by Robin Furth
DINKY EARNSHAW’S ASSOCIATES:
J.J. THE BLUE JAY: VII:325
SHARPTON, MR.: Mr. Sharpton was a talent scout for a NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS subsidiary. His specialty was recruiting psychic assassins. Before going alleyo, Dinky sent Mr. Sharpton a death letter. He personalized it with the word EXCALIBUR—the magical sword which was printed on Mr. Sharpton’s ties. VII:232, VII:398
ITTAWAY, DAVE: Dave Ittaway was recruited to be a Breaker at the same time as TED BRAUTIGAN. VII:283 (not yet named), VII:286–90
LEEDS, TANYA (TANYA LEEDS RASTOSOVICH): Like DAVE ITTAWAY, JACE McGOVERN, and DICK of the unknown last name, Tanya Leeds of BRYCE, COLORADO, was recruited to be a Breaker at the same time as TED BRAUTIGAN. Tanya is a tough young woman, but though she may once have been willing to join forces with Roland, by the time our ka-tet arrives in THUNDERCLAP she is newly married and wants only to snuggle with her fella, JOEY RASTOSOVICH. Unfortunately, during the DEVAR’s battle chaos, Joey is run over by a robotic fire truck. VII:230–31, VII:283 (Bryce, Colorado), VII:286–90, VII:293, VII:295, VII:337–38, VII:373, VII:393 (indirect)
McCANN, BIRDIE: Birdie is an ex-carpenter with a receding hairline. VII:370–71
McGOVERN, JACE: Jace entered the service of the CRIMSON KING at the same time as TED BRAUTIGAN. VII:283 (not yet named), VII:286–90
RAPED BREAKER: This unnamed Breaker was raped by a LOW MAN called CAMERON, who said that the act was required of him by the CRIMSON KING and that it was part of his process of becoming (or becoming human). The DEVAR MASTER sentenced Cameron to death, and the Breakers were invited to watch. VII:326–27
RASTOSOVICH, JOSEPH: Joseph Rastosovich (never Joey, at least to his face) married TANYA LEEDS in the DEVAR-TOI. Although the Devar Master PIMLI PRENTISS performed the official ceremony, the couple asked TED BRAUTIGAN to marry them in secret, since Ted’s blessing meant a lot more to them. During the chaos of the final Devar battle, Joseph is run over by a robotic fire truck. VII:230–31, VII:295, VII:337–38, VII:356, VII:371, VII:373
ROSTOV, DANEEKA (DANI): As far as we know, eleven-year-old Daneeka Rostov is the youngest of the Breakers. She is also Russian, which sets her apart from most of the others we’ve met. Unlike the selfish mork Breakers, Dani has a good heart. During the DEVAR’s final battle, she tries to save BAJ and SEJ from the smoking wreck of DAMLI HOUSE. After EDDIE DEAN’s death, she also helps TED BRAUTIGAN, DINKY EARNSHAW, SHEEMIE RUIZ, and FRED WORTHINGTON send Roland and JAKE back to NEW YORK. (At this time, she gives Jake his first and only romantic kiss.) Like her Breaker friends, Dani hopes to travel to CALLA BRYN STURGIS so that she can enter one of the MULTIPLE AMERICAS via the UNFOUND DOOR. VII:243, VII:375–77, VII:393, VII:404–8, VII:415–17, VII:536–37, VII:538, VII:539, VII:540 (indirect), VII:541 (indirect), VII:560, VII:563
**RUIZ, STANLEY (SHEEMIE): We first met the mildly mentally handicapped (but extremely sweet) Sheemie in Wizard and Glass. In that novel, we learned that Sheemie was the bastard offspring of DELORES SHEEMER and STANLEY RUIZ. He worked at the TRAVELLERS’ REST and was described as having black kinky hair which he often topped with a pink sombrero. After CUTHBERT ALLGOOD saved Sheemie from the BIG COFFIN HUNTERS, Sheemie became devoted to Roland’s ka-tet. In the 2003 version of The Gunslinger, Roland remembers Sheemie and his humorous relationship with the mule CAPRICHOSO.
When we meet Sheemie again in The Dark Tower, he is one of the most powerful Breakers in THUNDERCLAP. At this point he appears to be about thirty-five years old and mute. However, the arrival of Roland (good old WILL-DEARBORN-that-was) cures Sheemie of his muteness. Once Sheemie’s voice returns, he confesses his love for SUSAN DELGADO and the terrible guilt he feels about her death.
Sheemie possesses the one wild talent which is absolutely forbidden in the DEVAR-TOI—the ability to teleport. With the help of his friends TED BRAUTIGAN and DINKY EARNSHAW, he uses this skill to transport our ka-tet from THUNDERCLAP STATION to the relative safety of STEEKTETE, located several miles from the Devar-Toi. Unfortunately, teleportation has its own risks. When Sheemie teleports himself, Ted, and Dinky to Steek-Tete to see how Roland and his friends are progressing with their war plans, he suffers a mild stroke. It turns out that Sheemie has had four such strokes already, the first of which hit him when he helped Ted escape to 1960 CONNECTICUT. (The tale of Ted’s Connecticut adventure is told in the short story “Low Men in Yellow Coats,” found in STEPHEN KING’s book Hearts in Atlantis.) However, Sheemie’s teleportation skill is not his only unusual psychic talent. Unlike any other person in the Devar, Sheemie can make fistulas in time, or balconies on the edifice of the DARK TOWER. The fistula which Sheemie creates for his friends Ted and Dinky looks like a GINGERBREAD HOUSE out of a child’s fairy tale.
Although Sheemie survives the Devar’s final battle, during the resulting chaos he steps on a tainted piece of glass. Sheemie dies on a train heading for FEDIC. Roland never gets to say good-bye to him. IV:172, IV:190 (described), IV:214, IV:215–22 (cause of standoff at Travellers’ Rest; 217 maternity/paternity discussed), IV:226 (end of fight), IV:228–29, IV:240–42, IV:244–45, IV:254, IV:287–88, IV:327, IV:336, IV:343–44, IV:382, IV:384–85, IV:389–90, IV:394–98 (graf to Rhea. 396 she calls him “son of Stanley”), IV:402–3, IV:413, IV:433–34, IV:443, IV:447–50 (getting firecrackers with Susan), IV:497, IV:504, IV:505–7, IV:512, IV:514–19, IV:523–24, IV:525, IV:526, IV:529, IV:536–37, IV:539–40, IV:546, IV:565–70 (following Susan), IV:571, IV:579–80, IV:581–83 (583 he loves Susan), IV:585, IV:594, IV:624, VII:84, VII:197–220, VII:228, VII:233, VII:234, VII:247, VII:256, VII:266, VII:267–71 (Cappi mentioned on 270), VII:272, VII:273, VII:279, VII:290, VII:296, VII:307, VII:308, VII:318–24, VII:326–36, VII:337–42, VII:356, VII:357, VII:359, VII:366, VII:378, VII:388, VII:389, VII:391–92, VII:393, VII:400–401, VII:404–8, VII:409, VII:411–17, VII:532, VII:535, VII:538, VII:705 (idiot savant), VII:802
SHEEMIE RUIZ’S ASSOCIATES:
CAPPI: Sheemie’s mule from the TRAVELLERS’ REST in HAMBRY. For page references, see SHEEMIE RUIZ, above, volume IV as well as VII:270.
RUMBELOW, GRACE: Grace Rumbelow was originally from ALDERSHOT, ENGLAND. She reminds JAKE CHAMBERS of the lifetime president of his mother’s garden club. Grace is a true mork. VII:394
SEJ: Like BAJ, Sej is a hydrocephalic savant. However, unlike Baj, Sej has arms. Sej survives the DEVAR-TOI battle, although we don’t know what becomes of him later. VII:375–77
SHEEMIE: See RUIZ, STANLEY, listed above
WAVERLY: Waverly is a fat Breaker who was a bookkeeper in his former life. VII:372
WORTHINGTON, FRED (BANKERLY LOOKING BREAKER NUMBER ONE): Fred Worthington looks like a banker, but despite his staid appearance he is willing to take risks. After the DEVAR’s final battle, he helps TED BRAUTIGAN, DINKY EARNSHAW, DANI ROSTOV, and SHEEMIE RUIZ teleport Roland and JAKE to KEYSTONE EARTH so that they can save the life of STEPHEN KING. Fred hopes to eventually make his way to one of the MULTIPLE AMERICAS. VII:393, VII:404, VII:408, VII:538, VII:539, VII:540 (indirect), VII:541 (indirect), VII:560, VII:561, VII:563
YOUNG WOMAN ON MALL: JAKE sees this young woman forming what seems to be a séance circle with TED BRAUTIGAN and the other members of his Breaker ka-tet. Although we can’t say for certain, it seems likely that she is actually TANYA LEEDS. See LEEDS, TANYA, listed above
BRIANA OF SERENITY
See SERENITY, SISTERS OF
BRICE, MR.
See TOWER, CALVIN
BRIGGS, MR.
See CHARLIE THE CHOO-CHOO
**BROADCLOAK, MARTEN
See WALTER: WALTER’S ALIASES
BROTHER OUTFIT
See CALLAHAN, FATHER DONALD FRANK: CALLAHAN’S HIDDEN HIGHWAYS ASSOCIATES: COVAY MOVERS
BROWN
See BORDER DWELLERS
BRUMHALL, DR.
See KATZ: KATZ’S EMPLOYEES, CUSTOMERS AND COMPETITORS
BUCKSKIN
See JOHNS, ALAIN
BUFFALO STAR
See GODS OF MID-
WORLD
BUGS, FLESH-EATING
See ROSS, BIG JACK
BULLET
See KING, STEPHEN: SMITH, BRYAN
BUNKOWSKI, DEWEY
See DEAN, EDDIE: EDDIE’S ASSOCIATES, PAST AND PRESENT
BUNKOWSKI, MRS.
See DEAN, EDDIE: EDDIE’S ASSOCIATES, PAST AND PRESENT
BURKE, DAVID
See WARRIORS OF THE SCARLET EYE: DEVAR-TOI CHARACTERS: HUMANS
BURKE, MATTHEW
See CALLAHAN, FATHER DONALD FRANK: ’SALEM’S LOT CHARACTERS
BURLINGTON ZEPHYR
See CHARLIE THE CHOO-CHOO
BUSINESSMAN (MARK CROSS BRIEFCASE)
See VAMPIRES: TYPE THREE: MARK CROSS BRIEFCASE BUSINESSMAN
BUSKER
See DEAN, SUSANNAH: SUSANNAH’S PRESENT ASSOCIATES
C
C3PO
See NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS: ANDY
CAGNEY, JAMES
See CAN-TOI
CALDERWOOD, FLOYD
See KING, STEPHEN
CALLA BRYN STURGIS CHARACTERS
Near the beginning of Wolves of the Calla, our ka-tet is approached by six representatives from the town of Calla Bryn Sturgis—TIAN JAFFORDS, ZALIA JAFFORDS, WAYNE OVERHOLSER, BEN SLIGHTMAN, BENNY SLIGHTMAN, and PERE CALLAHAN. The Calla folken are in dire need of help, and at least three of their representatives believe that our posse of gunslingers is their only hope of salvation.
Although the Calla has been settled for more than a thousand years, over the last six generations it has been plagued by giant, green-cloaked marauders riding out of THUNDERCLAP. These predators (called WOLVES because of the terrible snarling masks that they wear) sweep down on the BORDERLAND CALLAS each generation to steal one of every pair of prepubescent twins. Although none of the Calla folken understand exactly what is being done to their children, they do know that when the children are finally returned to them, their minds and bodies are ruined, or ROONT.
The people of the Callas realize that in most parts of the world, twins are rarities and singletons are common, and that it is only in the arc of the borderlands that this natural phenomenon is reversed. It has led some among them to conclude that their children are being taken to the dark land so that a chemical which causes twin-telepathy can be culled from their brains. When our story begins, twenty-three years have passed since the last invasion. According to the town’s one Messenger Robot, called ANDY, by the rise of the coming Demon Moon, the Wolves will be upon them once more.
The Calla folken are farmers and ranchers, not fighters. Most of the 140 men tend smallhold patches of rice near the river, and the majority of them are relatively poor. Only the wealthiest—such as the rancher VAUGHN EISENHART—have any guns at all, and everyone knows that those rusty shooting-irons are no match for the light-sticks, fire-hurling weapons, and sneetches wielded by the Greencloaks.
Although most of the Calla’s attempts to stand up to the Wolves have ended in death and disaster, seventy years before Roland and his friends entered the borderlands, one of the SISTERS OF ORIZA, accompanied by a small group of friends, managed to bring a Greencloak down with one of her sharpened flying plates. The only member of that posse to survive (now an ancient old man) remembers all too well what the twitching Greencloak looked like behind its mask. According to GRAN-PERE JAFFORDS, the Wolf looked just like Andy.
By sending false battle plans to the Wolves via Andy and the traitorous Ben Slightman, Roland, EDDIE, SUSANNAH, JAKE, and the Sisters of Oriza defeat their enemies despite being vastly outnumbered. In the battle of the EAST ROAD, MARGARET EISENHART and Jake’s friend Benny Slightman are killed. However, their deaths are not in vain since the Calla’s children are saved.
As well as the Wolf battle, many important events take place in this small town located on the lip of END-WORLD. Roland and his friends meet a final (if temporary) member of their tet, FATHER DONALD FRANK CALLAHAN, whom CONSTANT READERS know from STEPHEN KING’s novel ’Salem’s Lot. It is here that Susannah Dean’s haunting demon, MIA, begins to get the upper hand and finally absconds with the body they share. It is also in the Calla that our ka-tet begins to suspect just how closely their khef is tied to that of the writer Stephen King.
GENERAL REFERENCES: V:13–31 (men in Gathering Hall), V:123–24, V:209, V:211–34 (Calla fiesta), V:238, V:402–6, V:479, V:490, V:562, V:572, V:581, V:585, V:601–17, V:643, V:648, V:649, V:650, V:654, V:659, V:689, V:693–97 (present), VI:6, VI:9, VI:10, VI:14, VI:17, VI:24, VI:131, VI:350, VII:120, VII:173, VII:207, VII:233, VII:398, VII:412, VII:473, VII:540, W:9
CHILD-MINDERS: Early on the morning that the WOLVES are due to arrive in Calla Bryn Sturgis, these characters travel with Roland’s ka-tet and the SISTERS OF ORIZA to the ARROYOS northeast of the Calla. Although they initially believe that Roland plans to hide the children in the arroyos, they find out that they are actually to be hidden in LADY ORIZA’s rice.
The child-minders are SAREY ADAMS, HUGH ANSELM, KRELLA ANSELM, FATHER DONALD FRANK CALLAHAN, VAUGHN EISENHART, JORGE ESTRADA, TIAN JAFFORDS, ANNABELLE JAVIER, BUCKY JAVIER, BEN SLIGHTMAN, and CANTAB and ARA of the MANNI. REUBEN CAVERRA was supposed to be among them, but he busted a gut the night before and could not take part. WAYNE OVERHOLSER takes his place. V:483–84 (indirect; Roland asks Callahan for names), V:608, V:615, V:643, V:662–67, V:677, V:689 (folken), V:693–97 (folken)
CHILDREN OF THE CALLA: See also CALLA BRYN STURGIS CHARACTERS: ROONTS, listed below. V:132, V:139, V:143 (twins), V:150, V:151, V:152, V:206, V:211, V:214, V:217, V:220, V:222, V:225, V:341, V:362, V:508, V:575, V:584, V:585–89 (singing), V:602, V:607, V:609, V:629, V:636, V:637, V:643, V:646, V:650, V:654, V:658, V:662–67, V:671, V:677, V:689 (part of folken), V:693–97, VI:6, VI:80, VI:115, VI:237, VI:243 (indirect), VI:247, VI:378 (victims of the Wolves), VII:75, VII:142, VII:152, VII:153, VII:173, VII:206, VII:213, VII:214 (indirect), VII:339, VII:412
PUDGY BOY: V:588
TWIN SINGERS: V:227
FARMERS (LARGE FARMS):
OVERHOLSER, WAYNE DALE: Wayne Dale Overholser, the Calla’s most successful farmer and one of its most important citizens, is the owner of SEVEN MILE FARM, located just west of Calla Bryn Sturgis. His major crop is wheat. Wayne is about sixty years old, has heavy cheeks scarred with “I-want” lines, and a vast, sloping belly. Despite wearing a white Stetson like a good guy from a cowboy film, Overholser is initially dubious about the chances four gunslingers and a BILLY-BUMBLER have against more than sixty WOLVES. Obviously, he doesn’t know Roland.
Although his two grown children were both singletons, Overholser himself had a twin named WELLAND. Like so many others, Welland was taken by the Wolves and returned ROONT. Despite his initial cynicism, Overholser is eventually won over to Roland’s way of seeing and even acts as one of the CHILD-MINDERS during the battle of the EAST ROAD. According to CALVIN TOWER, in our world, Wayne D. Overholser is also the name of a cowboy novelist. V:20–31 (Town Gathering Hall; present), V:44 (following ka-tet), V:45 (following ka-tet), V:47 (following ka-tet), V:57 (Wayne D), V:88 (friends), V:92 (indirect), V:106 (indirect), V:109 (indirect), V:111–13, V:116, V:117–18, V:122–37, V:142–60, V:162, V:165, V:166, V:201–10 (present—mentioned directly on 205, 206, 208–9), V:211–34 (present for fiesta—mentioned directly on 212, 213–14, 216, 217, 222, 223, 224), V:237, V:321 (not as shrewd as Eisenhart), V:329, V:340, V:404, V:488, V:497, V:509, V:557, V:572, V:576, V:601–17 (present—mentioned directly on 604, 606), V:651–52, V:654, V:656, V:661, V:662–67, V:677, V:681, V:689 (folken), V:693–97 (folken), VI:9, VI:92, VI:303 (the writer)
MOTHER (UNNAMED): V:130 (folks), V:147 (ma), V:150 (ma)
OVERHOLSER, ALAN: Alan was the father of Wayne and WELLAND OVERHOLSER. He died long before our story takes place. V:128, V:130 (folks), V:147 (pa)
OVERHOLSER, MRS.: Wayne’s wife. We never learn her full name. V:651
OVERHOLSER, WELLAND: See CALLA BRYN STURGIS CHARACTERS: ROONTS, listed below
FARMERS (SMALLHOLD):
ANSELM,
HUGH: Hugh Anselm owns a smallhold just south of TIAN JAFFORDS’s place. Tian wants to buy it. Anselm is one of the CHILD-MINDERS during the final battle with the WOLVES. V:349, V:587, V:589, V:662–67 (not mentioned here, but we find out on 677 that he must have been present), V:677
ANSELM, KRELLA: Krella is Hugh Anselm’s wife. She also acts as a CHILD-MINDER during the final battle with the WOLVES. V:662–67 (mentioned on 666), V:677, V:689 (folken), V:693–97 (folken)
ANSELM TWINS: The Anselm twins are about thirteen or fourteen years old. V:587–88
ARRA: During GRAN-PERE JAFFORDS’s youth, Arra owned a smallhold patch just east of the Calla. It was near this smallhold that Gran-pere and the other members of the WOLF POSSE lay in ambush for their green-cloaked enemies. V:361
CAVERRA, REUBEN: Reuben Caverra is a plump man with a round, cheerful face. Later in the story he is described as a “hulk of a man” and is said to be fearless. The year the WOLVES took his twin, RUTH, he made a mark on the big pine tree in his front yard. He continued to make a mark each succeeding year. By his reckoning, the Calla had twenty-three years of peace between invasions from THUNDERCLAP. Reuben Caverra is one of the folken chosen to act as a CHILD-MINDER during the standoff against the Wolves. Unfortunately, Reuben busts a gut and is too ill to participate. WAYNE OVERHOLSER takes his place. See also CALLAHAN, FATHER DONALD FRANK: CALLAHAN’S HIDDEN HIGHWAYS ASSOCIATES: MEXICAN IMMIGRANTS (ILLEGAL). V:15–31 (Town Gathering Hall; present), V:483, V:651
