Born a princess of the Sarl, a feudal people living within a vast artificial Shellworld. She left her homeworld to join the Culture and became a Special Circumstances agent. Now she must return to the world she thought she had left behind.

The lady Aelsh, King Hausk's principal consort and Ferbin's mother. Fair-haired, dry-eyed and dignified in grief, Harne was responsible for the banishment of Oramen's mother Aclyn. Despite their mutual dislike, she cryptically warns Oramen to take care, sensing that not all is as it appears since the King's death.

The King's closest friend and most trusted adviser, who betrays and murders King Hausk to seize power as regent. A tall, white-haired warrior-politician, tyl Loesp is ruthlessly pragmatic and believes only in power and effectiveness, not morality. With King Hausk's heir Ferbin missing and presumed dead, tyl Loesp consolidates his hold on the Sarl court.