Dervish Grady

Infobox character | name = Dervish Grady
first = "Lord Loss"
other appearances = "Demon Thief"
"Slawter"
"Blood Beast"
"Demon Apocalypse"
"Death's Shadow"
gender = Male
family = Cal Grady(brother)
Sharon Grady (sister-in-law)
Grubbs Grady (nephew)
Gret Grady (niece)
Billy 'Bill-E' Spleen (nephew)

portrayer =
creator = Darren Shan
lbl24 = Powers
data24 =

Typical Mage powers

Dervish Grady is a fictional character from Darren Shan's "The Demonata" series. He is the uncle of Grubbs Grady, who is the protagonist of "Lord Loss", "Slawter", "Blood Beast" and "Demon Apocalypse". Dervish has appeared in seven books so far, making him the most recurring character in the series.

Ancestry

The Grady family, whose name was changed from Garadex, was originally a clan called The MacGrigor living in Celtic Ireland. There was a terrible curse on them, which would turn people into werewolves. Due to this curse, they were thrown out of normal society and lived as outcasts.

The Curse

The curse on the MacGrigor was due to them breeding with lesser Demons when they first came to the land. They would chain up people who were transformed, instead of killing them as people did sixteen hundred years in the future. They did not know of a cure for the curse, as they had not yet contacted Lord Loss.

The Cure

A demon named Lord Loss was offered a wager to cure the curse on a member of the Grady family if other family members engaged in a competition. Two people had to fight Lord Loss - one would have to play a five board game of chess against him, while the other fought off two familiars. If either one failed, both challengers and the stricken teenager would be killed. If they won, the person who played chess would go to Lord Loss's universe and fight him there. The chances of winning were slim, but many went through with it and failed or won.

Although the fight with Lord Loss in his universe would only last a couple of hours, due to time working differently it could be weeks, years, or once, even decades until the fight ended in the human universes time. The person fighting would live in our world as a zombie, while their soul fought Lord Loss. If their soul lost, then the zombie would just die of old age, but if the soul won, then the body would be restored with the soul.

Biography

Early life

Dervish was first found by Shark, when he was trying to stop a demon coming through a portal. Dervish saw Shark was in trouble, and ran to his aid, using magic to knock out the woman who was trying to open the window. In "Demon Thief", he meets Kernel Fleck while trying to stop a man summoning a demon at a punk rock concert. Kernel helps to locate the man, and then saves most of the punks. Dervish then takes part in Beranabus's search for the Kah-Gash. He goes with Kernel into Lord Loss' magical chessboard, and helps fight off demons until Kernel can figure out who the Demon Thief was (himself).

He was told by Beranabus a few years after "Demon Thief" to guard the cave which appeared in "Bec" so that no one would find it and let the Demonata through into our world.

Later life

In "Lord Loss", Dervish (in his mid 40s) appears at the asylum where Grubbs is being cared for after the sight of Lord Loss killing his family drove him insane . He shows Grubbs pictures of Lord Loss and his current favorite familiars and says he believes him about the demons. He then adopts Grubbs. Later battles for the soul of Bill-E Spleen, to stop him becoming a werewolf due to the family curse. In "Slawter", Dervish is haunted by nightmares, and takes a job on a film set advising a director about her demon costumes. He then helps defend the humans after the director unleashes a hoard of demons within the town.

Dervish appears in "Blood Beast". He tries to help Grubbs when he is turning into a werewolf, presumed to have called the Lambs on Grubbs because he can't bare to kill him if he turns. However in "Demon Apocalypse", it turns out that Juni Swan (or Nadia Moore) called the Lambs. Dervish appears at two main sections of "Demon Apocalypse". In an alternate time line, only his head is shown, Lord Loss (or one of his familiars) having killed him after thousands of demons flooded through the reopened tunnel in the cave. When Grubbs, Bec, Kernel and Beranabus travel back in time to a few minutes before the tunnel was opened, Dervish helps them to prevent the demonic influx. It is also made clear that it wasn't Dervish who called the Lambs in "Blood Beast" and that it was actually Juni Swan. Dervish kills Juni believing that she was the key to opening the tunnel. However he is mistaken and sits helplessly as he leaves Grubbs with the task of killing Bill-E when it turns out that he is actually the key. After the battle, in which he takes no further part, Dervish provides Grubbs with some relief and stops him from committing suicide by striking a deal that neither he or Grubbs will give up and will keep fighting. "Demon Apocalypse" ends with Grubbs leaving Dervish asleep and in the care of Bec.

Wealth

Dervish has a vast amount of money (which Grubbs hoped to inherit). The Gradys amassed it over the years, and he has used it to purchase books on the occult and build a cellar from which to conduct his dealings with things not of this world.

House

His house is in Carcery Vale (In Lord Loss Dervish says the towns name is pronounced Carsherry, but on Darren Shan's official website, he says is actually pronounced Car-se-ree). He bought an old place, and then did it up over the years until it was a mansion. His study is filled with books on the occult, and he has lots of bedrooms. His mansion once belonged to the infamous Lord Sheftree who fed a baby to pirahnahs. Dervish adorns the walls of the mansion with many weapons.

Cellar

The cellar is the most important part of the house. It is a cave built into the rock, with a locked entrance from outside and a hidden entrance from the wine cellar. He uses it when he needs to make deals with demons, such as curing people of the family curse (see above). This is why it is the only place in Carcery Vale that is not protected against demons.

Relationships

Close Relations

*Cal Grady: His brother. Cal often came to see Dervish, though Sharon (his wife) refused to come. When he came once, he had an affair with a local woman, Emily Spleen. This resulted in the conception of Bill-E Spleen. Later, he battled for his daughter Gret's life against Lord Loss, but was slaughtered.

*Grubitsch Grady: Grubitsch is Cal's son. His mother was Sharon, so he was not the result of an affair. He is a magician in training, and has huge amounts of magic. He was adopted by Dervish, and lives with him. The name he uses is Grubbs, because he despises his real name.

*Bill-E Spleen: Bill-E is the son of Cal Grady and Emily Spleen. He never knew who his father was before his mother died, and suspects he is the son of Dervish. He is Grubbs's half brother and best friend. He has a lazy left eye. His real name is Billy, but he wants to change it to Bill-E and introduces himself by that name. Billy is sacrificed by Grubbs in Demon Apocalypse because he reopened "Bec's" tunnel by killing Loch Gossel in the cave.

*Gretelda Grady: Gretelda is Cal and Sharon's daughter. She was struck by the family curse, and her parents were slaughtered trying to save her. Like Grubbs, she calls herself Gret because her real name is terrible. When Grubbs plays a practical Joke involving Rat guts in a towel. This was where Gret first showed some indication that she was struck by the curse. Grubbs saw Artery play with Gretelda like a puppet.

Close Friends

*Meera Flame: Meera is a friend of Dervish's, who occasionally comes over. Meera is exceptionally attractive and she constantly flirts with males just to annoy them. She is only friends with Dervish, due to Dervish's reluctance to ever have children, but it is said in Death's Shadow that she used to love Dervish and probably still has feelings. While Dervish was a zombie, she helped take care of Grubbs. Like Dervish, she has magical powers (though slight) and she is also a Disciple.

*Shark: Shark is the person that introduces Dervish to the world of demons. When Dervish, Grubbs, Bill-E and Juni Swan are put to sleep by the demons they have a dream and he's there along with Sharmilla, and they mention Beranabus and Kernel Fleck.

*Sharmalia: Sharmilla is an Indian Disciple and the only Asian Disciple shown. She wears a Sari in each appearance she makes. In "Demon Thief", she and Beranabus refuse to help name the Thief. She questions and critisize Beranabus in "Demon Thief", showing she follows but doesn't always agree with his methods. In "Lord Loss" Dervish watches a Documentary featuring Sharmilla.

Romantic Relationships

*Juni Swan: Juni is Dervish's love interest. She appears in "Slawter" and mentions at the end that she has strong feelings for him. However, she kills one of the leaders of the massacre plot and leaves in the night, leaving a note saying she has to think about it and he shouldn't search for her. In "Blood Beast" she reappears and continues their relationship, as well helping Dervish in his attempt to cure Grubbs of the curse. She convinces Grubbs to board a plane with her, where it is revealed she is working for Lord Loss. The conclusion of "Demon Apocalypse" reveales that Juni is actually Nadia Moore from "Demon Thief", who had feigned her death and joined Lord Loss.