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Nefarian Serpine
Serpine
Character Information
Taken Name Nefarian Serpine
Species Human
Gender Male
Birth Unknown
Age Unknown
Death June 2007 (normal dimension)
Alive (Mevolent's dimension)
Magic Adept
Faction The Three Generals (formerly)
Weapons Sceptre of the Ancients (formerly)
Location Deceased
"I am nothing if not a man who sometimes keeps his word."
— Nefarian Serpine, The Dying of the Light

Nefarian Serpine was one of Mevolent's Three Generals during the War.

Biography

History

Nefarian Serpine was Mevolent's most trusted General during the great war. He masterminded the death of Skulduggery's wife and child, killing them in front of him, knowing that Skulduggery would get too angry to think properly. He was right - Skulduggery, in his rage, wanted to kill Serpine without using his magic and grabbed the nearest weapon, which was a poisoned dagger which Serpine had laid out for him. Serpine then captured, tortured and finally killed him. Skulduggery returned seeking revenge. However, before he could punish Serpine the Truce stopped him.

Although Mevolent is dead, Serpine still plotted the return of the Faceless Ones. He spent several years pooling resources while Skulduggery tried to prove to the Elders that Serpine was still evil, but the Elders refused to believe that he would break the Truce.

During the war, Serpine fought Mr. Bliss in an unknown location while a hurricane destroyed everything around them. After this fight they didn’t meet again until the events of Skulduggery Pleasant.

In 1861 The Dead Men chased him in the wild west but escaped with the help of the Necromancer Noche. He also fought at The Battle of Black Rock and was driven into retreat by Ghastly Bespoke's mother.

When Mevolent realises he is losing the war, he orders a last strike against the leaders of his opposition. Because of this, Nefarian Serpine kills Skulduggery’s wife and child before his eyes. Skulduggery, in his rage, wanted to physically kill Serpine, and so instinctively reached for a dagger which Serpine had coated in poison. Serpine captures and tortures Skulduggery for a few days before killing him with his red right hand on the 23rd of October. His body is burned on a pike alongside those of the others leaders killed, causing Mevolent to gain the upper hand in the war.

Skulduggery Pleasant

Serpine

Serpine during the events of Skulduggery Pleasant

Serpine kills Gordon Edgley for not giving him the key to the Caves, where he has discovered the Sceptre of the Ancients is located. He then hires Vindick Leather to find the key. Vindick fails and dies at the hands of Stephanie, however, after she pulls him into a river in Dublin City, and the water tears him apart.

Serpine has a meeting with Mr. Bliss who has been sent by the Elders, in his castle full of Hollow Men. During the meeting Mr. Bliss informs Serpine that two Sancuary agents, Clement Gale and Alexander Slake, who had been monitoring him were found dead yesterday. Serpine lies, denying having anything to do with it, and Mr. Bliss leaves to catch and plane to London.

When Skulduggery and Stephanie go to Grimwood House to look for the entrance to the Caves, Serpine arrives with four Hollow Men. Serpine incapacitates Skulduggery and sends a Hollow Man after Stephanie. She defeats the Hollow Man by throwing them out of a window, but by then Serpine has left with Skulduggery.

That night, in his castle, Serpine descends down, arriving at a door to a room where Skulduggery is bound, tied to a chair. Serpine talks to him about how the Elders are too nervous to come for him yet, and asks Skulduggery where the key to the Caves of the Void is. When Skulduggery feigns ignorance, Serpine shows him a new torture method he has picked up since killing Skulduggery. He makes the wood in a chair in the room expand and contract until it splinters, and then begins to do that to Skulduggery.

Skulduggery is rescued that night, by during the rescue Serpine’s Hollow Men catch a Cleaver and bring it to him. Serpine abandons the castle, bringing the Cleaver with him.

In a warehouse that has been cleared out, Serpine revives the Cleaver using “a mixture of science and sorcery,” seeming to pump shadows into the Cleaver’s body.

After Mr. Bliss retrieves the key to the Caves and gives it to Serpine, he uses it to open the entrance to the Caves and enters with a group of Hollow Men to find the Sceptre. He finds it in a wooden chest. When he picks it up, it starts to ring and Skulduggery appears. The fight, and Skulduggery sets him on fire and beats him up, but his injuries heal in seconds. He uses a tendril of purple vapor to retrieve the fallen Sceptre. He tries to uses the Sceptre to destroy Skulduggery, but Stephanie, having now taken the name Valkyrie Cain, rams into him, causing him to miss. Skulduggery and Valkyrie flee, but Serpine and his Hollow Men chase them. He follows them outside Grimwood House, where, with the aid of Tanith Low they’re holding off his Hollow Men. A car pulls up and they jump in as it speeds off.



Using the Sceptre he kills two of the Elders, Eachan Meritorious and Morwenna Crow, and the third Elder, Sagacious Tome, is revealed to be another traitor. However, when Serpine still can't access the Book of Names, he kills the last Elder.

After Skulduggery and Valkyrie realise that Serpine's true plan is to use the Book of Names to control someone who knows how to bring the Faceless Ones back, the two try to stop him at the Sanctuary. During the battle, Mr. Bliss is revealed to actually be against Serpine. Serpine also destroys the Book of Names by accident using the Sceptre. His plan failed, Serpine decides to torture Valkyrie using his red hand, a Necromancy trick. However, Skulduggery uses the sceptre and fires it on Serpine, killing him.

Kingdom of the Wicked

In an alternate reality known as the Leibniz Universe, Serpine is still alive, and has betrayed Mevolent. However, he still worships The Faceless Ones. He attempted to join China Sorrows' Resistance. China, however, does not trust him completely and has him wear a glove that suppresses his magical abilities. He serves as a guide for Skulduggery and Valkyrie into Mevolent's Palace, and later convinces them to remove his glove, fighting Baron Vengeous alongside Skulduggery. However, he betrays them and turns the Sceptre over to the alternate universe's China Sorrows. Later, after Darquesse is transported to the alternate universe, Serpine murders China with his red hand from behind, and attempts to take the Sceptre for himself. He fails, and the Sceptre is transported along with Darquesse.

The Dying of the Light

When Valkyrie is taken prisoner in the Alternate Dimension, Serpine rescues her. He is then revealed to be the new leader of The Resistance, following China’s death. He offers Valkyrie a deal that if she confronts Mevolent and pretends she is Darquesse he will free Skulduggery and Erskine Ravel, she agrees. She confronts Mevolent and he shoots her with the Magic-Sucker. Since Valkyrie’ Magic had been taken away, it does nothing, and Mevolent discards it. Peregrine then teleports behind him and takes it. As Mevolent approaches Valkyrie he returns and teleports them both away. When she is back in the village, Serpine takes her to Skulduggery and Ravel. When the Magic-Sucker is stolen by Skulduggery and Valkyrie, Serpine had already predicted this, and he confronts them with many sorcerers and orders them to hand it over. Vile is noticed by Valkyrie and he destroys the Magic-Sucker. Serpine is then teleported away by Peregrine.

Seasons of War

Serpine leaves Skulduggery and Valkyrie an anomymous message to meet him in a Roarhaven coffee shop. When Valkyrie first sees him, she throws him off his chair. Serpine informs them that Mevolent may be planning to invade the dimension soon. Valkyrie and Skulduggery conclude that they must venture into Dimension X to prevent this, so Serpine accompanies them as a guide, along with Tanith Low, Saracen Rue, Dexter Vex and a dimensional shunter called Luke Skywalker.

To be added

Personality

A psychopathic individual, Serpine was regarded by many to be insane, Skulduggery included. In many ways he was a fanatical terrorist with a religious agenda who believed that all human life except his own was insignificant and seeked to destroy humanity in the name of his gods. Nefarian presented himself in a cultured and sophisticated manner and possessed a dry, cynical sense of humour and a eloquent, theatrical way of speaking. Serpine was highly intelligent and cunning, capable of creating complex and unpredictable plans to achieve his goals. He was also sadistic, relishing in torturing people - even going so far as to target their loved ones, as he did with Skulduggery Pleasant. Despite being very calm and reserved in the best of times, Serpine was capable of frightening outbursts of rage when his plans go wrong, which makes him dangerous but very reckless.

Magic and abilities

Magic

Serpine is an Adept. His magical discipline is Energy-Throwing, and his energy streams are powerful enough to resist a shadow blast from Lord Vile for a short period of time. Blasts from Serpine's left hand are purple, their 'natural' colour, while blasts from his right hand are red.

Serpine is best known for his skinless red right hand, however, which uses a Necromantic technique to kill any living or undead creature through agonising pain, simply by pointing at them. Visually, this takes the appearance of red vapour. The only known survivor of this is Skulduggery Pleasant, and this is only due to Auron Tenebrae influencing Serpine's magic to guarantee Skulduggery's survival. The Serpine of the Leibniz Universe refines this technique further, so that it also strips the flesh from the part of the victim that he points at. The red right hand is limited, however, in that its victims must be within range.

Serpine is also a collector of magic, which he is able to accumulate in his red right hand through unknown means. By 2007, Serpine is capable of neutralising bullets with a wave, creating and manipulating tendrils of purple vapour, causing metal to rust with a touch, causing objects to expand and contract, and manipulating hand-like projections from walls. The Leibniz Universe version of Serpine never learns these abilities, however.

Abilities

Serpine also has quick reflexes, able to catch a dagger that Mr Bliss threw at him. It can be presumed that he has some skill in knife combat, often carrying a dagger around with him. He is skilled, but not that strong in melee combat. This is shown on his Battle card which give him a six for fighting ability.

Description

Neferian is a tall man (although not as big as Mr Bliss) with short black hair, thin lips and glittering emerald eyes. He often wears a suit and his right hand has a black glove that covers his skinless red hand that glistens with blood and wet muscle. In Seasons of War, the alternate dimension version of Serpine grows a beard, which according to Tanith looks good on him.

Appearances


Skulduggerypleasant(book)
PWFMentioned
Kingdom of the Wicked Front Cover
Armageddon-Outta-Here Cover
The Dying of the Light Cover
Skul-13-final-cover
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