The Mask Falling

by Samantha Shannon

  On Earth, Arcturus spent most of his time confined to the penal colony of Sheol I, where he and several other members of the Ranthen hatched an ill-fated rebellion against the Sargas in November 2039. After a young Jaxon Hall betrayed the plot, Nashira slaughtered almost the entire human population of the colony and punished the Rephaite participants by using a violent poltergeist to mutilate their backs.

  Following the betrayal, Arcturus developed an intense distrust of humans, though he tried to protect them by fighting the Emim in secret, limiting injury to the red-jackets. In March 2059, he reluctantly took Paige Mahoney—a dreamwalker—as his “tenant” in the Residence of Magdalen. With the approval of the Ranthen (and the vocal disapproval of Paige), he helped her to hone her skills, hoping she would be able to defeat Nashira at the Bicentenary. Nashira, meanwhile, wanted Paige trained so she could absorb the gift of dreamwalking at its fullest. After six months, Arcturus and Paige sparked a mass breakout with help from some of the other humans and Rephaim in the colony.

  After being captured by the Rag and Bone Man in London, Arcturus reunited with Paige, who rescued him from the Camden Catacombs, and became one of the high commanders of the Mime Order following her coronation as Underqueen. He and Paige had a brief and illicit relationship before she ended it, afraid it would become a distraction—or that his fellow Ranthen would discover it, leading to the dissolution of the alliance. After the destruction of Senshield, Arcturus volunteered to accompany Paige to Paris.

  Arcturus is an oneiromancer, able to make others “dream” their memories, and to experience them alongside the subject. In the colony, he used this gift to judge whether or not Paige could be trusted.

  ALSAFI SUALOCIN †

  Type: Unknown

  Alsafi was a Ranthen double agent throughout the Waning of the Veils and continued in that role on Earth. Masquerading as a Sargas loyalist, he remained with Nashira after the rebellion in Sheol I and fed valuable information to his fellow Ranthen. He colluded in hiding most of the clairvoyant syndicate of London in the Beneath, having already created a network of human contacts within Scion, which allowed him to send Paige Mahoney, Ognena Maria, Tom the Rhymer, and Eliza Renton north to Manchester and Edinburgh to find the core of Senshield.

  After Paige disabled the core in London, Alsafi carried her from the ruined Victoria Tower and dueled with Nashira to give Paige time to escape. Nashira beheaded him. Scarlett Burnish, his ally, subsequently got Paige out of the building.

  TEREBELLUM “TEREBELL” SHERATAN

  Type: Unknown

  Also known as: Warden of the Sheratan, the sovereign-elect

  Terebell was Warden of the Sheratan before the civil war and still uses the title. Throughout the Waning of the Veils, she was a ferocious supporter of the Mothallath and fought for them alongside her mate, Arcturus Mesarthim. When the war was lost and Nashira took Arcturus as her betrothed, Terebell fought Nashira in single combat and lost.

  Like all of her fellow Rephaim, Terebell was forced to relocate to Earth in 1859. In Sheol I, she, Arcturus, and a number of their old allies resolved to stage a coup against the Sargas with the help of the humans in the colony. Terebell was named sovereign-elect of the new and clandestine Ranthen. She was among those who were scarred in punishment after the failed rebellion of 2039, and assisted with the successful rebellion of 2059, after which she escaped the colony.

  Terebell is currently co-ruler of the Mime Order, with Paige Mahoney and Laurence Adomako as her human counterparts.

  the sargas and their loyalists

  NASHIRA SARGAS

  Type: Binder

  Also known as: The Suzerain, the blood-sovereign

  Blood-sovereign of the Rephaim and creator of the Republic of Scion, Nashira is the highest power in the empire, but uses the Grand Inquisitors of England as her puppets and mouthpieces. She shares her authority with Gomeisa Sargas, her fellow blood-sovereign.

  Formerly a scholar, Nashira spearheaded the war against the ruling Mothallath family during the Waning of the Veils, which resulted in their complete destruction. After her victory, she blackmailed Arcturus Mesarthim into becoming her blood-consort to demonstrate the surrender of the Mesarthim family. She then led all of the Rephaim across the veil to Earth, where she established Scion, with herself as its supreme authority. She spent the next two centuries presiding over the penal colony of Sheol I while Gomeisa largely remained in London.

  After Jaxon Hall informed her about the imminent rebellion of 2039, Nashira allowed the Emim to kill almost every human in the colony and used the spirit of Jack the Ripper to torture the Rephaite instigators, including her own blood-consort. When Paige Mahoney arrived in the colony in 2059, Nashira tasked Arcturus with training her, partly as a test of his loyalty. Her plan backfired when Paige and Arcturus struck a tentative alliance and organized a second, successful rebellion. Nashira is the only person to have witnessed their first embrace at the Bicentenary.

  Nashira is a “super-binder” who can not only bind spirits, but use the gifts they had in life. This necessitates her killing her victims in a specific manner. The enraged spirit of Jack the Ripper is among her entourage of so-called fallen angels, and she can use it to cause the scarred members of the Ranthen excruciating pain on a whim. She is responsible for the doctrine of flesh-treachery, which prohibits physical contact between humans and Rephaim.

  GOMEISA SARGAS

  Type: Unknown

  The male blood-sovereign of the Rephaim. Although he had one human slave—Liss Rymore—Gomeisa was rarely in Sheol I, instead spending most of his time in the Westminster Archon to keep a close eye on his Grand Inquisitors. He was nonetheless present for the Bicentenary, where he killed Liss. He is also thought to be the mastermind behind the conquest of Ireland, which he accomplished through his most powerful puppets, Hildred Vance and Abel Mayfield.

  Gomeisa can harness apport, the energy of breachers—a rare and highly dangerous gift, which essentially makes him telekinetic. Currently, this ability has no name, and no one else is known to possess it.

  GRAFFIAS SHERATAN

  Type: Unknown

  Also known as: The Gray Keeper

  A low-ranking Rephaite who previously lived in Sheol I, where he was responsible for overseeing the small amaurotic population of the colony.

  KORNEPHOROS SHERATAN

  Type: Osteomancer (?)

  Kornephoros initially fought on the Ranthen side in the Waning of the Veils, but betrayed the star-sovereigns at the eleventh hour, resulting in the fall of the Mothallath family. Nashira rewarded him with the title of Warden of the Sheratan—a title formerly held by his cousin, Terebellum —and he now serves as her emissary. Arcturus Mesarthim is one of his former mates.

  He appears to be a kind of osteomancer, able to connect with the æther using bones. His touch can cause excruciating pain. In the past, during his brief stays in Sheol I, he used his talent for the bones to read the future for Kraz Sargas.

  KRAZ SARGAS †

  Type: Unknown

  The former male blood-heir of the Rephaim. When he caught Paige stealing supplies in Sheol I, she used the pollen of the poppy anemone and a bullet to incapacitate him. He is presumed to have been sequestered. His replacement has not yet been chosen.

  SITULA MESARTHIM

  Type: Unknown

  A brutal mercenary in the service of the Sargas. She is one of the very few members of the Mesarthim family to be staunchly loyal to the usurpers.

  SUHAIL CHERTAN

  Type: Unknown

  A low-ranking Rephaite. In Sheol I, he was charged with keeping the peace in the Rookery—the slum that housed the performers. He was assigned to torture Paige after her capture in November 2059, with the aim of forcing her to disclose the whereabouts of the syndicate. Despite subjecting her to physical and mental torment, he was unsuccessful.

  THUBAN SARGAS

  Type: Unknown

  Also known as: Le Basilic

  Thuban was one of the keepers i
n Sheol I, notorious for his cruelty. Ivy Jacob was his only human slave during Bone Season XX. He subjected her to six months of torture before her escape in September 2059. Known as Le Basilic, after the basilisk, a creature with a fatal gaze.

  VINDEMIATRIX SARGAS

  Type: Unknown

  The female blood-heir of the Rephaim. She has spent most of her time on Earth creating and supervising a network of spies who predominantly operate in the free world.

  Glossary

  Æther: [noun] The spirit realm, accessible by clairvoyants. Rephaim are dependent on access to the æther.

  Amaranth: [noun] A flower that grows in the Netherworld, though not as bountifully as it once did. Its essence helps to heal and soothe spiritual injuries. The Ranthen use the amaranth as their symbol.

  Amaurotic: [noun or adjective] Non-clairvoyant. Clairvoyants sometimes call amaurotics rotties.

  Anakim, the: [noun] In traditional Rephaite belief, the Anakim are higher beings who created the æther and abide in a realm beyond the last light. The Mothallath family claimed the Anakim had sent them to reign in the Netherworld, and compelled their fellow Rephaim to worship them. The Sargas family were particularly skeptical of this claim. See also Mothallath family.

  Anchor: [noun] The symbol of the Republic of Scion, often used as a metonym for it, e.g. countries are described as being “in the shadow of the anchor” when they come under threat from Scion.

  Aster: [noun] An ethereal drug. See also Regal and White aster.

  Aura: [noun] A link to the æther, which can manifest in a number of colors. With the Netherworld fallen into decay, Rephaim must now use clairvoyants” auras as a bridge to the æther, since their own no longer function as they once did. Both clairvoyants and Rephaim often refer to this process as feeding.

  Bicentenary, the: [noun] A key event in recent Scion history, the Bicentenary was the celebration of two hundred years of Scion rule, held in Sheol I in September 2059. The Great Territorial Act was to be signed on this night, and Nashira intended to kill Paige in front of the assembled guests.

  Binder: [noun] [a] A type of human clairvoyant from the fifth order. Binders can control a spirit (a boundling) by marking its name on their body, either permanently or temporarily, or attach a spirit to a location using a small amount of their own blood. [b] A name used for a Rephaite with similar abilities, though Rephaite binders are also able to make use of the clairvoyant gift the spirit had in life. In this case, the boundling is called a fallen angel, of which Nashira Sargas has several.

  Blood-consort: [noun] The title of a blood-sovereign’s mate. Previously held by Arcturus Mesarthim when he was betrothed to Nashira Sargas.

  Blood-sovereign: [noun] A ruler of the Rephaim. There are always two blood-sovereigns, one male and one female, with two blood-heirs to support them. Under the Mothallath family, the equivalent title was star-sovereign.

  Bone Season: [noun] A harvest of clairvoyant—and some amaurotic—humans, organized by Scion to appease the Rephaim, and to compensate them for protecting humankind from the Emim. For two centuries, clairvoyants were detained over the course of each decade and sent together to the penal colony of Sheol I. Paige was drafted into Bone Season XX.

  Boundling: [noun] A spirit that obeys a binder.

  Breacher: [noun] A spirit that can affect the corporeal world and cause injury. Poltergeists—angry, vengeful spirits—are the more common of the two classes of breacher. Scars left by a breacher will often ache and feel colder than the rest of the body. It is thought that banishing the responsible breacher with the threnody may stop the pain.

  Brekkabox: [noun] A fast-food chain in the Republic of Scion, specializing in all-day breakfast.

  Dissimulator: [noun] A form of free-world technology, apparently unknown to Scion, that changes the wearer’s face. The Domino Program issues them to many of their field agents.

  Dream-form: [noun] The form a spirit takes within the confines of a dreamscape. It may or may not reflect how an individual looks physically; rather, it is a self-image. Once a spirit leaves a dreamscape and enters the æther, it no longer has a clear form.

  Dreamscape: [noun] The seat of the spirit. A mental space between the flesh and the vastness of the æther, not unlike an airlock. Clairvoyants can consciously access their own dreamscapes, while amaurotics may catch occasional glimpses of theirs when they dream. Although trauma can distort its appearance, a dreamscape will generally take the form of a place the individual feels calm and safe.

  Dreamwalker: [noun] A very rare type of clairvoyant with the ability to project their spirit and possess other beings. Before leaving their body, a dreamwalker must “dislocate” their spirit from the centre of their dreamscape, which causes a wave of ethereal pressure. Dreamwalkers have the ability to access dreamscapes other than their own and display unusually high sensitivity to the æther. Paige can sense ethereal activity up to a mile away.

  Emim, the: [noun] [singular Emite] The purported enemies of the Rephaim. They are known to feed on human flesh, and their blood can be used to mask the nature of a clairvoyant’s gift and to stop dreamscapes being perceived. The Emim carry an infection called the half-urge.

  Flux: [noun] Fluxion, a psychotic drug causing pain, hallucinations, and disorientation in clairvoyants.

  Gloss: [noun] Formally, Glossolalia. The language of spirits and Rephaim. Among humans, only polyglots can speak it.

  Golden cord: [noun] A link between two spirits. Very little is known about it, except that it allows for a degree of communication and emotional transmission. Arcturus and Paige share a golden cord.

  Gray market: [noun] A trafficking ring founded by Jaxon Hall after he broke the terms of his release from Sheol I. In London, the gray market specialized in procuring clairvoyants of interest and selling them to the Rephaim. While Nashira Sargas did accept clairvoyants from the market, she forced Jaxon to shut it down when he pledged himself to her service in late 2059.

  Half-urge: [noun] [a] An infection carried by the Emim, which can be transmitted to Rephaim. Its effects on the human body are temporary, as human blood appears to be able to destroy or stall it. [b] Rarely, Rephaim may use the same term to describe the disfigurement caused by contact with the poppy anemone, which can make them appear as if they are in the early stages of “true” half-urge.

  Kidsman: [noun] A class of syndicate voyant. They specialize in training young gutterlings in the arts of the syndicate.

  Krig: [noun] A slang term for a ScionIDE soldier, from a Swedish word for war.

  Last light: [noun] The end or centre of the æther, the place from which spirits can never return. It is rumored that a final afterlife is encountered beyond it. In traditional Rephaite belief, it is the abode of the Anakim.

  Mecks: [noun] A nonalcoholic substitute for wine, with a syrupy consistency. It can be served hot or cold and comes in three flavours: white, rose, and red (“blood”). Alcohol is illegal under Scion law.

  Mime-lord or mime-queen: [noun] A gang leader in the clairvoyant syndicate of London. Together, the mime-lords and mime-queens form the Unnatural Assembly. Under Paige Mahoney’s rule, they have become commanders of small “cells” of clairvoyants. They are roughly equivalent to the patrones of Paris.

  Mime Order, the: [noun] An alliance between London’s clairvoyant syndicate and some members of the Ranthen, led by Paige Mahoney and Terebell Sheratan, founded in 2059. Its long-term aim is to overthrow the Sargas family and bring down the Republic of Scion.

  Mollisher: [noun] In London, a clairvoyant associated with a mime-lord or mime-queen. Usually presumed to be [a] the mime-lord’s or mime-queen’s lover, and [b] the heir to their section, though the former may not always be the case. The Underlord’s or Underqueen’s heir is known as a mollisher supreme. Paige chose two: Nick Nygård and Eliza Renton.

  Mothallath family: [noun] The former rulers of the Rephaim, who claimed to have been sent by the Anakim to reign over the Netherworld. Originally, they were the only Rephaim who cou
ld cross the veil to walk among humans. During one of their crossings, an unknown event caused the Netherworld to begin to decay. The Sargas family blamed the Mothallath and declared war on them, finally usurping them. The Mesarthim family, which was duty-bound to defend the Mothallath, supported them to the last.

  Mudlarks and toshers: [nouns] Amaurotic outcasts in London. Mudlarks scavenge for valuables on the banks of the River Thames, while toshers forage in the sewers and storm drains. They claim the deep tunnels of London—collectively known as the Beneath—as their territory. The two communities, while distinct, are closely intertwined and share a leader, who almost always takes the name Styx upon election.

  Netherworld: [noun] Also known as She’ol, the Netherworld is the domain of the Rephaim. It is a middle ground between Earth and the æther that once served as a place for spirits to come to terms with their deaths before they moved onto the last light. It has not served its original purpose since the Waning of the Veils, during which it began to fall into decay. The Ranthen still make infrequent journeys to the Netherworld to harvest its dwindling supply of amaranth, and there are pockets of Rephaim who have attempted to continue living there, though they are in constant danger from the Emim and must return to Earth frequently for aura.

  Nouveau Régime, Le: [noun] The Parisian clairvoyant syndicate. Based in the carrières (quarries) of the citadel, it is thought to have been founded by cartomancers Marie-Anne Lenormand and Louise Gilbert. Its leaders are the three grands ducs: Le Latronpuche, La Reine des Thunes, and Le Vieux Orphelin.

  Novembertide: [noun] The annual celebration of the Scion Citadel of London’s official foundation in November 1929.

  Numen: [noun] [plural numa, originally numina] An object or material used by a soothsayer or augur to connect with the æther, e.g. fire, cards, blood.

  Off the cot: [adjective] Insane; reckless.