Taken from her family at five years old, Tenar is stripped of her identity to become Arha, the "Eaten One" and high priestess of the Nameless Ones in the Kargish Empire. Raised in near-isolation in the Place of the Tombs, she is dressed in black robes and expected to embody cold devotion to ancient, dark gods. Beneath her haughty exterior, she wrestles with loneliness, boredom, and terror as she struggles to reconcile the cruel demands of her faith with her own conscience.

A dark-skinned wizard from the distant Inner Lands who infiltrates the Place of the Tombs seeking a legendary artifact. Known by the use-name Sparrowhawk, he wields magic in a land that strictly forbids and fears it. He is a quiet, serious man possessing great power, offering a sharp contrast to the oppressive darkness and blind faith of the Kargish religion.

The tall, thin, and cruel High Priestess of the Godking. Kossil views religion strictly as a tool for political control and personal power rather than a matter of genuine belief. She holds no true reverence for the ancient Nameless Ones and views Tenar/Arha's elevated status as a threat to her own dominance within the enclosed society of the Tombs.

A eunuch Warden of the temples tasked with guarding and caring for the young One Priestess. Because men are not permitted within the temples or the Undertomb, Manan exists on the fringes of the religious hierarchy. He is a devout believer in the Nameless Ones, a faith that fills him with deep anxiety regarding the gods' potential wrath.

The large and stern High Priestess of the Twin Gods. Unlike Kossil, Thar maintains a serious but non-cruel demeanor, fulfilling her duty to educate the young One Priestess. She holds the institutional knowledge of the Labyrinth and the Tombs, carefully instructing Tenar/Arha on finding the complex paths and hidden spy holes of the sacred grounds.

A novice dedicated to the Temple of the Godking, sent to the Tombs simply because her large, poor family could not afford to feed her. She acts as Tenar/Arha's only friend among the girls at the Place. Pragmatic and unburdened by religious zeal, she openly admits to feeling no awe for the Godking.

A poor woman married to an orchard-tender in the Kargish Empire. She attempts to cover her baby in berries to simulate an illness, hoping to prevent the priestesses from claiming her daughter as the reborn One Priestess.

A laborer who tends the apple orchards for a rich man. He is resigned to the reality that the priestesses will take his daughter and tries to encourage his wife to focus her love on their remaining children, masking his own grief.

A quiet, kind old wizard who lives on the mountainous island of Gont. Though he does not directly participate in the events at the Tombs, he represents a peaceful alternative to the dark, oppressive forces dominating the Kargish lands.