| “ | Come to me little kittens. Come and taste the power of the ancient times. | „ |
| ~ Skroa (before defeating the mightiest beast-men fighters). |
Skroa the Cunning is a major villain in the French comic book series Les Légendaires (The Legendaries). He is the last member of his demonic kind, and competed against Darkhell to rule the world of Alysia. He returns early in the story but only later tries to steal a divine artifact to take over the world. Much later, he strikes a bargain with the beast-woman Sheibah to return once more but he is killed by another one of his rivals, the female demon Amylada.
Personality[]
Skroa used to be stern, pragmatic and ruthless, yet caring, determined to give the best possible life to his daughter and shelter mages from persecution, welcoming them and providing for them in earnest without hiding his gloomier aspects. However, betrayal and circumstances would drive him to the deep end.
By the time the story takes place, he has become arguably one of the series' most despicable villains, which is saying something given how awful the other can be. He is cruel, ruthless, ambitious, arrogant and deeply selfish.
He is willing to leave thousands to a certain death to reach his goal, cynically stating that they have no place in the world he plans to shape. In stark contrast with his genuine love and devotion for his daughter Shan-Ray – mirroring Darkhell's love towards his daughter Ténébris – Skroa calls his creatures his "children" but he makes clear that he considers them as lowly servants, and reacts to their affection with disgust and violence.
Despite his huge power, Skroa is a coward who flees at the slightest odd against him, even when retaining control. He fights by striking his foes at distance, by neutralizing them with magic or overwhelming them with his creatures, and only deals the finishing blow when sure of his victory. As such, he can be taken by surprise by weaker yet faster and more experimented foes. However, underestimating him would be a very bad idea.
True to his nickname, Skroa is a very intelligent and resourceful schemer, able to use the Legendaries to lead him where he wanted to, twice. He mostly pulls the strings from behind the scenes, placing his servants where they can advance his goals, and displaying great tactical skills. However, like evil geniuses, he is overconfident to a fault.
Powers and Abilities[]
Skroa is an immensely powerful sorcerer, only rivalled by Darkhell. As a demon, he lives for millennia without aging and displays huge strength, powerful talons, and wings to fly with. Skroa can detect, bypass and nullify magic, even when highly powerful. In battle, he throws magic-infused feathers as darts, and fires energy or lightning blasts.
He can teleport, masters a wide array of spells, and can bewitch anything his feathers touch, attacking and spell-casting in the same move. He spawns huge and powerful golems from rocks, and he can even give birth to sentient clones of himself from his limbs. But since he must mutilate himself to do so, he only did it once.
History[]
Background[]
The war between galinas and chiridirelles.
Skroa is a galina, a bird-like demons, Centuries before the story, his kind warred against the all-female chiridirelles demons, driving both species to near extinction, and destroying the Ancient-Greek like Chiridan civilization. Skroa beat and captured Amylada, the last chiridirelle, submitting her to experiments and tortures beyond awful for six hundred years.
Three hundred years before the story, magic users were persecuted and called by the "magicor" slur. Skroa found the idyllic land of Nirvanis (based on Nirvana) built by the powerful magical palago race. He asked for shelter for him and his egg, only for them to refuse and attack him.
Skroa slaughters the Palagos.
In retaliation, he slaughtered them and seized their land and castle, deciding to make it a safe haven for magicors and mostly for his daughter Shan-Ray. As Magicors were tracked down by the powerful and fanatical Order of Arkanis, he sent his hosts travel around to bring more to his land.
A century before the story, Galen – the teenager who would later become Darkhell – and his girlfriend, the Elementary Elf Cherylad, found a magic portal to Nirvanis. Skroa welcomed them, sheltered them, and studied the alliance offer from the Ultima Fraternity.
Skroa and his daughter welcome Galen to Nirvanis.
He told Galen, who had lost his soul and only kept a fragment through the evil sword Ténébris, to never use it again, but Galen lost control after learning the truth of the genocide. Skroa admitted it, arguing that it was necessary to build his utopia.
Skroa admitted it, arguing that it was necessary to build his utopia. He later refused to assist Ultima in its war, but their peace gift was in fact a bomb, destroying the entire Nirvanis despite his best efforts to contain the blast. Furious, Skroa declared war to the entire Ultima Fraternity, paving the way for his decade-long feud against Darkhell.
Return[]
At the start of the story, the Legendaries (the knight Danaël, the mage princess Jadina, the beast-man Gryf, the Elementary Elf Shimy and the barbarian Razzia) travel through the cursed land of Klafooty (a pun on "clafoutis", a kind of French cake) looking for a cure to the Jovenia Incident. There, they meet Elysio, an amnesiac boy with incredible yet uncontrolled powers, who travels with his bird pet Vertig with the same goal in mind.
Elysio befriends the Legendaries, but the Zar-Ikos (a pun on the pronunciation of "les haricots", French for "the beans"), a kind of plant-people created by Darkhell, reveal that Elysio is in fact the Dark Sorcerer himself, who lost his memories after his defeat. They capture the Legendaries and brew a potion to give Elysio his memories back. Vertig helps the Legendaries escape by spitting water on Shimy's face, enabling her to turn into water with her power and break out, before freeing the others.
The Legendaries die one by one in the Guardian's deadly trials to get the Stone of Crescia, until only Danaël is left. Before he can restore everyone with the Stone, Vertig barges in and swallows it, turning back into Skroa. The Demon Sorcerer explains that his prison was destroyed in the chaos after Darkhell's defeat. He found Darkhell, turned into an amnesiac child, and decided to stay by his side as a pet bird when he would set out to regain his memories, to steal the cure his "master" would find for himself.
Elysio and his "pet" Vertig.
Skroa choose to help the Legendaries prevent Darkhell's return and followed them through the Guardian's trials. (The Guardian knew about it, and even confronted him knowing his real identity, but being absolutely neutral he let him be.) As Skroa is about to kill Danaël, Jadina (who was saved thanks to Gryf's sacrifice) harms him from behind with a bolt of magic, prompting him to teleport away. Alas, the grievously wounded princess dies in Danaël's arms. Fortunately, the Guardian revives them all and restores the Silver Falcons back to normal to reward their efforts.
Attack on Jaguarys[]
| “ | One piece of advice: Before taking on one enemy, make sure that the previous one is really dead. | „ |
| ~ Skroa (attacking the heroes from behind). |
Skroa is the main villain of the fourth story arc. As the Legendaries struggle to get back a potion that could reverse the Jovenia Incident that was stolen by the obnoxious thief "El Diablo", they encounter Dawn and Dusk, twin deities of Creation and Destruction.
Hooded Skroa
Disgusted to see Alysia populated by children, they give the Legendaries two weeks to reach the Horn of Sygma left by the God Misery and use it to cancel the Jovenia effect, lest they destroy the world. (They also reveal that the potion was useless.) The entire exchange is witnessed by an ominous figure in a hooded cloak, whose yellow eyes and blue-green feathers betray his identity as none other than Skroa.
On their way to the secret city of the jaguarians (Gryf's people of beast-men), holding the Horn of Sygma, the young ninja apprentice Shun-Day asks to join the Legendaries' mission. Witnessing the deities' ultimatum, such a quest is the last step required for her training. They welcome her as an honorary member and gradually befriend her.
It appears that mankind hates and fears the jaguarians, who are often killed or sold as slaves for gladiator fights, a fate that Gryf suffered before joining the Legendaries. The more they venture into the Mountains of Lovinah, the more Gryf's health decreases, and he passes out for days due to a violent headache. They are attacked by slave-drivers wanting to capture and sell Gryf, but Skroa – who is tailing the Legendaries – brutally slaughters them without the heroes' knowing. Things turn for the worst when Gryf inexplicably turns into a feral killing machine and grievously wounds Shimy before being drugged into sleep by a jaguarian looking exactly like him.
It turns out that Gryf is in fact Prince Anoth-Cha of Jaguarys – the jaguarian kingdom – who lost his memories when he got captured by slave-drivers who stole his Katseye: a talisman protecting all jaguarians from the Chakounia disease, the reason why Gryf turned feral. Gryf's twin brother King Kel-Cha explains that the Horn of Sygma keeps Jaguarys in an alternate space safe from human persecution, which can only be entered when invited.
Alas, the Legendaries need the Horn to save Alysia and Danaël is (grudgingly) resolved to sacrifice the jaguarians for it. Before they can solve their different, Skroa storms the city and wreaks havoc. Danaël and Jadina recognize him and ally with King Kel-Cha against him. Skroa explains that he was after the stolen potion, but changed plans. He aims to use it to become so powerful than even the twin deities would be no match for him, and rule the world he would have "saved". But with each wish cancelling the previous, the jaguarians would lose their only protection and be doomed to extinction. Yet, Gryf resolves to take the Stone of Crescia from Skroa's belly to reverse the Jovenia incident without endangering Jaguarys.
Skroa overwhelms his foes with a horde of golems and kills one of Kel-Cha's bodyguards. A healed Shimy then uses her earth power to wipe out Skroa's golems and to crush him under a huge boulder, seemingly killing him. However, Jadina then notices that Skroa cut off his right arm and realizes that Shun-Day, who had always kept her own concealed, is in fact a spawn created by Skroa from it... who just volunteered to "protect" the Horn of Sygma.
Shun-Day's human and true form.
It now becomes clear that Skroa had sent Shun-Day infiltrate the Legendaries with a plausible motivation (and with false certificates to boot); so that when they would be granted access to Jaguarys, Shun-Day being technically a part of him, he would then be granted access as well. He was in fact just distracting the Legendaries and the jaguarians, letting Shun-Day steal the Horn for him.
The Legendaries, along with Kel-Cha and his remaining bodyguard, rush in time to stop Shun-Day, who reveals her true form. Livid, Gryf attacks but she displays immense strength and knocks him out with surprising ease.
"I am not your father!! I gave you part of my body and soul for you to pass as a human girl!! Not to feel any love!"
Just when the others are about to overwhelm her, Skroa appears from behind them and paralyses them all with a spell.As Shun-Day happily runs to him, Skroa viciously backhands her, scolding her for displaying affection while she is but his tool.
He then orders her to slay the Legendaries, who tell her that she does not deserve such abuse, but she cannot resolve to kill people who were so nice to her, so she only pretends to kill Gryf, only to remove the talisman protecting him from the Chakounia. A feral Gryf rushes at Skroa before he can cast a spell, hitting him so violently that he spits the Stone of Crescia, turning back into a harmless bird.
Danaël agrees to let Shun-Day depart freely along with her "father", warning her not to cross their path again. Dawn and Dusk appear immediately after, taking back the Stone of Crescia and ordering the jaguarians' sacrifice to lift the Jovenia Effect. Furious, Gryf (who got his talisman back) punches Dusk and tells the twin deities that they lost all right over Alysia when the gods left it eons ago, and cannot dictate its law any longer.
This very attitude was what the twin deities were waiting for all along. Overjoyed; they depart, leaving Alysia untouched. Still, Dusk who can see the future cryptically states that one of the Legendaries will bring about the end of Alysia for real.
Alliance with Sheibah[]
Sheibah, alongside Skroa and Razorcat.
Few months after Skroa's attack on Jaguarys, the powerless demon and his "daughter" were captured by vengeful jaguarians soldiers and sentenced to execution. However, the Jaguarian High Priestess Sheibah convinced King Kel-Cha to spare Skroa's life in exchange for his cooperation as forced labour.
After the God Anathos reincarnated himself in Danaël and crushed the Legendaries, Gryf returned to Jaguarys to heal and train, and Sheibah told him that she was working with Skroa and Shun-Day to create a new type of Katseye that would enable its bearer to use the Chakounia to increase his strength tenfold without ill effects. Sheibah offered Gryf the first of those special Katseyes to use against the God of Evil, which he did. However, she had ulterior motives to work with Skroa. Indeed, she wanted to get her revenge on mankind since some slave-drivers stole her son Razorcat's Katseye, condemning him to an incurable Chakounia.
Sometimes after Abyss's defeat, she left Jaguarys with her son and Skroa, enlisting the Sorcerer's help to gain the four pieces of the key to the prison of the evil god Eternity, since Skroa knows their location. Sheibah wants to become Eternity's host and use his power to restore Skroa and Razorcat to normal, before wiping out humanity. Gryf, who got engaged to Shun-Day, calls forth the Legendaries to track down Sheibah and end the threat.
Amylada (under her true form and as Razzia's arm).
Skroa's wretched life would end when the Legendaries caught up with the High Priestess. Indeed, Razzia rescued Amylada from the ruins of the demon's old lair and promised her to kill him if she would replace his right arm that Anathos cut off and grant him her power. Upon seeing Skroa, an enraged Amy rips him to shreds just as he was fleeing from her, discarding his pact with Sheibah out of abject terror.
But Amy's wrath has yet to be quenched and she is now howling for Shun-Day's blood. Furious at Razzia for attempting to hold her back, she possesses him and attempts to kill Shun-Day (who is shape-shifted as a female jaguarian), but Gryf faces her to protect his betrothed, stating that she is innocent of her creator's crimes.
Before they can come to blows, the Legendaries, Shun-Day, Sheibah and Razorcat are taken to the flying island of the Chiridans, an ancient civilization that was destroyed by the war between the Galinas and the Chiridirelles. They now exist as spirits forced to possess captives, and to guard Eternity's prison. Shun-Day then explains that Skroa used Amy's cells to create her, (probably being the source of her shape-shifting power) making her Amy's sort of daughter. Learning this, Amy becomes fiercely protective of Shun-Day, but alas she dies devoured in Eternity's rampage.
World Without[]
After the Legendaries sacrifice their lives to destroy Kalandre, the Dynaméïs and the Divine Stones stolen by the sorceress, reality itself is unravelled in a world where they never existed. They are now normal mortals and all their victories against Darkhell, Skroa and Anathos were the doing of the obnoxious writer Artémus del Conquisador (Conquisador or "con qui s'adore" being French for "self-adoring moron" and a pun on Conquistador), who witnessed their last battle and death, telling their story as a tribute, in a series of best-selling novels that made him extremely wealthy.
In fact, it was Artémus who rewrote reality, thanks to the splinters of the Divine Stones that were embedded in his notebook and his skull during their destruction. He did not gave the Legendaries human lives to eclipse them as it was first thought, but to prevent their death, which happened whenever he tried to write reality back as it was.
Artémus is the only one who remembers the former world. He meets Danaël and Shimy, now married human farmers, and enrols them to take back Anathos' sword that was stolen. As for the former Legendaries, they still experience flashbacks of their previous existence and retain their former abilities, unlocked in a great stress.
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Skroa's family. (front left to right), Psycorax, Papatoès and Arfang.
Skroa was killed by Artémus, and Shun-Day is not his daughter but the princess of Orchidia Kingdom. Still, he has a brother, the cruel and paranoid Papatoès, and two nephews, the mute Arfang and the crazy Psycorax.
They were granted shelter by the elves of Astria in exchange for neutrality, but they try to harness power from a Rift caused by the unstable new reality that risks erasing existence, to restore their race through cloning. But the experience fails and they end up destroyed by the Legendaries, now their former selves again.
The Legendaries (Cartoon)[]
Skroa is a major villain in the lighter and softer cartoon adaptation of the comics. It takes place after Darkhell's defeat and the Jovenia Incident, but unlike the original, Darkhell survived and retained his realm, now a child.
As for Skroa, he was never turned into a powerless bird and still tries to take over the world before him. Just like Darkhell, Skroa tries to rebuild his power base by stealing powerful artifacts and monsters.