The Fiend

"What is evil? The only evil is to deny yourself what you really want, thus I do no evil because I always impose my will upon others. I always take what I want!"

The Fiend is a recurring character and antagonist in The Wardstone Chronicles.

Biography[]

Murder of the Grimalkin's Child[]

"Our child, Grimalkin! Our child! I did it because I could. I also did it to hurt you! I did it because I could not suffer it to live! Grown to manhood, that child would have become my deadly enemy, and a dangerous one too. But now another has replaced him—the boy called Thomas Ward. I will destroy him as well. I cannot allow him to become a man. He must die too, just like your child. First, I will do it because I can! Second, to prevent him from destroying me. Third, to hurt you, Grimalkin. Because without him, your last hope of revenge will be gone!"

The soon to be witch assassin Grimalkin hated the Fiend so much that she took the only means of keeping him at bay: bearing his child. Most children of the Fiend are either abhumans or witches, but on extremely rare occasions are perfectly normal. Grimalkin's child was normal in appearance. For a few days, Grimalkin took care of the child. However, one day the Fiend came and, with a roar of rage, seized the child from its beloved mother before smashing its head against a rock. Then, he vanished in a cloud of smoke. Grimalkin herself was overwhelmed with grief. Eventually, she made it her mission in life to destroy the Fiend.

Grimalkin's Attack[]

On the sabbath of Halloween, the Fiend paid a visit to the Deanes. Grimalkin was prepared. She cloaked herself in very powerful dark magic and abandoned the Malkin celebrations and set off to join the Deane festivities. The dark magic prevented the Deanes from sniffing her out. Having crafted three silver alloy blades, she charges straight at the Fiend and hurled them at him. The attack worked, but this did not destroy him. The only reason the Fiend did not slay her on the spot was because Grimalkin bore him a child and he could only be in her presence only if she wished it. Cloaking herself again in dark magic, she set off, easily killing the vengeful assassins who the Deanes sent after her. To this day, the Deane clan still do not know who it was that did this.

Summoning into our World[]

The Pendle witches were very close to achieving their goal. They intended to raise the Fiend on Lammas (one of the four main witch sabbaths). They just needed the support of the Mouldheels, who refused to play any part of it. But when Tom drives Mab Mouldheel (leader of the Mouldheel clan) away from Malkin Tower, she promises him that she'll have her revenge by joining up with the other clans to summon the Fiend. John, Tom, and Alice arrive too late. The Fiend is there before they could do anything about it. Alice tells Tom to take refuge in his Mam's room, which is magically protected from even the most powerful denizens of the Dark. Tom sets off for the farm immediately. After a brief run-in with Grimalkin, Tom makes it to the safety of the room. The Fiend is hot on his heels but the room is more powerful and Tom is safe... for now.

Bargaining with Tom[]

Having saved Arkwright from Morwena (an infamous water witch and the daughter of the Fiend), John, Tom, and Alice all set off for Arkwright's mill. The Fiend is waiting for them. He uses his malevolent powers to stop time, so only Tom can speak to him. He tells Tom to go out onto the marsh and face Morwena alone. If he fails to destroy her, the Fiend will kill him, along with Arkright, Alice, and John. Tom agrees and decides to throw in one of his own rules. No matter if he succeeds in killing Morwena or not, the Fiend will release the spirits of Arkwright's parents who are bound to the mill. Tom agrees with the Friend's bargin. Tom ventures out into the marsh and succeeds in killing Morwena, but only by the help of Grimalkin. Having succeeded in slaying his daughter, the Fiend had no choice but to keep his word. He allowed the party to live and released the spirits of Arkwright's parents. Later on in the book we discover that while Tom was fighting Morwena on the marsh, the Fiend reveals to Alice the identity of her true mother and father, Bony Lizzie and himself.

Reaping Tom's soul and Trickery[]

While searching for the Ordeen within the Ord, Tom falls through a trap door and lands in a large metal basin to prevent him from escaping. Lamia Witches are below and Tom realizes that he is their meal. However, before the basin can be lowered to the Lamias, the Fiend appears and halts time once more. He shows Tom the future, of what will happen in mere moments: John, Tom, Alice, and Arkwright all dying, while the Ordeen slaughters everyone in Meteora and all of the refugees fleeing. To prevent this from happening, the Fiend strikes a deal with Tom. He will give Tom the precise location of the Ordeen and delay her awakening for one hour. In return, he will claim Tom's soul. Tom refuses at first and then thinks of the victory that could be won. He soon agrees. Three days later, after the destruction of the Ordeen, along with the deaths of Mam and Bill Arkwright, the Fiend comes for Tom's soul. He isn't in the form of Matthew Gilbert, the bargeman. He's instead as his true self, covered in hair, malevolent eyes, horns of a goat, and as tall as a giant. However, before he can reap his reward, Alice awakens from her slumber and comes to Tom's aid, with the blood jar in her hand. The Fiend is forced to retreat. From now on Tom and Alice must be together, or the Fiend will slay Alice on the spot and take Tom's soul for any use he wishes.

Physical Appearance[]

One of the Fiend's powers is the ability to change form at will. The Fiend can become anything he chooses but in the books he is only seen using a few forms.

His Fearsome Majesty[]

This is the Fiend's preferred form. Often used when appearing during witch ceremonies. This form has the a very intimidating appearance. Being said to drive normal humans insane just by looking at him. This gives the fiend a towering figure covered with thick dark hair. The Fiend's head has two long horns and his eyes are described to be like those of a goat. This is probably the Fiend's most dangerous form.

The Bargeman[]

The Fiend mostly used this form during the fifth and sixth books whenever meeting with Tom. This form is in the likeness of the bargeman, Matthew Gilbert, who was killed by the Fiend and his daughter, Morwena, in the fifth book.

Others[]

A handsome young man with curly dark hair, blue eyes, and dimples. This was the form used by the Fiend when he met with Grimalkin before the birth of her child. This may have been the form which Grimalkin liked when she was young.

History[]

During the First Age of Darkness, he walked the Earth freely for nearly three centuries.

However, he was banished by an unknown power. The records from this era were lost. After this, he can only visit briefly, at special times such as witches' sabbaths or when some terrible crime or evocation briefly opens the Portal to this world.

Personality[]

The Fiend is a crafty being and always has a plan on him. It seems that he dosen't like to dirty his own hands unless it's necessary. He likes to let his servants do his work for him, so he can have a win-win situation by meeting with the heroes by spreading rumours and dark secrets that they have. Whenever there's an impossible situation, the Fiend appears to give Tom a fighting chance just so he can collect his soul.

Children[]

The Fiend is also known for making witches bear him his children to create more darkness within the land. Usually when witches bear him his children they are usually abhumans or powerful witches with unique abilities. But sometimes the child maybe a fully fledged human that doesn't belong to the dark at all. This is very rare and only the happening ever to have been known is Grimalkin's child. Usually he will kill those who are born human, as they would become a great threat to him in the future, comparable to Tom Ward. He killed Grimalkin's child which gave her a reason to try and destroy him. It has been revealed that Alice Deane is one of the Fiend's children.

Nicknames[]

The Fiend has a variety of nicknames, which include: Father of Lies, The Devil, Old Nick, Hob, Satan, and Lucifer.

Powers and Skills[]

The Fiend is the dark made flesh, and therefore has a wide range of powers available to him. He shares many of his powers with other Old Gods, but the strength and magnitude of his abilities are greatly amplified.

Enhanced Strength: The Fiend is capable of feats of tremendous strength, an ability shared with many witches.

Intelligence: The Fiend is an exceptionally intelligent being, always having a plan on him and always being two steps ahead of his enemies. As stated by Zenobia, he aims for the long run. An example was when he forced Tom to face one of his deadliest children, the powerful witch Morwena. Tom bargained to make the Fiend release the spirit of Arkwright's mother no matter the outcome, to which he seemingly agreed upon out of good intentions, when in reality the only reason he did it was because he knew Arkwright would step in and change Jon Gregory's mind about throwing his child, Alice Deane, into a pit.

Endurance: Being the strongest of the Old Gods, the Fiend is able to withstand enormous amounts of damage to his form. The only time he actually showed signs of agony was when his heart was pierced by two silver spears.

Teleportation: The Fiend can move instantly between two distant locations.

Telepathy: The Fiend is able to read the minds of those he confers with, as well as being able to telepathically communicate with his servants.

Shape-shifting: The Fiend is capable of altering his size and shape to fit his needs, evidenced by when he took on the form of Matthew Gilbert, the bargeman who delivers goods to Bill Arkwright.

Chronokinesis: The Fiend is capable of speeding, slowing, or halting time's passage completely. However, it should be noted that his control of the passage of time is not omnipotent, as powerful beings such as Zenobia, or her hybrid-son, Tom Ward, can wrestle away his control of time.

Weather manipulation: The Fiend is capable of summoning storms in the space of seconds. His

arrival is often preceded by thunder and lightning.

True Form[]

It's said that the Fiend's true form, referred to by witches as "his fearsome majesty", is so terrible that those who look upon it either die of terror or are driven insane. Very strong witches are able to view his true form, but may be made blind afterwards. It seems that seventh sons of seventh sons may be somewhat immune to the effects of his true form, as Tom Ward was able to gaze upon his true form not once but three times, first when the Fiend came for Tom's soul but was repelled by the blood jar Alice had made, the second when the Fiend came for Alice in revenge for the creation of the blood jar (although the distance Tom was from the Fiend may have lessened the horror), and the third when Tom, John Gregory, and Grimalkin bound the Fiend and removed his head.

Weaknesses[]

Powerful though he may be, the Fiend does have some weaknesses. Many of them are one time only uses.

Child-bearing: If a witch chooses to have a child with the Fiend, she can then be free of his influence for good. The Fiend expects his child to be a powerful witch or abhuman, capable of serving the dark. When the Fiend saw the perfectly human boy that Grimalkin had given birth to, he was outraged and dashed the baby's head on a rock.

Blood Jar: With the use of a blood jar, the Fiend can be forced to keep his distance. A blood jar is made by placing three droops of blood, either the Fiend's or one of his children, into a sturdy jar with three drops of the blood of the person it will be used to protect.

Hobbling: Thomas Ward's mother, Lamia, was able to hobble the Fiend, or restrict his abilities. The hobbling ritual involved two hero swords crafted by the Old God Hephaestus, and the use of a powerful spell. The terms of the restrictions were that if the Fiend was to kill Thomas Ward himself, he would reign on Earth for a hundred years before being forced to return to the dark, with a hundred years being almost no time at all to an immortal. However, is the Fiend had one of his children carry out the task, or if Thomas Ward could be converted to the dark, then his reign would be endless.

Vulnerable to Chronokinesis: Even though The Fiend can alter the passage of him, he himself is vulnerable to such attacks. This proved to be his biggest weakness as Tom wrestled away his control of time and froze the passage of time for him completely, which allowed the others to bind him and sever his head.

Destruction: There is a ritual in existence to completely destroy the Fiend. It entails the willing sacrifice of the one most loved by the person performing the ritual. The three hero swords forged by Hephaestus must be in the possession of the ritual-performer. First, a forge must be built to generate intense heat for a fire. Then, the dagger Bone Cutter must be used to cut away the thumb bones of the right hand first, then the left, and both thumb bones cast into the fire. Lastly, the heart must be cut out with the dagger Dolorous and cast into the flames. It is of the utmost importance that the sacrificial victim not cry out in pain. If they cry out even once, the ritual becomes meaningless. It's unknown what part the Destiny Blade has to play in this ritual.

Demons[]

While it has been speculated that the Fiend is a demon, this has not been confirmed and is inaccurate. As the Fiend's nickname is Satan and Lucifer, this would mean that he would be the leader and creator of the demons. The Ordeen would have obtained them the same way she got the Feral Lamia, which Tom's mam is the source of.