Dion DeSaxe

Dionysius 'Dion' DeSaxe is the first son of Anthony DeSaxe, a member of the Four Legendary Kingdoms, and a part of Sphinx's entourage.

History[]

Early History[]

Dionysius DeSaxe was born in the early 1990s to Anthony DeSaxe and an unnamed mother. He and his younger brother Zaitan became members of the Kingdom of Underworld (which did not include their French homeland) as part of the ancient group known as the Four Legendary Kingdoms. Because of his membership in the Four Kingdoms, Dion was taught about the true history of mankind, as well as learning of the trials set by super-ancient beings to test humanity.

As he learned more about his father's Kingdom and his heritage, Dion became disillusioned with how his father ruled the Underworld, believing that the one with the title of Hades should be more fearsome than his father was.

As they grew up, Dion and Zaitan, as well as their cousin George Khalil, often tormented the minotaurs that lived in the Underworld, torturing and killing them for fun. Though their father was unaware of their cruelty, the Minotaur King, Minotus, knew that when Dion took the throne of the Underworld and the title of Hades, the minotaurs would be subjected to far greater cruelty than they had while Anthony ruled.

At some stage before 2016, Dion and Zaitan both came to be mentored by the Trismagi Keeper of the secret city of Atlas, Hardin "Sphinx" Lancaster, who gave them more attention than their father and became their surrogate father. Sphinx soon began encouraging Dion and Zaitan to kill their father and take his throne at the end of the Great Games of the Hydra. It is unknown if Sphinx confided in Dion his plan to assume control of the world of the Four Kingdoms should an opportunity arise during this period or later on.

Before The Four Legendary Kingdoms[]

During his early 20's, Dion began attending Stanford in America, where he met the latest Oracle of Siwa, Lily West, though he did not let on that he was aware of who she was already. The pair went on a few dates, and soon Dion met Lily's adoptive father, Jack West Jr, whom Dion was also aware was the Fifth Warrior. Once again not letting on what he already knew, Dion instead greeted Jack with more familiarity than Jack would have expected (or liked).

Two months before the Great Games of the Hydra commenced, Dion contacted the blood antiquities dealer Sunil "Sunny" Malik, whom his father had occasionally done deals with, in order to purchase a tablet containing the ninth portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh tale, allegedly to give to his father as a gift. Dion paid Malik US$600,000 for the tablet, and annoyed the antiquities dealer with his cocky attitude.

When the the Star Chamber within the Underworld opened, allowing the nine Golden Spheres to be retrieved, Anthony alerted the other Kingdoms of the development, with the Great Games set to begin within the next month. This heralded the third trial, the Diverting of the Hydra Galaxy, and Dion decided that he wanted to be the one to receive the mysterious knowledge awarded to the King whose Champion completed the Games.

Following Sphinx's prodding, Dion conspired with Zaitan - who had been preparing to participate in the Great Games for years - to win the Games, and then to kill their father so that Dion would become King and receive the Mysteries. They also recruited some of their father's warriors who were taking part as opponents for the Champions, Fear, Chaos and the Hydra, to show Zaitan preferential treatment during the Games to increase their chances of success.

The Four Legendary Kingdoms[]

Dion was present with many other members of the Four Kingdoms to watch the fourth Great Games of the Hydra, and delighted in watching the various struggles of the Champions as they progressed through the first three Challenges. During the Third Challenge, upon seeing Jack West Jr carrying one of the minotaurs with him to the exit, Dion asked his father if it was a legal move in the Games, to which Hades responded that Jack was not breaking any rules.

After the Third Challenge, Dion attended the banquet dinner hosted by his father, remaining by George's side. The pair were soon approached by Iolanthe Compton-Jones, who wished to introduce them Lily, unaware Dion already knew her. Upon seeing Dion, Lily realised that he had known who she was even before they had met at Stanford, cursing herself for not seeing the cocky royal for who he was. To try and maintain Lily's favour, and seeing her reaction to George's exuberance for the carnage in the Games thus far, Dion feigned an apology and invited her to dine with him later so that he might have a chance to explain himself. Lily, however, refused to even let Dion escort her back to her table, the horror of a couple of princesses who had been eyeing Dion.

During the dinner, Dion suggested to his father that the heiress of the Oracle of Siwa would make a fine queen for him, especially since it would merge Lily's lineage with the Kingdom of Underworld's, a suggestion Anthony took into consideration.

During the night, as the other Champions slept on the hostage train, Dion visited Zaitan to give him information regarding the maze for the Fourth Challenge. The next morning, Dion joined the rest of the Royals in watching the Fourth Challenge, clapping vigorously when his brother retrieved the first Golden Sphere and made it to the exit.

As the progression prepared to move on to the Fifth Challenge, Dion first attended a lunch Hades was for all of the remaining Champions and their sponsoring Kings, and when Jack was reunited with Lily, she pointed Dion out to him. As the lunch drew to a close, Dion and George made their way to the bathroom, where Dion noted Vacheron would apparently get his wish to become royalty by being given Iolanthe's hand in marriage. Unaware that they were being overheard by Jack, when George noted it was tough luck for the support teams since they would all be executed after the Fifth Challenge, Dion told him not to even think of them as people.

While the Champions were being taken to the starting line for the Fifth Challenge, Dion had George and the Challenge-exempt Zaitan take one of Lily's friends, Alby Calvin, to one of their minotaur torture chambers. Dion then proceeded to request Iolanthe allow him to escort Lily for a while, using his higher rank ensure Iolanthe agreed. Leading Lily to the chamber, Dion expressed his desire to make Lily his wife despite her newfound disgust of him, and revealed his plan to usurp his father and become the King of Kings due to his belief that his father was weak-willed and he could be the bearer of the title of Hades who could instill true fear. Showing off Alby, who was being threatened by a hot branding iron, Dion threatened to kill him and others she cared about if she did not comply. After releasing Alby, knowing that he would be killed with the other hostages and be unable to tell any of his plans, Dion forced Lily to accompany him back to the viewing balcony.

Following the Fifth Challenge and the escape of Jack and Schofield's hostages, Dion went with the rest of the procession to the Summit Temple to watch as the first five Golden Spheres were set into place within the mountain's obelisk. Before proceeding to the observatory for the remaining Challenges, Anthony announced that he had agreed to Dion's request to give Lily to him to marry upon the completion of the Great Games.

Dion watched the final Challenges as they took place in the observatory, in which he once again clapped vigorously for his brother as Zaitan bested Renzin Depon and Gregory Brigham in single combat. However, Dion was completely caught off-guard when Jack managed to beat Zaitan, Chaos and the Hydra, resulting in his brother's death. With his plans to usurp his father and become the King of Kings dashed, Dion seethed in silent fury at Jack and glared at Lily.

After Jack had officially won the Games, Dion and the rest of the Royals soon went back to the Summit Temple for the ceremony to divert the Hydra galaxy. When the elevator carrying Jack arrived, Dion congratulated Orlando Compton-Jones for his Champion's victory and then feigned sincere congratulations to Jack himself. But, talking low enough so that no one could overhear, Dion cursed Jack for killing Zaitan and upsetting his plans, promising to have him brought to his dungeon after the ceremony to repel the Hydra galaxy and torture him to death in front of Lily.

As they watched Orlando prepare to receive the Mysteries, however, Dion and the other Royals were shocked when the minotaurs, having been informed by Alby of Dion and Zaitan's plans to usurp Anthony, assaulted the mountain. Dion fled with the rest of the Royals in the initial chaos, but soon intercepted Jack, his father, Lily and the rest of their group as they made their way to the helicopter pad. As he aimed a gun at Jack, Dion cursed him and denounced his father's apparent weakness as a ruler of the Underworld. Before he could pull the trigger, Alby shot Dion from behind, the bullet passing through his left cheek, and after a moment's shock, Dion collapsed, apparently dead.

The Three Secret Cities[]

Though he had been believed dead after being shot by Alby, Dion had simply fallen unconscious from shock, and when he awoke, Dion escaped the Underworld and reached out to Sphinx, who helped him receive medical attention for his injury. Despite the surgery, Dion was left with a hideous scar on his cheek (which he covered with a medical mask), a slur caused by a damaged palate, and a persistent pain that he refused to take painkillers for.

Outraged by the upsetting of his plans and the injuries he had received, Dion requested Sphinx help him hire the Knights of the Golden Eight to exact revenge on Jack, Lily and Alby. Meeting with the Knights at Aragon Castle, Dion offered the down-payment of an island Sphinx owned and pled his case, agreeing to grant them land he would receive upon being officiated as the new King of Underworld since his father was being disavowed from the Four Kingdoms. Once the Knights agreed to take on the assignment, Dion stressed to them his desire to have Jack assassinated and Lily and Alby brought to him alive for him to deal with.

Soon afterwards, Dion and Sphinx learned that the royal jailer of Erebus, Dion's uncle Yago, had been issued an arrest warrant by the Four Kingdoms to capture and imprison Jack. As it was considered inappropriate for the Royal Governor to be in competition with the Golden Knights, the pair amended their deal with the Knights to permit Yago to imprison Jack at Erebus instead of having him killed.

In the meantime, with his father's excommunication from the Four Kingdoms, Dion made contact with others within the Kingdom of Underworld and claimed his right as Anthony's eldest son and heir to his throne. In preparation, Dion was given a briefcase full of important documents regarding the assets he would attain upon his coronation to King of Underworld. However, since he was aware that Sphinx was planning to use the power vacuum created by Jack to take control of the Four Kingdoms' world, Dion decided to remain on the side of his mentor.

Once the Knights reported that Lily had been successfully captured in London and that Jack had been apprehended by Yago, Dion waited at Aragon Castle until they returned with his prize, standing alongside Sphinx as Lily and the already-captured Alby saw with shock who had ordered their capture. Dion furiously explained how he had come to be where he was, and after Sphinx explained his role in aiding Dion's recovery and the hiring of the Knights, Dion stated his intention to torture and kill Alby in front of Lily.

After a brief distraction which saw Julius Adamson try and fail to take on the Knights, Dion stood by as Jaeger Eins provided a demonstration of what would happen to Alby by cutting off Julius's hands before drowning him. Eins then handed Dion the filament-blade weapon, and despite Lily's pleading for him not to hurt Alby, Dion merely removed his medical mask to show off the extent of his injury, stating he intended to make Alby pay before severing his left hand. With Sphinx needing to take Lily away as a necessity for the Trial of the Cities and with his coronation being set for the next day, Dion was forced to delay further torture of Alby, cauterising the wound to keep him from bleeding out. As he saw his mentor off, Dion thanked Sphinx for his aid, while Sphinx in turn noted Dion's growing potential to be a better King than his father.

The following day, Dion was accompanied by the Golden Knights to Naples to perform the coronation ceremony, and once he was officially the new King of Underworld, he and the Knights returned to Aragon Castle, with Eins encouraging the continued torture of Alby, to Dion's eagerness. Unfortunately for Dion, Jack and his team attacked the castle, and while the Knights fought them, the new King rushed to escape in an inflatable dingy.

As the Trial of the Cities neared its conclusion, Dion joined the other Kings and Sphinx at the Altar of the Cosmos within the Rock of Gibraltar to witness the final ritual, awaiting the arrival of Ricardo Mendoza and Chloe Carnarvon with the remaining Immortal Weapons. While Orlando gloated about restoring order to the Four Kingdoms, Dion stood by nonchalantly as Sphinx stabbed him in the chest with the Sword of the Rock and Mendoza killed Caldwell and Xi, the moment for his mentor's coup having finally come. With that, Dion watched as Sphinx proceeded to complete the Trial as the Sagittarius A-star's radio waves hit the Earth and stabbed Lily in the heart with the Sword. With the Oracle's death, the Trial of the Cities was successfully completed, and soon after Sphinx, Dion and the rest of the entourage left the Altar to prepare for the final trial.

The Two Lost Mountains[]

After Sphinx successfully performed the ritual by killing Alexander with the Sword of the Rock, he took one of the lesser rings of the Rings of Command and gave it to Dion, instructing his protégé to begin gathering the numerous bronzemen from Atlas.

In the next few weeks following the conclusion of the Trial of the Cities, once Dion had successfully gained command of the battalion of bronze and silvermen from the Secret City, he had them transported away before continuing to assist Sphinx as the Trismagi began consolidating his newly-acquired resources from the Four Kingdoms and prepared for the Trial of the Mountains.

While Sphinx and most his forces went to Moscow to acquire the Siren bells, Dion was sent to the first iron mountain at Mont Saint-Michel as part of the advance team in their final preparations before Sphinx's arrival. Not long after Mendoza arrived to assist, Brother Bertie de Montreuil showed Jack and Iolanthe to the Hall of the Falling Temple; after Jack noted Dion's presence, Bertie asked what had happened to his face, to which Jack responded simply about his friend shooting Dion in the face. Once Sphinx himself arrived, Mendoza asked the Trismagi if he wanted Dion to accompany him in performing the Fall, though Sphinx elected to do so on his own, and Dion watched as his mentor undertook the Fall.

Meanwhile, having overheard Bertie mention Dion's presence over the radio, Hades snuck onto the Mont and sent his son a text message asking to meet with him in the nave. Receiving the message just as Sphinx and the Falling Temple were being hauled back up to the surface, Dion slipped away, but warned Eins and a few of his Knights. Upon meeting with his father, Hades apologised to Dion for his failings as a father and for making Dion into what he was. Dion, however, simply removed his medical mask to show Hades his injury and spat that he was over-stating his role in his own making. Though Hades forgave Dion for his actions and asked for his son's forgiveness, Dion refused and summoned the Golden Knights to apprehend him.

Dion and the Knights brought Hades before Sphinx and watched impassively as Hades claimed that the Trismagi had stolen his son from him, though Sphinx retorted that it hadn't been hard as a result of of Hades's expectation of loyalty from Dion, and informed Hades that Dion was now his son and heir. When the Trismagi asked Dion and Yago for their opinions on how to sentence the former king, Dion and his uncle quickly declared death. Watching in impassive silence, Dion witnessed his father's head get torn off by a silverman before it was tossed into the shaft. When Jack and Iolanthe were exposed, Sphinx ordered Dion to oversee the bronzemen as they went after the pair and then perform the Fall himself, so as to be able to serve as a backup should any of Sphinx's adversaries get into the Supreme Labyrinth. Though Dion was certain that Jack couldn't escape the automatons, the Australian destroyed one of the winching chains holding the Falling Temple up, preventing him from being able to perform the Fall there.

Undeterred, Sphinx sent Dion with Eins and the Knights of the Golden Eight to the second iron mountain beneath Aiguille du Midi so that Dion could do the Fall there instead. While waiting for a clearing pod to drill through the blockages in the moon shaft, Dion and Eins's forces came under attack from a group of Order of the Omega monks and Romanian soldiers led by Brother Esrael. Needing more time until the clearing pod was through, Dion and Eins rallied their forces to defend them while waiting on top of the Falling Temple. Just as the Omega/Romanian group managed to shoot down one of Dion's Super Stallions, which got it caught in the winching chains, the clearing pod cleared the moon shaft in time for the mountain to come into alignment with the moon pedestal and Dion released the Temple into the shaft. Accompanied by Eins, Dion raced down to the lower altar, where the young royal successfully completed the trial and received the burning key.

Not wanting one of their enemies to do a Fall after him, Dion and Eins had their remaining Super Stallion pick them up from the shaft and then fired a missile at the Temple to destroy it. As they prepared to head off to join Sphinx at the Labyrinth, General Garthon Rastor arrived, having also come to perform a Fall, and blocked Dion and Eins's primary exit. Deducing that "Hades Junior" had performed the Fall, the General congratulated Dion, but refused Dion's offer to join him and Sphinx. Rastor egged Dion on to flee to the maze, promising to catch up to him there, and with that, Dion and Eins were forced to leave via a priest's entrance. As Dion and his group arrived at Chamonix, the young King contacted the observatory on Aiguille du Midi, where he had learned Jack and his team were located. Taunting Jack on arriving late once again, Dion sent a missile to destroy the observatory in the hope of ending him once and for all.

Dion and Eins were en-route to the Supreme Labyrinth when Sphinx asked for a report, confirming that Dion had successfully performed the Fall. Sphinx ordered them to join the defences he was leaving at the Labyrinth's gates to prevent anyone from following him in, but wanted Dion and some squires to be ready to head into the ancient maze should someone make it in.

Shortly after Sphinx headed into the Labyrinth, however, High Brother Ezekiel and a few Omega monks made it past the bronze and silvermen before they could block off the other gates, and Sphinx's forces contacted Dion to warn him that he was officially required to go into the maze to assist Sphinx, with Dion quickly being allowed through to the Labyrinth once he had arrived.

The One Impossible Labyrinth[]

12 hours after Sphinx's team entered the Supreme Labyrinth, Dion and his team of squires from the Knights of the Golden Eight followed suit, making their way through the First Cavern with relative ease.

However, Dion's long-time lack of interest in history made him ignorant to the requirements to make it through the Labyrinth, and so once they arrived at the six entrances to the Endless Tunnel, Dion mis-identified the symbol of Ningizzida, and led his team into the wrong tunnel. Several hours after making their way through their chosen tunnel, Dion and his team came across a goldman, which they carelessly awoke and caused to attack them. Unlike his squires, Dion only caught a side-on glance on the goldman's face, and so while a squire's eyes were liquified, Dion's only ached.

As Dion and his squires fled back the way they came, a pair of silvermen that had followed them attacked with the goldman, and by the time Dion made it back to the entrance ledge the last of his squires were killed. Taking a fallen grappling hook, Dion jumped over to the next ledge, where Lily happened to be standing. Before she could kick him off, Dion pulled the pin on a grenade, threatening to release the lever if Jack (standing on the opposite side of the abyss) tried to shoot him. Sneering that Lily had always been "a smart little bitch" since she had shown him the correct tunnel, Dion took out his pistol and fired at her point-blank.

However, due to Lily having an active warbler on her person, the bullet missed, and in Dion's moment of shock, Lily quickly snatched the grenade off of him, and then proceeded to brutally punch Dion in the face several times. Dion attempted to try reasoning with her, but Lily retorted how he'd planned to use her before jamming the grenade in his pants and kicking Dion off the ledge. Screaming as he began falling, the grenade detonated, killing Dion as the blast tore him in two, leaving the remains of the King of Underworld to continue falling into the abyss.

Personality[]

Like almost ever other member of the Four Legendary Kingdoms, Dion is extremely arrogant and entitled, with a complete disregard for those beneath his exalted status. Growing up, Dion became an arrogant narcissist with a penchant for sadism, enjoying the torturing of the minotaurs. Regarding his father, Dion found him to be a pale representation of what someone who holds the title of Hades should be like, believing he would be more worthy of the title by ruling through fear and tyranny. Having long been under Sphinx's influence, and coming to view him as a more worthy father figure, Dion was ready and willing to kill and usurp his father with Zaitan in order to take power for himself.

When he first met Lily, Dion feigned a charming persona in front of Lily, and after she learned of his involvement in the Four Kingdoms, he continued this facade in order to try to make her more compliant. When this didn't work, he reverted to his normal personality and threatened to kill Alby if she didn't agree to marry him, though he had no intention of keeping his word. When Zaitan was killed and his plans to become the King of Kings began falling apart, however, Dion's composure slipped and he became vengeful, leading him to impulsively attempt to take Jack and his father's lives.

After receiving his injuries, Dion became more hateful and cruel, using his pain to fuel his desire for revenge. Even being set to finally become the King of Underworld was not enough to satisfy him, coldly tormenting Alby so that he could watch the torment it caused Lily. As he turned on the Four Kingdoms by aligning with Sphinx's goals, Dion readily did whatever his long-time mentor needed him to, seemingly not caring about taking orders from Sphinx. Despite his father's attempt to reconcile with him, Dion was so embroiled in his bitterness for him that he had no issue with selling him out to Sphinx and going so far as to suggest death as Hades's punishment. Ultimately though, Dion's arrogance, reliance on his own self-entitlements, and lack of interest in learning was his downfall, as he rushed unprepared into the Supreme Labyrinth and underestimated Lily, costing him his life.

Skills[]

Ancient Knowledge: As a high-ranking royal in the Four Legendary Kingdoms, Dion has been taught many things regarding the true history of mankind, in particular, he has dedicated himself to learning about the Great Games of the Hydra. Regarding most other ancient matters, however, Dion is more ignorant due to his lack of actual care for history, leading him to incorrectly identify the symbol of Ningizzida in the Supreme Labyrinth.
Multilingualism: As a high-ranking royal, Dion likely required the need to read and speak multiple languages aside from his native French. He is able to read and speak French and English fluently at the very least.
Trained Marksman: Dion has apparently been trained in using pistols, as he was able to confidently hold a pistol on Jack and the others following the eruption of chaos in the Underworld, and later again on Lily in the Supreme Labyrinth.
Trained Pilot: Due to his ownership of an ICON A10 seaplane, it can be presumed that Dion has been trained in flying small aircraft.

Equipment[]

Weapons[]

Pistol: Dion first had a pistol on him when he attempted to kill Jack and the others in the Underworld before he was shot from behind. Dion later had another pistol on him when he went into the Supreme Labyrinth, and attempted to use it to shoot Lily point-blank, only to be disarmed.
Filament Weapon: An ancient, harp-shaped weapon, with a super-thin, super-sharp thread running through the gap. Jaeger Eins loaned it to Dion to use on Alby in order to exact his revenge, which the young prince to quickly and painfully cut off Alby's left hand.
Grenade: Dion was carrying a grenade on him when he went into the Supreme Labyrinth, and used it to threaten Lily before attempting to shoot her, only for her to turn the tables and trap it in his pants and kicking Dion off the ledge before it exploded.

Vehicles[]

ICON A10 Seaplane: One of two small seaplanes owned by Dion and Zaitan, which both princes used to each travel to mountain lakes near ski resorts from their father's estate. Dion's ICON A10 was named Sexy Prince One.
Inflatable Dinghy: To Be Added.
CH-53E Super Stallion: To Be Added.

Other Equipment[]

Branding Iron: An ancient metal branding iron that Dion, Zaitan and George used to torment the minotaurs in their private dungeon. Dion also used it to singe Alby in order to coerce Lily into going along with his plans for her.
Medical Mask: After being grievously injured upon being shot through the left cheek by Alby, Dion has taken to wearing a medical mask to cover the scar he received after getting medical attention.
Ring of Command: One of the four lesser rings which controls a small number of the bronze and silver guardians, which Dion used to command the automatons of Atlas in order to take them away for Sphinx's army. Later, Dion (or Eins) used a Ring to have their platoon of bronzemen hold off the Order of the Omega and their Romanian troops as they prepared the falling temple. Dion still had the Ring on him when he was in the Supreme Labyrinth, though it evidently had no effect on the goldman that attacked his team, and was lost when Dion's body fell into the abyss.
- Bronze Guardians: The ancient bronze-coloured automatons which guard the important locales of the Super-Ancients' trials. While serving Sphinx, Dion orchestrated the bronzemen at Atlas's removal to bring into Sphinx's forces, and later had them with him at the second iron mountain defending him from the Omega monks.
Grappling Hook: A grappling hook that Dion took from ones of his squires after he was grabbed by a goldman, and used to secure himself to Lily's ledge after jumping from his.

Assets[]

Kingdom of Underworld Territory: One of the four long-lasting kingdoms of royalty that have existed in secret since the earliest ages of mankind, which Dion inherited upon his father's banishment from the Four Kingdoms.

Trivia[]

Dion is named in part after the Greek God of the Vine and Wine-making, Dionysus.
Like most of Reilly's other notable antagonists, Dion has a distinguishing feature; the horrific tear in his left cheek.
- Unlike the other villains, who had their features or disfigurements before their initial appearance in their respective novels, Dion's occurs when Alby shoots him from behind through the cheek during the novel of his first appearance, and bears the wound in subsequent stories.
- Dion came to evoke Carnivore in some fashion by way of his injuries; like the Russian royal, Dion received a grievous injury to the lower left side of his face, receive rudimentary treatment for it, and refuse pain medication to cope.
Along with Ricardo Mendoza and Chloe Carnarvon, Dion has among the highest number of appearances of any antagonist throughout Reilly's novels, appearing in four novels (although only Dion and Mendoza had antagonistic roles through all four of their appearances, while Chloe's debut appearance was only akin to a cameo).