Characters of The Keys to the Kingdom
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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 boy 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 ruler of each demesne of the 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 infect him with sorcery and make him a Denizen of the House - a being existing outside the ordinary stream of Time, having magical powers.
Arthur's current title as the Rightful Heir is: Lord Arthur Penhaligon Rightful Heir to the House and the Keys of the Kingdom, Master of the Lower House, Lord of the Far Reaches, Duke of the Border Sea, Overlord of the Great Maze, Count (Guessing there) of the Middle House, and Commander-in-Chief of the Glorious Army of the Architect
[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 has a problem with authority. 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 incorrigibly irreverent to Dame Primus.
At the end of "Sir Thursday" Suzy disappears because the Piper freezes her, Arthur's other friend Fred Initial Numbers Gold and many other Pipers children and Fred and Suzy only come back in Lady Friday in the Pipers control. Arthur frees her using the fourth key in Lady Friday along with Fred Initial Numbers Gold.
[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. Leaf's adventures in the House continue when she is abducted by Lady Friday as collateral to force Arthur from interfering with her "mortal experiencing" should he discover that Friday's offer concerning the Fifth Key and the Middle House is a trap to dispose of the Piper, Arthur, and Superior Saturday.
[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 anthropomorphous, 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 Sentinels' 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 are 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 (paragraphs eight to thirteen) was trapped by Grim Tuesday and sent to a sun in the Secondary Realms, in the form of a 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 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. As the fourth part notes to Arthur, its previous parts have unfortunately been fairly unhelpful to him and it hopes to be able to fulfill more of an advisory role, though its demand for justice eventually results in Arthur ordering it from his sight. 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. At the beginning of Lady Friday the Fourth Part of the Will has joined Dame Primus. Dame Primus starts showing very strange characteristics. She orders that all the Piper's Children in all realms ruled by Arthur are to be executed. Arthur almost uses the Key on her when she starts growing fangs and hissing but she apologizes and says that she is just trying to meld herself together. This is the second instance of suspicious behavior displayed by Dame Primus (the first being refusing a call from Leaf who was trying help Arthur), causing some readers to question where her alliances lie.
[edit] Fifth Part of the Will
The Fifth Part of the Will appears as a large, half-reptile half-bat monster. Arthur finds it imprisoned in the sub-level of the cave system that Friday's Winged Servants of the Night use as their eyrie, on the Top Shelf of the Middle House. Known to the Servants as the Beast, the Fifth Part actually turns out to be a very pleasant and agreeable creature, immediately offering Arthur its assistance. After being released, the Fifth Part accompanies Arthur, Suzy, Fred, Banneret Ugham, and a host of Gilded Youths to Lady Friday's Scriptorium, where they think Friday has left the Fifth Key. There, they find that a battle between the Piper and Superior Saturday's forces has left Saturday's Dusk dead, and the Piper's Children unconscious. Despite Arthur's warning, the Piper forces Ugham to take the (fake) Key from its pedestal, activating a Nothing vortex trap that kills Ugham. The Fifth Part manages to save Arthur and his friends with a sweep of its tail, and commands Arthur to use the Fourth Key to close the void. Once this is done and Arthur has defeated Lady Friday in her Fortress in the Secondary Realms, he gives the first four Keys to the Fifth Part, to be returned to Dame Primus. Before leaving, the fifth part apologizes for the behavior of the other Parts of the Will, theorizing that it will make Dame Primus easier to work with once it has joined her. It represents the virtue of temperance, as it constantly stresses the importance of moderation.
[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 affected 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 which due an explosion dropped the eyebrows into Nothing and so created a Nithling. He has a strong-built body and flamboyant curly black hair. 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 plagiarizing things from the secondary realms. Suzy Blue seems to hate him more than other Morrow Days, even calling him a "rotten bastard". 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 changed his Dawn, Noon, and Dusk, into seven Grotesques, which were less powerful. This 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
Drowned Wednesday is also known as "Duchess Wednesday", "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 betrayed as 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 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, granted Overlordship of the Great Maze, is a very powerful, volatile, and excessively violent Denizen. He is afflicted with Wrath. Sir Thursday, the Keeper of the Fourth Key to the Kingdom, might not be particularly handsome or tall, but nobody disobeys his direct orders. He beats his subordinates, including the Marshals, when angry, and kills two Piper's Children in a fit of rage. 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. He is currently under arrest and closely guarded. He may draft anyone in the House and force them into 100 years of service in the Army of the Architect.
[edit] Lady Friday
Lady Friday, Mistress of the Middle House. She is the Keeper of the Fifth Part of the Will and the Fifth Key to the Kingdom. She is afflicted with Lust, which manifests in her insatiable desire to "experience" mortals. She is briefly mentioned in Grim Tuesday when Tuesday refers to her as "that fool Friday" and masquerades as a beautiful doctor on Earth, Doctor Friday, who only works on Fridays, at the end of Sir Thursday.
Lady Friday invites Arthur, Superior Saturday, and the Piper to her Scriptorium, where she has left the Fifth Key for first of the three to find and claim it along with mastery of the Middle House. The Fifth Part of the Will remains incarcerated so it will not take the Fifth Key, but is no longer under the supervision of Friday. Though Lady Friday claims she has extended this offer because she wishes to abdicate from her role as Trustee and quietly pursue her own personal interests, her offer is actually a trap to dispose of the Piper, Saturday, and Arthur.
In truth, Friday has taken the Fifth Key with her to her mountain retreat in a Secondary Realm in the Lesser Magellanic Clouds in order to continue pursuing "mortal experiencing", a vampiric practice of draining mortals (particularly older ones) of their emotional experiences. Unknown to Arthur, as Doctor Friday, Lady Friday has kidnapped Arthur's family, friends, and other humans from the hospital for the sake of "experiencing". Arthur defeats her and claims the Fifth Key before she can "experience" defeat and places her under arrest along with her Noon and Dusk.
[edit] Superior Saturday
Known also as Lady Saturday, Superior Sorcerer of the Upper House. She is Master of the Upper House, where House Sorcery is studied and Keeper of the Sixth Key and the Sixth Part of the Will. She is presumably affected with either envy or pride. She has made no appearances, though the Raised Rats mentioned that she was a woman when last they saw her. Drowned Wednesday chose Saturday to ask for assistance against the other Morrow Days, but was betrayed; Saturday attacked Wednesday, aided by the other Morrow Days, save Monday who was at the time afflicted with sloth. In Sir Thursday, it is made known that she is Sunday's deputy and Thursday follows her commands; thus Saturday influences the actions in Sir Thursday. Throughout Lady Friday, Saturday disrupts travel and communications (though with less success since that is under the domain of the Lower House) throughout the House and attempts to assert definitive control over the Middle House.
Her Noon and Dusk are suspected by many of doing many heinous deeds, such as murdering Mister Monday and Grim Tuesday. 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 by her manipulation of Sir Thursday and attempt to coax Arthur to hand over the Keys. Saturday appears to enjoy meddling in other people's business.
[edit] Lord Sunday
He is the King of the Incomparable Gardens, Keeper of the Seventh Key and the Seventh Part of the Will. He is presumably affected with either pride or envy. 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 Sunday wields retains its powers in the Secondary Realms, it is paramount over the other keys, and within the House can act outside its own realm.
In Sir Thursday, Arthur implies to the reader that Lord Sunday might have influenced the Piper to attack the House. Subsequently, at the conclusion of Lady Friday, Suzy presents Arthur with a note found from a dead Raised Rat which implies that Sunday does not wish to be bothered with the affairs of the House and has allowed his deputy, Superior Saturday, to do what ever she thinks is best.
[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, e.g. 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 almost all Dawns have been female; possibly a reference to the Greek Goddess Eos, known in Rome as Aurora, whose waking signified the morning. According to Monday's Dusk (later Monday's Noon) in Mister Monday Noon sits at their master's right, Dawn at their left and Dusk is behind. Whether this ranking system applies to every Morrow Day's Noon, Dawn and Dusk is unknown.
[edit] Monday
[edit] Under Mister Monday
- Monday's Dawn: An attractive woman with a golden tongue, clad in a dress having the colour of dawn. She has golden wings. the defense group she commands is the Corps of Inspectors.
- Monday's Noon: Noon was loyal to Monday, attacking Arthur whenever he had the chance. His striking feature is a silver tongue. With his silver tongue, he has a large influence on people's decisions; 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 sword of Architectural Fire. He is said to appear around 30 years old. He commanded the Commissioners.
- Monday's Dusk: In Mister Monday, he helped Arthur defeat Mister Monday. He has a black tongue, short jet black hair, ebony wings and a black sword probably made from frozen moonlight. He is loyal to Arthur and the Will. He commanded the Midnight Visitors.
[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 Tierce: Suzy Turquoise Blue, formally known as Suzanna Monday's Tierce by Dame Primus. Arthur appoints Suzy as Monday's Tierce, which is the hour between Dawn and Noon, and the assistant and apprentice of Monday's Noon (formally Monday's Dusk) after the defeat of Mister Monday.
- Monday's Noon: The former Monday's Dusk is appointed as Monday's Noon under Lord Arthur. He is the same person, having been altered to look like Monday's Noon (see above). He acts like Dame Primus' assistant and is very loyal to her.
- 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 have. Their names were Yan, Tan, Methera, Tethera, Pits, Sethera and Azer. All of them has been killed by Superior Saturday's Dusk, who stabbed Tuesday's Yan since all the Grotesques were linked. Tuesday's current Times are unknown. The Grotesques' names literally mean 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, under the traditional way of counting sheep.
[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 an albino alligator's tail. 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. She gives Arthur a peg enchanted with the spell "A thousand and one breaths" which lets him need much less oxygen.
- Wednesday's Noon: The first Noon was eaten by Wednesday in her Leviathan form. There is no Noon until Arthur appoints Sunscorch to the role. {See below}
- Wednesday's Dusk: The first Dusk was eaten by Wednesday in her Leviathan form. There is no Dusk until Arthur appoints Dr. Scamandros to the role. {See below}
[edit] Under Lord Arthur
- Wednesday's Dawn: Wednesday's Dawn is kept in her position.
- Wednesday's Noon: 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: 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. He appears at the beginning of Lady Friday to inform Arthur of the events which have occurred since the battle with the Piper at the end of Sir Thursday.
[edit] Friday
[edit] Under Lady Friday
- Friday's Dawn - Friday's Dawn is a very tall, heavily armored Denizen. He is the Guildmaster of the Flat, the lower portion of the Middle House and commands the Guilded Youths. He disapproves of Lady Friday's practice of "experiencing" mortals, a kind of emotional vampirism, and as such was never allowed to accompany her to her secret fortress in the Secondary Realms. When Friday abdicates and retreats to her fortress, she takes Noon and Dusk with her and leaves Dawn to deal with an invasion from Saturday's forces. Dawn feels no real loyalty to her, and swears allegiance to Arthur almost as soon as he arrives on the Top Shelf. For this, Arthur gives Dawn command of the Top Shelf and Binding Junction. Friday's Dawn is the only Dawn in the series so far that is male.
- Friday's Noon - Noon appears as a handsome blond man with blue eyes who wears a monocle. He, Friday and Dusk engaged in the practice of experiencing, the act of draining the memories and emotions of elderly mortals. While in Friday's secret fortress, he caught Leaf attempting to contact Arthur via the telephone in Noon's office, and put her into a deep sleep. When Arthur overthrew Friday, Noon and Dusk escaped punishment with experiencing patches, which put them in a coma-like state that they could not be woken up from. Their unconscious bodies were ordered to be locked up with Lady Friday in the Great Maze (presumably the prisons of the Citadel).
- Friday's Dusk - Occupant briefly seen, but not described. Dusk is the leader of the Friday's Servants of the Night, whos names include Cool of Evening before Full Dark and One Who Survived the Darkness, who reports directly to Friday's Dusk.
[edit] Under Lord Arthur
- Friday's Dawn - Occupant Unchanged
- Friday's Noon - Occupant Unappointed at the end of Lady Friday
- Friday's Dusk - Occupant Unappointed at the end of Lady Friday
[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. Please see section beneath Saturday's Dusk.
- 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.
It is unknown whether Saturday's Noon or Dusk has died in Lady Friday. Jakem thinks that Dusk has flown to the Scriptorium, accompanied by Internal Auditors. Friday's Dawn says that Noon has done so. A few things to observe: -The Winged Servants of the Night, are under Dusk and only come out at night. Guards of Dawns, Noons and Dusks only serve when it is their Master's time of day. This implies that Artful Loungers are in the service of Saturday's Dusk, and if that were the case, they would travel with Dusk, instead of Internal Auditors, to defeat the Piper. -Internal Auditors are probably Noon's guards. -When Arthur saw the body of a Superior Denizen, there was an ebony cane laying next to him, broken. Ebony is a shade of black, implying it is Dusk. -When the Lieutenant Keeper is battling one of Saturday's minions, he has a silver tongue, wings, and cane. He also wears a grey suit. He is called Dusk, but silver is the mark of Noon. He wields no ebony stick.
[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 and is on tour.
- Dr. Emily Penhaligon: Arthur's mother. A medical researcher that works for the government. She is renowned nation-wide. She has gone missing in Lady Friday and is not among the mortals kidnapped by Lady Friday. (Possibly Lady Saturday?)
- Erazmuz Penhaligon: Arthur's oldest brother, a major in the army and a father. Arthur used his advice when in the army of the architect.
- Staria Penhaligon: Arthur's older sister, a serious theater actress.
- Patrick Penhaligon: Arthur's older brother, an accomplished musician who was originally named Eminor.
- Suzanne Penhaligon: Arthur's older sister, a college student.
- Michaeli Penhaligon: Arthur's older sister, at a local college. Meets Suzy and Leaf in Sir Thursday when they enter her house looking for Arthur's phone. Friendly and caring young woman who seems to suspect that something mysterious surrounds her youngest brother.
- Eric Penhaligon: Arthur's older brother, who is in his last year at high school. Quick-witted and athletic, Eric is the star-athlete of their high school's basketball and track team. Aloofness at school aside, Eric is fiercely protective of Arthur and will personally pummel anyone stupid enough to bully his youngest brother. Arthur openly admits that he is closer to Eric than any of his other siblings and has always looked up to him, constantly working hard and striving to impress him.
- 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".
- Aunt Mango: Leaf's maternal aunt, the older sister of her mother. Mango is a cheerful woman who told many stories to Leaf, but has some mental deficiencies which makes her somewhat childlike. She is among the mortals kidnapped by Lady Friday and used as collateral to make Leaf comply and act collateral to ensure Arthur does not interfere with her plans.
[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 nearly to Denizens after living an extensive time in the House, at one point or another under the command of the Piper. Both Suzy Turquoise 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 denizens who wash between the ears of Piper's Children. They do this by first using strange sort of rope, which ties people up on its own, to tie them up, then by putting a strange sort of hat/helmet/crown, which probably looks like an upside down colander, on the children's' head. They wear long yellow robes and bronze masks and there are always 3 of them. They come from the Upper House, and therefore serve Superior Saturday. It is uncertain exactly why pipers children get washed between the ears although it is implied that even the 'forces of good' don't object to it, (Dame Primus said as much in her letter to Arthur in 'Drowned Wednesday') it has probably got something to do with the piper himself. Similarly washing between the ears keeps the pipers children youthful in personality, because they live for thousands of years and if they retained all the memories of that time they would have the minds of very old people, but the washing between the ears stops that.
[edit] Bibliophages
Snakelike Nithlings used by Mister Monday. Bibliophages spit acid-like venom at anything with text or type on it, from clothing to tattoos. These Nithlings were particularly lethal to the Will, as the Will was composed entirely of text. Aside from their venom, they appear to be harmless, merely encircling people and wrapping around them, neither biting nor constricting.
[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. They are considered dangerous, and Denizens are advised not to give them weapons, or wings. They can be defeated with weak magic and salt will melt them, returning them to Nothing. Fetchers are supposed to be durable, and apparently not very intelligent.
[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, having the abilities 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 stolen 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 condemning 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 mixed with Nothing, located inside the Secret Harbour.
[edit] Fred Initial Numbers Gold
A fellow Recruit in the Great Army of the Architect recuited the day before Arthur, the cheerful,talkative, happy-go-lucky Fred quickly befriends Arthur. He is unusually 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 recalls a little and fights with Arthur against the New Nithlings in Sir Thursdays Piper's Children attack. Arthur is forced to abandon Fred, along with Suzy and the other Piper's children, when the Piper puts them under his control.
Fred and the other Piper's Children involved in the attack are all given tattoos around their necks that magically bind them to the Piper's will (though Arthur romoves Fred and Suzy's ones later on). Fred and Arthur later meet up again when Fred, Suzy, and a New Nithling named Banneret Ugham (who dreams to be a turnip farmer) are accidentally transported to the Middle House by a mirror that Lady Friday had meant as a trap for the Piper. Arthur falls into the same trap, and the four join up in a gold leaf processing plant on the great canal. In Lady Friday, it is revealed that Fred can understand the hand signs used by the Winged Servants of the Night, which leads to him becoming an interpreter for Arthur. Also, in Lady Friday, Fred is promoted to the rank of Lieutenant by Arthur.
[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 augury box, but besides that no others have been mentioned.
[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" that has caused many Denizens to be surprised that Arthur is just a boy upon seeing him. In Sir Thursday, he is seen during the council Dame Primus holds to debate on important matters in the House.
[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. He wields a sword of blue fire which is described in the fourth book Sir Thursday in his battle against Saturday's Noon to help Suzy Turquoise Blue. This is the blade he uses to defend the Front Door of the House.
[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] The Mariner
A one of the adopted sons of the architect, who Arthur meets in 'grim Tuesday'. His favourite weapon is his one-of-a-kind spear which is painful for mortals and pipers children when used. He owes a debt to Arthur, and therefore promised to help him on any three occasions. So far, Arthur has used his help twice, one time being Leaf asking for the help instead of Arthur. He also gave Arthur (and Suzy) a pair of immaterial boots which change form depending on what other clothing your wearing and have special abilities. They are assumed to have been eaten away by the draft notice Arthur gets in 'sir Thursday' (when it turns into a recruit uniform).
[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. is thought to be one of Tuesdays dawn, noon or dusk
[edit] Elephant
Arthur's pink and yellow stuffed toy elephant the one gift his true parents where able to give him before they died. he lost it on a picnic trip but found it again in the border sea. its current location is not known. it is mentioned briefly in 'drowned Wednesday' and even more briefly in 'sir Thursday'
[edit] The "Messengers"
In the prologues in both Mister Monday and Grim 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 are high ranking servants of Superior Saturday, or even her Noon and Dusk.
It is mentioned in the first book by these two that they serve a higher authority than Monday when the Inspector asked. It is implied that the messengers are actually Saturday's Noon and Dusk.
[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. 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. Probably the smartest one too.
[edit] The Old One
Sometime associate and contemporary of the Architect, The Old One is the second 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. 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 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. In Mister Monday, he almost betrayed Arthur to the clock work dolls so that the Old One would keep his eyes from being cut out for a day. But right before his punishment took place, he woke up Arthur and warned him to run. Arthur did, and was saved from certain torment.
[edit] The Piper
The third son of the Architect. He was cast into 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 of New Nithlings, that are extremely organized, intelligent, and the Piper describes them as "almost mortal", with which to claim the House. He claims Sunday betrayed him, but Part Four of the Will contradicts him, reminding him of his attempt 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. The fact that he is controlling both rats and children with his pipe makes him a very possible allusion to the Pied Piper of Hamelin. In Lady Friday he leads some of his warriors (Piper's Children) up to Friday's Scriptorium in an attempt to get the Fifth Key before Saturday's Dusk and kills Dusk in the process. He is tricked by Lady Friday into taking what is not the key but in fact the entrance to the void and just about manages to escape. His army is still in full force at the end of the book and he has proved that even with a key defeating him will be very difficult.
[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. Maybe even be the Dawn of Superior Saturday)
[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 issues 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, palladium, osmium, iridium and platinum.one of them starts chasing arthur and leaf in sir Thursday
[edit] The Skinless Boy
According the Complete 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 so they codenamed it 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 as a result of accumulating Nothing. He helped Suzy and Arthur to break into Tuesday's Pyramid via the use of a special diamond, and is now believed to be destroyed. In exchange for entrance to Tuesday's Pyramid, he is permitted to devour Tuesday's treasures.
[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 narwhal, 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 the help of Arthur Penhaligon and Suzy Turquoise Blue.
Tom gives Arthur a whalebone disc, which was made into a medallion, at the end of Grim Tuesday. 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 because he is a friend of the Mariner, showing that although the Mariner is technically guilty of breaking Original Law many many times over, he is still respected by many people. The Mariner does not appear until the end of the book, when he finally arrives by ship after Arthur has called for him with the whalebone disc medallion, only to discover Arthur has already obtained the Third Key and become Duke of the Border Sea. The whalebone disc is later given to Leaf, who uses it in Lady Friday to summon the Mariner for help. He comes to her aid, but warns her that the medallion can only be used to summon him three times and was only intended for Arthur's use; though he has come to her aid, the third call from the medallion must come from Arthur himself.
He is probably based upon the Ancient Mariner; a speculation due to a reference he makes to shooting a bird.
[edit] Gunner's First Mate 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.
