Characters

(She/her) Shi’sukk is a young Pasa’an woman who reached Kurgen’s tribe with her sister, Ykk’ul, after more than a year of travel. She’s overall cheerful and curious, doing her best to fit in her new community and to help Ulin in her spiritual and medical tasks (following the spiritual path she was assigned to fulfil at birth); she’s particularly versed into the mastery of blood. Ulin suspects that she might have been a very powerful spiritual leader back in her old community, but who knows? Her jolly facade may be hiding a sadder side of her personality.

(He/him) Because of his softspoken and blasé attitude, Torga can appear at first glance as quite intimidating or cold. He’s actually very caring and attentive to his community’s needs. Known to be one of the finest craftsmen of all the Dormunk tribes, he keeps himself busy by making various tools and artcrafts. He is also passionate about painting and getting animal representation right. However, he often feels at odds with the other members of the tribe due to his reserved nature and lack of interest in sex and love (before meeting Shi’sukk that is…). Yet, he desperately wishes to belong in his community.

(She/her) Kurgen is the chief of the tribe and Torga’s older sister. She’s outgoing, always in the mood for a joke, but also grounded and never strays away from her responsabilities towards her community. She knows how to handle conflicts and always tries her best to find a good outcome for all the parties involved. She’s deeply in love with her lover, Voji, and adores her son, Logon. She has a good relationship with her brother, although she doesn’t always understand him and often ends up saying insensitive things to him.

(She/her) Ulin is the Tsamen (female Dormunk spiritual leader) of Kurgen’s tribe. Due to her double identity of white-haired and thricely named, she is highly respected amongst all the tribes and is considered as one of the most talented Tsamens of her generation. After Kurgen and Torga’s mother’s passing, she cared for them, resulting in her being very close to the two siblings (especially Torga).

(She/her) Voji is Kurgen’s lover and Logon’s mother. Her desire to be a mother is stronger than her complete disinterest in men, thus leading her to be the childbearer of the couple. Despite having a complicated relationship with the practice, she is considered to be one of the best hunters of all the Dormunk tribes – she is particularly skilled with the sling. Overall, she’s a very caring woman, always paying attention to people’s mood to ensure a good social harmony, but that doesn’t stop her from being assertive, or even cold if needed. Voji also cares a lot about her looks and loves wearing elegant pieces of clothing and accessories.

(She/her) Ykk’ul was Shi’sukk’s younger sister. She died of sepsis shortly after arriving at Kurgen’s tribe’s summer camp. She was a strong-willed woman and a hunting maiden (despite her age), which often resulted in her getting into fights with her mother. She was particularly close with Shi’sukk as she was the only one to truly respect her way of life.

(He/him) Kurgen and Voji’s young son.