Linius Pallitax
- "Oh, Sky above! If I had known then what I know now..."
- —Linius Pallitax
Linius Pallitax was the Most High Academe of Sanctaphrax during the events of The Curse of the Gloamglozer, the husband of Yena Pallitax, and the father of Maris.
Biography
Linius Pallitax was born at the tail end of the Great Purges, when Earth-Scholars were being discredited and cast out of Sanctaphrax. As a young child, he commonly sneaked out of the monotonous lectures of the Fountain House and spent his time in the Great Library of Sanctaphrax, learning the secrets of the ancient academics from the High Librarian, Bungus Septrill.
Despite his secret Earth-Scholar sympathies, which at the time would have been considered nothing short of blasphemy, Linius Pallitax earned favor in the School of Mist as he gained more and more power and influence. Before long, he had become the Dean of Mist, and after the death of the Most High Academe, Linius was elected to the highest office of Sanctaphrax.
Linius believed that, for Sanctaphrax to prosper, Earth-Scholars and Sky-Scholars had to put aside their old differences and work together for the common good, as they had once done. He was a good friend of Wind Jackal, and the two of them developed ambitious plans to do away with the backstabbing, intrigue, and oppression in Sanctaphrax and Undertown alike. At his inauguration, Linius called for the academics of Sanctaphrax to embrace knowledge in all its forms as equal in value, and to welcome Earth-Studies back into the fold, although this plea was largely ignored. He also revived many ancient traditions, moving into the old Palace of Shadows instead of establishing his office in one of the great towers of Sanctaphrax, as was common among Most High Academes of the day.
Shortly before becoming Most High Academe, Linius met and married Yena Vespius. Yena shortly became pregnant, but died in childbirth, leaving Linius alone with his new daughter, Maris. Originally, Linius was close to his daughter, but as he became more absorbed in his duties and personal experiments, he neglected his daughter, who was instead looked after by her nanny, Welma Thornwood.
In his later career, Linius became intrigued by the ancient First Scholars of Sanctaphrax, whose mysterious experiments had been stricken from historical records. Trying to find out more, Linius rediscovered the Ancient Laboratory, and began to recreate their experiments. However, Linius made the mistake of attempting to synthesize life by channelling the energy of a storm into the body of a glister, which had been the undoing of the First Scholars. Linius ended up creating a Gloamglozer, which shortly turned on its creator. The Gloamglozer started a fire in the Palace of Shadows, but Linius was rescued by Tweezel, curator of the Palace of Shadows, and was said to be recovering as his apprentice Quint prepared to enter the Knights' Academy. Shortly thereafter, however, his health took a turn for the worse, and he died.
Trivia
- Although he is probably not to blame for this because he accidentally resurrected the Gloamglozer, rather than intentionally, he is indirectly the cause of the further Purges between the Earth-scholars and Sky-scholars, and thus indirectly the founder of the Guardians of Night.
- Pallitax is comparable to Victor Frankenstein because he tampers with Creation, which has disastrous consequences. Both the Gloamglozer and Frankenstein's Monster were initially created as benign and harmless, but then become evil and bitter at everyone and seek to kill their creators, who both neglect them.