The Cike
- Fang Runin: a war orphan from Rooster Province; commander of the Cike; and the last living Speerly
- Ramsa: a former prisoner at Baghra; current munitions expert
- Baji: a shaman who calls on an unknown god that gives him berserker powers
- Suni: a shaman who calls on the Monkey God
- Chaghan Suren: a shaman of the Naimad clan; and the twin brother of Qara
- Qara Suren: a sharpshooter; speaker to birds; and twin sister of Chaghan
- Unegen: a shape-shifter who calls on a minor fox spirit
- Aratsha: a shaman who calls the river god
- *Altan Trengsin: a Speerly, formerly the commander of the Cike
The Dragon Republic and Its Allies
The House of Yin
- Yin Vaisra: the Dragon Warlord and leader of the Republic
- Yin Saikhara: the Lady of Arlong; and the wife of Yin Vaisra
- Yin Jinzha: the oldest son of the Dragon Warlord; and the grand marshal of the Republican Army
- Yin Muzha: Jinzha’s twin sister, studying abroad in Hesperia
- Yin Nezha: the second son of the Dragon Warlord
- *Yin Mingzha: the third son of the Dragon Warlord; drowned in an accident as a child
- Chen Kitay: son of the defense minister; and the last heir to the House of Chen
- Sring Venka: daughter of the finance minister
- Liu Gurubai: the Monkey Warlord
- Cao Charouk: the Boar Warlord
- Gong Takha: the Rooster Warlord
- Ang Tsolin: the Snake Warlord and Yin Vaisra’s old mentor
The Nikara Empire and Its Allies
- Su Daji: the Empress of Nikan and the Vipress; calls on the Snail Goddess of Creation Nüwa
- Tsung Ho: the Ram Warlord
- Chang En: the Horse Warlord, aka the “Wolf Meat General,” and later leader of the Imperial Navy
- Jun Loran: formerly Combat master at Sinegard; currently the de facto Tiger Warlord
- Feylen: formerly a shaman of the Cike who calls the Wind God; imprisoned at the Chuluu Korikh and set free by Altan Trengsin
- Jiang Ziya: the Gatekeeper, calls on the beasts of the Emperor’s Menagerie; currently self-immured in the Chuluu Korikh
- *Yin Riga: the former Dragon Emperor; presumed dead since the end of the Second Poppy War
The Hesperians
- General Josephus Tarcquet: the leader of the Hesperian troops in Nikan
- Sister Petra Ignatius: a representative of the Gray Company (the Hesperian religious order) in Nikan; one of the most brilliant religious scholars of her generation
- Brother Augus: a young member of the Gray Company
The Ketreyids
- The Sorqan Sira: the leader of the Ketreyid clan; the older sister of Chaghan and Qara’s mother
- Bekter: son of the Sorqan Sira
- *Tseveri: daughter of the Sorqan Sira; murdered by Jiang Ziya
The Red Junk Fleet
- Chiang Moag: Pirate Queen of Ankhiluun; aka the Stone Bitch and the Lying Widow
- Sarana: a highly ranked Black Lily and one of Moag’s favorites