The Tiller Family

Martel Tiller — Father

Kali Tiller — Mother

Ellery Tiller — Son, age ~19

Piper — Ellery’s fiancée, age ~22

The Tillers are not the easiest family to get to know. Where the Solens open their arms to everyone around them and the Liseands fill the trail with noise and children, the Tillers keep their own company. Martel is gruff and opinionated, quick to complain and slow to volunteer — though he always pulls his weight when it comes to it. His wife Kali wears bandages over both eyes, the cause of which neither she nor Martel have offered to explain, and neither seems eager to be asked. Despite her blindness, Kali handles a team of horses with an almost unnerving competence, navigating the trail as though she possesses some second sense for where she needs to be.

Ellery and his fiancée Piper are no more forthcoming than his parents. The two of them tend to drift — either lagging well behind the group or pushing out well ahead, rarely settling comfortably in the middle with everyone else. They keep to themselves, speak when spoken to, and observe far more than they contribute.

Martel was the one who convinced the Solens to join the journey in the first place, having overheard their plans for a bed and breakfast in a tavern back in Easton. He sold them on Tevec as the perfect destination. He was also loudly vocal about his opinion that hiring an escort was a waste of money — a view he held right up until Marcus Solen offered to cover half the cost if Martel would simply stop complaining about it. Martel agreed almost before Marcus finished the sentence.

They are heading to Tevec, same as the others. Beyond that, the Tillers have kept their reasons and their plans largely to themselves.

Interesting Facts:

• Martel made a notable exception to his habit of never volunteering — eagerly offering to scout the campsite on the night the group stopped early in the pass. It was the first time anyone could remember him offering to do more than his share.
• Kali’s ability to drive a wagon team while completely blind is something Sabrael found genuinely remarkable — almost impossible to explain by any ordinary means.