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Xanth People
Arnolde
An Appaloosa bachelor centaur who wears spectacles and
was keeper of the records at the centaur museum on
Centaur Isle. His specialty is Alien Archaeology. It was
discovered, after 90 years, that his talent is the
formation of an aisle of magic wherever he goes. The
aisle extends 15 paces to the front, and half that
distance to the rear. When he uses reverse-wood, he
generates a Mundane ailse in Xanth.
Beauregard
A bespectacled demon, highly educated. He is working on
his doctoral thesis, Fallibilities of Other
Intelligent Life in Xanth.
Bianca
Roland's wife and Bink's mother, whose magic talent is
the Replay: the ability to jump back in time 5 seconds,
in a small area.
Bink
The main character in the first two novels, who seems to
have no magic, but is actually the most powerful Magician
in Xanth because he cannot be harmed by magic.
Bluebell
An elf maiden of the Flower Tribe who seduces Jordan the
Barbarian (no difficult task). Ancestor to Rapunzel.
Blythe Brassie
A female inhabitant of the City of Brass, in the
hypnogourd. Formerly called Blyght, she's a nice metal
girl.
Brain Coral
Living in a preservative fluid with stasis-magic, it
operates through other agencies to accomplish its noble
task. It cannot control a conscious, intelligent living
entity, but rather operates through suggestions that seem
like the creatures' own notions. A number of creatures
are stored in its preservative fluid, for eventual
release.
Brontes
A cyclops, a giant with a huge single eye. He and his
brothers, Steropes and Arges, were once the Powers of the
Air, but fell out of favor.
Cedric
A historical centaur of Xanth.
Chameleon
Bink's wife, named after a shape-changing lizard, whose
intelligence and appearance vary with the time of the
month, as is the case with some Mundane women. At one
time each of her aspects were named: Dee - normal; Wynn -
pretty but stupid; Fanchon - ugly but smart. Dor's
mother.
Chem
A centaur, foal of Cherie and Chester: a pretty brown
creature with flowing hair and tail and a slender,
well-formed human torso. Her talent is that of map
projection. It is her mission to map all of the
penninsula of Xanth.
Cherie
A centaur, Chester's wife and Chet and Chem's mother. Her
specialty is humanoid history, and she served as Dor's
tutor. Though it is difficult for her to realize it, she
has the magic talent of beauty.
Chester
A centuar, Cherie's husband and nephew of Herman the
Hermit. His rear is prettier than his face. He
specializes in the study of horsepower and discovers he
has a magic talent: the ability to conjure a silver flute
that plays beautiful music.
Chet
A centaur, Chem's brother, whose magic talent is that of
converting large boulders to pebbles by a process he
calls calculus. It renders a stone into a calx, that can
be used for calculating.
Clio
The Muse of History. She lives on Mt. Parnassus, the home
of the arts, sciences and history, and writes magic texts
on Xanth.
Craven
A goblin, subchief of the Chasm Clan, father of Glory and
Goldy Goblin.
Crombie
A soldier and woman-hater who finally found the one for
him: Jewel the Nymph. Father of Tandy. His talent is
Direction: he can point to anything. At one point he was
changed to a griffin, in order to help seek the source of
magic.
Crunch
A vegetarian ogre, father of Smash.
Cyrus
Halfling son of the siren and the merman Morris. In water
his legs become a tail.
Day Stallion
Leader of the day mare herd: an invisible (to people)
golden wingless flying horse.
Demon X(A/N)TH
The source of magic. He lives in the deepest cavern,
sealed off from intrusion, where he has been for a
thousand or more years. His body has leaked a trace
amount of magic into his surroundings, and this accounts
for all the magic in Xanth. In return for a guarantee of
privacy, he has bequeathed "Magician-caliber
sorcery" to all Bink's descendents. He is frustrated
by his inability to gain status on other Demons, such as
E(A/R)TH, V{E/N}US, P|L/U|TO,
JU[P/I]TER, NE?P/T?UNE, or lovely
**SA((T/U))RN**.
Dolph
The son of Dor and Irene, a Magician, whose talent is
instant shape-changing.
Dor
The son of Bink and Chameleon, a Magician, later King of
Xanth. His talent is conversing with the inanimate.
Dragon King
An intelligent leader of dragons who understands the
human language and believes it is impolite to toast
Magicians. He has iridescent mirror-polished scales which
overlap and are as supple as the best warrior's mail. His
great front claws are burnished brass tapering to
needlepoints. His snout is gold-plated and his eyes are
like full moons. He likes the taste of Mundanes.
Dragon Lady
A more recent leader, a regal queen of her kind, who
reclines in her nest of glittering diamonds while reading
Monster Comics.
Ebnez
Magician King responsible for developing Xanth's
shield/shieldstone after the Lastwave invasion, for
protection against future Mundane invasions.
Elders
The Council of Elders is responsible for the Kingdom of
Xanth during the absence of the King. The Elders take
care of routine administrative chores and select a new
King if anything happens. The Elders were responsible for
the placement of Magician Trent as King, with certain
conditions.
Elsie
Jordan's original girlfriend, who had civilizing designs
on him. Her talent was turning water to wine by touching
it with her finger.
Ferdinand
A noble bull of a man, leader of the Cowboys.
Fiant
A demon who works in a rum refinery, who dematerializes
at will. He is large, muscular and fat, with squat horns,
an unkempt beard and a barbed tail. He was at one time a
great trial to Tandy, for when he looked at her, his eyes
glowed like smoky quartz shielding an internal lava flow.
Fracto
The worst of clouds. He terms himself King Cumulo Fracto
Nimbus, and has enormous vanity and a stormy temper, but
in time he blows over.
Furies
Three dog-faced old women, creatures of retribution.
Their whips cause terrible agony, and their curses are
devastating. They are: Alecto, of the sorrows; Megaera,
of suffering; and Tisiphone, of guilt. They know the
secret guilts of anyone they encounter, whether human or
animal.
Gap Dragon
One of the most formidable monsters of Xanth. He is
low-slung, with a triple pair of legs, and iridescent
metallic scales. Though he has small wings, he is
landbound, and travels by whomping along. He destroys all
creatures unfortunate enough to blunder into the Gap.
Accidently youthened to baby status, he was befriended by
Ivy, who named him Stanley, because he is a steamer.
During his second youth, his female counterpart, Stacey
or Stella Steamer, patrols the Gap.
Gerome
A centaur, an Elder of Centaur Isle.
Glory Goblin
A petite, stunningly beautiful goblin girl, daughter of
Gorbage; Goldy's youngest sister. Her friendship with
Hardy Harpy almost generates war between the goblins and
harpies.
Goldy Goblin
Eldest daughter of Gorbage, very petite and nice. She
traveled north to trap a male in the goblin fashion,
aided by Smash Ogre, who obtained a magic wand for her.
Gorbage Goblin
Chief of the North Slope Gap Goblins, ugly and
unprincipled as expected, he nevertheless values his
daughters and seeks the benefit of his kind.
Gorgon
The personification of the promise/threat in woman. When
she was young, the sight of her face stoned males; when
she matured, her face stoned everyone, even animals.
Sister to the Siren. Intrigued by Good Magician Humfrey,
who made her face invisible so she could not accidently
hurt others, she finally married him and had a son, Hugo.
Gromden
Former King of Xanth, whose talent was to perceive the
history of any object he touched. Old, bald and fat in
his later life, he nevertheless had the guilt of a
scandalous liaison with a demoness that resulted in
Threnody, the object of Jordan's adventure.
Grundy Golem
A man-figure as tall as a spread human hand, he was
fashioned from wood, clay rags, and bits of other refuse,
and animated. Later he learned to care and became alive
or, as he calls it, real. His talent is the ability to
converse with all living creatures. Cheap insults are his
forte.
Hardy Harpy
One of the very few male harpies: young, clean, handsome,
intelligent and with good personality. His liaison with
Glory Goblin almost touched off a renewal of the
goblin/harpy war, but also demonstrated that goblins and
harpies share half-talents, which become whole talents
when the two get together. He and Glory were able to
become invisible, together.
Harold Harpy
An early prince of harpies, consort to Heavenly Helen
Hapry.
Hasbinbad
Punic leader of the Nextwave Mundanes who brought
recruits from Iberia and Morocco. He had been
transporting 1200 men and 9 elephants to Hannibal along
with 50 horses. He was under the impression that this was
Italy, Mundania.
Heavenly Helen
Young and beautiful and pleasant harpy queen. Her punnish
background is derived from Dante Gabriel Rossetti's poem Troy
Town, which opens:
"Heavenborn Helen, Sparta's queen,
(O Troy Town!)
Had two breats of heavenly sheen,
The sun and moon of the heart's desire:
All love's lorship lay between.
(O Troy's down!
Tall Troy's on fire.)"
Thus we have Heavenly Helen, Harpy's Queen, whose
distinguishing feature is a pair of breats, involved with
the siege of Castle Roogna.
Herman the Hermit
A centaur, Chester's famous uncle, who helped save Xanth
from a wiggle invasion. He was exiled from the centaur
community because he had magic: the ability to
communicate with the will-o'-the-wisps.
Hiatus
Son of Millie and the Zombie Master, and twin to Lacuna.
His talent is growing organs - such as eyes, ears and
noses on walls and books.
Horseman
A werehorse, a human/equine crossbreed. Centaurs resulted
from man-mare coupling, this one from stallion-woman at a
love spring. He is hamdsome as either a white stallion or
a man, but evil, using his Brass Circlet to ensorcel
victims. He tries to take over the crown of Xanth, but is
foiled by Mare Imbrium.
Hugo
The son of Humfrey (HU) and the Gorgon (GO), he is
considered retarded because his talent of conjuring fruit
doesn't work well. But under Ivy's influence he becomes
remarkably intelligent and talented. Ivy considers him to
be her Night in Shiny Armor.
Humfrey
The Good Magician Humfrey, whose talent is information.
He is gnomelike, with enormous Mundane-type spectacles,
and over 100 years old. He tends to be grouchy and to
safeguard his privacy by establishing all manner of
barriers to entry to his castle, but he always knows
exactly what is going on. He typically charges one year's
service as the fee for an Answer to a Question, and many
people and creatures willingly pay that fee. When the
Gorgon asked whether he would marry her, he made her
serve a year before he Answered. This might seen extreme
- but it gave her the chance to get to know him well
enough to be sure, before committing herself. Humfrey is
like that, being more rational and generous than is
generally perceived.
Ichabod
A Mundane archivist discovered by Dor's party when it
ventured past the Crimson Tide and into the Mundane realm
of Montgomery circa 1950. He is a friend of
Arnolde Centaur, and an excellent researcher on the magic
of Xanth. He likes to look at (but not touch) nymphly
legs.
Irene
Daughter of Trent and Iris. Her talent is to make plants
grow rapidly, so that in minutes one of them could
complete a life cycle that would normally require years.
She was first classified as of Sub-Magician level talent,
but later upgraded to full Sorceress. She has green hair
and good legs (and that's not all), and no truck with
sexism.
Iris
One of the most potent Sorceresses in Xanth, her talent
is Illusion. She can make a nonexistent thing appear, or
an existent thing dissappear. Her Mundane form is frumpy,
but she never shows that to the public; consequently she
is glamorous. She married King Trent, and for a time was
King herself, because Xanth had no reigning Queens.
Ivy
Daughter of Dor and Irene, a Sorceress whose magic causes
the qualities she perceives in those about her to
intensify. She is a bright, insatiably curious and a
somewhat imperious girl. Wherever Ivy is, there is bound
to be mischief.
Jewel
A rock Nymph specializing in precious stones. It is her
responsibility to see that all gems are properly planted
in the ground, for others eventually to find. She rides a
diggle, and her talent is Smells: how she smells is how
she feels. She married Crombie the Soldier, and when
there is a suggestion of his wandering, she smells of
burning wild oats. But because she is a Nymph, she can
not truly grasp anything evil, which is a problem for her
daughter Tandy, when pursued by a lecherous demon.
Joan
A male fairy, misnamed.
John
The feamle fairy who got the name intended for the male,
and vice versa. She is a pretty little female figure with
sparkling mussed hair and thin iridescent wings with
scenic patterns. She finally finds the one with her name,
so they can exchange - and they fall in love.
Jonathan
A zombie, an old friend of Millie the Ghost.
Jordan
A barbarian adventurer, betrayed by a cruel lie, who
becomes a ghost for 400 years before being reanimated. He
is tall, broad-shouldered, hank-haired, big-footed, and
naive about women: in short, the very model of a modern
fantasy hero.
Jumper
A spider who inadvertently accompanies Dor in his
Tapestry travels. Classified as Phidipus Variegatus,
of the Family Salticide, he's a jumping spider. He has
eight hairy legs, six green eyes scattered about his
head, and sharp fangs projecting from his mouth parts.
His fur is green, his legs gray. In short, he's a most
handsome creature. His talent is the making of silk, and
by using that he can suspend himself from high places,
and even fly. He becomes a close friend and mentor to
Dor. He is not, despite impressions, large; it just
happens that when they meet, Dor is small, being in the
adventure of the Tapestry.
Justin Tree
A man who was transformed by Evil Magician Trent into a
tree. His leaves are like flat hands and his trunk is the
color of tanned flesh. His talent is voice projection, so
he can converse with untransformed folk. Given the chance
to change back to man-state, he elects to remain a tree.
Lacuna
Twin sister of Hiatus, daughter of the Zombie Master and
Millie. Her talent is to form print on anything, which
she can change at will. She messed up the Humfrey-Gorgon
wedding by changing "until death do you part"
to "the few measly years you hang on before you
croak." That sort of thing.
Lord of Flies
The King of the Flies, currently reading a book called The
Sting by Wasp.
Maenads
The Wild Women of Parnassus. Stay clear of them.
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