"Then the path to Lyctorhood is independent research? Gosh! And it isn't even my birthday."[2]
Abigail Pent is the Heir to the House of the Fifth and a Lady of the Koniortos Court. Widely studied and frequently published, Abigail will likely be regarded as one of the Great Historians by future generations.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
A historian and an academic, Abigail Pent has studied on four different Houses (Fifth, Sixth, Third, and Eighth), collected a number of degrees, published ten books and eighty-six articles, and is an instructor as well as fulfilling her leadership responsibilities to her own House.
Due to a genetic defect, Abigail and her husband, Magnus Quinn, are unable to have children and her House will pass to her brother's children unless she names another heir. This seems unlikely as it is rumored her nephew will be affianced to Isaac, The Fourth House heir, whom Abigail has mentored and maintained a close relationship with throughout his entire life.
Abigail became head of her House just five years before the events of Gideon the Ninth, at which point her husband became her cavalier primary.
Gideon the Ninth[]
Act I[]
Fifth House arrives with the others to Canaan House, and disembarks without issue. Magnus receives the iron key ring for their House. Abigail listens to Teacher explain the task, but does not participate in the conversation.
Act II[]
Abigail spends her time in Canaan House preoccupied with the history contained within its walls, rather than any particular focus on the Lyctor Trials. She noses around the upper levels in rooms and libraries looking for any original documents or artifacts that might reveal new information about the post-resurrection era of the Nine Houses System. Busy with her studies, Abigail forgets the anniversary of her marriage and offers to cook for her husband to make it up for him.
"Dinner" quickly becomes "dinner party", and Fifth House cooks for all of the guests and the priests in Canaan House. After spending the beginning of the evening in the kitchen, Abigail finds herself seated next to Cytherea the First, who is posing as Dulcinea Septimus. Abigail confides to her about how she and Magnus are unable to have children, and explains her lifelong research into post-resurrection/pre-cohort history. She stresses that the opportunity to study the true relics from the era of the Lyctors is a once in a lifetime opportunity for her, and how excited she is to have uncovered what she believes to be coded messages between the original Lyctors.
At some point during the evening, Abigail asks Silas Octakiseron about the Facility hatch, and learns to ask Teacher for their access key. When dinner has finished, Abigail and Magnus descend to the Facility hatch in order to investigate the laboratory, and solve one of the tests. On their way out, they are murdered by Cytherea the First and she stores the key inside Abigail's abdomen. Hours later, the Ninth House, Harrowhark and Gideon, find them at the base of the ladder.
Harrow the Ninth[]
Nine Months and Twenty-Nine Days Before the Emperor’s Murder[]
Harrowhark Nonagesimus undergoes a necromantic surgery to abort her lyctoral ascension and falsify her memories of her cavalier, Gideon Nav. In the process, Harrow unknowingly creates a version of Canaan House in a River “bubble,” and pulls the ghosts of the victims of Canaan House into the bubble. Eventually, the ghosts remember their deaths and must choose whether to remain and assist Harrowhark or depart back into the River.
Nine Months Before the Emperor's Murder[]
Abigail stands with the other postulants to Canaan House as Teacher hands out one key attached to a key ring to each cavalier. He follows this with a lesson on the history of Canaan House, the original Lyctors, and the laboratory Facility they built to study Lyctorhood. She makes a joke about her fondness for research that horrifies the Fourth House teens.
Abigail and Magnus work in the library at Canaan House where Ortus Nigenad offers them a recitation of part of his Noniad. Harrow happens upon them and demands he stop, which Abigail and Magnus protest. She attempts to start a conversation with Harrowhark Nonagesimus about the Lyctoral artifacts she has found, but Harrow is reluctant to discuss the bounds of her own research. Abigail mentions her talent for summoning ghosts but that she will not try to summon a Lyctor as there are too many unknowns. She hands Harrow a piece of paper, asking for her opinion on its contents, after which she notices 150+ unique ghost signatures in Harrow's body. When she remarks on this, Harrow flees. Magnus chastises his wife for chasing the Ninth away.
Six Months Before the Emperor's Murder[]
After death of Judith Deuteros, Abigail, Magnus, and Ninth House work at preparing and autopsying her body. Abigail and Harrow extract the eight bullets from her body, and the men wash and arrange it. Harrow determines the order of bullets and damage, and Abigail uncovers that the weapon was a carbine rifle. They theorize on why the Sleeper continued shooting after a fatal first shot, but come up with little proof. The four of them go out into the hall where Marta Dyas waits and hear her retelling of the circumstances surrounding the death. They determine that the Sleeper can move, pass through necromantic wards, and isn't necessarily woken by noise.
Rain begins to fall at Canaan House, creating a cold fog around the base of the buildings unseasonable for the time of year. A second set of bodies is found, those of Camilla Hect and Palamedes Sextus, and brought to the mortuary. Abigail brings Harrow and Ortus to the mortuary to see the bodies. To identify the mutilated bodies, they bring in Dulcinea Septimus and her cavalier, Protesilaus Ebdoma. Fifth, Seventh, and Ninth decide that Sixth was most likely also killed by the Sleeper. They all attempt to rally, philosophically discussing their prospects, and Abigail asks Dulcinea to attempt to win over Silas Octakiseron, Magnus to get Marta Dyas, and Harrowhark to bring the Third House to their side. She suggests they gather in whichever room is least flooded by the rains. Before she leaves, Dulcinea asks Abigail "Is this how it happens?" and "Does it get—better than this? Do you know?"[3] seemingly becoming aware of her former death.
Four Months Before the Emperor's Murder[]
Abigail, Magnus, Seventh, and Ninth move into Marta's rooms to protect each other and begin planning their attack on the Sleeper. One morning, Harrow wakes up as Abigail and Magnus are enjoying their coffee. They make small talk that quickly leads to the revelation that Harrow witnessed Silas's murder of Coronabeth Tridentarius and his subsequent suicide. Following a suspicion and seizing on the absence of her cavalier, Abigail asks Harrow to read a piece of flimsy for her, and Harrow responds by reading a bizarre rant about eggs. Abigail and Magnus question her gently, and Harrow reveals that she believes herself to be insane. Abigail attempts to comfort her and proposes that she may, instead, be haunted.
Two Months Before the Emperor's Murder[]
The weather in Canaan House turns—rain becoming sleet becoming snow that blankets the House. Additionally, fleshy organs begin growing up through the cracks in the building. Abigail attempts to help Ortus complete some investigation into his sword, but it is too old and infrequently handled for Abigail's necromancy to learn anything useful. Abigail notices Harrow lurking, and invites her in. Harrow reports successful wardings and an unsuccessful attempt to move the Sleeper's coffin. They discuss the possible strengths and weaknesses of their defenses, and Abigail picks Harrow's mind on the particulars of flesh and bone necromancy—her own specialty lying in spirit magic. Teacher interrupts with a seemingly drunken story about the original Lyctors. He claims that they are doomed, that the Sleeper is waking and coming for Harrow, that the Emperor will never know peace again, and many other doomsday claims before running off.
The Night Before the Emperor's Murder[]
Abigail and Magnus follow Harrow through imagined worlds in the River as her body is dying of a rapier wound on Mithraeum. They appear in an alternate reality Castle Drearburh as pilgrims. When Harrow Nova approaches, Abigail tells her "this isn't how it happened,"[4] and the world shifts. Abigail and Magnus follow Harrow to a second world, a formal event as part of a competition for the hand of "Her Divine Highness". Despite their glee at such a strange and interesting vision, they again interrupt her and cause the world to shift. In the third world, Harrowhark begins bringing back Isaac Tettares and Jeannemary Chatur into a Cohort world with a cafeteria coffee counter run by Gideon Nav. Abigail drags Harrow from her twisting imagined worlds, and Canaan House re-solidifies around them.
Harrowhark stabilizes in Canaan House again, laying in a bed and tended to by the remaining postulants. As she comes awake, she remembers Gideon and cries. Abigail sends everyone else out of the room and waits for Harrow settle. She asks Abigail to describe her childhood bedroom to see if she is real or a delusion. Abigail begins to question her, and she explains the details of her self-inflected procedure to preserve Gideon's soul. Abigail corrects her and asks about "the invasive soul" haunting her. Harrow comes to understand that she is in a "bubble" creation in the River, same as Palamedes. They discuss the limitations and realities of the bubble, as well as the circumstances in the Mithraeum, where Harrow's body is. A tentacle explodes into the room, and Magnus comes to fetch them.
An Amount of Time Before the Emperor's Murder[]
The organs and viscera continue to grow in Canaan House, and a collection of pipettes, containers of fluid, broken skeletons, and pills have appeared in the snow. Magnus and Abigail lead her through the House, outside, and back in to the corridor with the Pool Room and into X-203, the Lyctor study of Gideon and Pyrrha. Marta, Dulcinea, and Protesilaus are already inside. Harrow notices the room has a lived-in feel and Abigail explains that she put Isaac Tettares and Jeannemary Chatur before helping them to pass on. She speaks about her research on the River and claims that she believes in the River beyond. She also claims that something has gone horrible wrong with the River itself. After catching up with the others, Abigail gathers everyone to go enact their plan—the exorcism of the Sleeper.
Harrow, Ortus, Abigail, Magnus, Dulcinea, Protesilaus, and Marta all return to the Facility and the coffin of the Sleeper. Abigail draws a chalk diagram while the rest place candles warded by Harrow. After, Abigail puts counter-wards on the dead—everyone but Harrow. She asks Harrow if she can pinpoint what the thanergetic link is, and Harrow realizes that the Sleeper carries Gideon's sword. When Harrow tries to thank her for her help, Abigail downplays her contribution as being an egotistical busybody. Harrow blesses her in the name of the Locked Tomb anyway. They finish the preparations and Abigail pairs them and places them around the candle circle. Abigail pours a libation over the foot of the coffin and begins the summoning. Abigail notes that spirit is tied to two places and that its banishing in the River will not necessarily banish it on the Mithraeum. A panel of the coffin shatters and they see it is empty. The Sleeper emerges from the corridor.
Protesilaus attacks the Sleeper and is shot three times and left unmoving on the ground. The Sleeper demands that Harrow turn herself over and begins counting down from ten. Dulcinea, Magnus, and Marta each attack the Sleeper in turn and are summarily shot without inflicting any lasting damage on the Sleeper. Protesilaus exerts his will not to die on the world and gets back up, strangling the Sleeper with his chain. She shoots him and knocks out Marta. Harrow launches an attack of bone, but the Sleeper shoots it out of the air and causes it to go inert. Harrow asks what the Sleeper wants, and she replies that she wants Harrow's death so she can take her body. As the Sleeper reaches one, Ortus begins to recite poetry.
Abigail quickly realizes that he is trying to invoke Matthias Nonius and protests that she cannot summon him. Despite Abigail's protests, he continues and she has no choice but to follow his lead. As he declaims from the Noniad, Harrow struggles to cover them with bone shields. The Sleeper pushes her way through Harrow's shields, crumbling them to dust, and shoots Ortus. Harrow pushes the Sleeper back with a wall of bone and sends skeleton constructs after her which are also dissolved. Harrow takes over for Ortus, finishing the lines as Abigail works. The Sleeper reaches Harrow and fires a shot into her head, but Matthias Nonias solidifies between them.
As Nonius fights the Sleeper, the postulants begin to regroup. Abigail makes her way to Magnus and helps him stand, and all the pairs watch in awe of the fight. Harrow and Dulcinea make moves to bring their necromancy into play, but Ortus, noticing that the constraints of his poem have begun to influence the world, stops them. As the battle picks up speed, Nonius drops his rapier, but manages to catch the Sleepers arm, disarm her, and drive her back into the wall. Protesilaus tosses Nonius his rapier, and he plunges it into the Sleeper's chest.
As they group, Ortus is in awe of Abigail Pent and her abilities. Magnus jokingly scolds Ortus for flirting with his wife, horrifying Ortus. Abigail cannot figure out she was able to summon him purely through Ortus's art, but Nonius accepts it and claims the victory is then owed to Ortus. Harrow tells Nonius she has no other enemies here, and Abigail confirms the invasive soul is gone. As she speaks, the "bubble" begins to rumble, falling apart as the scenario has concluded and in response to whatever is happening above. Matthias Nonias shares his desire to go help the Lyctors battle the Resurrection Beast. Protesilaus, Ortus, and Marta decide to join him, despite protests from Harrow and Abigail. Harrow releases Matthias, and Abigail sends the four of them to aid Gideon the First.
Harrow asks Abigail what will happen to her now, and Abigail gently explains that she can risk the River or she can return to her body—likely finally absorbing and destroying Gideon's soul. Abigail and Magnus attempt to convince her to return to her body and honor Gideon's sacrifice, and Harrow unwillingly agrees to live. They leave, re-entering the River.
Appearance and Personality[]
Appearance[]
“She sat down at the table and tossed her thick, painstakingly brushed sheets of smooth brown hair behind her—Abigail Pent would present smartly in earthquake, fire, or flood.”[5]
Abigail has brown eyes—which sit behind thick glasses—and immaculate brown hair. As a daughter of the Fifth, she is meticulous about her appearance and doesn’t have the ill, unkempt look of a typical necromancer. Harrow and Gideon both describe her as fresh-faced, and Gideon adds that Abigail has a kind smile.[6] She has “slender workaday hands,”[3] and, in times of deep concentration, swaps out her first pair of glasses for a second pair.[7]
Personality[]
“They were both led to the little kitchen and introduced to the slightly stressed Fifth necromancer whom Gideon had only ever seen in passing: she proved to have more or less the same easy, unaffected manner as Magnus, the type you only got when you came from a House like the Fifth. She looked Gideon very straight in the eye and shook her hand very firmly. Unlike Magnus, she also had the manner some necromancers and librarians developed when they had been working on dead spells for the last fifteen years and no longer worried too much about the living: her stare was far too intense.”[8]
Pragmatic and nurturing, Abigail tends to be overlooked by her peers as soft, friendly, and motherly. She has a protective maternal streak, which compels her to take the Fourth teens—and later Harrowhark—under her wing. But in addition to these gentler traits, Abigail is also a sharply intelligent woman with a focused and deliberate mind. At nearly forty years of age, the urgency and competition that infects the younger scions does not phase her—she is settled and comfortable in herself, and confident in her abilities. As the heir of the Fifth House, Abigail demonstrates a certain adherence to niceties and polite behavior, but she often cannot contain her enthusiasm for her work in spirit magic and historical studies. As the revenant souls in the River bubble prepare to exorcise the Sleeper, Harrowhark notes that Abigail and Magnus both have “the quasi-contented faces of people about to embark on a favourite activity.”[9] Abigail also quips to a disguised Cytherea that she’s been married to her manuscript for longer than she’s been married to Magnus.[8] Unfortunately, Abigail’s unadulterated passion for her work is likely what leads to her demise.
Relationships[]
Magnus Quinn[]
“She watched Abigail and Magnus cross on tiptoe, nimbly dodging any line that their shoes might scuff, and in passing turn and kiss each other gravely…They kissed as chastely and briefly as children; Magnus touched her cheek and said quietly, ‘Godspeed, my darling,’ and she said, ‘You too.’ That was all. No more, and no less.”[10]
Abigail and Magnus share a long-lasting and loving relationship. After dating as teenagers, they separate at seventeen when Abigail breaks things off, but after three years, they reunite and eventually get married. When Abigail is named the heir of the Fifth House, she elects to raise Magnus to the status of cavalier primary, despite strictures against such a pairing. Eleven years into their marriage, they share a comfortable form of intimacy founded in deep love and familiarity with one another. They avidly support one another’s interests and share the same sense of fascination in the world around them. Magnus occasionally tempers his wife’s more outlandish theories while Abigail encourages her husband to broaden his perspective. They complement each other, and act as a cohesive unit in life, in death, and after death.
Isaac Tettares & Jeannemary Chatur[]
"The Fourth clustered by the Fifth's skirts like ducklings--" [6]
Abigail, along with her husband, have become unofficial wardens and caretakers of the Fourth Heir and his cavalier-- a relationship passed down from her own mother, who was close to Isaac's father. Lacking the ability to have children of her own, she has taken the young Fourth children under her wing and guided their education and training from an extremely early age. At Canaan House, she takes it upon herself to keep the children from the bulk of the competition, and even after her death she protects them from The Sleeper and guides their journey into the River. She loves these children as if they were her own.
Trivia[]
- Similar to the “am” fragment linking Camilla and Palamedes, Abigail and Magnus share a resonating fragment in their names which marks them as a necromancer-cavalier pair who love each other very much.[11]
- According to Jeannemary, Abigail hates heights and would never risk falling.[12]
References[]
- ↑ tazmuir, Tumblr.com.
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act I, Ch. 8
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Harrow the Ninth," Act II, Ch. 21
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act V, Ch. 40
- ↑ Harrow the Ninth Act IV, Ch. 35
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Gideon the Ninth," Act II, Ch. 12
- ↑ Harrow the Ninth Act II, Ch. 18
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Gideon the Ninth Act II, Ch. 15
- ↑ Harrow the Ninth Act V, Ch. 45
- ↑ Harrow the Ninth Act V, Ch. 47
- ↑ Gideon the Ninth Appendix: A Little Explanation of Naming Systems
- ↑ Gideon the Ninth Act III, Ch. 19