Susan

Susan's head was whirling at the sudden changes in fortune her life had taken. A young girl of Hambry who's aunt had fallen onto hard times, and who's own life had taken a rather hard turn.....

Her name is Susan Delgrado, and her story is a rather....involved affair with parts that are a bit of an adult nature. Some of it is harsh and some of it is unjust and perhaps even a bit immoral. But that is the nature of Mid-World and Susan, Roland do the best they can with the hand they are dealt in the best way they can do it.....and sometimes fall victim to circumstances and things beyond their control (ka in other words).

The situation (and a glimpse into Susan's character) is pretty much summed up by the author of the website (All text and HTML coding © 1996 Jordan C. Lund This text and all related pages are freely distributable, providing this notice remains intact. of this website):

http://www.geocities.com/jordanlund/dtfaq1.htm

 Be warned it's very much of a spoiler to large parts of books by Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, so perhaps some don't want to read the next part. That said, here's the quote:

An old witch named Rhea uses a crystal ball to fortell the coming of three riders. One she clearly recognizes as a gunslinger (Roland) even though he carries no guns but rather a bow and arrows along with a lance. We find out later that the crystal ball was given to her by John Farson, the Good Man, for safe keeping. The box it is stored in is engraved with an all seeing eye (see the following notes regarding Topeka and the graffiti found there.) 

Rhea meets with Susan Delgado and ensures Susan's virginal status before sending her to the mayor of the town for a somewhat unseemly business transaction (Susan bears him a son and he returns Susans land and horses that somehow were lost when her father died.) However Rhea states that Thorin (the mayor) isn't to have her until the time of reaping (three months later). Rhea also uses hypnotism to program Susan to do something right after Thorin attempts to concieve his son. 

Susan encounters a young man who introduces himself as Will Dearborn, the young man carrying a bow and arrows and a lance. 

Will reveals that John Farson, "The Good Man", is fast becoming a threat. In his name civil war has broken out in the Northern and Western Baronies. 

One month after the defeat of Cort It is revealed (to the reader at any rate) that "Will Dearborn", "Arthur Heath" and "Richard Stockworth" are actually Roland Deschain, Cuthbert AllGood and Alain Johns. Roland is not quite fifteen years old at this point. 

Three men, apparently working for Farson, had moved into Hambry and are getting cosy with the mayor as bodyguards. Eldred Jonas, Roy Depape and Clay Reynolds. Jonas, at the very least, has visited other worlds. Collectively the three are called "The Big Coffin Hunters." 

Roland and Susan meet again at a huge party (Romeo and Juliet style.) Roland figures out that Susan is, essentially, whoring herself to the mayor and becomes infuriated with her. 

Depape, of the Big Coffin Hunters, tries to start a bar-fight with a young retarded boy. Cuthbert tries to break it up but he is soon overtaken by Reynolds who, in an almost laughable mexican stand off, is surprised by Alain who is in turn drawn down on by Jonas. Roland is the tie-breaker and everyone goes home alive and happy. The young Ka-tet also gains a new friend in that of Sheemie, the retarded bar-boy. 

In the town square are representations of seven of the twelve guardians. Bear, Turtle, Fish, Eagle, Lion, Bat and Wolf. 

One week after the bar- fight Sheemie delivers flowers to Susan from Roland. 

Three weeks after the bar- fight Susan has a fight with her Aunt (Cordelia) and Susan goes out for a frustrated horseback ride. She encounters Roland who tells her that he's suspicious of the Big Coffin Hunters and tells her why. They kiss passionately and vow never to see each other again. 

Around this time Depape, who has been researching the young trio, discovers that Roland is the son of a Gunslinger, last in a famous line of Gunslingers and may in fact be one himself. 

Roland and Susan figure out that the Big Coffin Hunters are, in fact, working for Farson and are preparing four oil-tankers to fuel his war machines. 

.......Susan is nearly raped by the man she is betrothed to and she is so repulsed by the act and the non-chalance of everyone around her that she goes off riding. Roland sees her and Ka sweeps them into each others arms. Afterwards, in a trance, Susan promptly attempts to chop all her hair off. It is this that the old witch had programmed her to do after she had slept with Thorin, the mayor of the town. 

Cordelia knows something is up and takes her suspicions to Jonas. 

Jonas starts investigating the trio, knowing that one of them, and perhaps all of them, are more than they seem. He uncovers evidence that the three boys are on to him and his companions. 

....One day, after the boys leave the bunkhouse, Jonas goes in and trashes the place partly as an excuse to see what they are up to, but mostly in the hopes that he will infuriate them. Alain immediately knows something is wrong, even though he is miles away. This is known as "The Touch". 

The three return to camp and Cuthbert nearly tears Rolands head off for not wanting to do anything about it. He rode off in a huff and ran into Sheemie who is supposed to deliver a letter from Rhea to Cordelia. Cuthbert neatly intercepts it. 

The Big Coffin Hunters had been waiting for one of Farsons men to make contact and sure enough one of them does. Depape is deeply disturbed by the Man in Black due to his constantly shifting appearance. He wears faces pulled seemingly from Depapes mind itself. Depape also said that the Man in Black "laughed like a dead person." The Man in Black also carried Farsons sign, the all seeing eye. Jonas went to meet him and was equally taken aback. The Man in Black is, of course, Walter. 

The letter Cuthbert intercepted would have confirmed Cordelias suspicions, that her niece was no longer pure as the driven snow. Cuthbert confronts Roland with the letter and Roland is forced to apologize profusely for behaving like a mongrel in heat. 

Roland and Cuthbert confront Rhea, killing her pet snake and warning her to cease interfering. Rhea, naturally, will not be cowed so easily. 

Latigo, the man Jonas had been waiting for (Walter was a somewhat unpleasant surprise) arrives with 100 of Farsons men. They are planning to kill Roland and his companions the day before the reaping festival. 

The three boys meet with Susan in a mausoleum at night to discuss what has gone on in the town and their future plans. Their goal is to blow up the oil-tankers and kill all of Farsons men, but the day they plan to do it will be a single day late. 

Roland & his ka-tet begin preparations while Rhea is being consumed by the Grapefruit. 

The demon moon that marks reaping time rose, but as if it were an ill-omen it rises blood-red. Cordelia has gone mad, burning her neice in effigy and Reynolds began the assault on Hambry by killing Rimer, the Mayor's Chancellor. Depape kills Mayor Thorin himself, leaving behind the mark of Farson on the wall (the all seeing eye) and Cuthbert's rook skull in the dead man's lap to implicate the boys in the crime. 

Jonas and a crew of locals arrest Roland and co. for the murders. Roland figures out that Jonas is a failed Gunslinger and taunts him with it. They then try to retrieve the crystal ball from Rhea, who refuses to part with it unless she is allowed to come along. 

Susan breaks into the jail, killing the Sherrif and his deputy in order to free Roland. Cuthbert and Alain come along for the ride, but it is clear she is doing this for Roland's sake alone. 

Jonas' men manage to capture Susan and take her back to town before Roland and co. sweep down on the remaining men like avenging angels killing as many as they can. Roland recovers the Grapefruit after killing Jonas. 

Roland becomes absorbed by the light from the Grapefruit. He hears the voice of the Turtle which says (among other things) "You will kill everything and everyone you love, and still the tower will be pent shut against you." 

Sheemie rescues Susan with Thorin's wife and maid. 

Roland and co. blow up Farson's oil tankers and lead the remaining soldiers straight into a breach between dimensions called a "thinny" that consumes them all. 

Susan is re-captured by Rhea and Clay Reynolds, the lone remaining Big Coffin Hunter, the town as a whole (and Susan's aunt, now raving mad, in particular) seeks to burn Susan alive as part of the annual Reaping Day festivities. Susan and Roland's unborn child are consumed by the flames. Cordelia has a heart attack and dies before the bonfire does. 

Unfortnately while Roland is gazing into the Grapefruit, it shows him the entire event from beginning to end, it also twists the knife by adding the fact that Susan was with child, Roland's child. Roland suffers an emotional collapse and shuts down. His friends return with him to their homeland. 

Now, there are two differences between King's novel and what we have here. One is that Susan's last name has an extra letter here, making it Delgrado vice Delgado. Second is that, obviously, she actually survived the attempt at her life and was taken to Terra Prime. Probe had to cover by faking her death to preserve continuity (else risking a major time paradox and driving Roland insane). 

Now, through a twist of fate, Susan Delgrado (now Susan Deschain) had been saved and was now wed to her love, Roland! Not being stupid, she knew very well how incredibly lucky she was and planned to, after her wedding night, to go to the nearest temple....church....or whatever near equivalent to her religion back home on Mid-world and thank the gods and goddesses for their favor on her and her unborn child! Roland had said, privately, that he'd join her in that thanks.

1. "....I now pronounce you married," Queen Astra finishes, "You can now kiss your grooms." And Susan and the others did indeed, most heartfelt and warm! 

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