by Todd Jensen.

ACME, MR. - The man who designed "Mr. Carter" for Vinnie.

[AESIR - A division of the Children of Oberon, who were worshipped by the Norsemen as gods. The only members of the Aesir who have as yet appeared in "Gargoyles" are Odin, their ruler, and his horse Sleipnir].

AL - One of the homeless people who gathered in the Labyrinth under the protection of the Mutates. He was attacked by Fang and his henchmen, who wanted to rob him, but was rescued by Brooklyn.

ANANSI - One of the Children of Oberon. Anansi customarily lives in Africa, especially Nigeria, where he takes on the form of a talking spider; he seems to have some sort of control over other spiders.

In the distant past of Nigeria, a female panther made fun of Anansi, who replied by turning her into a human. He offered to release her from the spell that he had placed upon her if she would build him a city, the city of Karadigi, whose people would hunt for him. She did, but after Anansi changed her back, found that she missed the children that she had had during the time that she spent as a human, married to the Houka of the Oba tribe, and begged Anansi to change her children into panthers as well, so that she could be reunited with them. Anansi would only permit her to choose one, and she chose her eldest son. Anansi did not approve, since the youth was too valuable to him, and tried to turn him against his mother; however, the young man discovered that his mother had chosen him out of love, and voluntarily submitted to becoming a panther. Anansi, thoroughly disgusted, drove all the people out of Karadigi, only to discover that he now had nobody to hunt for him, so that he grew hungry once more.

In the 1990's, Fara Maku discovered Anansi in the ruins of Karadigi, and offered to hunt for him as a werepanther, if Anansi would permit him to change Tea into a werepanther as well. The cunning spider, realizing that this way he would have two panthers hunting for him and bringing him food, agreed. When Goliath and his companions came to Nigeria on the Avalon World Tour, and joined with Diane Maza, they confronted Anansi in his lair, and discovered how he had put the two werepanthers to work for him. Anansi tried to turn the five of them into werepanthers as well, but they defeated him in battle, in part thanks to the fact that Anansi's plan had succeeded too well; he had been brought so much food by the two werepanthers that he had grown obese, and when his giant web was cut, was too bulky to fight his attackers on the ground. Goliath "slew" him by thrusting a spear into his stomach.

Anansi was not actually destroyed, however, and returned to Avalon for the Gathering.

{Anansi would have probably taken part in the "kidnapping of Alexander" adventure that was planned for the third season (and eventually became "Ransom"), although his role in it is unknown.

Although the "Panther Queen" story was the creation of the "Gargoyles" production team, Anansi is a "real" figure in African legend, a trickster figure whose schemes often backfire upon him with comical results}.

ANGEL OF THE NIGHT - Goliath's old name for Demona (q.v.) when they were lovers, in the 10th century. An ominous name, in view of the fact that a demon is a fallen angel.

ANGELA - A member of the Wyvern clan, the biological daughter of Goliath and Demona. Like the rest of her rookery brothers and sisters (including Gabriel, Ophelia, and Boudicca), Angela as an egg was taken by Princess Katharine, the Magus, and Tom to Avalon to be raised safely, after the sack of Castle Wyvern. Because of the time difference between Avalon and the outside world, by 1995, Angela was a young adult gargoyle, [the biological equivalent of 20].

Angela and Gabriel assumed leading roles in the Avalon clan, and were the first gargoyles in it to greet Goliath, Elisa, and Bronx when they came to Avalon. Among the few gargoyles unwounded in the Archmage's first assault upon the clan, they helped Goliath fight the evil sorcerer, Angela standing by her father loyally throughout. When Goliath and his companions left Avalon afterwards to New York, Angela asked to go with them, for she was curious about the outside world. Goliath gladly welcomed her company.

Angela was clever and resourceful, and proved these qualities several times during the Avalon World Tour, such as realizing that Raven's gargoyles were actually illusions, coming up with the idea of cutting Anansi's web so that he would be trapped on the ground and powerless, and getting Goliath to realize how the Eye of Odin had corrupted him. However, more significant was her discovery of her own biological parentage. When the travellers came to Loch Ness, Angela was captured by Dr. Sevarius, who discovered (and told her) that she was Goliath's biological daughter. Angela was astonished, but having been raised by humans, and consequently, feeling far more at home with the concept of biological parentage than the average gargoyle is, began to look upon Goliath as her father. Goliath disapproved of this, arguing that she should follow traditional gargoyle custom in looking upon the entire clan as her parents, but finally, with some persuasion from Diane Maza in Nigeria, acknowledged her as his daughter, much to her delight.

In Paris, Angela also learned that Demona was her mother, and was shocked (understandably) at the news. Demona also learned at the same time that Angela was her biological daughter, which was a fateful moment for her.

Angela joined the Wyvern clan upon the end of the Avalon World Tour, and moved into the clock tower with them. The trio were delighted with her presence, and all three of them began enthusiastically courting her, much to her annoyance. After their rivalry began to interfere with their helping Elisa deal with a turf war between Tony Dracon and Tomas Brod, Angela had to give them a serious tongue-lashing, alongside a protest at their constantly bestowing upon her the very undignified nickname of "Angie". The trio afterwards agreed to settle down, and let her decide between them without such pressure.

Not long afterwards, Demona was captured by the clan, and imprisoned in the Labyrinth. Angela (not aware that Demona knew all about her already, and had even staged her capture partly to get in touch with her and try suborning her) was curious about her mother, and anxious to help lead her out of the darkness, so she took to standing guard duty outside Demona's cell, introducing herself to her and telling her all about how she and the other gargoyles had been rescued and raised by Princess Katharine. Demona tried in vain to sway Angela to her side, but in the process, began to develop tender feelings for her daughter. When Angela and the rest of the clan were captured by Thailog, he decided to put Angela to death at once. Demona protested, to which Thailog calmly revealed how Demona had let herself be captured in part to try bringing the girl over to her side. A horrified and angry Angela proceeded to lash out at her mother for her deception, saying, "You are capable of anything. I hate you." Demona bowed her head in shame, but still was unwilling to let Angela die, and released her and the rest of the clan. When she appeared to perish in the flaming roller-coaster, Angela was saddened, saying to her father, "The last thing that I said to her was 'I hate you', and then she sacrificed herself for me." Goliath did his best to assure her that if Demona had survived, the fact that she had gained some love for her daughter and thus restored some "good" emotions within herself could have become a "new beginning for her".

In the meantime, Angela drew closer to Broadway, the member of the trio who most understood her, and the only one who really saw her as more than just a pretty female gargoyle. The fact that Angela and Broadway were, for a time, possessed by the souls of ColdFire and ColdStone through Puck's magic, probably helped this.

When the Hunters arrived in New York and first attacked the gargoyles, they mistook Angela for her mother, deliberately singled her out, and almost killed her. However, Elisa saved Angela's life with CPR. It was the attack upon his daughter that drove Goliath to seek revenge upon the Canmores, which almost destroyed the clan, and which did result in the loss of the clock tower and their exposure to the public. Settling in Castle Wyvern afterwards, Angela drew even closer to Broadway, who was there to comfort her when she sadly wondered why the humans of New York hated her and her kind so much.

{Broadway and Angela would indeed have become mates, and would have three children: Artus, Gwynevere, and Samson. They would also have visited Avalon together - presumably, Angela wanted to show her mate her childhood home and introduce him to her clan. It is more than likely that Angela would also have played a major role in the effort to bring Demona out of the darkness and reform her}.

ANGIE - Nickname bestowed upon Angela (q.v.) by the trio. She disliked it immensely, [and although Broadway soon realized that she was not fond of the name, and stopped calling her that], Brooklyn and Lexington continued to use it until she had to yell at them, "STOP CALLING ME 'ANGIE'!"

ANUBIS - A Child of Oberon, who generally takes the form of a man with a jackal's head. Anubis was believed to be a god by the ancient Egyptians, and consequently worshipped by them. Anubis is "death incarnate", but fortunately, unlike many of his fellow faeries, is a very dignified and serious personage, who uses his powers with considerable care and caution, and views his task as an important responsibility, dealing out death in an impartial manner. He can control the aging of any living or non-living being or object at will, as can his avatar.

Xanatos learned of Anubis's powers, and sent the Emir and the Pack (Jackal, Hyena, Wolf, and Coyote 3.0) to Egypt to summon him, and secure immortality from him. However, the Emir had his own agenda; he had lost his son a year before in a car accident, and wanted Anubis to bring him back to life. Anubis refused, stating that such a thing would be "playing favorites", and warned the Emir of the consequences of his summoning-spell imprisoning him; the result would be that nobody would be able to die, while people would continue to be born, dangerously increasing the population. In desperation, the Emir decided to use the Scroll of Thoth to become Anubis's avatar, so that he would be able to use Anubis's powers himself. However, Jackal, who had become intrigued by Anubis because of the jackal-head, arranged things so that he became the avatar instead. Drunk with his new-found power, he tried to use Anubis's powers to destroy all life on the planet for his own amusement, but the Emir finally saw the folly of his actions, and used the Scroll of Thoth to become Anubis's avatar himself, and undo as much damage as he could. Afterwards, he sealed off the underground temple beneath the Sphinx where Anubis had been summoned, and presumably died, releasing Anubis from their bonds; the fact that Anubis attended the Gathering the following year alone, without any sign of the Emir about him, indicates this.

{Anubis was the original god of the dead in ancient Egypt, although later on demoted by the rising worship of Osiris; he was reduced to the function of a guardian of tombs. His role in "Grief" indicates that this demotion was not reflected in Anubis's actual powers. Anubis's close links to death, to such an extent that nobody could die while he was imprisoned, are surprising for someone subject to a mere "faerie" king like Oberon. Mr. Weisman has suggested that Anubis may be one of several "death gods" among Oberon's Children}.

ARCHMAGE, THE - An evil wizard in 10th century Scotland. The Archmage somehow, in the period between 971 and 975, managed to get himself made Prince Malcolm's chief advisor at Castle Wyvern, by which time he had already somehow obtained the Grimorum Arcanorum. During this time, he also took Demona on as his apprentice, teaching her a little magic, but primarily using her as a lackey, and treating her with considerable disdain and abuse (which may very well have been a factor in her hatred of humans). The Archmage planned to increase his powers by adding to his collection of magical objects the Eye of Odin and the Phoenix Gate; [presumably, somebody had united the three for a time before, which gave him the idea of doing the same]. When he learned of Prince Malcolm's impending marriage to Princess Elena, and the fact that Elena's dowry was the Phoenix Gate, he eagerly sent out some hired bandits to ambush her on her way to Castle Wyvern and steal the Gate; however, the sudden arrival of the Xanatoses foiled his scheme. Next, the Archmage sent Demona to steal the Phoenix Gate from Princess Elena for him; she, however, kept it rather than turn it over to him, and angrily he cast her off. Later on (just when is unknown), the Archmage made the Magus his apprentice.

At some point between 975 and 984 (presumably very close to 984 or in that very year), the Archmage tried to usurp Prince Malcolm's throne, but was defeated and banished. In an effort to gain revenge, he returned to the castle briefly and shot the prince with a poisoned dart. Since the cure for his poison could only be found in the pages of the Grimorum Arcanorum, which he had taken with him when he had been driven from Wyvern, Hudson, Goliath, and Demona pursued him to the cave that he had made his lair, to recover the book. The Archmage put up a fierce battle and blinded Hudson in one eye, but then fell into a chasm while trying to kill Goliath with a jagged piece of rock, seemingly to his doom.

But in fact, the Archmage did not perish. He was rescued by a mysterious stranger who looked much like him - this stranger was in fact, his future self, who had finally achieved the ultimate power that he so desired by obtaining the Grimorum, the Eye of Odin, and the Phoenix Gate. The "future Archmage" transported his present self to the years 995 and 1020, to show him how to obtain this power, by securing an alliance with the Weird Sisters (who wanted revenge upon the Magus and his companions for turning them into owls and banishing them from Avalon) and obtaining the services of Demona and Macbeth. Then, he "future Archmage" brought his present self to 1995, just outside Avalon, where the Weird Sisters, Demona, and Macbeth gave the three magical objects to his younger self.

The Archmage placed the Eye of Odin upon his brow, and devoured the Grimorum Arcanorum to get around the ban on objects of human magic in Avalon, thus transforming himself into an "enhanced Archmage", with the very appearance of his "future self". After donning the Phoenix Gate, he was ready to begin his path to world conquest, beginning with Avalon, which he could use as a secret base that humans could never reach him at. With the Weird Sisters, Demona, and Macbeth fighting under him, he assaulted the Avalon clan.

However, the Archmage's thirst for revenge and a certain predisposition to showiness hindered him; he wanted above all else to exact his revenge upon Goliath for the defeat that the gargoyle had exacted upon him in the cave over a thousand years before, and so instead of immediately destroying the clan, foolishly gave it time to summon Goliath, Elisa and Bronx from New York. Furthermore, when he did finally confront Goliath, instead of immediately reducing the gargoyle to cinders, he simply tried tormenting him through magic, so as to prolong the pleasure of defeating him. This gave Goliath the time to tear the Eye of Odin from the wizard's brow. Without the Eye to hold its powers in check, the Grimorum Arcanorum self-destructed, consuming the Archmage utterly in the process.
 

ARCHMAGE'S CAVE, THE - A cavern not far from Castle Wyvern, filled with strange carvings upon its walls, depicting eerie creatures, and human figures felling gargoyles. It had a strong magical aura about it which drew the Archmage there; in 984, after being banished from Castle Wyvern, he made the place his lair, and it was here that he fought Goliath, Hudson, and Demona when they came to wrest the Grimorum Arcanorum from him, falling to his apparent doom in a chasm in the process.

In 994, the magics of the cave also helped keep the Captain of the Guard and Hakon "alive" as ghosts, alongside their hatred for Goliath and each other, although keeping them generally confined to the cave, and in particular, its lowest chamber, where a mysterious ancient monolith stood. When Goliath and his companions arrived at the cave a thousand years later, on their first stop of the Avalon World Tour, the two ghosts tried to use the magic of this monolith to drain Goliath of his life-force and transfer it to they themselves. Fortunately, the Captain's change of heart saved Goliath from this fate, destroying the monolith and setting the Captain free from his enforced haunting of the cave. Hakon's ghost remained trapped in the cave, until Wolf later on met him there.

Clearly, the Archmage must not have been the first person to make use of the magics of the cave, but the identity of his predecessors is as yet unknown, as is the origin of the cave's enchantments and what their use was originally intended for.

ARNADA, DOCTOR - A doctor who treated an amnesiac Elisa on Easter Island. Afterwards, he and the archaeologists Arthur Morwood-Smythe and Lydia Duane met Nokkar, and befriended him.

ART - Lois's husband. They ran a restaurant in New York that was blown up by Dracon's gang when they refused to pay him protection money, and were among the subway passengers who were rescued by the gargoyles (and showed very little gratitude for it) in "Hunter's Moon Part One".

ARTHUR PENDRAGON, KING - One of the most famous legendary kings of all time. King Arthur ruled over Britain at some point in the late 5th and early 6th centuries, and was advised by Merlin, who taught him as a boy. He became King by drawing the enchanted sword Excalibur from the Stone of Destiny, and united the various Celtic tribes in the island at the time into a single kingdom "of beauty and civilization", ruling Britain "with justice and compassion". [During this time, he also met gargoyles, and came to know their true nature; the details, however, have been lost]. However, Arthur was finally overthrown in battle, and taken away to the isle of Avalon, where he was placed in an enchanted sleep within the Hollow Hill until his country needed him again. [Oberon granted him sanctuary on Avalon because he owed Merlin a favor]. His legend spread throughout Britain and then the world, lasting down to the 20th century; the Archmage himself had heard the story of Arthur sleeping on Avalon, although he had never believed it to be true, Macbeth learned of King Arthur and was deeply inspired by the story of his reign, and nearly everyone in modern times had heard of him, to the point where Officer Morgan could describe Tom's armor to Elisa as "King Arthur stuff".

When the Archmage attacked Avalon, Elisa sought King Arthur out in the Hollow Hill, and awakened him from his sleep. Arthur confessed to the Avalon clan that he had been awakened early, and that without Excalibur, his knights, or Merlin, he might not be that much help, but nevertheless did what he could; he organized the defenders against the Archmage's latest assault, and personally defeated Macbeth in single combat. Afterwards, he decided to venture forth into the outside world and explore it, though on his own, to be less conspicuous that way.

Avalon sent him to London, where he entered Westminster Abbey to stand vigil; there he encountered first an initially suspicious Griff (who believed him to be a burglar), then the Stone of Destiny. The Stone instructed Arthur that he must prove himself once again worthy of holding Excalibur, and sent him and Griff to New York to undertake a fresh quest for the magical sword. There, Arthur and Griff befriended Hudson and the trio, and sought out the Lady of the Lake, who, after testing Arthur again by pitting him in combat with a monster made of water, showed him that Excalibur was in a stone dragon in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. However, Macbeth had also learned of Arthur's quest, and decided to claim Excalibur for himself. The two former kings fought each other over the sword until the stone dragon came to life and attacked them. Arthur managed to defeat the dragon and reclaim Excalibur (which was hidden inside the statue); he bore no grudge against Macbeth, however, and invited him to become one of his knights. Macbeth politely declined the offer, but offered in his turn to help Arthur as an ally, if the Once and Future King should ever need his assistance.

Arthur afterwards set off on a quest for Merlin, presumably to seek his advice on what role to play in the modern world, accompanied by Griff, whom he knighted.

{The question of whether there was a real King Arthur or not will probably never be answered; some scholars believe that he was based on a Romano-British war leader in 5th century Britain who fought the invading Saxons, while others believe him to be a purely mythical figure. Not that this truly matters, for the King Arthur of "Gargoyles" is clearly the legendary Arthur. The Arthurian legend developed during the Middle Ages, beginning with Geoffrey of Monmouth's "The History of the Kings of Britain" in the mid-12th century, and culminating in Sir Thomas Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur" in the late 15th century. The 19th and 20th centuries have added their own contributions to Arthurian literature, including Alfred Lord Tennyson's "The Idylls of the King", T. H. White's "The Once and Future King", and Mary Stewart's Arthurian tetralogy ("The Crystal Cave", "The Hollow Hills", "The Last Enchantment", and "The Wicked Day").

While there are many variants on the legend, it does have a basic plotline to it. Arthur was the son of Uther Pendragon, his predecessor as High King of Britain, by Igraine, conceived at Tintagel with the assistance of Merlin's magic. He was brought up in secrecy by Sir Ector, and in his teenage years, proved his true royalty by pulling the Sword from the Stone (sometimes, but not always, equated with Excalibur). Arthur united Britain, founded the Round Table, and married Queen Guinevere, and ruled in peace and justice for many years. However, his kingdom was finally brought down by internal strife, prompted by two factors: Guinevere's affair with Sir Lancelot du Lac, Arthur's best knight, and the ambitions of Mordred, Arthur's own illegitimate son. Arthur was mortally wounded by Mordred (whom he slew) at the Battle of Camlann, and taken away to Avalon for his wounds to be healed. Some versions of the legend (followed by "Gargoyles") say that he still remains on Avalon in an enchanted sleep, to awaken from it and return in Britain's greatest hour of need, but others say that he died like anybody else, and is buried somewhere, perhaps at Glastonbury.

A spin-off was planned (but never made) dealing with King Arthur and Griff's search for Merlin, entitled "Pendragon". In it, Arthur and Griff would have visited many places looking for the wizard, including Tintagel, Stonehenge, and the South Pole, and re-encountering the Stone of Destiny. They would also have had a number of clashes with the Illuminati Society, whose leader, Mr. Duval, would have turned out to have been a former friend of Arthur's (most likely, from the evidence, Sir Percival). Arthur would have gained a second companion on the quest: a woman whom he had once known (presumably a character from the legends as well, although her identity is as yet unknown). Mr. Weisman has added that in the Gargoyles Universe, seven members of the Arthurian legend's original cast have survived down to the present day, although only three of them - Arthur, the Lady of the Lake, and Merlin - have yet been identified (Duval is obviously the fourth, and Arthur's mysterious female companion a fifth). After finding Merlin, Arthur would have gone on a quest for the Holy Grail. Presumably, at some point, the issue would have been raised over whether King Arthur really had been prematurely awakened.

The names of Broadway and Angela's older two children, Artus and Gwynevere, indicate that Arthur will have some significance to the Wyvern clan, and re-encounter them, or Broadway and Angela at least, at some later date}.

[ARTUS - The oldest of Broadway and Angela's three children. Artus was hatched in the year 2018. Of Broadway and Angela's three children, he resembles Hudson and Broadway the most.

{The name "Artus" is, in fact, a French variant of "Arthur", specifically used for King Arthur, which, together with the fact that Broadway and Angela named their daughter "Gwynevere", suggests that King Arthur will have some strong significance for Broadway and Angela. Just what, however, we do not know as yet].}

AVALON - Oberon's enchanted isle, the home of the Third Race. Avalon can only be reached by magic, and is not part of this world in the same way as, say, Britain or Manhattan. Oberon's Children can presumably enter it by simple innate magic; humans, however, must employ a Latin incantation, found in the pages of the Grimorum Arcanorum (and possibly elsewhere, although no other locations for this spell have been found as yet). If the person reciting the spell is in a body of water at the time (such as the sea, a lake, or even a swimming pool), the spell will transport him or her, and all those accompanying him or her, to Avalon.

Avalon is a beautiful place, where it is forever summer; storms, snow, and ice are unknown there, unless they have been magically conjured. Major landmarks include Oberon's castle, a marble pool which can show visions of events happening elsewhere, an apple orchard growing very close to the castle, the Hollow Hill where King Arthur was laid to rest, and even a volcano. Avalon is a place of pure magic, and a trained wizard such as the Magus can tap into its power, although it is a very difficult and draining task. Powerful Children of Oberon, such as the Weird Sisters and Oberon himself, can command the forces of the land (Oberon was even able to cause rocks to hurl themselves at Goliath, Angela, and Gabriel, and order the very earth to swallow up the Avalon clan), although the fact that Avalon sent Goliath and his companions to New York in time to stop Oberon from abducting Alexander indicates that the island is not always in perfect agreement with its lord. One particular piece of magic about Avalon causes those who leave its shores to arrive, not where they want to go, but where they need to be; hence the Avalon World Tour that Goliath, Elisa, Angela, and Bronx underwent upon leaving Avalon. Time flows slower on Avalon as well; for every hour that goes by there, one day elapses in the outside world (which is why the Avalon clan, taken there as eggs in 995, were by 1995 still alive, and young adults at that). One stricture applies to Avalon: human magics, such as the Grimorum Arcanorum, are forbidden there.

[Avalon was formed early in Earth's history, but using magic rather than land. Presumably the Third Race originated there. Queen Mab ruled over Avalon until Oberon overthrew and imprisoned her]; afterwards, Oberon assumed the rule of the island. At some point in the early 6th century A.D., King Arthur was brought to Avalon, to sleep in the Hollow Hill until his country needed him; [Oberon let him stay on the island, despite his general disapproval of having mortals in Avalon, because he owed Merlin a favor].

In 995, Oberon, increasingly fed up with his Children's scorn towards mortals, banished them all from Avalon, leaving the Weird Sisters behind to guard its entrance. Shortly afterwards, Princess Katharine, the Magus, and Tom came to the island, fleeing the usurping Constantine III and bringing the eggs with them. The Weird Sisters refused to admit them to Avalon and tried to turn them into owls, but the Magus reflected their spell upon them, turning the Sisters into owls instead. And so the three refugees settled in a deserted Avalon, living in Oberon's castle and tending the eggs.

A thousand years passed by in the outside world, and in Avalon, the clan knew peace, troubled only by the Magus's sorrow at Princess Katharine having fallen in love with Tom, which he kept to himself. Then, in 1995, the Archmage attacked Avalon, planning to use it as his home base for conquering the world, assisted by the Weird Sisters (who wanted revenge upon the Magus and his companions for defeating them) and Demona and Macbeth (who were under the Sisters' control). Tom, realizing that they needed help in defeating the Archmage, went to New York to obtain help from Goliath, Elisa, and Bronx. After a long and desperate struggle, in the course of which Elisa awakened King Arthur from his enchanted sleep and the Magus died fighting the Weird Sisters, the Archmage was destroyed and the Avalon clan saved.

Not long afterwards, however, Oberon and Titania returned home, and Oberon was himself displeased at the presence of humans and gargoyles upon his island. He tried to evict or destroy them, but after the clan made an iron bell and used it to weaken him, relented and granted them asylum, appointing the Avalon clan his personal guard of honor. Afterwards, Oberon held the Gathering, summoning all his Children back to Avalon for an indefinite period of time.

{Avalon appears in Arthurian legend as the place that King Arthur was taken to when he was mortally wounded at the Battle of Camlann; it usually takes the role of an enchanted island, as per "Gargoyles", the home of the faerie-folk, a place of magic. However, beginning in 1190 when a purported grave of King Arthur's was discovered at Glastonbury Abbey, an alternate theory developed: Avalon was really just an old name for Glastonbury, and not a magical island at all. Other efforts have been made, by modern-day Arthurian scholars, to locate Avalon elsewhere on the map, such as Avallon in Burgundy (as per Geoffrey Ashe's Riothamus theory) or the Isle of Man, but such efforts appear misguided; the original descriptions of Avalon in medieval Arthurian literature for the most part suggest that it is supposed to be Faerie, rather than a place on any earthly map. Thus, the "Gargoyles" interpretation of Avalon is more accurate than the "rationalized" interpretation of it as Glastonbury in post-Roman Britain.

The name Avalon is thought to derive in part from "apple", Avalon itself being "the Island of Apples", making it appropriate that in "Gargoyles" there is an apple orchard at Oberon's palace. The different flow of time on Avalon is also based on authentic faerie-lore, where visitors to Faerie would discover that while they had only remained there for a few days, many years had elapsed outside; however, such travellers were usually much less fortunate in re-entering the outside world than were Tom and Angela, for they promptly aged to whatever age they would have been if they had never gone to Faerie, usually becoming extremely old or collapsing into dust}.

AVALON WORLD TOUR, THE - The wanderings of Goliath, Angela, Elisa, and Bronx after they left Avalon, trying in vain to return to New York. Because of the magic of Avalon, which sends one to where he or she needs to be rather than where he or she wishes to go, they visited much of the world, encountering many old friends and enemies, battling several of the Children of Oberon, and even discovering a few gargoyle clans. In succession, they came to the Archmage's cave near Wyvern, Queen Florence Island, Loch Ness, Prague, Paris, London, Egypt, Ireland, Australia, Nigeria, Norway, New Olympus, Guatemala, Easter Island, Ishimura, and Flagstaff, Arizona.

AVATAR - A mortal who becomes temporarily invested with the powers of a Child of Oberon. The Scroll of Thoth contained a spell that allowed whoever used it to become the avatar of Anubis; both Jackal and the Emir became the avatar in turn. They retained their character under the spell, if somewhat amplified by it (Jackal became even more insane than usual, and tried to wipe out all life on earth, while the Emir became wiser under its influence, and realized the error of his earlier meddlings), but also gained Anubis's powers, and their heads became jackal-like in shape. Goliath's assuming the Eye of Odin seems to have made him into a near-avatar of Odin, judging from the fact that the form he took under its influence was much like Odin's (including a horned helmet and star-studded wings similar to Odin's cloak).

BADER, DOUGLAS - A fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain, who sighted Goliath and Griff during the aerial battle. He quickly realized that they were fighting on the Allies' side, and accepted them warmly, giving them a thumbs-up in the course of the fighting, which Griff happily returned.

{Douglas Bader (1910-82) was a real historical figure, who did indeed fight in World War II. He was captured by the Germans in 1941, but made several attempts to escape before he was rescued by the Allies. Greg Weisman met him as a boy, and planned to involve Bader in a "TimeDancer" episode (no further details concerning it are known}.

BAMBI - A Disney animated movie, released in 1942, that the trio went to see at Times Square the night that the clan met ColdStone for the first time.

"BANQUO" - One of Macbeth's two mercenaries, who assisted him in stealing the Scrolls of Merlin and trying to capture Excalibur. Later on, he and "Fleance" went to work with Castaway as the first recruits of his Quarryman organization.

{The name for this character was never actually used in the series, but only in the ending credits. It was taken from Shakespeare's play "Macbeth", where the character by that name was a former friend of Macbeth's, murdered at Macbeth's command because of a prophecy by the Weird Sisters that his descendants would be kings - a prophecy allegedly fulfilled when the Stuarts, who claimed descent from Banquo, came to rule over first Scotland, and then, under James I in 1603, over England}.

BANSHEE, THE - A Child of Oberon. The Banshee generally appears in the form of a gaunt woman with long purplish hair, although she can also appear to be an ordinary woman (such as Molly, her alias in interacting with Rory Dugan) or become the Cromm-Cruach (q.v.). Her chief weapon is her voice, which can be used to either mesmerize her opponents or harm them; it is particularly said to be death to humans.

One of the more malevolent of the Children of Oberon, the Banshee threatened Ireland during the time of Cuchulain, but was defeated by him. In the 1990's, she had settled in Ireland once again, but upon learning of the Gathering, grew alarmed; she wished to stay in Ireland and had no desire to return to Avalon. In the meantime, she also learned that her old enemy Cuchulain had been reborn as Rory Dugan. To make certain that he would not be able to thwart her again, she took on the alias of Molly, and did all that she could to prevent him from discovering his true identity, persuading him, for example, to participate with her in petty thefts.

When Goliath and his companions arrived in Ireland, the Banshee realized that they had come from Avalon, and believed that they had been sent by Oberon to bring her back. She therefore captured Goliath, Elisa, and Angela, imprisoned them in the barrow where Cuchulain had been buried, and tried to extract information from them about what Oberon had planned to do to her, torturing them with her voice. Fortunately, Rory discovered his true identity in time to become Cuchulain and defeat her, with some help from Bronx, thus rescuing Goliath, Elisa, and Angela.

Afterwards, the Banshee was captured by the Weird Sisters and taken back to Avalon for the Gathering. In her anger, she engaged in a brief fight with Odin before Oberon intervened. Displeased at her disobedience, Oberon placed a metal plate over her mouth, to be removed only when she could display "true humility in [her] silent plea".

{Presumably, if the series had continued, the Banshee in her "silenced" condition would have returned, and a minor plot arc formed around the loss of her voice, but we do not as yet know the details, and probably never will. Mr. Weisman has stated, though, that she would have regained her voice, in time. He has also hinted that the Banshee would somehow re-encounter Rory Dugan/Cuchulain, and that it would gradually become apparent that she had developed some genuine feelings for him, without realizing it.

The Banshee is a traditional part of Irish folklore, though less malevolent in it than in "Gargoyles". A banshee is attached to an old Irish family, and whenever a member of it is soon to die, emits a wailing sound, known as a keening, in advance mourning for that person. Thus, the Banshee serves as a death-omen for her family, although, unlike the Banshee of the Gargoyles Universe, her wail does not actually cause the death. (The connection of the Banshee with death, however, raises the possibility that she is another "death-spirit" among the Children of Oberon, like Anubis).

No record of a Banshee can be found in the traditional legends of Cuchulain, but the hero of Ulster did have one noteworthy magical female adversary: the Morrigan. The Irish strife-goddess, the Morrigan tried to seduce him while he was fighting Queen Maeve of Connacht, and when he refused, she took on various shapes, such as an eel or a crow, to hinder him the next day while he was fighting the warriors of Connacht}.

BAR HARBOR - A town in Maine, the hometown of Petros and David Xanatos.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN, THE - The German attack on London in 1940, during World War II. Goliath and Griff helped the Royal Air Force, including Douglas Bader and Clive, defend the city. Afterwards, a monument was built to the two gargoyles to commemmorate their wartime service.

BENTON, G.F. - The alias assumed by Dominic Dracon during the time that he occupied Mace Malone's office.

BIG DADDY - Sevarius's term for the "alpha-male" Loch Ness Monster, whom he tried to capture.

BILLY - A young boy living in New York, Susan's brother. He and his family encountered Goliath and Lexington when the latter were being hunted by the Pack, and believed them to be monsters sent by the Evil Ninjas to destroy the Pack. Billy and Susan threw soda-cans at the gargoyles until Lexington, with very little effort, sent the two children fleeing to their parents in terror. When the gargoyles were revealed to the public, their mother joined the Quarrymen, fearing for her children's safety at the clan's hands.

BLACK ROCK POINT - A location on the coastline of New York State, near an abandoned oil rig secretly owned by Xanatos Enterprises. Goliath and Elisa had their first encounter with Thailog at the oil rig.