Anatomy of a Villain

Before I get started, just a few points I need to make.

1. I wanted to jot down my thoughts on the main villain or antagonist of the Verdan Chronicles, Terek.  I thought that providing some insight into this character will give current readers more perspective into what this series is all about and give potential readers more insight on what to expect should they decide to give this series a chance.
2. WARNING:  There will be some spoilers in this post.  Some will be explicit, some will be a little vague and some will be extremely vague.  Trust me, whatever I decide to reveal here is just the tip of the iceberg.  This writeup will not prepare you for everything you'll read.
3. I put a lot of thought into Terek, so this post will also get quite long.

Alright, so if you've read the warnings and decide you'd still like to read this, then welcome and enjoy.  First, I'd like to set the stage with a couple of definitions I pulled from Google.

Villain - "A character whose evil actions or motives are important to the plot."

Evil - "Profoundly immoral or malevolent."

I clearly consider Terek to be the main villain to The Verdan Chronicles.  His actions and motives are important to the plot.  But is he evil?  Certainly the heroes or protagonists in the story would say he is.  They clearly state such at several points.  Yet even the villains in the story refer to the heroes as being pretentious with their labels.  After all, don't those with power have a responsibility to use it to make the world a better place?

When the story begins Terek is at war with the country of Izmir and the surrounding countries of Valuria and Brinland.  He has openly declared his intent to rule all of the civilized world.  His army is small, but is rapidly growing.  His mystical powers are strong and he is seeking ancient artifacts to augment them even further. But while his plans to rule the world threaten the lives and positions of those who currently rule, does that make him evil?  After all, isn't his goal to rule the world just a means to reach his ultimate goal of world peace?  Is world peace evil?

The premise put forth in the series is that it is not Terek's goal that is evil, it is rather the means he goes about attempting to acheive it.  The current rulers in Verdan and their champions assert that peace can be obtained through peaceful negotiation and maintained through vigilance.  Terek asserts that those in power are too interested in pereserving their own positions and that having multiple rulers, by its very nature, will lead to disputes and eventually to conflict.  And in the end, it will always be the masses who suffer.  He considers himself to be a champion of the common man and elf.

The latter point is something Terek uses again and again to justify his actions.  He doesn't trust those in power and doesn't believe they care about the welfare of their people.  He doesn't believe they truly understand what it is their people really want.  And while it can be argued that Terek doesn't really understand the needs of the commoner either, some believe his rule would still be an improvement.  Although, it is also pointed out many times that people care much more about local issues and things that affect their day to day life more than they care about who sits on the throne.

Alright, so Terek wants to be in charge and he doesn't trust those in power.  Who does?  His proposals may or may not help the commoner, but there is no certainty that life would be worse under his rule.  This still doesn't answer the question, what makes him evil?  At several points in the story Terek will act in a selfless manner and risk his very life to maintain his principles or to safeguard those about whom he cares.  Certainly, those are not evil acts, nor are they malevolent in intent.

The premise I put forth in the series is that Terek's motive are not in and of themselves evil.  He can act selflessly at times, but for the most part his actions are clearly immoral.  Perhaps those of like mind would argue that last statement, but most of society would not.  I consider Terek someone who wants to do good, but whose moral compass is irrepairably broken.  He shows no remorse for his actions and doesn't understand why he should.

So how did Terek get this way?  Who is he, really?  A lot of thought went into the making of Terek, so let me introduce him.  Terek is a wizard.  He is a powerful wizard.  At the beginning of The Fourth Age he is perhaps the most powerful wizard in Verdan.  Perhaps the only man as powerful is his older brother, Arakon.  But no one has heard from Arakon in fifteen years.

While the two men are brothers, they have never been close.  They are twenty years apart in age.  By the time Terek was born, Arakon was already going off on adventures with their father, Menkelin.  Terek was left behind in the care of his mother, Lenora.  She doted on the younger Terek.  It was an interesting dynamic. Terek looked up to his older brother, but didn't really know him.  His father was stern, but not abusive, and while Terek loved him, he also feared him.  Terek understood he had mystic ability, but for a long time he felt so inferior to his father and older sibling, that he didn't really expend much effort in his mystical studies.

As Terek entered puberty, an event happened in his life that altered his course.  That event is detailed in Dark Passages, but made Terek rededicate himself to magic.  It also caused him to withdraw more from the world outside.  Eventually, it led to his family being torn apart, which is also detailed in Dark Passages.  Terek began to travel the world, his knowledge and his mystic ability grew.  And then he found a new purpose in life. That purpose was tragically taken from him and set him adrift.

It wasn't until Terek stumbled into the Taleecian village and learned of the shaman's vision that he came to decide upon his destiny.  He firmly believes that every event in his life prior to that time was intended to prepare him for this moment.  From that point on, he believes that any deviation from his goal would tarnish the memory of everything he ever cared about.  You need to understand that about Terek.  Nothing will sway him from reaching his goal.

Alright, so Terek's background might actually garner sympathy from some.  And in the story, for the very few who do know, it does.  Which brings us back to the central point of this blog, why is he a villain?  Why are we supposed to believe Terek is evil?  Let's look at his actions in The Fourth Age.  Once he comes into possession of the Crown of Dragons, he thinks nothing of using it to control Fernol.  Yes, you could argue that Fernol is evil, but Terek never really stops to consider Fernol's motives, he just sees him as an instrument of destruction that he can use to destroy his enemies.

And then there's the skeraka.  Certainly, setting them free was a noble act, wasn't it?  Maybe.  But once they swear allegiance to him, does he ever stop to really care about what they want?  He stops them from getting their revenge on Fernol. He makes a deal with the goblins that he considers more important than paying them back for their treatment of the skeraka.  But perhaps worst of all, he doesn't hesitate to make an ally of Troconin, who masterminded the skeraka's imprisonment in the first place.  And yet he casually makes promises to the skeraka that he consistenly only intends to keep if it serves his purpose at the time.

Let's look at whom Terek enlists as allys.  Batrok is simply a lackey and Xintar can actually be quite noble and honorable.  But what about Ombu.  Ombu is sick and depraved.  If you don't believe that now, you will after Dark Passages and Heroes of Bardoom; trust me.  Yet Terek really doesn't care how Ombu goes about carrying out his orders; as long as he gets results.  Troconin only cares about Tronconin.  He thirsts for fame and fortune and flaunts both.  He believe himself superior to those who serve him.  Some of those values are contrary to Terek's, but Terek can live with that as long as Troconin gets results.

And then there's the matter of Terek's infiltration of Parthea and the Mermis religion.  He actually passes himself off as a prophet of their god and promises to marry the daughter of the high priest and priestess. Ultimately, his actions will tear Parthea apart, something that will begin in Dark Passages.  Does Terek really care about how his actions there impact the commoner?  Well, he also states that sometimes sacrifices are necessary to acheive the greater goal.  I guess if you believe that, you may still question whether he's evil.

What about Darkwood?  Terek promises to end the anymosity that has arisen between men and elves.  That sounds like a worthy goal until you realize that (SPOILER ALERT) Terek is behind the anymosity.  He generated the conflict in order to push the elves toward joining his cause.  And once they agree to join him, there's really no turning back.  Terek knows that Gitrel is being poisoned, but does nothing to alert the king.  Terek knows that the queen is courting favor with the god of the Netherworld, Jamut.  Yet rather than oppose such actions, he uses them for his own gain.  Terek does nothing to spurn Silessa's flirtations, yet isn't he engaged to Sircey and in a relationship with Raven?  Does he really care for any of them?

And finally, that brings us back to his brother.  Terek doesn't hesitate to entrap Arakon and his companions. He does whatever he can to detain and then destroy them.  His brother's death is all part of his plan.  He has full knowledge of an impending disaster. Does he warn anyone?  No, he uses this knowledge to destroy his enemies.

If you still have any doubt as to whether or not Terek is evil, then I encourage you to read Dark Passages and then Heroes of Bardoom.  You'll learn that sometimes Terek has anger management issues and what it means to make him angry.  Wait!  You thought wizard's spells fail if guided by emotion.  Isn't that how magic works in Verdan.  The short answer is yes.  But powerful and trained wizards learn that you cannot eliminate emotions. Those who try will usually fail and weaken their magic.  The most powerful wizards learn how to compartmentalize their brain.  They don't fight emotion, but they fence it off into an area of their brain separate from concious thought.  The emotions are still there, but the wizard can still execute their spells with cold precision.  You have to also think about what that type of training might do to a person.  In that respect, Terek and Arakon are probably a little alike.

So there's Terek.  He is the main villain of the series.  He's not the only villain and I can't promise that he's the most powerful villain.  But his actions and motives are important to the plot.