Kira
Kira is the main character of the novel, a young girl living in a post-apocalyptic society. While her age is never given, it is suggested that Kira is about 12 years old. Optimistic and hard-working, Kira refuses to let herself become discouraged after her mother dies and focuses instead on what she can do to survive in a society that considered her useful. Kira was born with a lame leg and many of her fellow villagers hate her because in a normal situation, a child born deformed or with an illness would have been left to die. Kira was spared because of her mother and she grew up to develop a talent in weaving. Her talent made her be noticed by the Council who took her in after her mother’s death. Kira never got the chance to adapt properly to her new situation as she discovers each day strange things in the Edifice that make her question the society she lives in. Despite the pressures she is forced to endure, Kira remains true to herself and to her artistic abilities and she is rewarded in the end by being given the chance to meet her father whom she believed to be dead.
Jamison
Jamison is a member of the Council with whom Kira meets for the first time during her trial against Vandara. Jamison is chosen to speak on Kira’s behalf since she is just a child and he does a good job at protecting her and presenting her best interest. Jamison is presented as being kind and almost like a father figure to Kira who trusts Jamison completely. Kira’s opinion about him changes however when she sees how Jamison treats Jo and how harsh he is with her. From that point on, Kira begins to notice how Jamison’s words do not always make sense and how he often lies to make himself be the good guy. Kira’s suspicions about Jamison’s character are confirmed when she finds that Jamison tried to kill her father so he could be chosen as a member of the Council.
Matt
Matt is a young boy with whom Kira is friends with. Matt comes from a numerous family, having other siblings older than him, and he unfortunately had to live a harsh life, struggling with poverty and hunger. He is a rebellious child who resorts to stealing food when he is too hungry and because of this he is beaten often by his mother and even cast away by his family. Matt sees Kira almost as his surrogate mother and Kira does everything she can to take care of Matt. Wanting to show his gratitude for what she had done, Matt goes on a journey to search for the perfect gift for Kira. Thus, Matt returns to Kira with the color blue and Christopher, Kira’s father. His presents proved just how much he cared about Kira and how he wanted to make sure that she was happy.
Christopher
Christopher is Kira’s father who appears towards the end of the novel. Christopher was a respected man in the village who had a great influence and was seen as being dangerous by those around him. When it was rumored that Christopher was going to be named a member in the Elders’ council, an envious man decided to kill Christopher and take his place. The man took Christopher with him during a hunting trip and then hit him when he wasn’t looking. But Christopher did not dyie and was found instead in the Field by people from another village who took him with them and nursed him back to health. Christopher remained blind after the accident and he continued to live in that village, fearing that if he were to return, he would be killed. Despite the dangers it imposed, Christopher decided to make to long journey to see his daughter. He even tries to convince Kira to go back with him to the village he was living in thus proving his love for his daughter. When Kira refused, he accepted her decision while also promising to continue visiting her whenever possible.
Vandara
Vandara is a woman from the village who wants Kira dead. She is a cruel woman, harsh and with a nasty scar on her face left by a child who threw a rock at her. Vandara was even suspected of murdering the said child but the Elders could never prove that she did it so she was let free. Vandara sees Kira as a liability and she thinks the village will be better off if Kira were to die. Vandara claims that the reason why she wants Kira gone is to get Kira’s plot of land to build a pen for her children but it is proven that Vandara wants Kira gone because she can’t stand the young girl. Even after Vandara is given Kira’s land, she is still not content with what she got and pushes to have Kira taken to the Field and left to die. It is hinted that Vandara know the truth about the beasts and that they are not real but it remains inconclusive if that is true or not. It is unclear what happened with Vandara as she doesn’t appear in the story that often after Kira is taken to live in the Edifice.
Thomas the Carver
Thomas is another young boy who lives inside the Edifice and who is given the task of repairing the Singer’s staff. Thomas was taken by the Elders after his parents died suddenly and he lived in the Edifice from that point on. Thomas admits that it was hard in the beginning and that he behaved in the same manner Jo did when she was brought to the Edifice. Thomas and Kira become close friends and Thomas even offers to help her get into Jo’s room or look for Matt when he goes missing. Thomas is slightly affected by the fact that he is not free do carve and do whatever he wants with his artistic abilities but he accepts his situation and tries to make the best of it. Thomas is more pliable than Kira and thus he is more easily controlled than her.
Annabella
Annabella is a skilled weaver Kira is sent to after she is taken in by the Elders to work on the Singer’s robe. Annabella is considered as being an intelligent and wise woman and her four-name syllable is seen as a living proof for that. Annabella lives somewhat separated from the rest of the society and her ideas are different from the ones promoted by villagers. She is not afraid to tell her mind and she doesn’t hesitate to tell Kira that the beasts she fears are not real. Annabella dies shortly after telling Kira about the beasts and the event only makes Kira question the Elders and their authority and way of dealing with things even more.
Jo
Jo is a young girl taken by the Elders and brought to live in the Edifice. Just like in Kira’s and Thomas’s case, Jo suddenly lost both her parents and became an orphan. She has a great talent for singing and so she is brought to the Edifice to be trained to be the next Singer. Jo is locked in a room in the Edifice by the Elders but Kira finds a way to visit her and she becomes something akin to a surrogate mother for the young child. While Jo misses her mother, she doesn’t see anything unusual with her parents’ death and tries instead to get adapted to her new way of life.
The Singer
The Singer is a man chosen to sing the Ruin Song on the Gathering Day. His name is not given in the novel and he only appears in the chapters when the Gathering Day ceremony is described. He is the one who wears the robe Kira worked on and the one who holds the staff but he has no freedom, physical or artistically. When the Singer finishes with his song, Kira notices that he has chains around his ankles and his feet were bleeding, thus suggesting the hard life he had to endure and the training he had to go through.
Katrina
Katrina is Kira’s mother and even though she doesn’t appear in the novel, she is still an important character. Katrina died before the novel started but Kira mentions her mother often because Katrina was the one who taught Kira how to weave. Katrina was different from the other women in the village because she refused to abandon her daughter even though everyone advised her to take Kira to the Filed and let her there. While Katrina was influenced by the ideas promoted in the village, she was a loving mother who protected and did everything she could for her daughter.
Marlena
Marlena is a woman who works at the weaving shed where Kira used to spend her days. Marlena is the one who tells Kira about Camilla and who offers Kira the possibility to work in the shed in Camilla’s place.
Katrina's brother
Kira sees her uncle when he takes her wife’s body to the Field after she died during childbirth. Despite being related, Kira does not speak with her uncle and he doesn’t try to speak with her either. Kira describes her uncle as being cold, emotionless and violent towards his children and his late wife.
Branch
Branch is the name given to Matt’s dog. Branch is always close to Matt thus proving his loyalty and love for his owner.
Matthew
Matthew is a carpenter in the village and one of Kira’s friends.
Camilla
Camilla is a woman who used to work in the same weaving shed as Kira. After Kira was taken to the Edifice, Camilla had an accident and she broke both her arms. As a result, she was taken to the Field of Life to die even though she was a mother to small children. Camilla’s death is seen as something usual and one of the women working in the shed even jocks about the incident with Kira.
Dan
Dan is also Kira’s cousin, Mar’s brother and Solora’s son. Mar accompanies his father and sister when they go on the Field to watch over Solora’s body.
Solora
Solora is the name given to Kira’s aunt who died during childbirth at the beginning of the novel. Kira sees Solora’s husband on the Filed when she goes there to watch over her mother’s body.
Mar
Mar is Kira’s cousin and Solora’s daughter. Kira sees her cousin when Mar and her father go on the Field to watch over Solora’s body.
