Faceless One (Skulduggery Pleasant)

The Faceless Ones are fictional deities in the "Skulduggery Pleasant" series by Irish author Derek Landy. Although they have not appeared in person in the series, they could be considered the main antagonists as the villains of the series all serve them.

Fictional character history

The Faceless Ones are a pantheon of ruthless and powerful gods who once ruled the Earth. The character Mr Bliss describes them as having been "so evil even their own shadows hid from them." According to the main character, Skulduggery Pleasant, they "didn't approve of humanity and demanded worship."

Legend tells that certain humans learnt the power of Magic and became proficient in its use. They used this power to rebel against the Faceless Ones. These human beings were the first sorcerers and in later years came to be known as "the Ancients." They bear similarities to the Old Ones from H.P. Lovecraft's "Cthulhu Mythos".

It is said that the Ancients did battle with the Faceless Ones "on the ground, in the air and in the sea and the Faceless Ones, being immortal, won every battle."

Eventually however, one of the Ancients, stole a powerful black crystal from the Faceless Ones. The crystal would usually alert the Faceless Ones whenever someone beside them came near it but for some reason it remained silent when this particular Ancient approached it. Using the crystal, the Ancients created a magical Sceptre with which they defeated the Faceless Ones once and for all, destroying their physical forms and banishing their spirits to another plain of existence.

The Ancients however, promptly began fighting against each other for possession of the Sceptre and eventually all killed each other. The last Ancient cast the Sceptre into the earth and then vanished from legend. Skulduggery jokingly speculates that he probably "went and had a kip."

In the series

Many years before the start of the series, an evil cult of powerful sorcerers who worshipped the Faceless Ones, led by the fearsome Mevolent, sought to ressurect the Faceless Ones, resulting in a bitter and deadly war in the magical community that raged all over the world. After Mevolent's Three Generals, Lord Vile, Baron Vengeous and Nefarian Serpine were defeated, the war turned in the favour of his enemies and Mevolent was eventually defeated (though how and what became of him afterward is not explained).

After the end of the War, the forces of Mevolent signed a Truce with the government for the magical community and were promised amnesty on the condition that they never returned to their old ways.

Skulduggery Pleasant

In the first book of the series, the villainous Nefarian Serpine, one of Mevolent's Three Generals, seeks the Sceptre of the Ancients so that he can use it to bring about the return of the Faceless Ones. In his quest for the Sceptre, he murders Gordon Edgely the uncle of Stephanie Edgely, one of the two main protagonists (the other being Skulduggery). Stephanie allies herself with Skulduggery to stop Serpine and avenge her uncle. Serpine eventually finds the Sceptre and uses it to destroy the Elders, the three sorcerers who guarded the Great Book of Names which has the power to control everyone on Earth. Serpine desires the book so that he can enslave the human race and find the Ritual to bring back the Faceless Ones.

Skulduggery destroys the Book and then Serpine with the Sceptre of the Ancients, breaking the Sceptre's power in the process.

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In the second book, Mevolent's surviving General, Baron Vengeous, breaks free of prison and goes on a quest to find the Armour of Lord Vile which will enable him to ressurect the Grotesquery, a creature made from parts of a Faceless One. Once alive, the Grotesquery will be able to open a portal and summon the Faceless Ones back to the world but only at the time of the Lunar Eclipse. Stephanie (now known as Valkyrie Cain) and Skulduggery, hinder Vengeous in his quest for the armour but he eventually acquires it. Kidnapping Valkyrie, Vengeous takes some of her blood and uses it, combined with the Armour's power to bring the Grotesquery to life. Skulduggery and Stephanie, with the help of some of their companions, kill Vengeous and destroy the Grotesquery however it is revealed the Vengeous was being manipulated all along by a secret organisation known as the Diablerie, a cult that worships the Faceless Ones. A member of the Diablerie tells Billy-Ray Sanguine that the Grotesquery served its purpose; its death-scream alerted the Faceless Ones to the whereabouts of the Earth, now all they have to do is let them in.

Allies

The Faceless Ones, despite their malevolent and hostile nature have a great deal of dedicated followers. It is known that China Sorrows and her brother, Bliss were once members of a cult that worshipped the dark gods. Vengous was a member of the same cult. Whether this was Mevolent's cult or a different one is not known.

Cultural references

The Faceless Ones are clearly inspired by the Great Old Ones from the works of HP Lovecraft whose mythos has something of an influence on the Skulduggery Pleasant books. In the first book of the series, Lovecraft is referenced by Skulduggery who states that "Some say his stories were inspired by myths about the Faceless Ones." Serpine uses Lovecraft's name as an alias at one point.

The story of the Ancient stealing the Black Crystal from the Faceless Ones may have been a homage to the story of Prometheus stealing fire from the gods.

ee also

* Ogdru Jahad
* Great Old One
* Satanism