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People of Xanth --
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An Appaloosa bachelor centaur who wears spectacles and was keeper of the records at the centaur museum on Centaur Isle. His specialty is Alien Archaeology. It was discovered, after 90 years, that his talent is the formation of an aisle of magic wherever he goes. The aisle extends 15 paces to the front, and half that distance to the rear. When he uses reverse-wood, he generates a Mundane ailse in Xanth. Arrow Elf Member of the tribe of Flower Elves. Avars Mercenaries from a wild Mundane Turk tribe, the handpicked troops of King Oary, Usurper King of Onesti, Mundania. Awl Elf Member of the Tool Tribe. Beauregard A bespectacled demon, highly educated. He is working on his doctoral thesis, Fallibilities of Other Intelligent Life in Xanth. Behemoth A creature mostly mouth, who is the door to the Gateway Castle under Lake Ogre-Chobee. Bianca Roland's wife and Bink's mother, whose magic talent is the Replay: the ability to jump back in time 5 seconds, in a small area. Bink The main character in the first two novels, who seems to have no magic, but is actually the most powerful Magician in Xanth because he cannot be harmed by magic. Bloodroot Elf An elf of the Flower Tribe. Bluebell An elf maiden of the Flower Tribe who seduces Jordan the Barbarian (no difficult task). Ancestor to Rapunzel. Blythe Brassie A female inhabitant of the City of Brass, in the hypnogourd. Formerly called Blyght, she's a nice metal girl. Brain Coral Living in a preservative fluid with stasis-magic, it operates through other agencies to accomplish its noble task. It cannot control a conscious, intelligent living entity, but rather operates through suggestions that seem like the creatures' own notions. A number of creatures are stored in its preservative fluid, for eventual release. Brontes A cyclops, a giant with a huge single eye. He and his brothers, Steropes and Arges, were once the Powers of the Air, but fell out of favor. Cactus Elf Of the tribe of Flower Elves. Catamount A large reddish feline who guards the Catwalk. Cedric A historical centaur of Xanth. Chameleon Bink's wife, named after a shape-changing lizard, whose intelligence and appearance vary with the time of the month, as is the case with some Mundane women. At one time each of her aspects were named: Dee - normal; Wynn - pretty but stupid; Fanchon - ugly but smart. Dor's mother. Chem A centaur, foal of Cherie and Chester: a pretty brown creature with flowing hair and tail and a slender, well-formed human torso. Her talent is that of map projection. It is her mission to map all of the penninsula of Xanth. Cherie A centaur, Chester's wife and Chet and Chem's mother. Her specialty is humanoid history, and she served as Dor's tutor. Though it is difficult for her to realize it, she has the magic talent of beauty. Chester A centuar, Cherie's husband and nephew of Herman the Hermit. His rear is prettier than his face. He specializes in the study of horsepower and discovers he has a magic talent: the ability to conjure a silver flute that plays beautiful music. Chet A centaur, Chem's brother, whose magic talent is that of converting large boulders to pebbles by a process he calls calculus. It renders a stone into a calx, that can be used for calculating. Chisel Elf Member of the tribe of Tool Elves. Clio The Muse of History. She lives on Mt. Parnassus, the home of the arts, sciences and history, and writes magic texts on Xanth. Craven A goblin, subchief of the Chasm Clan, father of Glory and Goldy Goblin. Crombie A soldier and woman-hater who finally found the one for him: Jewel the Nymph. Father of Tandy. His talent is Direction: he can point to anything. At one point he was changed to a griffin, in order to help seek the source of magic. Crunch A vegetarian ogre, father of Smash. Curse Fiends Basically of human stock, but all of them have the same magic talent: cursing. They live in Gateway Castle, under Lake Ogre-Chobee, and are expert Thespians. Cyrus Halfling son of the siren and the merman Morris. In water his legs become a tail. Day Stallion Leader of the day mare herd: an invisible (to people) golden wingless flying horse. Demon X(A/N)TH The source of magic. He lives in the deepest cavern, sealed off from intrusion, where he has been for a thousand or more years. His body has leaked a trace amount of magic into his surroundings, and this accounts for all the magic in Xanth. In return for a guarantee of privacy, he has bequeathed "Magician-caliber sorcery" to all Bink's descendents. He is frustrated by his inability to gain status on other Demons, such as E(A/R)TH, V{E/N}US, P|L/U|TO, JU[P/I]TER, NE¥P/T¥UNE, or lovely **SA((T/U))RN**. Dogwood Elf Of the tribe of Flower Elves. Dolph The son of Dor and Irene, a Magician, whose talent is instant shape-changing. Dor The son of Bink and Chameleon, a Magician, later King of Xanth. His talent is conversing with the inanimate. Dragon King An intelligent leader of dragons who understands the human language and believes it is impolite to toast Magicians. He has iridescent mirror-polished scales which overlap and are as supple as the best warrior's mail. His great front claws are burnished brass tapering to needlepoints. His snout is gold-plated and his eyes are like full moons. He likes the taste of Mundanes. Dragon Lady A more recent leader, a regal queen of her kind, who reclines in her nest of glittering diamonds while reading Monster Comics. Ebnez Magician King responsible for developing Xanth's shield/shieldstone after the Lastwave invasion, for protection against future Mundane invasions. Elders The Council of Elders is responsible for the Kingdom of Xanth during the absence of the King. The Elders take care of routine administrative chores and select a new King if anything happens. The Elders were responsible for the placement of Magician Trent as King, with certain conditions. Elsie Jordan's original girlfriend, who had civilizing designs on him. Her talent was turning water to wine by touching it with her finger. Ferdinand A noble bull of a man, leader of the Cowboys. Fiant A demon who works in a rum refinery, who dematerializes at will. He is large, muscular and fat, with squat horns, an unkempt beard and a barbed tail. He was at one time a great trial to Tandy, for when he looked at her, his eyes glowed like smoky quartz shielding an internal lava flow. Fracto The worst of clouds. He terms himself King Cumulo Fracto Nimbus, and has enormous vanity and a stormy temper, but in time he blows over. Furies Three dog-faced old women, creatures of retribution. Their whips cause terrible agony, and their curses are devastating. They are: Alecto, of the sorrows; Megaera, of suffering; and Tisiphone, of guilt. They know the secret guilts of anyone they encounter, whether human or animal. Gap Dragon One of the most formidable monsters of Xanth. He is low-slung, with a triple pair of legs, and iridescent metallic scales. Though he has small wings, he is landbound, and travels by whomping along. He destroys all creatures unfortunate enough to blunder into the Gap. Accidently youthened to baby status, he was befriended by Ivy, who named him Stanley, because he is a steamer. During his second youth, his female counterpart, Stacey or Stella Steamer, patrols the Gap. Gerome A centaur, an Elder of Centaur Isle. Gimlet Prince of the Tool Tribe of Elves. Glory Goblin A petite, stunningly beautiful goblin girl, daughter of Gorbage; Goldy's youngest sister. Her friendship with Hardy Harpy almost generates war between the goblins and harpies. Gnobody Gnomes A tribe of gnomes, near the Cowboys. Goldy Goblin Eldest daughter of Gorbage, very petite and nice. She traveled north to trap a male in the goblin fashion, aided by Smash Ogre, who obtained a magic wand for her. Gorbage Goblin Chief of the North Slope Gap Goblins, ugly and unprincipled as expected, he nevertheless values his daughters and seeks the benefit of his kind. Gorgon The personification of the promise/threat in woman. When she was young, the sight of her face stoned males; when she matured, her face stoned everyone, even animals. Sister to the Siren. Intrigued by Good Magician Humfrey, who made her face invisible so she could not accidently hurt others, she finally married him and had a son, Hugo. Gromden Former King of Xanth, whose talent was to perceive the history of any object he touched. Old, bald and fat in his later life, he nevertheless had the guilt of a scandalous liaison with a demoness that resulted in Threnody, the object of Jordan's adventure. Grundy Golem A man-figure as tall as a spread human hand, he was fashioned from wood, clay rags, and bits of other refuse, and animated. Later he learned to care and became alive or, as he calls it, real. His talent is the ability to converse with all living creatures. Cheap insults are his forte. Hardy Harpy One of the very few male harpies: young, clean, handsome, intelligent and with good personality. His liaison with Glory Goblin almost touched off a renewal of the goblin/harpy war, but also demonstrated that goblins and harpies share half-talents, which become whole talents when the two get together. He and Glory were able to become invisible, together. Harold Harpy An early prince of harpies, consort to Heavenly Helen Hapry. Hasbinbad Punic leader of the Nextwave Mundanes who brought recruits from Iberia and Morocco. He had been transporting 1200 men and 9 elephants to Hannibal along with 50 horses. He was under the impression that this was Italy, Mundania. Heavenly Helen Young and beautiful and pleasant harpy queen. Her punnish background is derived from Dante Gabriel Rossetti's poem Troy Town, which opens:
"Heavenborn Helen, Sparta's queen,
(O Troy Town!)
Had two breats of heavenly sheen,
The sun and moon of the heart's desire:
All love's lorship lay between.
(O Troy's down!
Tall Troy's on fire.)"
Thus we have Heavenly Helen, Harpy's Queen, whose distinguishing feature is a pair of breats, involved with the siege of Castle Roogna.Herman the Hermit A centaur, Chester's famous uncle, who helped save Xanth from a wiggle invasion. He was exiled from the centaur community because he had magic: the ability to communicate with the will-o'-the-wisps. Hiatus Son of Millie and the Zombie Master, and twin to Lacuna. His talent is growing organs - such as eyes, ears and noses on walls and books. Hoe Elf Member of the Tool Tribe of Elves. Horseman A werehorse, a human/equine crossbreed. Centaurs resulted from man-mare coupling, this one from stallion-woman at a love spring. He is hamdsome as either a white stallion or a man, but evil, using his Brass Circlet to ensorcel victims. He tries to take over the crown of Xanth, but is foiled by Mare Imbrium. Hugo The son of Humfrey (HU) and the Gorgon (GO), he is considered retarded because his talent of conjuring fruit doesn't work well. But under Ivy's influence he becomes remarkably intelligent and talented. Ivy considers him to be her Night in Shiny Armor. Humfrey The Good Magician Humfrey, whose talent is information. He is gnomelike, with enormous Mundane-type spectacles, and over 100 years old. He tends to be grouchy and to safeguard his privacy by establishing all manner of barriers to entry to his castle, but he always knows exactly what is going on. He typically charges one year's service as the fee for an Answer to a Question, and many people and creatures willingly pay that fee. When the Gorgon asked whether he would marry her, he made her serve a year before he Answered. This might seen extreme - but it gave her the chance to get to know him well enough to be sure, before committing herself. Humfrey is like that, being more rational and generous than is generally perceived. Ichabod A Mundane archivist discovered by Dor's party when it ventured past the Crimson Tide and into the Mundane realm of Montgomery circa 1950. He is a friend of Arnolde Centaur, and an excellent researcher on the magic of Xanth. He likes to look at (but not touch) nymphly legs. Irene Daughter of Trent and Iris. Her talent is to make plants grow rapidly, so that in minutes one of them could complete a life cycle that would normally require years. She was first classified as of Sub-Magician level talent, but later upgraded to full Sorceress. She has green hair and good legs (and that's not all), and no truck with sexism. Iris One of the most potent Sorceresses in Xanth, her talent is Illusion. She can make a nonexistent thing appear, or an existent thing dissappear. Her Mundane form is frumpy, but she never shows that to the public; consequently she is glamorous. She married King Trent, and for a time was King herself, because Xanth had no reigning Queens. Ivy Daughter of Dor and Irene, a Sorceress whose magic causes the qualities she perceives in those about her to intensify. She is a bright, insatiably curious and a somewhat imperious girl. Wherever Ivy is, there is bound to be mischief. Jewel A rock Nymph specializing in precious stones. It is her responsibility to see that all gems are properly planted in the ground, for others eventually to find. She rides a diggle, and her talent is Smells: how she smells is how she feels. She married Crombie the Soldier, and when there is a suggestion of his wandering, she smells of burning wild oats. But because she is a Nymph, she can not truly grasp anything evil, which is a problem for her daughter Tandy, when pursued by a lecherous demon. Joan A male fairy, misnamed. John The feamle fairy who got the name intended for the male, and vice versa. She is a pretty little female figure with sparkling mussed hair and thin iridescent wings with scenic patterns. She finally finds the one with her name, so they can exchange - and they fall in love. Jonathan A zombie, an old friend of Millie the Ghost. Jordan A barbarian adventurer, betrayed by a cruel lie, who becomes a ghost for 400 years before being reanimated. He is tall, broad-shouldered, hank-haired, big-footed, and naive about women: in short, the very model of a modern fantasy hero. Jumper A spider who inadvertently accompanies Dor in his Tapestry travels. Classified as Phidipus Variegatus, of the Family Salticide, he's a jumping spider. He has eight hairy legs, six green eyes scattered about his head, and sharp fangs projecting from his mouth parts. His fur is green, his legs gray. In short, he's a most handsome creature. His talent is the making of silk, and by using that he can suspend himself from high places, and even fly. He becomes a close friend and mentor to Dor. He is not, despite impressions, large; it just happens that when they meet, Dor is small, being in the adventure of the Tapestry. Justin Tree A man who was transformed by Evil Magician Trent into a tree. His leaves are like flat hands and his trunk is the color of tanned flesh. His talent is voice projection, so he can converse with untransformed folk. Given the chance to change back to man-state, he elects to remain a tree. Knotweed Elf Member of the tribe of Flower Elves. Lacuna Twin sister of Hiatus, daughter of the Zombie Master and Millie. Her talent is to form print on anything, which she can change at will. She messed up the Humfrey-Gorgon wedding by changing "until death do you part" to "the few measly years you hang on before you croak." That sort of thing. Lathe Elf A guard of the Tool Tribe of Elves. Lord of Flies The King of the Flies, currently reading a book called The Sting by Wasp. Maenads The Wild Women of Parnassus. Stay clear of them. Mallet Elf Member of the tribe of Tool Elves. Mare Imbrium A night mare who originally resided in the gourd and carried bad dreams to deserving sleepers. The "Sea of Rains" on the moon is named after her, and her hoofprint shows a moonscape with that feature highlighted. By special dispensation, she was able to go out in daylight, where she resembled a solid black horse, though she could still dematerialize in darkness. She communicates by projecting dreamlets to people that may show her as a young woman in black; in the dreams she can talk normally. She was a major figure in the defense of Xanth during the Nextwave invasion, and at one time was the Mare King, but gave her physical life in the effort. Now she is a day mare, bringing pleasant daydreams to people; she likes this job better than that of nightmaring. The author's daughter Penny has a horse that resembles Imbri, and the volume Night Mare is dedicated to her. Millie the Ghost Once a chambermaid at Castle Roogna, she was ensorceled by Vadne and became a ghost for 800 years. Her body was formed into a book titled The Skeletons in the Closet. She was restored in modern times, and married the Zombie Master. Her talent is Sex Appeal, which makes her popular with men, less so with women. Mother of Hiatus and Lacuna. Minotaur A hero of bovine past, who went to Mundania to seek his fortune, believed to have acquitted himself very well in labyrinth competition in Kon-Krete. Monster of the Sea A sadly maligned liberator of damsels in distress who once tried to rescue the Mundane maiden An-Dro-Meda, but was misunderstood. Morris A merman who marries the siren. They have a son, Cyrus. Murphy An old time Magician whose talent is making things go wrong. He lost the contest for the crown to Magician Roogna, but his power remains undiminished in Mundania, where it is known as Murphy's Law. Muses The nine patrons of the arts and sciences, who reside on Mt. Parnassus. Clio, the Muse of History, seems like a sensible woman, though somehow het texts on Xanth keep leaking out to Mundania, where they are called fantasies. It's an insult to a careful scholar. Night Stallion The leader of the herd of night mares. He is a huge, wingless horse of midnight hue, also known as Trojan or the Dark Horse. He assigns the dreams to be delivered. He tried to warn King Trent about the dangerous Horseman. Oary Called the Imposter or Usurper King, he stole the throne of the Kingdom of Onesti from his nephew, King Good Omen. Has a private army of Avar mercenaries. Oleander Elf Of the tribe of Flower Elves. Omen Good King Omen, of the Kingdom of Onesti, who was displaced by his bad uncle Oary. A stunning young mand who radiates charisma. Ouroboros The monster serpent who circles the world, grasping its tail in its teeth. It served for a time as a guardian of Humfre'ys caslte. (Every type of creature owes the Good Magician for Answers!) Peek A female ghost horse with lovely eyes used by the Knock-Kneed Knights until freed by Jordan. Mate to Pook, and Puck's dam. Pook Male ghost horse, kept solid by the chains he wears about his barrel. Friend to Jordan. Python The nemesis and sometimes delight of females, he helps guard Parnassus. A huge serpent. Quieta A tiny female imp who presents Smash with a useful little mirror. Her father is Imp Ortant. They are featured on the cover of Ogre, Ogre. The author likes to tell his daughter Penny that she was the model for that painting of Quieta. Rapunzel Ivy's pun-pal, who lives in an Ivory Tower and has little contact with the real world, until she meets Grundy Golem. A descendant of Jordan and Bluebell, she is of mixed human and elven ancestry, so can change size readily. Her hair is magicially long, capable of dangling the full length of the Tower, but it doesn't weigh her down. Renee The ghost-girl, Jordan's true-love in death. But when reanimated, she turns out to be TH-renee-DY. Roland Bink's father, an Elder of Xanth. His talent is the Stun-gaze that freezes a person in place. Roogna A King of Xanth, whose talent was adapting living magic to suit his purpose. A pudgy, informal, gardner-type man with thinning, graying hair and a gentle manner. He fought off the Fourthwave and Fifthwave, built Castle Roogna, and ushered in the Golden Age of Xanth. Sabrina A young and beautiful woman whose talent is holography. Bink's first romantic interest. Sea Hag A Sorceress whose talent in Immortality, which she accomplishes by taking over the body of some other person or creature after she dies. She holds Rapunzel captive in the Ivory Tower, for this purpose. A lovely body doesn't remain that way long after the Hag animates it, however. Simurgh Wisest of all birds, she has seen the destruction and regeneration of the universe three times. She is the size of a roc, with feathers like veils of light and shadow and a crested head like fire. Her feathers have magicial healing properties. She is the Keeper of the Seeds, and can read minds. Siren A lovely young mer-lady whose song and magic dulcimer lured males to her island, but her sister the Gorgon turned them to stone. Deprived of her instrument, she did no more harm, and later married Morris the Merman. Smash An ogre, actually a human/ogre crossbreed, son of Crunch. Stupid in the manner of ogres, he went to the Good Magician for an Answer, but forgot the Question. He married Tandy, daughter of Crombie the Soldier and Jewel the Nymph. Snortimer The Monster Under Ivy's Bed. He is composed mostly of five big, hairy arms and hands, that grab at ankles that come near the shadows under the bed. Monsters are under every child's bed, but disappear when the children grow up, and adults don't believe in them. They can't leave their lair by day, because direct light turns them to dust. Bad children tease their monsters by dangling their feet and yanking them out of the way when the monster grabs. The correct response to a grab is a piercing shriek, as good children know. Stanley Steamer After the dread Gap Dragon was youthened to dragonlet status by an overdose from the Fountain of Youth, he was befriended by Ivy, who named him. He helped save Xanth from wiggles, and became a hero, with a statue on a pedestal. Stella Steamer Or Stacey Steamer; the author never did get her name quite straight. Female counterpart to Stanley. She assumes responsibility for guarding the Gap during his youth. Storm King Former King of Xanth. An atmospheric specialist who could brew dust devils, tornadoes, thunderstorms or hurricanes, making a draught or a downpour. But his power faded with age. Stunk A goblin, recipient of one of Mare Imbri's bad dreams, who later delivers a message to her. Tandy Daughter of Crombie and Jewel, she is a girlishly small woman. Raised in the underworld, she fled when the Demon Fiant (D-Fiant) had D-signs on her. Half human, half Nymph, her talent is throwing tantrums. She marries Smash Ogre, who really appreciates a good tantrum, especially when it hits him in the face. Threnody A human/demon crossbreed who tells Jordan a cruel lie, causing his death. She has lustrous black tresses and midnight eyes and sings a song of lamentation. Her talent is demon-striation. She is under a curse; if she ever enters Castle Roogna, it will fall. Trent As the Evil Magician he was exiled from Xanth to Mundania, where he lived for 20 years and had a family. When that family was lost, he returned to conquer Xanth, and was recognized as the legitimate King. He is the Transformer, transforming others instantly to any other living forms. He turned out to be a good King, ushering in the Silver Age of Xanth. Trolla Female Troll, leader of the Magic Dust Village. Vadne A woman of the past whose magic talent is topology, or the reshaping of things without changing their natures. Not quite Sorceress level. She converted Millie into a book, and was sent to the Brain Coral for storage. Xanthippe The Wicked Witch of the Wilderness, patterned after Socrates' shrewish wife. She is associated with Xanthorrhoed Trees, the root plants of Xanth, and with yellow things. She has a son, Xavier. Xap Xavier's steed, a golden yellow hippogryph. Xavier Xanthippe's son, a robust and decent man of yellow complexion, who can zap things by pointing a finger. He marries Zora Zombie. Yang Evil Magician, and twin to Yin. He makes negative spells, deceiving by indirection. Nevertheless, he became King of Xanth, so must be respected. All the stray spell-objects of Xanth date from his reign, even those appearing before his time. He ushered in the Dark Age of Xanth. Yin Yang's good twin, who lost out. Zombie Master The magician Jonathan, who reanimates the dead to make zombies. Unlucky in love, he committed suicide and became a zombie himself for 800 years, but was subsequently restored to full life by a special elixir. He married Millie the Ghost and had two children, Hiatus and Lacuna. Zora Zombie A truly decent young woman who committed suicide when her true love was false, and was reanimated as a zombie. She was restored almost to life when she found love in the form of Xavier. Her talent is accelerating the aging process. |
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