The Underland Chronicles
Encyclopedia
The Underland Chronicles is a five-part series of fantasy novels by Suzanne Collins
, first published between 2003 and 2007. It tells the story of a boy named Gregor and his adventures in a land called the "Underland", hidden under New York City. The Underland is inhabited by humans, who live in the stone city of Regalia, along with various giant versions of such creatures as bats, cockroaches, rats, lizards, mice, ants, and spiders. According to the author, the series involves many topics relating to war, including biological warfare, genocide, and military intelligence.
Book 2: Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane (2004). Gregor is lured back to the Underland to slay a rat called The Bane, along with his bat, two rats, the Queen of Regalia, his sister, and one cockroach. The Prophecy of Bane tells that the rats seek "a barely speaking pup." The Underlanders tell Gregor that "pup" is the rats' word for baby. Gregor starts to wonder if Boots will ever see the sun again.
Book 3: Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods (2005). When Nerissa hands Gregor a new propechy, he knows that he has to go back to the Underland. But that is certainly not okay with his mother. She decides to come with him. They go through the grate in the laundry room only to find that a plague has come into the Underland and it soon infects Gregor's mother and Ares, Gregors bond. Gregor and the Regalians must quest to find the cure. They go to find it in the Underland's jungle. At the entrance, they meet Hamnet, a man who left Regalia years ago after a great tragedy, Hazard, his Halflander son who can speak to animals, and Frill, their giant lizard friend. They head into the jungle that is full of flesh-eating plants, poisonous animals, and no fresh water for miles around. The only thing that keeps Gregor from running away is the thought of his sick mother and best friend.
Book 4: Gregor and the Marks of Secret (2006). The Bane takes control of the rats, and Gregor and his friends must fight to stop him. Gregor falls in love with Luxa, having nearly done so in the first book. They sneak out of Regalia and find that the rats have driven the mice out of the jungle and the Fount. They follow a tunnel under the river to the Firelands, where the mice have been driven. But the air is noxious, there are dozens of volcanoes, and they soon find more giant creatures waiting to kill them. When Luxa finds the bodies of hundreds of mice, she does the unthinkable. Luxa declares full-on war with the rats. There is no going back now.
Book 5: Gregor and the Code of Claw (2007). The prophecy in the story is the Prophecy of Time. It says that both the Bane and the Warrior will die, and that the Underlanders must break the cipher called the Code of Claw in order for humanity to survive. Gregor's attraction and consequent relationship to Luxa increases.
In order for humans to be able to inhabit the Underland, Sandwich needed to have land for them on which to live. The land Sandwich chose was inhabited by the Diggers (giant Star-nosed Moles), who refused to give up their land without a fight or trade. Sandwich realized he could not beat the Diggers without sustaining heavy losses himself; therefore he poisoned their water supply, killing them almost to the point of extinction. From that point on, many of the Underland's other inhabitants gave humans the name Killers.
Full list of all Underland creatures' second names:
Fliers: Bats
Crawlers: Cockroaches
Cutters: Ants
Diggers: Moles
Gnawers: Rats
Hissers: Lizards
Nibblers: Mice
Serpents: Ancient Plesiosaurs
Shiners: Fireflies
Slimers: Snails
Spinners: Spiders
Stingers: Scorpions
Twisters: Snakes
Killers: Humans
Halflander: A child of an Underlander and a Overlander
Underlander:Someone from the Underland
Overlander:Someone from the Overland
Some creatures refer to humans as Killers in their own tongues because of the reasons stated in the section above, and for the fact that humans are very efficient at fighting.
(Bat's name) the flier, I bond to you.
Our life and death are one, we two.
In dark, in flame, in war, in strife
I save you as I save my life.
The bat then says:
(Human's name) the human, I bond to you.
Our life and death are one, we two.
In dark, in flame, in war, in strife
I save you as I save my life.
Though it does not only pertain to fliers. In the fifth and final book Gregor and the Code of Claw Luxa bonds with a gnawer, Ripred, helping to stop the war between the two races.
made up of various representatives for the various species. However, in Gregor and the Code of Claw, when most of the Council members are killed by gnawers, Luxa has full control as queen.
Rats, bats, spiders, and ants all have rulers of their own; of cockroaches, lizards, and snakes little is revealed, though in the first book, a king of cockroaches is mentioned. The cockroaches have customs and rituals, as seen when in the first book Boots is named a princess by Tick, Temp, and others. Sea serpents, who are essentially plesiosaurs, presumably congregate only for reasons of benefit.
A list of locations in the Underland (not including the creatures' lands):
Before he left Regalia, Hamnet took a young Luxa to the crystal beach and Luxa got from him a blue crystal shaped like a fish. (this was mentioned in "The Curse of the Warmbloods")
The river was extremly fast and strong, as mentioned in the book, it could carry boulders like soda cans. Its currents slowed after the earthquake in Gregor and the Marks of Secret.
Luxa: Luxa is the future ruling queen of Regalia. She is the same age as Gregor and will assume full royal powers when she becomes sixteen years old. Until then, Regalia is led by a regency council, referred to simply as "the council". Having lived in the Underland her whole life, Luxa's skin is so pale as to be nearly translucent, her hair is silver in color, and she has violet eyes, like all Underland humans. Luxa is incredibly stubborn and rebellious, rarely obeying the council and, in Ripred's words, "impossible to lead anywhere." In book three, however, Gregor said that she was the bravest person he'd ever known. Luxa is a wise leader, but can be sharp-tongued towards others. This changes, however, after the conclusion of Gregor the Overlander, when she took a more positive attitude to her companions. She feels indebted to the nibblers for the hospitality they showed her when they found her lost in the middle of the jungle. She has vowed to protect the nibblers, even going as far as declaring war on the gnawers. In the final book, she brings peace between the gnawers and the humans by bonding with Ripred, the representative for the rats at the time; essentially swearing to protect the gnawers. Ripred swears likewise to Luxa to protect the humans. Luxa is in love with Gregor, starting most likely at the middle of Marks of Secret. The two shared their first kiss in the museum in the last book, from which Gregor retrieves things he may need, such as flashlights, when they say goodbye. To keep her safe during the war of time, Gregor throws her in the dungeon because she was trying to go back to battle. The books also mentions Luxa's parents being killed by the late rat king Gorger, resulting in Luxa's insecurity on the ground, and her bonding with Aurora when she was very young. Her name is possibly derived from the word 'lux', which means light in Latin.
Ares: Ares was the bond of Henry, Luxa's royal cousin. Henry betrays the questing party in the first book. When faced with the choice between Gregor's life and Henry's, Ares chose to save Gregor instead of Henry because of the betrayal. In Regalia, he is put on trial for betraying his bond. Gregor bonded with Ares to save him because Gregor knew that Ares had not known anything about Henry's conspiracy to seize power. In the remaining books, Ares is thought of lowly by many Regalians. In the third book, he is a victim of an artificial plague, but begins to heal after receiving the cure. He is killed by the Bane in the final book, The Code of Claw, while defending Gregor. He was likely the strongest bat in the Underland, possibly lending to his name, referring the Greek god of war. He has admitted that he sometimes doubts the truth in the prophecies which form a central thread of the plot, on the grounds that they are "full of doom and only terrorize [the Underlanders] into killing each other", as revealed in the final book, Code of Claw.
Ripred: Ripred is a gnawer (rat) who is one of the few of his species on the side of Regalia and peace. He speaks with a biting wit and a world-weary air. Although many creatures resent him for this, Ripred shows much wisdom in times of need. In the first book, Gregor the Overlander, Vikus told Gregor that he had "wisdom unique in any creature." He is a great fighter, and, like Gregor, is a rager, but has a tighter rein on his "powers." He gives Gregor lessons on echolocation to learn to fight in the dark. Ripred's highest moral value is mutual need. In the first book, he told Gregor, "Mutual need is a strong bond. Stronger than friendship, stronger than love." In Gregor and the Code of Claw, readers learn that his mate and children died in the flood of the Garden of the Hesperides. Because Lizzie, Gregor's other sister, reminds Ripred of one of his pups, Silksharp, he is openly kind to her, and they become friends (in the fifth book). Like Ares, Ripred doubts the truth value of the prophecies, largely because it (the truth value) is impossible to prove or disprove; events similar to the prophesied events are taken as fulfillment, contradiction as an indication that the prophecy was not mature, and unexpected fulfillment as an indication that the prophecy had been misinterpreted. Ripred, however, does not hesitate to use the prophecies, and human belief in them, to achieve his own purposes, as illustrated in Code of Claw when he deliberately scars himself to fulfill the prophecy of a double-scarred "Peacemaker". This cut crosses a previous scar he had received from Solovet (see below) before his decision (made after the death of his mate and offspring) that the war between humans and rats must end. Ripred doesn't believe in Sandwich's prophecies, as revealed in the Code of Claw. He supposedly died but is later shown to be alive.
Aurora: Aurora is a golden bat that was bonded to Luxa at a very young age. She appears in all five books and 4 quests, but Gregor still does not know her well because she does not often speak. When she and Luxa were lost in the jungle, her wing was dislocated in a battle with snakes, thus preventing them from being able to escape. Because the story is told from Gregor's point of view, the readers likewise see little of Aurora.
Boots: Boots is Gregor's baby sister. (2 years old in earlier books; 3 in later ones) Her true name is Margaret (named after Gregor's grandmother), Boots being her nickname. People call her Boots because in the winter she steals everyone's boots and runs around in them and because of a musician their dad liked. She is kind and friendly to everyone with no exceptions. Like many babies, she is oblivious to unpleasant circumstances, such as death. Like Gregor, Boots is dark skinned, with curly hair. During the third and fourth books, she works with Temp, a crawler with whom she is especially close, and learns to speak in Crawler. She has developed a friendship with the crawlers (cockroaches) and stingers (scorpions); the former treat her like royalty, calling her the "princess", whereas the latter are placated by her ability to communicate in a language known to them. In the final book, she speaks in a less infantile manner. On the final page of the Code of Claw, she says Gregor's name correctly for the first time in the series. Gregor is very protective of her; in Gregor the Overlander he throws himself off the top of a high cliff, intending to die rather than let the rat king Gorger kill her. Gregor's attachment to Boots is well-known throughout the Underland, and was taken advantage of in The Prophecy of Bane.
Vikus: A self-described "humble diplomat" in Regalia. He had three children: Susannah (Howard's mother), and twins Judith (Luxa's mother) and Hamnet (Hazard's father). He does what he can for peace, going for treaties and fair exchanges. At the end of the series, Vikus suffers a stroke, resulting in the paralyzation of most of his right side. He tends to suffer for his wife Solovet's actions, emotionally albeit. He dislikes fighting, and will go to great lengths to avoid it, and sometimes sees others as he wishes to, not how they are. For example, in book 1, he hopes the spiders won't capture himself and the group, due to recent trade agreements.
Solovet: The wife of Vikus and head of the Regalian army. She is introduced as a gracious lady, like Gregor's grandmother but stronger. However, during the third book, she showed her true colors in agreeing to make a plague that would give the humans total dominion over the Underland. During the fourth book she is waiting trial. However, due to Luxa's declaring war, she is let out and put back in her place as head of the Regalian army. She begins to be a ruthless military leader, locking Gregor in a cell with little food, no heat, and no light for disobeying her. Despite Gregor's fighting skills, she looks down on him and Ares as barely trained. Luxa has mentioned that " She would give Ripred pointers if she thought he would not eat her.", and that no one is good enough for her. She has more than once used Gregor's family to manipulate him into staying, so much that Gregor has Ripred promise to get his family home after the war if Gregor died. She dies as she lived, going to enlist the spinners help, and being killed by the rats on the way there.
Temp: Temp is a crawler, and Boot's best friend in the Underland, appearing in every single book and in every quest. Temp is extremely loyal to Boots and protective of her, as shown in the second book, in which he defends her from the Serpents, then saves her life in the Dead Land by sending her back to Regalia on a moth, staying behind at risk to his own life. He is also wise in that he perceives what others do not and brings unconsidered possibilities to attention. For instance, in the second book, Temp warns against going to an island to check if the mites the bats found were safe to eat. They ignore him and Howard's bond is eaten alive by the mites. In the third book, Temp is the one who realizes that the Vineyard of Eyes was not the cradle and the starshade was not the cure. In the fourth book, he knows that a volcano is emitting poison gas that kills the nibblers and a young bat, Thalia. Temp is chosen as the Crawler delegate to the peace conference at the end of the war.
Howard: Howard is Luxa's older cousin from the Fount. He is about sixteen years old. His father is ruler of the Fount. He was introduced to Gregor in the second book with his younger siblings, Stellovet, Kent, Hero, and Chim. Luxa originally dislikes the entire family, but eventually realizes that Howard is a great comrade and handy medic. In the second book, Howard's bond Pandora was eaten alive by mites. Howard was infected and later cured of the "Curse of the Warmbloods". He later joined Gregor and Luxa on their quest to learn the truth of the nibblers' destiny. It is speculated that Howard might bond to Nike. During the fourth book, Howard expresses interest in becoming a doctor, and can actually treat minor to medium wounds, such as broken legs and arms, and some cuts. He is also very skilled with sedatives. Under possibly the guidance of another doctor, he helps Gregor when Gregor's lower left back ribs are thrown out of place. He also disapproves of Gregor and Luxa's relationship at first, but warms up to it in the fifth book when he finds a picture of Luxa and Gregor in Gregor's pocket.
Nike: Nike is the princess of the fliers, being the daughter of Queen Athena. She is striped in black and white and has a lively sense of humor. Nike has gone to fulfill the quests of the Prophecy of Blood, The Prophecy of Secrets, and the Prophecy of Time. She replaced Ares in the third book, when he had the plague. She is not bonded but she is very close to Howard and accompanies him in the fourth book.
Henry: Henry was one of Luxa's royal cousins, bonded to Ares. He was about 16 years old. His parents were, like Luxa's, killed by rats. Nerissa, his sister, was terrified and became very frail while Henry became hard as stone, brave and strong. Gregor thought his name strange or funny among the other strange Underlander names. He came along on the first prophecy, the Prophecy of Gray, in the first book. He was the other royal Underlander, Luxa being the first. He ended up betraying all of the Questers to the rats and falling to his death when Ares chose to save Gregor over Henry.
Hazard: Hazard is a Halflander boy and is met in book 3. His father was Luxa's uncle, Hamnet, and his mother an Overlander, who is never seen or named. He has lime green eyes, unlike the Underlanders or the Overlanders (since he is a Halflander). He starts out six years old; turns seven in book 4. Hazard lived with his father and the hisser, Frill, in the jungle, until his father's (and Frill's) death. Thereafter, he came to live with his cousin Luxa in Regalia. He is known to speak several languages: English, Hisser, Nibbler, Gnawer, Crawler, Spinner, Flier, and even Stinger. He and his father had been the first to branch out to learn other languages. Luxa has sworn to prevent Hazard from becoming a warrior, in obedience to his father's dying wish. It is speculated that this wish is the result of either an opposition to war (Hamnet hates to fight. In the jungle he has learned that not all creatures use it at first; he likes to work things out and avoid war, like his father) in principle or a fear that Solovet, Hamnet's ruthless mother, might achieve great control of Hazard. Hazard himself is prone to state matters of fact candidly, without letting emotion color his inflections.
Lizzie: Gregor's 8-year-old sister. (7 in earlier books.) Sensible, practical, and fond of word-play and puzzles of any kind. She was more afraid of the Underland than any Overlander – even her mother Grace – until the final book, when she goes into the Underland and finds out that she must break the Code of Claw. She is close to the rat, Ripred. Lizzie's fondness for anagrams eventually deciphers the Code of Claw, providing a means of revealing gnawer communications as the latter invade Regalia.
Mareth: Mareth is one of Gregor's favorite Underlanders. One of the top soldiers, Mareth trains others for battle, including Gregor and Luxa. In the quest, Prophecy of Bane, Mareth had his leg amputated because of a serpent attack, but he is still one of the commanding generals in Regalia. He is also responsible for training the soldiers.
Perdita: Perdita is one of the warriors who trains with Gregor.
Thalia: A young bat with a love of humor. She was meant to bond with Hazard, however, in the fourth book, Thalia is killed by the poison gas in the Firelands.
Dulcet: The nanny who takes care of Boots in most of the books. In the fourth book she cares for all of the nibbler pups. She is one of Boots favorite people in the Underland. She is a very kind person.
Nerissa: Luxa's royal cousin. She is described as very frail, and in her late teens. She has visions of the future as well as the past. Most of what has seen has happened or will happen. She saved Gregor and Ares's life by revealing the real meaning of "The Prophecy of Bane".
The Bane: A large white gnawer (rat) whom Gregor finds as a baby in the Labyrinth. Gregor almost killed him when he first found him, but thought it unfair because the Bane was tiny, helpless, and defenseless. He gave the Bane to Ripred to train him, but despite Ripred's efforts, the Bane grew up to become a monster. The rats quickly accept him as their king, and in the final book, Gregor (with Ares) and the Bane fight to the death. The Bane kills Ares and almost kills Gregor, and Gregor kills the Bane. His real name was Pearlpelt, given to him by his parents, who he watched fight each other to the death in the Labyrinth before Gregor rescued him.
Photos Glow-Glow and Zap: Two shiners (fireflies) who accompanied Gregor and the others on the second quest. They were the only source of light for the boat while sailing on the Waterway, but abandoned the questers when they began to get less food. Photos Glow-Glow is a male shiner, and his light can change colors; Zap is a female shiner who can only shine yellow. In the final book, they end up saving Gregor from dying by chewing off Ares's claw, which was connected to Gregor's hand by dried blood, after Ares and the Bane were killed. They then carried him back to Regalia. Photos-Glow-Glow and Zap say that they saved Gregor because of a love of adventure, but some Regalians believe that they brought him back because of a love of cake.
Beware Underlanders, time hangs by a thread.
The hunters are hunter, white water runs red.
The gnawers will strike to extinguish the rest.
The hope of the hopeless resides in a quest.
An Overland warrior, a son of the sun,
May bring us back light, he may bring us back none.
But gather your neighbors and follow his call
Or rats will most surely devour us all.
Two over, two under, of royal descent,
Two flyers, two crawlers, two spinners assent.
One gnawer beside and one lost up ahead
And eight will be left when we count up the dead.
The last who will die must decide where he stands
The fate of the eight is contained in his hands
So bid him take care, bid him look where he leaps,
As life may be death and death life again reaps.
If Under fell, if Over leaped,
If life was death, if death life reaped,
Something rises from the gloom.
To make the Underland a tomb.
Hear it scratching down below,
Rat of long-forgotten snow.
Evil cloaked in coat of white
Will the Warrior drain your light?
What could turn the warrior weak?
What do burning gnawers seek?
Just a barely speaking pup
Who holds the land of Under up.
Die the baby, die his heart,
Die his most essential part,
Die the peace that rules the hour
Gnawers have their key to power.
Warmblood now a blood born death,
will rob your body of it's breath,
mark you skin, and seal your fate.
The Underland becomes a plate.
Turn and turn and turn again.
You see the what but not the when.
Remedy and wrong entwine,
and so they form a single vine.
Bring the warrior from above
if yet his heart is swayed by love.
Bring the princess or despair,
no crawler cares without her there.
Turn and turn and turn again.
You see the what but not the when.
Remedy and wrong entwine,
and so they form a single vine.
Those whose blood runs red and hot
must join to seek the healing spot.
In the cradle find the cure,
for that which makes the blood impure.
Turn and turn and turn again.
You see the what but not the when.
Remedy and wrong entwine,
and so they form a single vine.
Gnawer, human, set aside
the hatreds that resides in side.
If the flames of war are fanned,
all warmbloods lose the Underland.
Turn and turn and turn again.
You see the what but not the when.
Remedy and wrong entwine,
and so they form a single vine.
Dancing in the firelight
See the queen who conquers night
Gold flows from her hot and bright
Father, Mother, Sister, Brother
Off they go, I do not know,
If we will see another
Catch the nibblers in a trap
Watch the nibblers spin and snap
Quiet while they take a nap
Father, Mother, Sister, Brother
Off they go, I do not know,
If we will see another
Now the guests are at our door
Greet them as we have before
Some will slice and some will pour
Father, Mother, Sister, Brother
Off they go, I do not know,
If we will see another
This prophecy says,
"THE WAR HAS BEEN DECLARED,
YOUR ALLY HAS BEEN ENSNARED.
IT IS NOW OR IT IS NEVER.
BREAK THE CODE OR DIE FOREVER.
TIME IS RUNNING OUT
RUNNING OUT
RUNNING OUT.
TO THE WARRIOR GIVE MY BLADE.
BY HIS HAND YOUR FATE IS MADE.
BUT DO NOT FORGET THE TICKING
OR THE CLICKING, CLICKING, CLICKING.
WHILE A RAT'S TONGUE MAY BE FLICKING,
WITH ITS FEET IT DOES THE TRICKING.
FOR THE PAW AND NOT THE JAW
MAKES THE CODE OF CLAW.
TIME IS STANDING STILL
STANDING STILL
STANDING STILL.
SINCE THE PRINCESS IS THE KEY
TO UNLOCK THE TREACHERY,
SHE CANNOT AVOID THE MATCHING
OR THE SCRATCHING, SCRATCHING, SCRATCHING.
WHEN A SECRET PLOT IS HATCHING,
IN THE NAMING IS THE CATCHING.
WHAT SHE SAW, IT IS THE FLAW
OF THE CODE OF CLAW.
TIME IS TURNING BACK
TURNING BACK
TURNING BACK.
WHEN THE MONSTER'S BLOOD IS SPILLED,
WHEN THE WARRIOR HAS BEEN KILLED,
YOU MUST NOT IGNORE THE RAPPING,
OR THE TAPPING, TAPPING, TAPPING.
IF THE GNAWERS FIND YOU NAPPING,
YOU WILL ROT WHILE THEY ARE MAPPING
OUT THE LAW OF THOSE WHO GNAW
IN THE CODE OF CLAW. from Suzanne Collins' book "Gregor and the Code of Claw".
On soft feet, By none detected,
Dealing with death, By most rejected,
Killed by Claw, Since ressurected,
Marked by an X, Two lines connected,
Finally they intersected,
Two lines meet, One unexpected.
Another link between the content of Gregor and the Marks of Secret and Nazi Germany is the method of killing their victims used by both the rats and the Nazis. Both the rats and Nazis used poisonous gases to their advantage; for the Nazis it was in concentration camps and for the rats it was in the Firelands.
Hermes, the Messenger Bat, named for the Greek messenger god.
Nike, the bats' princess. Nike is also the Greek word for victory.
Euripides, Vikus' bond, Greek tragedian.
Pandora, Howard's bond, named for a Greek figure in myth who was blamed for the release of misery into the world. Both the mythological and bat version paid for their curiosity.
Ares, Gregor's bond, Greek God of War, son of Zeus and Hera.
Aurora, Luxa's Bond, Ancient Roman Goddess of the Dawn.
Andromeda, Mareth's bond, figure of Greek Myth rescued by Perseus.
Ajax, Solovet's bond, Greek hero, character in Homer's Iliad.
Athena, Queen of the bats, Greek Goddess of Wisdom and Battle Plans
Thalia, Hazard's would-be bond and lover of jokes, Greek muse of Comedy.
Icarus, Greek figure of Myth, attached feathers to his back with hot wax but flew too close to the sun. At this, the wax melted, and he drowned in the ocean. The bat Icarus fell from
the sky with the plague into the arena and was killed upon impact.
Daedalus, a member of the code-breaking team. In Greek Mythology, a skilled artisan and father of Icarus.
Other Greek associations:
Tantalus, for whom is named the Arch of Tantalus was a Greek king who was punished in the mythological afterlife for killing his son.
Hades, after whom is named the Hades Hall, was the Greek god that ruled the underworld.
The Garden of the Hesperides, which is in (Greek mythology) the name of the nymphs who cared for a garden in the corner of the earth.
Tartarus, the location of the final battle between the killers and the gnawers, is a name for the darkest depths of the Underworld.
Suzanne Collins
Suzanne Collins is an American television writer and novelist.-Early life:Suzanne Collins is the daughter of an Air Force officer. She graduated from the Alabama School of Fine Arts and earned her M.F.A. from New York University in Dramatic Writing....
, first published between 2003 and 2007. It tells the story of a boy named Gregor and his adventures in a land called the "Underland", hidden under New York City. The Underland is inhabited by humans, who live in the stone city of Regalia, along with various giant versions of such creatures as bats, cockroaches, rats, lizards, mice, ants, and spiders. According to the author, the series involves many topics relating to war, including biological warfare, genocide, and military intelligence.
Books
Book 1: Gregor the Overlander (2003). Eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister Boots fall through a vent in the basement of their apartment and find themselves in a strange place called the Underland, where they meet the people and creatures who live there. The Underlanders identify Gregor as the warrior of their prophecy, and Boots the "princess" that all cockroaches worship. Gregor goes on a quest to save his lost father in the midst of a war between the Underlanders and the rats.Book 2: Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane (2004). Gregor is lured back to the Underland to slay a rat called The Bane, along with his bat, two rats, the Queen of Regalia, his sister, and one cockroach. The Prophecy of Bane tells that the rats seek "a barely speaking pup." The Underlanders tell Gregor that "pup" is the rats' word for baby. Gregor starts to wonder if Boots will ever see the sun again.
Book 3: Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods (2005). When Nerissa hands Gregor a new propechy, he knows that he has to go back to the Underland. But that is certainly not okay with his mother. She decides to come with him. They go through the grate in the laundry room only to find that a plague has come into the Underland and it soon infects Gregor's mother and Ares, Gregors bond. Gregor and the Regalians must quest to find the cure. They go to find it in the Underland's jungle. At the entrance, they meet Hamnet, a man who left Regalia years ago after a great tragedy, Hazard, his Halflander son who can speak to animals, and Frill, their giant lizard friend. They head into the jungle that is full of flesh-eating plants, poisonous animals, and no fresh water for miles around. The only thing that keeps Gregor from running away is the thought of his sick mother and best friend.
Book 4: Gregor and the Marks of Secret (2006). The Bane takes control of the rats, and Gregor and his friends must fight to stop him. Gregor falls in love with Luxa, having nearly done so in the first book. They sneak out of Regalia and find that the rats have driven the mice out of the jungle and the Fount. They follow a tunnel under the river to the Firelands, where the mice have been driven. But the air is noxious, there are dozens of volcanoes, and they soon find more giant creatures waiting to kill them. When Luxa finds the bodies of hundreds of mice, she does the unthinkable. Luxa declares full-on war with the rats. There is no going back now.
Book 5: Gregor and the Code of Claw (2007). The prophecy in the story is the Prophecy of Time. It says that both the Bane and the Warrior will die, and that the Underlanders must break the cipher called the Code of Claw in order for humanity to survive. Gregor's attraction and consequent relationship to Luxa increases.
The Humans of the Underland
A stonemason named Bartholomew of Sandwich led a group of his followers to New York from England, having seen the Underland in a dream. Because he believed that the Earth, above ground, would one day be empty of life, he ordered the building of a city underground. After 50 years of preparation, Sandwich and 800 others went beneath and sealed all but five gates to the Overland.In order for humans to be able to inhabit the Underland, Sandwich needed to have land for them on which to live. The land Sandwich chose was inhabited by the Diggers (giant Star-nosed Moles), who refused to give up their land without a fight or trade. Sandwich realized he could not beat the Diggers without sustaining heavy losses himself; therefore he poisoned their water supply, killing them almost to the point of extinction. From that point on, many of the Underland's other inhabitants gave humans the name Killers.
The Creatures
There are many creatures in the Underland that inhabit their own sections, or lands, in the Underland. All are enormous versions of different species of animals that can be found on the surface of earth, or the Overland. These creatures have secondary names the Underlanders call them instead of the name given by Overlanders.Full list of all Underland creatures' second names:
Fliers: Bats
Crawlers: Cockroaches
Cutters: Ants
Diggers: Moles
Gnawers: Rats
Hissers: Lizards
Nibblers: Mice
Serpents: Ancient Plesiosaurs
Shiners: Fireflies
Slimers: Snails
Spinners: Spiders
Stingers: Scorpions
Twisters: Snakes
Killers: Humans
Halflander: A child of an Underlander and a Overlander
Underlander:Someone from the Underland
Overlander:Someone from the Overland
Some creatures refer to humans as Killers in their own tongues because of the reasons stated in the section above, and for the fact that humans are very efficient at fighting.
Bonding
When a human bonds with a bat, they are together forever. They promise that they will defend each other to the death. The punishment for forsaking a bond is banishment to be thrown into the Dead Lands alone which means almost certain death. To bond with one another, the human and bat must recite a poem pledging their promise, while holding hand in claw. The human says:(Bat's name) the flier, I bond to you.
Our life and death are one, we two.
In dark, in flame, in war, in strife
I save you as I save my life.
The bat then says:
(Human's name) the human, I bond to you.
Our life and death are one, we two.
In dark, in flame, in war, in strife
I save you as I save my life.
Though it does not only pertain to fliers. In the fifth and final book Gregor and the Code of Claw Luxa bonds with a gnawer, Ripred, helping to stop the war between the two races.
The Government
The government is mainly a monarchy. It is ruled by a king or a queen under normal circumstances, but during the larger part of the narrative, is ruled by a council for lack of an heir of age. In the novels, Luxa is legally the queen, but cannot rule until she is of age (16 years old), the council is a representative democracyDemocracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
made up of various representatives for the various species. However, in Gregor and the Code of Claw, when most of the Council members are killed by gnawers, Luxa has full control as queen.
Rats, bats, spiders, and ants all have rulers of their own; of cockroaches, lizards, and snakes little is revealed, though in the first book, a king of cockroaches is mentioned. The cockroaches have customs and rituals, as seen when in the first book Boots is named a princess by Tick, Temp, and others. Sea serpents, who are essentially plesiosaurs, presumably congregate only for reasons of benefit.
Locations
There are various locations in the Underland. Some are the land of different species of creatures, but others are large formations and tunnels.A list of locations in the Underland (not including the creatures' lands):
Regalia
Regalia is the main location in the Underland in which most humans and some fliers reside. It is a large stone city with magnificent, unique designs and carvings on the structures. Because the Underland is so dark, there are very few trees and therefore almost no wood, which is why almost all of the city is made of stone. The palace is in the middle of the beautiful stone city, and the only structure left completely smooth, so no intruders can climb the walls. The rats tried to enter the city during the war but failed. In the palace there is a wooden prophecy room where Bartholomew of Sandwich carved out many prophecies, including four that have the warrior mentioned (the warrior being Gregor). Gregor didn't know there were multiple prophecies concerning him until the end of book one.The Fount
The Fount is a settlement of humans, home to Luxa's cousin, Howard, and ruled by Howard's father, York. It is remarked that Ripred once attempted to conquer it with an army of lobsters; but aside from that little is known. A colony of mice once lived in a cave right outside of the Fount, until the fourth book when the rats drove them away. During book four, Regalian scouts found a basket of mice at the Fount near the water.The Dead Land
A large, desolate, barren land, the Dead Land is uninhabitable by almost any Underlanders aside from the rats. The Dead Land contains Ripred's secret nests of banished or rebellious rats. No creature can survive there, with a few exceptions, such as Ripred.The Jungle
This is a vast, mysterious network of carnivorous vines and other vaguely described deadly creatures. Few of those born outside who go in are known to come out alive. It is home to poison arrow frogs, immense lizards called hissers,and to semi-sentient plants that arrange themselves into cunning traps. There was also a nibbler colony that lived in the jungle but were driven out by rats in book four.The Arch of Tantalus
An entrance to the Jungle created from and surrounded by the bones of many creatures who met their demise in the Jungle. This is the location where Gregor and his party first encountered Hamnet, Frill, and Hazard. It is allegedly named for an Overlander who committed a great crime. As an eternal punishment, he was placed in a pool of water surrounded by branches filled with fruit. Though he had great thirst, the water would recede as he bent to drink it. When he reached up to the fruit, the branches rose out of reach. Also a reference to the Homeric legend of Tantalus found in the Odyssey.Vineyard of Eyes
This perilous garden, formed by purposeful arrangement of carnivorous plants by themselves to lure in "weary travelers" as prey, is the only place where the plant called starshade (which, unlike the other plants, is harmless, and actually beneficial, as it can be used as a cure for a past plague, not the Curse of the Warm bloods) grows. The entrance to the field of star shade is guarded by pleasant smelling flowers that give off an intoxicating aroma that makes travelers feel extremely happy and allows the plants to attack them. It is remarked that the vineyard has a brain (and it is known for sure that the plants have eyes, hence the name Vineyard of Eyes). When Gregor ventures here in Book 3, the cutters (ants) strike, ultimately destroying the starshade. After the battle, it is discovered that the starshade was not necessary to cure the sickness named the Curse of the Warmbloods, because the Curse had not originated in the Vineyard. This is also the final resting place of Luxa's uncle, Hamnet, and a female lizard named Frill, who died guarding the starshade from the cutters.Hades Hall
A cavernous tunnel, located beneath the rest of the Underland, that leads from the Swag, near the Fount, to the Firelands. It is shaped like a V in that it continuously descends before the bottom, under Regalia, and then continuously ascends until reaching the Firelands. It is inhabited by the shiners (fireflies) as well as a number of other unknown creatures.The Swag
A long tunnel that connects to Hades Hall; it travels under the river that runs under Regalia. It collapses in an earthquake during the fourth book.The Uncharted Lands
These are areas that have not yet been explored. In Gregor and the Code of Claw, Luxa asked Ripred, the new leader of the rats, to take the Gnawers to the uncharted lands. This almost started a new war, until Gregor broke Sandwich's sword in half and 'killed' the warrior.Firelands
Where powerful wind currents make birth and travel through channel-like tunnels near the edge of the Firelands, that can carry extremely heavy objects (such as boulders) in mid-air. It is also home to several powerful volcanos, such as the particularly violent one, 'The Queen,' as well as stingers (scorpions) at its edge. Rats drove the Mice into the firelands and trapped them in a pit to be suffocated by the poisonous fumes emitted from 'The Queen.'Waterway
The Waterway is an ocean or sea that takes up most of the known space in the Underland. Gregor uses it to go home and also to travel in Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane. It is the location of two of five entrances to the Underland.The River and the Crystal Beach
The river ran under the Palace in Regalia to the Waterway. Gregor tried to escape by sailing down it to the waterway. He had to pull up onto the Crystal Beach, one of the occasional banks in the river, when he discovered the Underlanders were chasing him. As he tried to pull into the tunnel, he ran right into two rats who were soon killed by the Underlanders.Before he left Regalia, Hamnet took a young Luxa to the crystal beach and Luxa got from him a blue crystal shaped like a fish. (this was mentioned in "The Curse of the Warmbloods")
The river was extremly fast and strong, as mentioned in the book, it could carry boulders like soda cans. Its currents slowed after the earthquake in Gregor and the Marks of Secret.
The Garden of Hesperides
A golden apple orchard which was grown by Sandwich, once given as a peace offering from humans to rats. It was accidentally destroyed by Hamnet, on the orders of his mother, commander Solovet. During the fierce battle that ensued to get control of the garden from the rats, the sluice gates of the protective dam were opened in an attempt to give humans the upper hand by making the rats "swim for it"; the entire dike crumbled, being centuries old, reclaiming the garden under 20 feet of water. The bloodshed took not only the lives of Gnawers, but Humans and their fliers, and even the pups that had been hiding in the caves surrounding the garden. Among the pups killed were one of Ripred's, a pup named Silksharp, who was very much like Lizzie. Not only Silksharp, Ripred's entire family was killed. The magnitude of the violence Hamnet had experienced had been so great, he went mad for a time. When his sanity returned, he left Regalia for the Jungle, so he would no longer be forced to cause further death.The Labyrinth
The Labyrinth is a stone maze deep inside the rats' land, where the Bane was hidden and raised for a small amount of time, until Gregor took him to Ripred. Goldshard and Snare, the Bane's parents, fought to the death in the labyrinth right in front of the Bane, scarring him for life. Luxa, Aurora, and Twitchtip battled a battalion of rats, giving Temp and Boots an escape route. Twitchtip was eventually captured and held prisoner in a pit only to die in the final book. Luxa barely escaped with her life.Queenshead
Queenshead is a location beside the jungle. Named for the feature of a rock in the rough shape of a crowned queen, it is the place where Luxa's nibbler friend, Cevian was killed. It is there that Gregor and Ares moved Cevian, only to discover a scythe scratched into the stone below her.Plain of Tartarus
The Plain of Tartarus is a huge cavern remotely in the rats' land. In the final book, Gregor and the Code of Claw, a war was held at the Plain of Tartarus. Gregor, however, led the Bane to an underground tunnel so they could have more room to fight. This is also where Ares, Gregor's bond, was killed by the Bane.Main characters
Gregor: Gregor is a twelve-year-old Overlander (11 years old in books one through three) who fell into the Underland while chasing his sister Boots. He is the "warrior" described in Bartholomew of Sandwich's prophecies. Although he is reluctant, Gregor eventually accepted his duties to the Underland. In the Underland, Gregor's appearance is markedly different from that of the Underlanders. Gregor is noted to have dark skin, which requires "much light." Over the year that he has spent in the Underland, he has bonded with his own bat, Ares, and fulfilled several prophecies. He is a rager, someone whose senses become chronically acute in battle, while his mind becomes oblivious to anything except himself and his target (over time, he gains more control over his senses). Ripred, also a rager, helps Gregor to accept his gift and learn how to control them better in the third book. In the fifth book, Gregor learns echolocation, a valuable skill for fighting in the dark. Although he states that he hates fighting, Luxa saw him smiling during a fight with twisters (snakes), which was likely a side effect of his rager reaction to battle. Gregor is in love with Luxa, his feelings beginning to surface in the beginning of the fourth book, Marks of Secret. When returning to the Overland at the end of the Code of Claw, he swears never to forget her.Luxa: Luxa is the future ruling queen of Regalia. She is the same age as Gregor and will assume full royal powers when she becomes sixteen years old. Until then, Regalia is led by a regency council, referred to simply as "the council". Having lived in the Underland her whole life, Luxa's skin is so pale as to be nearly translucent, her hair is silver in color, and she has violet eyes, like all Underland humans. Luxa is incredibly stubborn and rebellious, rarely obeying the council and, in Ripred's words, "impossible to lead anywhere." In book three, however, Gregor said that she was the bravest person he'd ever known. Luxa is a wise leader, but can be sharp-tongued towards others. This changes, however, after the conclusion of Gregor the Overlander, when she took a more positive attitude to her companions. She feels indebted to the nibblers for the hospitality they showed her when they found her lost in the middle of the jungle. She has vowed to protect the nibblers, even going as far as declaring war on the gnawers. In the final book, she brings peace between the gnawers and the humans by bonding with Ripred, the representative for the rats at the time; essentially swearing to protect the gnawers. Ripred swears likewise to Luxa to protect the humans. Luxa is in love with Gregor, starting most likely at the middle of Marks of Secret. The two shared their first kiss in the museum in the last book, from which Gregor retrieves things he may need, such as flashlights, when they say goodbye. To keep her safe during the war of time, Gregor throws her in the dungeon because she was trying to go back to battle. The books also mentions Luxa's parents being killed by the late rat king Gorger, resulting in Luxa's insecurity on the ground, and her bonding with Aurora when she was very young. Her name is possibly derived from the word 'lux', which means light in Latin.
Ares: Ares was the bond of Henry, Luxa's royal cousin. Henry betrays the questing party in the first book. When faced with the choice between Gregor's life and Henry's, Ares chose to save Gregor instead of Henry because of the betrayal. In Regalia, he is put on trial for betraying his bond. Gregor bonded with Ares to save him because Gregor knew that Ares had not known anything about Henry's conspiracy to seize power. In the remaining books, Ares is thought of lowly by many Regalians. In the third book, he is a victim of an artificial plague, but begins to heal after receiving the cure. He is killed by the Bane in the final book, The Code of Claw, while defending Gregor. He was likely the strongest bat in the Underland, possibly lending to his name, referring the Greek god of war. He has admitted that he sometimes doubts the truth in the prophecies which form a central thread of the plot, on the grounds that they are "full of doom and only terrorize [the Underlanders] into killing each other", as revealed in the final book, Code of Claw.
Ripred: Ripred is a gnawer (rat) who is one of the few of his species on the side of Regalia and peace. He speaks with a biting wit and a world-weary air. Although many creatures resent him for this, Ripred shows much wisdom in times of need. In the first book, Gregor the Overlander, Vikus told Gregor that he had "wisdom unique in any creature." He is a great fighter, and, like Gregor, is a rager, but has a tighter rein on his "powers." He gives Gregor lessons on echolocation to learn to fight in the dark. Ripred's highest moral value is mutual need. In the first book, he told Gregor, "Mutual need is a strong bond. Stronger than friendship, stronger than love." In Gregor and the Code of Claw, readers learn that his mate and children died in the flood of the Garden of the Hesperides. Because Lizzie, Gregor's other sister, reminds Ripred of one of his pups, Silksharp, he is openly kind to her, and they become friends (in the fifth book). Like Ares, Ripred doubts the truth value of the prophecies, largely because it (the truth value) is impossible to prove or disprove; events similar to the prophesied events are taken as fulfillment, contradiction as an indication that the prophecy was not mature, and unexpected fulfillment as an indication that the prophecy had been misinterpreted. Ripred, however, does not hesitate to use the prophecies, and human belief in them, to achieve his own purposes, as illustrated in Code of Claw when he deliberately scars himself to fulfill the prophecy of a double-scarred "Peacemaker". This cut crosses a previous scar he had received from Solovet (see below) before his decision (made after the death of his mate and offspring) that the war between humans and rats must end. Ripred doesn't believe in Sandwich's prophecies, as revealed in the Code of Claw. He supposedly died but is later shown to be alive.
Aurora: Aurora is a golden bat that was bonded to Luxa at a very young age. She appears in all five books and 4 quests, but Gregor still does not know her well because she does not often speak. When she and Luxa were lost in the jungle, her wing was dislocated in a battle with snakes, thus preventing them from being able to escape. Because the story is told from Gregor's point of view, the readers likewise see little of Aurora.
Boots: Boots is Gregor's baby sister. (2 years old in earlier books; 3 in later ones) Her true name is Margaret (named after Gregor's grandmother), Boots being her nickname. People call her Boots because in the winter she steals everyone's boots and runs around in them and because of a musician their dad liked. She is kind and friendly to everyone with no exceptions. Like many babies, she is oblivious to unpleasant circumstances, such as death. Like Gregor, Boots is dark skinned, with curly hair. During the third and fourth books, she works with Temp, a crawler with whom she is especially close, and learns to speak in Crawler. She has developed a friendship with the crawlers (cockroaches) and stingers (scorpions); the former treat her like royalty, calling her the "princess", whereas the latter are placated by her ability to communicate in a language known to them. In the final book, she speaks in a less infantile manner. On the final page of the Code of Claw, she says Gregor's name correctly for the first time in the series. Gregor is very protective of her; in Gregor the Overlander he throws himself off the top of a high cliff, intending to die rather than let the rat king Gorger kill her. Gregor's attachment to Boots is well-known throughout the Underland, and was taken advantage of in The Prophecy of Bane.
Vikus: A self-described "humble diplomat" in Regalia. He had three children: Susannah (Howard's mother), and twins Judith (Luxa's mother) and Hamnet (Hazard's father). He does what he can for peace, going for treaties and fair exchanges. At the end of the series, Vikus suffers a stroke, resulting in the paralyzation of most of his right side. He tends to suffer for his wife Solovet's actions, emotionally albeit. He dislikes fighting, and will go to great lengths to avoid it, and sometimes sees others as he wishes to, not how they are. For example, in book 1, he hopes the spiders won't capture himself and the group, due to recent trade agreements.
Solovet: The wife of Vikus and head of the Regalian army. She is introduced as a gracious lady, like Gregor's grandmother but stronger. However, during the third book, she showed her true colors in agreeing to make a plague that would give the humans total dominion over the Underland. During the fourth book she is waiting trial. However, due to Luxa's declaring war, she is let out and put back in her place as head of the Regalian army. She begins to be a ruthless military leader, locking Gregor in a cell with little food, no heat, and no light for disobeying her. Despite Gregor's fighting skills, she looks down on him and Ares as barely trained. Luxa has mentioned that " She would give Ripred pointers if she thought he would not eat her.", and that no one is good enough for her. She has more than once used Gregor's family to manipulate him into staying, so much that Gregor has Ripred promise to get his family home after the war if Gregor died. She dies as she lived, going to enlist the spinners help, and being killed by the rats on the way there.
Temp: Temp is a crawler, and Boot's best friend in the Underland, appearing in every single book and in every quest. Temp is extremely loyal to Boots and protective of her, as shown in the second book, in which he defends her from the Serpents, then saves her life in the Dead Land by sending her back to Regalia on a moth, staying behind at risk to his own life. He is also wise in that he perceives what others do not and brings unconsidered possibilities to attention. For instance, in the second book, Temp warns against going to an island to check if the mites the bats found were safe to eat. They ignore him and Howard's bond is eaten alive by the mites. In the third book, Temp is the one who realizes that the Vineyard of Eyes was not the cradle and the starshade was not the cure. In the fourth book, he knows that a volcano is emitting poison gas that kills the nibblers and a young bat, Thalia. Temp is chosen as the Crawler delegate to the peace conference at the end of the war.
Howard: Howard is Luxa's older cousin from the Fount. He is about sixteen years old. His father is ruler of the Fount. He was introduced to Gregor in the second book with his younger siblings, Stellovet, Kent, Hero, and Chim. Luxa originally dislikes the entire family, but eventually realizes that Howard is a great comrade and handy medic. In the second book, Howard's bond Pandora was eaten alive by mites. Howard was infected and later cured of the "Curse of the Warmbloods". He later joined Gregor and Luxa on their quest to learn the truth of the nibblers' destiny. It is speculated that Howard might bond to Nike. During the fourth book, Howard expresses interest in becoming a doctor, and can actually treat minor to medium wounds, such as broken legs and arms, and some cuts. He is also very skilled with sedatives. Under possibly the guidance of another doctor, he helps Gregor when Gregor's lower left back ribs are thrown out of place. He also disapproves of Gregor and Luxa's relationship at first, but warms up to it in the fifth book when he finds a picture of Luxa and Gregor in Gregor's pocket.
Nike: Nike is the princess of the fliers, being the daughter of Queen Athena. She is striped in black and white and has a lively sense of humor. Nike has gone to fulfill the quests of the Prophecy of Blood, The Prophecy of Secrets, and the Prophecy of Time. She replaced Ares in the third book, when he had the plague. She is not bonded but she is very close to Howard and accompanies him in the fourth book.
Henry: Henry was one of Luxa's royal cousins, bonded to Ares. He was about 16 years old. His parents were, like Luxa's, killed by rats. Nerissa, his sister, was terrified and became very frail while Henry became hard as stone, brave and strong. Gregor thought his name strange or funny among the other strange Underlander names. He came along on the first prophecy, the Prophecy of Gray, in the first book. He was the other royal Underlander, Luxa being the first. He ended up betraying all of the Questers to the rats and falling to his death when Ares chose to save Gregor over Henry.
Hazard: Hazard is a Halflander boy and is met in book 3. His father was Luxa's uncle, Hamnet, and his mother an Overlander, who is never seen or named. He has lime green eyes, unlike the Underlanders or the Overlanders (since he is a Halflander). He starts out six years old; turns seven in book 4. Hazard lived with his father and the hisser, Frill, in the jungle, until his father's (and Frill's) death. Thereafter, he came to live with his cousin Luxa in Regalia. He is known to speak several languages: English, Hisser, Nibbler, Gnawer, Crawler, Spinner, Flier, and even Stinger. He and his father had been the first to branch out to learn other languages. Luxa has sworn to prevent Hazard from becoming a warrior, in obedience to his father's dying wish. It is speculated that this wish is the result of either an opposition to war (Hamnet hates to fight. In the jungle he has learned that not all creatures use it at first; he likes to work things out and avoid war, like his father) in principle or a fear that Solovet, Hamnet's ruthless mother, might achieve great control of Hazard. Hazard himself is prone to state matters of fact candidly, without letting emotion color his inflections.
Lizzie: Gregor's 8-year-old sister. (7 in earlier books.) Sensible, practical, and fond of word-play and puzzles of any kind. She was more afraid of the Underland than any Overlander – even her mother Grace – until the final book, when she goes into the Underland and finds out that she must break the Code of Claw. She is close to the rat, Ripred. Lizzie's fondness for anagrams eventually deciphers the Code of Claw, providing a means of revealing gnawer communications as the latter invade Regalia.
Mareth: Mareth is one of Gregor's favorite Underlanders. One of the top soldiers, Mareth trains others for battle, including Gregor and Luxa. In the quest, Prophecy of Bane, Mareth had his leg amputated because of a serpent attack, but he is still one of the commanding generals in Regalia. He is also responsible for training the soldiers.
Perdita: Perdita is one of the warriors who trains with Gregor.
Thalia: A young bat with a love of humor. She was meant to bond with Hazard, however, in the fourth book, Thalia is killed by the poison gas in the Firelands.
Dulcet: The nanny who takes care of Boots in most of the books. In the fourth book she cares for all of the nibbler pups. She is one of Boots favorite people in the Underland. She is a very kind person.
Nerissa: Luxa's royal cousin. She is described as very frail, and in her late teens. She has visions of the future as well as the past. Most of what has seen has happened or will happen. She saved Gregor and Ares's life by revealing the real meaning of "The Prophecy of Bane".
The Bane: A large white gnawer (rat) whom Gregor finds as a baby in the Labyrinth. Gregor almost killed him when he first found him, but thought it unfair because the Bane was tiny, helpless, and defenseless. He gave the Bane to Ripred to train him, but despite Ripred's efforts, the Bane grew up to become a monster. The rats quickly accept him as their king, and in the final book, Gregor (with Ares) and the Bane fight to the death. The Bane kills Ares and almost kills Gregor, and Gregor kills the Bane. His real name was Pearlpelt, given to him by his parents, who he watched fight each other to the death in the Labyrinth before Gregor rescued him.
Photos Glow-Glow and Zap: Two shiners (fireflies) who accompanied Gregor and the others on the second quest. They were the only source of light for the boat while sailing on the Waterway, but abandoned the questers when they began to get less food. Photos Glow-Glow is a male shiner, and his light can change colors; Zap is a female shiner who can only shine yellow. In the final book, they end up saving Gregor from dying by chewing off Ares's claw, which was connected to Gregor's hand by dried blood, after Ares and the Bane were killed. They then carried him back to Regalia. Photos-Glow-Glow and Zap say that they saved Gregor because of a love of adventure, but some Regalians believe that they brought him back because of a love of cake.
Bartholomew of Sandwich
Bartholomew of Sandwich was an English stonemason who discovered the Underland by having a vision in a dream. The food "sandwich" was thought to be named after him by Luxa when Gregor first introduces it to the Underland. He founded the human city there in the 17th century, having slaughtered the "diggers" (moles) who were then occupying his chosen space. Bartholomew was a prophet and carved all of his prophecies on stone in a single room. That room has one of the few wooden doors in the Underland as trees are very rare since there is no sun. These prophecies may be read singly, as a series, or as one lengthy poem. The prophecies supposedly foretell the future of the Underlanders. Nerisa seems to share the same gift Sandwich does, for she foresees the future as well as he did. While almost all creatures of the Underland seem to hold a certain respect for him, there is serious doubt raised as to whether his prophecies were true in The Code of Claw. Ripred, in particular, thought them to be foolery saying they only come true because they want it to, though he himself deliberately fulfills the last in order to make peace between his race and the humans.The prophecies that involved Gregor are listed below.The Prophecy of Gray
This is the first prophecy. According to the Underlanders, it foretells Gregor's quest with Underland creatures and royalty (see third stanza) to save his father and prevent war with the gnawers.Beware Underlanders, time hangs by a thread.
The hunters are hunter, white water runs red.
The gnawers will strike to extinguish the rest.
The hope of the hopeless resides in a quest.
An Overland warrior, a son of the sun,
May bring us back light, he may bring us back none.
But gather your neighbors and follow his call
Or rats will most surely devour us all.
Two over, two under, of royal descent,
Two flyers, two crawlers, two spinners assent.
One gnawer beside and one lost up ahead
And eight will be left when we count up the dead.
The last who will die must decide where he stands
The fate of the eight is contained in his hands
So bid him take care, bid him look where he leaps,
As life may be death and death life again reaps.
The Prophecy of Bane
This foretells the rise of a new rat leader, the Bane. It was interpreted as requiring Gregor to kill the Bane, but in fact warned him not to do so.If Under fell, if Over leaped,
If life was death, if death life reaped,
Something rises from the gloom.
To make the Underland a tomb.
Hear it scratching down below,
Rat of long-forgotten snow.
Evil cloaked in coat of white
Will the Warrior drain your light?
What could turn the warrior weak?
What do burning gnawers seek?
Just a barely speaking pup
Who holds the land of Under up.
Die the baby, die his heart,
Die his most essential part,
Die the peace that rules the hour
Gnawers have their key to power.
The Prophecy of Blood
The Prophecy of Blood explains the plague that is killing the Underlanders, and that they must go on a quest to discover the cure.Warmblood now a blood born death,
will rob your body of it's breath,
mark you skin, and seal your fate.
The Underland becomes a plate.
Turn and turn and turn again.
You see the what but not the when.
Remedy and wrong entwine,
and so they form a single vine.
Bring the warrior from above
if yet his heart is swayed by love.
Bring the princess or despair,
no crawler cares without her there.
Turn and turn and turn again.
You see the what but not the when.
Remedy and wrong entwine,
and so they form a single vine.
Those whose blood runs red and hot
must join to seek the healing spot.
In the cradle find the cure,
for that which makes the blood impure.
Turn and turn and turn again.
You see the what but not the when.
Remedy and wrong entwine,
and so they form a single vine.
Gnawer, human, set aside
the hatreds that resides in side.
If the flames of war are fanned,
all warmbloods lose the Underland.
Turn and turn and turn again.
You see the what but not the when.
Remedy and wrong entwine,
and so they form a single vine.
Rhyme on Nursery Wall ("The Prophecy of Secrets")
This was a children's song and was not known to be a prophecy until events described in Gregor and the Marks of Secret. It tells of the genocide of the Nibblers by the rats, and the rats' attack on Regalia.Dancing in the firelight
See the queen who conquers night
Gold flows from her hot and bright
Father, Mother, Sister, Brother
Off they go, I do not know,
If we will see another
Catch the nibblers in a trap
Watch the nibblers spin and snap
Quiet while they take a nap
Father, Mother, Sister, Brother
Off they go, I do not know,
If we will see another
Now the guests are at our door
Greet them as we have before
Some will slice and some will pour
Father, Mother, Sister, Brother
Off they go, I do not know,
If we will see another
Prophecy of Time
Gregor hears a ticking sound while reading the prophecy and throughout the book. He believes it is the time he has left to live. The last stanza tells of Pearlpelt's (The Bane's) death and the end of Gregor's role as a warrior. Gregor fulfills this by killing the Bane and breaking the sword of Sandwich when Luxa and Ripred try to get Gregor to fight on each of their sides. It also warns the Regalians to be vigilant. Ultimately, they reject war between themselves and the gnawers, among other races.This prophecy says,
"THE WAR HAS BEEN DECLARED,
YOUR ALLY HAS BEEN ENSNARED.
IT IS NOW OR IT IS NEVER.
BREAK THE CODE OR DIE FOREVER.
TIME IS RUNNING OUT
RUNNING OUT
RUNNING OUT.
TO THE WARRIOR GIVE MY BLADE.
BY HIS HAND YOUR FATE IS MADE.
BUT DO NOT FORGET THE TICKING
OR THE CLICKING, CLICKING, CLICKING.
WHILE A RAT'S TONGUE MAY BE FLICKING,
WITH ITS FEET IT DOES THE TRICKING.
FOR THE PAW AND NOT THE JAW
MAKES THE CODE OF CLAW.
TIME IS STANDING STILL
STANDING STILL
STANDING STILL.
SINCE THE PRINCESS IS THE KEY
TO UNLOCK THE TREACHERY,
SHE CANNOT AVOID THE MATCHING
OR THE SCRATCHING, SCRATCHING, SCRATCHING.
WHEN A SECRET PLOT IS HATCHING,
IN THE NAMING IS THE CATCHING.
WHAT SHE SAW, IT IS THE FLAW
OF THE CODE OF CLAW.
TIME IS TURNING BACK
TURNING BACK
TURNING BACK.
WHEN THE MONSTER'S BLOOD IS SPILLED,
WHEN THE WARRIOR HAS BEEN KILLED,
YOU MUST NOT IGNORE THE RAPPING,
OR THE TAPPING, TAPPING, TAPPING.
IF THE GNAWERS FIND YOU NAPPING,
YOU WILL ROT WHILE THEY ARE MAPPING
OUT THE LAW OF THOSE WHO GNAW
IN THE CODE OF CLAW. from Suzanne Collins' book "Gregor and the Code of Claw".
The Peacemaker
"The Peacemaker" is a prophecy kept as an inspiration of comfort by Nerissa; Ripred is the peacemaker.On soft feet, By none detected,
Dealing with death, By most rejected,
Killed by Claw, Since ressurected,
Marked by an X, Two lines connected,
Finally they intersected,
Two lines meet, One unexpected.
The Holocaust
In the fourth book, Gregor and the Marks of Secret, the Bane parallels Adolf Hitler in the sense that they are both charismatic speakers who are intent on genocide; for Hitler it was Jews and for The Bane it was nibblers (mice). In addition to that, both the Bane and Hitler were able to rally full support for their cause by blaming the wrongs done to them on their selected victims.Another link between the content of Gregor and the Marks of Secret and Nazi Germany is the method of killing their victims used by both the rats and the Nazis. Both the rats and Nazis used poisonous gases to their advantage; for the Nazis it was in concentration camps and for the rats it was in the Firelands.
Greek mythology
All of the bats' names were taken from Greek mythology (Similar to Kenneth Oppel's bats). Many of the names are relevant to the bats position or importance.Hermes, the Messenger Bat, named for the Greek messenger god.
Nike, the bats' princess. Nike is also the Greek word for victory.
Euripides, Vikus' bond, Greek tragedian.
Pandora, Howard's bond, named for a Greek figure in myth who was blamed for the release of misery into the world. Both the mythological and bat version paid for their curiosity.
Ares, Gregor's bond, Greek God of War, son of Zeus and Hera.
Aurora, Luxa's Bond, Ancient Roman Goddess of the Dawn.
Andromeda, Mareth's bond, figure of Greek Myth rescued by Perseus.
Ajax, Solovet's bond, Greek hero, character in Homer's Iliad.
Athena, Queen of the bats, Greek Goddess of Wisdom and Battle Plans
Thalia, Hazard's would-be bond and lover of jokes, Greek muse of Comedy.
Icarus, Greek figure of Myth, attached feathers to his back with hot wax but flew too close to the sun. At this, the wax melted, and he drowned in the ocean. The bat Icarus fell from
the sky with the plague into the arena and was killed upon impact.
Daedalus, a member of the code-breaking team. In Greek Mythology, a skilled artisan and father of Icarus.
Other Greek associations:
Tantalus, for whom is named the Arch of Tantalus was a Greek king who was punished in the mythological afterlife for killing his son.
Hades, after whom is named the Hades Hall, was the Greek god that ruled the underworld.
The Garden of the Hesperides, which is in (Greek mythology) the name of the nymphs who cared for a garden in the corner of the earth.
Tartarus, the location of the final battle between the killers and the gnawers, is a name for the darkest depths of the Underworld.