Arawn

Lord Arawn Death-Lord is a character in The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. He is the main antagonist of the series and is based on the god of death in Welsh mythology of the same name.

Origin
He was once a mortal man with magical powers, until he became the consort of Achren, the Ruler of Annuvin. After learning of her powers he betrayed her, usurping the iron crown of Annuvin and the title of Death-Lord for himself. He would have conquered all of Prydain had the Sons of Don not intervened.

Arawn was the cause of much suffering throughout Prydain. He traveled throughout the land, always in disguise, attempting to steal the enchanted tools and recorded knowledge of Prydain's artisans and skilled laborers. The only man able to thwart him in this effort was Menwy the Bard, the only mortal on record in Alexander's books to have seen Arawn's true face. Instead of using the stolen tools and knowledge for himself, however, Arawn kept them locked in his Treasurehouse in Annuvin, where they would benefit no one.

After his failure to steal the knowledge of the bards, Arawn rarely ventured beyond the borders of Annuvin, and then only in disguise. One of his greatest powers was the ability to transform into any shape, but this was also his greatest weakness, for he would then become as vulnerable as the creature whose likeness he assumed. Ordinary people were easily fooled by his disguises, but his former mistress Achren, who had taught him of all his powers, had the ability to see through his disguises.

Minions and Weapons
His malignant influence had more direct effects as well. He captured the Gwythaints and enslaved them with his power, changing them from relatively gentle birds into terrifying spies, the "Eyes of Annuvin". He also gained the Black Cauldron from Orddu, Orwen and Orgoch,, corrupting it into the instrument that would create his Cauldron-Born warriors. Mortal men who joined with him became the Huntsmen of Annuvin, as fearsome as the Cauldron-Born in their own right. His powers, and the ramifications of them, proved seductive to many prominent leaders, including his champion the Horned King, King Morgant, Magg, and King Pryderi.

The Book of Three
In The Book of Three, Arawn sent his champion, the evil Horned King to amass a vast army with which to topple Caer Dathyl, the mightiest city in Prydain. With Caer Dathyl destroyed, Arawn would have been able to enslave Prydain, however the Horned King was destroyed by Gwydion, Prince of Prydain, son of High King Math,and his army was scattered.

The Black Cauldron
In the second book in the series, The Black Cauldron, Arawn attempted to take over Prydain by despoiling the graves of fallen warriors and using the Black Crochan to turn them into Cauldron-Born but the Crochan was stolen by three witches named Orddu, Orwen and Orgoch and eventually found its way into the hands of the evil King Morgant who planned to use it to overthrow Arawn and become ruler of Annuvin and Prydain. Morgant was later killed and the Crochan destroyed.

Taran Wanderer
While Taran is on his quest to find his parentage, he encounters many lives in Prydain that have suffered because of Arawn stealing the Knowledge and the Treasures.

High King
He struck again in The High King, personally showing himself to Prince Gwydion in the form of Taran, pursued by his own Huntsmen. Gwydion fell for the ruse, losing the sword Dyrnwyn and almost his own life as a result. With Dynrwyn in his possession, Arawn's allies rallied to his call, engulfing Prydain in an all-out war.

His own end came after sending all his Cauldron-Born to destroy Caer Dathyl, leaving Annuvin vulnerable. Following a strategy laid out by Gwydion, Taran and his companions approached Annuvin by land, fighting a delaying action against the returning Cauldron-Born while Gwydion led a larger force in a strike against Annuvin itself. With the help of a gwythaint Taran had befriended as a fledgling, Taran found the sword Dyrnwyn and used it to destroy the Cauldron-Born. He then entered Annuvin with the sword and quickly found Arawn alone, disguised as Gwydion. Arawn told him to give him the sword, which Taran almost did. But Arawn's mannerisms gave him pause, and after discerning the Death-Lord's true identity he tried striking him down. Gwydion's form blurred into a shadow and made a hasty retreat.

Minutes later Arawn returned to finish Taran off, approaching him and the other companions in the form of an adder. Achren saw him immediately and tried tearing him apart, but he struck and gave her a fatal bite on the throat. He then turned on Taran, who beheaded him with Dyrnwyn. After the snake expired it transformed into Arawn's human form, clothed in a dark robe with the head face-down. Just as quickly, Arawn's form faded away, leaving a patch of fallow land where it had been.

Arawn's death broke the powers of Annuvin. The Sons of Don and others with magical powers then departed Prydain, leaving the land in peace, as well as free of enchantment.

Powers
Whilst he usually relied on the strength of his Huntsmen, his Gwythaints, and his Cauldron-Born armies, Arawn was immensely powerful in his own right. He appeared to be immortal though he was obviously not indestructible. In The High King Gwydion said that if Arawn were to go into Prydain unprotected and in his true form, he would be killed on sight so Arawn always employed his shape-shifting powers when in Prydain. His shape-shifting abilities gave him the ability to take on the appearance of anyone or anything but when he did he took on the strength and weaknesses of whatever he was disguised as. This led to his downfall in the final book of the series. Arawn was never seen in his true form over the course of the series although when he was decapitated by Taran while in his snake-form his body and head transformed into the those of a human figure but his body was wrapped in a black robe and his head was lying face down and both immediately disintegrated so his physical features are not known.

In addition to his powers, Arawn possessed an extremely cunning, Machiavellian intellect. This is evidenced by his overthrowing of his powerful former mentor, Achren and his convoluted plans over the course of the stories.

Role in Ultima
In Ultima, Arawn is the spirit of the Black Cauldron and.