The Dark-Hunters (863 page)

Savitar
    Even more mysterious than Acheron; as if such a thing were possible. Well, it is. Savitar is rumored to be the one who trained Ash in his Dark-Hunter powers, and who taught him how to bring back the dead without using blood. Some say he was born human, while others deny there’s anything human about him at all. Truly, Savitar is a being unto himself. More powerful than Zeus and more wise than Solomon, he keeps his own company and prefers it that way. Even gods will not speak Savitar’s name, for fear of drawing his attention. Covered in tattoos, Savitar is the most powerful and deadly surfer dude you’ll ever meet.

Savitar oversees the Omegrion (though none of the Were-Hunters can remember how this came about). Nick was sent to him by Acheron for training, and later Savitar handed him over to Ravyn Kontis.

B
IRTHPLACE
: Eritara

H
EIGHT
: six foot eight

H
AIR
/E
YES
: dark brown/lavender

Scylla
    A nymph who incurred the wrath of Circe for being fairer than she. Circe poisoned Scylla’s bathwater (poison being Circe’s modus operandi) and transformed her into a hideous sea monster with twelve feet and six heads, each with three rows of teeth. Legend has it that she was slain by Heracles, but that her father restored her to life.

Selene (Luna)
    Greek goddess of the Moon, whose place in the pantheon was eventually taken over by Artemis.

Sfora
    Atlantean scrying globe that people in Katoteros can use to watch events in other realms. Sometimes those who are being viewed can sense that Big Brother is watching. The sfora can see into the past, present, and future.

Simi
    Means “baby” in Charonte. Real name: Xiamara, after her mother. Simi is Acheron’s Charonte demon companion, given to him when she was a small child, and can manifest herself as a human or demon. She rests as an ever-changing tattoo on Ash’s body, and is only allowed to leave this form at Ash’s bidding. The only time she is allowed to leave his body without permission is when Ash is in danger. In human form, Simi’s hair color always mirrors that of Ash. In demon form, the darker the color of her wings and eyes, the more upset she is. Whenever Simi is part of Ash, she cannot hear or see anything unless Ash gives her an order, but she can feel his emotions.

Though she is thousands of years old, she is equivalent to a human eighteen-year-old. She shops and parties like one, too. A complete cutie who loves extra-crispy barbecue, movies, Travis Fimmel (don’t we all?), and QVC (where she is called “Miss Simi”)… and who thinks everyone looks better with horns. If you value your life, don’t ever,
ever,
say no to her. If she doesn’t eat you for breakfast, Ash just might. Of course, not saying no is what got Nick into trouble in the first place.…

Simi has no concept of right or wrong. She is also allergic to rubber—it makes her sick. She may need to be reminded of this, so don’t forget. She enjoys eating Diamonique. She likes her humans well-done.

B
IRTHPLACE
: Katoteros

H
EIGHT
: three feet, but it can vary

T
RUE
F
ORM
: long yellow hair, white eyes rimmed with red, dark blue and black wings, black horns, and long, pointy ears

Strife
    Son of Eris, goddess of Discord.

Styxx
    Prince of Didymos, and Acheron’s human twin brother. He was damned by Artemis to a six-by-six cell in Tartarus, but Ash had mercy upon him, and exiled him to paradise (even after Styxx plotted against him).

Due to his constant complaining about how the grass was always greener, Mnimi gave Styxx the gift of understanding, so that he could see what life was like from Ash’s point of view.

Sword of Cronus
    Julian Alexander’s sword. Only those with the blood of Cronus may touch the sword without being burned. Julian also has a shield bearing a bronze relief of Athena and her owl and the words “Death before Dishonor.”

Symfora
    Atlantean goddess of Death, Sorrow and Woe. Daughter of Nyktos and Basi, to see the beautiful Symfora is to weep instantly. She walks beside mankind and is attracted to those who are self-pitying—so much so that she often visits even more sorrow upon them just to feed off their morbidity. In battle, she walks beside her grandfather Misos, and is often seen weeping by those who are dying. She appears to them as their loved ones.

Tablet of Destiny
    The Sumerian
Tuppi Shimati.
Whatever god holds possession of the tablet can render another god powerless. It can also be used to strip a god of his or her powers entirely, thereby allowing the possessor to kill any god. The Tablet of Destiny does not affect the powers of demons.

Tartarus
    The dark and pain-filled Greek version of hell, where Hades banishes the evil souls he wishes to torture. Only souls completely incapable of love can stay in Tartarus. This dark and woeful place is as far beneath the earth as heaven is above the earth. The entire area is lined with caverns and holding cells where screams of agony echo, begging for mercy. The occupants are seldom in a state to be recognized by even their own mothers, and the caverns are laid out like an intricate labyrinth. Around Tartarus runs a fence of bronze with gates that Poseidon fixed in such a way as to offer no escape. It is here that the Titans, whom Zeus and his siblings defeated, are forever confined.

Teiresias
    One of the most well-known Oracles of Greece. Teiresias was blinded by Athena when he accidentally laid eyes upon Her Radiance while taking a bath. Instead of killing him for what was clearly an accident Athena turned his sight inward, turning his punishment into a sort of gift.

Telikos
    Armageddon.

Terpsichore
    Muse of Dance.

Thalia
    Muse of Comedy.

Thanatos
    Artemis’s assassin; a Dark-Hunter executioner. Also known as the Day-Slayer. Thanatos is death incarnate. Even his name means “death.” Originally an Apollite chosen for Artemis’s personal guard, Thanatos is neither Apollite nor Daimon, but has fangs. He can walk in daylight, and heals instantly. He knows no vulnerability … unless you stab the crescent moon located between his shoulder blades—something only Ash has ever been known to do.

When Acheron killed the Thanatos who slaughtered Zarek’s village of Taberleigh, Artemis swore to never remake him. Only she did … to kill Zarek. The Apollite she chose was Callyx, the man whose wife Zarek had inadvertently killed. Artemis created this Thanatos, and kept him in a tiny cell until she needed him.

It was Acheron who defeated this Thanatos yet again—only this time, he offered to make Callyx human, so that he might be reborn and live with his wife again.

Thasos
    Atlantean personification of Death who fashioned the throne for Misos while he ruled Kalosis.

Themis (Justitia)
    Daughter of Uranus and Gaia, and Greek goddess of Justice. Themis is the personification of the divine right order of things as sanctioned by custom and law. She has oracular powers (it is said that she built the Oracle at Delphi). She is the mother of the Horae and the Moirae (the Fates). She is also the mother of Astrid.

H
AIR
: curly red

Theocropolis
    Where Zeus holds court over all the Olympian gods.

Thor
    The Norse god of Thunder; son of Odin and Jord. He travels in a chariot drawn by two goats that he eats when he is hungry. He revives their carcasses and brings them back to life when he wants to travel again. He has a hammer that will always return to him, a belt that gives him superstrength, and a special pair of iron gloves that help him lift the hammer. He uses these weapons in his seemingly endless battles against the race of giants.

H
AIR
: red

Tisiphone
    One of the Furies. (See Erinyes.) Oversees the punishment of crimes of murder. In some legends, Tisiphone guards the gates of Tartarus.

Tree of Life
    Tree that blooms only in the garden of Apollymi. It alone can break the ypnsi.

Triton
    Son of Poseidon. Half-man and half-fish. He blows on his seashell to announce Poseidon’s arrival.

Tuppi Shimati
    Sumerian Tablet of Destiny. (See Tablet of Destiny.)

Tyberius, Zebulon
    Nickname: ZT. Chthonian whose territory is Greece and the surrounding areas. He tolerates few gods, or their servants, treading on his turf. No one knows where he was born (more than 25,000 years ago), they only know that he has enough powers to kill a god in a single act.

ZT keeps permanent watch on Katra Agrotera anytime she’s on earth. He watches for when she steps out of line. ZT has a scar from his hairline to his neck.

H
AIR
/E
YES
: dark blond/violet

Urania
    Muse of Astronomy.

Valkyries
    In Norse mythology, the valkyries were the beautiful battle maidens under Odin’s command. It was the valkyries who chose what great warriors would die in battle and sit at Odin’s table in Valhalla.

Vanishing Isle
    Island at the edge of the world where Greek sailors believed they would go when they died. You can see it for a few minutes at sunup and sundown, but it is unreachable. The Vanishing Isle is where most of the dream gods reside.

Wink
    A minor Greek god, son of Nyx and Erebus. A puckish character, Wink is what led to the belief in the Sandman. He is sent by the gods of sleep to induce slumber, and most claim he does so by sprinkling a magic dust into their eyes. Children are most fond of Wink, who is said to love them best of all since they are innocent and most deserving of untroubled rest.

A chronic prankster to both the Oneroi and Skoti, Wink is often found playing tricks on them. He may be one of the oldest gods, but he has the personality of a thirteen-year-old boy. He hangs out with the dead from time to time “for a laugh.”

Wink’s mist is often used by Dream-Hunters to make a human drowsy, or to exert control over one.

H
AIR
/E
YES
: brown/gray

Xedrix
    Charonte demon. Apollymi’s personal guard. Xedrix does not bow to Stryker.

T
RUE
F
ORM
: black horns, blue hair, bloodred wings, yellow eyes, navy-blue skin

Xiamara
    Charonte demon (deceased). Mother of Simi and Xirena. Simi’s namesake.

Xirena
    Eldest hatchling of Xiamara and Pistriphe, fiercest of the Charonte demons, and sister to Simi. Xirena is bonded to Alexion. As a human, Xirena tends to look more than a little bit like Apollymi. Which is disturbing in many, many ways.

T
RUE
F
ORM
: black horns, lips, and hair, red wings, yellow eyes, skin marbled red and black

Ydor
    Atlantean god of the Oceans and Water, Ydor is the brother of Chaos. At one time, they split the universe between them, but due to trickery, Chaos was able to harness the power of Ydor and trap him between the thighs of Eda (Earth).

Not that it was difficult to trap Ydor between the thighs of a woman: The god’s sexual appetites and conquests were legion. It is said that every lake, river, and stream is proof of his dalliance with a nymph. In some legends, he is believed to be the father of mankind (man needs water to live). Ydor was the patron god of all Atlantean port cities, and he worked with Archon to protect their people.

Ypnsi
    Sacred sleep that Orasia had once dispensed from the halls of Katoteros. The only antidote comes from the Tree of Life that grows in Apollymi’s garden in Kalosis. Also, the only known item that can neutralize Acheron. And for your own sake, forget you know that.

Zakar
    Sumerian twin brother of the Dark-Hunter Sin. He is known as
Hayar Bedr,
the Forsaken Moon. After their father killed the eldest of the triplets because of a prophecy, Sin hid Zakar away in the dream realm. Zakar once battled the demon Asag, the donator father used to create the gallu. During the fight Zakar absorbed some of Asag’s powers, thus making him resistant to the bite of the gallu.

Along with Sin and Sin’s daughter Ishtar, Zakar imprisoned the Dimme until their impending escape in 2007. This time around, it was he, Sin, and Katra Agrotera who managed to contain six of the seven demons.

Zakar was captured in his sleep and held for a time as a gallu demon blood slave. He was found by Kat, Sin, Simi, and Xirena pinned to a stone by swords through his body and bite marks all over his neck from the gallu. His eyes were seared shut, his eardrums were pierced, and his powers were stripped. (Katra healed him.) Zakar should have had resistance to the gallu, but because he had been fed on for centuries, he may have become a gallu as well.

The gallu demon Kessar forced Sin to come to him by embedding the lock to hold the Dimme in Zakar’s chest. Acheron saved him after it was removed.

Zebulon
    A Chthonian who, as a child, was persecuted to the point of being tied to a stake and set on fire. As a result, he doesn’t think much of people and even less of gods. He’s a renegade and no one is ever sure whose side he’s on. He has no patience, and a morbid sense of humor.

He hates being called Zeb. If you want to shorten his name, he’ll answer to ZT, or Supreme Ruler of the Universe. The latter stands a better chance of not getting you killed.

Zephyros (Favonious)
    God of the West Wind, the gentlest wind, and the messenger of spring. He was the brother and husband (don’t ask) of Iris.

Zeus (Jupiter)
    Youngest son of Cronus and Rhea, and ruler of Mount Olympus. God of Sky and Thunder. Because of a prophecy that Cronus would birth a child who would overthrow him (much like he did his father), Cronus swallowed all of his children when Rhea presented him with the babes. After giving birth to Zeus, Rhea presented Cronus with a stone, which he swallowed, thinking it was his son.