The Source of All Evil

And the origins of Threadcutter...

Nearly every fantasy world has a “big bad guy” - a singular source of evil bent on the destruction of everything good. Voldemort, the Emperor from Stars Wars, Thulsa Doom, Maleficent, the White Witch & the Night King; these beings care nothing for others, and they cannot be reasoned with.

Quiet’s high-fantasy world is no different. The forces of good abound, while evil conspires in the shadows.

Galahorn is, obviously, my primary antagonist. His quest, like that of Thanos in Infinity War, drives half the plot in QLO, and Quiet’s efforts to stop him drive the other half. But Galahorn, for all the physical danger he represents, is a person like you and I; he can, with the right words (something Quiet does not possess), be reasoned with.

Not so for Threadcutter.

Threadcutter, as he prefers to be called in this book, is a really bad dude. I’ve done my best to glean his intentions; I’ve poured over ancient manuscripts, consulted the wise men of Bazaruk… heck, I even tried divination, but I don’t think there’s much magic in the chickens they sell at Whole Foods. So I admit, his exact plan eludes me, but I think it’s safe to say that the “complete and total corruption and death of the World Tree” factors in pretty strongly.

Threadcutter, as you can see, is a knife with an eye in it. He cannot move of his own accord, and his psychic powers have not fully developed at the time of this writing, but he can speak.

And his words are poison.

Evil strikes a bargain…

It remains to be seen whether Threadcutter can attain some hold over Quiet, but I’m hopeful that our little skeleton has enough heart and brains to resist (putting aside the fact that Quiet is technically bereft of organs). Unfortunately, there are other beings who may prove more… susceptible to Threadcutter’s influence.

My only solace is that this construct of pure evil has been locked away for so long that his gift of gab has been somewhat blunted.

Cool it dude, your evil is showing.

I will say, Threadcutter’s inability to tone down his megalomania has been a delight for me, the writer, because it means that - despite being the source of all evil - Threadcutter has inadvertently become one of QLO’s funniest characters.

So what references did I use to come up with Threadcutter? There were three:

The One Ring, from Lord of the Rings: A source of great power, the One Ring corrupts all who use it, and - in the wrong hands - provides the key to world domination.

Stormbringer, from the Elric Saga: Sword of the “hero” Elric of Melnibone, Stormbringer is a sentient sword that drains the life of others. Despite keeping its wielder alive through many stories, Stormbringer eventually (spoiler) reveals itself to to be an insatiable demon who’s been using Elric all along.

Luci, from Disenchantment: Luci is Princess Bean’s personal demon. Luci revels in all things evil… and he’s very funny. Also, check out the all-black aesthetic with the one eye!

As for his name, “Threadcutter” is a confluence of two different ideas:

1. The Fate Atropos, a witch whose job it was to cut the threads of human fate.

2. Quiet’s guide and patron saint is Spider, whose whispering web can be found everywhere in the Tree of Worlds. The threads of this web endow her with a sort of omniscience; Threadcutter hates her for this.

Before I sign off, I just wanted to share this image my daughter made, which is a picture of her looking into a mirror encrusted with “Quiet” heads. I’m so proud - she’ll be drawing herself on a throne of skulls before the years is out!

Have a great day!

Jonah