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Given there are many characters and that the Earth's Children series half-runs on drama, there were bound to be a few.


  • Ayla, the main protagonist herself, can be seen as one, especially in the first and second books, and at the end of the sixth. It's worth noting that in spite of all this, Ayla rarely lets any of it bring her down and takes it all in stride.
    • In the first book (starting in the first few pages) she is orphaned in an earthquake, raised by people who regard as strange and ugly and punish her for trying to do anything different, is bullied and beaten by Broud over petty slights, repeatedly raped from the age of only ten, causing her to fall into depression until she realises she's pregnant (unknowingly with her rapist's child), both her adoptive parents die, the second very suddenly and she is cursed with death by Broud simply for daring to stand up to him, forcing her to leave behind the only home and family she's ever known, forever. She's also forced to leave behind her beloved son, who she never sees ever again. She carries the pain from the loss of her son for the rest of her life.
    • In the second book, she lives in near total isolation, with no human contact of any kind, for three years, struggling to survive and cope with the grief of being banished alone. When she finally meets another person of her own kind, she develops feelings him...only for him to react with revulsion when he learns of the origins of her adopted family and son, and with the implication she is to viewed in contempt for being raped. Although he apologises and acknowledges he was wrong, she still realises that her past could wrongfully result in her being judged and ostracized by her own people, due to prejudice and ignorance.
    • In the third book, due to a misunderstanding and cultural clashes, the man she loves and believed she would spend her life with becomes cold towards her and stops speaking with her for reasons not immediately obvious to her, causing her to believe he does not love her. She ends up being talked into almost marrying another man whom she likes, but does not truly love and reluctantly goes along with it whilst feeling guilty for not returning his feelings and pining for her ex. On top of that, she has to cope with latent psychic abilities she finds frightening and overwhelming.
    • In the sixth book, after going through a terrifying psychic vision/drug trip and suffering a miscarriage, she goes to find comfort in her husband, who she's been inadvertently neglecting due to her commitment to work... and catches him red handed cheating on her with his spiteful ex, who they both know hates her. She subsequently sinks into a depressive state, which she only comes out of after her remorseful husband saves her from a really bad drug trip that almost kills her and they reconcile.
  • Oda. She was raped by a man of the Others, who pushed her down whilst she was holding her baby daughter, causing her baby to fall and hit her head, dying of her injuries. She found out she was pregnant again (unknowingly by her rapist) and wished for another girl, despite the fact the patriarchal Clan prefer sons. She did indeed give birth to a girl, Ura, who was considered deformed and thus bad luck. Ura was only allowed to live to punish Oda for wishing for a girl and she was left worrying for her daughter's future, as no man was likely to want her as a mate, leaving her unprovided for.
  • Creb. He is seen as deformed and not a 'real man', or only seen as the powerful Mog-ur and not a human being with vulnerabilities and feelings, and never had a mate or children. The only people who see past his status and deformities are his sister, niece and surrogate daughter Ayla. He's forced to curse Ayla with death, which devastates him. He then learns in a vision that his people will eventually go extinct and that their only hope of surviving in some form is through hybrids, who are often mistakenly seen as deformed and abandoned or shunned. When Broud becomes leader he tries to force him out of his hearth even though he's an old man whose lived there all his life and when Ayla stands up for him, she is cursed with death again. Creb cannot bear to watch this and goes back inside the cave... and so is trapped in the cave when an earthquake hits and is crushed to death by falling rocks. Although he probably died quickly, he died knowing that the girl he loved like a daughter had been wrongfully cursed with death and that his clan had been left in the hands of an egomaniac who has no idea what he's doing.
  • Echozar. His mother and adoptive father both died, he was shunned by both the Clan and the Others for being seen as 'deformed' or 'a half-human abomination', eventually driving him to attempt suicide. He finally comes to terms with it all, is accepted by the Lanzadonii and gets to marry the woman he loves more than anything, but is still occasionally mocked or judged for being a hybrid (even at his own wedding) and is also unaware that his wife is actually deeply in love with another man she knows she cannot have and is technically 'settling' with him.
  • Joplaya. For most of her life she has been in love with Jondalar, her close cousin, unaware they're actually half siblings. She knows that it's incredibly unlikely they'll ever be together because they're considered too closely related to marry and Jondalar is also completely oblivious to her feelings. In spite of this, she cannot help but hold out hope he might someday return her feelings...until he falls in love with another woman. She's crushed, but never let's him or anyone else know and is genuinely happy for them both. She decides to mate Echozar to try and move on, even though she believes she'll only ever love Jondalar and does not fully return Echozar's feelings. And on top of all that, due to being rather narrow-hipped, she cannot risk having more children (especially as her son has a larger-than-average head due to being part Clan) or the resulting complications could kill her.
  • Thonolan. He and his mate suffer through several miscarriages in their attempt to start a family ending with she and their baby dying in childbirth, plunging him into a deep depression. He is then mauled to death by a cave lion, dying thousands of miles from his home, never seeing his family again and, for all he knows, he lead his own brother to his death too.
  • Jondalar in the second book. He watches his brother sink into a deep depression after his sister-in-law and baby nephew die in childbirth. He is then unable to dissuade his brother from foolishly entering a cave lion den to retrieve a deer, resulting in them being attacked. Jondalar is seriously wounded, to the point where he came close to being crippled, at the least whilst Thonolan is killed. Jondalar does not initially realise what happened; when he wakes up, he immediately begins asking for his brother. Despite the language barrier, he quickly deduces from Ayla's reaction that Thonolan is dead and promptly breaks down in her arms, blaming himself for being unable to protect him. He's also left completely alone and near-bedridden in a foreign land, far from home and with only a woman he doesn't know and who cannot speak his language for company and assistance.
  • Poor Fralie has had a rough life. She and her family were once high-ranking Mamutoi, with her mother being headwoman of her own camp. When Fralie was about thirteen years old, her mother arranged a betrothal between Fralie and the son of the Deer Camp’s headwoman; Fralie only reluctantly agreed, as she didn't think much of her betrothed and felt he was more interested in her status. When she and her mother returned home, they discovered the camp's lodge had caught fire and no one inside had been able to escape, including Fralie's younger siblings. Fralie had little choice but to subject herself to a loveless marriage to support herself and her mother. After her mate died in a hunting accident, the Deer Camp branded them bad luck and all but threw them out, even though Fralie had two young sons to look after. She was able to find some happiness with Frebec, but her embittered mother felt he was beneath her and her constant criticisms got under Frebec's skin; the two fight incessantly while Fralie refuses to pick sides because she loves them both. Even her new pregnancy doesn't help, because she's been extremely sick and frail throughout it and privately fears either she, her unborn child or both won't make it.
  • Ranec by the end of the third book. The woman he loves tells him that she is leaving him for her ex and that whilst she likes him, she isn't in love with him and never was, completely devastating him. She then leaves with her boyfriend to travel to his tribe all the way on the other side of the continent, meaning Ranec will most likely never see her again. And all this happens on the day of their wedding, no less.
  • Willomar when he finds out his only son is dead. He's completely crushed, even briefly going into shock as he struggles to come to terms with what happened.
  • Jonayla late in the sixth book. Her parents aren't talking to each other, her mother's depressed, her father hates himself and gets into trouble for beating a guy up. And then her mother falls into a coma with the very real danger she won’t wake up. The poor kid doesn’t even fully understand what’s happening; all she wants is for her family to be together again and for her mother to be alright.
  • Amelina, a woman from the Third Cave of the Zelandonii who was Happily Married and pregnant when she and her mate had the misfortune to cross paths with Balderan and his gang. She recounts how she and her mate had taken a short trip away from the cave and were camping in the woods when the gang showed up. They tried to rape Amelina and when her mate defended her they murdered him in front of her before sexually assaulting her. They then stole her bedroll, food and other supplies, and left her for dead. Amelina survived and managed to walk back to the Third Cave, though she unfortunately miscarried and is understandably still traumatized by what happened.

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