The Dark Tower Companion: A Guide to Stephen King’s Epic Fantasy (58 page)

Also known as the Barony Covenanter. Tax collecting is one of his hobbies. He travels the countryside levying and collecting excises on behalf of Gilead, but he is also adviser to the Council of Eld. His saddle is decorated with arcane symbols.

Among his gunna is a silver washbasin that came from Garlan. Nell Ross says he hasn't aged a day in the last twenty years. Little magic and long life is all he's capable of, according to Maerlyn. Wanting to know people's secrets is his “besetting vice,” one that might be the death of him someday. He uses the truth to hurt people and bait traps for them. He reveals Bern Kells's crimes to Tim Ross, arms him with his father's hand ax, and sends him back to Tree, hoping the boy will commit murder. He also shows Tim a false vision of Maerlyn's house in the Endless Forest and sends him Armaneeta, the
sighe
, as a “guide,” to lure him to his death. He probably hopes Tim will kill the caged tyger if he reaches the North Forest Kinnock Dogan, but that ploy fails. Maerlyn believes he will be punished for his foolishness, which was not authorized by the Crimson King. See also: Marten Broadcloak, Walter o'Dim and Randall Flagg.

C
RIMSON
K
ING
, T
HE
(1, 4, 4.5, 5, 6, 7, M)

Also known as Ram Abbalah, the Lord of the Spiders, Los' the Red and the Red King. Maerlyn calls him the Great One. He's from the line of Eld, therefore related to Roland Deschain, and Mordred Deschain's Red Father.

He wants to rule the Dark Tower, but in his insanity he destroyed the mark
of Eld that would have allowed him to enter it. He backed John Farson's insurrection against Gilead because he relishes chaos. Also, by destroying all the living descendants of Arthur Eld, he eliminates any competition for the Tower.

He has a sense of the future and does his best to neutralize enemies in advance. He knows Stephen King will write Roland's story, so he repeatedly tries to kill the author, starting when he was just a boy. When Roland begins his journey to find the Dark Tower, the Crimson King sends minions like Walter o'Dim to thwart him. The Crimson King is conflicted between wanting to destroy the Tower and getting there ahead of Roland to rule it, which may be the cause of his insanity, in addition to living so close to the Tower and thinking upon it so deeply.

His domain is Le Casse Roi Russe in Discordia, the black wasteland southeast of Fedic that he poisoned and consigned to darkness on a lark. He wants reality to return to the chaos from which it arose, which is why he wants to bring down the Tower. He believes he will rule the chaos that ensues after the Fall. When Roland overcomes the challenges the Crimson King puts in his way, Los' the Red goes mad, murders just about everyone in his court, smashes the six Wizard's Glasses he had, and kills himself by swallowing a spoon. The advantage to being dead is that Roland's guns of Eld can't kill him. Then he rides off to the Dark Tower on a horse.

He ends up trapped on one of the Tower's balconies. Exactly when he arrived is a matter of some confusion. According to “The Wind Through the Keyhole,” he's been trapped since before the time of Tim Ross. However, Rando Thoughtful claims he left his castle a short time before Roland and Susannah get there, and Dandelo remembers him riding past in his own portable storm. Maybe he's dual natured—one facet was trapped in the Tower a long time ago and another has been wreaking havoc on Mid-World and conscripting Breakers to destroy the Beams. His two facets may have reunited after he killed himself and rode to the Tower.

Mordred Deschain is his son and Roland's son at the same time. How his genetic material became part of the equation is unclear. He may have come as himself to Mia after she was impregnated, or his minions may have added his sperm to the mix at the Fedic Dogan. This isn't the first time he's tried to father a child. Sylvia Pittston of Tull believed she was pregnant with the Crimson King's son, though this might be another of Walter's lies.

His
sigul
is the open red eye, and the low men are his soldiers. He is seen in person only twice. Once in
Insomnia
, which may be more of a coded message than a “true” story, and when Roland arrives at the Dark Tower. He's an old man with a snowy-white beard growing down to his chest, waist-length
hair, a long, greedy, flushed face with deep creases, an enormous nose and burning red eyes. His red robe is covered with kabbalistic symbols, making him look like an insane Father Christmas.

He's a magical creature but in the end he relies on the weapons of the Old People. He's no match for Patrick Danville, though, who has the power of uncreation. All that remains of him after Patrick is finished with his eraser is a pair of eyes with the optic nerves intact. The rest of him is banished to oblivion.

According to the Marvel series, he is the son of Arthur Eld and one of the Great Old Ones of the Prim, which makes him Roland's cousin (many times removed) and the rightful heir to All-World.

Crossovers to Other Works:
The Crimson King appears in
Insomnia
, where he has minions in Derry, Maine, determined to kill Patrick Danville. Under the name Ram Abbalah, he appears in
Black House
, the sequel to
The Talisman
, which focuses on his search for Breakers.

C
ROW
, A
LLAN
“P
A
” (4.5)

Leader of the Crow Gang, who specializes in kidnappings for ransom. Steven Deschain leads a posse against them. An old man, paralyzed on one side from a stroke, Crow is the only one to get off a shot, which ricochets, striking Deschain in the arm. Steven Deschain shot him.

C
ROW
G
ANG
(4.5)

Harriers, train robbers and kidnappers who ply their trade in and around Debaria. Steven Deschain leads a posse that includes Deputy Hugh Peavy against them to their lair in the foothills. Most of the posse is killed in an ambush, but Roland's father and Peavy take the Crows by surprise at night and kill most of the gang and arrest the rest.

C
ROYDON
, J
OHN
(4)

Owner of the Piano Ranch and a small orchard in Mejis. Alain Johns shoots him.

C
URRY
, Y
ON
(4.5)

A sheepherder killed by the skin-walker on the Low Pure in Debaria.

D
ANDELO
(7)

Eddie Dean warns Roland to beware Dandelo. Jake Chambers passes on the same message via Oy. A vampire who drinks human emotion instead of blood. See Joe Collins.

D
EAF
R
ICON
(4.5)

A resident of Tree Village. Bern Kells hides in his barn after his crimes are revealed.

D
EARBORN
, W
ILLIAM
“W
ILL
” (4, 7, M)

Roland Deschain's alias in Mejis. He is a drover's son. Dearborn is the middle name of Western author Louis L'Amour.

D
ECURRY
, D
R.
(M)

Jamie's father. Traitorous members of Gilead's guard shoot him and his nurses to death.

D
ECURRY
, J
AMIE
(L, 1, 3, 4, 4.5, 5, 6, 7, M)

Part of Roland's first
ka-tet
, a boy of few words. Also known as Silent Jamie, because he rarely says anything if he doesn't have to, and Red-Hand because one of his hands looks as though it has been dipped in blood. Flagg described him as the fellow with the birthmark. Though he is adept with a gun, he prefers his bow or his bah. Not much of a reader. He accompanies Roland on his mission to defeat the skin-man and loses his virginity on their final night in Debaria. A sniper—perhaps General Grissom or his son—kills him during the battle of Jericho Hill.

D
EIDRE THE
M
AD
(3)

Roland's grandmother.

D
ELGADO
, C
ORDELIA
“C
ORD
” (4, 7, M)

Susan Delgado's aunt and sister to Pat Delgado. Daughter of Hiram. She is sour, miserly, greedy, supercilious, angry and suspicious, but can act nice when she wants something. She never hears good gossip and has few social pretensions, a love of gold and silver and a fear of being turned out, penniless, into the world.

She helped raise Susan after her mother died and became sole guardian after Pat was killed. Susan believes that she wasn't party to her father's murder, but she knew about it. When they lose title to their land and horses, she brokers a deal with Mayor Hart Thorin to have Susan become his gilly in return for an enormous financial consideration, with more to come when Susan gives the mayor a son. She manipulates Susan by invoking her dead father's name.

She claims to have had a lover or two when she was young, including Fran Lengyll, though Susan doesn't believe her. She allows Eldred Jonas to charm her when he's fishing for information. She's so obsessed with the possibility that Susan is ruining the deal with Thorin that she stops eating and taking care of herself, slowly going insane. She lets Rhea drink her blood so the witch can regain her power and they can seek retribution against Susan. As Rhea's puppet, she paints Susan's hands red and lights the fire that kills her. She dies before the bonfire burns down to embers from a heart attack, a stroke or shame.

Physical description: She's a skinny woman edging into late middle age and has gray streaks in her chestnut hair. There's a family resemblance to Susan, but her aspect is pinched and shrewish, thin and disapproving.

D
ELGADO
, P
ATRICK
“P
AT
” (4, M)

Susan Delgado's father. He was a quiet, calm man who was interested in the Old People. He was in charge of the Barony's horses for almost thirty years until his death when Susan was eleven. According to Francis Lengyll, a snake spooked his horse, Ocean Foam, who threw him and rolled over on him. In truth, he was murdered because he stood up against the traitors in the Horsemen's Association, with whom he worked on a daily basis. His land and horses were confiscated after he died. His sister, Cordelia, who helped raise Susan, became her sole guardian. He had red hair and a beard and smoked a pipe. He was a firm believer in
ka
, much to Susan's consternation.

D
ELGADO
, S
USAN
(T
HROUGHOUT
)

A sixteen-year old girl from Mejis. Roland Deschain's first love. Her father, Pat Delgado, was in charge of the Barony's horses and died when she was eleven. Her mother was already dead by then. After her father died, her spinster aunt Cordelia, Pat's sister, raised her.

She isn't vain, but she knows she's good-looking from the way boys act around her. She inherited a good singing voice from her grandmother and a calm nature from her father. She's normally level-headed and clever, though she can be stubborn and headstrong. Roland thinks she's brave to visit Rhea's hut alone in the dark. She's never been out of Hambry. She is in favor of the Affiliation, but not strong for it. She doesn't put much stock in John Farson and his war, since it is thousands of miles away.

Her aunt Cordelia uses her love for her father to coerce her into accepting a deal whereby she becomes Mayor Thorin's gilly in return for financial
consideration. After Pat's death, they lost title to their land and horses and they might end up homeless if Susan doesn't agree to this lucrative deal. She wishes her father were around to advise her.

Susan rationalizes that she will still be able to get married later, thinking that her part of the deal will end when she gets pregnant, but Mayor Thorin is less interested in a child than in having a beautiful young woman in his bed. The first time she uses Thorin's name in her own defense—during her visit with Rhea, who must attest that she is a virgin and free of demons—she feels humiliated. She is also ashamed by what this arrangement—which is acceptable under the old laws—means for Thorin's wife. By the time she understands what she's gotten herself into, it's too late to undo it. Breaking her word would bring shame to her father's name.

As her attraction to Roland grows, she curses fate for having brought him into her life after she made a commitment to Thorin. She has no use for “greedy old”
ka
, which was so important to her father. She avoids Roland until her situation gets so bad and her love for him so strong that she begs him to ask her to break her vow. When he does, they begin a romance that lasts the whole summer, during which she becomes stronger and more self-confident.

Her loyalty prevents her from believing that her father's friends were involved in his death until shown incontrovertible evidence. After the Big Coffin Hunters execute their plan to frame Roland and the others, she orchestrates their jailbreak. She remains calm in the face of violence, relying on her father's voice to guide her, like any good gunslinger. She kills Sheriff Avery and Deputy Hollis, whom she played with as a child.

She becomes pregnant with Roland's child—perhaps after their first time together—but never gets to share the news with him. She is captured, freed and captured again, falling into the hands of Rhea, who resents the girl for defying her. She is paraded through the streets of Mejis on Rhea's cart and burned at the stake in one of Mid-World's old, banned traditions of ritual sacrifice: charyou tree. She proclaims her love for Roland as she dies.

Physical description: She is almost too beautiful to look at, in Roland's estimation. She is tanned from riding, has long blond hair that glows like the sun and reaches the middle of her back, often in braids, and the grayest eyes Cuthbert has ever seen.

D
ELONG
, P
UCK
(4.5)