Saint Dane

Infobox character
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name = Saint Dane


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first = "The Merchant of Death"
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species = Traveler
gender = Male
age = Ageless
born = Unknown
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occupation = Traveler
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children =
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creator = D. J. MacHale

Saint Dane is a fictional character and main villain in the Pendragon series. He is an evil Traveler who wants to break down Halla so he can rebuild it in his own design. However, it is never mentioned which territory he is actually from. Due to the fact that all the ten territories already have Travelers, it may be assumed Saint Dane is a former Traveler or belongs to no territory. There is also the possibility that he is from beyond all of Halla.

Saint Dane has the ability to transform into anyone, any animal and/or creature and several other forms including becoming "smoke". His main features are his cold, icy blue eyes. He also has ghostly white skin and long grey hair, though in "Black Water" whilst he is growing stronger, his hair burns, making him bald with five red scars on his head and his eyes change from the cold blue to nearly white. He always wears a dark, Asian-looking suit. He has been involved in the deaths of many important characters including: Osa, Uncle Press, Spader's father, Seegen, Kasha, Loor (temporary), and Remudi, the Traveler from Ibara.

Saint Dane is cruelty personified. He always makes a complicated plan before attempting to overthrow a territory. He does not fear death or suffering, but enjoys the suffering of others. He often tricks Bobby into causing the territory to lean towards chaos, and almost never personally affects the territory. He also has the power to manipulate people only with his mind. He cannot be killed by ordinary means. Press tells Bobby he can only die when he believes he has won, which Bobby finally understands at the end of the latest book.

Disguises

Saint Dane assumes many alter-egos, of which some are his own creations and others people whom he has killed in order to replace.

Merchant of Death

;The Police Officer:Uses this form to try to prevent Bobby ever from becoming a Traveler in the first book and carries a large gun in this form. He is unmasked by Uncle Press because he wears a khaki uniform, not a customary blue uniform.

;Mallos:A highly ranking knight in service of Queen Kagan on the territory of Denduron. Queen Kagan believed that he had come from another part of Denduron. Throughout the story it seemed that he had been gaining her trust long before the start of the book. He is tall, with black hair and icy blue eyes. In this form, Saint Dane brought cruelty upon the tribe Milago, forcing them to haul from mines large quantities of the gemstone "glaze". If the miners could bring forth enough glaze to match the weight of a Milago chosen the day before, that Milago would live. If the amount of glaze was not sufficient, however, the chosen Milago would be thrown down an abandoned mine shaft.

;Figgis:A strange merchant/entrepreneur on the territory of Denduron. He is short, scruffy-looking, old, wears an eye patch, and wears green braided rings on each finger. In this form, Saint Dane supplies the Milago with the explosive mineral tak, so that they may revolt against their Bedoowan oppressors. It is later revealed that Figgis was a real person on Denduron at one point. However, in setting traps for protection of the underground vein of tak that he had found, he sprung his own trap, killing himself. Saint Dane then assumed his identity.

The Lost City of Faar

;Zy Roder:A pirate on the territory of Cloral. He is considered to be handsome, with long blonde hair and icy blue eyes. In this form, Saint Dane attacks the habitat of Grallion, and also launches an attack on the underwater city of Faar. He is the captain of a ship employing weapons using Cloral's most abundant resource, which is water. This ship is capable of firing balls of water with the force of cannonballs.

;Po Nassi:An agronomer on the territory of Cloral. In this form, appearing as a slender woman, Saint Dane assists in producing the poisonous fertilizer that threatens all of Cloral's crops by feeding the egos of the other agronomers while knowing that the fertilizer will kill all the citizens of Cloral.

;The Aquaneer:Saint Dane uses this form to escape capture by Bobby and Spader in The Lost City of Faar

;Spader's Father:Saint Dane briefly uses this form to distract Spader and escape to Veelox (later First Earth).

The Never War

;Esther "Harlow" Amaden:A gorgeous singer with soft brown eyes, dwelling in 1937 New York City on First Earth, who manipulates the gangster Max Rose. Esther appears friendly to Bobby at first; later, Bobby finds out that Saint Dane has taken this form after a search for her in the vast library of Third Earth turned out no results. This is the ultimate tip-off, as Travelers do not have histories, and so cannot have an entry in any database.

;Gangster:Thug in the employment of First Earth criminal Winn Farrow. Directs the other gangsters into firing their guns down the flume, killing Press Tilton.

;Ludwig Zell:Saint Dane used this form for only a day, having murdered the true Zell to stop him sending the "Hindenburg" back to Germany. Saint Dane stepped in to make sure that Bobby would have to make the choice of whether or not he should save the "Hindenburg".

;The Raven:An animal form used by Saint Dane. Thus far, Saint Dane has used it to fly after jumping out of a window, and to escape the greenhouse in the gar city of Black Water. In "The Rivers of Zadaa", he uses it twice to escape Kidik Island, and to travel away from the Berkshire Mountains on Earth. It has been implied that in Book 7, Saint Dane and Nevva Winter use this form to escape, but they are never seen so it is not certain. In "The Pilgrims of Rayne", Saint Dane uses this form several times near the end of the book. It is implied to be the namesake of the cult "Ravinia".

The Reality Bug

;Dr. Kree Sever:Used this form to secure the final destruction of Veelox, and to taunt Bobby Pendragon at the end of the fourth book, "The Reality Bug". As Dr. Sever, Saint Dane ordered the re-opening of the virtual reality system "Lifelight", encouraging further decadence.

Black Water

;Timber:A highly ranking member of the Council of Klee on Eelong. At one point, he is actually the leader of the said Council, in which position he orders the attack on the gar city of Black Water. In doing this, he broke the rules of Halla by bringing ten tanks of the deadly Cloral poison to Eelong to slay every last gar in the world, hoping therefore to destroy the klees, who depended on the gars for their livelihood.

;Yorn:Saint Dane's first venture into mimicking an acolyte. In this form, Saint Dane takes the form of a klee. It is also in this form that Saint Dane kills Seegen by giving him a poisoned apple. Using this form, Saint Dane tricks Bobby into leading him to Black Water. It is not known when, where, or how the real Yorn died, though Saint Dane presumably had a hand in it.

;a little girl:This form is of a young human girl, only a few years old, who has blonde hair and blue eyes. Saint Dane uses this form to witness the turning point of Eelong and to taunt Bobby into going to Zadaa; therefore bringing Mark and Courtney back home. Their passage destroyed Eelong's flume, trapping Vo Spader and Gunny Van Dyke on Eelong, and killing the traveler, Kasha.

The Rivers of Zadaa

;Ghee Warrior:On Zadaa, Saint Dane transforms into a Batu warrior and attacks Bobby. During the fight, Bobby frightens Saint Dane by threatening to revive Veelox; this leads the demon to attempt outright killing, which is halted by the Batu prince Pelle a Zinj. Bobby notes that in his rage, Saint Dane says that he made a promise to destroy Halla. It is unknown what he meant by this, or to whom he promised it, though this person may be himself. This fight antagonizes Bobby into becoming a warrior. Also in this form, Saint Dane witnesses the death of Pelle a Zinj. At the end of book six, when Bobby is about to leave through the flume, Saint Dane appears in this form and kills Loor with a sword, only to be killed himself by Bobby. In spite of this, Saint Dane assumed a form resembling black smoke and returned to life.

;Whitney Wilcox:A teenager on the territory of Second Earth. In this form, Saint Dane appears to Courtney Chetwynde and asks her to play soccer with him. Being in a confused state of depression, Courtney, though reluctant at first, eventually decides to play with him. Soon she falls in love with Whitney, finding him cute, appealing, and more attentive to her that Bobby had been. Whitney also has access to a jet black sedan which he uses to antagonize Courtney, although she does not recognize him until he steps out of the car, having driven her to a near-death accident.

;Smoke:Saint Dane uses the form of a cloud of black smoke to escape from death on several occasions, notably in Books 6 and 9.

The Quillan Games

;Mr. Kayto:A Trustee, or shareholder, of the Blok Company on Quillan. Very opulent. Having killed its original, Saint Dane uses this form to manipulate the games by first bringing Veego and LaBerge from Veelox and then 'suggesting' Bobby into the games.

;Challenger Green:The champion Challenger in The Quillan Games. He appears muscular but short, with long red hair. Kills Jen Remudi, the Traveler of Ibara, during a Tato match. He appears to be very hot-headed, and will do anything to win a game. Challenger Green is later defeated by Bobby, who is Challenger Red, in the same sport.

The Pilgrims of Rayne

;Sixth Officer Hantin:A minor character and one of Saint Dane's disguises to watch the events unfolding between Courtney and Mark on First Earth. Dodger, the bellhop and acolyte who helps Courtney find Mark, gives him a beating when Dodger breaks Courtney out of the brig. Later on, it is revealed that Dodger stole the gun with which Courtney would have shot Mark, therefore completing Mark's history on First Earth (as revealed by the computer history on Third Earth) - yet another part of Saint Dane's plan.

;Taxi Driver:In the form of Andy Mitchell, Saint Dane traps Courtney and Dodger in the taxi. He sinks it into the water and escapes by turning into smoke.

;Andy Mitchell:A bully to Bobby,Courtney, and Mark, revealed to be Saint Dane at the end of Book 7.

Raven Rise

;Eugene:A supposed follower of Alexander Naymeer, who ultimately succeeds him as leader of Ravinia.

;Dado:Saint Dane becomes a Dado to make himself a less obvious target during the Bronx Massacre.

In all of the books, it is told that Saint Dane's true eye color, which is variously described as "icy blue", "lightning white", or a solution of the two, is Bobby's tip-off to identify him. Early alter-egos appear to naturally possess this color, though concealment of it is shown eventually to be possible. As Timber and later as the Batu warrior, Saint Dane reveals it purposely and only to Bobby, as if to taunt him.

History

Not much is known about Saint Dane's past, although it is known that he made a promise to destroy Halla before the events of the series. He has also been involved in all the territorial affairs before the novels begin, having been Mallos, Figgis, Po Nassi, Andy Mitchell, and Timber for much time before the events of the series. Nevva Winter reveals that he has done this by controlling what time he arrives in the Territory.

During "The Merchant of Death", he first appeared in a subway station to frighten Bobby by hypnotizing a homeless bystander into committing suicide and shooting at Bobby and Bobby's Uncle Press. Afterward Saint Dane went to the town Stony Brook, where he appeared to Mark as Andy Mitchell. Saint Dane continued to appear as Mitchell throughout the events of the first book.

While he was on Denduron, he appeared as Mallos and Figgis. He used both forms to manipulate both sides of the upcoming war so that he could have the Milago discover the use of the explosive tak and use the newly found weapon as a way to take control of the entire territory, thus bringing himself one step closer to the convergence. He was stopped by Bobby when Bobby destroyed all of the known Tak, thus saving Denduron. Saint Dane then fled to Cloral. On Cloral, he is twice called a "demon", and the epithet is later used throughout the series to indicate him, both in the narration and the dialogue.

In all subsequent stories, he takes on one form or two to make mischief among the people of the territories. Often this involves setting one group of people to war against the other, or in some other ways causing havoc and confusion while blinding people to true social problems. His role is comparable to that of the serpent in the Garden of Eden, in that he uses people's weaknesses to confuse them into destroying themselves.Because of the discrepant passages of time between territories, as well as the necessity-based action of the flumes, he might in one territory spend years or decades in one form, only to appear on another territory at precisely the opportune moment. His ally Nevva Winter has mentioned the ability to choose when she arrives on a territory by flume, an ability that she probably shares with Saint Dane.

Saint Dane professes to believe that he is working in the best interest of Halla, building a "better" Halla where the strong and exceptional rule and the weak are ruled over or eradicated. These beliefs form the core of the Ravinia cult, which he formed through his servants Nevva Winter and Alexander Naymeer. It is not known whether he truly believes this, or whether he merely uses this story as a front for other, more nefarious goals.

Although he is usally engaged in battling the Travellers, Saint Dane has shown a more reasonable side of his personality. On several occasions in "The Quillan Games", "The Pilgrams of Rayne", and "Raven Rise", he has had philosophical discussions about the nature of Halla and the war with Bobby. At these times, he has shown himself to be more human, possessing emotions and arguments supporting his position. It is possible that these too are strategy by which to trick Bobby into fulfilling his (Saint Dane's) designs, though they may in fact reflect Saint Dane's true beliefs.

Note: It is unknown why or how Saint Dane became a Traveler