The Mitchells
The Mitchell family is originally from Port Orford, a small fishing town on the southern Oregon coast.
- Matt Mitchell (15) is a boy of average height, build, and looks. He has straight blond hair and gray-green eyes behind small oval glasses. A loner due to his mother’s recent death, he learns to face the bullies of his new school with the help of his friend, Gerallt Hawthorne. He loves the ocean and longs to return to his home in Oregon. With a keen interest in science and technology, he likes to take things apart and see how they work.
- Tina Mitchell (15) is Matt’s fraternal twin, a popular, self-confident girl with an active social life. She is tall, slender, good-looking, and has long straight black that she inherited from her mother. She looks and acts a couple of years older than her age. She excels in math.
- Sam Mitchell (37) is the father of Matt and Tina. He taught Introduction to Computer Programming at the Port Orford High School before moving to Indiana. He moved with his children to Hawthorne, where he works as a software developer for a small company. He is tall, with sandy blond hair and medium build and small squarish glasses. He has kept himself very busy and somewhat distant since the recent death of his much-loved wife, Mary Mitchell.
- Mary Mitchell (35) was Sam’s wife and the mother of Matt and Tina. She was one quarter Native American and a local artist and potter, with a spiritual and mystical side. She was killed by the town drunk’s truck while she was walking along the roadside picking wildflowers for her pottery business. She was a tall, slender, and graceful woman with long, straight black hair, skin a shade too brown for the cloudy coastal climate, and hands that always seemed to have clay under the fingernails.
- Midnight is Matt’s inquisitive black cat.
The Hawthornes
The Hawthorne family is originally from Deer Isle, a tiny fishing village on the central coast of Maine. They are secretly druids and druidesses who worship the Celtic Goddess Modron.
- Vivianne (VI-vee-ann) Hawthorne (73) is Gerallt’s great-aunt. A recluse living in the Hawthorne House, she is considered a witch and murderess by the neighborhood children.
- Gerallt (GAIR-alt) Hawthorne (15) is a lonely and somewhat somber boy who doesn’t make friends easily. Gerallt is tall and slender with a pale face and straight black hair. More confident than Matt, there is a definite air of mystery about him. He loves the ocean and longs to return to Maine.
- Gwyneth (GWIN-eth) Hawthorne (17) is Gerallt’s mysterious older sister. She is tall and beautiful with emerald eyes and long, straight raven hair.
- Gareth (GAHR-eth) Hawthorne (12) is Gerallt’s younger brother, a quiet boy who has lost his self-confidence since his father’s death. He has not yet been invested as a druid.
- Gwendolyn (GWEN-doh-len) Hawthorne (37) is Vivianne Hawthorne’s niece and mother of Gwyneth, Gerallt, and Gareth. She is a master herbologist and an artist who formerly made natural medications and sold scented candles, soaps, and oils. She has become quite depressed and withdrawn since her husband’s death. Slightly shorter than her daughter, she is even more beautiful with emerald eyes and long, straight raven hair.
- Medwyn Hawthorne (42) was Gerallt’s father, a fisherman who was recently lost at sea during a fishing accident.
- Belladonna is Gwendolyn’s large black cat.
- Nightshade is Gwyneth’s skinny black cat.
- Nightwing is Gerallt’s pet crow.
- Shadow is Gareth’s black pet squirrel.
The Hoosiers
The Hoosiers are from Hawthorne, a small town in Northeastern Indiana.
The Teachers at Hawthorne High School:
- Mr. Marcus Thompson (23) teaches freshman American History.
- Mr. William Tanner (51) is the principal.
- Mrs. McKinney (46) is the freshman English teacher.
- Mr. Jack Armstrong (40) is the gruff, no-nonsense high school gym coach and detention teacher.
The Bullies:
- Colin O’Connell (16) is the leader of the sophomore bullies. He is large and cunning with blond hair and a cruel face.
- Clayton Cartwright (17) is Colin’s large and dull-witted thug, who has been held back two years at school.
- Dylan Jones (15) is Colin’s little toady.
Others:
- Sarah Duffy (17) is a shy, overweight girl who rides the school bus and volunteers to operate the video equipment at school.
- George Smith (45) is a shady handyman and thief who steals Gerallt’s amulet.
- Peter Henderson (50) is the pawnbroker and fence who buys Gerallt’s amulet from George Smith.