| “ | Boom! And now the Big Smoke comes out of that bunch, heh! (winks an eye) | „ |
| ~ Clavius when he killed Derek. |
| “ | Oh, what are you saying? Such a golden beauty doesn't have to move so... Abruptly! | „ |
| ~ Clavius before turning Odette into a golden statue. |
| “ | Oh yeah... OH YEAH! Hahahaha! Now this world has the one and only, the one and only King Clavius! (thunder and lightning)... Oh, wait, no, what king, I've covered the whole world... That's right! From now on I'm Emperor Clavius! Muahahahahahaha! | „ |
| ~ Clavius when he took over the world. |
Clavius, also known as King Clavius or Emperor Clavius, is the main antagonist of The Swan Princess fanfiction What if Clavius had won? written by MarkoEL04. This is a version of the villain Clavius who, unlike his original, achieves what he wanted - to take over the world - showing an alternate ending to the events of the sequel.
History[]
Background[]
Clavius and Rothbart were once best friends, and together they conquered different parts of the world to find the Forbidden Arts and become powerful sorcerers. They were looking for a orb that could give its owner three magics: the magic of creation, the magic of change, and the magic of destruction. With this ball, if desired, it would be possible to capture several territories in addition, or even the whole world. One day, both found a mountain with a sea of lava around it. With the help of Rothbart's ingenuity, they built a mobile cabin together, which allowed them to get into the cave, where they found the magic orb. Both friends tried to understand how this ball works and how to get power from it. In the end, Clavius guessed to rub the orb, from which it began to sparkle with lightning, but he did not hit Clavius. Then Clavius continued to rub the orb and, eventually, he received all three magical abilities, demonstrating them in front of Rothbart. Clavius was happy about this event, thinking that he and his friend would become truly great. However, Rothbart, realizing the value of the orb and its powers, decided to take the orb for himself, telling Clavius that he had changed some of his plans regarding... Power. Clavius was confused by this, and before he could say a word about it, Rothbart attacked him with magic, causing Clavius to hit a rock and lose consciousness. Rothbart himself left, leaving his former friend in the mountain with no way to get out. For many years, Clavius sat in the mountain, experiencing pain both in his head and in his soul from the fact that Rothbart, his best friend, his sworn brother, betrayed him for purely selfish purposes. His resentment was strong. One day, a big guy named Knuckles approached the mountain. Seeing a mobile cabin, he reached the cave and exclaimed about who was here. Clavius, hearing Rothbart's voice in the stranger's voice, almost attacked Knuckles out of paranoia. However, seeing that it was a completely different person, Clavius calmed down. However, Clavius was glad that there was some salvation for him to get out of this cursed mountain. Knuckles recognized Clavius because of the rumors about the loser "sorcerer" who "really cleverly" tricked him. Clavius was furious at this statement, as Rothbart decided to embarrass him in order to show himself in a better light. Then, having an idea, Clavius asks Knuckles if he knows where Rothbart is now, to which Knuckles replied that Rothbart is currently the personal fortune teller of King William, who predicted that his kingdom will end if he does not give the position of king to someone else in his old age. Realizing the situation, Clavius decided that as long as Rothbart was alive, he would not get the magic orb, and therefore the only thing left to do was to wait and prepare. When Clavius asked where Knuckles was from, he said that he was an ordinary village boy. Then Clavius told him that if he worked for him, then he would make a warrior out of him, fortunately Clavius still remembered everything he was taught at the military academy. From that moment on, Knuckles, who was tanned to become a warrior, began to serve Clavius, at the same time becoming his personal spy, who followed the events happening with Rothbart, so that Clavius could wait for the right moment.
Present Day[]
Like his original, he did all the same things as in the sequel: kidnapped Uberta, obtained the forbidden arts, usurped power, and killed Jean-Bob. However, the ending of the story was, appropriately speaking, different.
In the mountain, there was a battle between Derek and Clavius, where the latter emerged victorious thanks to the forbidden arts. After Clavius gloated over him, Clavius used destruction magic on Derek, causing him to disintegrate until all that was left was dust. Before this moment, Clavius revealed that this murder was also some kind of revenge for him killing Sir Knuckles. Derek's friends were saddened, especially his mother and Odette. Odette, in a fit of rage, was about to destroy the magical orb to kill Clavius, but for her attempt, he turned her into a golden statue, and although she did not die, she was nevertheless doomed to a much worse fate. Finally, having eliminated the main problem for himself, Clavius takes the orb and commands the forbidden arts to give him the entire world so that he can surpass Rothbart. The forbidden arts grant Clavius' wish, creating a tornado that engulfs the mountain, sparks lightning, and begins to cross every point on Earth. During this rampage, the tornado killed millions of people. The tornado stopped when it besieged Clavius and the others in a new castle, in Britannia. Clavius declared himself emperor, and Uberta, Puffin, and Speed with Jean-Bob's body were imprisoned. Odette, transformed into a golden statue, now stands near Clavius' throne.
Eventually, Clavius created a cult of personality around himself and everyone began to worship him. Now he was literally considered a "god". Clavius himself, in his old age, decided to pamper himself until he died and left the throne to a so-called "worthy man". And he did real madness: he organized competitions where riders raced on crocodiles, swimming away from sharks; he organized a crazy tour of different kingdoms, engaging in hooliganism, since this place, like everything else, now belonged only to him; he organized crazy concerts, most often with dangerous stunts that could hurt someone; in the end, he arranged tests for ordinary people, that those who would fulfill all his whims, then he would be honored to become his worthy man, and, naturally, many wanted this in order to become richer and live a normal life. Despite this, he did not lose his humanity and did not become completely tyrannical. He got himself a wolf named Fili, whom he fell in love with. She was his main happiness in his soul, and Clavius was glad to walk with her or play with her. He himself hopes that Fili will have cute cubs (someday). And he fed the chief jailers - Uberta, Puffin and Speed - meat, wine and potatoes so that they would not rot in prison. However, despite this, many believe that Clavius will definitely go down in history as the most despotic ruler in history.
Personality[]
Being a bit more clever and cunning than the original, Clavius was able to seize power in the entire world, becoming a tyrannical, capricious, violent, apathetic and nasty ruler who is willing to even put his subjects' lives on the line to pamper himself, not thinking that they might die. He basically started to mock everyone and make them idolize him so that he could stay happy and more "soft". He does whatever he wants and is not even afraid to vandalize, knowing full well that nothing will happen to him, since everything belongs to him. He also loves to make sarcastic remarks about anyone, most often demonstrating his narcissism.
However, Clavius, having become a tyrannical ruler, has not yet lost his humanity. This is shown in his love for Fili, whom he truly loves and genuinely cares for, playing with her and hanging out with her, showing that he can love someone. He also cared somewhat for Sir Knuckles, his minion, despite him often insulting him, his killing of Derek was partly revenge on him for killing his subordinate. Also, despite Uberta, Puffin, Speed, and Odette being enemies to him and him having a grudge against them, he still gives them food for free without a pragmatic reason, and Odette, although he condemned her to a horrible fate, he did not kill her, but simply made her inanimate, although he could have killed her.
All of his actions are mainly driven by his tragedy, as Rothbart betrayed him, took his powers for himself, ridiculed him as a loser, and spent several years in grief, which made him paranoid, leading him to want to wipe the traitor's nose. Although his actions are extremely extreme, his tragedy still affects him in the form of his relationship with Fili, who represents his past friendship with Rothbart, and wanting to return the goodwill. Therefore, he believes that everything he has done for him is deserved.
Also, although he does it for his own amusement, he still promises to make someone from the village worthy of taking his throne in the future, as he himself is well aware that he does not have much time left to live, and is looking for a successor he can truly trust, which brings him some honor.
Trivia[]
- He is the second villain from a fanfic set in the Swan Princess universe, the first being Sargon. However, unlike Sargon, Clavius is a canon character for the universe he comes from, while Sargon is completely original.