Places
Veyr
A city enclosed by a Wall, where the Ministry oversees the handling of the dead.
Opening chapters
THE WORLD OF UNBURNED
The Veyr Archive
People, places and customs from the opening chapters. Later story revelations stay in the book.
Places
Gate Nine
An industrial gate where a crematory transport is held before sunrise.
Opening chapters
People
Mara Venn
Mara works in the Register of Final Accounts. A widower’s request for his wife’s belongings brings an old discrepancy to her desk. Her strength is patient attention: receipts, names, and the questions other people stop asking.
Character introduction only
People
Elias
Forty-three in the prologue, Elias has spent nineteen years transporting human remains. He knows the routines and the people behind each collection. At Gate Nine, with six aboard and sunrise approaching, he notices what the paperwork does not explain.
Character introduction only
Institutions
The Ministry
The institution whose records and procedures govern the city’s treatment of the dead.
Opening chapters
Places
St. Orra Hospital
The hospital from which five bodies are collected on the prologue’s transport run.
Opening chapters
Customs
The dawn deadline
The city teaches that the dead must burn before sunrise. This entry describes public belief, not a confirmation that the belief is true.
Opening chapters
Objects
Transport Seventeen
The crematory transport held at Gate Nine with six collections on its manifest.
Opening chapters
People
Nessa Venn
A refrigeration mechanic with oil beside her nails and little patience for half a question. Nessa understands the circuits and cooling systems that keep Veyr running. She expects to make her own decisions.
Character introduction only
People
Cael Ordan
Introduced to Mara through Ministry business, Cael is identified as a transport-security assessor. His coat is well cut and worn at the cuffs. His gray eyes and restrained manner reveal little about what he thinks of the questions being asked.
Character introduction only
People
Tavi Renn
Tavi works at St. Orra Hospital. Her days involve patients, crowded wards, and decisions that cannot wait for a perfect answer. She brings practical care and a life of her own to the people around Mara.
Character introduction only
People
The Red Woman
Collected near the eastern Wall, the woman aboard Transport Seventeen wears a red Ministry wristband. She has brown skin, dark hair, and a small scar beneath her chin. Her presence turns an ordinary collection run into something Elias cannot explain.
Character introduction only
People
Ysabet Rook
The Minister of Continuance is familiar to Mara from newspaper photographs. In person, she has a broad, tired face and carries her own cup. Her questions bring the weight of the Ministry into an otherwise ordinary meeting.
Character introduction only
People
Hollis Dane
Hollis runs a licensed memorial kitchen where grief has to share a table with the price of food. She is direct with customers and makes room for people without pretending their losses are simple.
Character introduction only