Mace Blackhail

Mace Blackhail is a primary antagonist in a Sword of Shadows, being responsible for the death of his foster father, Raif, Drey, and Effie's father, and several other warriors. He became chief of clan Blackhail after Dagro's death, but his ambitionous sight looks past Blackhail boundaries.

Profile
Description

Mace is described as having a narrow nose, cold cruel eyes which show his true emotions, and dark oiled hair. He dresses in fine black clothing. Originally born and raised in Clan Scarp, Mace is a master manipulator. He allows nobody to stand in his way of his ambitious plans, instead using clever words, half-truths, and outright lies to pursuade clansmen. Raif is one of few people who recognize Mace as the terrible person he is, causing Mace to isolate Raif from the rest of the clan.

Although her raped his foster father's wife, Raina Blackhail, forcing her to marry him, it appears that Mace truly does care for her. Mace grows angry and impatient when people defy him, leading him to order the killing of several clansmen.

It is not outright stated, but a passage from a Listener's chapter indicates that Mace may very well be using sorcery to manipulate the clansmen's emotions. A possible example of this his declaration of war against Clan Bludd, that drove even Drey Sevrance to wild enthusiasm; as well as the orchestrated massacre of Bludd women and children.

Biography

Mace was born and raised in Clan Scarpe, which is well known for their laziness, deceptive methods, and immoral actions. When it became clear Raina would not give Blackhail Clan Chief Dagro any children, Dagro fostered Mace in his own clan, with plans for Mace potentially becoming chief one day.

Raina recalls that when Mace first came to Clan Blackhail, that he was surly and antisocial. For years he refused to discard the trappins of his old clan, which further hampered his assimilation into Blackhail.