Nathan is the illegitimate son of two witches from rival factions. While he appears at various ages through flashbacks, he is most often seen as a teenager between the ages of 15 and 17. The reader is given multiple impressions of Nathan’s appearance by others: Fairborn Witches consider him loathsome, while Blood Witches describe him as handsome and just like his father. He describes himself as a skinny youth with spiky black hair and dark eyes.

Nathan is ostracized from the Fairborn community where he grows up, so he feels like an outsider nearly all the time. He learns to fight early and is easily angered by the jibes and taunts of others. Nathan’s Blood Witch heritage gives him an affinity for nature. He cannot abide the hiss of electronic devices and needs to sleep outdoors, especially when the moon is full.

Despite the abuse he suffers early in life, Nathan has a loyal, loving nature and is particularly attached to his brother Arran and his first love, Annalise. By the novel's end, he finally meets his father and receives the gifts that make him a Blood Witch. However, given the threats that hover around Nathan at the end of the novel, we can assume that his battle against the Fairborn Witches will continue.