Make one final pilgrimage, Carpenter.
Bear this dead boy back to his home. Find a good place by the water to lay him down to sleep, and you will see how soundly he sleeps.
You’ll be serving your Trawler-man, in delivering his faithful back to him.
And you’ll be serving the Cairn Maiden in your aching footfalls, in the endless road, and in wet soil heaped upon rotten bones.
Stewardess Acantha is a disciple of the Cairn Maiden and a mentor to Carpenter. She wears a necklace of bone knotted with root.[1]
| ATTENTION: SPOILERS AHEAD! Beyond this point, major plot spoilers are expected. Continue at your own risk. |
Personality[]
Acantha is kindly and considerate. She is incredibly attentive, to the dead and the living alike. She is incredibly generous, taking in Carpenter and looking after her for as long as she needs it.[1] At the same time, she is not smothering and encourages her to make her own decisions.[2]
Background[]
Steward Acantha worships the Cairn Maiden by cleaning and burying any corpses she finds. Carpenter suspects that she is turning them into saints and Acantha does not disagree, instead saying that the Cairn Maiden only wants them to rest. She lives in the garden of the dead at her Lych-House, on the south coast, "About a hundred miles south-west of Glottage."[1]
The Cairn Maiden has revealed to her that she will die in her desk chair in a room on the second floor of her Lych-House.[1]
Episode Appearances[]
| Chapters | Synopsis |
|---|---|
| Chapter 16: And the Current Flows On Without End | Carpenter wakes up and punches Acantha in the face. |
| Chapter 17: If I Could Trace With Bloodless Fingers | Carpenter apologises to Acantha. Acantha fills her in on how she arrived at the lych-house, saying she found her on the delta of the White Gull River. Acantha looks after her, and makes Carpenter aware that she can take over Acantha's role when she dies. She teaches Carpenter everything she knows. When the Homesick Corpse is discovered, Acantha encourages Carpenter to take it home and bury it. She ensures Carpenter has all the equipment she needs. Carpenter asks if she will be here when she returns and Acantha says that if she has passed then Carpenter knows what to do. |
| Chapter 29: And Where My Final Footsteps Fall | Carpenter calls Acantha to tell her that she doesn't feel better, despite completing her task. Acantha returns that she hasn't learnt patience on her journey. Carpenter admits that neither the Trawler-man nor the Cairn Maiden feel like the right fit for her. Acantha tells her that she can come home and they can discuss things, which Carpenter decides to do. |
| Chapter 30: Something Dreadful Shall Arise | Carpenter mentions calling Acantha 6 times whilst on the run from the Parish of Tide and Flesh, but she is unable to make contact with her. |
Connections[]
- Carpenter is Acantha's mentee. Acantha is kind, caring, and, above all, patient with her. She seems to be the parental figure that Carpenter never had.[1][2]
- She has two cats, called Odds and Ends.[1]
Trivia[]
- Acantha forgives Carpenter for punching her in the nose because there is a Pox Monk in Glint.[1]
- Carpenter and her cats are the only survivors Acantha has ever taken in.[1]
- The Maiden is also voiced by Sarah Golding.[3]