Cooper named the protagonist, Will Stanton, after William Shakespeare. He is the seventh son of a seventh son, the youngest of nine (living) children. In his 11th year, he learns that he is also the last of the Great Old Ones, a race of immortal agents of the Light tasked with defending the world from the Dark.

Will is in an unenviable position. He is at the same time an 11-year-old and an ancient. He is doomed to outlive his family and everyone he loves, and the mere knowledge of who he is separates him from them. In terms of Coming-of-Age As a Leap Into the Adult World, this separation corresponds to the child’s realization that they can no longer share their life with their family but must go their own way. Will idolizes his older brother Stephen, who is always far away, seeing and doing things completely apart from his youngest brother. As an Old One, Will becomes like his adored brother, going out into a world apart from that of his childhood family.

As a hero embarking on a quest, Will’s material task is to gather the Six Signs of the Light.