Meet the characters
ANGEL
Angel is a shaman, a powerful woman. While she was young she suffered a heart-breaking loss, and set out on a lifetime journey of revenge. She earned the respect and loyalty of some people, the mistrust and fear of others. Now she has withdrawn to live a solitary life. But she has a mission – and is driven by hatred for the Newcomers who are taking over her world. She uses her powers to bring Daniel to Heaven and then protect him on his journey to her. But her motives are never clear. Angel is a mystery.
DANIEL
Daniel’s life is transformed when he picks up an ancient coin and journeys to Heaven, a strange and challenging world with uncanny similarities to our own. Inside is Angel’s voice, calling to him. He sets out to find her, and is caught in a war between an alien machine culture and the planet’s mycelial network. And something frightening happened to him on his journey from Earth – something he cannot bear to remember. Now he is changed, inhabited by a dark force that explodes into action whenever he feels threatened. It’s a parasite, it’s relentless, and it is taking him over.
MAY
As a child May escaped a deadly attack by the Newcomers on her community. She was taken in by Angel, who taught her shamanic skills, and a life-long hatred of the Way. May is driven by the desire for revenge on those who destroyed her family, and a search for her lost sister. When still a young woman she goes to complete her training with First Grandmother at her remote mountain retreat. Here she meets Daniel, and decides to leave the spiritual life and take up the struggle against the Way. She is smart, fiercely independent, and a fighter.
DESTINY
From childhood, Destiny was indoctrinated into the brutal regime of The Guard, the military arm of The Way. Their mission is to smash all opposition and bring the indigenous Peoples fully under their control – so The Way can exploit their lands. Destiny has fought her way up through the ranks to become a feared Guard leader. She heads a unit that hunts down and interrogates anyone with knowledge that The Way and their Machine allies can use. Daniel is top of her list. Destiny seems be a ruthless fanatic, without empathy or emotion. Yet somewhere deep inside is a different person, crushed and subdued, but still alive.
THE THREE BROTHERS
The Three Brothers are muscle for hire, though these days they’re choosy about who they work for. They are minders, who sort out difficult people, difficult situations. Many years ago when they were young and hot-headed, when they worked as body guards to their clan leader, someone important got killed. They had to leave, fast, and Angel agreed to take them in. They served her as protectors for little May, keeping her safe from The Way. They remain fiercely loyal to both women. The Brothers get the job of looking after Daniel. They do so, grudgingly at first, but finally accept him as an equal.
DOG
Dog is not like other dogs. For a start, she can talk. And for those who listen, she has plenty of good advice. Dog does not suffer fools: she’s smart and more than a little world-weary. She’s the first to find Daniel when he arrives in Heaven, and becomes his guide on a perilous journey. She tries to introduce him to the ancient magic and mystery of her world, and finds him a less than able student. Dog knows the Old Ones, the fungal civilisation that created Heaven and sustains it. Dog and Daniel - an odd couple, who become allies, who put their lives at risk for each other. And as Daniel discovers – Dog is not fully of this world.
LITTLE BIRD
Little Bird is Daniel’s first friend and ally when he arrives in Heaven. Parents killed by the Newcomers, then sent to a Way detention centre in the Great City, Little Bird is a runaway who finds refuge in a distant village. Here the Shaman recognises Little Bird’s unique skills – communication with the birds, animals and insects, a deep understanding of the natural world. But the Way have not forgotten Little Bird, who is captured and held hostage in their notorious interrogation centre. When Daniel sets out to rescue his friend, he sets in motion a storm of events that launches them into a battle to save their world.
AUNTIE HAMMER
Clan leader of the Snow Tree Peoples, Auntie Hammer saw their ancestral lands pillaged by The Way. Forests were felled, rivers and lakes polluted, her people forced to leave. Now she is shaman to a group who were once miners, before the mine failed, before they became outlaws. She has a heavy responsibility: to keep her people safe from warring forces, and to keep alive their traditional beliefs. The Way and Golden Wing fight for territory and influence; the young leave; her people feel forgotten by the Peoples’ spiritual leaders. Auntie Hammer is a survivor. She is fighting for the survival of her People, and her world.
SISTER SKY
Sister Sky grew up in the mining settlement, knowing only conflict with The Way. As a child she explored the secret cave systems the miners opened up, learned the ancient stories told in the cave art, and befriended the terrible Cave Guardians. Under the guidance of Auntie Hammer she became the clan Story Keeper. Sister Sky is a warrior, ally of The Children, an insurgent group in the Great City. They are preparing for a great battle to defeat the hated invaders – The Way. She is an outlaw, with little respect for either First Grandmother, or Golden Wing. She is fiercely independent.