Nahri is a twenty-year-old con woman living in Cairo. She survives by swindling wealthy clients using her inexplicable abilities to sense illnesses and understand untaught languages. Without a family or knowledge of her heritage, her worldview centers entirely on survival and financial independence. Her life drastically changes when she accidentally summons a supernatural warrior and discovers she is the last living member of a revered family of healers.

Ali is the second son of King Ghassan, born of a political alliance between the Geziri and Ayaanle tribes. Raised in the austere discipline of the royal guard, he is a devoutly religious and highly skilled warrior. Despite his royal status, he harbors deep sympathies for the oppressed shafit population, secretly funneling his own funds to an underground revolutionary group. This secret life places his rigid moral code in direct conflict with his royal obligations.

Dara is an ancient, highly skilled warrior known as an Afshin, bound by a dark and mysterious past. He holds deep-seated prejudices against certain tribes, specifically the Geziri who currently rule Daevabad. Strikingly handsome with emerald-green eyes, he is summoned by Nahri in Cairo and immediately takes on the duty of protecting her. He struggles with the shame of his history and his centuries spent enslaved.

Muntadhir is the eldest son of King Ghassan and heir to the Daevabad throne. On the surface, he appears as a spoiled prince who prefers drinking and socializing over his royal duties. Beneath this frivolous exterior, he is acutely aware of the political realities of his city and consistently works to protect his younger brother from their father's wrath. He acts as a shield for his family while masking his own vulnerabilities.

Ghassan is the formidable and ruthless King of Daevabad. He prioritizes the precarious peace of his city above all else, enforcing harsh policies to maintain control over the divided magical tribes and the oppressed shafit. While he can be a merciless ruler who manipulates events to his advantage, he is driven by a deep conviction that his methods are necessary for collective survival. He attempts to use Nahri's arrival to secure his family's grip on the throne.

Nisreen is a skilled daeva healer who previously served as a senior aide to the Nahid Council. She takes on the role of training Nahri in medicine and the religious customs of their tribe. She is softly spoken but strictly adheres to daeva traditions, pushing Nahri to embrace her heritage. Her gentle demeanor masks a fierce loyalty to her people and a determination to guide Nahri into assuming her rightful place.

Kaveh serves as King Ghassan’s grand wazir and remains a steadfast loyalist to the daeva tribe. He constantly advocates for his people's interests, which frequently places him in political opposition to Ali. He uses his position to orchestrate political maneuvers within the palace, operating with a quiet cunning. He harbors deep resentment toward the current ruling structure and quietly hopes for a shift in power.

Jamshid is a skilled daeva warrior and the son of Kaveh. He serves as Muntadhir’s closest companion, bodyguard, and confidant. Despite his father's political friction with the royal family, he maintains a kind and steady presence in the palace. He inexplicably seeks training with a zulfiqar, a weapon typically reserved for Geziri men, harboring quiet mysteries regarding his background.

Zaynab is King Ghassan’s daughter and sister to Ali and Muntadhir. Like Ali, she is of mixed Geziri and Ayaanle heritage. She utilizes her sharp observational skills and social grace to gather information in a court that often dismisses her due to her gender. She maintains a smooth confidence and plays the political games of the palace with subtle efficiency.

Hatset is the Queen of Daevabad from the Ayaanle tribe. She resides away from the city but maintains a quiet influence through her children, Ali and Zaynab. She deliberately taught Ali to swim against his father's wishes, embedding her own tribal culture into his strict upbringing.

Manizheh is a member of the Nahid Council who was murdered by ifrits twenty years before the main events of the story. Her legacy shadows Nahri's arrival in Daevabad, leaving the young woman with immense expectations to fulfill her mother's interrupted medical and political work.

Yaqub is an older pharmacist working in Cairo. He refers wealthy and vulnerable clients to Nahri's fraudulent ceremonies, maintaining a strict but mutually beneficial business arrangement. He acts as a grounded, protective figure in her human life.

Baseema is a twelve-year-old girl in Cairo whose possession by an ifrit accidentally causes Nahri to summon Dara. Her body acts as the vessel for the first magical attack Nahri ever experiences.

Khayzur is a peri composed of air. He breaks the strict isolationist laws of his kind to assist Dara and Nahri during their journey to Daevabad, recognizing a larger, mysterious purpose at play in the magical world.

Anas is a shafit leader of the Tanzeem underground group. He uses secret funding to purchase weapons, hoping to organize a resistance against the city's discriminatory laws. He views Ali as a crucial, albeit conflicted, ally for their survival.

Hanno is a shafit shapeshifter who operates within the Tanzeem. He secures resources for the marginalized population and eventually targets those he views as threats to their cause, including former allies.

Rashid is a quiet scribe in the royal palace who acts as an informant and sympathizer for the Tanzeem. He provides Ali with corrections regarding court etiquette while constantly urging the prince to use his position to advocate for the shafit.

Wajed is the Qaid, or military confidant, to King Ghassan. He serves as a strict combat trainer and proxy father to Ali, instilling a deep sense of discipline and religious adherence in the young prince before being sent away on a mission.

Kartir is the oldest grand priest at the Grand Temple in Daevabad. He guides the religious ceremonies for the daeva tribe and offers Nahri a direct connection to her ancestral faith, treating her with deep reverence.