Rikter
A boy of about 12 and youngest son of Chief Lara. He and his brother Nikt are twins. Birth of twins is considered a bad sign in his tribe, and to prevent any mischief that can possibly come from the visual identity of two people one of the twins - usually a younger one - is to be marked with a red tatto on the face. Being a younger brother Rikter has such tattoo - three red stripes on his right cheek. He is interested in everything about cave dwellers and wandering ice.
- Facial Markings: Rikter has a tattoo on his right cheek to differentiate him from his twin, Nikt.
- Sibling Rivalry: With Nikt.
Nikt
Rikter's twin brother. Kind but quick-tempered fellow. Loves hunting more than anything and doesn't care much about mysteries and forgotten past. Being an elder brother, he has no marking tattoo on his face.
- Sibling Rivalry: With Rikter.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: Can't stand the idea of Tim and Rita dating, much less getting married. He even gets goes so far as to get his big brother Jan — who was exiled from the tribe for killing the last boy Rita was close to — involved in an attempt to scare Tim off.
Rita
The daughter and heir of Chief Lara. Rikter's and Nikt's big sister and also their mentor and protector. She is six years older than her brothers. And when she was only 12 she had to protect them from the hungry monster - one of the "gifts" brought by some melting iceberg. She was mortally wounded during the fight. It took the medical mastery of cave dwellers - tribe who managed to recover some secrets of the ancients - and a good deal of luck to save her life. Three long scars on her neck remind of that day. Rita is a calm, clever and strong person. She loves her little brothers very much, and is looking forwards to taking her place as Chief of the tribe.
- Big Sister Mentor: Rita takes an active role as a mentor to her younger brothers - Nikt and Rikter.
- Physical Scars, Psychological Scars: Rita was nearly killed
defending her brothers from a hungry ice gift. The Encounter left her with very visible scars across her throat and shoulder. Although her mother (the tribe's chief) says that Rita should be proud of her scars, Rita keeps them covered, saying she feels vulnerable when they're exposed. After her camping trip/ wedding night with Tim, she cuts up her shirts to show off the scars. - Tomboyish Ponytail: Rita keeps her hair pulled up out of her face at the beginning of the comic.
Elie
A young girl about 12 from the cave dweller's tribe. Being her blind grandmother's apprentice she studies wandering ice and their "gifts". She has an artistic talent and dreams of crossing the ocean to see what the rest of the world really looks like. She wonders if there are other people, and whether the civillization that had made so many wonderful things exists yet. She likes Rikter but he is obviously not the right person to help her to answer these questions.
- Genetic Memory: Elie carries alien memories in her mind. They reveal themselves from time to time in the form of painful, vivid reminiscences of the past triggered by the sight of ancient things.
- Human Popsicle: Elie was kept frozen for hundreds of years.
- Muggle Foster Parents: Elie was raised by cave dweller couple. Her biological parents died hundreds of years ago.
- Not-So-Imaginary Friend: Ash to Elie. He is a copy of a long-deceased boy's memory implanted in her mind that nobody else can see or interact with.
- Psychic Nosebleed: When Elie's exploration of Ash's memories is disturbed by the memory of Ash's father trying to awaken Ash's personality, she gets a crippling headache and a nosebleed. Not quite psychic, but she is delving into another person's mind. It just so happens to be a copy of another person's mind uploaded into her brain.
- Youthful Freckles: Elie has freckles and brown hair.
Tim
Son of Ksenya from the cave dweller's tribe, Tim comes from a long line of famous healers and is a skilled medic in his own right. He was the one who nursed Rita back to health after the surgery that saved her life. It was during this time that he and Rita began their relationship in secret, though with the hopes that they could some day bring their tribes closer together. Tim goes from Rita's boyfriend to her husband, and the two have a daughter despite Tim's (well grounded) worries about Rita's health.
- Dreaming of Things to Come: Tim tells Rita they shouldn't have children because he, a healer, is worried that a pregnancy could aggravate her old wounds and kill her, not realizing that Rita must have children to inherit the title of chief. Rita is upset that he doesn't want to be the father of her child and releases him from his marriage vows. Tim later dreams that Rita and a mystery baby board one of the life pods from the frozen glaciers, only to die inside when no help comes for them. Time interprets this dream to mean that Rita will perish if he isn't the father of her child — that she'll need an expert healer by her side to help her through the pregnancy.
- Young Love Versus Old Hate: Tim and Rita aren't quite at Star-Crossed Lovers levels of drama, but they do come from two very different tribes. On top of that, their mothers have been feuding for over a decade over Ksenya unfreezing Elie as an infant.
Lara
Chief of the matriarchal hunters' tribe, wife of Ren, and mother of Rikter, Nikt, and Rita and Jan. Lara is a tough, no-nonsense woman when it comes down to business. She and Ksenya were friends growing up, but they grew apart after Ksenya unfroze an infant Elie's cryogenic unit, with the promise to return the girl to a malevolent a.i. when she had grown.
- Former Teen Rebel: Chief Lara fell in love with Ren, a Mute (a guy belonging to different human species related to Neanderthals) in her youth and married him against her mother's wishes. She used to be a tomboyish, reckless girl, quite the opposite to the austere, cold woman she became later.
- Iron Lady: Lara is a stern leader.
- The Sociopath: Chief Lara and her family — specifically Jan and Rita — have so called "sociopath" brain types. Their ancestors were elite soldiers engineered with superior strength, lightning fast reflexes, and very little empathy.Note This brain type is inherited, but all the members of the tribe with "sociopath" type brains are not presented as evil, remorseless killers. Lara's family has kept up a strict regimen of training that teaches young sociopathic children to control their violent nature and value the lives of others — turning generations of supersoldier killing machines into effective guardians and dutiful leaders. This system isn't foolproof, as evinced by Jan, but it worked out well for Lara and Rita.
Ren
Shaman of the hunters' tribe and husband of Chief Lara — and father of Rita, Rikter, and Nikt and Jan. Ren is mute and uses a length of string similar to a game of cat's cradle to communicate. He's an innately talented artist and a caring father. The hunter tribe was initially reluctant to accept him as the husband of their future chief (not that Lara cared much for their opinion), but he now commands a degree of respect among his adopted tribesmen.
- Human Subspecies: All members of the mute tribe are descended from the children rescued from the black iceberg, who were members of a different species of human. Ren himself is only half mute, meaning his mother must have been an island woman from the hunters' tribe and his father of the mute tribe (as explained on page 218).
- The Speechless: Ren comes from the mute tribe that shares the island with the hunters. He uses "magic string" to communicate by the way of complex geometric patterns, and is a gifted artist.
