The Dying of the Light: Book 9 (Skulduggery Pleasant)

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The Horror Writers' Halloween Ball: 1986: (–1) Gordon Edgley and Skulduggery Pleasant attend the party of the enigmatic Sebastian Fawkes.

Weeper had told Skulduggery about a vision that Sensitives had been seeing, so he and Valkyrie visit Finbar about the visions. He tells that the visions are about Darquesse, the person who destroys the world. He takes them to another Sensitive, Cassandra Pharos, who shows them a vision of Darquesse. In the vision, Darquesse kills Valkyrie's parents. The next day, Valkyrie tells Skulduggery that her mother is pregnant, and he suggests the name Skulduggery. They then visit the Sanctuary, where they realise that it had been raided by vampires. They free Tanith and Ghastly, who were arrested while trying to get Skulduggery's skull and find Guild, who has his fingers bitten off. Guild has his fingers re-attached, and they find out that the Desolation Engine was stolen. Afterwards, Valkyrie and Skulduggery return to the Sanctuary to continue their investigation about Argeddion by searching through old files in the "Mystical Hall of Magical Cabinets" although they manage to find no record of him at all. They then encounter Ghastly Bespoke training with a punching bag. Skulduggery, despite his bizarre appearance which he hides while in public with a disguise, is something of a dapper gentleman. He has a polite, old-fashioned way of speech and a velvety-smooth voice which enraptures Valkyrie when they first meet. As well as a powerful sorcerer, more specifically an Elemental, he is particularly enthusiastic about detecting, always searching for clues, much to Valkyrie's and Tanith's chagrin. He is also a flamboyant egotist, vocally exalting his own plans, complimenting himself, and showing off his magical abilities to Valkyrie, at one point walking on the ocean's surface after falling from a cliff. Valkyrie decides to move to America and get a dog, as she had suggested Stephanie should do earlier. She does this because she cannot face her parents or Alice after what she did to claim the Sceptre. Skulduggery lets her go. She gets a German Shepard called Xena and moves to a large ranch in Colorado. According to The Skulduggery Pleasant Grimoire, Valkyrie chose her first name on account of Gordon Edgley referring to her as his "little Valkyrie".Five years after Devastation Day, Skulduggery attempts to convince Valkyrie to join him again for a mission. Skulduggery now works for the Arbiter Corps, an international Marshal Service-like organisation, after quitting as City Guard Commander of Roarhaven, due to a disagreement with Supreme Mage China Sorrows. During the investigation, Skulduggery is 'corrupted' by Azzedine Smoke, which makes him want to kill Valkyrie and join the anti-Sanctuary to resurrect Abyssinia. Skulduggery is able to overcome Smoke's influence after some time, showing the incomparable bond he shares with Valkyrie. A spin-off novel featuring Tanith Low taking place between the seventh and eighth books was released on 28 March 2013 in the U.K & Ireland and 1 April in other countries. The cover and title ( Tanith Low in... The Maleficent Seven: From the World of Skulduggery Pleasant) were released on 7 December 2012 after several delays, with Landy stating it to be his favourite book cover ever. Although Valkyrie had now been Darquesse for longer than ever, Skulduggery believes that she can still be saved. He goes to Valkyrie's reflection Stephanie for help, since she is in possession of The Sceptre of the Ancients. She accepts, on the terms that they are to kill Darquesse if they get the chance. After a hesitation, Skulduggery agrees. Valkyrie and Skulduggery travel to Roarhaven to visit the new Sanctuary. Before they do so, Valkyrie saves an American tourist family from a horrible shopkeeper, who happens to despise mortals. Valkyrie and Skulduggery reach the Sanctuary and meet with the Council of Elders where they discuss the apparent Death Bringer, Melancholia. Ravel agrees to provide any resource needed to know more about the Passage. It's not destiny. Even if it was, I've changed it. It's not happening." — Valkyrie telling a Remnant she has sealed her True Name, Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil

Valkyrie and Skulduggery, along with a convict called Vaurien Scapegrace, go to the shoddy sorcerer town Roarhaven to find The Torment – a mysterious old man who may know where the Grotesquery is. After a battle in a seedy pub with some thugs that once were "friends" of Scapegrace, they find the Torment and ask for his help. The Torment only says he will help them find Vile's armour if Skulduggery kills Valkyrie. Since she is a descendant of the Ancients, The Torment despises her, thinking any power will corrupt civilisation. Skulduggery takes Valkyrie around a corner and they summon her reflection, a living mirror image of Valkyrie who she uses as a decoy, enabling her to live a double life. Skulduggery takes Valkyrie's reflection in front of the Torment and shoots it. The Torment is satisfied and tells Skulduggery the whereabouts of the Grotesquery. Later that evening Skulduggery drives to Haggard and waits for Stephanie. When she shows up, she confronts Skulduggery about not telling her Gordon was murdered. He states he did it to protect her and promises to no longer withhold information from her. While his former appearance remains unknown, although he claims to not have been bad to look at, Skulduggery currently resides in the form of a skeleton. He can commonly be seen wearing suits made by his friend Ghastly, Skulduggery wears a hat, scarf, wig and glasses to cover up his face when in public, the wig being described as having fuzzy hair. Before the series, he got his skull stolen by some Goblins, while he was meditating. Since he has been using one he won in a poker game, however, he is reunited with it in Dark Days. It is noted that his old skull has higher cheekbones. As Lord Vile, Skulduggery is a master of Necromancy and can bend shadows to his will. He was strong enough to hold his own against Darquesse and even could've killed her if she hadn't healed herself in their showdown. He can summon spears of darkness, absorb death to make his armour stronger, create ropes of shadows, and use them to rip any people who try to pull off his armour. Lord Vile was even able to hold out against Kitana Kellaway and her friends who's powers were close to those of Argeddion himself.Just Another Friday Night: (5–6) Sometime before Death Bringer, Tane Aiavao and Hayley Skirmish meet with a cursed family. The trio sits in a diner, discussing where the murdered person worked. Skullduggery makes some calls and finds four people were killed in the last two weeks. He comes to the conclusion that the pen was handed down from person to person and each of them was killed in turn. The curse started with a sorcerer named Elwood Satchel. The three take the Bentley to a person who knew Satchel well. Not at home, they wait for him in the car.

Just before the Requiem Ball started, which is being held at Gordon's estate, Skulduggery buys Valkyrie a new dress for it. They leave for the Ball after. The two have multiple conversations with friends and enemies. During the fight with Serpine in the Sanctuary, Stephanie glimpsed her True name in the Book of Names but could not remember it before the Book of Names was destroyed. Skulduggery destroyed Serpine with the Scepter, breaking the Scepter's power in the process. Afterward, Skulduggery offered to take Stephanie on as his assistant and apprentice because she is a descendant of the Ancients. Stephanie decided to take the name of Valkyrie Cain. In September 2023 Derek Landy announced the third series of Skulduggery Pleasant. The first book of the third series will be Skulduggery Pleasant: A Mind Full of Murder and will be published on 28 March 2024. Fletcher and Wreath accompany Skulduggery until they reach Necropolis, where Wreath explains that only the dead can enter. Wreath and Fletcher went up a hidden staircase that led to a long room with an open balcony which allowed them to view the city. When his wife continued to talk of watching Skulduggery die, the child ran over. Skulduggery spoke to his wife but was looking down directly at his child.Danny, an owner of a general store in the idle town Meek Ridge delivers the week's grocery supply to Stephanie, now 24, who has been residing there in hiding for the past five years. In her apartment, China tells Stephanie she sent word to the Elders. When Stephanie tells her they don’t have much time to rescue Skulduggery, China tells her that she does not want to risk another war before she is ready for it. China tells Stephanie that it was Serpine who killed Skulduggery, with his red right hand, and that Skulduggery has waited a long time for a reason to get his revenge. China uses Stephanie’s Given Name against her, stating that Gordon had mentioned her to China, and tells Stephanie to not tell anyone about what is happening. Valkyrie fights Sanguine to save Guild's family. Neither win, but Sanguine promises to keep out of Ireland. When the gang return to the Hibernian, Valkyrie kisses Fletcher, and they are now a "boyfriend-girlfirend thing". There is evidence that Skulduggery speaks the Irish Gaelic language (commonly known as Gaelige or Celtic Gaelic). In Mortal Coil he mentions the word creim, which is Irish for erode.

Three-hundred years before the story begins... the story begins. Set in Tuscany, Italy, 1703, during the War, Hell Breaks Loose focuses on an enraged Skulduggery, 13 years after being killed with his wife and child by Serpine and resurrected as a living skeleton, and three years after his five years as Lord Vile, as he and the Dead Men hunt down Serpine and Vengeous, the Generals of Mevolent. Red House Children's Book Award". Redhousechildrensbookaward.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012 . Retrieved 18 November 2012. Skulduggery continues into the Caves, soon coming across Serpine, having just found the Sceptre, with a group of Hollow Men. The Sceptre starts to ring as he approaches and fights Serpine. He sets Serpine on fire and batters him, but his injuries heal themselves in seconds. Valkyrie runs out of the shadows and rams into Serpine to stop him killing Skulduggery with the Sceptre. They are forced to flee, chased by Serpine and his Hollow Men. When they are outside Gordon’s house, Tanith helps fight off the Hollow Men. Serpine destroys the Canary Car using the Sceptre. A car pulls up, with China and her assistant in the front seat, and Tanith, Valkyrie and Skulduggery jump in as the car speeds away. Skulduggery is then seen following Tesseract. After Tesseract kills the Torment, Skulduggery tries to arrest him. During their fight, a man claiming to be Lord Vile appears and fatally injures Tesseract. Before Tesseract dies, he asks if Skulduggery was revived by Lord Vile, but Skulduggery doesn't answer.Bolton Children's Book Award 2008 at Bolton Literacy Trust". Boltonliteracytrust.org.uk . Retrieved 18 November 2012. [ permanent dead link] Landy, Derek (30 March 2023). "So I am meeting Derek Landy again tomorrow — does anyone here have any questions they would like me to ask on their behalf?". Reddit . Retrieved 30 March 2023. Derek Landy: Everyone also had Harry Potter wands, Skulduggery having a wand that was a magnifying glass to focus his fire.