Tam

Tam's presence marks the ordinary stakes of every decision taken in the refuge.

In The Godless Priest

Tam is Hess Marrow's young son. After her death he wrote "Claim disputed. Host witnessed. Morning denied." in Cassian's ledger, saying the small mouth had told him in his sleep, and described the voice behind the routes as "the person who writes rules". In the nursery he added the rule "Morning means this morning" and won the first night watch over the nursery nail. In the refuge he struck a sleeping man with a hammer out of fear, then helped set the broken arm. He offered Cassian the nursery nail before the march; they agreed instead to paint the children's names on Cassian's cord.

After the books

A living child whose words and memory remain part of the community's recovery. The record leaves room for Tam to have a future beyond the crisis.