Morwenna Phelpsprotagonist-narrator
Welsh teenage girl, physically disabled, voracious SF reader and cautious magic practitioner; narrates everything through diary entries covering loneliness, grief for her twin, ethical doubts about magic, and the slow formation of community.
MoriMorwenna MarkovaHopalongCommieTaffyMor (by twin)Miss MarkovaMorwennaNice Niece
Mordeceased twin / actantial object
Mori's dead twin sister; appears in a guilt-dream in which Mori tries to hold on to her as their mother drags her away, inverting the real event; her absence is felt as a phantom limb during the magical working.
Miss Carrollhelper
School librarian who orders books for Mori unsolicited, signs her book club permission form, and drives her home after the first meeting; Mori suspects the karass working may have amplified Miss Carroll's pre-existing goodwill.
Alison CarrollAlison
Danielpassive helper / manipulated figure
Mori's bookish father; gives her books and a lockable notebook for Christmas; gives permission for the book club; bought whisky and clothes by his sisters; positioned between Mori and the aunts.
my father
Sampaternal grandfather / helper
Daniel's Jewish father living in Mile End; wears a skullcap and embroidered waistcoat; immediately and warmly accepts Mori as family, teaches her Hebrew mourning phrases, owns a ginger cat called Chairman Mao.
Auntie Teghelper / maternal figure
Sympathetic maternal aunt who drives a small orange Fiat; meets Mori at Cardiff station during half-term; her presence at Fedw Hir is cited as a reason for Mori to choose life.
Glorfindelfairy guide / absent helper
A fairy named after the Tolkien character by Mori and Mor; present at the ruined maze; guides Mori through the ritual of the dead and whispers the counsel that allows her to release Mor.
Sylvia (Auntie Syl)ancestor / exposition figure
Eldest of the Teris siblings; brought up multiple generations of orphaned or abandoned children in the Welsh family network; lived into her eighties.
Auntie Syl
Ruth Campbellminor antagonist / authority
A prefect in Scott house; catches Mori making a small fire and issues ten order marks, also confiscating her matches; visibly more upset about the incident than Mori.
Ruth
Motheropponent / antagonist
Mori's mother in Wales; sends a barbed letter that reveals she knows Mori's assumed name; described as a malevolent witch whose plan involved blocking the dead from passing through the maze.
LizMama
Greghelper
Town librarian who runs the book club; notices Mori's interlibrary loans and invites her to join; balding but personable; gives her a lift home from the pub after the White Hart session.
Greg Mansell (per outline)Greg Mansell
Janineemerging karass member
Ginger-haired book club member who arranges a Saturday shopping trip with Mori; lends Mori her copy of The Dark Is Rising; is estranged from Pete over something Wim allegedly did.
Hughemerging karass member
Sandy-haired, freckled book club member who joins the Saturday outing; coins 'bibliotropic'; leads a book club meeting competently; mediates (unsuccessfully) between Janine and Pete.
Wimromantic interest / karass member
Blond, blue-eyed Dutch book club member who fascinates Mori; has previously led sessions on Dick and Delany; implicated in the break-up of Janine and Pete but refuses to discuss it.
Harrietbook club member
Oldest book club member; intelligent; initially inclined to think memory-wiping at the end of the Dark Is Rising might be kinder, but comes around under pressure from Mori and Hugh.
Anthea / the sistersantagonist
Daniel's three sisters who present Mori with magically charged earrings at Christmas; they smile identically, echo each other's arguments, and pressure Mori to have her ears pierced in what Mori understands as an attempt to sever her magic.
the auntshis sisters
Geraintminor / illustrative figure
Mori's cousin from Burgess Hill who as a child briefly saw and communicated with the fairies during summer visits to Aberdare but lost the ability the following year, choosing football over imagination.
Peteminor book club member
Book club member formerly in a relationship with Janine; has led sessions on the Flandry books and Larry Niven; estranged from Janine over Wim's alleged actions.
Unknown fairy (acorn-cup)helper
A nut-brown, acorn-cup-shaped fairy, never seen before; speaks in English ('Doing is doing') and leaves behind a carved walking stick as a gift before vanishing.
Gramparsupporting
Mori's maternal grandfather; ill and unhappy in Fedw Hir care home; revived somewhat by Mori's childhood reminiscences; represents Welsh roots and continuity.
Owenminor
A cousin; present at Leah's party; involved in an unpleasant incident Mori initially refuses to describe.
Leahminor
Welsh friend from Mori's past; hosts a New Year party; wearing eyeshadow and lipstick, illustrating social changes Mori has missed.
Auntie Gwennieminor antagonist / comic figure
Eighty-two-year-old aunt; self-centred and outspoken; tells the driving-license anecdote; inadvertently reveals Mori's presence to her mother.
Karenminor antagonist
Classmate at Arlinghurst; socially conventional; summons Mori to the toilet to report Wim's dancing with Shirley; calls Mori 'Commie'.