Characters
Freyda and her Descendants
Freyda
The ascendant of Locket, Winifred, and Sombra, who is killed by Locket during the "War of the Ladies".
- Posthumous Character: She's only ever described in the prologue, and is long dead by the events of the book.
- Red Baron: Mostly known as the Beast of Blackenrend.
Locket
The Grand Voice of the Underbirth, that is to say, she is essentially its leader. She formed the laws of the Underbirth and leads its society.
- Dark Is Not Evil: She is clad primarily in black skin and black dress, but she isn't mean-spirited by nature.
- Gentle Giant: She is quite large, standing twelve feet tall, but has a kindness to her, as seen when she speaks softly to a crying Whisper after they'd bumped into Winifred.
- Glasgow Grin: She has exposed teeth on the sides of her face, even when she closes her mouth or smiles.
- Multiboobage: She has four breasts.
- The Social Darwinist: The core of her laws and beliefs. While she believes in order and civility, she stays firm to Kivvic nature.
Winifred
The Grand Whisper, and a sibling to Locket and Sombra. She is the founder of the Yolsh; a militant force in the Underbirth.
- Gold-Colored Superiority: Amidst her primarily white body, she is clad in golden hair, antlers, and claws, and is marked with ten golden stripes. The Yolsh are all ranked with golden stripe markings, with ten strikes being the highest rank, presumably in honor of her.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Oh man. Her Establishing Character Moment is when she yells at Marcus, another Whisper for simply bumping into her, driving them to tears.
- Light Is Not Good: Essentially inverse to her sister; she is clad in white and gold, but is generally very hot-headed and prone to anger.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Sombra's blue.
Sombra
Known as the Grand Architect, Sombra is the sole male descendant of Freyda. Despite Kivouachians being immortal and not prone to aging, Sombra looks very old. His subordinate is Quinn, the Voice of Records.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: He is the blue to Winifred's red.
Vileborne
Lucy Lacemaker
"What damage could I possibly do? After all, I'm only a little thing."A Fowler at the start of the book, Lucy is perceptive and cunning, able to read people's emotions and intentions by their faces alone. She finds refuge and work at Ruthergush Inkhouse, and eventually befriends Ludwig and Shale.
- Bookworm: She loves books, especially as a Fowler, where she spent most of her days with Sally Sefton in her Bookburrow.
- Eye Scream: Her one red eye was an injury she sustained from an mire-induced explosion.
- Leitmotif: Miviam.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: She's no larger than a house cat as a Fowler and was able to successfully defend herself from other Kivvas who sought to attack her. Even after kerticulation, Lucy is only about three feet high, and still very capable of defending herself.
Sally Sefton
Goldune
A former friend of Lucy's who gets caught up in the suspicious peddling of mire, a mysterious product of an underground trade.
- Body Horror: Half of his face is burned and disfigured in the burning of Needlemire Dollhouse.
- Yellow Eyes of Sneakiness: He's part of a shady trade, and is described in the book as having marigold eyes.
Blackhalls
Celia
A Blackhall and ex-Yolsh who accompanies Dalton. She is constantly haunted by voices in her head, referred to in the book as "The Others".
- Brooklyn Rage: Her voice has a distinct New York accent.
- Leitmotif: Shadowland.
Ruthergush Inkhouse
Ludwig
Shale
Wyley
Greta
Yolsh
Dalton
(MechusTV)A Captain of the Yolsh, with an 8-strike rank. He is accompanied by Celia during his investigation of the mire trade.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Despite his coloration and authority, he's gentle and friendly toward Celia.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: His speech to Celia in Chapter 17 - Part 4.
Wexle
Hayden
Ripper
Elmyra
Yeshua and Affiliates
Mystique
Harlow
Unsorted
Fleischer
Hyzen
Felicity
Quinn
Butika
Thallius
Bartholomeus
Nathanial
Methusa
Helgan
Gatsby
Felix
