Matty

Matty is different from the other people in Village. Matty knows all the paths in Forest, and is not afraid to go through it, even though Forest can kill him at any time, although it hasn't given Matty a Warning. He is the most important person in the conflict of getting Kira to Village, being the Messenger that must put signs in the Forest stating that no one else can come to Village, and the person to bring Kira through Forest. He also starts to notice something strange going on in Trade Mart when Mentor makes a trade. Matty is the protagonist of the story. His motivation to help Kira is that she is his friend and Matty lives with her father, the Seer. Matty behaves like a child sometimes, but is becoming a young man. He is almost old enough to receive a title, like Messenger, the title he has always wanted. Matty has a special gift. He can heal things. First he healed a frog's leg in the forest, then he healed Jean's puppies, where he found his dog Frolic. Matty goes to talk to Leader and he finds out about Forest thickening and changing by the minute. His appearance also is not specified in the story, and Matty's true name is Healer.