The B1 kids' browser icons clockwise from top left: Echidna, Hephaestus, Cetus and Typheus
The B2 kids' browser icons clockwise from top left: Abraxas, Yaldabaoth, Nix, and Hemera
Denizens are immensely powerful NPCs found in Sburb sessions. They are, at first, supposedly asleep, but as the player progresses through the Seven Gates, they awaken. However visiting a denizen early
causes them to wake up prematurely. Each is said to guard an immense Grist hoard, to be released upon their defeat and used for the Ultimate Alchemy, although their true purpose appears to be to offering players The Choice which differs depending on the circumstances but seems to be based on facing your mortality.The denizens control the underlings and are responsible for many of the problems found on the players' planets.
Most of the trolls fought denizens of their own, as they are an integral part of the game and its often ignored "plot", with both Karkat and Vriska believing all the trolls to have killed them without talking to them. However Kanaya and potentially Tavros talked to their denizens. This may be due to Kanaya's role as a Sylph, as Sylphs are often skilled at speaking and reasoning, and Tavros' psychic communing abilities.
The denizens speak in a language that only their respective players can understand: Karkat was unable to understand what Echidna said to Jade; Typheus spoke to John "“in a language only he could understand”" ; Yaldabaoth also to spoke to Caliborn in a way that only he understood. Every version of Echidna can speak to Kanaya, Jade, and Calliope, as they all have her as their denizen. Some of the denizens may have a connection to the aspects that form part of a players'title.
Typheus
- Main article: Typheus
Typheus is the denizen of John Egbert in the Land of Wind and Shade. He may also be Tavros's and Rufioh Nitram's denizen, if he is tied to the Breath aspect.
According to a salamander on LOWAS in the Flash at the start of Act 4, before he fell asleep, Typheus cast a spell on the fireflies trapping them under the clouds, was commissioned by Agents (implicitly Agents of Derse) to create an army of Underlings, and befouling LOWAS with sludge, clogging the pipes in the process.
Typheus has large minions resembling the corresponding browser icon.
In Greek myth, Typheus was a terrible monster that even the gods feared, and after he was defeated, was trapped underground, specifically, under Mount Etna, the volcano Hephaestus was said to reside in.
Cetus
- Main article: Cetus
Cetus is the denizen of Rose Lalonde and Vriska Serket, two Heroes of Light, in the Land of Light and Rain and the Land of Maps and Treasure, respectively. She may also be Aranea Serket's denizen, if she is tied to the Light aspect. However, there is contradictory evidence on the matter.
According to Jaspersprite, Rose's denizen “ate everything in the ocean and got so full that it took a long nap”. Vriska refers to Cetus as female, and says that she was “8a88ling in riddles through most of the fight”.
In Greek myth, a Cetus was a large fish, serpent, whale, or sea monster, which would explain all of the fish of LOLAR being eaten, and why the trolls' version of Cetus was found amidst shipwrecks. Additionally, Ovid's Metamorphoses describe Cetus as having purple blood - Rose's associated color.
Hephaestus
- Main article: Hephaestus
Hephaestus, lord of the forge, is the denizen of Dave Strider in the Land of Heat and Clockwork. He may also be Aradia's and Damara Megido's denizen if he is tied to the Time aspect. He posseses a hammer called Fear No Anvil that had its captchalogue code acquired by alternate Dave through "shenanigans". Like some of the other denizens, it's insinuated he was not actually sleeping, but instead just laying irritably dormant until the forge appeared.
In Greek myth, Hephaestus lived in a volcano, and was the god of blacksmithing.
Echidna
- Main article: Echidna
Echidna, the mother of all monsters, is the denizen of Jade Harley and Kanaya Maryam, two Heroes of Space, in the Land of Frost and Frogs and the Land of Rays and Frogs, respectively. She is also Calliope's denizen in a doomed timeline. She may also be Porrim Maryam's denizen if she is tied to the Space aspect. There is, however contradictory evidence on the matter suggesting that Aranea may have had Echidna as a denizen instead.
In Greek myth, Echidna was considered the mate to Typheus and the "mother of all monsters" in that she actually gave birth to them.
Echidna has a white serpentine body with breasts and head, with her body terminating in two blue snake tails. Her browser icon shows no discernible quills, but they appear to simply prod from her back, as they are visible on side-facing statues. It is of note that Echidna's quills can be used as not only a weapon, but are also one of the only things sharp enough to scratch the Scratch construct, and may be necessary to carry out the full process of a scratch.
This denizen having quills is most likely in reference to the real life animal sharing the same name.
If Calliope had predominated over Caliborn and played the game instead, Echidna would have replaced Yaldabaoth as the session's only denizen.
Hemera
- Main article: Hemera
Hemera is the denizen of Jane Crocker in the Land of Crypts and Helium. She may also be Feferi's and Meenah Peixes's denizen, if she is tied to the Life aspect.
In Greek myth, Hemera is considered to be the personification of daytime.
Nix
- Main article: Nix
Nix is the denizen of Roxy Lalonde in the Land of Pyramids and Neon. She may also be Equius's and Horuss Zahhak's denizen, if she is tied to the Void aspect.
In Greek myth, Nyx (an alternate spelling of Nix) is considered to be the personification of nighttime.
Yaldabaoth
- Main article: Yaldabaoth
Yaldabaoth, the self-proclaimed god of all monsters, the most powerful and rarest of all denizens, is Dirk Strider's denizen in the Land of Tombs and Krypton and Caliborn's denizen on Earth, making him the only denizen confirmed to have been assigned to players of multiple aspects. He is among the first denizens to be actually shown in Homestuck, along with Typheus and Echidna.
In Christian Gnosticism Yaldabaoth (which is very close to the sound of the word "childhood" in Hebrew, "Yaldoot") is the demiurge, a being who was responsible for the creation of the universe. While Yaldabaoth is not a figure of classical Greek mythology as per the previous six revealed denizens, the concept of a 'demiurge' was originally derived from the Platonic dialogue, Timaeus.
Abraxas
- Main article: Abraxas
Abraxas is the denizen of Jake English in the Land of Mounds and Xenon. Like Yaldabaoth he originates from Gnosticism, making it unclear if he possesses any connection to the aspects. However he appears to be connected to angels, in particular, the cherubim, which are in turn associated with the aspect of Hope, potentially making him Eridan's and Cronus Ampora's denizen, if he is tied to the aspect of Hope.
Abraxas was a word of mystic meaning in the system of the Gnostic Basilides. This is the second denizen that appears in Gnostic texts (the first being Yaldabaoth). Opinions abound on Abraxas, who in recent centuries has been claimed to be both an Egyptian god and a demon. The Swiss Psychologist Carl Jung wrote a short Gnostic treatise called "The Seven Sermons to the Dead", which called Abraxas a God higher than the Christian God and Devil, that combines all opposites into one Being. These interpretations may be connected to Calliope and Caliborn.
Connections to the Aspects
While some of the denizens appear to have some connections to a player's aspect, others like Yaldabaoth, who was assigned to a Hero of Heart and a Hero of Time, and is described as a rare denizen that is “usually designated for the most naturally gifted warriors” seems to be absent of such connections. Karkat also describes his denizen in a similar, yet opposite way, stating that his denizen may be “ONE RESERVED FOR THE WEAKEST PLAYERS”. Given this, it is unknown if the apparent connections are coincidence, or if only some denizens are connected to aspects, or if the aspects are only a single factor in denizen assignment.
Typheus, as John's denizen in the Land of Wind and Shade, was shown to have control over the breeze, the domain of John's aspect, Breath. It is however possible that his powers vary from session to session in order to better suit the player he is assigned to, making his control over the Breeze session specific. Cetus while having no apparent connection to the aspect of Light has nevertheless been assigned to two Heroes of Light: Rose and Vriska.
Echidna and Hephaestus appear to have some connection to Space and Time, respectively. Echidna, as the denizen of three Heroes of Space - Jade, Kanaya, and Calliope - is described as the "mother of all monsters" and is tied to creation, the domain of the aspect of Space. Furthermore, considering that the scratch appears to be a union of Space and Time (as evidenced by Skaia's appearance as the scratch construct approaches it), Echidna seems to be responsible for the Space component of that: her quills may be necessary to perform the scratch itself, while the scratch construct is located on the planet of the Hero of Time.
Hephaestus, as Dave's denizen, wielded a hammer with power over Time, though it is possible his hammer changes depending on to whom he is assigned. Hephaestus requires lava from the Forge, a volcano that is brought into the session by the Hero of Space, implying that Hephaestus cannot be assigned to Space players, likewise, this dependency on the aspect of Space would tie into the unity of Space and Time.
In the A1 session there is some confusion over to who was assigned Echidna. Aranea, a Hero of Light, while attempting to explain events of the A1 session gave indications she had Echidna as her denizen. However, she was interrupted both times, possibly indicating that the hints were simple miscommunication. Eventually it was implied that Porrim, a Hero of Space, was assigned Echidna, however it still has not been explicitly stated and the issue is still unclear.
Trivia
- The denizen of each kid matches their respective browser of choice, and the browser icons are simplified representations of the denizens' appearances, as has been seen with Yaldabaoth and Typheus, as well as statues of Nix and Echidna (since the statue of Yaldabaoth on LOTAK matched his true appearance, the same is assumed for other denizens).
- So far, all confirmed player-denizen pairings share the same gender. However, if most denizens are tied to aspects, this may not always be the case. (Equius, for example, may have had Nix as his denizen, and Aradia may have had Hephaestus).
- Each browser icon has a colored part that matches its user's normal clothing: John's green slime ghost and Typheus' snake part are green, Jade's depictions on her shirts are blue like Echidna's lower half, Rose's Horrorterror picture on her shirt is purple, like Cetus' icon, and Dave's record has both a red part and a black part, like Hephaestus' flames and silhouette. Only Jane and Roxy do not match Nix and Hemera. Possibly, the colorations of their denizens reference the colors of Prospit and Derse, Jane and Roxy's respective dream planets. The red in Yaldabaoth could been seen as matching Lil Hal; Caliborn has Lil Sebastion in his possession, which has rusted orange.
- Each of the denizens' lairs is also marked with the same browser icon, as seen with Hephaestus, Typheus, and Yaldabaoth.
- No denizens have yet been seen for heroes of Blood, Doom, Mind and Rage.
