Monday’s Dusk

Monday's Dusk is one of the three primary lieutenants who serve Mister Monday alongside Monday’s Dawn and Noon. Mister Monday, his superior, is the Trustee of the Lower House and keeper of the First Key. However, over thousands of years, Monday develops a serious flaw that makes him unable to rule effectively. That being the sin of sloth. Because of that, he spends much of the day sleeping, or being wheeled around by his caretaker named Sneezer. Unwilling to let this go for any longer, Dusk decides to make a decision that will change the course of the entire House.He provides a box of snuff to distract the Sentinels guarding the Will, which is a inscription split into seven parts that dictates every rule and responsibility in the House. It was written by the Architect, a goddess who created the universe before she suddenly vanished 10,000 years ago. The part of the Will guarded by the Sentinels is only the First Key, which is capable of transforming into a sentient frog. However, this is still enough to set events in motion. Part of the First Key manages to escape the House entirely, searching for a new master to wield it. That person ends up being a human named Arthur Penhaligon, who was otherwise near death from an asthma attack. Holding part of the First Key managed to save his life, but it came at the cost of finding out he was suddenly the heir to the Lower House. Upon returning home, Arthur discovered that a terrible plague had gripped his home city, and that strange creatures wearing dark victorian style suits named Fetchers were actively looking for him. These dog-faced entities are led by Monday’s Noon, who Dusk despises, as Noon is generally very haughty and arrogant, not to mention loyal to a fault towards Mister Monday’s wishes. While unsuccessful at capturing Arthur, Arthur still finds himself having to enter the dimension of the House to stop the sickness spreading everywhere.

To secure the Lower House from Mister Monday, Arthur must claim the second part of the First Key, known as the Hour Hand from him. On his journey, Arthur discovers that the Lower House operates as if it’s entirely designed off of Victorian London, including in its customs and matter of dress. While trying to figure out the logistics of how the Lower House works, Arthur is attacked by a group of Nithlings, creatures born from Nothing, but he is saved by a Cockney girl, named Suzy Turquoise Blue, an agent of the first fragment of the Will and another human who ended up in the House centuries ago, but she has been washed behind the ears so many times, that she remembers little of her old life. The two of them are ambushed by Monday & his primary supporters. Suzy and the Will escape, but Monday’s Noon manages to capture Arthur, slapping makeshift wings on his back so he floats down to the Deep Coal Cellar, which essentially serves as a makeshift prison and forced labor site. While he is on his journey down to the bottom of the cellar, Arthur sees Monday’s Dusk approach him, telling him that although it isn’t certain if anyone can be trusted in the Lower House, that he will look out for Arthur the best he can. While in the cellar, Arthur meets a Denizen called Prauvil, who later betrays Arthur, for he is secretly an agent for one of the Morrow Days, Superior Saturday. Arthur also encounters the Old One, believed to have once been the Architect’s husband, who warns him that if he uses the Key too often, he will become a Denizen himself, and that his presence on Earth would cause great harm to those around him.

The Will advises Arthur and Suzy on how to break into Monday's quarters, or "Dayroom" as it is called. Arthur successfully reclaims the Lower House and gains the Hour Hand with Dusk fighting Noon in a fierce sword fight, which combines with the Minute Hand to become the First Key of the House. Now freed, the first part of the Will takes the form of Dame Primus. Arthur decides to use the First Key to heal Mister Monday from his affliction of Sloth, before turning governance of the Lower House to Dame Primus, which is the Will’s real name. Arthur receives a cure for the Fetchers' disease, as well as a telephone to use in emergencies, and returns home, with Monday’s Dusk deciding to switch places with Monday’s noon, as he claims he has been in the shadows for far too long, and because he wishes to take a more active role in Arthur’s new role as the keeper of the Lower House, a title he continues to have despite having returned to Earth.

Monday’s Dusk is a Denizen, like most members of the House. Being a Denizen means he was created in the image of humanity, but in a much more idealized sense. This meaning that he is incredibly handsome, rather tall at over 7 feet in height, he doesn’t age, he can’t become sick, he doesn’t require food, water, or regular rest, and his emotional expressions are fairly limited. He is capable of feeling a sense of righteousness and personal responsibility to ensure the House’s survival due to his actions against Mister Monday, and he certainly is capable of feeling sympathy for Arthur’s plight, alongside showing signs of being a very caring individual. For his attire, he typically wears a dark suit with his hair and tongue also being black. Having a black tongue is due to his rank as Monday’s dusk, which causes him to have a very gentle and soft spoken voice by nature. He also has sleek black wings with feathers like a ravens’, which he uses to fly, and communicate with Arthur as he descended to the Coal Cellar. Lastly, he carries a sword made of frozen moonlight and he leads a group of denizens known as the Midnight Visitors. Due to his soft spoken voice, he is sometimes outshone or mocked by Noon, who has a much louder and manipulative tone. This also means Dusk usually needs to get very close to someone for them to hear him properly. Also due to his rank, he can only enter Earth, known as the secondary realms, during the evening hours every night, ending after the sun completely goes down where he must return to the House. It’s also worth noting that time works very differently in the House, often moving hundreds of times faster than it does on Earth relatively speaking.

Aside from Mister Monday, there’s also Grim Tuesday, whose sin is greed. He rules over the Far Reaches, a vast cavern system featuring massive industrial forges and a giant pit mined out of a spring of "Nothing". Next is Drowned Wednesday, whose sin is gluttony. She ruled over the Border Sea until her hunger, something Denizens normally don’t experience, became so intense she turned into a whale. Fourth is Sir Thursday, whose oversees mandatory military training for all denizens in the Glorious army of the Architect which is located in the Great Maze. His sin is wrath, as he has a very short temper and can be quite violent. Fifth is Lady Friday, whose sin is a lust for human knowledge and experiences, particularly relating to emotion. She rules over the middle house. Sixth is Superior Saturday, known for her many agents attempting to sabotage Arthur. She rules the upper house, with her sin being jealousy. As the oldest denizen in existence, she believes she should rule over the highest point in the House, the Incomparable Garden which belongs to Lord Sunday, whose sin is pride. Overall, Monday’s Dusk comes to have a dislike for every trustee, with his main goal being to help Arthur fulfill his destiny of becoming the new ruler of the entire House, as his journey isn’t meant to stop after he obtained Monday’s Key. He also ends up taking on Suzy Turquoise Blue as an assistant with her being granted the title of Monday’s Tierce, making her the first human to be given such a high rank.