The Twelve Portals and Guardians
Twelve Guardians are explained to guard the Twelve Portals. Each Guardian matches up with a Guardian at the Portal on the other end of the Beam, and at the point where all the Beams meet is the Dark Tower. The Guardians are revealed in several scenes: the first is revealed when Roland is explaining to Eddie and Susannah Dean what Shardik was and his understanding of the Beams; another is revealed when Eddie and Susannah approach the Cradle of Lud; and the last, Bird and Hare, are revealed in the poem Roland and his lover, Susan Delgado, recite to each other occasionally: "Bird and Bear and Hare and Fish...." The only pairs identified are by Susannah and Eddie while at the Cradle of Lud.
Shardik was created by North Central Positronics Ltd., which may be connected to the mysterious Sombra Corporation.
The pairings as mentioned in the book are:
- Bear - Turtle
- Horse - Dog
- Fish - Rat
- Elephant - Wolf
- Lion - Eagle
- Bat - Hare
Read more about this topic: The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands
Famous quotes containing the words twelve and/or guardians:
“The ninth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Nine drummers drumming,”
—Unknown. The Twelve Days of Christmas (l. 53–55)
“Sometimes I wonder if suicides aren’t in fact sad guardians of the meaning of life.”
—Václav Havel (b. 1936)