Gabe is a supporting character and a foil for Clay, his best friend and ally in the quest. Gabe is the frontman of the group, analogous to the lead singer in a rock band. Clay reflects that “words had always been Gabe’s most potent weapon. He’d been their leader, back when. The voice of the band” (19). Gabe’s blonde hair and good looks led to his nickname of Golden Gabe, and he is legendary not only for his fighting skills but also for his success with women.

Gabe’s needs direct the group, both historically and in the present narrative. Gabe was the one who selected their projects, and it was Gabe’s love affair with Valery, a pacifist, that led the band to break up. Gabe’s separation from Valery, when she left him for their booker, Kallorek, provides a foil and contrast to Clay’s strong relationship with Ginny, which is based on mutual trust and affection. Gabe is haunted by the failure of his relationship with Valery, who is trying, unsuccessfully, to stop her substance use. Clay can see what Valery knows, despite Gabe’s denials: that if Gabe had to make a choice between keeping Valery or his sword, Vellichor, he would choose Vellichor, showing that he values the glory of his reputation over meeting her needs.

Gabe’s love for his daughter is steadfast, but combined with a need to prove himself to her, and perhaps apologize for his past mistakes. Gabe is proud of Rose’s skill as a fighter, both for her own sake and as a reflection of what he taught her. Gabe’s vanquishing the Infernal in the Battle for Castia is a moment when he gets to play the hero and perform a rescue, accomplishing a feat that bards will sing about for years to come.

Moog is a supporting character and a principal member of Saga, the group’s wizard. He is named for the synthesizer invented by Robert Moog in 1964, an allusion that represents Moog’s role as keyboardist and generator of special effects. Moog is described as nearly childlike in his innocence; he is curious, easily delighted, often surprised, and deeply empathetic. He is also intensely loyal, not only to his fellow bandmates but also to the memory of his husband, Freddie.

Freddie’s death from the disease called the rot led Moog to devote himself to finding a cure, which he accomplishes with the help of Taino, the troll healer the band encounters in the Heartwyld Forest. Moog models loyalty in his unquestioning aid to his friends. He also crystallizes the book’s exploration of legacy and reputation, ultimately Choosing a Legacy of Kindness by perfecting a cure for the rot and distributing it for free, showing his dedication to healing and reconciliation.

Matrick is a supporting character and a principal member of Saga, analogous to the drummer in a rock band, as indicated by his knives, Roxy and Grace, which stand in for drumsticks. In the present narrative, Matrick—“Matty” for short—is introduced as the “foul-mouthed, booze-guzzling, whore-mongering, and wholly unscrupulous thief who was now the ruler of one of Grandual’s five great kingdoms” (87). Like the others, Matrick shows signs of aging: “His black hair was streaked with grey and receding rapidly; his whiskers were salted white on a jowly chin. He looked tired” (90-1).

Matrick became King of Agria when he married Lilith, the daughter of the previous King. Their marriage has become an empty performance as Lilith sleeps with whom she pleases; none of Matrick’s five children are his biological offspring. Nevertheless, Matrick shows care for his children’s well-being, and over the course of the quest, he expresses remorse that he wasn’t a faithful or reliable husband and wishes he could be a better role model for his kids. He finds this wish granted when he is voted the Emperor of Castia, and his adopted children accept his invitation to come live with him. Matrick’s wish for a happy domestic life reaffirms the value Clay finds in having a family of his own.

Ganelon is a supporting character and the fifth member of Saga. He is described as the fiercest warrior in appearance and demeanor. Ganelon was orphaned at age eleven and a mercenary by age fourteen. He is from the south and is often referred to as the southerner. His mother was sex trafficked in a brothel and his father was a Kaskar bodyguard, so Ganelon combines “a northman’s green eyes and imposing height, an explosive temper, and an innate capacity for bloodshed” (194) with his mother’s strength and ferocity. He is described as having “braided black hair strung with ivory beads” and “dark brown flesh and corded muscle laced with pale scars” (195).

Ganelon is not emotionally expressive, but he is a skilled and brutal fighter. In Saga’s battles, Ganelon does the bulk of the fighting, as demonstrated by his near single-handed slaying of the chimera when they fight in the Maxithon. Even Clay wonders if Ganelon’s nature is too brutal, and Clay thinks to some extent Ganelon deserved to be punished for killing the Narmeeri prince and all those men, even if it was to avenge a woman he cared about. Ganelon’s nineteen years as a stone statue seem to have made him hard and almost nonverbal, but his loyalty is demonstrated by his ready acceptance of the quest, and he shares his affection for the group in their quiet moment before the Battle of Castia begins. Ganelon’s choice at the end to return to the Quarry indicates that he too wishes for companionship and would rather stoically wait to be reunited with Larkspur rather than live a superficial existence.

Larkspur is a supporting character who represents several aspects of the novel. She is a daeva—a human-like entity that has wings and is born through parthenogenesis. She is now a bounty hunter, and in that role parallels the mercenaries who are paid for their battles. She also reflects on Clay’s concerns about having a conflicted nature in her dual identity; for part of the novel, she is the fierce fighter Larkspur, but for a time she pretends to be Sabbatha, which was her name as a girl. The cruel bullying Sabbatha experienced as a child, her retaliation, and the consequences of that retaliation when the villagers destroyed her home and killed her family speak to the lingering impact of trauma in perpetuating a cycle of violence. Larkspur’s struggle to reconcile her violent nature with her wish for companionship and affection isn’t answered in the novel, as she is last seen downed by the Infernal. However, the epilogue states that she gave birth to Ganelon’s son, suggesting that their storyline might not be over.

In physical respects, Larkspur is described as exceptionally beautiful and formidable: “She was tall, her pale limbs hard with lean muscle. She wore a formfitting black breastplate that seemed to drink in the light, heavy greaves, and a pair of taloned gauntlets” (248). She has black wings that look like a cloak, and she has the ability to compel people to do her will. This is a comment on the power of female beauty as means of influence, but is also evidence of her unusual skill. Larkspur’s implacability makes her a match for Ganelon’s strength and fierceness.

Lastleaf is the antagonist of the novel and a comment on how a traumatic youth can influence a personality. In contrast to Clay, who managed to remain a decent man despite his past and his childhood trauma, Lastleaf’s family situation, along with bullying from the humans of Castia, have made him vindictive and full of rage.

Lastleaf is a druin, one of the race of beings that came to this world and ruled it during the Dominion. He is described as “tall, like many of his kind, and thin, with skin pale as cream […] and long ears tufted like a rabbit’s and sheathed in fine white fur” (108). Lastleaf carries three swords on his back, which parallel his different identities or monikers. He is the son of Vespian and the reincarnated Astra, and it’s suggested that Astra’s reincarnation stripped softness from her nature, which might have been communicated to Lastleaf, who was described as a sickly child. Lastleaf hates his father, Vespian, who killed Lastleaf’s sister to bring back their mother. Part of his hatred of Saga comes from Vespian’s choice to bequeath the powerful sword Vellichor to Gabriel, but his larger vengeance is motivated by his hatred of humans based on their treatment of the beings of the Heartwyld that they term monsters.

Lastleaf’s rage is presented as vengeance, not justice. At the end, his choice to die by the sword Tamarat hints that he took his own life so that Astra could return again to this realm. Given that she has been described as a being with dark and cruel powers, that doesn’t bode well for the sequel. Vespian’s family history has been reconfigured into the gods worshipped by the kingdoms of Grandual, in which Lastleaf is represented as the Autumn Son. Due to his rebellion against his father and his cruel tendencies, he is also referred to as the Heathen, and the rot is called the Heathen’s Touch. His name associates him with autumn, the season that  leads from harvest into the dead of winter, and his association with a wasting disease presents Lastleaf as a force of destruction.