Gideon Nav

Gideon Nav from the Gideon the Ninth cover art illustrated by Tommy Arnold

> *"The arms kind of looked like swords. I want to fight it."
> "You want to fight it."
> "Yep."
> "Because it looked... a little like swords."
> "Yop."*
>
>

**Gideon Nav** is the cavalier primary to the heir to the House of the Ninth, Harrowhark Nonagesimus. Falling from the atmosphere in a bio-container as an infant, she was raised in Ninth House as an indentured servant until The Emperor sent for the heirs of the Houses to come to study the path to Lyctorhood.

## **Biography**

### **Early Life**

Gideon Nav arrived on the Ninth House in a small bio-container attached to her brain-dead mother's hazard suit. They tumbled down the ravine at the center of the Ninth Planet despite there being no record of her in the prison above and her having no ability to survive the entry from the atmosphere without a shuttle.

The nun-adepts and necromancers were only able to pull the words *"Gideon! Gideon! Gideon!"*  from her mother's ghost, and so she was named Gideon. At a loss, the Ninth House decided to raise Gideon as an indentured servant, making her property of the House and intending to have her become an oblate to the Locked Tomb.

One year later, Gideon was one of only three children to survive the "creche flu," a supposed virus that swept through an entire nursery of Ninth children. This mass-extinction doomed both the House, having no ability to secure a new generation of necromantic children, and Gideon, who could not be allowed to leave the planet with her knowledge of the state of Ninth House.

As an indentured servant, Gideon was given into the care of Marshal Crux, who she quickly grew to hate bitterly for his coarse and domineering attitude. As it became apparent that Gideon did not have the temperament to be a nun, she was taken under the wing of Captain Aiglamene, who would later convince the House to train her as a swordswoman.

Gideon spent much of her childhood alone. The Reverend Mother and Father despised her and the Reverend Daughter Harrowhark Nonagesimus selected Gideon as the target of her not-inconsiderable rage and grief, further isolating Gideon from the House she did not properly belong to. Ortus Nigenad, Harrow's future cavalier primary and seventeen years Gideon's senior, was pleasant enough but nothing like a confidant or friend.

When she was six years old, Gideon would play a "game" where should select skeleton constructs working the fields and imagine they were her mother to have some sense of family and belonging. At other times, she talked to her mother's burial niche and inform her on the goings on of Drearburh. Gideon would also pretend that her parents might be someone important and powerful in an attempt to stop Harrow's cruelty, which never succeeded.

When Gideon was eleven, Harrow caught her telling her skeleton-mother that she loved her and the two got into a vicious, bloody fight. Shortly afterward, Harrow opened the Locked Tomb. Eager to prove her worth and earn respect, Gideon ran to the Reverend Mother and Father to inform them. An hour later, Priamhark, Pelleamena, and Mortus the Ninth had hanged themselves.

By the time she was eighteen years old, Gideon Nav attempted to run away eighty-six times. As part of her eighty-seventh attempt, Gideon orders herself a shuttle to take her to the Cohort so she can enlist.

### **Gideon the Ninth**

#### Act I

Gideon Nav wakes at dawn, slips out of her security cuff, and heads to the shuttle landing field to escape Ninth House. As she waits, she is found by her guardian, Crux, and her teacher, Aiglamene, who disapprove of the cowardly and underhanded nature of her plans. They attempt to convince her to remain on Ninth, but she refuses them. Ultimately, the Reverend Daughter herself, Harrowhark Nonagesimus, appears to end the escape attempt.

Harrow offers her a Cohort commission, that would ensure Gideon a good military career, and a challenge—a fair fight. Her terms are as follows: if Gideon wins, she leaves Ninth with the contract; if Gideon loses, she must attend muster before she can leave, also with the commission. Gideon senses a trick but cannot resist. She quickly discovers that Harrow has buried enough bones around the field to bury her in a construct army.

Gideon is dragged to the church for muster by Crux and left in a pew. Harrow announces that The Emperor has summoned the heir, Harrow, and cavalier primary, Ortus Nigenad, to travel to First House and compete for the position of Lyctor. Ortus is less than pleased at the news, and he and his mother, Sister Glaurica, cause a scene. After, Aiglamene lectures Gideon on loyalty before returning her sword and bags to her. When Harrow joins the conversation, Gideon is surprised to find that Harrow intends to answer the summons. Harrow then reveals that Ortus and Sister Glaurica have stolen Gideon's shuttle and any chance she had of escaping.

Gideon sulks in her cell for an entire week before Harrow rousts her. They take the lifts into the depths of the catacombs and the Anastasian monument where Aiglamene is rooting through rotted swords and knives. Harrow informs Gideon that because Ortus escaped using her shuttle, she is to serve as cavalier primary to the Ninth House. Gideon tries to reject the offer, but Aiglamene forces her to see reason and vouchsafes her freedom if she serves Harrow well.

Becoming a cavalier primary turns into three months of intensive training. Harrow insists that Gideon uphold the traditional appearance and values of the House on First House. She explains that Lyctorhood (and God's grace) is the only way that the Ninth House can survive the loss of population. Harrow and Aiglamene give Gideon a crash-course in traditional face paint, traditional dress, proper swordplay, and many unsuccessful attempts at an attitude adjustment. On the final week of training, she receives her new sword and knuckles, as well as a trunk of proper Ninth House robes.

The journey to First House takes an hour, and when they arrive Gideon revels in the differences from Ninth House. She refuses the traditional veil in favor of a signature pair of ancient sunglasses to shield her eyes from Dominicus. They are greeted by Teacher, who confirms that Gideon has replaced Ortus as cavalier. As they watch the other Houses disembark, Gideon sees the Seventh scion, Dulcinea Septimus, faint and rushes to aid her. Dulcinea's cavalier, Protesilaus Ebdoma, draws on her, raising Harrow's ire, but Dulcinea's charm and promise to mind her sword smooth over the awkwardness.

All the Houses make their way inside of Canaan House and are offered tea. Teacher begins the conversation with prayer and handing out iron key rings to the cavaliers of each House. His explanation of the task at hand is short and vague, leaving many questions, but skeleton servants arrive to lead Harrow and Gideon to their rooms. Before Gideon falls asleep, she watches the shuttles tumble off the side of the First House Shuttle Dock and disappear.

#### Act II

Gideon wakes to find that Harrow has taken her key ring and left several instructional notes, including one informing her to remain silent at all times. She goes to the dining hall and finds Fifth House cavalier, Magnus Quinn, and Fourth House teens', Isaac Tettares and Jeannemary Chatur. Magnus attempts to introduce himself, but Gideon's vow of silence and the teens reluctance to make conversation makes for a short conversation. After eating, she wanders Canaan House and discovers a locked door with a bizarre bone decoration hidden behind a tapestry.

As she leaves, she hears the Third House competitors approaching and hides. Their casual conversation quickly turns into a personal argument. As Naberius Tern and Coronabeth Tridentarius walk away, Ianthe Tridentarius appears to look directly at Gideon and threaten her. Gideon goes to lunch but is met by Eighth House in the dining hall. Silas Octakiseron is disgusted and Colum Asht politely asks Gideon to leave. She runs into Dulcinea, who is relaxing on a terrace. Throughout a mostly one-sided conversation, Gideon accidentally breaks her silence. Fearing revealing more secrets, she uses Protesilaus's return to flee back to her rooms where she spends the next few days shut away and working out.

She sees little of Harrow, except when she returns late at night to sleep. Lonely, Gideon accepts Coronabeth's invitation to join in on recreational sparring matches between the cavaliers. Coronabeth sets her to duel Magnus and, to the astonishment of everyone, Gideon thrashes him. Her skill wins her the notice of Naberius, who claims the next duel. This duel is more evenly matched— Naberius's precision against Gideon's brawler's talents. Naberius disarms her and, unaware that disarming is a winning move, she punches him. Naberius becomes incensed when Marta Dyas's analysis of the fight marks Gideon the *"better fighter, if the less able duelist."*  Limited by her silence, Gideon goes to leave and spots Harrow outside watching the match. They still do not speak.

Over the next several days Gideon meets nearly all of the other guests. She sees Dulcinea frequently, developing a flirtatious and friendly relationship, and returns to the training room with some regularity—seeing the Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth cavaliers (and once, Eighth)—but prefers to do most of her training alone.

Eventually, Gideon notices that Harrow hasn't returned to their rooms for two days. Gideon searches for her, checking all the common spaces of Canaan House with no success. She is near the basement when she is stopped by the Sixth House team—Palamedes Sextus and his cavalier Camilla Hect. Camilla attacks when she sees Gideon lurking on the stairs, proving herself a formidable opponent. Palamedes ends the fight, separating the cavaliers with a necromantic shield, inferring that Gideon is looking for Harrow. He informs her that he last saw Harrow here, at The Facility, and doesn't believe her to have left. Panicking, Gideon tries to get through the locked hatch door and breaks her vow of silence to demand that Palamedes help her.

He leads her to a room called "the sanitiser," where Harrow has created a restorative bone cocoon. Palamedes and Camilla do a brief medical assessment and diagnose Harrow with dehydration and exhaustion before releasing her into Gideon's care. As they are leaving, Palamedes warns Gideon and Harrow that it is too dangerous to continue splitting their forces. Gideon carries Harrow back to their rooms, where she forces Harrow to explain exactly what she has been doing and uses the location of the locked door she found as leverage to get Harrow to include her in her work.

Early the next morning, Gideon and Harrow take their breakfast and head back down to the facility. Harrow explains the Imaging/Response test that she has been stuck on, and puts Gideon outside of the Response room to gather information on the bone construct opponent. Upon her description of the hideous bone construct, Harrow is distraught. Ignoring her, Gideon requests to fight the construct herself because *"it's arms kind of look like swords."* Harrow denies her and tries her skeletons multiple times before Gideon trips one and sneaks inside. Once Gideon is inside, Harrow understands the test—she must connect to a living spirit and literally see the construct through Gideon's eyes. After this first attempt, Harrow faints.

Gideon bullies her into returning to their rooms for a meal, and Harrow attempts to explain the revolutionary and seemingly impossible theory behind the test. She is interrupted by an invitation to Abigail Pent and Magnus's anniversary dinner, and Gideon convinces her it would be advantageous to attend and get a read on the other competitors. At the party, they are greeted by the hosts and Harrow makes small talk with Teacher. Gideon is seated between Palamedes and Jeannemary, and opposite Dulcinea.

Restricted from speaking, Gideon takes in the conversations around her until Jeannemary interrupts to ask about her biceps. She downs a herculean amount of dessert and finds herself alone in the company of Dulcinea. Dulcinea speaks in a rather melancholic manner about the state of inter-House relations, but is interrupted by Palamedes and then Harrow before she can make her point. Harrow storms out of the party and straight towards the Facility, having discovered both Abigail and Silas know of the laboratory.

They return to the Facility and work at the Imaging/Response room again. It takes a few tries, but finally, Harrow can manage Gideon's living spirit, and peel back the necromantic theorems animating the construct. Once defeated, the construct reveals a black box containing a key. Victorious, and more than a little in awe of the magnitude of the task they had accomplished, they go to leave the Facility. At the foot of the ladder, they discover the murdered bodies of Magnus Quinn and Abigail Pent.

#### Act III

Gideon observes the necromancers try to raise the ghosts of Abigail and Magnus from an out-of-the-way spot in the corner. Two hours in, when Harrow faints of exhaustion, she removes her. However, as soon as she wakes, Harrow is back in the mix of things, shadowing Palamedes as he works. When at last they've given up, Silas and Colum descend to try their soul-siphoning magic that creates an odd pull on everyone in the room, not unlike the Imaging/Response test. Dulcinea faints under the stress, and Gideon moves to prop her up as Protesilaus attacks Silas.

Called back upstairs by Teacher, Gideon helps Coronabeth hoist the still siphoned and unmoving Colum back up the ladder. She sips her tea and quietly watches the conference that follows, still bound by her fake vow of silence. As the meeting breaks up, Jeannemary comes to her begging for any information Gideon might have. Breaking her silence, Gideon quietly apologizes—either for not having any information, for her loss, or both. Harrow comes to claim Gideon and announces her intention to investigate their new key.

Gideon recognizes the markings on the key to be the same markings from room X-203, and they find that the key fits. Inside, the room is a combination of a laboratory and a living quarters, where a necromancer and their cavalier could have lived and worked in tandem. On the laboratory side, Harrow discovers a preserved record of the entire theorem of transference, which she copies into her notes. On the living quarter's side, Gideon finds several clues and notes about the room's former occupants.

The girls take a moment to discuss Abigail and Magnus, and Harrow concludes that she and Gideon can no longer afford to operate as strangers. Her abrupt shift in demeanor and attempt at emotional connection alarms Gideon, who immediately seeks distance again. Gideon says Harrow can prove her trustworthiness by letting them sleep before they tackle any more testing rooms. On their way back to their rooms, they pass the Fourth House teens but do not interact with them.

The next morning, Dulcinea waits for Harrow and Gideon in the Facility and proposes a trade: she is too weak to perform the task herself but can share the solution with Harrow if Harrow agrees to share the key. Fearing that she will turn to another necromancer, Harrow agrees. Dulcinea explains that the avulsion test is about the necromancer siphoning thalergy from the cavalier to sustain them as they cross a vicious necromantic field. Harrow is uncomfortable with this taboo magic, but Gideon surprises her by accepting easily. They begin immediately. The siphoning is torture to Gideon, and Dulcinea's encouragement is all that stands between her and death. She loses her vision and begins to suffocate, but Harrow manages to return before either of them dies. After, Harrow is seemingly angry and immediately takes Gideon back to their rooms.

Gideon awakes the next day in considerable pain and with a number of aggressive notes from Harrow, who has disappeared to investigate the new study. Gideon is instructed to wait in their rooms for Sixth House to come by and examine her. Harrow has also left some stale bread in a drawer for breakfast. Camilla shows up a little while later and performs a thorough examination of Gideon, pronouncing her healthy, and invites her to a proper breakfast.

In the dining hall, they come across Coronabeth attempting to convince Teacher to give her a Facility hatch key. Palamedes offers to escort Coronabeth to the Facility himself and Coronabeth blatantly bribes him to help her win the same keys as her sister. Palamedes reveals that there is only one key per laboratory chamber, causing panic among Gideon and those necromancers who had not yet realized keys were a limited resource. Coronabeth insists that this means the teams are destined to work together. However, Teacher re-iterates his sermon from the first night in Canaan House—*"there is no law."*  The postulants scatter, Coronabeth to find her sister, Judith to inspect the bodies of Magnus and Abigail for keys, and Gideon to her dinner.

When they finish eating, Palamedes leads the cavaliers to the makeshift mortuary. Second House is just leaving, angry because they have not found anything. Judith asks Palamedes to join her and help put an end to the competition but he rejects her. The conversation nearly ends in a duel, but Judith folds, and they pass. Inside, Palamedes takes Magnus' ring and a section of his pocket to locate his key ring through psychometry. At Gideon's question, he explains that he had been under the assumption the postulants knew about the limited keys, and now he fears that things in Canaan House are going to get ugly. He is part way through an explanation of the Fifth's injuries when they are interrupted by the sound of Fourth House running away.

The next morning, Gideon wakes to find Harrow sleeping and, unable to rouse her, is left to her own devices. Gideon does not make it far before realizing she is being followed by Isaac. Isaac delivers a message that Jeannemary is asking for Gideon and that someone is dead, before taking off to collect Coronabeth (and by extension Naberius, Marta, and Colum, who were with her). Isaac takes them to the incinerator chimney and a burned pile of ashes and bone. The group studies the ashes and argues as to whether it constitutes anything alarming. Colum proclaims the ashes need a bone magician and leaves to prepare for his upcoming duel with Protesilaus, taking his referee, Naberius, with him. Left with Coronabeth and Gideon, Isaac explains he's been seeing things and Jeannemary says she wanted the two of them so they *"could get the warning."*

After checking on Harrow, Gideon's eating lunch when Camilla finds her and tells her that Protesilaus never showed up for the duel and that neither he nor Dulcinea are in their rooms. Gideon leads her to the garden terrace and they find Dulcinea, who has fallen and is soaked by the rain. She gives a terrible cough and faints. After Dulcinea is brought to a room in the priest's wing, all of the postulants are accounted for and brought to see the ashes found in the incinerator.

The necromantic discussion of the cremains quickly gives way to an argument over keys. Though Gideon has little interest in the other Houses' power plays, as the conversation devolves into dueling she greatly anticipates the chance to watch Camilla fight. After Camilla and Marta duel, Ianthe challenges the Sixth, and Gideon finally reaches her tolerance for necromancer buffoonery. Harrow comes through for her and nominates Gideon to represent Camilla in the second duel. Jeannemary joins in, challenging Naberius after Gideon, and the duel falls apart. The group disperses as enemies, leaving only Fourth, Sixth, and Ninth.

Palamedes reveals that he and Camilla have completed every test and kept track of every key, leaving only one unaccounted for. He suggests that they find Protesilaus and work out who is in the incinerator. He deduces that Protesilaus may still be in the Facility, but suggests that it would not be wise to leave Dulcinea unguarded. It is decided that they should split up—Palamedes, Camilla, and Harrow to guard Dulcinea, and Gideon, Isaac, and Jeannemary to the Facility. Harrow comes to give Gideon their set of keys and a warning about working with children. Unexpectedly, Gideon picks her up and hugs her, thanking her sincerely for backing her up and allowing her to take the duel with Naberius. Completely overwhelmed, Harrow tells her not to make it weird and hurries to leave.

Gideon leads the skittish teens down to the Facility in silence. At the door to the hatch, Jeannemary worries that without their key they do not have "permission" and that this endangers them. Isaac disagrees with them on account of Magnus and Abigail being killed regardless of their permission. Gideon attempts to soothe them by recounting her own key-less voyage into the Facility and remarking that the teens have already been down the hatch as part of the investigation. She attempts to herd them down the tunnel, but Isaac and Jeannemary press themselves to the wall terrified. Gideon hurries them along, not eager to linger in the Facility any longer than necessary. As they go, Isaac closes and wards each door with his blood and Jeannemary's spit.

They walk the cubicles of the sanitiser, calling out for Protesilaus until Isaac stops them. He claims it is not a sound, but rather something he is feeling. Finding nothing, they leave. Just as they are connecting back with the main passage, the lights turn off and then back on revealing the message: "**Death to the Fourth House**." Isaac bursts into a blaze of necrolight and charges the massive construct that has appeared in front of them. Isaac burns brightly, and then dozens of bone teeth spear through him, killing him. Gideon runs through the field of bones and drags Jeannemary away and up the hatch.

Badly cut and with an armful of sobbing teen necromancer, Gideon makes the executive decision to rest in room X-203. She calms Jeannemary as best she can, and sets her on one of the beds in the room. They talk briefly, but Jeannemary quickly cries herself to sleep. Gideon herself drifts off for a minute and wakes to find huge spears of bone pinning a now-dead Jeannemary to her bed. On the wall was another message: "**Sweet Dreams**."

#### Act IV

Gideon is found in X-203, still grieving with the body of Jeannemary. Jeannemary and Isaac are taken away, presumably by Palamedes and Camilla, and Gideon's wounds are tended to. She finds herself in Dulcinea's room, who gently pries into Gideon's past. She guesses that Gideon had never taken true cavalier's vows, and Gideon admits it freely calling herself the *"fakest-ass cavalier who ever faked."* Dulcinea disagrees, saying she's worthy of being a Lyctor. Palamedes interrupts to finish tending her wounds, and Gideon storms out. On her way back to her rooms, she bumps into Silas, who calls her Gideon "Nav" and claims to have spoken to Sister Glaurica. He claims she is a victim of Ninth House and invites Gideon to tea, which she refuses.

Gideon, Harrow, Palamedes, and Camilla regroup in the Sixth House rooms and negotiate a trade of information: Harrow will give Palamedes her map of Canaan House and helps him pick the lock to a Lyctor study, and he will let her look at all of his notes. The lock is jammed with regenerating ash and Harrow lacks the power to undo it. At Gideon's offer, she siphons her. It works, but Palamedes rebukes her for unethical necromancy.

Lacking the key, they turn to leave and Palamedes asks Gideon to keep an eye on Dulcinea. In response, Harrow bans Gideon from seeing Dulcinea again. Harrow claims Gideon should stick with her house, while Gideon claims Dulcinea has been more of a friend to her than Harrow ever was. Harrow says that she does not need anyone's help to ascend to Lyctor, but refuses to release Gideon from her service. The two girls part on worse terms than when they were on Ninth House.

Following the argument, Gideon decides to accept Silas's invitation to tea. Colum greets her, ensures that she is alone, and asks her to disarm. Gideon protests, but he swears that she will not be hurt. Inside, Silas explains that he has spoken with the revenant of Sister Glaurica and learned that the Reverend Mother and Father had arranged for the deaths of the two hundred Ninth House children that died in "the creche flu." Gideon is resistant to his information and defends Harrow—thinking him off base—but is confused by the depth of his knowledge on Ninth House affairs.

At the close of the conversation, Silas asks for Gideon's Facility keys. He threatens her, challenging her to a duel and refusing to allow her her weapons. Colum corrects his necromancer, stating that he has given her his word she would not be harmed. Silas insists that the Ninth House is corrupt and oaths with the House do not matter, but Colum refuses and ends up nearly shouting as his uncle. In Silas's stunned silence, Colum shepherds Gideon out of their rooms and returns her weapons to her.

Confused, Gideon takes to wandering Canaan House and stumbles upon Teacher in the Atrium. He is lost in his thoughts, talking about his hatred for water, so she leaves him and continues on to the training room. There, Coronabeth is training with a rapier and knife and mentions that she has always wanted to challenge Gideon. They fight briefly before Naberius appears, terrified, and puts an end to it. The moment turns personal and Gideon drifts away again. She walks herself back to her rooms and finds them empty. Seeking some sort of retribution, Gideon goes to Harrow's wardrobe to cause trouble and unearths the decapitated head of Protesilaus. Horrified, Gideon goes to Palamedes.

Palamedes brings her tea and talks her through her crisis of faith. Gideon explains the story of Harrow opening the Locked Tomb and the subsequent suicide of her Mother, Father, and Mortus the Ninth. Despite the grisly story, Palamedes attempts to convince Gideon that she is not responsible for their deaths. She gives him the scrap of a note she found in X-203, but they are interrupted by a knock at the door. Harrow, in handcuffs, enters, and she and Palamedes have a short conversation that Gideon does not follow and decide to gather everyone, enemies included, in Dulcinea's room.

Palamedes proposes to the group that Protesilaus has been dead the whole time and has been reanimated by flesh magic called the beguiling corpse—which Dulcinea confirms. She claims her house intended to send her with a living Protesilaus, but that he had had an accident and died. The necromancers debate the morality of the beguiling corpse, but Colum interrupts to ask about the bodies in the incinerator. Harrow tries to claim carrion rights over Protesilaus' body, which would allow her to scrutinize the bones without an audience but is denied. Dulcinea's illness flares and Palamedes and Camilla help tend to her and get her comfortable again. Harrow follows Third House out and is in turn followed by Gideon.

Harrow asks Gideon to follow her and leads her down to the pool room. Setting skeletons at the doors and around the pool, she proclaims that it is time to tell Gideon everything. They strip their outer robes and get in the pool, and Harrow tells Gideon the whole truth about Ninth House, the creche flu, her birth, and the Locked Tomb. Gideon apologizes to her, does a ritual drowning of Harrow, and afterward, they affirm their vows of one flesh, one end. Harrow explains her experience in the Locked Tomb and the girl she saw inside. She makes Gideon promise that if she (Harrow) dies, Gideon must return to the Ninth and continue to guard the tomb. They talk all evening and eventually go to bed with Gideon in her proper place on the cavalier's bed.

The next day, Gideon, Harrow, Camilla, and Palamedes go to a Lyctor study that neither of them has the key for and Harrow uses Palamedes psychometric perception of the key to build a copy out of bone. Inside, they find a mess of a room. Harrow goes for the theorem notes, but Palamedes and Camilla take their time examining the other objects in the study. Camilla discovers a binder full of photos, including one of Teacher. Their investigation is cut short by the fire alarm.

They all leave immediately, finding broken skeleton servants slumped in the hall. They check on Dulcinea and find one of the priests who were serving her broken as well. She tells them Teacher went to close a door and hasn't yet returned. They find a pile-up of bones leading into a room that contains Judith Deuteros and the bodies of Teacher and Marta Dyas. She describes a fight with Teacher over access to the communication devices gone wrong but confirms that she sent an S.O.S. to the Emperor. Palamedes informs her that he cannot help her, and she asks to be left where she is with a sword.

The group returns to find Silas and Colum waiting outside Dulcinea's rooms. Silas reports that Third House has defiled the corpse of Abigail. They investigate the body and Palamedes discovers that a key was hidden inside of Abigail, which Third House now has in their possession. Together, Ninth, Sixth, and Eighth House go to find them. They reach the Lyctor study to discover Corona sobbing, Naberius dead, and Ianthe a newly-born Lyctor. She explains that she has reverse-engineered the entire Lyctoral process from the tests in the Facility, killed her cavalier, and consumed his soul to ascend. Silas takes great moral offense to her actions and sentences Ianthe to death.

For much of the fight Gideon (and the others) simply stand back and watch, knowing they are no match for Ianthe. However, when Colum, mid-siphon, is possessed by some creature and kills Silas, Gideon steps in. Up close, she can see Colum's face is a terror—his eyes replaced with teeth and tongues. She attempts to fight him, but his tongue wraps around her neck strangling her. Ianthe appears and kills him, freeing Gideon, before stepping back into a puddle of viscera and disappears. The remaining group leaves Coronabeth with the corpses of Naberius, Silas, and Colum.

In the hall, Camilla realizes they've lost Palamedes. She reveals Palamedes romantic history with Dulcinea and Gideon is crushed with guilt. Gideon asks Harrow to fetch her double-handed sword and Camilla to watch after Harrow, and then runs after him. He makes it all the way to the door of Dulcinea's room before Gideon catches up with him. Before she can say anything, he pins her in place with his necromancy—holding her whole body still and locking her mouth closed.

He confronts Dulcinea wanting the answers to two questions: *"Why the Fifth?"*, and *"Where is she?"* Gideon does not understand much of the conversation taking place between the necromancers, but it slowly becomes clear that the woman in the room has been impersonating Dulcinea Septimus. When it is revealed that Dulcinea is weeks dead and burned in the incinerator, Palamedes kills himself in a brilliant necromantic explosion to push her illness past the point of equilibrium. Gideon, suddenly released, runs until she collapses in grief.

Dulcinea emerges from the rubble—burned and injured—and introduces herself as Cytherea the First. She launches herself at Gideon, but Camilla appears and fights her back. Cytherea only barely manages the onslaught, before Harrow appears and buries her in bone. Cytherea summons the construct that killed Isaac, and the fight turns necromantic. Gideon and Harrow launch into battle as a team, finally perfectly in sync. Camilla fights around them, darting in and out of sight. Harrow is winding up to attack when Cytherea, now healed, attacks Gideon directly. Gideon fights her back and she disappears again. Harrow directs Gideon's strikes against the construct, and after each attack, she plugs the hole with perpetual bone. Exhausted, Harrow passes out.

Dragging Harrow, Gideon yells warnings to Camilla. Cytherea pins Camilla to the floor with bone spears and nearly kills her before Ianthe reappears. As the Lyctors fight, Gideon carries Harrow over to Camilla and frees her. As the room begins to crumble, the three of them stumble outside. Facing Ianthe, Cytherea's wounds begin to return. Ianthe seems on the precipice of victory when Cytherea grabs at her throat and siphons her, healing herself completely. Cytherea amputates Ianthe's right arm. Camilla throws a knife, spearing Cytherea in a lump on her back but Cytherea simply siphons and heals again. Gideon fights Cytherea but is hopelessly outmatched—even with a direct hit, Gideon can't wound her.

Harrow comes to and sends skeletons after Cytherea, who in turn summons the construct. Harrow builds a shield of bone around the three of them, but she can't hold it. Gideon begs her to siphon, but after Colum's monstrous death she refuses. Harrow begins making a plan, but Gideon refuses outright as it would result in Harrow's death. They share a tender moment, and Gideon makes her decision. She turns and falls on the spikes of the fence, killing herself and offering her soul to make Harrow a Lyctor capable of defeating Cytherea.

### **Harrow the Ninth**

#### Nine Months and Twenty-Nine Days Before the Emperor's Murder

> *"Living inside you—if I start I'll never stop, so we have to move on—was like living in a well, and every time I bobbed to the surface I kind of got clotheslined back down to the bottom."*
>
>

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, with the help of Ianthe Tridentarius, performs brain surgery on herself to remove her ability to conceive of Gideon and halt the absorption and incorporation of her soul as part of the Lyctoral process. Her surgery, though experimental and brutal, works and effectively compartmentalizes Gideon's soul within Harrow's body. Deep in Harrow's brain, Gideon lives undetected—similarly to the cavalier Pyrrha Dve and Gideon the First.

#### Two Months Before the Emperor's Murder

As Harrowhark and Palamedes Sextus fight off the invasive soul of Commander Wake in Palamedes's "bubble" in the River, they knock heads and Palamedes gets a glimpse of Gideon within her mind.

#### The Night Before the Emperor's Murder

After being stabbed through abdomen with her own rapier, Harrowhark sinks full into the River and Gideon comes awake in her body. She stands up and pushes the rapier backwards out of Harrow's body. Finally able to access the Lyctoral healing process, Harrow's body heals instantly. Gideon picks up Harrow's rapier and takes stock of the world around her. The halls of Mithraeum are dark and hot, with the alarm blaring. A Herald of the Seventh Resurrection Beast stumbles into the hall and Gideon struggles to get used to her new, weakened body as she fights it. Using the vague knowledge garnered from living inside Harrow's brain, she stumbles through the Mithraeum and finally kills the Herald. Gideon spots herself in a mirror and notices her eyes and expression on Harrow's face. She attempts to call Harrow back to her body with a number of insulting statements, but is interrupted by more Heralds.

Gideon continues to struggle fight in Harrow's body as she is limited by her physical weakness and lack of muscle. The Heralds rip at her—stinging her through the side, biting off her thumb, and fracturing her skull—but Harrow's new Lyctor healing holds up. Defeating the current hoard, Gideon heads out into the corridor to find the source of nearby screaming and finds Mercymorn dispatching a Herald. When Mercy turns, she looks at Gideon in horror. She mistakes Gideon for someone else, and then realizes what has happened. She starts speaking *"incoherent spew"* admitting to being the one to murder Harrow and talking about Gideon's corpse, the commander, "the Ninth House operation," and Gideon the First before stopping and changing tone. She claims that Gideon is proof the Emperor lied and that *"Cytherea would have known as soon as she looked at [Gideon]."*

Mercymorn attempts to kill Gideon, slicing her open with her rapier, but Harrow's body heals. They fight, but Mercy easily overtakes Gideon who is still unused to Harrow's body. She trips Gideon with her net and is preparing to finish her when Cytherea comes into the room and shoots her, exploding Mercymorns chest. Before Gideon can decide on what to say, Cytherea walks out again. Gideon runs into the hall to follow her, but can't see where she's gone. She follows a trail of dead and dying Heralds down the hall to the kitchen where she meets Ianthe.

Furious at Ianthe's treatment of Harrow, Gideon immediately challenges her. Refusing to fight her, Ianthe fills Gideon in on the fight she's missed and Gideon likewise explains that Mercymorn was the one to kill Harrow. Interrupted by the sound of more Heralds, they run out to the hall to see that Augustine has already taken care of the issue. Augustine starts to give instructions before noticing Harrow's new eyes and running out of the room. Ianthe takes Gideon back to her room and gives her Harrow's letter.

Raw and angry from the Harrow's refusal to accept her sacrifice, Gideon again challenges Ianthe's claim on Harrow. Ianthe tries to claim that Harrow could never have loved her because she erased, and Gideon quickly corrects her. She explains that she has always known Harrow couldn't love her because she was already in love with the corpse in the Locked Tomb. Gideon warns Ianthe to stay away from Harrow, but Ianthe insists that as Lyctors *"the centuries will entangle [them] whether she wants them to or not."* Ianthe ends the conversation and makes to take Gideon to the Emperor.

#### Thirty Minutes Before the Emperor's Murder

Ianthe and Gideon approach the Emperor's chambers and find the doors open. Sneaking into the foyer and hiding behind a coat rack, they spy through the next door into the main room. There they see the corpse of Cytherea, who now calls herself Commander Awake Remembrance of These Valiant Dead Kia Hua Ko Te Pai Snap Back to Reality Oops There Goes Gravity, attempting to interrogate the Emperor and charge him with *"acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the human race."* The Emperor interrogates her in return, demanding to know her mission and her business on Ninth House. They argue about necromancy and talk of dead children and bombs before Mercymorn and Augustine stride in.

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."* 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. The Lyctors and Wake argue over the details of the plan and whatever went wrong, but no one speaking clearly enough what Gideon or the Emperor to understand exactly what they are talking about.

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 foyer, steals Gideon Nav's sunglasses, and 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."* 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 while Gideon the First takes Gideon Nav into his arms and pulls her back into the corridors of the Mithraeum.

The two Gideon's watch as Augustine and the Emperor battle as they sink into the River, followed at a distance by Ianthe. Gideon Nav asks if Gideon the First is going to do something, and Gideon the First reveals herself to be Pyrrha Dve, Gideon's cavalier. She tells Gideon Nav how Gideon the First died fighting Number Seven with Matthias Nonius, Ortus Nigenad, Protesilaus Ebdoma, and Marta Dyas (though she does not know their names). They watch as Augustine pushes The Emperor towards the stoma. As they fight, the Mithraeum slips into the current and begins being dragged down to the stoma as well.

Gideon breaks a plex window with her sword, sweeping her and Pyrrha out into the River. They watch as Ianthe darts down and frees the Emperor, dooming Augustine to the stoma and whatever lies beyond. The pressure of the River crushes Gideon and as she dies again, she see the figure of the Body come toward her and someone begins to give her chest compressions.

## **Appearance and Personality**

> *"Gideon's eyes, as they always did, startled her: their deep, chromatic amber, the startling hot gold of freshly-brewed tea."*
>
>

Gideon is muscular with short red hair and gold eyes. Her hands are calloused. She is hard-headed and witty, and cares deeply about people although she usually tries not to show it.

At one point, Cytherea comments on the genetics behind Gideon's eye color, saying that Gideon's eyes are "lipochrome... recessive".

## **Powers & Abilities**

* **Physical Strength:** As a result of regular, extensive training, Gideon is unusually strong—even for a cavalier.
* **Swordsman:** Training for a decade under Aiglamene, Gideon is an excellent swordsman. Her talent (and preference) lies with her two-handed sword, however she is also proficient with the rapier and knuckle knives.

## **Possessions**

* **Two-Handed Sword:** Gideon's sword, a 6' steel two-handed sword, was given to her by Ninth House at the request of Aiglamene. Since her death, Harrow has kept the sword washed in arterial blood and covered in a sheath of bone.
* **Cavalier's Rapier:** Reforged from Ortus Nigenad's great-great grandmother's sword, Gideon's rapier is plain black metal with an equally plain black guard and hilt.
* **Knuckle Knives:** Gideon's knuckles are obsidian and steel, with three fixed blades protruding from the back.
* **Sunglasses:** Gideon's sunglasses are mirrored, smoked glass lenses in thin black frames. Originally used to protect her eyes on First House, which receives significantly more sun than Ninth House, they have become her signature look. Harrow inherited them and kept them safe after her death.
* **Security Cuff:** Throughout her time as serf to the Ninth House, Gideon was required to wear a security cuff on her ankle. It was removed before her departure to First House.

## **Relationships**

### Harrowhark Nonagesimus

Initially, Gideon's relationship to Harrow is simple. Harrow is the privileged and protected Reverend Daughter that toys with and antagonizes Gideon when she is bored. She is a symbol of every ounce of stifling control that the Ninth House has held over her head.

> *"'All because,' said Gideon, checking her clock again, 'I completely fucking hate you, because you are a hideous witch from hell. No offence."*
>
>

However, when Harrowhark goes missing, it becomes abundantly clear that her antagonism is in large part an act. Her search swings between anger and exasperation up until the moment Palamedes suggests she may actually be in real danger.

> *"'To clarify. Her* intravenous *blood.* Her *intravenous blood.'
> At this clarification, a very strange thing happened to Gideon Nav. She had already exhausted neurons, cortisol, and adrenaline, and now her body started moving before her head or her heart did; she strode past the boy and yanked so hard on the top of the hatch that it damn near broke her wrists."*
>
>

From this point, Gideon forces herself into Harrow's life and confidence, refusing to be set aside. Despite maintaining the charade of strangers and enemies, the two begin to build trust in the face of an impossible and dangerous task.

> *"Why?"
> "Probably because you asked."*
>
>

### Aiglamene

Gideon describes her relationship with Aiglamene as:

> *"Nobody had ever loved her in the House of the Ninth, and certainly Aiglamene did not love her and would have laughed herself to her overdue death at the idea: but in her had been a measure of tolerance, a willingness to loosen the leash and see what Gideon could do with free rein. Gideon loved free rein."*
>
>

The two have a simple mentorship, but Aiglamene is the closest thing to family that Gideon has within the Ninth House. However limited Aiglamene's support may be in actuality, she is the only person in Gideon's corner on the Ninth Planet, and for many years that was enough to win her Gideon's respect. Aiglamene attempts to teach Gideon a number of lessons on obedience and respect that Gideon will only truly come to understand when she leaves home.

### Cytherea the First

Gideon falls hard and fast for Cytherea the First, who is pretending to be Dulcinea Septimus. Beautiful, delicate, and full of lively mischief, Cytherea makes Gideon feel wanted and needed in a way she has never felt on the Ninth. In Cytherea, she finds a necromancer she could willingly serve-- she is simply unaware that is all under false pretenses.

> *"This was all so far over Gideon's head that it sat somewhere out in space, but there was something soothing about it anyway. Gideon had only ever been clotheslined this way with Harrowhark, who explained herself seldom and as you would only to a very stupid child. Dulcinea had the dreamy, confiding manner of someone who, despite spouting grade-A horseshit, was confident you would understand everything she was saying. Also, as she talked she smiled widely and prettily, and moved her lashes up and down."*
>
>

## **Trivia**

* Gideon Nav is named, in part, after "*the warlike prophet of God who really messed up the Midianites*."
* In a Reddit AMA, Tamsyn Muir confirms that Gideon's sunglasses are borrowed from Homestuck's Dave Strider.

## **References**

1. ↑  tazmuir, Tumblr.com.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Gideon the Ninth," Act II, Ch. 14
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Gideon the Ninth," Act I, Ch. 1
4. ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act IV, Ch. 28
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Gideon the Ninth," Act IV, Ch. 30
6. ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act V, Ch. 40
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Harrow the Ninth," Act V, Ch. 51
8. ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act II, Ch. 11
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Gideon the Ninth," Act III, Ch 21.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Gideon the Ninth," Act III, Ch. 25
11. ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act III, Ch. 26
12. ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act IV, Ch. 35
13. ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act V, Ch. 44
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Harrow the Ninth," Act V, Ch. 46
15. ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act V, Ch. 48
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Harrow the Ninth," Act V, Ch. 50
17. ↑ Gideon the Ninth," Act V, Ch. 37
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Gideon the Ninth," Act II, Ch. 10
19. ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act I, Ch. 2
20. ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act II, Ch. 12
21. ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act III, Ch. 20
22. ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," A Little Explanation of Naming Systems
23. ↑ "I'm Tamsyn Muir, author of HARROW THE NINTH, second book of the Locked Tomb trilogy. AMA!" Reddit.