Messenger characters

Appears from the start

The boy once known as Matt, now a few years older, living in a welcoming community simply called Village, which has long taken in outcasts and the damaged from harsher places. Energetic and good-hearted, he runs messages for the community and is one of the few people able to travel safely through the surrounding Forest. He longs to be given a true, grown-up name for his role, and he carries a secret he does not yet fully understand about himself.

Also known as Kira's father, the blind man

Appears from the start

A wise, gentle blind man who took Matty in and raised him in Village, and who is respected there for his insight and kindness. He is the father of Kira, a girl Matty knew in his old village, and he asks Matty to make a journey to bring her to him. Though he cannot see, he is one of the community's most clear-sighted and trusted members.

Also known as Jonas

Appears from the start

The young man who leads Village, marked by unusually pale eyes and by a rare gift for seeing beyond the ordinary. He arrived years earlier as a boy fleeing a rigidly controlled community, and he guides Village with wisdom and compassion. He is troubled as he watches something begin to change and darken among his people.

Appears from the start

A young woman from a harsh distant village, born with a twisted leg and gifted with an extraordinary talent for weaving. She is the daughter of the blind man who raised Matty, and she once chose to stay behind in her own community to try to shape a better future there. Matty remembers her fondly from his childhood.

First appears in chapter 2

The respected schoolteacher of Village, a scholarly widower who has long been kind and generous to Matty and to the community's children. He is one of the older residents who remember when Village first opened its arms to strangers, and he becomes caught up in the unsettling changes spreading through the community.

First appears in chapter 3

The strange, smooth figure who presides over a mysterious gathering called Trade Mart, where villagers can bargain for the things they secretly want. His trades come at a hidden and troubling cost, and his growing influence coincides with a hardening of hearts in a community that was once open and welcoming.