Jaxon Hall


 * "And words, my walker – well, words are everything. Words give wings even to those that have been stamped upon, broken beyond all hope of repair."
 * ―Jaxon Hall

Jaxon Hall, also known as the White Binder, is the eccentric leader of the London-based clairvoyant gang, the Seven Seals. He is Paige Mahoney's employer and the mime-lord of I Cohort Section 4, also known as Seven Dials. Jaxon is a binder.

History
Jaxon's parents were murdered by Scion when he was four years old, leaving him alone on the streets of London. He was soon picked up by three kidsmen, who made him steal from amaurotics in return for food. He dreamed of going to university, but his kidsmen laughed at him and told him that he had never been to school and never would.

When Jaxon was twelve, he began to experience severe itching under his skin, which caused him to scratch himself so violently that his kidsmen often sent him out to beg as he would attract sympathy for his wounds. At fourteen he began carrying out more dangerous crimes. One winter day the itching under his skin became too much and was on the ground half-mad and scratching himself to death. Finally, a woman stopped beside him and urged him to carve "a long-dead name." He went to Nunhead Cemetery and though he was unable to read or write, he cut his finger and copied the shapes of letters on a grave onto his skin using his own blood. He spent the night delirious, feeling spirits dancing around him. This was when Jaxon first began to understand the nature of his gift as a binder. The spirit he bound to him taught him how to read and write. He sold the spirit and eventually left the kidsmen. It is implied that he returned to kill them.

Jaxon began his research into clairvoyance after leaving his kidsmen. He spent many years learning as much information as possible about clairvoyance, which culminated in the writing of the pamphlet called On the Merits of Unnaturalness, which explained his theory on the Seven Orders of Clairvoyance. He met Alfred, a psycho-scout, who represented his work to the Spiritus Club, London's voyant publishing house. It was published in 2031 and caused the famous gang wars that resulted in the vile augurs being imprisoned on Jacob's Island. Lately he's been working on a new pamphlet called, On the Machinations of the Itinerant Dead, that discusses the various kinds of spirits.

The Pale Dreamer
It is 2056, and Paige Mahoney is sixteen and has been working for Jaxon for three months. She was introduced to him by Jaxon's mollisher Nicklas Nygård. One of the other Seven Seals, Eliza Renton, arrives at their base, the White Binder's Den, with news. Jaxon's long-time rival, Didion Waite, has been looking for valuable spirits to auction. He has found Sarah Metyard, a famous poltergeist. He hired an amateur binder to bind her, even though he himself is a binder. The hired binder messed up and now the spirit is on a rampage. Nick believes that Metyard is after the spirit of Anne Naylor, the teenage girl she murdered. Jaxon says they must deal with Didion, who by creating a rogue poltergeist, has broken syndicate law. He immediately calls Didion and blackmails him into allowing the Seven Seals to bind Metyard and claim her, as well as the right to bind Anne Naylor. Didion reluctantly and angrily agrees to avoid being reported to Haymarket Hector, who as Underlord, would most likely kill him for breaking syndicate law.

To Paige's surprise, Jaxon is giving her a chance to go into the field instead of doing desk duty. Paige and Nick will begin searching for Sarah in Anne's haunt, located in Cheapside. Eliza will research the poltergeist’s history before and after her death. Before leaving to begin their search, Jaxon gives Paige her alias, The Pale Dreamer. Paige is ecstatic because this makes her one step closer to fully being in the Seven Seals. She is desperate to impress Jaxon by bringing "the sparkle of ambition to his eyes."

Nick and Paige track down Sarah and Anne to West Street, the location where Sarah disposed of Anne's body. They lure Sarah into the courtyard behind the den and try to hold her in place so Jaxon can come and bind her. When Sarah realizes what Jaxon is trying to do, she hurtles toward him. Paige jumps in front of Jaxon, giving him time to complete the binding. Jaxon, Paige, Nick, Eliza, and Anne are battling against Sarah, trying to hold her in place. The binding isn't working. Suddenly, Paige realizes that this isn't Sarah Metyard, it's her daughter, Sarah Morgan Metyard. She tells Jaxon her realization. Just as Paige thinks holding off Sarah is going to kill her; Jaxon successfully completes the binding. Anne returns to her haunt, while the Seals return to the den to recover. Sarah is now bound to Jaxon and enters the den as well, no longer on a rampage.

After falling asleep, Paige is woken by Eliza who takes her to the neighboring cookshop known as Chateline's. Paige thinks Jaxon is going to let her go, but Nick and Eliza assure her that he won't. Eliza tells her that everyone, including Jaxon, was impressed that Paige was able to hold back Sarah on her own, while they can only repel spirits with spools. Eliza also explains that Jaxon had a strong suspicion that the two spirits would confront each other at West Street, but he wanted to test Paige by seeing if she could work it out herself. He was delighted when she did. A few weeks after the capture of Sarah, Jaxon offers Paige the position of mollisher, which she accepts.

The Bone Season
Coming soon...

The Mime Order
Before going to the Unnatural Assembly after Hector's murder, Jaxon binds the London Monster to him so that he can keep the poltergeist from further hurting Paige. During the meeting of the Assembly, Jaxon keeps Paige from talking about the Rephaim. Immediately after the meeting, Jaxon threatens to show the Abbess the London Monster's mark on Paige's arm if she tries to talk about the Rephaim. Paige realizes that he never meant to use the meeting to protect her from being charged as Hector's murderer, but to trap her to ensure she would never rise above him.

The Seals gather at Chatline's where Jaxon announces that he will be participating in the scrimmage to determine the next Underlord or Underqueen. Paige sees two Rephaim and rushes back to the den, convinced she must go into hiding. Jaxon follows her and they get into a heated argument. He threatens her once again, saying she can stay with him and have protection, or she can be cast out of the syndicate and charged with Hector's murder.

During the scrimmage, Paige and Jaxon fight as a team in the Rose Ring and defeat all of their opponents. As Jaxon is about to be named Underlord, Paige challenges him for the crown. As they are fighting, Jaxon tries to undermine Paige's claim to the crown by reminding the Unnatural Assembly that she's a murder suspect and a wanted fugitive. However, as many members of the syndicate are murderers and all voyants are wanted fugitives, this tactic doesn't work. He comes extremely close to defeating her, but she is able to beat him at the last minute by possessing him and forcing him to issue the words of surrender. Jaxon leaves, warning Paige that he will find other allies.

The Song Rising
Upon winning the scrimmage and being crowned Underqueen, Paige discovers that Jaxson has betrayed her. He has gone to the Rephaim, and Nashira Sargas has named him the new Grand Overseer. Paige also realizes that Jaxson was XVIII-39-7, the human who had betrayed the Ranthen to the Sargas.

The Mask Falling
Coming soon...

Physical Description
Jaxon is 6"1' and fine-boned with pale lips and skin, and steely milk-blue eyes "alive with a sort of agitated intelligence." He has black hair that he usually wears smoothed back. He frequently carries one of his antique canes. His hands are soft. Jaxon looks much younger than his age, with scarcely a line on his face and no hint of gray in his black hair.

Personality
Jaxon is a debonair, waistcoat-wearing, cane-swinging gangster with an upper-class chip on his shoulder. He’s a ruthless man with highbrow manners and airs of intellectualism. His every word and movement ooze panache, and he has no real conscience. Jaxon is feared and loved in equal measure. He is fiercely imaginative.

Jaxon is very sardonic, ruthless and money-hungry. He drinks absinthe frequently. Jaxon treats the Seven Seals like property and shows absolutely no concern for their mental well-being. He doesn't let them have relationships because they are supposed to be completely devoted to him. He has dangerous, erratic mood swings, to the point where everyone tiptoes around the den if they hear Danse Macabre playing. He can be very charming. He manages to persuade Zeke and Nadine to leave their lives in the United States, a free country, for a life of crime in the London syndicate. He believes himself to be the benevolent boss, despite keeping the Seven Seals on a tight leash. He also has quite the repertoire of insults. For example, he calls his long-time rival Didion Waite "a lily-lived curl of besmirched slime, unfit for human civilization." Jaxon is uncommonly wealthy for a mime-lord and spends most of his time lounging around Seven Dials smoking cigars, drinking absinthe, and indulging in various blacklisted entertainments.

While in Paige's memories he's shown to be an ebullient, charismatic man who really cares about his gang, this illusion is later broken when he slams her against the nearest available fence and threatens to kill her if she leaves his service. He shows the full extent of his ruthlessness by severely beating Paige in the scrimmage and then joining the Sargas. He is cunning and plays mind games with his direct subordinates. He is heavily implied to have used false promises to get Zeke and Nadine to stay in Seven Dials. He keeps his gang financially and emotionally dependent on him. He blackmails Paige into keeping her silence in front of the Unnatural Assembly. He sows discord in the Mime Order by suggesting to Paige that Warden doesn’t truly care for her and that she’s become an instrument of Terebell Sheratan’s control, which cleverly plays on her existing fears.

Etymology
Jaxon is an English name meaning "God has been gracious; has shown favor". Hall is a surname of English origin but has Scottish roots. It means "kind" and "forgiving".

Trivia

 * The flowers Jaxon chooses for the scrimmage are Forsythia to tell how much he's looking forward to the fight, Ragged-robin for wit, and monkshood for "chivalry" or "beware."

Appearances

 * The Pale Dreamer
 * The Bone Season
 * The Mime Order
 * The Song Rising
 * The Dawn Chorus (mentioned only)
 * The Mask Falling