List of Septimus Heap characters
This article catalogs the key characters from the books in the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. These include the books Magyk, Flyte, Physik, Queste, Syren, Darke, and Fyre. Some characters play a central role in all the books, while others are only central to the plot in one or two of the books. When reviewing the first book in the series, Magyk, Sabina Qazi of Dawn.com described the characters as follows:
These characters remind us of the different types of people around us. Sage separates the qualities that make us who we are and typecasts them into these roles. The good and the bad characteristics are accompanied by the dull and the intelligent, the silly with the mature and the unapproachable with the loving. But this doesn’t mean that her characters are not well-rounded people. They are, but by highlighting certain aspects of their personality, she makes it easy for the reader to think of real people in terms of these characters. Thus an evil principal becomes the necromancer, the dead queen loved grandparent, Septimus as the most intelligent but quiet boy in class and Jenna, perhaps, as the new best friend in the neighbourhood" - Dawn.com
The Heaps
The Heaps are the main characters in the series. Although the story revolves mainly around the protagonist Septimus and his sister Jenna, the whole family comes together in the adventures. They are a "heap of Heaps."Silas and Sarah Heap
;Silas HeapSilas is the father of the Heap household. He is an Ordinary Wizard with fair curly hair and wizard green eyes, and wears the traditional blue cloak of Ordinary Wizards. Silas was apprenticed to former ExtraOrdinary Wizard Alther Mella but left his apprenticeship, thus losing the title to Marcia Overstrand. He loves his family and is on good terms with everybody except with Marcia. Silas loves to play Counter Feet with the gate-keeper of the Castle, Gringe. His addiction to the game makes him forget more important things like his family. He was responsible for accidentally releasing the spirit of Queen Etheldredda in Physik.
;Sarah Heap
Sarah is the mother of the Heap household. She has the green wizard eyes and fair curly hair of the Heap family. She studied with the Physik woman, Galen, about Magykal herbs and plants and it was there that Silas Heap met her while getting lost in the forest one day. Sarah, though she is loving and caring in nature, is somewhat forgetful and sometimes more concerned about other things rather than the well-being of her dear ones. Sarah has learned Physik and can also do some Magyk. Like Silas she is on good terms generally with everybody, except Marcia.
Critics were surprised by Sage's portrayal of Silas and Sarah as they show least concern for the welfare of their children. The critics have written about situations where the characters' lack of affection is more pronounced:- like when Jenna was kidnapped and they are convinced that Simon cannot kidnap her or when Septimus is sent back in Time.
Simon Heap
Simon Heap is the oldest Heap son. He wanted to be Marcia's apprentice but lost to Septimus. He betrayed his family in the second book Flyte by joining the evil necromancer DomDaniel and made a bargain with the dead necromancer—to restore him to life, if he's taken on as the next Apprentice to the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. He kidnapped Jenna and tried to kill Marcia by a Placement on her but was thwarted by Septimus and the others. He later learnt his mistakes and reformed his ways. Simon is romantically involved with Lucy Gringe, gatekeeper Gringe's daughter. Together at present they stay in an apartment in the Port. According to Fantasy Literature review, he's like the typical bad-guy who makes the mistake of not killing his enemies straight-away. Simon moved to the Darke side and even tried to kill his siblings Septimus and Jenna. However, note that Simon knew that Jenna was not his real sister and thought Septimus was only pretending to be his little brother so he might not have behaved in the same manner to Nicko, Erik, Edd, Jo-Jo, and Sam, all of whom he saw as real brothers. He has since changed his ways, becoming good and has tried to return to the Castle.Sam, Jo-Jo, Edd & Erik Heap
Sam, Edd and Erik and Jo-Jo are the second, third, fourth and fifth Heap sons, respectively. They all started living in the forest after Sarah took them there for refuge at Galen's place. Wendron Witches visit them quite a lot. Generally they are quite aloof from the happenings of the outside world and have adapted to the ways and life of the Forest. Sam loves fishing and used to go with Silas for catching fish. He was the one who showed Septimus and the others the actual path to the House of Foryx. Jo-Jo has a crush on Marissa, a Wendron Witch. Edd and Erik are twins and love to joke around.Nicko Heap
The sixth son of the Heap family. He has a medium-build figure, with the characteristic green eyes of a wizard and the curly straw-colored hair of the Heap family, and has a happy and helpful disposition. As a son of a wizard, Nicko has learned Magyk but is not very interested in it. He is more interested in boats and sailing, a passion which brought him and Snorri Snorrelssen closer. He is apprenticed to Jannit Marten, who owns the boatyard of the Castle. Nicko loves his brother Septimus and adoptive sister Jenna dearly, and helps them in every possible way. He became romantically involved with Snorri, whom he met during events from Physik and was lost in Time with her in Queste. He returned to the Castle during the events of Syren and was one of the main sailors of Milo Banda's ship, the Cerys. In Darke, he helped get Septimus to the Darke Halls. Snorri also left the Castle during Darke to return home with her mother. Although Nicko enjoyed her company, he felt 'free' after she left.Septimus Heap
The eponymous protagonist of the series, Septimus spent the first ten years of his life in the Young Army as Boy 412 after DomDaniel attempted to abduct him. As the seventh son of a seventh son, aptly named Septimus, he has exceptional Magykal powers and is currently apprenticed to the ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia Overstrand, whom he trusts more than anyone else. He shares his birthday with Jenna, his adoptive sister.Jenna Heap
Adopted by the Heap family as a baby in place of Septimus, Jenna is actually the daughter of the assassinated Queen, and thus a Princess. She is a small girl, with deep violet eyes, dark hair, and a fair complexion, and she wears a deep red cloak with the gold circlet of the Princess on her head. Although loving and caring at heart, she can sometimes be very stubborn. She loves her family dearly and would do anything for them. For a long time, she was unsure and unhappy at the thought of being future Queen, but she has come to accept her heritage and future. She was crowned Queen when she was old enough.Zelda Zanuba Heap
Zelda Heap is actually Silas' aunt but is known as Aunt Zelda to all and greatly loved for her happy-go-lucky nature, although she and Marcia are known to have disputes regarding usage of Magyk without "disrespecting" Mother Nature. As the current Keeper of the Dragon Boat, she resides in a cottage on Draggen Island in the Marram Marshes. She is of medium-build, often wears a tent-like dress, and has a shock of flyaway grey hair, a wrinkled smiling face, and the bright blue eyes of a White Witch. Apparently, she has absolutely no sense of taste and cooks dishes mainly consisting of cabbages and eel. The only other person who appreciates her cooking is Septimus. She has a pet cat called Bert which she transformed into a duck and also is friends with a marsh creature named Boggart. Zelda is the one who revealed the true identity of Boy 412 as Septimus Heap. She is generally very helpful. This is reflected many times in the series; like the time she helps Jenna when the Dragon Boat is badly damaged by Simon's ThunderFlash or reviving Merrin Meredith from being Consumed and dying. Zelda did not appear in the fourth book Queste. In Syren, Zelda sends Wolf-Boy for an errand to The Port Witch Coven, the success of which will entitle him to be a Keeper. In Fyre, she begins to become forgetful and later reveals that she has lost one of the bowls that are used to save the Dragon Boat as the Marsh Python ate it. She then leaves Wolf Boy to be the Keeper as she realises that she is too old and it is her time to die, and goes to visit with her brothers Benjamin and Theo Heap in the Forest as her final resting place.Benjamin and Theo Heap
Benjamin and Theo are the grandfathers of the Heap household. Benjamin Heap is the father of Silas. He is a shape shifter. When he got old, he decided to permanently assume tree-form instead of becoming a ghost. Silas kept searching for his father, And sometimes addresses a random tree in the hope that it's his father, until when, the Wendron Witch mother, Morwenna Mould shows him his father's location. Septimus and Nicko met their Grandpa Benji while they were in the forest searching for Jenna in Flyte. Benjamin saved them from a pack of Wolverines and they got to know him.Theo Heap is the second brother to Benjamin and Zelda. Like his elder brother, he is also a shape-shifter and shifted to be a Storm Petrel. On stormy nights in the Marram Marshes, Zelda keeps a lookout for any Storm Petrels which might be blown away to the marshes and hopes to meet her brother again one day. In Magyk there is an instance when Theo is blown in by a storm and sits on the cottage's roof seeing Zelda see Septimus Heap's true identity and family in the pond.