Who is John Ross?

John Ross is one of the novel's main characters. He decides that being a Knight of the Word is too much responsibility and tries to quit but finds that that isn't his choice to make. John decides to stop acting as a Knight of the Word after he fails to save several children from a hostage situation. He stopped the men that took the school from killing the children, but the police opened fire in a panic and fourteen small children were killed. John feels his own faults caused the deaths and decides he will work somewhere he can make a difference.