The Mime Order (63 page)
Authors: Samantha Shannon
Charlatanism
: [noun] The practice of pretending to be clairvoyant in order to earn money. Strictly forbidden by the Unnatural Assembly.
Chin music
: [noun] Talk nonsense.
Chol-bird
: [noun] A winged
sarx-creature
. They are companions of the Rephaim and can travel to Earth in spirit form as
psychopomps.
Cookshop
: [noun] An establishment that sells hot food to be taken away.
Costermonger
: [noun] A street vendor. Also called
hawker
.
Dream-form
: [noun] The form a spirit takes within the confines of a dreamscape.
Dreamscape
: [noun] The interior of the mind, where memories are stored. Split into five zones or “rings” of sanity: sunlight, twilight, midnight, lower midnight, and hadal. Clairvoyants can consciously access their own dreamscapes, while amaurotics may catch glimpses when they sleep.
Ectoplasm
: [noun] Also
ecto
. Rephaite blood. Chartreuse yellow, luminous and slightly gelatinous. Can be used to open cold spots.
Emim, the
: [noun] [singular
Emite
] Also
Buzzers
. The purported enemies of the Rephaim; “the dreaded ones.” Described by Nashira Sargas as carnivorous and bestial, with a taste for human flesh. Their blood can be used to mask the nature of a clairvoyant’s gift.
Fluxion
: [noun] Also
flux
. A psychotic drug causing pain and disorientation in clairvoyants.
Glossolalia
: [noun] Also
Gloss
. The language of spirits and Rephaim.
Among clairvoyant humans, only polyglots can speak it.
Glym
jack
: [noun] From
glym
, meaning “lantern” or “light.” A street bodyguard, rented to protect denizens from unnaturals at night. Identified by a distinctive green light.
Golden cord
: [noun] A link between two spirits. Can be used to call for aid and transmit emotions. Little else is known about it.
Gutterling
: [noun] [a] A homeless person; [b] someone who lives with, and works for, a
kidsman
. Like buskers and beggars, they are not considered fully fledged members of the syndicate, but may go on to become
hirelings
when their kidsman releases them from service.
Hireling
: [noun] The lowest class of syndicate voyant, employed to run general errands for the dominant gang in a section. When the mime-lord or mime-queen deems it best, they will be promoted to a higher rank, e.g.
kidsman
or courier.
Kidsman
: [noun] A class of syndicate voyant. They specialize in training young gutterlings in the arts of the syndicate.
Meatspace
: [noun] The corporeal world; Earth.
Mime-lord or mime-queen
: [noun] A gang leader in the clairvoyant syndicate; a specialist in mime-crime. Generally has a close group of five to ten followers, known as a section’s
dominant gang
, but maintains overall command over all clairvoyants in one section within a cohort.
Mollisher
: [noun] A clairvoyant associated with a mime-lord or mime-queen, sometimes shortened to “moll.” Usually presumed to be [a] the mime-lord or mime-queen’s lover, and [b] heir to his or her section, though the former may not always be the case. The Underlord’s heir is known as
mollisher supreme
and is the only mollisher permitted to be a member of the Unnatural Assembly.
Mort
: [noun] Woman. A mildly offensive term.
Netherworld
: [noun] Also known as
She’ol
or
the half-realm
, the Netherworld is the original domain of the Rephaim. It acts as a middle ground between Earth and the æther, but has not served its original purpose since the Waning of the Veils, during which it fell into decay.
Neutral house
: [noun] An establishment in which voyants from different sections can gather within a rival section.
Nightwalker
: [noun] One who sells his or her clairvoyant knowledge as part of a sexual bargain. They may work independently or within a group in a
night parlor
.
Novembertide
: [noun] The annual celebration of Scion London’s official foundation in November 1929.
Numen
: [noun] [plural
numa
, originally
numina
] An object or material used by a soothsayer or augur to connect with the æther, e.g. fire, cards, blood.
Off the cot
: [adjective] Insane; reckless.
Penny dreadful
: [noun] An illegal horror story, usually printed on cheap paper and sold for a low price by the
Penny Post
.
Penny hangover
: [noun] A shelter for the homeless, open in Scion citadels from September to February. Clients are able to sleep on, or “hang over,” a rope placed in front of a bench.
Penny Post
: [noun] Grub Street’s mobile bookshop. Post messengers carry illegal literature around the citadel and sell it to clairvoyants.
Rainbow ruse
: [noun] A situation in which a clairvoyant busker cheats a client, usually by giving vague readings that cover all possible outcomes. Strictly prohibited by the Unnatural Assembly.
Ranthen, the
: [noun] Also known as
the scarred ones
. An alliance of Rephaim who oppose the rule of the Sargas family and believe in the eventual restoration of the Netherworld.
Raven
: [noun] A member of the Guard Extraordinary. The name originates from the ravens that traditionally lived in the Tower of London in the monarch days.
Red zone
: [noun] The second highest level of security in a Scion citadel, followed only by Martial Law.
Rephaite
: [noun] [plural
Rephaim
] [a] A biologically immortal, humanoid inhabitant of the Netherworld. Rephaim are known to feed on the aura of clairvoyant humans. [adjective] [b] The state of being a Rephaite;
to be Rephaite
.
Rotmonger
: [noun] One of the gravest insults in Rephaite culture. It implies a conscious attempt to contribute to the decay of the Netherworld.
Rottie
: [noun
or
adjective] Amaurotic.
Saloop
: [noun] A hot, starchy drink made from orchid root, seasoned with rosewater or orange blossom.
Sarx
: [noun] The incorruptible flesh of Rephaim and other creatures of the Netherworld (called
sarx-beings
or
sarx-creatures
). It has a slightly metallic sheen.
Séance
: [noun] [a] For voyants, a group communion with the æther; [b] for Rephaim, transmitting a message between members of a group via a
psychopomp
.
She’ol
: [noun] The true name of the Netherworld.
Silver cord
: [noun] A permanent link between the body and the spirit. It allows a person to dwell for many years in one physical form. Particularly important to dreamwalkers, who use the cord to leave their bodies temporarily. The silver cord wears down over the years, and once broken cannot be repaired.
Spectre
: [noun] A manifestation of a person’s fears or anxieties. Spectres dwell in the hadal zone of the dreamscape.
Star-sovereign
: [noun] An outdated term for the leader of the Rephaim. Used during the rule of the Mothallath family, after which it was replaced with
blood-sovereign
.
Syndicate
: [noun] A criminal organization of clairvoyants, based in the Scion Citadel of London. Active since the early 1960s. Governed by the Underlord and the Unnatural Assembly. Members specialize in mime-crime for financial profit.
Syndie
: [noun] Member of the clairvoyant crime syndicate.
Thaumaturge
: [noun] Miracle-worker. Used among some voyants to praise someone who is particularly close to the
æther
, or touched by the zeitgeist.
Threnody
: [noun] A series of words used to banish spirits to the outer darkness, a part of the æther that lies beyond the reach of clairvoyants.
Underlord or Underqueen
: [noun] Head of the Unnatural Assembly and mob boss of the clairvoyant syndicate. Traditionally resides in the Devil’s Acre in I Cohort, Section 1.
Vigiles
: [noun] Also
Gillies
. Scion’s police force, split into two main divisions: the clairvoyant Night Vigilance Division (NVD) and the amaurotic Sunlight Vigilance Division (SVD).
Voyant
: [noun] Clairvoyant.
Wisp
: [noun] From
will o’ the wisp
, referring to a spirit that has been bound to a specific person or section of the citadel. The most common kind of drifter.
Acknowledgments
This is my love song to the city of London.
My first and biggest thanks goes to those of you that have finished this book, which probably means you finished
The Bone Season
as well. Thank you for coming back to this world and these characters.
Thank you to David Godwin and all the staff at David Godwin Associates for their constant belief in my writing, and for always being a phone call away.
To Alexa von Hirschberg, thank you for being the most patient and enthusiastic editor I could ask for. To Alexandra Pringle, that formidable mime-queen of Bedford Square, for being such a fierce supporter of my books and an all-round inspiration to me.
Thank you to Justine Taylor and Lindeth Vasey for hunting down all the devils in the details.
To everyone at Bloomsbury, especially Amanda Shipp, Anna Bowen, Anurima Roy, Brendan Fredericks, Cassie Marsden, Cristina Gilbert, David Foy, Diya Kar Hazra, George Gibson, Ianthe Cox-Willmott, Isabel Blake, Jennifer Kelaher, Jude Drake, Kate Cubitt, Kathleen Farrar, Laura Keefe, Madeleine Feeny, Marie Coolman, Nancy Miller, Oliver Holden-Rea, Rachel Mannheimer, Sara Mercurio, and Trâm-Anh Doan. These books couldn’t be in better hands.
To Anna Watkins, Caitlin Ingham, Bethia Thomas, and Katie Bond, who have since moved on to pastures new. It has been such a privilege to work with all of you.
To Hattie Adam-Smith and Eleanor Weil at Think Jam—thank you for your incredible enthusiasm for all things
Bone Season
.
The
beautiful maps at the front of
The Mime Order
were drawn by Emily Faccini, and the cover was designed by the ever-brilliant David Mann. Thank you both for making this book so beautiful.
Thank you to the fantastic team at the Imaginarium Studios—Will Tennant, Chloe Sizer, Andy Serkis, Jonathan Cavendish, and Catherine Slater—for your continued passion for the
Bone Season
series. Will and Chloe, an especially big thanks to you for being such dedicated and responsive readers.
Thank you to my publishers, editors, and translators around the world for getting
The Bone Season
and
The Mime Order
to so many readers. A particularly big thank you to Ioana Schiau and Miruna Meirosu at Curtea Veche for introducing me to the music of Maria Tănase
.
Thank you to Alana Kerr for being such a wonderful Paige for the audiobooks.
I’m very grateful to Sara Bergmark Elfgren, Ciarán Collins, and Maria Naydenova for letting me pester them with questions about languages, and to Melissa Harrison for her help with the starling part.
Thank you to my friends for continuing to put up with the long absences from the real world—most of all to Ilana Fernandes-Lassman, Victoria Morrish, Leiana Leatutufu, and Claire Donnelly, who have been my rocks this year. I never thought I’d be lucky enough to find friends like you.
And lastly, thank you to my family for your love, support, and hours of laughter. I couldn’t have started this journey without you.
A
Note on the Author
Samantha Shannon was born in West London in 1991. She started writing at the age of fifteen. Between 2010 and 2013 she studied English language and literature at St. Anne’s College, Oxford. In 2013 she published
The Bone Season
, the first in a seven-book series.
The Bone Season
was a
New York Times
, a
Sunday Times
, and an
Asian Age
bestseller, was picked as a Book of the Year by the
Daily Mail
,
Stylist,
and
Huffington Post
, and was named one of Amazon’s 2013 Best Books of the Year. It has been translated into twenty-eight languages and the film rights have been acquired by the Imaginarium Studios and 20th Century Fox.
The Mime Order
is her second novel.
@say_shannon
By the Same Author
The Bone Season
Copyright © 2015 by Samantha Shannon-Jones
Maps and illustrations copyright © 2015 by Emily Faccini
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Published by Bloomsbury USA, New York