This Is How You Lose The Time War characters

Appears from the start

An elite operative of the Agency, a technologically ordered power that edits history across many possible timelines. Red is disciplined, competitive, and accustomed to leaving ruined strands behind after completing an assignment. A taunting letter discovered after a victory introduces her to an opponent who can match her across time.

Appears from the start

A leading field agent of Garden, the Agency's organic and distributed rival in the struggle to shape history. Blue communicates through living systems and altered environments, and begins a private correspondence with Red by leaving a playful challenge where her enemy will find it.

First appears in chapter 3

Red's superior within the Agency, responsible for judging her results and directing new interventions in the time war. Commandant values effectiveness and expects absolute loyalty to the Agency's design for history.

First appears in chapter 4

The vast living intelligence and civilization that raised Blue and sends her through time. Garden grows its influence through biological networks, treats individual lives as parts of a larger organism, and stands opposed to the Agency's engineered order.

First appears in chapter 20

An agent of Garden charged with finding breaches and following signs of disloyalty. The Seeker's attention makes private communication across contested timelines increasingly dangerous.