oath Gazette and a friendly face in the office. Having surrendered her dreams of working in a museum, she settles for a mundane career, representing the compliant and willfully ignorant mindset common among Oath's citizens.

Helena manages the Inkridden Tribune, a publication willing to challenge state censorship. She values the truth and actively recruits correspondents to travel west and report unfiltered accounts from the war front.

Ronald is Roman's wealthy and domineering father. He dictates his son's career path and orchestrates his engagement, strongly prioritizing his family's social status. He aligns himself with Dacre's supporters and expects strict obedience from his household.

Dr. Little is a successful chemist and a quiet supporter of the Underling god. He manufactures tear gas and uses his wealth and influence to secure a strategic, high-status engagement for his daughter.

Elinor is the daughter of a wealthy chemist. She enters into a loveless, arranged engagement with Roman, representing the restrictive, socially advantageous life planned by their respective fathers.

Georgiana, affectionately called Del, is Roman's deceased younger sister. She drowned in a pond four years ago, a tragedy that severely impacted her family and left her brother with a profound sense of lasting guilt.

Dacre is a ruthless Underling god who recently awakened from a centuries-long slumber to wage war across Cambria. He utilizes monstrous hounds and flying eithrals to terrify his enemies, seeking revenge against the Skyward gods.

Enva is a Skyward goddess fighting a desperate war against Dacre. She uses her divine, truth-woven music to rally the citizens of eastern Cambria to the front lines, acting as a symbol of resistance despite being vilified by eastern propaganda.

Daisy is Iris's deceased grandmother. She was childhood friends with Alouette Stone and left behind a magically enchanted typewriter that becomes her granddaughter's most prized possession.

Prairie is a young, wounded female soldier stationed at the Avalon Bluff infirmary. She bonds with visiting journalists, prompting them to transcribe letters on behalf of injured soldiers.

Lieutenant Lark commands the Sycamore Platoon on the front lines. He warns arriving correspondents about the severe dangers of the trenches and the extreme violence of the encroaching enemy forces.

Alouette is a historical figure in Cambria whose father created three magically linked typewriters. Stricken with tuberculosis in her youth, she used the machines to maintain contact with her friends while isolated.

Richard is a wealthy man from Cambria's past. When his daughter fell severely ill, he commissioned the creation of three magically connected Alouette typewriters so she could remain in touch with her friends.