Isaac Tettares

The Cohort

Magnus Quinn (Unofficial Guardian)

> *"It's not like this is a bicep competition?"*
>
>

**Isaac Tettares** *(Tett-AR-ez)*is Heir to the House of the Fourth and Baron of Tisis. A bold, determined, and young necromancer, Isaac chafes under the cautious instruction of Abigail Pent. He and his cavalier, Jeannemary Chatur, yearn to be commissioned to the Cohort and get their chance to be warriors.

## **Biography**

### **Early Life**

Born a mix of vat-womb and xx carry, to a father killed six years previously, Isaac is the first of eight in a resurrection-purity family. He received training at home and attended school in the Koniortos Court.

According to the Cohort Intelligence Files of Judith Deuteros, Jeannemary Chautur was intended to be Issac's cavalier primary from birth, and she took the title formally at age nine.

Both Isaac and Jeannemary sought placement in the Cohort two years previous to the events of Gideon the Ninth, but were refused on the grounds of age and health (at the recommendation of Abigail Pent).

It is suggested that Isaac will be affianced to Abigail's nephew when they are both of age.

### **Gideon the Ninth**

#### Act I

Fourth House arrives with the others to Canaan House, and disembarks without issue. Jeannemary receives the iron key ring for their House. Isaac listens to Teacher explain the task, but does not participate in the conversation.

#### Act II

Jeannemary takes breakfast in the dining hall with her scion, **Isaac Tettares**, and Magnus the Fifth. When Gideon walks in, she and Isaac openly stare at her and gossip about her. Magnus chastises them for being rude and, to the teens grave dismay, embarrasses them by attempting to introduce them. Gideon's vow of silence and the teens reluctance to make conversation makes for a short and awkward conversation, and they quickly clear out of the dining hall.

Isaac spends the first bit of time in Canaan House skulking around with Jeannemary, Magnus, and Abigail. Gideon sees very little of him, and Abigail prevents him from participating in the necromantic competition. Eventually, Magnus sets the teens to delivering invitations for his anniversary dinner. At the dinner, Isaac and Jeannemary work up the nerve to talk to Gideon and ask her to see her biceps, though they quickly dissolve into embarrassed arguing. Later that night, Magnus and Abigail ask the Fourth teens to wait for Abigail before asking Teacher for a hatch key and pursuing their own work in the Facility.

#### Act III

Isaac, assisted by Jeannemary, joins the other necromancers in attempting to raise Magnus and Abigail, beginning first with an attempt to tempt their souls with fresh blood. Distraught by their loss and frustrated with the lack of the results, they begin screaming and stabbing at each others arms until Camilla takes their knives and bandages them up. The two melt into each other and their own grief. Later, sobbing, they return to their work, but remain unsuccessful.

When the postulants gather upstairs for a conference with Teacher, Isaac quickly latches on to Teacher's explanation "monsters" in the Facility. As the other teams argue over the best way to proceed with both the investigation and the competition, Isaac interrupts to demand that they fight and kill the monster that killed Abigail and Magnus. Palamedes shuts him down firmly, and explains that they will be proceeding scientifically and gathering more information about the incident. After the meeting, Teacher comes to Isaac to talk to him.

> *"If there's a monster-- it's got to be hunted. If there's a haunting-- it's got to be banished. Whatever was strong enough to kill Abigail and Magnus, it can't be left alone. I* can't go home *until whatever killed Abigail and Magnus is dead."*
>
>

In the wake of their surrogate parent's death, Isaac and Jeannemary continue to shadow the other teams around Canaan House. Their following brings them outside of the freezer where Gideon, Palamedes, and Camilla are attempting to track the Fifth's key ring with psychometry. Gideon's group hears the door opening and the teens running away, but does not know how much of the conversation they heard.

After a sleepless night, Isaac and Jeannemary stumble upon a pile of ashes outside of the incinerator that appear to be human remains. Leaving Jeannemary to guard the remains, Isaac goes off to find Gideon and Coronabeth, and gets Naberius, Marta, and Colum as a bonus. Frightened to near-ferality, Jeanne attempts to get their audience to take the body seriously, but most of the cavaliers react nonchalantly and assume it is some normal First House function, such as a broken down skeleton servant. As Naberius, Marta, and Colum wander off, the teens explain to Gideon and Coronabeth that they have been seeing things-- shadows and shapes out of the corners of their eyes. They explain they wanted to show them the body as a warning, before disappearing into the depths of Canaan House again.

The next day, Isaac joins the other necromancers in attempting to discern as much as possible from the human remains found in the incinerator. Jeannemary has a number of sharp words, none of which are particularly helpful. During the duel between Camilla and Marta, Isaac physically restrains his cavalier from joining the fight. When Naberius challenges Camilla immediately after her victory, Jeannemary is quick to join Gideon in challenging him in return. As the party breaks up, she stays with Sixth and Ninth. Isaac and Jeannemary surprise them when they reveals that Fourth know about the study doors and the theorems, and alerts them to Ianthe Tridentarius who has been tailing everyone. Palamedes organizes the remaining postulants into teams, and sends Gideon, Jeannemary, and Isaac into the Facility to look for Protesilaus, and takes Harrow and Camilla with him to watch Dulcinea.

Isaac and Jeannemary follow Gideon down to the Facility hatch in jumpy 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 on the on account of Magnus and Abigail being killed regardless of their permission. Gideon attempts to sooth them by recounting her own key-less voyage into the Facility. They are not soothed, but continue on anyway. She attempts to herd them down the tunnel, but Isaac and Jeannemary press themselves to the wall wide-eyed and terrified. Jeannemary mentions a noise, and Isaac asks why there were bone fragments found in Abigail and Magnus. 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.

> *"It's stupid to get killed if it doesn't help. The Fourth isn't canon fodder. If we're first on the ground we need to stay alive ... wards were the first thing I learned."*
>
>

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 with the main passage, the lights turn off and then back on revealing the message: "**Death to the Fourth House**." Exhausted and terrified, Isaac bursts into a blaze of necrolight and charges at the humongous skeleton construct that has appeared in front of them. Isaac burns brightly, flames filling the room and unbalancing the creature, and then dozens of bone teeth spear through him, killing him.

### **Harrow the Ninth**

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

Although Isaac and his cavalier, Jeannemary Chatur, are present for Teacher's introduction to Canaan House and the grounds, as soon as their unofficial guardian Abigail Pent realizes what the Bubble Canaan House is and that they are all revenants in the River, she arranges for Isaac and Jeannemary to pass on through the River and into whatever comes after death.

## **Appearance and Personality**

Gideon first describes the Fourth House teens as thus:

> *"Ghastly teens, younger than Gideon, still in the midst of losing their fight with puberty. The boy wore trim navy robes..."*
>
>

At the dinner party, she expands on this description with:

> *"Isaac, the necromancer teen with brushed-up hair bleached orange, looked like he was suffering an abundance of the pituitary gland."*
>
>

Though very quiet, Isaac is a thoughtful and serious young necromancer with a sound mind. He wants to make a difference in his world, and his home has taught him that the way to do that is to join the Cohort.

## **Trivia**

* Isaac is named for Isaac, the biblical character who foreshadows the death of Jesus by bringing wood up the mountain for his own sacrifice.
* Tettares comes from the Greek τέττᾰρες (téttares), meaning the numerical 4, correlating with his house.

## **References**

1. ↑  tazmuir, Tumblr.com.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Gideon the Ninth," Act II, Ch. 15
3. ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act III, Ch. 18
4. ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act III, Ch. 25
5. ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act II, Ch. 9
6. ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," A Little Explanation of Naming Systems