The Dark-Hunters (862 page)

Misos’s violence was such that Archon banished him to the lower regions and made him ruler of the Underworld, where he lives with his wife Thnita (Mortality). When a civilian dies, their daughter Zena is sent to lead them to the Underworld, while soldiers are escorted by their son Stratiotis. Children are given their own special guide, Paidi, who is the youngest of their offspring. Paidi is said to take the form of a winged pony who carries the children to Telios (paradise) where they are given into the hands of adults who will love and nurture them until they can be reborn as mortals.

Their realm is guarded by the multiheaded dragon Prostateva, a woman cursed by Apollymi when she claimed to be more beautiful than the queen of the gods. No living human can cross the path of Prostateva. Any who try are eaten alive by her.

Mist
    Amorphous consort of the Sleep gods, Mist has birthed thousands of children. Not the most maternal of mothers, she turned the raising of her sons and daughters over to Hypnos and to the nymphs who serve her.

H
AIR
/E
YES
: black/white, glowing

Mnemosyne
    Daughter of Gaia. She is the ancient Greek goddess of Memory and the mother of the nine Muses, by Zeus.

Mnimi
    Greek goddess of Latent Memory, daughter of the Greek goddess Dike and the Atlantean god Dikastis, it is said Mnimi was born to make sure people remembered what they did so that they could learn from their mistakes. Imprisoned in her youth by Ares, who wanted people to forget so that they would be eager to war against each other, she was released when Pandora opened her box.

Mnimi most often serves Hades, and helps to punish evildoers by reminding them of their crimes. She is the conscience and judge of many.

H
AIR
/E
YES
: dark red/green, swirling

Morpheus
    Greek god of Dreams. Father of many Oneroi, and son of Hypnos. Morpheus is responsible for shaping dreams, or giving shape to the beings who inhabit dreams. His name means “he who forms, or molds” (from the Greek
morphe
).

Morrigán
    Celtic Raven goddess of War, and grandmother of Sunshine Runningwolf (aka Grandma Morgan). Her name means “Great Queen” or “Nightmare Queen.” In myth, she is often equated with Alecto of the Furies. Other times she embodies all three aspects, including Badb, Macha, and sometimes Nemain.

She can sometimes be seen washing the clothes of men about to die in battle, effectively choosing who lives and who dies.

B
IRD
: carrion crow, raven

A
NIMAL
: cow

Mount Olympus
    Home of the Greek gods. The twelve most powerful gods are: Zeus; Poseidon; Hera; Demeter; Artemis; Apollo; Athena; Hephaestus; Ares; Aphrodite; Hermes; and Hestia. Dionysus, the youngest of the gods, is sometimes lumped in with these twelve, and sometimes not. The weather on Olympus is always perfect, not too hot or too cold, with a blue sky overseeing lush, green mountains.

Muses
    The nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne: Calliope; Euterpe; Clio; Erato; Melpomene; Polyhymnia; Terpsichore; Thalia; and Urania. They are all patrons and inspirations of the various arts.

Nabium
    A tall, dark-haired gallu demon.

Nemesis
    Greek goddess of Indignation and Retribution, who punishes excessive pride, evil deeds, undeserved happiness or good fortune, and the absence of moderation. A feared and revered goddess, she measures out both happiness and unhappiness. She is an assistant of Zeus, along with Dike and Themis. Nemesis is sometimes depicted as having wings, and is as beautiful as (some say more than) Aphrodite.

One of the classic stories of Nemesis is the downfall of Narcissus, who was too in love with himself to notice the attentions of the nymph Echo (who eventually withered away until nothing was left but her voice). Nemesis condemned Narcissus to spend the rest of his days admiring himself in a pool of water, where he eventually took root and transformed into a flower.

T
REE
: apple

S
YMBOL
: wheel, ship’s rudder

Neti
    Former gatekeeper to the Sumerian underworld, Neti is now a gallu demon who works beside Kessar as his right-hand man.

Nike
    Winged goddess of Victory. Often found at Athena’s side. A favorite of Zeus.

Notus (Auster)
    God of the South Wind who brings the summer storms.

Nyktos
    Atlantean god of the Moon, son of Asteros and Epithymia. Their passion was such that two balls of fire were placed inside the womb of Epithymia and in one day, she birthed the sun (Ilios) and the moon (Nyktos). The twins were placed in the sky so that Asteros could share his domain with them. He split rulership of the sky between his sons, giving Ilios control of the day and Nyktos control of the night.

Nyx
    Ancient Greek goddess of Night, and mother to many of the other gods and goddesses.

Obulos
    Greek coins or Persian danace that the dead must pay Charon for passage across to the Underworld.

Odin
    Chief god in Norse mythology. He symbolizes Creation, Wisdom, and Inspiration as well as Fury, War, and Death. He was also in charge of the valkyries.

Oracle
    Anyone who communes with the gods. Warning: Oracles are a bit like cats. Never go to one if you’re looking for a straight answer.

Orasia
    Atlantean goddess of Sleep.

Orion
    “The Hunter.” A famous constellation in the night sky. The story goes that Artemis fell in love with Orion so deeply that she forgot to illuminate the night sky and it all went dark. Jealous and hating the fact that his sister was in love with a mere mortal, Apollo dared Artemis to hit a tiny speck on the waves with her bow—which, of course, she did. That speck was Orion. Grief-stricken, Artemis placed the image of her beloved in the night sky forevermore in remembrance.

Another version of the story is that Artemis killed Orion because he raped one of her handmaidens, and then placed his image in the sky as a warning of her wrath.

Orpheus
    Son of the muse Calliope, and famous for his mastery of the lyre. Attempted to rescue his beloved wife, Eurydice, from Hades after she died from a snake bite. He sang his woes to Hades and Persephone, who took pity on him and presented him with a chance to win back his love. The challenge was that Orpheus must walk out of Hades and not turn around for any reason until he had exited the Underworld. Unfortunately, Orpheus could not resist, and turned back just in time to see Eurydice vanish from his sight forever.

Ousia
    The part of a person that exists beyond the body or the soul. The life force.

Pallor
    Greek god of Terror.

Pandora
    The first woman, created by Zeus as a punishment for Prometheus having given fire to the humans. She was given gifts from all the gods: beauty, musical talent, cunning, boldness, charm … and curiosity (thank you, Hera). She was also given a storage jar or box that she was instructed not to open under any circumstance. She did, of course, thus releasing all the misfortunes of mankind into a world that had previously existed in peace.

Parriton
    A young Charonte demon.

Pasiphaë
    Daughter of Helios, sister of Circe, and onetime queen of Crete (married to Minos). She had several children, among them both Ariadne and the legendary Minotaur (which is what happens when you get cursed by Poseidon).

Persephone (Proserpina)
    Nickname: Seph. Daughter of Zeus and Demeter, and goddess of the Underworld. (See Hades.) She loves her husband and resents her mother for keeping her from Hades for nine months out of the year. She
reeeeally
hates gardening. Persephone is kind and dainty, petite and shy. Her throne in the Underworld is made of gold, with cushions the color of blood. She is sometimes referred to as the Iron Queen.

H
AIR
: blond

Phantasos
    Greek god. Son of Hypnos, and creator of nonsentient dream objects (his name means “apparition”). Phantasos is the father of the more cerebral Dream-Hunters. His children are most often the Oneroi who police the Dream-Hunters.

Phobetor
    Son of Hypnos, and Greek god of animal shapes. Father of the nightmare Dream-Hunters. His name means “frightening.”

Phobos
    One of the Dolophoni; son of Alecto and twin to Deimos.

H
AIR
: brown

Pleiades
    The seven daughters of the Titan Atlas, companions of Artemis, and teachers of Dionysus. They are Maia (mother of Hermes); Electra; Taygete; Alcyone; Celaeno; Sterope; and Merope (wife of Sisyphus). They were hunted by Orion, so Zeus changed them into doves and then into a cluster of stars, which Orion eternally pursues across the night sky.

Polyhymnia
    Muse of Sacred Song.

Poseidon (Neptune)
    Greek god of the Sea, son of the Titan Cronus and Rhea, second in power only to Zeus himself. He lives in his palace beneath the sea, and is transported around in his golden chariot drawn by white horses. Poseidon is married to the Nereid Amphitrite, who suffers her husband’s affairs about as well as Hera does.

Poseidon and Athena are constantly at odds. He once fought Athena for the patronage of Athens—Poseidon brought a fountain to the Acropolis (albeit a saltwater one), and Athena brought the olive tree. The men voted for Poseidon, and the women for Athena. As luck would have it, the women outnumbered the men by one.

Poseidon is known for his anger (like many of his brethren), and is a very, very sore loser. He flooded Athens, and deprived the women of their right to vote in the future.

A
NIMAL
: bull, horse

S
YMBOL
: trident

Priapus
    Greek and Roman fertility god, protector of gardens and domestic animals and fruits. Son of Aphrodite and Dionysus. Brother to Julian and Eros. Carved images of Priapus, with large ithyphallic genitals, were placed in fields and gardens to ensure fruitfulness and protection. He was imported into Rome from Lampascus, where Pausanias reported he was supreme among all gods. (The Roman Priapus was far more popular than his Greek version.)

Priapus cursed Julian by trapping him inside a book in 149
B.C.
for deflowering one of his virgins, and then was cursed into the same book himself by Aphrodite in 2002 for what he did to Julian. Ironic, don’t you think?

Priestess Medallion
    Worn by the Atlantean priestesses of Apollymi. Whenever a priestess was in danger, she would put the small, coin-sized medallion in her mouth. Apollymi would then protect the priestess by imbuing the woman with her strength, her power, and sometimes even her overwhelming presence. An ancient priestess medallion is currently worn by Megeara Kafieri.

Prometheus
    Titan who brought fire to the humans and got his liver eaten out for all eternity in return. Remember? We mentioned Prometheus back there at the beginning. Poor guy.

Psyche
    Goddess of Souls and Soul Mates, and wife of Eros. Youngest of three daughters. Much like Snow White’s mother, Aphrodite became jealous of the beauty held by Psyche as a mortal. She bade Eros to shoot her with his arrow and force her to fall in love with the ugliest man on earth. Eros fell in love with her, of course, and would visit her as an invisible spirit. One night, while Eros slept, Psyche peeked in on her lover to see his true identity. When she did, hot oil from her lamp spilled on him, and he awoke and fled. It was Zeus who brought them back together and gave his consent for them to marry.

When seen in the mortal world today, Psyche often takes the form of a tall, beautiful biker chick.

H
AIR
: blond

A
NIMAL
: butterfly

Pterygsaurus
    A small, winged dragonlike creature. There are always six pterygsauri in Acheron’s throne room. Or were. Xirena has found them to be quite tasty.

Ravanah
    A female demon who eats the flesh of other demons. When there are no demons to be had, Ravanah eats the flesh of infants and pregnant women. Even the gallu demon Kessar is afraid of her, and rightly so.

Rhadamanthus
    Son of Zeus and Europa, and brother to Minos. One of the judges of the dead in Hades, Rhadamanthus oversees those deceased of Asian descent.

Rod of Time
    The Rod of Time looks like a dagger with a crooked blade. A magical Sumerian implement, the rod is a vital piece of the lock on the imprisoned Dimme. It was Zakar who stashed the rod in Ishtar’s tomb for his twin brother Sin to find when the time came. As only a Sumerian was meant to wield the rod, when Acheron touched it (and ultimately bled upon it), it broke the lock on the Dimme’s cage. Sin, Zakar, and Katra Agrotera used Kat’s sfora to recapture six of the seven Dimme.

Sabine
    A Charonte demon, one of Apollymi’s personal guard (favored). Sabine has green hair and eyes, yellow skin, and deep orange horns and wings.

Saga
    Norse goddess of Poetry.

Satara
    A daughter of Apollo, Satara is the younger half-sister of Stryker. A handmaiden of Artemis (and not too happy about the prospect), she’s loyal only to herself and hates Acheron with a passion. In fact, she hates most people and gods with a passion. But she does share one thing with Acheron: ever-changing hair color. While around Artemis, her hair is a deep auburn, but whenever she visits her half-brother Stryker, her hair is blond. On earth, it can be any shade she wants.

Once Nick drank Stryker’s blood and turned Daimon, Satara was able to feel Nick’s emotions through their shared blood. She played a trick on Nick, telling him that the Skotos Kratos would bring his mother back to life if he kidnapped Marissa Hunter and brought her to Kalosis.