Linius Pallitax is a fictional character from The Edge Chronicles

The Edge Chronicles

The Edge Chronicles is a young-adult fantasy novel series by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. It consists of three trilogies, plus three additional books, and others . Originally published in the United Kingdom, this series has since been published in the United States, Canada and Australia. To...

 fantasy novel series by Paul Stewart

Paul Stewart (writer)

Paul Stewart is a writer of children's books, best known for the bestselling The Edge Chronicles, the Free Lance novels and the Far Flung Adventures series which are written in collaboration with the illustrator Chris Riddell...

 and Chris Riddell

Chris Riddell

Chris Riddell is a British illustrator and occasional writer of children's literature, and a political cartoonist for The Observer. He has won the Kate Greenaway Medal twice and the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize seven times....

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In the first book of the series (chronologically), The Curse of the Gloamglozer

The Curse of the Gloamglozer

The Curse of the Gloamglozer is a children's fantasy novel by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, first published in 2001. It is the fourth volume of The Edge Chronicles and the first of the Quint Saga trilogy; within the stories' own chronology it is the first novel, preceding the Twig Saga trilogy...

, Linius the is the Most High Academe of Sanctaphrax and father of one of the stories protagonists, Maris and a friend of the sky pirate Wind Jackal

Wind Jackal

Wind Jackal is a fictional character of Paul Stewart's The Edge Chronicles.-Character biography:The origins of Wind Jackal are unknown, but he was captain of a Sky Pirate ship, "The Galerider" for at least two years...

. Linius is a kind man and a scholar who is, unusually, supportive of both Sky and Earth studies. He lives in the Palace of Shadows with Maris, Tweezel- a large insect servant and Welma, a woodtroll nanny.

Appearances

Before the start of the book "The Curse of the Gloamgloazer", Linius discovers the Ancient Laboratory deep in the centre of the rock on which Sanctaphrax is located where scholars experimented with the creation of life. His curiosity gets the best of him and he begins to use their tools to do the same.

During the couse of the book, Linius becomes increasingly worn out and engrossed in his work, concerning his daughter Maris who feels increasingly outcast and neglected. His experiments are eventually successful, and he creates a pathetic and near weightless creature that begins to learn things rapidly by reading the scrolls that Linus brings into the chamber with him. The creature begins to intentionally harm Linius, who becomes increasingly uncomfortable around it after discovering that it can shape shift. From this point on, Linius enlists the help of Wind Jackal's son Quint

Quintinius Verginix

Quintinius Verginix is a fictional character from Paul Stewart's The Edge Chronicles.Usually referred to as Quint or, later, Cloud Wolf, Quint was a Knight Academic and a Sky Pirate Captain...

to take him to the rock entrance and do other tasks for him.

After researching his suspicions into the type of creature he has created- a Gloamgloazer- he gives the creature a scroll depicting one. On seeing this image the creature transforms into its likeness and true form. Alarmed by this Linius attacks the beast and flees the laboratory- wounded by a trap that had been set.

For some time after this Linuis is confined to his bedroom in the Palace of Shadows by Welma. Eventually Maris breaks into the room with an old friend of his- Bungus Septrill- and Linius is compelled to retell the story of his experimentations. Meanwhile Quint steals the key to the Laboratory and unintentionally releases the Gloamglozer who then tricks Linius into thinking that Maris is dead after she and Bungus leave to stop Quint. In his despair on hearing the news, Linius accidentally knocks over a candle and sets the Palace of Shadows alight. The Gloamglozer leaves him to die but at the last moment he is rescued by Tweezel who brings him to safety outside.

At the end of the book, Linius is scarred both mentally and physically, but still governs Sanctaphrax along with the Professors of Light and Darkness