Charles Magnus Ven Polypheme

Charles Magnus Ven Polypheme, or Ven, is the primary character in the story. Ven is a Nain, a race of people commonly found underground. They live for hundreds of years, and thus, at fifty, Ven is still a teenager. He has a natural bursting curiosity, and has spent much of his life in the close care of his tight knit ship building family. Vaarn, the city in which he lives, is accepting of Nain, but Ven knows other areas of the world are not. Ven is young and has little experience dealing with those outside of his family. On his first inspection of a ship for his father's business, the ship is attacked, and Ven is thrown into the water, where his journey really begins.

Ven constantly feels guilty for the pain he inflicts onto others. He takes responsibility for the death of the sailors...