Superior Saturday (character)
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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. The series follows the story of Arthur Penhaligon and his charge as the Rightful Heir of the Architect to claim the Seven Keys to the Kingdom and the seven demesnes of the House.

Heroes

Arthur Penhaligon

Arthur, a 12-year-old boy, has just moved to a town, and merely wants to fit in. After suffering a asthma attack, he is saved from his would-be fatal incident by a mysterious metal object, a Key, given by an even stranger character, Mister Monday, whose servants bring an incurable plague to Arthur's town. Arthur hurries to the House, a mysterious structure that only he can see. Shortly after arriving in the House, Arthur discovers the structure is a complete universe and is informed of his duty: to unseat the seven Trustees who run the House, claim their Keys, and rule all of Creation. Arthur cannot live an ordinary life unless he overthrows all of the Trustees, who are also known as the Morrow Days. To do this, however, he must use the Keys, which infect him with sorcery and make him a Denizen of the House; and whenever Denizens appear in the Secondary Realms (everything in Creation that is not in the House, including Earth), they are inimical to mortal life. This dilemma is a constant theme in the books: as Arthur does not wish to turn into a Denizen; he often resists using the Keys, and only does when it is absolutely necessary.

Arthur's current title as the Rightful Heir of the Architect is "Lord Arthur Penhaligon, Rightful Heir to the House, the Keys of the Kingdom and the Architect, 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 Master of the Middle House" which is a lot of power, for one small boy.

In Chapter One of Superior Saturday, it is implied that Arthur's use of the Fifth Key at the end of Lady Friday has completed his permanent transformation into a Denizen of the House: he is said to have "grown a few inches taller" by Leaf as they return to Friday's temporary hospital on Earth. When Arthur starts to look at the crocodile ring on his right hand, which measures his metamorphosis from mortal to Denizen, he stops himself at the last moment, as "In his heart, he knew the answer without looking at the ring"^[1]. This is confirmed when Arthur is now shown to have golden blood, and when he endures many physical attacks that a mortal would not survive. His transformation also came with a negative side effect: his mind is sometimes plagued by thoughts normally associated with a superior Denizen (i.e. arrogance, contempt for those weaker than him, etc.), and he is forced to exert great mental effort to suppress these thoughts. By the end of Superior Saturday, it is indicated that Arthur is at least 75% Denizen. Arthur asked the Old One about the transformation in Superior Saturday and was told that not all immortals are Denizens - for instance, the Architect and himself.

Suzy Turquoise Blue

Suzy is a Piper's Child (children brought to the House by the Piper) and used to be an Ink-Filler, Sixth Class. She was later promoted by Arthur to a higher position: Monday's Tierce, assistant to Monday's Noon who had previously been Monday's Dusk. She is a Reservist for the Glorious Army of the Architect, and in Superior Saturday has given herself the title of General. She is one of Arthur's most loyal helpers, constantly assisting him whenever she can. She often disobeys the orders of authority, specifically those of Dame Primus.

Suzy is reckless, adventurous, and tomboyish. She does not like to be kept away from action and will often bend or break the rules in order to find some. She is described as a ragamuffin, acting rambunctious and often using English slang. Although in Drowned Wednesday she is forced to act as a proper lady as long as she is on the Border Sea as a condition to being allowed to join Arthur — causing Arthur to believe that she had been washed between the ears — she circumvents this problem by acting her normal self once underneath the water.

Suzy's real name is Suzanna Dyer. She was born and raised in England during the Black Death, as detailed by events in Mister Monday. All her living relatives are, by now, deceased. Her father is Jack Dyer, and she mentions her mother and a brother in Superior Saturday

Suzy is very loyal, especially to Arthur. She is brave, always facing challenges that come her way and making sure she helps her friends. She has the mind of a child (probably due to the process of washing between the ears) despite being centuries old, and will sometimes act immature like one.

Towards the end of Sir Thursday, Suzy disappears when the Piper kidnaps her, Fred (Arthur's friend from the Army) and several other Piper's Children with his Pipes. At the end of Sir Thursday, the whereabouts of the two children are unknown. However, shortly into Lady Friday, the two reappear, but are constrained via a sorcerous tattoo that chokes them if they disobey a direct order, or discuss doing so. Although reluctant to use the Keys, Arthur uses the Fourth Key to release them from the Piper's bonds. Suzy has shown to be jealous of Leaf, expressing so when Arthur gave Leaf the Mariner's medallion, implying a possible romantic interest.

As of Superior Saturday, Suzy begins addressing herself as General Turquoise Blue, having her own troop of Piper's Children in the Army (named Suzy's Raiders). Her current status is unknown but she is most likely being held prisoner by Superior Saturday.

Leaf

Leaf is a friend of Arthur's from Earth. She was introduced in Mister Monday as one of the people who helped him during his asthma attack. She can also see the Fetchers. She aids Arthur in Grim Tuesday by helping him banish a Scoucher, a monster with razor sharp tentacles.

From and during Drowned Wednesday, she begins to play a larger role in the series. She is visiting Arthur in the hospital when they are taken to the House via the Border Sea. One of Drowned Wednesday's ships rescues Leaf instead of Arthur, whom they were ordered to find; Leaf spends the bulk of the book on this ship, which is called the Flying Mantis. This changes when the ship is captured by the pirate Elishar Feverfew (who once was a mortal but has been affected by Nothing). She becomes an unwilling informant to Feverfew, only to later kick his detached head into a Nothing-contaminated lake of mud, thus destroying him.

In Sir Thursday, Leaf returns to Earth, and aids Arthur by banishing the Skinless Boy. She succeeds, allowing Arthur to return to Earth, should he choose to. At the the end of the book Leaf is told that she is at a hospital run by Lady Friday.

In Lady Friday, Friday kidnaps Leaf, hoping to use her as collateral, a hostage, or bargaining chip in case Friday's plan went awry. Leaf works to escape Friday's retreat in the Secondary Realms, but is not successful until the arrival of Arthur and the Mariner, who find her only due to her various plots on contacting Dr. Scamandros.

In Superior Saturday, Leaf returns with Arthur to the Hospital, helping to deliver the sleeping patients back to their beds. When Arthur discovers that the area is going to be bombed by the army (under the command of General Pravuil), he freezes time, at least within the hospital, using the Fifth Key, and returns to the house, leaving Leaf and the sleepers frozen. Leaf awakens as time begins to slowly return to normal, and struggles to move as many sleepers to the old Operating Theatre as possible before the bomb hits. At the end of the book, she is left with the sleepers she has managed to rescue as insulation falls down from the roof, indicating the bomb has gone off.

Fred Initial Numbers Gold

A fellow Recruit in the Glorious Army of the Architect recruited the day before Arthur's arrival, a Piper's Child from the Middle House. The cheerful, talkative, happy-go-lucky Fred quickly befriends Arthur. He is unusually optimistic about the Army, desires to be a General, and is looking forward to the change from his "nitpicking job" of applying gold leaf to the numbers in important House documents. Fred is an asset to Arthur in that Fred knows much of the military procedure, as well as of being washed between the ears. At the end of Sir Thursday, 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 removes Fred and Suzy's tattoos later). Fred and Arthur later meet up again when Fred, Suzy, and a New Nithling named Banneret Ugham are transported to the Middle House by a Transfer Plate 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. Subsequently, it is revealed that Fred can understand the hand signs used by the Winged Servants of the Night to communicate, which leads to his becoming an interpreter for Arthur. In the same book, Arthur promotes Fred to the rank of Lieutenant, giving him both a high office and a less demanding task than that of General.

The Will

The Will was the document the Architect left behind, dictating what was to happen within the House. However, the Trustees broke the Will into seven pieces, each hiding a different piece. The First Part of the Will escaped, and focused on finding a suitable Heir, and guiding him on his task. Eventually, all of it may be freed and added to the Will's amorphous form, Dame Primus, whose name means "First Lady". In the beginning of "Superior Saturday" she (to her chagrin) has split into two smaller versions of herself (Dame Quarto and Dame Septum) to fix the Nothing bursts in the House after she flatly refused to split into four to fix everything more quickly.

First Part of the Will

The Frog
The First Part of the Will (paragraphs three to seven) was hidden by Mister Monday in a crystal, placed in box on the surface of a sun at the end of Time, guarded by twelve metal, sword-armed Guards. Monday's Dusk indirectly, but intentionally, freed the Will.

The Will then took control of Mister Monday's butler, Sneezer, and persuaded the sloth-afflicted Monday to give up the Minute Hand half of his Key to Arthur Penhaligon, a mortal. Sneezer convinced him that the Will would leave him alone if he relinquished his Key to a Rightful Heir. However, their plan hinged on the fact that the Heir would soon die, as Arthur would indeed have done but for being in possession of the Key. The Will left Sneezer, and took the form of a jade-coloured frog and leapt inside the throat of Suzy, forcing her to help Arthur in the Lower House and defeat Monday. The Frog then took the name and form of "Dame Primus", a tall, attractive, and imposing figure who became Steward of the Lower House and the First Key when Arthur returned to Earth. She is often exclusively focused on fixing the much-decayed bureaucratic situations within the House, even when Arthur wishes to do otherwise. With the addition of other Parts of the Will, Dame Primus grows taller, stronger and more knowledgeable, and her severe beauty becomes more apparent. The Frog embodies either fortitude or diligence as one of the Seven Heavenly Virtues being the opposite of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Second Part of the Will

The Bear
The Second Part of the Will (paragraphs eight to thirteen) also known as "Claws" (a play on "Clause" issued by Suzy) was hidden by Grim Tuesday within a worldlet in the heart of a sun in the Secondary Realms, in the form of a sun bear. The Mariner was charged with guarding it, but, as he is resentful of Tuesday's control over him, he helped Arthur rescue it. Unlike the First Part of the Will, the Bear would not recognize Arthur's claim until he was notified by Dame Primus. Instead, the bear ordered a contest of creation, using the Second Key, which were the gauntlets worn by Tuesday. Arthur won, and after he fixed a breach into the Void of Nothing, the Second Part of the Will merged with the First. Its virtue is either prudence or patience.

Third Part of the Will

The Carp
Known as the Carp, the Third Part of the Will was hidden within a worldlet commanded by Feverfew, hidden in Drowned Wednesday's stomach. Wednesday wished to execute her clause of the Will, but was stopped when Superior Saturday betrayed her. The Trustees (save Monday, who was afflicted with sloth) took Wednesday's portion of the Will and gave it to Feverfew to hide, additionally limiting Wednesday's use of the Key to keeping the shape of the enormous Leviathan she was about to become.

Several of Feverfew's escaped slaves hid in a cave on a remote side of Feverfew's island with the Will, in the form of a carp. The Carp proclaimed itself a god, and has accumulated a cult following. The Carp is always preaching about the values of Faith, the virtue it embodies. Arthur was able to free the Third Part of the Will, with the aid of Leaf and Suzy.

Fourth Part of the Will

The Snake
This part of the Will takes the form of a snake wrapped around the sword that is the Fourth Key, wielded by Sir Thursday. The Fourth Part of the Will is able to free itself, if Sir Thursday must be distracted sufficiently; this was accomplished by invoking his wrath. After being freed, it is obsessed with bringing Thursday to justice, and is barely subdued by Arthur. When Arthur goes to meet the Piper, the Fourth Part of the Will joins him, and contrary to Arthur's wishes, spits corrosive acid into the Piper's mouth. The Will assures Arthur that as this acid was not "poison", it did not disobey his command to refrain from poisonously biting the Piper (being able to choose whether or not to be poisonous, and if so, to choose its type of poison). During Arthur's meeting with the Piper, the Piper notes that the Fourth Part of the Will speaks in a tone that is familiar to him. The Fourth Part of the Will embodies Justice or chastity.

At the beginning of Lady Friday the Fourth Part of the Will has joined Dame Primus. Dame Primus thereafter begins to pay attention to justice and to exhibit snakelike features. She orders all the Piper's Children in demesnes ruled by Arthur to be killed, as the Piper is their enemy; Arthur quickly overturns this order. The appearance of her snakelike fangs and forked tongue, possibly provoked by a moment of passion, is the second instance of suspicious behavior displayed by Dame Primus (the first being refusing a call from Leaf, who was then trying to help Arthur).

Fifth Part of the Will

The Beast
The Fifth Part of the Will appears as a large, half-reptile, half-bat monster or Wyvern, worshipped and feared by the Winged Servants of the Night. Arthur finds it imprisoned by Lady Friday in the "Inner Darkness" of the cave system the 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 of the Will is actually a very pleasant and agreeable creature, unlike the other parts. It mentions that the "Key" Friday left is not the real Key, but a trap, and that she has not legally abdicated her rule of the Middle House. After being released, the Will accompanies Arthur, Suzy, Fred, Banneret Ugham, and a host of Dawn's Gilded Youths to Lady Friday's Scriptorium, where Friday claimed to have 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 and the Will's warning of a possible trap, the Piper orders Ugham to take the fake Key from its pedestal, activating the trap and breaching the Void of Nothing. This kills Ugham and quickly consumes the Scriptorium and most of the Top Shelf. The Piper uses his Pipes to enter the Improbable Stair, in order to escape, while the Will manages to save Arthur and his allies with a sweep of its tail. The Will then tells Arthur to use the Keys to close the rift into the Void of Nothing; after summoning all four Keys to help him, he successfully closes the Void. Using the Keys, Arthur takes the Improbable Stair to Monday's Dayroom, where Sneezer sends them to Lady Friday's sanctuary in the Secondary Realms. There, with the aid of the Will, Arthur defeats Friday.

After defeating Lady Friday in her sanctuary, Arthur gives the first four Keys to the Fifth Part, to return them to Dame Primus. Before leaving, the Will apologizes for the behavior of the other Parts of the Will, speculating that Dame Primus will be easier to work with once it has joined her, this is later shown to be incorrect as she acts even more rebellious than before. It represents the virtue of temperance.

Sixth Part of the Will

The Raven
The Sixth Part of the Will appears as a raven and is also capable of transforming into a variety of other things. The Sixth Part of the Will was able to communicate with Arthur whenever he was drenched in rain. This was because Superior Saturday had hidden the Will in the rain by scattering its type in every raindrop, the most complicated method of hiding the Will seen so far. To free the Will, Arthur had to go to the Midtower Rain Booster Tank. The Will then instructed Arthur to swim out to the middle of the Tank and call for the Will with his mind.

It likely represents the virtue of Charity, showing more kindness to others than the other parts of the Will, evident when it shows a willingness to save Suzy from the Artful Loungers. It appears to be the most intelligent part of the Will so far, as it denies the rumours that if the House is destroyed, then the Secondary Realms are also destroyed. The Will instead says that the whole of creation will only cease to exist if the Incomparable Gardens are destroyed, as they came from the Void first and is the true epicentre of the Universe.

Seventh Part of the Will

Unknown
Only Garth Nix knows what form the seventh part of the Will shall take, however we can surmise it is most likely to embody either Hope or humility.

The Morrow Days

The seven Trustees of the Architect, named after the seven days of the week, are superior Denizens who disobeyed the Will and chose to keep the Keys and their demesnes instead of giving them to the Rightful Heir. They broke the Will into seven pieces, then separated and concealed the pieces. Drowned Wednesday is the only Trustee who, after breaking it, changed her mind and wished to follow the Will, but was stopped by all Trustees, with the exception of Monday. Minus the power given to them by the Architect's Keys, they are ordinary, but extremely strong and resilient Denizens, though they can be killed.

Mister Monday

Mister Monday was the first trustee Arthur met, and suffered from the deadly sin of Sloth. He was granted control of the Lower House. Monday is described as being a tall man with blond hair and bags under his eyes, and is always pushed around in a wheelbarrow by one of his servants. His Key can be split into two halves; an Hour Hand and a Minute Hand. The two hands, when combined, take the form of a sword. The part of the Will Monday guarded took on the shape of a frog, which Monday lazily hid in a star in the far corner of the universe. Monday's command centre is Monday's Dayroom.

Monday's sloth left him mostly incapacitated, whereupon he left most of the affairs of the Lower House to his Dawn, Noon, and Dusk. When Arthur reached Monday's Dayroom, a great battle was fought between the two, but Arthur wins the First Key, and uses it to heal Monday of his sloth. Subsequently, Monday accepted Arthur as his master, thanking him for his new life. In Sir Thursday, it is revealed that he was assassinated by Superior Saturday, who had sent an assassin to stab his heart and head with a sorcerous blade.

Grim Tuesday

Grim Tuesday was the second trustee Arthur met, and suffered from the deadly sin of Greed. He was given control of the Far Reaches. Tuesday is described as being a tall man without eyebrows. He has a strongly-built body and 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 can be made. Tuesday's command centre is Tuesday's Pyramid.

Tuesday could not make anything original with his Key (his disastrous attempt with the Grotesques proves this); thus he was limited to plagiarizing things from the Secondary Realms. He delved down into the depths of his domain in search of workable deposits of Nothing. This created the Pit, which came very close to breaching totally into the Void, and thus destroying the whole House. Tuesday also changed his Dawn, Noon and Dusk, into the seven Grotesques (Methera, Tethera, Pits, Azel, Sethera, Yan, and Tan) , which were less powerful. This existence makes them miserable. Towards the end of Grim Tuesday, one of the Grotesques is stabbed by Saturday's Dusk, which kills them all, as they are all connected. Arthur deposed Tuesday of his role, and allowed him to live, but it is later revealed in Sir Thursday that he was assassinated by Superior Saturday, who had him pushed or thrown off the top of the Pit, whereupon he died in a pool of Nothing at the bottom.

Drowned Wednesday

Drowned Wednesday (also known as "The Duchess of the Border Sea" or "Lady Wednesday") was the third trustee Arthur met, and suffered from the deadly sin of Gluttony. She was given control of the Border Sea. Wednesday is the only Morrow Day who does not take the form of a man or woman, but a large whale, which is several hundred miles long. Her Key takes on the shape of a small fork (which she uses when she inhabits human form) which can expand into a large trident. Wednesday's command centre is Wednesday's Lookout.

Wednesday originally used to be a tall, beautiful woman with brown hair. She controlled the Border Sea as decreed by the Will, but refused to forsake dominion of it when the Will demanded. She was, by then, eating tons and tons of food a day. When she realised that her gluttonous affliction was based on the fact that she broke the Will, Wednesday tried to fix this by freeing her part of the Will. She spoke to Superior Saturday about going against the other Morrow Days, but was betrayed by Saturday when they all, save Monday (incapacitated due to his sloth), attacked her and revoked most of her powers over the Third Key. They then took the memory of where she kept her part of the Will and gave it to a pirate (Feverfew) to steal and hide it. She was then cast into the Border Sea, hence they called her "Drowned" Wednesday. She then became a Leviathan, to reflect the amount she ate and she was then only able to use the Key to keep herself from growing any larger or else she would have eaten the entire Border Sea and everything beyond. With great effort on her part, she is able to take the human form for a short time.

Arthur released the Will and claimed the Third Key when it was relinquished by Wednesday. He then attempted to cure Wednesday of her afflictions using the Key and succeeded, but she had been poisoned by Nothing from within and could not be saved.

Sir Thursday

Sir Thursday was the Commander of the Glorious Army of the Architect, and Overlord of the Great Maze. He is a very powerful, volatile, and excessively violent Denizen. He is afflicted with Anger/Wrath, one of the seven deadly sins. His obedience is to Superior Saturday and Lord Sunday, whose orders he is obeying when he retains the Will against its demands.

Sir Thursday might not be particularly handsome or tall, unlike other superior Denizens; but his orders were always obeyed. He beats his subordinates, including the Marshals Dawn, Noon and Dusk when angry, and killed two Piper's Children in a fit of rage.

Arthur distracted him by exciting his anger, thereby releasing the Fourth Part of the Will, and claimed the Fourth Key, which Arthur chose to take the form of a baton or a rapier when in his grasp, as opposed to the broadsword wielded by Sir Thursday. Arthur ordered that Thursday be put in safe keeping to avoid assassination; thus the former Trustee is currently under arrest in the Citadel and closely guarded.

Lady Friday

Lady Friday was Mistress of the Middle House, keeper of the Fifth Part of the Will and the Fifth Key. She is afflicted with Lust, which manifests in her insatiable desire to "experience" mortals: a vampiric practice of draining mortals of their emotional experiences, similar to Dementors in Harry Potter. She is briefly mentioned in Grim Tuesday when Tuesday refers to her as "that fool Friday". She masquerades as a doctor on Earth, Doctor Friday, who only works on Fridays. She uses this guise to steal mortals, whose memories she then drains to feed her addiction.

Lady Friday sent heralds to the Piper, Saturday and Arthur, telling them that she had abdicated her rule of the Middle House and control of the Fifth Key; the first of the three to find and claim it may use it and control 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 claimed she had extended this offer because she wished to abdicate from her role as Trustee and quietly pursue her own personal interests, her offer was actually a trap to dispose of the Piper, Saturday, and Arthur.

In truth, Friday has taken the Fifth Key (a mirror) with her to her mountain retreat in Avraxyn, a Secondary Realm in the Lesser Magellanic Cloud (ironically the planet where the mold symbiotic with the Spirit Eater resides), in order to continue pursuing "experiencing". Arthur defeated her, claimed the Fifth Key, and placed her under arrest.

Superior Saturday

Also known also as Lady Saturday, Superior Sorcerer of the Upper House. Until Superior Saturday, little is known about her appearance, though it is mentioned in Drowned Wednesday by Raised Rats that she was a woman when last they saw her. In her first appearance, Superior Saturday is described as a tall, beautiful woman with electric blue hair wearing a gold circlet upon her head and having rather shapely legs. Saturday is apparently afflicted with Envy, as she seems to envy Sunday's position in the House, believing it to be her right as Saturday had been the first being created by the Architect. She is the mistress of the Upper House, where House Sorcery is studied. She is the Keeper of the Sixth Key and the Sixth Part of the Will. She was the third being to exist in the Universe, being created by the Architect as the first Denizen. In addition to the Sixth Key, she is also a powerful sorceress. She has been the most active in resistance against Arthur, and ordered the assasinations of Mister Monday and Grim Tuesday; Dame Primus has suggested that this was to prevent them from sharing knowledge that might have aided Arthur.

In Sir Thursday, it is made known that she is Lord Sunday's deputy and that Thursday follows her commands. Throughout Lady Friday, Saturday disrupted travel and communications (though with less success, since the latter is under the authority of the Lower House and the Far Reaches) throughout the House and attempted to assert definitive control over the Middle House by using Lord Sunday's tacit approval and authority. It has recently been revealed that she is responsible for the "washing between the ears".

Her Noon and Dusk are suspected of committing many heinous deeds, such as the murder of both the former Trustees Mister Monday and Grim Tuesday, and Grim's Grotesques. Saturday was also behind the creation of the Skinless Boy in Grim Tuesday. Her influence is seen through her manipulation of Sir Thursday and her attempts to coax Arthur to hand over the Keys to the Kingdom. She is the first member of the Morrow Days that faced Arthur and hasn't spoken to him - preferring to blast him with lightning.

Lord Sunday

He is the Master of the Incomparable Gardens, Keeper of the Seventh Key and the Seventh Part of the Will. Sunday is afflicted with Pride, as he does not attend to matters of the House, preferring to amuse himself within the Incomparable Gardens. He is also shown to constantly taunt Saturday of her role as Keeper of the Sixth Key, by giving her glimpses of the Incomparable Gardens, the realm she believes she deserves. 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 has stated that the Key Sunday wields retains its full powers in the Secondary Realms, and is paramount over the other Keys within the House.

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 others. The Dawns, Noons, and Dusks of the Lower, Middle and Upper Houses have specific guards associated with them:

• Monday's Dawn, Noon and Dusk: Corps of Inspectors, Commissionaires and Commissionaire Sergeants, and Midnight Visitors respectively.

• Friday's Dawn and Dusk: Gilded Youth and Winged Servants of the Night, with none mentioned for Friday's Noon.

• Saturday's Dawn, Noon and Dusk: While not specifically attributed to those three entities, Saturday's Internal Auditors are associated with Saturday's Dusk, Her Artful Loungers with Saturday's Dawn and the Sorcerous Supernumeraries with Saturday's Noon.

With the exception of the servants of Grim Tuesday, of which there are seven, each Trustee has or has had three of these servants. They are limited to visiting the Secondary Realms only in their time period; i.e. Monday's Noon can only stay on Earth on Monday, between the hours of Noon and 1:00 p.m.. So far all Noons and Dusks have been male, and all Dawns have been female, save Friday's.

One of all the Dawns', Noons' and Dusks' attributes is that the Dawns all have golden tongues, the Noons have silver tongues, and the Dusks have black tongues. This trend implies that it was Saturday's Dusk that attacked the Lieutenant Keeper in Sir Thursday.

Monday

Under Mister Monday

• Monday's Dawn: An attractive woman with a golden tongue, clad in a dress having the color of dawn. She has golden wings. She is in charge of the Corps of Inspectors, Denizens whose duties seem to include checking on the Will, and possibly higher-end paperwork.
• Monday's Noon: Noon was loyal to Monday, attacking Arthur whenever he had the chance. His striking feature is a silver tongue, which enables him to be extremely persuasive. He is said to appear around 30 years old, and wields a sword of Architectural Fire; one of the few things that can kill a Denizen. He has white, bloodstained wings. He was reappointed Dusk after the events of Mister Monday. He is in charge of the Commissionaires (automatons created by Grim Tuesday) and Commissionaire Sergeants (Denizens).
• Monday's Dusk: In Mister Monday, he started the chain of events that lead to Arthur becoming the heir to the Architect, and then helped Arthur defeat Mister Monday. He has a black tongue, short jet-black hair, black wings and a black sword made from frozen moonlight. He is loyal to Arthur and the Will. He was appointed Noon after the events of Mister Monday. He is in charge of the Midnight Visitors.

Under Lord Arthur

• Monday's Dawn: Occupant Unchanged. 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. Arthur appoints Suzy as Monday's Tierce, the hour between Dawn and Noon (to which Suzy sarcastically referred as "Monday's Morning Tea") and the assistant and apprentice of Monday's Noon (formerly Monday's Dusk) after the defeat of Mister Monday. Dame Primus refers to Suzy as "Suzanna Monday's Tierce".
• 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, as by wearing silver and white. His personality, like that of his 'brother' Dusk, is unchanged. It may be possible that the Midnight Visitors became Commissionaire Seargeants, as Noon (as Dusk) mentioned that his Midnight Visitors wanted a change of uniform.
• 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, as by wearing black. His current Midnight Visitors may have been former Commissionaire Sergeants due to switching with the former Midnight Visitors.

Tuesday

Under Grim Tuesday

• Grim's Grotesques: The seven servants of Grim Tuesday were formerly his Dawn, Noon, and Dusk, but he used his Key and copious amounts of nothing to reshape them to his will. This was so that he could have more servants as the Far Reaches were becoming too big to be policed by his original three. They have less power than the other servants of the Morrow Days, and express a wish to be rid of the form that they have. Their names were, in order of precedence, Yan, Tan, Tethera, Methera, Pits, Sethera, and Azer. They had the power to remove memory and kill with their breath. They also, according to the Atlas, had poison spurs on their thumbs. At the end of Grim Tuesday, a senior Denizen (Saturday's Dusk or Noon) stabbed Yan; because all the Grotesques were linked, all seven died. Tuesday's current Times are unknown though it is likely that they were killed when the Far Reaches were destroyed since that demesne was destroyed within a matter of minutes, leaving little or no time for escape.

Under Lord Arthur

• Tuesday's Dawn: No occupant named
• Tuesday's Noon: No occupant named
• Tuesday's Dusk: No occupant named

Wednesday

Under Drowned Wednesday

• Wednesday's Dawn: She is an attractive woman with straw-colored 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 in order to swim. While she is grateful that she was spared the same fate as Noon and Dusk and is 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.
• Wednesday's Noon: The first Noon was eaten by Wednesday in her Leviathan form.
• Wednesday's Dusk: The first Dusk was eaten by Wednesday in her Leviathan form.

Under Lord Arthur

• Wednesday's Dawn: Occupant Unchanged.
• 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: Dr. 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.

Thursday

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 Thursday is defying his own rules.
• 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 being tall and having red hair.
• 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. 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.

Under Lord Arthur

• Thursday's Dawn (Marshal Dawn) - Occupant unchanged.
• Thursday's Noon (Marshal Noon) - Occupant unchanged.
• Thursday's Dusk (Marshal Dusk) - Occupant unchanged.

Friday

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 third of the Middle House, and commands the Gilded Youths, who are Piper's Children changed (with Nothing) by Grim Tuesday; because of this, they can be controlled by the Piper. 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, where her Noon and Dusk follow her. Dawn feels no real loyalty to Friday, and swears allegiance to Arthur almost as soon as he arrives on the Top Shelf, albeit only so that he would not have to submit to Saturday. 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. His voice is gravelly, which is unusual for a Superior Denizen.
• Friday's Noon - Noon appears as a handsome, blond man with blue eyes, who wears a monocle. He is supposed to be in charge of the High Guild of Binding and Restoration in the Middle House, but in his absence, it is run by Master Binder Jakem, 1st Pressmaster and 1000th in precedence in the House. Noon, Friday, and Dusk engage in the practice of experiencing. 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 whence they could not be woken. Their unconscious bodies were ordered to be locked up with Lady Friday in the Great Maze (presumably the prisons of the Citadel with Sir Thursday).
• Friday's Dusk - Occupant briefly seen, but not described. The Winged Servants of the Night in the Middle House are under his command, though only the highest in precedence, One Who Survived the Darkness, reports directly to him. The Fifth Part of the Will occasionally eats 'the wrappings' of Winged Servants of the Night who venture down to him and, due to a matter of honour, feel unable to return to their previous jobs and become Paper Pushers on the Extremely Grand Canal.

Under Lord Arthur

• Friday's Dawn - Occupant Unchanged
• Friday's Noon - Occupant unknown; previous one never officially removed from office
• Friday's Dusk - Occupant unknown; previous one never officially removed from office

Saturday

Under Superior Saturday

• Saturday's Dawn - Occupant Unknown. It is likely that he/she is the leader of the Artful Loungers.
• Saturday's Noon - A handsome Denizen. After fighting the Lieutenant Keeper in Sir Thursday, the Lieutenant Keeper says that the man was Saturday's Dusk. However, in the same book, Suzy, while later relating her adventures to Arthur, says that the man was Saturday's Noon. This is most likely due to a typing error. (See below section) It is likely that he is in charge of the Sorcerous Supernumeraries, Denizens who have failed their tests to become a full sorcerer and seem to be among the more downtrodden and miserable of Superior Saturday's servants.

• Saturday's Dusk - As with Monday's Noon and Dusk, his appearance is very similar to Saturday's Noon, the only difference mentioned so far being their height, and that whoever fought the Lieutenant Keeper was at the time wearing a dove-grey morning coat, instead of the previously mentioned black frock coat. He was killed in Lady Friday and his brother (The youngest by a second from the same mould) took over his position. He apparently stabbed the Grim's Grotesques in Grim Tuesday.

Jakem thinks that Dusk, accompanied by Internal Auditors, has flown to the Scriptorium. Friday's Dawn says that Noon has done so. For the duration of Arthur's flight to the Scriptorium, "Noon" and "Dusk" are used interchangeably. However in Superior Saturday it is revealed that Dusk has died. He has been replaced by his "brother", from "the same mould". It is likely that Saturday's Dusk is in charge of the Internal Auditors, the most powerful of Saturday's troops. They have quills that can shoot activated ink.

   A couple of things to observe about the two characters:

• It is mentioned by Dame Primus at the end of Grim Tuesday that Saturday's Dusk may have been in the Far Reaches; a high ranking Denizen had just stabbed Yan, and was then stabbed by Arthur. It is also interesting to note here that the blood of the stabbed Denizen was gold, whereas every other mention of Denizen blood has been blue, including the blood of the more powerful Drowned Wednesday and Lady Friday. The blood of the Denizen murdered in Lady Friday is blue, although this could be another typing inconsistency. Arthur later says in Lady Friday "the Dusk I met in the Pit...", implying it was Dusk that stabbed Yan.

• The Denizen that fought the Lieutenant Keeper had a silver tongue, often the mark of Noon. The Keeper said that the Denizen was Saturday's Dusk. Later, while recounting her adventures in Sir Thursday, Suzy says that the man was Noon; she contradicts herself in Lady Friday, now saying the Keeper fought Dusk. The possible typing error is further supported by the pattern of Noons having a silver tongue, Dusk with a black one.

Sunday

Under Lord Sunday

• Sunday's Dawn - Occupant Unknown
• Sunday's Noon - Occupant Unknown
• Sunday's Dusk - Occupant Unknown

Humans

• Bob Penhaligon: Arthur's father, who once played the guitar in the band called The Ratz. His nickname during the time he played for the band was "Plague Rat". Currently, he still writes songs and is on tour, recovering from the financial blow suffered during Grim Tuesday.
• Dr. Emily Penhaligon: Arthur's mother. A world renowned medical researcher who works for the government. She has gone missing in Lady Friday, though is not among the mortals kidnapped by Lady Friday.
• Erazmuz Penhaligon: Arthur's oldest brother, a major in the army and a father. Arthur used his advice regarding military procedure when in the Glorious Army of the Architect. In Superior Saturday, he calls Arthur to warn him that the East Area Hospital is going to be destroyed.
• 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 Leaf enters her house looking for Arthur's phone to call Suzy, and Suzy then arrives.
• 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. 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 legal name is Branch, but he refuses to use it. He knows that 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, telephoned by Leaf in Sir Thursday.
• Mister Weightman: Arthur's gym teacher at his new school.
• The Octopus: Assistant Principal at Arthur's new school. Likes to confiscate things, hence his nickname.
• Sylvie: An old woman who aids Leaf on her quest to return Arthur's lost pocket to the House in Sir Thursday. An ex-pharmacist, skilled liar, and reader of mystery stories.
• 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. Leaf is herself used as collateral to ensure Arthur does not interfere with Friday's plans.
• Harrison: An old mortal human who took a job in Dr. Friday's hospital and has been her prisoner for fourteen years. Since then, his job has been to prepare sleepers for Lady Friday to experience them. He is deathly afraid of Lady Friday, but agrees to help Leaf outwit her.
• Martine: A human woman who ended up in the service of Dr. Friday much like Harrison. Unable to understand her situation, she became somewhat neurotic about performing her job to avoid trouble. She works as a cleaning woman at Dr. Friday's clinic and accompanies Leaf during Superior Saturday when Leaf returns to earth. While she runs away after hearing about the air strike, she eventually returns to help Leaf move as many sleepers as possible to an shelter.

Denizens, Nithlings, and Misc. Beings

Denizens are the citizens of the House. They are all ranked in precedence within the House, and are often asked their precedence when being commanded by a superior Denizen. The current ranking system is unknown.

The Architect

She is the Creator of everything, first to come out of Nothing. She ruled the House for a time, and then left, leaving a Will to govern what would happen in Her absence. The Architect first created the Incomparable Gardens 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. After creating the Kingdom and the Secondary Realms, She designated the Morrow Days as the Trustees of Her Kingdom, one of whom was Her son, Lord Sunday.

She has, in the course of an experiment (which was decried by Superior Saturday), conceived three children with the Old One. By the Old One's own words in Mister Monday, the Architect 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, according to the Raised Rats in Drowned Wednesday. The Old One in Superior Saturday suggests that whatever happened would have been partly her own choice. 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, defying the Original Law. There is speculation that if all seven parts of the Will of the Architect are joined, it will become the Architect. It can also be said that the Architect Herself is a type of Nithling, as a Nithling is described as a self-willed being from Nothing.

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 with chains that, according to Monday's Dusk (now Noon), cannot be released, even by the Seven Keys combined. At twelve o'clock each day, two Clockwork Figures come out of the clock and painfully remove his eyes, which regrow in the space of several hours. 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 a vulture each dawn (indeed, it is mentioned that the figures favored amputating his liver for quite awhile, and a Denizen mentions that the beings that took his liver were vultures, again similar to the legend of Prometheus). 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 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 when speaking of the Architect, claiming that She refused to recognize his artistry in creation, despite the fact they collaborated in the past on at least three experiments. It is worth noting that of their three children, only the Mariner is referred to as the 'Adopted' son of the two; the Mariner has stated that the Old One sired the three of them on mortal women, who are later revealed to have been possessed by the Architect at the time of conception. The Old One's youngest son, the Piper, tried to free the Old One roughly seven hundred years before the events of the books, but was stopped by being thrown into the Void of Nothing. It is revealed in Superior Saturday that it was Saturday who had the Piper thrown into the Void, though the Piper thinks it was Sunday. The burst of Nothing in the Lower House has now weakened the clock enough that the Old One destroyed his tormentors and will be freed eventually. Similar to the Architect, The Old One can be described as a type of Nithling, as a Nithling is described as a self-willed being from Nothing.

The Mariner

He is the adopted son of the Architect and the Old One. He is introduced when Arthur meets him in Grim Tuesday. He wields a harpoon made of the luminous trail of a narwhal's wake under the Aurora in an Arctic sea, created by his Mother, the Architect. It is harmful to mortals and Piper's Children when used.

He owes a debt to Arthur for freeing him from Tuesday, and therefore gave him a whalebone disc that can summon the Mariner three times and obtains him aid from any sea-faring Denizen, as they all revere the Mariner. So far, two of the three calls have been used: in Drowned Wednesday, and in Lady Friday. In Lady Friday it is Leaf who summons the Mariner.

Despite having helped Arthur twice, the Mariner wishes to keep himself out of the House's political and other problems, and when he has responded to Arthur's third and final call he will not help him again, except by his own choice.

He is possibly based upon the Ancient Mariner. This speculation is due to two references, the first one to his remarkedly ill-fated shooting of a bird, and the second in his name, Shelvocke. Additionally, like the Ancient Mariner, he wanders the world, unable to die.

The Piper

The third son of the Architect and the Old One. He was cast into Nothing when he attempted to free the Old One. It is revealed in Superior Saturday that it was Saturday who had the Piper thrown into Nothing, though the Piper thinks it was Sunday. He used his powers to build an army of New Nithlings; Nithlings that are extremely organized and intelligent, described by the Piper as "almost denizen," but more like mortals, and he notes that he probably made them too well, as (while they make excellent soldiers) their interests lie in agriculture. He intends to use them to claim the House. He claims that Sunday betrayed him, whereupon Part Four of the Will contradicts him, reminding him of his attempt to free the Old One.

In Sir Thursday, the Piper invades The Great Maze, retreating only when the combined forces of Lord Arthur and Dame Primus fight back. He is alive and wounded from the Will's acid, 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. It is worth mentioning here that his Mother, the Architect, clearly wrote in her Will that only a mortal could be the Heir.

It is the Piper who brought the Piper's Children and the Raised Rats to the House, and is able to control them with his Pipes. By the end of Sir Thursday, Suzy and Fred are put under his control during the disastrous raid on the Nothing Spike. The fact that he controls both Rats and Children with his Pipes quite obviously identifies him as the Pied Piper of Hamelin. In Lady Friday, he leads some of his warriors (Piper's Children) to Friday's Scriptorium in an attempt to get the Fifth Key before Saturday's forces or Arthur can reach it. He commands Ugham to take the "Fifth Key", which turns out to be a fraud. Ugham is destroyed, and the Piper barely escapes, entering the Improbable Stair with his Pipes as the necessary focus.

In the beginning of Superior Saturday, it is revealed that the Piper has withdrawn from the Great Maze. His New Nithlings have moved aboard Raised Rats' steamships on the Border Sea and have reached the Upper House at the bottom. Toward the end of the novel, it is stated that the Piper intends to attack the Upper House.

Lieutenant Keeper

A Denizen that watches the Front Door of the House. He and either Saturday's Noon or Dusk are old adversaries (See Saturday's Dawn, Noon and Dusk). Recently, after the end of the Drowned Wednesday and the rest of Sir Thursday, he has been slightly wounded, due to constant troubles at the Front Door. He wields a sword of blue fire which is described in the fourth book, Sir Thursday, in his battle against Saturday's Dusk to aid Suzy. In Lady Friday and Superior Saturday the Front Door has been ordered shut to Arthur and his allies, Dame Primus tells Arthur that the Lieutenant Keeper has appealed to The Court of Days for the Front Door to be reopened.

Sneezer

Mister Monday's butler and factotum, who was once possessed by the First Part of the Will in order 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. After becoming loyal to Arthur, he is no longer sickly, but immaculate and healthy. He often serves drinks, often orange juice. He is also the only one seen thus far in the series with the ability to operate the Seven Dials and has an unusual trait of seemingly appearing or reappearing out of nowhere.

Raised Rats

The Raised Rats were mortal rats that were taken to the House by the Piper (read the pied piper for more information on the raised rats and pipers children and how they came to be in the house). 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 political complication could not 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 and are later threatened with execution by Superior Saturday, a sentence that no wise Denizen wishes to carry out. As of Superior Saturday, the Raised Rats have chosen to be noncombatants in the Piper's wars. The Rats deal in information, in Drowned Wednesday we see Arthur ask questions to the rats and they answer truthfully but in payment get him to answer some of their questions. In Superior Saturday we see this sort of thing happen once again.

Pravuil

A former Coal-Collator from the Deep Coal Cellar in the Lower House. Pravuil's loyalty has appeared to change 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. It is certain that Pravuil is currently serving Superior Saturday and likely that he has been since Mister Monday.This means that the Upper House is where Pravuil is residing. In Sir Thursday, the changes issued by Pravuil whilst he was a Major in the Glorious Army of the Architect to Colonel Nage's Ephemeris were later revealed to have come from Superior Saturday herself. It is revealed that he works for Saturday because in Superior Saturday she tells her replacement Dusk to have Pravuil strike Arthur when Friday ends and Saturday begins. Erazmuz mentions that General Pravuil ordered the nuclear strike, meaning he may be one of Saturday's higher-up servants, also supported by the fact that Saturday asks for him by name.

Bathroom Attendants

They are the Denizens who wash between the ears of Piper's Children. They do this by first using an animate rope, which ties people up, then by putting a strange sort of "crown" that looks like it is sculpted from "ice" on the children's' heads. Arthur was once washed between the ears in Sir Thursday. They wear long yellow robes and bronze masks. Their origin is the Upper House; therefore they serve Superior Saturday.

In Superior Saturday, the Sixth Part of the Will reveals that all Bathroom Attendants are Internal Auditors (but not all Internal Auditors are Bathroom Attendants) and that Piper's Children are washed between the ears in an attempt to delay the appearance of the Rightful Heir.

Minor Characters

Includes minor or non-recurring characters who appear in the House.

• Japeth: A former Thesaurus Minimus Second Grade, which office explains his complex vocabulary which he uses when he is nervous. He helps Arthur in the mines of Grim Tuesday. In Drowned Wednesday, he has been given the job of a chronicler and has published an extremely exaggerated version of "Lord Arthur’s Adventures" that has caused many Denizens, upon seeing him, to be surprised that Arthur is just a boy. Arthur is disturbed by this, thinking of it as "basically propaganda". In Sir Thursday, he is seen during the council Dame Primus holds to debate on important matters in the House.

• Mathias: A supply clerk from Grim Tuesday's mines, who offered Arthur particularly helpful advice regarding how survival in the Far Reaches. He appears briefly with Japeth at the beginning of Sir Thursday and at the beginning of Grim Tuesday.

• The Skinless Boy: According the Compleat Atlas of the House, a Spirit Eater, or Cocigrue, is a type of Nithling sent to duplicate and replace a person, "usually for the purposes of espionage, treachery, or other foul deeds". Contact between it and its model (Arthur) would cause an extremely destructive reaction in the same manner as contact between matter and antimatter. It has a symbiotic relationship with a grey mold, the mold allowing the Spirit Eater to read and later control the minds of those it touches. It is destroyed when Arthur throws a sorcerous pocket, of which the Skinless Boy was made, into the Nothing Spike in Sir Thursday, also destroying the Spike. He is first mentioned to be watching Arthur while the latter is repairing the buttress in Grim Tuesday.

• 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 to bend anything to his will and to 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 brand condemning a thief. He is a small, sunburned, disgusting creature, which features he hides behind an illusion of a grand pirate captain. He is killed when Arthur decapitates him (for the second time), whereupon Suzy hits the head with a stick and Leaf kicks it into the Hot Lake, a boiling pool of Nothing-infused mud located inside the Secret Harbour.

• 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 to open all four Gates at once, relayed from Sir Thursday by Major Pravuil; it is later revealed that the orders came ultimately from Saturday. He dies defending the Fort.

• 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, has white whiskers, and wears a commodore's uniform.

• Longtayle: Lieutenant Longtayle is a Raised Rat in charge of the vessel Rattus Navis IV, along with the submarine Rattus Balaena. He is on the voyage into Drowned Wednesday's stomach. He is black-furred, and dressed like Monckton. The change of titles refers to the fact that he is in command aboard ship, but only a lieutenant on shore. In Superior Saturday, it is mentioned by Lieutenant Goldbite (the new Captain of the Rattus Navis IV) that Longtayle has been promoted and transferred.

• Banneret Ugham - A Newnith who has no desire to serve the Piper. Accompanies Suzy Turquoise Blue and Fred Initial Numbers Gold to the Middle House when the two escape from the Piper to find Arthur. He thinks of himself as a Turnip Farmer at heart. As a Newnith, he cannot resist the Piper's commands. Suzy calls him "Uggie". Ugham is destroyed when the Piper orders him to take what is supposedly the Fifth Key, but is actually trap set by Lady Friday to destroy Arthur, the Piper, and the agents of Superior Saturday.

• Elibazeth Flat Gold: The Master Foiler in the Foil Mill of the Guild of Gilding and Illumination the Flat of the Middle House, second in charge of the Flat after Friday's Dawn. Like many denizens, Elibazeth is very single-minded about her job and is reluctant to be interrupted by Arthur. But she does explain the layout of the Middle House and the Extremely Grand Canal, and shows Arthur a sample of the foil made by the Architect for Her Will – which is very important for Arthur later in the story.

• Peter Pirkin: A Primary Paper Pusher on the Extremely Grand Canal, First Class, 65 898 756th in precedence in the House. He is in charge of Wharf #17, stretch 12, and Branch Secretary of the Noble and Exalted Association of Waterway Motivators. His clothes are made entirely from paper, parchment and soft hide, all with lines and lines of writing – which is proof against the textually charged water of the Extremely Grand Canal. The water in the Canal will actively try to drown anyone not wearing the correct clothing. Pirkin is quite cowardly, and definitely doesn't like breaking rules, but he reluctantly allows Arthur and his friends to travel on his raft.

• Dartbristle: The tailess Raised Rat who meets Arthur and Suzy at the Upper House when they are transported by a Simutaneous Nebuchadnezzar. He guides them around the Upper House and introduces them to the grease monkeys (Piper's children who work in the Upper House) so they can work with them in disguise while searching for the sixth key. Near the end, he reluctantly attacks Arthur and then gets killed by two rat catchers (Machines made to search out raised rats). Shortly before his death, Dartbristle flings a sack of coloured bottles into the tank in which the Will gathered itself. The raven-shaped Will suggests leaving the sack in the water to respect Dartbristle's dying wish.

• Goldbite: Captain of the Rattus Navis IV. He was recently appointed to command following Captain Longtayle's promotion and transfer, but he knows of Arthur's history with Raised Rats. Arthur will need his help to find out how the Rats can enter the Upper House even though Superior Saturday has closed it off.

• Alyse: Alyse looks like a typical Piper's child with her ragged self-cut hair and dirty face, but she's the boss of the grease monkeys working on the Twenty-seventh Chain and Motivation Maintenance of the Upper House. She's tough, smart and quick. Arthur and Suzy must work under her in order to move around the Upper House unnoticed. She tries to betray Arthur and Suzy, but is forced to comply when Arthur orders her to do so as the Rightful Heir of the Will of the Architect.

Nithlings

• New Nithlings: Often called "Newniths", these creatures appear initially in Sir Thursday. They are first unknowingly described by Colonel Nage, who says that the Nithlings coming through the gate, atypically of Nithlings, are organized and trained. This is dismissed due to disbelief. Many of the New Nithlings do not want to fight, but prefer to be farmers, despite their superior martial skills. They are the creations of the Piper, who created them from Nothing, intending them to be able to adapt like mortals rather than remain static as do Denizens.

• Fetchers: Dog-faced creatures wearing bowler hats, conjured from Nothing and employed by Monday in Mister Monday and by Saturday's Dusk in Lady Friday. 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, whereas silver and salt will melt them, returning them to Nothing. Fetchers are supposed to be durable, and apparently are not very intelligent. When they speak, their speech is said to resemble the barking of dogs.Their breath forms into a sickness, as shown in Mister Monday. On Earth, it is called the sleeping plague. Arthur cures the sleeping plague by activating a creature known as the Nightsweeper created by Monday's Noon

• Bibliophages: Snake-like Nithlings used by Mister Monday to defend his Dayroom from the first part of the Will. Bibliophages spit acid-like venom at anything with text or type on it. These Nithlings were especially lethal to the parts of the Will, as the Will was composed entirely of text. Aside from their venom, they appear to be harmless; the name "Bibliophage", which means "Book Eater", implies that the dissolution of text is the sole purpose for their creation. These snake like creatures almost destroys Mister Monday when Suzy writes a letter on him.

• Scouchers: A Scoucher is a particularly unpleasant type of Nithling that issues from the narrowest of cracks and fractures, resulting in its very thin shape. 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 in Grim Tuesday, but Arthur flees to Leaf's house for shelter. Leaf, after she gets cut by it, helps Arthur destroy it.

• 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.

• 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 contact with Nothing. Soot has the ability to read Grim Tuesday's mind, and he is also capable of bringing objects into being from Nothing. He grows more powerful when he eats treasure; a trait reminiscent of Grim Tuesday's avarice. Soot helped Suzy and Arthur to break into Tuesday's Pyramid via the use of a special diamond created by him, and is now believed to have been destroyed by the Mariner under Tuesday's command.

• Grannow-Hoinch: A monstrous Nithling resembling a mass of Nothing held within a silver frame that gives it the shape of a combination of boar and unicorn. It attacks Arthur, Suzy, and Fred in the Middle House, but escapes.

References

1. ^ http://www.allenandunwin.com/_uploads/documents/kidsandteens/Superior_Sat_chapter1.mp3