Stephen King's the Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance Revised and Updated (39 page)

DOG:
The Dog is paired with the HORSE Guardian.
See also
ROSE
: UR-DOG ROVER. III:325, III:331, III:333

EAGLE/BIRD/HAWK/VULTURE (GARUDA):
According to the NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS Guidance Module DARIA, the BEAM OF THE LION is also known as Way of the Eagle, the Way of the Hawk, and the Way of the Vulturine. The Eagle Guardian’s name is GARUDA. In
The Dark Tower,
we find out that the BEAMQUAKE which our
tet
felt in CALLA BRYN STURGIS was caused by a snapping of the Eagle-Lion Beam. IV:222
(Hambry’s Mercantile),
IV:126–27
(on gold coins),
VII:232, W:221, W:227, W:247, W:254, W:256

ELEPHANT:
At the beginning of
The Dark Tower,
we find out that the only two BEAMS still intact are the BEAR-TURTLE Beam and the WOLF-Elephant Beam (also known as GAN’s Beam). Together they form the only remaining guy-wires holding the TOWER in place. By the time Roland and his friends reach the DEVAR-TOI, the Devar’s telemetry equipment has already picked up the first bends in the Bear-Turtle. Luckily for all of us in every world, our
ka-tet
defeats the CRIMSON KING’s henchmen and the Beams are able to regenerate. VII:232, VII:295

FISH:
The Fish is paired with the RAT Guardian. When JAKE runs through the CRADLE OF THE GRAYS (prodded ever onward by the malicious GASHER), he sees a huge chrome and crystal fish statue. Upon it is written a single word of High Speech. That word is
DELIGHT
. III:39, III:304, III:325, III:331, III:333, IV:222, IV:326, VI:16

HARE:
IV:326

HORSE:
The Horse is paired with the DOG Guardian. III:325, III:331, III:333

LION/TYGER/CAT:
The Lion-Eagle Beam (also known as the BEAM of the CAT and the Beam of the TIGER) plays an important role in
The Wind Through the Keyhole,
since it runs from THE ENDLESS FOREST to the NORTH FOREST KINNOCK DOGAN, where the powerful magician MAERLYN is trapped in the shape of a TYGER. After leaving the MUDMEN in the FAGONARD swamp, TIM ROSS follows the LION-TIGER Beam for fifty miles (forty-five-point-forty-five wheels) despite the fact that his computerized friend DARIA (a NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS Guidance Module) warns him that she detects a strong disturbance along the Beam
Path, probably indicating deep magic. (DARIA reads the Beam electronically.) As we find out later, Daria is correct in her assessment of magical disturbances close to the North Forest Kinnock Dogan. Not only does she sense Maerlyn’s White magic and the CRIMSON KING’s black magic, but she also senses the chaotic energy of the STARKBLAST.

In
The Wind Through the Keyhole,
we learn that the Lion Guardian’s is called ASLAN, a name he shares with the great lion king found in
The Chronicles of Narnia.
According to the NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS Guidance Module DARIA, Aslan lives in the LAND OF ENDLESS SNOWS. It is possible that the BLEEDING LION, which the taheen FINLI O’TEGO says has been seen stalking to the north, is none other than the Guardian Aslan. In
The Dark Tower,
we learn that the BEAMQUAKE which our
tet
felt in CALLA BRYN STURGIS was caused by the snapping of the Eagle-Lion Beam. (
For more information, see
MAERLYN
and
ASLAN
entries
.) III:39, IV:222
(Hambry’s Mercantile),
VII:232, W:221, W:234, W:250
(lion)

RAT:
The Rat is paired with the FISH Guardian. III:325, III:331, III:333, VI:16

TURTLE (MATURIN):
According to MID-WORLD’s legends, GAN bore the world and moved on. However, if the Turtle hadn’t been there to catch it on his back as it fell, all of the known worlds would have ended in the abyss.

The Turtle is one of the most important Guardians, and seems to be the major totem of the city of LUD. (The STREET OF THE TURTLE, with its sculptured Turtle, leads to BLAINE’S CRADLE.) Even before meeting him, we hear the following two poems about him:

See the TURTLE of enormous girth!

On his shell he holds the earth.

His thought is slow but always kind;

He holds us all within his mind.

On his back all vows are made:

He sees the truth but mayn’t aid.

He loves the land and loves the sea,

And even loves a child like me. (III:40)

See the TURTLE of enormous girth!

On his shell he holds the earth

If you want to run and play,

Come along the BEAM today. (III:122)

(
For additional variations on the Turtle poem
,
See
APPENDIX III.
)

The Turtle Guardian’s name is Maturin. Unlike SHARDIK (Maturin’s companion Guardian), the Turtle Guardian does not appear to be mad. In fact, he appears to be aiding our
ka-tet
in their search for the DARK TOWER.

In
Song of Susannah,
SUSANNAH-MIO finds a small SCRIMSHAW TURTLE in the lining of JAKE CHAMBERS’s magical bowling bag (temporary home to BLACK THIRTEEN). This SKÖLDPADDA (as it is called by MATHIESSEN VAN WYCK) is actually one of the CAN-TAH, or little gods. Its good magic (probably derived from the Turtle Guardian, which it depicts)
seems able to nullify some of the chaos wrought by Black Thirteen. Not only does it help Susannah/Mia to find shelter at the NEW YORK PLAZA–PARK HYATT, but it also later aids Jake and PERE CALLAHAN when they face the CAN-TOI, TYPE ONE VAMPIRES, and GRANDFATHERS at the DIXIE PIG. III:39–40, III:122, III:129, III:264, III:266, III:309
(sculpture of and street of the),
III:310
(voice of the),
III:312
(street),
III:316
(street),
III:325
(street),
III:331, III:332
(street),
III:333, III:341
(street),
IV:222
(Hambry’s Mercantile),
IV:424
(“Bless the Turtle”),
IV:481
(“in the name of the turtle and the bear”),
IV:570–73
(Roland hears the turtle’s voice during his time trapped in Maerlyn’s ball),
V:97
(Turtle Bay),
V:99, V:165,
(cloud),
V:183, V:188
(Turtle Bay),
V:405, V:618–19
(indirect; Eddie feels scrimshaw in bottom of bag; we don’t find out what it is until later book),
VI:15
(Maturin),
VI:57
(fountain),
VI:66, VI:68, VI:71, VI:81–98
(scrimshaw in Susannah/Mia’s possession),
VI:112, VI:124
(scrimshaw),
VI:230
(scrimshaw),
VI:256
(scrimshaw),
VI:259
(scrimshaw),
VI:295
(world borne by Gan landed on Turtle’s back),
VI:296, VI:298, VI:299, VI:339–40
(scrimshaw; indirect),
VI:343
(scrimshaw),
VI:363
(scrimshaw),
VI:394, VI:398, VII:3
(Maturin),
VII:3–14
(scrimshaw),
VII:21, VII:25
(
can-tah
),
VII:26, VII:28, VII:51
(
can-tah
),
VII:143
(scrimshaw),
VII:144
(scrimshaw),
VII:147, VII:232, VII:244, VII:272, VII:291, VII:295, VII:409, VII:445, VII:446, VII:458, VII:488
(New York sculpture),
VII:489–90, VII:497, VII:513, VII:525–26
(scrimshaw),
VII:542, VII:813

SCRIMSHAW TURTLE (CAN-TAH):
For page references, see listing above; for more information about the
can-tah,
see
CAN-TAH
,
listed separately

WOLF:
At the beginning of
The Dark Tower,
we find out that—thanks to the efforts of the BEAM BREAKERS—only two Beams are still intact. They are the BEAR-TURTLE Beam and the Wolf-ELEPHANT Beam (also known as GAN’s Beam). Together they form the only remaining guy-wires holding the DARK TOWER in place. By the time Roland and his friends reach the DEVAR-TOI, the Devar’s telemetry equipment has already picked up the first bends in the Bear-Turtle. Luckily for all of us in every world, our
ka-tet
defeats the CRIMSON KING’s henchmen and the Beams are able to regenerate. IV:222
(Hambry’s Mercantile),
VII:232, VII:295

GUNSLINGERS (MID-WORLD)

In the Foreword to
The Wind Through the Keyhole,
STEPHEN KING described Mid-World’s gunslingers as a strange combination of knights errant and territorial marshals from the Old West. As we learn over the course of the Dark Tower series, the gunslingers of Mid-World were all this and more. Based in the city of GILEAD, Barony Seat of NEW CANAAN, in the heart of IN-WORLD, MID-WORLD’s gunslingers were peace officers, messengers, accountants, diplomats, spies, and sometimes executioners. But most of all, gunslingers were highly trained fighting machines whose reflexes, memories, and powers of observation were honed to an incredible keenness. To become a gunslinger was to undergo a rigorous training of mind, body, and spirit unsurpassed in any of the worlds.

Descended from ARTHUR ELD, the ancient king of ALL-WORLD, and his many knights, Gilead’s gunslingers were the aristocrats of their time. Armed with six-shot revolvers rather than swords, their job was to protect the enlightenment
and knowledge of Elden times against the constant encroachment of the OUTER DARK. To a man who belonged to the tet of the gun, losing his life was preferable to losing his honor, since loss of honor reflected not just on himself but on all of his male ancestors. Among gunslingers, the saying “I have forgotten the face of my father” was the ultimate statement of remorse.

During Roland’s youth, the gunslingers’ greatest enemy was JOHN FARSON, also known as THE GOOD MAN. Despite his talk of equality and democracy, Farson was little more than a brutal, power-hungry harrier. He was also dangerously insane. Evidently, his favorite pastime was playing polo, but using human heads as the balls. Like MARTEN BROADCLOAK, Steven Deschain’s treacherous sorcerer and advisor, Farson ultimately served the CRIMSON KING.
For more information, see
AFFILIATION
and
CORT (CORTLAND ANDRUS)
.
For information about individual gunslingers, see the entries for the characters listed under
INDIVIDUAL GUNSLINGERS
,
below.

APPRENTICE GUNSLINGERS:
At the age of six, boys born to the line of ELD were taken from their parents (many of whom lived in Gilead’s CENTRAL PLACE) and were made to sleep in the apprentices’ BARRACKS, located above the munitions vault. The training of apprentices was undertaken by CORT, the gunslingers’ teacher-at-arms. Strict as a sergeant, Cort trained generations of young men in the art of war. Not only did he instruct them in the use of a variety of weapons, but he also taught them to navigate by the sun and stars, and to keep a clock ticking inside their heads. Though he called them the very eye of syphilis, Cort’s true hope was that each and every boy would one day earn his guns. Though Cort had a philosophical side, his lessons focused on the necessities and slyness of battle. For the subtle arts of the mind, the apprentices were taught by VANNAY THE WISE.

Drilled into each apprentice was the gunslinger’s litany: “I do not aim with my hand; he who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I aim with my eye. I do not shoot with my hand; he who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I shoot with my mind. I do not kill with my gun; he who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father. I kill with my heart.” At approximately eighteen years of age, each gunslinger apprentice was expected to best Cort in a one-on-one battle in Gilead’s SQUARE YARD, located behind the GREAT HALL. (They were to take Cort’s ironwood staff from him.) Those who emerged triumphant from this all-or-nothing battle traded in their nickel and steel barrel-shooters for the six shooters of fully-fledged gunslingers. Those who failed were sent west, weaponless. Disgraced and outcast, they never returned to Gilead. Many ended up joining forces with JOHN FARSON.
See also
CORT
and
VANNAY
,
listed separately

I:110
(2003 edition),
I:169–186
(Roland’s coming-of-age battle, 2003 edition),
II:16
(Cort’s teachings),
II:36
(training the memory),
II:177, II:309
(cleaning a gun),
III:14, III:71, III:83, III:276
(riddling),
III:328
(checking visual quadrants),
IV:107, IV:109, IV:111, IV:112, IV:164, IV:232, IV:270, IV:350, IV:358, IV:574
(waking a person from trance),
V:29, V:78–81
(lessons from Cort and Vannay),
V:89
(lessons about Manni)
V:225, V:235, V:388
(Vannay),
V:392
(training),
VI:203, VII:33
(Cort’s lessons),
VII:34, VII:589, VII:778
(Cort’s teaching),
W:36, W:40
(baby gunslingers)

APPRENTICES, SENT WEST:
Like his father before him, CORT raised a moit of young men to the tradition of the ELD and the way of the gun. On the day of a young man’s coming-of-age battle, in which an apprentice was required to take Cort’s ironwood staff from him in a one-on-one fight, the apprentice entered Gilead’s SQUARE YARD from the west end—the entrance used by boys. The teacher entered from the east end—the entrance used by men. Before the fighting began, teacher and pupil recited the following litany:

“Have you come here for a serious purpose, boy?”

“I have come for a serious purpose.”

“Have you come as an outcast from your father's house?”

“I have so come.”

“Have you come with your chosen weapon?”

“I have.”

“What is your weapon?”

The final question always worked to the teacher’s advantage, since he could adjust his plan of battle to the sling or spear or bah or bow. If the boy won the battle and took Cort’s stick, he was allowed to exit by the east end. If he failed, he slunk out by the west entrance, a boy forever. Such young men were sent west in disgrace, into the very lands where JOHN FARSON’s revolution raged. Many of these failed gunslingers—such as ELDRED JONAS—joined forces with Gilead’s greatest enemy. Farson gave these broken boys weapons and encouraged them to vent their rage against the city of their fathers.
For page references, see
APPRENTICE GUNSLINGERS
,
above.