Character guide

Abner Perry

major

Also known as Perry, Dear old Perry

Abner Perry has spent a long life perfecting an iron mole that can bore through solid rock, and his scientific pride in the machine outweighs even his fear of death. When the device plunges past its intended depth, he curses the stubborn mechanism rather than pray, revealing that his true religion is discovery. His relentless curiosity and stubborn genius keep the expedition pressing forward into the unknown.

David Innes

major

Also known as David, Innes

David Innes was raised to run his father's mining business, but Perry's iron mole offers him adventure instead of ledgers. He narrates his own story with disarming honesty, admitting he cares more about survival than scientific glory, yet he proves resourceful and brave when captives and captors alike test him. His growing devotion to a woman he meets underground turns a geological lark into a personal quest.

Dian the Beautiful

major

Also known as Dian

Dian the Beautiful belongs to the cliff-dwelling tribe of Amoz, and she ran from Jubal the Ugly One rather than become his mate. Chained beside David on a slave march, she teaches him her language and customs, but a single misunderstood gesture makes her turn cold and unreachable. Her disappearance after an escape attempt becomes the engine of David's determination to survive Pellucidar.

Ghak

supporting

Also known as the taciturn Ghak

Ghak the Hairy One is a captive among the Sagoths, but his bearing marks him as a leader of his people. He watches David's actions closely, and his approval or disapproval carries weight among the prisoners. When David proposes escape, Ghak's willingness to risk death for a chance at home makes him the kind of companion the inner world rewards.

Hooja the Sly One

supporting

Also known as Hooja, the Sly One

Hooja the Sly One shares the slave chain with David and Dian, but his instincts run toward opportunism rather than solidarity. When he seizes Dian's arm, David's swift punch earns the approval of prisoners and Sagoths alike, yet Dian inexplicably turns her back on David too. Hooja's scheming presence keeps the reader guessing whom to trust on the long march to Phutra.

Jubal the Ugly One

supporting

Also known as Jubal, Ugly One, the redoubtable Jubal

Jubal the Ugly One placed the head of a mighty tandor before Dian's father's house, a trophy no rival could match, and by the customs of Amoz that made her his. Dian fled rather than submit, and the Sagoths caught her in the hills. Though Jubal never appears on the page, his shadow drives Dian's captivity and gives David's growing feelings for her a rival worth fearing.

Ja

supporting

Ja rules the island tribe of Anoroc and repays David's rescue of his life with fierce, practical loyalty, guiding him through jungles where every path doubles back on itself to confuse enemies. He is shrewd, generous, and cheerfully certain that the Mahars' round-world talk is nonsense. His friendship gives David a rare safe harbor in Pellucidar and a model of native wit that outmatches the outer world's science.

Dacor the Strong One

supporting

Also known as Dacor

Dacor moves through the story as a man of muscle and reputation, bound by the fierce loyalties of tribe and blood. His power cuts both ways: he can shield David's small band or crush it, depending on where his honor points. As the search for Dian widens across a trackless inner world, his presence raises the stakes of every alliance David must forge.

The Mahars

major

Also known as Mahars, Mahar, The Mahar, The Mahars of Phutra, Phutra

The Mahars of Phutra sit at the top of the inner world's food chain, keeping humans as slaves and Sagoths as enforcers while they dissect captives alive in their experimental pits. They debate in unspoken thought, dismiss any tale they cannot credit, and sentence David to death for telling the truth about the outer earth. Their cruelty and alien intelligence make them the central menace David must outwit to survive.

The Sagoths

supporting

Also known as Sagoths, relentless Sagoths, Shrieking Sagoths, the foremost Sagoth

The Sagoths serve as the Mahars' armed hands, tracking escaped prisoners across Pellucidar's cliffs and canyons with brutal efficiency. Their terror of the ryth, the great cave bear, exposes them as bullies rather than true warriors, and their panic turns a hunt into a rout. As David's most immediate physical threat, they embody the everyday violence that keeps Pellucidar's humans in chains.

The Sarians

supporting

Also known as Sarians

The Sarians live as one of the free human peoples of Pellucidar, offering food, shelter, and companionship to the two strangers from the outer crust. Their kindness stands in sharp contrast to the Mahars' cruelty, and their simple cosmology, a flat world ringed by a great wall, shows how much these people still have to learn. Their hospitality anchors David's early alliances and reminds him what is at stake beyond mere survival.