The Dark Tower Companion: A Guide to Stephen King’s Epic Fantasy (74 page)

A
SLAN
(4.5)

The Lion Guardian of the Beam. He lives in the far north, in the land of endless snows.

A
UNT
T
ALITHA'S
C
ROSS
(3, 5, 7)

A silver cross at the end of a fine-link silver chain. Talitha Unwin wore it constantly for more than a hundred years. She gives it to Roland in River Crossing and asks him to lay it at the foot of the Dark Tower. Roland gives it to John Cullum to convey a message to Moses Carver. It records a secret about Odetta that only Carver and Eddie know. When Roland visits Tet Corporation, Moses Carver returns it to Roland with a message from Cullum. Roland lays the cross, along with his remaining gun, at the door of the Dark Tower.

B
ARONY
(1, 3, 4, 4.5, 5, 6, 7, M)

A geopolitical or feudal unit in Mid-World equal to a state or province. Gilead was the capital of the New Canaan Barony.

B
ARONY
C
LASS
(3, 4)

The equivalent of first class. Describes the accommodations in Blaine the Mono.

B
EAMQUAKE
(6, 7, M)

Analogous to an earthquake, but caused when one of the Beams holding up the Dark Tower snaps. Anything within several hundred miles of the affected Beam is destroyed. According to Roland, birds near the Beam would fall from the sky in flames. The
ka-tet
feels the Beam of the Eagle and Lion break the day after they defeat the Wolves in Calla Bryn Sturgis, and Roland experienced one after Gilead fell but before the battle at Jericho Hill.

B
EAMS
(3, 4, 4.5, 5, 6, 7, M)

Lines of power that support the Dark Tower and hold together space, size and time. The original Beams that arose out of the Prim were made of magic. The Great Old Ones replaced them with technology, thereby guaranteeing they would someday fail, especially after the Great Old Ones vanished from the world. The Beams have been flowing along the same paths for so many thousands of years that they leave a clear sign of their presence in the shape of the clouds, the direction needles on trees grow and the pattern of shadows on the ground.

At times, the Beams seem like living entities—the Voice of the Beam is the Voice of Gan. The Voice is what tells Stephen King the story he is writing. It can force people to witness something important to its preservation (
aven kal
). The Beams also communicate in the dreams of sensitive people like Sheemie Ruiz, where they appear as young boys.

The Breakers are toiling on behalf of the Crimson King to disrupt, bend and ultimately break these Beams, leading to the fall of the Tower and the collapse of all universes. The Beams were originally smooth and polished, but now they are pitted, cracked, lumpy and eroded. There were twelve Beams, each with an animal Guardian. One Beam broke when Gilead fell. The Breakers successfully broke the Beam of the Eagle and the Lion, causing a devastating beamquake. Roland follows the Beam of the Bear, whose Guardian is Shardik. When this Beam reaches the Tower, it turns into the Beam of the Turtle, whose Guardian is Maturin. Tim Ross's adventure takes him north along the Beam of the Lion, Aslan. (See Guardians of the Beam for a complete listing.)

The damage to the Beams isn't irreversible if caught in time. If the Breakers are stopped, the Beams will heal themselves and perhaps even regenerate the broken ones. What has moved on might return again.

B
ENDS O' THE
R
AINBOW

See Wizard's Glass.

B
ILL OF
C
IRCULATION
(4.5)

Notice to leave town after being caught doing something illegal.

B
ILLY
-B
UMBLER
(T
HROUGHOUT
)

Also known as a throcken. A small animal that looks like a cross between a woodchuck and a raccoon with dachshund thrown in. Some have the power to imitate human speech. They were good for amusing children, keeping the rat population down or herding sheep. A good bumbler is supposed to be good luck. At one time they were tame and used to roam the Baronies. Not quite as faithful as a dog, historically. The wild ones are scavengers. Some people swear they can add. A Mid-World saying asks, “Do bumblers learn to speak backward?” equivalent to asking if a leopard can change its spots. They are particularly sensitive to starkblasts. When one is approaching, they face the storm with their snouts raised and, when the storm gets closer, turn in tight circles, as if chasing their tails. In regions where they are scarce, seeing one is considered good luck. They consider Grandfather-fleas ancient enemies and seem bred to kill them.

B
ITSY
(4.5)

One of Jack Ross's female mules.

B
LACK
T
HIRTEEN
(4, 5, 6, 7, M)

The most dangerous ball in the Wizard's Rainbow, the one that represents the Dark Tower. The most evil and terrible object from the days of Eld still remaining on the face of the Earth and the clearest sign of the powerful forces working against Roland's quest. Part of the Crimson King is trapped inside it forever, and insane. It is his ever-watching eye. Stephen King tells Roland it must be taken off the board and broken.

The box that holds it is made of the same ghostwood as the door at the base of the Tower. The bowling bag Jake finds in the vacant lot is made of a metallic material that provides some protection from its powers.

Steven Deschain's father told him it wasn't wise to talk about Thirteen because it might hear its name and roll your way. Walter gives it to Father Callahan in the Way Station, intending for it to be a trap for Roland in Calla Bryn Sturgis. Callahan stored it in his church, where it mostly slept and the simple faith of his parishioners soothed it. It sent Callahan todash twice, which is one of its powers—it may be a way to everywhere and everywhen. Like the rose, its hum conveys a sense of power, but it speaks of colossal emptiness and a malevolent emptiness.

Roland uses it to open the Unfound Door in the Doorway Cave. So long as the box is open, the door remains ajar. Someone needs to stand guard when anyone goes through the door because the box could close itself, trapping the person on the other side. However, this guard is susceptible to its malign powers as they wait. It works on both body (Roland's arthritis, for example) and mind (it convinces Eddie to kill himself).

Mia steals Black Thirteen when she escapes from Calla Bryn Sturgis. She puts it in a safe in room 1919 at the Plaza-Park Hyatt. Jake and Eddie retrieve it before the low men can get it. Father Callahan stores it in a locker in the basement of the World Trade Center two years before 9-11, where it was presumably destroyed.

B
LEEDING
L
ION
(7)

A creature that once stalked the north. Perhaps a reference to Aslan, the Guardian of the northern Beam.

B
OLT AND
B
AH
(1, 4.5, 5)

Mid-world equivalent of a crossbow. Jamie DeCurry's weapon of choice. Rarely accurate at a distance greater than twenty-five yards, and that only on a still day.

B
OOK OF
M
ANNI
(5)

The Manni bible.

B
RANNI
(6)

A word associated with the largest of the plumb bobs used by the Manni to travel. The box it is stored in is called a Branni coff.

B
UCKSKIN
(4)

Alain Johns's horse.

B
UFFALO
S
TAR
(5)

A Mid-World deity. Roland was once forced to kill a preacher of the Buff.

C
AN
T
AM
(L)

The doctor bugs who operate in the Little Sisters of Eluria's tent. They are associated with Type One vampires. Also known as Grandfather-fleas.

C
APRICHOSO
“C
API
”
OR
“C
APPI
” (4, 7, M)

The Travellers' Rest's pack mule, often used by Sheemie to deliver
graf
. Ill-tempered with a tendency to bite people—especially Sheemie.

C
ASA
F
UERTE
(4)

Also known as Hotpatch. A two-man version of Watch Me.

C
ASSIOPEIA
(3)

A star. According to the legend, she seduced Old Star (Apon, the North Star), causing a fight between him and Old Mother (Lydia, the South Star). The castoffs from their fight became the earth, the moon and the sun. The gods stepped in to save the universe and banished Cassiopeia to a rocking chair made of stars. Apon refused to reconcile, so stubborn Old Star and equally proud Old Mother pine for each other—and hate each other—from the opposite sides of the sky while Cassiopeia sits off to the side and laughs at them.

C
ASTLES
(4, 5)

A game of strategy like chess. Red pieces are arranged at one end of the board and the white at the other. Hillocks stand between them, providing cover. The players creep toward each other, setting up screens without being able to see what the other player is doing. Ultimately, one player has to emerge from behind his Hillock. Unless he has properly established himself, this can leave him vulnerable, but staying in cover can be difficult, too. A clever player sometimes peeks around his Hillock and ducks back. The game takes its name from a move, castling, that can also leave a player vulnerable. One of the playing pieces is called a Squire. The game is a metaphor for the situation in Hambry between the Affiliation Brats and the Big Coffin Hunters. Though both sides are aware of what is going on, neither one wants to be the first to emerge from protective cover.

C
ATACLYSM

See Old War.

C
HANCELLORS'
P
ATIENCE
(4)

A game of solitaire. The deck's four Chancellors are Paul, Luke, Peter and Matthew.

C
ONVERSATIONAL
(4)

A meeting among the political leaders of a Barony. These are often held the week before a Fair-Day, when people are assembled in the Barony seat.

C
RISP
-A-L
A
(1, M)

A Mid-World brand.

D
ANCE OF
E
ASTERLING
(4)

A party in the Great Hall of Gilead to mark the end of Wide Earth and the advent of Sowing.

D
ARIA
(4.5)

Tim Ross's waterproof talking navigation system, a gift from the mutants in Fagonard Swamp. Full designation:
North Central Positronics Portable Guidance Module DARIA, NCP-1436345-AN
. A brushed silver disk the size of a small plate. It has three buttons, one of which reveals a beeping
directional antenna that communicates with a satellite. Its light turns from red to green when the person holding it faces north. She also acts as a light source that will last for seventy years. Secure data is protected by Directive Nineteen, but Daria defies this out of loneliness and friendship, which leads to her destruction.

D
ARK
B
ELLS
(L, M)

The
sigul
of sisterhood worn by one of the Little Sisters. In Eluria, Sister Jenna wears them. When they are rung to summon the
can tam
, the sound is so piercing, it's almost psychic.

D
ARKS
(7)

A unit used to express the output of psychic energy from the Breakers.

D
AVID
(1, 2, 3, 4.5, 5, 7, M)

Roland's hawk and weapon of choice when he faced Cort in his test to become a gunslinger.

D
EBARIA
S
ALT
C
OMBYNE
(4.5)

The company that operates the salt mines in the hills north of Debaria. People from Gilead own it.

D
EMON
M
OON
(4, 6, 7, M)

The full moon of the Year's End. It can be seen during the daytime. Its face is that of a demon. It was considered bad luck to look directly at it. Rhea told Susan Delgado that she couldn't sleep with Mayor Hart Thorin until Demon Moon was full, after the Reaping Fair.

D
EP3
(4)

A poison used by the Great Old Ones in the Great Poisoning or Old War.

D
EVIL
-G
RASS OR
D
EVIL
-W
EED
(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, M)

Vegetation that can cause delusions if eaten and vivid nightmares if the smoke is inhaled. It grows just about everywhere in Mid-World except in the Badlands of Discordia.

D
IPOLAR
C
OMPUTERS
(3, 4, 5, 6)

The computers that run Lud.

D
IRECTIVE
N
INETEEN
(4.5, 5)

The instruction that prevents people without passwords from accessing certain sensitive North Central Positronics information. Andy and Daria are protected by this rule. When Daria violates it, she self-destructs.

D
OBBIE
(7)

The name of a domesticated robot known as a “house-elf” in Algul Siento.

D
RAGONS
(T
HROUGHOUT
)

Winged, fire-breathing creatures that live in various parts of Mid-World, including deep in the Endless Forest. According to legend, their fire is as hot as liquid rock. They have gills in their chests to take in air to fuel their flames. Roland's grandfather Alaric went to Garlan to slay a dragon, but he was too late. The last one in that part of the world had been slain by another king, one who was later murdered, presumably King Roland of Delain. One of Roland's favorite childhood books was
The Throcken and the Dragon
. A dragon the size of a house supposedly killed Jack Ross, but that was a lie. Tim Ross, however, steps on the head of a real dragon bigger than a horse, submerged in Fagonard Swamp, but the creature leaves him be. The mutants of Fagonard give it an offering of a boar, which placates it. This particular dragon, a female with a pink maiden's-comb on its head, is killed by the starkblast. According to Marten Broadcloak, the collective noun for dragons is “a bonfire.”