Lieutenant Daniel Rooke
Daniel Rooke is the main character of the story, also the character the title of the story is named after.
Ever since he was a young child, he was incredibly intelligent and clever. His extraordinary intellect, particularly his interest in prime numbers at such a young age, got him noticed by Dr Adair. It is with the help of Adair that Rooke has an opportunity to study at Naval Academy, where he could further hone his skills. However, despite his skills and intellect, he quickly becomes the target for bullies among the other boys in the Academy which sucks the joy out of him, living him feeling desolated and empty from the abuse and bullying.
We further get to see how his intelligence goes beyond simple concepts and numbers when he starts to learn a number of languages, successfully learning four languages by the time he turns fifteen.
It is after he joins the military where he has to confronts the brutality of the war and the workings of the military itself that he begins to distance himself from the strict boundaries of it all and by the end of the novel, he has created his own path and vision, and after a number of trials and tribulations, he spends the rest of his life freeing slaves in Antigua.
Tagaran
Tagaran, also known in the story as The Girl, is a character that shapes Rooke as he grew up and continued to do the same even as they went their separate ways after growing up into Adults.
Her friendship with Rooke began with their shared love for language and knowledge. Like Rooke, Tagaran was an incredibly curious child and was also quick to pick up on new things and skills, learning English incredibly fast and continuing to learn new things along with Rooke.
Much like how the relationships between the natives and the settlers began to turn bad, the conflicts related to their differences started becoming apparent in Rooke and Tagaran's friendship. The turning point of their relationship comes when Tagaran pushes Rooke to show her how guns used by the settlers functioned in order to make him aware of the violent actions happening around them and the dire consequences of it all. After this incident, Tagaran makes no contact with Rooke until further in time after he realizes his distorted view of the ongoing conflict. However, Tagaran does come to Rooke to help him when he asks for it and they resolve their differences.
Tagaran plays a major part in shaping who Rooke is at the end of the novel, with her words and lessons about friendship and trust that she had taught Rooke over the course of their friendship. Even in his old age, Rooke remembers Tagaran, calling her as the "southern star".
Talbot Silk
Talbot Silk is a charming, lively character, known for his dramatic storytelling skills and easy-going nature.
Although both Tagaran and Talbot were Rooke's friends, the way their relationship turned out at the end with Rooke was incredibly different. Initially, he was the best mate of Rooke ever since they found out they were bunkmates in the ship sent during the American Revolutionary War. Everyone in their fleet knew Silk to be good with words and stories, having the ability to make even the most boring tale interesting and attention-catching.
As the years go by, however, the way Rooke and Talbot viewed war and the ongoing conflicts were vastly different from each other. While Rooke realized the grim reality of the war and its consequences, Talbot saw an opportunity to tell a great tale even in those times. It was, however, when Rooke realized that most of Talbot's stories now held more over-dramatization than the actual truth that he realized that his friend had given up his morals in exchange for an opportunity to be a known writer, no matter if the cost was the truth.
