He also gets to meet the mysterious Arthur Parnassus, who leaves a very unusual mark on Linus. When he arrives, he meets the six children Talia, a gnome who takes good care of her garden, and who is obsessed with killing someone with her shovel Theodore, a wyvern who loves to collect random objects (such as Linus' buttons) Phee, a forest sprite who is under the apprenticeship of Zoe Sal, a teenage boy who is extremely shy, has a big body, and can turn into a pomeranian Chauncey, a marine animal who dreams of becoming a bellhop and, finally, Lucy, the six-year-old son of the Devil, who also has a very grim sense of humour, greeting him with threats of destroying the world. He also learns that the village near the island and orphanage are paid to keep quiet, but still detest the orphanage and magical beings.

When he arrives, he is greeted by Zoe Chapelwhite, who is actually an island sprite and protects Marsyas. Linus is told to stay for one month to observe the daily lives of the children. When Extremely Upper Management calls him, he is given a Classified Level 4 (he had only been given a Classified Level 3 once, which was an unfortunate incident), in what will probably be his most challenging task ever taking a trip to the Marsyas Orphanage, where six extraordinary children are kept by an equally extraordinary carettaker, Arthur Parnassus. He spends his work days overseeing the care of magical children in orphanages, and his nights listening to his old records. Linus Baker is a 40-year-old man who lives with his devious cat Calliope, and who works as a case-worker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY).

The story was inspired by the Sixties Scoop, when young, Indigenous children were removed from their families by the Canadian government and sent to live with white, middle-class families.

The house in the cerulean sea book 2