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The Twelve Portals
Prince Phobos
The evil prince of Meridian. He rules the planet with an iron fist, and wants to steal his sister Elyon's magic to add to his own in order to make his power complete. He's the main villain of the first season, a major one in the second and the show's most recurring villain.
- Ambiguously Human: The comic heavily implies he's an incarnation of evil that needs an entire world to be isolated from the rest of the universe to stay contained.
- Bad Is Good and Good Is Bad: Phobos hates beauty and loves ugliness. This is best shown in the cartoon where he had a painter banished because his painting was too beautiful.
- Deader than Dead: In the comics: at the end of the fourth story arc, Will disintegrates his soul.
- Despotism Justifies the Means: He rules Meridian with an iron fist, and plotted to steal the magic from Elyon for his own use. Unless Elyon is around, he makes no effort to hide that he's an oppressive dictator.
- Evil Overlord: He rules Meridian with an iron fist, and his threat is such that the entire dimension had to be segregated from the others to prevent his evil from spreading.
- Greater-Scope Villain:
- In the fifth story arc of the comic: the main villain is Jonathan Ludmoore, one of his former underlings and the one responsible for creating the Portals in the Veil on his orders, and the co-villain is Cedric, his former Dragon.
- He's implied to be this overall in the comic book continuity, as the Veil was drawn over Metamoor to keep the first evil in the universe contained and was removed when he was finally captured.
- Light Is Not Good: Just like his sister he can use light-based magic, and he dresses in white robes during their duel, but he's unambiguously a bad guy.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Taken to the extreme, as depending on the scene his hair seems to stretch on for several feet, with the ends hanging somewhere off-panel.
- Meaningful Name: His name means fear and is also the name of the Greek god of fear.
- Never Going Back to Prison: In the comics, after he was defeated a second time in the fourth arc, he refused to be imprisoned again and throws himself into the endless void beneath Kandrakar.
- Obviously Evil: While not quite a full on Card-Carrying Villain, he's pretty close, never attempting to disguise his regime as anything but the oppresive dictatorship it is unless Elyon's around.
- Orcus on His Throne:
- Phobos rarely does anything for himself- at least, anything that he can't do from the comfort of his home. Will and Cedric are the only two he even exchanges a single line of dialogue with until episode 26.
- In the comic, he rarely exchanges words with anyone, and usually gives orders and receives reports through his Whisperers. Cedric and the royal gardener even noted how rare it was for him to leave his throne room and talk to anyone when he went to talk to them, and admitted it meant that the person he was speaking to was either in his favour and getting promoted (for Cedric) or in great trouble (the royal gardener: he had refused the order of creating a barrier of flowers to keep beggars out because he had no idea on how to carry it on, so Phobos transformed the gardener's wife and daughter into magical black roses to show him how).
- Pet the Dog: Subverted. When Phobos shows gratitude to Cedric, it seems genuine, but it's eventually revealed he sees him as nothing but a disposable servant, causing Cedric to turn on him.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: It's heavily implied that the Veil was drawn over Metamoor to keep him contained on that world (hence why he couldn't leave it throug the Portals), as it's removed the instant he's captured.
- Smug Snake: He's very clever, and is not as smug a snake as Cedric, but his overconfidence always gets him in the end.
- The Sociopath: Phobos is a selfish, unempathetic megalomaniac with no regard for anyone except himself.
- Sorcerous Overlord: He's not as powerful as Elyon, but all Meridian royalty are implied to have very potent magical powers, and he's still stronger than all the season 1 Guardians combined.
Cedric
Phobos's right-hand man. His true form is a giant snake creature.
- Anti-Villain: In the comics, his motivation for doing evil is to find some place where he can truly belong.
- Consummate Liar: Also known in-universe as 'Prince of Lies'.
- The Dragon: Phobos's right-hand man and the main enforcer of his will.
- The Dreaded: In the comic, to the point that Orube was scared when she encountered him unexpectedly on Earth. She grows out of it when she finds out he had been Brought Down to Normal by Kandrakar...except they should have still feared him, as his mind is his greatest asset.
- Evil Mentor: Elyon's first teacher of magic, and a very effective one at that. He also turned her against her friends.
- The Farmer and the Viper: At one point, he's captured by the rebels of Meridian and sentenced to execution; Will saves him at risk to her own life (less for his sake and more to stop the rebels from corrupting themselves), and Cedric immediately attacks her and tries to kill her. It's the sight of this that gets both Vathek to pull a Heel–Face Turn and Elyon to doubt that Phobos and his regime are as clean as he claims they are.
- Flight: Has once used his shapeshifting to sprout perfectly functional wings.
- Hazy-Feel Turn: Is in this state for much of his final story arc in the comics, working with the Guardians while secretly being in league with Ludmoore, but refusing to fully commit to Ludmoore either and occasionally entertaining the idea of genuinely helping the Guardians defeat him, which he does, at the cost of his life.
- Master of Disguise: In the comic, so that he can bring Vathek around on Earth.
- Manipulative Bastard: He turned Elyon against her friends and adoptive parents by telling her that she's the princess of Meridian and legitimate heir to the throne, her adoptive parents are monster-like creatures in disguise (and he demonstrated this bit) that kidnapped her and brought her to Earth, that her older brother had been ruling in her absence and had been looking for her the entire time, and that her friends are the Guardians of the mystical Veil that is keeping her homeworld mostly isolated from the rest of the universe - all of which is true. He simply didn't mention that her brother was evil, the Veil exists to keep him contained, and that her adopted parents took her to Earth to save her from him.
- Real Name as an Alias: In his human form, he uses the name "Cedric Hoffman." Though when he first meets the Guardians, he uses the name "Rick Hoffman", and only reveals his real name to Elyon.
- Redemption Equals Death: He dies Taking the Bullet for Orube in the comics.
- Scaled Up: Can shift between a human form and that of a humanoid snake creature.
- Scarily Competent Tracker: Elias Van Dahl went to the seventeenth century to escape punishment for painting a portrait of Phobos. Cedric tracked him down there.
- Snake People: His true form is a humanoid snake.
- Snaketalk: Mildly in human form; much more pronounced in his Scaled Up form.
- Stoic Spectacles: In the comic, he has these when he disguises himself as Cedric Hoffmann.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: In the comic he's not limited to his snake form and Cedric Hoffman, but can disguise himself as pretty much anyone.
- Weak, but Skilled: In terms of raw magical power he's possibly the weakest opponent in the series, but he compensates in sheer number and quality of spells, that include time travel and bubbles capable of keeping the Guardians contained under most circumstances.
- Wicked Cultured: In his own words, his two greatest passions are ancient books and the art of deception.
Nerissa's Revenge
Nerissa
The former Guardian of Quintessence. She attempts to rule the world by defeating Phobos and the Guardians.
- Beware the Superman: She was the Keeper of the Heart and Quintessence Guardian before Will. Unlike Will, the power went to her head, leading to A God Am I.
- Cast from Hit Points: Before the Seal of Nerissa was at full strength, she had to use her own life force to fuel her magic powers. The strain on her body ended up prematurely aging her.
- The Dreaded: Very much so. Quite telling is how the Oracle choose to deal with her assault on Kandrakar: ordered the use of the Resonance, a power that risked to destroy Kandrakar itself (it didn't work).
- Dream Weaver: She is able to manipulate dreams of other people and able to manifest it to real life, meaning that if the Guardians perish in their dreams, they will never wake up.
- Even Evil Has Standards: She flatly admits to being terrified by the criminals Kandrakar is holding in the Tower of Mists, who are implied to be way more evil than she (as Kandrakar didn't see fit to lock her away in there after she murdered a fellow Guardian).
- Evil Old Folks: Nerissa is an old hag by the start of the series, and she is a megalomaniacal, sadistic villain.
- Evil Sorceress: She is Will's Evil Counterpart, being a former guardian with powers over Quintessence, which enable her to manipulate electricity and bestow life upon inanimate objects.
- Evil Wears Black: Her elderly form wears a black cloak, which gives away her malicious nature.
- Fallen Heroine: As the former Quintessence Guardian, Nerissa was once a saviour, but her lust for power drove her into the path of villainy.
- A God Am I: Firmly believes she is fit to rule over all life and worlds.
- Hate Sink: Nerissa is an evil trolling Smug Snake, backstabbing Manipulative Bitch who cares for no one but herself and would stoop to many lows to get what she wants.
- Hero's Evil Predecessor: She was the Quintessence Guardian and Keeper of the Heart preceding Will.
- It's All About Me: She cares for no one but herself and her lust for power, doing anything to get what she wants, even cut off allies once she felt she no longer needs them.
- Lady of Black Magic: Calm, calculating, and a powerful mage.
- Manipulative Bitch: She uses everyone around her to further her own ends then drops them once she felt she no longer needs them.
- Navel Window: Her dress has an opening in the front, showing off her navel.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: While she thinks her actions are justifiable to create a fair and peaceful world, she's really lashing out at the world for taking away Cassidy. Not to mention her own fractured state of mind.
- Satanic Archetype: A former hero who became corrupted with power and was imprisoned for turning her back on the side of good. The animated series plays this up further by having her enthrall otherwise good people by exploiting their fatal flaws.
- Vain Sorceress: Played with. Once she has enough energy, one of the first things she does is restore her youth and beauty and cast a love spell on the men of Heatherfield. But emphasis on "once she has enough energy". Gathering power is her primary concern, and she had no qualms with draining her lifeforce for magic and making herself look like a withered old hag in the short-term so that she could accomplish her longer-term plan.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: She wants to create a peaceful and ordered universe- and because she's a megalomaniac, she sees conquering the whole thing as the best way to do this.
- Younger Than They Look: Nerissa is around the same age as Yan Lin and the other former Guardians, meaning that she would be in her 50s, but she looks considerably older than that because she's been Casting from Hit Points.
Tridart, the Despair
One of Nerissa's Knights of Revenge. Tridart was made from the numerous icy stalactites found in the cave which Nerissa was sealed in. His form is that of a bald, muscular man with large, angel-like wings, and his weapon of choice is a short, double-edged axe. He represents the despair Nerissa felt in her prison. He was absorbed by Nerissa in the final battle, alongside Ember.
- An Ice Person: Tridart has ice powers. In one episode, he absorbed so much fear from Hay Lin he was able to make two ice clones.
- Bald of Evil: His form is a bald humanoid male and definitely evil being a kight of destruction.
- Emotion Eater: He gains more power from feeding off his enemies' fear and desperation.
- Evil Is Deathly Cold: He's a villain created from ice and powered by fear.
- Winged Humanoid: Tridart is just an icicle given a humanoid form by Nerissa. He resembles a bald man with blue skin and has two white feathered wings that enable him to fly.
Ember, the Pain
One of Nerissa's Knights of Revenge. Ember was created from the lava which flowed around Nerissa's tomb. She looks like a slender woman made of smoldering lava, with bat-like wings on her back and hair made of flames. Befitting her nature, she attacks foes with blazing hot beams from her weapon – a type of trident. She represents the pain that Nerissa felt while being locked away – that which she now wants to inflict on Kandrakar. She was absorbed by Nerissa in the final battle, causing her to melt again into lava and disappear.
- Blood Knight: Always up for a brawl.
- Emotion Eater: Ember gets her power from her enemies' emotional pain. She targeted Irma in the first fight with the guardians as Irma was feeling guilty over hurting Martin's feelings.
- Fiery Redhead: Ember's hair is made of magma, and she is quick to lose her temper.
- Magma Man: Was created from lava and attacks with it.
- The Smurfette Principle: Ember is the sole female member of the Knights of Destruction.
- Winged Humanoid: Ember is an animated pool of magma that takes the form of a red-skinned woman with two bat-like wings.
A Crisis on Both Worlds
Ari
A young farmer from the world of Arkhanta who struggled to make ends' meet. After losing his wife, ending up with an ill son and failing to get wishes out of a captured banshee, Yua, he declares war on the Oracle when the latter refuses to aid him in curing his son.
- Anti-Villain / Well-Intentioned Extremist: The reason he declared war on the Oracle is because he wanted his son cured, and the Oracle refused to help in doing so.
- Heel–Face Turn: The Guardians help him regain his senses and abandon his hatred.
Raphael "Ralph" Sylla
A INTERPOL detective who is sent to monitor the Guardians. He took a job as a computer science teacher at the Sheffield Institute for cover.
- Anti-Villain: Sylla is not antagonistic for personal gain, he's a government agent who's just carrying out the duties assigned to him. However, his way of doing it endangers the girls' secret.
- Heel–Face Turn: After being pushed aside by his supervisors, he warns the girls of the threat towards them.
- The Men in Black: Works for INTERPOL and specializes in covering up mysterious and/or supernatural phenomena.
Mr. Riddle
A psychic detective who works with Raphael Sylla.
- The Men in Black: He's employed by INTERPOL.
- Wicked Cultured: Enjoys classical music and fine arts.
