Din is a twenty-year-old assistant investigator working for the Iudex in Daretana. He is a Sublime, magically altered to be an engraver with eidetic memory, allowing him to recall sights and sounds with unerring precision. He sends his wages to his family in hopes they can move away from the dangerous Outer Rim. He struggles with reading and writing, relying on his prodigious memory to hide this challenge from his superiors.

Ana is a brilliant, eccentric lead investigator for the Iudex in Daretana. She avoids excess sensory stimulation, frequently wearing a blindfold and shutting herself in dark spaces to think clearly. She possesses an uncanny ability to deduce complex truths from the details Din brings her, preferring to stay indoors rather than visit crime scenes herself. Her abrasive personality often frustrates those around her.

Tuwey is the lead investigator for the Iudex in Talagray. Like Din, he is a magically altered engraver, but his long years of service have saddled him with painful memory side-effects. Elderly and weary of the region's rampant corruption, he lives a strict ascetic lifestyle and speaks openly of his desire for a peaceful retirement.

Fayazi is a beautiful, artificially youthful scion of the immensely wealthy Haza clan. She uses pheromonal and vitality suffusions to maintain an entrancing presence and extend her life. As a member of the powerful gentry, she represents the entrenched privilege of the Empire, deflecting legal scrutiny while managing her family's vast, secretive land holdings.

Tazi is an assistant investigator for the Iudex in Talagray and a former Legionnaire war hero. He possesses physical augmentations that make him exceptionally large and strong. He struggles with the moral complexity of his investigative work, feeling more suited to straightforward physical battles against leviathans. He takes an active role in training Din in self-defense.

Kephus is a cheerful, handsome Legion captain stationed in Talagray. Despite coming from a wealthy gentry family, he lacks major magical augmentations and chooses to serve in dangerous frontline positions defending the sea wall. He takes an immediate liking to Din, offering warmth and encouragement despite the grim realities of their work.

Blas is a high-ranking military commander stationed in the outer reaches of the Empire. Tasked with examining sea walls ahead of the wet season, his sudden, gruesome death from a magical plant contagion kicks off the central investigation. His secretive habits and ties to the wealthy Haza family raise immediate questions.

Vashta is a Commander-Prificto, an extremely high-ranking military officer in the Empire. When a leviathan attacks the coastline, she is appointed seneschal, granting her dictatorial authority over domestic matters in Talagray. She prioritizes the structural safety of the sea walls and the Empire's defense above all else.

Itonia is a cheerfully eccentric Apothetikal, a military officer specializing in organic magical augmentations. She assists the investigative team by analyzing deadly spores, administering inoculations against local parasites, and studying complex magical locks. She carries grim knowledge from her past work on a massive contagion crisis in the Oypat canton.

Kiz is an Engineer and the sole survivor of a cohort struck down by a mysterious magical plant contagion. An Oypati survivor of a devastating historical bloom, she harbors deep emotional scars from the loss of her home canton. She becomes a primary person of interest as the investigation deepens.

Rona is the secretary to Commander Taqtasa Blas. She manages his schedule and handles his administrative affairs. When she goes missing following his death, investigators discover she holds secret travel passes and significant sums of money, suggesting her duties extended beyond standard paperwork.

Uxos is the groundskeeper for the Haza clan's property in Daretana. He is highly anxious about his employers' reactions and becomes a key suspect when investigators notice inconsistencies in the estate's magical plant life, suggesting someone tampered with the security systems.

Kaygi is a high-ranking scion of the wealthy Haza clan, third in line to head the family. He possesses immense power through land ownership and a legal but unethical system of patronage. His sudden, bizarre death from a magical contagion mirrors that of Commander Blas, drawing his massive estate into the investigation.

Thalamis is an aggressive, bullying imperial captain who acts on behalf of the Haza family's interests. He uses ableist language to mock Din's reading difficulties and baselessly accuses the young engraver of cheating on his military exams.

Vailiki is an Engineer assigned to assist the Iudex team in Talagray. She is highly protective of her department's records and initially reluctant to hand over the personnel files of the ten Engineers killed by the plant contagion, showing intense loyalty to her fellow builders.

Otirios is an imperial Apothetikal officer stationed in Daretana. He uses chemical keys to bypass enchanted flora and oversees the initial containment of Blas's bizarre death scene. He is somewhat dismissive of Din due to the engraver's youth and lack of experience.