| Hooded One /Briar Harvestar | |
 ' | |
| Info | |
| Family: | the Harvestar king and queen (Parents)
Rose Harvestar (sister) Lunaria Harvestar (niece) Thorn's Father (nephew-in-law) Thorn Harvestar (grand-niece) |
|---|---|
| Species: | Human |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Book Appearance: | Out From Boneville
The Great Cow Race Eyes of the Storm The Dragonslayer Old Man's Cave Ghost Circles Treasure Hunters Crown of Horns Rose |
| Additional Information | |
| First appearance: | Bone: Out From Boneville |
| Last appearance: | Bone: Rose |
| “ |
The world is filled with dark truths, young one...and one truth I have learned is destiny always prevails. |
” |
—The Hooded One to Thorn | ||
Briar Harvestar, better known as the Hooded One, is the main antagonist of the Bone series. She is an ominous, Grim Reaper-looking figure and immensely powerful Veni-Yan-Cari (Dream Shaman) who leads the Rat Creatures and seeks to release the frightful as well being a devoted servant to The Lord of the Locusts. She is the sister of Gran'ma Ben, aunt to Lunaria, and great-aunt to the female primary protagonist Thorn,
Early Life[]
Briar was the first-born child of the monarchs of Atheia. She was believed to have a blind Dreaming Eye, a fact that would keep her from the throne and making Rose the favorite child. However, this was a lie, and Briar was in truth the most powerful Veni-Yan-Cari born in a millenium. Another secret she kept from the world was that the Lord of the Locusts has been communicating with her since she was born, the very reason she was hiding her power. Briar grew up envious of her sister, and was promised by The Lord of the Locusts that she would get her revenge if he was resurrected. Briar had a relationship with Lucius, although the main purpose was to hurt Rose. She failed at testing for being a Veni-Yan-Cari.
Rose[]
Briar travels alongside Rose to the palace for training. Later on, she is revealed to be a servant to The Lord of the Locusts, and she is working on a project to free him. Her partner is a dragon, but the Lord thinks that Rose would be good as well. She would rather not be a partner to Rose, but still angrily tries to offer the job to Rose, who says no. The Locust still insists on letting Rose join, so Briar takes Rose up to a high place, trying to push her over a ledge onto a cluster of sharp rocks. When the Locust interferes, she quits. She joins him again because Rose still will not accept the offer. In the end, the Lord ages her as punishment for her failing to free him. Rose sacrifices her dog to save Briar's life.
Briar Harvestar during her younger and alive years.
The Great War[]
During the Great War, Briar was a double agent to the Locust. When Thorn was born, she was instructed to be her nursemaid. When the Rat Creatures attacked Atheia during The Nights of Lightning, Briar volunteered to help her family escape the burning city. However, she was doing this to get the infant Thorn, who she could use in a ritual to resurrect the Locust. However, this plan went wrong at Deren Gard, where the royal family is ambushed. Rose took Thorn to the dragons and Briar was killed with an abandoned scythe for her treachery. When Rose returned to the carnage, she buried Briar and the rest of the Royal Family. The Locust later resurrected Briar, who clawed her way from the ground and worked as his servant, recruiting the Rat Creatures for the attack on the Valley.
Out from Boneville[]
Briar somehow finds Phoney's campaign balloon and sees it as a threat to her plans. She sends a swarm of locusts to investigate, and comes to the conclusion that Phoney is a Veni-Yan-Cari. She orders that "the one who bears the star on his chest" to be captured for the ritual.
Later, the Hooded One summons The Two Rat Creatures to a high council, where she questions them about why they didn't capture Fone Bone. When they explain about the Dragon, she sends a thousand Rat Creatures to distract the Great Red Dragon and another thousand to attack Gran'ma Ben's Farm and kill Fone Bone, which fails. Later, after the Bone cousins are united once again, she is standing in a tree, commenting that she and Phoney will soon complete the transaction, and that he has been spared... for now.
The Great Cow Race[]
After Fone Bone Phoney, Smiley, Thorn, Gran'ma Ben, and Lucius escaped from the Cow Race into the woods, The Hooded One stands in a tree, quietly watching them as they travel through the woods.
Eyes of the Storm[]
The Hooded One is walking towards The Locust Cave when Kingdok informs her that Thorn is the true Princess. The Hooded One harshly stated that this infomation had been known to her for a long while. She orders Kingdok to leave. Entering the Locust cave, she informs the Locust that the army she has created is getting more men each morning. She then goes to talk about the girl Thorn and Phoney Bone "the one who bears the star". The Locust immediately tells her to stop and await instructions. The Hooded One says no more.
The Dragonslayer[]
The Hooded One again comes before the Locust. She informs the Locust that the Pawans have joined the army. She again tells the Locust about the star bearer, who is in Barrelhaven. The Locust is more concerned about Thorn. The Hooded One questions the need for the girl, but the Locust does not deny that the girl will free him once and for all.
Later, The Hooded One is rallying her troops. She informs them that for too long they have been humilated and exiled, and that it ends today. She rallies her troops to attack, and tells Kingdok has a special mission for him: to find the Bones. Kingdok would rather confront the Great Red Dragon, but the Hooded One refuses, and sends Kingdok off.
Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border[]
Although she does not appear in the book, The Hooded One gives orders for Kingdok to find Fone Bone and Smiley Bone, who were traveling into the mountains to return Bartleby to his people.
Old Man's Cave[]
Again, The Hooded One appraches the Locust and informs him that the Bones are powerful magicians, due to the rumors of Kingdok's death. The Hooded One says that the "Star Bearer" will free The Locust. However, The Locust is tired of this and tells her that he doesn't want to hear anything else about it. The Hooded One to pleads on and on. Eventually the Locust agrees to continue the serach for the "Star Bearer". However, if The Hooded One is wrong, The Locust declares her death to be very painful.
Not long after The Hooded One's meeting, she travels to the mountains to negotiate with Roque Ja. She knows that Ja has captured them before, and seeks his help. At first, Roque Ja refues, but after The Hooded One offers a reward, he agrees. To The Hooded One now, all is going according to plan.
The Hooded One soon realizes that Lucius, and some Veni-Yan's Soldiers are putting defenses around Old Man's Cave. She orders her Rat Creatures to prepare to attack. She reveals an image of her younger self, Briar Harvestar. This distracts Lucius long enough for the Rats to attack and defeat the solsiers and a few farmers.
Later, Roque Ja has captured Phoney and Thorn. The Hooded One is waiting, as the Rats bring him forward. The Hooded One lectures Phoney on how she thinks he wasn't as powerful as before. Phoney Bone declares this a mistake. The Hooded One scoffs at this, and brings out the omen: A campagin balloon that says: Phoncible P. Bone will get you. Phoney informs her that it ended in "will get your vote before the end became torn off. The Hooded One does not listen and prepares to sacrifice him. However, Rose comes just in time, and Briar finally reveals herself. Rose revals that Thorn was the only one who could free the Locust, and that Briar had miscalculated. The Locust, going back on the deal earlier, kills Briar for her mistake, as the mountain collaspes around her.
Ghost Circles[]
The Locust decides to forgive Briar for her mistake, and resurrects her. Briar now realizes her mistake, and sets her sights on Thorn.
Later, when Gran'ma Ben, Thorn and Fone Bone seperate, Thron and Fone Bone come to a bottomless cliff. Briar and the Rat Creatures approach them. Thorn threatens to kill her, but Briar states that she is already dead, and attacks her. Briar then reveals to Thorn the truth: that she was the nursemaid and she was the one who led Thorn's parents to the Rat Creatures. Just as Fone Bone tries to defend Thorn, Smiley and Bartleby come to rescue them, knocking Briar over in the process. The Rats then chase after Bartleby and the Bones.
Treasure Hunters[]
Briar comes before the Locust, who is now much, much stronger. Briar concludes that soon, The Locust can free itself without the help of Thorn. Briar then reveals that Thorn now knows about the Crown of Horns, and must be stopped. Briar then tells the Locust that the Rat Creatures and men of Pawa are meeting up now, and ready to attack the city.
Briar heads out to the mountains, where are Rat Creature informs her that the Pawans have arrived. She warmly welcomes them in. Briar dismisses them, but the Pawan General objects, asking where the other Pawans where, but Briar simply states she was done with them. The Pawan General attacks Briar, but she swiftly kills him for his ignornance. The others are ready to attack, but ask what to do if the Red Dragon should come. Briar however has a backup plan for that, while Kingdok is shown crawling around in the ruins of the mountain ominously.
Crown of Horns[]
Briar and the Pawan army arrive to storm Atheia. She banters with Lord Tarsil to surrender. Tarsil refuses, and in return, Briar takes of her hood to reveal Tarsil's younger face. She then cuts a stunned Tarsil in half and shouts for her army to storm the city. She attempts to shoot her sister Rose with arrows as she climbs the wall, but misses.
Later, when Gran'ma Ben and Phoney Bone come out of a cave, Briar and a group of Rat Creatures are waiting for them. She explains to Rose that she has anticapated the every move of Thorn and Rose. She attempts to kill her sister, but Gran'ma Ben avoids all of her swipes and is hit in the face with a rock. Suddenly, Lucius and the men from Old Man's Cave storm Sinner's Rock. The monks shoot at Briar, but she skillfully deflects all the arrows. While this is happening, Rose moves to attack Briar, but is wounded in the chest by her sister. Laughing madly, Briar raises her scythe to finish Rose off, but Lucius wraps his arms around her, immobilizing her long enough for Fone Bone and Thorn to touch the Crown of Horns. A lightning bolt erupts from it, striking Briar and Lucius. Briar is reduced to a burning skeleton and the Lord of the Locusts is destroyed, bringing peace to the Valley.
The Hooded One during the events of Crown of Horns.
Personality[]
Briar, even when she was young, was insane, sadistic, and cruel. She hid this with her beauty, and used it to sway her guard, Lucius. Now, as a revived Veni-Yan-Cari and servant of the Locust, she is no different. She commands her army with brutal effiency, and does not hesitate to kill anyone who disobeys her. However, behind all of this, she still has some affection for Lucius.
Appearance[]
As a younger woman, Briar was a beautiful woman with reddish-blonde hair and blue eyes. In the book, she became very similar to her undead self, but with natural skin. It is unknown how she came back to normal in the prologue of the ninth book, where she was drawn as a slightly older version of her younger self. After being revived, she became withered and green skinned with large yellow eyes and white hair. She was always seen wearing a green cloak, similar to Veni-Yan soldiers.
Powers and Abilities[]
Briar was the second most powerful Veni-Yan-Cari in a millenium, matched only by Thorn. By using her incredible connection, Briar can fly, create illusions, move and react quicker, reach out to others with their dreams, walk through ghost circles, destroy large mounds of rock, and push beings like Kingdok back with a wave. The Hooded One is one of the most powerful Veni-Yan-Cari to ever live, second only to her great-niece Thorn. She can dwell freely into the Dreaming and experience prophetic dreams. She can enter anyone's dreams to influence them as she pleases or to compel dreaming people (as seen when she put an unconscious Thorn into a trance).
Should she capture someone in their dreams, she apparently would be able to seize them in the Waking World as well; however, she is only seen doing so in the dreams of another Veni-Yan-Cari.
She is also able to reach into the mind of many people at once, to induce mass illusions, and to alter her aspect at will. Within or out dreams, she can appear as anyone, be it her younger self, one of the protagonists or anyone else, being apparently able to delve into people's memories and copy it. Moreover, she controls the Dreaming's influence over the Waking World and can use it to perform magic, such as telekinetically blasting the hulking Kingdok away, disappearing at will, sensing people's presence even far away, among others; and was apparently able to restore Kingdok's ability to speak after his tongue was ripped off. (Thorn was able to understand other languages and even to fly at one point.)
Finally, being a princess of the Harvestar bloodline, the Hooded One is a highly dangerous warrior who wields her scythe with enough skill to destroy several arrows fired at her, and enough strength to cut steel and shatter stone with her blade. Despite her age and her condition of undead, she is much fitter and stronger than most warriors in their prime. Even worse, she cannot truly die as long as the Lord of the Locusts is willing to revive her.
External Links[]
Trivia[]
- Briar died laughing, as she was still cackling madly in anticipation of her sister's death.
- The Hooded One is referred to as a he, while Briar is a she.
- Unlike other characters, Briar's speech bubbles come directly from her mouth.
- This may be due to her being resurrected.
Gallery[]
