The Devil and the Dark Water

Content Warning: This guide contains discussions of emotional and physical domestic abuse as depicted in the novel and uses outdated language to depict Hansen’s disease, the illness formerly known as leprosy.

Arent is the primary protagonist of the novel. He is the bodyguard to Sammy, working to protect him as Sammy is hired as a detective. He has a rough exterior from years of fighting in the military, with scars across his back, a chunk missing from his right ear, and a long scar across his chin and neck. He is very tall and strong, with many people shying away at the sight of him. He is fiercely loyal to Sammy, as he protects him from the angry mob and stays with him to board the Saardam despite Sammy’s protests that Arent should leave him. Arent was born to one of the wealthiest families in the Provinces yet chose to leave his family name behind. He strongly believes that wealth is the “master” of nobles—as “friendship were sacrificed at its behest, principles trampled to protect it. No matter how much [the wealthy] had, it was never enough” (136). As such, he attempts to live a life helping others, an attribute that he found in Sammy as well.