Lord Gro
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In Eric Rucker Eddison's high fantasy - The Worm Ouroboros - Lord Gro is one of the important secondary characters. Unlike the other figures, Lord Gro switches sides, first he is an advisor to Witchland, later he is an ally of Demonland.
Lord Gro is described as follows
| “ | And the son of Corund went, and returned anon with Lord Gro, that came with furtive step yet goodly and fair to behold. The nose of him was hooked like a sickle and his eyes great and fair like the eyes of an ox, inscrutable as they. Lean and spare was his frame. Pale was his face and pale his delicate hands, and his long black beard was tightly curled and bright as the coat of a black retriever. (page 26) | ” |
Lord Gro is originally from Goblinland and is the foster-brother of King Gaslark before they had a falling out. Lord Gro is a famous explorer and wrote a book about his travels through Impland. Lord Juss says of Gro:
| “ | I knew him well of old in Goblinland, and I judge him to be one who is not false save only in policy. Subtle of mind he is, and dearly loveth plotting and scheming, and, as I think, perversely affecteth ever the losing side if he be brought into any quarrel; and this hath dragged him oft-times to misfortune. But in this book of his travels he must needs speak truth, as it seemeth to me, to be true to his own self. (page 137) | ” |
Lord Gro provides crucial aid to King Gorice XII of Witchland when he summons the demon which carries Goldry Bluszco away. When Lord Corund leads the army of Witchland against the Demonland expedition, Lord Gro is the chief advisor to Corund (and strongly urges Corund to commit treachery under the flag of truce, something Corund refuses to do).
He acts as an advisor and trusted messenger to the King regarding the campaign in Demonland. While in Demonland he meets and falls in love with Brandoch Daha's sister, the Lady Mevrian. Because of his love, he betrays the Witchland army and helps Mevrian escape from Corinius after Corinius captures her brother's castle of Krothering. Lady Mevrian is very thankful to Lord Gro but does not seem to love him (see page 294). For the rest of the book Lord Gro supports the forces of Demonland but none of the other Demonlords trust him.
In the final battle he kills soldiers on both sides (Witch and Demon) and is killed by Lord Spitfire (page 366).
Lord Gro is the most complex of the characters in the book and, as Lord Juss notes, he seems to favor the losing side in a conflict. In the early drawings of Eddison (done when Eddison was just 10 years old), Lord Gro is a much more heroic and active figure. In all the drawings he is on the side of the Demons. However even at this early stage in the story's development, Lord Gro was more nuanced than the other characters (he is show stabbing one of his enemies in the back in one picture, in another he is shown shooting his former accomplice). (See footnote #9 for Chapter 2 by Paul Edmund Thomas).
