Zevander is the deuteragonist of Anathema and the protagonist of Eldritch, which provides his full backstory through flashbacks to his enslavement and his psychic travels to the realm of Caligorya. In Anathema, Zevander is a largely static figure whose only arc is falling in love with Maevyth. In Eldritch, Zevander becomes a dynamic character whose personality is shown to evolve based on his experiences. The son of a noble family in Nyxteros, he was imprisoned in the Solassion mines for his father’s crimes and then spent centuries being sexually assaulted and tortured as part of General Loyce’s enslaved Gildona group. In Anathema, Zevander’s genital piercings are a mysterious, dangerous element of his characterization, whereas in Eldritch, they become symbols of his trauma and explain his reluctance to open himself up to romance with Maevyth and his notable lack of empathy.

Part of Zevander’s psychological torment is his guilt about Theron, another enslaved man in the Gildona, who betrayed Zevander by revealing his visits to Caligorya but then saved him at the cost of his own life. Throughout the novel, Zevander is plagued by visions of Theron, induced by Zevander’s complicated and unresolved feelings about his role in Theron’s death. Zevander hates, pities, and laments Theron, understanding that they both faced an impossible situation in the Gildona.

Like Maevyth, Zevander is a vessel for a god—in his case, Deimos, the god of chaos. However, Zevander is also connected to Pestilios, the god of disease, which was created by Cadavros to bond them to each other. Since the gods represent internal motivations in Lake’s world, Zevander’s link with Pestilios pushes him to corrupt and control others, as shown in his actions while in vivicantem-withdrawal trances. His connection to Deimos, though, urges him to create chaos in pursuit of freedom and love, specifically to be with Maevyth so that they can bring together Morsana and Deimos in earthly form.

Cadavros is the main antagonist of Anathema and is a disgraced high mage who corrupts Zevander and seeks to control the world. In Eldritch, he emerges as a more nuanced character whose backstory as Alastor complicates his role by making him Zevander’s mentor figure as well. In Caligorya, Zevander discovers that Alastor and his sister were born spindlings with no connection to blood magic and grew up abused and in poverty. At first, Alastor sought to remedy the treatment of spindlings by reigniting Aethyrian sablefyre veins to provide enough vivicantem to restore the blood magic of all spindlings. He failed, but through his efforts, he ascended to the rank of high mage. In the quest for more power, he became corrupted by Pestilios, who turned Alastor into his vessel as Cadavros. Alastor’s goal of reigniting the veins for good turned into Cadavros’s desire to spread infection and dominate Mortasia and Aethyria.

Cadavros’s dark research into magic aligns him with the stereotype of the outsider scientist whose work goes too far and becomes dangerous. However, he primarily functions as Zevander’s teacher, explaining the rules of traveling to Caligorya, different aspects of using glyph magic, and eventually revealing the truth of Zevander’s link to Pestilios. Cadavros is a cautionary example for Zevander as well. Both men are vessels for gods, but while Zevander subverts his destiny, Cadavros is too bound by his connection to Pestilios, abandoning his priorities in favor of serving the god’s evil will and seeking only destruction and power. Cadavros’s fallen status is symbolized by his existence as the wrathavor demon, whose human body is covered with monstrous bark and horns.

Like Zevander, Kazhimyr and Ravezio are Letalisz, or royal assassins. In Eldritch, Kazhimyr is the point-of-view character for chapters focusing on their journey across Aethyria to reunite with Zevander and Maevyth. Zevander’s friends are static figures whose main purpose is to show the reader Zevander’s support system outside of his connection to Maevyth. Like Zevander, Kazhimyr and Ravezio experienced harsh imprisonment in the Solassion mines, so their bond is both deep and centuries old.

Also like Zevander, Dravien was part of a Gildona—in his case, that of Bellatryx Aradia. Although he was originally an operative for Loyce, Dravien is converted into an ally by the life debt he owes Dolion. Dravien’s evolution from antagonist to ally highlights the ineffectiveness of Loyce’s method of ruling through pain and fear.

Aleysia is Maevyth’s adopted sister, who plays a significant role in Maevyth’s life. While Maevyth was growing up, Aleysia was her only protection from the bullies in Foxglove Parish. This is why Maevyth spends Anathema trying to return to Mortasia to save Aleysia from the Eating Woods. In Eldritch, as Maevyth, Zevander, and Aleysia make their way through Foxglove, Aleysia becomes infected, turning cold, ravenous, and spontaneously violent as her magical illness progresses. Her symptoms symbolize Maevyth’s need to purge Foxglove of its corruption under Crain. Once Aleysia is cured of her infection, she returns to her playful, boisterous self, allowing Maevyth to safely deposit Aleysia and their father with her people in Lyveria. This conclusion to Aleysia’s story means that Maevyth can return to Aethyria with Zevander without guilt over abandoning her family.

Theron was a healer in Loyce’s Gildona who befriended Zevander. Theron’s character is a foil to Zevander: Both experienced Loyce’s abuse, but where Zevander never stopped resisting even at the cost of his well-being, Theron submitted to Loyce to protect himself. Zevander looked down on Theron for seeming to crave Loyce’s attention; however, for the reader, this perspective adds nuance to the novel’s discussion of sexual abuse. Zevander was hardened by torture, becoming numb and stubborn, but Theron’s more pliant reaction is not intended to be damning. The reader is meant to realize that both men did their best to survive their ordeal.

In the present, Zevander is revealed to be haunted by guilt over his role in Theron’s death. While Theron betrayed Zevander by telling Loyce about Aradia’s attempted coup and Zevander’s visits to Caligorya, Theron also was instrumental in securing Zevander’s freedom at the cost of his own life. In Mortasia, Zevander fights visions of Theron, killing him again and again in a recreation of his guilt.