Children of the Red King
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Children of the Red King is a popular series of children's fantasy novels written by British author Jenny Nimmo. It is also known as the "Charlie Bone" series and, before it was extended to six books, (approaching eight) as the "Red King Quintet".
The protagonist of the series is Charlie Bone, a twelve-year-old boy endowed with supernatural talents to converse and "visit" people contained within photographs or paintings.
As a result of his endowment, Charlie is sent to Bloor's Academy, a weekday unordinary school for those endowed with magical, artistic, dramatic or musical talents. While he makes enemies among the owners, the Bloors, who persist in mayhem and havoc as they attempt to bring every endowed person under their control, he also makes a significant number of friends who assist in his attempts to preserve the good.
The series follows Charlie as he aids those who have been persecuted by the Bloors, and searches for clues over his father's disappearance many years ago.
Jenny Nimmo originally intended to write only the first five novels, and the primary storyline is resolved in those five, but later decided to also write a trilogy focusing more on the evil children. Charlie Bone is the protagonist of the first five, but will take less of a prominent position in the later three.[1] It was later revealed when Charlie Bone and the Wilderness Wolf came out Charlie is still the main character.
Contents |
[edit] Series
There are currently six books released in the series, published by Egmont in the United Kingdom and by Scholastic in the United States. (Original English titles first, followed by American titles):
- Midnight for Charlie Bone (UK: 1 February 2002, US: April 1, 2002)
- The Time Twister (1 April 2003) / Charlie Bone and the Time Twister (3 April 2003)
- Charlie Bone and The Blue Boa (1 April 2004) / Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy (1 July 2004)
- The Castle of Mirrors (5 June 2005) / Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors (2005)
- Charlie Bone and the Hidden King (UK: 5 June 2006, US: 2006)
- Charlie Bone and the Wilderness Wolf (4 June 2007) / Charlie Bone and the Beast (1 June 2007)
- Charlie Bone and the Shadow of Badlock (4 September 2008) / Charlie Bone and the Shadow (1 September 2008)
- Charlie Bone and the Red Knight (Release date unknown)
[edit] Characters
[edit] Bloor's Academy Students
- Bindi: A friend of Olivia Vertigo. Her magical talent has not yet been developed. She left Bloor's Academy at the end of the second book. However, it is presumed that she is one of the good children as she helped to hide Henry Yewbeam from Manfred Bloor and Asa Pike.
- Charlie Bone: Charlie was sent to Bloor's by his horrible Yewbeam aunts and his Grandma Bone when they found that he was a picture traveler. He is related to the Red King's youngest daughter, Amoret, through his father, Lyell Bone. He is related to a Welsh magician, Mathonwy, who was the Red King's friend, through his mother, Amy Jones/Bone. He is the unappointed leader of the good children of the Red King and defies the Bloor's in their evil plots.
- Idith and Inez Branko: They very rarely show facial expression, but when they do it's rarely pleasant. They are also telekinetic and are distantly related to Zelda Dobinski. They are described as looking like "china dolls," and are impossible to tell apart.
- Zelda Dobinski: A telekinetic known to have consorted with Manfred Bloor. She has now graduated from Bloor's due to being a mathematical genius.
- Belle Donner: The child-like form of Yolanda Yewbeam. Her name, as Gabriel points out, is a pun on belladonna. Belle (as Yolanda) was a powerful shape shifter and hypnotist who appeared at Bloor's Academy quite suddenly, and integrated herself with the evil characters. She also managed to win Asa's affections due to being a fellow shape shifter.
- Dagbert Endless: His morality changes with the moon. He is the son of Lord Grimwald, and has the power to drown people. He also depends on his Sea Gold creatures which were given to him by his mother, and without them he will gag and not be able to breath. He constantly smells of fish and the ocean which is why he makes his home in a fake fish shop.
- Fidelio Gunn: The good friend of Charlie's. He is an amazing violin player, though not magically endowed. He tutored Charlie in music to help him prepare for enrollment at Bloor's. Fidelio's home, Gunn House, is generally filled with the clamor of the many musicians in his large family, and is one of the safest places for Charlie and his friends to hide and plot, as there is consistently enough noise to cover their conspiring. His family also owns a cat named Pudding, who is deaf due to the noise of the Gunn House.
- Dorcas Loom: An enemy of Charlie's. At the beginning of the series, her morality was uncertain, but she became quite mean. Her magical talent is the ability to bewitch clothes; her bewitched belt almost killed Miss Ingledew (Emma's aunt), and her shawl stole away Billy Raven's power. She idolizes Venetia Yewbeam, Charlie's great-aunt. Her nemesis is probably Gabriel Silk, as her power affects him in particular.
- Asa Pike: While Asa was bad he worked for Manfred. He is forced to change his shape to a wolf at dusk. He is a changer, meaning that he changed from bad to good but it is possible to go bad again any time. This term could also be interpreted as referring to his endowment. His parents are creatures known as Meromalls. His father was killed in the 6th book, and he himself was kidnapped by Manfred and kept in a dark tunnel, forcing him to remain in wolf form. Asa is endowed with a "were-beast" quality. After dusk, he gains the ability to transform into a wolf-like being. In this state, he nearly killed Charlie in "Midnight for Charlie Bone" and Olivia in "The Invisible Boy", as well as seriously wounding Runner Bean, Benjamin's dog in "Midnight for Charlie Bone". However, in the fifth book, "The Hidden King", Asa began to show signs of redemption and a willing to become good, when he saved Emma Tolly and aided Charlie in freeing the Red King, as a result of the presence of Count Harken Badlock. Due to his were-beast blood, Asa was deeply disturbed by the Count's presence, as were all animals in the city. As punishment for his disobedience, he was captured by the Bloor's and locked in a dark tunnel. He was rescued by Charlie and Billy, and escaped the city with his mother.
- Billy Raven: Billy is a friend of Charlie's, but for the first three books was unsure whether to be good or bad. He is an orphan and is only 7 years old in first book. Although he acted as spy for Ezekiel Bloor, who promised that he would be adopted, he later decided to become friends with Charlie and aid him. Billy can speak and understand animals like his ancestor Amadis, and inherited his "Castle of Mirrors". In the fourth book, he was adopted by the de Greys, who locked him away in Passing House, but luckily escaped with help from the Flames. Currently, Billy lives in Bloor's Academy during the week, like the other students, and sometimes with Charlie during weekends. He is close friends with Cook, Rembrandt (a rat which used to belong to "Mr Boldova") and Ezekiel Bloor's dog Blessed (or Percy), whom he has long chats with. In the sixth book, Billy lost his endowment, but basically recovered soon after having to speak to Asa while Asa was a wolf.
- Lysander Sage: He is one of Charlie's friends, and best friend of Tancred. He is descended from an African wise man. Lysander is able to summon his spirit ancestors in times of need. Lysander is also noted as a remarkable sculptor. His father is a judge. Lysander has two sisters named Hortense and Alexandra aged ten and fourteen, as well as another, unnamed sibling. His endowment is passed down from his mother. Lysander has a gray parrot named Homer who is prone to swearing, much to everyone's annoyance. He currently dates Lauren, who attends a normal school with Benjamin Brown, Charlie's best friend. Lysander lives in the Heights, along with Tancred and Gabriel.
- Gabriel Silk: Gabriel is a friend of Charlie. He owns many gerbils, and is descended from a long line of psychics. He, like Olivia, is descended from the Red King's daughter Guanhamara. An interesting note is that the Red King's portrait in Bloor's Academy originally belonged to the Silk family. Gabriel's family also owns the Red King's cloak. He is psychometric - he can see and feel scenes and emotions through the clothes of others, which makes it impossible (or at least painful) for him to wear second-hand clothing. This was used against him by Dorcas Loom in the fourth book, as a bewitched cape caused him to fall into a coma. This endowment has, however, proved useful in a few cases - when he wore the Red King's cloak, he became invincible and therefore able to protect Tancred from a sorcerer in the fifth book, and in the third book he found out that "Mr Boldova" had been hypnotized. Through a tie provided to him by Charlie, he sensed in the first book that Charlie's father was not dead, but lost (ie. hypnotised). Gabriel lives on Hail Road in the Heights.
- Beth Strong: A telekinetic. She comes from a line of circus performers. She leaves the Bloor's quite early and was "friends" with Zelda Dobinski. Beth is also considered to be Bindi's opposite.
- Joshua Tilpin: A spy for Bloor's. His parents are Matthew Tilpin and Miss Chrystal. His endowment is magnetism, which lures people and objects towards him. He attempts to lure Tancred away from his friends, but Charlie and the others countered his power by making him so revolting that most would be repelled by him. His ancestors are Lilith and Count Harken Badlock.
- Tancred Torsson: Tancred is one of Charlie's friends. His Scandinavian ancestor was named after the thunder god, Thor. Like his father, Tancred is an atmokinetic; he can create rain, wind, thunder and lightning. In the fifth book, he also created snow. He lives in Thunder House, on Hail Road in the Heights. Also like his father, he has a short temper and is very impatient. He is descended from Petrello, like Dagbert Endless. His short temper often causes unpredictable storms, and if feeling strong emotions, he cannot control it. Although he has dated Tracy Morsell, it is implied that he also has a crush on Emma Tolly. Currently he possesses Dagbert's golden sea urchin.
- Emma Tolly: Emma was traded shortly after her birth by her father, Dr. Tolly, for a chance to re-animate their ancestor, a Spanish knight from Toledo, whose daughter married the Red King. Emma was hypnotized by Manfred Bloor for eight years and re-named Emilia Moon until Charlie rescued her with the "Tolly Twelve Bells" invention, created by her father with the purpose of re-awakening her. Emma is an exceptional artist and her endowment enables her to transform herself into different types of birds. She eventually created her own bird called the Tollroc. She strongly resembles her mother, and owns a duck called Nancy (named after her mother). Her greatest weaknesses are her fingers or hands, and she cannot fly when these are sore or weakened. Emma lives with her Aunt Julia Ingledew in her bookstore.
- Olivia Vertigo: A spirited, independent-minded drama student who often assists Charlie in his efforts to foil evil plans at Bloor's. Her outstanding acting skills probably keep her from being expelled. In the fourth book, when she doesn't receive a hoped-for movie role, she sinks into a bout of depression. She, like Gabriel, is descended from the Red King's daughter Guanhamara who fled the Red King's castle and married an Italian prince. Olivia is an illusionist who realized her endowment in the fourth book, and she has used her powers to create a giant alligator, a swarm of bees, a medieval knight, a Tyrannosaurus and many more apparitions. Her endowment has been kept secret from the Bloor's so that they won't try to take over her.
[edit] Bloor's Academy Staff
- Ezekiel Bloor: The owner of Bloor's Academy and grandfather of the current headmaster, Dr. Bloor. Over a hundred years old, he is crippled and must use a wheelchair. He was the one who sent Henry Yewbean (his cousin) forward in time.
- Doctor Harold Bloor: The Headmaster of Bloor's Academy. He has no magical endowment, but his physical image is very intimidating to most people. He appears to be allied with the bad children.
- Manfred Bloor: Charlie's arch-enemy, and the son of the Headmaster. He was once a hypnotist, but the peak of this power had been at age nine when he hypnotized Lyell Bone and Emma Tolly. He has basically lost this power, but is currently becoming a pyrokinetic, like his ancestor Borlath. He previously worked with (and it has been implied that he dated) Zelda Dobinski. However, she has since graduated. Manfred was previously Head Boy, but is currently a teacher's assistant. Asa Pike previously idolized him, but their current relationship is less than warm. He is descended from Borlath, eldest son of the Red King. Borlath was a brutal and sadistic tyrant. The Flames once turned into leopards and attacked him but his face has magically recovered, due to some orange insects given to him by Dorcas Loom.
- Mr. Boldova (Samuel Sparks): He has the power to turn rocks into superheated sparks and sustain the heat which they produce. His brother is Ollie Sparks, once turned invisible by a blue snake. He used to be an art teacher in Bloor's, and often helped the children out of sticky situations.
- Mr. Carp: An English teacher at Bloor's.
- Miss Chrystal: A violin teacher at Bloor's Academy. She appeared to be good, but it is revealed to be evil when she releases "the Shadow" from the Red King's portrait using the Mirror of Amoret. She was once in love with Charlie's father, Lyell Bone, but he was in love with Amy Jones (Charlie's mother). She later married Matthew Tilpin and had a son, Joshua. She is descended from the Red King's eldest daughter Lilith and her husband, the evil Count Harken Badlock (aka "the Shadow" or "Hart Noble"). She is a dark witch.
- Cook (Treasure):One of Charlie's friends and the "lodestone," who keeps the balance of endowed children at Bloor's. Her real name is Treasure and she has a sister named Pearl. Cook has many secret rooms under Bloor's Academy. Cook has the power of good luck and grace (tranquility). She takes care of Blessed, Ezekiel's dog, and acts as a messenger between Charlie and the outside world. As a young woman, she was living on an island with her family and her fiancé. However, when she refused to marry a "drowner" named Lord Grimwald, he destroyed her family, her fiancé and her home.
- Tantalus Ebony: A former teacher of history, piano and drama at Bloor's. He is actually Yorath Yewbeam, a shapeshifter, Yolanda Yewbean's father. His personality and shape are an amalgamation of a narcoleptic headmaster by the name of Tantalus Wright and Vincent Ebony, a postman.
- Mrs. Marlowe: The drama teacher..
- Mr. Paltry: Charlie's ill-tempered wind instrument teacher. He has no patience for endowed students as they are generally not musically talented.
- Mr. Pilgrim (Lyell Bone): Charlie's father, who disappeared in 1994 after "breaking the rules". Lyell was unendowed; he went to Bloor's because of his talent in piano. Gabriel says that he is not dead, but 'lost'. In the fifth book, it is found that he was hypnotized and transformed into "Mr. Pilgrim," a very spacey, quiet teacher in Bloors. He is reunited with his family. In the sixth book, it is suggested that he has possession of a box that contains a will.
- Mr. Pope: History teacher.
- Dr. Saltweather: The head of the music department. His endowment is the immunity to drowning in water, as illustrated when Dagbert Endless tried to drown him in a thick fog. He states that this does not count as a proper endowment.
- Miss Singerlee: Assistant drama teacher.
- Valerie: Kitchen assistant.
- Mr. Weedon: The Bloor's Academy gardener. Weedon also acts as a bodyguard and chauffeur to Ezekiel Bloor.
- Mrs. Weedon: The cook for the Green kitchen and wife of Mr. Weedon, the gardener. Known as mean and loves to read thrill novels.
- Lucretia Yewbeam: The eldest of Charlie's great-aunts and the younger sister of Grandma Bone. She is unendowed, but consistently nasty. When her mother died under mysterious circumstances in Yewbeam castle, Lucretia and her sisters lived with Yolanda Yewbeam. She is the matron of Bloor's Academy.
[edit] Other Characters
- Alice Angel: A white witch who discovered Olivia's endowment. Related to Guanhamara.
- Beatrice Bloor: She was a witch. Beatrice despised her sister Maybelle, the ancestor of Billy Raven. As such, when her father, Septimus Bloor left all his belongings (the castle ruin, Bloor's Academy and much money) to Maybelle, Beatrice poisoned her and created a false will leaving their father's possessions to their brother, Bertram Bloor. Bertram passed these heritages to his son Gideon Bloor, and then to his grandson Ezekiel Bloor.
- Bartholomew Bloor: He is Dr. Bloor's father and Ezekiel's son. He supposedly disappeared in the Alps during a climb, but is later revealed to have survived. He is married to an Asian woman named Meng, and they have adopted Naren. Bartholomew was a close friend to Charlie's father.
- Maybelle Bloor: Maybelle's endowment is unknown. She was left everything including Bloor’s academy and the castle ruins by her father Septimus Bloor, but her sister Beatrice poisoned her and made a false will leaving everything to Bertram. She married into the Raven family and is an ancestor of Billy Raven.
- Amy Bone (née Jones): Charlie's mother. She is a kind and loving woman who works part-time at a greengrocer's to support herself and her son, as well as living off money that her in-laws provide. She was hypnotized by an enchanter, and is currently whale-watching with her husband Lyell Bone on a second honeymoon.
- Grizelda Bone (née Yewbeam): Charlie's paternal grandmother. Her siblings are Paton, Lucretia, Venetia and Eustacia. She is a horrible grandmother and frequently attempts to weasel the truth from Charlie and sneaks into his room. She seeks to emulate her three sisters and behaves subserviently toward them.
- Lyell Bone: Charlie's father, who disappeared in 1994 after "breaking the rules". Lyell was unendowed; he went to Bloor's because of his talent in piano. Gabriel says that he is not dead, but 'lost'. In the fifth book, it is found that he was hypnotized and transformed into "Mr. Pilgrim," a very spacey, quiet teacher in Bloor's. He is reunited with his family. In the sixth book, it is suggested that he has possession of a box that contains Septimus Bloor's real will, which would reveal Billy Raven as the owner of Bloor's Acadamy as Maybelle Rave's last heir.
- Benjamin Brown: Charlie's oldest and best friend. Ben doesn't go to Bloor's, but recently returned from a seven-month trip to Hong Kong. He owns a dog named Runner Bean and his parents are great detectives so he doesn't see them a lot.
- Florence de Grey: She can control people with bewitched oaths. These oaths are coated with a poison binding the person to the oath. If a person breaks the oath, they are physically harmed by the oath.
- Usher de Grey: He has the power to produce force fields. Though he dislikes children, he was temporarily the adoptive parent of Billy Raven.
- Lord Grimwald: He has the ability to control the seas, and is a descendant of Petrello. Enemy of Cook. After she refused to marry him, he killed her fiance and parents, though he appears not to recognise her when they briefly meet in the sixth book. He is also the father of Dagbert Endless.
- Julia Ingledew: She is Emma Tolly's aunt and owner of Ingledew's Bookshop. She originally gave Charlie Bone the invention (Tolly Twelve Bells) that would later unhypnotize her niece, Emma, with whom she is reunited at the end of the first book. She is in love with Charlie's great uncle Paton.
- Maisie Jones: Charlie's maternal grandmother. She was jealous of the Yewbeams for their magical heritage until she discovered that she was related to a Welsh magician Mathonwy. Unlike Grandma Bone, she is a kind grandmother.
- Mrs. Katya Kettle: She is a talented blacksmith descended from Feromel the Blacksmith, a powerful magician. She made an invincible sword for the Red Knight in the sixth book.
- Naren Bloor: Bartholomew Bloor's adopted daughter. She is descended from the Red King's grandson who was abducted by pirates and taken to China. Naren means sunflower in Chinese. Naren can shape shadows to form messages and send them like a magical form of instant messaging, umbrakinesis, but only if she has access to a possession of the recipient. In the sixth book, she sends a shadow message to Charlie saying "good-bye". It is not known where her family moved to and if they will return.
- Orvil Onimous: The owner of the Pets' Cafe and husband of Onoria Onimous. He repeatedly helps Charlie and his friends, and also cares for the Flame cats - Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. Mr. Onimous is thought to be endowed, but his endowment is never described. A popular hypothesis is that he shares the gift of speaking animal tongues with Billy Raven. Mr. Onimous possibly has the gift of healing as stated in the first book, when he cured Runner Bean.
- Una Onimous: Mr. Onimous's five year old niece. She is endowed, but her talent is unknown as the Onimouses are keeping it a secret until it has been fully developed. Her endowment is assumed to be the ability to disappear, as she went invisible when holding the cookies. She is very out speaking (gets it from her mother).
- Pearl: The sister of Cook (Treasure) and endowed with the gift of tranquility. Is the housekeeper of Charlie's great grandfather, and his great-great-uncle, who should be 103 years old but was transported to the present day by his cousin Ezekiel at the age of eleven.
- Eric Shellhorn: He has the power to animate stone. He was originally good, but the influence from Venetia Yewbean-Shellhorn, his stepmother (also Charlie's great-aunt), turned him bad. His real mother was poisoned by Venetia, using a bewitch string of beads.
- Miranda Shellhorn: She is Eric Shellhorn's older sister and the unendowed stepdaughter of Venetia Yewbeam. She owns a dog named Chattypatra, so-called because she barks a lot. Chattypatra is later discovered to be in love with Runner Bean, Benjamin's dog. (who seems to return her affections)
- Venetia Shellhorn (née Yewbeam): The youngest and most deadly of Charlie's great-aunts. She is a designer of magic clothes, and used to have a man stuck in the attic of her house. She was clever and witty before the arson of her home by Charlie and Paton. She currently plots nothing but revenge against Charlie and Paton. Venetia taught Dorcas Loom to bewitch clothing. She married Arthur Shellhorn to presumeably influence his son, Eric, who is a stone animator. Venetia killed Shellhorn's first wife by giving her a bewitched necklace, and then gave Shellhorn a cloak to make him fall in love with her. Shellhorn and his daughter Miranda fled in fear of Venetia and Eric.
- Skarpo: He is a wizard that Charlie first visits in the second book, and then throughout the series. He lashes out in anger when Charlie 'takes' his wand, but later becomes Charlie's friend and associate, and helps to hide the Mirror of Amoret. He is contained inside a painting.
- Daphne Yewbeam: She was a clairvoyant and the daughter of Manley Yewbeam and Grace Bloor and sister of James and Henry Yewbeam. She died of diphtheria.
- Eustacia Yewbeam: The second of Charlie's great-aunts. She is a clairvoyant. Once, she had posed as a minder in Benjamin Brown's house while his parents were away, and allowed Asa Pike into the house to attack Runner Bean.
- Paton Yewbeam: Paton is Charlie's kind great-uncle. He is the mentor of the good endowed children at Bloor's and frequently assists as a voice of reason, historian or adult supervisor. He is endowed with power-boosting, which causes electrical objects to explode; as a result, he rarely leaves the house during the day. Evidence from the books seems to suggest that this ability is closely tied to Paton's emotions. Paton discovered this power when he was seven years old. During his birthday party, he was so excited that he burst all of the light bulbs around him, and everyone had to go home. His family was so delighted that they let him eat everybody else's ice cream and he became sick. Paton and Miss Ingledew are in love. On their first date, he thought she was so beautiful that he burst the light-bulbs surrounding their table and ran out without paying the bill. She has since forgiven him, and even Charlie smugly suggests that the two should marry. Paton is the only protagonist of the current generation of Yewbeams, which his sisters despise him for. They ran over him in the second book with a car. Fortunately, he survived. Paton sometimes serves as a form of comic relief, due to his apparently insatiable hunger - for instance, he is often introduced to scenes when he comes downstairs for a snack, and stops while telling Charlie about the sudden death of a shop-owner to ask "Can I have your eggs?"
- Yolanda Yewbeam: She returned to the Yewbeams to experiment on the Blue Boa, and to deal with Charlie's investigating skills. She was killed by Paton Yewbeam when he exploded the machine she was sewing at. She was endowed with two abilities, which is very rare in Charlie's world. She is both a shape-shifter and a hypnotist.
- Yorath Yewbeam: Yolanda's father and a shape-shifter. He swore vengeance on Paton Yewbeam after he killed his daughter Yolanda. He fell off a cliff during a battle with Paton Yewbeam, but his death is uncertain.
[edit] The Red King
[edit] Family Tree
Template:Family tree/end
- The Knight of Toledo is the ancestor of the Tollys and is the unendowed father-in-law of the Red King. His daughter is Queen Berenice.
- Queen Berenice: Daughter of the Knight from Toledo, wife of the Red King. She and her husband had ten children, and the Queen had great intuition in matters of the children. She died after giving birth to her youngest daughter, Amoret. Queen Berenice was brought back to life in an experiment conducted by Ezekiel Bloor in the fourth book. Her favorite horse's bones were merged with her heart, so now, she lives in the horse's body. She lives within the forest, close to the tree that is the Red King, and looks out for her children.
- The Red King. The Red King is known by this name because of his red cloak and the blazing sun on his shield. He was a king magician from Africa, who traveled through the world, accompanied by his three loyal leopards. He built a castle in the city, married Berenice, and had 10 children. All of his children inherited, in part, some of his power, which resulted in each of them possessing an incredible endowment. These powers were passed down through his children's descendants, and those who inherited the endowments were known as the Endowed or the Children of the Red King.
After Queen Berenice died giving birth to Amoret, the king went to grieve for her in the forest, as was the custom. He left his children in the care of nurses and guardians in the castle. As the King was coming back to his castle, he saw that the world was a wicked place and needed his help. For many years, he fought thieves, wrongdoers and assassins.
When the Red King finally reached his castle, he saw that Count Harken Badlock had turned five of his children to wickedness, and they were wreaking havoc on the countryside, using their powers for murder and torture. The other five children had fled their father’s castle forever. Unable to fight his own children, the King went back to the forest.
The King asked his friend Mathowny, a magician, to turn him into a tree in the forest, for he feared if he did it himself the change would not be permanent. He told his leopards and Mathowny to look after and take care of the descendants of his children, specifically the descendants of the good ones: Amadis, Guanhamara, Petrello, Tomeleo, and Amoret. He gave his leopards new coats and turned them into the three cats known as the Flames (Leo, Aries and Sagittarius). The Red King’s tree form was re-woken in the fifth book by the good endowed children at Bloor’s, as well as Naren Bloor and Una Onimous. He helped defeat the Shadow (Count Harken Badlock), and waken Charlie’s father, Lyell Bone. He has regained human form as the Red Knight, who rides the horse that is actually Queen Berenice.
[edit] Children
Bad: *Borlath: The Red King’s eldest child, he was described as a cruel tyrant, whose favorite sport was to torture. He was the black-browed ancestor of the Bloors. His endowment was fire-bringing. He was one of the wicked children who followed Count Harken Badlock and stayed in the palace, using their endowments for evil deeds. The Bloors are descended from Borlath. The Yewbeams also are decended from Borlath because Grace Bloor had married into the family.
Good *Amadis: The Red King's second son. Amadis was an albino and kind, with the endowment was the ability to communicate with animals. He fled the Red King's castle along with his younger sister Amoret, married, and built a beautiful castle on the Blue Island (The castle was known as the Castle of Mirrors). He had three sons, one of which was an albino, Owain. Owan was the only son who inherited his father's endowment. The Crowquills and the Ravens are descended from Amadis.
Bad: *Lilith: She was the eldest daughter of the Red King. Her endowment was most likely magnetism. She was one of the wicked children who stayed behind in the Red King's castle, and she married Count Harken Badlock. Lilith is the ancestor of the Tilpins. Little else is known about her.
Good: *Guanhamara: A gentle girl, Guanhamara was a witch and cared for all that was living. She helped the tortured Blue Boa by placing it in a jar with a dead bird, hoping that it would grow peaceful. However, it grew feathers and lost its ability to kill, but it was replaced by the ability to turn others invisible. Guanhamara fled to Italy, taking the King's cloak with her, an object that was passed down through the generations of her family. Guanhamara married an Italian prince and had seven daughters, every single one of them a witch. She is the ancestor to the Silks and Vertigos.
Good: *Petrello: The fifth child of the Red King. He was endowed with control of the weather, including the tides, fog and storms. He is the ancestor of the Torssons and Lord Grimwald's family. Petrello is described as bright by his father. He was one of the good children, but it is unknown to where he fled - possibly the north (where Dagbert Endless, who can control tides, hails) or the Scandinavian countries (Tancred Torsson has an ancestor who was Scandinavian).
Good: *Tolemeo: Clever. Possibly the ancestor of the Sage family. Tolemeo's endowment was unknown, but he was one of the good children, and fled the castle with his other four siblings.He is also possibly the ancestor of the Tollys. As their names are both based on Toledo who was his grandfather.
Bad (but then good): *Cafall: Known as Cafall the Changer. He was originally one of the wicked children, but as he was changeable, he turned good and fled his father’s castle. He came to settle in the Meromalls’ land, where the Meromalls, nonhuman creatures, lived. He took a Meromall bride, and a son was born to them. Their son was a changer, too, but he was unlike his mother: he was a boy by day, beast by night. This started a long line of changers who were half-human, half-beast, who were changeable in humor and mind too, like Cafall. Eventually, Cafall’s descendant, Asa Pike, came back to the city to study at Bloor’s. Cafall is the ancestor of the Pikes.
Good: *Amoret: Youngest daughter of the Red King. She was a picture traveler (she was able to travel to places she saw in pictures, paintings, magic items, etc.) and possibly clairvoyant, as many of her descendants possess this gift. Her father made her a beautiful mirror before her birth, which she would use to travel. Once a person looks in the mirror, they see the person or place they desired most. Amoret, as a traveler, was able to travel to the place she saw in the mirror. The Red King gave the mirror to Amadis so he could pass it on to Amoret. This mirror is known as the Mirror of Amoret.
Bad: Unknown Child
Bad: Unknown Child
However, Queen Berenice died after giving birth to Amoret, and the Red King left to grieve for Berenice when Amoret was only a baby. Amoret fled the castle with Amadis. Uncle Paton, however, states that she was lost; she was separated from Amadis during their flight from the castle.
Amoret was said to be a girl "whom no one could protect", and the fourth book implies she was involved in the construction of the Castle of Mirrors on the Blue Island, causing the battle with Borlath. When Charlie traveled in a picture in the Castle of Mirrors, he saw Amoret, along with Amadis and his wife, singing. Amoret is the ancestor of the Yewbeams.
The Red King had two other children; one or both were possibly telekinetic.
Other Historical Personages
- Mathonwy: A Welsh wizard and friend of the Red King. Ancestor of the Jones Family. Many of his descendants are also called Mathonwy.
- Skarpo: A wizard of the same generation as Red King. He was once Mathonwy's apprentice. It is unknown wheather he was apprenticed to the original Mathonwy or one of his name sakes. Charlie states the time was wrong for him to learn from the original.
- Charles Penybuck: Mentioned by Paton in the second book; a picture-traveller.
- Luigi Salutati: Painter of the Red King's portrait, descendant of Guanhamara. Possibly a clothes psychic.
- Feromel: A magical blacksmith. Katya Kettles Ancestor.
- Selena Sparks: She was a sparkler and never married. The Sparks family is decended from her brother
[edit] Trivia
- Leo, Aries, and Sagittarius (the Red King's leopards, aka the Flames) are named after the Fire signs of the Zodiac.
- In "The Castle of Mirrors", Alice Angel mentions a dark witch. In the next book, Miss Chrystal appears to be a dark witch. Whether she was actually evil remains to be seen.
- In the German version of the series (from Ravensburger), Yewbeam is written as Darkwood and Blessed as Benedikt.
- In the sixth book, Charlie says Cook told him about Grimwald, but in the second book, it was Henry Yewbeam she told.
- In the sixth book, Lysander's mum's Christian name is Hortense. In the third book, she was called Jessamine, and Hortense was one of Lysander's sisters.
- Charlie played 3 different instruments in the span of the first 3 books: piano (first book), recorder (first and second books), and trumpet (third book-6th)
[edit] External links
[edit] References
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The Red King |
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Amadis |
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Lilith |
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Count Harken Badlock |
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Guanhamara |
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Petrello |
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Tolemeo |
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Cafall |
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Two Unknown Children |
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Amoret |
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Owain |
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Two Unnamed Sons |
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Crowquill |
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Lord Grimwald |
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Luigi Salutati |
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The Vertigo Family |
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The Raven Family |
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The Silk Family |
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