ORCUS

ORCUS Orcus uses fear deliberately. His bargain is designed around Tallus's most vulnerable people, its children, and the hope that sacrificing a few outsiders might save everyone else. That is what makes him dangerous before he even commits the army. He encourages the city to do part of his work for him. Sela, Blake and Bolder become targets inside the place they have entered, while he remains outside applying pressure. Then he escalates again through Gruel. Orcus's role in this arc is that of a commander who combines coercion with force. The soldiers, the ultimatum and the transformed servant all serve the same purpose: breaking the city's ability to resist.