Taran

The protagonist of the series, Taran is the Assistant Pig-Keeper of Caer Dallben, charged with caring for the oracular pig, Hen Wen. Taran is dissatisfied with this life of tedious drudgery and would prefer to have exciting adventures like his idol, Prince Gwydion. Over the course of the series, Taran is caught up in many battles for Prydain’s future, but the heart of the story is more focused on Taran’s own personal journey, and he undergoes an enormous amount of Character Development as he grows from a boy to a man.

• Aesop Amnesia: At the end of The Book of Three, Taran learns that grand adventures are far more dangerous than he thought and that he was ill-prepared for the trials he had to face, and he much preferred living a peaceful life at Caer Dallben. At the beginning of The Black Cauldron, he is back to being a Heroic Wannabe again. Thankfully, the lessons stick this time.
• Ascended Fanboy
• Being Good Sucks: Doing the right thing for Taran always requires sacrifice, and very often demands that he give up the things that are most important to him, often with little thanks or reward. He does it anyway.
• Coming of Age Story: This series is as much about Taran growing up as it is about cool adventures in a high fantasy world, if not more so.
• Cool Horse: Melynlas, the son of Prince Gwydion’s own steed, Melyngar, is gifted to Taran in the first book, and serves his master faithfully for the rest of the series. Melynlas only allows Taran (and sometimes Eilonwy) to ride him.
• Cool Sword: Dallben gives him one early in the second book. Taran assumes it is enchanted, a notion Dallben finds fairly repugnant. Later in the series, Taran loses this blade and forges his own sword, and eventually earns the right to wield Dyrnwyn in battle.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: After numerous painful sacrifices on his part, including giving up a chance at eternal happiness in paradise, the series ends with Taran marrying Eilonwy and becoming a wise and respected ruler.
• Embarrassing Middle Name: His official title is Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper. However, Hen Wen is a very important pig, and Taran takes great pride in caring for her.
• The Everyman: Taran is never physically described and meant to be very easy for a young audience to identify with.
• Friend to All Living Things: While not as blatant as other versions of this trope, Taran is shown on many occasions to have a very strong kinship with animals, especially Hen Wen. He is capable of taming even a savage gwythaint fledgling, and his horse, Melynlas, obeys his commands alone. Even Medwyn is impressed.
• Glory Hound: Early on, Taran wishes to make a name for himself and be a hero. This is a major plot point in the second book.
• Guile Hero: He spends as much time of the fourth book solving problems through his own cleverness as he does with violence.
• Honor Before Reason
• Journey to Find Oneself: Taran Wanderer
• Jumped at the Call: Taran is so eager to join Gwydion on his quest that Gwydion questions his sanity.
• Kid Hero
• Meaningful Name: He begins calling himself “Taran Wanderer” in the fourth book as he begins to outgrow his former identity.
• The Messiah
• Took a Level in Badass: Taran takes about one per book. It’s really amazing to see how much he has changed by the end of the series.
• The Unchosen One
• Walking the Earth: The fourth book is basically Taran doing a lot of this.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Far more noticeable in later books, but even in the early books there are signs that Taran is far cannier than he seems.

Princess Eilonwy

A princess of House Llyr and the last in a line of powerful enchantresses, Eilonwy was stolen as a child by Queen Achren, who intended to use Eilonwy’s power to conquer Prydain. She escapes Achren’s clutches and serves as a loyal companion and romantic interest to Taran…sort of. She is of Taran’s age with red-gold hair and has very peculiar speech patterns. She is quite the Action Girl, despite the protests from many characters that she should Stay in the Kitchen.

• Action Girl: She is better with a sword than Taran for much of the series.
• Badass Princess
• Battle Couple: With Taran
• Bow and Sword in Accord: She uses both weapons with equal deadliness.
• Cloud Cuckoolander
• Everything's Better with Princesses: Amusingly, the fact that Eilonwy is a princess is revealed only in passing near the end of the first book, and doesn’t become a plot point until the third.
• Fiery Redhead
• Full Name Ultimatum: "Taran of Caer Dallben, I'm not speaking to you!"
• Heroes Want Redheads
• Little Miss Badass: She is very young in the early books.
• Metaphorgotten
• Motor Mouth
• Princess Classic: Eilonwy appears to have become this briefly in the final book, only for she herself to lampshade how unnatural it feels.
• Rebellious Princess
• Redheaded Heroine
• Royals Who Actually Do Something
• Stay in the Kitchen: Don’t tell her to do this.
• Tomboy Princess
• Tsundere
• Tykebomb: Achren intended her to be this, but Eilonwy proved difficult to control.
• Well, Excuse Me, Princess!

Gurgi

A strange, shaggy forest creature who speaks in rhyme, Gurgi is neither man nor beast. At first, Gurgi is a miserable coward who flees at the first sign of danger, but as the series goes on he grows to become brave and loyal. He comes to admire Taran for his wisdom, and eventually becomes his closest friend.

• The Chick: No, it’s not Eilonwy.
• Cowardly Lion
• Dirty Coward: At first.
• Genre Savvy: During the climax of the final book, Gurgi wisely suspects a trap in an unguarded storeroom. Glew tries to plunder it anyway.
• Non-Human Sidekick
• Rhymes on a Dime

Fflewddur Fflam

A loud-mouthed bard who tells exaggeratedly wild tales of his own acts of heroism, Fflewddur is a good-hearted if overzealous adventurer who frequently accompanies Taran on his quests. It is quickly revealed that he is not actually a real bard, but is actually a king who grew bored with life at court and decided to be a bard instead. Fflewddur carries a magical harp whose strings snap when Fflewddur exaggerates a little ‘’too’’ wildly. (They break often.) It is not all bluster though, as Fflewddur actually is fairly Badass. His catchphrases are "A Fflam is (insert appropriate adjective here)!," and "Great Belin!"

• Anime Hair
• Badass
• Boisterous Bruiser
• Consummate Liar
• Cool Horse: The enormous mountain cat, Llyan, eventually adopts Fflewddur and allows him to use her as a mount.
• Hair of Gold
• King Incognito
• Large Ham
• Lie Detector: His harp, although it only detects Fflewddur’s lies.
• Magic Music: His harp practically plays itself. The music itself has no magical effects, although it does have a charming effect on Llyan.
• Oh My Gods!: One of Fflewddur’s favorite expressions is “Great Belin!” Belin is a God of the sun in Welsh Mythology, although in-universe he is referred to as “The King of the Sun.”
• Older Sidekick
• Refused by the Call: All Fflewddur really wants is to be a bard, but he failed at all the tests, due to his own ego.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Ironically, Fflewddur is actually a pretty lousy king and is far more competent as an adventurer.
• Spoony Bard: Very averted, he’s one of the deadliest fighters in the series. In fact, bards in this setting are universally respected and revered, though not normally for their fighting prowess.
• Wandering Minstrel
• War Is Glorious: One of the few heroic characters who seems to genuinely enjoy bloodshed.
• Wild Hair
• Wrong Genre Savvy: Due to his bardic training, Fflewddur thinks he is Genre Savvy. It turns out, not so much.

Doli

A member of the Fair Folk, Doli is a grumpy dwarf who complains all the time but secretly has a heart of gold. Nevertheless, he tries his hardest to be as disagreeable as possible. He is a skilled warrior and craftsman, and possesses the ability to turn invisible at will, although he hates to do this as one of the side effects is an awful ringing in his ears.

• Achilles in His Tent: Doli frequently fumes at the companions and vows to stop helping them, but can never bring himself to actually leave them.
• Baleful Polymorph: An encounter with Morda turns him into a frog.
• Badass Beard
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Throughout the first book, he is infuriated when his attempts to turn invisible fail. Once he masters the ability, he wishes he’d never learned it at all.
• Big Damn Heroes: Saves the day at the end of the second book.
• Blessed with Suck: He possesses invisibility powers, but it is very irritating to use it.
• Fiery Redhead
• Got Volunteered: Doli’s lot in life is to do the dirty work no other Fair Folk want to do.
• The Fair Folk
• Jerk Witha Heart Of Gold: It is pretty clear throughout the series that Doli is extremely fond of his companions, and only pretends to be grumpy to stay in character.
• Luckily My Powers Will Protect Me: In the final book, it is implied he will die due to exposure to Annuvin, the Land of Death, but his invisibility powers protect him.
• Only Mostly Dead: He appears to die in the final book. He gets better, but at this point many central characters have died and the implication that Doli may have actually died was very real.
• Only Sane Man: Sees himself as this.
• The Sixth Ranger: Especially in the final book.
• Stout Strength: Well, he is a dwarf.
• The Smart Guy

Prince Gwydion

Gwydion, Son of Don, is the war leader to High King Math and one of the most beloved and universally respected figures in all of Prydain. Taran idolizes him due to the many tales he has heard of Gwydion’s bravery and heroism, however, Gwydion takes no joy in his lifestyle, instead doing it to protect his people. He is very strong, brave, and wise, and leads his people in the battle against Arawn. He becomes something of a mentor to Taran.

• Animal Motifs: Gwydion is often likened to a wolf.
• Authority Equals Asskicking
• Badass and Child Duo: Gwydion and Taran, intially. They soon become Back-to-Back Badasses.
• Badass Decay: While he never stops being awesome, he seems to be losing his edge in the last book.
• Big Damn Heroes: Gwydion loves doing this.
• Celibate Hero
• Cool Horse: Melyngar.
• Cool Sword: Taran does not believe a man dressed in rags could be a Prince, until he sees how ornate and finely made Gwydion’s sword is. He upgrades to a Flaming Sword later.
• Guest Star Party Member
• Hero of Another Story: It is often implied Gwydion is in the middle of something far more important and awesome elsewhere whenever he appears.
• King Incognito: Gwydion generally dresses like a common traveler to disguise his intentions.
• Left for Dead
• Magic Knight
• Not Quite Dead
• Papa Wolf
• Royals Who Actually Do Something
• Ship Tease: There is a surprising amount of this between him and Achren.
• Supporting Leader
• The Obi-Wan
• UST: Achren would just love to make Gwydion her “consort…”
• Warrior Prince
• Wild Hair
• The Wise Prince

Dallben

The master of Caer Dallben and the mightiest enchanter in all of Prydain, Dallben is a steadfast ally of the Sons of Don and staunch opponent of Arawn. He is very old and wise, and serves as a mentor to the young Taran. He knows much of the happenings across Prydain, but rarely concerns himself with trivial matters, focusing all his attention on watching the movements of Annuvin. He possesses the mystical Book of Three, a tome of mysterious lore, which only he may read from.

• All-Powerful Bystander: Despite being a powerful wizard and opponent to Arawn, Dallben rarely actually uses his powers to help the heroes. It is revealed that this is because Dallben is forbidden from killing.
• Badass Beard
• Badass Teacher
• Big Good: Shares this duty with High King Math.
• Book Ends: Most of the books begin and end with Dallben lecturing Taran about something.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: In the final book, Arawn sends Pryderi to slay Dallben. Dallben demonstrates why he is the Big Good.
• Deadpan Snarker: Usually to Taran, when he’s being particularly childish.
• Enlightenment Superpowers
• Good Is Not Nice: He is probably Taran’s most outspoken critic.
• The Obi-Wan
• Obstructive Code of Conduct
• Really 700 Years Old
• Seeker Archetype
• Superpower Lottery: He is probably the most powerful being in all of Prydain.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill: Only "half-truth", according to Dallben. "No man has ever suffered death by my hand, but those who scorn my spells do so at their own peril."
• Trickster Mentor

Coll

A farmer who lives at Caer Dallben, Coll’s simple appearance belies his prowess as a warrior. In his youth, he marched into many battle, yet found that war was foolish and unfulfilling, and chose to become a farmer instead. He is the original owner of Hen Wen, although he knew nothing of her power until Dallben arrived. He now serves as Taran’s surrogate father figure, although when called upon to serve the Sons of Don, he does not hesitate to take up his sword once again.

• Almighty Janitor: He’s a simple farmer, yet even Gwydion respects and defers to his experience.
• Bald of Awesome: Taran is shocked to learn Coll was once a great hero, due to his lack of hair.
• Badass Normal: He possesses no powers or enchantments or royal lineage, but he’s still one of the mightiest warriors in Prydain.
• The Confidant: To Taran, especially in the last book.
• Heroic Sacrifice
• Mentor Occupational Hazard
• Nice Guy
  • Beware the Nice Ones
• Old Master
• Resigned to The Call: He gave up fighting long ago, but will still take up the sword when his allies need him.
• Retired Badass: The man who once fought his way into Annuvin single-handedly to rescue a pig now passes the time by growing turnips.
• Stout Strength

Hen Wen

The oracular pig, Hen Wen, dwells at Caer Dallben, watched over and cared for by Taran and Coll. She does not possess the ability to speak, but may communicate her prophecies using special letter sticks. Due to her abilities she is greatly respected by Dallben and Gwydion, and Arawn himself once attempted to capture Hen Wen for his own uses.

• Babies Ever After
• Blessed with Suck: Oracular powers are a heavy burden for a pig.
• Brought Down to Normal: At the end. She is happier this way.
• Loyal Animal Companion
• No Man of Woman Born: Her final prophecy.
• Non-Human Sidekick
• Spider-Sense: She can sense evil, and tends to flip out when she does.
• Waif Prophet: A non-human example.

Kaw

A talking crow who serves as a messenger for the Fair Folk, he later comes into the service of Taran and his companions. He is raucous and playful, although he knows when to take matters seriously.

• A Boy and His Crow
• The Cavalry: Shows up near the end of the final book, leading an army of crows.
• Cool Pet
• Generation Xerox: His father was even worse of a rogue than he was.
• Instant Messenger Crow
• Loveable Rogue: He seems to be considered this in-universe, though he rarely does anything to suggest so.
• Hulk Speak
• Loyal Animal Companion
• Non-Human Sidekick
• Speech Impaired Animal
• Talking Animal

Adaon

Son of the chief bard, Taliesin, Adaon is one of the most respected bards in all of Prydain. A gifted seer, healer, and warrior, he accompanies Taran on his mission in The Black Cauldron, along with Prince Ellidyr, and serves as a mediator between the two.

• Bishounen
• Cool Horse: Lluagor.
• Dreaming of Things to Come
• The Empath
• Guest Star Party Member
• The Medic
  • Shoot the Medic First
• Team Mom
• Too Cool to Live
• Walking the Earth: As a bard, he does a lot of this.
• Warrior Poet
• Wise Beyond Their Years

Prince Ellidyr

The youngest son of Pen-Llarcau, Ellidyr is a bitter, scornful young prince who looks down on those beneath him in station. Due to his family’s diminishing reputation, he is eager to claim honor and restore his family’s name. He accompanies Taran on his mission in The Black Cauldron, along with Adaon, and becomes a rival to Taran.

• Badass
• Charles Atlas Superpower: For reasons that are never really explained, Ellidyr has phenomenal strength.
• Cool Horse: One of the hints that Ellidyr may not be as a big of a jerk as he seems is how loyal the otherwise-intractable Islimach is to him. To the point that when he dies, she jumps off the nearest cliff.
• Darker and Edgier: Compared to Taran’s usual companions who are all unambiguously noble people, Ellidyr is a much darker and more complicated character.
• Death Equals Redemption/Redemption Equals Death
• Determinator
• Fighting Your Friend: Although Ellidyr and Taran are never really friends.
• Foe Tossing Charge: Gets an awesome one near the end of the book.
• Glory Hound
• Guest Star Party Member
• Heel Face Revolving Door
• Heroic Sacrifice
• Jerkass
  • Hidden Heart of Gold
• Not so Different: He is deliberately set up as a parallel to Taran.
• Prince Charmless
• The Rival
  • Rival Turned Evil
• Sacrificial Lion
• Small Name, Big Ego
• Sympathy for the Devil
• Together in Death: His horse commits suicide after her master dies.
• Token Evil Teammate: He seems to be this, but it is not so simple.
• Too Cool to Live

Prince Rhun

The Prince of Mona, Rhun is foppish, clumsy, and generally clueless. He is, however, ultimately well-meaning and tries his best even though things never seem to work out for him. He accompanies Taran on his quest on the Isle of Mona.

• Book Dumb
• Born Unlucky: Despite being a prince, the poor guy just can’t catch a break.
• The Ditz
• Dumbass Has a Point: Occasionally points out obvious things that the other characters have overlooked.
• The Fool: Occasionally his clumsiness leads him to remarkably good fortune.
• Guest Star Party Member
• Killed Off for Real
• The Load
• Lord Error Prone
• Plucky Comic Relief
• Romantic False Lead: Rhun’s parents intend for Rhun and Eilonwy to be married, much to Taran’s chagrin. However, Rhun himself is not particularly interested and gladly steps aside when he realizes she’d be much happier with Taran.
• Took a Level in Badass: He seems to have gotten his act together in The High King.
• The White Prince

King Smoit

The king of Cantrev Cadiffor and its surrounding lands, and an ally of the Sons of Don. King Smoit is always ready to rush to war, but only sets out for good causes.

• Adipose Rex: Of the Robert Baratheon variety.
• Authority Equals Asskicking
• Badass Beard
• Beware the Nice Ones: He's described as a jolly, fun-loving character in peacetime, and as a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.
• Big Eater
• Big Fun
• Boisterous Bruiser
• A Father to His Men
• Fiery Redhead
• Promotion to Parent: He tries to take the A Father to His Men thing literally and offers to adopt Taran. Taran is flattered, but turns him down.
• Reasonable Authority Figure
• Shoplift and Die: He uses this as a threat to two of his lords quarelling over errant sheep, possibly intentionally to teach Taran the art of moderation and negotiation.
• Stout Strength
• Ugly Hero, Good-Looking Villain: Taran initially compares him unfavorably to Morgant due to his appearance. Morgant is handsome and well-spoken, but morally bankrupt, while Smoit is fat, unkempt, and loudmouthed, but incorruptible.

Gwystyl

A member of the Fair Folk, and agent of King Eiddileg, sovereign of the Fair Folk. While he appears to be a thin and sickly creature, he's surprisingly adept at espionage and infiltration. Doesn't stop him from complaining about it though.

• Air Vent Escape: Manages to pull this off in a castle.
• Author Avatar: Lloyd Alexander has admitted that he based Gwystyl on himself, unintentionally.
• Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: A very rare case of the character being both the complainer and the rescuer.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass
• Heroic Willpower: How he manages to hold a waystation on the very borders of Annuvin.
• Incurable Cough of Death: Known to fake illnesses to further peoples' misconceptions of him.
• Iron Butt Monkey
• Lame Excuse: Uses these to get out of fighting. He's more than capable of kicking everyone in the room's ass ... he'd just rather not.
• Obfuscating Stupidity
• Really 700 Years Old
• White-Haired Pretty Boy: He's not explicit described as attractive, but he is notable for his wispy gray hair.

Glew

A gifted chemist and would-be con-artist; when the companions first encounter him, he'd accidentally managed to turn himself and his cat into giants. He's Brought Down to Normal and joins the companions on their final adventure, with mixed results.

• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever
• Boxed Crook
• Brought Down to Normal
• The Complainer Is Always Wrong: Played with; from time to time his complains are grounded in common sense.
• Cursed with Awesome
• Dirty Coward: He falls into this role after Gurgi grows out of it.
• Drunk with Power: He gets better, once he's Brought Down to Normal again.
• For Science!: Very little is made of his motives for his experimenting with potions.
• Grumpy Old Man
• Mad Scientist: An unusually benign version, especially compared to Morda.
• The Napoleon: Often described as being the shortest member of the companions aside from Doli.
• Remember When You Blew Up a Sun?: He goes out of his way to remind people that he was, in fact, a giant at one point.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: In the end, it's agreed that he did ultimately help save the day, and he gets to join the Sons of Don on their trip to the Summer Lands.

Llassar

A young shepard from the Free Commots who convinces Taran to help defend his village from a group of bandits. He later joins Taran's group in order to guide them through the mountains of Annuvin to Arawn's fortress.

• Big Brother Instinct: He brings this out in Taran.
• The Cavalry: Shows up as part of this in The High King.
• Guest Star Party Member
• The Magnificent Seven Samurai: His father talks Taran into becoming a one-man Seven Samurai for his village.
• Misfit Mobilization Moment: He leads the Commotmen to Caer Dathyl in order to repay their collective debt to Taran.
• He's All Grown Up: Not that much time passes between Taran Wanderer and The High King, but one of the first things Taran notices about him when they reunite is how he's almost as tall as Taran is now.
• Tag Along Kid: To Taran, not unlike how he was to Gwydion.
• Took a Level in Badass
• Training the Peaceful Villagers
• The Unexpected: He's about the last person you'd figure would show up to help the heroes Walk Into Mordor.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: He's surprisingly understanding of Taran's Gene Hunting situation in Taran Wanderer.

Arawn Death-Lord

Arawn Death-Lord is the ruler of Annuvin, the Land of Death, and the Evil Overlord threatening Prydain’s stability. Unlike most Evil Overlords, Arawn is not a ruthless tyrant, but a cunning trickster who manipulates mortals through guile and deceit. Over time, he has stolen away most of Prydain’s greatest treasures and secrets, hording them in his fortress. He commands many terrible servants, including the Gwythaints, the Cauldron-Born, and the Huntsmen of Annuvin.

• Anticlimax Boss
• Asskicking Equals Authority: Inverted. Arawn is actually very weak.
• Big Bad
• The Chessmaster
• Evil Overlord
• Evil Sorcerer
• Load-Bearing Boss
• Manipulative Bastard
• Master of Illusion
• Names to Run Away From Really Fast
• Orcus on His Throne: Arawn generally acts through proxies and rarely does anything on his own. This ends in Book 5, where it's shown that he can and will get his hands dirty when the reward justifies the risks.
• Scaled Up: Arawn turns into a snake. It doesn’t help.
• Shapeshifter
• Squishy Wizard
• The Starscream: In the past, Achren was the ruler of Annuvin. Arawn became her consort, then betrayed and deposed her. She is not happy about this.

Queen Achren

The vain, beautiful Queen Achren was once the ruler of all Prydain. Ages ago she was betrayed by her subordinate, Arawn, who became the new Evil Overlord. While she continues to serve Arawn, she is obsessed with finding a way to reclaim her former power and become ruler once again. Although not as powerful as she once was, Achren is still a formidable enchantress, and Gwydion fears her as much as he does Arawn.

• The Baroness: Definite shades of this.
• Beauty Equals Goodness: When they first meet, Taran assumes Achren must be an ally as she is beautiful and kind. Gwydion warns him that this is a ruse.
• Brought Down to Normal: She loses her power in the third book.
• Chewing the Scenery: She is prone to being…overdramatic.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: She slowly goes through this following her Villainous Breakdown. Maybe.
• Enemy Mine: She assists the companions in bringing down Arawn in the last book.
• Faux Affably Evil: Her cordial demeanor only serves to make her more intimidating.
• God Save Us from the Queen!: It is often implied she was even worse than Arawn.
• Ninja Maid: She becomes Dallben's maid, for all intents and purposes after The Castle of Llyr, but The High King shows that though she's lost her magic, she's lost none of her cunning or physical prowess.
• Older than They Look: She looks like a beautiful young woman but…
• Really 700 Years Old: It is never stated exactly how old she is, but she’s clearly been around a long time.
• Save the Villain: Gwydion saves her from the Castle of Llyr. She is furious about this, about after some convincing, she accepts her defeat and accepts refuge at Caer Dallben.
• The Starscream
• Vain Sorceress
• The Vamp: She tries to use her feminine wiles on Gwydion more than once. It doesn’t work. She also uses them on Taran, who is about to fall for it when Gwydion warns him.
• Villainous Breakdown: After losing her power at the Castle of Llyr. This sets the stage for her Heel Face Turn.
• Woman in Black
• Woman Scorned: Her desire to get revenge on Arawn goes way past obsession…

The Horned King

Arawn’s mightiest war leader and the primary antagonist of The Book of Three, the Horned King is a bestial man who takes his name from the antlered mask he wears. No one knows his true name. Arawn has imbued him with great power, and he is charged with marshalling the Southern Cantrevs and leading an attack on Caer Dathyl.

• Badass Abnormal
• Complete Monster: One of the first things we see him do is burn several prisoners alive.
• The Dragon
  • Dragon-in-Chief
• The Faceless
• Horned Humanoid
• I Know Your True Name: How Gwydion defeats him.
• Large and in Charge
• Names to Run Away From Really Fast
• Silent Antagonist

King Morgant

One of the many kings of Prydain. He rides to Gwydion's war council at Caer Dallben and pledges his army in support of capturing the Black Cauldron from Arawn's clutches, but in truth he seeks the Cauldron for himself. He serves as the Big Bad of The Black Cauldron (the book, not the movie).

• Black and Gray Morality: Gwydion uses his fall as an example to teach Taran how fine the line between good and evil truly is.
• Face Heel Turn
• From Nobody to Nightmare: He's banking on the Black Cauldron enabling this.
• A Real Man Is a Killer: He tries to impress this upon Taran in the midst of his Evil Gloating.
• Shiny Midnight Black: Everyone else in Prydain has either brown, red, blond, or grey hair. Morgant being the only black-haired man in the land is just another hint that he's Obviously Evil.
• Tall, Dark and Handsome
• We Can Rule Together: He tried to pull Taran over to his side with promises of power.
• A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing: More like a Wolf in Wolves' Clothing. It's immediately clear there's something wrong with Morgant when he arrives at the war council, but it goes unremarked upon until his confirms his Face Heel Turn.

Magg

The Chief Steward of the House of Mona. He serves as a spy for and Dragon to Achren in The Castle of Llyr, and then to Arawn in The High King.

• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass
• Evil Chancellor
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Just like the rest of the Big Bad Ensemble, Magg is obsessed with trying to pull this off and unseat Arawn. And just like everyone else, it blows up in his face ... literally.
• Hero Killer: He manages to capture King Smoit's castle and his men kill Rhun in The High King, despite the latter's Taking a Level in Badass.
• In-Series Nickname: Fflewddur insists on calling him "the Spider".
• Karmic Death: He's obsessed with claiming a crown of his own, eventually sighting in on claiming Arawn's crown, but when he places the Death Lord's crown upon his head, its power burns him to ashes.
• The Mole
• Obviously Evil
• Sharp Dressed Man: For a time, this is his defining trope.
• Treacherous Advisor
• A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing: He appears as a doddering overweight busybody, yet he manages to kidnap Eilonwy and spirit her off to Llyr right out from under both Taran and Gwydion's noses.

Morda

An old hermit living in the backwoods of Prydain. He also happens to be an Evil Sorcerer with a penchant for torturing his victims in cruel and unusual ways.

• Amulet of Dependency: The source of his power.
• Blue and Orange Morality: Morality just doesn't compute for him.
• Baleful Polymorph: He ends up turning Fflewddur and Gurgi into these.
• Evil Gloating: His need to explain his backstory to Taran proves to be his undoing.
• Evil Old Folks
• Evil Sorcerer
• No Man of Woman Born: He goes out of his way to let Taran know he's invulnerable to weapons and magic, so Taran shatters his Soul Jar instead.
• Soul Jar: His detached finger bone.
• Transformation Ray: His amulet.
• You Killed My Father: While he didn't explicitly kill Eilonwy's mother, he did sit back and let her die, then looted her corpse for the hell of it, which is where he found the amulet.

Dorath

A wandering bandit and leader of a band of petty thugs who stalk the Free Commots. Like Achren, he is a recurring villain and comes the closest to inflicting real harm on the companions on several occasions.

• Attempted Rape: Threatened, extremely euphemistically, but never conducted. It's a kids book, remember.
• Broken Aesop: He pursues Taran right up to the Mirror Of Llunet, but the significance of reflecting pool is lost on him when Taran lets him look into it.
• Chekhov M.I.A.: Gets away clean in Taran Wanderer only to come back and meet his end in The High King.
• Egomaniac Hunter
• Exit, Pursued by a Bear: He's torn limb from limb by the series' two resident Big Badass Wolves, Brynach and Briavael.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: He steals Taran's sword, thinking it to be of excellent craftsmanship, only to have it shattered to pieces by a blade Taran makes for himself.
• Knight of Cerebus: He proves to be this, both thematically for the series, and personally for Taran. After Dorath shows up in the narrative, named characters start dying in droves.
• Magnificent Bastard
• Only in It for the Money
• Rape, Pillage, and Burn: Dorath's MO.
• The Sociopath
• Terms of Endangerment: He calls Taran "Lord Swineheard" and Eilonwy "Princess Vixen".

King Pryderi

A handsom and beloved king and staunch ally of the Sons of Don ... until he betrays them and sides with Arawn.

• Big Badass Bird of Prey: His emblem is that of a hawk. He also indulges in falconry as a passtime.
• Blond Guys are Evil
• Broken Pedestal
• Cavalry Betrayal: Pulls this off masterfully at the Battle of Caer Dathyl.
• Don't Touch It, You Idiot!: He fires the Chekhov's Gun cocked by Dallben all the way back at the start of The Book of Three by touching the eponymous book. It doesn't end well for him.
• Knight Templar: Known for wearing his sword unseathed in wartime and proclaiming that it will not return to its scabbard until he has claimed victory.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: He's the last of a long line of villains seeking to topple Arawn and become the Big Bad of Prydain himself.
• Light is Not Good: Initially held up a shining example of heroism. Until he actually shows up and helps Arawn curb stomp everyone.
• Magnificent Bastard
• Nietzsche Wannabe
• Self-Disposing Villain
• The Starscream: He takes over this role from Achren almost immediately.
• Too Dumb to Live
• Trojan Horse
• Ugly Hero, Good-Looking Villain: The companions are a Rag Tag Bunch Of Misfits, while Pryderi ranks up there with Jaime Lannister in terms of handsome villains.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Dallben implies he might actually be trying to save Prydain in his own way, but his methods are simply too evil for The Powers That Be to let him go through with it.