Characters of The Keys to the Kingdom series
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The Keys to the Kingdom is a fantasy-adventure book series, written by Garth Nix, started in 2003 with Mister Monday. Each novel follows the story of Arthur Penhaligon in his journeys through the realms of the House and his attempts to claim each Key and Realm.
[edit] Heroes
[edit] Arthur Penhaligon
A human teenager who is chosen to be The Rightful Heir of the House. He is an asthmatic, which burdens him with trouble throughout Mister Monday. As he is about to die from an asthma attack, Mister Monday, ruler of the Lower House, gives him the Minute Key, saving his life and causing him to inadvertently become the Heir to the mysterious Architect, creator of the house. He is pushed into becoming the Heir of each house by the actions of the various members of the Morrow Days. Monday used the Sleepy Plague; Tuesday attacks Arthur through his family; Wednesday did nothing but Leaf (a friend of Arthur's; so named because of her parents' obsession with a "natural life") was kidnapped by accident. Arthur cannot live an ordinary life unless he overthrows all the Days. Unfortunately to do this he must use the Keys, which drain him of mortality and make him a Denizen of the House-- a being existing outside the ordinary stream of Time, having magical powers. Arthur's current title reads: Lord Arthur Penhaligon, Master of the Lower House, Lord of the Far Reaches, Duke of the Border Sea, Overlord of the Great Maze, Commander-in-Chief of the Glorious Army of the Architect and the Wielder of the First, Second, Third and Fourth Keys to the Kingdom.
[edit] Suzy Turquoise Blue
One of the Piper's children and a Sixth Class Ink Filler. She was later promoted by Arthur to a higher position, Monday's Tierce, assistant to Monday's Noon. She constantly appears to assist Arthur and has the personality of a cockney, Dickensian-era street child, having been alive at the time of the Black Death on Earth. She is only ever ladylike (referring to herself as "Suzanna Monday's Tierce") when ordered to do so on the Border Sea by Dame Primus. She cares for Arthur, but is incorrigably irreverent to Dame Primus. At the end of Sir Thursday, the Piper has used his pipe to control Suzy and her whereabouts and condition are unknown.
[edit] Leaf
A friend of Arthur's from Earth, introduced initially in Mister Monday. She ends up helping Arthur and Suzy when she is kidnapped by pirates and brought to the realm of the Border Sea with Arthur on Wednesday. Leaf aids Arthur and Suzy in defeating the pirate Feverfew. She is forced to get rid of the Skinless Boy impersonating Arthur on Earth in Sir Thursday.
[edit] The Will
The Will was once just a series of laws written by The Architect and dictated to her seven Trustees, the Morrow Days. However the Trustees broke the will into seven pieces, each guarded by a different peril. The first part escaped, and dedicated its deeds to the purpose of freeing its other parts. Eventually, all of it may be freed and added to the Will's anthropomorphosis, Dame Primus, whose name means "First Lady".
[edit] First Part of Will
The First Part of the Will (paragraphs three to seven) was taken by Mister Monday and placed in the centre of a dead star, guarded by twelve metallic, sword-armed Sentinels. It was freed by Monday's Dusk (now Monday's Noon), who gave a box of snuff to a routine Inspector, who then inadvertently freed the Will from the Sentinel's guard. Due to this, two tall gentlemen escorted the Inspector into the "executive elevator" and selected the topmost floor the elevator could reach. It is assumed by readers that the gentlemen were punishing him as he allowed the Will to escape, however his fate is unknown as is the intentions of the two gentlemen. The Will then took control of Mister Monday's butler, Sneezer, and persuaded the sloth-afflicted Monday to give up half of his Key to Arthur Penhaligon, a mortal, convincing him that the Will would leave him alone if he relinquished his Key to a Rightful Heir and the Heir then died. The Will then took on the form of a jade-coloured frog and leapt inside the throat of Ink-Filler Suzy Turquoise Blue, who brought Arthur to the Lower House and helped him to defeat Monday and retrieve the second half of Monday's Key. The First Part of the Will embodies fortitude.
The Will took the name Dame Primus and became Steward of the Lower House when Arthur returned to Earth. As a Denizen, she is severe and blunt. With the addition of other Parts of the Will, Dame Primus grows taller, stronger and more knowledgeable, and her beauty becomes more apparent.
[edit] Second Part of the Will
The Second Part of the Will was trapped by Grim Tuesday and sent to a sun in the Secondary Realms, in the form of a sun-bear. It was found by Arthur, Suzy and Captain Tom Shevlocke, the Mariner. Unlike the first part of the Will, the Bear would not recognise Arthur's claim until he was notified by Dame Primus. Instead, the bear ordered a contest of creation, using the Second Key, which were Grim Tuesday's gauntlets. Arthur won, and the Second Part of the Will merged with the First. Its virtue is prudence.
[edit] Third Part of the Will
Known as The Carp, The Third Part of the Will was taken from Drowned Wednesday by the pirate Feverfew, when she attempted to amend what she had done and defy the Morrow Days. Wednesday was betrayed by her friend Superior Saturday, and her gluttony took over. She became an enormous whale with the Will trapped inside Feverfew's private island, located inside Wednesday's stomach. Many people who were taken by Feverfew as slaves escaped with the will, in the form of a carp, proclaiming it a god. When Arthur entered Wednesday, he rescued the Will who revoked Wednesday's Key. Its virtue is faith. When it was freed, the Third Part of the Will joined with the First and Second, adding to Dame Primus' strength, height and knowledge.
[edit] Fourth Part of the Will
This part of the Will takes the form of a snake, real or decorative, and is able to choose whether or not it is poisonous, as well as the choice of poison it has. The Will was a decorative snake wrapped around Sir Thursday's sword, and couldn't escape until Sir Thursday was distracted. It consistently asks for justice to be executed and as such could be considered to hold the cardinal virtue of justice, somewhat opposed to the sins of the Morrow Days. At the end of Sir Thursday, it is unknown whether the Fourth Part of the Will had yet joined up with Dame Primus, but due to her added height at the end, one can assume so.
[edit] The Morrow Days
The seven trustees of the Architect, who have not obeyed the Will as they should have. Instead, they broke it into seven pieces, then separated and concealed the pieces. The unfortunate consequence for such an act left each trustee afficted with one of the seven deadly sins. Drowned Wednesday is the only Trustee who chose to follow the will of the Architect, but was stopped by all Trustees, with the exception of Monday.
[edit] Mister Monday
A handsome Denizen who was nearly executed by Arthur. He was granted the Lower House in the Will, but later was afflicted with Sloth. This sloth left him mostly incapacitated and he left most of his affairs to his Dawn, Noon and Dusk. His key takes on the shape of a pair of clock hands, a Minute Hand and an Hour Hand. They can be used separately: the Minute Hand is weaker, but can be used more frequently; the Hour Hand is more powerful, though cannot be used as often. The two hands, when combined, take the form of a sword. When Arthur reached Monday's Dayroom, a great battle was fought between the two, resulting in Monday being badly wounded. Arthur was given the First Key, with which he healed Monday's sloth. In Sir Thursday, it is revealed that he had been assassinated, by being stabbed through the heart and head by a pair of sorcerous blades, likely by Superior Saturday's Noon or Dusk. He was the second Trustee to die.
[edit] Grim Tuesday
A tall man without eyebrows. His Key takes the shape of flexible silver gauntlets bound with gold, which let him work with deposits of Nothing, from which all things could be made, though Tuesday could not make anything original with his Key; he was limited to plagerising things from the secondary realms. He was granted Lordship over The Far Reaches. He is afflicted with Greed, which made him delve down into the depths of his domain in search of workable deposits of Nothing. He staffed the Pit with most of the Denizens in his realm, which came very close to breaching into Nothing. He also merged, then split his Dawn, Noon and Dusk, into seven Grotesques, which were less powerful. Their existence makes them miserable. Arthur deposed him of his role, allowing him to live, but he is later revealed to have been assassinated in Sir Thursday, after being pushed or thrown off the top of the Pit (again, likely by Superior Saturday's Noon or Dusk) and dying in a pool of Nothing at the bottom. He was the third Trustee to die.
[edit] Drowned Wednesday
She used to be known as "Duchess Wednesday", Drowned Wednesday is also known as "Lady Wednesday" and "Dame Wednesday". A whale afflicted with Gluttony, originally a beautiful woman. Her Key takes the shape of a trident, which she uses as a fork when briefly in a grotesque human form that she can inhabit temporarily. She claimed the Border Sea. She was faithful to the Architect's Will, when she realised her gluttony was an affliction based on the fact that she did not obey the Will. She wished to obey the Will because the pressure of using the Key to keep her body in check against the amount of food she ate was too great. She spoke to Superior Saturday about going against the other Morrow Days, but was turned against and all the Morrow Days, save Monday (incapacitated due to the Sloth), attacked her. She then became the whale, a Leviathan, to reflect the amount she ate. She wished for Arthur to cure her, offering him the Third Key as an incentive. Arthur did eventually release the Will and claim the Key, but Drowned Wednesday was poisoned by Nothing from the inside and could not be saved. She was the first Trustee to die.
[edit] Sir Thursday
The previous Commander-in-Chief of the Glorious Army of the Architect was granted Overlordship of the Great Maze and is a very powerful, volatile, and excessively violent Denizen. He is affected by Wrath. Sir Thursday, the Keeper of the Fourth Key to the Kingdom, might not be particularly handsome or all that tall, but nobody disobeys his direct orders and expects to get away with it. He beats his suboordinates including the Marshalls when angry and kills two Piper's Children. Arthur distracts him with his anger and eventually claims the Fourth Key, a baton that can also be transformed into any kind of sword, before ordering that Thursday be put in safe keeping to avoid assassination.
[edit] Lady Friday
Lady Friday, Master of the Middle House. She is the Keeper of the Fifth Part of the Will and the Fifth Key to the Kingdom. She is presumably afflicted with Lust. Also, she is presumed to be mentioned in the end of Sir Thursday, masquerading as a beautiful doctor on Earth. Doctor Friday only works on Fridays. For some unknown reason Grim Tuesday had an intense dislike of Lady Friday, calling her "that fool Friday".
[edit] Superior Saturday
Master of the Upper House, Keeper of the Sixth Key and the Sixth Part of the Will. She has made no appearances, though the Raised Rats mentioned that she was a woman the last time they saw her. Drowned Wednesday chose Saturday to ask for assistance against the other Morrow Days but was betrayed and Saturday attacked Wednesday along with the other Morrow Days, save Monday who was at the time in sloth. In Sir Thursday, it is made known that she is Sunday's deputy and Thursday followed her commands, thus influencing the actions in Sir Thursday. Her Noon and Dusk are suspected by many of doing many heinous deeds, such as murdering Mister Monday and Grim Tuesday. Also, Saturday is behind the creation of the Skinless Boy, showing how determined she is to stop Arthur. Her influence is proven to be very great, with her manipulation of Sir Thursday and attempt to coax Arthur to hand over the Keys. She is the Master of the Upper House where House Sorcery is studied. Also, Saturday appears to enjoy meddling in other people's business.
[edit] Lord Sunday
He is the King of the Incomparable Gardens and Keeper of the Seventh Key and the Seventh Part of the Will. Merely mentioned by the Raised Rats, he is the eldest son of the Old One and the Architect. Sir Thursday believed Lord Sunday was in control of the House after the Architect's mysterious disappearance. Dr. Scamandros implies that the Key he wields retains its powers in the Secondary Realms, where it is paramount over the other keys and within the House, can act outside its own realm. In Sir Thursday, Arthur thinks of the relation of Lord Sunday and the Piper, saying that he is the Piper's older brother, implying to the reader that Lord Sunday might have influenced the piper to attack the house.
[edit] Dawns, Noons and Dusks
They are the lieutenants of the current owners of their respective Keys. There seem to be no special powers associated with these Denizens, although they tend to be taller and more powerful than most other Denizens. With the exception of the servants of Grim Tuesday, each Trustee has or had three of these servants, each who reflect the time of day they are named after. They are limited to visiting the Secondary Realms only in their time period, eg. Monday's Noon could only stay on Earth on Monday, between the hours of 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm. So far all Noons and Dusks have been male, and all Dawns have been female; possibly a reference to the Greek Goddess Eos, known in Rome as Aurora, whose waking signified the morning.
[edit] Monday
[edit] Under Mister Monday
- Monday's Dawn: An attractive woman with a gold tongue and a dress the colour of dawn. She has golden wings.
- Monday's Noon: A servant of Monday. Noon was loyal to Monday, attacking Arthur whenever he had the chance. His striking feature is a silver tongue (later black he became Monday's Dusk). With his silver tongue he has a large influence on people's decisions and when he asks somebody to do something, they automatically have a huge urge to do what he says. He has a posh English voice, Nothing-stained wings (formerly white), and a flaming sword of Architectural Fire.
- Monday's Dusk: In Mister Monday, he helped Arthur defeat Mister Monday. He has a black tongue, ebony wings and a black sword probably made from frozen moonlight. He is loyal to Arthur and the Will.
[edit] Under Lord Arthur
- Monday's Dawn: The same woman as before. After Mister Monday's defeat, Arthur re-appoints Monday's Dawn in her position. She is identical, but now is loyal to Arthur.
- Monday's Noon: The former Monday's Dusk is appointed as Monday's Noon under Lord Arthur. He is the same person, he has just been altered to look like Monday's Noon (see above).
- Monday's Dusk: The former Monday's Noon takes on the role of Monday's Dusk. He is the same person, but he is loyal to Arthur and has been altered to look like Monday's Dusk (see above).
[edit] Tuesday
[edit] Under Grim Tuesday
- Grim's Grotesques: The seven servants of Grim Tuesday, they were formerly his Dawn, Noon and Dusk but he used his Key to reshape them to his will. They have less power than the other servants of the Morrow Days and do not wish to be in the form that they are. Their names were Yan, Tan, Methera, Tethera, Pits, Sethera and Azer. Killed by Superior Saturday's Dusk, he stabbed Tuesday's Yan and since all the Grotesques were linked they all disappeared, the current Tuesday's Times are unknown. Their names literally mean 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
[edit] Under Lord Arthur
- Tuesday's Dawn: Occupant Unknown
- Tuesday's Noon: Occupant Unknown
- Tuesday's Dusk: Occupant Unknown
[edit] Wednesday
[edit] Under Drowned Wednesday
- Wednesday's Dawn: She is an attractive woman with straw coloured hair held with a silver net, wears a peach-coloured riding outfit with ruby buttons, and carries a riding crop made of albino alligator tail (note that she always transforms her clothes). She can fly, but can transform also into a shark with golden wings into order to swim. While she is grateful that she was spared the same fate as Noon and Dusk and very loyal to Drowned Wednesday, she fears she will be the next to be consumed by Wednesday's unchecked gluttony. She communicates with Wednesday by interpreting the movements of her eyes from several miles away and gives Arthur a peg (with the spell "A thousand and one breaths") which lets him need much fewer breaths.
- Wednesday's Noon: The first Noon was eaten by Wednesday in her Leviathan form. There was no Noon until Arthur appointed Sunscorch to that role. {See below}
- Wednesday's Dusk: The first Dusk was eaten by Wednesday in her Leviathan form. There was no Dusk until Arthur appointed Dr. Scamandros to that role. {See below}
[edit] Under Lord Arthur
- Wednesday's Dawn: Wednesday's Dawn is kept in her position.
- Wednesday's Noon: He used to be called Sunscorch, a nautically designed Denizen who was second mate aboard the Moth, but was promoted to the rank of Wednesday's Noon after helping Arthur.
- Wednesday's Dusk: He used to be called Doctor Scamandros, a self-admitted "failed" House Sorcerer. He was the Navigator-Sorcerer aboard the Moth and was promoted to the rank of Wednesday's Dusk after he helped Arthur enter Feverfew's secret harbour. He came to the Border Sea to find his lost term papers, which he now suspects were stolen. In Sir Thursday, it is revealed that he is the only Upper House sorcerer left in the realms commanded by Arthur.
[edit] Thursday
[edit] Under Sir Thursday
- Thursday's Dawn (Marshal Dawn) - One of Thursday's Marshals, who is beaten when she refuses to execute the Piper's Children in part because he is defying the rules he makes the army strictly adhere to. Unlike the other Marshals, Dawn wears the uniform of the Borderers.
- Thursday's Noon (Marshal Noon) - A great warrior who comes to the defense of Arthur when Sir Thursday attempts to attack him. He is described as having red hair, tall, and somewhat elitist.
- Thursday's Dusk (Marshal Dusk) - He defies Sir Thursday when he attempts to attack Arthur. He informs Arthur of the events in the Great Maze after the apprehension of Sir Thursday.
[edit] Under Lord Arthur
- Thursday's Dawn (Marshal Dawn) - The same woman as before. More loyal to Arthur than she was to Sir Thursday.
- Thursday's Noon (Marshal Noon) - The same man as before. More loyal to Arthur than he was to Sir Thursday.
- Thursday's Dusk (Marshal Dusk) - The same man as before. More loyal to Arthur than he ever was to Sir Thursday.
[edit] Friday
[edit] Under Lady Friday
- Friday's Dawn - Occupant Unknown
- Friday's Noon - Occupant Unknown
- Friday's Dusk - Occupant Unknown
[edit] Saturday
[edit] Under Superior Saturday
- Saturday's Dawn - Occupant Unknown
- Saturday's Noon - Noon appears in "Sir Thursday" in an attempt to keep Suzy Turquoise Blue out of the House. Like Monday's Noon and Dusk, his appearance is very similar to Saturday's Dusk, the main difference between them being the colour of their tongues - Noon's is silver and Dusk's is black. He and the Lieutenant Keeper of the House appear to be old adversaries. He also wields a sword cane.
- Saturday's Dusk - A "tall, immaculately clad top hatted Denizen" (as described in "Grim Tuesday") who, like his brother Noon, wields a sword-cane. Appears in "Grim Tuesday" to murder Grim's Grotesques. He does not appear in "Sir Thursday"; the man who attacks Suzy has a silver tongue, and is therefore Saturday's Noon. He is said to be Saturday's Dusk due to a typing error (Leaf is also typed instead of Suzy within the same chapter). Suzy confirms this later in the book when relating her adventures to Arthur.
[edit] Sunday
[edit] Under Lord Sunday
- Sunday's Dawn - Occupant Unknown
- Sunday's Noon - Occupant Unknown
- Sunday's Dusk - Occupant Unknown
[edit] Humans
- Bob Penhaligon: Arthur's father; played the guitar in the band, The Ratz. His nickname during the time he played for the band was Plague Rat. Currently he still writes songs.
- Dr. Emily Penhaligon: Arthur's mother. A medical researcher that works for the government. She is renowned nation-wide.
- Erazmuz Penhaligon: Arthur's brother, a major in the army and a father.
- Staria Penhaligon: Arthur's sister, a serious theater actress.
- Patrick Penhaligon: Arthur's brother, originally named Eminor.
- Suzanne Penhaligon: Arthur's sister, a college student.
- Michaeli Penhaligon: Arthur's sister, at a local college. Meets Suzy and Leaf in Sir Thursday when they enter her house looking for Arthur's phone.
- Eric Penhaligon: Arthur's brother, who is in his last year at high school.
- Tree: Leaf and Ed's father, an environmentalist. Mentioned, but unseen.
- Ed: Leaf's brother. His actual name is Branch, but he doesn't like it. He knows Leaf has some sort of spiritual connection, but he seems undecided whether to believe her when she mentions it. He has not appeared since "Mister Monday", as he is still recovering from the Sleepy Plague. He is, however, phoned by Leaf in "Sir Thursday". Unlike Leaf, he has not visited the House.
- Mister Weightman: Arthur's cruel gym teacher at his new school.
- The Octopus: Assistant Principal at Arthur's new school. Likes to confiscate things.
- Sylvie: An old woman who aids Leaf on her quest to return Arthur's lost pocket to the House in "Sir Thursday".
[edit] Denizens, Nithlings, and Misc. Beings
Denizens are the citizens of the House. They are ranked 'In Precedence Within the House', due to rank. This does not apply to mortals.
The Piper's Children are former mortals, turned Denizens after living an extensive time in the House, at one point or another under the command of the Piper. Both Suzy Turqouise Blue and Fred Initial Numbers Gold are Piper's Children. The Children, according to the Piper, exist to serve him, but during his absence they served throughout the House in jobs of lesser importance and seem to be considered a subservient race or class within the House. Piper's Children are 'washed between the ears' every few centuries, a phrase meaning that they have their memories erased, for unknown reasons. It was said in "Sir Thursday" by the Piper that they were brought to 'make the House more interesting'.
[edit] The Architect
The creator of the world, and the laws which govern it, who made her Will to entrust her realms to the Morrow Days until an Heir was found. The Architect first created the House and its attendant Denizens, then caused the Secondary Realms to come into existence. Her will is broken by the Morrow Days into seven pieces, separated, and hidden. Each of the trustees are afflicted thereafter with one of the seven deadly sins. They cannot be cured unless the Rightful Heir designated in the Architect's will is found and granted power of the keys to their domains. After creating the Kingdom and the Secondary Realms, she designated the Morrow Days as the trustees of her Kingdom, one of which was her son, Lord Sunday. In addition, she also created a will that was to be executed by the Morrow Days before disappearing without a trace. She has, in the course of an experiment, conceived three children with the Old One. By the Old One's own words in "Mister Monday", she was the first to come out of Nothing, although he claimed he was hot on her heels even then. Her location or even existence is currently unknown. There is even a rumour within the House that she was murdered by her Trustees (presumably without the help of the Drowned Wednesday) according to the Raised Rats in "Drowned Wednesday". While active, she was apparently a "jealous creator", as she condemned the Old One to a cruel punishment for all eternity when she considered him to be "meddling" with the Secondary Realms.
[edit] Bathroom Attendants
The ones who wash between the ears of Piper's Children. They wear long yellow robes and bronze masks and there are always 3 of them. They come from the Upper House, and therefore work for Superior Saturday.
[edit] Fetchers
Dog faced creatures wearing bowler hats, conjured from Nothing and servants of Mister Monday. Fetchers are like vampires in the fact that they cannot cross a threshold without being invited, but will hypnotize a person to invite them. They are considered dangerous, and Denizens are advised not to give them magical weapons, or wings. They can be defeated with weak magic and salt will melt them, and return them to Nothing.
[edit] Elishar Feverfew
A malevolent pirate who kidnaps Leaf. He was once mortal, but now lives in the Border Sea controlling a ship of bone, the Shiver. He is a sorcerer of Nothing, and can bend anything to his will, and read minds. He controls the Secret Harbour inside Drowned Wednesday, where he keeps his treasures, slaves, and other objects. Feverfew controls an army of pirates, who wear garments from every time and place, and a flock of black cormorants(Nithlings who inform him about hidden treasure.) He keeps treasures all over The Border Sea, marked by buoys that when touched, will mark that person with The Red Hand-- Feverfew's mark condemming a thief. He is a small, sunburned, disgusting creature, which he hides behind an illusion of a grand pirate captain. He is killed when Arthur decapitates him and Leaf kicks his head into the Hot Lake, a boiling pool of yellow mud, located inside the Secret Harbour.
[edit] Fred Initial Numbers Gold
A fellow Recruit in the Great Army of the Architect, the cheerful Fred quickly befriends Arthur. He is optimistic about the Army and is looking forward to the change from his nitpicking job of applying gold leaf to the numbers in important House documents. Fred knows all sorts of useful things, especially about the process of washing between the ears. Along with Arthur he is washed between the ears, losing his memory. He remembers some of it and fights with Arthur against the New Nithlings in Sir Thursdays Piper's Children attack. He is called back to the Piper, and his current condition is unknown.
[edit] Gore-Draken
A rare type of Nithling that is formed when a lost object in the Border Sea makes contact with Nothing. Feverfew has a Gore-Draken design on his transportation augry box.
[edit] Japeth
Used to be a Thesaurus Minimus Second Grade, which explains his large vocabulary. Helps Arthur in the mines of Grim Tuesday. In Drowned Wednesday, he has been given the job of a journalist and has chronicled an exaggerated version of "Lord Arthur’s Adventures".
[edit] Lieutenant Keeper
A Denizen that watches the Front Door of the House from amid an ocean of shapes and patterns. He and Saturday's Noon are old adversaries. Recently, after the end of the third book and the rest of the fourth book, he has been slightly wounded due to constant troubles at the Front Door that he is charged with watching.
[edit] Captain/Lieutenant Longtayle
Captain/Lieutenant Longtayle is in charge of the Rattus Navis IV, along with the submarine Rattus Baleana. He follows Arthur right into Drowned Wednesday's stomach. He is black-furred, and dressed like Moncton.
[edit] Mathias
A supply clerk from Grim Tuesday's mines, someone who offered Arthur particularly helpful advice on how to survive in the Far Reaches. He appears briefly with Japeth at the beginning of Sir Thursday.
[edit] The "Messengers"
In the prologues in both Monday and Tuesday, two messengers are present. In Monday, they "arrest" the Inspector and bring him to the "top"of where the elevator reaches (most likely the Upper House). In Tuesday, they bring news on how to attack Arthur and create the Skinless Boy. It is possible that they high ranking servants of either Superior Saturday or Lord Sunday, perhaps even the Dusk of one or both of them.
[edit] Commodore Monckton
The commodore of all Raised Rats, Monckton is reliable, and honorable. Monckton helped in Leaf's court case, and also helped Arthur get the Will. He is brown-furred, with white whiskers, and a commodore uniform.
[edit] Colonel Trabizond Nage
The Denizen in charge of the Fort in the Great Maze that oversees the four gates into the Void. He receives orders from Major Pravuil, passed on from Sir Thursday, in turn from Saturday and supposedly, Lord Sunday. These orders force him to open all four gates in the Void allowing the invasion of the House. He and his entire garrison were killed. He is perhaps the first Denizen to realize that the campaign is a mistake.
[edit] The Old One
Sometime associate and contemporary of the Architect, The Old One is the second ever entity to emerge from Nothing. For attempting to meddle with her work in the Secondary Realms without her permission, the Old One was chained up to an enormous clock and at twelve o'clock each day, two Clockwork Figures come out of the clock and chop out his eyes. This mirrors the punishment of Prometheus, one of the titans from ancient Greek mythology, who was chained to a rock and his liver eaten by an eagle each dawn. Later they tore out his eyes. If not for the chains with which he was bound for all eternity by the Architect, one might assume that his physical strength, gigantic stature and his self-claimed mastery of the magics that can manipulate Nothing and creation would allow him to make light work of his tormentors. The Old One displays considerable bitterness about the Architect, claiming she refused to recognize his artistry in creation, this despite the fact they collaborated in the past on at least three experiments, to wit the conception of their children; Lord Sunday, The Mariner and The Piper. The Old One's youngest son, The Piper, tried to free The Old One. He failed and was banished into Nothing by Lord Sunday.
[edit] The Piper
The third son of the Architect. He was cast in to Nothing by his brother, Lord Sunday when he attempted to free the Old One, but he used his powers to protect himself and build an army to claim the House with. He claims Sunday betrayed him, but Part Four of the Will contradicts him, reminding him of his attempting to free the Old One. In Sir Thursday he invades The Great Maze, retreating when the combined forces of Lord Arthur and Dame Primus fight back. He is alive and wounded, but his current whereabouts and intentions are unknown. He claims that he should be the Rightful Heir as he is the most like his mother, the Architect, though the Will refuses to acknowledge him. He is also the one who brought the Piper's Children and the Raised Rats to the House, and is able to control them with his pipe. By the end of Sir Thursday, Suzy and Fred are stuck under his control, during the disastrous raid on the Nothing Spike. It has been suggested that his name may be an allusion to the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
[edit] Pravuil
Once a Coal-Collator from the Deep Coal Cellar in the Lower House, Pravuil's loyalty has changed hands many times. After betraying Arthur in Mister Monday, he flees using an elevator, later appearing in Sir Thursday as a Major in the Glorious Army of the Architect. It is he who issues the changes to the Ephemeris of Colonel Trabizond Nage, which begins the New Nithling invasion. He is not heard from again in the novel.
(It is also possible that Pravuil is one of the Noons or Dusks of the remaining Morrow Days.)
[edit] Raised Rats
The rats were mortal rats that were taken to the House by The Piper. They now live on the Border Sea, using Steamboats to work as trackers. They are apparently unreliable, but keep to their word. Drowned Wednesday once wanted them banned from the Sea, but due to politics, she couldn't sustain this punishment. The rats are good friends with all Piper's Children, but will not share any secrets that have been washed from the children's heads. They aid Arthur in finding Part Three of The Will.
[edit] Scouchers
A Scoucher is a particularly unpleasant type of Nithling that issue from the narrowest of cracks and fractures. They may take a variety of shapes, however they always have many limbs that end in very fine tentacles. These tentacles are lined with tiny but very sharp teeth. They have a weakness to silver, ruthenium, rhodium, osmium, iridium and platinum.
[edit] The Skinless Boy
According the Compleat Atlas of the House a ‘Spirit-eater’ is a type of Nithling sent to duplicate and replace a person, ‘usually for the purposes of espionage, treachery, or other foul deeds’. It is little wonder that Arthur panics when he discovers a Spirit-eater calling itself The Skinless Boy has invaded his place in the world. He is believed destroyed when Arthur throws the sorcerous pocket, of which the Skinless Boy was called from, into Nothing. It is capable of spreading a grey mold which it uses to control the minds of people. This mold was thought by the government to be a bioweapon code named Greyspot.
[edit] Sneezer
Mister Monday's butler, who is possessed by the First Part of the Will to persuade Mister Monday to acknowledge Arthur Penhaligon as the Rightful Heir. Under Monday's rule, he is ill looking and sickly. At the end of Mister Monday, he remains useful and loyal to Arthur, Suzy Turquoise Blue and Dame Primus as a butler and assistant in Monday's Dayroom. He is seen serving refreshments and also is quite familiar with using Seven Dials or transfer plates for travelling. He is clean, handsome and younger looking, since the appointment of Arthur.
[edit] Soot
A large eyebrow with silver eyes. He used to be one of Grim Tuesday's eyebrows, before being blown off in an explosion and brought to life thanks to Nothing. He helped Suzy and Arthur to break into Tuesday's Pyramid via the use of a special nothing-wrought diamond, and is now believed to be destroyed. In exchange for entrance to Tuesday's Pyramid, he gets the treasures in the pyramid.
[edit] Tom Shelvocke
Also known as the Mariner, he is the second (adopted) son of The Architect and The Old One. Before he left the house, The Architect gave him a special harpoon made of the trail of a narwhale, which causes pain to mortals if not used at a distance. He also wears a coin in each earlobe. During one of his journeys to Earth, the Mariner was captured by Grim Tuesday and bound to the Trustee by the Second Key. He then became the Keeper of the Register of Indentured Workers, which he later helped destroy with Arthur Penhaligon and Suzy Turquoise Blue. Tom then gave Arthur a whale bone disc, which was made into a medallion. His medallion becomes an important tool for Arthur in the Border Sea during the events of Drowned Wednesday, as most Denizens and the Raised Rats of the domain recognize it and will agree to help Arthur since he is a friend of the Mariner, showing that although the Mariner is techincally guilty of breaking Original Law many many times over, he is still respected by lots of people. The Mariner does not appear until the end of the book, when he finally arrives by ship only to discover Arthur has already obtained the Third Key and become Duke of the Border Sea. He is probably based upon the Ancient Mariner due to a reference he makes about shooting a bird.
[edit] Gunner's Mate First Watkingle
Watkingle is a rat aboard the Navis, and the Baleana. He is always willing to serve, and excited about the venture. His personal motto is "Always Volunteer" because he never wants to miss any excitement.
