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| “ | People of Emon! Thordak demands capitulation. Submit to The Cinder King! | „ |
| ~ Thordak's first lines during the attack on Emon. |
| “ | Hear me, insects! You live out of mercy. Fight or flee, and you forfeit that mercy! A new age is upon you: the rule of the Chroma Conclave! | „ |
| ~ Thordak to the citizens of Emon, as well as his rise to power. |
Thordak, also known as The Cinder King, is a major antagonist in the first campaign of the D&D web series Critical Role and one of the two main antagonists (alongside Vecna) of its animated adaptation The Legend of Vox Machina, serving as the main antagonist of the first half.
He is an ancient red dragon and the leader of the Chroma Conclave who is said to be even larger, stronger and more powerful than most other dragons, including his own kind. He even went completely mad, presumably due to the heart crystal that was embedded in his chest and is also responsible for the death of Vax'ildan and Vex'ahlia's mother, making him their archenemy.
He was voiced by the late Lance Reddick, who also played Agent Clappers in Paradise P.D., General Lunaris in the 2017 DuckTales reboot, Sylens in Horizon, Ra's al Ghul in Beware the Batman, Martin Hatch in Quantum Break, Papa Legba in American Horror Story, Renzo in Farzar, and Steven Erickson in Invincible. Undead Thordak is voiced by LeVar Burton.
Personality[]
Thordak is power hungry, tyrannical, sadistic and greedy, similar to other chromatic dragons. Beyond this, the power he derives from the titan heartstone embedded in his chest slowly has been driving him insane, making him prone to irrational decisions and violent outbursts. He isn't tolerant of failure and will threaten his own allies if they question or fail him.
In contrast to how he treats everyone else, he seems very fond of his children, being worried when Vox Machina attacked his lair as it could have put them in danger, and is saddened to see several of his eggs that were destroyed by Scanlan and Grog. Thordak sees other creatures that are not dragons as beneath him, claiming them to be insects.
Powers and Abilities[]
Thordak is nigh-unrivaled in raw power, which attributed to two things; being subjected into experimentation by the necromancer Opash and the hearthstone in his chest. It was from Opash Cinder King attained curious notes which included the research into Guuthal the Ever-Fed (an ancient black dragon who evaded death by becoming a dracolich) — the same research Thordak meant to reward Raishan with in exchange of establishing Chroma Conclave together. The heartstone on the other hand, was crafted by members of Arcana Pansophical out of the salvaged heart crystal of a primordial fire titan and meant to be a soul jar they forcibly bonded Thordak's very soul into as part of the procedure to keep him trapped in Elemental Plane of Fire forever. However, Raishan's machinations under the guise of outcast whom Fire Ashari adopted in conjunction of Thordak repurposed said hearthstone into his very source of physical and magical augmentations beyond ordinary red dragons ensured the Cinder King's escape.
Like other dragons, he can fly at high speeds.
As one of his deadliest arsenal, Thordak's hearthstone boosted his regeneration and fire-based abilities (ex. exuding heat aura which burn anyone and anything within 10 ft radius and in the animated adaptation, compressing his already destructive fire breath into a more powerful blue laser capable of carving through solid rock and pierce through a mountain) as well as allowing him to asexually lay eggs from which similarly mutated primordial red dragons hatch. Such augmentations come at a price; having noticed the signs which forced her to hasten the plan to bring the Cinder King back to material plane, Raishan mentioned that the hearthstone eroded his sanity, making him prone to make irrational decisions which potentially detrimental to his cause.
Appearance[]
Thordak is a gargantuan dragon with dark red scales and cream colored ones on his throat and underbelly. Even compared to other ancient dragons, he is enormously large, around twice the size of his fellow Conclave members. He had a relatively trimmed frame that betrayed his extreme power. He has a huge orange gemstone in his chest as well as four demonically curved horns on his head.
Biography[]
Background[]
Before he matured into an ancient Red Dragon, Thordak ruled over half of the desert continent of Marquet. He had an army of kobolds attack the city of Ank'Harel, but the army was eventually dispatched and Thordak was injured by the Brass Dragon Devo'ssa, causing him to flee. As he flew over the ocean, he was struck down by the Brass Dragon and fell into the water.
He made a comeback centuries later, however. He was found near death by the necromancer, Opash, who saved his life through experimentation. His experiments made Thordak stronger than ever. Thordak showed off this new power by killing Opash. Although he was interested in the necromancer's notes and did his own research into making himself even more powerful than Opash had already made him. He then ruled over the Island of Viscan, giving himself the moniker, "The Cinder King". He stole every treasure he could find, but it did not quench his appetite for resources.
Thordak would later go on to rampage many places, something Lady Allura would pick up on when she was just a mere adventurer. She and her party concocted a plan where they would magically seal the red dragon in the Elemental Plane of Fire, as killing the dragon was beyond their capabilities. Amazingly, it worked; Thordak was imprisoned, but the procedure was not an easy one, as they had to tie him to the Plane of Fire with a soul anchor made from the heart of a fire titan.
During his imprisonment in the Fire plane, Thordak was approached by the disease-stricken green dragon, Raishan. Thordak made a deal with her. If she could get him out of the fiery realm, he would help her find a cure for her illness (Thordak knew a countermeasure, which was to become a dracolich (an undead dragon that still retained its mind and abilities)). He insisted on having her set him free first and foremost however, and Raishan begrudgingly accepted, acknowledging the Red Dragon was not lying. She would then advise gathering other chromatic dragons to form the renowned Chroma Conclave. Together, with the aid of Umbrasyl, Vorugal, and Brimscythe, they freed Thordak during the Winter's Crest Festival. Initially, Raishan intended to free Thordak during the Celestial Solstice, but Thordak's madness was becoming increasingly noticeable, so the process was expedited.
Critical Role[]
During their plot to conquer Tal'Dorei, Brimscythe and Thordak were both interested in ruling Emon, but Thordak planned to kill the younger Blue Dragon and hide his death from his fellow members of the Chroma Conclave to further cement his rule. However, Brimscythe's death at the hands of Vox Machina meant that Thordak never needed to lift a finger to deal with his rival.
Once he was free from the Fire Plane, Thordak led the Chroma Conclave on an assault against the cities of Emon, Westruun, and other parts of Tal'Dorei. They also attacked and destroyed the floating cities of Draconia on Thordak's orders given that they were the most immediate threat. Later, Lady Allura and Keyleth revealed through a scrying ritual that Thordak had returned to the Material Plane through Pyrah, devastating the area and killing druids of the Fire Ashari in the process.
After Vox Machina killed Umbrasyl and Vorugal, They set out to kill Thordak, aided by the manipulative Raishan, who had grown weary of Thordak's insanity and empty promises. To that end, Vox Machina and their allies entered the ruined Cloudtop District of Emon, where Thordak sensed their presence and emerged from his burrow. Thordak then attacked Vox Machina and a grueling battle ensued. During the battle, Raishan revealed herself and turned on Thordak, joining the assault against him. After several attacks, the scales on Thordak's chest were chipped away, revealing the crystal within. The Vestiges of Divergence, powerful divine weapons wielded by Vox Machina—the last hit being an arrow of dragon slaying loosed by Vex'ahlia—cracked and shattered the crystal, causing Thordak to shrink down to Raishan's size—still a very large dragon, but much smaller than he was before. Realizing the danger he was in, Thordak turned and dove back down into his burrow. However, Vax'ildan swiftly chased the dragon into the hole and dealt the killing blow with Whisper, his dagger.
After his death, Thordak's body was taken by Raishan so that she could use his knowledge to become a Dracolich and stave off the disease that was killing her.
Thordak's carnage would also posthumously cause a far more benevolent Red Dragon to anonymously donate its hoard towards the reconstruction of Emon, as this unknown dragon had become disillusioned with the Chroma Conclave's lack of respect for the sanctity of life. The dragon in question also appeared to be the Cinder King's former admirer and the amount of donation in question was over 50000 gold pieces.
The Legend of Vox Machina[]
To be added
Quotes[]
| “ | Thordak: Did you dispatch them? Vorugal: Most, but a group escaped with magic. The could gather forces against us. Let me go after them. Thordak: No, Vorugal, keep to the plan. Plunder this land, and bring me its spoils. Umbrasyl: And me, my king? Westruun's teeming with gold. Thordak: Then you shall plate for me. And once you have, Umbrasyl, hunt down those vermin, show them the wrath of the Chroma Conclave. Umbrasyl: With pleasure. |
„ |
| ~ The meeting between Vorugal, Thordak, and Umbrasyl in the light of Vox Machina and Emon citizens' escape. |
| “ | Thordak: Vorugal, what news do you bring? Vorugal: Umbrasyl has been felled by the vestige bearers, my king. It won't be long before they come for us. Thordak: (chuckling) Let them. A new army awaits. An army that will soon inherit this world and bring glory to the Chroma Conclave. |
„ |
| ~ Thordak receiving the news about Umbrasyl's death and reveals his preparation for the upcoming conflict against Vox Machina |
| “ | Thordak: You dare? Raishan: I freed you, followed you. Assembled your conclave. You should've kept your word. (keeps Thordak in place) Taste my disease! Thordak: (bashes Raishan aside after enduring her poisonous gas and finds her ended up standing with Vox Machina side-by-side) Very well. I shall return! |
„ |
| ~ Raishan betrays Thordak after Pike destroyed his soul jar, and final exchange between them and his final words before his fitting and deserved death at Vax's hands |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Thordak is male, but can lay eggs due to the mutations he has undergone as a result of his magical transformations.
- For his appearance in The Legend of Vox Machina, Thordak received a redesign to make his appearance more distinct as with other members of Chroma Conclave. In this case, it is influenced by lion complete with the same kingly pride, and horns designed to be somewhat reminiscent of a crown.
- With Lance Riddick's passing, Thordak's corpse, while possessed by Raishan, is voiced by LeVar Burton combined with Cree Summer (Raishan's voice actress)'s own.
- How much Thordak's soul gem corroded his mind in exchange of power boost is put into question if one takes the account of him already a destructive and vile monster from start and importantly, such claim was made by Raishan whom admittedly too duplicitous to be trusted even as a situational ally as Keyleth suspected her to be. Furthermore, most of the instances Thordak being truly irrational is his paranoia of everyone acting against him, which turned out to be true since Raishan was acting against him behind his back. The fact that Brimscythe also plotted against him and his frustration over Vorugal's death that he denounced him as useless didn't help either.
External Links[]
- Thordak on the Critical Role Wiki
- Thordak on the Pure Evil Wiki
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 Villains
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Briarwood Household Chroma Conclave Herd of Storms Others | ||