Sygeon

 !SPOILER ALERT!

Sygeon, (one of several) half-brothers to Ergyfel.

Sygeon is the younger brother and trusted henchman of the villain Ergyfel, in the first book of the Jester King Series, The Innkeeper’s Son. He is the Magister‘s dirty right hand, taking care of any foul deeds or spying that Ergyfel cannot or will not deal with himself. A shadowy figure, Sygeon slips in and out of Castle Orgulous without notice (he knows the secret passages well) and is most likely to be seen whispering and plotting with his brother, when he is seen at all.

Sygeon tends to stick to the shadows and the dense woods – out of sight. While folks around Nyraval may recognize him by his build and inky garb, few know his face or want to. Here, he is a figure many cross the street to avoid. Outside the royal city even fewer have seen his face and lived.

While Sygeon is a slight man, who walks with a cane, he does not shy away from hurting the weak or any unfortunate enough to fall under his control. He is a sadist who frequently employs giants, troghouls, and mercenaries of low character to help him track down, ambush, murder or torture Ergyfel’s enemies. The giant, Redgnaw, is his loyal follower, as is a mercenary named, Banarel (later Sir Banarel). Perhaps the favorite tool from his toolbox of villainy is arson, which he uses twice during the timeframe of Billy‘s story.

For all his treachery and foul deeds in the service of his brother, Sygeon receives justice at the hand of King William. Too late, he learns that he is a liability and expendable in Ergyfel’s usurpation of William’s throne.