The Southern Coalition and Its Allies
- Fang Runin: a war orphan from Rooster Province, former commander of the Cike, the last living Speerly
- Chen Kitay: the son of the former Imperial defense minister, heir to the House of Chen, Rin’s anchor
- Sring Venka: an archer from Sinegard, daughter of the former Imperial finance minister
- Liu Gurubai: the Monkey Warlord, a brilliant politician
- Ma Lien: bandit chief, member of the southern leadership
- Liu Dai: member of the southern leadership, Gurubai’s longtime ally
- Yang Souji: resistance leader from Rooster Province, commands the Iron Wolves
- Quan Cholang: the young, newly appointed Dog Warlord
- Chiang Moag: Pirate Queen of Ankhiluun, aka the Stone Bitch and the Lying Widow
The House of Yin
- Yin Vaisra: the Dragon Warlord and leader of the Nikara 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, killed by Su Daji
- Yin Muzha: Jinzha’s twin sister, Vaisra’s only daughter
- Yin Nezha: the second son of the Dragon Warlord
- *Yin Mingzha: the third son of the Dragon Warlord, killed by the Dragon of Arlong as a child
The Trifecta
- Su Daji: formerly the Empress of Nikan, aka the Vipress, calls on the Snail Goddess of Creation Nüwa
- Jiang Ziya: the Gatekeeper, calls on the beasts of the Emperor’s Menagerie
- Yin Riga: the 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
The Cike
- *Altan Trengsin: a Speerly, formerly the commander of the Cike
- *Ramsa: a former prisoner at Baghra, munitions expert
- *Baji: a shaman who calls on the Boar God
- *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 the twin sister of Chaghan
- *Aratsha: a shaman who calls on a river god
*Deceased
