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=== Nox ===
 
=== Nox ===
Nox is the daughter of Nick and becomes Max's new charge. She is presented to Max by Mina, who tells Max that Nox is Nick's last gift to him. While her connection to Max is not as strong as Nick's, the two do become very close. Nox follows Max throughout the Red Winter, even jumping through the portal to Ymir when Max leaves to stop Astaroth. She also travels with him to the Sidh on his final journey there.[[Category:Characters]][[Category:Students]][[Category:Faculty]][[Category:Major Characters]]
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[[Nox]] is the daughter of Nick and becomes Max's new charge. She is presented to Max by Mina, who tells Max that Nox is Nick's last gift to him. While her connection to Max is not as strong as Nick's, the two do become very close. Nox follows Max throughout the Red Winter, even jumping through the portal to Ymir when Max leaves to stop Astaroth. She also travels with him to the Sidh on his final journey there.[[Category:Characters]][[Category:Students]][[Category:Faculty]][[Category:Major Characters]]

Revision as of 01:54, 6 August 2015

Max McDaniels
Max McDaniels
Race Demigod
Gender Male
Age 18
Status Alive
Affiliation Rowan Academy

Sidh

Occupation Tutor for Agents
Relatives Scott McDaniels(dad)

Lugh Lámhfhada (father)

Deirdre Fallow (mother)

Nick (charge)

First Appearance The Hound of Rowan

Max McDaniels is a student at Rowan and a member of the Red Branch. He is the son of Lugh Lámhfhada and Deirdre Fallow. Max is the main protaganist of the series. Max's charge is Nick, a Black Forest lymrill.

Appearance

Max has brown hair and eyes. He is tall and strong. He also has a thin scar on his face from his time training with Scathach.

Personality

Max is brave and always eager to help but gets angry quickly, which fuels the Old Magic in his veins. When angry, his body trembles which is often a prelude to an astonishing burst of action. He is proud, and unwilling to show weakness. He is also couragous and loyal, willing to do the right thing. An example of this is his immediate defense of his recruiter, Nigel Bristow, in the last of the Potentials tests. He is impetuous, not necessarily thinking of the consequences of each action; when he left Prusias' Games, he was not thinking of the fact that it left his superiors looking incompetent. His pride leaves him easily goaded into spur-of-the-moment actions which he sometimes regrets later.

As the series progresses, he matures greatly. He has better control of his emotions so that they doesn't interfere with his duties and responsibilities. He has good leadership abilities and has a strong sense of justice. He is also morally civilized and polite, as pointed out by Scathach.

He can be a bit oblivious to hints given to him from his friends. He says what he thinks, though not always thinking about whether he should say it or not.

Background

Max was supposedly the son of Brynn McDaniels  and Scott McDaniels. However, it is later revealed that his biological father is Lugh Lámhfhada, and that he is a demigod. Even in his childhood his being special was hinted as he used to get sudden attacks and headaches from the surge of the Old Magic within him. He and his family led a quiet life in Chicago, Illinois, up until the day Brynn McDaniels disappeared in the car, leaving no trace behind.

Due to the sudden disappearence of his mother, Max's childhood is tormented by the other antagonistic characterstics. He usually got into fights with bullies teasing him for his mother's absence. He would beat them up badly for saying so. One day, Max and his father visit a museum situated nearby, where he encounters Peter Varga. Once inside the museum, owing to certain coincidences, he ends up inside a small room, where he encounters a tapestry of the Cattle Raid of Cooley.

Plot

The Hound of Rowan

Max’s father runs into an acquaintance of his when he and Max travel together to celebrate His mother's birthday at her favorite museum, even though she is gone.  Beforehand Max encounters a strange person with scary green and white eyes. Things get worse in the museum where he’s stalked by the man and enters a mysterious room to escape him. Where he finds an ancient tapestry depicting Cuchulain, his brother. 

He learns later on that seeing the tapestry was proof of his magic and after a series of trouble, hysterias and tests he enters Rowan Academy. He meets his roommate David Menlo and also a Lymrill, Nick, who chooses to become his charge. (Basically a charge is a life-long bond between magical animal and human student) He creates a history by defeating the second year students in a match. Jealousy arises whithin Alex Munoz, a second year student, who starts a fight with Max. This result in both of them getting punished by Miss Boon to clean the Kestrel.

There they get kidnapped by two vyes who had attacked Max before. They are taken to a hideout where one of the blacksmiths of the fallen school Solas talks to them. Alex is persuaded to join them whereas Max is reluctant to. As they use Max’s blood to revive back their master Astaroth, Peter Varga saves him, though Astaroth gets revived. Through his body amplification he carries all the kidnapped students back to the surface and kills the vyes. He saves Peter from near death, then waits with Peter and the children for the help Peter had called. Once he's at Rowan again he becomes a hero who had saved a lot of people, though some of the second year antagonize him for leaving Alex Muñoz back in the dungeon despite the fact that he didn't want to. Alex is revitalizes and joins Astaroth.

At the end of the book, Max received the Gauntlet of Beowulf, which was presented by Peter Varga. He was the youngest person to have received this award.

The Second Siege

It is later revealed by Astaroth that he is not actually Scott McDaniel's son and that his name is also false. Even though he initially doesn't believe it, he knows it's true when he meets Lugh in the Sidh, and finds his true father to be Lugh himself. This is later confirmed by his mother as well, who explains that Lugh came to her in a dream and told her that she'd give birth to a son of his, who would become stronger than anyone else. At first everyone thought he was Cuchulain, the Irish hero, but he is only his half brother. He trains with Scatach, before leaving with David Menlo to obtain the Book of Origins. Later, during the Siege of Rowan he antagonizes the Astaroth`s army for several days before being cornered in the ditch, where Max kills all of the vyes. Afterwards, Astaroth and Max reach a agreement to surrender the Book of Thoth in return for Connor Lynch and Mrs. Ritcher.  

The Fiend and the Forge

Bragha

Max greets the Demon Prusias, showing proud defiance by refusing to bow. Later, he is angered by a dryad who calls Astaroth the Great God. He is able to free the Former Workshop Director from the hags. He is grief stricken when his father was killed. Seeking revenge, he borrows the Ormenheid, a ship that sails own its own and can be shrunken down to the size of a matchbox. He takes residence in a farm, after rescuing the children and defeating the monster in the well. He is horrified to find that the monster was once human.

Once Prusias finds out Max`s location, he takes him to Blys where he forces Max to fight in order for admittance for several humans outside the doors. After taking the alias of Bragha Run, he defeats a grymloch and his clone where he is declared by Prusias the champion of Blys.

Later, Prusias wants Max to attack Lord Aamon, but when Max refuses to relent he is outraged and nearly kills Max. He orders his imp, Mr. Bonn to take Max away. During Max`s imprisonment, Astaroth visits Max, and reveals that he knows about David`s plan to poison him with blood petals, revealing his immunity to the venom. Later, Cooper rescues Max.

Max journeys with David to the Isle of Man, where David convinces the Formorian to reforge the gae bolga. As Max had suspected, he learns that the gae bolga is a live thing, three locks of Morrigan`s hair. When the Formorian fails, Nick sacrifices himself and his quills are used to strengthen the blade. Max, David, and Toby journeys to Walpurgisnacht where Toby masquerades as Cambylla. Max is afraid, knowing that Astorath knows of David`s plan. However, he is surprised when Astaroth is weakened, and during the commotion that follows Max avenges his father and inflicts wounds on Prusias with his gae bolga. When Max comes to, he finds that Walpurgisnacht was a rescue mission. Elias Bram had returned.

The Maelstrom

After Walpurgisnacht, Max had journied to black markets for valuable merchandise, and information. When he returns, he is confronted by several refugees, before meeting Lord Naberius to discuss Rowan`s relationship with the king of Blys. Lord Naberius says that they will make peace with Rowan-as long as Rowan surrenders the gae bolga and Elias Bram. He also says that Max`s name had been written in the Gray Book and that the Atropos will target Max. He meets with the Archmage who tells him that the Atropos may attempt to posses his friends in order to kill Max. Already, William Cooper and Ben Polk had disappeared-it is likely the Atropos is behind this. Soon, Elias Bram`s words prove true-Rolf Luger, possessed by a demon, tries to kill Max but is killed by Umbra. David locates the demon and binds him to a ring to warn Max of any danger.

Max leaves Rowan with David and Toby vis tunnel in order to infiltrate Blys, where he talks to Madam Petra as goblins. She reveals the Workshop`s secret weapon, the pinlegs. However, the Atropos had already hired Max`s clones in order to kill Max, and they barely escape with their life. Madam Petra says that Max owes her a new estate. They take refuge, but not before long the Atropos catches up with Max and nearly kills him, if it wasn't for David. They barely escape Yuga, and Max was near fatally wounded. Luckily he recovers.

After Max leaves the infirmary, he finds Julie Teller, who was still angry Max had left her. She was going to marry Thomas Polk. They continue experiments with the pinlegs, and find they will be used to summon dreadnoughts. War is declared, and he is confronted by Astaroth who offers him a deal to save Rowan, in return killing Elias Bram. He meets the sorcerer himself, who reveals the ancient history of Astaroth, and that he will offer YaYa as a steed

Max becomes the commander of the Trench Rats, who will hold Trench 19. They are the dregs, who are incompetent or unruly, but their abilities blossom under Max`s leadership. He also finds that Umbra was actually Scatach, who risked her immortality for Max. They hold the barrier successfully, and the enemy never laid foot within the campus. The victory is short lived, as Max finds that Scathach likely perished in the battle. The situation worsens when Prusias released the dreadnoughts, who nearly lay waste to Rowan. Max is compelled to summon Astaroth, but David manages to find the dreadnought`s fatal flaw and they finally triumph. He is last seen journeying with David, Lucia, Cynthia, Bob, Mrs.Boon, Toby, and William Cooper in the Ormenheid.

The Red Winter

Cynthia and Lucia traveled to Enlyll while Max and the rest of the crew visit Shrope Hovel. Bob rescues Mum, Cooper gleans information for his DarkMatter assignment, and Scathach wonders at modern life. Then, pursued by the two Atropos clones of Max, Scathach and Max (injured by the Knife of Set) flee aboard the Ormenheid to Isle of Man in order to enlist the Fomorian Giant. Both were captured by fairies before being shown to the Fomorian, who temporarily healed Max. After Max awoke from a month-long sleep, he ventured out of the Fomorian's cave and encountered the Morrigan. She asked Max to kill for her or to give her a son who will do so instead. When Max refused and the Morrigan began to threaten Max and his companions, the Fomorian arrived to force the Morrigan to leave. After the Morrigan's departure, the Fomorian told Max of his two geis. When the Fomorian refused to join Rowan in its war against Prusias, Max and Scathach left to join Sarah and Lucia in Enlyll.

Upon arriving in Enlyll, the two attend a party at Connor's castle. Max is disgusted by his friend's drunken behavior, and the attendance of many demons causes the atmosphere to grow tense. When Lucia leaves the party in tears, Max follows her along with Sarah and Scathach. He then recieves a note from Lord Grael, a powerful demon in Prusias' court. When he arrives at Grael's room, Max finds Grael has been captured by a group of vyes and watches as Grael is killed by Connor. The group is then taken to Arcanum, where Max met with Archon, the leader of the Raszna. The Raszna agreed to support Rowan in its war against Prusias in return for an exchange program between Rowan and Arcanum.

Max is next seen leading Rowan's army against the city of Blys. After the city is breached, Max and Scathach meet up with William and Hazel Cooper, Peter Varga, and Toby. After discovering that Prusias has retreated to a secret bunker and is using a body double, the team rescues Jesper Rasmussen and gain access to a control room. Cooper leaves to find someone who may know where the bunker is and Scathach leaves to save Petra Kosa and a group of children from a basilisk. While in the control room, Max is shown footage of the growth of his clones, Alpha and Omega. Scathach encounters the clones on the way back to the control room and is killed. Her death causes Max to be overcome by his Old Magic. He nearly kills his clones, but does not for fear of breaking his geis. Max then hunts for Prusias, who has taken shelter in Bram's Chamber. When he arrives, Max is ambushed by malakhim, who surround him in a ball, disarm him, and begin to drag him towards Prusias. He is saved by Cooper, frees himself of the malakhim, and somehow destroys the Great Red Dragon without killing Prusias, who seems to be relatively powerless from that point on. Max teleports everyone into Prusias' throne room, where he finds the Morrigan. She tempts him, and he nearly declares himself a king before he is interrupted by David. The two of them take the wounded Fomorian to the sea, where Max kills hiim out of mercy. This breaks his geis, and his side begins to bleed again.

When David noticed this, he teleported Max to Rowan using one of his wormholes. Once there, he was healed by David, Bram, Mina, and Ember. When Max awoke, Bram requested that Max journey with him to Tartarus, where Bram believed he could discover Astaroth's true name from Neheb. Max agreed after Astaroth appeared in Blys, causing havoc and creating a dragon. The two teleported to the Witchpeaks and climbed to the witches' temple, causing Max's wound to open again. They then journeyed to Tartarus, where they met the shade of Marley Augur, who forgave Bram for his past sins. Bram quickly lost strength in Tartarus, and hastily summoned Neheb, who pulled him into his sarcophagus (it is theorized that Neheb summoned Mr. Sikes, who summoned Astaroth, who captured Bram). Max then battled the ancient entity who controlled Tartarus in order to leave. After doing so, it appeared that his Old Magic had disappeared.

When Max returned to Rowan, he revealed Bram's fate to David. David crafted a plan to defeat Astaroth, and he, Cynthia, Mina, and Ember went Ymir, while Max waited with YaYa until it was time for him to leave. When he and YaYa teleported to Ymir, he was followed by Nox, who remained absent for most of the fight. After Astaroth absorbed Bram and opened a portal to the Starving Gods' universe, he was killed by Max, whom he had believed was absent. Max fought off Yuga and the Starving Gods until David could close the portal. Once this was done, Max took the Book of Thoth and found that he was able to understand it. However, he resisted the temptation to use the Book, instead returning it to David.

When Max returned to Rowan, he and David were forced to vacate their room in the dormitories by Tweedy and visited the Coopers, who had had their baby, named Gabrielle. He then attended the signing of the treaty between Rowan, the witches, the Workshop, the demons, and the vyes. Once this was complete, he visited Scathach's grave and was found by his clones, who he killed. Finally, he took the Ormenheid and journeyed to the Sidh, where he was healed and received as a prince.

Powers & Abilities

Mystics

Max is not the finest of Mystics, but is a capable one. He is a skilled practitioner of Amplification, which allows Max to enhance his strength and speed to superhuman limits. He is also a skilled illusionist. At the end of the Red Winter, he is capable of fooling Cooper with his illusions.

Old Magic

Max, as a son of Lugh, possesses vast stores of Old Magic. His control of it grows steadily throughout the course of the series, as does its power. It seems to reach its peak after the grief from Scathach's death causes him to snap, unleashing his full power. During this time, he seemed to be invincible: Workshop weapons were unable to touch him, and he defeated Prusias without the gae bolga.

Healing

Max is capable of healing from almost any wound. He was able the withstand a fatal dose of tranquilizer without any noticeable effects. He has been poisoned several times, once with a large enough dosage to kill hundreds of men. Each time, he has healed without any lasting effects. The two exceptions are a scar from Scathach, which he chose to keep, and the wound from the Knife of Set.

Aura

Max's aura, or shine, is an expression of his Old Magic, and is extremely bright. He is able to use it as a weapon, blasting his opponents with it, as it also gives off heat. Max's shine increases dramatically after Scathach's death, but diminishes after his encounter with the entity in Tartarus, meaning that it is a expression of his Old Magic.

Shapeshifting

While Max is not does not change into animals, as Bram and David do, he can change his body into pure energy. This energy is described as "white-hot fire" and seems to be similar to the true form of a rakshasa.

Teleportation

This is an ability that Max does not possess until late in the Red Winter. He is able to teleport himself and multiple others, similarly to how Bram was able to teleport with David, Max, and Toby after Walpurgisnacht.

Combat Expertise

Max is best known for his skill in combat. He was trained in the Sidh by Scathach and mastered all of the feats taught to him. He is skilled in the use of swords and spears, wielding both throughout the series. He is also proficient in the use of knives. He was the Champion of Blys, a title that he won by fighting and killing numerous powerful opponents. He has slain a multitude of vyes, orges, deathknights, and demons, including Vyndra.

Weaknesses

Geasa: Max is forbidden to knowingly kill his kin. This includes his clones, who share his blood. This may be why the Gae Bolga turns cold and refuses to cut them. Max is also forbidden to deny someone's dying request. When he breaks his first geis by killing the Fomorian, his wound opens and begins to bleed.

Relationships

David Menlo

David is Max's roommate and one of his best friends. During his time at the Workshop, Max is tasked with protecting David at all costs.

Nick

Max is the caretaker of Nick the Lyrmrill. He adopted Nick in The Hound of Rowan and as taken care of him through the two following books. Nick is very close to Max, as it is shown through various examples. Nick is always happy and excited when Max comes to feed and play with him. Also, Max would not leave without Nick in The Second Siege and both of them are very happy to see each other after months of being apart in The Fiend and the Forge.

Nick sacrifices himself in The Fiend and the Forge so that gae bolga can be rightly repaired by the Fomorian.

Julie Teller

Max's girlfriend was Julie Teller, who is two years older than him. In The Second Siege Julie is visited by Mr. Sikes, who tells her that terrible things will happen if she continues with Max. Confused and angry that she ignores him, oblivious Max asks Mr. Sikes to wipe Julie out of his memory. In The Fiend and the Forge, however, they are together again, until Julie's parents kindly ask him to leave her, for her own good, and he agrees it's for the best, much to Juie`s dismay. In The Maelstrom Julie Teller is engaged to Thomas Polk, and harbors ill feeling toward Max for leaving her. However, they settle their feelings later on in the book.

Scathach

Scathach is Max's former trainer in the Sidh known as the warrior maiden. After he leaves fully trained, Max sites her a few times during his struggles: In The Fiend and the Forge during his fight in the Coliseum, Max determinedly finishes the fight after seeing her among the crowd. Before the battle against Prusias at Rowan, she disguises as a refugee- Umbra, in order to protect and keep an eye on Max and later on he discovers this. In the Maelstrom, Max claimed that Scathach is his Aurora. He and Scathach both have feelings for each other.

After Julie Teller exclaims her annoyance at Max and how he always drifted away, she touches upon her worry that he had fallen in love with the maiden in the Sidh. Max ponders this and finally announces to himself that he has.

Nox

Nox is the daughter of Nick and becomes Max's new charge. She is presented to Max by Mina, who tells Max that Nox is Nick's last gift to him. While her connection to Max is not as strong as Nick's, the two do become very close. Nox follows Max throughout the Red Winter, even jumping through the portal to Ymir when Max leaves to stop Astaroth. She also travels with him to the Sidh on his final journey there.