Mordred Deschain

Mordred Deschain
The Dark Tower character
First appearance	The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower
Last appearance	The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower
Created by	Stephen King
Information
Nickname(s)	The Little Red King, Dan-Tete, Chap
Species	Part Human, Part Demon
Gender	Male
Family	The Crimson King (Demonic Father), Roland Deschain (Biological Father), Mia (Demonic Mother), Susannah Dean (Biological Mother)

Mordred Deschain of Discordia is a fictional character from Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels and comic books. He is one of the major antagonists of The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower, seeking to destroy his father Roland and his ka-tet. His name Mordred comes from Arthurian legend.

Fictional biography

Conception

Mordred Deschain actually begins his existence when Roland Deschain has sex with a succubus in order to have a vision that would aid in his quest for the Dark Tower. The gunslinger's semen is carried in a form of stasis inside the succubus (in truth an androgynous elemental demon) who would later take the form of an incubus and impregnate Susannah Dean. Later a simple succubus (who would become Mia) possesses Susannah and takes over the care of her "chap" (Mordred). In the process, Mia's consciousness actually becomes intertwined with Susannah's (left porous by her preexisting dissociative disorder), and remains so until they physically meet each other just before Mordred's birth.

Life

After being transferred from the body of Susannah into that of Mia, cell by cell, Mordred enters the world as a healthy (if unseemly) baby boy. When taken to Mia's breast to nurse, Mordred reveals his demonic nature by turning into a giant spider, savagely tearing off her breast and draining all of her bodily fluids. Mordred turns his hunger toward Susannah, who has managed to take a gun from one of the hospital guards. Susannah shoots off one of Mordred’s spider legs, leaving a wound that would never heal in either of his physical forms.

Mordred has a somehow immediate understanding of his purpose, which he believes is to kill Roland Deschain and to enter the Dark Tower and rule next to the Crimson King. He takes immediately to this purpose and begins hunting down Roland. His motivation for wanting to kill Roland is mentioned as jealousy (similar to Randall Flagg) of Roland, his ka-tet, and their friendship. At one time, Mordred even thinks of joining Roland, but knows he cannot accept Roland as his dinh.

Death

Mordred is eventually killed while attempting to ambush a sleeping Roland, Oy, and Patrick Danville shortly before they reach The Dark Tower. Patrick had fallen asleep on watch after hearing a lullaby telepathically sung by the Crimson King, and Mordred approaches for the kill. Oy intercepts Mordred before he is able to strike the sleeping Roland. Roland offers Mordred a chance to live in exchange for Oy's life. Mordred refuses, and flings Oy aside after breaking his back. Roland then shoots and kills Mordred, and Mordred's remains tumble into the group's campfire.

Characteristics

Mordred is the son of two fathers (his human father, Roland, and his demon father, The Crimson King) and two mothers (his human mother, Susannah, and his demon mother, Mia). This dual-birth explains his ability to transform into a spider from a human, as well as his telepathic abilities.

The human baby Mordred was noted to have the same blue eyes as Roland, as well as a red birthmark on the heel of one foot. When he transforms into a spider, he is described as having a mark on one side that resembles a black widow spider, and on the other, Mordred's human face.

Mordred spends most of his life alternatively sleeping in his human form and feeding in his spider form (starting with small animals and eventually larger ones). His metabolism is much greater in his spider form, so he has to balance out how far he wants to travel in his spider form with how plentiful food is in the area. His growth and maturity advances more rapidly when he is properly fed and when Mordred finally catches up with Roland and the remnants of his ka-tet, in his human form he looks to be about 20 years old.

Mordred attacks and kills Randall Flagg. Art by Michael Whelan.

Mordred's first notable feeding occurs during his encounter with Randall Flagg, who intends to kill him and bring his birthmarked-foot to the entrance of the Dark Tower. Mordred senses his intent, and displays his telepathic abilities by assuming control of Flagg's body and eating him alive after forcing him to pluck out his eyeballs and his tongue.

The second notable feeding occurs as Mordred is tracking Roland. Mordred comes upon The ruins of Dandelo and sups on his dead horse, Lippy. Mordred fails to discern that the corpse of the horse is poisonous, and as he continues to track Roland, is wracked by the symptoms of food poisoning knowing it will eventually kill him.

References

• Furth, Robin (2006), The Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance, New York City: Charles Scribner's Sons, 0743297342 .
• King, Stephen (2004), The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower, United States: Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc., 0451194861 .