The Mask Falling

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The Mask Falling Page 51

by Samantha Shannon


  When Paige Mahoney won the scrimmage, Maria became one of her six high commanders and traveled with her throughout the search for Senshield’s core. After its deactivation, the Domino Program sent Maria back to Bulgaria to rekindle the resistance there.

  THE RAG AND BONE MAN

  Order: Unknown

  Type: Unknown

  Also known as: L’Homme au Masque de Fer (The Man in the Iron Mask)

  The former mime-lord of II-4, leader of the Rag Dolls, and a key member of the gray market. One of his three mollishers was Ivy Jacob, who discovered his involvement in clairvoyant trafficking and reported it to Haymarket Hector’s mollisher, Chelsea Neves, in late 2058. In retaliation, the Rag and Bone Man sent Ivy to Sheol I.

  After the rebellion in Sheol I, Paige came into conflict with the Rag and Bone Man in London when she found Arcturus Mesarthim imprisoned in his lair. As Paige grew closer to discovering the gray market, the Rag and Bone Man organized an unsuccessful attempt on her life. He also arranged the murder of Neves to ensure she was unable to stake her claim to the crown. Finally, after the end of the fourth scrimmage, Ivy told the truth about the market, and the Rag and Bone Man fled London with a bounty on his head. Since relocating his “business” to Paris, he has taken a new alias, L’Homme au Masque de Fer.

  THE SCUTTLING QUEEN

  Order: Augur

  Type: Capnomancer

  Also known as: Roberta Attard

  Leader of the organized clairvoyants of Manchester, the Scuttlers. Roberta feared Paige’s arrival would bring Hildred Vance’s wrath down on the city, and so offered minimal assistance in the search for Senshield’s core. Paige subsequently released her imprisoned younger sister, Catrin “Cat” Attard, from death row at Spinningfields Prison.

  Catrin used her Vigile contacts to facilitate a successful raid on SciPLO Establishment B, where Senshield scanner-guns were being manufactured. However, Catrin also used the raid to serve her own ends and assassinate the Minister for Industry, Emlyn Price. Rumor has it that she went onto kill Roberta and become the new Scuttling Queen.

  THE SPAEWIFE

  Order: Soothsayer

  Type: Cartomancer

  Also known as: Elspeth Lin

  Leader of the organized clairvoyants of the Scion Citadel of Edinburgh and maternal aunt of Liss Rymore, the Spaewife holds court in the South Bridge Vaults. She assisted Paige when she came to Edinburgh in search of Senshield’s core.

  the scion republic of france

  ANKOU

  Order: Soothsayer

  Type: Axinomancer

  The last member to join the perdues, Ankou is a wanted fugitive for unknown reasons. He is an expert in weaponry, with a particular fondness for axes and hatchets, which he uses to connect to the æther. His name refers to a Breton personification of death.

  LE BATELEUR

  Order: Augur

  Type: Capnomancer

  One of the patrones of the Nouveau Régime. He is also a member of the perdues.

  CADOC “CADE” FITZOURS

  Order: Jumper

  Type: Oracle

  Also known as: David Fitton, XX-59-12

  As a spy for Georges Benoît Ménard and Luce Ménard Frère, Cade engineered his own arrest and transportation to Sheol I under the name David Fitton in early 2059. He quickly rose through the ranks of the colony to become a red-jacket. His immediate fate after the rebellion was unknown to Paige.

  KATELL

  Order: Soothsayer

  Type: Crystallist

  A low-ranking clairvoyant who lives in the largest Court of Miracles, in Rue des Forges. Her spouse, Paul Caron, has recently gone missing.

  LE LATRONPUCHE

  Order: Guardian

  Type: Binder

  Also known as: Pantaléon Waite

  One of the three grands ducs of Paris. He was born in France and lived in London for sixteen years, as did his younger half brother , Didion Waite, who stayed behind when Pantaléon returned to Paris. His syndicate name comes from Louchébem, Parisian and Lyonnaise butchers’ slang.

  LÉANDRE RATH

  Order: Medium

  Type: Physical medium

  Also known as: Le Prince Creux

  Compagnon d’armes and lover to Le Vieux Orphelin. Brother of La Tarasque. They were the first to join the perdues when Renelde and Le Vieux Orphelin came to the Scion Citadel of Paris.

  LOUISE GILBERT †

  Order: Soothsayer

  Type: Cartomancer

  One of the purported founders of the clairvoyant syndicate that developed into the Nouveau Régime. She was invited to read for Marie Antoinette, and frightened the Queen so greatly that she was forced to leave court. In Paris, she connected with a younger cartomancer, Marie-Anne Lenormand, and they formed the early syndicate.

  MALPERDY

  Order: Sensor

  Type: Sniffer

  Also known as: Mal

  A member of the perdues with a gift for climbing and rappelling. His uncle abandoned him when he was a child, forcing him to become a pickpocket. After Malperdy tried to rob her, Renelde du Linceul took pity on him and invited him to join the group.

  MARIE-ANNE LENORMAND †

  Order: Soothsayer

  Type: Cartomancer

  Arguably the most famous and successful clairvoyant of the French Revolution, Marie-Anne Adélaïde Lenormand (or Le Normand) was born in Alençon in 1772. At the age of fourteen, she moved to Paris, where she opened an establishment on Rue de Tournon and began to tell fortunes.

  Aged twenty, Lenormand befriended fellow tireuse de cartes Louise Gilbert, and together, they resolved to make themselves indispensable to both sides of the French Revolution. Lenormand was more daring than Gilbert, and purportedly read for such figures as Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais and Maximilien de Robespierre in her lifetime. Despite being imprisoned at least twice, she survived the long period of upheaval and died in 1843.

  MÉLUSINE

  Order: Augur

  Type: Hydromancer

  Also known as: Naila Clary

  A member of the perdues who has concealed the extent of her allegiance to Le Vieux Orphelin, allowing her to report to him on the activities of his fellow leaders, Le Latronpuche and La Reine des Thunes. She also heads a small gang of hydromancers based in the district of Montparnasse.

  LA REINE DES THUNES

  Order: Augur

  Type: Cryomancer

  Also known as: Douceline Marchand

  One of the three grands ducs of the Parisian syndicate. She wears jewels that once belonged to Marie Antoinette.

  RENELDE DU LINCEUL

  Order: Fury

  Type: Unknown

  Also known as: Renée Gilson

  Renée Gilson spent her early years in the Scion Citadel of Lyon. She became involved in clairvoyant society there when she was still a child and attracted the interest of a gang boss, Burchard Louvel. She escaped his influence a short time after befriending Ignace Fall, a bookseller in Vieux-Lyon. They were living together by the time Georges Benoît Ménard arrived in the citadel in 2046.

  After coming into conflict with Ménard in 2048, Renée and Ignace— now known as Renelde du Linceul and Le Vieux Orphelin respectively —relocated to Paris and formed a gang, which would eventually become the perdues. It was Renelde who discovered Apollyon, the lost tunnel leading to Versailles.

  LA TARASQUE

  Order: Medium

  Type: Physical medium

  Also known as: Camille “Cam” Rath

  A member of the perdues, sister of Léandre Rath. La Tarasque refers to a fabled Provençal creature, made of parts of several animals. Her real name is Camille Rath.

  LE TROUVÈRE

  Order: Sensor

  Type: Polyglot

  A clairvoyant in the service of Le Latronpuche.

  LE VIEUX ORPHELIN

  Order: Jumper

  Type: Oracle

  Also known as: Ignace Fall

  Ignace Fall grew up in the
Scion Citadel of Lyon, where he owned a bookshop in the ancient district of Vieux-Lyon. At age seventeen, he met Renée Gilson, whom he befriended. The two set up home together and became lovers. When Georges Benoît Ménard was posted to the citadel, the three of them came into unspecified conflict, and Ignace took the alias Le Vieux Orphelin.

  Le Vieux Orphelin and Renelde finally escaped to Paris in 2049, where they gathered a gang of loyalists, the perdues. By this point, Le Vieux Orphelin had permanently masked himself. Popular, compassionate, and intriguing, he was made a grand duc within a few years, ruling alongside Le Latronpuche and La Reine des Thunes. When Paige first hears of him, he has been missing for several weeks.

  AMAUROTICS

  Humans who are not clairvoyant, sometimes known as rotties. They have no connection to the spirit world and are unable to sense it.

  ABEL MAYFIELD †

  The Grand Inquisitor of Ireland before Frank Weaver. He oversaw the conquest of Ireland, for which he is most commonly remembered. He died of a stroke in 2050, at the age of sixty-two.

  ALBÉRIC

  A field agent working for the Domino Program, responsible for the safe houses of sub-networks Mannequin and Figurine in the Scion Citadel of Paris. His name is an alias.

  ALEXANDRA “ALEKA” KOTZIA

  Personal assistant to Luce Ménard Frère, born in Greece in 2036, three years before the Balkan Incursion. Kotzia moved to Paris at twenty to work for the Inquisitorial family and is now among their most trusted employees. She is married to Charlotte-Marie Deschamps, a popular journalist for the Daily Descendant.

  ALOYS MYNATT

  The former Grand Raconteur of the Scion Republic of France. He attended the Bicentenary in Ménard’s stead and ensured that Cadoc Fitzours could deliver his intelligence to the Hôtel Garuche. Having witnessed the power of the Rephaim, Mynatt retired and moved to Arles. A suitable replacement has not yet been found.

  APRIL WHELAN

  Grand Inquisitor of the Scion Republic of Ireland. She is the first Grand Inquisitor of the country, succeeding the Taoiseach, Eóghan Ó Cairealláin.

  BIRGITTA TJÄDER

  Also known as: The Magpie

  The Chief of Vigilance in Stockholm and commander of the Second Inquisitorial Division of ScionIDE. Rumor holds that she controls the weak-willed Ingrid Lindberg, the Grand Inquisitor of Sweden. Known as the Magpie by her enemies, Tjäder is a merciless Scion fanatic with a zero-tolerance approach to all degrees of lawbreaking. Soldiers under her command executed Karolina Nygård and her friends for the crime of drinking alcohol—the slaughter that Nick Nygård joined Scion to avenge.

  CÓILÍN Ó MATHÚNA †

  Also known as: Colin Mahoney

  Paige’s father, son of Gráinne Uí Mhathúna and Éamonn Ó Mathúna, and elder brother of Alastríona Ní Mhathúna. He spent most of his career working in Dublin as a forensic pathologist, leaving Paige in the care of her grandparents in Tipperary. Scion conscripted him in 2048, and he and Paige relocated to the Scion Citadel of London, where he legally anglicized his own name and Paige’s Irish middle name, Aoife. Their relationship grew strained over the next few years.

  Colin was arrested on the same night as Paige in 2059. After being released for a time under supervision, he was rearrested and tortured for information about her. Hildred Vance had him publicly beheaded as part of an elaborate attempt to force Paige out of hiding.

  DANIELA GONÇALVES

  President of Portugal, a key target of Operation Madrigal.

  ÉAMONN Ó MATHÚNA

  Paige’s grandfather, father of Cóilín and Alastríona, and spouse to Gráinne, with whom he ran Feirm na mBeach Meala, a dairy farm close to Bearys Cross, County Tipperary. His fate is unknown.

  ELÉONORE CORDIER

  A field agent working for the Domino Program. She is the medical officer for sub-network Mannequin. Her name is an alias.

  EÓGHAN Ó CAIREALLÁIN

  The last Taoiseach of Ireland, who led the country during the Dublin Incursion and the ensuing Molly Riots. He was executed by hanging after Ireland surrendered to the Republic of Scion.

  ESTEBAN DE BORBÓN

  King of Spain and a member of the House of Bourbon. His consort is Queen Antonia, and they have one daughter—the heir apparent, Princess Luciana. His father-in-law is Dutch barrister Torben van Buskirk.

  FRANK WEAVER

  Grand Inquisitor of the Republic of Scion England. He succeeded Abel Mayfield, who ruled Scion when it conquered Ireland. Prior to Operation Madrigal, Weaver had no military victories to his name.

  GABRIELLE AUCLAIR

  Minister of the Interior for the Republic of Scion France. She has one daughter, Nora Auclair.

  GEORGES BENOÎT MÉNARD

  Also known as: The Butcher of Strasbourg

  The Grand Inquisitor of the Republic of Scion France, usually known as Benoît Ménard. Originally from Strasbourg, Ménard studied law at the University of Scion Paris. After his graduation, he worked for the Inquisitorial Courts as a judicial clerk and continued rising through the ranks for several years before being posted to the Scion Citadel of Lyon, where he served as “expert counsel” to the Ministry of the Interior from 2046 to 2049. During this period, he came into conflict with Renelde du Linceul and Le Vieux Orphelin.

  After leaving Lyon, Ménard served for close to four years as Minister for Justice before succeeding Jacquemine Lang as Grand Inquisitor after a unanimous vote by the Inquisitorial Courts in 2053. He is spouse to Luce Ménard Frère, with whom he has three children: Onésime, Mylène, and Jean-Michel. His mother, Sophie Ménard Chaillou, lives in the Scion Republic of Greece.

  GRAHAM HARLING

  Grand Admiral of the Republic of Scion England, the highest-ranking member of the Inquisitorial Navy. He has overall command of all sea forces across Scion.

  GRÁINNE UÍ MHATHÚNA

  Paige’s grandmother, mother of Cóilín and Alastríona, and spouse to Éamonn. Gráinne was born on the island of Cléire, a Gaeltacht. Having spoken primarily Gaeilge during her own childhood, Gráinne made sure it was Paige’s first language. She ran Feirm na mBeach Meala alongside Éamonn in the years before the conquest of Ireland, during which she was forcibly separated from Paige. Her fate is unknown.

  HILDRED VANCE

  Grand Commander of the Republic of Scion England and authority maximum of ScionIDE. She has been hospitalized since Paige destroyed the core of Senshield while they were both inside Victoria Tower. Patricia Okonma, the deputy Grand Commander, is currently acting in Vance’s stead.

  IRÈNE TOURNEUR †

  The first Grand Inquisitor of France. She was a popular and resolute leader who presided over the de-religionization of the country, declared the Supreme Purge, and otherwise administered the transition to the Sixth Republic.

  ISAURE DUCOS

  A field agent working for the Domino Program. She is the supervisor of sub-network Mannequin and receives orders for its agents from Command. Her name is an alias.

  LUCE MÉNARD FRÈRE

  Also known as: Madelle Guillotine

  Spouse and official representative of Georges Benoît Ménard, the Grand Inquisitor of France. Frère was born in the Scion Citadel of Toulouse and studied at the University of Scion Marseille, earning a first-class degree in Scion History. She met Georges Benoît Ménard in 2047, at a dinner party in Grenoble, and married him two years later. The couple has three children: Onésime, Mylène, and Jean-Michel. Frère is currently in the second trimester of her fourth pregnancy. Her mother was Caroline Frère, the former Minister of the Exchequer.

  Paige first saw Frère in person during her imprisonment in the Westminster Archon in November 2059, where Frère was representing Ménard.

  PILAR BRUGUÉS OLIVENCIA

  The Prime Minister of Spain. She is one of the targets of Operation Madrigal.

  SCARLETT BURNISH

  The Grand Raconteur of the Scion Republic of England, Burnish is the host of Scion’s only news station, ScionEye, a
nd the voice of public service announcements in English throughout the empire. She has held this position since 2052.

  On New Year’s Day, Burnish unexpectedly helped Paige escape death in the Westminster Archon and revealed that she is a deep-cover agent in the employ of the Domino Program. She took Paige, Ognena Maria, Nick Nygård, and Arcturus Mesarthim to Dover and sent them to Paris (Paige and Arcturus), Sweden (Nick) and Bulgaria (Maria). Despite the risk, she returned to work the next day. She was allied with Alsafi Sualocin.

  STÉPHANE “STEPH” PAQUET

  A field agent working for the Domino Program. They are the courier for sub-network Mannequin. Their name is an alias.

  STYX

  Elected king of the toshers and mudlarks of the Scion Citadel of London and guardian of the Beneath. His community coexisted with the clairvoyant syndicate of London until a group of syndies tortured and killed a mudlark in 1977.

  Upon the declaration of martial law in November 2059, Styx struck a deal with Paige Mahoney and Wynn Jacob, agreeing to let the syndicate hide in an abandoned deep-level crisis shelter in the Beneath—on the condition that they would send a clairvoyant to his community to replace the mudlark who was killed. Ivy Jacob chose to go. Róisín Jacob accompanied her.

  REPHAIM

  Immortal humanoids of the Netherworld, a decayed and uninhabitable dimension that once served as an intermediary realm between the æther and the corporeal world. Rephaim exhibit similar abilities to clairvoyant humans.

  the ranthen

  ARCTURUS MESARTHIM

  Type: Oneiromancer

  Also known as: Warden of the Mesarthim, the concubine, the blood-consort

  The former Warden of the Mesarthim—the guardian and ruler of his family—Arcturus was among the most devoted to the Mothallath family, whom the Mesarthim were sworn to protect. Despite repeated accusations that the Mothallath were responsible for the Netherworld’s deterioration, he remained loyal and fought on their side during the Waning of the Veils. When the war was all but lost, Nashira Sargas blackmailed Arcturus into a betrothal to signal the surrender of the Mesarthim family, forcing him to part from his existing mate, Terebellum Sheratan. Arcturus was given the title of blood-consort.

 

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