Evanlyn, whose “real” name is Princess Cassandra, is the second protagonist/hero of the novel and Will’s companion throughout their half of the narrative. Evanlyn is the daughter of King Duncan, a minor character in the beginning of the book; information acquired in both this book and the preceding novel, The Burning Bridge, reveals that Evanlyn was the name of her lady’s maid, who was killed in an attack in Celtica. Evanlyn adopted the girl’s identity to save her own life and maintains it in this novel for the same purpose. Evanlyn is headstrong, brave, and caring; although she sometimes lacks insight, due to her sheltered upbringing, she is highly competent and keeps herself and Will alive despite brutal odds and a harsh environment.

Evanlyn’s arc throughout the novel continues her growth from the previous novel; due to her cushioned life as the Princess, she struggles at first to know how to survive on her own, but she grows into a strong and capable survivalist determined to keep herself and Will alive long enough to return home. Evanlyn initially views her relationship with Will according to traditional gender roles, believing that his role is to hunt and fight while hers is to perform domestic and caretaking tasks. However, this viewpoint disappears by the end of the book; in her eyes, they become human beings equally in need of care and a new life, either of them equally capable of caring for the other. This represents Evanlyn’s growth outside of the heavily gendered, restrictive world of Araluen. Evanlyn is no less capable of surviving than Will, and she saves him repeatedly throughout the novel, demonstrating rare agency and skill in a book primarily focused on the lives and abilities of men.

Halt is Will’s mentor and the third protagonist in the novel. He is the oldest of the protagonists and the primary adult hero in the series, which allows him to occupy a unique place in the narrative and provide a perspective distinct from those of the teenaged characters. He is sarcastic, observant, jaded, and cunning, as well as extremely stubborn and willing to do anything for people he cares about. His description also helps characterize him as a person who does not care much for his appearance—he has graying, badly cut hair and a rough beard, which belie his extreme skills with a bow and knife and his willingness to kill to get past any obstacle.

Halt’s development throughout the book primarily relates to his relationship with Horace. He begins the book in a dark and cynical place; the King, to whom he has been loyal for much of his life, refuses to let him go after Will, and his love for his apprentice makes him more emotional and reactive than he has been previously. Halt’s usual practicality has been changed by the light that Will has brought into his life, making him more willing to risk everything to save him. Horace’s growing friendship with Halt returns some of this light, making Halt once again more positive but also more cautious and wary. Halt starts the book in a self-destructive place but ends it committed to his own survival and to saving Will and returning them all home. This characterizes Halt as, ultimately, someone who needs someone to care for; on his own, he struggles to find purpose, but when given a young person to mentor and protect, he flourishes.

Horace is the fourth protagonist and hero of the novel, as well as Halt’s companion throughout their half of the narrative. An apprentice knight, Horace is courageous, practical, and kind-hearted; while he has previously been characterized (particularly in The Ruins of Gorlan) as a bully, he has grown into a worthy knight and hero who cares deeply about others and about justice. Horace’s good heart also makes him innocent, however, and he often does not recognize the uglier aspects of the world, like the existence of people who want to harm others for the sake of power. Horace’s innocence and earnestness are gently mocked but also praised as positives by the narrator and the other characters since they allow Horace to always look for the good in others.

At the same time, Horace grows slightly more cynical over the course of the novel as he learns the capacity for real and very human depravity through their captivity under Lord Deparnieux, a knight supposedly beholden to chivalry. Although never explicitly acknowledged, Horace clearly sees his own latent dark side in Deparnieux and the other corrupt knights. While he trusts himself to not behave as they do, his journey through Gallica with Halt helps him learn that systems like chivalry do not reliably work to prevent evil people from using their power to hurt and control others. Horace starts the novel by using the code of chivalry to fight the other knights honestly, but he eventually acknowledges that to eradicate evil, it is sometimes necessary to step outside the code, allowing him to step back and let Halt manage the defeat of Deparnieux. Horace’s acknowledgement of his own youth and relative inexperience shows his understanding of his limits and the limits of the knightly system he so reveres.

Erak is a supporting character within Will and Evanlyn’s half of the novel. He serves as a false antagonist and eventually an ally to the two young protagonists. Erak is a jarl—a Skandian/Viking word for noble or chief—who captains the wolfship Wolfwind. In the previous novel, he led a group of Skandian warriors under mercenary contract to Lord Morgarath against the Araluen armies, but he pulled out at the last minute, capturing Will and Evanlyn along the way. Erak is talented, observant, and intimidating, but he commands respect due to his loyalty to his crew and the value he places on courage and honesty. Erak dislikes those who, like Slagor, have a high social status but lack virtue, and he respects those who, like Will, have good character but a lower social status. 

This tendency to value character above power allows Erak to have a dramatic arc over the course of the novel. While he starts the novel off having moments of sympathy and even affection for Will and Evanlyn, he always represses these feelings in favor of practicality or “tradition,” which compel him to not care for enslaved people. Erak’s inner good nature and respect for others, however, lead him to realize that Will’s treatment (and, by extension, the treatment of the other enslaved people) is unjust and cruel. Erak then decides to go against the law to free Will and Evanlyn out of respect for them. Erak grows from a person who follows the law because it exists to a person who recognizes that unjust laws must be broken for the sake of others.