"Cigarettes! On a space station! What a power play."[1]
Augustine the First, Saint of Patience (AWG-us-tin KWIN-kway) is the First Saint to Serve the King Undying and the co-founder of Koniortos Court and the Fifth House alongside his brother and cavalier, Alfred Quinque.
Biography[]
Pre-Resurrection[]
Prior to the Resurrection, the scientist John Gaius worked with a crew of enigmatically named friends. Given that their initials align with the names of those who later became his Saints, the similarly gendered pronoun, and the fact that they both have brothers, it appears likely that Augustine was the one referred to in his recounted story as “A—“.
A— was one of Gaius’s earliest partners, referred to as “a glycerol-6 genius” who interfaced with the shareholders for their experimental cryosleep project. Like Augustine, he and Gaius frequently argued over the direction of their partnership.
A— died in the shoot-out that directly led to the events of The Resurrection.
Post-Resurrection[]
Augustine was brought back to life by The Emperor, John, during The Resurrection. They were close before Augustine's death, though Augustine does not retain those memories post-Resurrection.[2] He was amongst the first disciples to serve John at Canaan House with his brother, Alfred Quinque. The circumstances of their invitation to join John are lost to history.[3]
Granted extended life by John's necromancy, Augustine and Alfred founded the Fifth House, known as the Heart of the Emperor and the Watchers over the River, as well as the Koniortos Court.[4]
Though the precise circumstances of Augustine's ascension to Lyctorhood are unknown, his speaking of "what happened" as Cristabel "leading [Alfred] astray"[5] and becoming a Lyctor "under scrambling pressure"[3] implies that the two cavaliers may have formed a suicide pact and forced their respective necromancers to ascend against their will.
Augustine lived and worked with John and his Lyctoral Saints for the next myriad. He learned about the Resurrection Beasts and helped fight them—witnessing the deaths of Cyrus, Ulysses, and Cassiopeia—as well as knew Alecto and participated in convincing John to kill her.[6]
Approximately five hundred years before Harrowhark Nonagesimus and Ianthe Tridentarius's Lyctoral ascension, Augustine and his Lyctoral sister Mercymorn the First began to question the history of their world as explained to them by John. They began to hatch a plan which they called Dios apate, major, to ascertain certain truths for themselves.[7]
Five centuries later, with the help of Commander Wake and the Edenites, Mercymorn and Augustine enact their plot and nearly succeed in opening the Locked Tomb. Unfortunately, Wake is killed by Gideon the First and the scheme is left unfinished.[7] Augustine and Mercymorn do not part on speaking terms.[8]
A decade later, Augustine sees Cytherea the First for the last time.[9]
Harrow the Ninth[]
Nine Months Before the Emperor's Murder[]
On the Mithraeum, Augustine attends the funeral of Cytherea the First. They share stories of Cytherea's life, Augustine and Mercymorn barely containing their squabbling under the guise of arguing over details. They talk about when they'd last seen her and if there was any sign of her plot, as well as of her cavalier, who they did not like. Mercymorn notices Harrow and Ianthe are awake, and John brings them to Cytherea's casket. Augustine introduces himself and asks several funeral-inappropriate questions of the girls. Gideon the First returns from his unnamed mission, and announces that the Seventh Resurrection Beast is within ten months of Mithraeum. He asks if they are going to stay and fight or run, to which John chooses to stay.
Six Months Before the Emperor's Murder[]
Augustine is entrusted with Ianthe's Lyctor training and begins having her kill planets in preparation for their battle with the Seventh Resurrection Beast. They have an easy, friendly relationship and Augustine takes the time to clearly explain the subject matter to Ianthe, however this ease disappears in her swordsmanship lesson. Augustine is quick-tempered and angry with her inability to trust in Naberius's skill. As the resident spirit-expert, he gives Ianthe and Harrow both lessons on the Resurrection Beasts and how they function.
As part of her research into her new siblings, Harrow asks Augustine about his history. He gives her plenty of answers, if somewhat glib, and seems to relish the attention. Harrow also overhears an argument between Mercy and Augustine that she does not understand. Augustine threatens her, claiming she is playing a "dangerous game"[1] and that he will kill her if John learns of some secret (likely Dios Apate Major). Augustine also commands her to stop touching Cytherea's body, a claim she does not understand. After this argument, the two avoid each other whenever possible.
Four Months Before the Emperor's Murder[]
As the Resurrection Beast draws nearer, Harrow and Ianthe are left to each others company as the "adults" delve into complex planning. Augustine is often seen in the training room, clearly making some sort of plans for the battle but not in anyway that resembles traditional training. The elder Lyctors attempt to explain the Heralds of the Beast to their new siblings, but struggle to make sense. His sword training with Ianthe continues to go poorly, as she grows more and more convinced of her own psychological block and he remains unable to get through to her. Augustine finally gives her an ultimatum—If Ianthe cannot manage to get her sword arm to cooperate in five days, he will no longer bother attempting to train her.
John asks Harrow to make dinner for everyone, and she obliges. At dinner, John serves her mediocre attempt at soup and the Lyctors attempt to be polite in giving suggestions on how she can improve. As they discuss her soup, Harrow explodes Gideon with her own marrow she has cooked into the soup. John freezes everyone with his necromancy and chides Harrow. She pleas that he protect her from Gideon's attacks, but he only asks her when she last slept. At her response, he heals Gideon and sends everyone but Mercymorn out of the room—instructing Ianthe to put Harrow to bed. Augustine leaves with Gideon, offering him a cigarette.
Nearing the end of Ianthe's days to show improvement in her fighting skills, Ianthe comes to Augustine with a new skeletal arm built by Harrow. Augustine tests her by dumping her consciousness into the River and fighting the body animated by Naberius. In the end, the new arm proves effective at overcoming Ianthe's block, if somewhat less effective than a full flesh and blood arm. Augustine is delighted with Ianthe's progress and openly embraces as his new sister and co-conspirator. When Ianthe comes to him asking for help in disposing of Gideon, he agrees to help and devises a plan to distract the Emperor and allow Harrow her chance to end him once and for all.
Augustine plans a dinner party and sends invitations to everyone aboard the Mithraeum. Ianthe, and Harrowhark's invitations include instructions to come to his room minutes before the party for further instructions. There, he tells Ianthe and Harrow that he will arrange for Gideon to leave the party earlier—at which point he will almost certainly go to the training room alone. He also explains that there will be a clear cue as to when the two of them can excuse themselves to go see to him. When questioned on his willingness to kill his brother of a myriad, Augustine explains to Harrow that Gideon has become unmanageable and unreasonable but does not elaborate much further on his motives.
Mercymorn's invitation clearly has come with the terms of a deal—if Mercymorn accepts, "the details of [her], ahem, business"[10] will not be revealed. She arrives at Augustine's rooms angry, but he presses her into accepting the deal and committing to his plan without revealing the details ahead of time. Once she has sworn, he reveals the plan he calls his plan "Dios apate, minor"—essentially to distract John by seducing him, the name a callback to Dios apate, major—and she punches him in the face. Following a silent conversation, Mercymorn submits to whatever blackmail he is holding over her and unwillingly agrees to participate. She storms off and Augustine departs for the part with Ianthe on his right arm and Harrow on his left.
He lays out a fantastic feast—candles, white linen, silver cutlery, and a many-coursed decadent meal. They feast and drink for two hours, all becoming quite drunk. Augustine and Mercymorn begin toasting to lost friends which leads to an argument over their cavaliers, Cristabel and Alfred. Augustine turns to the toast to Pyrrha, Gideon's cavalier, which angers him. Ianthe redirects the toast to enemies and Augustine toasts to Commander Wake, and succeeds in getting Gideon to storm out of the dinner. Augustine attempts to toast to sisters and women left behind, but John balks. He apologizes, and Mercymorn redirects to the toast to John. They drink more and John, Augustine, and Mercymorn descend into more sentimental and playful conversations about people they knew. As Mercy finishes her glass, John removes all the alcohol from around her. Despite his protests, they continue their conversation about Cristabel and Alfred. Augustine promises he doesn't hate Cristabel and "barely" hates Mercymorn. She kisses him, and when John tries to interrupt, Augustine pulls him into a kiss too—completing their seduction and distraction.
They are distracted by the incinerator alarm, and all three rush to see what is the matter. There, they find Harrow covered in bone construct and hovering over Gideon, who has been stabbed through the chest and dragged from the incinerator. Harrow relays her story of the animated corpse of Cytherea in the incinerator control room, but is met with weary disbelief. They search the Mithraeum, but Cytherea's body is nowhere to be found and completely undetectable. After the search, Mercy is walking with Augustine who is disgruntled about the mess of an evening. He harps on Mercy's performance, but she snaps back furious with his use of Cristabel. Augustine asks her where she's stashed Cytherea, and Mercymorn denies having touched her.
Two Months Before the Emperor's Murder[]
One night, an emergency alarm goes off throughout Mithraeum. Mercymorn has spotted the Seventh Beast and raised the alarm, shuttering the windows of the Mithraeum and beginning a lock down. Mercy screams over the comm, having accidentally looked at the Beast and fallen victim to it's psychological effects. Augustine pronounces the Beast early and sends everyone back to bed.
One Week Before the Emperor's Murder[]
As the battle draws nearer, the residents of the Mithraeum meet to discuss battle strategy. Mercymorn outlines the plan of attack—tiring the Beast out in the upper levels of the River, and then dragging it down and into the stoma when it tries to flee—and counters Augustine, Gideon, and Ianthe's arguments and suggestions with failures from previous battles. John suggests that Augustine might be helpful in the River in the same way Cassiopeia was, but Augustine denies it, claiming his knowledge of that level of spirit magic mere theoretical. In the end, Mercy's strategy wins and each Lyctor is assigned a direction of the Beast to each Lyctor (save Harrow and John). Augustine is assigned the western part of the Beast.
The Night Before the Emperor's Murder[]
Augustine is on Mithraeum waiting to do battle with the seventh Resurrection Beast. The Heralds begin their attack on the Mithraeum in the East quadrant, and Harrow and Ianthe are hit with the worst waves of psychological attack from them. The Heralds continue their attack on Mithraeum for almost an hour as the Lyctors wait out the waves of fear in darkness. The Emperor gives instructions over the comm, and the Lyctors prepare to descend into the River. As they fight, Mercymorn is quick to retreat to the Mithraeum to go about her business, and Augustine follows her up.
He has just won a round with the Heralds when Ianthe and Harrow run in. Augustine starts to give instructions before noticing Harrow's new eyes and running out of the room. He finds Mercymorn and the two of them proceed to the Emperor's chambers.
Thirty Minutes Before the Emperor's Murder[]
Mercymorn and Augustine both appeal to the Emperor to come clean, saying "It's over, John. It's all come out ... it took ten thousand years, but it's all come out."[7] The Emperor asks if he is in trouble, and then directs their attention to Cytherea's body and introduces his Lyctors to Commander Wake. Mercymorn and Augustine draw their rapiers and the Emperor, puzzled that they have met, asks for clarification. Wake claims that Mercymorn and Augustine were working for her, which the Lyctors deny. Augustine and Mercymorn argue with Wake, claiming she wasted time when she knew that Gideon the First was tracking.
The Emperor silences them with a burst of necromancy. He again asks what Wake was doing on Ninth House and she explains that she was going to break into the Locked Tomb. Wake explains that she came armed with a baby that she had birthed herself, much to Augustine's horror, after Mercymorn's dummies and ova had died. The Emperor is explain exactly how the plan would not have succeeded when Gideon the First walks into the Emperor's rooms. Gideon the First walks up to Wake and shoots her in the head. The Emperor protests, but her ghost is already gone. At Augustine's question, he shares that the Number Seven has fled.
The Emperor sits, and asks Gideon if he was aware that Wake was pregnant. He confirms he was and explains, to the horror of everyone, that he thought that it was his child. The Emperor insists that the plan would still not work, and Augustine and Mercymorn fill him in on Dios apate, major—their plan to steal his genetic material and create a child capable of opening the Locked Tomb. The Emperor asks if Wake and baby died on entry, and Gideon walks into the room and announces herself.
With Gideon in the flesh, the Emperor understands why his Lyctors are so upset. They argue over Alecto and how monstrous she was, and Mercymorn presses for the truth of what happened to her and how she was killed. The Emperor admits that he did not kill her, just "switched her off."[3] Mercymorn and Augustine explain that what united them years ago was the realization that The Emperor had not killed Alecto, and what Gideon has caused them to realize that is that she was his cavalier and perfect Lyctorhood was possible. Ianthe decides to join them in the room, but says nothing.
As Mercymorn presses for any sign of regret for having killed all of their cavaliers, Augustine asks about Anastasia's failed attempt at Lyctorhood. The Emperor admits that she had nearly cracked it, but claims she had still made a mistake. Augustine asks the Emperor to put an end to his mission, but he refuses. Mercymorn promises that she will forgive him if he will do one thing: look her in the eyes and tell her he loved Cristabel, her cavalier. As he does so, she reaches inside of him and rends him into dust with her necromancy.
Mercymorn and Augustine explain that with the Emperor dead the Nine Houses will be dead and gone within three hours with no hope to save their inhabitants. Mercymorn expresses the desire to commit suicide, but Augustine refuses her saying that they have to go after the remaining Resurrection Beasts, sue for peace with Blood of Eden, and find a place for the remaining inhabitants of the Empire. Augustine asks Gideon the First if he will make any move against them, but Gideon the First does not have time to fully respond before the Emperor reforms and murders Mercymorn.
The Emperor asks each of his Lyctors if they will be loyal to him. Gideon the First and Ianthe answer in the affirmative and are spared. Gideon Nav is spared from answering due to the extenuating circumstances of being his daughter and being in Harrow's body, but tossed across the room and bound by his necromancy. Augustine answers in the negative, but before he can be killed Augustine drops the Mithraeum into the barathron River. The Emperor, Augustine, and Ianthe dive in.
Ianthe floats high above the stoma watching Augustine and the Emperor battle as the current sweeps them lower and lower into the River. As they approach, the stoma opens and horrible tongues and teeth appear around the void. Both Augustine and the Emperor are caught up in the tongue of the stoma and sitting in a stalemate—neither able to finish the other without getting dragged in themselves. Augustine yells something, presumably a call for Ianthe to help, but she ignores him. Ianthe swims down and frees the Emperor, pulling him to safety. Augustine is pulled in and the stoma closes.
Appearance and Personality []
Harrowhark first describes Augustine as thus:
"He was very fair, but in a grey-ish, damp, slicked back way that showed off the promontories of his skull. Fine, impatient lines were set around his dropping eyes, and quite deeply carved into his mouth. He looked older than your father had looked, when he died. There haughty features were set in a tall, aristocratic face, with an arched and supercilious nose..." [11]
By his own description, he is six feet tall and "attractive but grave."[12]
He's polite, easygoing, and charming. His facial expressions and emotions are often performative, and while he hides it under a calm veneer, he has a tendency to get impatient with what he perceives as ineptitude.
He smokes, a habit he picked up in order to impress Pyrrha.
Relationships[]
The Emperor[]
Cristabel Oct[]
"She should be so lucky as to be any kind of use, as she wasn't any in life. [...] I hope you know that one day I'll wrench Cristabel's rotten ghost from your corpse, and eat her."[13]
Augustine was never fond of Cristabel—in large part due to the influence she had over his brother and cavalier, Alfred.
After Augustine's ascension, he used Cristabel as a scapegoat for his grief and guilt by assigning her the blame for his brother's death. To avoid his own role in and continued immortality due to Alfred's death, he has chosen to believe that she led Alfred astray and has "built an entire myriad on the idea that [he] could've made him come around, given five minutes."[13]
Mercymorn the First[]
Gideon the First[]
Harrowhark Nonagesimus[]
Ianthe Tridentarius[]
Trivia[]
The Quinque brothers are a rarity in the Nine Houses, in that they both share an arithmonym (last name). Even twins do not usually share an arithmonym, unless it is a "unit name". Sharing an arithmonyn carries specific implications in the Nine Houses, however the Quinque brothers were named so early on in the era of the Nine Houses that those implications are lessened, though not entirely removed.[14]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Harrow the Ninth," Act II, Ch. 16
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act III, Ch 51.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Harrow the Ninth," Act V, Ch. 51
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act II, Ch. 17
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act III, Ch. 30
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act I, Ch. 2
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Harrow the Ninth," Act V, Ch. 50
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act I, Ch. 6
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act I, Ch. 9
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act III, Ch. 29
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act I, Ch. 9
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act II, Ch. 15
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Harrow the Ninth," Act III, Ch. 31
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth", Appendices, Pronunciation Guide