Thais
Also referred to as "Pretty Pearl" and "Meritet", she is a young girl sold into prostitution paying her way to freedom in Alexandria, Egypt, 345 C.E. To her customers she goes by the name Pretty Pearl, and it is through such an encounter that Lasirén enters her body as she reaches the peak of a sexual encounter. Despite her way of living, she is pure. On a whim, she boards a ship to Aelia Capitolina (now present-day Jerusalem) with her best friend Judah, a homosexual male and fellow slave prostitute. In Greece, Thais gets extremely ill. Lasirén pushes and motivates her to continue her journey so she can go to a church and find help. On the floor of the church, Thais has a miscarriage, losing her baby, childlike innocence, and Lasirén altogether. However, during Thais' pilgrimage to the deserts of Israel and month-long fasting, Lasirén returns to her body and speaks to Thais about the origins of the Water Goddess being.
"she is dark skinned, this beauty, and ruddy like copper. No salt-pucker of bitterness in her" (pg. 265).
"this is our life…we’ll work till Tausiris decides to release us" (pg. 277).
"I am determined that we keep going. Something is wrong with this Thais…I nudge her to keep walking" (pg. 299). (Lasirén to Thais.)
Read more about this topic: The Salt Roads (novel), Major Characters in The Salt Roads