The Dark Tower Companion

by Bev Vincent

  CATACLYSM

  See Old War.

  CHANCELLORS’ PATIENCE (4)

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

  CONVERSATIONAL (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.

  CRISP-A-LA (1, M)

  A Mid-World brand.

  DANCE OF EASTERLING (4)

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

  DARIA (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.

  DARK BELLS (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.

  DARKS (7)

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

  DAVID (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.

  DEBARIA SALT COMBYNE (4.5)

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

  DEMON MOON (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.

  DEP3 (4)

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

  DEVIL-GRASS OR DEVIL-WEED (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.

  DIPOLAR COMPUTERS (3, 4, 5, 6)

  The computers that run Lud.

  DIRECTIVE NINETEEN (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.

  DOBBIE (7)

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

  DRAGONS (THROUGHOUT)

  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.”

  DRAGON’S BLOOD (M)

  The poison used to kill Cort. The pages of James Farson’s book were laced with it. When Cort licked his fingers to turn the pages, he poisoned himself.

  Crossover to Other Works: Dragon’s Blood was also used to kill King Roland of Delain in The Eyes of the Dragon.

  ERMOT (4)

  Rhea Dubativo’s snake. Slim, green, with four pairs of fangs, two on the top of its mouth and two on the bottom. It also serves as Rhea’s lover. Roland shoots its head off when Rhea sends it out to attack him. She sews the corpse back together and wears it around her neck.

  EXCALIBUR (4, 5, 6, 7)

  Also known as the Sword of Eld and the Sword of Arthur. A symbol of unity that was entombed in a pyramid and freed by Arthur Eld. He led his gunslingers into battle with the sword raised over his head. According to legend, the barrels of Roland’s guns are made from its metal.

  FAIR-DAYS (3, 4, 5, 6)

  Festive occasions held during each of the seven seasons: Winter, Wide Earth, Sowing, MidSummer, Full Earth, Reaping and Year’s End.

  FAIR-DAY GOOSE (4, 5, 6)

  The prize given to the winner of Fair-Day Riddling contests. Margaret Eisenhart “claims” the Fair-Day Goose when she wins the Oriza contest in Calla Bryn Sturgis. It was something Stephen King’s mother used to say when he and his brother did all their chores and got them right the first time.

  FAIR-DAY RIDDLING (3)

  A contest held in the Hall of the Grandfathers in Gilead. Sixteen to thirty riddlers gathered in the Hall, which was open to commoners for this event. Each riddler tossed a handful of bark scrolls with riddles written on them into a barrel placed in the center of the floor. Three judges—one a gunslinger—decided whether new riddles were fair. A line formed and the person at the head was asked riddles until they encountered one they couldn’t answer within three minutes. This gave someone at the back of the line an advantage, though that person had to answer at least one riddle. Cort usually won the goose that was the victor’s prize. One year, Cort stabbed to death a man who cheated at the contest. Though held during every Fair-Day, it was the most important event of the Fairs of Wide Earth and Full Earth, where the riddles were supposed to augur well or ill for the success of the crops.

  FAIR-NIGHT (4)

  The last night of the Reaping Day Fair, when stuffy-men are thrown into bonfires. The true fin de año.

  FELICIA (4)

  One of three horses promised by Mayor Hart Thorin as an earnest gift to Susan Delgado. The chestnut mare was originally owned by Pat Delgado and was one of Susan’s childhood favorites.

  FIRE-RESPONSE TEAM BRAVO (7)

  An automated fire team consisting of three fire engines manned by robots housed inside Pleasantville Hardware Company in Algul Siento. Until the ka-tet sets fires before they attack, it had not scrambled in more than eight hundred years. The fire engines spray water in all directions and plow through crowds of guards and Breakers alike, killing many.

  FORGE OF THE KING (6, 7)

  The red glow at Le Casse Roi Russe that can be seen from the allure of Castle Discordia. By the time Roland and Susannah reach the castle, it has gone out, perhaps at the same time as the work of the Breakers was ended.

  Crossover to Other Works: This may be related to the Big Combination, the Crimson King’s child-powered energy plant, extinguished by Ty Marshall at the end of Black House.

  THE FORGETFUL FOLK (5, 6)

  Someone like Margaret Eisenhart who has left the Manni. The Manni consider them damned. Also a general term used by the Manni to refer to people of any other religion.

  FULL EARTH (L, 1, 3, 4, 4.5, 5, 7)

  One of the seven seasons of Mid-World. Between MidSummer and Reaping, including the month of August. Its moon is called the Kissing Moon. There is often a crop of Full Earth babies the following year because of sexual activity on Reap Night. Riddling is the most important event of the Fair of Full Earth. According to Andy, a time particularly propitious for finishing old business and meeting new people.

  GADOSH (7)

  Another word for or concept related to the Prim and Gan.

  GAN’S BEAM (7)

  The Beam of the Ele
phant and the Wolf, one of the last two that remain before the Breakers are stopped. Stephen King may be its mortal Guardian and it may snap if he dies.

  GAN’S BLACKBIRDS (7)

  Castle Rooks, like the scavengers that came for the bread that Roland and Cuthbert put under Hax’s feet. Roland and Susannah see birds like these flying toward the Crimson King’s castle after he departed. They carry Rando Thoughtful across the deadline so Mordred can eat him.

  GAN’S GATEWAY (7)

  The yellow center at the heart of the roses of Can’-Ka No Rey.

  GARUDA (4.5)

  The Eagle Guardian of the Beam. Tim Ross uses one of its tail feathers to navigate his way home from North Forest Kinnock.

  GHOSTWOOD (5, 6, 7)

  Black ironwood. The dark, dense wood used to make the box that contains Black Thirteen and the door at the base of the Dark Tower. It smells of camphor, fire and flowers. The door to Fedic beneath the Dixie Pig is also ghostwood.

  GLOWING DAY (4)

  A day of celebration that features fireworks. One of the few times people in Gilead see ice.

  GLUE BOY (4)

  Cuthbert’s horse. Roland noted that Cuthbert couldn’t even name his horse as a normal person would.

  GOAT MOON (5)

  A winter moon. Eddie’s birthday in February falls in Goat Moon with beard.

  GODOSH (7)

  Another word for or concept related to the rational world of the Am.

  THE GONE WORLD (1, 5)

  To Roland, it means the world of the Great Old Ones. To others, it means Roland’s heritage, the line of Eld.

  GOOD MIND (7)

  Euphoria generated when the Breakers work in the Study in Algul Siento. Its effect on bystanders is like a mind-altering drug. People suddenly remember things they had long forgotten or work out the solutions to difficult problems.

  GRAPEFRUIT (4, 4.5, 5, M)

  The pink ball from the Wizard’s Rainbow, also known as Maerlyn’s grapefruit. It fell into the hands of John Farson, who consulted it before battles or making momentous decisions. He uses it to beat the Affiliation and slip away from them whenever he’s about to be caught. He sends it away with the Big Coffin Hunters because the risk of keeping it too long outweighs the risk of losing it. They give it to Rhea Dubativo, who uses it to spy on the people of Mejis. It shows things, but the viewer cannot hear anything. It unfailingly shows people at their vilest, revealing acts of incest, abuse, theft and murder. Rhea’s anima (spirit) is sucked out of her as she uses it the way a vampire sucks blood. Using it is habit-forming.

  Roland takes it from Eldred Jonas. It waits until his mind is strong enough to understand and withstand before showing him all the things he missed during their visit to Mejis, including Susan Delgado’s death. It also reveals the Dark Tower and causes him to become obsessed with saving it.

  When Farson finds out Roland has it, he is insane with rage. Roland reluctantly gives it to his father a couple of days after he gets back from Mejis. Gabrielle Deschain steals it to give to Marten as a consolation prize after their plot to murder Steven fails. The orb misleads Roland into thinking that Rhea is attacking him, causing him to shoot and kill his mother. Afterward, someone takes the glass from Gabrielle’s chamber, probably on Rhea’s behalf. Ultimately, it gets back to Marten, who has it in the Green Palace. Roland uses it to show the end of his tragic story to his ka-tet. After that it was lost again.

  GREAT BOOK (3)

  The Bible.

  GREAT (OR GRAND) FEATHEREX (2, 4)

  A creature that once lived in the kingdom of Garlan. It was supposed to bring babies, like a stork.

  GREAT FIRE

  See Old War.

  GREAT LETTERS (OF GILEAD) (1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

  Letters of the High Speech.

  GREAT POISONING

  See Old War.

  GREAT PORTAL, THE (3)

  Another name for the Dark Tower.

  GROW BAG (1, 5, 6, M)

  A magic bag in Roland’s gunna that replenishes money, tobacco and other necessities. A gift from his father. The only possession Roland still has from his days in Mejis.

  GUARDIANS OF THE BEAM (3, 4, 4.5, 5, 6, 7, M)

  Twelve animals whose names indicate the corresponding Beams that support the Dark Tower. They are, in pairs with proper names where known: Bear (Shardik) and Turtle (Maturin), Fish and Rat, Horse and Dog, Elephant and Wolf, Eagle (Garuda) and Lion (Aslan), Hare and Rat. The Beam of the Lion is also known as the Beam of the Cat or the Tyger. The Beam of the Eagle is also known as the Beam of the Bird, Hawk or Vulturine. Hax believed that the creation of the Twelve Guardians was the last act of the Great Old Ones in an attempt to atone for the great wrongs they had done to one another and to the Earth itself.

  GUNSLINGER BURRITOS (3, 4, 4.5, 5)

  Dried meat—usually deer—wrapped in spinachlike leaves, although occasionally vegetarian.

  HAND-SCAN SPECTRUM MAGNIFIER (4)

  A medical diagnostic tool capable of administering minor first aid found aboard Blaine the Mono. It is also a nutrient-delivery system, a brain-pattern recording device, a stress analyzer and an emotion enhancer that can naturally stimulate the production of endorphins. It can also create believable illusions and hallucinations.

  HELIOGRAPH (4)

  A mechanism for sending messages over long distances.

  “HEY JUDE” (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, M)

  A popular song in Mid-World.

  HIGH SPEECH (1, 2, 3, 4, 4.5, 5, 6, M)

  The formal language of Gilead. Roland has a conversation with Calvin Tower in the High Speech to convince him of his identity and he speaks to the Rodericks using it. Eddie thinks it sounds like a second cousin to English.

  HO FAT’S LUXURY TAXI (7)

  Susannah’s name for three different carts used in their travels across the Badlands and down Tower Road. The first was a motorized rickshaw discovered at the checkpoint outside the Crimson King’s castle. The second is a cut-down wagon assembled by Stuttering Bill that is used for their gunna. The third, also provided by Stuttering Bill, resembles an electric golf cart.

  HOMILIES AND MEDITATIONS (4)

  A book by Mercer owned by Alain Johns. It’s the first book Eldred Jonas has seen since coming to Mejis.

  HONDA (4, 5, 7)

  A brand name associated with power generators and motor-driven bicycles.

  HONOR STANCE (2)

  The opening position assumed by boxers, according to Cort. Roland thinks of this when he sees the way the lobstrosities genuflect each time a wave comes in.

  HORN OF ELD OR HORN O’DESCHAIN (1, 3, 5, 7, M)

  The ancient brass horn passed down to Roland through the generations from Arthur Eld, used to lead the gunslingers into battle. Cuthbert wielded it during the battle of Jericho Hill. He told Roland to pick it up if he was killed, but Roland didn’t take the time to do so, and thus, when he reaches the Dark Tower, he does not have it in his possession to respond to the sound of the horn generated by the roses. The horn is a metaphor for the way Roland sets his sights on the Tower to the exclusion of everything else, but also a symbol that he is changing gradually.

  HORSEMEN’S ASSOCIATION (4)

  A collective of farmers and ranchers in the Barony of Mejis. Francis Lengyll is its president. Most of the members are traitors, siding with John Farson against the Affiliation.

  HUNTRESS MOON (4, 4.5, 5)

  The red moon that follows the Peddler’s Moon. Some call it the last moon of summer; others call it the first moon of fall. The figure in the moon fills her belly as she goes from new to full. Others say that she grows pale, waxes again and pulls her bow.

  IMPERIUM (3, M)

  The reign of the Great Old Ones.

  IRONWOOD (L, 1, 2, 4, 4.5, 5, 6, 7)

  An enormous tree also known as “seequoiah.” Some are larger in diameter than a house. The people of Tree cut ironwood from the Endless Forest and sell the lumber to the Barony as a source of income. Its wood is used to make boats strong en
ough for sea travel. Some people believe the trees can think, which is why woodsmen cry their pardon before each day’s cutting. The doors on the Western Sea, the log in the golgotha, Rimer’s desk in Mejis, the box containing the pink Wizard’s Glass, the ringbolt on Bix’s ferry, Everlynne’s throne, Jack Ross’s coffin, the cross in Our Lady of Serenity, the Branni coff, the banquet table in Castle Discordia, the water trough in Eluria, some of the doors beneath Castle Discordia and Cort’s stick are all ironwood.

  JAWBONE (1, 2)

  A talisman that Roland carries with him to ward off evil. The first one, found in the basement of the Way Station, may belong to one of the Great Old Ones. Later, Roland carries what he believes to be Walter’s jawbone, picked up after the palaver at the golgotha.

  JEWELS OF ELD (4)

  The crown jewels of Arthur Eld.

  KA OF NINETEEN (7)

  The ka of Keystone Earth.

  KA OF NINETY-NINE (7)

  The ka of the Keystone World, which is Roland’s Mid-World.

  KISSING MOON (L, 4)

  The moon of Full Earth/midsummer.

  LAMERK INDUSTRIES AND FOUNDRY (1, 3, 4, 5)

  A division of North Central Positronics. The LaMerk Industries imprint appears on the pump in the Way Station, on Andy the Messenger Robot and on some of the control panels in the Dogan. The LaMerk Foundry produced the steel that made the Send Bridge and the manhole covers in Lud. Sylvia Pittston thinks LaMerk is the sign of the beast. The bulldozer driver razing the vacant lot in Eddie’s dream has LaMerk on his helmet.

  LANGUAGE OF THE UNFORMED (L, 5, 6, 7, M)