Princess Raisa is the princess heir to the Seven Realms. She's just reaching her "naming" (coming of age, in our world) and is entering the ready-for-marriage arena. She's of a multi-racial; her mother is fair skinned from the "vale" and her father is a dark-skinned man, leader of the clans. Raisa is stubborn and impulsive, but intelligent and hardworking, too. She wants to be a more benevolent leader than her mother has been, but also wants to be a more involved head of state. She wants to get involved in military matters, as well as philanthropy. I think a pretty but spit-fire-y girl would do well, somebody like Raquel Castro
Amon Byrne is the head of Raisa's personal guard. He is the good-to-the-core, honorable, dedicated guy you expect to be leading the princess' personal bodyguards. He's sweet and strong and steady and just the nicest stand up guy you can imagine. Oh, and he loves Princess Raisa madly, but can't do anything about it because he's not nobility. I saw Lucas Till
Queen Marianna is Raisa's mother. She's this renowned beauty and is very, very young. She married very soon after her naming, and had her oldest daughter very quickly. That would make her somewhere in her very early thirties, with a sixteen year old. We think she's being controlled by her High Wizard, but we're not sure. She could very well be the conniving one, and we won't know until the very end of this story (which won't be completed for two more years- ugh. Series.) So she has to look mysterious, weak, strong, beautiful, powerful, intelligent and manipulative. Piece. Of. Cake. Somebody like Vera Farmiga
Han Alister is a street-gang-leader. He is also distantly descended from the most powerful evil wizard of all time. Not Voldemort, but the wizard in this story. Only he doesn't know it. He is also completely poverty-stricken. He is smart, but uneducated; powerful, but unable to harness his power. He's handsome, but downtrodden. He's suspicious of everybody, and almost always completely dishonest. I saw Jamie Campbell Bower and I don't care how old he is. He is the perfect Han Alister. If they ever make these movies, they'll have to come up with a total surprise casting choice, or go with an unknown.
Dancer is Han's best friend, a member of the clans that Raisa is related to through her father. Dancer is also of mixed heritage, though he doesn't learn it until later on. He's a moody-broody kind of guy, and he needs to be cast well because he does a lot more in the second book. Somebody like Kiowa Gordon
Micah Bayar is a wizard that Raisa has been having little dalliances with in the back corridors of the palace. She cannot marry a wizard, the laws of the land strictly forbid it (for good reason), but she's having some fun. Micah is charming, bordering on smarmy. He's handsome and arrogant. He's manipulative, selfish, but a really, really good kisser. Hey, she's sixteen. What do you expect her priorities to be? A mysterious looking guy like Taylor Boggan would do well here.
Gavin Bayar is the High Wizard. He's the guy who may or may not be controlling the Queen, may or may not be manipulating his son and may or may not want to kill Raisa. Seriously, we don't actually know the answers to any of these questions, not even at the end of the second book. (I told you this series was awesome- how's that for some serious intrigue?) He's shrewd and calculating and devious. He's powerful and handsome. Who else could it be besides Jason Isaacs?
